Sermons

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
AT LOS ANGELES

GIFT OF

J.D. Easter

S E R

BY THE

REV. SAMUEL DAVIES, A.M.,

PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY.

FUNERAL SERMON BY THE REV. SAMUEL FINLEY, D. D.,

HIS SUCCESSOR IN THAT OFFICE,
AND SOME ACCOUNT OF PRESIDENT DAVIES, BY THE KEY. THOMAS

GIBBONS, D. D., OF LONDON, AND THE KEV. DAVID
BOSTWICK, M. A., oy NEW YORK.

CONTAINING ALSO

AN INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR OF PRESIDENT DAVIES,

BY THE

REV. WILLIAM B. SPRAGUE, D.D.

IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. II.

023 11

PHILADELPHIA:
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION.

No. 821 CHESTNUT STREET.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by

THE TRUSTEES OF THE
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States in and
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

BTE&IOTTFED BI WES1COTT i THOMSON, PHILADELPHIA.

9) .
D2.-8

CONTENTS

OF

VOLUME II.

SERMON XXVI.

THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, AND THEIR CONSEQUENT JOYS AND
BLESSINGS.

ISAIAH LIII. 10, 11. — When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,
he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the
LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul,
and shall be satisfied. 9

SERMON XXVII.

LIFE AND IMMORTALITY RETEALED IN THE GOSPEL.

2 TIM. i. 10. — And hath brought life and immortality to light through the •
gospel , . ,...•/,, , »j,^ 33

SERMON XXVIII.

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

ISAIAH xzvm. 16, 17. — Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a
tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation : he that believeth
shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and right-
eousness to the plummet : and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of
lies, and the waters shall oyerflow the hiding-place. ... 60

SERMON XXIX.

THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE OF FAMILY RELIGION.

1 TIM. v. 8. — But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of
his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. 74

3

CONTENTS.
SERMON XXX.

THE RULE OF EQUITY.

MATT vn 12 -Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should
do to you, do ye even so to them ; for this is the law and the prophets.

SERMON XXXI.

DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED FROM REDEEMING MERCY.

1 COR. VI. 19, 20.— What, know ye not that ye are not your own ? For ye
are bought with a price : therefore glorify God in your body and in your
spirit, which are God's

SERMON XXXII.

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

1 COR. v. 8. — Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither
with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread
of sincerity and truth. 141

SERMON XXXIII.

THE NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS OF SONSHIP WITH GOD.

1 JOHN in. 1, 2. — Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed
upon us, that we should be called the sons of God ! Therefore the world
knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know that
when he shall appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall see him as
he is 174

SERMON XXXIV.

A SERMON ON THE NEW TEAK.

JIB. nvm. 18.— This year thou shalt die 196

SERMON XXXV.

AH KNROLMENT OF OUR NAMES IN HEAVEN THE NOBLEST SOURCE
OF JOY.

LUKK I. 20.— Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are sub-
ject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in
heayen- 218

CONTENTS. 5

SERMON XXXVI.

THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL BY THE DIVINE POWER UPON THE SOULS

OF MEN.

2 COR. x. 4, 5. — For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty
through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imagina-
tions, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ 226

SERMON XXXVII.

THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED IN THE METHOD OF SALVATION
THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.

JOHN xn. 27, 28. — Now is my soul troubled : and what shall I say ? Fa-
ther, save me from this hour ; but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Father, glorify thy name. . • \ •, -4; ', • .... ' :* ',.;'• . . 249

SERMON XXXVIII.

RELIGION THE HIGHEST WISDOM, AND SIN THE GREATEST MADNESS AND

FOLLT.

PSALM cxi. 10. — The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom : a good
understanding have all they that do his commandments. . . 274

SERMON XXXIX.

REJECTION OF CHRIST A COMMON BUT MOST UNREASONABLE INIQUITT.

MARK xn. 6. — Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved, he sent him
also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my Son. . . 293

SERMON XL.

THE DOOM OF THE INCORRIGIBLE SINNER.

PEOV. xxix. 1. — He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall
suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. . . . 316

SERMON XLI.

THE NATURE OF LOOKING TO CHRIST OPENED AND EXPLAINED.

ISAIAH XLV. 22. — Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth ;
for I am God, and there is none else. . .'•'«. . 337

6 CONTENTS.

SERMON XLII.

ARGUMENTS TO ENFORCE OUR LOOKING TO CHRIST.

ISAIAH XLV. 22—Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth ;
for I am God, and there is none else l

SERMON XLIII.

THK VESSELS OF MERCY AND THE VESSELS OF WBATH DELINEATED.

ROM. ix. 22, 23.— The vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, and the vessels
of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory.

SERMON XLIV.

THE NATURE AND NECESSITY OF TRUE REPENTANCE.

ACTS xvn. 30.— And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now
commandeth all men everywhere to repent. .... 386

SERMON XLV.

THE TENDER ANXIETIES OF MINISTERS FOR THEIR PEOPLE.

GAL. iv. 19, 20.— My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, un-
til Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present with you now, and to
change my voice ; for I stand in doubt of you 405

SERMON XLVI.

THE WONDERFUL COMPASSIONS OF CHRIST TO THE GREATEST OF
SINNERS.

MATT. xxm. 37. — 0 Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! thou that killest the prophets,
and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have ga-
thered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under
her wings, and ye would not ! 429

SERMON XLVII.

THI NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED.

JOHN xxi. 17.— He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thou me ? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third
time, Lovest thou me ? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all
things ; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Peed my
«heeP V-Vr.a"J. . 450

CONTENTS. 7

SERMON XLVIII.

THE NATURE AND AUTHOR OF REGENERATION.

JOHN in. 7. — Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 481
SERMON XLIX.

THE DIVINE LIFE IN THE SOULS OF MEN CONSIDERED.

GAL. ii. 20. — I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live
by the faith of the Son of God. . . .' . . . . 503

SERMON L.

ON THE SAME SUBJECT.

GAL. ii. 20. — I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live
by the faith of the Son of God. . .' •"./..' ' ; . . . . 519

SERMON LI.

THE WATS OF SIN HARD AND DIFFICULT.

ACTS ix. 5. — It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. . . 539
SERMON LII.

THE CHARACTERS OF THE WHOLE AND SICK, IN A SPIRITUAL SENSE,
CONSIDERED AND CONTRASTED.

MATT. ix. 12. — But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that
be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. . . 553

SERMON LIII.

A SIGHT OF CHRIST THE DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS IN ALL AGES.

JOHN vin. 56. — Your Father Abraham rejoiced (earnestly desired) to eee my
day ; and he saw it, and was glad 679

SERMON LIV.

THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

GAL. in. 23. — But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up
unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. . . . 599

8 CONTENTS.

SERMON LV.

THE GOSPEL INVITATION.

LUKE xiv. 21-24.— Then the master of the house being angry, said to his
servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring
in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And
the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there
is room. And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways
and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste
of my supper. 627

SERMON LVI.

THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION, AND THE NATURE AND CONCERN OF
FAITH IN IT.

ROM. 1. 16, 17.— For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ ; for it is the
power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth ; to the Jew
first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God re-
vealed from faith to faith — or, therein is the righteousness of God by faith
revealed to faith 544

SERMONS

IMPORTANT SUBJECTS

SERMON XXVI.

THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, AND THEIR CONSEQUENT JOYS
AND BLESSINGS.

ISAIAH liii. 10, 11. — When thou shalt make his soul an
offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in
his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and
shall be satisfied*

THIS chapter contains a most lively and moving account
of very tragical sufferings; and, if we have but a small
share of humanity, we cannot hear it without being af-
fected, even though we did not know the person concerned.
Here is one so mangled and disfigured, that he has no
form nor comeliness; one despised and rejected of men,
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; one wounded,
bruised, oppressed, afflicted ; one brought as a lamb to the
slaughter ; one cut off out of the land of the living. And

*The sermon is dated Hanover, (a county in Virginia,) July 11, 1756;
and is evidently a Sacramental Discourse.

VOL. II.— '2 9

10 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST,

who is he? Were he an enemy, or a malefactor, we could
not but pity him. But this was not his character; "for
he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his
mouth." And he was so far from being our enemy, that
" he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows ; he
was wounded for our transgressions ; he was bruised for
our iniquities," not for his own. Were he a child or a
friend that had suffered such things, it would raise all our
mournful and sympathizing passions to hear the history.
But what if this should be the man that is God's fellow,
the Redeemer, to whom we are bound by the most endear-
ing obligations ! a person of infinite dignity and perfect
innocence, our best friend, and only Saviour ! What if it
should be he? Would not this move your hearts, and
raise all your tender passions ? Or shall he die in such
agonies unpitied, unlamented, unbeloved, when even a dying
criminal excites our compassion ? What do you think
would be the issue, if I should make an experiment of this
to-day? If I should make a trial, what weight will the
sufferings of Jesus have upon your hearts ? Do you think
the representation of his sufferings and love would have
any effect upon you? That they may have this effect, is
my design in the prosecution of this subject; for that it is
Jesus who is the hero of this deep tragedy, or the subject
of these sufferings, we may learn from the frequent appli-
cation of passages quoted from this chapter to him in the
New Testament. This chapter has been a successful part
of the Scriptures, and there are some now in heaven who
were brought thither by it. This is the chapter the
Ethiopian eunuch was reading, when he asked Philip,
"Of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or some
other man ?" and Philip opened his mouth, and began at
the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus: and he
believed with all his heart and was baptized; and went on

AND THEIR CONSEQUENT BLESSINGS. 11

his way homeward (and heavenward) rejoicing. Acts viii.
32, 35. This was the chapter that opened to the penitent
Earl of Rochester the way of salvation through the suffer-
ings of Christ, which alone relieved his mind from the
horrors of guilt, and constrained him to hope that even
such a sinner as he might find mercy. Oh ! that it may
have the same effect upon you, my brethren, to-day, that
with the eunuch you may return home rejoicing!

The design and method I now have in view, is only to
illustrate and improve the several parts of my text, espe-
cially those that represent how pleasing and satisfactory
the conversion and salvation of sinners, by the death of
Christ, is to him.

1. " When* thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin."t
An offering for sin is when the punishment of sin is transfer-
red from the original offender to another, and that other
person suffers in his stead. Thus the Lord Jesus was made
a sin-offering for us. The punishment of our sin was
transferred to him, and he bore it in his own body on the
tree. He became our substitute, and took our place in
law, and therefore the penalty of the law due to us was
executed upon him. It is in this, my brethren, that we
have any hope of salvation : blood for blood, life for life,
soul for soul : the blood, the life, the soul of the Son of
God, for the blood, and life, and soul of the obnoxious
criminal. Here, sirs, your grateful wonder may begin to
rise upon our first entrance on the subject; and you will
find the wonders will increase as we go along.

* The particle here rendered when is more generally rendered if; and
then the sentence will read thus : "If thou shalt make his soul an ottering
for sin ;" the consequence will be, that " he shall see his seed," &c.

f Or " when thou shalt make his soul sin." It is a common Scripture
phrase, whereby a sin-offering is called sin. And it is sometimes retained
in our translation, particularly in 2 Cor. v. 21. "He hath made him to be
sin ;" that is, a sin-offering for us, &c.

}2 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST,

You see Jesus presented an offering for sin; and what
was it he offered? " Silver and gold he had none," the
blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of heifers, would
not suffice ; and these too he had not. But he had blood
in his veins, and that shall all go; that he will offer up to
save our guilty blood. He had a soul, and that was made
an offering for sin. His soul an offering for sin ! his pure,
spotless soul ! his soul that was of more value than the
whole universe beside! You may find those that will
give a great many things for the deliverance of a friend,
but who would give his soul ! his soul for his enemies ! —
this is the peculiar commendation of the love of Jesus.

His soul here may signify his whole human nature ; in
which sense it is often taken in the Sacred Writings. And
then the meaning is, that both his soul and body, or his
whole human nature, bore the punishment due to us. Or
his soul may be here understood properly for his rational
and immortal part, in opposition to his body; and then
the meaning is, that he suffered in soul as well as in body.
His soul suffered by the foresight of his suffering ; by the
temptations of the devil ; by an affecting view of the sins
of men ; and especially by the absence of his heavenly
Father. Hence, when his body was untouched, in the
garden of Gethsemane, he cries out, " My soul is exceed-
ing sorrowful, even unto death;" and elsewhere, "Now is
my soul troubled." In short, as one expresses it, the suf-
ferings of his soul were the soul of his sufferings. The
sense of bodily pain may be swallowed up in the pleasing
sensations of divine love. So some have found by happy
experience, who have suffered for righteousness' sake.
But Jesus denied himself that happiness which he has
given to many of his servants. His soul was sorrowful,
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ; and all this for such
sinners as we. And shall this have no weight among the

AND THEIR CONSEQUENT BLESSINGS. 13

creatures for whom he endured all this ? Make an expe-
riment upon your hard hearts with this thought, and try if
they can resist its energy, " Thou shalt make his soul an
offering for sin." Thou shalt make ; that is, thou, the great
God and Father of all. This sacrifice is provided by thy
wisdom and grace, and appointed by thy authority, who
hast a right to settle the terms of forgiveness; and there-
fore we may be sure this sacrifice is acceptable ; this atone-
ment is sufficient. This method of salvation is thy con-
trivance and establishment, and therefore valid and firm.
Here, my brethren, is a sure foundation; here, and no-
where else. Can you produce a divine warrant for
depending on your own righteousness, or anything else ?
No ; but this offering for sin is of divine appointment, and
therefore you may safely venture your eternal all upon it.
" Come, ye afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not com-
forted ;" come, build upon this rock, and you shall never
fall.

Or the words may be rendered, " When his soul shall
make an offering for sin."* And in this sense it is signi-
fied that this was Christ's own voluntary act. He con-
sented to the arduous undertaking ; he consented to be our
substitute, and offered himself a sacrifice for us. He was
under no previous constraint ; subject to no compulsion.
This he tells us himself: "No man taketh my life from
me; but I lay it down of myself:" John x. 18. Thus it
was his own free choice; and this consideration prodi-
giously enhances his love. A forced favour is but a small
favour. But Jesus willingly laid down his life when he
had power to keep it. He voluntarily ascended the cross,

* The reason of this ambiguity, is, that the original word is the second
person masculine, and the third person feminine. If taken in the mascu-
line gender, it must be applied to God the Father ; if in the feminine, to
the soul of Christ, which is also feminine.

14 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST,

when he might have still continued on the throne. He
was absolute Lord and proprietor of himself, under no
obligations to any, till he assumed them by his own con-
sent. When martyrs have died in the cause of righteous-
ness, they did but what was their previous, duty; their
lives were not theirs, but his who gave them, his to whom
they devoted them; and they had no right to them when
he demanded them ; nor were they able to protect them
against the power of their enemies. But Jesus resigned
what was his own absolute property ; and he resigned his
life when it was in his power to have retained it. All the
united forces of earth and hell could not have touched his
life had not he consented. As with one word he spoke
them into being, so with a word he could have blasted all
their powers, or remanded them into nothing, as he found
them. Of this he gave a specimen, when by saying I am
he, (John xviii. 6,) I am the despised Nazarene whom ye
are seeking, he struck an armed company down to the
earth ; and he could as easily have chained them there,
and never suffered them to rise more. Here was love
indeed, that he should offer himself a voluntary, self-de-
voted sacrifice ! and if he made his soul an offering for sin
when he was not obliged to it, will not you voluntarily
love and serve him, when you are obliged to it ; obliged
by all the ties of authority and gratitude, of duty and inter-
est ? Let me bring home this overture to your hearts :
will you, of your own choice, devote yourselves to his
service, who consented to devote himself a victim for your
sins ? Are you willing to live to him, when you are
bound to do it ; to him who died for you, when he was
not bound to do it ? You have the easier task of the two :
to live a life of holiness, and to die upon a cross, are very
different things ; and will you not do thus much for him ?
Could there be such a thing as a work of supererogation,

AND THEIR CONSEQUENT BLESSINGS. 15

or an overplus of obedience, methinks this overplus of love
might constrain you to it; and will you not so much as
honestly attempt that which you are bound to by the most
strong and endearing obligations 1 If you reject this pro-
posal, make no pretensions to gratitude, a regard to the
most sacred and rightful authority, or any noble disposi-
tion. You are sunk into the most sordid and aggravated
degree of wickedness, and every generous and pious pas-
sion is extinct within you.

Now, what shall be the consequence, what the reward
of all these sufferings of Christ? Shall he endure all
this in vain 1 Shall he receive no compensation ? Yes ;
for,

2. My text tells you he shall prolong his days. The
self-devoted victim shall have a glorious resurrection. His
days were cut off in the midst; but he rose again, and
shall enjoy an endless length of happy and glorious days.
That he was once dead he was not ashamed to own, when
he appeared in a form of so much majesty to John.
" Fear not," says he, " I am the first and the last ; I am
he that liveth, and was dead ; and behold I am alive for
evermore;" Rev. i. 17, 18. The man that hung on Cal-
vary, and lay dead in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea,
where is he now ? Oh ! he has burst the bonds of death,
triumphed over the grave, and enjoys an immortal life.
And this immortal life he spends in a station of the most
exalted dignity and perfect happiness for ever. See !
Jesus, " who was made a little lower than the angels for
the sufferings of death, crowned with glory and honour;"
Heb. ii. 9. Because "he humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name
which is above every name ; that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, and every tongue confess :" Phil. ii. 8-

16 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST,

11. It was for this end that " Christ both died, and rose,
and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and
living :" Rom. xiv. 9. By his death he acquired universal
government, and has the keys of the vast invisible world,
and of death that leads into it; Rev. i. 18. This was a
great part of that joy which was set before him, for the
sake of which he endured the cross, despising the shame ;
Heb. xii. 2.'

And is the poor, despised, insulted, crucified Jesus thus
exalted ? Then I proclaim, like the herald before Joseph,
when advanced to be prime minister to Pharaoh, Bow the
knee ! submit to him, ye sons of men. He has bought
you with his blood, and has a right to your subjection ;
therefore yield yourselves to him. This day become his
willing subjects, and swear allegiance to him at his table.
To him let every knee bow in this assembly, and every
tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. And do you now feel
your hearts begin to yield ? Are your souls in the pos-
ture of humble homage ? Are you ready to say, " Lord
Jesus, reign over this soul of mine ; see, I resign it as the.
willing captive of thy cross ?" Or will you stand it out
against him ? Shall your hearts and practices, as it were,
send a message after him, now when he is advanced to his
heavenly throne, " We will not have this man to reign
over us ?" Then I proclaim you rebels, wilful, inexcusable
rebels against the supreme, the most rightful, and the most
gracious government of Christ ; and if you continue such,

* This sentence, " He shall prolong his days," is otherwise translated by
some, and applied, not to Christ, but to his seed : " He shall see his seed,
•who shall prolong their days ;" or, "He shall see a long-lived seed," or,
" a long succession of posterity." So the seventy. — This translation gives a
stricter connection and -uniformity to the words with the preceding and
following sentences. And in this sense it is undoubtedly true ; for Jesus
has always had, and ever will have, some spiritual children on our guilty
globe ; and neither earth nor hell shall ever be able to extinguish the sacrtd
race

AND THEIR CONSEQUENT BLESSINGS. 17

you must perish for ever by the sword of his justice, with-
out a possibility of escaping. You cannot rebel against
the crucified Jesus with impunity, for he is not now dying
on the cross, or lying senseless in the grave. He lives !
he lives to avenge the affront. He lives for ever, to punish
you for ever. He shall prolong his days to prolong your
torment. Therefore, you have no alternative, but to sub-
mit to him or perish.

I may also propose the immortality and exaltation of
Christ to you, as an encouragement to desponding souls.
So the apostle uses it, " He is able to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever
liveth." Heb. vii. 25. In trusting your souls to him, you
do not commit them to a dead Saviour. It is true, he
was once dead, above 1700 years ago; but now he is
alive ; and behold he liveth for evermore. He lives to
communicate his Spirit for your sanctification ; he lives to
look after you in your pilgrimage through this wilderness ;
he lives to send down supplies to you according to your
exigencies; he lives to make perpetual intercession for
you (which is the thing the apostle had in view), to plead
your cause, to urge your claims founded on his blood, and
to solicit blessings for you. He lives for ever to make
you happy for ever. And will you not venture to trust
your souls in his hand ? you may safely do it without fear.
He has power and authority to protect you, being the
Supreme Being, Lord of all, and having all things sub-
jected to him ; and consequently, nothing can hurt you
if he undertakes to be your guard. Ye trembling weak-
lings, would it not be better for you to fly to him for
refuge than to stand on your own footing, afraid of falling
every hour 1 He can, he will support you, if you lean
upon him.

And does not he appear to you as an object of love in

VOL. II.— 3

18 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST,

his exalted state? He is all-glorious, and deserves your
love; and he is all benevolence and mercy, and therefore
self-interest, one would think, would induce you to love
him; for to what end is he exalted? Isaiah will tell you,
" He is exalted, that he may have mercy upon you." Isa.
xxx. 18. He has placed himself upon his throne, as upon
an eminence, may I so speak, that he may more advan-
tageously scatter blessings among the needy crowd beneath
him, that look up to him with eager wishful eyes, like the
lame beggar on Peter and John, expecting to receive
something from them. And shall not such grace and
bounty, in one so highly advanced above you, excite your
love? Certainly it must, unless that the principle of grati-
tude be lost in your breasts.

Finally, May I not propose the exaltation and immor-
tality of the Lord Jesus, as an object of congratulation
to you that are his friends? Friends naturally rejoice in
the honours conferred upon one another, and mutually
congratulate each other's success. And will not you that
love Jesus rejoice with him, that he is not now where he
once was; not hanging on a painful and ignominious cross,
but seated on a glorious throne; not insulted by the rabble,
but adored by all the heavenly armies; not pierced with a
crown of thorns, but adorned with a crown of unfading
glory ; not oppressed under loads of sufferings, but exult-
ing in the fulness of everlasting joys ? Must you not re-
joice that his sufferings for you had so happy an issue with
regard to himself? Oh ! can you be sunk in sorrow while
your Head is exalted to so much glory and happiness, and
that as a reward for the shame and pain he endured for
you ? Methinks a generous sympathy should affect all his
members ; and if you have no reason to rejoice on your
own account, yet rejoice for your Head; share in the joys
of your Lord.

AND THEIR CONSEQUENT BLESSINGS. 19

Thus you see Jesus Christ has obtained the richest re-
ward in his own person. But is this all ? Shall his suf-
ferings have no happy consequences with regard to others ;
in which he may rejoice as well as for himself? Yes, for,

3. My text tells you, that he shall see his seed. He
shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied ;
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
What an emphatical variety of expressions are here to
signify the pleasure which Christ takes in observing the
happy fruits of his death, in the salvation of many of the
ruined sons of men !

He shall see his seed. By his seed are meant the chil-
dren of his grace, his followers, the sincere professors of
his religion. The disciples or followers of a noted person,
for example, a prophet or philosopher, are seldom denom-
inated his seed or children. These words are parallel to
those spoken by himself, in the near prospect of his suffer-
ings ; " Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of
wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone : but
if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." John xii. 24. So
unless Jesus had fallen to the ground and died, he would
have abode alone; he would have possessed his native
heaven in solitude, as to any of the sons of Adam; but
now by his dying, and lying entombed in the ground, he
has produced a large increase. One dying Christ has
produced thousands, millions of Christians. His blood
was prolific ; it was indeed " the seed of the church."*
And, blessed be God, its prolific virtue is not yet failed.
His spiritual seed have been growing up from age to age,
and oh the delightful thought ! they have sprung up in
this barren soil, though, alas! they too often appear thin

* It was a proverb in the primitive times, that "the blood of the mar-
tyrs was the seed of the church ;" but never could it be applied with so
much propriety as to the blood of Christ.

20 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST,

and withering. These tender plants of righteousness have
sprung up in some of your families ; and I trust, a goodly
number of them are here in the courts of the Lord to-day.
If you search after the root, you will find it rises from the
blood of Jesus; and it is his blood that gives it nourish-
ment. Jesus came into our world, and shed the blood of
his heart on the ground, that it might produce a crop of
souls for the harvest of eternal glory ; and without this,
we could no more expect it than wheat without seed or
moisture. A part of this seed is now ripened and gathered
into the granary of heaven, like a shock of corn come in
his season. Another part is still in this unfriendly climate
suffering the extremities of winter, covered with snow,
nipt with frost, languishing in drought, and trodden under
foot. Such are you, the plants of righteousness, that now
hear me. But you are ripening apace, and your harvest
is just at hand. Therefore, bear up under the severities
of winter ; for that coldness of heart, that drought for want
of divine influences, those storms of temptations, and those
oppressions that now tread you down, will ere long be
over. Oh! when shall we see this heavenly seed spring
up in this place, in a more extensive and promising de-
gree? When you travel through the country, in this
temperate season, with which God has blessed our country
that was parched and languishing last year, how agreeable
is the survey of wide, extensive fields, promising plenteous
crops of various kinds ! And oh ! shall we not have a fruit-
ful season of spiritual seed among us ! May I accommo-
date the words of Jesus to this assembly, " Lift up your
eyes, and look on the fields ; for they are white already to
harvest ?" John iv. 35. Oh ! is the happy season come,
when we shall see a large crop of converts in this place ?
Then welcome, thou long-expected season ! But alas ! is
not this a flattering hope? Is it not, on the other hand, a

AND THEIR CONSEQUENT BLESSINGS. 21

barren season with us ? Is not the harvest past and the
summer over, while so many are not saved? Oh! the
melancholy thought ! If it has been so with us for some
time, oh let us endeavour to make this a fruitful day!

We may perhaps more naturally understand this meta-
phor as taken, not from the seed of vegetables, but that of
man ; and so it signifies a posterity, which is often called
seed. This only gives us another view of the same case.
Spiritual children are rising up to Christ from age to age,
from country to country; and blessed be his name, the
succession is not yet at an end, but will run on as long
as the sun endureth. Spiritual children are daily begot-
ten by his word in one part of the world or other; and
even of this place it may be said, " that this and that man
was born here." And are there none among you now
that feel the pangs of the new birth, and are about to be
added to the number of his children 1 Oh that many may
be born to him this day ! Oh that this day we may feel
the prolific virtue of that blood which was shed above
1700 years ago !

He shall see his seed. It is a comfort to a dying man to
see a numerous offspring to keep up his name, and inherit
his estate. This comfort Jesus had in all the calamities
of his life, and in all the agonies of death ; and this ani-
mated him to endure all with patience. He saw some of
his spiritual children weeping around him while hanging
on the cross. He looked forward to the end of time, and
saw a numerous offspring rising up from age to age to
call him blessed, to bear up his name in the world, and to
share in his heavenly inheritance. And oh ! may we not
indulge the pleasing hope, that from his cross he cast a
look towards Hanover in the ends of the earth : and that
in his last agonies he was revived with this reflection ; " I
see I shall not die in vain : I see my seed dispersed over

22 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST,

the world, and reaching the wilds of America? I foresee
that a number of them, towards the end of the world, will
meet in Hanover, gratefully to commemorate the suffer-
ings I am now enduring, and devote themselves to me for
ever." O my brethren ! will you not afford the blessed
Jesus this pleasure ? It is but little, very little, for all the
tortures he bore for you : your sins have given him many
a wound, many a pang, and will you not now grant him
this satisfaction ? But the cross is not the only place from
whence he takes a view of his spiritual seed. He is now
exalted to his throne in the highest heavens ; and from
thence he takes a wide survey of the universe. He looks
down upon our world : he beholds kings in their grandeur,
victorious generals with all their power, nobles and great
men in all their pomp ; but these are not the objects that best
please his eyes. " He sees his seed ;" he sees one here,
and another there, bought with his blood, and born of his
Spirit; and this is the most delightful sight our world
can afford him. Some of them may be oppressed with
poverty, covered with rags, or ghastly with famine ; they
may make no great figure in mortal eyes ; but he loves to
look at them, he esteems them as his children, and the
fruits of his dying pangs. And let me tell you his eyes
are upon this assembly to-day ; and if there be one of his
spiritual seed among us, he can distinguish them in the
crowd. He sees you drinking in his words with eager
ears ; he sees you at his table commemorating his love ;
he sees your hearts breaking with penitential sorrows, and
melting at his cross. And oh ! should we not all be soli-
citous that we be of that happy number on whom his eyes
are thus graciously fixed ?

But these are not the only children whom he delights
to view; they are not all in such an abject, imperfect state.
No, he sees a glorious company of them around his throne

AND THEIR CONSEQUENT BLESSINGS. 23

in heaven, arrived to maturity, enjoying their inheritance,
and resembling their divine Parent. How does his benev-
olent heart rejoice to look over the immense plains of
heaven, and see them all peopled with his seed ! When
he takes a view of this numerous offspring, sprung from
his blood, and when he looks down to our world, and we
hope to this place among others, and sees so many infants
in grace, gradually advancing to their adult age ; when he
sees some, perhaps every hour since he died upon Cal-
vary, entering the gates of heaven, having finished their
course of education upon earth ; I say, when this prospect
appears to him on every hand, how does he rejoice ! Now
the prophecy in my text is fulfilled. He shall see of the
travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. If you put the
sentiments of his benevolent heart into language, methinks
it is to this purpose, " It is enough ; since my death has
been so fruitful of such a glorious posterity, I am sat-
isfied. If sinners will submit to me, that I may save them,
if they will but suffer me to make them happy, I desire no
other reward for all my agonies for them. If this end be
but answered, I do not at all repent of my hanging on the
tree for them." O sirs, must not your heart melt away
within you, to hear such language as this ? See the
strength of the love of Jesus ? if you be but saved, he
does not grudge his blood and life for you. Your salva-
tion would make amends for all. He asks no other
reward from you than that you will become his spiritual
seed, and behave as children towards him. This he would
count the greatest joy ; a joy more than equivalent to all
the pains he endured for you. And oh ! my brethren,
will you not afford him this joy to-day ? This is a point
I have much at heart, and therefore I must urge it upon
you; nay, I can take no denial in it. Jesus has done and
suffered a great deal for you ; and has gratitude never con-

24

strained you to inquire how you can oblige him 1 or what
you shall do for him in return ? If this be your inquiry,
you have an answer immediately; devote yourselves to
his service, love and obey him as his dutiful children, that
he may save you. If you would oblige him, if you would
give him full satisfaction for all the sorrows you have
caused him, do this; do this or nothing; for nothing else
can please him. Suppose he should this day appear to
you in that form, in which he once was seen by mortals,
sweating great drops of blood, accused, insulted, bruised,
scourged, racked upon the cross ; and suppose he should
turn to you with a countenance full of love and pity, and
drenched with blood and tears, and address you in such
moving language as this : " See ! sinners, see what I suf-
fer for you : see at what a dear rate I purchase your life ;
see how I love you. And now I have only this to ask of
you in return, that you would forsake those murderous
sins which thus torment me; that you would love and
serve me ; and accept of that salvation which I am now
purchasing for you with the blood of my heart; this I ask
with all the importunity of my last breath, of bleeding
wounds, and expiring groans. Grant me but this, and I
am satisfied ; I shall think all my sufferings well bestowed."
I say, suppose he should address you thus in person, what
answer would he receive from this assembly ? Oh ! would
you not all cry out with one voice, " Lord Jesus, thou
hast overcome us with thy love : here we consent to thy
request. Prescribe anything, and we will obey. Nothing
can be a sufficient compensation for such dying love."
Well, my brethren, though Jesus be not here in person,
yet he makes the same request to you by the preaching of
the gospel, he makes the same request by the significant
representation of his sufferings, just about to be given by
sacramental signs; and therefore make the same answer

AND THEIR CONSEQUENT BLESSINGS. 2o

now, which you would to himself in person. He has had
much grief from Hanover ere now : many sins committed
here lay heavy upon him, and bruised and wounded him;
and oh ! will you not afford him joy this day? Will you
not give him the satisfaction he desires ? His eyes are
now running through this assembly, and shall he not see
of the travail of his soul 1 Shall he not see the happy
fruits of his death? There is joy in heaven at the con-
version of one sinner, and Jesus has a principal share in
the joy. And will you endeavour to rob him of it? If
you reject his proposal, the language of your conduct is,
" He shall have no cause of joy, as far as I can hinder it ;
he shall, however, have none from me; all his sufferings
shall be in vain, as far as I can render them so." And
are you not shocked at such blasphemy and base ingrati-
tude ? The happiness of his exalted state consists, in a
great degree, in the pleasure of seeing the designs of his
death accomplished in the conversion and salvation of sin-
ners ; and therefore, by denying him this, you attempt to
degrade him, to rob him of his happiness, and to make him
once more a man of sorrows. And can you venture
upon such impiety and ingratitude ? I tell you, sirs, it
will not do to profess his name, to compliment him with
the formalities of religion, and to be Christians in pretence,
while you do not depart from iniquity, and while your
hearts are not fired with his love. He takes no pleasure
in seeing such spurious seed, that have no resemblance to
their pretended Father ; but he will disown them at last,
as he did the Jews, and tell them, Ye are of your father,
the devil, whose deeds ye do. John viii. 44. The thing in
which he would rejoice, and which I am inculcating upon
you, is, that as penitent, helpless sinners, you will cast
yourselves entirely upon the merit of his atonement, de-
vote yourselves to his service, and submit to him as your
VOL. II.— 4

26 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST,

Lord ; that is, that you would become true, genuine, sin-
cere Christians. This, and nothing short of this, would
afford him pleasure ; and can you refuse it to him ; espe-
cially when it will afford the greatest pleasure to your-
selves 1 Permit me, my dear brethren, to insist upon it,
that you rejoice the heart of the blessed Jesus to-day. I
request you in his name and stead ; and to which of you
shall I make the request with success ? Will you, the
free-born descendents of Britons, gratify him in this 1 Or,
if you refuse, Behold I turn to the Gentiles. Some of
you, poor negroes, have, I hope, rejoiced the heart of
Christ, by submitting to him as your Saviour ; and are
there no more among you that will do him this kindness 1
Oh! can any of you bear the thought of refusing? He
bore the black crimes of many a poor negro; and now he
is looking upon you, to see what return you will make
him. Come, then, ye that are at once slaves to men, and
slaves to sin, \etthe Son make you free, and you shall be free
indeed ; he will deliver you from sin and Satan, the worst
of masters, and bring you into the glorious liberty of his
children.

Here I would, for a while, drop my address to the
noble principle of gratitude, and endeavour to work upon
that of self-love, which, though less noble, is more strong
in degenerate creatures. In affording Christ this pleasure,
you will afford the greatest pleasure to yourselves ; for it
is your happiness, your salvation, that he rejoices in, and
therefore, in grieving him, you ruin yourselves. Accept
of him as your Saviour and Lord, and you shall be happy
for ever ; but if you reject him, you are for ever undone ;
he will not save you, and where will you look for a
Saviour 1 To which of the saints, to which of the angels,
will you turn ? Alas ! they all will cast you off if Christ
renounces you. If you will not suffer him to rejoice over

AND THEIR CONSEQUENT BLESSINGS. 27

you in doing you good, he will rejoice over you in doing
you evil ; he will glorify himself in your destruction ; he
will please himself in the execution of justice upon you.
The flames of hell will burn dreadfully bright to reflect
the splendours of his perfections. But, on the other hand,
if you afford him joy at your conversion this day, he will
reward you for ever ; he will reward you with all the un-
speakable joys of heaven.

Here, then, is a twofold cord to draw you to Jesus
Christ, the love of Christ and the love of yourselves;
and one would think such a cord could not easily be
broken. Can any of you resist the united force of grati-
tude and self-interest 1 Are you so unnatural as to sin
against Christ, and against your own life ; to ruin your-
selves rather than to oblige him? Who would think that
the once noble nature of man should ever be capable of
such a degree of degeneracy ? And oh ! who would
have thought that the Son of God would lay down his
life, or even entertain one benevolent thought for such
base ungrateful creatures, that care so little for him, or
even for their own true interest ? I must bring this mat-
ter to a short issue ; and it is this ; you must either afford
Christ this generous pleasure, by receiving and submitting
to him this day, or you will return home under the addi-
tional guilt of rejecting him, and doing all you could to
reduce him into misery again ; and if you continue such,
which, alas ! is not improbable, you must feel his eternal
resentments, and perish for ever under the weight of his
righteous vengeance. Let us now proceed to another
part of the text.

The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. It
is the pleasure of the Lord that sinners should be saved
through the mediation of Jesus Christ; I say, through
the mediation of Jesus Christ; for he is determined they

28 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST,

shall not be saved in any other way; he is determined
that those who refuse to be saved in this way, shall not
be saved at all; because their salvation in any other way
would not be consistent with the glory of his perfections,
the honour of his government, and his character as the
supreme Magistrate of the universe ; and his honour and
glory are of more importance than the happiness of all
created worlds ; and therefore their happiness cannot be
obtained in any way inconsistent with it. But through
the mediation of Christ sinners may be saved, and in the
meantime the honour of the divine perfections and govern-
ment secured, and even illustrated. He has made atone-
ment for sin, and answered the demands of the divine law
and justice ; so that God can now be just, and yet justify
him that believeth in Jesus. Hence God is in Christ ;
observe, in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. 2 Cor.
v. 19. His heart is set on it; and the success of this
scheme affords him the greatest pleasure. It is not only
your interest, but your duty to be saved. It is as much
your duty to enter into heaven, as to pray, or to perform
any other part of religion. And your destruction will not
only be your righteous punishment, but your sin; the
most criminal self-murder. God has been pleased to in-
terpose his authority, to give greater force to the principle
of self-love. Your interest has this additional recom-
mendation, that it is your duty ; and you sin against God
in ruining yourselves. Here again my subject leads me to
address myself to the united principles of gratitude and
self-love. Will you not afford the Lord that made you
this benevolent pleasure 1 Will you not gratify him in
this, when it is your happiness he seeks? Has neither the
pleasure of God nor your own immortal interest any
weight with you 1 Is sin dearer to you than both ? Alas !
if you are not to be wrought upon by considerations drawn

AND THEIR CONSEQUENT BLESSINGS. 29

from the love of God, or love to yourselves, from grati-
tude or self-interest, from what topic shall I reason with
you ? If this be the case, you are no longer to be dealt
with as reasonable creatures, but as natural brute beasts,
made to be taken and destroyed.

This work of saving sinners, God has entrusted to
Jesus Christ : and he has chosen a very proper person for
so grand and difficult an undertaking. The pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in his hand, or under his manage-
ment. He knows how to carry on the scheme to the
best advantage. The work has been going on from
Adam to this day, in spite of all opposition ; and it is not
now at a stand. Oh that it may prosper among you, my
dear people! Oh that the sacred Trinity, and all the
angels on high, may look down with pleasure this day on
this guilty spot, rejoicing to see the grand scheme of
salvation successfully going on ! My brethren, will you
not fall in with the design ? A design so favourable to
yourselves. Will you not all concur to promote it, and
carry it into execution upon a child, a friend, a neighbour,
and especially upon yourselves? Or will you set your-
selves against the Lord, and against his Anointed, by re-

7 J

fusing to fall in with this scheme ? Will you join in the
conspiracy against it with the malevolent powers of hell,
who oppose it with all their might, because it tends to
your salvation ? You readily concur in any scheme for
your temporal advantage, and why not in this 1 Is the
happiness of heaven the only kind of happiness that you
are careless about? Is the salvation of your immortal
soul the only deliverance for which you have no de-
sire ? Alas ! are you become so stupidly wicked ?

This subject affords strong consolation to such of you
as have complied with the method of salvation through
Christ, since the salvation of sinners in this way is the

30 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST,

pleasure of the Lord; and since it is entrusted to the faith-
ful and skillful hands of Christ, under whose management
it will prosper, you may be sure his pleasure will be ac-
complished with respect to you, and that the divine scheme
shall be carried into complete execution, in spite of all op-
position. Therefore rejoice in your security, and bless
his name to whom you owe it.

I shall conclude with a few advices adapted to this
solemn sacramental occasion.

The table of the Lord is just about to be spread among
us. This is another instance of the grace and benevolence
of Christ; for to remember him, who is the design of this
ordinance, is not only your duty, but your privilege and
happiness. The remembrance of him has virtue in it to
refresh your souls, to heal your wounded consciences, and
to revive your languishing graces. Hence it is that this
ordinance is not only a memorial of Christ, but a feast for
your refreshment and support; and consequently his
making it a standing ordinance in his church is a standing
evidence of his good-will to his people to the end of the
world. It is true it is an institution little regarded, even
in the Christian world : to many the table of the Lord is
contemptible, for they stand by and gaze at it as uncon-
cerned or curious spectators. But this does not depreciate
it, nor is it a reason why you should desert it. Come, ye
children, crowd round your Father's table to-day. Let
Jesus see his seed feasting together in commemoration of
him, and in mutual love with one another. Let him now
see of the travail of his soul, the children with whom he
• travailed as in birth ; let him now see a goodly company
of them around his table, that he may be satisfied. Let
me remind you that you have caused him many a heavy
hour and much pain and sorrow; therefore let him in
return have pleasure and satisfaction from you this day.

AND THEIR CONSEQUENT BLESSINGS. . 31

Oh ! rejoice the heart you have often broken, and let there
be joy in heaven over you. Let the angels that are min-
istering to the saints, and that are no doubt hovering un-
seen over this assembly, viewing those humble memorials
of that Saviour whom they behold without a veil in his
native heaven, let tfiem carry up glad tidings to their Lord
this evening, and tune their harps above to higher strains
of joy and praise. And oh ! that the lost sheep would this
day return, that their kind Shepherd may rejoice over
them : he came from heaven in search of you, and will you
keep out of his way and fear falling into his hands ? Let
wandering prodigals return, that there may be joy in your
Father's house, whose arms are stretched out to embrace
you, and who is looking after you with eager eyes. Oh
let the pleasure of the Lord prosper among us this day,
and it will be a day gratefully to be remembered to all
eternity.

This ordinance is also a seal of the covenant of grace ;
therefore come to it this day to renew your contract with
your God and Saviour ; to take him for your God, and to
give up yourselves to him as his people, in an everlasting
covenant never to be forgotten. Make a sure covenant ;
call heaven and earth, God, angels and men, to be wit-
ness to it, and seal it with the memorials of your dying
Redeemer. You had need to make it firm, for much de-
pends upon it; and you have much to go through to per-
form the duties of the Christian life ; to conflict with pow-
erful temptations : to die ; to stand at the supreme tribunal ;
these are the things you are to go through ; and you can-
not pass through them with honour or safety, unless you
make sure of an interest in God, and give up your all into
his hands.

This institution is also intended to cultivate the com-
munion of the saints ; and therefore, as children, you are

32 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.

to sit down at the table of your common Father, with
hearts full of ardent love to mankind, and especially to the
household of faith. Let no angry or malicious passion
pollute this sacred feast ; but be all charity and benevolence
like that Redeemer whose death you celebrate.

Finally, You are now to renew your vows and obliga-
tions to be the Lord's, and to walk in his ways all the
days of your life. See that you enter into them with an
entire dependence upon his strength; and oh! remember
them afterwards, to carry them into execution. One
would think that all traitors would be for ever deterred
from sitting down at the Lord's table, by the shocking
example of Judas, the first hypocrite that profaned it.
And oh ! one would think that vows, made in so solemn a
posture, and with the emblems of Christ's body and blood
in your hands, would not soon be forgotten as trifles. It
is, methinks, an exploit of wickedness to be capable of this;
and none of you, I hope, are hardy enough to venture
upon it.

LIFE AND IMMORTALITY REVEALED IN THE GOSPEL. 33

SERMON XXVII.

LIFE AND IMMORTALITY REVEALED IN THE GOSPEL.

2 TIM. i. 10. — And hath brought life and immortality to
light through the gospel.*

So extensive have been the havoc and devastation
which death has made in the world for near six thousand
years, ever since it was first introduced by the sin of man,
that this earth has now become one vast grave-yard, or
burying-place for her sons. The many generations that
have followed upon each other, in so quick a succession
from Adam to this day, are now in the mansions under
ground. And there must we and all the present genera-
tion sleep ere long. Some make a sort of journey from
the wornb to the grave: they rise from nothing at the
creative fiat of the Almighty, and take an immediate flight
into the world of spirits, without an intermediate state of
probation. Like a bird on the wing, they perch on our
globe, rest a day, a month, or a year, and then fly off for
some other regions. It is evident, these were not formed
for the purposes of the present state, where they make so
short a stay; and yet we are sure they are not made in
vain by an all-wise Creator; and therefore we conclude
they are young immortals, that immediately ripen in the
world of spirits, and there enter upon scenes, for which it

* This Sermon was preached at the funeral of Mr. William Y. uille, and is
dated Sept. 1, 1756.
VOL. II.— 5

34 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY

was worth their while coming into existence. Others
spring up and bloom for a few years; but they fade away
like a flower, and are cut down. Others arrive at the
prime or meridian of human life; but in all their strength
and gaiety, and amid their hurries and schemes, and pro-
mising prospects, they are surprised by the arrest of death,
and laid stiff, senseless, and ghastly in the grave. A few
creep into their beds of dust under the burden of old age
and the gradual decays of nature. In short, the grave is
the place appointed for all living; the general rendezvous
of all the sons of Adam. There the prince and the
beggar, the conqueror and the slave, the giant and the in-
fant, the scheming politician and the simple peasant, the
wise and the fool, Heathens, Jews, Mahometans, and
Christians, all lie equally low, and mingle their dust with-
out distinction. Their beauty in all its charms putrefies
into stench and corruption, and feeds the vilest insects.
There the sturdy arm of youth lies torpid and benumbed,
unable to drive off the worms that crawl through their
frame, and riot upon their marrow. There lie our ances-
tors, our neighbours, our friends, our relatives, with whom
we once conversed, and who were united to our hearts by
strong and endearing ties; and there lies our friend, and
sprightly vigorous youth, whose death is the occasion of
this funeral solemnity. This earth is overspread with the
ruins of the human frame; it is a huge carnage, a vast
charnel-house, undermined and hollowed with the graves,
the last mansions of mortals.

And shall these ruins of time and death never be re-
paired? Is this the final state of human nature ? Are all
these millions of creatures, that were so curiously formed,
that could think, and will, and exercise the superior pow-
ers of reason, are they all utterly extinct, absorbed into the
yawning gulf of annihilation, and never again to emerge

REVEALED IN THE GOSPEL. 35

into life and activity? If this be the case, the expostula-
tion of the psalmist upon this supposition, seems unavoid-
able; LORD, wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?
Psalm Ixxxix. 47. It was not worth while to come into
being, if it must be resigned so soon. The powers of
reason were thrown away upon us, they were given only
for low purposes of the present life.

But my text revives us with heavenly light to scatter
this tremendous gloom. Jesus hath abolished death,
overthrown its empire, and delivered its captives; and
he hath brought life and immortality to light by the
gospel.

Life and immortality here seem to refer both to the soul
and the body, the two constituents of our person. As
applied to the body, life and immortality signify, that
though our bodies are dissolved at death, and return into
their native elements, yet they shall be formed anew with
vast improvements, and raised to an immortal existence;
so that they shall be as though death never had had any
power over them; and thus death shall be abolished, an-
nihilated, and all traces of the ruins it had made for ever
disappear, as though they had never been. It is in this
sense chiefly that the word Immortality or Incorruptibility*
is made use of in my text. But then the resurrection of
the body supposes the perpetual existence of the soul, for
whose sake it is raised : therefore life and immortality, as
referring to the soul, signify that it is immortal, in a strict
and proper sense; that is, that it cannot die at all, or be
dissolved like the body; but it lives in the agonies of the
dying animal; it lives after the dissolution of the animal
frame in a separate state; it lives at the resurrection to
re-animate the new formed body; and it lives for ever, like
its mortal parent, and shall never be dissolved nor annihi-

36 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY

lated. In this complex sense we may understand the im-
mortality of which my text speaks.

Now it is to the gospel that we owe the clear discovery
of immortality in both these senses. As for the resurrec-
tion of the dead, which confers a kind of immortality upon
our mortal bodies, it is altogether the discovery of divine
revelation. The light of nature could not so much as
give a hint of it to the most sagacious philosophers in the
heathen world. They did not hope for it as possible,
much less believe it as certain. And when, among other
important doctrines of pure revelation, it was first preached
to them by St. Paul, their pride could not bear the morti-
fication of being taught by a tent-maker what all their
studies had not been able to discover; and therefore
rejected it with scorn, and ridiculed it as a new-fangled
notion of the superstitious Jews. This seems to have
been an entire secret to all nations, (except the Jews,) till
the light of Christianity dawned upon the world. They
bade an eternal farewell to their bodies, when they dropped
them in the grave. They never expected to meet them
again in all the glorious improvements of a happy resur-
rection. But that divine revelation from whence we learn
our religion, opens to us a brighter prospect; it strengthens
our eyes to look forward through the glooms of death, and
behold the many that sleep in the dust awaking; "some
to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting con-
tempt:" Dan. xii. 2. It assures us, "that the hour is
coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear
the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth; they
that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damna-
tion :" John v. 28. Therefore, be it known unto thee, O
Death, thou king of terrors, that though we cannot now
resist thy power nor escape thy arrest, yet we do not

REVEALED IN THE GOSPEL. 67

surrender ourselves to thee as helpless, irredeemable
prisoners. We shall yet burst thy bonds, and obtain the
victory over thee. And when we commit the dust of our
friends or our own to thee, O grave! know, it is a trust
deposited in thy custody, to be faithfully kept till called
for by him who was once a prisoner in thy territories, but
regained his liberty, and triumphed over thee, and put that
song of victory into the mouths of all his followers, 0
death, where is thy sting ? 0 grave, where is thy victory ?
1 Cor. xv. 55.

As for the immortality of the soul, Christian philoso-
phers find it no difficulty to establish it upon the plain
principles of reason. Their arguments are such as these,
and I think they are conclusive : That the soul is an im-
material substance, and therefore cannot perish by dissolu-
tion, like the body; that the soul is a substance distinct
from the body, and therefore the dissolution of the body
has no more tendency to destroy the soul, than the break-
ing of a cage to destroy the bird enclosed in it ; that God
has implanted in the soul the innate desire of immortality ;
and that as the tendencies of nature in other instances and
in other creatures, are not in vain, this innate desire is an
indication that he intended it for an immortal duration ;
that, as God is the moral Governor of the rational world,
there must be rewards and punishments, and therefore
there must be a future state of retribution ; for we see
mankind are now under a promiscuous providence, and
generally are not dealt with according to their works ; and
if there be a future state of retribution, the soul must live
in a future state, otherwise it could not be the subject of
rewards and punishments. These and the like topics of
argument have been improved by the friends of immor-
tality, to prove that important doctrine beyond all reason-
able suspicion. And because these arguments from reason

38 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY

seem sufficient, some would conclude, that we are not at
all obliged to the Christian revelation in this respect. But
it should be considered, that those are not the arguments
of the populace, the bulk of mankind, but of a few philo-
sophic studious men. But as immortality is the preroga-
tive of all mankind, of the ignorant and illiterate, as well
as of the wise and learned, all mankind, of all ranks of
understanding, are equally concerned in the doctrine of
immortality; and therefore a common revelation was
necessary, which would teach the ploughman and mechanic,
as well as the philosopher, that he was formed for an im-
mortal existence, and consequently, that it is his grand
concern to fit himself for a happiness beyond the grave, as
lasting as his nature. Now, it is the gospel alone that
makes this important discovery plain and obvious to all.
It must also be considered, that men may be able to de-
monstrate a truth when the hint is but once given, which
they would never have discovered, nor perhaps suspected,
without that hint. So when the gospel of Christ has
brought immortality to light, our Christian philosophers
may support it with arguments from reason; but had they
been destitute of this additional light, they would have
been lost in perplexity and uncertainty, or at best have
been advanced to no farther than plausible or probable
conjectures. Persons may be assisted in their searches by
the light of revelation ; but, being accustomed to it, they
may mistake it for the light of their own reason; or they
may not be so honest and humble as to acknowledge the
assistance they have received. The surest way to know
what mere unassisted reason can do, is to inquire what it
has actually done in those sages of the heathen world who
had no other guide, and in whom it was carried to the
highest degree of improvement. Now we find, in fact,
that though some philosophers had plausibilities and pre-

REVEALED IN THE GOSPEL. 39

sumptions, that their souls should exist after the dissolution
of their bodies, yet that they rather supposed, or wished,
or thought it probable, than firmly believed it upon good
evidence. The Socrateses, the Platos, and the Ciceros of
Greece and Rome, after all their searches, were more per-
plexed on this point, than a plain common Christian of the
smallest intellectual improvements in our land of evangeli-
cal light. Whoever reads their writings upon this subject,
will find, when they draw their conclusion of the soul's
existence after death, it is often from extravagant and
chimerical premises; such as the pre-existence of human
souls, their successive transmigrations from body to body,
their being literally particles of the Deity, whom they
supposed to be the Anima Mundi, the universal soul of
the world, &c. All these premises want the support of
proper evidence; and some of them are directly subver-
sive of the proper notion of a future state, as a state of
rewards and punishments. Sometimes, indeed, they seem
to reason from better principles; but then they still hesi-
tate about the conclusion, and fluctuate between the pre-
sumptions for it and the objections against it. Socrates
was confessedly the brightest character in the heathen
world, and seemed to have the fairest claim of any among
them to the honour of a martyr for the cause of truth and
virtue ; and yet even he, when making his defence before
his judges, speaks in the language of uncertainty and per-
plexity. " Death," says he, " either reduces us to nothing
and entirely destroys all sense and consciousness or, as some
say, it conveys us from this world in to some other region."
Thus standing on the brink of eternity he was not
assured whether he was not about to leap into the hideous
gulf of annihilation, or to pass into some vital region re-
plete with inhabitants. When he was condemned, his last
words to the court were these: " It is time for us to part;

40 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY

I, that I may suffer death; and you, that you may enjoy
life; but which of us has the happier lot, is known only to
God." Poor honest Socrates! how happy hadst thou
been hadst thou but enjoyed one glimmering of that
heavenly light which multitudes among us despise ! My
brethren, let us be thankful for our superior advantages,
and let us prize and improve that precious gospel, which
gives us full information in this important point, and ren-
ders the meanest Christian wiser, in this respect, than
Socrates himself.

My present design is not to propose arguments for the
conviction of your judgments, which I hope you do not so
much need ; but I shall give you some idea of immortality,
in both the senses I have mentioned, and then improve it.

Let us first look through the wastes and glooms of death
and the grave to the glorious dreadful morning of the re-
surrection. At the all-alarming clangour of the last trum-
pet, Adam, and the sleeping millions of his posterity, start
into sudden life. " The hour is coming, in the which all
that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of
Man, and shall come forth ; they that have done good unto
the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the
resurrection of damnation." John v. 28.

Then, my brethren, your dust and mine shall be or-
ganized, and reanimated ; and " though after our skin
worms destroy these bodies, yet in our flesh shall we see
God." Job xix. 26. " Then this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality." 1 Cor.
xv. 53.

And may not the prospect alarm us, and set us upon
earnest preparation for these important scenes? Shall we
take so much care of our bodies in this mortpl state, where
after all our care, they must soon fall to dust, and become
the prey of worms ; and shall we take no care that they

REVEALED IX THE GOSPEL. 41

may have a happy and glorious resurrection 1 What does
it signify how they are fed or dressed, while they are only
fattening for worms, and the ornaments of dress may be
our winding sheet ? What does this signify, in comparison
with their doom at the great rising day, and their state
through eternity? My brethren, you must not let sin
reign in your mortal bodies now, that you should obey it in
the lusts thereof, if you would have them raised holy and
happy in that awful morning; but you must consecrate
your bodies, and keep them holy as the temples of the
Holy Ghost; and yield your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God. Can you flatter yourselves that
bodies polluted with filthy lusts and sensual gratifications
shall ever be admitted into the regions of perfect purity?
It would be an unnatural element to such depraved con-
stitutions. Shall those feet ever walk the crystal pave-
ment of the New Jerusalem, which have been accustomed
to run into the foul paths of sin? Shall those tongues
ever join the songs of heaven, which have been oftener
employed in swearing and imprecation, the language of
hell, than in prayer and praise ? Shall those ears ever be
charmed with celestial music, which have not listened with
pleasure and eagerness to the joyful sound of the gospel,
but were entertained with the song of drunkards, the loud
unthinking laugh, and the impure jest? Are those knees
likely to bow in delightful homage before the throne of
God and the Lamb on high, which have not been used to
the posture of the petitioners at the throne of grace on
earth ? Are those members likely to be the instruments
of a heavenly spirit, in the exercise of that blessed state,
which have not been " instruments of righteousness unto
holiness" in this state of trial and discipline? No, my
brethren, this is not at all probable, even to a superficial
inquirer; and to one that thinks deeply, and consults right

VOL. II.— 6

42 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY

reason and the sacred Scriptures, this appears utterly im-
possible. Therefore, take warning in time. Methinks
this consideration might have some weight, even with epi-
cures and sensualists, who consider themselves as mere
animals, and make it their only concern to provide for and
gratify the flesh. Unless you be religious now, unless you
now deny yourselves of your guilty pleasures, not only
your soul, that neglected, disregarded trifle, must perish,
but your body, your dear body, your only care, must be
wretched too ; your body must be hungry, thirsty, pained,
tortured, hideously deformed, a mere system of pain and
loathsomeness. But if you now keep your bodies pure
and serve God with them, and with your spirits too, they
will bloom for ever in the charms of celestial beauty; they
will flourish in immortal youth and vigour ! they will for
ever be the receptacles of the most exquisite sensations
of pleasure. And will you not deny yourselves the sordid
pleasures of a few years, for the sake of those of a blessed
immortality?

But let me give you a view of immortality of a more
noble kind, the proper immortality of the soul. And here,
what an extensive and illustrious prospect opens before us !
look a little way backward, and your sight is lost in the
darkness of non-existence. A few years ago you were
nothing. But at the creative fiat of the Almighty, that lit-
tle spark of being, the soul, was struck out of nothing ;
and now it warms your breast, and animates the machine
of flesh. But shall this glimmering spark, this divina par-
ticula aum, ever be extinguished ! No ; it will survive the
ruins of the universe, and blaze out into immortality : it
will be coeval with the angels, the natives of heaven, and
the Indigen®, the original inhabitants of the world of spi-
rits; nay, with the great Father of spirits himself. The
duration of your souls will run on from its first commence-

REVEALED IN THE GOSPEL. 43

ment, in parallel lines with the existence of the Deity.
What an inheritance is this entailed upon the child of
dust, the creature of yesterday ! Here let us pause, —
make a stand, — and take a survey of this majestic pros-
pect ! This body must soon moulder into dust, but the
soul will live unhurt, untouched, amid all the dissolving
struggles and convulsions of animal nature. " These hea-
vens shall pass away with a great noise; these elements
shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the things
that are therein, shall be burnt up," 2 Pet. iii. 10 ; but this
soul shall live secure of existence in the universal desola-
tion :

" Unhurt amidst the war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds." — A.DDISON.

And now, when the present system of things is dissolved,
and time shall be no more, eternity, boundless eternity,
succeeds; and on this the soul enters as on its proper
hereditary duration. Now look forward as far as you
will, your eyes meet with no obstruction, with nothing but
the immensity of the prospect : in that, indeed, it is lost,
as extending infinitely beyond its ken. Come, attempt
this arithmetic of infinites, and exhaust the power of num-
bers : let millions of millions of ages begin the vast com-
putation ; multiply these by the stars of heaven ; by the
particles of dust in this huge globe of earth ; by the drops
of water in all the vast oceans, rivers, lakes, and springs
that are spread over the globe; by all the thoughts that
have risen in so quick a succession in the minds of men
and angels, from their first creation to this day ; make this
computation, and then look forward through this long line
of duration, and contemplate your future selves. Still you
see yourselves in existence; still the same persons; still
endowed with the same consciousness, and the same capa-
cities for happiness or misery, but vastly enlarged ; as much

44 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY

superior to the present as the capacities of an adult to those
of a new-born infant, or an embryo in the womb. Still
will you bloom in immortal youth, and are as far from an
end as in the first moment of our existence. O sirs, me-
thinks it may startle us to view our future selves so changed,
so improved, removed into such different regions, associated
with such strange unacquainted beings, and fixed in such
different circumstances of glory or terror, of happiness or
misery.

Men of great projects and sanguine hopes are apt to sit
and pause, and take an imaginary survey of what they will
do, and what they will be in the progress of life. But then
death, like an apparition, starts up before them, and threat-
ens to cut them off in the midst of their pursuits. But
here no death threatens to extinguish your being or snap
the thread of your existence ; but it runs on in one con-
tinued everlasting tenor. What a vast inheritance is this,
unalienably entailed upon every child of Adam ! What
importance, what value, does this consideration give to
that neglected thing the soul ! What an awful being is it !
Immortality ! What emphasis, what grandeur in the sound !
Immortality is so vast an attribute, that it adds a kind of
infinity to any thing to which it is annexed, however insig-
nificant in other respects : and on the other hand, the want
of this would degrade the most exalted being into a trifle.
The highest angel, if the creature of a day, or of a thou-
sand years, what would he be ? A fading flower, a van-
ishing vapour, a flying shadow. When his day or his
thousand years are past, he is as truly nothing as if he had
never been. It is little matter what becomes of him : let
him stand or fall, let him be happy or miserable, it is just
the same in a little time; he is gone, and there is no more
of him,— no traces of him left. But an immortal ! a crea-
ture that shall never, never, never cease to be ! that shall

REVEALED IN THE GOSPEL. 45

expand his capacities of action, of pleasure, or pain, through
an everlasting duration ! what an awful, important being is
this ! And is my soul, this little spark of reason in my
breast, is that such a being? I tremble at myself. I re-
vere my own dignity, and am struck with a kind of pleas-
ing horror to view what I must be. And is there any
thing s*o worthy of the care of such a being, as the hap-
piness, the everlasting happiness, of my immortal part?
What is it to me, who am formed for an endless duration,
what I enjoy, or what I must suffer in this vanishing state?
Seventy or eighty years bear not the least imaginable pro-
portion to the duration of such a being ; they are too in-
considerable a point to be seen ; mere ciphers in the com-
putation ! They do not bear as much proportion as the
small dust that will not turn the balance, to this vast globe
of earth, and all the vaster globes that roll in their orbits
through the immense space of the universe.

And what shall become of me through this immortal
duration ? This, and this only, is the grand concern of
an immortal; and in comparison of it, it does not deserve
one thought what will become of me while in this vanish-
ing phantom of a world. For consider, your immortality
will not be a state of insensibility, without pleasure or
pain; you will not draw out an useless, inactive existence,
in an eternal stupor, or a dead sleep. But your souls will
be active as long as they exist ; and as I have repeatedly
observed, still retain all their capacities; nay, their capaci-
ties will perpetually enlarge with an eternal growth, and
for ever tower from glory to glory in heaven, or plunge
from depth to depth in hell. Here, then, my fellow-im-
mortals ! here pause and say to yourselves, " What is like
to become of my soul through this long space for ever ?
Is it likely to be happy or miserable ? What though you
are now rich, honourable, healthy, merry, and gay ! Alas !

46 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY

terrestrial enjoyments are not proper food for an immortal
soul ; and besides, they are not immortal, as your souls
are. If these are your portion, what will you do for hap-
piness millions of ages hence, when all these are fled away
like a vapour ? Are you provided with a happiness which
will last as long as your souls will live to crave it 1 Have
you an interest in God ? Are you prepared for the frui-
tion of the heavenly state? Do you delight in God above
all ? Have you a relish for the refined pleasures of reli-
gion ? Is the supreme good the principle object of your
desire ? Do you now accustom yourselves to the service
of God, the great employment of heaven ? and are you
preparing yourselves for the more exalted devotion of the
church on high, by a serious attendance on the humbler
forms of worship in the church on earth ? Are you made
pure in heart and life, that you may be prepared for the
regions of untainted holiness, to breathe in that pure sa-
lubrious air, and live in that climate, so warm with the
love of God, and so near the Sun of Righteousness 1 Do
not some of you know that this is not your prevailing cha-
racter ? And what then do you think will become of you
without a speedy alteration in your temper and conduct ?
Alas ! must your immortality, the grand prerogative of
your nature, become your eternal curse 1 Have you made
it your interest that you should be a brute 1 that is, that
you should perish entirely, and your whole being be ex-
tinguished in death ? Then it is no wonder you strive to
disbelieve the doctrine of a future state, and your own im-
mortality. But alas ! in vain is the strife. The principles
of atheism and infidelity may lull your consciences into a
stupid repose for a little while, but they cannot annihilate
you. They may lead you to live like beasts, but they
cannot enable you to die like beasts ; no, you must live,
live to suffer righteous punishment, whether you will or

REVEALED IN THE GOSPEL. 47

not. As you did not come into being by your own con-
sent, so neither can you lay down your being when you
please. And will you not labour to make your immor-
tality a blessing ? Is there any thing in this world that
can be a temptation to you to forfeit such an immense
blessing 1 Oh that you were wise ! that you would con-
sider this !

I shall now accommodate my subject to the present
melancholy occasion, and endeavour to make a particular
improvement of it.

Do you expect a character of our deceased friend?
This is not my usual practice; and I omit it, not because I
can see nothing amiable in mankind, nor because I would
enviously deny them their just praises, but because I have
things of much greater importance to engage your atten-
tion. The dead have received their just and unchange-
able doom at a superior tribunal ; and our panegyrics or
censures may be often misapplied. My business is with
the living; not to flatter their vanity with compliments, but
to awaken them to a sense of their own mortality, and to
a preparation for it. However, if you must have a cha-
racter, I will draw it to you in the most important and in-
teresting light. Here was a youth in the bloom of life,
in the prime of his strength, with a lively flow of spirits,
who seemed as secure from the stroke of death as any of
us ; a youth that had escaped many dangers by sea and
land; a youth launched into the world with, no doubt, the
usual projects and expectations of that sanguine age. But
where is he now 1 In yonder grave, alas ! lies the bloom-
ing, promising flower withered in the morning of life.
There lies the mortal body, mouldering into dust, and
feeding the worms. Come to his grave, ye young and
gay, ye lively and strong, ye men of business and hurry,
come and learn what now may, and shortly must, be your

48 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY

doom. Thus shall your limbs stiffen, your blood stagnate,

your faces wear the pale and ghastly aspect of death, and

your whole frame dissolve into dust and ashes. Thus

shall your purposes be broken off, your schemes vanish

like smoke, and all your hopes from this world perish.

Death perpetually lurks in ambush for you, ready every

moment to spring upon his prey. " Oh that death !"

(said a gentleman of large estate, strong constitution, and

cheerful temper,) " I do not love to think of that death ;

he comes in and spoils all." So he does indeed ; he spoils

all your thoughtless mirth, your idle amusements, and

your great schemes. Methinks it becomes you to prepare

for what you cannot avoid. Methinks, among your many

schemes and projects, you should form one to be religious.

You may make a poor shift to live without religion, but you

can make none to die without it. You may ridicule the

saint, but he really has the advantage of you. " Well,

after all," said a celebrated unbeliever, " these Christians

are the happiest people upon earth." Indeed they are ;

and if you are wise, you will labour to be of their number.

But was our departed friend nothing but an animal, a

mere machine of flesh ? Is the whole of him putrefying

in yonder grave ? No ; I must draw his character farther.

He was an immortal ; and no sooner did he resign his

O

breath, than his soul took wing, and made its flight into
the regions of spirits. There it now dwells. And what
amazing scenes now present themselves to his view ! what
strange, unknown beings does he now converse with!
There also, my brethren, you and I must ere long be.
We too must be initiated into those grand mysteries of
the invisible world, and mingle in this assembly of stran-
gers. We must share with angels in their bliss and glory,
or with devils in their agonies and terrors. And our
eternal doom shall be according to our present character,

REVEALED IN THE GOSPEL. 49

and the improvement we make of our opportunities for
preparation.

And do you, sirs, make it your main concern to secure
a happy immortality? Do you live as expectants of
eternity ? or do you live as though this world were to be
your eternal residence, and as if your bodies, not your
souls, were immortal ? Does your conscience approve of
such conduct ? Do you really think it is better for you,
upon the whole, to commence fashionably wicked, or per-
haps ringleaders in debauchery and infidelity, in a country
overrun with all manner of vice ? Is this better than to
retain the good impressions you might perhaps receive in
youth, and to act upon the model built for you in a reli-
gious education ? Which do you think you will approve
of in the hour of death, that honest hour, when things
begin to appear in a true light ? And of which, think ye,
will you be able to give the most comfortable account at
the supreme tribunal ? Brethren, form an impartial judg-
ment upon this comparison, and let it guide your conduct.
Behave as " strangers and pilgrims on earth, that have here
no continuing city;" behave as expectants of eternity, as
candidates for immortality; as "beholding him that is in-
visible, and looking for a city which has foundations,
eternal in the heavens." In that celestial city may we all
meet at last, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

VOL. II.— 7

50 JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

SERMON XXVIII.

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

ISAIAH xxviii. 16, 17.— Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foun-
dation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a
sure foundation : he that believeth shall not make haste.
Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness
to the plummet : and the hail shall sweep away the re-
fuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-
place*

THE context, like many other passages of the propheti-
cal scriptures, seems to have a double sense. The primary
sense may be thus represented. The judgments of God
were ready to break in upon and overwhelm the impeni-
tent nation of the Jews, like " a tempest of hail, and a
destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing,"*
and bearing all before it. (ver 2.) The prophet had re-
peatedly given them timely warning of these approaching
judgments ; but they still continued secure and impenitent,
and unapprehensive of danger. They flattered themselves
they had artifice enough to keep themselves safe. They
thought themselves impregnably intrenched and fortified
in their riches, their strongholds, and the sanctity of their
temple and nation. They might also think their arts of
negotiation would secure them from the invasion of the
neighbouring powers, particularly the Assyrians, to whom
they were not exposed. These were the lies which they
made their refuge, and the falsehood under which they hid

* This .-ermon is dated Hanover, February 13, 1757.

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUND^

. .g^SAN
themselves. These, they imagined,

would keep off the deluge of wrath,
come to them, much less overwhelm
as secure as if they had made " a covenant*
entered into an agreement with hell, or the gravSf^Sot to
hurt them. Therefore the prophet represents them as
saying, " We have made a covenant with death, and with
hell are we at agreement : when the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, it shall not come to us; for we have
made lies (that is what the prophet calls lies,) our refuge ;"
and under what he calls falsehoods have we hid ourselves,
(ver. 15.) It is in this connection my text is introduced ;
and it points out a solid ground of hope, in opposition to
the refuge of lies in which these sinners trusted ; as if he
had said, since the refuge to which you flee is not safe,
and since my people need another, Therefore, thus saith
the Lord, behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation, a stone,
a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation ;"
that is, " My promises, my providential care, the support-
ing influences of my grace, and the various means I shall
take for the comfort and safety of my people in this
national distress, shall as effectually bear them up, as a firm
foundation of stone does a building erected upon it. They
that build their hopes upon this foundation shall stand
unshaken amidst all the storms and tempests of the national
calamity, that may beat upon our guilty land." He that
believeth shall not make haste ; that is, " he that trusts in
this refuge shall not be struck into a distracted hurry and
consternation upon the sudden appearance of these cala-
mities. He shall not, like persons surprised with unex-
pected danger, fly in a wild haste to improper means for
his safety, and thus throw himself into destruction by
his ill-advised, precipitate attempts to keep out of it; but
he shall be calm and serene, and have presence of mind to

52 JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

take the most proper measures for his deliverance." Or
the meaning may be, " He that believeth shall not make
such haste to be delivered, as to fly to unlawful means for
that purpose ; but will patiently wait God's time to deliver
him in a lawful way." The prophet proceeds, " Judg-
ment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the
plummet;" that is, "God will try the Jews with strict
justice, as an architect examines a building with a line and
plummet. Such of them who have built their hopes upon
the foundation above described, shall stand firm and un-
shaken, whatever tempests fall upon them, like a regular
and stately building, founded upon a solid rock. But as
to others, they shall be overwhelmed in the public cala-
mity ! " the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies in
which they trusted; and the waters shall overflow the
hiding-place." And then your covenant with death shall
be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not
stand : " when the overflowing scourge shall pass through
then shall ye be trodden down by it." (ver. 18.)

This seems to be a primary sense of the context; and
thus, it is probable, the Jews understood it, who did not
enjoy that additional light which the gospel sheds upon it.
In this view it is very applicable to us, in the present state
of our country and nation, when the enemy is likely to
break in like a flood upon us. But I must add, that it is
very likely, that even in this primary sense of the context,
the text refers to Jesus Christ. There seems to be an
unnatural force put upon the words, when they are applied
to any other ; and the connection will admit of their appli-
cation to him, even in this sense, thus, " Since the refuge
of sinners is a refuge of lies, behold I will provide one that
will effectually secure all that fly to it from all the judg-
ments to which they are exposed," / lay in Zion, for a
foundation, a stone, a tried stone, &c. " I send my Son

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION. 53

into the world, as an Almighty Saviour; and all that put
themselves under his protection, and build their hopes upon
him, shall be so safe, that all the calamities of life shall not
do them a lasting injury ; and the vengeance of the eternal
world shall never fall upon them."

But whether we can find Christ in the primary sense
of these words or not, it is certain we shall find him in
their ultimate, principal sense. And we have the autho-
rity of an inspired apostle for this application. St. Peter
quotes this passage according to the LXX, with some im-
provements, and applies it expressly to Christ, " To whom
coming," says he, " as unto a living stone, disallowed in-
deed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as
lively stones, are built up a spiritual house. Wherefore,
also, it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion
a chief corner-stone, elect, precious ; and he that believeth
on him shall not be confounded." 1 Peter ii. 4, 6. Taking
the passage in this evangelical sense, the general meaning
is to this purpose : — The Lord Jesus is represented as a
tried, precious, and sure foundation, laid in Zion, that is, in
the church, for the sons of men to build their hopes upon.
His church thus built on him, is compared to a stately,
regular, and impregnable temple, consecrated to the service
of God, to offer up spiritual sacrifices ; and proof against
all the storms and tempests that may beat upon it. It shall
stand firm and immoveable through all eternity, for its
foundation is sure.

But, alas ! though Jesus Christ be the only foundation,
yet the sons of men are so full of themselves, that they
venture to build their hopes upon something else, and
promise themselves safety, though they reject this sure
foundation. They think themselves as secure as if they
had entered into a treaty with death and the grave, and
brought them over to their interest.

54 JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

But, lo ! the wrath of God will at last beat upon a guilty
world, like a storm of hail, or break in upon it like an
overwhelming torrent; then every soul that is not built
upon this rock must be swept away, and all the other
refuges and hiding-places shall be laid in ruins for
ever.

The great God will also strictly inquire who is founded
upon this rock, and who not. He will critically try the
temple of his church, like a workman, with line and plum-
met; he will discover all irregularities and useless appen-
dages. And in consequence of this examination, the
storms and torrents of divine indignation shall sweep away
and overwhelm all that are not built upon this foundation,
and that are not compacted into this building.

These remarks contain the general meaning of our text :
but it is necessary I should be more particular.

Brethren, our nature, our circumstances, and the im-
portant prospects before us, are such, that it is high
time for us to look about us for some sure foundation
upon which to build our happiness. The fabric must
endure long, for our souls will exist for ever ; and their
eagerness for happiness will continue vehement for ever.
The fabric must rise high, for the capacities of our souls
will perpetually expand and enlarge; and a low happi-
ness of a vulgar size will not be equal to them. The
fabric must be strong and impregnable, proof against all
the storms that may beat upon it; for many are the
storms that will rise upon us, upon our country, and
upon this guilty world in general. Losses, bereave-
ments, sicknesses, and a thousand calamities that I cannot
name, may yet try us. The enemy is now breaking
in like a flood upon our country, and we and our earthly
all are in danger of being overwhelmed. Death will cer-
tainly attack us all ; and that must be a strong building

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION. 55

indeed which the king of terrors will not be able to demo-
lish. Besides, when all the purposes of divine love in our
world shall be accomplished, an almighty tempest of divine
indignation shall break upon it, and sweep away all that it
contains ; and blend cities, kingdoms, plains and mountains,
seas and dry land, kings and beggars, in one vast heap of
promiscuous ruin. Or, to shift the metaphor according to
the emphatical variety in my text, the fiery deluge of
divine vengeance, which has been gathering and swelling
for thousands of years, but has been, as it were, restrained
and kept within bounds by divine patience, shall then rise
so high as to burst through all restraints, and overwhelm
the guilty globe, and turn it into an universal ocean of
liquid fire. This resistless torrent shall sweep away all
the refuges of lies, and them that trusted in them, into the
gulf of remediless destruction. We, my brethren, shall be
concerned in this universal catastrophe of nature; and
where shall we find a support to bear us up in this tre-
mendous day ? Where shall we find a rock to build upon,
that we may be able to stand the shock, and remain safe
and unmoved in the wreck of dissolving worlds? What
can support the fabric when this vast machine of nature,
formed with so much skill and strength by the hands of
a divine Architect, shall be broken up and fall to pieces ?
Now is the time for us to look out; it will be too late
when all created supports are swept away, and this solid
globe itself is dissolved beneath our feet into a sea of fire.
Now, now is the time for you to provide. And where
will you look ? whither will you turn 1 This earth, and
all its riches, honours, and pleasures, will prove . but a
quicksand in that day. Your friends and relations, were
they ever so great or powerful, can then afford you no
support. If they can but find refuge for themselves, that
will be all; therefore bethink yourselves once more; where

56 JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

shall you find a rock on which you may build a happiness
that will stand the shock in that day ?

If you are anxious and perplexed, I need only point
you to my text for relief. " Behold," says the Lord God,
" behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried
stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation ; he that
believeth shall not make haste." Let me expatiate a little
upon the properties of this foundation.

1. It is a stone ; a stone for solidity, stability, and dura-
bleness. " Every thing else," says the charming Hervey,*
"is sliding sand, is yielding air, is a breaking bubble.
Wealth will prove a vain shadow, honour an empty breath,
pleasure a delusory dream, our own righteousness a spider's
web. If on these we rely, disappointment must ensue,
and shame be inevitable. Nothing but Christ, nothing but
Christ, can stably support our spiritual interests, and real-
ize our expectations of the true happiness." And blessed
be God ! he is sufficient for this purpose. Is a stone firm
and solid? so is Jesus Christ. His power is almighty,
able to support the meanest of his people that build their
hope upon him, and render them proof against all the
attacks of earth and hell. His righteousness is infinitely
perfect, equal to the highest demands of the divine law,
and therefore a firm, immovable ground of trust. We
may safely venture the weight of our eternal all upon this
rock : it will stand for ever, without giving way under the
heaviest pressure; without being broken by the most
violent shock. Let thousands, let millions, with all the
mountainous weight of guilt upon them, build upon this
foundation, and they shall never be moved. Is a stone
durable and lasting? so is Jesus Christ; the same yester-
day, to-day, and for ever. His righteousness is an everlast-

* Theron and A^pasia, Vol. II. p. 361, &c.

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION. 57

ing righteousness, his strength an everlasting strength, and
himself the everlasting Father. He liveth for ever to
make intercession for his people, and therefore he is able
to save to the uttermost, to the uttermost point of dura-
tion, all that come unto God by him. Here is a stone
that can never moulder away by the waste of all-consum-
ing time. Parian marble, and even the flinty rocks decay ;
the firm foundations, the stately columns, the majestic build-
ings of Nineveh, Babylon, and Persepolis, and all the mag-
nificent structures of antiquity, though formed of the most
durable stone, and promising immortality, are now shat-
tered into ten thousand fragments, or lying in ruinous
heaps. But here is a foundation for immortal souls, im-
mortal as themselves; a foundation that now stands as
firm under Adam, Abel, and Abraham, as the first moment
they ventured their dependence upon it; a foundation that
will remain the same to all eternity. Therefore it deserves
the next character given to it, namely —

2. A tried stone. " Tried," says the same fine writer,
•' in the days of his humanity by all the vehemence of temp-
tations, and all the weight of afflictions; yet, like gold
from the furnace, rendered more shining and illustrious
by the fiery scrutiny." His obedience was tried; and it
appeared upon trial that it was perfect and universal.
His meekness was tried, by the abusive treatment he met
with from men. His patience and resignation to the divine
will was tried, when the bitter cup of the wrath of God
was put into his hand, and when the absence of his Father
extorted that bitter cry from him, My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me ? Matt, xxvii. 46. His love to his
Father, and his zeal for his honour, were tried, and they
were found an unquenchable flame, that glowed without
once languishing through the whole of his life. His love

to men — to sinners — to enemies, was tried : tried to the
VOL. II.— 8

58 JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

uttermost: it was put to the trial, whether his own life or
theirs was most dear to him ; whether he would rather
see his enemies perish by the sword of justice, or that him-
self should feel the agonies of a cross. This was a trial
indeed ; and you know how it issued. The severity of
the trial did but render his love to us the more illustrious.
In short, this stone was thoroughly tried by God and man,
and it still remained firm without a flaw.

Jesus has also been tried under the capacity of a
Saviour, by millions and millions of depraved, wretched,
ruined creatures, who have always found him perfectly
able, and as perfectly willing to expiate the most enormous
guilt; to deliver from the most inveterate corruptions; and
to save to the very uttermost all that come unto God through
him. Ten thousand times ten thousand have built their
hopes upon this stone, and it has never failed so much as
one of them. Manasseh and Paul; that had been bloody
persecutors, Mary Magdalen, that had been possessed of
seven devils, and thousands more that were sinners of the
most atrocious characters, have ventured upon this rock
with all their load of sin upon them, and found it able to
sustain them. This stone is the foundation of that living
temple, the church, which has been now building for near
six thousand years, and the top of which already reaches
the highest heaven. All the millions of saints from Adam
to this day, both those in heaven and those on earth, are
living stones built upon this foundation-stone; this sup-
ports the weight of all. And this trial may encourage all
others to build upon it ; for it appears sufficient to bear
them all.

But I must farther observe, that a new translation of
this sentence, still nearer to the original, will give a new
and important view of the sense of it. Instead of a tried
stone, it may be rendered, " a stone of trial ;" or, " a trying

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION. 59

stone ;" that is, this is the true touch-stone of men's charac-
ters. It is this that, above all other things, discovers what
they really are, whether good or bad men, whether heirs
of heaven or hell. Only propose Jesus Christ to them as
a Saviour, and according as they receive or reject him,
you may know their true character, and their everlasting
doom. If with eager hearts they spring forward and em-
brace him as a Saviour, they are true subjects to the
King of heaven ; they give the highest, the last, the most
decisive proof of their subjection to his authority. That
men should submit to Jesus Christ as a Saviour, is not a
single command of God, but it is the drift, the scope, the
substance of the whole law and gospel; it is the grand
capital precept; it is a kind of universal command that
runs through all the dispensations of heaven towards the
sons of men. And therefore, while men refuse to submit
to this command, they are guilty of a kind of universal
disobedience ; and it is in vain for them to pretend to have
a real regard to God and his authority in any one instance
whatsoever. If they obey God sincerely in falling in with
this command, they will obey him in everything ; but if
they will not obey him in this, they will truly obey him in
nothing. Hence it is that good works are the insepa-
rable fruits of faith in Christ, and that unbelief is the root
of all evil. Submission to Christ is also the most effectual
trial, whether the corrupt dispositions of the heart, whether
the innate enmity to God, pride, stubbornness, &c., be
thoroughly subdued. If a man is once made so dutiful,
so humble, so pliable, as to submit to this humbling, mor-
tifying method of salvation through Jesus Christ, it shows
that divine grace has got an entire victory over him, and
that now the rebel is so subdued that he will be obedient
in anything. There is nothing in the whole law or gospel
to which the hearts of sinners are so averse, as this

60 JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

method of salvation ; and therefore, when they are subdued
to this, and made willing captives of the cross of Christ,
we may be sure they have surrendered themselves to uni-
versal obedience.

This text has made strange discoveries in the world in
every age. This touch-stone has discovered many glitter-
ing virtues to be but dross. The pharisees and scribes
had a high character among the Jews for piety, till this
trying-stone was applied to them ; and then it appeared
what they were ; and then it appeared they were the most
inveterate enemies of God upon earth. These were the
builders that rejected this stone, and would not build upon
it. They rather chose to build upon the sandy foundation
of their own righteousness. Nay, instead of making him
the foundation of their hopes, they made him a stone of
stumbling, and a rock of offence, Rom. ix. 32, 33. 1 Pet.
ii. 8, and they stumbled and fell into destruction. Christ
crucified, says the apostle, is to the Jews a stumbling-block,
\ Cor. i. 23. This test made strange discoveries also in
the heathen world. Many of the sages of Greece and
Rome had a high reputation for wisdom and virtue; they
gloried in it themselves, and they were admired and
celebrated by the populace. But when this stone was
pointed out to them as the only foundation of their hopes,
they rejected it with proud disdain, and thought it much
more safe to depend upon their own virtue and merit, than
upon the virtue and merit of one tiiat was crucified like a
malefactor. And thus it appeared they were not truly
good and virtuous. Let this touch-stone be applied like-
wise to the men of this generation, and it will discover a
great many counterfeits. You will find some who have
an amiable, ingratiating conduct, who are temperate, just,
charitable, and shine with the appearance of many virtues.
You will find others who are very punctual in the duties

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION. 61

of religion; they are frequent in prayer, and strict attend-
ants upon all the solemnities of divine worship; alf this
looks well. But tell them that all this is no sufficient
ground for their hopes of the divine acceptance ; nay, that
they must renounce all this in point of dependence, as
having no merit at all; and that they must, as helpless,
guilty, self-condemned sinners, place their trust only in
Jesus Christ; and they then begin to show their pride :
then their hearts rise against this mortifying doctrine, and
perhaps against him that inculcates it. They cannot bear
that all their imaginary merit should have such contempt
cast upon it. They will own indeed, as others around
them do, that Christ is the only Saviour; but their real
dependence is at bottom upon some supposed goodness in
themselves. And thus they discover that all their right-
eousness is but the proud self-righteousness of a Pharisee,
or the self-confident virtue of a stoic philosopher, and not
the humble religion or genuine sterling virtue of a true
Christian. Thus the reception which men give to Jesus
Christ is the grand criterion of their character. And this
is agreeable to the prophecy of good old Simeon con-
cerning him: Behold this child, says he, is set for the fall
and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which
shall be spoken against ; — that the thoughts of many hearts
may be revealed. Luke ii. 34, 35. The secret thoughts,
reasonings,* and dispositions of many hearts, that were
before unsuspected, are revealed by this trial. And I
wish it may not make very ungrateful discoveries among
you.

As this is a trying stone with regard to men's present
characters, so it will be also as to their final doom and
everlasting state. All that are built upon this foundation,
however frail and tottering in themselves, shall grow up

* 6(aXoiaoi.

62 JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

into a glorious impregnable temple, and stand firm when
the frame of nature is dissolved. But all that are not
built upon this foundation, however strong or well estab-
lished in their own conceit, or however high they raise
the fabric of their hopes, shall be demolished and laid in
ruins for ever. The one may be likened, says Christ,
unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock : and
the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not : for it was
founded upon a rock. And the other may be likened
unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand :
and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell : and great was
the fall of it. Matt. vii. 24, 27. What a confounding fall
will this be to those that have built a towering Babel of
hopes that reaches to heaven ! But,

3. This is a precious stone. "More precious than
rubies, (to borrow the words of Mr. Hervey,) the pearl of
great price, and the desire of all nations." Precious with
regard to the divine dignity of his person, and the un-
equalled excellency of his mediatorial offices. In these
and in all respects greater than Jonah; wiser than Solo-
mon; fairer than the children of men; chiefest among ten
thousand; and, to the awakened sinner, or enlightened
believer, altogether lovely."

He is precious in himself, as possessing all the fulness
of the Godhead bodily, the sum total of all divine excel-
lencies, and as clothed with all the virtues of a perfect
man. In short, all moral excellency, divine and human,
created and uncreated, centre in him, and render him infi-
nitely precious and valuable. He is precious to his
Father; his beloved Son, in whom he is well pleased; his
elect, in whom his soul delighteth. He is precious to
angels; Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, is their eternal

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION. 63

song. He is dear to all good men in all ages. Unto you,
therefore, which believe he is precious, says St. Peter : 1
Peter ii. 7. How precious are his atoning blood and
meritorious righteousness to the guilty, self-condemned
soul! how precious is his sanctifying grace to the soul
heavy-laden with sin, and groaning under that body of
death ! how precious the assistance of his almighty arm to
his poor soldiers in the spiritual warfare ! how precious the
light of his instructions to the benighted, wandering mind;
how sweet the words of his mouth; sweeter than honey
from the honey-comb. How precious the light of his
smiling countenance, and the sensations of his love to the
desponding, sinking soul! how precious that eternal salva-
tion which he imparts ! and how precious the price he
paid for it! Not corruptible things, such as silver and
gold, says St. Peter, but his own precious blood : 1 Peter
i. 18, 19. In short, he is altogether lovely, altogether
precious. Diamonds and pearls, and all the precious
stones in the universe, cannot represent his worth. Oh
that a thoughtless world did but know how precious he is !
Surely they would then say to his friends, Whither is thy
beloved gone, that we may seek him with thee ? I enlarge
upon this article with the more pleasure, as I doubt not
but the experience of several among you can affix your
Amen to what I say, and to much more. I am now but
complying with the request of one of my friends,* at the
distance of near four thousand miles, who writes to me
thus : — " Dear sir, recommend him to poor sinners, recom-
mend him to poor believers, as a most wonderful Saviour
and Redeemer; abundantly able to deliver them from all
that hell and sin can do to destroy them. Oh that his
divine excellencies and worth could be set forth! Surely
the most abandoned sinners would fall before him with

* Mr. Benjamin Forfitt, of London.

64 JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

ravishment and wonder." These are British sterling
thoughts concerning this precious stone, my brethren, and
I hope the same thoughts are to be found among you.
Oh that they were universal among us, and among all the

sons of men!

4. This stone is a sure foundation. " Such (says Mr.
Hervey) as no pressure can shake; equal, more than
equal to every weight ; even to sin, the heaviest load in
the world. The rock of ages, such as never has failed,
never will fail those humble penitents who cast their bur-
den upon the Lord Redeemer; who roll all their guilt,
and fix their whole hopes upon this immovable basis."
The foundation is sure, because it is of divine appoint-
ment. Behold, says the Lord God, who has authority to
make the appointment, " behold I lay in Zion for a foun-
dation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a
sure foundation." It is also sure, because of the extent
of his power, the perfection of his righteousness, and the
eternity of his existence. But these I have already
touched upon. Indeed, his excellencies are so sweetly
blended and complicated, like the colours of the rainbow,
that it is hard to describe one of them, without running
into another.

The author, whom I have repeatedly quoted, thinks
the words may be otherwise rendered : " A foundation !
a foundation!" "There is," says he, "a fine spirit of
vehemency in the sentence thus understood ; it speaks the
language of agreeable surprise and exultation, and ex-
presses an important discovery. That which mankind
infinitely want ; that which multitudes seek, and find not ;
it is here ! it is here ! This, this is the foundation for
their pardon, their peace, their eternal felicity."

5. This is a corner-stone. " It not only," says Mr.
Hervey, "sustains, but unites the edifice; incorporating

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION. 65

both Jews and Gentiles, believers of various languages
and manifold denominations, here, in one harmonious bond
of brotherly love ; hereafter, in one common participation
of eternal joy." To this purpose, and in this style, speaks
the apostle : He is our peace who hath made both, that is,
both Jews and Gentiles, one ; one regular, compact, mag-
nificent superstructure, " built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief
corner-stone ; in whom all the building fitly framed toge-
ther, groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord ; in whom
ye [Gentiles'] also are builded together for a habitation of
God through the Spirit:" Ephes. ii. 14, 20, 22. Mate-
rials for this sacred temple are collected from thrones and
cottages, from bond and free, from Jews and Gentiles, from
Europe, Asia, Africa, and America: but notwithstand-
ing these distinctions, they are all united in this corner-
stone ; all harmoniously compacted* into one regular, mag-
nificent temple, where the God of heaven delights to dwell.
Jesus Christ may also be called a corner-stonft, to sig-
nify his peculiar importance in this spiritual building.
Hence he is elsewhere repeatedly called the chief corner-
stone, and the head of the corner : Psal. cxviii. 22 ; Matt.
xxi. 42; Mark xii. 10; Luke xx. 17; Acts iv. 11; 1 Pe-
ter ii. 7; Ephes. ii. 20. We are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, in a subordinate sense ; but
Jesus Christ himself is the chief corner-stone. He has the
most important place in the building. It is he that holds
up and connects all. Apostles, prophets, and all, are but
sinking sand without him. Their righteousness, their
strength, are nothing without him. On him all their doc-
trines depend, in him they all terminate, and from him
they derive all their efficacy. Take away this corner-
stone, and immediately the saints in heaven fall from their

* See the original word, o-uvap^oAoyow/^vij.
VOL. II.— 9

66

throne ; and the saints upon earth, that are gradually rising
heavenward, sink for ever. Take away this corner-stone,
and this glorious living temple, that has been building for
so many ages, breaks to pieces, and covers heaven and
earth with its ruins.

Having thus illustrated the particular properties of this
stone, I shall take notice of this general property of it,
that it is a foundation. So it is repeatedly called in my
text, " It is laid in Zion as a foundation :" It is a sure
foundation. It must be the foundation, and have the prin-
cipal place in the spiritual building, or none at all. " No
other foundation," says St. Paul, " can any man lay, than
that which is already laid, which is Jesus Christ." And
he must lie at the bottom of all, or the superstructure can-
not stand. To join our own righteousness with his in our
justification, is to form a foundation of solid stone, and
hay, straw, and stubble, blended together. To make our
own merit the ground of our claim to his righteousness; that
is, to hojte that God will save us for Christ's sake, because
we are so good as to deserve some favour at least for our
own sakes, that is to lay a foundation of stone upon a
quicksand. The stone would have stood, had it been in
its proper place, that is, at the bottom of all ; but when it
is founded upon the sand, it must give way, and all the
superstructure must fall. This is the grand fundamental
mistake of multitudes in the Christian world. They all
own Christ is the only Saviour ; but then the ground of
their expecting salvation through him, is not his righteous-
ness, but their own. Their own worthless works, which
their ignorance and vanity call good, lie at the bottom of
all their hopes, as the first foundation ; and Christ's right-
eousness is rather part of the superstructure, than the en-
tire foundation. This is the refuge of lies, the delusive
hiding-place which multitudes are building all their lives

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION. 67

with a great deal of pains, and, when they think themselves
provided with a strong everlasting mansion, suddenly they
feel themselves swept away into destruction by the over-
whelming torrent of divine indignation.

Here, brethren, let us pause a while, and turn our atten-
tion to a question that I hope you have anticipated — " Am
I a living stone built upon this foundation? Are all my
hopes of acceptance with God and eternal happiness
founded upon this rock?" Are you not desirous to make
this important discovery? To make it now while you
have time ? If you have made a mistake, to correct it, by
pulling down the old building, and beginning a new one on
the right foundation? Have you no anxiety about this?
If not, I must tell you, you care not for the God that
made you, or the Saviour that bought you with his blood :
heaven and hell are but trifles to you, and you are indiffer-
ent which should be your eternal lot. You have not the
sensibility of a man, with regard to pleasure and pain, but
the stupidity of a brute, or rather of a senseless stone.
And if you continue thus stupidly careless about eternal
things, you shall for ever be cut off' from the rewards of
pious diligence, and feel the dreadful doom of the slothful
servant. Brethren, can you be indifferent in a matter of
such infinite consequence? Let me remind you, that a
dreadful hurricane is gathering over this guilty world, which
will burst upon you, and sweep you away, unless you be
founded upon the rock of ages. Think of the last part of
my text : the hail shall sweep away the refuge, or hope of
lies, the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. You may
be parts of the outward court of this spiritual building; I
mean, you may be members of the-visible church ; but that
is only a scaffold to the sacred temple, and when this is
finished, that shall be pulled down. Remember, this build-
ing will be critically inspected : the great Architect " will

68 JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

lay judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plum-
met•" and if you do not stand that test, you will be de-
molished, as useless appendages or incumbrances, and you
never can be built up again ; the temple of God will then
be complete, and no new stones shall be added to it tor
ever Therefore now is the time to discover fundamental
errors, and correct them. Discover them you can and
will in the eternal world : but oh ! it will then be too late
to correct them !

Would you, then, know whether you are really built
upon this sure foundation? If so, I shall willingly assist
you to make the trial. And for this purpose I solemnly
propose a few questions to your consciences in the sight

of God.

1. Have you ever seen the utter insufficiency of every
other foundation? You will never build upon Christ,
while you can build any where else with hopes of safety.
If you have ever fled to him as a hiding-place, you have
seen it was your last refuge. And have all your false
hopes, all your refuges of lies been swept away ? Have
you seen that honours, riches, pleasures, and all the world
were but breaking bubbles? Have you been sensi-
ble that your own righteousness was a rotten foundation,
and that you were just ready to sink every moment under
the burden of your sins, and to be swept away by the tor-
rent of divine vengeance? Like a sinking man, you have
been ready to catch at every twig or straw for support ;
but were you obliged at length with Peter to turn to Christ,
and cry out, Help, Lord, I perish ? Have you let go every
other hold, and taken fast hold of him as the only support ?
Have you given up all other grounds of hope, and as poor,
guilty, perishing, helpless creatures, placed your whole de-
pendence upon this foundation ? If you can honestly give
a satisfactory answer to these inquiries, it looks encourag-

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION. 69

ing : but if not, you may be sure you are building upon
some sandy foundation ; you are lurking in some refuge
of lies, and must be overwhelmed at last in inevitable ruin.

2. Have you ever been sensible of the preciousness, the
excellency, and the stability of this divine foundation? If
you have ever built upon Christ, it has been at once an act
of the last necessity, and of the most free choice. Oh !
how precious did this stone appear to you! like the load-
stone, it had a strong attraction upon you, and you were
effectually drawn to it. You need go no farther than
your own hearts to find the truth of what I have said of
the preciousness of Christ ; the preciousness of his strength,
his righteousness, and every thing in him. To you that
believe he is precious. \ Pet. ii. 7. This is the assertion
of an apostle concerning all believers, without exception.
And shall I conclude this is the real sentiment of this assem-
bly concerning Christ? Shall I conclude it, brethren?
Oh shall I allow myself to be so happy ? Does your con-
science tell you there is ground for your saying that Christ
is precious to you ? Alas ! is it not quite the reverse with
many of you?

3. Where is your habitual dependence? Is it upon
Jesus Christ alone? or is it upon something else? Do
you not feel the need of strength, of spiritual life, of par-
don, and righteousness, and eternal life ? Certainly, if you
know yourselves, you feel the need of these things. And
upon whom do you depend for them? Is it upon Jesus
Christ alone? Is it habitual, and, as it were, natural to
you, since you first ventured upon this foundation, to rest
there, sensible that you have always needed this support,
and that every other foundation is but sinking sand?
Brethren, what does conscience reply to these questions'?

4. Have you been formed into proper stones for this
spiritual temple ? Has God hewn you, may I so speak,

70 JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

by his word, and broken off whatever was rugged, irre-
gular, and unfit to be compacted into the building ? Has
he shaped and polished your souls for a place in it ? Do
you feel this divine Architect daily carrying on this work
in you, polishing you more and more into a resemblance
to Christ? Or are you still the same rough, irregular un-
polished pieces, with human nature unsanctified in its pre-
sent degenerate state ? Then you may be sure you are
not built upon this foundation.

I think I may pronounce these few queries fully de-
cisive in this case. And what discoveries do they now
make among you 1 Where, now, appears to be the foun-
dation of your hope ? Have not some of you rejected
the chief corner-stone which God has appointed, arid built
upon a quicksand ? If so, even a friendly tongue cannot
but denounce some terrible things to you.

While you are not founded upon Christ, you shall, you
must unavoidably sink for ever. There is nothing that
can support you. Build your hopes ever so high, the
fabric will fall, and bury you in its ruins. Nay, this only
foundation of hope and happiness will be to you a stone
of stumbling and a rock of offence, the occasion of your
more aggravated guilt, and more dreadful destruction.
There are a few texts of Scripture which I would ring
like peals of alarming thunder in your ears. The same
Lord of hosts who shall be for a sanctuary to his people,
"shall be for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of
offence, for a gin and for a snare ; and many shall stumble
and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken." Isa.
viii. 14. "Unto you which believe," says St. Peter, "he is
precious ; but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence
to them which stumble at the word." 1 Pet. ii. 7, 8. If
this stone be not made by you the foundation of your
hopes, it will fall upon you and crush you in pieces. Re-

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION. 71

member the declaration of Christ himself, " Whosoever
shall fall upon this stone shall be broken ;" that is, whoso-
ever shall reject him while in an humble form in the days
of his flesh, shall perish, " but on whomsoever this stone
shall fall, it shall grind him to powder;" that is, whosoever
shall reject him in his state of exaltation, shall perish in a
still more dreadful manner. And will not all these alarm-
ing considerations have a weight with you, to persuade
you to make him your only foundation 1

If you have already made him so, then be assured you
are safe and immovable for ever. Let storms of private
or public calamity rise and beat upon you ; let your fears
and doubts rise to ever so high a deluge ; let temptations
make ever so severe attacks upon you, still the foundation
on which you stand abides firm and unshaken. Nay, let
all nature go to wreck, and seas and land, and heaven and
earth, be blended together, still this foundation stands firm,
and the living temple built upon it will remain immovable
for ever. You that believe need not make haste, you
need not be struck with consternation upon the appear-
ance of danger, nor fly to unlawful means of deliverance ;
your all is safe, and therefore you may be serene and
calm. Is the burthen of guilt intolerable, and are you
ready to sink under it ? Or are you sinking under a load
of sorrow? Whatever be the burden, cast it upon the
Lord, and he will sustain you. This foundation is able to
bear you up, however great the pressure. Come, ye that
are weary and heavy-laden, come, and build your hopes,
and place your rest here. Oh ! what joyful tidings are
these ! I hope they will prove a word in season to some
soul that is weary.

What now remains, but that I should more explicitly
point out this precious stone to you all, by illustrating the
emphatical word behold, prefixed to the text.

72 JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION.

Behold, ye poor sinking souls, behold with wonder and
gratitude : here is a sure foundation for you ; cast your
whole weight, venture your eternal all upon it, and it will
support you. Say no more, " Alas ! I must sink for ever
under this mountain of guilt;" but turn to Jesus, with
sinking Peter, and cry, Help, Lord, I perish ; and he will
bear you up. Yes, whatever storms may blow, whatever
convulsions may shake the world, you are safe.

Behold, ye joyful believers. See here the foundation
of all your joys and hopes. Do you not stand firm like
Mount Zion ? See, here is the rock that supports you.
Gratefully acknowledge it, and inscribe this precious stone
with your praises. Point it out to others as the only
ground of hope for perishing souls.

Behold, ye wretched, self-righteous Pharisees, the only
rock on which you must build if you expect to stand.
Your proud, self-confident virtue, your boasted philosopical
morality, is but a loose, tottering foundation. Virtue and
morality are necessary to complete and adorn the super-
structure ; but when they are laid at the bottom of all,
they will prove but a quicksand.

Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish ! perish
you must, if you set at naught this precious stone. To
you this only foundation is like to prove a stone of stum-
bling, and a rock of offence. To you the nature of things
is inverted ; the only ground of hope will heighten your
despair ; and the Saviour of men will be your destroyer.

Behold, ye glorious angels, behold the firm foundation
divine love has laid for the salvation of guilty worms. It
is as firm as that on which you stand. Are the affairs of
mortals beneath your notice? No, we are concerned with
Jesus too who is your Head ; and our connection with him
must give us an importance in your view. Therefore join
with us in celebrating the praises of this foundation. This

JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FNUNDATION. 73

precious stone appears to you in all its splendours; its
brilliancy dazzles your admiring eyes. We also admire it
as far as we know it ; but to us it is like a foundation laid
deep under ground, that supports us though we see it not.
When shall we be placed in your advantageous situation,
the heights of the heavenly Zion, where it will appear full
to our view, and be the object of our delightful contem-
plation for ever and ever ?

VOL. II.— 10

74 THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE

SERMON XXIX.

THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE OF FAMILY RELIGION.

1 TIM. v. 8. — But if any provide not for his own, and
especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the
faith, and is worse than an infidel.

THE great Author of our nature, who has made us
sociable creatures, has instituted various societies among
mankind, both civil and religious, and joined them together
by the various bonds of relation. The first and radical
society is that of a family, which is the nursery of the
church and state. This was the society instituted in
Paradise in the state of innocence, when the indulgent
Creator, finding that it was not good for man, a sociable
creature, to be alone, formed a help meet for him, and
united them in the endearing bonds of the conjugal rela-
tion. From thence the human race was propagated ; and
when multiplied, it was formed into civil governments and
ecclesiastical assemblies. Without these associations the
worship of God could not be publicly and socially per-
formed, and liberty and property could not be secured.
Without these, men would turn savages and roam at large,
destitute of religion, insensible of the human passions, and
regardless of each other's welfare. Civil and religious
societies are therefore wisely continued in the world, and
we enjoy the numerous advantages of them. But these
do not exclude, but presuppose domestic societies, which
are the materials of which they are composed; and as

OF FAMILY RELIGION. 75

churches and kingdoms are formed out of families, they
will be such as the materials of which they consist. It is
therefore of the greatest importance to religion and civil
society that families be under proper regulations, that they
may produce proper plants for church and state, and espe-
cially for the eternal world, in which all the temporary
associations of mortals in this world finally terminate, and
to which they ultimately refer.

Now in families, as well as in all governments, there
are superiors and inferiors; and as it is the place of the
latter to obey, so it belongs to the former both to rule
and to provide. The heads of families are obliged not
only to exercise their authority over their dependents, but
also to provide for them a competency of the necessaries
of life ; and indeed their right to rule is but a power to
provide for themselves and their domestics.

This is implied in my text, where the apostle makes the
omission of this duty utterly inconsistent with Christianity,
and a crime so unnatural, that even infidels are free from
it. " If any provide not for his own, and specially for
those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is
worse than an infidel."

The apostle, among other things, in this chapter, is giv-
ing directions how widows should be treated in the church.
If they were widows indeed ; that is widowed and entirely
destitute of relations to support them ; then he advises to
maintain them at the public expense of the church ; (ver.
3, 9, 10.) But if they were such widows as had children
or nephews, then he orders that they should be maintained
by these their relatives, and that the charge should not fall
upon the church; (ver. 4, 16.)

He supposes that the relatives, of some of them might
be unwilling to put themselves to this expense : and to en-
gage such to their duty, he in the text exposes the unua-

76 THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE

tural wickedness of neglecting it. "If any provide not
for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he
hath denied the faith, and is worse that an infidel."

By a man's own are meant poor relatives, who are un-
able to support themselves. And by his house are meant
those that are his domestics, and that live with him, as wife,
children, servants. The former a man is obliged to pro-
vide for, but especially the latter; and if he neglect it, he
has denied the faith in fact, however much he may profess
it' in words; he is no Christian, nor to be treated as such;
nay, he is worse than an infidel : for many heathens have
had so much humanity and natural light, as to observe their
duty, supporting their domestics and such of their relatives
as could not procure a subsistence for themselves.

In order to make provision for our families, we must be
careful or laborious, according to our circumstances, and see
that all our domestics be so too. And him that will not'
work, neither let him eat. 2 Thess. iii. 10.

" This," some of you will say, " is excellent doctrine,
and this is our favourite text, which we often descant upon
to justify our eager pursuit of the world. This command-
ment have we kept from our youth up ; and, as we exert
ourselves to provide estates for our children, we are not
chargeable with any guilt in this case." But stay, sirs ;
before you peremptorily conclude yourselves innocent, let
me ask you, are your domestics, your wives, children, and
servants, nothing but material bodies ? If so, I grant your
duty is fulfilled by providing for their bodies. If they are
only formed for this world, and have no concern with a
future, then it is enough for you to make provision for them
in the present state. . They are like your cattle, upon this
hypothesis, and you may treat them as you do your beasts,
fodder them well, and make them work for you. But are
you so absurd as to indulge such a thought? Are you not

OF FAMILY RELIGION. 77

fully convinced that your domestics were made for eternity,
endowed with immortal souls, and have the greatest con-
cern with the eternal world? If so, can you think it suf-
ficient that you provide for their bodies and their temporal
subsistence 1 I appeal to yourselves, is there not as much
reason for your taking care of their immortal spirits as of
their perishing bodies? Ought you not to be as regardful,
and as laborious for their comfortable subsistence in eter-
nity as in time? Nay, is not your obligation to family re-
ligion as much more strong, as an immortal spirit is more
important than a machine of animated clay, and the inter-
ests of eternity exceed those of this transitory world ? If
then he that does not provide for his domestics a compe-
tency of the necessaries of life has denied the faith, and
is worse than an infidel, what shall we say of him that ne-
glects their souls, and takes no pains to form them for a
happy immortality? Surely he must be worse than one
that is worse than an infidel ; and how extremely bad then
must he be ! He has more than denied the faith, however
confidently he may profess it.

You see that though this text does not immediately refer
to family religion, yet it will admit of a very natural ac-
commodation to that purpose : and in this view I intend
to handle it.

Several of you, my hearers, I doubt not, have long since
formed and practised Joshua's resolution : As for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord. Josh. xxiv. 15. While
vanity laughs aloud, and impiety belches out its blasphe-
mies in families around you, the voice of spiritual rejoicing
and salvation is heard in your tabernacles. Psalm cxviii. 15.
I congratulate you, my dear brethren, and hope your fami-
lies will be nurseries for religion in future times, and edu-
cate many for the heavenly state ; nay, I hope you have
seen some of the happy effects of it already in the early

78 THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE

impressions that begin to appear upon the tender minds
of your dear children, and the promising solemnity and
reformation of some of your slaves. It were to be wished
that all of you made conscience of this matter, and it would
not at all seem extravagant to expect it ; for surely it would
not be extravagant to expect that you, who attend upon
public worship, and profess the religion of Jesus, should not
so grossly deny the faith as to be worse than infidels. But,
alas ! my friends, though I do not affect to be a spy into
your families, I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy,
lest some of you habitually neglect this very important
duty. Though family religion be not the peculiarity of a
party, but owned to be obligatory by Christians in general,
(and therefore Christians of all denominations should con-
scientiously observe it, if they would act consistently with
their own principles,) yet are there not several in this as-
sembly who live without religion in their houses? Con-
science can find out the guilty, and I need not be more
particular. It is certainly a most lamentable thing that any
who have enjoyed such opportunities for instruction, who
have been solemnly and frequently warned, exhorted and
persuaded, and who have come under the strongest obliga-
tion to this duty, should, notwithstanding, live in the wilful
and habitual neglect of it. For persons to omit it for want
of instruction about its obligation might be very consistent
with a tender conscience, and nothing would be necessary
to bring such to the practice, but to convince them it is
their duty, which it is very easy to do ; but to omit family
religion in our circumstances, my brethren, discovers such
a stupid indifferency about religion, or so inveterate an
aversion to it, that it is lamentably doubtful, whether a con-
viction of the duty will determine you to the practice of
it. When persons have long habituated themselves to sin
against light, it is hard to take any effectual measures to deal

OF FAMILY RELIGION. 79

with them. All that the ministers of the gospel can do, is
to convince their understandings, to persuade, to exhort, to
invite, to threaten ; but such are accustomed to resist these
means, and now they find it no great difficulty to master
them. I therefore make this attempt with discouragement,
and hardly hope to succeed with such of you as have
hitherto obstinately fought against conviction; and the
attempt is still the more melancholy, as I know that, if
what shall be offered does not prevail upon you to make
conscience of family religion, the additional light you may
receive will but render you more inexcusable, increase
your guilt, and consequently your punishment. This is
one of the tremendous consequences of the ministry of this
neglected, disregarded gospel, that may strike ministers and
people with a solemn horror. However, I am not without
hopes of success with some of you, who have not yet been
cursed with a horrid victory over your consciences.. I
hope that when you are more fully convinced of this duty,
you will immediately begin the practice of it. But though
I had no expectation of success, I am still obliged to make
the attempt. Though nothing can animate a minister more
than the prospect of success, yet he is not to regulate his
conduct wholly according to this prospect. He must labour
to deliver his own soul, by warning even such as may not
regard it. He must declare the whole counsel of God,
whether they hear, or whether they forbear. I shall there-
fore, my dear brethren, endeavour honestly this day to
bring you to Joshua's resolution, that you and your houses
will serve the Lord ; and let him who is hardy enough to
despise it prepare to answer for it at the supreme tribunal ;
for he despises not man but God.

I would not have you perform any thing as a duty, till
you have sufficient means to convince you that it is a duty ;
and I would not confine you to an over-frequent perform-

80 THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE

ance of the duty I am now to open to you ; therefore,
when I have briefly mentioned the various parts of family
religion, I shall,

I. Prove it to be a duty, from the law of nature and
Scripture revelation.

II. Show in what seasons, or how frequently family re-
ligion should be statedly performed.

III. I shall consider what particular obligation the heads
of families lie under, and what authority they are invested
with to maintain religion in their houses.

IV. And lastly, I shall answer the usual objections
made against this important duty.

As to the parts of family religion, they are prayer,
praise, and instruction. We and our families stand in
need of blessings in a domestic capacity, therefore in that
capacity we should pray for them; in that capacity, too,
we receive many blessings; therefore in that capacity we
should return thanks for them; and singing of psalms is
the most proper method of thanksgiving. Further : Our
domestics need instruction about the great concerns of
religion, therefore we should teach them. But I need not
stay to prove each of these branches to be a duty, because
the following arguments for the whole of family religion,
will be equally conclusive for each part of it, and may be
easily accommodated to it. Therefore,

I. I shall prove that family religion is a duty, from the
light of nature and of Scripture.

To prepare the way, I would observe that you should
hear what shall be offered with a mind in love with your
duty when it appears. You would not willingly have a
cause tried by one that is your enemy; now the carnal
mind is enmity against God, and consequently while you
retain that carnal mind, you are very unfit to judge of the
force of those arguments that prove your duty towards

Or FAMILY RELIGION. 81

him. If you hate the discovery, you will shut your eyes
against the light, and not receive the truth in love. There-
fore lie open to conviction, and I doubt not but you shall
receive it from the following arguments.

If family religion be due to the supreme Being upon
the account of his perfections, and the relation he bears to
us — if it be one great design of the institution of families
— if it tend to the advantage of our domestics — if it be our
privilege — then family religion appears to be our duty
from the law of nature.

1. If family religion be a just debt to the supreme
Being, upon account of his perfections and the relation he
sustains to us as families, then it must be our duty to
maintain it according to the law of nature. Now this is
the case in fact.

God is the most excellent of beings, and therefore
worthy of homage in every capacity, from his reasonable
creatures. It is the supreme excellency of the Deity that
renders him the object of personal devotion, or the religion
of individuals, and the same reason extends to family re-
ligion; for such is his excellency, that he is entitled to all
the worship which we can give him : and after all, he is
exalted above all our blessing and praise, Neh. ix. 5, that
is, he still deserves more blessing and praise than we can
give him. Hence it follows, that our capacity is the
measure of our obligation to serve him ; that is, in what-
ever capacity we are that admits of service to him, we are
bound to perform all that service to him, because he
justly deserves it all. Now we are capable of worship-
ping him as a family for family devotion, you must own,
is a thing possible in itself, therefore we are bound to
worship him in that capacity. If any of you deny this, do
but put your denial into plain words, and you must shudder
at yourselves : it must stand thus, " I must own that such

VOL. II.— 11

82 THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE

is the excellency of the Deity, that he has a right to all
the homage which I can pay him in every capacity: yet I
owe him none, I will pay him none in the capacity of a
head of a family. I own I owe him worship from myself
as an individual, but my family as such shall have nothing
to do with him." Will you, sirs, rather run into such an
impious absurdity as this, than own yourselves obliged to

this duty?

Again, God is the Author of our sociable natures, and
as such claims social worship from us. He formed us
capable of society, and inclined us to it: and surely this
capacity ought to be improved for religious purposes. Is
there any of you so hardy as to say, " Though God has
made me a sociable creature, yet I owe him no worship
as such, and will pay him none ?" You may as well say,
" Though he formed me a man, and endowed me with
powers to serve him, yet as a man or an individual, I will
not serve him." And what is this but to renounce all
obligations to God, and to cut yourselves off from all con-
nection with him. Now if your social nature lays you
under an obligation to social religion, then it must oblige
you to family religion, for a family is the first society that
ever was instituted; it is a radical society, from which
all others are derived, therefore here social religion began
(as it must have begun in families before it had place in
other societies,) and here it ought still to continue.

Again, God is the Proprietor, Supporter, and Bene-
factor of our families, as well as of our persons, and there-
fore our families as such should pay him homage. He is
the owner of your families, and where is the man that
dares deny it 1 Dare any of you say, God has nothing to
do with my family; he has no right there, and I will
acknowledge none? Unhappy creatures! Whose pro-
perty are you then? If not God's, you are helpless

OF FAMILY RELIGION. 83

orphans indeed ; or rather the voluntary avowed subjects
of hell. But if your families are his property, must you
not own that you should worship him as such ? What !
pay no acknowledgment to your great Proprietor? how
unjust! The apostle argues, that because our persons
are his, therefore we should serve him, 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20,
and surely the argument is equally strong in this case.
Further, Are not your families entirely dependent upon
God as their Supporter and Benefactor? Should he with-
draw his supporting hand, you and your houses would
sink into ruin together. Are you not then obliged in a
family capacity to acknowledge and praise him? You
also receive numberless blessings from him in a domestic
capacity: every evening and morning, every night and
day you find his mercies flowing down upon your houses ;
and shall no grateful acknowledgments ascend from them
to him? You also every moment stand in need of
numerous blessings, not only for yourselves, but for your
families; and will you not jointly with your families im-
plore these blessings from your divine Benefactor ? Here
again consider the language of your refusal, and it must
strike you with horror : " I own that God is the proprietor
of my family, that he is the constant support of my family,
that I and mine every moment receive mercies from him,
and depend entirely upon him for them, yet my family as
such shall pay no worship, shall serve him no more than
if we had no concern with him." Can you venture upon
such a declaration as this ?

2. If family religion was the principal design of the in-
stitution of families, then is family religion our indispensable
duty.

That families were founded by God may be inferred
from the creation of different sexes, the institution of
marriage, and the various relations among mankind, and

84 THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE

from the universal agency of his providence. Psalm Ixviii.

6, and cxiii. 9.

And that family religion was the principal end of the
institution, is evident; for can you think that God would
unite a number of immortals, heirs of the eternal world,
together in the most intimate bonds, in this state of trial,
without any reference to their future state ? Were your
families made for this world only, or for the next ? If
for the next, then religion must be maintained in them,
for that alone can prepare you for eternity: or if you
say your families were formed for this world, pray what
was this world made for 1 To be the final residence ? or
to be only a stage along which to pass into your ever-
lasting home, a place of probation for candidates for im-
mortality 'I And must not religion then be maintained in
your families? They should be nurseries for heaven;
and that they cannot be, if you banish devotion from
them.

If the conjugal relation, which is the foundation of
families, was first instituted for religious purposes, then
certainly the worship of God ought to be maintained in
them. But the former is true; Did not he make one?
Mai. ii. 15 ; that is, one of each sex, that there might be
one for one; and that the very creation of our nature
might carry an intimation that polygamy was unnatural.
"And wherefore one?" that is, wherefore did God make
but one of each sex, when he had the residue of the spirit,
and could have made more ? Why, his design was that
he might seek a godly seed ; that is, that children might
not only be procreated, but retain and convey down reli-
gion from age to age. But can this design be accom-
plished if you refuse to maintain religion in your families ?
Can you expect that godliness shall run on in the line of
your posterity, if you habitually neglect it in your houses?

OF FAMILY RELIGION. 85

Can a godly seed be raised in so corrupt a soil ? There-
fore if you omit this duty, you live in families in direct
opposition to the end of the institution, and deny your
domestics the greatest advantage they can enjoy as mem-
bers of a family ; a consideration which leads me to another
argument.

3. If family religion tends to the greatest advantage of
our families, then it is our duty; and to neglect it is
wickedly to rob ourselves and ours of the greatest advan-
tage.

If you deny that religion is advantageous, you may re-
nounce the name of Christians; yes, and of men too.
Religion places its subjects under the blessing and guar-
dianship of heaven ; it restrains them from those practices
which may be ruinous to them in time and eternity; it
suppresses such dispositions and passions as are turbulent
and self-tormenting; and affords the most refined and sub-
stantial joys.

Now I appeal to yourselves whether it be not more
probable that your family will be religious, if you solemnly
worship God with them, and instruct them, than it would
be if you neglected these duties ? How can you expect
that your children and servants will become worshippers of
the God of heaven, if they have been educated in the ne-
glect of family religion ? Can prayerless parents expect to
have praying children ? If you neglect to instruct them,
can you expect they will grow up in the knowledge of
God and of themselves? If they see that you receive
daily mercies from the God of heaven, and yet refuse him
the tribute of praise, is it not likely they will imitate your
ingratitude, and spend their days in a stupid insensibility
of their obligations to their divine Benefactor? Is it as
likely they will make it their principal business in life to
secure the favour of God and prepare for eternity, when

86 THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE

they see their parents and masters thoughtless about this
important concern, as if they saw you every day devoutly
worshipping God with them, and imploring his blessing
upon yourselves and your households ? Their souls, sirs,
their immortal souls, are intrusted to your care, and you
must give a solemn account of your trust ; and can you
think you faithfully discharge it, while you neglect to
maintain your religion in your families ? Will you not be
accessory to their perdition, and in your skirts will there
not be found the blood of your poor innocent children 1
What a dreadful meeting may you expect to have with
them at last? Therefore, if you love your children; if
you would make some amends to your servants for all
the service they do to you ; if you would bring down the
blessing of heaven upon your families : if you would have
your children make their houses the receptacles of religion
when they set up in life for themelves ; if you would have
religion servive in this place, and be conveyed from age to
age ; if you would deliver your own souls — I beseech, I
entreat, I charge you to begin and continue the worship
of God in your families from this day to the close of your
lives.

4. You are to consider family religion not merely as a
duty imposed by authority, but as your greatest privilege
granted by divine grace. How great the privilege to hold
a daily intercourse with heaven in our dwellings ! to have
our houses converted into temples for that adorable Deity
whom the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot con-
tain ! to mention our domestic wants before him with the
encouraging hope of a supply! to vent the overflowings of
gratitude ! to spread the savour of his knowledge, and talk
of him whom angels celebrate upon their golden harps
and in anthems of praise ! to have our families devoted to
him while others live estranged from the God of their life ! -

OF FAMILY RELIGION. 87

if all this does not appear the highest privilege to you, it
is because you are astonishingly disaffected to the best of
Beings. And since the Almighty condescends to allow
you this privilege, will you wickedly deny it yourselves ?
If he had denied it to you, you would no doubt have
cavilled at it as hard: you would have murmured had he
laid a prohibition on your family and told you, " I will
accept of worship from other families : they shall converse
with me every day ; but as for yours, I will have nothing
to do with them, I will accept of no worship from them ;
you may not make mention of the name of the Lord."
How would you tremble if God had marked your families
with such a brand of reprobation ? And will you put this
brand upon them with your own hand ? Will you deny
that privilege to your families which would strike you
with horror if God denied it 1 Will you affect such a hor-
rid singularity, that when other families are admitted into
a familiar audience with the Deity, you will keep off from
him, and pay him no homage in yours 1

These arguments are chiefly derived from the light of
nature, and plainly show that family-religion is a duty of
natural religion. Accordingly heathens and idolaters have
observed it. The heathens had their Lares, their Penates,
or household gods. Such were Laban's gods which
Rachel stole from him, Gen. xxxi. 34; and such were
those of Micah, Judges xvii. 4, 5. These indeed were
idols, but what did they stand instead of? Did they not
stand instead of the true worship of the true God ? What
reformation was necessary in this case ? The renouncing
of these idols, and taking nothing in their room ? or the
renouncing of them and taking the true God in their
place 1 Undoubtedly the latter. And will you not blush
that heathens should exceed you? that you should be
according to the text, worse than infidels ? And must

88 THE NECESSITY ANR EXCELLENCE

you not tremble lest they should rise up in judgment
against you, and condemn you ?

I now proceed to some arguments more purely scrip-
tural, which prove the necessity of family religion in
general, or of some peculiar branch of it.

1. We may argue from the examples of the saints, re-
corded and commended in Scripture.

Good examples infer an obligation upon us to imitate
them ; and when they are transmitted down to posterity
with honour in the sacred records, they are proposed to
our imitation, and as really bind us to the duty as express
precepts.

Now we are here surrounded with a bright cloud of
witnesses. Even before the introduction of the clearer
dispensations of the gospel, we find that the saints care-
fully maintained family religion.

On this account Abraham was admitted into such inti-
macy with God, that he admits him into his secrets.
" Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do ; for
— I know him, that he will command his children and his
household after him, and they shall keep the way of the
LORD," &c. Gen. xviii. 17, 18.

We find Isaac and Jacob, by the influence of his good
example and instructions, follow the same practice. They,
as well as he, built an altar to the Lord wherever they
pitched their tents ; an altar then being a necessary uten-
sil for divine worship. This you will find repeatedly in
the short history we have of these patriarchs, particularly
in Gen. xxvi. 25; xxviii. 18, and xxxiii. 20.

We find Job so intent upon family devotion, that he
rises up early in the morning and offers burnt-offerings :
and this he did, we are told, not upon extraordinary occa-
sions only, but continually. Job i. 5.

The devout king David, after he had spent the day in

OF FAMILY RELIGION. 89

the glad solemnity of bringing the ark to its place, returned
to bless his house. 2 Sam. vi. 20. He had his hour for
family devotion; and when that is come, he leaves the
solemnity of public worship, and hastens home. This was
agreeable to his resolution, / will behave myself wisely in
a perfect way. I will walk within my house with a
perfect heart. Psal. ci. 2.

Daniel ran the risk of his life rather than omit this duty,
which some of you omit with hardly any temptation.
When the royal edict prohibited him, upon penalty of
being cast into the lion's den, he still prayed and gave
thanks to God, as he did aforetime. As he did aforetime.
This is added to show that he had always observed a
stated course of devotion in his family, and that it was not
a transient fit of zeal that now seized him. Dan. vi. 10.

These illustrious patterns we find under the dark dis-
pensation of the Old Testament. How much more zeal-
ous should we be, who enjoy the meridian light of the
gospel, to keep the religion of Jesus in our families !

In the New Testament we repeatedly find our blessed
Lord in prayer with his family, the apostles. St. Paul
thrice mentions a church in a private house, Rom. xvi. 5,
1 Cor. xvi. 19, and Col. iv. 15, by which he probably
means the religious families of Nymphas, and that pious
pair Priscilla and Aquila. And Cornelius is an instance
peculiarly observable, who, though a heathen, and igno-
rant of the coming of Christ, feared God (an expression
that often signifies to worship God) with all his house ;
and prayed unto God always ; that is, at all proper sea-
sons. And when a divine messenger was sent to him to
direct him to send for Peter, we are told he was found
praying in his house ; that is, with his domestics, as the
word often signifies. Acts x. 2, 30.

If it might have any weight after such authentic exam-
VOL. II.— 12

90 THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE

pies as these, I might add, that in every age persons of
piety have been exemplary in family religion. And if
you look around you, my brethren, you will find, that by
how much the more religious persons are, by so much the
more conscientious they are in this duty. What though
some, like the Pharisees, use it as a cloak for their clan-
destine wickedness, this is no objection against the prac-
tice; otherwise there is hardly one branch of religion or
morality but what must be rejected too ; for every good
thing has been abused by hypocrites to disguise their
secret villany.

2. We may argue from several Scripture precepts,
which either directly or consequently refer to the whole,
or to some branch of family religion.

The apostle Paul, having given various directions about
relative duties in families, subjoins, Continue in prayer,
and watch in the same with thanksgiving : Col. iv. 2.
Peter exhorts husbands to dwell with their wives according
to knowledge, $-c. — that their prayers might not be hin-
dered : I Peter, iii. 7, which certainly implies that they
should pray together. And here I may observe, by-the-
by, what is, perhaps, immediately intended in this text,
that beside the stated worship of God, common to all the
family, it may be very proper for the husband and wife to
retire for prayer at proper seasons by themselves together.
As there is a peculiar intimacy between them, they ought
to be peculiarly intimate in the duties of religion; and
when retired together, they may pour out their hearts
with more freedom than before all the family, and particu-
larize those things that could not be prudently mentioned
before others. But to return : we are enjoined to pray
always with all prayer and supplication; Ephes. vi. 18;
and surely family prayer must be included in these com-
prehensive terms.

OF FAMILY RELIGION. 91

As to family instruction, it was expressly enjoined upon
the Israelites. " These words which I command thee
shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently
unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest
in thy house;" Deut. vi. 6, 7, and xi. 19. They were
commanded to instruct their domestics in the nature and
design of the ordinances of that dispensation, particularly
the passover ; Exod. xii. 26, 27. And the Psalmist men-
tions all the wonderful works of God as what ought to be
taught by parents to children from age to age. And must
not parents' now be under even superior obligations to in-
form their children of the more glorious doctrines and
ordinances of the gospel 1 Again, It is enjoined as a duty
common to Christians in general, though they should not
be united in one family, to exhort one another daily; Heb.
iii. 13 ; and to teach and admonish one another ; Col. iii.
16. How much more then is it our duty to teach, and
admonish, and exhort our families, which are more par-
ticularly entrusted to our care ?

As to family praise, it is a duty, because thanksgiving
is so often joined with prayer in Scripture ; Phil. iv. 6 ;
Col. iv. 2; 1 Thess. v. 17, 18; and psalmody must be
owned the most proper method of expressing thankfulness
by such as own it a part of divine worship. " The voice
of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the
righteous;" Psal. cxviii. 15; an expression that may pro-
perly signify, praising God in psalms, and hymns, and
spiritual songs, as we are commanded, Col. iii. 16.

And now, my brethren, I presume you are convinced
that family religion is a duty, unless you shut your eyes
against the light of nature and the light of Scripture ;
and if convinced, you are reduced to this dilemma, either
to set up the worship of God immediately in your fami-
lies ; or sin wilfully against the knowledge of the truth.

92 THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE

And which side will you choose ? Oh, sirs, the case is
so plain, you need no time to deliberate ; it is as plain
as whether you should choose life or death, heaven or
hell!

If you from henceforth make conscience of this import-
ant duty, it will be a most happy omen to your families
and to this congregation. If the grateful incense of family
devotion were ascending to heaven every morning and
evening, from every family among us, we might expect a
rich return of divine blessings upon ourselves and ours.
Our houses would become the temples of the Deity, and
our congregation feel his gracious influences. Our child-
ren would grow up in the knowledge and fear of God,
and transplant religion from our families into their own
whenever they should be formed. Our servants and slaves
would become the servants of righteousness, and heirs with
us of the grace of life. The animosities and contests that
may now disturb our households, and render them like the
dens of wild beasts, would cease. Vice would wither and
die among us, and languishing religion, would lift up its
head and revive. This would certainly be the conse-
quence in several instances, if we were but to maintain
family religion in a proper manner: for God hath not
commanded us to seek his face in vain ; and if this de-
sirable success should not be granted universally, we shall
still have the comfort to reflect that we have done our duty.

But how shocking is the prospect if you are determined
to resist conviction, and live in the wilful neglect of
this duty! Your families are like to be nurseries for hell;
or if there should be an Abijah in them, one "in whom
some good thing is found towards the LORD God of Israel,"
(1 Kings xiv. 13,) no thanks to you for it; you must be
punished for your neglect of him as though he had per-
perished by your iniquity.

OF FAMILY RELIGION. 93

Remember, sirs, that the omission of a known, practical
duty against the remonstrances of your conscience, is a
certain evidence that you are entirely destitute of all reli-
gion; and therefore I must discharge the artillery of heaven
against you in that dreadful imprecation which, as dictated
by inspiration, is equivalent to a prediction, or denun-
ciation. "Pour out thy fury upon the heathen, that
know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy
name." Jer. x. 25. Observe here that you are ranked
with heathens that know not God; and that the divine
fury is imprecated upon you, and it shall fall, it shall fall
speedily upon your devoted heads and your prayerless
families, unless you fly out of its reach by flying to the
Lord in earnest supplications in your houses. Will you
rather run the venture, will you rather destroy yourselves
and your domestics too, than spend a quarter or half an
hour, morning and evening, in the most manly, noble,
heavenly, evangelical exercises of devotion 1 Surely you
are not so hardy ! surely you are not so averse to God,
and careless about your own welfare, and that of your
dearest relatives and domestics! I request, I beg, I adjure
you by your regard to the authority of God, by your con-
cern for your own salvation and that of your families, by
the regards you bear the interests of religion in this place,
and your poor minister, that this may be the happy evening
from whence you may date the worship of God in your
houses ; that this may be the blessed era from which you
and your houses will serve the Lord.

I proceed,

II. To show in what seasons, or how frequently, family
religion should be statedly performed.

Now it is more than intimated in Scripture, that it
should be performed every day, and particularly morning
and evening. Thus the sacrifices under the law, which

94 THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE

were attended with prayer, were offered daily, morning and
evening. To this the Psalmist alludes ; Let my prayer be set
forth before thee as incense, which was offered in the morn-
ing, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacri-
fice, Psalm cxli. 2. He elsewhere resolves, every day
will I bless thee. Psalm cxlv. 2. Yea, his devotion was so
extraordinary, that he resolves, Evening, and morning,
and at noon, will I pray and cry aloud. Psalm Iv. 17. So
Daniel performed family-worship thrice a day. Hence
we are undoubtedly bound to perform family religion
twice at least in the day. And thus frequently it seems
to be enjoined for common. " It is a good thing to show
forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithful-
ness every night." Psalm xcii. 1, 2. Farther, reason
directs us to morning and evening as the proper season for
family worship ; for, pray, which would you omit ? Dare
you venture your families out into the world all the day
without committing them to the care of Providence in the
morning? Can you undertake your secular pursuits with-
out imploring the divine blessing upon them ? And as to
the evening, how can you venture to sleep without com-
mitting yourselves and yours to the divine protection, and
returning thanks for the mercies of the day ? Again, the
very course of nature seems to direct us to these seasons.
Our life is parcelled out into so many days ; and every
day is a kind of life, and sleep a kind of death. And
shall we enter upon life in the morning, without acknow-
ledging the Author of our life ? Or shall we, as it were,
die in the evening, and not commend our departing spirits
into his hands 1 Night is a kind of pause, a stop, in the
progress of life, and should kindle a devout temper in us
towards our divine Preserver. I shall only add, that the
prophet hints that we should seek the Lord as the Author
of the revolutions of night and day; "Seek him that

OF FAMILY RELIGION. 95

turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh
the day dark with night," Amos v. 8; that is, seek him
under that notion; and what time so proper for this as
evening and morning ? Therefore, my brethren, determine
to begin and conclude the day with God.

III. I shall consider what particular obligation the
heads of families lie under, and what authority they are
invested with to maintain religion in their houses.

In all societies there must be a subordination, and par-
ticularly in families, and it is the place of the head of such
societies to rule and direct. Particularly it belongs to the
head of a family, when there is no fitter person present, to
perform worship in it, to use proper means to cause all his
domestics to attend upon it. The gentler means of per-
suasion ought to be used, where they will succeed; but
when it is unavoidable, compulsive measures may be taken,
to oblige all our domestics to an attendance. The con-
sciences of all, bond and free, are subject to God only,
and no man ought to compel another to any thing, as a
duty, that is against his conscience. But this is not the
case here. Your domestics may plead a great many
excuses for not joining in family worship, but they will
hardly plead that it is against their conscience; that is,
they will hardly say that they think they should sin against
God in so doing. Here, then, you may use your authority;
and perhaps some word they hear may touch their hearts.
You should, in common cases, cause them all to attend
morning and evening, unless your servants are scattered in
different quarters, and make conscience of praying together,
which you should exhort them to do, and for which you
should allow them convenient time.

That you are authorized and obliged to all this, is evi-
dent from God's commending Abraham for commanding
his children, &c.; from Joshua's resolving, that not only

96 THE NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE

he, but also his house, should serve the Lord ; a resolution
he could not perform, unless he had authority over his
house to compel them, at least externally, to serve the
Lord, (Josh. xxiv. 15,) and from the superiority which
vou have over your domestics, which enables you to com-
mand them in this case, as well as in your own affairs.

IV. And lastly, I come to answer the usual objections
against this important duty of family religion.

It would be more honest for people frankly to own that
they have no heart to it, and that this is the real cause of
their neglecting it, and not any valid objections they have
against it; but since they will torture their invention to
discover some pleas to excuse themselves, we must answer
them.

1st Objection. " I have no time, and my secular busi-
ness would suffer by family religion."

Were you formed for this world only, there would be
some force in this- objection; but how strange does such
an objection sound in the heir of an eternity ! Pray, what
is your time given to you for? Is it not principally that
you may prepare for eternity? And have you no time
for what is the great business of your lives ?

Again, Why do you not plead, too, that you have no
time for your daily meals? Is food more necessary for
your bodies than religion for your souls ? If you think so,
what is become of your understandings ?

Further, What employment do you follow ? Is it lawful
or unlawful? If unlawful, then renounce it immediately;
if lawful, then it will admit of the exercise of family reli-
gion, for God cannot command contradictions; and since
he has commanded you to maintain his worship in your
houses, that is demonstration that every calling which he
allows you to follow will afford time for it.

Finally, May you not redeem as much time from idle

OF FAMILY RELIGION. 97

conversation, from trifling, or even from your sleep, as may
be sufficient for family religion ? May you not order your
family devotion so as that your domestics may attend upon
it, either before they go out to their work, or when they
come to their meals?

2d Objection. " I have not ability to pray ; I am too
ignorant."

If you had a proper sense of your wants, this plea would
not hinder you. Did you ever hear a beggar, however
ignorant, make this objection? A sense of his necessities
is an unfailing fountain of his eloquence.

Further, how strange does this objection sound from
you! What! have you enjoyed preaching, Bibles, and
good books so long, and yet do not know what to ask of
God 1 Alas ! what have you been doing ?

Again, Is neglecting prayer the way to improve in
knowledge, and qualify you to perform it?

Finally, May you not easily furnish yourselves with
forms of prayer, which you may use as persons weak in
their limbs do their crutches, till you can lay them aside ?
It is bigotry only that will say that you should neglect the
substance of the duty, if you cannot perform every circum-
stance of it in the best manner.

3d Objection. " I am ashamed."

But is this shame well grounded? Is it really a shame
to worship the God of heaven, and share in the employ-
ment of angels ?

Are sinners ashamed to serve their Master ?

A little practice will easily free you from all this diffi-
culty.

4th Objection. " But, alas ! I know not how to begin
it."

Here, indeed, the difficulty lies; but why will you not
own that you were hitherto mistaken, and that you would

VOL. II.— 13

98 NECESSITY AND EXCELLENCE OF FAMILY RELIGION.

rather reform than persist obstinately in the omission of

an evident duty ?

5th Objection. " But my family will not join with me."
How do you know ? Have you tried ? Are you not

master of your own family ? Exert that authority in this

which you claim in other cases.

6th Objection. " But I shall be ridiculed and laughed

at."

Are you then more afraid of a laugh or a jeer than the
displeasure of God? Would you rather please men than
him?

Will you never become religious till you can obtain the
applause of the wicked for being so ? Then you will
never be religious at all.

Think how you will bear the contempt of the whole
universe at last for the neglect of this duty !

Therefore, wherever you have your habitation, there
let Jehovah, may I so speak, have an altar, and there let
morning and evening prayers and praises be presented,
till you are called to worship him in his temple above,
where your prayers shall be swallowed up in everlasting
praise. Amen.

THE RULE OF EQUITY.

SERMON XXX.

THE RULE OF EQUITY.

MATT. VH. 12. — Therefore all things whatsoever ye would
that men should do to you, do ye even so to them : for
this is the law and the prophets.

CHRISTIANITY is not a fragment, but a complete system
of religion; and it is intended and adapted to make us
good entirely and throughout : it teaches us a proper con-
duct and temper towards every being with whom we have
any connection, particularly towards God and our fellow
men. A Christian is a complete, uniform, finished cha-
racter; a character in which there is the most amiable
symmetry and proportion; it is all of a piece, without
chasms and inconsistencies. A Christian is a penitent, a
believer, a lover of God, conscientious in devotion, and
diligent in attendance upon every ordinance of religious
worship; he begins his religion with a supreme regard to
God, the Supreme of beings, sensible that unless he begins
here, he inverts the order of things, and that all his reli-
gion and virtue must be preposterous and vain. To love
the Lord his God with all his heart, and to serve him from
that exalted principle, is the first and great commandment
with him ; and he observes it as such. Religion, virtue,
morality, and every thing that bears a specious name
among mankind, is a poor, maimed thing, monstrously
defective, if a proper regard to God be left out of the
system. It is shocking and unnatural for the creatures of

100 THE RULE OF EQUITY.

God to be punctual in observing the duties they owe to one
another, and yet entirely negligent of those radical funda-
mental duties they owe to him, their common Parent, the
highest excellence, and the original of all authority and
obligation.

But though Christianity begins with, and chiefly con-
sists in our duty to God, yet it extends farther ; it also in-
cludes a proper conduct and temper towards men. A
good Christian is not only devout, but moral and virtuous :
he is not only a dutiful servant of God in matters purely
religious, but he is a useful member of every society to
which he belongs, and makes conscience of justice, charity,
and all the good offices due to his fellow-creatures. He
is a good ruler or a good subject, a good neighbour, a
good father or child, a good master or servant ; in short,
he endeavours to have a " conscience void of offence to-
wards God and towards men." I have made it the great
object of my ministry among you to bring you to pay a
proper regard to God, as he has revealed himself in the
gospel of his Son ; and for this purpose have inculcated
the important doctrines of faith, repentance, love, and
those other graces which are essential to every good man.
But I must not forget another part of my office, which is,
to teach you the second great command, or summary of
the divine law, namely, " That you should love your
neighbour as yourselves," and inculcate upon you those
important duties which you owe to mankind; and it is
very extravagant for persons to disgust these, through a
pretended relish for the gospel and the doctrines of grace,
since these are no inconsiderable parts of the gospel, and
the lessons of morality run through the whole New Testa-
ment.

When I would discourse upon the duties of social life,
I cannot choose a text more pertinent or copious than that

THE RULE OF EQUITY. 101

I have read to you, which is a fundamental and most com-
prehensive rule of morality ; " all things whatsoever ye
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them ;
for this is the law and the prophets."

In the illustration and improvement of this subject, I
shall,

I. Offer a few things for the right understanding of this
divine rule of social duty.

II. Consider the reason of it.

III. Open its excellency.

IV. Mention some important instances of particular
cases to which it should be applied. And,

Lastly, show the necessity and advantage of observing it.

I. I am to offer a few things for the right understanding
of this divine rule.

It is proper, then, to observe, that as there is a great
diversity in the stations and characters of men, there is a
proportionable diversity in the duties which they owe one
to another ; and self-love may make a man very extrava-
gant in his expectations and desires about the conduct of
another towards him. On these accounts it is necessary
that we should understand this precept with these two
cautions or limitations.

1. That we should do that to others which we would
expect and wish from them upon a change of condition,
or if they were in our circumstances and we in theirs.
Every man should be treated according to his character
and station; and therefore that conduct which may be
proper towards me in my station, may not be proper to-
wards another in a different station : but let me suppose
myself in his place and he in mine, and then that be-
haviour which I would expect from him, the same I should
observe towards him. Thus, for example, a magistrate
is bound to protect his subjects, and to behave towards

102

them as he would desire a ruler to behave towards him
if he were a subject; but he is not bound to yield that
submission to his subjects, while a ruler, which he may
justly demand of them. The rule in such cases is, let
every man act in character; let him perform to others
those duties which he would desire from others if they
were in his circumstances, and he in theirs ; and where
there is a sameness of circumstances, there, and there only,
his duty to others must be the same that he expects from
them.

2. We should make only our reasonable and lawful
expectations from others the rule of our conduct towards
them. A man may expect and wish very extravagant
and sinful things from others; he may desire another
should give him all his estate, or gratify his wicked lusts
and passions by some criminal compliance ; such desires
are by no means to be the rule of conduct ; for we can-
not indulge them, nor others comply with them, without
acting wickedly and unreasonably. But those things which
we may desire and expect from others, consistently with
right reason, religion, and the laws of society, those
things we ought to perform to them; those things which
our consciences justify, and not those to which our in-
ordinate self-love or some extravagant passion may prompt
us.

If we understand this precept with such limitations as
these, we may safely follow it as a general rule of con-
duct; and then it will not be liable to such objections as
may be otherwise made against it. For example, a crimi-
nal may plead, " If I were in the place of my judge, and
he in mine, I would acquit him and grant him his life."
Or a judge might think, " If I were in the place of that
poor criminal, I should be glad if my judge would forgive
me ; and therefore, if I would do as I would be done by,

THE RULE OF EQUITY. 103

I must forgive him." Such thoughts as these, arising from
wrong principles, are not to be the rule and measure of
our actions or expectations; for our own consciences can-
not approve of them in our sedate and impartial moments.
I proceed,

II. To consider the reason of this precept.

Now the reason or foundation of it is evidently this,
namely, the natural equality of mankind. For notwith-
standing the great difference in the capacities, improve-
ments, characters, and stations of men, yet, considered as
men, they share in the same common nature, and are so
far equal ; and therefore, in the same circumstances, they
have a right to the same treatment. A superior, for ex-
ample, should treat his inferior just in the manner in which
he would reasonably expect to be treated himself if he
was in a low condition and his inferior advanced to his
station. If there be any reason why another should be-
have in such a manner to me, there is the very same
reason that I should behave in the same manner towards
him; because he is to himself what I am to myself, as
near, as dear, as important. Is it reasonble my neighbour
should make no encroachments upon my property? It is
equally reasonable that I should not encroach upon his ;
for his property is as much his as my property is mine.
Do I expect my neighbour should observe the rules of
justice in his dealings with me ? then certainly I should
observe them in my dealings with him; for he has as good
a right to be treated according to these rules, by me, as I
have to be so treated by him. If it is reasonable that he
should be tender of my good name, it is equally reasonable
that I should be tender of his. If he should relieve me
in my calamities, certainly I am equally bound to relieve
him when in the same circumstances. And the reason is
plain ; he is to himself what I am to myself, and he is to

104 THE RULE OF EQUITY.

me what I am to him, and therefore I am obliged to treat
him as I would justly expect he would treat me ; we are
equal, and consequently our obligations are equal, and our
duties mutual or reciprocal. Hence you see that this pre-
cept is the most reasonable thing in the world. My next
business is,

III. To open the excellency of it.

And this appears (1.) from its comprehensiveness; it
includes all the social duties of life ; it is a short summary
of the whole divine law, as far as it refers to our conduct
towards man. This excellency Christ himself points out :
This, says he is the law and the prophets; that is, it is the
substance of both; do to others what you would have
others do to you, and then you do to them all that the law
and the prophets, and I may add, all that Christ and the
apostles require you to do. Now it is a great advantage
to have the whole of our duty collected into such narrow
bounds, and presented to us at one view; we are not sent
to pore over tedious volumes of laws and statutes, or to
gather up fragments of precepts here and there in order
to learn our duty to one another; it is all summed up in
this, "Do to others what you would have them do to you."
With this is connected another excellency of this precept;
and that is,

2. Its conciseness; it is what I may call a portable
directory, which you may always carry about with you
and easily recollect ; and therefore you need never be at a
loss to know your duty. You may always know your
own expectations and desires; do to others, then, what you
would expect and desire from them, and you are right ;
you do all that the law and the prophets require you to
do. Tedious precepts and long discourses are not so
easily learned or remembered ; but the shortest memory
cannot fail to recollect this concise command.

THE RULE OF EQUITY. 105

3. Another excellency of this precept is, that it is uni-
versal, and extends to all mankind, in all circumstances; to
superiors, inferiors, and equals. It is true there is a great
diversity in the characters and stations of men, which it is
not your business, nor is it in your power to alter; and there
is a correspondent variety in the duties you owe them.
But you can easily imagine them all in the same circum-
stances; or you can easily suppose yourselves in their
place, and they in yours ; and then you can with equal
ease look into your own minds, and consider what treat-
ment you would expect from them in such a change of
circumstances; and that will immediately discover how
you should treat them in their present circumstances.
Thus the rule may be universally applied without impro-
priety.

4. Another excellency of this precept is, that it is plain
and convictive. Common minds may be bewildered, in-
stead of being guided, by an intricate, tedious system of
laws; but a man of the weakest understanding may
easily perceive this rule. It is an appeal to his own sen-
sations. " What would you expect or wish from others ?
How would you have them treat you ?" Surely you can-
not but know this ; " Well, treat them just in the same
manner." This is also a most convictive rule ; every man
that thinks a little, must immediately own that it is highly
reasonable ; consult your own consciences, and they will
tell you, you need no other adviser, and you are self-con-
demned if you violate this precept. It is written upon
your hearts in illustrious, indelible characters : it shines and
sparkles there, like the Urim and Thummim on the breast
of Aaron. I am,

IV. To mention some important instances of particular
cases to which this excellent rule ought to be applied.
And here I shall throw a great many things together with-

VOL. II.— 14

106

out method, that my description may agree the nearer to
real life, in which these things happen promiscuously with-
out order.

Would you desire that another should love you, be
ready to serve you, and do you all the kind offices in his
power ? Do you expect your neighbour should rejoice
in your prosperity, sympathize with you in affliction, pro-
mote your happiness, and relieve you in distress ? Would
you have him observe the rules of strict justice in dealing
with you 1 Would you have him tender of your reputa-
tion, ready to put the kindest construction upon your
actions, and unwilling to believe or spread a bad report
concerning you. Do you desire he should direct you
when mistaken, and labour to reclaim you from a danger-
ous course? In short, do you think it reasonable he
should do all in his power for your good, in soul, body,
and estate? Are these your expectations and desires
with regard to the conduct of others towards you ?
Then in this manner should you behave towards them ;
you have fixed and determined the rule of your own con-
duct :* your expectations from others have the force of a
law upon yourselves; and since you know how they
should behave towards you, you cannot be at a loss to
know how to behave towards them.

If you were a servant, how would you have your mas-
ter to behave towards you? Consider and determine the
matter ; and you will know how you should behave to-
wards your servants. The same thing- may be applied to
rulers and subjects in general, to parents and children,
husbands and wives, neighbour and neighbour.

On the other hand, we may consider this rule nega-
tively. Do you desire that another should not entertain

-Tu tibi legem dixisti.

THE RULE OF EQUITY. 107

angry and malicious passions against you ? that he should
not envy your prosperity, nor exult over your adversity ?
that he should not take the advantage of you in contracts 1
that he should not violate the laws of justice in commerce
with you, nor defraud you of your property? that he
should not injure your reputation, or put an unkind con-
struction upon your conduct? Would you expect-that if
you were a servant, your master should not tyrannize over
you, and give you hard usage ; or that if you were a mas-
ter, your servant should not be unfaithful, disobedient, and
obstinate ? are these your expectations and desires with
regard to the conduct of others ? then you have prescribed
a law for your own conduct : do not that to others which
you would not have them do to you : treat every man as
another self, as a part of the same human nature with
yourself. How extravagant and ridiculous is it that you
should be treated well by all mankind, and yet you be at
liberty to treat them as you please ? What are you ?
What a being of mighty importance are you ? Is not an-
other as dear to himself as you are to yourself? Are not
his rights as sacred and inviolable as yours ? How came
you to be entitled to an exemption from the common laws
of human nature ? Be it known to you, you are as firmly
bound by them as any of your species.

By these few instances you may learn how to apply
this maxim of Christian morality to all the cases that may
occur in the course of your lives.

Were I reading to you a letter of moral philosophy in
the school of Socrates or Seneca, what I have offered
might be sufficient. But in order to adapt this discourse
to the Christian dispensation, and make it true Christian
morality, it is necessary I should subjoin two evangelical
peculiarities, which are the qualifications of that virtue
which God will accept.

108 THE RULE OF EQUITY.

The first is, that all our good offices to mankind should
proceed not only from benevolence to them, but from a
regard to the divine authority, which obliges us to these
duties. We should do these things not only as they are
commanded, but because they are commanded. We can-
not expect that God will accept of that as obedience to
him, wjiich we do not intend in that view. Let us apply
that rule to every social duty, which the apostle particu-
larly applies to the duty of servants to their masters:
Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not
unto men. Col. iii. 23.

The second qualification of evangelical virtue or true
Christian morality, is, that you perform it in the name of
Christ, or that you depend not upon the merit of your
obedience, but entirely upon his mediatorial righteousness,
to procure acceptance with God. Without this all your
actions of charity and justice, however fair and splendid
they appear in the eyes of men, are but proud philosophic
virtue, utterly abhorred by a holy God. But with this
evangelical temper, you will be accepted as serving God,
even in serving men. And oh ! that with these qualifica-
tions this rule may regulate the conduct of each of us ! I
am sure there is reason enough for it, if the greatest ne-
cessity, or the greatest advantage can be a reason. Which
consideration leads me,

V. And lastly, To show the necessity and advantage
of observing this rule.

(1.) The observance of this rule is absolutely neces-
sary to constitute you real Christians. I hinted at this
in the beginning of my discourse ; but it is of such vast
importance, that it merits a more thorough considera-
tion. A Christian not only prays, attends upon religious
ordinances, discourses about religion, and the like, but he
is also a strict moralist ; he is just and charitable, and

THE RULE OF EQUITY. 109

makes conscience of every duty to mankind ; and moral-
ity is not ornamental but essential to his character ;
and it is in vain for you to pretend to the Christian cha-
racter without morality. An unjust, uncharitable Chris-
tian, is as great a contradiction as a prayerless, or a swear-
ing Christian. You can no more be a good man without
loving your neighbour, than without loving your God.
" He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother,"
and neglects the duties he owes to him, is really in dark-
ness even until now, (1 John ii. 9,) let him pretend what he
will. Therefore if you count it of any importance to be
Christians indeed, you must do to others what you would
have them do to you. No inward experience, no religious
duties, no zeal in devotion can make you true Christians,
or entitle you to the charity of others as such, without a
proper temper and behaviour towards mankind. I would
have you, my dear brethren, to be complete, finished Chris-
tians ; if there be any thing in the world that I have at
heart, it is this : I would have Christianity appear in you
in its full glory, unmaimed and well-proportioned; and
therefore I would have you to be not only zealous in de-
votion in secret, in your families, and in public, but also
just, honourable, and faithful in all your dealings with man-
kind ; kind, affectionate, meek, and inoffensive in your con-
duct towards them ; in short, that you should treat them
as you would have them treat you. You find a great deal
of fault with the conduct of others towards you, but con-
sider, have they not equal reason to blame your conduct
towards them? My dear brethren, be yourselves what
you would have others be. Would you have them to be
better than yourselves? Would you merely resign to them
that true honour? Do you desire that they should be bet-
ter Christians and better men than you? What an awk-
ward, perverse, preposterous humility is this? But,

110 THE RULE OF EQUITY.

(2.) A proper conduct towards mankind in the profes-
sors of religion, is necessary to recommend religion to the
world, and reflect honour upon their profession ; whereas
the want of it brings a reproach upon the Christian name.
The blind world has but little knowledge, and still less
concern about the duties that we owe immediately to God,
and therefore the neglect of them is not so much observed ;
but as to the duties we owe to mankind, they themselves
are concerned in them, and therefore they take the more
notice of the omission of them, and are more sensible of
the importance. And when they see a man that makes a
mighty profession, that talks a great deal about religion,
and is zealous in frequent attendance upon sermons, prayer,
&c., when they see such a man make no conscience of the
laws of justice and charity towards men ; when they ob-
serve he is as deceitful, as over-reaching, as sordid and co-
vetous as others, and perhaps more so, what will they think
of his religion? Will they not think it a cloak for his
knavery, and a stratagem to accomplish his own wicked de-
signs ? And thus are they hardened in impiety, and con-
firmed in their neglect of all religion. My brethren, it is
incredible what injury the Christian religion has received
from this quarter : the bad lives of professors is the com-
mon objection against it in the mouths of heathens, Jews,
Turks, and infidels, among ourselves. There is indeed no
real force in the objection : you may as well say that mo-
ral honesty is but villainy, because many who pretend to it
are knaves, and make that pretence to carry on their
knavery with more success. It must also be confessed,
that many discover much of their enmity against religion
itself, by raising a clamour against the bad lives of its pro-
fessors ; and that there is much less ground for the objec-
tion than they would have you believe. The true secret
is this : they hate strict religion themselves, and would find

THE RULE OF EQUITY. Ill

some umbrage to expose it in others, in order to excuse
or defend their own neglect of it ; and as they can find no
objection against religion itself, they abuse all its professors :
and if it is evident that their visible conduct is good, they
would find out some secret flaw ; and if they can discover
no glaring defect in their duty to God, they pry into their
conduct towards man, to discover some secret wickedness :
and, alas ! in too many instances, their malignant search is
successful ; and they find some that make a mighty pro-
fession, who are secretly guilty of some mean or wicked
artifices in their transactions with men. Now they think
they have found them out, and surmise, "They are all
such ; they pray and make a great stir about religion, but
they will cheat and lie, when they can do it clandestinely,
as readily as their neighbours." This imputation, when
made to Christians in the bulk, is not only ungenerous, but
utterly false. But it must, alas ! be owned, that the fact,
upon which it is founded, is true with regard to some.
And what a melancholy thought is this ! The innocent, I
mean the consistent and uniform professors of religion, suf-
fer by this conduct of their false brethren ; for the same
artful hypocrisy will be surmised of them; and religion
itself suffers by such conduct; for it gives a disadvanta-
geous idea of religion, as though it were all show and
ostentation, and made its most zealous votaries no better in
reality than those that neglect and despise it. My bre-
thren, I seriously tell you, I know of nothing in the world
that would have a more efficacious tendency to propogate
Christianity through the nations of the earth, than the
good behaviour of its professors. The impiety and bad
morals of those that make no profession of religion is evi-
dent to all ; and if all that profess it would live according
to their profession, then the difference would be discerni-
ble to all : and even common sense would teach a hea-

THE RULE OF EQUITY.

then that it is a difference much for the better ; and the
world would soon conclude there is something singularly
excellent and divine in a religion that sanctifies every thing
within its reach, and makes its subjects so evidently better
than all mankind besides : they would need no laboured
arguments to convince them of this point ; their own con-
sciences would afford them sufficient evidence of it, and
then it would be sufficient to make a heathen a Christian,
to bring him into the acquaintance of Christians ; and it
would be impossible there should be such a thing as a de-
ist, or an infidel freethinker, in a Christian country : he
would receive conviction from the practice of every one
about him, and he would not be able to shut his eyes
against it. I am sorry, my brethren, the case is so much
the reverse through the generality of the Christian world.
It is really melancholy that the name of a Christian should
raise in a stranger any ideas but those of justice, benevo-
lence, and every thing honourable and excellent. I am
sure our religion, as we find it in the Bible, is such ; but,
alas ! how different, how opposite is the Christian world !
Those that trade among infidels, or that are employed as
missionaries among the heathen, can inform you what a
fatal obstruction the bad lives of its professors is to the
propagation of our holy religion. Why should they em-
brace a religion which leaves the morals of its followers as
bad or worse than their own ? This inquiry the light of
nature teaches them to make ; and it is really hard to an-
swer it satisfactorily. When a Turk could turn upon a
Christian, who insinuated that he lied, with this reprimand,
" What ! do you think I am a Christian, that I should lie?"
When an Indian can tell a Christian missionary, "If your
religion be so much better than ours, as you say it is, how
comes it that you white people are no better than we ?
Nay, you have taught us many vices, which we knew no-

THE RULE OF EQUITY. 113

thing of till our acquaintance with you?" I say, when
Turks and heathens can make such repartees, is there any
prospect that Christianity should be received among them ?
Alas, no ! The same thing may be applied to those care-
less, vicious, impious multitudes among ourselves, who do
indeed usurp the name of Christians, but can hardly be
said to make any profession of Christianity, as their whole
lives are openly and avowedly contrary to it. If all who
make a stricter profession were to live in character, it would
soon afford conviction to these profane sinners : they could
not but see the difference, and that it is a shocking differ-
ence for the worse on their side. And now, my brethren,
shall our holy religion suffer? shall nations be prejudiced
against it? shall multitudes of souls be lost by our miscon-
duct? Oh! can you bear the thought of incurring such
dreadful guilt ! Well, if you would avoid it, observe the
sacred precept in my text. On the other hand, would
you not contribute all in your power to render your reli-
gion amiable in the world, to convert mankind to it, and
thus save souls from death? If you would, then observe
this divine rule. Let the world see that you are really
the better for your religion, and that your singular profes-
sion is not a vain, idle, ostentatious pretence. I have this
particular much at heart, and therefore you will bear with
me that I have enlarged so much upon it.

(3.) The observance of this sacred rule of equity would
have the most happy influence upon human society, and
would make this world a little paradise. If men did to
others whatever they would have others do to them, such
a conduct would put an end to a great part of the miseries
of mankind. Then there would be no wars and tumults
among the nations, no jealousies and contentions in fami-
lies, no oppression, fraud, or any form of injustice, no jars,
animosities, and confusions in neighbourhoods ; but human

VOL. II.— 15

]14 THE RULE OF EQUITY.

society would be a company of friends, and justice, equity,
love, charity, kindness, gratitude, sympathy, and all the
amiable train of virtues, would reign among them. What
a happy state of things would this be! How different
from the present ! And shall not each of us contribute all
in our power to bring about such a glorious revolution?

( 4.) The observance of this rule is a piece of prudence
with regard to ourselves. It is of great importance to our
happiness in this world, that others should treat us well.
There are none of us absolutely independent of others ;
we are not able to stand as the butt of universal opposi-
tion ; or if we are now in happy circumstances, we stand
upon a slippery place, and may soon fall as low as our
neighbours. Now, the readiest way to be treated well by
others, is to treat others well ourselves. If you would
have others to behave agreeably to you, you must do so
to them; do what you expect from them. Men often
complain of bad neighbours, when they are the occasion
of it by being bad neighbours themselves. There is
hardly any place so bad, but a benevolent, inoffensive man
may live peaceably in it ; but the contentious will always
meet with contention ; for they raise the storm which dis-
turbs them. Therefore, if no other argument has weight
with you, for your own sakes observe this divine rule.

(5.) I shall only add, that unless you conscientiously
observe the duties of social life, you cannot enter the king-
dom of heaven. Not only sins done immediately against
God, and the omission of duties to him, but also sins
against our fellow creatures, and the omission of the duties
we owe to them, will exclude men from the kingdom of
God. Of this we have abundant evidence in Scripture.
I need only refer you to two comprehensive passages, 1
Cor. vi. 9, 10; Gal. v. 19, 20, 21; in which you see that
all unrighteousness, hatred, variance, strife, envy, extor-

THE RULE OF EQUITY. 115

tion, and the like, which are offensive against men, will as
certainly shut the gates of heaven against you, as idolatery
or heresies, which are sins against God. The most
plausible experiences, the greatest diligence and zeal in
devotion, and the most promising profession of religion,
will never bring you to heaven, though absolutely neces-
sary in their place, unless you also abound in good works
towards men. And shall this argument have no weight
with you? Is your eternal salvation an insignificant thing
with you 1 Are you proof against the terrors of everlast-
ing destruction 1 If you would enjoy the one and escape
the other, " Do to others what you would have them do
to you."

I shall conclude with one or two reflections.

1. If this be the rule of our conduct, alas! how little
true morality is there in the world ! Men seem to act
as if they were entirely detached from one another, and
had no connection, or were not at all concerned to pro-
mote each other's interest. Self-interest is their pursuit,
and self-love their ruling passion ; if that be but promoted,
and this gratified, they have little or no concern besides.
" Let their neighbours look to themselves, they have no
business with them." If I shall only mention one par-
ticular case under this general rule, namely, commerce
and bargaining, what a scene of iniquity would it open !
Men seem to make this their rule, to get as much for what
they sell, and give as little for what they buy, as they can :
they hardly ever think what the real value of the thing is,
and whether the other party has a tolerable bargain of it :
" Let him look," say they, to that ; " it is none of their
care." Alas ! my brethren, where are the laws of justice
and charity, when men behave in this manner ? And yet,
alas ! how common is such a conduct in the commercial
world !

116 THE RULE OF EQUITY.

2. We ought to examine our own conduct in this re-
spect, and it will go a great way to determine whether
our religion be true and sincere, or not. If we make a
conscience of social duty, it is a promising sign that God
has written his law in our hearts. But if we can willingly
indulge ourselves in any sinful and mean conduct towards
men, we may be sure our religion is in vain, whatever our
pretensions be. Let us feel, then, the pulse of our souls,
whether it beats warm and full, both with the love of God
and the love of our neighbour. " Finally, brethren, what-
soever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, [or
venerable,] whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things
are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
are of good report ; if there be any virtue, and if there be
any praise, think on these things." Phil. iv. 8.

DEDICATION TO GOD. 117

SERMON XXXI.

DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED FROM REDEEMING MERCY.*

1 COR. vi. 19, 20. — What ! know ye not that ye are not
your own ? For ye are bought with a price : therefore
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are
God's.

MY first and last business with you to-day, is to assert
a claim which perhaps you have but little thought of, or
acknowledged. In the name of God I enter a claim to
you, to the whole of you, soul and body, and whatever
you possess; to every one of you, high and low, old and
young, freemen as well as slaves ; I enter a claim to you
all as God's right, and not your own : and I would endea-
vour to bring you voluntarily to acknowledge his right,
and by your own free act to surrender and devote your-
selves to him, whose you are, and whom therefore you are
bound to serve.

It is high time for me to assert, and for you to acknow-
ledge, God's right to you ; for have not many of you be-
haved as if you thought you were your own, and had no
master or proprietor? Have you not practically said, with
those insolent sinners the psalmist mentions, Our lips are
our own, who is lord over us ? Ps. xii. 4 ; for have you
not refused to employ yonr tongues for the honour of God,
and spoke what you pleased, without any control from his

* This discourse is said by the author to be " Sermons preparatory to the
Lord's Supper."

118 DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED

law ? Have you not said by your practice, what Pharaoh
was bold and plain enough to speak out in words, Who is
the LORD that I should obey his voice ? Exod. v. 2. Have
you not aimed at pleasing yourselves, as if you were not
bound to please the supreme Lord of heaven and earth,
whose authority confines the stubborn powers of hell in
chains of everlasting darkness, and sets all the armies of
heaven in motion to execute his sovereign orders 1 Have
you not followed your own inclinations, as if you were at
liberty to do what you pleased ? Or if you have in some
instances restrained yourselves, have not the restraints pro-
ceeded, not from a regard to his authority, but from a re-
gard to your own pleasure or interest ? Have you not
used your bodies, your souls, your estates, and all your
possessions, as if they were your own absolutely and inde-
pendently, and there were no God on high, who has an
original and superior claim to you, and all that you are
and have 1 Do not your own consciences convict you of
these things ? Is it not, then, high time for you to be made
sensible whose right you are ? that you are not your own,
but God's ]

This reason would render this subject very seasonable
at any time. But there is another reason which peculi-
arly determines me to make choice of it to-day ; and that
is, the greatest business of this day is to surrender and de-
vote ourselves to God as his servants for ever. In so
solemn a posture as at the Lord's table, in so affecting an
act as the commemoration of that death to which we owe
all our hopes of life and happiness, and with such solemn
emblems as those of bread and wine in our hands, which
represent the broken body and flowing blood of Jesus, we
are to yield ourselves to God, and seal our indenture to
be his. This is the solemn business we are now entering
upon. And that we may perform it the more heartily, it

FROM REDEEMING MERCY. 119

is fit we should be sensible that we are doing no more
than what we are obliged to do ; no more than what God
has a right to require us to do, seeing we are not our own,
but his.

The apostle speaks of it with an air of surprise and
horror, that any under the profession of Christianity should
be so stupid as not to know and acknowledge that they
are not their own, but God's. What ! says he, know ye
not) that ye are not your own ? As if he had said, can
you be ignorant in so plain a point as this. »Or can you
be so hardy, as knowing the truth, to practise contrary to
knowing it ? Knowing you are not your own, dare you
act as if you were your own ? Acknowledging that you
are God's, dare you withhold from him his property ? Will
a man rob God ? Shall not his professed servants serVe
him 1 Since your bodies and your souls are his, dare you
use them as if they were absolutely your own, and refuse
to glorify him with them ?

The same claim, my brethren, is valid with regard to
you, which the apostle here asserts with regard to the
Corinthians. You are no more your own than they were;
you are as much God's property as they were.

And his property in you depends upon such firm foun-
dations as cannot be shaken without the loss of your be-
ing, and your relapse into nothing. If you made your-
selves, you may call yourselves your own. But you know
the curious frames of your bodies were not formed by
your own hands, nor was it your feeble breath that in-
spired them with those immortal sparks of reason, your
souls. A greater absurdity cannot be mentioned, than
that a creature should be its own creator ; for then it must
act before it had a being. You owe your being to a di-
vine Original, the Fountain of all existence. It was Jeho-
vah, the uncreated, all-creating Jehovah, who so wonder-

120 DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED

fully and fearfully formed your bodies, and who is like-
wise the Father of your spirits. And what right can be
more valid than that founded upon creation? It is a right
founded upon your very being, and which nothing but the
entire loss of being can destroy. He that makes servants
out of nothing, has he not a right to their service ? Did
he form your souls and bodies, and may he not require
you to glorify him with them ? Can you call them your
own, or dare to dispose of them as you please, without
any regard to God, when you would have had neither soul
nor body, nor been any thing at all, if it had not been for
him ? You think you have such a right to a thousand
things as entitles you to the use of them ; but show me
one thing, if you can, to which you have such a right as
God has to you, to your whole souls and bodies, to you,
who have no master upon earth, and who are your own
property in exclusion to all the claims of your fellow-crea-
tures. Did you produce out of nothing any of those
things you call yours ? No, you only bought them with
money, or you formed them into what they are, out of
materials already created to your hand. But it is Jeho-
vah's right alone that is founded upon creation. And will
you not acknowledge this right ? Will not your hearts
declare, even now, " My Maker, God, this soul and this
body are thine ; and to thee I cheerfully surrender them ?
The work of thine own hands shall be thine by my free
and full consent ; and I renounce all claim to myself that
is not dependent upon and subordinate to thee."

Again, the providence of God towards you has made
you his absolute property; and on this footing he claims
your service. You could no more support yourselves in
being, than you could give being to yourselves at first.
Who but he has preserved you alive for so many months
and years; preserved you so frail and precarious, sur-

FROM REDEEMING MERCY. 121

rounded with so many dangers, and exposed to so many
wants? Whose earth have you trod upon? Whose air
have you breathed in? Whose creatures have you fed
upon? The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof,
Ps. xxiv. 1; and consequently all the supports and enjoy-
ments, all the necessaries and comforts of life, are his.
Show me the mercy, if you can, which you created.
Mention the moment, if you can, in which you supported
your own life, independently of the Almighty. Show me
that property of yours, if you can, which is so dependent
upon you as you are upon him. This moment, if he
should withdraw his supporting hand, you would in-
stantaneously become as entirely nothing as you were ten
thousand years ago. If he should now strip you of all
that is his, and only leave you what is originally your own,
he would leave you nothing- at all. The earth, and all its
productions, the air, the light, and your very being would
be entirely vanished, and your place would be no more
known in the creation. Oh ! that you knew, oh ! that you
felt, oh! that you practically acknowledged, how entirely
dependent you are upon God ! And dare you call your-
selves voor own, when you cannot support yourselves in
being or in happiness one moment? Oh! renounce so
haughty a claim, and this day give up yourselves to God
as his. A son honoureth his father: and since God is
your Father, where is his honour? The dull ox knows
his owner, and the stupid ass knows his master's crib;
and will not you know and acknowledge your divine
Benefactor and Preserver? He has nourished and
brought you up as his children, and dare you rebel against
him?

Thus you see the divine right to you may be made
good upon the footing of creation and providence. But
this is not the foundation of right which the apostle here

VOL. II.— 16

122 DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED

has in view, or which I would chiefly insist upon. The
ground of claim that he has here in view, is .that of re-
demption by Jesus Christ; Ye are not your own, says he,
for ye are bought with a price. This is a ground of
claim still more endearing. You are God's, not only
because he made you, because he preserved you, but be-
cause he hath bought you ; bought you, saith St. Peter,
" not with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with
the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot." 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. What an expensive
purchase is this! a purchase by blood! not by the blood
of bulls and of goats, not by the blood of man, but by the
blood of Jesus, which St. Paul does not scruple to call the
blood of God himself; "the Church of God, says he,
which he hath purchased with his own blood." Acts
xx. 28. This was the immense ransom ; this is what the
apostle calls a price, by way of eminence, in my text; ye
are bought with a price ; a price so vast and distinguish-
able, that it may easily be known without being particu-
larly described; every Christian must know it, if he is but
told that it is the price with which he was bought.

The words buying, purchase, ransom, redemption, and
the like, occur so often in the account of our salvation by
Christ, that they deserve a particular explication.

They are sometimes taken in a proper sense, and some-
times in an improper, in the sacred Scriptures. I shall
particularly consider the word redeem, which most fre-
quently occurs, as a specimen of the rest.

To redeem, in a lax improper sense, signifies in general,
to deliver from oppression and misery, in whatever way
the deliverance is effected, and not necessarily implying
that it is effected by a proper payment of a price. So
you very often read of the Israelites being redeemed from
slavery in Egypt; and on this account God assumed the

FROM REDEEMING MERCY. 123

title of their Redeemer. In this lax sense of the word we
have been redeemed by Jesus Christ: redeemed, that is,
delivered from slavery to sin and Satan. Our freedom
from sin is called redemption by Christ, in the sacred
language. So in Tit. ii. 14, the apostle says, "Our
Saviour Jesus Christ gave himself for us, that he might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a
peculiar people, zealous of good works." It is by Christ's
freely giving himself a sacrifice for us, that the influences
of the Holy Spirit are procured to mortify our corrupt
dispositions, and subdue the power of sin, and thus to free
us from our sordid slavery to his usurped jurisdiction.
Sin has still retained its power over fallen angels : through
the space of at least near six thousand years, notwithstand-
ing all the punishment they have already suffered for it,
and notwithstanding all that they have seen of the wonders
of divine Providence, and the amiable and tremendous
displays of the divine perfections, they sin on still impeni-
tent and unreformed, and will do so for ever. But many
a sinner of the race of man has been recovered to a state
of holiness and happiness, and been freed from the tyran-
nical dominion of sin. And the reason is, Jesus did not
give himself for the fallen angels, but for the fallen sons of
Adam ; for these, but not for the former, he purchased
sanctifying grace ; and this makes the difference. While
the former are hardened more and more in wickedness in
the furnace of hell, the fallen offspring of Adam are puri-
fied by his Spirit, and made a peculiar people, distinguish-
able from all others by their purity and zeal for good
works, and peculiarly his above all others. St. Peter also
uses the word redeem, in the same sense, to signify de-
liverance from sin. Ye know, says he, that ye were re-
deemed from your vain conversation with the precious
blood of Christ. 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. This is a very glorious

124 DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED

redemption indeed, much more illustrious than the de-
liverance of the Israelites from the Babylonish captivity
and Egyptian bondage : which is so often called redemption.

Again, Jesus Christ has redeemed, that is, delivered his
people from the guilt of sin ; and consequently from the
wrath of God, and the punishments of hell. He obtained
eternal redemption for his people. Heb. ix. 12. " Jesus
delivered us from the wrath to come." 1 Thess. i. 10.
All the saints that are now in heaven, and all that shall be
added to their happy number in all the future ages of the
world, are indebted to him for their great, their everlast-
ing deliverance. To Jesus they owe it, that they have
the actual enjoyment of complete happiness, and the sure
prospect of its everlasting continuance, instead of feeling
the vengeance of eternal fire. To Jesus they owe it, that
they rejoice for ever in the smiles of divine love, instead
of sinking under the frowns of divine indignation. To
Jesus they owe it, that they enjoy the pleasures of an
applauding conscience, instead of agonizing under the
pangs of guilt, and the horrors of everlasting despair. To
Jesus they owe it, that their voice is employed in songs
of praise and triumph, instead of infernal groans and
howlings. To Jesus they are indebted for all this ; and
they are very sensible of their obligations ; and their ever-
lasting anthems acknowledge it. St. John once heard
them, and I hope we shall hear them ere long, singing
with a loud voice, "Thou art worthy; for thou wast slain,
and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every
kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." Rev. v. 9.
" These are they which were redeemed from the earth,
and from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and
the Lamb." Rev. xiv. 3, 4.

Thus you see that taking the word Redemption in a
lax improper sense, as signifying deliverance, though with-

FROM REDEEMING MERCY. 125

out a price, that we may be said to be bought or re-
deemed by Jesus Christ. But if we take the word in a
strict and proper sense, it signifies a particular kind of
deliverance; namely, by the payment of a price. And it
is in this way that Jesus redeemed his people. He gave
himself, says St. Paul, a ransom for all. 1 Tim. ii. 6.
And himself has told us, the Son of man came to give his
life a ransom for many. Matt. xx. 28. Now a ransom is
a price paid to redeem a thing that was forfeited, or a
person that was held in captivity and slavery. So to re-
deem an estate, is to pay a price equivalent to it, and so
to recover it. To redeem a prisoner or a captive, is to
lay down a price as an equivalent for his liberty. In this
sense, Christ bought his people with a price, or re-
deemed them with his blood as the ransom. This will
lead us to conceive of his work in our salvation in various
views.

He is said to redeem us to God by his blood. Rev. v. 9.
This implies that we were lost to God, because justice
required we should be given up to punishment, and God
could take no pleasure in us. We were lost to God, just
as a criminal delivered up to justice is lost to his family
and his country. But Jesus pays the ransom to divine
justice with his own blood ; that is, he bears the punish-
ment in his own person, which justice demanded of the
sinner; and hereupon, the poor, helpless, lost sinner is re-
covered to God, becomes his property again upon the
footing of mercy, and recovers the divine favour which he
had lost. The blessed God, as it were, recovers his lost
creature, receives him with delight from the arrest of jus-
tice safe and unhurt, and rejoices over him as redeemed
from eternal death. Now, like the father of the prodigal
in the parable, he gives orders for public rejoicings,
through all the heavenly court, saying, It is meet we

126 DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED

should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was
dead, and is alive again ; was lost and is found. Luke xv.
32. And again, "Deliver him from going down to the pit,
I have found a ransom." Job xxxiii. 24. Again, Jesus is
said to redeem us from the curse of the law : " God sent
forth his Son, made under the law, to redeem them that
were under the law." Gal. iv* 4, 5. " Christ hath re-
deemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us." Gal. iii. 13. Here you see what he redeemed
us from, namely, the curse of the law, the penalty threat-
ened in the law to disobedience ; and also the manner in
which he redeemed us, namely, by becoming a curse for
us, or suffering the penalty in his own person which was
due to us for disobedience. This representation supposes
that the law of God has demands upon us, demands of
punishment, and that it detains us as prisoners under arrest
till these demands are answered by some adequate satis-
faction. Now the Lord Jesus entered into our law-place,
and by his sufferings made a satisfaction equivalent to the
demands of the law : and it is this satisfaction that is
called the ransom by which he redeemed us. By his
obedience and suffering all the demands of the law are
completely answered, so that now the prisoner is dismissed,
the captive set free ; set free upon the footing of a ran-
som, or for and in consideration of full payment made.
By this a way is opened for the salvation of sinners upon
the plan of the gospel; that is, by the righteousness of
Jesus imputed to them upon their believing in him ; im-
puted to such as have no personal merit, but must sink
into everlasting condemnation, if dealt with according to
the rigour of the law. Thus Jesus is made to believers
righteousness and redemption, 1 Cor. i. 30, righteousness
to answer the precept of the law, and redemption from its
penalty.

FROM REDEEMING MERCY. 127

In short, our salvation is accomplished so much in the
way of redemption, that this word, or one of the same
sense, is very often used in the affair. Heaven is called
a purchased* possession, Eph. i. 14, because when we had
forfeited our right to it, it was purchased for us by the
blood of Christ. Believers are called a peculiar, 1 Peter
ii. 9, or, as the word is sometimes rendered, a purchased!
people. The resurrection is called the redemption of our
body, Rom. viii. 23 ; because, after having been made a
helpless captive under the power of death, and shut up in
the prison of the grave, it is dismissed and set at liberty
by Jesus Christ. And our salvation is called eternal re-
demption, because all the blessings contained therein are
redeemed for us after they had been forfeited and lost.

Thus you see the death of Christ may be called the
great price with which we are bought, and by which all
spiritual and everlasting blessings were bought for us. As
for believers, it is beyond all dispute that they have been
thus dearly bought; and on this account they are not their
own, but God's. They are his on the footing of redemp-
tion ; and therefore he has the strongest claim to their
service. Oh ! shall not those favoured creatures whom he
has redeemed from hell, redeemed from sin and Satan, re-
deemed with the precious blood of his Son, devote them-
selves to their Deliverer as his servants for ever 1 Can
you bear the thought of withholding his own from him,
when he redeemed you when lost, and purchased a right
to you by the blood of his Son? one drop of which is of
more value than a thousand worlds !

A thousand worlds so bought were bought too dear.

Must not the love of Christ constrain you, as it did St.
Paul, to judge thus: That if this illustrious personage

* irtpwoi>7<r«&)f. T Xaoj jt'f Ttepnoifiaiv.

128 DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED

died for you, then you that live should no longer live to
yourselves, but to him that died for you and rose again :
2 Cor. v. 14, 15.

Thus, you see, the argument concludes with full force
as to believers, who are indisputably purchased by the
blood of Christ. But will it conclude also as to those
who are now unbelievers ? Were they so redeemed, or
bought by Jesus Christ, that they are no longer their own
but God's, and upon that footing obliged to devote them-
selves to him ? There is hardly any subject in divinity
more intricate than the extent of Christ's redemption ; and
it would by no means suit the present occasion to perplex
a practical discourse with this controversy. I shall, there-
fore, only lay down a few principles which are indisput-
able, and will fully answer my present design. (1.) As
to those who believe that Christ laid down his life as a
price for the redemption of every individual of mankind,
the argument concludes with full force ; for by their own
confession they are bought with a price, and therefore
they are not their own, but God's. (2.) You all hope
that Jesus Christ died for you : unless you have this hope,
you can have no hope at all of being saved according to the
gospel ; for the gospel allows you no hopes of salvation at
all, but upon the supposition of Christ's dying for you.
Have you, then, any hope of salvation? Undoubtedly
you have ; for you do not look upon yourselves as shut
up under remediless despair. Well, then, just as much
hope as you have of salvation, just so much hope you have
that Christ died for you; and consequently, upon your
own principle, you are so far obliged to act as persons
bought with a price, and therefore not your own but
God's ; that is, as far as you hope for heaven, so far are
you obliged to devote yourselves to God as his, and no
longer to live to yourselves. And if you deny his claim

FROM REDEEMING MERCY. 129

to you upon the footing of redemption, you renounce all
hope, and give yourselves over as lost and hopeless. And
what can bind you more strongly than this? Will you
rather rush into despair, and fling yourselves headlong
into ruin, than acknowledge God's right, and behave as
those that are his, and not your own ? (3.) I venture to
assert that Christ died for every man, in such a sense as to
warrant all that hear the gospel to regard the offer of sal-
vation by his death as made to them without distinction;
and to oblige all indefinitely to embrace that offer, OF to
believe in him, and to conduct themselves towards him, as
one that, by his death, placed them under a dispensation
of grace. Therefore, all are obliged to behave themselves
towards him as their Redeemer, and to own that he has a
right to them upon the footing of redemption. This is
sufficient to my present purpose : for if this be the case,
then I may enter a claim to you all, in the name of God
as his property : and you cannot refuse to resign your-
selves to him, without denying the Lord that bought you.
He claims your souls and bodies as his due, and requires
you to glorify him with both, upon the footing of redemp-
tion.

Here I am naturally led to consider the duty the apos-
tle infers from these premises; and that is, to glorify God.
" Ye are not your own ; for ye are bought with a price ;"
your souls and your bodies are God's ; " therefore glorify
God with your souls and your bodies, which are his."
This is the connection of the apostle's reasoning.

Here you are ready to inquire, What is it to glorify
God with our souls and bodies? I answer in short, The
connection intimates that it consists in using our souls and
bodies, and all that we are and possess, not as our own,
but as his; that is, that we serve him with all the

powers of both. We should consider our understandings
VOL. II.— 17

130 DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED

as his, and therefore employ them to think of him and
know him : our wills as his, and therefore choose him : our
love, our desire, our joy as his, and therefore love, desire,
and rejoice in him above all ; our sorrow, our indignation,
and all the varions forms of our irascible passions as his,
and therefore level them against his enemies, particularly
against sin : our consciences as his, and therefore regard
them as his deputies ; our powers of action as his, and
therefore to be governed by his authority. We should
consider our whole souls as his, and therefore not willingly
harbour any thing in them that may displease him; no
chosen darkness, vanity, or error in the mind ; no enmity,
no coldness, or lukewarmness in the heart. We should
love him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our
mind, and with all our strength ; because our hearts, our
souls, our minds, and strength are his ; his, and not our own.
So also our bodies are his, and therefore all our mem-
bers should be instruments of righteousness unto holiness.
Your eyes are his, therefore let them glorify him by view-
ing the wonders of his word and works. Your ears are
his, therefore let them hear his voice. Your tongues are
his, therefore use them as instruments of praise, and of
making known his glory. In short, you are all entirely his,
therefore be all entirely devoted to him. You are his ser-
vants, even when you are serving yourselves; therefore
whatsoever ye do, even in your own affairs, do it heartily,
as unto the Lord, and not to men. This is to " glorify
God with your souls and bodies which are his." And
this should be your universal practice in all your actions ;
" Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to
the glory of God." 1 Cor. x. 31. Whether you live, you
should live to the Lord : and whether you die, you should
die to the Lord : that living and dying you may be the
Lord's. Rom. xiv. 7, 8.

FROM REDEEMING MERCY. 131

You have now had a brief view of those grounds upon
which Jehovah claims you as his, and of the duty resulting
from this claim. And what remains but that I wind up
the whole with a serious, plain, warm proposal to your
hearts ? And that is, whether you will this day practically
acknowledge God's right in you, by devoting yourselves
entirely to him ? Will you, or will you not '? Pause, and
think upon the proposal. Perhaps you may be willing to
comply without any further excitements. If not, come
and let us reason the matter together.

Consider how entirely, and how long you have unjustly
detained his own property from God. Have you not
lived to yourselves, and not to him? Have you not used,
the faculties of your souls, and the members of your bodies,
your time, your estates, and your all, as if he had no right
in them, but they were entirely your own? Has not self
been the ruling principle in you, as if you had no Master
in heaven ; or as if no blood had been shed upon Mount
Calvary to purchase a superior right in you? You have
thought your own thoughts, spoke your own words, con-
sulted your own pleasure, and followed your own will ; as
if you usurped the disposal of yourselves, and did not ac-
knowledge a superior. When were your thoughts, your
words, your time, your powers of action devoted to the
Lord that bought you? The patience of God has lent
some of you many days and years, but which of them
have you used for his glory? And is it not high time for
you now to return to your rightful Master, and to " render
to God the things that are God's?"

Again, Consider, that while you have thus lived to your-
selves, you have most unjustly usurped a right to what was
not your own. Did you make yourselves ? Did you redeem
yourselves ? Have you preserved yourselves ? Is it you
that gave the least virtue to the food to nourish you ? Can

132 DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED

you enable the earth to support you, or the air to heave
your lungs with the breath of life? Can you recover
yourselves when sick, or revive yourselves when dying?
Can you make yourselves happy in the world of spirits,
and provide for yourselves through an immortal duration?
If you can do all these things, you may set up for indepen-
dency with a better grace, and call yourselves your own ;
and you may boldly lift up your faces to heaven, and tell
the Sovereign of the universe, you will not be obliged to
him, but he may take away from you all that is his, and
leave you to shift for yourselves. But are you not struck
with horror at such claims as these? You must then ac-
knowledge you are not your own. And what aggravated
sacrilege have you been guilty of, in robbing God of his
right ! If he that robs you of a little money is punished
with death for the crime, what do you deserve who have
robbed God of your souls and bodies, and that all your
life long ? Oh ! will you not this day restore him his own ?
He will accept it again, when freely restored, though abused,
dishonoured, and rendered unfit for service by you.

Farther, If you will not give up yourselves to God, pray
what will you do with yourselves? You are not capable
of self-subsistence, or independency. A new-born, naked,
helpless infant may as well refuse the breast, reject the
mother's care, and set up for itself, as you pretend to shift
for yourselves independently of the God that made you,
and the Saviour that redeemed you. Alas ! if you separate
yourselves from him, you are like a stream separated from
its fountain, that must run dry ; a spark separated from the
fire, that must expire ; a member cut off from the body,
that must die and putrefy. If you will not give up your-
selves to God, whom will you choose for your patron ?
Will you yield yourselves to sin and Satan ? Alas ! that
is but to submit to a merciless tyrant, who will employ you

FROM REDEEMING MERCY. 133

in sordid, cruel drudgery, and then reward you with death
and destruction. Will you give up yourselves to the world,
to riches, honours, and pleasures ? Alas ! what service can
the world do you when it is laid in ashes by the universal
flames of the last conflagration? What service can the
world do you when your unwilling souls are torn away
from it, and must leave all its enjoyments for ever and
ever? Will not the God of grace prove a better Master
to you ? Has he ever forsaken any of his servants in their
last extremity ? No ; he has promised, " I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee." Heb. xiii. 5. And tne long train
of his servants, through thousands of years, bear an united
testimony, that they have always found him faithful to his
promise. And why then will you not choose him for your
Master ? Alas ! if you refuse, you become what I may
call the lumber and rubbish of the universe; useless to
yourselves, and lost to God and your fellow-creatures, a
property not worth winning. While you call yourselves
your own, you degrade yourselves, and lose all your dig-
nity and importance ; you cut yourselves off from all hap-
piness, and can expect no other heaven than what such
guilty, helpless creatures as you can create for yourselves.
If you will not voluntarily surrender yourselves to God,
he will not own you as his, but leave you to yourselves, to
shift for yourselves as you can. He will hide his face from
you, according to his threatening, that he may see what
will be your end. Deut. xxxii. 19, 20. And oh! what
wretched outcasts, what poor, helpless orphans will you
then be !

Let me farther try whether you have the least spark of
gratitude still remaining in you. Has the love of Jesus
no sweetly constraining force upon you? Can you look
upon him dying for you on the cross, and yet keep him
out of his right? Can you view him paying your ransom

134 DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED

with his blood and life, and yet refuse to give him up what
he has redeemed at so high a price ? Shall poor captives,
redeemed from sin and hell with the blood of Jesus, rather
continue still in bondage than submit to so good a Mas-
ter? Are you capable of such base ingratitude? Can
you treat your kind Redeemer so unkindly?

Let me conclude this exhortation with the more forcible,
though plain and artless language of another.' " Consider
when judgment comes, inquiry will be made, whether you
have lived as your own, or as His that bought you. Then
he will require his own with improvement. Luke xix. 23.
The great business of that day will not be so much to
search after particular sins or duties which were contrary
to the scope of heart and life, but whether you lived to
God, or to your flesh ; and whether your time and care
and wealth were expended for Christ in his members and
interest, or for your carnal selves? You, that Christ hath
' given authority to, shall then be accountable, whether you
improved it to his advantage. You that he hath given
honour to, must then give account whether you improved
it to his honour. In the fear of God, sirs, cast up your
accounts in time, and bethink you what answer will then
stand good. It will be a doleful hearing to a guilty soul,
when Christ shall say, I gave thee thirty or forty years
time ; thy flesh had so much in eating, and drinking, and
sleeping, and labouring ; in idleness and vain talking, and
recreations, and other vanities ; but where was my part ?
How much was laid out for promoting my glory? I lent
you much of the wealth of the world : so much was spent
in provisions for your backs and bellies ; so much on costly
toys, or superfluities : so much in revengeful suits and con-
tentions : and so much was left behind for your posterity ;
but where was my part? How much was laid out for the

* Mr. Baxter's Practical Works, Vol. iv. pp. 714, 715.

FROM REDEEMING MERCY. 135

furtherance of the gospel, or to relieve the souls or bodies
of your brethren ? I gave thee a family, and committed
them to thy care to govern them for me ; but how didst
thou perform it? O brethren! bethink you in time what
answer to make to such questions. Your judge hath told
you that your doom must then pass according as you have
improved your talents for him ; and that he that hideth
his talent, though he give God his own, shall be cast into
outer darkness, where is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matt. xxv. 30. How easily will Christ then evince his
right in you, and .convince you that it was your duty to
have lived to him ! Do you think, sirs, that you shall then
have the face to say, I thought, Lord, I had been made
and redeemed for myself? I thought I had nothing to do
on earth but live in as much plenty as I could, and plea-
sure to myself, and serve thee on the by, that thou might-
est continue my prosperity, and save me when I could keep
the world no longer; I knew not that I was thine, and
should have lived to thy glory? If any of you plead thus,
what store of arguments hath Christ to silence you? He
will then convince you that his title to you was not ques-
tionable. He will prove that thou wast his by thy very
being, and fetch unanswerable arguments from every part
and faculty; he will prove it from his incarnation, his life
of humiliation, his bloody sweat, his crown of thorns, his
cross, his grave : he that had wounds to show, after his
resurrection, for the satisfaction of a doubting disciple, will
have such scars to show then, as shall suffice to convince a
self-excusing rebel : all these shall witness that he was thy
rightful Lord.

And now, my brethren, may I not presume that I have
carried my point, if I had only to do with your reason ?
Does not your reason plead in favour of resigning your-
selves to God this day ? Take notice, I again proclaim

136 DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED

God's right in you. Can any of you deny this claim ?
Certainly you dare not. Well, then, let heaven and earth
bear witness, that you were all claimed this day as God's
property upon the footing of redemption ; and not one of
you dared to deny it. Therefore, render to God the things
that are God's. May I hope you now feel your hearts
beginning to yield ? I make the proposal to you all ; to
you, masters and freemen, as well as to you, slaves ; shall
we all this day, with one consent, devote ourselves to God
as his servants ? Will you allow me, as it were, to draw
up your indenture, and speak for you? I hope I am
willing to lead the way, and will you follow me ? Me-
thinks I hear you say, " Yes, we are willing : after many
struggles and reluctances, we are at length willing, and
can hold out no longer." But hold ! I am afraid some of
you know not what you are going about. And if you
rashly and inconsiderately engage in the service, you will
soon desert it. As soon as the force of persuasion has
ceased, and the flow of passion is over, you will retract
all. Therefore I must put you back, till I inform you of
some things with relation to this contract, that you may
make sure work, an everlasting covenant, never to be for-
gotten.

Take notice, then, 1. Your resignation of yourselves
must not be the act of mere nature, without much greater

o

assistance ; but you must be urged and sweetly constrained
to it by the Holy Spirit making you willing by his power.
Whatever professions you may make, whatever external
forms of self-dedication you may force yourselves to use,
yet your hearts are by no means willing; nay, they are
utterly averse to this surrender, till they are changed by
divine grace. This, indeed, should not discourage you
from making the attempt ; for it is while you are making
the attempt, you are to hope for the assistance of divine

FROM REDEEMING MERCY. 137

grace. But I mention the necessity of divine power, lest
you should mistake the efforts of mere nature under the
constraints of persuasion, or in a warm fit of passion, for a
hearty, voluntary surrender of yourselves to God. The
same thing is to be applied to your future performance of
your engagement. As you cannot, of yourselves, rightly
devote yourselves to God, neither will you be able, of
yourselves, to perform your vow. Therefore be humble
and self-diffident in this transaction. Entertain no sanguine
expectations from yourselves, or you will be surely disap-
pointed. Trust in divine strength for all, for that alone is
sufficient for you.

2. Your resignation must be unreserved and universal.
God claims your all ; Jesus bought all ; your souls and
bodies, and whatever belongs to you, and therefore you
must give him all. He will not share his property with
sin and Satan ; you must make no reserve of this or that
favourite lust or interest, but part with all that is incon-
sistent with your duty to him ; and you must give up what
is dearest to you to your heavenly Master, to be disposed
of as he shall think proper. Here pause, and inquire
whether you are willing to be unreserved and universal in
your surrender.

3. You must resign yourself to God at all adventures
resolving to be his, whatever your attachment to him may
cost you; though it should cost you your reputation among
men, a part or even the whole of your estate ; nay, though
it should cost you your life. Blessed be God, we are now
in such happy circumstances that our duty to him is not
likely to do us much injury, even in this world, where
persecution ^and tribulation is the usual lot of his servants.
Resignation to him indeed exposes you to a senseless laugh
or a sneer, to reviling and calumny ; but who that has the

spirit of a man within him, would be so meanly complai-
VOL. II.— 18

138 DEDICATION TO GOD ARGUED

sant as to offend his God, and lose his heaven, in order to
shun the ridicule and contempt of fools ? Fools they are,
if tried by the standard of true wisdom, however wise
they may be in other respects. This is but a slight kind
of persecution to one that makes a proper estimate of things
which cannot so much as make a finger ache, or raise the
skin into a moment's pain. But times may yet change
with us. The day may yet come, when the servants of
Christ among us may be called to forsake "father and
mother, and wife and children, and lands, and even to lay
down their lives, for the sake of Christ." This would be
no unusual event; the servants of the crucified Jesus
have been a company of cross-bearers, if I may so call
them, from age to age ; and their religion has cost them
dear in the estimate of the world, though they are always
immense gainers by it in the issue. This persecution, even
to death, therefore, you may perhaps meet with, and it is
proper you should insert this article into the contract, that
you will part with life for Christ's sake. Perhaps your
indulgent Master may not insist upon it, and yet perhaps
he may; it is therefore necessary you should consent to it.
And what do you think of it ? Does not this article cause
some of you to draw back 1 Let me add,

4. Your dedication of yourselves must be fixed and
habitual. It is not a formality to be performed only at a
sacramental occasion, not a warm, transient purpose under
a sermon, or in a transport of passion ; but jt must be the
steady, uniform, persevering disposition of your souls to
be the Lord's at all times, and in all circumstances, in life,
in death, and through all eternity.

These, brethren, are the qualifications of an acceptable
surrender of yourselves to God ; and are you willing to
be his upon these terms? Or will you refuse and perish?
Deliberate upon the matter, and come to some conclusion.

FROM REDEEMING MERCY. 139

Choose ye this day whom ye will serve. May I hope you
answer me to this purpose : " We have weighed the case
impartially; we see difficulties before us, if we become the
Lord's servants ; but notwithstanding these difficulties, we
are resolved upon it : his we will be who bought us with
his blood ?" Is this your determinate resolution, my dear
brethren? Then make the transaction as solemn and
explicit as you can, and follow me ; I say, let all, white
and black, old and young, follow me, while I speak for
you ; " Lord, here is a poor sinner, thy creature, redeemed
by the blood of thy Son, that has long been a slave to
other masters, and withheld from thee thy just and dear-
bought property; here, Lord, I would now, freely and
without reserve, devote and surrender myself, my soul and
body, and my all to thee, to be universally and for ever
thine. And let the omnipotent God, let angels and men
be witness to the engagement."

Do you, my dear brethren, heartily consent to this
formula 1 Then the contract is ready for sealing ; there-
fore let us rise and crowd round the table of our Lord,
and there annex our solemn seals, and acknowledge it as
our act and deed. Oh ! happy day ! if we should be pre-
pared to use this sacred ordinance for this purpose ! Come,
ye servants of the Lord, take a refreshment to strengthen
you for your Master's work. Come, ye redeemed slaves,
commemorate the price of your redemption. Come, see
how your Master loved you, and how much he suffered
for you ; and oh ! let his love constrain you to live not to
yourselves, but to him that died for you, and rose again ;
rose again to plead your cause, and prepare a place for
you in heaven, the region of immortal life and glory!

But if any of you refuse to comply with the proposal,
or, which is much the same, are careless and indifferent
about giving yourselves up to God, not forming any ex-

140 DEDICATION TO GOD.

press determination one way or other, heaven and earth
will bear witness against you, that your refusal is not owing
to your not knowing God's claim upon you. I have
asserted it this day, in the presence of God and his people;
and if you still refuse to acknowledge it, I denounce unto
you, that you shall surely perish, shall perish by the hand
of divine justice, as wilful rebels against the highest
authority, and as insolently and ungratefully denying the
Lord that bought them. Think on your dreadful doom,
and let your hearts meditate terror, till you be delivered
from it by a voluntary surrender of yourselves to God,
through Jesus Christ, your Redeemer. And now what
account could such of you as have refused your compli-
ance, give of the transactions of this day, even to one of
your fellow-creatures? Suppose one should ask you upon
your return home, " What were you doing to-day ?" You
must answer, " I was engaged in a treaty with the Pro-
prietor of the universe, and the Redeemer that bought
me with his blood, about becoming his servant, and
acknowledging his right in me." " Well, and what was
the issue ? Certainly you did not dare to refuse. Cer-
tainly you are now the willing servant of God." — " No, I
refused, and so the treaty broke up." O thou monster !
Could you bear the dreadful narrative ? Would not every
one that heard it gaze and stare at you with horror, and
ask in consternation, " Were you not afraid ? Had you no
regard for your own welfare ? Alas ! what will you do
with yourself now ? What rock or mountain can you find
to hide your devoted head ? How will you answer for
your refusal in the great and terrible day of the Lord ?"

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 141

SERMON XXXII.

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

1 COR. v. 8. — Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old
leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness ;
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

As we have the agreeable prospect of celebrating the
Lord's supper on the next Lord's day, we cannot spend
this day to better purpose than preparing for it. And no
preparative can be of more importance than a right know-
ledge of the end and design of that solemn ordinance, and
the qualifications necessary in those that would worthily
partake of it. To this I would devote the present dis-
course : and so important a design certainly demands the
attention of all, especially of such of you as intend to join
in the participation of the sacred supper.

Though my text may be taken in a larger latitude, yet
it is justly supposed to have a particular reference to this
institution, which has the same place under the gospel dis-
pensation which the passover had under the law. St.
Paul had very naturally glided into the style of the Jewish
law concerning the paschal supper, in the directions he
had been giving concerning a scandalous member of the
Corinthian Church : and he carries on the metaphor with
a beautiful uniformity, when he comes to speak of the
gospel-dispensation, and particularly of the Lord's sup-
per. He had directed the Church of Corinth to cast the
offender out of their communion, while he continued im-

142 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

penitent, because if they should tolerate such a corrupt
member among them, it would tend to corrupt the whole
society. Wickedness is of a spreading, infectious nature,
and the indulgence of it in one instance may occasion ex-
tensive mischief; for, says he, Know ye not that leaven
ferments and diffuses itself, till at length it has leavened the
whole lump ? Just so one corrupt member in a church
may spread a contagion through the whole. Therefore
purge out the old leaven; cast out this scandalous offender,
and labour also to purge your Church, and your own
hearts from, all corruption, that ye may be as a new, solid,
and pure lump : for ye are more strongly bound to keep
yourselves morally pure, and to guard your Church against
infection, than the Jews were to abstain from all things
mixed with leaven at the feast of the passover ; for though
that feast is no more to be observed, yet that which was
signified by the paschal Lamb is now come to pass : Christ
our passover is sacrificed for us, and the ordinance of his
supper is appointed as a sacred feast, in commemoration
of him, and our deliverance by him, as the passover was
commemorative of the deliverance from Egypt, and the
destroying angel. And this is the stronger reason for the
more purity of particular persons and congregations under
the gospel, than there could be for ceremonial purity under
the law. "Therefore," says he, "let us keep this evan-
gelical feast, not with old leaven," not with those corrupt
dispositions which we once indulged, and which, like
leaven, soured our nature, and fermented through our
frame; "neither with the leaven of malice, or any kind
of wickedness;" but renouncing our old temper and prac-
tice, and with hearts universally sanctified, and full of love
and good will to all mankind, let us religiously celebrate
this gospel feast with those dispositions which were signi-
fied by the unleavened bread, namely, sincerity and truth.

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 143

It was the practice of the Jews, when the passover was
approaching, to search every corner of their houses with
lighted candles, that they might be sure there was no
leaven to be found under their roofs. The apostle proba-
bly alludes to that practice, and exhorts Christians to a
like care in searching and purging their hearts, and the
churches to which they belong, that they may be pure and
fit for partaking of so holy an ordinance.

My design is to show you the principal ends of the
institution of the Lord's supper: and as I go along, to
delineate the character of those who are fit to attend
upon it ; for by knowing the former, we may easily know
the latter.

The Lord's supper partakes of the general nature of
those divine institutions which are called sacraments : in
this, That it is intended to represent things spiritual by
material emblems or signs which affect our senses, and
thereby enlarge our ideas and impress our hearts in the
present state of flesh and blood. As we have not only
rational minds, but also animal bodies endowed with senses,
God has wisely adapted his institutions to the make of
human nature, and called in the assistance of our eyes,*
and our ears, to help our conceptions of divine things, and
to affect our minds with them. And this method is agree-
able to the nature of mankind; God has been pleased to
use it in every age, and under every dispensation of reli-
gion. The tree of life was the sacrament of the first cove-
nant; a sensible confirmation to Adam that he should ob-
tain eternal life by his obedience. The rainbow was ap-
pointed as a confirmation of the covenant with Noah, that
the world should no more perish by a deluge ; and we
have not only the assurance of the divine promise, but

* Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem,
Quam quse sunt oculis subjeeta tidelibus. — HOR.

144 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

we may receive the confirmation through our eyes by be-
holding that illustrious sign in the clouds. Circumcision
and the Passover were noted sacraments of the covenant
of grace, under the Jewish dispensation ; and Baptism and
the Lord's Supper are appointed in their room, and an-
swer the like ends under the gospel. In all these ordi-
nances God consults our weakness, and, as I observed,
makes our bodily senses helpful to the devotions of our
minds. Indeed this method of representing and confirm-
ing things by sensible signs and significant actions is so
natural and expressive, that men have used it in all ages
in their transactions with one another. It was remark-
ably in use among the ancients ; and it is not quite laid
aside in our age, which does not abound in such methods
of representation. In our age and country it is usual to
confirm contracts by annexing seals to an instrument of
writing ; to confirm an agreement by shaking hands ; to
signify love by a kiss, and complaisance by bowing ; and
we sometimes give some token as a memorial to a parting
friend. I mention these low and familiar instances that I
may, if possible, give some just ideas of a sacrament to the
meanest capacity. It partakes of the general nature of
these significant signs and actions, and it is intended, like
them, to strike our senses ; and through that medium to
instruct or affect our minds: and such a sign, such a
seal, such a significant action is the Lord's Supper in par-
ticular.

Having made this remark upon its general nature, I
now go on to show the particular ends of its institution.
And,

I. This ordinance was intended as a memorial of the
sufferings of Christ for his people.

That this is its immediate and principal design we learn
from the words of the blessed Jesus at its first institution.

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 145

This do in remembrance of me. That we are to remember
him particularly and principally as suffering for our sins,
is evident from his words in distributing the elements, This
is my body which is broken for you. Here a moving em-
phasis is laid upon his body's being broken; broken,
crushed, and mangled with an endless variety of sufferings.
So again, This cup is the New Testament in my blood,
which is shed for you. Hence it is evident this ordinance
was appointed as a memorial of a suffering Saviour ; and
it is under this notion that we are particularly to remember
him. We are to show the Lord's death, saya the apostle ;
his death which was the consummation of his sufferings,
till he come again to visit our world in a very different and
glorious manner.

The Lord's supper in this view is to be looked upon as a
token of love, or memorial left by a friend at parting among
his friends, that whenever they see it they may remember
him. Our Lord knew we should be very apt to forget him ;
and, therefore, that the memory of his sufferings might never
be lost, he instituted this ordinance ; and by the humble ele-
ments of bread and wine, he represents himself to our senses
as broken under the burden of his sufferings, and shedding
his blood. Corn, out of which bread is made, which is
first threshed, then ground in a mill, then baked in an
oven, is a very proper emblem to signify the violences
which our Lord's sacred body endured; and wine pressed
from the grape, and poured into the cup, is a striking
representation of his blood, which was forced from him by
the crushing weight of his agonies. Therefore there was
a peculiar propriety in appointing these elements to be the
memorial of his sufferings.

This remembrance of a suffering Saviour must be
attended with suitable affections. To remember him with
a careless indifferency, or with contempt, is the most un-

VOL. II.— 19

146 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

grateful insult. Were he an insignificant person, in whom
we have no concern, we might treat him thus ; but thus to
treat the beloved Son of God, and our only Saviour, thus
to requite all his love and sufferings for us, what can be
more shocking? What can be more base ingratitude?
We should therefore remember him in this ordinance with
a penitent sense of our sins, which were the cause of his
death; with an ardent love and gratitude for his dying
love to us ; with an humble faith and confidence in the
merit of his death, to procure us acceptance with God :
and with a voluntary dedication of ourselves to him and
his service for ever.

And hence you may learn the character of those who
are prepared to communicate in this feast. They, and
only they, are prepared, who are true penitents, fully con-
vinced of their sins, and deeply sensible of their malignity,
especially as the causes of his death, and thoroughly de-
termined to forsake them; who are lovers of a crucified
Jesus, and feel their hearts fired with gratitude to him for
all his love ; who are sensible that they have no personal
righteousness, and therefore place all their dependence
upon his only; who feel his love constraining them, and
are determined to " live no more to themselves, but to him
that died for them, and rose again."

Self-examination is a necessary preparative to this ordi-
nance. Let a man examine himself, says the apostle, and
so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
Therefore, my brethren, inquire whether this be your
character ; if it be not, you have no right to this privilege.
It is a shocking incongruity to pretend to commemorate
the death of Christ without love to him, or penitential
sorrows for those sins for which he died. Memorials of
friendship and love-tokens are only for friends ; and when
others use them, it is mere farce and hypocrisy. There-

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 147

fore, till you have these dispositions, do not adventure to
come to his table.

II. The Lord's supper was appointed as a badge of our
Christian profession, and of our being the disciples of Jesus
Christ.

Baptism is appointed for our initiation into the Christian
church at our first assuming the Christian profession : and
by partaking of this ordinance of the Lord's supper, we
declare our constancy in that profession, and that we do
not repent of our choice, nor desire to change our Master.
We openly profess that we are not ashamed of the cross
or the religion of the despised Nazarene, but publicly
avow our relation to him before the world. This per-
haps may be intended by that expression of St. Paul,
showing the Lord's death. We show, profess, and pub-
lish to all the world the regard we have even to his
ignominious death. We may look upon this ordinance
as an oath -of allegiance to Jesus Christ. And hence
probably it was first called [sacramentum} a sacrament;
which properly signifies an oath,* and particularly that
kind of oath which the Roman soldiers took to their
generals, in which they engaged to be faithful to their
leaders, and to fight for their country, and never desert its
cause.

To this practice probably St. Augustine, about fourteen
hundred years ago, refers, as well known to his hearers,
when he addresses them thus : " Ye know, my beloved,
that the soldiers of this world, who receive but temporal
rewards from temporal masters, do first bind themselves
by military sacraments or oaths, and profess that they
will be faithful to their commanders; how much more,

* So Horace uses it ;

Non ego perfidum

Dixi Sacramentum.

148 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

then, ought the soldiers of the eternal King, who shall re-
ceive eternal rewards, to bind themselves with the heavenly
sacraments or oaths, and publicly profess their fidelity to

him!"*

Now if we receive the sacrament of the Lord's supper
in this view, we assume a badge or mark of distinction
from the rest of the world, and openly profess ourselves
his disciples. We take a solemn oath of allegiance to
him, and swear that we will be his faithful servants and
soldiers to the end of life.

This shows the peculiar propriety of this ordinance as
following upon baptism, especially with regard to those
that were baptized in infancy, as we have generally been.
In baptism our parents offered us up to God as his ser-
vants, and members of the Christian church, before we
were capable of personal choice, or doing any thing for
ourselves ; and when we arrive to years of discretion, it is
expected we should approve of what they did, by our own
personal act. Now the Lord's supper is an institution in
which we may make their act our own, and acknowledge
that we may stand to the contract they made for us.
And as often as we partake of it, so often we make this
profession. And hence by the way, you may see that
such who neglect this ordinance when they are grown up
to a capacity of acting for themselves, do virtually re-
nounce their baptism, and disown the act of their parents
in devoting them to God. Their parents were to act for
them no longer than while they were incapable to act for
themselves; and now when they are arrived at that age,

* Notum est, Dilectissimi, charitati vestrae quod milites seculi beneficia
temporalia a temporalibus Dominis accepturi, prius Sacramentis militaribus
obligantur, et Dominis suis fidem se servaturos profitentur ; quanto magis
ergo aeterno Kegi militaturi, et aeterna praemia percepluri, debent Sacra-
mentis ccelestibus obligari, et fidem per quam ei placituri sunt, publice pro-
fit*" ? AUGUST. Oper. Tom. x. p. 984.

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 149

and refuse to confirm the act of their parents, they practi-
cally disown it, and wilfully make heathens of themselves ;
and consequently they proclaim themselves rebels against
Christ ; for what but rebels are we to account such who
refuse the oath of allegiance when tendered to them, and
that over and over ?

From hence you may learn another qualification of an
acceptable communicant, namely, a hearty willingness to
renounce his lusts and pleasures, and every sin, and to
become universally and eternally the devoted servant and
disciple of Jesus Christ. Here again examine yourselves
whether you have this qualification.

III. We may consider this ordinance of the Lord's
supper as a seal of the covenant of grace, both upon God's
part and upon ours.

Every sacramental institution seems to partake of the
general nature of a seal ; that is, it is a sensible sign for
the confirmation of a covenant or contract. This St. Paul
expressly asserts, with regard to circumcision, when he
says, that "Abraham received the sign of circumcision, a
seal of the righteousness of faith." Rom. iv. 11. And
Christ asserts the same thing concerning the ordinance
now under consideration : This cup, says he, is the New
Testament, or covenant, in my blood ; that is, it is a ratify-
ing sign or seal of the covenant of grace, which is founded
in my blood.

That you may rightly understand this, you must observe
that God has cast his dispensation towards our guilty
world into the form of a covenant, or contract, in which
God and man are the parties, and Christ is the Mediator
between them. The tenor of the covenant on God's
part is to this purpose, "that he will graciously bestow, for
the sake of Christ, pardon of sin, eternal life, and all the
blessings of his purchase, upon all such sinners of the race

150 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

of man as comply with the terms on which the blessings
are offered." The tenor or terms upon our part are to
this purpose, " That we receive and submit to the Lord
Jesus as our only Saviour and Lord ; or, in other words,
that we believe in him with all our hearts, and repent of
our sins, and devote ourselves to his service." This is
the substance of that happy contract : and of this the
Lord's supper is a seal as to both parties.

On God's part this covenant can receive no intrinsic
confirmation. He has plainly declared it in his word ; and
no oaths or confirming signs can add any intrinsic certainty
to his declaration. We say, "an honest man's word is as
good as his oath, or bond and seal ;" and surely we may
apply this in the highest sense to the declarations of eternal
truth. But though this covenant cannot be made more
certain in itself on God's part, yet the evidence of its cer-
tainty may be made more sensible and affecting to poor
creatures that are so slow of heart to believe. And hence
God has been pleased, in condescension to our weakness,
to confirm it with the most solemn oaths and sacramental
signs. This institution, in particular, is a standing evi-
dence, obvious to our senses, in all the ages of the Chris-
tian church, that he is unchangeably willing to stand to the
articles on his part ; that he is ready to give his Son and
all his blessings to such as believe, as he is to give bread
and wine as signs and seals of them.

As to our part in receiving these elements, we signify
our hearty consent to the covenant of grace, and, as it
were, set our seal to it to confirm it. The language of
that speaking action is to this purpose; "I cordially agree
to the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ revealed in
the gospel ; and in token thereof I hereunto affix my seal.
As I take this bread and wine before many witnesses, so I
openly and avowedly take and receive the Lord Jesus as

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 151

my only Saviour and Lord, and the food and life of my
soul : I cheerfully receive the offer of salvation according
to the terms proposed in the gospel; of which let this
bread and wine given and received be a token or pledge
and seal."

This, my brethren, is the meaning of this solemn action.
And hence you may know whether you are qualified to
join in it. If you have not heartily consented to the con-
tract, it is the greatest absurdity and dissimulation to set
your seal to it. What ! will you, as it were, annex your
hand and seal to a bargain that you do not agree to? Can
you dare thus to be trifling with a heart-searching, all-
knowing God 1 But, if divine grace has powerfully en-
gaged your hearts to consent to this agreement, come with
humble boldness, and attest and seal it before men and
angels. And remember, for your comfort, that on God's
part it always stands firm and unalterable. You have his
word, his handwriting, his oath, his seal, to confirm your
'faith ; and what can you desire more to give you strong
consolation 1

IV. This ordinance of the Lord's supper was intended
for the saints to hold communion together.

By the communion of saints, I mean that mutual love
and charity, that reciprocal acknowledgement of each
other, that brotherly intercourse and fellowship, which
should be cultivated among them as children of the same
father, in the same family, and as members of the same
society, or mystical body. This is a thing of so much
importance, that it is an article of the common creed of
the Christian church.

Our sitting down at the same table, partaking- of the
same elements, and commemorating the same Lord, are
very expressive of this communion, and have a natural
tendency to cultivate and cherish it. In such a posture

152 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

we look like children of one family, fed at the same table
upon the same spiritual provisions. It is a significant
expression, that we are one in heart and affection ; that
we have one hope of our calling, one faith, one baptism,
one Lord Jesus Christ, and one God and Father of all ;
and that we acknowledge one another as brethren and
fellow-Christians.*

Hence this ordinance has been frequently and justly
called the communion. And St. Paul assures us it deserves
the name, 1 Cor. x. 16, 17. "The cup of blessing which
we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ?"
that is, Is it not a token and pledge of our joint share and
communion in the blessings purchased by his blood?
" The bread which we break, is it not the communion of
the body of Christ?" that is, Is it not a sign of our com-
mon right to the happy effect of the sufferings of his body ?
" For," says he, " we being many, are one bread, and one
body ; for we are all partakers of that one bread ;" that is,
" As many grains make but one loaf of bread, and as many
members make but one body, so we, being many, are, as
it were, but one bread, and one sacred body politic, of
which Christ is the head, and our partaking together of
one bread in the Lord's Supper, is a sign and pledge of
this union." This appears still clearer from the design of
the apostle in these verses, which was to caution the Co-
rinthians against partaking with heathens in those religious
feasts, which they were wont to celebrate in the temples
of their idols, after they had offered their sacrifice, This
he represents as idolatrous. My dearly beloved, says he,
flee from idolatry, ver. 14. And then, to convince them
that in communicating with idolaters in these feasts they

Trai, or love-feasts, among the primitive Christians, were intended
still farther to express this brotherly love and communion ; but as the prac-
tice was at length abused, it was laid aside.

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 153

really join with them in their idolatry, he argues from the
nature of the Lord's supper, which is also a feast upon
sacrifice. " The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not
the communion of the blood of Christ ?" So by joining
with idolaters in these religious entertainments, we hold
communion with them in their idolatry. He illustrates
the same thing from the feasts upon sacrifice among the
Jews, ver. 18.

Hence you may learn another qualification for this ordi-
nance, namely love and charity to all mankind, and espe-
cially to our fellow-communicants. To sit down at this
feast of love with a heart possessed with angry and mali-
cious passions is certainly an aggravated wickedness. To
this we may accommodate the words of Christ, though
spoken before the institution of this ordinance. " If thou
bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy
brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before
the altar, and go thy way: first be reconciled to thy
brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Matt. v. 23, 24.

Hence also you may learn that none but such as make
a credible profession of the Christian religion have a right
to this ordinance. If it be a sign of the communion of
saints, and if we should love our fellow-communicants as
saints, then it follows that they should give us some ground
for this charity, and that they should, as far as we can
judge, be real saints or true Christians. Their being such
in reality is necessary to give them a right in the sight of
God; and their appearing such, in a judgment of charity,
is necessary to give them a right in the sight of the visible
church, which can only judge of an outward visible profes-
sion ; therefore such ought not to be admitted, however
strenuously they insist that they are Christians, whose
gross ignorance, or wrong notions of religion, or whose
immoral and irreligious practices leave no ground for a

VOL. II.— 20

154 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

rational charity to hope that they are true Christians.
How can we cultivate the communion of saints with such
who do not so much as appear to be saints ? To have
been baptized, to call themselves Christians, and to attend
upon the worship of the Christian church, and the like, is
far from being sufficient to constitute a credible profession ;
for all this a man may do, and yet be further from prac-
tical Christianity than a heathen. But a man must pro-
fess and act habitually in some measure as a Christian,
before he can justly be looked upon as a Christian. Alas I
the number of Christians in our land are generally of a
very different character! They may call themselves
Christians, as you or I may call ourselves kings or lords ;
but the profession is ridiculous ; and that charity is under
no rational or scriptural limitation that can communicate
with them as fellow-Christians.

V. In this ordinance God maintains communion with
his people, and they with him.

This is a communion of a more divine and exalted kind
than the former: and is often mentioned in Scripture as
the privilege of the people, of God. Our fellowship, says
St. John, is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1 John i. 3. The communion of the Holy Ghost is a part
of the apostolical benediction, which we also use at the
close of our religious assemblies.

This communion consists partly in that intercourse
which is carried on between God and his people, partly
in the community of property, and partly in the inter-
change of property. There is a spiritual intercourse carried
on between him and them. He communicates his love
and the influences of his Spirit to them ; and they pour
out their hearts, their desires, and prayers before him.
He draws near to them, and revives their souls ; and they
draw near to him, and converse with him in prayer, and

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 155

in other ordinances of his worship. Hence he is said to
dwell in them, and to walk in them; 2 Cor. vi. 16. And
our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, in which he
resides. 1 Cor. vi. 19. Christ speaks of this mutual in-
tercourse in the strongest terms ; '•' If a man love me, my
Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and
make out abode with him." John xiv. 23. There is also
a kind of community of goods between Christ and his
people. They are children of the same Father, and he
is not ashamed to call them brethren ; they are joint heirs
of the same inheritance. They have a fellowship in his
sufferings, Phil. iii. 10, and are sharers in the glory and
bliss of his resurrection and exaltation. The relation be-
tween them is often represented by that between husband
and wife, between whom all things are common. Hence
the apostle argues, that if we are Christ's then all things
are ours. 1 Cor. iii. 21, ad fin. There is also a happy
interchange of property between Christ and his people ;
happy for them, though it was terrible to him. He took
their sins upon him, and they have his righteousness
in exchange. He endured the death they had incurred,
and they enjoy the life he obtained. He assumes the
curse due to them, and they have the blessing transferred to
them which was due to him. Here again the conjugal
relation may be a proper illustration. As the wife is en-
titled to the inheritance of her husband, and he is answer-
able for her debts and obligations, so Christ made himself
answerable in behalf of his people, for all their debts to the
law and justice of God ; and they are entitled to all the
blessings he has purchased. Oh what a gracious and
advantageous exchange is this for us !

Now the Lord's Supper is a very proper emblem of
this communion, and a suitable mean to cultivate it.* It is

* The apostle illustrates this point in 1 Cor. x., where he cautions the

156 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

the place where Christ and his people meet, and have their
interviews. He, the great Master of the feast, feeds them
at his own table, upon his own provisions, in his own house,
and they eat and drink, as it were, in company with him ;
and thus it is a social entertainment between them. There
he favours them with his spiritual presence, and gives them
access to him ; and they draw near to him with humble
boldness, and enjoy a full liberty of speech and conversa-
tion with him. There, under the elements of bread and
wine, he makes over to them his body and blood, and all
the blessings purchased by his sufferings ; and they receive
them with eager desire ; they cast their guilt and unwor-
thiness upon him, and give themselves to him, in return for
his richer gifts to them. There they put in their humble
claim as fellow-heirs with him, and he graciously acknow-
ledges their title good. There is a solemn exchange made
between them of guilt for righteousness, of misery for hap-
piness, of the curse for a blessing, of life for death. Christ
takes the evils upon himself, and they cast them off them-
selves upon him ; and he makes over the blessings to them,
and they humbly receive them by faith. And of all this,
his appointing and their receiving this ordinance, and, as it
were, sitting down together at one table, like husband and
wife, or parent and children, is a very proper emblem and
representation. And I doubt not but some of you, upon
such occasions, have enjoyed the pleasures of communion
with him, which gives you a high esteem for this sacred

Corinthians against joining with idolaters in their religious festivals, because
they could not do it without holding communion with those demons in
honour of whom they were celebrated. His argument is to this purpose ;
"That as in the Lord's Supper, we hold communion with Christ, and as the
Jews, in their sacred feasts, communicated with God at his altar, so in these
idolatrous feasts, they held a religious communion with the idol." And
this supposes, that in the Lord's Supper we really have communion with
Christ. See ver. 20, 21.

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 157

feast, and clearer ideas of its design, than is in the power
of any language to afford.

Here again you may learn one important preparative for
the ordinance of the Lord's Supper; and that is, recon-
ciliation to God, and a delight in communion with him.
You cannot walk together, or maintain fellowship with him,
till you are agreed, and take pleasure in his society ; there-
fore carefully inquire into this point.

Having thus shown you the principal ends of this insti-
tution, and the qualifications necessary in those that would
partake of it, I shall subjoin this one general remark,
That it is evident from all that has been said, that persons
who live vicious and irreligious lives, whatever their pro-
fession be, have no right to this ordinance, and should not
be admitted to it by the officers of the church, till they
profess their repentance and reformation. When we ex-
clude such, we are not taking too much upon us, nor pre-
tending to judge of what we have nothing to do with ; but
we only exercise that power which is inherent in every
society, and with which Christ has expressly invested his
church. Every society has a power to exclude those from
its peculiar privileges, who violate the essential and funda-
mental laws of its constitution. And no law can be so
essential to any constitution as a life of holiness is to the
character of a Christian, and the constitution of the Chris-
tian church. It is no matter what persons profess with
their lips, it is the life that is to be regarded as the deci-
sive evidence. What would it signify for a man to insist
upon it that he was honest, if he persisted in theft and rob-
bery : or to take the oath of allegiance, when his conduct
was a course of rebellion against his sovereign? And
equally insignificant and absurd is a profession of Chris-
tianity without a correspondent practice. If we consider
the design and end of this ordinance, we cannot but see

158 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

that such persons cut themselves off' from all right to it.
Is it fit that a drunkard, a swearer, or any profane sinner
should commemorate the death of the holy Jesus, while
he has no love to him, but is determined to go on in sin ?
Should they wear the badge of Christ's disciples, whose
lives proclaim them his enemies? Should they affix their
seals to the covenant of grace, who have never consented
to it, but are grossly violating it by their practice ? Should
they hold communion with Christ and his people, who have
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness? Hear
the apostle upon this head : " Ye cannot drink the cup of
the Lord and the cup of devils : ye cannot be partakers
of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils," 1 Cor. x.
21; the thing is absurd and impracticable. "For what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness ? And
what communion hath light with darkness? And what
concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he
that believeth with an infidel ? Wherefore, come out from
among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch
not the unclean thing." 2 Cor. vi. 14-17. As to public
offences, the apostle gives this direction to Timothy, which
is binding upon all the ministers of Christ : Them that sin,
that is, that sin publicly, rebuke before all, that others also
may fear. 1 Tim. v. 20. -To the same purpose tie speaks
to Titus ; a man that is an heretic, after the first and se-
cond admonition, reject, Tit. iii. 10, or cast out of the
church. This indeed is immediately intended of funda-
mental errors in principle, but it may undoubtedly be ap-
plied to vicious practices; for, as Archbishop Tillotson
justly observes, " The worst of heresies is a bad life."
As to private offences against a particular person, in which
the church, as such, is not concerned, private measures are
to be taken to bring the offender to repentance, till they are
found to be in vain, and then the church is to be apprised

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 159

of it; and if he pay no regard to that authority, he is to
be excluded from the society. This is according to Christ's
express direction, in Matt, xviii. 15, &c. " If thy brother
trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee
and him alone : if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy
brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with
thee one or two more ; and if he neglect to hear them,
tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the
church, let him be unto thee as a heathen-man and a pub-
lican." There is nothing more plain in Scripture, than
that scandalous members should be cast out of the church ;
and an excessive indulgence is most severely censured.
St. Paul orders Timothy to "turn away from such as have
the form of godliness, but deny the power thereof."
2 Tim. iii. 5. He lays the weight of his apostolic autho-
rity upon the Christian church in this case. " We com-
mand you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walk-
eth disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received
of us." 2 Thess. iii. 6. The churches of Pergamos and
Thyatira are severely threatened by Christ himself, for
tolerating the corrupt sect of the Nicolaitanes, and the fol-
lowers of Balaam's and Jezebel's profane and loose prac-
tices, and not casting them out of their communion. Rev.
ii. 14, &c. And the church of Ephesus is commended for
her strict discipline, and that she could not bear them that
were evil, and had tried pretended apostles, discovered and
rejected them as impostors. But I need go no farther
than the chapter where my text lies, for abundant evidence
of the necessity of this holy discipline. Here St. Paul
warmly rebukes the Corinthian church for allowing a scan-
dalous member to continue in communion with them ; and
solemnly charges them to cast him out from the church
into the wide world, the territories of Satan, who is called

]60 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

the god of this world. And this he strongly describes, in
order to strike terror into the offender, as a delivering him
over to Satan. He urges this wholesome severity, as a
proper expedient to bring the offender himself to repent-
ance, and especially to keep their church pure. Know ye
not, that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump ? And just
so the indulgence of one corrupt member may in time
corrupt the whole society.

It was by the remarkable strictness of their discipline,
that the primitive church kept itself from corruption in
the midst of heathens and idolaters. And it is the want
of this that has so scandalously corrupted the generality
of our modern churches, whose members are very often
the reproach of that religion which they profess. Let not
us imitate them, put pity and pray for them, lest we be-
come a mere mass of corruption, like them. The apostle
forbids not only all religious communion, but all unneces-
sary familiarity with such scandalous professors; and inti-
mates, that we should be more shy of them than of such
as make no pretensions to religion at all. I wrote to you,
says he, not to company with fornicators : yet not altoge-
ther with the fornicators of this world : that is, " I do not
mean that you should break off all intercourse with the
fornicators of this world, who are professedly of the world,
and make no pretensions to Christianity; or with the
covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters; for then ye must
needs go out of the world :" all places are so full of such
profligate sinners, that you cannot avoid them without leav-
ing human society altogether. But now I have written unto
you, says he, not to keep company, if any man that is called
a brother, a Christian brother by profession, here lies the
emphasis, if any man that is called a brother be a forni-
cator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard,
or an extortioner; with such an one, no not to eat. 1 Cor.

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 161

v. 10, 11. Cultivate no unnecessary familiarity with such
a one : do not make a choice of him as your guest or
companion at your common meals, much less in the sacred
feast of the Lord's supper.

You see, my brethren, we are not at liberty in this
case ; we are tied down by the divine authority to the
faithful exercise of discipline. And though nothing can
be more disagreeable to us than to touch the sores of man-
kind, yet we cannot dispense with our duty in this respect.
If we make a compliment of the ordinances of Christ, it is
at our peril. It is therefore the most unreasonable and
absurd thing for persons by their offences to constrain the
officers of the church to animadvert upon them, and then
to take it ill that they faithfully do their duty. All that is
required of them is a profession of deep repentance for
their misconduct, and a promise of reformation for the
future. And is this too much to do to repair the injury
they have done to religion, to satisfy the society to which
they belong, and restore themselves into the charity of
their brethren, whose hearts are so grieved by their con-
duct ? Or are they indeed determined not to repent and
reform, but to go on in their wicked courses ? Then they
have nothing to do with the peculiar privileges of the
Christian Church, and therefore should not claim them.
It is in vain here to object, " That none can forgive sins
but God, and therefore they will not confess them to man."
For, as I told you, every member of the Christian church
ought to give his fellow-members some evidence that he is
indeed one of their body, and worthy of their charity.
But what evidence can they have of this, if wlien he falls
into some scandalous sin inconsistent with his profession,
he does not so much as profess his repentance ? It is only
God that can pardon the sin, as it is done against him :
but the church is also offended, and every society as well

VOL. IL— 21

162 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

as the particular person who is offended, has a right to de-
mand satisfaction. Hence we are commanded to confess
our faults to one another, James, v. 16, and that is a proud
impenitent creature indeed, unworthy of a place among
Christians, who thinks it a mighty thing to make this small
satisfaction. The incestuous Corinthian was brought to
repentance by the wholesome severities used with him.
And upon this, the apostle, in his second epistle, advises
them to forgive him, ( which implies, that in some sense,
the offence was against the church; and in that sense,
they had power to forgive him,) " that they should com-
fort him, and confirm their love towards him, lest he should
be swallowed up with over-much sorrow." 2. Cor. ii. 7,
8. And shall we be more obstinate than an incestuous,
excommunicated Corinthian ?

As this subject naturally came in my way, and as it is
necessary for us as church-members to have right ideas of
gospel discipline, I have taken this opportunity to enlarge
on it; and I hope you will so remember it, as to render
all instructions on this head needless hereafter.

I now proceed to what is more practical.

Let me as a herald of Jesus Christ proclaim to you the
business of the next Lord's day. We are going to com-
memorate the most important event that ever happened
upon our globe ; an event accomplished about seventeen
hundred years ago, but never to be forgotten ; an event
that extends its happy consequences to the remotest
periods of eternity, I mean the sufferings and death of
Jesus Christ for us. And who among you is prepared
and willing to commemorate this grand event 1 Where
are the broken-hearted penitents 1 Where the lovers of a
crucified Saviour? Where the happy persons that believe
in him with all their hearts ? Come, take the dear memo-
rials of your precious Redeemer ; come, refresh your souls

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 163

once more with the sweet remembrance of his love. Oh !
shall his dear name be forgot among us ? What ! for-
gotten, after all he has done, after all he has suffered for
us ? Can you bear the thought ? We are going to pro-
fess openly before a scoffing world, that we are the ser-
vants and disciples of a crucified Christ; we are going to
put on the badges of his servants, and wear his livery; to
enlist as volunteers under his banner, and swear allegiance
and fidelity to him. And where are those that are willing
to join with us ? Who is upon the Lord's side ? Who ?
Come ye that will have Christ for your Master, come
enter your names in his list : be fixed and determined for
him. How long will you halt between two opinions ? It
is a plain case, and requires no long time to deliberate.
Come ye that would stand among his people at his right
hand at last, come now with prepared hearts and mingle
among them at his table. We are going to enter into an
everlasting covenant with our God, and to set our solemn
seal to the contract. And who among you gives his consent ?
Who is willing to take the Lord Jesus for his only Saviour
and Lord, and to give himself up to him entirely and for
ever 1 Who will avouch the Lord to be his God, that he
may avouch him to be one of his people 1 How are your
hearts, my brethren, disposed in this respect? Do they
give a full consent 1 And are you willing from this time
to renounce and abjure all your lusts and sinful pleasures?
In short, do you consent to the covenant of grace ? If so,
come and confirm it with that solemn oath and seal. God
and Christ are agreed to the proposal ; and if you agree,
the happy contract is made ; it is established firmer than
the pillars of heaven ; and if you had them, you might
venture ten thousand souls upon it. We are going to
maintain communion with the saints, and sit down with
them at the same table of our common Lord. And who

164 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

of you would join yourselves with that little flock, that
despised but happy few ? If you would mingle with them
in heaven, separate from the wicked world, and join them
now ; and as a token of it, eat of the same bread, and
drink of the same cup with them. But we are going to
maintain communion of a still more exalted kind : com-
munion with the Father of our spirits, with the Son of his
love, and with the Holy Ghost. And where are they
that pant and languish for this sacred and divine fellow-
ship 1 Come to the table of the Lord, the place of inter-
view, and you may humbly hope to meet him there.
There you may pour out your hearts to him with all the
freedom of intimacy and filial boldness, and there you may
receive the tokens of his love.

M'y brethren, if upon careful self-examination, you find
reason to hope you have the qualifications of acceptable
communicants, which I have described, I require you, in
the name of that Jesus who expired upon the cross for
you, a name which one would think should have some
weight with you ; in his endearing, irresistible name, I re-
quire you to come to his table. This is not only your
privilege, but your duty ; and you cannot neglect it, with-
out the basest ingratitude and wickedness. Shall Jesus,
when he views the guests around his table, find your seat
empty ? Alas ! shall he have reason to say, " What ! has
such a one turned his back upon me ? I bought him with
my blood, and have I deserved to be thus treated by him?"
O my brethren ! is it come to that pass with you that you
stand in need of persuasions to commemorate that Saviour
who laid down his life for you ? Had he been as shy of
a cross as you are of his table, as backward to die as you
are to commemorate his death, alas ! what would have be-
come of you?

What are the obstructions and encouragements that lie

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 165

in your way ? Mention them, and methinks I can remove
them all in a few words, when the case is so plain. Do
you urge, that you are afraid you are not prepared ? But
have you examined yourselves impartially by what I have
said? Are you sure you have the qualifications men-
tioned ? If so, your way is very clear. Or if you are
not sure, does it appear probable to you ? If so, you may
humbly venture. Or if you cannot go so far as a proba-
bility, have you some trembling hopes 1 hopes which,
though they often waver, yet you cannot entirely cast
away, though you admit all the evidence you can get, and
are desirous to know the very worst of yourselves. Why,
if you have even thus much of encouragement, I would
advise you to come, though with trembling. If you are
impartial in self-examination, and yet cannot after all dis-
cover that you are destitute of those qualifications I have
mentioned, it is extremely unlikely that you are deceived:
persons are never deceived in this case but by their own
carelessness and partiality; therefore, take courage. If
you look out with a careful eye, there is little danger of
your splitting on this rock.

Or are you afraid that you will not be able to perform
your sacramental vows, but may apostatize from your God ?
But I need not tell you that your strength is entirely from
God; and I appeal to yourselves, whether it be most likely
you will obtain strength from him in the way of duty, or
in the neglect of it ? My brethren, do you do your duty,
and leave the consequence to him. Trust in him, and he
will take care of you, and keep you from falling, or raise
you up if you should fall. It is not his usual way to
desert those that, sensible of their own weakness, depend
upon him; nay, he has bound himself by promise that he
will not do it ; but you shall be kept by his power through
faith unto salvation, 1 Pet. i. 5 ; and he will never leave

166 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

you nor forsake you, Heb. xiii. 5; therefore in his strength,
humbly make the adventure.

As for such of you as have not the qualifications
described, and yet are communicants at the Lord's table,
I have a few serious considerations to offer to you.

1. Did you never observe that solemn warning of St.
Paul, which, like a flaming sword, hovers round the table
of the Lord to guard it from your profanation? "Who-
soever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the
Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of
the Lord ; and eateth and drinketh damnation, or judg-
ment, to himself." 1 Cor. xi. 27, 29. Keep off, therefore,
ye unholy sinners, lest the weight of this tremendous curse
fall upon you and crush you to ruin.

2. To what purpose do you communicate ? This will
not constitute you Christians, nor save your souls. Not
all the ordinances that ever God has instituted can do this,
without an interest in Christ, and universal holiness of
heart and life. And will you incur such dreadful guilt,
without answering any valuable end by it 1

3. How absurd is it for you to pretend friendship to
Christ in this ordinance, when your hearts are not well
affected towards him ! This I have hinted at already.
This ordinance is a seal; but what do you set your seal
to, when you do not heartily and practically consent to
the covenant of grace ? How can you hold communion
with the saints, when you are none of them ? Or with
God, when you neither know him nor love him 1 How
dare you wear the badge and livery of his servants, when
you are enemies in your minds by wicked works ? Will
you mingle among his people, when you belong to the
camp of the gloomy god of this world ? Will you act the
part of Judas over again, and compliment Christ with a
traitorous kiss? What absurdity, what gross hypocrisy,

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 167

what a daring insult is this ! Can Omniscience be imposed
upon by such pretensions 1 Or will a jealous God let
them escape unpunished? Do but read a part of the
fiftieth Psalm : you will see your doom, ver. 16-22.
" Unto the wicked, God saith, what hast thou to do, that
thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth; seeing
thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee?
These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou
though test I was altogether such a one as thyself. But I
will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in
pieces, and there be none to deliver." Oh, sirs, consider,
it will be a poor plea at last to have it to say, " Lord,
Lord, have we not eaten and drunk in thy presence 1 and
thou hast taught in our streets." The supreme Judge
will, notwithstanding, pronounce the dreadful sentence
upon you, Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
Luke xiii. 26, 27. *

4. Has not God appointed other means which are pre-
paratory to this ordinance ; and in the use of which you
may hope to obtain proper qualifications? His word,
prayer, meditation, and such means, are for the common
use of saints and sinners and intended to beget as well as
to confirm grace in the hearts of men. But the Lord's
supper is the peculiar privilege of such as are true Chris-
tians already ; and is intended only to cherish and improve
true religion where it is begun. Therefore your partaking
of it without this grand preparative, is preposterous, and
directly contrary to the order of divine appointment.
Sinners, go first upon your bended knees before God; cry
to him with all the earnestness of perishing creatures, for
converting grace. Think upon your miserable condition,
and never take off your thoughts from the melancholy con-
templation, till your hearts are deeply affected. Read, and

168 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

hear, and meditate upon his word, till you know your
danger and remedy. Take this method first, and when
you have succeeded, come to this ordinance, and God,
angels, and men will bid you welcome.

5. Consider how aggravated your punishment will be,
if you continue in your present condition. To sink into
hell from the table of the Lord ! Oh ! what a terrible
fall! They that perished from Sodom and Gomorrah,
though their punishment will be intolerable, will be but
slightly punished in comparison of you. A lost commu-
nicant ! One that went to hell with the bread and wine,
the memorials of a dying Saviour, as it were, in his
mouth ! Oh ! methinks such a one must be the most
shocking sight in the infernal regions. How will lost
angels, and lost heathens, wonder and stare at you as a
horrible phenomenon, a dreadful curiosity ! How will
they upbraid you, " How art thou fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, son of the morning ! art thou also become as one
of us ?" To tell the truth without reserve, I cannot but
tremble at the thought of seeing such of you on the left
hand of the Judge. Oh ! what a shocking figure will you
make there ! Therefore do not make the profanation of
the body and blood of Christ the whole of your religion,
but begin where you should, in earnest endeavours after a
new heart and life, in the use of the means appointed for
that end.

But there are some of you, perhaps, who may take en-
couragement from hence, and think you are safe, because
you have not been guilty of profaning this solemn institu-
tion. You are conscious you are not prepared, and there-
fore most contentedly stay away. There are, no doubt,
sundry of you who have lived in this neglect all your lives.
I have a few things to say to you, and I pray you to apply
them to yourselves.

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 169

1. Consider what it is you say, when you declare you
are unfit for this ordinance. There are some who seem
to make a merit of it that they stay away from a sense of
their want of preparation. But what is this want? It is
the want of all love to God, of faith in Christ, of repent-
ance for sin ; it is the want of holiness of heart and life,
and every good thing; it is to be without pardon, without
a title to heaven, without any interest in the righteousness
of Christ; it is to be a slave to sin and Satan, an heir
of hell, a poor perishing creature, liable every moment to
be cut off, and sink under the weight of divine vengeance ;
this is your case if you are unfit for this ordinance. No-
thing but such things as I have mentioned can render you
unfit. And is this a safe case? Can you contentedly
rest in it ? Alas ! is there so much merit in neglecting to
remember Christ in this institution, as will render your
case safe, and indemnify you ? Must you not be shocked
at the thought ?

2. Are you using all proper means to obtain prepara-
tion, with the utmost diligence and earnestness ? Or are
you inactive and unconcerned about it ? If so, it is plain
you love to be unprepared; you take pleasure in being
disqualified to remember the Lord Jesus. And while you
are careless about this, you are virtually careless what will
become of you, careless whether heaven or hell will be
the place of your everlasting residence ; and oh ! what
will be the end of such a course ! and how terrible is your
guilt !

3. Is it nothing to you that you have lived so many
years in the world, without affectionately commemorating
that Saviour who died for you, without devoting yourselves
to God, consenting to his covenant, and joining yourselves
with his people ? Oh ! is there no guilt in all this ? No
guilt in suffering so many opportunities of attending upon

170 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

this ordinance to pass by neglected? What can be a more
aggravated wickedness ?

4. This neglect clearly proves that you have no regard
for Jesus Christ. You do perhaps insist upon it that you
love him. But he himself has left a test of your love :
If ye love me, keep my commandments. Now this brings
the matter to a short issue. There is no command in the
whole Bible more plain than that of remembering him in
this ordinance. This you know in your consciences. And
yet you have lived in the wilful neglect of this known, easy,
dying command of Jesus. With what face then can you
pretend that you love him ? Your love is reprobated, and
will not stand the test.

5. Let me remind you of what I observed before, that,
by the neglect of this ordinance, you practically renounce
your baptism. You are now of age to act for yourselves,
and you have not approved of the act of your parents, by
ratifying it in your own person ; therefore, you abjure it;
you renounce the blessed Trinity, in whose name you were
baptized, and to whom you were devoted ; and you give
yourselves back to a horrible trinity of another kind, to
the world, to sin, and the devil. And are you indeed will-
ing to have no more to do with the God that made you,
and with Jesus of Nazareth? Pause and think, before you
agree to such a dreadful renunciation. But, alas ! you
have agreed to it already, by refusing to renew your early
dedication in your own persons. Therefore the best you
can now do is to recall your renunciation and immediately
acknowledge the act of your parents as your own.

I would inculcate this particularly on young people.
You that are eight or ten years old, or more, you have
sense enough to act for yourselves in so plain a case. And
what are you resolved upon? Will you be Christ's or
Satan's? You cannot avoid choosing one or the other for

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 171

your master; for not positively choosing Christ, is virtually
choosing the devil for your Lord, and hell for your home.
If you stand to the act of your parents in dedicating you
to God, come make it your own at his table. Such young
guests would be an ornament to it : and oh ! that we may
early see you there properly prepared !

6. Do not think that by this neglect you keep your-
selves from being under obligations to be holy, and that
you are at liberty to live as you list. Your obligations do
not depend upon your consent. You were born the ser-
vants of God, and you will continue under obligations to
be such in spite of you. Is he not the most excellent of
beings, your Creator, your Lawgiver, your Preserver, your
Redeemer? And do these things infer no obligation upon
you? Have you not also, in sickness, or under horror of
conscience, made vows and resolutions in your own per-
sons? And are you free to sin still? The truth of the
case is, do what you will, you are under the strongest obli-
gations to God, and you cannot shake them off', and if you
will not observe these obligations to duty, you must submit
for ever to your indispensable obligation to punishment.
And he will make you know that he has a right to punish
you, if you will not acknowledge his right to your obe-
dience.

7. What avails it that you can avoid the Lord's table,
when you cannot possibly shun death, or avoid his tribu-
nal? Here try all your art, and you will find it in vain.
And if you are not prepared for this ordinance of worship
in the church on earth, much less are you prepared for
those more exalted forms of worship in the church in hea-
ven. What then will become of you?

In short, it is a national sin in our country, that the table
of the Lord is contemptible ; that men who call themselves
Christians live in the wilful neglect of that ordinance which

172 THE CHRISTIAN FEAST.

was appointed by him, whom they acknowledge as the
Founder of their religion, to be a memorial of himself.
Alas ! the very memory of Christ is almost lost among us.
" Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD. Shall
not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" Jer. v. 9.
Perhaps some of you will say, " You shut us up in a
strange dilemma indeed. If we come unprepared, we sin ;
and if we stay away, we sin ; and what then shall we do ?"
My brethren, I thus shut you up, on purpose that you may
see what a wretched case you are in, and that there is no
safety for you while you continue in it. You are shut up
under a necessity of sinning, and the best choice in such a
condition can be only the less evil; though even that is
extremely aggravated. Whether you come or stay away,
you grievously sin : it is all sin, peril, ruin, and misery all
through : you should neither come unprepared, nor stay
away unprepared ; that is, you should not be unprepared
at all. Your want of preparation is in itself a complica-
tion of wickedness ; and whatever you do in that state,
you are neither safe nor in the way of duty ; it is altoge-
ther a state of sin and danger. The only way of safety
and duty is to seek for preparation immediately, and with
the utmost earnestness, and then to come to the Lord's
supper. And oh ! let me set all this congregation upon this
work before we part to-day, and make it the business of this
week. You have spent many a week about things of less
importance, and will you refuse one to this great work ?
Now set about it ; now begin to look into the state of your
neglected souls; now recollect your sins; look in upon
your depraved hearts; look back upon a miserable mis-
spent life ; look forward to death, eternity, and the divine
tribunal just before you ; look to Jesus in the agonies of
crucifixion on Mount Calvary; and oh! look up to God
in earnest prayer for his mercy. Let these things follow

THE CHRISTIAN FEAST. 173

you home to your houses ; let them dwell upon your hearts
night and day. Do not laugh, or talk, or trifle them away ;
for oh ! they will rebound upon you with overwhelming
weight at last, if you now turn them off. Oh ! that God
may prepare a people for himself in this poor place ! Oh !
that he would visit this barren spot with the showers of
divine grace ! And may he prepare our hearts for the rich
entertainment before us ! Amen.

174 THE NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS

SERMON XXXIII.

THE NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS OF SONSHIP WITH GOD.

1 JOHN in. 1, 2. — Behold what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons
of God ! Therefore the world knoweth us not, because
it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of
God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but
we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him ;
for we shall see him as he is.

THOUGH the schemes of divine Providence run on with
the most consummate harmony, and will at last terminate
in the wisest ends, yet, to the undiscerning eyes of mortals,
confusion reigns through this world, and nothing appears
in this infant state of things in that light in which eternity,
the state of maturity, will represent every thing. This
remark is particularly exemplified in the dispensations
of grace towards the heirs of heaven. Though they are
not in such unmingled darkness, even in this region of ig-
norance and uncertainty, as to have no evidences at all of
their being the objects of divine love, and regenerated by
the Holy Spirit, but may, in some shining moments, at
least, conclude that they are even now the sons of God ;
yet they can form no adequate ideas of the immensity of
that love which has adopted them as the sons of God, and
made them heirs of heaven, who were by nature the chil-
dren of wrath, even as others. There are indeed such
rays of this love, that, like a flash of lightning, break

OF SONSHIP WITH GOD. 175

through the cloud that surrounds them, as cast them into
a pleasing consternation, and make them stand and pause
in delightful astonishment. In a kind of transport of ig-
norant admiration, they are often exclaiming, What man-
ner of love is this ! how great, how vast, how immense,
how unaccountable, how incomprehensible, that love which
has given us, us rebellious sinners and heirs of ruin, the title
of the sons of God, and the many privileges of such relation !
Behold what sort of unheard of, unparalleled love is this !
behold it with intense observation and grateful wonder^
Ye trifling sons of men, abstract your thoughts from the
toys of earth, and here fix your attention ; here look and
gaze, till you are so transported with the survey of this love,
as to be engaged to the most vigorous endeavours to be
partakers of it. Our brethren in grace, that share in the
same privilege, do you especially pause, behold, and won-
der. Let all your admiring powers exert themselves to
the utmost in the contemplation of that love which has be-
stowed upon you so gracious, so honourable a distinction
as that of sons of the King of heaven. And ye blessed
inhabitants of heaven, who know the import of this glori-
ous title, and the riches of the inheritance reserved for us ;
ye angels that are happy in your Maker's goodness, but
have not been distinguished with redeeming grace, look
down from your celestial thrones, look down to this con-
temptible earth, and view the greatest exploit of divine, in-
finite love ; for surely no achievement of Almighty grace
among your various orders through the vast of heaven can
equal this, that we rebellious worms should be called the
sons of God, the highest title in which you can glory.
Behold, and wonder, and adore with us, and supply our
defects of praise. You see farther into the secrets of this
mystery of love than we in our present state, who can
only pause in silent admiration, or vent our blind conjee-

176 THE NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS

tures upon it. What manner of love is this ! therefore
give all your contemplative powers a loose upon a theme
you can so deeply penetrate.

Farther, As the sons of God in their present state can-
not comprehend that love which has conferred this title
upon them, so they know not fully the glorious import of
the title: they only know in general, that when their
Father appears they shall be like him, but they do not ex-
actly and fully know what that likeness is : it doth not yet
Appear, even to themselves, what they shall be. Their
liveliest imagination can form no adequate ideas what glo-
rious creatures they will ere long he : they are utter stran-
gers to their future selves. They know themselves only
at present in their infancy ; but when these little children
of God, these babes in grace, arrive at their adult age, and
grow up to the fullness of the stature of Christ, they will
be prodigies to themselves, and mysteries which they can-
not now conceive. In this world we are accustomed to
little and obscure things, and our thoughts are like their
objects; we see nothing sufficiently glorious to suggest
to us any proper images of the glory of the sons of God,
when they come to maturity, and enter upon the inheri-
tance to which they are born. The splendour of the meri-
dian sun, the grandeur of kings, and the parade of nobles,
are but obscure shadows of the glory and magnificence of
the meanest pious beggar, of the poorest Lazarus that ever
languished upon earth, and is now arrived at heaven.
The difference is greater than that between Job upon the
dung-hill, lying in ashes, and covered with ulcers, and Sol-
omon in all his glory. However, amidst all our ignorance,
we may rest confident in this, that if we are now the chil-
dren of God, we shall be conformed to him when he ap-
pears to us in all his glory on the other side of death,
and especially when he appears in the clouds in all the

OF SONSHIP WITH GOD. 177

majesty of the universal judge, when every eye shall see
him : and though we should know no more than this in gen-
eral, we may rest implicitly satisfied that we shall be in-
conceivably glorious and happy, since the perfection of our
nature consists in conformity to God. We may be sure
that that state which the apostle here, by unerring inspi-
ration, calls a likeness to God, the standard of all excel-
lency, must be as perfect as our nature can bear. The
apostle having said, that when he shall appear, we shall be
like him, subjoins, for we shall see him as he is. This
vision of the blessed God in his unveiled glory may be
here mentioned, either as the evidence, or, as the cause of
our likeness to God when he shall appear. Considering it
as an evidence, the meaning is, " It is evident that we shall
be in some measure like to God when he appears, other-
wise we co aid not bear the full vision of his glories; we
could not see him and live." It is also evident the apostle
here speaks of the vision of God as a happiness, and the
blessed privilege of his sons. Now to see God could
afford no pleasure to such as are not like to him: they
would be shocked and confounded at the sight, and shrink
from it, and by how much the clearer the vision, by so
much the more they would hate him, because by so much
the more they would discover his contrariety to them.
Therefore it is a sufficient evidence of our likeness to God,
that we can bear the vision of his naked perfections with
pleasure, for none that are unlike to him can bear it.
Considering the passage in the other view, which probably
was what the apostle intended, as the cause of likeness to
him, it means, that the full and direct views of him will
be transformative and efficacious to change the beholders
into his likeness. As the light shining upon glass renders
it transparent, or as the sun diffuses its lustre into a dia-
mond, and gives it an instrinsic radiancy, so the discoveries

VOL. II.— 23

178 THE NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS

of the divine perfections will impress their image upon the
minds they illuminate. Their views will not be super-
ficial and speculative, nor attract an idle gaze, but they
shall be vital, efficacious, and impressive ; and no wonder
if such views, which we now know so little of, should pro-
duce a perfection we can now so little conceive.
. If the sons of God are such strangers to the riches of
their present title, and the dignity and glory of their future
selves, no wonder a blind world should not know them.
If it does not yet appear to themselves what they shall be,
much less does it appear to others, who are strangers to
their heavenly Father, who know not his lineaments, and
therefore cannot discern his children by their resemblance
to him. This the apostle may intimate when he says, It
doth not appear, (that is, it doth not appear to others,)
what we shall be ; and we are led to this sense by the for-
mer verse, therefore the world, the general run of mankind,
who are strangers to God, know us not ; that is, do not
distinguish, love, and honour us, who are children of God,
because they know him not. As they are ignorant of our
Father, and disregard him, so they accordingly treat us.
They look upon us with contempt, and are wholly igno-
rant of our heavenly extraction and dignity, and thus it
will be till we shine in all the glory of the children of so
illustrious a king, and possess the inheritance of the saints
in light : then, to their confusion, they shall discern the
difference between the righteous and the wickecj. Mai.
iii. ult. I shall,

I. Show you what is the import of the glorious title,
the sons of God.

II. Mention some instances of the present ignorance of
the sons of God, with regard to their future state. And,

III. Show in what respects they are mistaken and un-
known to the world.

OF SONSHIP WITH GOD. 179

I. I shall show what is the import of this glorious title,
the sons of God.

It is evident that the title is used here, not in so general
a sense, as elsewhere, where it signifies no more than the
creatures of God, Luke iii. ult., (Acts xvii. 28, 29,) for'
here it is mentioned as the peculiar privilege of true Chris-
tians, in which the world in general does not partake. In
the sense of the text, it implies that believers are born
again of God : that they are admitted to enjoy the privi-
leges of children; and that they are the heirs of heaven.

1. To be the sons of God, implies that they are regene-
rated, or born of him.

He is a son, who is begotten and born ; and therefore to
be a child of God, supposes that we are begotten by him.
This seems to be the peculiar foundation of that sonship
the apostle here has immediately in view; for it is the
thought of being born of God, mentioned in the last verse
of the foregoing chapter, that seems to introduce the text,
and wraps him away in the fourth verse of this chapter,
into that transported exclamation, Behold ! what manner
of love is this, that we should be called the sons of God !

This new birth you have often heard me describe, as a
thorough universal change of a corrupt, rebellious sinner
into an affectionate, penitent, obedient servant of God.
His views of things, and dispositions towards them, are
happily altered, which produce a corresponding change in
his practice. But I cannot enlarge without excluding the
other subjects of my discourse.

I pray God you would seriously consider the import-
ance of this spiritual birth, and not vainly deem yourselves
the sons of God while you are strangers to it : you may
as well become the sons of men without being generated
by human parents, as the sons of God without being re-
generated by supernatural grace ; for the Scripture has re-

180 THE NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS

peatedly declared the absolute necessity of it in various
terms. All that become the children of God are born of
him, and not of blood, or by natural generation, nor of the
will of the flesh, or by any natural propensions of theirs,
nor of the will of man, or by the best endeavours of others
with them. John i. 12, 13. The God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ begets them again, 1 Peter i. 3 ; and
creates them anew, Ephes. ii. 10 ; so that old things are
passed away, and behold, all things are become new. 2 Cor.
v. 17. And Christ himself, who best knows the terms of
admission into heaven, has assured us with a "verily,
verily, except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God." John iii. 3, 5. And this is the declara-
tion of infallible inspiration, that neither circumcision avail-
eth anything, nor uncircumcision ; that is, a conformity
to the externals of the Jewish or Christian religion is of
no avail to salvation, but the new creature. Gal. vi. 15.

2. They that are the sons of God are admitted to
enjoy the privileges of children; and this is implied in
their title.

God here treats us with his usual condescension in ex-
pressing divine things in the humble language of mortals,
by metaphors borrowed form affairs among men, that are
familiar to us. Therefore from an idea of the usual privi-
leges which a child enjoys form a gracious and powerful
father, and leave proper room for the infinitely superior
perfections of our heavenly Father to those of the most
excellent human parents, and you may from the analogy
know something of the peculiar privileges of the children
of God. A son, you know, has liberty of access to his
father, however great; he obtains his requests; he has the
guardianship and compassion of his father; and is season-
ably corrected by him for his good. And thus our
heavenly Father deals with the children of his grace.

OF SONSHIP WITH GOD. 181

He gives them liberty of access to him in prayer and
the institutions of the gospel. He not only allows them
to attend upon his ordinances, which many do that con-
tinue strangers to him, but at times he enlarges their
hearts, so that they find themselves near him; they are
admitted into the presence-chamber in free audience with
him, and pour out all their hearts before him, vent their
complaints, beg a supply of their wants, and render their
grateful acknowledgments for his mercies. This temper
of mind is so suitable to their relations as the sons of God,
that the Holy Spirit, as the author of it, is called the
Spirit of Adoption; and the children of God are not
capable of exercising this filial freedom at pleasure, but
just as he enables them to draw near with humble boldness
to the throne of grace. Rom. viii. 14, 15, 26, 27; Heb. x.
22, and 2 Cor. iii. 17. And the Holy Spirit, as a Spirit
of liberty and adoption, is a privilege entailed upon
the sons of God, and which they at times enjoy. Gal. iv.
5,6.

Again, As the children of God have liberty to address
their Father, so they have the privilege of having their
petitions graciously heard and answered. A human
parent is ready to give good gifts to his children, and
much more is our heavenly Father. Thus Christ reasons
in the most familiar and moving manner, in Matt. vii. 7—
11, and Luke xi. 11-13, and he seems to intimate that
this privilege is implied in the relation, by repeating the
endearing term Father, in Matt. vi. 6, 8, 9. " Pray to
thy Father — and thy Father shall reward thee — Your
Father knoweth what things ye have need of before
ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye, Our
Father," &c.

Again, the children of God are entitled to his protection
and compassion. His guardian care is celebrated in Psalm

182 THE NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS

xcii. and Psalm cxxi., and his tender compassion in Psalm
ciii. 13; Isa. Ixiii. 9, and in numberless passages that speak
of his bowels of mercy, his compassions, &c.

Another privilege of the children of God is, that they
are seasonably corrected by his fatherly displeasure.
This indeed they are too apt to count a calamity rather
than a privilege ; but since his correction is necessary for
their reformation, since it proceeds from the benevolence
of a Father, and not from the vengeance of an incensed
judge, since it is intended for their benefit and not for
their destruction, since they are supported under it, and it
has a proper measure and seasonable end, and since it will
be more than compensated with future rewards, it follows
that their chastisement is one of their blessings, and as
such it seems promised rather than threatened, and men-
tioned as a badge of the sons of God, Psalm Ixxxix. 30-
34, Heb. xii. 5-1 1 ; and many of the children of God
have found reason to praise him for his wholesome
severity. Psalm cxix. 67, 68, 71. Upon this principle
St. James exhorts them to rejoice when they enter into
divers temptations, James i. 2 ; and St. Peter tells them
that they will befall them only if need be. 1 Pet. i. 6.

3. The children of God are heirs of the heavenly in-
heritance, and their relation implies a title to it.

They are born to a crown, begotten to " an inheritance
incorruptible and that fadeth not away," &c. 1 Pet. i. 3, 4.
" If we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God, and
joint-heirs with Christ." Rom. viii. 16, 17; Gal. iv. 7.
And how vast their inheritance is, you may learn from
Rev. xxi. 7, and 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22.

What advancement is this to mean, sinful, miserable
creatures! Out of prison they come to reign. They are
raised from the dung-hill, and set among the princes of
heaven. No wonder the apostle should exclaim, « Behold !

OF SOXSHIP WITH GOD. 183

what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,
that we should be called the sons of God."

Thus I have briefly shown you the glorious import of
your relation, the sons of God; and you see it should be
the greatest concern of each of you to inquire whether
you bear it. To determine this point, I need only tell
you, that if you are the children of God, you have been
supernaturally begotten by him, as I observed before,
(James i. 18,) and you have the temper of dutiful children
towards him, particularly you reverence and honour him ;
(Mai. i. 6 ;) you love and fear to offend him, and cheerfully
do his will, and mourn over your undutifulness ; you are
partakers of his divine nature, 2 Peter i. 4, and bear the
lineaments of his holiness. But if it be otherwise with
you, as I fear it is with many; if you be not conformed to
the moral perfections of God and bear his image ; if you
have not the dispositions of dutiful children towards him,
but the temper of the devil, and do his works, then you-
are of your father the devil. And though you may resent
this, as the Jews did, the charge is fixed upon you.
Therefore awaken all the importunity of your souls,
and cry to him for regenerating grace, that you also
may become the sons and daughters of the living God.
But if you find these characters of the children of
God which I just now mentioned, then "rejoice in
the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice :" you are
happier than princes, more great and honourable than
the sons of earthly kings. You cannot now form any
ideas what miracles of glory and blessedness your Father
will make of such mean, guilty, and wretched things
as yourselves. Which introduces what I next pro-
posed.

II. To mention some instances of the ignorance of the
sons of God with regard to their future state.

I
184 THE NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS

It is true indeed, and some of you, I doubt not, know
it by experience, that the children of God in some shining
moments enjoy prelibations of heaven; and even now,
" rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory," 1 Pet.
i. 8,* just as a child in infancy stumbles upon a manly
thought: and as the first dawnings of reason may give a
child some obscure hint of the masterly reasonings of a
mature genius; so from these foretastes of heaven, the
sons of God may form some faint ideas of the perfection
of its happiness in full enjoyment. They find these dispo-
sitions feebly working in them now, which, when brought
to perfection, will constitute their blessedness; and they
now find so much real happiness in the exercise of such
dispositions, though in an imperfect degree, as fully con-
vinces them that nothing is necessary to make them com-
pletely happy but the perfection of such exercises, and an
entire freedom from contrary principles. But what this
perfection is they have not yet experienced; their highest
thoughts fall short of it : and it doth not yet appear to them
what they shall be in the following particulars :

1. It doth not yet appear what they shall be with re-
spect to the enlargement of the faculties of their souls.

That the human soul is capable of vast enlargements,
that its faculties may expand to great dimensions, is evi-
dent; and we find by experience its improvements from
childhood to youth, and thence to the close of life, espe-
cially in men of a studious turn. And we may be sure
that when, like a bird out of a cage, it gets loose among
its kindred spirits, and flies at large in its proper element,
its faculties will be vastly improved : otherwise it would
be over-borne and crushed with the weight of glory ; it
would be dazzled with the intolerable' blaze of heavenly
brightness, like a mole that has wrought itself into day-

* Xopa — (5«(5o{a<7/i£i»j, a glorified joy.

OF SONSHIP WITH GOD. 185

light. As a child is utterly incapable of manly exercises,
so, without a proportionable enlargement of its powers,
the soul would be incapable of exercising them about the
infinite objects then before it, and of joining in the exalted
services of that mature world. You may therefore rest
confident in this, ye sons of God, that your little souls will
then be vastly improved. But as the infant cannot know
beforehand the improvement of riper years, so it is with
you. Compare your present selves with your infant
selves, and you will see a vast difference even in the pre-
sent state ; and how .vast the difference between »what you
now are and what you will be, when you enter into a
world entirely new, the proper region, the natural elements
of spirits ! Beloved, you are now the sons of God ; and
he will make you such beings as becomes so near a rela-
tion to such a Father; and what prodigies can he make
of you ! He that could make you what you are out of
nothing, in the course of a few years, what can he make
you out of what you now are, through the series of ever-
lasting ages ! How can he mature and enlarge your souls
from one degree of perfection to another ! so that, in some
future period, you will no more resemble what you are
now, than you now resemble what you were in the womb,
or upon the breast. Your understandings, through an
endless duration, may be still brightening, without ever
coming to their meridian ; and your views be still en-
larging, though still infinitely beneath the object of your
contemplation. It is fit that souls so improved should be
united to bodies suited to them. Which leads me to
observe,

2. It does not yet appear to you what kind of glorious
bodies you will have after the resurrection.

We are sure they will still be material bodies, otherwise
they would not be bodies at all. But matter, we know, is

VOL. II.— U

186 THE NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS

capable of prodigious refinements. Yonder globe of light,
the sun, is of the same original matter with a clod of
earth, and differs only in modifications. How vast the
difference between this animal flesh on our bodies, and
earth and water! and yet they are originally the same.
Earth and water are the materials of which grain and
other vegetables, that animals feed upon, are formed ; and
our bodies consist of grain formed into bread, and of the
flesh of beasts; so true is it, not only with respect to
Adam, but all his posterity, that they are but dust. In
short, there is a transmutation of matter into a surprising
variety of forms, wherever we cast our eyes : the linen we
wear was once earth, that was first refined into flax, then
formed into thread, then woven into what we now see it.
Thus our bodies may be changed in a most amazing man-
ner, and yet continue substantially the same. St. Paul
tells us, that they will be spiritual bodies, 1 Cor. xv. 44 ;
that is, so exquisitely refined, that they will resemble
proper spirits, as near as it is possible, while they retain
their materiality; and elsewhere he says, that "the Lord
Jesus will change our vile body, that it may be formed
like unto his glorious body." Phil. iii. 21. Such is the
glory of Christ's body in its now exalted state, that the
splendours breaking from it struck Paul and his fellow-
travellers to the ground, and deprived him of sight for
three days ; how illustrious, then, must those bodies be that
resemble his, though we allow his a suitable superiority !
This the apostle intimates by representing the change of
the bodies of saints at the resurrection as a mighty exploit
of God's all-subduing power. Phil. iii. 21. We are sure
the body will not then be a clog to the active spirit, but a
proper instrument for the employments of heaven. It may
be free from the law of gravitation, and capable of moving
every way with equal speed; it may be nimble and quick

OF SOKSHIP WITH GOD. 187

as a glance of lightning ; it may be adorned with a visible
glory more bright than the sun in its meridian lustre, like
the body of Christ on the mount of transfiguration, Matt,
xvii. 2 ; Dan. vii. 3 ; and Matt xiii. 53. It will then be in-
capable of pain, sickness, and death, Isa. xxxiii. 24; 1 Cor.
xv. 33, and will no more feel hunger and thirst, nor any
of the appetites of animal nature, Rev. vii. 16 ; it will be
capable of the most excellent sensations of pleasure through
every organ ; and a suitable companion to an improved
and glorified soul. Such bodies will the saints have : but
what it is to have such bodies, we have now no experi-
ence ; and shall never know till the glorious morning of
the resurrection.

3. It doth not yet appear to us what it is to be perfect
in holiness.

However enlarged and glorious our souls and bodies
should become, we should be still miserable without a pro-
portionable perfection in holiness. Now this, alas ! we do
not as yet know. We humbly hope some of us know
what it is to feel the spark of divine love in our breasts.
We hope we have tasted some small drops of bliss, though
intermingled with gall and wormwood. We know what
it is to exert our feeble powers in the service of the blessed
God, and in contemplating and admiring his excellencies ;
but, alas ! sin still cleaves to us, and deadens our powers ;
numberless imperfections attend our best moments. But
oh ! to have all the powers of soul and body enlarged ; to
exert them to the full stretch in the exercises of heaven ;
to find them animated and directed by the most consum-
mate holiness, and free from every the least taint of sin,
what an inconceivable state is this ! Oh how unlike the
present ! Sure, in such a state we should hardly know
ourselves : it would astonish us to find that we, who had
been so long accustomed to be assaulted and perplexed

188 THE NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS

with some guilty thought or sinful inclination, should at
once commence perfectly free from it ; that we, who have
so long made such languid essays, should find all our
powers full of unwearied, immortal vigour ! what a happy
surprise will this be !

4. It does not yet appear what will be the employments
and services of the heavenly world.

We know, from the plain declarations of sacred writ,
that the contemplation of the divine perfections, and their
displays in the works of nature and grace, celebrating the
praises of God, and prostrate adorations before him, will
be no small part of the happiness of a future state. But
we have no reason to suppose that it will consist entirely
in contemplation and adoration. A state of activity will
be a proper heaven for vigorous immortals. Will separ-
ate spirits be employed with their fellow-angels as guar-
dians to their brethren while in these mortal regions 1 A
very pleasant employ to generous and benevolent minds !
Will they be ambassadors of their Sovereign to the most
remote parts of his empire, to bear his messages, and dis-
charge his orders ? Will they be engaged in important
services to the present and future creations, and the instru-
ments of divine beneficence to worlds now unknown 1 A
philosophic curiosity would pry into these things, and even
a pious thirst for knowledge would be satisfied : but, alas !
we know not what answer to give to these inquiries till
the light of eternity shall break on us. But,

5. The sons of God, in consequence of their improve-
ments, natural and moral, and of their exalted services and
employments, will be made so exquisitely happy, as they
can have now no ideas of the felicity.

We know not what it is, in the present state, to have
every want supplied, every desire satisfied, and all our
vast capacity of happiness filled to the utmost ; and there-

OF SONSHIP WITH GOD. 189

fore we can form no just conceptions of our future selves,
when we shall be thus perfectly happy.

Behold, ye sons of God ; behold the wonders that open
before you ! see to what vast things you are born ! Can
you survey this mystery, and not be lost in pleasing won-
der, and cry out, Behold ! what manner of love is bestowed
upon us ?

Alas ! can you forget your own happiness; and let your
thoughts and affections run out upon the things of this
world, as if they were your portion ? Shall the King's
sons thus degrade their dignity, and depreciate their in-
heritance 1

And you, unhappy sinners; ye who are not the sons of
God by regeneration, what do you think of your case,
when it is the very reverse of all this ? Your souls, in-
deed, will be enlarged, but enlarged only that they may
be more capacious vessels for torment : and your bodies
shall be made strong and immortal ; but it will be to bear
strong, immortal misery. Instead of becoming perfect in
holiness, you will arrive to a horrid perfection in sin. As
all sin will be rooted out from the hearts of the children
of God, so all the virtuous and amiable qualities you might
retain in this world, will fall from you : and as the chil-
dren of God will be transformed into pure unmingled holi-
ness, you will degenerate into pure unmingled wickedness,
and consequently you must be as miserable as they will be
happy ; and all your enlarged capacities will be as full of
torment as theirs of bliss. I may therefore adapt the text
to you, sinners : now you are the children of the devil ;
but it doth not appear what you shall be ; you know not
what prodigies of vengeance, what miracles of misery you
shall be made; therefore awake from your carelessness
and neglect, and seek earnestly to become the children of
God.

190 THE NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS.

III. And lastly, I proceed to show in what respects the
sons of God are unknown to the world, and mistaken by
them.

The irreligious world may see a considerable difference
between those that are, in the judgment of charity, the
children of God, and others; but this they rather look
upon as an odious singularity, than as a peculiar glory and
excellency. They may see their life is not according to
the course of this world ; and, if they were witnesses to
their secret devotions, or could penetrate their hearts, they
would see a vastly greater difference ; but by how much
the greater difference, by so much the more they hate
them. And though they still profess a mighty veneration
for religion, yet, wherever it appears, they hate, oppose,
and asperse it; not indeed under that honourable name,
but under some odious character that will cloak their
wickedness, and the more effectually expose it. They love
religion, they say, and God forbid they should speak a word
against it ; but they hate hypocrisy, preciseness, &c. ; and
wherever a person appears remarkably religious, they will
be sure to brand him with some of their odious names.
Thus living Christianity, and its professors, have always
met with more contempt and hatred in the world, than
easy and pliable, or even the most profligate and aban-
doned sinners.

Now this is owing to the ignorance of the world as to
what the sons of God shall ere long be. They do not
look upon them as such favourites of heaven; otherwise
they would not dare to despise them at such a rate. The
sons of God are princes in disguise ; and therefore they are
not known by a blind world, who, as they are ignorant of
their Father, cannot discern his features in them.

O sinners ! could you but see in all his future glory
the meanest saint whom you now contemn and ridicule,

OF SONSHIP WITH GOD. 191

how would it astonish you ! it would tempt you rather to
the extreme of adoration than contempt; how willingly
would you change conditions with him !

Well, stay a little, and there will be a full manifestation
of the sons of God. Rom. viii. 19. You will then see
those whom you now account stupid, mopish creatures,
that have no taste for the pleasures of life, shining more
glorious than the sun ; happy as their natures can admit,
and, in their humble sphere, resembling God himself.

It is, however, all things considered, an instance of
divine wisdom, that it does not yet appear to themselves or
to others what the sons of God shall be. Such a manifesta-
tion would quite stun and confound the world, and strike
it into a torpid consternation. It would render the chil-
dren of God utterly impatient of the present life and its
enjoyments, and even of the low devotion of the church
on earth; it would put an end to the necessary activity
about temporal concerns, break off the designs of Pro-
vidence, and quite alter the form of administration in this
world. Therefore the manifestation is wisely put off to the
most proper season.

I shall now conclude with a few reflections.

First. What a state of darkness and imperfection is this !
Wre slipped into being we know not how, and remember
nothing of our own formation : and we shall be, ere long,
we know not what. Alas ! how short are our views ! all
before us is impenetrable darkness, and we can see but a
very little way behind us. What small cause, then, have
the wisest of us to be elated with our own knowledge !
In comparison of angelic beings, and even of our future
selves, we see no more than the mole grovelling in the earth,
compared with the keen-eyed aerial eagle mounting aloft.

Secondly. But what surprising discoveries of things will
flash upon us when we enter the other world ! O my

192 THE NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS

brethren ! when we ascend the heavenly mount, and take
large surveys all around of the immensity of the works of
God ; when the unveiled perfections of the Deity suddenly
shine upon our eyes in all their naked glory, upon our
waking from the sleep of death, how shall we be lost in
wonders ! What scenes of contemplation will then open
upon our gazing minds ! How shall we be astonished at
ourselves, and ready to vent our surprise in some such
strains as these ! " Is this I, who so lately was grovelling
in yonder world ? how changed ! how ennobled ! how glo-
rified ! Is this the soul that was once so overrun with the
leprosy of sin ! once so blind and dark ! once so perverse
and depraved ! so feeble and weak ! tormented with vain
anxieties and trifling cares, or transported with empty joys
and delusive prospects ! Is this the soul that had so many
hard conflicts with temptations, that felt such shocks of
jealousy, and so often languished under desponding fears
of seeing this glorious place ! Oh how changed ! how
free from every anxious care ! unmolested by so much as
a guilty thought ! nobly triumphant over sin and sorrow,
and all that is feared in its mortal state ! And is this my
once frail, mortal body ? my incumbrance in yonder world ?
how amazingly transformed ! how gloriously fashioned !
Oh to what a pitch of excellency and bliss can almighty
grace raise the meanest worm ! and oh ! in what raptures
of praise should I celebrate this grace through all eter-
nity !" Thus may we think the glorified saint would ex-
press his wonder. But alas ! we know just nothing about
it. The sensations and language of immortals are beyond
our comprehension. But,

Thirdly, We are just on the brink of this surprising
state. A few years, perhaps a few moments, may open to
our eyes these amazing scenes : the next day, or the next
hour they may flash upon us ; and oh ! where are we then ?

OF SONSHIP WITH GOD. 193

in what a strange world ! among what new beings ! and
what shall we then be ? Oh ! how amazingly transformed !
Should you see a clod from beneath your feet, rising and
brightening into a star, or shining like the noon-day sun,
the transformation would not be half so astonishing. Then
we have done with all beneath the sun ; all the little things
of this trifling world will vanish at once like a vapour ; and
all before us will be the most important and majestic reali-
ties. Therefore,

Fourthly, how astonishing is it that we should think so
little of what is before us ! that we should still stumble on
in the dark, thoughtless of these approaching wonders !
Ye sons of God, what are you doing, that you think no
more of your relation to God, and your heavenly inherit-
ance? If a large estate, or the government of the king-
dom should fall to you to-morrow, and you were told of it
beforehand, would it not always dwell upon your thoughts,
and keep you awake this night with the eager prospect?
What ! would things comparatively low fix your attention ?
and can you be thoughtless of a glory and bliss that infi-
nitely surpass all your present conceptions? And you,
unregenerate sinners, though I cannot say you are near to
glory, yet I may assure you, you are near to the eternal
world, and all its solemn wonders : this night perhaps you
may be there ; and if you land there in your present con-
dition, you are undone, you are ruined, you are incon-
ceivably miserable for ever. Therefore,

Fifthly, O sinners, why do you not labour to become
the sons of God now while you may? Consider what
prodigies of misery, what monuments of vengeance you
will soon be, if you continue unregenerate ! Alas ! sirs,
it does not yet appear what you shall soon be, otherwise
you could no more rest in your present case, than upon
the top of a mast, or upon burning coals. And, poor

VOL. II.— 25

194 NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS OF SONSHIP WITH GOD.

creatures, have you a mind to be initiated into those hor-
rid mysteries of woe, and be taught them by experience?
Will not you believe the repeated declarations of eternal
truth, that they are intolerably dreadful, and that, till you
are the sons of God, till you are born again, and have the
dispositions of children towards him, you cannot have a
moment's security for escaping them ? Alas ! I must pity
you ; and I call upon all the children of God to pour out
the tears of their compassion over you.

Sixthly : Let me call upon all the sons of God in this
assembly to admire his love in conferring this dignity upon
them. "Behold! what manner of love is this, that we
shall be called the sons of God!" Consider what you
were, guilty, rebellious creatures, condemned to everlast-
ing tortures; and you will own, that to be just delivered
from hell, though it had been by annihilation, would be an
inconceivable favour for you : but for you to be the sons
of God, to be made glorious beyond the reach of thought,
to be transformed into happy somethings that you can now
form no ideas ofj and this, too, at the expense of the blood
of God ; what love is this ! Go home, and forget it if
you can. I may as well bid you live without breathing if
you can.

Seventhly : Let me conclude with this reflection : how
honourable, how happy, how glorious, are the sons of God !
how immense their privileges ! how rich their inheritance !
Why then are they so backward to enter upon it? how
unaccountable, how absurd their eager attachment to this
world, and their unwillingness to die! Why so much
afraid of ascending to their Father's house? Why so shy
of glory and bliss? Why so fond of slavery and impri-
sonment? Oh, my brethren, be always on the wing, ready
for flight, and be always looking out and crying, Come,
Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.

A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR. 195

SERMON XXXIV.

A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR.

JER. xxvm. 16. — This year thou shalt die*

WHILE we are entering upon the threshold of a new
year, it may be proper for us to stand, and pause, and
take a serious view of the occurrences that may happen
to us this year, that we may be prepared to meet them.
Future contingencies are indeed unknown to us; and this
ignorance is as agreeable to our present state, and as con-
ducive to our improvement and happiness, as our know-
ledge of the things which it concerns us to know. But
though we cannot predict to ourselves the particular events
that may befall us, yet the events of life in general, in a
vague indeterminate view, are not so contingent and un-
knowable as to leave no room for rational suppositions,
and probable expectations. There are certain events
which regularly happen to us every year, and therefore we
may expect them this year. There are others which some-
times occur in the compass of a year, and sometimes do not ;

* This sermon was preached at the college at Nassau Hall, and conse-
quently to a number of young persons, Jan. 1, 1761. The author died the
4th of February following.

It was a remarkable circumstance that the Rev. Aaron Burr, a former
President of the college of New Jersey, on the first day of the year wherein
he died, preached a sermon on this same text.

Upon being seized with his last sickness, about three weeks after this ser-
mon was preached, Davies adverted to this circumstance, and mentioned it as
remarkable that he had been undesignedly led to preach, as it were, his own
funeral sermon. [EDITOR OF THE BOARD OF PUBLICATION.]

196 A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR.

such are many of the blessings and afflictions of life ; of
these we should be apprehensive, and prepare for them.
And there are events which we know are before us, and
we are sure they will occur ; but at what particular time
they will happen, whether this year or next, whether this
day or to-morrow, is to us an utter uncertainty. Such is
that interesting event, the close of the present life, and our
entrance into eternity. That we must die, is as certain as
that we now live ; but the hour or year when, is kindly
and wisely concealed from us, that we may be always
ready, and stand in the posture of constant vigilant expec-
tation; that we may not be surprised. But certainly it
becomes us to reflect seriously upon the mere possibility
of this event happening this year, and realize to ourselves
those important consequences that result from this supposi-
tion. The mere possibility of this may justly affect us
more than the certain expectation of any other futurity.
And it is not only possible, but highly probable, death may
meet some of us within the compass of this year. Yes, it
is highly probable, that if some prophet, like Jeremiah,
should open to us the book of the divine decrees, one or
other of us would there see our sentence, and the time of
its execution fixed. Thus saith the Lord — This year thou
shalt die. There some of us would find it written, " This
year thou shalt enjoy a series of prosperity, to try if the
goodness of God will lead thee to repentance." Others
might read this melancholy line, " This year shall be to
thee a series of afflictions : this year thou shalt lose thy
dearest earthly support and comfort ; this year thou shalt
pine away with sickness, or agonize with torturing pain,
to try if the kind severities of a father's rod will reduce
thee to thy duty." Others, I hope, would read the gra-
cious decree, " This year, thy stubborn spirit, after long
resistance, shall be sweetly constrained to bow to the des-

A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR. 197

pised gospel of Christ. This year shalt thou be born a
child of God, and an heir of happiness, which the revolu-
tion of years shall never, never, terminate." Oh happy
and glorious event ! May we hope this mercy is reserved
among the secrets of heaven for any thoughtless impeni-
tent sinner among us? And that the decree will bring it
forth this year? this year which finds us in a dead sleep,
stupidly careless of our everlasting interest, and which, if
like the preceding, will be a season of thoughtless impeni-
tence and presumptuous security? Others perhaps would
read this tremendous doom, " This year my spirit so long
resisted, shall cease to strive with thee ; this year I will
give thee up to thine own heart's lusts, and swear in my
wrath thou shalt not enter into my rest." Oh ! dismal
sentence ! None can equal it in terror but one, and that
is, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire ; and
the former is an infallible presage of the latter. Others
( Oh ! let our souls dwell upon the thought! ) would proba-
bly find the doom of the false prophet Hananiah pro-
nounced against them : " Thus saith the Lord, behold, I
will cast thee from oflf the face of the earth : this year thou
shalt die."

This year you may die, for your life is the greatest un-
certainty in the world. You have no assurance of another
year, another day, or even another moment.

This year you may die, because thousands have died
since the last new year's day ; and this year will be of the
same kind with the last; the duration of mortals; a time to
die. The causes of death, both in the human constitution
and in the world without, will exist and operate in this
year as well as in the last.

This year you may die ; for thousands of others will die :
it is certain they will, and why may not you ? What pecu-
liar security have you to confide in ?

198 A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR.

This year you may die, though you are young ; for the
regions of the dead have been crowded with persons of
your age; and no age is the least security against the
stroke of death.

This year you may die, though you are now in health
and vigour, and your constitution seems to promise a long
life ; for thousands of such will be hurried into the eternal
world this year, as they have been in years past. The
principles of death may be even now working within you,
notwithstanding the seeming firmness of your constitution;
and you may be a pale, cold, lifeless corpse, sooner than
the invalid whose life is apparently near its close.

This year you may die, though you are full of busi-
ness, though you have projected many schemes, which it
may be the work of 'years to execute, and which afford
you many bright and flattering prospects. Death will not
consult your leisure, nor be put off till another year, that
you may accomplish your designs. Thousands have died
before you, and will die this year amidst their golden pros-
pects, and while spinning out their eternal schemes. And
what has happened to them may happen to you.

This year you may die, though you have not yet finished
your education, nor fixed in life, but are preparing to ap-
pear in the world, and perhaps elated with the prospect
of the figure you will make in it. Many such abortive
students are now in the dust. Many that had passed
through a laborious course of preparation for public life,
and had inspired their friends, as well as themselves, with
high hopes, have been snatched away as they were just
stepping upon the stage: and this may be your doom
also.

This year you may die, though you are not prepared
for it. When death shows you his warrant under the
great seal of heaven, it will be no excuse to plead, " I am

A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR. 199

not ready." Though the consequence of your dying un-
prepared will be your everlasting ruin, yet that dreadful
consideration will have no weight to delay the execution.

This year you may die, though you deliberately delay
your preparation, and put it off to some future time. You
may fix upon the next year, or the decline of life, as the
season for religion ; but that time may never be at your
disposal. Others may live to see it, but you may be in-
gulfed in the boundless ocean of eternity before it arrives,
and your time for preparation may be over for ever.

This year you may die, though you are unwilling to
admit the thought. Death does not slacken his pace to-
wards you, because you hate him, and are afraid of his ap-
proach. Your not realizing your latter end as near, does
not remove it to a greater distance. Think of it or not,
you must die : your want of thought can be no defence ;
and you know not how soon you may feel what you can-
not bear to think of.

This year you may die, though you may strongly hope
the contrary, and flatter yourself with the expectation of a
length of years. You will not perhaps admit the thought
of a short abortive life ; but notwithstanding this, you may
be a lifeless corpse before this year finishes its revolution.

Thus it appears very possible, that one or other of us
may die this year. Nay, it is very probable, as well as
possible, if we consider that it is a very uncommon, and
almost unprecedented thing, that not one should die in a
whole year, out of such an assembly as this. More than
one have died the year past, who made a part of our as-
sembly last new year's day. Therefore, let each of us
(for we know not on whom the lot may fall,) realize this
possibility, this alarming probability, " This year I may
die."

And what if you should ? Surely you may be startled

200 A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR.

at this question : for oh ! the surprising change ! Oh ! the
important consequences !

If you should die this year, then all your doubts, all the
anxieties of blended hopes and fears about your state and
character will terminate for ever in full conviction. If
you are impenitent sinners, all the artifices of self-flattery
will be able to make you hope better things no longer;
but the dreadful discovery will flash upon you with the
resistless blaze of intuitive evidence. You will see, you
will feel yourselves such. If you lie under the condemna-
tion of the divine law, you will no longer be able to flatter
yourselves with better hopes : the execution of the penalty
will sadly convince you of the tremendous truth. To
dispute it would be to dispute the deepest heart-felt sensa-
tions of the most exquisite misery. But, on the other
hand, if your fears and doubts are the honest anxieties of
a sincere, self-diffident heart, ever jealous of itself, and
afraid of every mistake in a matter of such vast importance,
you will meet with the welcome demonstration of your
sincerity, and of your being unquestionably the favourites
of heaven. Sensation will afford you conviction ; and you
will believe what you see. In short, the possibility that
this year may be your last, may be joyful tidings to you.
If you die this year, this year you shall be in heaven, im-
paradised in the bosom of God. And is it possible your
salvation is so near ! Transporting thought !

It would be easy to enumerate several happy conse-
quences of death with regard to those who have spent
their life in preparation for it ; and the nearness of death,
instead of striking them with terror, may heighten the
transport of expectation. It would afford me no small
pleasure to trace those blessed consequences, and it would
be an act of kindness and compassion to the heirs of
heaven, many of whom go on mourning and trembling

A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR. 201

even towards the regions of happiness, as though they
were going to the place of execution, and anticipate but
very little of those infinite pleasures which are so near at
hand. But I intend to devote the present hour chiefly to
the service of a part, perhaps the greater part of my
hearers, who are in a more dangerous and alarming situa-
tion, I mean such who may die this year, and yet are not
prepared ; such who are as near to hell as they are to
death, and consequently stand in need of the most powerful
and immediate applications, lest they be undone for ever
beyond recovery.

To you, therefore, my dear brethren, my fellow mor-
tals, my fellow candidates for eternity, whose everlasting
state hangs in a dread suspense, who have a secret con-
viction that you are not qualified for admission into the
kingdom of heaven, and who cannot promise yourselves
that you shall not sink into the infernal pit this year, but
upon this supposition, which is the most precarious and
doubtful in the world, namely, that you shall live out
another year; to you I would address myself with affec-
tionate tenderness, and yet with plainness and pungency.
And I beg your most solemn attention to an affair of in-
finite moment, to which you may not have another year
to attend.

This year you may die : and should you die this year,
you will be for ever cut off from all the pleasures of life.
Then farewell, an everlasting farewell to all the mirth and
gaiety, the tempting amusements and vain delights of
youth. Farewell to all the pleasures you derive from the
senses, and all the gratification of appetite. This year the
sun may lose his lustre as to you ; and all the lovely
prospects of nature may become a dismal blank. To you
music may lose all her charms, and die away into ever-
lasting silence ; and all the gratifications of the palate may

VOL. II.— 26

202 A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR.

become insipid. When you lie in the cold grave, you
will be as dead to such sensations as the clay that covers
you. Then farewell to all the pompous but empty plea-
sures of riches and honours. The pleasures both of enjoy-
ment and expectation from this quarter will fail for ever.
But this is not all.

If you should die this year, you will have no pleasures,
no enjoyments to substitute for those you will lose. Your
capacity and eager thirst for happiness will continue, nay,
will grow more strong and violent in that improved adult
state of your nature. And yet you will have no good,
real, or imaginary, to satisfy it; and consequently the
capacity of happiness will become a capacity of misery ;
and the privation of pleasure will be positive pain. Can
imagination feign any thing more wretched than a creature
formed for the enjoyment of the infinite good, pining
away for ever with hungry, raging desires, without the
least degree of gratification! banished at once from the
supreme good, and from all the created enjoyments that
were wont to be poorly substituted in its stead! Yet this
may be your case in the short compass of the following
year. Oh ! what a terrible change ! What a prodigious
fall!

Should you die this year, all your hopes and prospects
as to a future life will perish abortive. Several of you
now are in a state of education, preparing to enter upon
the stage of the world ; and you are perhaps often pleasing
yourselves with gay and magnificent dreams about the
figure you will make upon it. You may be planning
many schemes to be accomplished in the several periods
of a long life : and are perhaps already anticipating in idea
the pleasure, the profit, or the honour you expect to de-
rive from their execution. In these fond hopes your
affectionate parents, friends, and teachers concur with

A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR. 203

generous pleasure. But, alasf in the swift revolution of
this beginning year, all these sanguine expectations and
pleasing prospects may vanish into smoke. Youth is the
season of promise, full of fair blossoms; but these fair
blossoms may wither, and never produce the expected
fruits of maturity. It may perhaps be the design of
heaven, that after all the flattering hopes and projects, and
after all the pains and expense of a liberal education, you
shall never appear upon the public stage ; or that you shall
vanish away like a phantom, as soon as you make your ap-
pearance. Certainly then you should extend your prospects
beyond the limits of mortality ; extend them into that world,
where you will live to execute them, without the risk of
a disappointment. Otherwise,

If you die this year, you will not only be cut off from
all the flattering prospects of this life, but from all hope
entirely, and for ever. If you die in your sins, you will
be fixed in an unchangeable state of misery; a state that
will admit of no expectation but that of uniform, or rather
ever-growing misery ; a state that excludes all hopes of
making a figure, except as the monuments of the vindictive
justice of God, and the deadly effects of sin. How affec-
ting is the idea of a promising youth cut off' from the land
of the living useless and hopeless in both worlds ! fallen
from the summit of hope into the gulf of everlasting
despair ! Yet this may be your doom, my dear youth,
your doom this very year, if you should die in your sins.

If you should die this year, then all the ease and
pleasure you now derive from thoughtlessness, self-flattery,
and suppressing the testimony of your consciences, will
for ever be at an end. You will then be obliged to view
yourselves in a just light, and to know the very worst of
your condition. The secret plaudits of self-flattery will
be for ever silenced, and conscience will recover itself from

204 A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR.

that state of insensibility into which you have cast it by
repeated violences, and, as exasperated by your ill-treat-
ment, it will become your everlasting tormentor ; it will
do nothing but accuse and upbraid you for ever; you will
never more be able to entertain so much as one favourable
thought of yourselves. And what a wretched state will
this be ! for a man to be self-condemned ! to disapprove
of his whole past conduct ! to be pleased with nothing in
himself, but heartily, though with horror, to concur in the
condemning sentence of the Supreme Judge, and the
whole creation ! to esteem himself a fool, a sinner, a mean,
sordid wretch ; an enemy to himself, and the whole uni-
verse ; a self-destroyer, an outcast from all happiness, and
from the society of all happy beings ; an unlovely, odious,
useless, miserable, despairing creature for ever ! O miser-
able situation ! Does it not alarm you to think you may
be so near it ?

If you should die this year, you will be deprived for
ever of all the means of salvation. All these are confined
to the present life, and have no place in the world of
eternal punishment. There the thunders of the divine
law roar ; but the gentle voice of the gospel never sounds.
There the Lion of the tribe of Judah rends the prey; but
never exhibits himself as a Lamb that was slain, an atone-
ment for sin, and the Saviour of the guilty. There con-
science exerts its power, not to excite the medicinal
anguish of kindly repentance, but the hopeless horrors of
everlasting despair. There Jehovah works, but not to
enable the sinner to work out his own salvation, but to
touch all the springs of painful sensation, and open all the
sources of misery in the criminal. There mercy no more
distributes her bounties, but justice reigns in her awful
rigours. There the sanctifying Spirit no more communi-
cates his purifying, all-healing influences, but sin, the great

A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR. 205

Apollyon, diffuses its deadly poison. In a word, when
you leave this state of trial, all the discipline of the present
state, all your advantages for salvation, all the means of
grace, and all the encouragements of hope will be for ever
removed out of your reach; and consequently all possibility
of your salvation will cease for ever; for when the neces-
sary means are taken away, the end becomes utterly im-
possible. Therefore,

If you should die this year, all your hopes of heaven
will vanish for ever. No more happiness for you ! You
have received your portion in this life, a few years of
sordid, unsatisfactory happiness; and an entire eternity
of misery, permanent, exquisite, consummate misery fol-
lows behind ! No more honour for you, but shame and
everlasting contempt. No more intellectual amusements
and pleasing studies ! no more gentle beams of science !
but the blackness of darkness for ever ! intense poring
upon your hopeless wretchedness ! tormenting recollec-
tions of your past folly and madness involuntarily rushing
into the pit ! No agreeable companion ! no sympathizing
friend ! no relaxation ! no pleasing exercise ! no encour-
aging prospects ! no comforting reviews ! no friendly inter-
course with heaven ! no token of love ! no gift of grace
from the Father of mercy ! none of the conscious joys of
self-approbation ! no hope in the future ! no relief from
the past ! no refuge, no escape, at the expense of existence,
into the gulf of annihilation ! but above, an angry God
and a lost heaven ! behind, a misspent life, and opportuni-
ties of salvation irrecoverably lost! within, a guilty, re-
morseful conscience, an implacable self-tormentor! around,
malignant, enraged ghosts, mutual tormentors ! before, an
eternity of hopeless misery, extending infinitely beyond
the ken of sight ! Oh tremendous doom ! who can bear
the thought ?

206 A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR.

And is it possible it should be so near to any of us ?
Where is the unhappy creature, that we may all drop our
tears over him ? Where is he ? Rather, where is he not ?
An impenitent sinner is almost everywhere to be found ;
and that is the wretched creature who stands every mo-
ment upon the slippery brink of this horrible precipice ;
and this year, nay, this hour, for what mortals or angels
know, he may be thrown down, ingulfed and lost for
ever.

And is this a safe situation for you, thoughtless, fool-
hardy mortals ! Does it become you in such a situation
to be cheerful, merry, and gay; or busy, restless, and
laborious in the pursuits of this transitory life ? Does it
become you to dread nothing but the disasters and cala-
mities of the present state, or spin out your eternal
schemes of grandeur, riches, or pleasures, in hopes to
accomplish them within the narrow, uncertain limits of
time allotted you? Alas! before another year has run
its hasty round, the world and all that it contains, all its
pursuits and enjoyments, all its cares and sorrows, may be
as insignificant to you as the grandeur of Csesar, or the
riches of the world before the flood. Earthly riches or
poverty, liberty or slavery, honour or disgrace, joy or sor-
row, sickness or health, may in this year become as little
your concern, and be as much nothing to you as to your
coffin, or the dust that shall cover it, or to Judas that
has been gone to his own place above seventeen hundred
years.

Does it not rather become you to turn your thoughts
to another inquiry, " Is it possible for me to escape this
impending danger ? Where, how, whence may I obtain
deliverance ?" If you are not desirous seriously to attend
to this inquiry, it will be to no purpose for me to solve it;
to you it will appear as a solemn trifle, or an impertinent

A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR. 207

episode. But if you will lay it to heart, if you will, as it
were, give me your word that you will pay a proper re-
gard to it, I shall enter upon the solution with the utmost
alacrity.

I assure you, then, in the first place, your case is not
yet desperate, unless you choose to make it so ; that is,
unless you choose to persist in carelessness and impeni-
tence, as you have hitherto done. If you now begin to
think seriously upon your condition, to break off from
your sins, and attend in good earnest upon the means
appointed for your salvation, there is hope concerning
you ; yes, miserable sinners ! there is hope that this year,
which now finds you in so deplorable a state, will intro-
duce you into another, under the blessing of heaven, safe
from all danger, and entitled to everlasting happiness.

I presume you all know so well the external means
you should use for your salvation, that I need not particu-
larly direct you to them. You all know that prayer,
reading, and hearing the word of God, meditation upon
divine things, free conference with such as have been
taught by experience to direct you in this difficult work ;
you all know, I say, that these are the means instituted
for your conversion; and if you had right views of things
and a just temper towards them, you would hardly need
instruction or the least persuasion to make use of them.
But to give you such views, and inspire you with such a
temper, this is the difficulty. Oh ! that I knew how to
undertake it with success ! I can only give you such
directions as appear to me proper and salutary ; but it is
the almighty power of God alone that can give them force
and efficacy.

You must learn to think, to think seriously and solemnly
upon your danger, and the necessity of a speedy escape.
You must retire from the crowd, from talk, dissipation,

208 A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR.

business, and amusement, and converse with yourselves
alone in pensive solitude.

You must learn to think patiently upon subjects the
most melancholy and alarming, your present guilt and
depravity, and your dreadful doom so near at hand, if you
continue in your present condition. The mind, fond of
ease, and impatient of such mortifying and painful thoughts,
will recoil, and fly off, and seek for refuge in every trifle:
but you must arrest and confine it to these disagreeable
subjects; you must force upon it this medicinal pain, as
you often force your stomach, when your health requires
it. There is not any moroseness in this advice; no ill-
natured design upon your pleasure and happiness. On
the other hand, it is intended to procure you more plea-
sure and happiness than you can possibly obtain any other
way : it is intended to prevent many sorrowful days and
years, nay, a complete eternity of misery. The alterna-
tive proposed to you is not, whether you shall feel the bit-
ter anguish of repentance, or not ; whether you shall be
pensive and serious, or not; whether you shall think
upon gloomy and alarming subjects, or not : This is not
at all the state of the case ; for you must feel the sorrows
of repentance ; you must be thoughtful and pensive ; you
must confine your minds to subjects of terror : you must,
whether you will or not; it is utterly unavoidable. But
the only alternative proposed to your choice is, whether
you will voluntarily submit to the kindly, hopeful, medi-
cinal, preventive sorrows of repentance in this state of trial,
which will issue in everlasting joy ; or be forced to sub-
mit to the despairing pangs, and useless, destructive hor-
rors of too late a repentance in the eternal world ; which
will only torment you, but not save you ; which will be
your punishment, and not a mean of your reformation, or
a preparative for happiness. Whether you will confine

A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR. 209

your thoughts for a time to the contemplation of your
present miserable circumstances, while hope irradiates even
the darkest gloom of discouragement, and the gospel opens
such bright and inviting prospects beyond those melan-
choly views that now first present themselves to your
thoughts ; or whether you will choose to pine away a
doleful eternity in sullen, intense, hopeless porings upon
your remediless misery, in pale reviews of past folly, and
shocking surveys of endless ages of woe before you. This
is the true state of the case : and can you be at a loss
what choice to make ! Does not the voice of reason, the
voice of conscience, of self-interest and self-love, as well as
the voice of God, direct you to choose a few serious, sad,
solemn, sorrowful, penitent hours now, rather than to in-
vert the choice and to purchase a few hours of presump-
tuous ease at the expense of a wretched, despairing eter-
nity ? Oh choose life, that you may live. While you
indulge a trifling levity of mind, and a roving dissipation
of thought, there is no hope you will ever seriously at-
tend to your most important interest, or use the means of
grace in earnest. Hence it is that I have made it so much
my endeavour to-day to make you serious and thoughtful.
To enforce this, let me repeat what I think cannot but
have some effect; especially as it comes not from the
priesthood, but the court ; and from a courtier as eminent
as England ever boasted.

" Ah ! my friends ! while we laugh, all things are seri-
ous round about us. God is serious, who exerciseth
patience towards us : Christ is serious, who shed his blood
for us : the Holy Ghost is serious, who striveth against
the obstinacy of our hearts : the holy Scriptures bring to
our ears the most serious things in the world ; the holy
sacraments represent the most serious and awful matters :
the whole creation is serious in serving God and us : all

VOL. II.— 27

210 A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR.

that are in heaven and hell are serious : — How then can
we be gay ?"

I pray you, my dear brethren, yield an immediate com-
pliance. Do not delay this great affair for another year,
till you are sure you shall live another year. You may
perhaps have time enough before you to work out your
salvation, if you immediately begin to improve it : but, if
you loiter, you may perish for want of time : the riches of
the world will not be able then to redeem one of those
precious hours you now squander away.

Let me now make you one of the most reasonable, sal-
utary, and advantageous proposals that heaven itself can
make to you : and that is, that you endeavour to enter
upon this new year as new creatures. Let the old man
with his affections and lusts die with the old year. " Let
the time past of your life more than suffice you to have
wrought the will of the flesh. What profit had you then
in those things of which you would now be ashamed ?"
How shocking the thought that your old guilt should fol-
low you into the new year, and haunt you in future times !
Oh ! begin this year as you would wish to end your life !
Begin it so as to give hopes that your future time will be
so spent as to render death harmless, and even welcome
to you.

Let the possibility suggested in my text have due
weight with you : This year you may die.

But perhaps some of you may be inverting this consid-
eration, and whispering to yourselves, " This year I may
not die :" and therefore there is no immediate necessity of
preparation for death. But what if you should not die
this year, if you still delay the great work for which your
time is given you? Alas! if you persist in this, one
would think it can give you but little pleasure whether
you die this year or not? What end will your life

A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR. 211

answer, but to add to your guilt, and increase your punish-
ment ? What safety can another year afford you, when
you must die at last 1 What valuable end do you intend
to answer in future life ? Do you purpose to spend this
year as you have your past years ? What ! in offending
your God ! abusing his mercies ! neglecting the precious
seasons of grace ! hardening yourselves more and more in
impenitence ! adding sin to sin, and treasuring up wrath
against the day of wrath ! Is it worth your while to live
for such horrid, preposterous purposes as these 1 Can
you wish for another year with these views? Could you
venture to pray for it ? Will the prayer bear to be put into
words ? Come, put on the hardiness of an infernal ghost,
that you may be able to support yourselves, under the
horror of the sound. " Thou supreme Excellence ! Thou
Author of my being, and all my powers ! Thou Father of
all my mercies ! Thou righteous Judge of the world ! I
have spent ten, twenty, or thirty years in displeasing thee
and ruining myself; but I am not yet satisfied with the
pleasures of such a conduct. Grant me, I pray thee, an-
other year to spend in the same manner. Grant me more
mercies to abuse; more time to misspend; more means of
grace to neglect and profane." Could you now fall on
your knees, and present such petitions to heaven ? Surely
you could not. Surely your frame would shudder; nay,
would not the heavens gather blackness, and the earth
tremble at the sound ! But have your temper and practice
no language ? Language expresses the thoughts and in-
tentions of the mind ; and are not the habitual temper and
practice a more certain discovery of the thoughts and in-
tentions than mere words ? words, which may be spoken
without a thought, or in a passion, and which may soon
be heartily retracted 1 But the temper and practice is a
steady and sure rule of judging, and decisive of a man's

212 A SERMON ON THE NEW YEAR.

predominant character. Therefore, while your temper
and practice are agreeable to such a prayer : that is, while
you are disposed to spend your time that God gives you
in sin and impenitence, you are perpetually insulting hea-
ven with such petitions, and that too in a manner much
more expressive and strong than if you should utter them
in words. And can you quietly bear the thought of this
horrid blasphemy, which you are constantly breathing out
against heaven ? Can you wish and pray for another year
for this purpose ? What though you should not die this
year? Will this exempt you from death in another, or
from the punishment of misspent life 1 Alas ! no ; this
will only render you a greater criminal, and a more mis-
erable wretch in eternity. One year of sinning will make
a dreadful addition to your account.

Therefore conclude, every one for himself, "It is of
little importance to me whether I die this year, or not;
but the only important point is, that I make a good use
of my future time, whether it be longer or shorter."
This, my brethren, is the only way to secure a happy new
year : a year of time, that will lead the way to a happy
eternity.

AN ENROLMENT OF OUR NAMES IN HEAVEN. 213

SERMON XXXV.

AN ENROLMENT OF OUR NAMES IN HEAVEN THE NOBLEST
SOURCE OF JOY.

LUKE x. 20. — Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that
the spirits are subject unto you ; but rather rejoice, be-
cause your names are written in heaven*

THIS is the answer Christ gave to his disciples, when
returned from their mission, flushed with victory over the
most mighty and most malignant enemies, the infernal
powers. Lord, say they, even the devils are subject to us,
through thy name. This they probably mentioned with a
tincture of vanity, and were secretly proud of their new
power, which their Master had given them. Though they
owned it was his gift, they gloried in it, as conferring some
new honour and dignity upon themselves. And proba-
bly like the rest of their countrymen, their heads were
filled with notions of the temporal kingdom of the Mes-
siah, and his conquests over the other nations of the earth
in favour of the Jews ; and inferred that they should have
an irresistable power over their enemies on earth, from the
power they had been enabled to exercise over evil spirits,
so much more mighty, and seemingly unconquerable.

Their Lord and Master, among other things in his an-
swer, checks this secret vanity, and points out to them a
superior cause of joy. Rejoice not in this ; that is, re-

* A Sermon preached at Hanover, in Virginia, Jan. 14, 1759.

214 AN ENROLMENT OF OUR NAMES IN HEAVEN

joice not so much as you do, rejoice not principally in this,
that the spirits, (that is, evil spirits,) are subject unto you ;
but rather rejoice, because your names are written in hea-
ven ; as if he should say, " Though you may safely rejoice
in the victory you have obtained through my name over
the powers of hell, yet you ought to take care that it be
not a vain, selfish, carnal joy, a joy springing from the gra-
tification of your own ambition. And take care also, that
it does not run into excess ; for I will show you a much
greater cause of joy than even this ; and that is, that your
names are written in heaven. It is possible, that while
you are casting the devil out of the bodies of others, your
own souls may be under his power, and you may be his
miserable slaves for ever. But since your names are writ-
ten in heaven, you are safe ; and that is cause of joy in-
dee^. Rejoice in this above all other things."

How should we rejoice, and perhaps boast, if the mighty
powers of hell were subject unto us, and we could make
them fly at a word? But the meanest Christian is more
happy than this, and has cause of greater joy.

For the further explication of the text, it is only neces-
sary to inquire, what is meant by their names being writ-
ten in heaven?

Heaven is here compared to a city or corporation, in
which a list or record . is kept of all the citizens or free-
men who are entitled to its privileges and immunities.
And, therefore, to have our names written in heaven, sig-
nifies to be citizens, or freemen of the heavenly city ; that
is, to have a right 'to an inheritance there, and to all its
privileges and enjoyments.

This naturally suggests a very important inquiry, the
decision of which may hold us all in an anxious suspense :
" How may I know (may each of us ask) whether my un-
worthy name be written in heaven? who can open and

THE NOBLEST SOURCE OF JOY. 215

read the records of heaven, and show me whether my
name is registered there?"

I answer, This is a secret that may be discovered ; for
all that have their names written in heaven, may be distin-
guished by their characters, their temper, and practice,
while upon earth. And their characters are such as
these :

1. They are deeply sensible of the vanity of all earthly
things, and that heaven alone is a sufficient portion and
happiness. All that are registered as citizens of the hea-
venly Jerusalem, have a superlative esteem of that privi-
lege, and count all things but loss in comparison of it,
Matt. vi. 24-26, and xiii. 45, 46. And is this your cha-
racter ? Are your hearts in heaven ? or are your highest
affections confined to the earth?

2. All that have their names written in heaven ha,ve a
heavenly nature ; a nature very different from that of the
men of this world, and like that of the citizens of heaven ?
And is this your temper? or is it earthly and sensual?

3. All that have their names written in heaven have a
peculiar love for all their fellow-citizens, who are heirs of
heaven. They love them as members of the same cor-
poration with themselves. 1 John iii. 14.

4. If your names are written in heaven, it is the chief
business and concern of your life to obtain an interest in
heaven. This is not the object of languid, lazy wishes, or
of lukewarm, spiritless prayers; but of your vigorous,
anxious, persevering desires. And do you thus seek the
kingdom of heaven? Matt. xi. 12; Luke xvi. 16.

These marks must suffice at present to assist you in self-
examination ; and I beg you would bring them to your
hearts, and see if they will stand this test.

If your names are written in heaven, then my text au-
thorizes me to tell you, this is the greatest cause of joy

216 AN ENROLMENT OF OUR NAMES IN HEAVEN

you can possibly have ; a joy that may swallow up every
other joy. But on the other hand,

If your names are not written in heaven, there is no-
thing in the world that can happen to you, that can be a
cause of rational, lasting joy to you.

I. If your names are written in heaven, this is the great-
est cause of joy you can possibly have ; a joy that may
swallow up every other joy. This will appear by an in-
duction of particulars.

Are you rich in this world ? Has God blessed your in-
dustry and frugality, so that you are in easy, affluent cir-
cumstances] This is cause of joy and gratitude to God,
as it furnishes you with the materials of earthly happiness,
frees you from many anxieties, and painful wants, and puts
it in your power to enjoy the generous pleasure of doing
good with your substance. But what is this, when com-
pared with the blessings of the sanctified use of riches,
and the assurance that God has given you, that all things
shall work together for your good? what is this to the un-
searchable riches of Christ, and that fulness of grace and
glory, in which you have an interest? Rejoice more in
this than in thousands of gold and silver.

Or if you are not in affluent circumstanees, are you
above extreme want, and able by your labour and industry
to provide yourselves and your dependents with the neces-
saries of life? This is the happiness of most, even of the
poor in our country ; and this is cause of joy. But what
is this to the happiness of having provision made for your
subsistence through everlasting ages? Is it not superior
cause of joy, that when you are stripped of all the enjoy-
ments of the present life, you shall also be delivered from
all its wants and labours, and shall not only have a bare
sufficiency, but a rich overflowing abundance of happiness
equal to the capacities of your souls in their highest en-

THE NOBLEST SOURCE OF JOY. 217

largements? In this you may warrantably rejoice, and you
cannot run into excess.

Do you enjoy health of body? In this rejoice: but
how trifling a cause of joy is this to that of your souls
being in health and prospering, and bearing the symptoms
of immortal life and vigour.

Are your bodies free from diabolical possession? Re-
joice not so much in this, but rather rejoice that the devil
is cast out of your souls, and that you are not under his
spiritual tyranny.

Are you happy in your friends and relations, and every
domestic blessing? Rejoice not so much in this as that
you have the most honourable relations and friends in hea-
ven. God is your father ; Christ is your Saviour, your
elder brother, your friend ; the Holy Ghost is your sanc-
tifier; the angels and all the saints are your fellow-ser-
vants, your brethren of the same household of God.

Do you rejoice in the salvation of your country, and
that you are delivered from the hands of your savage and
perfidious enemies on earth? Rather rejoice that you are
delivered from the tyranny of sin and Satan, and from the
condemnation of the divine law.

Do you rejoice that our forces have been victorious over
our enemies? Rather rejoice in the victory which the
Captain of your salvation has gained for you over your
spiritual enemies. Rather rejoice in the victory you are
enabled to gain over sin, Satan, and the world, through the
blood of the Lamb. Rather rejoice to see your lusts slain,
or at least mortally wounded, and dying in your hearts.

Do you rejoice that you have the prospect of living in
safety and peace in your country ? Rather rejoice that you
have peace of conscience, and peace with God, through
Jesus Christ : and that you shall enter into everlasting peace
whenever you leave this restless world.

VOL. II.— 28

218 AN ENROLMENT OF OUR NAMES IN HEAVEN

Do you rejoice that your earthly possessions, your pro-
perty and liberty are safe 1 Rather rejoice that your hea-
venly inheritance is safe ; and that whatever becomes of
the kingdoms of the earth, you have a kingdom that can-
not be shaken, eternal in the heavens.

Do you rejoice that you live under the government of a
good king? and that you enjoy the blessings of our happy
constitution? This is a peculiar happiness indeed; but
rejoice not so much in this, as that you are the subjects of
the King of kings, and under a dispensation of grace, and
the government of a Mediator. The LORD reigneth : let
the earth rejoice. Psalm xcvii. 1. Rejoice, above all, in
this, that you and all your affairs are under the direction
of a divine hand, that will manage all for your good. Re-
joice that ere long you shall be admitted to the court of
the heavenly King, and see him in all his glory.

Do you rejoice that your life is prolonged, while so
many are dropping into the grave around you? Rather
rejoice that you are not to live always in this most wretched
world. Rejoice that death itself, your last enemy, will not
be able to do you any lasting injury, but only convey you
home to your Father's house, and the full possession of
your heavenly inheritance.

Do you rejoice that you enjoy the gospel and the means
of salvation, and that these invaluable blessings are not
likely to be torn from you by the hands of Indian savages
and Popish idolaters? This indeed is cause of rejoicing;
but how much more ought you to rejoice that the gospel
and the means of salvation are made effectual by divine
grace for your conversion and sanctification ! Many enjoy
them as well as you, to whom they are of no service, but
an occasion of more aggravated guilt and ruin.

Let me, therefore, persuade you to rejoice, not only as a
privilege, but as a duty. God enjoins it upon you by the

THE NOBLEST SOURCE OF JOY. 219

same authority by which he requires you to pray, or to
love himself or your neighbour. " Be glad in the LORD
and rejoice, ye righteous ; and shout for joy all ye that are
upright in heart." Psalmxxxii.il. " Rejoice evermore,"
1 Thess. v. 16, " Rejoice in the Lord alway ; and again, I
say, rejoice," Phil. iv. 4. It is decent and congruous that
you should now rejoice in that in which you shall rejoice for
ever. And, on the other hand, it is highly unbecoming
that you should walk towards heaven melancholy and de-
jected, as if you were going to the place of execution.
Let sinners be afflicted, and mourn, and weep, who
stand every moment on the slippery brink of eternal
misery. Sorrow and lamentation become their circum-
stances. But will you always mourn and droop, who stand
every moment on the threshold of heaven, and know not
but you may be there before another sun shall rise ? How
indecent is this ! Therefore rejoice with all your hearts,
that your worthless names are written in heaven. This is
greater cause of joy than if they were registered in the
annals of fame, or among princes of the blood royal.

And do not excuse yourselves from this agreeable duty,
by saying, " I would rejoice, if I were sure my name is
written in heaven ; but, alas ! I am not." For is not this
uncertainty your own fault? the effect of your own negli-
gence? Besides, have you not some cheerful hopes and
probabilities, and even some transient assurance ? and is not
this cause of joy to creatures that deserve to be left under
the pangs of everlasting despair?

Let me advance a step farther, and tell you, that you
should rejoice that your names are written in heaven, not
only more than in all other causes of joy, but also in op-
position to all causes of sorrow.

What though you are poor in this world, when the
heavenly inheritance is yours? That you are despised

220 AN ENROLMENT OF OUR NAMES IN HEAVEN

among men, when you have the honour of being the sons
of God? That you are weak, or sick and pained in
body, when your souls are recovering from the deadly
disease of sin? That you are the slaves of men, when
you are free from the heavenly city, members of the same
corporation with the armies of heaven, and sharers in the
liberty of the sons of God? That your enemies should
prove victorious over you upon earth, when you shall
certainly overcome at last? That your mortal relations
and friends die, when your heavenly Father and all your
spiritual kindred live, and you cannot be bereaved of them ?
In short, what though you endure all the afflictions that
can crowd upon one man in the present life, when they
are all short and transitory, and work out for you a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, and when you
will soon arrive in the land of rest, beyond the reach of
every misery? In spite of all these calamities, rejoice;
"rejoice and be exceeding glad, since your names are
written in heaven.

But I must proceed to address another class of hearers;
and to them I must say,

II. If your names are not written in heaven, you can
have no cause of solid, rational, and lasting joy in any
thing. This also I shall illustrate by an induction of par-
ticulars.

Rejoice not that you are rich, or at least enjoy the
comforts of life, while you are destitute of spiritual and
everlasting riches. Will it be any pleasure to you to pass
from a splendid well-furnished house into the regions of
horror and darkness? From faring sumptuously every
day, to suffer the extremities of eternal want ? From gay
and merry company, to the society of the lost spirits in
hell ? From all the luxuries of life, to weep and wail, and
gnash the teeth for ever? From wearing silks and laces,

THE NOBLEST SOURCE OF JOY. 221

and every form of finery, to be wrapt in sheets of infernal
flame? Alas! what joy can you take in all the advan-
tages that riches can give you, while you must be stript
of them all so soon, and feel a terrible reverse? Many
who are styled worshipful, honourable, and hear nothing
but titles of dignity among men, are vile, despicable crea-
tures in the sight of God, and must ere long sink into
shame and everlasting contempt. Many a body adorned
with whatever riches can procure, is animated by a poor,
worthless soul, full of sin, and void of the beauties of
holiness. And can you rejoice in such trifles as these?
A man that has a gangrened foot may as well rejoice that
it is covered with a silken plaster; or a criminal, that he
is carried to the gallows in a coach of state.

Besides, remember how hardly shall rich men enter
into the kingdom of God! It is a human impossibility;
but it is not impossible to Omnipotence. As riches in-
crease, temptations increase ; temptations to love the world
more, and to think less of heaven ; temptations from pride,
flattery, hurry, company, &c. And can you rejoice that
your salvation is made more difficult? that you, who are
apt to stumble at straws, have mountains thrown up in
your way? Alas! if this were rightly considered, would
the wealthy and affluent be so resolute and eager in the
pursuit of riches ?

What though you are in good business, and prospering
in the world, while you are not doing the work of your
salvation, nor carrying on a trade for heaven, and your
hurry of business is a great occasion of this pernicious
neglect?

What though you enjoy health of body, while your souls
are dead in trespasses and sins, and your health is no
security against death or hell? What though you enjoy
friends and relatives, while the great God is your enemy?

222 AN ENROLMENT OF OUR NAMES IN HEAVEN

Or mirth and pleasure, when they will end in eternal
howlings, and you will be upbraided with them another
day, like Dives, " Son, remember that thou in thy life-time
didst enjoy thy good things?"

What though the French and Indians are routed 1 alas !

o

the devil and your sins are still lords over you! What
though your country is safe, when you shall stay in it but
a very little time, and you have no place prepared for you
in heaven ? What though you are the free-born descendants
of Britons, and never were in bondage to any man ? Alas !
you are the slaves of sin. What though you live under
the government of the best of kings, while you are the
captives of the prince of darkness, and the King of heaven
is your enemy? What though your bodies are not ex-
posed to the sword of your fellow-mortals, when you are
liable every moment to the sword of divine justice? What
though you are safe, as to your outward estate, when your
immortal souls are in danger ? What is a man profited,
if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or
to enjoy the gospel, while you receive no advantage from
it, but abuse it to your more aggravated ruin? What
avails it that God is merciful, when you have no share
in his mercy, and never will, if you continue in your
vain, carnal joy? That Christ died for sinners, while you
wilfully exclude yourselves from the blessed effects of his
death?

In short, what upon earth, or even in heaven, can afford
you any pleasure or rational joy, while your names are
not written in heaven, and you are not using earnest en-
deavours to be admitted citizens there? alas! your case
calls for sighs, and tears, and sorrow, rather than joy.
What have you to do with politics, news, and the fate of
armies and kingdoms, while you know not whether you
will be out of hell one day longer ?

THE NOBLEST SOURCE OF JOY. 223

And as the joy of the righteous, in having their names
written in heaven, may swallow every other joy, so your
sorrow, on account of your names not being written there,
may swallow up all other sorrows. Be sorrowful on this
account, above all other things.

Have you lost your friends, your relatives, your estate ?
This is sad ; but oh ! it is nothing to the loss of God, of
heaven, and your souls. All will be lost ere long, if you
continue in your present condition. Are you poor in this
world? That is but a trifling affliction, compared with
that everlasting poverty you must ere long suffer. Are
you mean and despised by men ? Alas ! what is that to
your being despised and abhorred by the God that made
you 1 Are you the slaves of men 1 This would be trifling,
and you need not care for it, were it not that you are the
slaves to sin and Satan, and under the condemnation of the
divine law. Are you disordered in body? That is nothing
to the disorders of your souls. Are you afraid of natural
death? Alas! what is that to spiritual death, which has
seized your souls, and the eternal death which is just be-
fore you? In short, nothing in all the world ought so to
distress and grieve you as this, that your names are not
written in heaven.

Therefore, instead of vain rejoicing, and mirth, and
gaiety, I must read to you the denunciation of Jesus
Christ against you; "But wo unto you that are rich; for
ye have received your consolation. Wo unto you that
are full, for ye shall hunger. Wo unto you that laugh
now, for ye shall mourn and weep," Luke vi. 24, 25;
and call upon you as the apostle James does, " Go to
now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that
shall come upon you," James v. 1; and again, "Be
afflicted, and mourn, and weep ; let your laughter be turned
to mourning, and your joy to heaviness." James iv. 9.

224 AN ENROLMENT OF OUR NAMES IN HEAVEN

I can honestly assure you, I am no enemy to the plea-
sures of mankind. But it is because I love you, that I
wish you -may return home sad and sorrowful from this
place; for I well know, you are for ever undone, unless
you turn to the Lord, and that you never will turn to him,
without rending of your hearts, weeping, and mourning.
Joel ii. 12,

If your joy and mirth were rational, I should say nothing
against it; but is it not frenzy and madness to be merry in
the chains of sin, under the wrath of God, and upon the
brink of eternal ruin ?

Is it not also dishonourable to God? It is as if you
should tell him to his face, that you can be merry and
happy without his favour, and that you care nothing for
his displeasure.

I should not reprove your mirth, if it were harmless ;
but, alas! it will ruin you if you indulge it. For, let
me tell you, such sinners as you cannot become con-
verts, without alarming fears and deep sorrows. Without
this you never will be in earnest in your religious en-
deavours.

You will tell me perhaps, " you see Christians cheerful,
and sometimes merry ; and why may not you be so ?" I
answer, (1.) There is a great difference in your case and
theirs; they have a lively hope of everlasting happiness ;
but you can have no hope in your present condition.
And may not they rejoice, while you have cause to mourn
and weep ? What would you think of a criminal under
condemnation, if he allowed himself in that mirth and
amusement, which may be lawful and becoming in others ?
(2.) The Christians you know now are cheerful with
good reason ; but did you know any of them under their
first convictions; were they cheerful then? then, when
they received a sight of their sin and danger, and were in

THE NOBLEST SOURCE OF JOY. 225

an awful suspense what would be their everlasting doom?
Were they merry and gay while they saw themselves
xvithout a Saviour, and under the displeasure" of God?
No : then all was sadness, fear, and sorrow. And this is
what your case now requires. Can you expect the same
cheerfulness in one under the power of a deadly disorder
as in one recovering ? or would it be becoming ?

Finally, I should not endeavour to damp your joys and
turn them into sorrow, if they would last. But oh ! they
will soon end, and nothing but weeping, and wailing, and
gnashing of teeth will succeed. Look down into that
hideous gulf, the prison of divine justice, where Dives and
Judas, and thousands of sinners lie ; and can you see no
cheerful look, or hear one laugh among them ? No, no ;
they have done with all joy ; and must spend a miserable
eternity in grief and tears. And will you not rather mourn
in time, than mourn for ever ? will you choose now to re-
ceive your consolation ? or will you not rather delay it till
you have reason to rejoice ?

To conclude : Suffer a friend to your best interest to
prevail upon you to return home this evening sadly pen-
sive and sorrowful, and to resolve you will never indulge
yourselves in one hour's mirth and gaiety, till you have
some reason to believe that your names are written in
heaven. This is what your own interest requires; and if
you refuse, you will unavoidably be sorry for it for ever,
when your sorrow can be of no service to you. Betake
yourselves in serious sadness to the earnest use of all the
means of salvation, and you have reason to hope God will
have mercy upon you, and turn you to himself. Then
you will have reason to rejoice, to rejoice in your tem-
poral blessings, and especially because your names are
written in heaven. And then God, and Christ, and angels
will rejoice over you, and join in your joy.

VOL. II.— 29

226

SERMON XXXVI.

THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL BY THE DIVINE POWER UPON
THE SOULS OF MEN.*

2 COR. x. 4, 5. — For the weapons of our warfare are not
carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling down of
strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every
high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of
God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the
obedience of Christ.

THIS restless world is now in an unusual ferment;
kingdom rising up against kingdom, and nation against
nation; magazines filling, arms brightening, cannons roar-
ing, and human blood streaming, both by sea and land.
These things engross the thoughts and conversation of
mankind, and alarm their fears and anxieties. But there
is another kind of war carrying on in the world ; a war,
the issue of which is of infinitely greater importance ; a
war of near six thousand years standing; that is, ever since
the first grand rebellion of mankind against God ; a war
in which we are all engaged as parties, and in the result
of which our immortal interest is concerned ; though, alas !
it engages but little of the attention and solicitude of the
generality among us ; I mean, the war which Jesus Christ
has been carrying on from age to age by the ministry of
the gospel, to reduce the rebellious sons of men to their

* A Sermon preached at Hanover, in Virginia, Oct. 17, 1756.

ON THE SOULS OF MEN. 227

duty, and redeem them into the glorious liberty of the
sons of God, from their wretched captivity to sin and
Satan. This is the design in which the apostles were em-
barked, and which St. Paul describes in the military style
in my text. As some members of the Corinthian church
had taken up a very low opinion of St. Paul, his design
in the context is to raise the dignity of his apostolic office.
And for that purpose, he describes in military language
the efficacy and success of those apostolic powers with
which he was furnished for the propagation of Christianity,
and the reduction of the world into obedience to the gos-
pel. Those powers were such as these ; the power of
working miracles to attest his divine commission ; the
preaching of the doctrine of the cross, and the rod of
discipline for the reformation of offenders ; which in the
hands of the apostles, seems to have been attended with
the power of inflicting temporal judgments, and particu-
larly bodily sicknesses ; and which St. Paul here threatens
to exercise upon such of the Corinthians as continued ob-
stinate in their opposition to his ministry.

These powers he here calls weapons of war. This
tent-maker and a few fishermen were sent out upon a
grand expedition, in opposition to the united powers of
Jews and Gentiles, of earth and hell. All the world, with
their gloomy god, were ready to join against them. They
were ready to oppose them with all the force of philoso-
phy, learning, authority, threatenings, and all the cruel
forms of persecution. For the Christian cause in which
these soldiers of Jesus Christ were engaged, was contrary
to their lusts and prejudices, their honour and secular in-
terests. This opposition of the world to the gospel, the
apostle also describes in the military style. Their lusts,
prejudices, and interests, their vain imaginations and false
reasonings, are so many strongholds and high things or

228 THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL

castles in which they, as it were, fortify and intrench them-
selves. These they hold and garrison under the prince
of darkness : in these they stand out in their rebellion
against heaven, and fight against God, against his gospel,
and against their own consciences. And with what wea-
pons did the apostles attack these rebels in their strong-
holds ! Not with carnal weapons, such as the heroes and
conquerors of the world are wont to use, but with wea-
pons of a spiritual nature, the force of evidence and con-
viction, the purity of their doctrines and lives, the terrors
of the Lord, and the all-conquering love of a dying Sa-
viour. With these weapons they encountered the allied
powers of men and devils ; with these they propagated the
religion of their Master ; and not with the sword, like Ma-
homet; or with the bloody artillery of persecution, like
the church of Rome; or by the dragoonade, like the
tyrants of France.

What unpromising weapons were these ! What avails
the light of evidence in a world that loves darkness rather
than light, and where lust, prejudice, and interest generally
prevail against truth and reason? Is the contemptible
weapon of the cross likely to do execution ? Are the
unpopular, mortifying doctrines of one that was crucified
like a malefactor and a slave likely to prevail against all
the prejudices of education ; the attachment of mankind
to the religion of antiquity, established by law ; the policy
of priestcraft; the love of gain; the powers of the world;
and the various oppositions of the depraved hearts of man-
kind? Are such gentle and weak weapons as these likely
to have any success? Yes, these weapons, though not
carnal, were mighty, resistless, all-conquering — but then
you must observe, they were mighty through God. The
excellency of the power was of God, and such unpromis-
ing arms were used on purpose to show this. It was he

ON THE SOULS OF MEN. 229

that gave edge to the weapons and force to the blow.
Without the energy of his grace, they could have done
nothing, even in the hands of apostles. But, by the
might of his Spirit, they became almighty, and carried all
before them : these contemptible weapons, with his con-
currence, pulled down strongholds; cast down towering
imaginations, and reasonings* that seemed impregnable,
and demolished every high thing, every battery, castle, or
citadel, that was erected against the knowledge of God,
that knowledge of him which the gospel brought to light,
and reduced every thought into captivity, to the obedience
of Christ. Sinners were brought not only to compliment
Jesus with a bended knee, and profess subjection to him
with their lips, but to bow their stubborn hearts to him,
and let him reign in their affections. That gospel to which
they were so averse, gained a complete victory over their
minds ; their minds, which the Alexanders and Ceesars of
the world could not subdue ; and reduced not only their
external conduct, but their thoughts; not only some
thoughts, but every thought, to the obedience of Christ.
When God gives the commission, the stately walls of
Jericho will fall, even at the feeble sound of rams' horns.

To bring into captivity, is generally understood in a
bad sense, and signifies the carrying away of loyal subjects
against their wills, into a foreign country, and there en-
slaving them to the enemy. But here it is a significant
catachresis, and signifies the deliverance of sinners from
the slavery of sin and Satan, and their restoration into a
state of liberty, into favour with God, and this too by their
own free consent. And it is called a captivating, to inti-
mate, that, though when the sinner submits he does it vol-
untarily, yet he had really made a strong resistance, and
did not submit till sweetly constrained to it ; and that he

230 THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL

looked upon his state of slavery to sin as a state of free-
dom, and was as unwilling to leave it as a free-born sub-
ject would be to be captivated and enslaved in an enemy's
country.

I foresee I cannot take time to do justice to this co-
pious subject. But I shall endeavour to compress my
thoughts in as little room as possible, in a few proposi-
tions, to which each head in my text may be reduced.
And the whole will be but a short history of the revolt of
mankind against the great God, their rightful Sovereign,
and their miserable slavery to sin and Satan — of an impor-
tant expedition set on foot and carried on by the ministry
of the gospel, to recover them from their state of slavery,
and reduce them to their obedience — of their various
methods of opposition to this design ; or the various ways
in which they fortify themselves against the attacks made
upon them by divine grace for this end — of the issue of
this siege, particularly the terms of surrender — and their
consequent deliverance from the dominion of sin and
Satan, and their willing subjection to their rightful Lord
and Proprietor.

I. All mankind, in their present state of apostacy, have
revolted from God, and surrendered themselves slaves to
sin and Satan.

We might produce abundant evidence of this from the
sacred writings; but as the evidence from plain undeniable
fact may be more convictive, I shall insist chiefly upon it.
Mankind are secretly disaffected to God and his govern-
ment in their hearts ; and hence they do not take pleasure
in his service. They are not solicitous for the honour and
dignity of his government. They will not bear the re-
straints of his authority, nor regard his law as the rule of
their conduct, but will follow their own inclinations, let
him prescribe what he will. Nay, they have no disposi-

ON THE SOULS OF MEN. 231

tion to return to their duty, or listen to proposals for re-
conciliation ; and hence they disregard the gospel ( which
is a scheme to bring about a peace) as well as the law. In
short, they will not do anything that God commands them,
unless it suit their own corrupt inclinations ; and they will
not abstain from anything which he forbids, for his sake,
if they have any temptation to it from their own lusts.
These things, and a thousand more which might be men-
tioned, fix the charge of rebellion upon them. It is unde-
niable, they are disaffected to his government in their
hearts, whatever forced or complimental expressions of
loyalty some of them may at times give him. Look into
your own hearts, and take a view of the world around you,
and you will find this is evidently the case. '

But though they are thus disobedient to their rightful
Sovereign, yet to sin and Satan, those usurping and tyran-
nical masters, they are the most tame and obsequious
slaves. For these, they will go through the most sordid
drudgery, for no other wages than death. For these, they
will give up their most important interests, and exchange
their souls, and their share in heaven, without any retalia-
tion, but the sorry, transitory pleasures of sin. Let temp-
tation but beckon, they immediately take the signal, and
obey. Let sin command them to hurt their souls and
bodies, and perhaps their estates, with excessive drinking,
the poor slaves comply. Let sin order them to swear, to
lie, to defraud, they submit, though eternal damnation be
the consequence. Let sin order them to pursue riches,
honour, or sensual pleasures, through right and wrong, at
the loss of their ease, the danger of their lives, and the de-
struction of their souls, they engage in the drudgery, and
toil all their days in it. Let sin forbid them to serve God,
to attend seriously to his word, to pray to him importu-
nately, in secret and in their families, to reflect upon

232 THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL

their miserable condition, to repent and believe the gospel;
let sin but lay them under a prohibition to those things,
they will cautiously refrain from them ; and all the argu-
ments which God and man can use with them will have
little or no weight. In short, let sin but order them to
give up tlreir interest in heaven, and run the risk of eternal
ruin ; let sin but command them to neglect and disregard
the God that made them, and the Saviour that died for
them, they will venture upon the self-denying and destruc-
tive enterprise. They will do more for sin than they will
do for the great God, their rightful Sovereign and constant
Benefactor. Sin has more influence with them than all
the persuasions of parents, ministers, and their best friends ;
nay, more influence than the love, the dying groans and
agonies of a crucified Saviour. There is nothing so sacred,
so dear or valuable in heaven, but they will give it up if
sin requires them. Nothing so terrible in hell, but they
will rush into it, if sin sets them upon the desperate at-
tempt. They are the most tame, unresisting captives to
sin. Sin is an arbitrary, absolute, despotic tyrant over
them ; and, which is most astonishing, they are not weary
of its tyranny, nor do they pant and struggle for liberty.
Liberty to them has lost its charms, and they hug their
chains and love their bondage. Alas ! are there not many
free-born Britons in this assembly, who are slaves in this
sense "? slaves in a worse sense than the poorest negro
among us ; slaves to sin, and consequently to Satan ; for
sin is commander-in-chief under the prince of darkness, the
gloomy God of this world : it is by sin, as his deputy, that
he exercises his power, and therefore sinners are in reality
slaves to him ! This, one would think, would be a shock-
ing reflection to them, that they are slaves of the most
malignant being in nature ; a being not only malignant,
but also very powerful ; that they have broken off from

ON THE SOULS OF MEN. 233

the indulgent and equitable government of the Sovereign
of the universe, and sold themselves slaves to such a law-
less, tyrannical usurper ! But, alas ! they do not resent
the usurpation, nor struggle to throw off the yoke, and re-
gain their liberty. They resign themselves voluntary
slaves, and love their master and his drudgery.

This is a very melancholy, but, alas ! it is a true his-
tory of human nature in its present state. Thus are man-
kind disaffected to the divine government, and held in a
wretched captivity to sin and Satan. This is indeed a
very dismal and threatening state, and we might tremble
for the consequences had we no gospel to inform us of a
plan of reconciliation. Here I may borrow the words of
one of the greatest and best of Christians.* " When we
hear of a sort of creatures that were fallen from God, and
gone into rebellion against him ; that were alienated and
enemies to him in their minds, by wicked works; one
would be in suspense, and say, Well, and what became
of the business ? How did it issue ? What was the
event ? And would expect to hear, Why, fire came down
from heaven upon them, and consumed them in a moment ;
or the earth opened and swallowed them up quick ; yea,
and if the matter were so reported to us, if we did hear
that fire and brimstone, flames and thunder-bolts came
down instantly upon them, and destroyed them in a mo-
ment, who would not say, So I thought; who could ex-
pect better ?" But what grateful astonishment may it raise
in heaven and earth to hear that their offended Sovereign
has been so far from this, that he has sent his Son, his
only Son, to die for them, in order to bring about a peace !
and that,

II. He has set on foot an important expedition, and is
carrying it on from age to age by the ministry of the gospel,

* Mr. Howe, in his discourse on Reconciliation between God and Man.
VOL. II.— 30

234 THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL

to recover these rebels from their voluntary slavery to sin
and Satan, and reduce them to their duty, and so bring
them into a state of liberty and happiness !

This is the benevolent design on which the Son of God
came down from his native heaven, and for which he en-
dured the shame and the agonies of the cross. This is
the design on which he set out his apostles into the world,
armed, not with instruments of mischief and destruction,
but with the most beneficent powers, powers of doing
good, the powers of preaching the most important doc-
trines, of proving them by argument, and the evidence of
miracles and prophecies, and of exercising proper discipline
upon offenders, to bring them to repentance. To carry
on this design, the ministry of the gospel is perpetuated in
the world from age to age ; and for this purpose, my dear
people, I would exercise my ministry among you, I would
make an attack upon your hearts to break them open for
the admission of the King of heaven. I have continued
the siege for near ten years, the space spent in reducing
the stubborn Trojans ; and now, in the name of God, I
once more would renew the attack, and summon you to
capitulate and surrender.

For this purpose the ministers of the gospel have their
arms ; they begin the attack with the artillery of the divine
law, which thunders the terrors of the Lord against you.
They surround you with troops of arguments, which one
would think would soon overpower a reasonable creature,
and constrain him immediately to submit. They reason
the matter with you, and lay before you the wickedness,
the baseness, the unnatural ingratitude, and the dangerous
consequences of your rebellion. They inform you what a
good king and what an excellent government you have re-
jected ; what holy, just, and good laws you have insolently
broken ; what rich mercies you have ungratefully abused ;

ON THE SOULS OF MEN. 235

what long-continued patience you have provoked; and
what friendly warnings you have despised. They expose
to your view the terrible consequences of your rebellion,
if you persist in it : they honestly warn you that the. wages
of sin is death ; death in all its terrible forms ; death tem-
poral, spiritual, and eternal; that if you continue the un-
equal war against heaven, it will issue in your eternal,
remediless destruction. They open to you the corruption of
your natures ; the aversion of your hearts to all that is
spiritually good and excellent : your innate propensions to
sin, and voluntary indulgence of your lusts and guilty
pleasures. They put you upon a review of your lives,
to recollect your wilful omissions of duty to God and
man, and your commissions of known sin, in spite of the
restraints of authority, the allurements of mercy, and the
admonitions of your own consciences. When they have
thus discharged the dreadful artillery of the law, the thun-
ders and lightnings of Sinai against you, the way is pre-
pared for proposing the terms of surrender and articles of
reconciliation. They make an attack upon the citadel of
your heart, with the gentler arms from the magazine of
the gospel of peace. They represent your injured Sov-
ereign as reconcilable, reconcilable through Jesus Christ.
They give you the strongest assurances from his own
word, that he is willing to make up the difference and con-
clude a lasting peace with you; that upon your laying
down your arms (that is, forsaking your sins and submit-
ting upon his terms,) he will freely pardon all your past
rebellion, and receive you again into his favour. They
also inform you of the strange method in which this peace
may be brought about, consistently with the honour of his
character as the Ruler of the world, and with the sacred
rights of his government, and that is, through the media-
tion of his Son, the great Peace-maker, who, in your

236 THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL

stead, has obeyed that law which you have broken, and
endured that penalty which you have incurred. They
likewise inform you in what manner you are to accede to
this treaty, or consent to this plan of accommodation,
namely, by believing in his Son, by accepting peace with
God, and every blessing as his free gift through Jesus
Christ, by a deep, ingenuous repentance for your past re-
bellion, and by devoting yourselves to his service for the
future. These overtures of reconciliation they enforce
from various topics, which, one would think, you would
not be able to resist. They represent to you the riches
of divine grace and mercy, and the all-conquering love of
* Jesus. That contemptible weapon, the cross, is a weapon
of tried and well-known energy; many a hard heart has it
broken; many an obstinate rebel has it subdued. They
pray you, in Christ's stead, to be reconciled to God ; and
if you should be hardy enough to refuse such a request,
they urge it with arguments drawn from its reasonable-
ness in justice and gratitude, from its being of the last im-
portance to your happiness, as being the only way in
which apostate creatures can re-obtain the favour of their
injured Sovereign — and from the terrible consequences of
a refusal ; for unless you submit upon these terms, you
may expect nothing but wrath and fiery indignation, which
shall devour you as adversaries. •

You cannot but know, my brethren, that the ministry
of the gospel has, with such arms as these, laid close siege
to your hearts, year after year. And who would have
thought that one heart among you would have been proof
against this divine artillery, and stood it out so long ?
Some of you, I doubt not, have surrendered, and^are now
the willing subjects of your heavenly King. But, alas !
do not some of you still obstinately refuse to submit, and
persist in your rebellion? And are you not fortifying

ON THE SOULS OF MEN. 237

yourselves more and more against the attempts made to
reduce you to obedience ? This naturally leads me,

III. To give you a kind of history of the various ways
in which sinners oppose this benevolent design of the
ministry of the gospel to subdue them to the obedience of
Christ.

Alas ! they also have their artillery, with which they
labour to repel all the attacks made upon them by the
gospel. They, as it were, throw up various lines of in-
trenchments around them, to defend them against convic-
tion. Particularly,

Sinners hide themselves in the darkness of ignorance ;
ignorance of God, of Jesus Christ, of the law and gospel,
and consequently of themselves. They endeavour to keep
up their courage by refusing to know their danger. They
muffle themselves up in ignorance, so that they do not see
their almighty enemy, nor the instruments of death he has
prepared for them ; and hence they are so stupid as to
conclude that neither does he see them, nor can find them
out. They also fortify themselves, as it were, in the en-
closure of a hard heart; a heart of rock and adamant,
which is proof against the artillery of the gospel. This,
like an impregnable cave cut in a rock, stands out against
all the terrors of the Lord set in array against it. The
sinner, shut up in this stronghold, can laugh at the shaking
of Jehovah's spear ! Let the law thunder out tribulation
and wrath, indignation and anguish against him; let the
gospel attack him with the cross of Christ, with all the
love of a dying Saviour, and all the mercy of a reconcil-
able God, he is still secure, and bids defiance to all these
attacks. The rock is impregnable till the power of God
gives force to these weapons, and then indeed it begins to
tremble ; then the sinner is struck into a consternation, and
is dreadfully apprehensive he cannot hold out the siege.

238 THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL

This natural fortification, (so I may call it, for his ignorance
and hardness of heart are natural to him, though dreadfully
improved by art,) this natural fortification, I say, begins to
fail him ; and hereupon he sets himself to work upon arti-
ficial fortifications, which may enable him to hold out the
longer in his opposition.

He throws up an intrenchment of objections and ex-
cuses, or (a little to alter the metaphor) -he discharges
whole volleys of objections and excuses against those that
besiege him. Perhaps he dares to plead that he is already
a dutiful subject to the King of heaven, and therefore that
the ministry of the gospel has missed its aim in directing
its artillery against him as an enemy. And if to this plea
it be answered, that his temper and conduct towards his
Sovereign plainly show that he is really disaffected to him
in his heart, whatever outward professions of duty he may
make ; he replies, that if in some instances he allows him-
self in the breach of the divine laws, yet he has no bad
design in so doing; that he has a good heart notwith-
standing ; and that he hopes the King of Heaven will
not be so strict as to take notice of these things. He
objects, that he is as loyal as other people about him,
and why may not that suffice ; and that, if he should be
very punctual and zealous in his duty, he would soon be
out of fashion, and draw the contempt and ridicule of the
world upon him. He objects, that he has not been so
bold and daring a rebel as many others, and therefore he
cannot think that so mild and gracious a King will severely
punish him. He objects, that he is now too busy about
other things to listen to proposals of reconciliation; and
therefore begs that the matter may be put off, at least, till
he has finished some important affairs he has now in hand.
And he promises, that the next year, or in old age, or
upon a death-bed, he will submit, and conclude a peace.

ON THE SOULS OF MEN. 239

He pleads that he enjoys a great deal of pleasure under
his present master, sin, which he must give up as unlaw-
ful, if he should change masters; and that the service of
God is a drudgery to him, and that he has no relish for it,
and that the laws of the King of Heaven are so strict, that
he cannot live under them. These, and a thousand other
pleas, the rebel urges to excuse his non-compliance with the
proposals of reconciliation; and in these he trusts as a
sufficient defence.

Moreover, the lusts of the flesh, his pride, presumption,
and love of ease, the cares of the world, the company of
the wicked, who persuade him by all means not to surren-
der, and furnish him with arms and all the assistance in
their power to continue the war, these are all so many
strongholds in which the sinner fortifies himself against the
Lord Jesus.

But if the weapons of the gospel prove mighty through
God to diminish these strongholds, and the rebel finds they
can defend him no longer, then he abandons these out-
works, and intrenches himself secretly in his own right-
eousness. He, as it were, surrounds himself with a line
of good works, repentance, and reformation. And now he
thinks he is safe. Now he hopes he shall pass for a friend
and subject of the King of heaven, as he is holding a place
for him, and that the artillery of the law will continue to
play upqn him no longer. This is the sinner's last refuge ;
and it is the greatest difficulty of all to drive him out of
this. He will not abandon this, till he is driven to great
extremity indeed. And here many continue in it until they
are dragged out of it to the tribunal of their supreme Judge.

It must also be observed, that the sinner tries all the arts
of dissimulation to secure his stronghold. When he finds
he cannot defend himself as an open enemy by his declared
hostilities, he feigns a submission ; he pretends to capitulate

240 THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL

and surrender ; but then, he does not cordially consent to
all the terms. He makes a reserve of some favourite lusts,
and will not deliver them up to the sword of the con-
queror : he has secret exceptions to the conditions of sur-
render, and will not comply with them all. There are
some instances of duty, from which he will excuse him-
self. In short, his heart is not well-affected to the Con-
queror. His submission is forced and involuntary, and
therefore is resented as the basest treachery by him that
searches the heart, and must reign in the hearts of all his
subjects.

Are not some of you, my brethren, now intrenched and
fortified against the gospel in these strongholds? And
such of you as are now the willing subjects of Jesus Christ,
may you not recollect, that thus did you once strengthen
yourselves in your opposition to him ! But he has sweetly
overcome your enmity, and constrained you to submit.
And this leads me,

IV. To describe the issue of this war, where it is effec-
tually carried on, and particularly the terms of surrender.

The success of this war depends entirely upon the con-
currence of the almighty power of God. If the weapons
of our warfare prove mighty, it is through God. Let the
ministers of the gospel attack the sinner with all the arms
with which the magazines of the law and gospel, of Scrip-
ture and reason, furnish them, they will never subdue one
soul to the obedience of Christ : the sinner will still stand it
out, and bid them defiance. What is the reason that there
are so many secure, presumptuous rebels among us, though
the gospel-ministry has so often and so long played off its
artillery against them 1 The reason is, the weapons of our
warfare are not made mighty through God. God does
not give edge and force to these arms by the all-conquer-
ing power of his Spirit. But when he begins to work,

ON THE SOULS OF MEN. 241

then the hardest sinner begins to tremble, the rocky heart
breaks to pieces, and his strongholds are demolished. All
his objections are silenced ; he is convinced that he is in-
deed a rebel against his rightful Sovereign ; that his rebel-
lion is most unnatural, ungrateful, unreasonable, and the
height of wickedness ; and that it is a most astonishing in-
stance of condescending grace, that his provoked Sovereign
should stoop to treat him with and deign to propose him
articles of reconciliation. He sees that he might justly
cut him off, without one offer of mercy. He is struck
with horror to think that ever he, a poor dependent worm,
should engage in a war against the Lord of armies, who
has universal nature at his command, and especially that
he has dared to stand out so long against him. He is
sensible of the danger of delays, sensible that he has been
ungrateful and rebellious too long already, and that, if he
delays his submission, his almighty enemy may take his
strongholds by storm, and put him to the sword. He is
now sensible that the slavery of sin is intolerable ; that his
lusts are tyrannical masters, and will give him no other
wages but death : and therefore he pants and struggles for
liberty. The artillery of the divine law demolishes the
promising intrenchment which he had formed for his own
good works, and leaves him naked and defenceless to its vin-
dictive fire. Conscience also calls to the sinner to surrender,
to surrender in time, while terms of peace may be obtained,
and warns him of the dreadful consequences of continuing
the war. The trumpet of the gospel is still publishing peace,
and summoning him to submit. The gospel assures him
of pardon and acceptance, if he will but surrender. Now
also (if I may so boldly accommodate the military style
of this subject) now his provisions and ammunition begin
to fail; he finds he can subsist no longer; and, like the
prodigal, is just perishing with hunger. He finds he can

VOL. II.— 31

242 THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL

defend himself no longer, but must submit or die. If lie
continues in arms, he is sure to die ; but if he submits, he
has some hopes of pardon ; for oh ! he has heard that the
King of Israel is a merciful King. He must however
make the trial. All this time the Spirit of God is at work
within, sweetly inclining the stubborn heart to yield, cast-
ing down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God. He gives the rebel
favourable thoughts of the government of the Conqueror,
and the infinite advantages of living under it. In short,
he enforces upon the heart all the applications made from
without by the ministry of the gospel.

And now the sinner begins to think in earnest of sur-
rendering ; now he eagerly listens to terms of peace ; and
at length he lays down his arms, submits to the Conqueror,
falls at his feet, casts himself upon his* mercy, and welcomes
him into the citadel of his heart. This is the most happy
and important hour the sinner ever saw; the transactions
of this hour extend their blessed consequences through all
his future life, and to the remotest periods of eternity. It
may be necessary for me to inform you more particularly
of the manner of this surrender.

(1.) The sinner surrenders himself as an obnoxious
rebel, lying entirely at the mercy of the Conqueror. He
has no plea to excuse his rebellion, no merit to ingratiate
himself, or procure a pardon. He pleads guilty, and sur-
renders himself to the will of the Conqueror, conscious
that he may do with him as he pleases. His high imagina-
tions of himself are all demolished, his confidence in his
own righteousness is entirely mortified, and he has nothing
to plead but mercy, free, unmerited mercy. On this he
casts himself as his only ground of hope.

(2.) He surrenders himself entirely upon the terms
prescribed by the Conqueror. He is conscious that he

ON THE SOULS OF MEN. 243

has no right to dictate, or to stand upon terms. His
province is to submit. The way of reconciliation revealed
in the gospel, appears to him infinitely reasonable, and to
stand in need of no amendment. Particularly, he is
willing to lay down his arms; that is, to forsake his sins,
and to walk for the future in ways of holiness; or to make
the pleasure of his Sovereign the rule of his conduct.
Above all it must be noticed, that he is willing to be
reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. The mediation
of Jesus Christ, the glorious peculiarity of the Christian
religion, is the only medium through which he would ap-
proach to God, and expect reconciliation with him. It is
only in the righteousness of Christ he trusts to make
atonement for his guilt, and procure the divine favour. In
short, he is willing the Conqueror should make his own
terms, and he submits, if he may but have his life for a
prey. He puts a blank into his hands, desirous he should
fill it up with what articles he pleases, and he will cheer-
fully subscribe to them. His language is like that of Paul,
when struck down prostrate at the feet of the persecuted
Jesus, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Acts ix. 6.
Lord, do thou command, and I will obey. Now the rebel
is all submission, all obedience.

(3.) He submits voluntarily and cheerfully. The power
of divine grace has rooted out the enmity of his carnal
mind, and implanted the principle of love in his heart.
He breaks off from sin and Satan, as from the most cruel
usurpers and destroyers; and he submits to Christ, not
merely as to an irresistible Conqueror, but as to a De-
liverer. He enters upon a religious life, not as a state of
slavery and unwilling captivity, but as a state of the most
glorious liberty. He submits to the terms of reconciliation,
not as the arbitrary impositions of an imperious usurper,
but as the gentle and reasonable prescriptions of a wise

244 THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL

and good ruler. He esteems all his laws holy, and just,
and good ; and with all his heart he acquiesces and re-
joices in the blessed gospel of peace. In short, the rebel's
heart is now entirely changed and rendered well-affected
to the divine government: and consequently, he cordially
and freely submits to it. Once indeed he hated it, and
then he did at best but feign submission to it ; but now,
his enmity being subdued, he surrenders himself with all
his heart. It is one of the freest acts of his whole life.

(4.) He makes an universal surrender of himself and
all that he is and has to Jesus Christ. He makes no re-
serve of one favourite lust, but gives them all up to be
slain ; he makes no secret exceptions to any of the articles
of reconciliation, but heartily consents to them all. He
devotes his whole soul and all its faculties to God, in and
through Jesus Christ ; his understanding to know him ;
his heart to love him; and his will to be governed by him.
This is implied in my text ; Bringing every thought into
captivity to the obedience of Christ. Every thought, every
passion, every motion of the soul must submit to Christ,
and every insurrection of sin in his heart alarms him, as
an intestine enemy. He also yields his body to God, and
his members as instruments of righteousness unto holiness.
He also devotes all his accomplishments, his genius, learn-
ing, influence, and popularity, his riches, and in short, all
his possessions of every kind ; willing to eYnploy them all
in the service of his new Master, or to resign them all, if
their perversion should be inconsistent with his duty to
him. Oh! how different a temper is this from that which
is natural to the sinner!

Thus the treaty of peace is happily concluded ; and he
that was once a rebel against heaven, and an enemy to
the Cross of Christ, is now become a friend and a loyal
subject. The past difference is entirely forgotten and

ON THE SOULS OF MEN. 245

buried, and he is received into favour, as though he had
never offended. Once God was angry with him every
day, but now he accepts him in the Beloved. Now the
prince of hell has lost a captive ; and Jesus has the satis-
faction of seeing one more of his spiritual seed born unto
his family. Now there is joy in heaven, among the
angels of God, upon this addition to the number of loyal
subjects. Oh ! the happy, the glorious peace ! Oh ! the
blessed change in the circumstance of the poor condemned
criminal !

What now remains ?

V. We take a view of the true convert's state and con-
duct in consequence of this reconciliation.

This you may be sure is very different from what it
was before. He is now delivered from his sordid slavery
to sin, as well as from guilt, and the sentence of con-
demnation. He is justified and accepted before God,
through Jesus Christ, and entitled to a heavenly crown
and kingdom. Sin, indeed, is not entirely subdued; it
forms frequent and violent insurrections, and struggles
hard to recover its former power over him. The old
man with his affections and lusts was immediately cruci-
fied, upon the sinner's surrender to Christ; but cruci-
fixion is a lingering death, and hence sin is never entirely
dead while he continues in this imperfect state : it is
every day plotting against him, and labouring to ensnare
him. And hence his life is a constant warfare, an in-
cessant conflict. He lives the life of a sentinel, perpetually
upon the watch ; or of a soldier, night and day under
arms. If he is off his guard but for an hour, he is liable
to be surprised, and sometimes, alas! he is overcome.
But he. rises again, and renews the combat, and will
rather die than submit : he would resist even unto blood,
striving against sin. In short, whatever inadvertences he

24(? THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL

may fall into, he is habitually on God's side : he espouses
the cause of God in this rebellious world, whatever it
costs him. He is an enemy to the kingdom of darkness,
and all its interests ; and it is the great business of his life
to oppose it in himself and others. The longer he lives
under the government of King Jesus, the more he is
attached to him, and in love with his administration; and
it is his habitual endeavour to lead a life of universal obe-
dience.

And now, my brethren, there is an inquiry I would set
you upon, and that is, whether you have ever been cap-
tivated into a willing obedience to Jesus Christ? I am
afraid this matter is not so plainly and unquestionably in
your favour, as to render all inquiry into it needless. I
am afraid it is dismally dark and doubtful, with regard to
some of you, whether you are the servants of Christ or
the slaves of sin and Satan. Nay, I am afraid, there are
plain evidences against some of you. However, put the
matter to trial, that you may see how it will turn out ; for
I assure you it is a matter of too much importance to be
slightly passed over.

Now it is evident, in the first place, that you are still
the enemies of Jesus Christ, unless you have been deeply
convinced of your enmity. It is impossible you should
be reconciled to him, till you have seen your need of
reconciliation ; and it is impossible you should see your
need of reconciliation till you are convinced that you are
at variance with him. Such of you, therefore, are un-
doubtedly his enemies, who imagine you have always been
his friends.

In the next place turn the substance of what has been
said into so many queries to yourselves, and by these
means, you may discover the truth of your case. Has
ever the dreadful artillery of the law discharged its

ON THE SOULS OF MEN. 247

terrors upon you? Have you ever been driven out of all
your carnal confidences, and particularly your own right-
eousness ? Have you ever surrendered yourselves to the
Conqueror ? Has he overcome you by the sweet con-
straints of his love? And upon what terms did you sur-
render ? Did you surrender as a rebel, lying at mercy ?
Did you submit to his terms without pretending to dictate
any of your own ? Did you submit voluntarily and cheer-
fully ? Did you surrender yourselves universally, without
any reserve? Do you since endeavour to behave as
dutiful subjects ? And do you find his service to be per-
fect freedom ?

And now, in consequence of this trial, Who is upon the
Lord's side ? Who? What is your real character? Are
you to be ranked among the subjects of Christ, or among
the enemies of his crown and dignity ?

Could I now collect the rebels together into one com-
pany, I would tell them some very alarming things from
that God to whom they refuse to submit. Yes, sinner, as
Ehud said to Eglon, king of Moab, I have a message from
God unto thee. Judges iii. 20.

In his name, and as his ambassador, I warn you of the
dreadful consequences of your unnatural rebellion against
him. You cannot make good your cause against him.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength ; who hath
hardened himself against him, and prospered ? All nature
is subject to him, and he can order the meanest part of it
to be the executioner of his vengeance upon you. If
you refuse to submit, you shall as surely perish as you
have a being. Of this you have reason to be apprehen-
sive at all times, but especially at this time, when your
almighty enemy is attacking your country with the terrors
of war, and your neighbourhood with an epidemical raging
distemper. Sicknesses are his soldiers, and fight in his

248 THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL.

cause against a rebellious world. He says to one, Go, and
it goeth ; and to another, Come, and it cometh. And are
you not afraid some of these deadly shafts may strike you
now, when they are flying so thick around you ? God
has for many a year used gentler weapons with you, but
now he seems about to take the citadel by storm. Now,
therefore, now without delay, lay down your arms and
surrender yourselves to him.

I have also joyful news to communicate, even to you
rebels, if you are disposed to hear it; and that is, that
your injured Sovereign is willing to be reconciled to you
after all your hostilities, if you will now submit to the terms
of reconciliation.

Therefore, I pray you in Christ's stead be ye reconciled
to God. Christ is not here in person ; but lo ! I am here
to manage the treaty in his name, though I also am formed
out of the clay.

THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED. 249

SERMON XXXVII.

THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED IN THE METHOD
OF SALVATION, THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.

A SACRAMENTAL DISCOURSE.

JOHN xii. 27, 28. — Now is my soul troubled ; and what
shall I say ? Father, save me from this hour : but for
this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy
name.

SHOULD a favourite child now come running to you,
with all the marks of agony in his countenance, and with
these words in his mouth, " I am troubled ; my very soul
is troubled, and I know not what to say ;" it would raise
all the tender sensations of fatherly compassion and anxiety
in your breasts, and you would solicitously inquire, " What
ails my dear child ; what is the cause of your distress ?"
But here your ears are struck with a more strange and
affecting sound; you hear the source of all consolation
complaining of sorrow : " I am troubled ; my very soul is
troubled, and in a commotion like the stormy ocean."
You see the wisdom of God, the guide of the blind,
pausing — hesitating — at a stand — at a loss what to say.
And will you not so far interest yourselves in his sorrows,
as solicitously to inquire, " What ails my dear Lord ?
Judas has not yet betrayed him ; the rabble have not yet
apprehended him, and dragged him away, like a flagitious
malefactor: as yet his face is not dishonoured with spitting

VOL. II.— 32

250 THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED

nor bruised with blows ; as yet I see no crown of thorns
upon his sacred head; no nails in his hands and feet; no
spear in his side ; no streams of blood and water running
down his body. He is at liberty, and surrounded with his
usual friends : nay, at this time even the despised Jesus
begins to grow popular; the humble Jesus, the man of
sorrows, has just now entered Jerusalem in triumph, like
a conqueror, surrounded with the applauses and hosannas
of the multitude. Now also the first fruits of the Gentiles
are brought to him ; a number of Greek proselytes beg an
interview with him, and desire his instructions ; a thing so
agreeable to him, that as soon as he hears of it, he cries
out, The hour is come that the Son of man should be glori-
fied, John xii. 23. And why does my Lord alter his
voice so soon ? Why, my blessed Jesus, why this sudden
fall from joy to trouble, from triumph to sorrow and per-
plexity 1 The reason was, that though his sufferings were
not now upon him, yet he saw them approaching : he saw
the fatal hour just at hand ; and this immediate prospect
raises all the passions of his human nature, and throws him
into a sea of troubles. He did not fall into his sufferings
through inadvertency, or the want of foresight ; and his
fortitude and resolution were not owing to any hopes of
escape, or an expectation of better usage. But we are
expressly told, that Jesus knew all things that should come
upon him, John xviii. 4. He saw the rugged road before
him, all the way from his cradle to his cross. He rushed
into dangers with his eyes open, and went on courageously
to encounter the last enemy, death, fully expecting to meet
him in all his terrors.

Now the foresight of sufferings is a peculiar aggrava-
tion ; it brings them upon the anxious expectant by an-
ticipation : they are reflected back upon him, before they
are actually inflicted ; and thus the pain of a few moments

THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 251

may be diffused through a length of years. And some-
times the expectation of an evil is more tormenting than
the evil itself.* Our happiness is in a great measure owing
to our being happily blind to the future,! and ignorant of
the calamities. But Jesus had not this mitigation of his
sufferings : the cross, the scourge, the nails, the crown of
thorns, were ever before his mind : so that he could say
with yet greater reason than his servant Paul, 7 die daily,
I am in deaths oft. By this painful foresight, the crown
of thorns was always upon his head ; the nails were all his
days fastened in his hands and feet ; and his whole life
was, as it were, one continued crucifixion. How pecu-
liarly aggravated, how long continued, how uninterrupted
do the severities of his sufferings appear, when viewed in
this light ! and how does this display his fortitude and the
strength of his love ! though he had this tragical prospect
before him, yet he did not draw back or give up the ardu-
ous undertaking; but he resolutely held on his way; he
was irresistibly carried to meet all these terrors, by his
ardent zeal for his Father's glory, and his unconquerable
love to the guilty creatures whose salvation he had under-
taken. Sometimes, indeed, he shows he was a man ; that
he was capable of all the tender and painful sensations of
human nature : and if he had not been such, his sufferings
would have been no sufferings. At such times his inno-
cent humanity seems struck aghast, pauses and hesitates,
and would fain shrink away from the burden, would fain
put by the bitter cup. But immediately the stronger prin-
ciples of zeal for the divine glory, and love to man, gain
the ascendant, calm all these tumults of feeble nature, and
irresistibly impel him on to the dreadful encounter in its
most shocking appearances. Oh ! the generous bravery

* " Morsque minus poenae quam mora mortis habet." — OVID.
•}• " Oh blindness to the future ! kindly given." — POPE.

252 THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED

of the Captain of our salvation ! Oh ! the all-conquering
power of his love ! The critics are in raptures on the
bravery of Homer's Achilles, who engaged in the expedi-
tion against Troy, though he knew he should never return.
But how much more worthy to be celebrated is the heroic
love of Jesus, who voluntarily exposed himself to infinitely
greater sufferings, when he foresaw them all, and knew
what would be the consequence !

The language of raised passions is abrupt and hurrying ;
and in such language does our Lord here speak. Now is
my soul troubled, and what shall I say ? " What petition
shall I ask of my Father ? such an hour of distress is a
proper time to address him. But what shall I say to him?
shall I yield to the reluctance of my frail, human nature,
that would draw back from suffering ? shall I urge the
petition my feeble flesh would put into my mouth, and say,
Father, save me from this hour ?* Father, dismiss me from
this undertaking, and resign the glory which thou wouldst
gain by the execution of it ? Father, if it be possible, save
sinners in some easier way; or let them perish, rather
than that I should suffer so much for them ? Shall this be
my petition 1 No ; I cannot bear the thought, that my
Father should lose so much glory, and the objects of my
love should perish. It was to suffer for these important
purposes that I came unto this hour. For this I under-
took to be the sinner's Friend and Mediator; for this I
left my native paradise, and assumed this feeble flesh and
blood ; for this I have spent three-and-thirty painful years
in this wretched world, that I might meet this dismal hour.
And now, when it is come, shall I fly from it, or shall I
drop an undertaking which I have so much at heart, and

* This sense is more easy if we read, n&rtp, a&aav pe IK rUs &pas ravrris, as a
question. The original will bear it; and so Grotius, Doddridge, &c., un-
derstand it

THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 253

in which I am so far engaged ? No ; this petition I will
not urge, though it be the natural cry of my tender hu-
manity. What then shall I say? Father, glorify thy
name. This is the petition on which I will insist, come
on me what will." Let the rabble insult me, as the off-
scouring of all things ; let false witnesses accuse me, and
perfidious judges condemn me, as a notorious criminal ;
let the blood-thirsty murderers rack me on the cross, and
shed every drop of blood in my veins, still I will insist
upon this petition ; and not all the tortures that earth and
hell can inflict shall force me to retract it ; Father, glorify
thy name : display the glory of thy attributes by my suffer-
ings, and I will patiently submit to them all. Display the
perfections of thy nature, exhibit an honourable represen-
tation of thyself to all worlds by the salvation of sinners
through my death, and I will yield myself to its power in
its most shocking forms. Let this end be but answered,
and I am content. This consideration calms the tumult
of passions in my breast, overpowers the reluctance of my
human nature, and makes it all patience and submission."

I intend, my brethren, to confine myself at present to
this part of my text, this petition on which Jesus insists,
and in which his mind acquiesces after perplexity and hesi-
tation : Father, glorify thy name. And it evidently sug-
gests to us this important truth, that the divine perfections
are most illustriously displayed and glorified in the method
of salvation through the sufferings of Christ.

This truth I shall endeavour to illustrate, after I have
premised that it is most fit and proper that the glory of
God should be the last end of all things, and particularly,
that it should be his own principal end in all his works.
He is in himself the most glorious of all beings, the su-
preme excellence, and the supreme good; and it is infi-
nitely fit and reasonable that he should be known and ac-

254 THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED

knovvledged as such, and that it should be his great end in
all his works to represent himself in this light. It is but
justice to himself, and it is the kindest thing he can do for
his creatures, since their chief happiness must consist in
the enjoyment of the supreme good, and as they cannot
enjoy him without knowing it. Selfishness in creatures
is a vile and wicked disposition, because they are not the
greatest or best of beings ; but for God to love and seek
himself above all, is the same thing as to love and seek
what is absolutely best; for such he is. The aims of
creatures should reach beyond themselves, because God,
the supreme good, lies beyond them ; they should all ter-
minate upon him, and should not fall short of him, as they
cannot fly beyond him, because he is the supreme excel-
lence, and it is not to be found anywhere else. But for
this reason he must aim at himself, if he aims at what is
absolutely best; for he only is so. For creatures to aim
principally at their own glory, to set themselves off, and
make it their end to gain applause, is vanity and criminal
ambition, because they are really unworthy of it, and were
formed for the glory of another, even of the great Lord of

O v O

all. But for God to make his own glory the highest end,
for him to aim at the display of his attributes in all his
works is more decent and just, and infinitely distant from
a vain ostentation, because there is nothing else so excel-
lent, and so worthy of a display : his perfections deserve
to be represented in the most illustrious light, and demand
the highest veneration and love from the whole universe.
In short, for God to aim at his own glory in all his actions,
is but for him to do justice to infinite merit, to display the
most perfect beauty, to illustrate supreme excellence, to
exhibit the supreme good in a just light, to procure honour
to what is in itself most honourable, and to represent the
true God in the most godlike manner : and what can be

THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 255

more fit or decent? a lower end than this would be un-
worthy of him. This is of more real worth than the ex-
istence or the happiness of ten thousand worlds. And this
is the end which he has uniformly pursued in all the steps
of creation, providence, and redemption. This particu-
larly was his end in the permission of sin, and in the form
of his administration towards our guilty world, through a
Mediator. As, on the one hand, we are sure that he is
not at all accessary to sin, as its proper producing cause,
so we may be equally sure, on the other hand, that it has
not entered into the world without his permission : that is,
it could not have happened if he had hindered it. Now
there were undoubtedly very good reasons for this permis-
sion; and one appears evident, namely, that if sin had
never entered, it would have been impossible in the nature
of things, that some of the divine perfections, particularly
his punishing justice and his forgiving grace, should be dis-
played in the conduct of his providence towards his crea-
tures. Pardoning grace could never be displayed, if there
were no sin to be pardoned; nor vindictive justice, if there
were no crimes to be punished : and, consequently, if
moral evil had never been permitted, these perfections must
have been for ever idle, concealed, and as much unknown,
as if they did not belong to the divine nature. But now
there is room for the various economy of providence to-
wards guilty creatures, and particularly for the mediatorial
scheme of salvation to our world. And I now proceed to
show, that in this scheme all the perfections of God have
an illustrious display, and are represented to the greatest
advantage.

Here I would consider this scheme, both absolutely in
itself and relatively, as a part of the grand administration
towards the rational world. In the latter view, I shall
consider it but briefly, and therefore I shall begin with it.

256 THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED

Considering it relatively, as a part x)f the divine economy
towards the rational world, it concurs with the other parts,
to show the amiable and wise variety of the divine govern-
ment, or in how many ways God can answer his ends, and
display his perfections in his dispensations towards his
creatures.

The Scriptures give us an account of the divine con-
duct towards two sorts of reasonable creatures, angels and
men. And from thence we may also learn the wise
variety of the divine dispensations towards them. A part
of the angels were preserved in their primitive state of
holiness, and a part of them were suffered to fall into sin.
But the whole human race was permitted to fall, and not
one of them continued in their original state of integrity.
A part of the angels are happy for ever; and so is a
number of mankind. But here lies the difference : the
angels are continued in a state of happiness, from which
they never fell ; but the saved from among men are re-
covered from a state of sin and misery, into which they
fell, to a state of happiness, which they had entirely lost.
The angels are entitled to happiness upon the footing of a
covenant of works, to which they have yielded perfect
obedience ; but men are saved entirely upon the plan of
the covenant of grace, on account of the righteousness of
Jesus Christ imputed to them and accepted for them,
though it be not originally their own. The angels having
never offended, have no need of a Mediator, or of re-
demption through his blood. But it is through a Mediator
only that guilty mortals have access to God ; and they
owe their salvation to his death. As to the fallen angels,
there was no Saviour provided for them; but to us is born
a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. They were never
placed in a second state of trial, or under a dispensation
of grace, but given up to irrecoverable ruin immediately,

THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 257

upon their first apostacy; but our guilty race is placed
under a dispensation of grace, and made probationers, for
a happy immortality after their first fall. The devils are
irrecoverably lost for want of a Saviour, but the sinners
from among men perish by the neglecting a Saviour. All
the fallen angels, without exception, are remedilessly
miserable ; but only a part of mankind share in their
doom. The angels stood every one for himself, but Adam
was constituted our representative; our concerns were
lodged in his hands, and we fell in him. Now what a
surprising variety is here ! here are some holy and happy
beings, that were never otherwise ; and some that are re-
covered to holiness and happiness, who had been deeply
involved in guilt and misery : here are some rewarded for
their own personal works of obedience; and some are
saved by the righteousness of another ; here are some that
have access to God without a Mediator, and some through
a Mediator. Some that have always gone on in an easy,
natural tenor of uniform obedience; and some that have
passed through various conflicts and temptations, and
ascended to heaven from the field of battle; here are
some shining in all the glory of native innocence, highly
improved, but not new-created ; and some repaired from
their ruins, and formed anew. Here are some that perish
without a dispensation of grace : some without the offer of
a Saviour, and some for rejecting the offer. Here are
some sinners abandoned for ever for the first offence ; and
some lost by abusing their time of trial and the means of
their recovery. What various theatres are these, on which
to display the glory of the divine perfections! what
amazing wisdom to form so many different models of
government, and so conduct and manage them all, as to
answer the best ends ! If there be any of the divine
attributes that are most properly exercised upon sinless

VOL. II.— 33

258 THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED

creatures that never fell, they meet with a proper object
in the elect angels. If there be any perfections that cannot
be displayed but upon the guilty, here are guilty men and
angels, in the conduct toward whom they may shine in
their full glory. If there be any of the divine attributes
that may be represented in the most illustrious light, in
the recovery of lost sinners through the obedience and
sufferings of a Mediator, here are thousands saved in this
way from among men, who will be the everlasting monu-
ments of their amiable glories. If any of the divine per-
fections can receive more honour by punishing abandoned
criminals immediately given up to remediless ruin, they
receive that honour from the everlasting punishment of
the fallen angels ; or if any of them be displayed to greater
advantage, by the punishment of the ungrateful abusers of
the means of grace, and a time of trial, the impenitent and
unbelieving sons of men are a proper object for them.
To all which I may add, that here we have the divine
perfections displayed in justification by works and by grace,
in inflicting punishment upon the proper offender, and
upon Jesus Christ as a surety : and whatever glory may be
peculiar to one or other of these ways, or may result from
them all conjunctly as one whole, or system of government,
all that glory redounds to the divine perfections. Thus
you see the method of salvation through Christ, considered
as a part of the grand scheme of the divine government,
tends to the illustration of the perfections of God : it is
one link in the bright chain ; and should it be broken or
removed, the whole system and contexture would be
shattered or left incomplete. Thus St. Paul tells us, that
by the dispensations of grace towards the church, are
made known, not only to men, but to principalities and
powers (that is, to the angels) the manifold wisdom of
God, his variegated and beautifully diversified wisdom.

THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 259

Ephes. iii. 10. And oh ! that our eyes may be enlight-
ened to behold and admire it ! However little this divine
scheme be regarded in our blind and ungrateful world,
the various ranks of angels cannot behold it with careless
eyes : they stoop,* and look, and pry into it, with a divine
curiosity and an insatiable eagerness, through all eternity.
But let us now proceed to a more particular survey of this
scheme, considered absolutely in itself; and, in this view,
we shall find the divine perfections are displayed more
gloriously by it, than by any other; particularly — as to the
degree — the harmony — the universality — the grace and
benevolence — and the wonderful and surprising manner
of the display.

I. By this scheme the divine perfections are displayed
in the highest degree possible. It appears that such and
such attributes not only belong to God, but that they are
in him in the highest perfection. Goodness had already
displayed itself all the world over, in giving life, and
breath, and all things to the sons of men, from age to age.
But what are the blessings of the sun and rain, what are
the productions of the earth, when compared to his only
begotten Son, the man that was his fellow, whom he loved
more than ten thousand worlds ! This is an unspeakable
gift ; this the richest gift which even the infinite good-
ness of God could bestow : almighty love could do no
more ; this was its ne plus ultra. The creation and sup-
port of millions of worlds would not have displayed such
a degree of love and goodness as this. God had displayed
his holiness and justice, and his abhorrence of sin, by the
variety of his judgments upon a guilty world ; and he will
display these attributes to all eternity by the more dread-

* 1 Pet. i. 12. " Which things (that is, the things now preached to us
by the gospel, the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow) the
angels desire irapaictyai, to bend and pry into" with eager eyes.

260 THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED

ful punishments of hell. But the subjects of these punish-
ments are creatures of an inferior order ; and they have
provoked their gracious Sovereign, and most justly in-
curred his displeasure, by their own personal crimes.
These he may therefore punish, and yet spare his Son,
when he only becomes the surety of the guilty, and he is
chargeable with no sin of his own, but only the imputed
guilt of others. The dignity of his person, the great-
ness of the love of his Father to him, his personal inno-
cence, and the benevolence of his design, plead for him,
and seem to promise him an exemption, or at least the
mitigation of his sufferings. This now is the greatest trial
that can be made, whether divine justice be strictly inex-
orable, whether God can be prevailed upon by the strong-
est possible inducements to connive at sin, and dispense
with his law. Had the doom of the whole created uni-
verse been suspended on it, it would not have been so
great a trial. And what was the issue ? St. Paul will
tell you the amazing result, God spared not his own Son,
his proper, peculiar Son,* but delivered him up to death.
Rom. viii. 32. When the honour of his justice and holi-
ness were at stake, even the Father would not relent ; but
with his own mouth he issues out the dread commission,
" Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, and against the
man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts : smite the
Shepherd." Zech. xiii. 7. Now it even pleased the
Father to bruise him, and put him to grief. Isa. liii. 10.
And could there be a more astonishing display of justice
and the sacred honours of the divine government 1 Could
a more striking proof be given of the infinite holiness of
the divine nature, the malignity of sin, and his implacable
hatred to it? No ! all the punishments of hell can never

THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 261

give such an illustrious display of these perfections.* I
might show how sundry other attributes, particularly
wisdom and veracity, are illustrated to the highest degree
possible by this scheme; but my time denies me that
pleasure.

II. The divine perfections are displayed in the most
perfect harmony in this method of salvation : I mean such
of them as seemed to jar, to cloud the glory of each other,
or to be incapable of being illustrated at once, are now
reconciled and mingle their beams, and, instead of obscur-
ing, reflect a glory upon each other. The matter was so
circumstanced, that it seemed really impossible to men and
angels to display several divine perfections conjunctly.
There seemed to be a necessity that one or other of them
should be eclipsed; for if grace should be displayed in the

* How astonishing was the rigid justice of Brutus the Elder; who, in
spite of all the passions of a father, passed sentence of death upon his own
sons, for conspiring against the liberty of their country. While the amia-
ble youths stood trembling and weeping before him, and hoping their tears
would be the most powerful defence with a father ; while the senate whisper
for the moderation of the punishment, and that they might escape with
banishment; while his fellow-consul is silent ; while the multitude tremble
and expect the decision with horror, the inexorable Brutus rises in all the
stern majesty of justice, and with a steady voice, not interrupted with one
sigh, turning to the lictors, who were the executioners, says to them, " To
you, lictors, I deliver them; execute the law upon them." In this sentence
he persisted inexorable, notwithstanding the weeping intercessions of the
multitude, and the cries of the young men, calling upon their father by the
most endearing names. The lictors seized them, stripped them naked, tied
their hands behind them, beat them with rods, and then struck off their
heads ; the inexorable Brutus looking on the bloody spectacle with unaltered
countenance. Thus the father was lost in the judge : the love of justice
overcame all the fondness of the parent : private interest was swallowed up
in a regard to the public good, and the honour and security of government.
This, perhaps, is the most striking resemblance of the justice of the Deity
that can be found in the history of mankind. But how far short does it fall !
how trifling were the sufferings of these youths, compared to those of the
Son of God ! How insignificant the honour of the law and government for
which they suffered, to that of the divine ! How small the good of the pub-
lic, in one case, to that in the other ! — See Universal History, vol. xi. p. 360.
Liv. 1. ii. c 5.

262 THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED

universal pardon of sin, without the infliction of punish-
ment, what will become of justice ? How will the holiness
of God be displayed 1 How will the honour of the law
and the sacred rights of government be secured 1 But if
these be illustrated by the punishment of sin, how will the
goodness, grace, and mercy of God appear in diffusing
happiness, in conferring blessings on the unworthy, and in
relieving the miserable ! If sinners are saved without a
satisfaction, how will it appear that God is righteous, and
hates all moral evil ? Or if a full satisfaction be made,
how will it appear that their salvation is of grace? Can
sin be punished, and yet the sinner escape without punish-
ment ? What device shall be found out for this 1 If sin
pass unpunished, where is the honour of justice ? and if
all sinners are punished, where is the glory of grace 1 If
the threatened penalty be not executed, is not the divine
veracity rendered suspicious ? and if it be executed, what
will become of the amiable attribute of mercy ? These,
my brethren, are a few of the difficulties with which the
case was embarrassed and perplexed; and they would
have nonplused all created understandings : nothing but
the infinite wisdom of God could surmount them. You
see that the illustration of one set of perfections seems to
cast a cloud over another set. To whatever side the
Deity inclines, there seems to be a necessity that he should
be but half-glorious, like the sun under a partial eclipse.
And is there any method in which he may be represented
as he is, all-glorious throughout ?

" A God all o'er, consummate, absolute,
Full-orb'd, in his whole round of rays complete." — YOUNG.

Yes ; such a method is the plan of salvation through
Christ. These apparently clashing attributes harmonize :
and are so far from clouding each other, that they are

THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 263

each of them displayed to greater advantage than if only
one had been singly exercised. They reflect a mutual
glory upon each other ; and every one appears more
illustrious in conjunction with the rest, than if it shone
alone with his own peculiar glory. Here justice is hon-
oured by the infliction of the punishment upon Christ, as
the surety of sinners ; and yet goodness, grace, and mercy,
shine in full glory in their salvation. They are saved
upon the footing of strict justice, because their surety
made a complete satisfaction for them ; and yet they are
saved through grace, because it was grace that provided
and accepted this method of vicarious satisfaction. The
honours of the divine government are secured by Christ's
perfect obedience to the law ; and the philanthrophy and
mercy of the divine administration are also exhibited in
the salvation of those who in their own persons had broken
the law. Thus, according to that prophetic oracle, Mercy
and truth are met together, and agreed ; righteousness and
peace have kissed each other in perfect friendship. Psalm
Ixxxv. 10, 11. Here also the wisdom of God is most
gloriously displayed, in concerting such an amazing plan
as would reconcile these seemingly opposite attributes, and
advance the honour of all by the exercise of each; and
even of that which appeared most inconsistent with the
rest. This scheme bears the peculiar seal and stamp of
the most finished wisdom. In it are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge. Oh ! the depth of the riches
of the wisdom and knowledge of God that appears in it !
It was only his infinite wisdom that could invent such a
scheme : it surpassed all created understanding. Hence
it is often called " the wisdom of God in a mystery : the
mystery which has been hid from ages and generations:"
and it is said to reveal things " which eye had not seen, nor
ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived." 1 Cor. ii. 9.

264 THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED

To this head I may subjoin, that in Christ, as Mediator,
are reconciled the most opposite and seemingly contradic-
tory characters. Things may be truly and consistently
predicated of him which cannot agree to any one subject
besides himself. A God-man, divinity and humanity
united in one person; the Ancient of Days, yet not but
1760 years old; the everlasting Father, and yet the virgin
Son, the child of Mary ; the King of kings, and the Lord
of lords, and yet the Servant of servants. The highest
dignity and glory, and the lowest condescension and humil-
ity meet in him. Here is justice punishing every the least
sin, and yet grace to pardon the very greatest of sinners.
Here are infinite majesty, and the most transcendent meek-
ness : the deepest reverence toward God, and a full equal-
ity with him : infinite worthiness of good, and the most
perfect patience under the suffering of evil ; a submissive,
obedient spirit, and supreme and universal dominion ;
absolute sovereignty and humble resignation. Jesus con-
quers by falling, saves others by dying himself, and the
blood of his heart becomes the grand cure for the dying
world. In him we see the highest love to God, and in the
meantime the greatest love to the enemies of God; the
greatest regard to the divine holiness, and the greatest
benevolence to unholy sinners. It would be endless to
enumerate all the opposite excellencies and characters that
meet and harmonize in Jesus Christ; but these may suf-
fice as a specimen. And what a surprising complication
of things is here ! Things that never did, or could meet
in any other, harmoniously centre in him. How justly is
his name called Wonderful ! for as his name is, so is he :
and as such, he will appear to all that know him to all
eternity. How bright and astonishing is the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ ! " That face, in which sense
discovers nothing but marks of pain and disgrace; that

THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 265

bloated, mangled visage, red with gore, covered with
marks of scorn, swelled with strokes, and pale with death ;
that would be the last object in which the carnal mind
would seek to see the glory of the God of life, a visage
clouded with the horror of death ; in that face we may see
more of the divine glory than in the face of heaven and
earth."* He is the wisdom of God, and the power of
God ; that is, in him is the brightest display of his wisdom
and power, as well as of his other attributes. But I must
proceed.

III. The perfections of God are more universally dis-
played in the method of salvation through Christ than in
any other way.

The wisdom, power, and goodness of God are displayed
in the formation of the world; and there are many traces
of these perfections, as well as of his justice, discoverable
in the government of it. But there is a more full and
striking view of these exhibited in the government of the
world upon the plan of redemption, with the additional
illustration of some other attributes, which would have
been unknown or discovered only by some feeble glimmer-
ings, if the world had never been governed upon this plan.
Here, as I observed, the goodness of God in all its forms
is illustriously displayed ; grace in bestowing free favours
upon the guilty and undeserving; mercy and compassion
in relieving the miserable ; patience and long-suffering in
bearing so long with provoking, obstinate rebels ; whereas
if there had been no guilt, misery and rebellion permitted
to enter into the world; or if no guilt had been pardoned,
no misery relieved, no rebellion endured, there would have
been no room for the display of grace, mercy, and patience.
Here justice shines, and shines with peculiar advantage ;
now it appears to be an inseparable attribute of the Deity,

* Mac Laurin's Sermon on glorying in the cross.
VOL. II.— 34

266 THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED

and which he can in no case dispense with. Here veracity
appears unstained, in executing the penalty of the law,
even upon the darling Son of God. The majesty of the
divine government and its sacred rights, these, too, are re-
presented as inviolable and venerable, and demanding the
regard of the whole creation ; whereas, if there had been
no guilt, there could have been no object upon which the
awful honours of divine justice might be displayed ; and
if all guilt had been pardoned without satisfaction, this
majestic attribute, so venerable and so amiable in the cha-
racter of a ruler, would have been for ever concealed ; or
rather, great umbrage would have been given, that such a
perfection did not belong to the supreme Governor of the
world. And a judge without justice, a lawgiver who does
not enforce his laws by proper sanctions, could be agree-
able to none but wilful criminals. A petty kingdom of
the earth would soon become a scene of lawless violence
and confusion under such a ruler; and how dreadful would
be the case, if the whole universe were under such a
head ! Here also is a most illustrious display of divine
power. Though Christ was crucified in weakness, yet
omnipotence shone even upon the cross. This may seem
a paradox. " The Jews thought Christ's crucifixion a
demonstration of his want of power ; hence they upbraided
him, that he that wrought so many miracles, suffered him-
self to hang upon the cross ; but this was the greatest mir-
acle of all. They asked why he, who saved others, saved
not himself: they named the reason, without taking notice
of it : that was the very reason why at that time he saved
not himself, because he saved others. The motive of his
enduring the cross was powerful divine love, stronger than
death : the fruits of it powerful divine grace, the power
of God unto salvation, Rom. i. 16, making new creatures,
raising souls from the dead; these are acts of omnipotence.

THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 267

We justly admire the power of the Creator, in the motion
of the heavenly bodies ; but the motion of souls towards
God as their centre is far more glorious. The curse of
the law was a weight sufficient to crush a world. So they
found it who first brought it upon themselves. It sunk
legions of angels, who excel in strength, from the heaven
of heavens to the bottomless pit. And the same weight
hung over the head of man. Before man could bear it,
before any person could bear his own proportion of it, it
behooved, as it were, to be divided into numberless par-
cels, and distributed among all mankind, allowing every
sinner his share. Man, after numberless ages, would have
borne but a small part ; the wrath to come would have
been wrath to come to all eternity. But Christ had
strength to bear it all, to bear it all at once, to bear it all
alone; and what a glorious manifestation of his might was
this ! of the noblest kind of might, that he was mighty to
save ?"* — I might be more particular, but time will not
allow.

IV. The scheme of salvation through the sufferings of
Christ gives the most gracious, benevolent, and amiable
display of the divine perfections. This is evident at first
sight, from this consideration, that by this scheme sinners,
such sinners as we, may be saved. Oh the joyful sound !
salvation for the lost, pardon for the condemned, sanctifica-
tion for the unholy, life for the dead ! what can be more
agreeable to us ? Angels contemplate this plan with eter-
nal pleasure, though they do not need nor receive such
blessings from it ; and how much more should we who are

o '

so nearly interested ! Goodness, grace, and mercy, are
always the favourite attributes to guilty creatures such as
we are ; and where do they shine so bright in heaven or
earth, as in the cross of our dying Jesus ? But you will

* Mac Laurin.

268 THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED

say, " Suppose that the sins of men had been pardoned,
and they saved, without the sufferings of Christ in their
stead ? suppose that the stern attribute of justice had never
been displayed in the infliction of punishment either upon
sinners, or upon their surety, where would have been the
injury? would not the Deity have appeared in a still more
amiable light, as all benevolence and mercy ?" So crimi-
nals may surmise, whose interest it is that there should be
no such attribute as punitive justice. But I appeal to
angels, who are not parties, as criminals are, but compe-
tent judges ; I appeal to every lover of virtue and piety ;
nay, I appeal to the common sense of mankind, whether a
ruler without justice would be an amiable character in
their view 1 Would they choose to live under a govern-
ment where vice, violence, and confusion, were not re-
strained by the execution of the law, but shared in the
rewards, or at least, in the indemnity of perfect obedience 1
would they choose a king, who, through a false notion of
lenity and mercy, would suffer criminals to pass with im-
punity ? Do not the innocent part of the subjects approve
of the conduct of their rulers in condemning and executing
criminals, as well as in protecting themselves ? and what a
murmuring spreads through a government, when such are
tolerated or approved ? The complaint we hear of the
excessive strictness of divine justice, the cruelty of eternal
torments, &c., is the voice of guilt, and we should regard
it no more than the clamours of a band of robbers against
the just laws of their country. Justice, my brethren, is
not that grim, horrible, and forbidden attribute, which the
guilty are apt to imagine ; it is not only a majestic, but an
amiable, agreeable, lovely perfection ; it is a part of the
moral beauty of the divine nature ; it is essential to the
character of a good ruler ; it is necessary to the public
good ; it is absolutely necessary to the exercise of good-

THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 269

ness itself. The judicious, well-conducted exercise of
goodness is not a promiscuous, indiscriminating communi-
cation of happiness at random ; but the communication of
happiness according to the real characters of the subjects ;
it supposes a distinction of the obedient and disobedient.
No government can subsist without this; and this is the
very nature of distributive justice. Hence it follows, that
the display of divine justice, as well as grace, in the sufferings
of Christ, represents the divine nature in an amiable light to
us, as infinitely worthy of our love as well as of our fear. But,
V. The way of salvation through the sufferings of Jesus
Christ gives the most wonderful and surprising display of
the perfections of God. That is a cause of wonder and
surprise, which is strange and uncommon, new and unex-
pected ; and certainly we can never meet with things more
strange, uncommon, and unexpected, than in the way of
salvation through Christ. I have mentioned some of them
already with another view ; and now I shall enumerate a
few wonders more. At the creation, a world was brought
out of a state of non-existence into being ; but in this
way sinners are brought into a state of complete happiness
and glory out of a state infinitely worse than that of non-
existence. In the old creation, as there were no pre-
existent materials or tendency to existence, so there was no
resistance : but in the new creation, there is a strong re-
sistance, an obstinate opposition of corrupt nature against
the operation ; and yet, behold all things are made new !
Who would ever have thought that the apostate angels
should have been abandoned to remediless ruin, while a
Saviour is provided for the inferior order of man ] Had
Adam been plainly informed that He, by whom he and all
things were made, should assume his frail and mortal na-
ture, how would he have wondered ! And how must
angels wonder, to see the Creator and the creature made

270 THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED

one person ! to see their Lord and Master become man,
a man that in his best estate was made a little lower
than they ! How strange, that guilty mortals should be
saved by the death of the Lord of life ! How astonish-
ing that a church should be purchased by the blood of
God ! how strange and surprising, that the reputed son
of the carpenter, the despised Nazarene, should be made
'' head over all things ! that every knee should bow, and
every tongue confess to him," that had been so rudely
insulted and treated as the most comtemptible male-
factor! that the reputed criminal, condemned by Pilate,
and crucified on Mount Calvary, should be made the only
Saviour, and the supreme Judge of mankind ! How
strange, that the blood of the cross should restore peace
to earth and heaven, and be the grand remedy of a dying
world ! that the guilty should be redeemed by the death
of the innocent ! that death should be conquered by the
death of the Author of life ! that the greatest sin that ever
was committed on our guilty globe, namely, the murder
of the Son of God, should be the occasion of the pardon
of sin, even for his murderers! Are not these, my bre-
thren, strange, unprecedented things! can you find any
thing like them in heaven or earth ? these are objects of
grateful astonishment to all the celestial armies through all
the periods of their happy immortality.

I shall now conclude with a few reflections and exhor-
tations.

1. You hence see what should principally recommend
the gospel scheme to us ; namely, that it promotes the
glory of God, and gives such an advantageous, amiable,
and majestic view of his perfections. This is the grand
design of God, and the only design worthy of him in all
his works, and particularly in making this constitution.
It was this consideration induced the blessed Jesus to go

THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 271

through his painful work, and therefore on this account
principally we should delight in this method. And this is
the disposition of all those that are conformed to God, and
have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. Our own
salvation should indeed be dear to us, but not merely
because it is ours, but because it tends to bring glory to
God, the great end of all things. Therefore,

2. They who have never been sensible of the glory of
God manifested in this method of salvation, and charmed
with the divine perfections displayed therein, have not
complied with it, and cannot be saved by it. None can
be saved by it, that do not heartily approve of it; and
none can rationally approve of it, till they see its glory.
It is the characteristic of all true believers, that God hath
shined into their hearts, to give them the light of the know-
ledge of his glory, in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. iv. 6,
and iii. 18. It is natural to all to desire to be saved : but
they are not solicitous about the glory of God ; let them
be but safe, and the selfish creatures care little for any-
thing else. But heaven itself is recommended to a pious
soul by the thought that it may be brought thither in a
way that tends to advance his glory. Alas ! if this be the
case, how many of you are quite off from the only plan of
salvation ! you see no peculiar glories in it, and it does not
attract your hearts as the grand scheme for illustrating the
divine perfections ; and consequently you have no interest
in it.

3. Hence see the aggravated guilt of not accepting this
method of salvation ; it is a hostile attempt upon the divine
glory ; it is the worst of sacrilege ; and as such Jehovah
resents it.

4. You may hence see how secure you are of salvation
who are upon the gospel plan. Your salvation in this
way is for the glory of the divine perfections. God is so

272 THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS ILLUSTRATED

far from having any objections against it, that on the other
hand, his honour is advanced by it; and therefore he will
take the same care of your salvation as he will of his own
glory, which is concerned therein.

5. These things may endear the institution of the Lord's
supper to you as exhibiting these glories, by sacred emblems,
to your senses : therefore you should esteem it, and
reverently attend upon it.

It is true, this ordinance represents the Lord Jesus in
his lowest state of abasement. But even in his lowest
state there appears a peculiar glory. Here I cannot deny
you the pleasure of a quotation from that excellent man,
Mr. Mac Laurin, once my friend and correspondent, now
the companion of angels, an inhabitant of a better world.
" Even the meanness of Christ did not wholly becloud his
glory: many beams shone through the disguise. His
birth was mean on earth below : but it was celebrated with
hallelujahs by the heavenly host in the air above. He
had a poor lodging; but a star lighted visitants to it from
distant countries. Never prince had such visitants, so
conducted. He had not the magnificent equipage that
other kings have : but he was attended with multitudes of
patients, seeking and obtaining healing of soul and body;
that was more true greatness than if he had been attended
with crowds of princes. He made the dumb that attended
him to sing his praises, and the lame to leap for joy; the
deaf to hear his wonders, and the blind to see his glory.
He had no guard of soldiers, nor magnificent retinue of
servants : but, as the centurion that had both, acknowledged,
health and sickness, life and death, took orders from him ;
even the winds and storms, which no earthly power could
control, obey him; and death and the grave durst not
refuse to deliver up their prey when he demanded it. He
did not walk upon tapestry; but when he walked on the

THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 273

sea, the waters supported him. All parts of the creation,
except sinful man, honoured him as their Creator. He
had no treasure ; but when he had occasion for money,
the sea sent it to him in the mouth of a fish. He had no
barns nor corn-fields; but when he inclined to make a
feast, a few loaves covered a sufficient table for many
thousands. Nor was his glory wholly clouded at his
death : he had not indeed that fantastic equipage of sorrow
that other great persons have on such occasions, but the
frame of nature solemnized the death of its Author :
heaven and earth were mourners, the sun was clad in
black ; and if the inhabitants of the earth were unmoved,
the earth trembled under the awful load. There were
few to pay the Jewish compliment of rending their gar-
ments ; but the rocks were not so insensible ; they rent
their bowels. He had not a grave of his own, but other
men's graves opened to him. Death and the grave might
be proud of such a tenant in their territories; but he came
there not as a subject, but as an invader, a conqueror; it
was then that the king of terrors lost his sting, and on the
third day the Prince of Life triumphed over him, spoiling
death and the grave." These are the things, my brethren,
this ordinance was designed to commemorate : and cer-
tainly these are full of glory.

6. These things may furnish you with proper materials
for meditation this day. Fix your thoughts upon the
glories of God displayed in a crucified Jesus; take a survey
of the scheme of salvation through his blood, as bringing
not only salvation to you, but honour to him ; and wonder,
love, and adore.

Finally, let us all fall in with this glorious method of
salvation; and join with God and Christ, and the whole
creation, in glorifying God in this way; and in this way,
and none else, we shall find salvation for ourselves.

VOL. II.— 3i

274 RELIGION THE HIGHEST WISDOM,

SERMON XXXVIII.

RELIGION THE HIGHEST WISDOM, AND SIN THE GREATEST
MADNESS AND FOLLY.

PSALM cxi. 10.— The fear of the LORD is the beginning
of wisdom : a good understanding have all they that do

his commandments'

i

WISDOM is a character so honourable and ornamental to
a reasonable being, that those who best knew the dignity
of their own nature, have had no higher ambition than to
be esteemed and called lovers of it. Hence the original
of the name Philosopher,! which signifies no more than a
lover of wisdom. On the other hand, there is hardly any
character deemed more reproachful, or that is more
resented, than that of a fool. Men are often as jealous
of the reputation of their understandings as of their morals,
and think it as great a reproach to be without sense as
without goodness.

There is a prodigious diversity in the intellectual
capacities of mankind, and their souls differ as much as
their bodies; but whether it be owing to the intrinsic
difference of their souls, or to the different formation of
their bodies, is not my present purpose to determine.
Some, that share in human nature, give very little dis-
coveries of reason above the most sagacious sorts of brutes.

* Job xxviii. 28; Prov. i. 7, and ix. 10.

f <f>iXofo0of, quasi 0iXos ao<p\as, a lover of wisdom. This name Pythagoras
accepted, when he thought that of Zo^oj, a wise man, was too ostentatious
and arrogant for him.

AND SIN THE GREATEST FOLLY. 275

The generality are endowed with common sense, which,
though it has nothing brilliant or pompous in it, and does
not qualify them for high improvements in science, or
making a figure in the learned world, yet it is sufficient
for all the purposes of life, and the necessities of a human
creature. There are a few also who seem raised beyond
their species, and perhaps approach near to the lower
ranks of angels by a superior genius. These have been
the first inventors and improvers of useful arts and sciences;
which others, of inferior understanding, are able to put in
practice for their own purposes, though they had not
sagacity at first to discover them.

This little world of ours is an improved spot in the
creation. How vastly different an appearance does it now
make from its original state of pure nature, when it emerged
Out of chaos, uncultivated by art! What numerous arts
and trades have been found out to furnish life with neces-
saries and comforts! How deeply have some penetrated
into the world of knowledge! They have traced the
secret workings of nature; they have even brought intelli-
gence from the worlds above us, and discovered the courses
and revolutions of the planets.

When you see these discoveries, you would conclude
mankind to be a wise race of creatures; and indeed in such
things as these, they discover no inconsiderable abilities.
Almost every man in his province can manage his affairs
with some judgment. Some can manage a farm ; others
are dexterous in mechanics; others have a turn for mer-
cantile affairs; others can unfold the mysteries of nature,
and carry their searches far into the ideal worlds; others
can conduct an army, or govern a nation. In short, every
man forms some scheme which he apprehends will conduce
to his temporal advantage; and prosecutes it with some
degree of judgment.

276 RELIGION THE HIGHEST WISDOM,

But is this all the wisdom that becomes a candidate for
eternity? Has he a good understanding who only acts
with reason in the affairs of this life; but, though he is to
exist for ever in another world, and to be perfectly happy
or miserable there, yet takes no thought about the con-
cerns of his immortal state? Is this wisdom? Is this
consistent even with common sense? No; with sorrow
and solemnity I would speak it, the most of men in this
respect are fools and madmen ; and it is impossible for the
most frantic madman in Bedlam to act more foolishly about
the affairs of this life, than they generally do about the
affairs of religion and eternity. There is such a thing as
a partial madness; a person may have, as it were, one
weak side to his mind, and it may be sound and rational
in other respects. You may meet with some lunatics and
madmen that will converse reasonably with you, and you
would not suspect their heads are disordered till you touch
upon some particular point, and then you are to expect
reason from them no more ; they talk the wildest nonsense,
and are governed entirely by their imaginations. Thus,
alas! it is with the generality of mankind in the present
case. They are wise for this world ; they talk and act at
least agreeably to common sense ; but hear them talk and
observe their conduct about the concerns of their souls,
and you can call them reasonable creatures no longer.
They "are wise to do evil; but to do good they have no
knowledge: there is none that understandeth: there is
none that seeketh after God." To bring them to them-
selves by exposing to them their madness, is my present
design.

The text shows us the first step to true wisdom, and
the test of common sense : " The fear of the LORD is the
beginning of wisdom ; a good understanding haye all they
that do his commandments." This is so frequently re-

AND SIN THE GREATEST FOLLY. 277

peated, that it may pass for a Scripture maxim: and we
may be sure it is of singular importance. Job starts the
question, " Where shall wisdom be found ? and where is
the place of understanding ?" He searches nature through
in quest of it, but cannot find it; he cannot purchase it
with the gold of Ophir; and its price is above rubies. At
length he recollects the primitive instruction of God to
man, and there he finds it : " To man he said, Behold, the
fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil
is understanding." Job xxviii. 28. Solomon, the wisest
of men, begins his proverbs with this maxim, " The fear
of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." Prov. i. 7;
and he repeats it again, Prov. ix. 10, " The fear of the
LORD is the beginning of wisdom ; and the knowledge of
the holy, (the knowledge of those that may be called
saints with a sneer,) is understanding."

The fear of the Lord, in Scripture, signifies not only
that pious passion of filial reverence of our adorable
Father who is in heaven, but it is frequently put for the
whole of practical religion ; hence it is explained in the
last part of the verse, by doing his commandments. The
fear of the Lord, in this latitude, implies all the graces and
all the virtues of Christianity; in short, all that holiness
of heart and life which is necessary to the enjoyment of
everlasting happiness. So that the sense of the text is
this : " To practise religion and virtue, to take that way
which leads to everlasting happiness, is wisdom, true wis-
dom, the beginning of wisdom, the first step towards it;
unless you begin here, you can never attain it; all your
wisdom, without this, does not deserve the name; it is
madness and nonsense. To do his commandments is the
best test of a good understanding; a good, sound under-
standing have all they that do this, all of them without ex-
ception ; however weak some of them may be in other

278 RELIGION THE HIGHEST WISDOM,

things, they are wise in the most important respect ; but
without this, however cunning they are in other things,
they have lost their understandings ; they contradict com-
mon sense; they are beside themselves. In short, to
pursue everlasting happiness as the end, in the way of holi-
ness as the mean, this is wisdom, this is common sense ;
and there can be none without this."

Wisdom consists in two things ; choosing a right end,
and using right means to obtain it. Now what end so be-
coming a creature to live for ever, as everlasting happiness?
And in what way can it be obtained but in the way of
holiness? Consult the judgment of God in his word;
consult your own conscience, or even common sense, and
you will find that this is the case. Therefore he is a man
of sense that pursues this end in this way; but he is a
fool, he is brutish, that chooses an inferior end, or that
pursues this in a wrong way.

My time will not allow me to do any more than to men-
tion some instances of the folly and madness of such as
do not make the fear of the Lord the beginning of their
wisdom.

I. Men will not take the safest side in religion, which
their reason and self-love carry them to do in other cases.

It is very possible the love of ease and pleasure, and a
self-flattering disposition, may prompt your invention to
form a plausible system of religion ; a religion that admits
of great hopes with little evidences, and that allows you
many indulgences, and lays few restraints upon you; a
religion purged, as you imagine, from some of the melan-
choly and gloomy doctrines of Christianity, and that re-
leases you from those restraints, so painful to a wicked
heart, which the holy religion of Jesus lays upon you. It
is very possible you may hope you shall obtain eternal
happiness without much pains, and without observing the

AND SIN THE GREATEST FOLLY. 279

9

strictness of universal holiness; you may indulge hopes
of heaven, though you indulge yourselves wilfully in sin ;
you may flatter yourselves that God is not so inexorably
just as the sacred Scriptures represent him ; and that his
threatenings are only tremendous sounds without any de-
sign to be executed in all their strictness ; you may flatter
yourselves that the punishments of a future state are not
intolerably dreadful, nor of everlasting duration ; you may
excuse and diminish your sins, and make a great many
plausible apologies for them. But are you sure of these
things ? Have you demonstration for them upon which
you may venture your eternal all ? Think the matter
over seriously again ; have you certainty that these things
are so? and are you willing to perish for ever if they
should be otherwise ? What if you should be mistaken ?
What if you should find God as strict and holy as his
word represents him ? What if all his dreadful threaten-
ings should be sincere and true, and your sins have infi-
nitely greater malignity in his eyes than in yours ? What
if in a little time you should find that the Scriptures give
a more just account of the punishments of hell than your
self-flattering heart suggested to you, and that they are
indeed intolerable and strictly eternal? What if you
should find, when it is too late to correct the mistake, that
those neglected, ridiculous things, regeneration, conversion,
holiness of heart and practice, the mortification of sin, and
a laborious course of devotion — what if you should find
they are absolutely necessary to everlasting happiness?
What if it should appear that the wilful indulgence of the
least known sin will eternally ruin you ? Stand and pause,
and ask yourselves, What if you should find matters thus,
quite the reverse to what you flattered yourselves ? What
will become of you then ? You are undone, irreparably
undone through all eternity. Well, to speak modestly,

280

this may be the case, for what you know ; and is it not
then the part of a wise man to provide against such a
dreadful contingency ? Will you run so terrible a risk,
and yet claim a good understanding ? Do you esteem a
life of religion so burdensome, that you had better make
such a desperate venture than choose it? Do you esteem
the pleasures of sin so sweet, so solid, so lasting, that it is
your interest to run the risk of intolerable, eternal misery,
rather than part with them? Can you form such an esti-
mate as this while in your senses ? No, he is a mad-man
with whom certain pleasures for a little time, the sordid
pleasures of sin, outweigh an eternity of perfect happi-
ness. He is certainly not in his right mind that would
rather be tormented in hell for ever, than lead a holy life,
and labour to escape the wrath to come. Therefore act
in this as you do in other cases of uncertainty, choose the
safest side. Believe and regard what God has said ; Be
holy in all manner of conversation; strive with all your
might to enter in at the straight gate; accept of Christ as
your Lord and Saviour. Do this, and you are safe, let
the case be as it will ; there are no bad consequences that
can possibly follow from this conduct. It will, upon the
whole, be the most pleasant for you, even in this life; and
your reason will tell you, this is a more certain way to
escape everlasting misery, and secure eternal happiness,
than the contrary. But if you are resolutely set upon
running the risk, and fool-hardy enough to venture your
eternal all upon such improbabilities, not to say impossi-
bilities, you forfeit the character of a reasonable being;
you are mad in this respect, however wise you may be in
others.

IT. Is it not the greatest folly to believe, or profess to
believe, the great truths of religion, and yet act quite con-
trary to such a belief?

AND SIN THE GREATEST FOLLY. 281

How many are there who own God to be the greatest
and the best of beings, and yet neglect him, and pay a
greater regard to a thousand other things! They own
him lovely, and do not love him ; their King, and they do
not obey him ; and their Benefactor, and make no returns
of gratitude to him. They confess that heaven is better
than earth, and yet they pursue the things of this life, to
the neglect of all the happiness of heaven. They believe
their souls are of more importance than their bodies; and
yet they will not take half the care about them that they
take about their bodies. They confess that a life of sin
and impenitence is very dangerous, and that it will end in
everlasting misery; yet, with this confession in their mouth,
and this conviction in their consciences, they will, they
obstinately will, go on impenitently in sin. They own that
religion and virtue are excellent things, and yet they never
make it the main business of their life, but live carelessly
without them. They believe they are sinners, worthy of
punishment, and yet they are generally as unconcerned as
if they were innocent. They believe that Christ is the
only Saviour of sinners, and yet they are as little concerned
to get an interest in him as if they could be saved without
him. They believe that all the pleasures of this transitory
life are infinitely inferior to the pleasures of religion and
the happiness of the heavenly state ; they believe these
pleasures will ruin them for ever if they continue in them,
and yet they will persist in them, though by this they throw
away their everlasting happiness, and incur eternal misery !
Thus they believe, or profess to believe ; and our country
is full of such believers; but what absurd, self-contradict-
ing creatures are they ! What madness is it to entertain
a belief that answers no other end but to condemn their
practice, and aggravate their sin ! Do they really believe
these things, or do they not ? if not, what folly is it to pro-

VOL. II.— 36

282 RELIGION THE HIGHEST WISDOM,

fess to believe them ! Do they think to impose by an
empty profession on Him who searches the hearts and the
reins ? or have they no other end in their profession of
religion, than just to be esteemed Christians by men 1
Can they think that their faith will indemnify them in con-
tradicting it? or that they may sin safely, because they
sin against knowledge ? Are these the conclusions of a
sound mind ? Must not a man be out of his senses before
he can admit them 1 But if you suppose they believe
these things, it is certain they are entirely mad in this affair.
What ! to neglect God, and holiness, and heaven, when they
know they are of infinite importance ! to choose the ways
of sin, when they believe they will end in ruin ! Is this
the part of a wise man ? Should a sick man tell you he is
certain to die unless he takes such a medicine, and yet you
should see that he does not take it, but continues to drink
the most deadly poison ; what would you think of him 1
Would you not conclude either that he did not believe
himself, or that he was distracted ? But this is the very
conduct of many professed believers, who yet think they
have no small share of wisdom. I will not dispute your
wisdom about your secular affairs ; you may be wise to do
evil ; but I am sure in these instances you are quite de-
lirious ; and yourselves will be convinced of it to your cost,
when God shall say unto you, " Thou fool, this night shall
thy soul be required of thee." Luke xii. 20.

All your pleas to vindicate or excuse your conduct do
but aggravate your folly. Do you say, " Your lusts are
headstrong and ungovernable, and you cannot restrain
them ?" I doubt not but this is true ; but is this a reason
why you should be so easy and careless? Are your
enemies so strong 1 And will you, on that very account,
be faint and inactive in your resistance ? Ought you not
to rise and cry to God for his grace to change your nature ;

AND SIN THE GREATEST FOLLY. 283

to subdue these strong sins, and make you holy, since
"without it you cannot be saved 1 Besides, consider whe-
ther your pretended excuse be not a real aggravation.
" Your lusts are so strong, you say, that you cannot re-
strain them." What is this but to say that you are so
wicked, that you have no heart to break off from sin ?
and is the inveteracy of your wickedness an excuse for it ?
Does not common sense remonstrate against such an
absurdity ? Do you plead, that " you intend to repent of
this inconsistent conduct hereafter ?" But if religion is an
excellent thing, as you profess to believe it, why do you
not choose it now ? the sooner the better. Again, is it
not the greatest folly to indulge yourselves in a practice
that you deliberately intend to repent of? If your pre-
sent conduct be wise, why do you intend to repent of it ?
the very intention implies that you are even now convinced
it is foolish ; and what will your repentance be but a deep
sense of your folly ? And can there be a greater madness
than deliberately to do any thing which at the very time
you intend to repent of? Is there any thing more absurd
and ridiculous ? Is this your conduct in other things ?
Will you make a bargain which you know you will after-
wards repent of? Will you prosecute a scheme which
you deliberately intend afterwards to condemn and be
sorry for ? Can you do such things, and yet take it ill to
be called fools ? Further, why do you design to repent ?
Is it because you hate sin? No; for if that was the
reason, you would immediately forsake it. Is it because
you love God and holiness? No; for then you would
devote yourselves to the service of God immediately, and
could not bear a delay. But you intend to force your-
selves upon a little remorse of conscience, when the pun-
ishment of sin is just ready to fall upon you, with no other
design but just to escape it. And can you think there is

284 RELIGION THE HIGHEST WISDOM,

any value in such extorted sorrows, that proceed not from
hatred of sin, or love to God, but merely from self-love
and servile fear of punishment ? Can any wise man look
upon this as repentance to life, or hope that God will
accept of it ? Finally, are you sure of that uncertain here-
after, in which you purpose to repent ? Is there any man
in his senses that dare pretend he is certain of another
day ? or that he shall not die by some sudden accident, or
in a delirium, in which he has no time nor composure to
repent ?

III. Is it not the greatest folly for men to pretend to
love God, when their temper and conduct are inconsistent
with it, and plainly evidential of the contrary ?

If you go round the world with the question, " Do you
love God? do you love him above all?" you will hardly
meet with any one but what will answer, " Yes, to be sure ;
I have loved him all my life." Well, but where are the
evidences and effects of this love ? If you pretend friend-
ship to men, they expect the expressions of it from you on
every occasion; otherwise they will see through the pre-
tence and pronounce it flattery. They expect you should
often think of them with tender affection, perform them all
the good offices in your power, study to please them, be
tender of their characters, solicitous about their interest,
and delight in their society. These are the inseparable
effects of love; and certainly, if you love God, your love
will have such effects, especially since, if you love him at
all with sincerity, you love him above all other persons
and things. But men will insist upon it that they love him
above all, and yet very seldom or never think of him with
tender affection : they love him above all, and yet indulge
themselves in sin, that abominable thing, which he hates :
they love him above all, and yet have little solicitude about
pleasing him, and doing his will: they love him above all,

AND SIN THE GREATEST FOLLY. 285

and yet are unconcerned about the interests of religion in
the world, which are his interests, and careless about his
honour and glory : they love him above all, and yet have
no pleasure in conversing with him in prayer, and the
other ordinances of his grace, where he holds spiritual in-
terviews with his people. They love him above all, and
yet love and delight in a thousand other things more than
him ; and they would highly resent it if one should begin
to question the sincerity of their love ; and they hope God
will accept of it, and reward it. But can men in their
senses think that this will pass for true and supreme love
with him that knows all things? They cannot expect
that their fellow-creatures should thus be imposed upon ;
and is it not the greatest madness to imagine they can thus
impose upon Omniscience ? Indeed it may astonish any
man that knows what love is, to find that the most of men
pretend they love God, even while they are giving the
most glaring evidences of disaffection to him; and after all,
it is almost impossible to convince them that they do not
thoroughly love him. What madness has seized the world,
that they will not receive conviction in such a plain case !
What mean thoughts must they have of God, when they
think to put him off with such an empty compliment, and
hypocritical profession !

IV. Is it not the greatest folly for men to hope for
heaven, when they have no evidences at all of their title to
it, or fitness for it 1

Is it not the dictate of common sense, that no man can
be happy in anything but what he has a relish for, and de-
lights in 1 Can an illiterate rustic find pleasure in rigid
mathematical demonstrations, and learned speculations; or
a man of pleasure and business in the ascetic, mortified
life of a hermit? Can a man, whose taste is vitiated by
sickness, enjoy happiness in the entertainments of a feast ?

286 RELIGION THE HIGHEST WISDOM,

No, nothing can make a man happy, but what is suited to
his relish and disposition. And yet there are thousands
that have no relish for the enjoyment of God, no pleasure
in thinking of him, or conversing with him, no delight in
his service and acts of devotion, who yet hope to be for
ever completely happy in these exercises in heaven. The
happiness of heaven, as I have often told you, consists in
such things as these, and how can you hope to be happy
there while you have no pleasure in them ? There are
thousands who have no delight in anything holy or reli-
gious, but only in the gratification of their senses and the
enjoyment of earthly things, who yet hope to be happy in
heaven, in the want of all sensual and earthly enjoyments.
There are thousands who now disgust the society of the
religious as intolerably precise, who yet flatter themselves
they shall be perfectly happy in the company of saints and
angels, where the meanest is incomparably more holy than
the most sanctified creature upon earth. And have they
a sound understanding who can entertain such absurd
hopes? Does not common sense tell us, that God, who
does every thing wisely, will bring none to heaven but
those whom he has made fit for it beforehand? and that as
none shall be sent to hell but those that were previously
wicked, so none shall be admitted into the world of glory
but those who are previously made holy? None first
begin to be holy in heaven or wicked in hell : both parties
bring with them those dispositions which are fit for their
respective places and employments. How absurd is it,
therefore, to hope for heaven, while you have no heavenly
dispositions ! You may as well hope to see the sun with-
out eyes. Further, God has assured you in his word, and
you profess to believe him, that without regeneration, faith,
repentance, and interest in Christ, and universal holiness,
you cannot enter into his kingdom ; and yet, are there not

AND SIN THE GREATEST FOLLY. 287

some of you who are foolish enough to hope for it, though
destitute of all these ? Has he not told you that drunk-
ards, swearers, unclean, malicious, contentious persons,
liars, and the like, shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven ?
And yet, though you know these are your characters, and
the world knows it too, you will hope for admission to it,
in defiance of God's most express repeated declarations !
What madness is this! and how peculiar to this affair!
The debauchee will not expect happiness in mortification
and devotion, nor the prodigal in hoarding up useless
wealth ; and yet thus absurdly will they act in their expec-
tations of heaven !

V. And lastly, Is it not the greatest madness to be
more concerned about the affairs of time than those of
eternity ?

It is plain to any man in his senses, that the happiness
and misery which are extreme, and which shall endure for
ever, are of infinitely greater importance than all the en-
joyments and all the sufferings of this transitory state.
And you will hardly meet with any man but will own this
to be his belief. But alas ! into what consternation may
it strike us, when we survey the conduct of the generality !

Are they as much concerned about the eternal world to
which they are hastening, as the concerns of time ?
Are they as laborious and zealous to obtain everlasting
happiness as to gain the riches of this world, or to gratify
their sensual appetites ? Are they as solicitous to avoid
everlasting misery as to shun sickness, poverty, or any
temporal calamity? Are they as cautious of sinning,
which ruins their souls for ever, as of drinking poison,
which may endanger their health or temporal life ? Do
not many of you know it is quite the reverse with you ?
Are not the concerns of this life the principal objects of
your thoughts, your cares, and labours ? And what can

288 RELIGION THE HIGHEST WISDOM,

be a more consummate folly ? You practically prefer a
trifle of an hour to a substantial good of endless duration.
You are careless about everlasting torment, and yet cau-
tiously shun the light sufferings of a few moments. It
matters not what you think or say in this matter; it is
your practice that determines the affair ; and does not that
show that time outweighs a vast eternity with you ? And
what can be more absurd ! If you should throw away an
estate to gain a farthing, if you should run upon a drawn
sword to escape a prickle, if you should prefer pebbles to
crowns and kingdoms, darkness to light, or one luxurious
meal to the support of your whole life, it would not be so
shocking a piece of madness.

I might give you many more instances of the madness
of those who do not begin this wisdom with the fear of
the Lord, but the inferences from the subject are so nu-
merous and important, that I must reserve the rest of the
time for them.

1. Since there is so much folly in the world in matters
of religion, how astonishing is it that it is not universally
contemned and ridiculed, or pitied and lamented ! If men
act a foolish part in other things, they soon furnish matter
of laughter and contempt to the gay and witty part of
mankind; and the thoughtful and benevolent view them
with compassion. But let them act ever so foolishly in
the concerns of eternity, there is hardly any notice taken
of it; the absurdity is no way shocking; nay, the gener-
ality commend their conduct by imitating it themselves;
and if any are so wise as to find fault with this madness,
they are termed fools themselves, and the general laugh is
turned against them. How unaccountable is this, that
men who act prudently in other things, and are easily
shocked with a mad and frantic behaviour, can view the
folly of mankind in this respect without horror, or perhaps

AND SIN THE GREATEST FOLLY. 289

with approbation ! The only reason for it is, that the
generality are madmen in this respect, and the folly is ap-
proved because it is common. To be singularly wise is
to be foolish, in the opinion of the world ; and to be fools
with the multitude, is the readiest way to get the reputa-
tion of wisdom. They prove religion to be folly, by a
majority of votes ; and as many who are fools in this affair
are wise in other respects, their judgment is implicitly sub-
mitted to. But pray, sirs, use your own reason, and judge
impartially for yourselves, and I am sure you must see the
wild absurdity of their conduct. Be nobly singular in be-
ginning wisdom with the fear of the Lord ; and whatever
others think of you now, God, angels, and good men will
applaud your wisdom ; and even those who now ridicule
it, will approve of it at last.

2. With what an ill grace do the irreligious contemn
and despise those that make religion their great concern,
as weak, silly creatures ! Sinners, let your own reason
determine, can there be anything more foolish than your
own behaviour? And does it become you to brand others
with the odium of folly ? Alas ! you have reason to turn
your contempt upon yourselves, and to be struck with
horror at your own wilful stupidity. Do you set your-
selves up as the standards of wisdom, who want sense to
keep out of everlasting ruin ? Are you wise men, who
throw away your eternal happiness for the trifles of time ?
No, they only are wise who are wise for eternity. You
may excel them in a thousand things; nature may have
favoured you with a better genius ; you may have had a
more liberal education ; you may be better acquainted
with men and books ; you may manage your secular affairs
with more discretion ; in such things you may be wiser
than many of them. But they are wise for eternity ! they
have sense to escape everlasting burnings ! they have

VOL. II.— 37

290 RELIGION THE HIGHEST WISDOM,

wisdom to obtain eternal happiness ! and this is a more im-
portant piece of wisdom than all your acquisitions. The
wisdom of Solomon, of Socrates, or Plato, is the wildest
madness without this. How absurd is it therefore for you,
without this, to arrogate the character of men of wisdom,
or even of common sense !

3. How absurd is it for men to pretend they will not
turn their thoughts to religion, lest it should make them
melancholy or distracted ! Alas, sinners ! you cannot be
more so than you are already ; and you will never come
to yourselves till, with the prodigal, you determine to re-
turn to your father's house. And will you continue fools
through the fear of becoming such? I can assure you, I
would rather be the wildest frantic in Bedlam, than be that
wretch who ruins his soul for fear of running mad by
thinking of it.

4. If the fear of the Lord, religion, is the perfection of
wisdom, how unreasonably does the world charge it with
making people mad ? There are multitudes that lose their
senses by excessive sorrows and anxieties about some
temporal affair; many more than by religion; and yet they
never fall out with the world on this account. But when
any one, that seemed thoughtful about religion, loses his
senses, then religion, be sure, must bear all the blame ; and
sinners are glad to catch at such a handle to expose it.
Melancholy persons are wont to derive terrors from every
thing in their reach ; and, among other things, will pour
upon all those doctrines of religion that can affright them.
But this melancholy, as such, is a bodily disorder, and
therefore has no more religion in it than a fever or a con-
sumption. It is indeed very possible that too intense ap-
plication of the mind to divine things, with a deep concern
about our everlasting state, may be the occasion of melan-
choly : but there is nothing peculiar in this ; let the mind

AND SIN THE GREATEST FOLLY. 291

be excessively attentive to anything, it will have the same
effect. How many disorders do men contract by their
eager pursuit of the world ! and yet the world is their
favourite still. But if one here and there suffers by occa-
sion of religion, oh ! they bless themselves from it, and
think it is a terrible gloomy thing. Those that are pious,
let me tell you, are many of them much superior to the
wisest of us in all accomplishments ; and they are generally
as far from madness as their neighbours. Therefore drop
this senseless slander, and be yourselves holy if you would
be truly wise.

5. Since men are such fools in matters of religion, since
they censure it with so much severity and contempt, how
astonishing is it that God should send down that divine,
heaven-born thing, religion, into our world, where it is so
much neglected and abused! Where the celestial guest
meets with but few hearts that will entertain it ; where its
professors neglect it, contradict it, and by their practice
call it madness ; and where even its friends and subjects
frequently treat it very unkindly ! What astonishing con-
descension and grace is it, that God has not left our mad
world to themselves, since they are so averse to be re-
claimed ! But lo ! he hath sent his Son, he hath instituted
the gospel, and a thousand means of grace, to bring them
to themselves!

6. And lastly, Hence we may infer, that human nature
is exceedingly depraved and disordered. I think this is
as plain as any disorder incident to the body. Men are
universally indisposed as to religion ; and on this account
our world is, as a great genius calls it, " the Bedlam of
the universe." The same natural faculties, the same un-
derstanding, will, and affections, that render us able to act
with prudence in the affairs of this life, are also sufficient
for the affairs of religion ; but, alas ! with regard to this,

292 RELIGION THE HIGHEST WISDOM.

they are disordered, though they exercise themselves
aright about other things. They can acquire the know-
ledge of languages and sciences ; but, alas ! they have no
disposition to know God, and Jesus Christ, whom he has
sent. They understand how to trade, and carry on
schemes for this world ; but they will not act wisely for
eternity. They have sense enough not to run into the
fire, or to drink poison ; but they will run on in the ways
of sin to everlasting misery. They will ask the way when
they have lost themselves ; but how hard is it to bring
them to inquire, What shall I do to be saved 1 They will
ask help for their bodies from their fellow-creatures, but
how hard is it to bring them in the posture of earnest
petitioners to ask immortal blessings for their souls from
God ! In short, they can contrive with prudence, and act
with vigour, courage, and perseverance, in the affairs of
time ; but in the concerns of religion and eternity they
are ignorant, stupid, languid, and careless. And how can
we account for this, but by supposing that they are degen-
erate creatures, and that their nature has suffered a dread-
ful shock by the first fall, which has deprived them of their
senses ? Alas ! this is a truth too evident to be denied !

REJECTION OF CHRIST. 293

SERMON XXXIX.

REJECTION OF CHRIST A COMMON, BUT MOST UNREASON-
ABLE INIQUITY.

MARK xn. 6. — Having yet therefore one son, his well-be-
loved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They
will reverence my son.

THERE is no sin more common or more pernicious in
the Christian world, than an unsuitable reception of Jesus
Christ and the gospel. It is not only the sin of professed
unbelievers and profane scoffers, but it often hides itself
under the cloak of religion, and a profession of faith. It
is of so subtile a nature, that it is often unsuspected, even
by those who are destroyed by it : and it is of so deadly a
nature, that nothing can save a soul under the power of it.
A soul that has the offer of Christ and the gospel, and yet
neglects him, is certainly in a perishing condition, what-
ever good works, whatever amiable qualities or appear-
ances of virtue it may be adorned with. " If our gospel
be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. He that believeth
not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God." 2 Cor. iv. 3 ;
John iii. 18.

This was the sin of the Jews in Christ's time, and this
brought temporal and eternal ruin upon them. To repre-
sent this sin in a convictive light, is the primary design of
this parable.

The blessed God had chosen the Jews, out of the world,

294 REJECTION OF CHRIST

to be his peculiar people, and distinguished them with the
gracious privileges of his church. Hence they are repre-
sented as his vineyard, enclosed from the wilderness of the
world, and furnished with every thing necessary to render
it fruitful. And hence God is represented as expecting
fruit from them, as a man expects it from his vineyard ;
which intimates the reasonableness of their obedience ; it
is what any one would expect, who would judge by what
is due and reasonable. But it does not intimate that God
does properly look for or expect what will never come to
pass; for the certainty and universality of his fore-know-
ledge excludes all possibility of a disappointment. It is
speaking to us in our own language, which we are most
likely to understand ; but it must be explained agreeably
to the perfection of the nature of God, and not according
to the imperfection of ours. The Scribes and Pharisees,
the priests and rulers of the Jews, who were intrusted
with the management of their church and state, are repre-
sented by the husbandmen, to whom this vineyard was
leased or rented, and they were obliged to make annual
payments of a part of the fruit. The succession of ser-
vants sent to demand the income of fruit in its season, sig-
nifies the prophets and other messengers of God sent to
the Jews to call them to bring forth the fruits of holiness.
But, instead of obeying the call, they treated them
abusively, persecuted, and killed them, and refused that
return of duty which God demanded, and which his dis-
tinguishing mercies towards them rendered so due upon
the footing of gratitude. After repeated trials, to no pur-
pose, by these servants, the great God resolves to make
one trial more, and that by his own Son, his only Son, his
beloved Son. Him he will send to these rebellious hus-
bandmen. And he presumes that, bad as they are, they
would at least reverence his Son, and count themselves

A MOST UNREASONABLE INIQUITY. 295

highly honoured in having such a messenger sent to them.
He might justly have sent his army to destroy them, who
had murdered his former servants ; but instead of this, he
sends his Son with proposals of peace once more. He
presumes such clemency will melt down the rebels, and
make them ashamed of their former conduct. They will
reverence my Son ; as if he should say, " Though they
have wickedly abused and slain my servants, surely they
will not dare to treat my Son in the same manner. Surely
the very sight of him, must command awe and reverence.
This will also make them ashamed of their base ingrati-
tude and cruelty to my former messengers."*

When the omniscient God represents himself as pre-
suming or expecting that they would receive his Son in a
friendly manner, it does not intimate, as I just observed in
a similar case, that he is defective in knowledge as to
things future, or liable to disappointment ; but it only ex-
presses, in the strongest manner, the reasonableness of the
thing expected. It is so reasonable, that any one who
judges only according to the reasonableness of the thing,
and has no view of futurity, would certainly look for it.
It is so reasonable, that God himself would expect it, were
he not omniscient, and incapable of being deceived by the
most plausible appearances. In this view God expected,
(that is, he looked upon it as infinitely reasonable) that the
Jewish rulers should reverence his Son. But, alas ! when
they saw him, they were raised to a still higher pitch of
rebellion and cruelty. They seized the Son himself, cast
him out of his own vineyard, and with wicked hands cruci-
fied and slew him. On this account the vineyard was
taken from them, and let out to others, who should pay

* The word ivrpiitopai, signifies to be flushed with shame, as well as to rev-
erence : and so it may be rendered here, " They will be struck with shame
at my Sun ;" that is, at " the sight of him."

296 REJECTION OF CHRIST

the great Proprietor his fruit in its season ; that is, they
were cast out of the church, and the Gentiles received in
their stead, who would make a better use of their privi-
leges.

This is the primary sense of the parable, as referring
to the Jews of that age. But it will admit of a more ex-
tensive application. It reaches us in these ends of the
earth, and all the nations of the world, to whom the gos-
pel has been proposed : and in this latitude I would con-
sider the text.

The world had gone on for four thousand years in wick-
edness, in spite of all the means used for its reformation
by lawgivers, prophets, and philosophers, and by the provi-
dence of God. Persuasions, warnings, chastisements, mer-
cies, and whatever had a tendency to bring them to repent-
ance, had been used with them. Philosophers had often
reasoned ; legislators had prescribed ; prophets had care-
fully instructed, allured with promises, and deterred with
threatenings, and carried their heavenly credentials in their
hands ; angels had appeared and conversed with men upon
extraordinary occasions ; Jesus, the great angel of the cov-
enant, had given frequent preludes of his incarnation ; nay,
Jehovah himself had ascended, and published his law with
Godlike pomp in the ears of his subjects on Mount Sinai.
But all this would not do ; the world sinned on still, im-
penitent and incorrigible. And what shall be done in
such a desperate case ? What expedient remains to be
tried ? After so many messengers abused, persecuted, and
killed, who will go upon so dangerous a message again 1
There is indeed the Son of God, the great co-equal of
the Supreme Divinity ; if he would undertake it, perhaps
something might be done ! But oh ! who can dare to hope
for such condescension from one so high! Who can ex-
pect such a favour for rebels ripe for vengeance ! Who

A MOST UNREASONABLE INIQUITY. 297

can hope the Father will give him up ! My text seems to
hint sundry objections against it. He is his Son, his well-
beloved Son, and he has but one Son ; but one of his rank,
though he has produced so many worlds. And will he
part with his Son, his well beloved, his only Son, and send
him upon such a mission ; a mission so difficult, so danger-
ous, in which so many of his servants have lost their lives ?
Who could believe that even divine love and mercy could
go so far, had we not the testimony of God in the gospel
for it? Having one Son, his well-beloved, he sent him
also ; he sent even* him, dear as he was, as well as his
servants of an inferior order. So much had he at heart
the salvation of his rebellious creatures !

But observe the time when he sent him: he sent him
last. He did not send him till every other method was
tried in vain, and the case was found to be desperate
without him. He did not send him till it appeared, from
many experiments, that there was absolute need of him.
Lawgivers, prophets, philosophers, and other real or pre-
tended reformers, had a clear stage ; they had the world
to themselves for four thousand years; but in all this time
they did nothing to the purpose. Hence we are led to
make this remark, which is of great importance to the right
understanding of the gospel.

That the Son of God was sent into the world as a
Saviour in a desperate case. It appeared, after a long
course of trial, that when he undertook the case, there
was no relief from any other quarter. And hence, by the
way, it follows, that we can never receive him in that view
in which he was sent, until we are deeply sensible that our
case is desperate; that is, that we can obtain relief from no
other.

* Kat avrov. The conjunction *at often signifies even ; and if so rendered
here, it would perhaps be more emphatical.
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298 REJECTION OF CHRIST

But probably his being sent last has a farther meaning.
It seems to intimate, that he is the last extraordinary mes-
senger that God will ever send; that the dispensation of
the gospel is the last trial that ever he will make with
rebellious men, the final effort of divine grace for their
salvation ; and that such as are not recovered by it will be
for ever given up as desperate, and no farther means used
with them. What an alarming thought is this to such of
you (and no doubt there are such among you) who have
enjoyed the gospel, the dispensation of the Son of God, all
your days, without receiving any special benefit from it !
If these means will not do, you are not to expect better,
but must perish as incurables !

If we consider the unworthiness of our guilty world,
and the high character of the blessed Jesus, as his Father's
only and well-beloved Son, we could have little reason to
expect he would come into our world as a Saviour. But
suppose he should come! suppose he should leave all the
glories of his native heaven, and assume the humble nature
of man, converse with mortals, instead of the heavenly
courtiers, and conflict with the calamities of life, instead
of enjoying the pleasures of paradise! Suppose he should
come himself, as a messenger of his Father's grace, and
with his own blessed lips assure our guilty race that God
is reconcilable! Suppose he should die upon a cross for
us, that he might at once purchase redemption, and con-
firm the tidings of it! Suppose, I say, such wonders as
these should happen! what then is to be expected? Oh!
may it not reasonably be expected that this divine Mes-
senger will be received with universal welcome 1 That
every heart will glow with his love and every mouth be
filled with his praise ? May it not be reasonably expected
that his appearance among guilty men would cast them all
upon the knee as humble penitents, and that now, over-

A MOST UNREASONABLE INIQUITY. 299

come with his love, they would become his willing subjects
for the future, and bitterly lament the baseness and in-
gratitude of their past disobedience ? Is not this the most
reasonable expectation that ever was formed ? God speaks
after the manner of men in my text: and, therefore, when
he says, They will reverence my Son, it intimates, that this
would be the universal expectation of mankind, and of all
reasonable creatures who consider the reasonableness of
the thing. " They will reverence my Son : surely they
will. Wicked and ungrateful as they are, the very sight
of him must melt them into gratitude and obedience.
Though they have rejected, persecuted, and murdered
prophets and lawgivers, and all my other servants, yet
surely they will reverence my Son." Oh! is not this a
most reasonable expectation ? Who would apprehend the
contrary in so plain a case 1 Who would fear that such a
divine Saviour, a Saviour in so desperate a case, should be
received with neglect ? Who would fear that sinners, on
the brink of everlasting destruction, would be careless
about such a Deliverer ? We cannot think they would act
thus, without supposing them madmen, as well as sinners,
and that they have lost their reason and self-love, as well
as moral goodness.

But, alas! these are only the presumptions of reason
from the reasonableness of the thing, and not matters of
fact gathered from observation of the actual conduct of
mankind. However likely it be from appearances that
the Son of God will universally meet with an affectionate
reception from creatures that stand in such absolute need
of him, and however improbable it be, in an abstract view,
that such creatures should neglect him, yet it is a melan-
choly, notorious fact, that Jesus Christ has but little of the
reverence and love of mankind. The prophetical character
given of him long ago by Isaiah still holds true, He whom

300 REJECTION OF CHRIST

man despiseth; he whom the nations abhor, Isaiah xlix. 7,
he is despised and rejected of men. The riches, honours,
and pleasures of the world are preferred to him. His
creatures are loved more than himself. Nay, sin itself,
the most hateful thing upon earth, or even in hell, is more
beloved. The salvation he purchased with his blood is
looked upon as hardly worth seeking. His favour is not
earnestly sought, nor his displeasure carefully shunned.
In short, he has but a small place, and is but of little im-
portance in the thoughts, the affections, and conversation
of mankind. This is a most melancholy and astonishing
thing ; it may spread amazement and horror through the
whole universe, but, alas! it is a fact; a plain fact,
though but few are convinced of it, and a melancholy
fact, though few lament it. My chief design at present
is to fasten conviction upon the guilty ; a very unaccept-
able design, but not therefore the less necessary or
useful.

In prosecuting it, I intend,

I. To show what kind of reception it may justly be
expected we should give to the Son of God.

II. To consider the reasonableness of that expectation,
And,

III. And lastly, To show how different a reception he
generally meets with from what might be reasonably ex-
pected.

Hearken, my brethren, hearken attentively, to what
you are so nearly concerned in. And to engage your
attention the more, let this consideration have weight with
you, that your making light of this matter is a strong pre-
sumption that you make light of Christ, and do not give
him that reception which he demands. Your being un-
concerned in the trial of this case is sufficient to prove you
guilty. I am,

A MOST UNREASONABLE INIQUITY. 301

I. To show you what kind of reception we may reason-
ably be expected to give to the Son of God.

In general, we should give him a reception agreeable to
the character which he sustains, and agreeable to the
designs upon which he was sent into our world, or to those
views in which he appears in it. We should treat
every one according to his character: reason expects
that we should do so, and God requires it. Therefore
we should treat this divine Messenger according to his
character.

More particularly does Jesus Christ appear in our
world under the character of a Saviour in a desperate
case, a relief for the remediless, a helper for the helpless ?
Then it may reasonably be expected that his appearing in
our world under this character would immediately flash
universal conviction upon mankind, that they are altogether
undone and helpless in themselves, and can obtain relief
from no other quarter. It may reasonably be expected
that they should give up all their proud, self-righteous con-
ceit of themselves, and abandon all trust in their own
righteousness and good works; for till they do this, they
can never receive him in the character ; that is, as a Saviour
in a desperate case. It may reasonably be expected, they
should welcome Christ as the great, the only Deliverer,
and give up themselves entirely to him, to be saved by him,
who alone is mighty to save. And it may reasonably be
expected, that every heart should be transported with ad-
miration, joy and gratitude at his appearance : and a con-
trary temper towards him can proceed from nothing but
stupid ignorance of our sin and danger, and an ungrateful,
base disaffection to him.

Does Jesus appear among men as a great High Priest,
making atonement for sin ? Then it may justly be ex-
pected that we should place all our trust upon the virtue

302 REJECTION OF CHRIST

of his atonement, and that all hands should be eagerly
stretched out to receive those pardons which he offers, in
consequence of his propitiatory sacrifice. Does he appear
to destroy the works of the devil, and to save men from
sin by making them holy, and are the influences of the
Holy Spirit, intrusted to his disposal to renew their nature
and implant every grace and virtue in their hearts ? Then,
who would not expect that we would all fall in with his
design, all form a noble conspiracy against sin, seek for
the sanctification of our hearts, and earnestly apply to him
for the influences of divine grace to make us holy ! Again,
does Christ appear in the character of a mediatorial King,
invested with all power in heaven and earth, and demand-
ing universal homage 1 Then it may be reasonably ex-
pected that we should all bow the knee in humble submis-
sion, all make his will the rule of our conduct, and labour
after universal obedience. Further, does he appear both
as the publisher and the brightest demonstration of the
Father's love ? and has he discovered his own love by the
many labours of his life, and by the agonies and tortures
of his cross ? Oh ! may it not be expected we should
return him love for love ? the love of worms for the love
of a God ! an obediential love for his bleeding, dying love !
May it not be expected that the sight of a crucified Saviour,
dying in agonies of love and pain, should melt every heart,
and draw the whole world to his arms ! He himself had
this reasonable expectation : /, says he, if I be lifted from
the earth (that is, suspended on the cross) will draw all
men unto me. If such love will not draw, what can do ?
May it not be expected that this strong assurance that
their offended Sovereign is reconcilable, and so much in
earnest to pardon obnoxious rebels, would at length make
them sensible of their base ingratitude, would melt them
down into ingenuous generous sorrows for their unnatural

A MOST UNREASONABLE INIQUITY. 303

rebellion against so good a God, and determine them to
cheerful obedience in future ? Again, does Christ exhibit
himself as able to save to the uttermost all that come unto
God through him, and as willing as able, as gracious as
powerful ? Then may it not reasonably be expected that
all the unbelieving fears and tremblings of desponding
penitents should vanish for ever, that they should all fly to
his arms with cheerful hope and humble confidence, and
do him the honour, and themselves the kindness to believe
themselves safe, upon their compliance with his invitation1?
Further, does Christ appear in the character of a great
Prophet sent to publish his Father's will, to reveal the
deep things of God, and to show the way in which guilty
sinners may be reconciled to God ? a way^which all the
philosophers and sages of antiquity, after all their perplex-
ing searches, could never discover ! May it not then be
reasonably expected that we should be all attention to his
instructions; that we should resign our understandings to
him as our Teacher, and readily believe what he has re-
vealed, and particularly that we should cheerfully comply
with the only method of salvation contained in the gospel ?
Once more, Does Christ assume the august character of
supreme Judge of the quick and the dead, and must we
all appear before the judgment seat of Christ? Then it
may be expected we should all humbly revere and adore
him, fear to offend him and make him our enemy, and pre-
pare for our appearance before him. In short, consider-
ing him as the supreme Excellency, it is infinitely reason-
able we should love and esteem him as the Physician of
sick souls; that we should put ourselves under his all-
healing hands, and submit to his prescriptions; as our
Advocate, that we should present all our petitions in his
name, and depend upon his intercession for acceptance.
And as he is all in all in the mediatorial dispensation of

304 REJECTION OF CHRIST

religion under which we live, the only religion for sinners,
that he should be all in all to us.

This is a brief view of the reception which we ought
to give to the Son of God, upon his appearance in our
world. Unless we receive him thus, we can receive no
benefit from him ; but must incur the aggravated guilt of
rejecting him. But to as many as thus receive him, to
them he gives power to become the sons of God, even to
as many as believe on his name. John i. 12.

Do not imagine that none are concerned to give him a
proper reception but those with whom he conversed in
the days of his flesh. We at the distance of 1700 years,
and six or seven thousand miles from the time and place
of his appearance in human form, are as much concerned
with him as they. He is an ever-present Saviour, and he
left his gospel on earth in his stead, when he went to hea-
ven. It is with the motion of the mind, and not of the
body, that sinners must come to him ; and in this sense
we may come to him, as properly as those that conversed
with him. He demands the reverence, love, and trust of
mankind now, as well as seventeen hundred years ago;
and we need his righteousness, his influence, and his sal-
vation, as well as the sinners of Judea, among whom he
appeared in person. Nay, as his glory has now pierced
through the cloud that obscured it in the days of his flesh,
and as he is exalted to the height of honour and dignity,
it may be expected with still more reason that we should
reverence him, and submit to him in his high character.
He is not now the object of our bodily senses, we cannot
see and handle him ; but he is now an object for the acts
of the mind with peculiar advantage. That must be a
mere lump of flesh, or a beast, and not a man, that can
love nothing, but what he can see and feel. Spriritual
and intellectual things are the most proper objects for all

A MOST UNREASONABLE INIQUITY. 305

reasonable creatures. Therefore, though Jesus be not
now within reach of our senses, yet reason and faith may
reach him, and perceive his glories : and it is reasonably
expected we should admire, love, trust, and serve him.
This, I say, is reasonable to expect of us. I now pro-
ceed :

II. To show the reasonableness of the expectation, that
we should give the Son of God a welcome reception.

Here full evidence must strike every mind at first sight.
Is there not infinite reason that infinite beauty and excel-
lence should be esteemed and loved? that supreme autho-
rity should be obeyed, and the highest character revered 1
Is it not reasonable that the most amazing display of love
and mercy should meet with the most affectionate returns
of gratitude from the party obliged? shall the Creator die
for his creatures, the Sovereign for his rebellious subjects,
the great Lawgiver transfer the penalty of his own law
upon himself, in order to remove it from obnoxious crimi-
nals? Shall he die in extremities of torture, and write
his love in characters of blood? Oh shall he do this,
and is it not infinitely reasonable that his creatures, that
his rebellious subjects, that obnoxious criminals should be
transported with wonder, joy, and gratitude ; and that such
miracles of love should engross their thoughts, their affec-
tions, and conversation? If we form our expectations
from what we find in fact among mankind in other cases,
sure we may expect the Son of God would meet with such
a reception in our world ; the thousandth part of this kind-
ness would excite gratitude between man and man, and he
would be counted a monster that would not be moved with
it. And shall kindness from worm to worm, from sinner
to sinner, excite love and gratitude? and shall not the in-
finite mercy of God towards rebellious creatures inflame
their love and gratitude ? Is this the only species of kind-

VOL. II.— 39

306 REJECTION OF CHRIST

ness that must pass unnoticed? Is Jesus the only Bene-
factor that must be forgotten? Is it not reasonable, and
would not any one expect, that the perishing would wil-
lingly accept of a Saviour? that the guilty would stretch
out an eager hand to receive a pardon? that the diseased
would apply to the physician? that inexcusable offenders
should repent of their causeless offences against the best
of beings? and that needy, dependent creatures should
embrace the offer of happiness? Can any thing be more
reasonably expected than this? Is it not as reasonable as
to expect that creatures that love themselves, will seek
their own happiness, or that the miserable would accept
of deliverance? In short, no man can deny the reason-
ableness of this expectation without denying himself to be
a creature : no man can deny its reasonableness, without
asserting that the highest excellency should be despised,
the highest authority rejected, the richest goodness con-
temned, that rebellion and ingratitude is a virtue, and
self-destruction a duty; that is, no man can deny this,
without commencing a monster, abjuring his reason, and
embracing the most extravagant and impious absurdities
in its stead. I am afraid I shall not be able to gain the
temper and practice of all of you to my side in this affair,
but I am sure if you are men, and believe the gospel, I
have already brought over your judgment and conscience.
Your judgment and conscience declare, that if it be rea-
sonable for a child to reverence a tender, affectionate parent ;
if it be reasonable you should love your life, or your own
happiness, that then certainly it is infinitely reasonable you
should give such a reception as has been mentioned to the
blessed Jesus. Happy for us, happy for the world, if we
could as easily prove that the expectation is as much
founded upon actual facts as upon reason. But, alas !
here the evidence turns against us. In such a wicked dis-

A MOST UNREASONABLE INIQUITY. 307

ordered world as this, it would be a very deceitful method
of reasoning, to infer that things are, because they should
be. This introduces what comes next under considera-
tion, namely,

III. And lastly, To show how different a reception the
Son of God generally meets with in our world, from what
might reasonably be expected.

Here a most melancholy scene opens. And oh ! that
it may please our blessed Spirit to affect our hearts deeply
with the survey of it ! Forgive me if I make my address
as pungent and particular as I can, and speak directly to
the conscience of each of you. The case really requires
plain dealing, because without it you are not likely to be
convinced, and, without conviction, you can never return,
nor be reformed.

Let me put you all upon a serious search, what kind of
reception you have given to Jesus Christ. You have
lived all your days under his gospel ; you profess his reli-
gion ; you own him as the Author of your hopes : and
what kind of treatment have you given him in these cir-
cumstances ? It is high time for you to inquire into your
behaviour.

Are not some of you sensible that you have never re-
ceived him as a Saviour in a desperate case? No, you
have never seen your case to be indeed desperate. Your
proud hearts have not been brought so low. You have
not had such an affecting view of your guilt and depravity,
and the imperfections of your best works, and of the holi-
ness and justice of God and his law, as to make you sen-
sible you were undone and helpless in yourselves, that
your own righteousness could by no means recommend
you to God, and that you must perish for ever, unless
Jesus Christ, out of mere mercy, would undertake to save
you : unless you have had an affecting sense of your un-

308 REJECTION OF CHRIST

done condition, you have certainly never received him as
a Saviour.

Again, Is it not evident that Jesus Christ has had but
little share in your thoughts and affections? Do not the
things of this perishing world gain the pre-eminence?
Have you not a thousand thoughts of a thousand trifles,
for one affectionate thought of Jesus, the darling of his
Father? Have you not been generally thoughtless of
him all your lives? Take the time that is nearest to you
as a specimen, which surely you have not yet forgot.
Recollect now how many affectionate thoughts you have
had of him the week past, or even upon this sacred morn-
ing, when you had this solemn worship immediately in
view. May not even this short review convince you that
you are guilty of the most absurd and unreasonable thing
in the world ; a thing which appears so improbable in an
abstract view, that one would hardly believe you would
venture upon it ; I mean neglecting the Son of God, who
has visited our world upon such designs of love?

Again, Is Jesus Christ the favourite subject of your con-
versation ? Is his dear name the sweetest sound your lips
can pronounce? And do you love to sit with his few
friends in our guilty world, and talk over the wonder of
his love, till your hearts burn within you, like the disciples
in conference on the way to Emmaus? Out of the abun-
dance of the heart, the mouth speaketh ; and were he up-
permost in your hearts, he would have a proper share in
your conversation. Or if you should mingle in a com-
pany (and such company is everywhere to be found)
where prudence would not suffer you to dwell upon this
darling subject, would the restraint be painful to you, and
would his love, like a smothered fire in your hearts, strug-
gle to break out and vent itself — vent itself at least in some
retired corner in his presence, if you could not enjoy the

A MOST UNREASONABLE INIQUITY. 309

pleasure of letting it flame out in the society of his crea-
tures? But, alas! is not this the reverse of your true
character? Are you not disgusted, or struck silent as
soon as the conversation takes this turn? With horror I
think of it — to converse concerning Jesus Christ is gene-
rally deemed needless, impertinent, or ostentatious, by crea-
tures that profess themselves disciples, redeemed by his
blood ! And does not this horrid guilt fasten upon some
of you?

Farther, Are not your hearts destitue of his love ? If
you deny the charge, and profess that you love him, where
are the inseparable fruits and effects of his love ? Where
are your eager desires and pan tings after him? Where is
your delight to converse with him in his ordinances?
Where your anxiety, your zeal, your earnest endeavours
to secure his favour ? Where is your conscientious ob-
servance of his commandmants ? For he himself has
made this the test of your love to him ; Then, says he, are
ye my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. John
xv. 14. And again, If a man love me he will keep my
words. John xiv. 23. Does not the evidence, from this
inquiry, turn against you ? Are you not convicted in your
consciences, that if these are the inseparable fruits of love,
you are entirely destitute of it ? Is it not evident to your-
selves, that your own pleasure, your own worldly interest,
your honour or ease, is the general rule of your conduct,
without any regard to his will?

Inquire farther, Have you learned to intrust your souls
in his hands, to be saved by him entirely in his own way?
Or do you not depend, in part at least, upon your own
imaginary goodness ? Do you not wonder and start at
the doctrine of grace, and secretly disgust it ! Does it not
appear strange to you, to be told, that after all your good
works, God will deal with you entirely as guilty sinners,

310 REJECTION OF CHRIST

void of all goodness, and have no regard at all to your
supposed merit in the distribution of his mercy, but entirely
to the righteousness of Jesus Christ ? Are you not utter
strangers to that exploit of faith which casts a poor, guilty,
depraved soul, void of all goodness, upon the mere mercy
of God, through Jesus Christ, who justifies the ungodly?
For this purpose the Son of God came into the world;
and you do not give him a proper reception, but wickedly
reject him as well as the Jews, unless you thus entrust
yourselves to him.

The evidence grows upon me as I proceed; and I
cannot but wonder you do not perceive it yourselves.
Can any thing be more plain than that you make light of
Christ ! that you choose to have as little to do with him
as possible ! that you have no delight in his service ! Do
not your own consciences now tell you, there are this and
that, and a thousand things, that you have more pleasure
in 1 Do not your hearts fly off from him, whenever they
are urged to approach him ? When you are a little
awakened with a sense of your guilt and danger, and
ready with eager eyes to look about for a Saviour, alas !
how naturally do you relapse into carelessness and
security ! How soon do you drop your purpose of seek-
ing after him with unwearied endeavours, till you find
him ! how ready are you to take up with any thing in his
stead ! A little repentance and reformation are substituted
in his place. You would rather get ease to your con-
sciences from any quarter than from him. Like Judas,
you sell him for a few pieces of silver; that is, you would
rather part with him than give up your over-eager pursuit
of earthly things.

A thousand such facts might be easily produced which
sadly prove that the blessed Jesus does not meet with that
reception from multitudes among us which his character

A MOST UNREASONABLE INIQUITY. 311

demands. Indeed their not being easily convicted of sin
is an evidence they are guilty; for if they had a real re-
gard for him, they would be concerned to inquire how the
case stands, or how their hearts are disposed towards him.
And a little honest inquiry would soon lead them into the
truth.

And now I have a few questions to propose to such
of you as are guilty of neglecting the Son of God,
or have never given him that reception that might justly
be expected of you; questions of the utmost impor-
tance, which I beg you would put home to your own
hearts.

The first is, Do you not think that by thus neglecting
the Lord Jesus, you contract the most aggravated guilt ?
It is the Son of God, his only Son, his well-beloved Son,
that you neglect. And must not the Father resent it?
Do you not touch his honour in a very tender point ? and
will he not muster up all the forces of omnipotence to
avenge the affront ! Since you neglect him, whom the
Father loves; him, whom all the heavenly armies adore;
him, whom all good men upon earth treat with the highest
honour ; since you neglect a person of infinite glory and
dignity, your rightful Sovereign and only Saviour, how
deep is your guilt! what a horrid exploit of wickedness
this ! neither heathens nor devils can sin up to such a
pitch : devils cannot, because no Saviour was ever provided
for them, or offered to them ; and heathens cannot, be-
cause a Saviour was never revealed to them. You stand
without a rival by your horrid pre-eminence in guilt. To
you may be applied the words of Jesus, as well as to the
unbelieving Jews: If I had not come and spoken unto
them, they had not had sin; that is, they would not
have had sin of so aggravated a nature; but now they
have no cloak for their sin, John xv. 22; they are utterly

312 REJECTION OF CHRIST

inexcusable ; for they have both sefn and hated both me
and my Father. John xv. 24.

The next question I would ask you is, Must not your
punishment be peculiarly aggravated, since it will be pro-
portioned to your guilt? To be punished not only for
sins against the law of nature, but against revelation,
against the gospel of grace, against the love of a crucified
Saviour — how dreadful must this be! He that despised
Moses' law, died without mercy, says St. Paul: of how
much sorer punishment (sorer than dying without mercy !
Oh terrible !) suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who
hath trodden under foot the Son of God. Heb. x. 29.
You may make light of this now, but oh ! it will not prove
light in the issue. Here let me mention a most alarming
consideration : The love that God bears to his Son is the
great source of all our hopes : it is because he loves him,
that he accepts of his atonement for our sins ; it is because
he loves him, that he forgives and loves believing sinners
for his sake ; it is because he loves the head, that he shows
such favour to the members ; but as to such as neglect
the Son, even the love which the Father has for him,
becomes a source of peculiar terror, and prompts him
to signal vengeance. " If he infinitely loves his Son, he
must infinitely resent it to see him neglected and slighted
by others. If he loves him he will avenge the affront
offered him ; and the more he loves him, the more severely
he must resent and avenge it." How wretched, then, is
their condition, upon whom even the love of God for his
Son calls aloud for vengeance ! and how signal will the
punishment be, that the Father's love for his Son will in-
flict upon the despisers of him !

The third question I would propose to you is, How do
you expect to escape this signal vengeance, if you still
continue to neglect the Lord Jesus ? Answer the apostle's

A MOST UNREASONABLE INIQUITY. 313

question if you can. How shall we escape, if we neglect
so great salvation ? Heb. ii. 3. You cannot expect Jesus
will be a Saviour while you treat him thus: and if he re-
fuse, to whom will you turn ? What angel or saint can
save whom he is determined to destroy 1 If he be against
you, who can be for you? Remember the text: the
Father sent his Son last into the world. He comes last,
and therefore if you reject him, you need not look for
another Saviour. You must take him or none : take him
or perish for ever.

I would further ask you, If your guilt and danger be
so great, and if in your present condition you are ready
every moment to be engulfed in everlasting destruction,
does it become you to be so easy and careless, so gay and

I merry? If your bodies were sick, you would be pensive
and sad, and use means for their recovery; if your estates
were in danger, you would be anxious till they were
secured; if you were condemned to die for a crime against
civil government, you would be solicitous for a pardon.
In short, it is natural for man to be pensive, anxious, and
sad, in circumstances of danger; and it is shocking to the
common sense of mankind, to see one thoughtless and gay
in such circumstances. Can you be easy under such a
load of guilt ? careless under a sentence of condemnation ?
and negligent, when the possibility of deliverance is set
before you? I would not willingly see you sorrowful
and dejected : but when your case calls for it ; when
your temporal sorrow may be medicinal, and save you
from everlasting pain; when it is as necessary in your
circumstances as sickness at the stomach in the opera-
tion of physic, then I cannot form a kinder wish for
you, than that your hearts may be pierced and broken
with penitential sorrows. You have, in your man-
ner, commemorated the birth of a Saviour this Christ-

VOL. II.— 40

314 REJECTION OF CHRIST

inas;* that is, you have danced and caroused, and sinned to
his honour. But now I come after, and demand in his name
another kind of reception for him : I call you to the sorrowful
work of repentance, for your ill treatment of him. In-
stead of such mirth and extravagance, would it not have
been more proper for you to have listened to St. James's
advice? "Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your
laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heavi-
ness." " Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of
God;" that mighty hand which can crush ten thousand
worlds, and which is lifted up against you to revenge the
quarrel of his beloved Son. Can you return home this
evening as thoughtless and merry as usual? Well, your
career will soon be at an end : your vanity and trifling
will soon be over. Perhaps, as Jeremiah denounced to
the false prophet, this year thou shalt die — Jer. xxviii. 16,
and oh! that will engulf you in everlasting sorrows.

Therefore what would you now think of making one
honest trial, before it be too late, to obtain an interest in
that Saviour whom you have hitherto neglected ? Oh !
will you not make trial, whether the disaffection of your
hearts towards him, inveterate as it is, may yet be subdued
by divine grace ? whether he, who prayed with his dying
breath, even for his murderers, will not have mercy upon
you ? whether the virtue of his blood is not still sufficient
to cleanse you from all sin ? Oh ! will you give up the
matter as desperate, before you make a thorough trial ?

Your case is indeed very discouraging, but it is not yet
hopeless ; if I thought it was, I would not say one word
to you about it, to torment you before the time. But I
can assure you upon the best authority, of Jesus Christ
himself, that if you now give him that reception which his
character requires, he will receive you into favour as

* This Sermon is dated Jan. 16, 1758.

A MOST UNREASONABLE INIQUITY. 315

though you had never offended him, and make you for
ever happy. Therefore, come, ye poor, guilty, perishing
sinners, fly to the arms of his mercy, which are opened
wide to embrace you. Cry for the attractive influence of
his grace, which alone can enable you to come to him, and
let there 'be joy in heaven this day over repenting sinners
upon earth.

316 THE DOOM OF THE

SERMON XL.

THE DOOM OF THE INCORRIGIBLE SINNER.

PROVERBS xxix. 1. — He that being often reproved, har-
deneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that
without remedy.

A PROVERB is a system of wisdom in miniature : it is a
pertinent, striking observation, expressed in a few words,
that it may be the more easily remembered ; and often in
metaphorical language, that it may be the more entertain-
ing. A collection of proverbs has no connection, but con-
sists of short, independent sentences, each of which makes
full sense in itself; and therefore, in explaining them, there
is no need of explaining the context; but we may select
any particular sentence, and consider it separately by
itself.

Such a collection of wise sayings is that book of the
sacred Scriptures, which we call the Proverbs of Solomon.
Wise men in all ages, and in all languages, have often cast
their observations into the concise significant forms of pro-
verbs ; but the sages of antiquity, especially, were fond of
this method of instruction, and left legacies of wisdom to
posterity, wrapt up in a proverbial dress ; many of which,
particularly of the Greek philosophers, are extant to this
day. Solomon chose this method of recording and com-
municating his wise observations, as most agreeable to the
taste of the age in which he lived. The sacred memoirs
of his life inform us that he spake three thousand proverbs.

INCORRIGIBLE SINNER. 317

1 Kings iv. 32. Of these the most important and useful
were selected probably by himself, and afterwards by the
men of Hezekiah ; that is, by persons appointed by Heze-
kiah to copy them off; and they are conveyed down to
all ages in this cabinet of precious jewels, the Book of
Proverbs.

Among the many significant and weighty sayings of this
wisest of men, the solemn monitory proverb in my text
deserves peculiar regard : " He that being often reproved,
hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that
without remedy.'"

The request of a friend, and my fears that this proverb
may have a dreadful accomplishment upon some of my
hearers, have induced me to make it the subject of your
meditations for the present hour. And oh ! that the event
may show I was divinely directed in the choice !

This proverb may be accommodated to all the affairs
of life. In whatever course a man blunders on, head-
strong, and regardless of advice and admonition ; whether
in domestic affairs, in trade, in politics, in war, or what-
ever it be he pursues by wrong measures with incorrigible-
obstinacy, it will ruin him at last, as far as the matter is
capable of working his ruin. To follow the conduct of
our own folly, and refuse the advantage we might receive
from the wisdom of others, discovers an uncreaturely pride
and self-sufficiency; and the career of such a pursuit, what-
ever be the object, will always end in disappointment and
confusion. In this extent, perhaps, this adage was in-

* He that being often reproved. — This in the original is a man of reproofs ;
and it may either signify, as our translators understand it, " a man often
reproved ;" or it may mean, "a man often reproving ;" that is, a man that
often reproves others, if he harden his own neck, while he pretends a great
zeal to reduce others under the yoke of obedience, he shall suddenly be de-
stroyed, &c. But the first sense appears more pertinent and natural, and
therefore in that view only I consider it.

318 THE DOOM OF THE

tended by Solomon, who was a good economist and politi-
cian, and well skilled in the affairs of common life, as well
as those of religion.

But he undoubtedly intended it should be principally
referred to matters of religion. It is especially in these
matters it holds true in the highest sense ; that " he being
often reproved, hardeneth" himself, " shall suddenly be de-
stroyed, and that without remedy."

He that being often reproved — This is undoubtedly our
character. We in this congregation have been often re-
proved, and that in various forms, and by various monitors.
We have been reproved from heaven and earth, by God,
men, and our own consciences ; and, I might add, by the
irrational creation, and even by infernal spirits.

Men of various classes have reproved us. It is the
happiness of several of us to live in families where we are
often reproved and admonished with the tender, affecting
address of a father and a master, who are deeply con-
cerned that their children and domestics should be their
companions in the heavenly road, and be effectually warned
from the alluring paths of sin and ruin. And have not
our affectionate mothers often become our monitors, and
gently yet powerfully reproved us, with that forcible
eloquence which could only proceed from the heart of a
woman and a mother; — or if our parents have been cruelly
deficient in this noblest office of love, has not God raised
up unexpected reprovers for us, in a brother, a sister, or
perhaps a poor despised slave ? And who can resist the
force of an admonition from such an unexpected quarter?
And have not some of us found an affectionate, faithful
monitor in the conjugal state ; a husband or a wife, that
has reproved the vices or the negligence and carelessness
of the other party ; and, by striking example at the least,
if not in more explicit language, given the alarm to greater

INCORRIGIBLE SINNER. 319

diligence and concern in the affairs of religion and eter-
nity? Such are powerful, though modest and private,
assistants to the ministers of the gospel, and oh ! that they
had but more assistance from this quarter! To encourage
the few among you that improve the intimacy of this near
relation for so important and benevolent a purpose, let me
remind you of St. Paul's tender excitement to this duty,
given one thousand seven hundred years ago. What
knowest thou, 0 wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband ?
or how knowest thou, 0 man, whether thou shalt save thy
wife ? 1 Cor. vii. 16. The tender names of husband and
wife have so much force in them, as may irresistibly con-
strain us to perform all the kindest offices in our power to
those who bear them. But oh! to save a husband! to
save a wife ! to save those dear creatures from everlasting
misery ! how great, how important the kindness ! and by
so much the more pleasing, by how much the dearer the
persons are to whom it is shown ! But to return — if we
are not so happy as to be agreeably surrounded with such
honest reprovers in our own houses ; yet, blessed be God !
we live in a neighbourhood where we may meet with one
of them here and there. Has not a pious friend or a
neighbour dropped a word now and then in conversation
which might have served, and perhaps was intended as a
serious admonition to you ? Alas ! have you never had a
friend in the world, who has sometimes taken occasion to
talk solemnly and pungently with you about the neglected
concerns of your souls 1 or at least, has not his example
been a striking lesson to you ? Alas ! is it possible one
should live in this congregation, without enjoying the
benefit of a reprover ? Sure there are still some among
us to bear their testimony against sin, and espouse the de-
serted cause of religion. But if the friends of religion have
been silent, (and indeed they are generally too modest in

320 THE DOOM OF THE

this respect,) yet have you not sometimes received an acci-
dental, undesigned reproof even from the wicked 1 just as
Caiaphas once prophesied of the death of Christ and its
blessed consequences. Not to observe, that their eager-
ness and indefatigable industry in pursuing their pleasures,
whether they place them in honour, riches, or sensuality,
and in serving their guilty lusts, in spite of all restraints,
may serve as a pungent reproof of your lukewarmness and
carelessness in the pursuit of the pleasures of religion and
immortality, so much more noble and interesting. But I
say, to take no notice of this, have they not at times re-
buked you in more direct terms 1 Have they not twitted
and reproached you to this purpose, " I thought you, that
pretend to so much sanctity, would not dare to venture
upon such a thing." Or, "See the saint, the communicant,
the presbyterian drunk — see his fraud and villany — see
him as vain and frolicsome as his neighbours; sure, we
that make no such profession, may take such liberties,
since such saints do so." Such reflections as these, my
brethren, however sarcastical and malignant, blind and
bitter, have all the keenness of the sharpest reproof. And
oh ! that none of us may ever give any occasion for them !
but if offences should come to occasion them, may our
hearts always feel their force ! Thus may we derive good
out of evil ; be warned from sin by sinners : and restrained
in our career to ruin by those who are themselves rushing
into it ! But though all around you, both saints and sin-
ners, should refuse to be your monitors, how many solemn
warnings and reproofs have you had from the pulpit?
You have heard many ministers of Christ, who have been
your solemn admonishers in the dread name of their
Master. And it is now eleven or twelve years since I
have begun to discharge the painful and unacceptable office
of a reprover of sin and sinners among you. And what

INCORRIGIBLE SINNER. 321

kind and liberal assistance have I received in my office,
from the other side of the vast ocean, in the many excel-
lent books which British piety and charity have furnished
us with ! Our friends, whose voice cannot reach you,
have sent over reprovers into your houses ; reprovers that
speak particularly to the poor, especially to the neglected
slaves. In short, I know no spot of America so happy in
this important respect, as Hanover.

Thus have you been reproved by men from all quarters.
And certainly so loud, so general, so repeated an admoni-
tion, even from men, must have great weight. But who
can resist an admonition from heaven 1 Surely, if Jehovah,
the great Sovereign of the universe, condescends to be
your reprover, you must immediately take the reproof, and
set about a reformation. Well, this office he has conde-
scended to sustain. He has himself become your monitor :
and that, in various ways, both mediately and immediately :
mediately by his word and providence ; and immediately,
by his blessed Spirit, whose office it is to reprove the world
of sin. John xvi. 9.

The word of God has reproved you ; has honestly laid
before you the destructive consequences of sin, and de-
nounced the divine displeasure against you on its account.
All its commands, prohibitions, and dissuasives of various
forms, are so many friendly warnings and admonitions to
you. He conveys his reproofs through your eyes and
ears, when you read and hear his word ; and sometimes, I
doubt not, he has made the hardest heart among you feel
his rebukes, and tremble under them. In short, you must
own yourselves, that if any of you go on obstinately in
sin, and perish, it will not be because the word of God
did not act a faithful part towards you, but because you
presumptuously disregard its most solemn and affectionate
warnings.
VOL. II.— 41

322 THE DOOM OF THE

Again : God has often reproved you by his providence.
His providence has kindly chastised you with personal and
relative afflictions ; with sickness and pains, bereavements,
losses, and disappointments. Providence has admonished
you with the striking voice of sick-beds, dying groans,
ghastly corpses, and gaping graves in your families or
neighbourhoods, or perhaps in both. How many among
us, in a few years, have been brought down to the gates
of the grave, that they might enter into a serious confer-
ence with death and eternity, which they were so averse
to in the giddy, unthinking hours of health and hurry of
business ! And what narrow escapes, what signal unex-
pected deliverances has Providence wrought for you in
those seasons of danger and distress, that you might enjoy
a longer space of repentance 1 How many of our friends
and neighbours have sickened and died, for the admonition
of survivors ! Providence has pitched upon one here and
there, that was wont to sit among us in our religious
assemblies, and made him an example and a warning to the
rest. They are gone before, to show us the way, and put
us in mind that our turn also will soon come.* Sickness
and death, expiring agonies, pale corpses,

The knell, the shroud, the mattock, and the grave,
The deep, damp vault, the darkness, and the worm —

These are very solemn monitors ; and that heart is hard,
indeed, that does not feel their reproof.

* Our dying friends come o'er us like a cloud,
To damp our brainless ardours, and abate
That glare of light which often blinds the wise.
Our dying friends are pioneers, to smooth
Our rugged pass to death ; to break those bars
Of terror and abhorrence nature throws
Cross our obstructed way ; and thus to make
Welcome as safe, our port from every storm.
Each friend by fate snatched from us, is.a plume

INCORRIGIBLE SINNER. 323

The providence of God has also reproved us, in com-
mon with our countrymen, by the public calamities that
have hovered over or fallen upon our land and nation ; and
particularly by the ravages and desolations of war. Pro-
vidence has commissioned Indian savages and French
papists to be our reprovers, and loudly admonished us with
the horrid roar of cannons, the clangor of martial trumpets,
and all the dread artillery of ruin and death. What ear
among us has not heard, what heart has not trembled, at •
this terrible warning !

Thus, and in a thousand other ways, has Providence
concurred with the word, and feelingly reproved us with
its fatherly rod. And we should always remember, that
the hand of Providence is the hand of God, whatever in-
struments he is pleased to use.

But has he not often laid aside all instruments, and re-
proved you more immediately by his Spirit ? Has not his
Spirit been long and frequently striving with you; reprov-
ing you of sin ; alarming you with apprehensions of your
danger; exciting in you good resolutions, and serious
thoughts of reformation ? Has not the blessed Spirit at
times borne home the word upon your hearts with unusual
power, and roused your conscience to fall upon you with

Plucked from the wing of human vanity,

Which makes us stoop from our aerial heights,

And, dampt with omen of our own decease,

On drooping pinions of ambition lowered,

Just skin earth's surface, ere we break it up,

O'er putrid pride to scratch a little dust,

And save the world a nuisance. Smitten friends

Are angels sent on errands full of love ;

For us they languish, and for us they die :

And shall they languish, shall they die in vain ?

Shall we disdain their silent, soft address ;

Their posthumous advice, and pious prayer ?

Senseless as herds that graze their hollowed graves,

Tread under foot their agonies and groans ;

Frustrate their anguish aud destroy their deaths ! — YOUNG.

324 THE DOOM OF THE

terrible though friendly violence? Which leads me to
add,

You have been your own monitors ; I mean your con-
sciences have often admonished and warned you; have
whispered in your breasts, that " this course of vice and
irreligion will not do : this carelessness and indifferency in
the concerns of your souls, this stupid neglect of God and
eternal things will not end well." Conscience has often
.honestly pronounced your doom: "Thou art a guilty,
wicked creature, under the displeasure of God. Thou
art destitute of true vital religion, and hast no title to the
divine favour. If thou die in this condition, thou wilt be
undone for ever." Thus has conscience warned you;
and you have, no doubt, sometimes sweated and agonized
under its chastisements. Though you have preposterously
laboured to bribe it, or suppress it by violence ; yet it has
still borne at least a faint testimony for its Master, and
against you. Thus you always carry a reprover in your
own bosoms wherever you go ; and though every mouth
around you should be silent, this will speak, if you do but
attend, and give it fair play.

I may add, that even the irrational creation is your
monitor ; and in silent, but forcible language, remonstrates
against your conduct. Can you hear the musicians of the
air in every bush warbling out grateful anthems to their
Maker, without being convicted of your guilty silence in
his praise? Can you see the sun invariably rolling in the
path first marked out for him by his Maker and Lord, with-
out feeling yourselves reproved for your numberless devia-
tions from the path of duty ? Do not the regulated, stated
revolutions of the seasons, and of night and day, sensibly
reprove your neglect of the returns of your hours of de-
votion 1 In short, does not all nature cry out against you 1
Is not every thing you see obedient to its Maker's laws,

INCORRIGIBLE SINNER. 325

but man? — man, who should claim the precedence in
obedience, as he is appointed lord of the lower crea-
tion?*

Nay, even infernal spirits, those everlasting enemies of
man and goodness, may serve as your reprovers. Can you
think of their unwearied roaming over the earth, in quest
of souls as their prey, and their industry and toil to do
mischief, without blaming your own negligence to save
your souls, and do good? And could you but hear the
lost ghosts of your own race, who are now shut up in the
infernal prison, bursting out into despairing cries, and bit-
terly accusing themselves for their presumption and secu-
rity, their lazy delays, misimprovement of time, and neglect
of the means of grace, while upon earth; how loud and
striking a warning would this be to you, who are now walk-
ing in their steps !

Thus, my brethren, I have given you a brief list of your
many monitors. And who can stand the united reproofs
of such a multitude? Who dare set himself against the

* How natural are these reflections of that great and good man, Doctor

Watts !

With steady course thy shining sun

Keeps his appointed way ;
And all the hours obedient run

The circle of the day.

But, ah ! how wide my spirit flies,

And wanders from her God !
My soul forgets the heavenly prize,

And treads the downward road !

The raging fire and stormy sea

Perform thine awful will ;
And every beast and every tree

Thy great designs fulfil : f-

While my wild passions rage within,

Nor thy commands obey ;
And flesh and sense, enslav'd to sin,

Draw my best thoughts away. — LYRIC POEMS.

326 THE DOOM OF THE

admonition of earth, heaven, and hell ; of God and all his
creatures? Must you not all yield to the warning?

Solomon supposes, in my text, that a man may be often
reproved, and yet harden his neck ; that is, obstinately
refuse submission and reformation. A stiff neck is a me-
taphor often used in Scripture, to signify an unyielding,
incorrigible spirit, resolute in disobedience in spite of all
restraints; in spite of advice, dissuasives, and reproofs.
And to harden the neck, is to confirm one's self in disobe-
dience, in opposition to admonition ; or to refuse to reform,
and strengthen one's self in the refusal, in spite of all the
means of reformation. It is to cherish obstinacy, to de-
spise reproof, and resolve to follow a headstrong impetu-
ous self-will at all adventures.* The metaphor is taken
from an unmanageable, sullen ox, that will not bend his
neck to the yoke, nor kindly draw under it; but stiffens
his neck that it may not bear it; and hardens it, that it
may not feel it ; and the lash and the goad do not break
his obstinate spirit, nor reduce him to willing subjection.
Thus, nothing but a sullen and senseless beast can repre-
sent the stupid, unreasonable conduct of that man who
hardens himself in sin, against the strongest dissuasives
and reproofs from God and his creatures.

And is not this the character of some of you? I am
very unwilling to presume such bad things of any of you ;
but I mast at least put it to your consciences to determine,
whether it be so or not. This you may know by this sin-
gle inquiry, whether you have reformed of those things for
which you have been reproved? or whether you still ob-

* That this is the meaning of the metaphor* will appear from a particular
survey of those passages of Scripture, where it is used either in the orginal,
or in our translation : Exod. xxxii. 5, 9, and xxxiii. 3 ; Deut. ix. 6, 13, and
x. 16, and xxviii. 48; 2 Kings xvii. 14; 2 Chr. xxx. 8, and xxxvi. 13;
Neh. ix. 16, 17, 29 ; Psalm Ixxv. 5 ; Isa. xlviii. 4 ; Jer. vii. 26, and xvii. 23,
and xix. 16; Acts vii. 51.

INCORRIGIBLE SINNER. 327

stinately persist in them, in opposition to the most striking
admonitions? The profane and profligate among you have
often been reproved for your vices; your drunkenness,
swearing, lying, contempt of sacred things, and other immo-
ralities : but do you not still obstinately persist in the prac-
tice of them ? You have often been reproved for the ne-
glect of the worship of God in your families, and the souls
of your domestics ; what warm remonstrances have you
heard upon this head ! And yet, have you not prayerless
families, prayerless mornings and evenings still? Have
you not been solemnly warned of the danger of neglecting,
or carelessly attending upon the means of grace ? And yet
you are negligent and careless still? Have you not been
earnestly admonished for your presumption and security,
your entertaining high hopes of future happiness, and that
you are genuine Christians, at random, without honest trial
and repeated self-examination? And yet do not some of
you still persist in this stupid, pernicious conduct? Alas !
how ignorant of your own true character ! How unwil-
lingly are you dragged to the bar of conscience, there to
be tried, and hear your sentence ! How ready are you
to flatter yourselves with pleasing expectations, though in
reality contrary to the declarations of eternal truth ! And
how secure and thoughtless are you about the great con-
cerns of religion and eternity ! how lukewarm and inactive
in the duties you owe to God and man, and in your en-
deavours to work out your salvation ! But have you not
been solemnly warned of the pernicious consequences of
this cause? How often have you been honestly told, that
this is not the narrow and rugged road of virtue and reli-
gion that leads to heaven ! How often have you been
warned of the danger of mistaking external formalities for
vital religion, and a mere profession of Christianity for the
heart-experience and constant practice of it ! And yet do

328 THE DOOM OF THE

not some of you indulge this destructive mistake still?
Have you not often been reproved for contenting yourselves
with a dead, fruitless faith, an empty speculation, or histo-
rical belief; with transient, unwilling fits of servile repent-
ance, that produce no reformation ; and the counterfeit
appearances of other graces and virtues ? I say, have you
not often been reproved for contenting yourselves with
these, instead of that lively, operative, heart-affecting faith,
that kindly, ingenuous, voluntary repentance, and thorough
reformation, and those other active, practical graces and
virtues, which are required in the gospel, as essential con-
stituents of a true Christian and absolutely necessary pre-
requisites to everlasting life 1 And yet you wilfully indulge
the delusion still, and are unwilling to admit conviction,
and discover the truth ! How often and how solemnly
have you been reproved for your excessive eagerness and
avarice in the pursuit of this vain world, and your stupid
neglect to lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, and
to be rich towards God ! And yet, is not this enchanting
world your favourite, and the idol of your hearts still?
And are you not still careless what will become of you
through an everlasting duration, in an infinitely more im-
portant world? That one expostulation from Christ him-
self might have been an irresistible rebuke to you, What
shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose
his own soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for
his soul? But, alas! have you not stood out against this,
and a thousand other pungent admonitions? Have you
not often had the dreadful guilt and danger of making
light of Christ and his precious gospel, of delaying your
conversion to some uncertain hereafter, and of presuming
upon the mercy and patience of God, exposed to your
view in a striking light ? And yet you have still persisted
in the practice, in spite of reproof and conviction. I

INCORRIGIBLE SINNER. 329

might easily multiply instances on this head; but these
must serve as specimens at present; and I shall only add
this general rule for your farther conviction, that whatever
sin you indulge yourselves in, whatever duty you omit,
whatever grace or virtue you live destitute of, in opposi-
tion to the conviction of your own minds within, and of
the reproofs and admonitions of God and man from with-
out, you are then guilty of hardening your neck.

And if this be the case, how many of you are involved
in this guilt? Lay your hand now upon your heart, and
say, does not conscience whisper, or perhaps clamour,
" Guilty ! guilty !" It is strange, it is unaccountable, it
is horrible, that there should be such a monster upon earth,
on whom the repeated reproofs and warnings of God and
his fellow-creatures have been thrown away; and who
dares singly to stand it out against the whole universe !
But, alas ! are there not many such monsters among us ?
To reprove them again is a very unpromising and almost
desperate attempt ; for they have been so inured to it, that
they are hardened against it, and set it at defiance. Yet
duty and compassion constrain us to make the attempt
once more : for oh ! we cannot yet give them up as alto-
gether desperate, nor resign them with willing hands as a
tame prey to ruin. I know no other way to bring them
out of danger but to make them sensible of it. And this
I shall attempt, in illustrating the remaining part of the
text, which informs you of the plain truth, that he that
being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be
destroyed, or broken, and that without remedy ; or, " and
there is no cure."

The stiff neck that will not bend to the yoke of obedi-
ence, must be broken ; and its own stiffness renders it the
more easily broken ; for it is not easy to break what is
yielding and pliable ; but even the resistance of the stiff

VOL. II.— 42

330 THE DOOM OF THE

neck occasions its own ruin. It may harden itself into
insensibility under reproof: but oh ! it cannot harden itself
into insensibility under divine judgments. It may refuse
the easy and gentle yoke of the divine law ; but divine
justice will forcibly impose its iron yoke upon it, and con-
strain it to bow till it be broken. This is the doom of
the obstinate, incorrigible sinner: thus shall he be de-
stroyed and broken to pieces.

But this is not all : he shall suddenly be destroyed, sud-
denly broken. Sudden ruin is aggravated, because it
strikes a man into a consternation, overtakes him unawares,
surprises him at a disadvantage, when unprovided with
any methods to escape; and also tears all his pleasing
hopes from him : and by how much the higher the hopes
from whence he falls, by so much the deeper he is en-
gulfed in misery.

Sudden ruin is the certain and natural consequence of
a man's incorrigible obstinacy, in spite of admonition.
He must be ruined because he will not be warned, nor
forsake the path that leads to destruction. He will even
take his own way at all adventures, and no man can help
it : and therefore he must be destroyed. He must also
be suddenly destroyed, because he would hope for safety
in spite of warning; suddenly broken because he would
not forsee the blow. Till he feels the stroke, he would
not believe it was coming ; and therefore his destruction
is sudden, surprising, and confounding. This is the natural
end of fool-hardiness and obstinacy, in spite of all con-
straints and admonitions ; and there is no help for it : such
obstinacy and presumption is an incurable disease, that ex-
cludes all remedy. This is implied in the last part of the text :

He shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy ;
or, as it might be more literally rendered, "and there is
no cure, or medicine, or healing." There can be no pre-

INCORRIGIBLE SINNER. 331

ventive medicine to such a self-willed, head-strong crea-
ture; because he will not apply it; and pushes off every
friendly hand that 4vould apply it. And there can be no
healing or restorative medicine applied; for the breach,
when made, is desperate, and admits no cure. The stiff
neck is broken in pieces, so that it never can be healed.
Then the patient, so obstinate before, would most willingly
apply a remedy : but oh ! it is too late.

Reproofs and admonitions from God and men, and our
own consciences, are the great means to recover sinners :
and while these are ineffectual, no other can possibly have
any effect. How can he be reclaimed from sin, who will
sin in opposition to all restraints ! In opposition to the
checks of conscience, and the strivings of the holy Spirit
within, and the united dissuasives and rebukes of Provi-
dence, of the word of God, and of all his friends from
without ! Neither God nor all his creatures can reform
and save such a wretch, while he continues proof against
all the means of reformation and salvation. It is unavoid-
able, that he should suddenly be destroyed; and there is
no help for it ; he must be given up as an incurable. The
whole universe may look on, and pity him ; but, alas !
they cannot help him ; he has the instrument of self-mur-
der in his own hand : and he will not part with it, but
uses it against his own life, without control ; and none can
take it out of his hand : that is, none can give his free
will a new turn, but that God whom he is daily offending,
and who is therefore not obliged to obtrude such a favour
upon him.

This is the unavoidable doom of the man that, being
often reproved, hardeneth his neck. And since this is the
character of some of you, have you not reason to fear and
forbode this tremendous doom ? Let me reason a little
with you for your farther conviction.

332 THE DOOM OF THE

Your danger will appear from these two considerations,
that if you always continue in your present condition,
proof against all admonition, you musHbe destroyed with-
out remedy ; and that there is dreadful reason to fear, you
always will continue in your present condition.

That if you live and die in your present condition, you
must be destroyed without remedy, is lamentably evident
from what has been said. It is the declaration of the
wisest of men, inspired from heaven ; he that being often
reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be broken, and
there is no remedy. It is one of the proverbs of this
wisest of men. Now a proverb is a wise remark, made
after long observation, and frequently exemplified in the
world. Therefore when we consider Solomon here not
only as speaking an inspired truth, but pronouncing a
proverb, it is as if he had said, " This I have collected
from long experience, and careful observation of mankind,
and the course of Providence ; this is daily exemplified in
the world without exception ; this all ages may regard as
a sure and important truth, and I record it among my im-
mortal proverbs for their warning, that ' he, that being often
reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed,
and there is no remedy."1 A proverb being a familiar
observation upon the common occurrences of the world,
it follows farther, that the accomplishment of it is a com-
mon thing, that falls under every man's notice, to his full
conviction ; and therefore Solomon, by inserting this re-
mark among his Proverbs, intimates, that the sudden and
remediless destructions of an incorrigible sinner, is a
familiar event that falls under every man's notice, and
which no man can dispute, without disputing the common
sense and experience of mankind. Thus certain, irre-
provable sinners ! thus common is your doom, if you con-
tinue in your present condition : it is certain, it is common,

INCORRIGIBLE SINNER. 333

even to a proverb. And if you still go on in your present
course, you will at last become a hissing, a by-word, and
a proverb to all the world. Your destruction, as I ob-
served, is unavoidable and remediless, according to the
nature of things : it is the natural, spontaneous, and insep-
arable result and effect of incorrigible obstinacy. You
resolutely set your free wills, which are not under the con
trol of any creature but yourselves, upon your own ruin :
and what then remains but that you must be ruined ! To
ruin you must go, though attended with the prayers and
tears of the saints, and checked by their friendly admoni-
tions, enforced with those of God himself. They cannot
help you against your wills. What can keep you from
engulfing yourselves in destruction, when you break through
all restraints from God and the whole creation ? You
reject the only means of cure : and must you not die as
incurables ? If the Spirit of God strives with you in vain ;
if conscience check and admonish you in vain ; if Provi-
dence uses its chastising rod in vain ; if sickness, and death,
and graves preach in vain ; if Bibles and good books are
put into your hands in vain ; if ministers, and friends, and
neighbours, and the dearest relatives, advise, and persuade,
and warn, and reprove in vain ; if heaven, and earth, and
hell, if God and all his creatures admonish in vain ; what
hopes can yourselves entertain of your salvation? what
better means can you desire ? what other means can you
expect 1 can you hope to be reformed and prepared for
heaven, when these means, the best, the only means that
ever were used with sinful creatures, and which have
proved effectual in the most discouraging cases, have no
effect upon you? Judge yourselves, whether your de-
struction is not unavoidable in your present condition.

And that you will always continue in your present con-
dition, is, alas! but too probable. You have continued in

334 THE DOOM OF THE

it all your life past: and is not this a dreadful presumption
that you will continue in it all your life to come ? Can
you expect better means than you have had ? Or are
your hearts become more soft and pliable now when
hardened by an obstinate course of incorrigible impeni-
tence, that you should hope the same means will have
greater efficacy upon them in time to come than formerly ?
Are you as sure of twenty or thirty years before you, as
that you have enjoyed twenty or thirty years in time past ?
Is God the less provoked, by how much the longer you
have offended him, so that you have the more encourage-
ment to expect the assistance of his grace hereafter than
formerly ? Are you now any more out of danger of being
judicially hardened and given up of God, than ten years
ago ? And are you the more sure of his favour, by how
much the more you deserve his wrath? Are the
habits of sin grown weaker through inveteracy and long
indulgence ? Does the work of your salvation grow easier
by delays, and by your having fewer days for work?
Does conscience gain strength upon you, by your repeated
violences; or the spirit of God work the more powerfully,
the more you resist and grieve him? Does your being
inured to the gospel, give it greater force upon you ? If
the happy change of your present condition be probable,
the probability must depend, in human view, upon such
absurdities as these. But can these be the foundation of
probability? No ; but of the greatest improbability. The
truth of the case is, your condition is growing more and
more discouraging every day ; and you are approaching
fast towards a fixed, unchangeable state of incorrigible

' O O

obstinacy in wickedness. Ten years ago, it was much
more likely, in human view, that you would have been
converted ere now, than it now is, that you will be con-
verted in ten years to come. In short, the only ground

INCORRIGIBLE SIXNER. 335

of hope concerning you, is not at all from the appearance
of things in human view, but merely from the free and
sovereign grace of God. I may say of your salvation,
what Christ said of the salvation of the rich, with men that
is impossible : that is, according to the ordinary way
of judging among men, who can judge only by appear-
ances, and who count those things likely or unlikely, pos-
sible or impossible, which seem to be so in their own
nature : according to this rule of judging, there is no
reason at all to hope for it; it is quite desperate. But
with God all things are possible : he can and sometimes
does act contrary to appearances and the natural tendency
of things; and astonishes his creatures with unexpected
and surprising wonders. Thus, veteran, obstinate sin-
ners ! he may yet deal with some of you. Omnipotence
may yet take you in hand, disarm all your resistance, and
cause you to feel those admonitions you have made light
of. This, perhaps, God may do. But oh ! it is an
anxious, dreadful peradventure ; for you must know,
though he sometimes singles out a hardened sinner of your
class here and there, to make him the illustrious trophy
of the power of his grace, yet this is not his usual way :
he does not commonly work upon such rough, unsuitable
materials. He generally pitches upon the young and
pliable, upon those that have not been long inured to the
gospel, nor hardened in sin. Therefore, even this, which
is your only ground of hope, can afford you but a trembling,
anxious hope. Notwithstanding this, you have reason to
fear that you will die as you have hitherto lived, hardy,
resolute, incorrigible sinners. And if so, you know your
dreadful end; you shall suddenly be destroyed; your stiff
neck shall be unexpectedly broken ; and there will be no
help, no remedy.

And if you are indeed in so much danger, will you not

336 THE DOOM OF THE INCORRIGIBLE SINNER.

now lay it to heart, and endeavour to escape while you
may? Alas! shall this admonition also, this admonition
for your disregarding all past admonition, be lost upon you
like the rest ? Oh ! will you not at length take warning,
before it is too late? Perhaps the voice that now warns
you may not long sound in your ears. But oh! let me
find this day, that those whom I have reproved in vain for
so many years, regard me at last, and submit, and yield.
Then, and not till then, you will be safe from the vengeance
denounced in this alarming proverb, " He that being often
reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed,
and that without remedy."

LOOKING TO CHRIST OPENED AND EXPLAINED. 337

SERMON XLI.

THE NATURE OF LOOKING TO CHRIST OPENED AND EX-
PLAINED.

ISAIAH xlv. 22 — Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the
ends of the earth : for I am God, and there is none
else.

IT is the peculiar sin and unhappiness of the Christian-
ized world, that while they profess and speculatively be-
lieve Jesus to be the Messiah, the Saviour of sinners : and
while they harbour some kind of high esteem for him as a
Benefactor that appeared upon earth about 1700 years
ago, who should be still remembered with gratitude, yet
they are not deeply sensible of that intimate, personal
concern which degenerate sinners have with him in every
age. They do not make that eager, importunate, affec-
tionate application to him, which his character requires as
the Saviour of guilty men. Divine justice indeed was
satisfied, the demands of the law were answered by the
obedience and sufferings of our divine Redeemer long
before we came into existence, and God became recon-
cilable to a guilty world. But all this alone does not
ensure our salvation. Redemption must not only be pur-
chased, but applied; and though it was purchased without
our concurrence, yet all mankind, in all ages, are con-
cerned in the application of it. There was no need of
the gospel and its ordinances to procure it; but all these
are necessary, and therefore appointed for our obtaining

VOL. II.— 43

338 LOOKING TO CHRIST

an actual interest in it. Hence Christ, as an almighty
Saviour, is exhibited, and the blessings of his purchase are
offered in the gospel; and all that hear the gracious pro-
posal are invited to entertain this Saviour with suitable
dispositions, and to consent to the terms on which these
blessings are offered, upon the penalty of everlasting
damnation. Our personal consent is required as much in
this age as when the gospel was first published to the
world; and it is this which is solicited by all the means of
grace; it is to gain your consent to this gracious proposal,
that the gospel is still continued among you. It is for this
we preach: for this you should hear, and perform every
other duty; for this the Lord's supper in particular was
instituted, and has been to-day administered among you.
It is to melt your hearts, and engage your affections to a
dying Saviour, that he is represented both in words and in
speaking actions, in all the agonies of Gethsemane, and in
all the tortures of Calvary.

But though these affecting means have been used from
age to age, yet, alas ! they have not had the intended
effect upon multitudes. They act like a sick person in-
fatuated with the imagination that the mere grateful
remembrance of Galen or Hippocrates, or some other
eminent physician of past ages, will be sufficient for his
recovery, without following their prescriptions, or making
a speedy application to a living physician now; whereas
there is as much reason why we in this age should be
pricked to the heart, and cry out, What shall we do to be
saved ? as there was for St. Peter's hearers. Acts ii. 37,
38. There is as much reason to exhort unregenerate
sinners now to repent and be converted, as there was to
exhort the impenitent Jews to it. There is as much cause
to direct and persuade men now to believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, as the heathen jailer, who had been an

OPENED AND EXPLAINED. 339

infidel. Acts xvi. 31. It is true indeed, when we now
exhort men to believe in Christ, we cannot include all the
ideas in it which were included in this exhortation when
addressed to infidel Jews and heathens in the apostolic
age ; for then it included, that they should renounce their
former religion, and assent to this important truth, that
Jesus is the Messiah, and take upon them the profession
of Christianity; and this is rendered in general, I hope,
needless in our land, as we have been initiated into this
persuasion by our education and other means. But, my
brethren, all this is far short of that consent which we
must yield to the gospel, if we expect to be saved by it.
This faith is not that livfng faith which we are called to
act upon the Redeemer ; and we must give him another
kind of reception than multitudes do, who thus believe his
divine mission, and profess his religion. We must have
those affectionate dispositions and vigorous exercises of
heart towards him, which become guilty, perishing sinners
towards an almighty and gracious Saviour, who deserves
and therefore demands our supreme affection, our humble
dependence on his merits alone, and our hearty consent to
be his servants for ever. We must be brought to believe
in him with such a faith as will regulate our practices, and
render the whole of our life a series of grateful obedience
to him, who is an atoning Priest upon a throne of royal
authority, enacting laws and demanding the dutiful sub-
mission of his subjects. And therefore, though it is need-
less to call upon you to believe in the same sense in which
this exhortation was addressed to infidels by the apostles ;
yet there is still room enough to urge you to this duty,
only leaving out one ingredient then included, viz., a
speculative belief and external profession of the Christian
religion, and that Christ is the Messiah. There is still
reason to persuade sinners to consent to the terms of life

340 LOOKING TO CHRIST

established in the gospel, to renounce all dependence on
their own righteousness, and to place their humble confi-
dence in his alone, to acquiesce with the warmest com-
placence in the method of salvation through grace, and in
the meantime to surrender themselves to his government,
to obey his will, with the most cheerful willingness, the
most ardent devotion, and the humblest adoration: in
short, to entertain the great Redeemer with those affections
and dispositions which the nature and design of his media-
torial office demand, and which become our condition as
guilty, miserable, helpless creatures ; all which are included
in that faith in Jesus which the gospel enjoins as the grand
condition of salvation.

This faith is one of the principal subjects of sacred
Scripture, and is expressed in various forms : sometimes
in plain terms, but more frequently in metaphors borrowed
from earthly things, and particularly from the actions of
the body. This method of expressing spiritual objects
and intellectual ideas, in terms that originally and properly
are applied to the body, is not only common in Scripture,
but intermingled in conversation, and authorized by the
best authors in all ages and languages. We speak of the
eye of the understanding as well as of our bodily eye:
and to see an argument, or a meaning, is almost as com-
mon a phrase as to see a man or any other material object.
The evidence by which the soul forms its determinations
is called light, as well as the medium of proper vision.
And as the metaphor is here borrowed from the eye, so it
is frequently borrowed from the other organs of the body
and their actions. This is owing to the penury of the lan-
guage of mortals, who, as they are most conversant with
material objects, and have the earliest and most frequent
occasions of receiving or conveying their ideas of them in
sound, are habituated to a dialect proper to these things;

OPENED AND EXPLAINED. 341

and, when they would express their ideas of immaterial
things, they are obliged to transfer these terms, originally
applied to material objects, to express those immaterial
things ; and there is not only necessity but reason for this,
as there is a resemblance between those actions of the
body from which these metaphors are borrowed, and those
actions of the mind to which they are transferred ; yea, it
is not only reasonable, but a beautiful and moving method
of representing divine things : in this principally consists
the beauty of poetry, that it clothes intellectual ideas in
lively material images, which make deep impressions on
our imaginations.

In such metaphorical terms, as I observed, faith is often
represented in sacred Scripture. Sometimes the meta-
phor is borrowed from the feet; and then to believe is to
come to Christ; to come to him as one oppressed with a
heavy burden to a person that can relieve, Matt. xi. 28 ;
to come to him as one perishing with thirst, to a fountain
of living water, Isaiah Iv. 1 ; Rev. xxii 17 ; or as the man-
slayer, closely pursued by the avenger of blood, to the city
of refuge : hence it is expressed by the most emphatical
phrase of 'fleeing for refuge. Heb. vi. 18. Sometimes the
metaphor is taken from the conduct of a dutiful and loyal
people towards their rightful Sovereign upon his entering
among them in his own territories. John 1, 11, 12. Some-
times the metaphor is taken from the ears; and faith is
expressed by hearing his voice, as an impoverished, dying
wretch would hear the offer of plenty and life. Isaiah Iv.
3 ; John v. 25. And sometimes, as in the text, the meta-
phor is taken from the eyes ; and faith is represented as
looking to Christ. My present design is,

I. To explain the duty here expressed by the metaphor
of looking.

II. To urge it upon you by sundry important considerations.

342 LOOKING TO CHRIST

I. To explain the duty expressed by the metaphor of
looking, we are to observe in general, that a man's looks
often discover his condition and the frame of his mind.
By virtue of the strange union between the soul and the
body, the dispositions of the one are often indicated by the
emotions and appearances of the other. The eye, in par-
ticular, is a mirror in which we may see the various pas-
sions of the mind ; and it has a kind of silent, and yet sig-
nificant language, which conveys to others those inward
exercises which the tongue does not, and perhaps cannot
express. Hence we can understand a look of surprise
and consternation, a look of sorrow and compassion, a look
of joy, the look of a perishing supplicant, or of a needy,
expecting dependant. If an agonizing patient casts an
eager look upon his physician, we understand it to be a
silent petition for relief. When a dying husband fixes a
wishful, tender look upon his surviving half, or those little
other selves, his children, they know the melting language,
and feel its resistless energy. And when we see a drown-
ing man casting a wild and eager look towards a boat com-
ing to his relief, we understand it to be the language of
earnest importunity for speedy help. Hence it follows,
that " looking to Christ implies those suitable dispositions
and exercises of heart towards him, which are expressed
by the earnest and significant looks of persons in a dis-
tressed condition towards their deliverer." And in such
a case it is natural to conceive a person as expressing by
his looks a particular notice and distinct knowledge of his
deliverer, an importunate cry for his assistance — a wishful
expectation for it — a dependence upon him for it — a uni-
versal submission to him — a hearty love and approbation
of him — and joy and gratitude for his deliverance. And
these dispositions and exercises of mind towards Christ are
intended in the text by looking to him.

OPENED AND EXPLAINED. 343

1. Looking to Christ implies a particular notice and
distinct knowledge of him. When we fix an earnest look
upon an object, we take particular notice and a distinct
survey of it, and so obtain a clear knowledge of it. Thus
we are called to fix our intellectual eyes upon Christ, to
make him the object of our contemplation, and by these
means to obtain the knowledge of him. Mankind are too
commonly regardless and ignorant of him. And are not
many of you chargeable with this criminal neglect ! The
blessed Jesus has exhibited himself to your observation in
the gospel, but your attention is so engaged by other ob-
jects, that you will not allow him an earnest look. He
has been set forth evidently crucified before your eyes, but
you have, as it were, passed and repassed careless and
unconcerned by his cross. You have had a variety of
opportunities and means to be instructed in the glorious
mysteries of the gospel; to know the person of the Re-
deemer as Immanuel, God and man ; to know the absolute
necessity, the gracious design, and the high degree of his
sufferings ; to know his sufficiency and willingness to par-
don and save believing penitents ; and, in a word, to obtain
a competent acquaintance with the method of salvation.
But you have taken but little or no notice of these things;
and consequently remained contentedly ignorant of them.
It is equally lamentable and astonishing, that in a land like
this, abounding in Bibles and other means of instruction,
Christianity should be so little known even by those that
profess it. How ridiculous a figure would an artist make
that knew nothing of his trade ! a school-master that could
not spell ! or a doctor that knew nothing of physic ! And
yet men have the impious impudence to call themselves
Christians, and resent it when their profession is pro-
nounced a hypocritical pretence, though they are ignorant
of the rudiments of Christianity. You are therefore called

344 LOOKING TO CHRIST

in the text to pursue the knowledge of God and Jesus
Christ whom he has sent, John xvii. 3, to make this the
object of your study ; for without it you cannot be saved.
It is by the knowledge of him you are justified, Isa. liii. 11 ;
and if you are a people of no understanding, he that formed
you will not have mercy on you, Isa. xxvii. 11, but you
shall be destroyed through lack of knowledge. Hosea iv. 6.
Not that a mere speculative knowledge of Christ will
suffice ; no, it must not be a look of curiosity and specula-
tion, but you must be affected with the object; your eye
must affect your heart ; and by beholding the glory of the
Lord in the glass of the gospel, you must be changed into
the same image, or conformed to him in holiness. 2 Cor.
iii. 18. A perishing man is not a mere curious spectator
of his deliverer; but he views him with the tenderest
passions. So you must look upon Christ. Thus the
knowledge of him was attended with supreme affection to
him in St. Paul. Phil. iii. 7, 8. But this will be further
illustrated under the following particulars.

2. Looking to Christ implies an importunate eagerness
for relief from him. See Psalm xxv. 15. If your child
were fallen into the hand of a murderer just ready to dis-
patch him, and should cast a wishful look upon you, while
you was running to his deliverance, you would understand
it as a silent cry for help. So we are enjoined to look to
Christ with the most eager importunity for deliverance
from him as our Saviour. And this supposes a deep sense
of our need of him. When a guilty creature, that had
been involved in the general presumptuous security, is
effectually alarmed with just apprehensions of his danger;
when he sees his numberless transgressions in all their
horrid aggravations, and the dreadful threatenings of the
law in full force, and ready to be executed against him :
in short, when he sees himself ripe for ruin, and ready

OPENED AND EXPLAINED. 345

every moment to sink into it, with what importunate cries
will he betake himself to him for relief! Behold he
prayeth ! now he is' often on his knees before God in
secret, as well as in social prayer; and in the intervals be-
tween his prayers, he is often looking to the hills from
whence cometh his aid, Psa. cxxi. 1, and waftin up many
an importunate cry to heaven. Sometimes he sinks into
an abyss of sorrow, and is overwhelmed with boisterous
waves of fears, so that, with Jonah, he is ready to cry out,
I am cast out of thy sight, 0 LORD ; yet with him he says,
7 will look again towards thy holy temple. Jonah ii. 4.
Happy the souls that are thus looking to Jesus, who is
lifted up for the recovery of a dying world, as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness ! John iii. 14. And happy
we, should this spirit of pious importunity prevail among
us, and banish that spirit of deep sleep which seems poured
out upon us ! Then would prayer be our employ, not
only when we observed the returns of stated prayer in
secret, in our families, and in our public assemblies, but
our souls would be always in a supplicating posture; every
wish, every groan would be a cry for mercy : and then
might we expect to obtain the blessings we need ; and the
aspect of our religious affairs would be happily altered
among us. To this duty the text invites us ; and oh that
we may consult our own interest, as well as regard the
authority of God, so far, " as to seek the Lord while he
may be found, and call upon him while he is near ! Isaiah
Iv. 6.

3. Looking to Christ implies a wishful expectation of
deliverance from him. See Psalm Ixix. 3. It may be
illustrated by the history of the lame beggar, in Acts iii.
4, 5. He begged an alms of the apostles Peter and John;
they do not immediately relieve him, but give him some
ground of encouraging expectation by taking particular

VOL. II.— 44

346 LOOKING TO CHRIST

notice of him and telling him to fix his eyes upon them.
Thereupon the anxious cripple gives heed to them, and
wishfully looks upon them, expecting* to receive something
of them. So a poor sinner, amidst all his anxious fears
and despondencies, approaches the throne of grace, and
begs for mercy. The Lord Jesus, though his bowels are
yearning over him, does not give him immediate relief; he
puts him off for a while, as he did the Syrophoenician, that
he may give occasion for him to plead with the more im-
portunity, and more suitably prize the blessings when ob-
tained. Yet, in this melancholy interval, he does not leave
him quite hopeless. The invitations of the gospel cry,
" Look on me ;" and the poor sinner lifts up the eyes of
wishful expectation to receive something. " Who knows,
but that sovereign and unbounded grace, which has relieved
thousands, may also listen to my cries ? Blessed Jesus !
may I not indulge some trembling hope that thou wilt at
length grant me deliverance ? Thy free, thine indefinite
invitations and absolute promises give me some ground of
pleasing expectation ; and oh ! shall it be frustrated ? No,
let me trust in thee for the gracious accomplishment."
Such are the soliloquies of such an anxious soul. And
though we might be all left in remediless despair, yet,
blessed be God, we have encouragement to look to Jesus
with humble, joyful hope; and it is to this the text exhorts
us.

4. Looking to Jesus implies an humble dependence
upon him for salvation. This supposes that we are deeply
sensible of our own utter inability to relieve ourselves ; and
when we are convinced of this, we shall immediately look
to another ; when we see no ground at all for self-confi-
dence, we shall place our trust in Jesus alone. It was
such a look as this that good Jehoshaphat raised to heaven :
We have no might against this great company, neither

OPENED AND EXPLAINED. 347

know we what to do; but our eyes are upon thee. 2 Chron.
xx. 12. So Micah, finding no room for human confidence,
resolves, Therefore I will look unto the Lord. Micah vii. 7.
Thus an humble sinner, sensible of his utter inability, re-
solves to venture upon Christ, to trust in him, though he
should slay him. Job xiii. 15. And in those happy mo-
ments when the sinner has some glimmering hopes of ac-
ceptance, with what pleasure and satisfaction does he rest
upon this eternal rock ! and how happy we, should we be
engaged this day to place our humble dependence there !
It is to this the text calls us.

5. Looking to Christ means a universal, cheerful sub-
mission to his authority. We must consent to be his
servants for ever, and wait all the intimations of his will
to obey them. We must look and observe the motion
of his hand pointing out to us the way of duty. We
must look as a servant upon his master, eager to receive
his orders. So the phrase seems used in Psalm cxxiii.
1, 2. " Unto thee I left up mine eyes, oh thou that
dwellest in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants
look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of
a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait
upon the Lord." Thus, whoever trusts in Jesus with a
saving faith, surrenders himself to an unlimited obedience
to all his commandments ; and to this the text invites us.

9. Looking to Christ implies a hearty approbation of
him as a Saviour, and supreme affection to him. Love
is often expressed by looks ; and when we look affection-
ately upon an object, it evidences that we are pleased with
the survey. So a perishing world is commanded to
acquiesce in the method of salvation, through Christ, to
love him above all, and to take the fullest and noblest com-
placence to him ; and upon their so doing, they are assured
of salvation. We have indeed been influenced by educa-

348 LOOKING TO CHRIST OPENED AND EXPLAINED.

tion and the like means to entertain a general good esteem
of Christ ; but, alas ! this is very far short of that endear-
ing affection and hearty complacence which he claims and
deserves. Our hearts must be engaged to him ; he must
be the chief among ten thousand in our eyes. Our thoughts
and passions must often ascend to him, and we must rest
in him with complacence, as containing all our salvation
and all our desire. 2 Sam. xxiii. 5.

7. And lastly, Looking to Christ implies joy and grati-
tude for his delivering goodness. The passions of joy
and gratitude are easily discovered by the looks; and
therefore are intended by this phrase, look unto me. And
this it not only the duty, but the delightful inclination of
one that has been relieved by him from the horrors of a
guilty conscience, and the dreadful displeasure of God.
Joy is in itself a pleasing passion, an^ we delight to in-
dulge it : and to a heart that has just felt the mercy of
deliverance from everlasting destruction, thanksgiving is a
most grateful and pleasing employ; and, in this, much of
the happiness of heaven consists.

From this view of the duty intended by looking to
Jesus, take occasion, my brethren, to examine, whether
ever you have complied with it ; for it is a matter of infi-
nite importance, as your eternal state depends upon it.
He that hath the Son, hath life, and he that hath not the
Son of God, hath not life, 1 John v. 12.

ARGUMENTS TO ENFORCE OUR LOOKING TO CHRIST. 349

SERMON XLII.

ARGUMENTS TO ENFORCE OUR LOOKING TO CHRIST.

ISAIAH XLV. 22. — Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the
ends of the earth : for I am God, and there is none
else.

THE duty of looking to Christ being explained, I shall,

II. Urge you to look to him by several weighty con-
siderations.

This is the great duty of saints and sinners, and conse-
quently of every one in all ages and places, even to the
ends of the earth. It is the duty of sinners to turn away
their eyes from beholding vanity, and fix them upon this
attractive, but, alas ! neglected Saviour ; to turn their at-
tention from the trifles of time to the great Antitype of
the brazen serpent, who is lifted up that a dying world
may open their eyes, just closing in death, and look and
live. And saints, whose eyes have been turned to this
glorious object, ought to fix them more intensely upon him,
to take larger surveys of his glory, and to renew their
affectionate trust in him.

I would premise, that when I exhort sinners to look to
Jesus, I would not intimate, that they are able to do this
of themselves. No ; I am very sensible, that all the ex-
hortations, persuasions, invitations, and expostulations that
a feeble mortal, or even the most powerful angel in heaven,
can use with them will have no effect, but vanish into air,
without the efficacious operation of almighty grace. And

350 ARGUMENTS TO ENFORCE

yet such exhortations are neither useless, improper, or un
scriptural : they tend to convince sinners of their inability
to believe, which is necessary to their believing aright; and
it is while such arguments are addressed to their under-
standings, that the Holy Spirit is wont to work upon their
hearts. Hence they are so often commanded in Scripture
to repent, to believe in Christ, to look to him to make them
a new heart, fyc. I would add, that when I express the
duty enjoined under the metaphor of looking, I hope it
will not lead any of you into gross corporeal ideas, since
the import of it has been so fully shown.

The arguments to enforce this important evangelical
duty can never be exhausted; and therefore I must con-
fine myself to those which this copious text furnishes us
with, which, when resolved into particulars, will stand
thus:

It is salvation we are called upon to pursue — It may be
obtained upon the easiest terms, without any personal
merit, viz. by a look — It is Immanual, the incarnate God,
that commands and invites us to look — and he is the glori-
ous and affecting object to which we are to look — and our
looking shall not be in vain, for he is God, who engages
to save those that look to him ; and it is in vain to look else-
where for salvation, and needless to fear his grace should
be controlled by another ; for as he is God, so there is
none else — and we in particular are invited, being espe-
cially meant by the ends of the earth.

1. It is salvation that is here offered. Look and be
saved. Salvation ! Oh most propitious, transporting sound !
Amazing ! that ever it should be heard by our guilty ears !
Sin, my brethren, has exposed us to the curse of the divine
law, to the loss of heaven, and all its joys, yea, and of
earth too, and all its entertainments : for death, the conse-
quence of sin, will rend us from them. We have no title

LOOKING TO CHRIST. 351

to any good to satisfy our eager pantings ; and must lan-
guish and pine through an endless duration without a drop
of bliss, if punished according to our demerit. We are
also subject to the torturing agonies of a remorseful con-
science, to be cut off from the earth by the sword of jus-
tice, and swept away by the besom of destruction into the
regions of horror and despair, there to consume away a
long, long eternity in inextinguishable flames, in remedi-
less, intolerable torments, in the horrid society of devils
and damned ghosts, who shall mutually promote and join
in the general roar of torture and desperation. This,
sirs, is our just, our unavoidable doom, unless we obtain
an interest in the salvation of the Lord. But salvation
brings us a complete remedy, equal to our misery. It
contains a title to the divine favour, and consequently to
all the joys of heaven ; it contains a perfect deliverance
from all the torments of hell : and shall we not then re-
gard and obey the voice that cries, Look unto me, and be
ye saved ! Is it not fit those should perish without remedy,
who hear the offer of such a salvation with indifference ?
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation ?
Were we now under a sentence of condemnation to death,
by an earthly court, and were going out one after another
to the place of execution, and should some welcome mes-
senger, with a general pardon in his hand, come with joy-
ful speed into this assembly, and proclaim salvation ; sal-
vation 1 to all that would accept it on the easiest terms,
what a shout of general joy would burst from this assembly !
What changed faces, what tears of general joy, would
appear among us ! In this agreeable character, my bre-
thren, I have the honour and the happiness of appearing
among you this day. I proclaim salvation from the
Lord to dying men ; salvation to all that will look to him
for it. And I would not make the offer to the air, or to

352 ARGUMENTS TO ENFORCE

the walls of this house, but to rational creatures, capable
of consenting and refusing. I therefore request you to
look upon it as a proposal made to you ; to you men, to
you women, to you youth and children, to you negroes,
demanding a speedy answer. Will you look to Jesus ? or
will you hide your faces from him ? Will you not think
him and his salvation worth a look ? Which leads me to
observe,

2. This salvation may be obtained upon low terms.
It may be obtained by a look. Look and be saved ; and
this metaphor implies that no merit is required in us to
procure this salvation. It is as cheap a cure as that which
the Israelites obtained by looking to a brazen serpent.
The salvation is wrought already; Christ would not sepa-
rate his soul and body, and put an end to his pains, till he
could say, It is finished ; and all required of us is a cheer-
ful acceptance : and what terms can be easier ? It is true
we are required to abstain from sin, and be holy, in order
to enjoy this salvation ; but can this be looked upon as a
hard term ? It is impossible in the nature of things you
should be saved in a course of sin ; for one great part of
the salvation consists in deliverance from sin. This is the
deadly disease which must be healed, in order to your
happiness. And how, then, can you expect to be saved
while you indulge in it 1 Would you not think your phy-
sician made easy prescriptions to you, if he assured you
of recovery, when you were sick, upon condition that you
would abstain from poison, and confine yourselves to a
wholesome diet ? Holiness is as necessary to happiness as
temperance to health ; and though sinners, like drunkards,
think this a hard imposition, yet it cannot be altered, with-
out a change in the immutable Defty. Therefore submit
to the terms of salvation : they are as low, as easy as the
nature of things will permit. They are not the rigid, arbi-

LOOKING TO CHRIST. 353

trary impositions of an austere being, but the mild, unavoid-
able requisitions of an indulgent and wise God, acting ac-
cording to the reason of things. If salvation was offered
to you, upon condition of your making an infinite satisfac-
tion for sin, you might start off from the proposal ; for even
almighty grace could not enable you to do this : for this
you could not do without being advanced above the rank
of creatures, and endowed with infinity, which you are
physically incapable of. But grace can dispose you to con-
sent to the terms of the gospel; grace can turn your eyes
to look to Jesus, for you are only morally incapable of
this ; that is, you are unwilling, you are sinfully averse to
it. Come, then, look and live. The lowness of the terms
aggravates the guilt of a non-compliance with them. What
do those deserve who do not think a salvation purchased
with the blood of a God worth a look? What drudgery
do you endure, what hardships do you voluntarily undergo,
to procure some of the specious toys of this world ? What
a difficult regimen will you submit to, what nauseous
potions will you take, for the recovery of the health of
your mortal bodies ? And will you not take the trouble
of a look for the salvation of your immortal souls? How
eagerly will you accept the offer of any temporal advan-
tage ! and will you neglect this invitation to look and live ?
Especially, when,

3. It is Immanuel, our incarnate God, that invites and
commands you to look to him, and be saved. You may
trifle with the commands of an usurper, and reject the
treacherous invitations of an enemy; but dare you trifle
with the injunctions, dare you refuse the gracious invita-
tions of our supreme King and heavenly Friend ? That it
is Christ who here calls us to look to him, is evident from
the application of this context to Christ by the apostle :
" To this end Christ both died and rose, and revived, that

VOL. II.— 15

354 ARGUMENTS TO ENFORCE

he might be Lord both of the dead and living. For it is
written, as I live, saith the LORD, every knee shall bow to
me, and every tongue shall confess to God." Rom xiv.
9-11. Which words, according to the Hebrew, you
find in the verse following my text. See also Phil. ii.
9-11. Moreover the characters here predicted concern-
ing the Lord Jehovah, most properly belong to Christ,
according to the dialect of the New Testament ; " Surely,
shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength."
Now we know that Christ is everywhere represented as
our righteousness and strength, " In the LORD shall the
seed of Israel be justified," verse 24, 25, which is spoken
most properly of Christ, through whom alone we can be
justified. It is therefore the voice of our Immanuel that
sounds so delightfully in our text. It is his voice which
spoke this goodly universe into being out of its original
nothing ; which said, Let there be light ; and there was
light ; and dare we disobey his voice by whom all things
were created ? Col. i. 16. He spoke us into being, and
we obeyed; and shall we, when blessed with existence,
resist his almighty call? It is his voice whom angels
obey ; Gabriel, and all his flaming ministers, ily at the first
hint of his sovereign pleasure. Nay, universal nature
hears his awful mandate, and all her laws are observed, or
cancelled according to his pleasure. Events natural and
supernatural are equally easy to him. And is this the
majestic voice which sinners hear sounding in the gospel,
and yet disregard? Is this he whom they make so light
of, as not to vouchsafe him a look ? Amazing presump-
tion ! And further, it is his voice which shall pronounce
the final sentence upon the assembled universe. He now
sits exalted upon a throne of grace, scattering blessings
among his subjects, and inviting a dying world to look to
him and live ; but ere long he will put on majesty and

LOOKING TO CHRIST. 355

terror, and ascend the throne of judgment. From thence
he will speak, and omnipotence will attend his word to
execute it. From thence he will pronounce, Come, ye
blessed, on all that hear his call now ; and neither earth
nor hell can repeal the joyful sentence. And on those
that will not now look to him, he will pronounce, Depart
from me; "away, away, from my blissful presence, ye
cursed creatures, never, never, to see me more." And
though they can now resist the voice of mercy, yet then
they must obey the dreadful orders of justice, and shrink
confounded from his face, and sink to hell. We, my bre-
thren, must mingle in that vast assembly, and hear our
doom from his lips : and can we, in the serious expecta-
tion of that day, refuse his call to look to him now 1 Be-
hold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him;
and how shall we stand the terror of his face, if we now
treat him so contemptuously ? These considerations show,
that the call in my text is the command of authority, and
therefore that our neglect of it is disloyalty and rebellion ?
But, oh! there is a more melting, a more endearing con-
sideration still. It is the voice of our Beloved, it is the
gracious invitation of love : it is his voice who heard the

o

cry of our helpless misery : who, though equal with God,

and possessed of infinite, independent happiness, emptied
himself, and took upon him the form of a servant. He
often looked up to heaven with strong cryings and tears in
the days of his flesh for us. For us he spoke many a
gracious word, still upon record ; for us he wrought many
a miracle ; for us he travelled many a fatiguing journey,
and endured hunger and thirst, and all the calamities of
poverty. For us he was reproached, belied, persecuted ;
and oh ! for us he sweat and groaned in Gethsemane ; for
us his back was furrowed with scourging, his face defiled
with spitting, his head bruised with buffetings, and pierced

356 ARGUMENTS TO ENFOUCE

with thorns. For us he was nailed to the cross ; for us
he hung in ignominy and torture; for us he shed his blood,
he breathed out his life ; for us his side was pierced ; and
for us the Lord of life lay in the dust of death. And oh !
blessed Jesus, after all his love, after all these sufferings,
\vill not the sons of men afford thee one affectionate, believ-
ing look when thou exhibitest thyself in the gospel, crying
with a loud and loving voice, " Behold me, behold me ;
look unto me, and be ye saved ?" Oh sirs, can you reject
the invitation of such a Saviour 1 are you capable of such
horrid ingratitude ? He bespeaks your attention with dying
groans; his wounds preach from the cross and cry, Look
unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. There
he was lifted up, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wil-
derness; that whosoever believeth in him, though in the
agonies of death, should not perish, but have everlasting
life ; and can we neglect the invitation of such a Saviour
in such circumstances ? Shall a guilty world always find
something else to look upon, so that they cannot spare a
glance to the blessed Jesus 1 With what pious horror
must angels behold such a sight ! And may not the earth
shudder to support such impious ingratitude 1

4. It is Immanuel we are to look to. Look unto me.
He that issues the command is the glorious and attractive
object we are called to behold. The adorable glories of a
God, and the milder beauties of a perfect man, meet in his
person. His glories attract the admiring gaze of angels,
and charm the attention of the happy immortals above.
The survey of his perfections is the source of all their
bliss, and will furnish all their powers with ecstatic employ,
through the revolutions of eternal ages. And will not
worms look up from the dust to him ? Shall every sordid
trifle engage their intense contemplation, while they hide
their faces from this glorious Immanuel, as though he had

LOOKING TO CHRIST. 357

no form or comeliness 1 There is an infinite variety of
objects within the compass of the creation which attract
our attention. Our eyes are charmed with the splendour
of the day, the midnight glories of the starry arch, the
verdure of the spring, the majesty of mountains, the beau-
ties of human faces : nay, there is not a trifling curiosity
in nature but engages our observation. But all the glories
of the universe are but the faint reflections of his ; they
are but obscure copies of his underived excellences. And
shall we be charmed with the transcript, and take no no-
tice of the original ? Does the contemplation of the works
of nature afford such exquisite entertainment to philoso-
phic minds, and shall not every mind be transported in the
survey of Immanuel's uncreated glories ? But if all these
considerations fail, sure the love of Christ must constrain
you. He has exhibited himself to your view this day in a
vesture dipped in blood. He has emblematically passed
before you crowned with thorns, and covered with blood ;
and as Pilate said to the Jews, to melt them in compassion,
so say we to you, Behold the man ! And will you turn
away from him regardless, or view him with as much in-
difference as though he were a malefactor 1 What is this
but to join the Jewish rabble, Away with him f away with
him ! crucify him ! crucify him ! He has virtually said
to you as to Thomas, " Look into my hands, and behold
the print of the nails ; and look into my side, and behold
the stab of the spear, which opened a fountain of life for
you." And can you deny an affectionate look to such an
object ? He hangs conspicuous on the cross, his nerves
racked, his bones disjointed, his heart melting like wax in
the midst of his bowels, while streams of blood run down
his sacred body; and it is in this posture we are to look
upon him. In this posture, as it were, he issues forth his
gracious invitation, Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the

358 ARGUMENTS TO ENFORCE

ends of the earth. And is there a mortal so hardy, so un-
grateful, as to refuse an affectionate look to him in such
circumstances ? Shall he complain, with David, his type,
"I looked for some to take pity: but there was none."
Psalm Ixix. 20. " I looked on my right hand, and beheld,
but there was no man that would know me ; no man cared
for my soul." Psalm cxlii. 4. Blessed Jesus! shalt thou
take up this complaint over creatures for whom thou didst
bleed and die ? over creatures who owe all their hopes to
thee ? may not the whole creation be struck with conster-
nation at the complaint? why are not the miraculous
solemnities that attend thy death renewed ? why do not
the earth tremble, the rocks rend, the sun put on the
livery of a mourner, to see a dying God and a careless
world ! the Creator, the Saviour of men, in agony, in
blood; and his creatures, his ransomed, asleep, and not
affording him so much as a look of love and compassion !
Were ever such horrid incongruities pronounced at a
breath, or united in one sentence ! But the cross is not
the only place where we should look upon him. Lift up
your eyes to seats above : there you may behold him who
tasted of death, crowned with glory and honour. His
head, that was once crowned with thorns, is now adorned
with a crown of glory : his face, that was once bruised
with blows, and disgraced with spitting, shines brighter
than the sun in his meridian glory : his hands, that were
once nailed to the cross, now sway the sceptre of the
universe : and his feet, that were cruelly pierced, now
walk the crystal pavement of heaven. He that was in-
sulted by Jews and Gentiles, he at whom they wagged
their heads, is now adored by all the heavenly hosts, who
congratulate his exaltation, and cry with united voice,
" Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power,
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and

LOOKING TO CHRIST. 359

glory, and blessing." Rev. v. 11, 12. This is the voice
of ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thou-
sands in that world where Jesus is best known. And
shall we break the harmony of the universal choir ? Shall
we not echo back their song, and reply, To him that loved
us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, ( which
is more than he did for angels ) to him be glory and do-
minion for ever and ever, Amen. Rev. i. 5, 6. Shall we
not look to him whose glory attracts the eyes of all the
celestial armies, and congratulate his exaltation 1 We have
cause indeed to rejoice in it; for oh! he is exalted, that
he may have mercy upon us, Isa. xxx. 18; he has ascended
the throne, that he may thence scatter blessings on a guilty
world beneath him. He retains his usual love, and the
tenderest bowels of compassion, to wards the meanest of his
people. He is now pleading their cause in the court of
heaven, and preparing a place for them. From thence he
exhibits himself to our intellectual view, and invites us to
look to him. And can we slight such glory and love
united ? Are our natures capable of such infernal ingrati-
tude 1 Oh, let us look to him, especially since it shall not
be in vain :

For, 5. He is able to save us upon our looking to him.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, for I am God. This is
annexed as the reason of the duty enjoined ; and what can
give us greater security of salvation upon our compliance ?
" If God be for us, who shall be against us ? If God jus-
tify, who is he that condemneth ?" It is his right to con-
stitute the terms of salvation, and he has almighty power
to save all that comply with them. It is that God, who
threatens to punish sinners, that here promises to save them
upon their looking to him. And what glorious encourage-
ment, what strong consolation does this afford us ! Is there
a creature here so full of unbelieving despondency, as seri-

360 ARGUMENTS TO ENFORCE

ously to think that even Jehovah cannot save him? Surely
no; therefore look and be saved, for it is God that under-
takes to save you. And he can do exceeding abundantly
more for you than you can ask or think. Your sins may
be mighty, but not almighty : your guilt may be great, but
the blood of God can expiate it: the obstructions in your
way may be numerous and insuperable to you, but he can
reduce a mountain into a plain before you. You are feeble,
helpless things, "but have you not heard, have you not
known, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator
of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary 1
He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no
might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint
and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But
they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength :
they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run
and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint."
Isa. xl. 28-31.

6. Look to him; for as he is God, so there is none
else. This implies that there is no other Saviour, and
that this sole Saviour is uncontrollable, and therefore able
to save.

It is only a God that is able to work our salvation.
Men, angels, all creatures are unequal to the task. They
cannot satisfy divine justice for our sin; they cannot
subdue our corruptions, and sanctify our hearts ; nor con-
duct us safe through all the dangers and temptations that
surround us. We in particular are utterly incapable of
these things. It is not in the power of our hand to relieve
ourselves.* And if you will not look to Christ, to whom
will you look? "Call now, if there be any that will
answer thee ; and to which of the saints, to which of the

* To attempt to save ourselves is to ufiect to be Gods, and to claim the
peculiar work of omnipotence.

LOOKING TO CHRIST. 361

angels, wilt thou turn?" You are shut up to the faith,
my brethren ; you have no alternative but to look to
Christ, or sink to hell. There is no salvation in any
other. And will you rather be without a Saviour than
look to him as such 1 Why, what evil hath he done ?
Why such strange aversion to your best Friend, who
is able to save to the utmost ? And as none else can save,
so

He is able to save, because beyond control. There is
no God besides, to reverse his will ; but whom he blesses,
is blessed indeed. He is head over all things to his
church. He limits the power, controls the rage, and
baffles all the politic schemes of the powers of hell; and
the hearts of men, of kings, are in his hand ; and he turns
them whithersoever he pleases. None, therefore, shall
pluck his sheep out of his hand ; but he will give unto
them eternal life. Look then to him, poor, trembling
weaklings, that are daily putting your life in his hand, and
often dismally forebode your own destruction, and the
victory of your enemies. Trust in the Lord, Jehovah;
for in his arm is everlasting strength.

7. And lastly, look to him, for you are particularly
invited, being especially meant by those in the ends of the
earth. A promiscuous call may not be regarded so much
as a particular invitation directed to us, as it were, by
name. We dwell in a continent that may be called the
ends of the earth with peculiar propriety; and though
America was unknown in Isaiah's time, and probably not
in his thoughts when he uttered these words, yet no
doubt that omniscient Spirit, who inspired his lips, had a
reference to it. It is true the words may be taken figu-
ratively, as referring to the Gentiles in general, who might
be said to be in the ends of the earth with respect to the
favourite land of Judea, which was situated near the

VOL. II.— 46

362 ARGUMENTS TO ENFORCE

middle of the then known world, on the borders of Asia,
near where it joins with Europe and Africa. Those in
the ends of the earth seem also to suggest to us the ideas
of poor outcasts in a helpless condition, as the Gentiles
then were, without the knowledge of God and the means
of grace. And if we take the text in this sense, it still
refers to us who are the posterity of heathens. But me-
thinks there is a particular beauty and propriety in it,
taken literally; "Look unto me, and be ye saved, ye that
dwell in the remotest ends of the inhabited earth ; look
unto me, ye Americans, ye Virginians." Oh what a joy-
ful sound ! Not many years ago we or our near ancestors
came from the old continent of Europe or its adjacent
islands; and the Lord has driven out the heathen from be-
fore us, and planted us in their stead. We left his church
and the favourite lands where his gospel had shined for
ages, and came among savages that never heard of the
name of Jesus, but dwelt in darkness and the shadow of
death. But lo ! he sends his gracious invitation after us
to the ends of the earth, Look unto me, and be ye saved.
In the days of Isaiah God was mindful of America, he was
mindful of Virginia, and treasured up a rich invitation, till
it should be inhabited, and in need of it. And shall we
not regard it? shall we not regard his voice crying in this
wilderness? Indeed if any other blessings were worthy
to be compared with those of the gospel, I might observe
that he has not been kind to us in this respect only. He
has turned this wilderness into a fruitful field : the resi-
dence of savages and wild beasts into a mart of nations.
" He hath blessed us also, so that we are multiplied
greatly; and he suffereth not our cattle to decrease." See
Psalm cvii. 36-38. We may borrow .the words of Moses,
in Deut. xxxii. 10-14. But, alas ! We have waxed fat,
and kicked against God, like well-fed horses against their

LOOKING TO CHRIST. 363

proprietor. We have turned his blessings into occasions
of sinning. We have improved in guilt and impiety in
proportion to our improvement in riches and the arts of
life. And it is an instance of divine patience that may
astonish even heaven itself, that so ungrateful a land has
not been visited with some signal judgment. But our
iniquities are not yet full, and we hope there are more
than ten righteous persons among us, whose prayers stand
in the gap, and prevent the irruption of vengeance. But
perhaps our day is at hand, and then, though Noah, Daniel
and Job, should stand before God, yet his heart will not
be turned towards us. "Do ye thus requite the LORD,
oh foolish people and unwise ! is not he thy Father, that
bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established
thee?" Deut. xxxii. 6. But to abuse the gospel is the
greatest of all crimes. It is this that ripens a people for
ruin, and fills up the measure of their iniquity : God will
easier bear with the abuse of any mercy than with the
contempt of his Son. Therefore, look unto him, and be ye
saved, 0 ye ends of the earth.

364 THE VESSELS OF MERCY AND

SERMON XLIII.

THE VESSELS OF MERCY AND THE VESSELS OF WRATH DE-
LINEATED.

ROM. ix. 22, 23. — The vessels of wrath fitted to destruc-
tion : and — the vessels of mercy, which he had afore
prepared unto glory.

THE true notion of the present world is, that it is a
state of preparation for another; and, therefore, such as
we habitually are here, such shall we be for ever. Man-
kind are now forming, like clay in the potter's hands,
some for honour and some for dishonour ; some for wrath
and some for glory. And as the potter does not put his
vessels to their respective uses until they are finished and
prepared for them, so neither are men removed from
the present state, and fixed in their respective residences
in the eternal world, until they are prepared, finished,
and completely fitted for them. The vessels of mercy
are prepared beforehand for that glory with which they
shall be filled. And, on the other hand, the vessels of
wrath are fitted to destruction, and fit for nothing else,
before they are dashed to pieces by the iron rod of divine
justice.

It is a criticism worthy to be mentioned, even in this
solemn place, where I never choose to make a parade
of useless learning, that the apostle uses a different form
of expression, when speaking of these different sorts of
persons. The preparation of the vessels of mercy for

THE VESSELS OF WRATH DELINEATED. 365

glory, he ascribes to God, as his work. Hence he uses
an active verb, xpoyroi/jiaffsv, referring expressly to God as
the agent — the vessels of mercy, which he had afore pre-
pared unto glory. But the fitting or preparing the vessels
of wrath for destruction, he does not ascribe to God, but
intimates that it is their own work Hence he uses a
passive particle — xaTyprt/Jisva, the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction — fitted by their own wilful sin and impenitence,
during the long-suffering of God towards them, which had
a tendency to lead them to repentance.

Vessels of wrath. — How terribly emphatical is this
phrase ! Vessels dreadfully capacious of divine wrath !
to be filled to the brim with that burning liquid! But
how beautifully significant is the metaphor — vessels of
mercy ! vessels formed, prepared, finished, adorned by
the gentle and skilful hand of divine mercy ! vessels capa-
cious of mercy, and to be filled, to overflow, with glory!

The gracious and sovereign God, who might justly have
dashed these vessels of wrath to pieces as soon as ever
they became marred clay in his plastic hands, endures or
bears with them with much long-suffering, as well as with
vessels of mercy : bears with them, as he has with you,
for days, and months, and years, notwithstanding their dar-
ing provocations, and ungrateful abuse of his patience;
which nothing but divine patience could bear with so long.
But all this time, they contracted more and more filth and
pollution ; they became every day less fit" for their Mas-
ter's use, and rendered themselves more and more fit for
destruction, and fit for nothing else.

And shall these vessels of wrath answer no valuable use
in the great house of the universe? Will they serve to
furnish out no apartment of this vast building? Will they
be of no use in this numerous family of reasonable crea-
tures? Yes, they will furnish out the regions of hell, a

366 THE VESSELS OF MERCY AND

place as necessary and useful in the universe, as it is now
constituted, as prisons and bedlams .upon the earth. They
will serve as public and terribly illustrious monuments of
the divine power and justice, and the righteous resentments
of heaven against sin. They will serve as loud warnings
to all worlds, to deter them from that destructive evil.
And thus they will answer a valuable, and even a benevo-
lent, end in the creation, and contribute to the public good ;
as the execution of criminals tends to guard the laws from
violation, and so promote the good of society. They will
serve, as my text informs you, " to show the wrath and
make known the power" of God : Their destruction will
illustriously display the glory of these perfections. The
flames of hell will burn dreadfully bright, to reflect a ter-
rible and yet amiable splendour upon them : and it is for
this terrible but righteous end, among others, that God now
endures them with so much long-suffering : that his per-
fections and the honour of his government may be the
more illustriously displayed in the execution of deserved
punishment upon them.

But the vessels of mercy are intended and prepared for
nobler uses. On them God intends to display the glory,
the riches of the glory of his more gentle attributes, his
love and grace. With them he intends to furnish out the
many mansions of his heavenly house. By them he in-
tends to let all worlds see what glorious vessels he can
form, not only of the dust, but of the shattered and pol-
luted fragments of human nature, broken and polluted by
the fall of Adam, and by their own.

The view in which I now consider my text leads me to
confine myself to this practical inquiry :

Wherein does preparation for glory, and wherein does
fitness for destruction, consist?

Some of you, perhaps, when you heard the text, were

THE VESSELS OF WRATH DELINEATED. 367

struck with horror, and ready to bless yourselves at the
sound : for " Now," you thought within yourselves, " we
shall have a sermon upon the horrible doctrine of predesti-
nation." But you see I propose to consider the text en-
tirely in a practical view; and therefore your fears are
imaginary. Nor do I choose to consider it in this view,
to let you see with what dexterity I can evade the genuine
sense of it, and make a mental reservation of a doctrine so
unpopular; but because whatever else the text in its con-
nection may mean, it does naturally lead me to this grand
inquiry ; and because my present design is to speak to your
hearts, about an affair which you are all concerned and
capable to know, and not to perplex your minds with a
controversy, of which not many of you are competent
judges. I must own, indeed, I am not altogether a scep-
tic in that doctrine. It is not an entire blank in my creed ;
nor am I at all ashamed to declare my sentiments in a
proper time and place. At present I shall only tell you,
that I cannot be persuaded God has made such a world
as this, without first drawing the plan of it in his own om-
niscient mind. I cannot think he would produce such a
numerous race of reasonable and immortal creatures,
without first determining what to do with them. I cannot
think the events of time, or the judicial process of the last
day, will furnish him with any new intelligence to enable
him to determine the final states of men more justly than
he could from eternity. But away with all controversial
thoughts at present ; and let an object of more importance
engross all your attention : for you will find, I am not now
going to plunge and drown you in this unfathomable depth.
This you may be sure of, that if you have not made your-
selves fit for destruction, and fit for nothing else, by your
own wilful sin, you shall never be doomed to it by virtue
of any decree of God. And, on the other hand, you may

368 THE VESSELS OF MERCY AND

be equally sure, that he never decreed to admit you into
heaven, unless you are prepared for it; nor to exclude you
if you are so. I now proceed to the grand inquiry.

Wherein does preparation for glory, and wherein does
fitness for destruction, consist? This will naturally lead
me to inquire into your habitual dispositions and beha-
viour: for it is by comparing these to the nature and
quality of the regions of heaven and hell, that you can
discover which you are fit for. If your temper and dis-
positions be heavenly and divine, you may be sure that
you shall be admitted into those blessed mansions. But
if, on the other hand, your tempers and dispositions be in-
fernal and diabolical ; if they be such as are prevalent and
universal in hell, you may be equally sure, that, unless they
are changed, you will be doomed for ever to that dismal
region. This must, methinks, appear quite evident to
common sense. The righteous Judge of all the earth
will always invariably do that which is fit. If you are fit
for the enjoyments and services of heaven, you need not
fear but he will admit you; never has such a soul been
excluded. And what can you reasonably desire more?
Would you have heaven encumbered with such as could
not be happy, even in the very regions of happiness, for
want of a proper relish for the enjoyments there? But,
if you are fit only for the infernal prison, is there not a
propriety, as well as justice, in your being confined there ?
The same propriety, as that madmen should be shut up in
bedlam, or notorious criminals in a dungeon. Therefore,

1. Are you fit for heaven? do you love and delight in
God — in a God of infinite purity? If not, the enjoyment
of his presence, and the beatific vision of his face, which
is the principal ingredient of heavenly happiness, could
afford no happiness to you. Do you delight in the service
of God, in contemplating his glories, in celebrating his

THE VESSELS OF WRATH DELINEATED. 369

praises, and in the humble forms of worship in his church
on earth? Do these afford you the most exalted plea-
sure ? If not, heaven is no place for you ; for these are
the eternal exercises there : and to such of you as have
no pleasure in them, the heavenly state would be an eter-
nal drudgery. Do you delight in holiness? If not, what
would you do in the region of holiness? Alas ! to you it
would be an unnatural element. Are the saints, those
whom the world perhaps calls so with a sneer, because
they make it their great business to be holy in all manner
of conversation, are these your favourite companions ? Is
their society peculiarly delightful to you? And are they
the more agreeable to you, by how much the more holy
they are? If not, what would you do among the holy in-
habitants of heaven ? With what pleasure could you min-
gle in society with them, while your temper and theirs are so
directly contrary? Are your hearts full of ardent love and
benevolence to mankind ? If not, how would you breathe
in the pure element of perfect love ? Without such dispo-
sitions as these, you are no more fit for heaven than a sick
man for a feast, a swine for a palace, or a blind man to
view the splendours of the sun, and, therefore, you may
be certain, that God, who will never do any thing that is
unfit, will not admit you there, while you continue such as
you now are.

You must also consider, that if you are fit for these pure
and blessed regions, it is God that has made you so, by his
own almighty power : He that hath wrought you for this
self-same thing is God, 2 Cor. v. 5, and you have been
deeply sensible that the work was indeetf his, was divine
and god-like, and beyond the utmost efforts of your de-
generate nature. You are able indeed to fit yourselves
for destruction ; that you can easily do ; and that, I am
afraid, some of you have effectually done already. But it

VOL. II.— 47

370 THE VESSELS OF MERCY AND

is God alone that can make you fit for the inheritance of
the saints in light. And have you ever been the subjects
of this divine operation? Have you ever felt the power
of almighty grace opening your blinded minds — breaking
your stony hearts, and melting them into floods of ingenuous
sorrow, under the warm beams of a Saviour's love, like
snow before the sun? Have you ever felt it subduing
your favourite sins, and making them more bitter to you
than death, and implanting and cherishing every grace and
virtue in your souls? Has the Holy Spirit turned the
prevailing bent of your souls towards holiness, so that you
esteem it the principle ornament of your nature, and make
it the object of your eager desires, and most vigorous pur-
suit? Does holiness appear to you amiable in itself, and
not only a pre-requisite to your happiness, but the princi-
pal ingredient of it? And is heaven itself the more en-
deared to you by this consideration, that it is the region
of pure, unmingled holiness, that no unclean thing can en-
ter there, and that even the way that leads to it is holy ?
If these things are not matters of experience to you, you
may be sure you are not afore prepared for glory.

Let us now take a view of the opposite dispositions,
and we shall make the same discovery : — Suppose your
hearts are set upon the enjoyments of this life, as your
principal happiness; suppose you are chiefly solicitous
and laborious to heap up riches, or to indulge your sen-
sual lusts and appetites ; supposing this to be the ruling
passion of your souls, are you fit for heaven ? In heaven
there are none of these low and sordid enjoyments : And
what pleasure would you have there, who have a taste
only for these things ? You are indeed fit to dig in the
earth, like moles, and steal the serpent's food : you are fit
to scrape up riches ; fit to wallow in the mire of guilty
and debauched pleasures; fit to live in this world could

THE VESSELS OF WRATH DELINEATED. 371

you always make your residence in it : this gross, impure,
earthly element suits your depraved constitutions. But
can you once imagine you are fit for heaven ; fit to breathe
in that pure, salubrious air; fit to share in those refined
and spiritual enjoyments; fit to join in the exalted employ-
ments of seraphs, while this is your prevailing temper ?
Surely, no. And what then will become of you 1 The
impure and gross region of this world, so agreeable to
you, will not always last, and you will not probably live
in it as long as it does last; but death, ere long, will tear
you away from all that is dear to you under the sun. And,
alas ! whither then shall you go ? where, then, shall you
take up your eternal residence ? I leave you to pause and
think upon it.

Suppose the service of God to be a weariness to you,
and the thoughts of him unwelcome to your minds ; sup-
pose your hearts are full of angry, malignant passions ; in
short, suppose you love sin more than holiness, can you
flatter yourselves you are fit for heaven ? Alas ! it would
be as unnatural an element to you as for a fish to live out
of water, or you to live in it. But the farther illustration
of this will fall under the next head ; therefore,

2. Inquire, Whether your tempers and dispositions be
not infernal and diabolical, and such as render you fit for
destruction, and for nothing else ? Are your hearts desti-
tute of the love of God 1 " No," you answer; "we thank
God we have never been so bad as that comes to." But
if you love God, whence is it that you have so few affec-
tionate thoughts of him ? that you do not study to please
him in all things, and delight in his service ? If you love
God, how comes it that you do not keep his command-
ments, which is the grand decisive test of love ? Alas !
instead of loving him, are not your hearts disaffected to
him 1 As evidences of this, may I not produce your dis-

372 THE VESSELS OE MERCY AND

like to serious thoughts of him, your aversion to his
service, your disregard to his will as the rule of your con-
duct, and your headlong propensity to follow your own
pleasure 1 Do not the murmurings and insurrections of
your hearts against him and his dispensations, your uneasy,
rebellious spirit under his providence, your aversion to his
service, do not these show that you are really disaffected
to him ? Now this is the very temper of hell ; this is the
constituent of a devil ; the very worst ingredient in that
infernal composition; and, therefore, unless this temper be
changed, you must dwell with devils for ever ; it is fit all
the enemies of God should be shut up together in one
vast prison. It is unfit that rebels and traitors should
always run at large, or mingle with loyal subjects. Alas !
sirs, a soul without the love of God is devilized already,
ripe for destruction, and fit for nothing else.

Again, Are there not some of you who have no plea-
sure in devotion, no delight in conversing with God in his
ordinances 1 The posture of humble worshippers at the
throne of grace is not easy and agreeable to you; and
hence that you have prayerless families and prayerless
closets; and if you join in public worship once a week, it
is a mere customary formality. You cannot bear to wean
your thoughts and tongues from temporal affairs in the few
hours devoted to the service of God, though they make
up but one day in seven ; you do not delight in religious
conversation, but it strikes you dumb, like the man with-
out the wedding garment. Well, in the infernal regions
you will have as little of this exercise as you could wish.
The patient will then be hopeless and incurable, and there-
fore no farther means will be used with him. Then you
will no more be troubled with prayers, bibles, sermons,
religious conversation, or the tedious hours of the Lord's
day. And, since you have no taste for such exercises, is

THE VESSELS OF WRATH DELINEATED. 373

it not tit you should be sent into those ungodly regions,
where you shall never be employed in them 1

Again, Are not the minds of some of you defiled with
all manner of sin and moral pollutions 1 And do not those
render you fit only for that region of corruption and im-
purity ? Do you not indulge an angry, contentious, unfor-,
giving, malicious temper? Well, that is the very temper
of hell, and renders you fit for it ! Nay, these outrageous
passions, when broke loose from restraint, will create a
hell in your own breasts, and not only expose you to pun-
ishment, according to justice, but become the ingredients
of your punishment, according to the course of nature.
Do not some of you indulge yourselves in backbiting, and
all the base, malignant arts of defamation, and perhaps are
fire-brands in the neighbourhood where you live 1 Well,
in hell you shall have enough of this work; and while
you indulge this spirit, you are preparing yourselves for
that land of universal hostility and revenge. Is not curs-
ing and swearing the familiar language of some of you 1
Well, this is the language of hell ; and you are now prac-
tising the infernal dialect, and preparing to converse with
the ghosts below in their own style, in the regions of im-
precation and blasphemy. Do not some of you live in
the practice of the works of the devil; that is, of those
works to which he tempts you, and in which he has per-
sisted, who was a sinner from the beginning ? Are you
not then fit for that everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels? Even the gentle lips of Jesus himself
would tell you, as he did the Jews, that you are of your
father the devil, John viii. 44, since you habitually do his
works. And is it not fit you should be doomed to the soci-
ety of your infernal father?

Do you not find that your hearts are habitually hard and
insensible ? Or if you have some kind of repentance, it

374 THE VESSELS OF MERCY AND

is only a servile horror, extorted remorse, and involun
tary pangs of desperate agony. This is the very kind of
repentance in hell, where they still love sin, and yet can-
not but upbraid and torment themselves, because they
have ruined themselves by indulging it. Conscience tor-
tures them with the keenest reflections ; but they feel no
kindly ingenuous relentings ; no generous sorrows, pro-
ceeding from a sense of the intrinsic vileness and base-
ness of sin, and from a sincere, disinterested love to God
and holiness. Hence their repentance is only a punish-
ment, but has no tendency to their reformation. And is
not this the very nature of your repentance at present 1

But I need not dwell long upon this inquiry. It is
enough to tell you, in short, that if you are still in your
natural state; if you still retain that temper which is
natural to you as the degenerate sons of Adam, without
any supernatural change; that estrangement from God;
that disaffection to him ; that carnality and earthly-minded-
ness ; that blindness and insensibility about divine things ;
that presumption, security, and love of lawless pleasure:
I say, if this be still your prevailing temper, you are not
meet for the heavenly inheritance ; for in order to be heirs
of that, you must be born again of God. But you are
fitted for destruction ; for by nature you are children of
wrath, Eph. ii. 3, and while you continue snch, you must
be vessels of wrath. Therefore bring the matter to a
short issue, by this decisive inquiry : " Have I ever been
born again? Have I ever experienced such a mighty
change in the temper of my mind, as may, with propriety,
be called a, new birth or a new creation ? For ' if any man
be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new.' 2 Cor. v. 17.
Have I thus been renewed in the spirit of my mind ? or
am I still the same old man, with my old affections and

THE VESSELS OF WRATH DELINEATED. 375

lusts?" This, my brethren, is the grand, decisive inquiry;
for if you have been begotten again, St. Peter tells you it
is to "an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that
fadeth not away; reserved in heaven for you." 1 Peter i. 4.
But Jesus, the friend of sinners; Jesus, who never pro-
nounced a harsh sentence, and who never will exclude
from heaven one soul that is fit for it, nor doom to destruc-
tion one soul that is fit for anything else; even Jesus him-
self has strongly assured you with his own gracious lips,
that " except a man be born again," born of the Spirit, as
well as of water, " he cannot see the kingdom of heaven ;
for that which is born of the flesh is flesh," John iii. 3, 5, 6,
carnal, corrupt, unholy, and utterly unfit for that spiritual,
pure, and holy kingdom.

Here I would enlarge a little upon an observation which
I just hinted at before, namely, That these corrupt dispo-
sitions are not only criminal, and therefore will bring upon
you the penalty of the divine law, according to justice,
but that they are, in their own nature, destructive, and
therefore, according to the course of nature, will be your
ruin. Suppose God had made no positive constitution to
exclude you from heaven ; yet while you have no relish
for the employments and enjoyments of that state, it is
impossible, in the nature of things, you should be happy
there. As you must have animal senses, to render you
capable of animal pleasures, so you must have spiritual
senses to render you capable of the pure spiritual pleasures
of paradise ; and without these you can no more be happy
there than a stone can enjoy the pleasures of an animal, or a
beast those of reason ; you would be miserable wretches
in paradise itself. Do but consider in what things the
bliss of heaven consists, and methinks you will rather fear,
than hope and desire admission there. Is religion so
pleasing a thing to you, that you might expect you should

376 THE VESSELS OF MERCY AND

be completely happy if it were but perfected in you?
Alas ! are there not a thousand things more agreeable to
some of you? But in heaven there are none of these
things, and how do you expect to be happy there ? There
must be another heaven created for you, a Mahometan
paradise of sensual pleasures, or else your temper must be
changed. The paradise of saints and angels does not suit
your vitiated taste.

Farther, Suppose God should not inflict any positive
punishment upon you with his own immediate hand, but
only suffer the course of nature to run on, and let your
corrupt dispositions have full scope and range without re-
straint, would not these dispositions alone create a hell
within you ? Anger, malice, envy, and every wicked and
turbulent passion against God and his creatures, will break
out into outrageous hurricanes, when the kind restraints
under which they now lie are taken off, and they will
agitate and distract your souls for ever, and render you
incapable of all peace, serenity, and joy. Then, also, all
temporal enjoyments, the objects of your love and desire,
and the only things you have now to allay your raging
thirst for happiness, will be for ever torn from you, and
leave you to famish in a dismal void ; and then you will
pine away with eager, impatient, insatiable desires, which
will gnaw your hearts, and prey upon your spirits like
hungry vultures. Suppose you were now stripped naked of
every enjoyment, and nothing left you but bare being, with
your usual capacity of enjoyments; suppose you were
deprived of the light of the sun, the products of the earth,
the comforts of society, and every imaginable blessing, and
doomed to wander, forlorn and hungry, in some dismal
desert, how consummately miserable would this privation
alone render you ! But this will be the doom of the un-
godly, as soon as death breaks their connections with this

THE VESSELS OF WRATH DELINEATED. 377

world. They must leave all their enjoyments behind them,
and yet carry their eager desires, their insatiable avarice
of happiness, along with them ; and these will make them
capacious vessels of pain; for a capacity of positive en-
joyment, not satisfied, is a dreadful capacity of positive
misery. Thus, you see your destruction comes upon you
according to the course of nature ; and you will die eter-
nally, though the hand of the executioner should never
touch you, as the unavoidable result of your present tem-
per, the deadly disease under which you labour.

And hence you may see, by the way, that it is no act
of cruelty or injustice in the Supreme Judge, to shut you
up in the prison of hell ; for what else should he do with
you, when you are fit for no other place ? Is it cruel to
exclude the sick from entertainments, or persons infected
with the plague from the society of the sound and healthy 1
Is it cruel to confine madmen in bedlam, or criminals in
prison ? Certainly not. Therefore God and his throne
will be guiltless for ever.

And now, my dear brethren, have any of you been
convinced that this is really your case ? That your temper
and conduct is such as at once renders and proves you
utterly unfit for heaven, and, as it were, naturalizes and
seasons you for the infernal regions. Alas ! this is a
shocking and alarming discovery indeed: but, blessed be
God, you have made it in time ; you have made it while
in the land of hope, and in a state of trial; and therefore
there is reason to hope, that, if you now take the alarm,
and earnestly use the means of grace, your condition, bad
as it is, may be happily altered; and you, who are now fit
for nothing but destruction, may yet be made meet for
the inheritance of the saints in light. It is because there
is some reason for this hope, that I have honestly exposed
these alarming and unpopular things to your view. You

VOL. II.— 48

378 THE VESSELS OF MERCY AND

must know them sooner or later : and if you should not
know them until you fall into destruction, alas ! it will
then be too late. Believe me, my brethren, these things
do not proceed from a morose, malevolent heart, nor are
they intended to drive you into despair. I speak to you
with melting and affectionate benevolence; and instead
of driving you into despair, my design is to save you
from it for ever, and bring you to have a good hope
through grace. And as the evidence of what I have
offered is so plain to common sense, do not pretend you
cannot understand me, and do not know what I would
aim at. I am only inculcating upon you this self-evident
truth, that unless you are prepared for heaven, you shall
not be admitted ; and that, if you are fit for nothing but
destruction, you must be destroyed. Can any mathematical
demonstration be more plain than this ? And are any of
you so void of sense, reason, and faith, as not to under-
stand and believe it ?

I now presume, that such of you as have made this
discovery with regard to yourselves, are also convinced,
that you cannot possibly escape destruction, unless your
present temper be changed, and quite a new frame of spirit
given you.

And who, do you think, can work this happy change in
your hearts? If you are so vain and ignorant as to flatter
yourselves that you can effect it in your own strength,
make the trial, and you will soon be undeceived. It is
God alone that can work in you both to will and to do.
My text tells you, it is he that prepares the vessels of
mercy for glory; it is his Holy Spirit alone that is equal to
the arduous work.

But in what way is this influence to be expected? Is it
in a course of impenitent sinning? of presumption and
security? of sloth and negligence? No: to expect it in

THE VESSELS OF WRATH DELINEATED. 379

that way, is to tempt the Lord your God. But such of
you as would escape the damnation of hell ; such of you as
have any desire to be for ever happy, hear me, seriously
hear me, and I will tell you in a few plain words what
you must do, if you would expect the aids of divine grace
to prepare you for glory.

You must immediately think seriously of your condi-
tion: you must labour impartially to know the truth of
your case: pry into the dreadful secrets of wickedness in
your hearts: review your sinful lives: reflect upon the
purity and justice of God and his law, and what you have
deserved for a whole life of unnatural rebellion against
him : read and hear the word of life with solemnity and
attention, and use all proper means to furnish your minds
with religious knowledge. It may pain you at first to
confine your minds to such objects; but it must be done; —
and there is no disputing against necessity; besides, the
pain is medicinal ; it will contribute to the recovery of your
dying souls.

Again, You must accustom yourselves to frequent, im-
portunate prayer. If ever you be saved, or prepared for
salvation, it will be in answer to prayer: therefore, engage
in it, persevere in it, and never give over until you obtain
your request.

Further, You must guard against every thing that tends
to divert your minds from this grand concern ; as excessive
hurries and cares about earthly things, vain and vicious
company, and every avoidable temptation.

Finally, You must persevere in this course, if you hope
to succeed; and never rest until you feel the dispositions
of heaven wrought in your souls. A pang of remorse,
a serious fit, a transient prayer, will not suffice, but you
must hold on your way to the last. You may expect diffi-
culties in this new course, and you will probably meet

380 THE VESSELS OF MERCY AND

with more than you can now foresee or expect. But you
must break through all; for your immortal interest, your
all is at stake.

This is the course I would advise you to, if ever you
hope to be prepared for glory. I cannot give you any
the least encouragement in any other way. If any other
can show you a more easy, and yet safe course, and pro-
duce sufficient authority for it, you may take it; but, for
my part, if I teach you what I learn in my Bible, I can
give you no other direction; nor do I expect to be saved
in any easier way myself. And, therefore, if you will
choose another, you must be answerable for it. Remem-
ber, I warn you against it, and would not be accessary to
it for ten thousand worlds.

Now, if this course must be taken, I ask, when do you
think must it be begun? Will you appoint to-morrow,
or next year, or old age, or a sick-bed, for that purpose ?
Alas ! you may never live to see that time. Before then
you may drop into destruction, as rotten fruit fall to the
ground by their own weight. Therefore now, this pre-
sent fleeting now, is the only time you are sure of; and,
consequently, this is the only proper time to begin this
course. Now then, now, while my voice is sounding in
your ears, form the resolution, and carry it into im-
mediate execution. Bear it home upon your hearts to
your houses, and there let it dwell until the great work
is done. Oh! that you did but know its importance
and necessity! then you could not delay it one moment
longer.

And now, if you have any regard for the God that
made you, for the Lord that bought you, or for your
own everlasting happiness, take this course immediately.
If you have any need of excitements take the following.

1. Consider your present dangerous situation. You

THE VESSELS OF WRATH DELINEATED. 381

hang over the pit of destruction by the slender thread
of life, held up only by the hand of an angry God, as we
hold a spider, or some poisonous insect, over a fire, ready
to throw in it. You are ripe for destruction, and there-
fore in danger every day, every hour, every moment,
of falling into it. You are as fit for destruction as a
murderer for the gallows, or a mortified limb to be cut
off. Such polluted vessels of wrath must be thrown out
of the way into some dark corner in hell, that they may
no more encumber or disgrace the more honourable
apartments of the universe. And is this a situation in
which it becomes you to be merry, and gay, and thought-
less, and eager after the trifles of time? Oh does it not
become you rather to be on your knees at the throne
of grace, and vigorously pressing into the kingdom of
God I

2. Reflect with how much long-suffering God has
endured you, notwithstanding all your audacious and re-
peated provocations. One would think one day's sinning
against so holy and gracious a God, by a creature so
deeply obliged to him, would make your case desperate,
and that the evening of such a day would be the hour of
your execution. But he has patiently borne with you
for days, for months, for years, perhaps for scores of
years. And all this time he has followed you with his
blessings every moment, and granted you the means of
preparation for glory. And yet you have been thought-
less, disobedient, ungrateful, rebellious still. How justly,
then, may he inflict punishment upon you ! And how in-
dustriously will his goodness and severity, his mercy and
justice, be displayed in his treatment of you? What could
you have desired more, in point of time, opportunity, per-
suasives, than you have enjoyed ? Will it not then appear
evident, that your destruction is entirely of yourself, and

382

that, as I have told you before, God and his throne will
be guiltless for ever ?

3. Consider how dreadful will be your punishment, if
you should perish at last by your present wilful negli-
gence. My text tells you what will be the design of
your punishment; it will be to show the wrath of God,
and make his power known. Such will be your punish-
ment, as will be fit to show that it is almighty power
that inflicts it, and that it is an almighty God who is
angry with you. It will be his professed design to dis-
play the dreadful glory of his vindictive attributes upon
you, particularly his justice, as the supreme Magistrate
of the universe: and even his justice deserves to be dis-
played; for justice is not that ugly, grim, horrible thing,
which criminals imagine. In a ruler, especially in the
supreme and universal ruler, justice is not only a majestic
and terrible, but it is a lovely, amiable, ingratiating attribute,
essential to his character, and to the public good, and so it
appears to all competent judges ; that is, to all who are not
self-flattering criminals, and therefore parties. The display
of this attribute, therefore, upon proper objects, is neces-
sary, to give a full view of the Deity to the world; to
represent him as he is.

Now, whatever attribute of his he intends to display in
any of his works, he always does it in a manner worthy
of himself. When his design was to display and glorify
his creative power, wisdom, and goodness, see what a
stately, well-furnished universe he spoke into being.
What a magnificent, God-like building! When his design
was to show the riches of his grace towards our guilty
race, what wonders did he perform ! What inimitable
exploits of condescension and love ! His only begotten
Son must become a man, must struggle with all the ca-
lamities of life for three-and-thirty long and painful years,

THE VESSELS OF WRATH DELINEATED. 383

must expire in torture upon an ignominious cross, and re-
deem the guilty with the blood of his heart. This was
Godlike love and grace indeed, beyond all example. Oh
who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity ?
Micah vii. 18. He is as much distinguished from all other
beings by the wonders of his love and grace, as by the
eternity of his existence, or by that wisdom which planned
the universe, or that power which produced it out of no-
thing. When in prosecution of the same design, he in-
tends to give a farther display of the riches of his glorious
grace upon the vessels of mercy, what Godlike provisions
hath he made for them. " Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him."
He hath prepared for them a city, such a glorious residence,
that he is not ashamed to be called their God. He is not
ashamed to own the relation, because he has acted up to
the character so worthy of himself. Heb. xi. 16. And
when his design is to show his avenging wrath, and make
his punitive power known ; when it is to show what God-
like punishments he can inflict, such as may, by their
terror, declare him to be their author, and serve as loud
warnings to all present, and, perhaps, future creations, to
deter them from the breach of his sacred laws ; and when
the subjects of the punishment are strong, capacious
vessels of wrath, fit for nothing but destruction; I say,
when this is the case, what Godlike vengeance will he exe-
cute, what signal, unexampled punishment will he inflict !
The design of punishment, which is not the reformation
of the criminal, but the benefit of others, and the display
of his perfections, require that he give a loose to all the
terrors of his power. And what miracles of misery, what
terrible illustrious monuments of vengeance will that per-
form and erect! As far surpassing all the punishments

384 THE VESSELS OF MERCY AND

inflicted by mortals, as the creation of the world out of
nothing exceeds all the works of human art.

And are you proof against the energy of such conside-
rations as these? Then you are dreadfully fitted for de-
struction indeed. For the strongest persuasives to deter
you from it, which God himself can reveal, or the human
mind conceive, have no weight upon you.

But may I hope that I shall prevail at least with some
of you this day to fly from this tremendous destruction,
into which you are this moment ready to fall ? Alas ! it is
hard, if even a stranger cannot prevail with so much as
one soul, in so large an assembly, and in a point so reason-
able, and so strongly enforced by your own interest. But
I must leave this warning with you, and if you do not re-
member it now, you will remember it millions of ages
hence, when the remembrance of it will torment you with
intolerable anguish.

There are sundry in this assembly, I doubt not, who, by
comparing their dispositions with the nature of heavenly
happiness, may make the welcome discovery, that they are,
in some measure, prepared for it. To such happy souls I
have time only to say, that if this be your character, you
may be sure that immense happiness shall be yours: your
present heavenly temper is a certain pledge and earnest
of it. You may be sure God would never make you "fit
for it, and then exclude you from it.

And, on the other hand, if you find that the dispositions
of hell are subdued in you, assure yourselves God will
not doom you to it. Can you think he would gain your
hearts and allure your love, and then bid you depart from
him, to languish and pine away with the eager, anxious
pantings of disappointed, bereaved love? Will he doom
you to reside for ever among those whose works you de-
test, and whose society you abhor? No: he will tho-

THE VESSELS OF WRATH DELINEATED. 385

roughly prepare you, and make you holy, and then ad-
vance you to dwell for ever in that presence which you
love, in the element of holiness; to breathe in that clear,
refined air; to live in that wholesome climate, so agreeable
to your constitution ; to be employed in those services in
which you delight; to enjoy that sublime and delicate hap-
piness which you relish, and to converse in that society
which you affect, and which is of the same temper and
spirit with you. And for that blessed region may we all
be prepared, and there may we all meet at last, to enjoy
that endless felicity which awaits those who firmly put

their confidence in God, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
VOL. II.— 49

386 THE NATURE AND NECESSITY

SERMON XLIV.

THE NATURE AND NECESSITY OF TRUE REPENTANCE.

ACTS XVH. 30. — And the times of this ignorance God
winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to
repent.

WE here find St. Paul in as learned an assembly as,
perhaps, he ever appeared in. We find him in Athens, a
city of Greece, famous all over the world for learning ; a
city where Socrates, Plato, and the most illustrious phi-
losophers of antiquity, lived and taught. We find him in
the famous Court of Areopagus, or Mars-Hill, where the
wisest men and best philosophers of this wise and philo-
sophical city were met together ; in the same court where
Socrates, the most likely candidate in all the heathen world
for the honours of martyrdom, had been accused and con-
demned, and for very much the same crime, namely in-
troducing a foreign religion, and bringing the gods of the
country into contempt. And how does the apostle con-
duct himself in these critical circumstances ? Why, instead
of amusing them with a learned harangue; instead of
confirming them in their idolatry, and vindicating himself,
by publicly professing, with poor Socrates, that he wor-
shipped the gods of the country, and sacrificed at the
established altars ; instead of this, I say, the apostle boldly,
though in a very handsome and genteel manner, exposes
their superstitions, calls them oflf from their idols to the
worship of the one true God, the Maker and Ruler of

OF TRUE REPENTANCE. 387

heaven and earth ; and, having asserted these fundamental
articles of natural religion, he introduces the glorious pe-
culiarities of revelation, and preached Jesus Christ to
them as the Saviour and Judge of the world.

In my text, he inculcates the great gospel duty of re-
pentance as binding upon all mankind, (philosophers and
judges, as well as the illiterate vulgar) in Athens, as well
as in the most barbarous countries of the earth.

The times of this ignorance God winked at. By the
times of ignorance, he means the times previous to the
propagation of the gospel in the heathen world, who for
many ages were sunk in the most gross ignorance of the
true God, and in the most absurd and impious superstition
and idolatry, notwithstanding the loud remonstrances of
the light of reason, and the various lessons of the book
of creation, so legible to all. When it is said that God
winked at these times of ignorance, it may mean, as our
translators seem to have understood it, that God seemed to
connive at, or not to take notice of this universal ignorance
that had overspread the world, so as to send his prophets
to them for their reformation. In this view, there is a
strong antithesis between the first and last parts of my
text. q. d. " God once seemed to connive at the idolatry
and superstition of mankind, and to let them go on, with-
out sending his messengers to call them to repentance;
and in these dark times their impenitence was the less in-
excusable. But now the case is altered ; now he has in-
troduced a glorious day, and he plainly and loudly calls
and commands all men everywhere to repent ; and there-
fore, if you now continue impenitent you are utterly inex-
cusable." Or the word may be rendered, God overlooked
these times of ignorance : he overlooked them by way of
displeasure ; he would not favour such guilty times with a
gracious glance of his eye : and in righteous displeasure,

388 THE NATURE AND NECESSITY

he did not so much as give them an explicit call to repent-
ance : or he overlooked them by way of forbearance.
Ignorant and idolatrous as the world was, he did not destroy
it, but bore it from age to age, with a design to publish a
more explicit command to repent; and now that time is
come; that time, for the sake of which a long-suffering
God had borne with a guilty world so long. Now he
commands all men everywhere to repent; all men, Gen-
tiles as well as Jews : everywhere in the dark heathen
lands, as well as in the enlightened spot of Judea.

Repentance is indeed a duty enjoined by our natural
reason, and strongly enforced by the Jewish religion ; but
it is the gospel that affords the strongest motives and
allurements, and the best helps and advantages for repen-
tance. The gospel was first introduced by a loud call to
repentance : Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,
was the united cry of John the Baptist, of Christ, and his
disciples. And St. Paul sums up the substance of his
preaching in these two articles, " Repentance toward God,
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts xx. 21.

Repentance is universally acknowledged to be an essen-
tial ingredient in the religion of a' sinner. They who
deny the Christian religion, and particularly the necessity
of Christ's death to make atonement for sin, deny it upon
this supposition, that the light of nature teaches us the
necessity of repentance, and that alone is a sufficient
atonement. Thus, even infidels, Jews, Pagans, and Ma-
hometans, agree in asserting the necessity of repentance.
It is this grand, catholic, uncontro verted duty, and not the
little disputable peculiarity of a party, that I am now about
to inculcate upon you ; and he that hath an ear to hear
let him hear.

But here, I hope you are ready to request me, " Pray
let us know what repentance is, before you exhort us to

OF TRUE REPENTANCE. 389

it. How may we know what it is to repent, and whether
we have truly repented or not ?"

If this be your desire, it directly coincides with my main
design : and I shall endeavour, with the utmost plainness
and faithfulness, to tell you what gospel repentance is, and
help you to determine whether ever you have been the
subjects of it.

Now it is evident, both from Scripture and common
sense, that every pang of sorrow for sin, and every instance
of reformation, is not that repentance which we have now
under consideration. If horror of conscience and fears of
hell could constitute true repentance, then Judas was a
true penitent; for his horror and fear were so great that
he could not live under it. If sudden pangs of terror and
remorse, with some resolutions to amend, could constitute
true repentance, then Felix, the heathen governor, was a
true penitent; for we are told, that, while Paul reasoned
before him, concerning temperance, righteousness, and
judgment to come, he trembled, Acts xxiv. 25, and seemed
resolved to give him another hearing on these subjects.
If a reformation in many instances were the same thing
with repentance, then Herod, the murderer of John the
Baptist, was a true penitent; for we are told, he heard
John gladly, and did many things at his exaltation.
Mark vi. 20. These knew nothing of repentance unto
life ; and therefore we may feel what they felt, and yet
remain impenitent.

I scarcely think there are any of you so hardy and
reprobated of God, as never to have experienced any sort
of repentance. It is likely there is not one in this assem-
bly but has sometimes been scared with dreadful appre-
hensions of death, hell, and the consequences of sin : and
perhaps you have cried and wept to think of your sinful
life, and trembled to think what would be the end of it.

*•

390 THE NATURE AND NECESSITY

You have also prayed to God to forgive you, and resolved
and promised you would reform. Nay, it is possible, the
terrors of the Lord and a sense of guilt, may have almost
overwhelmed and distracted you, haunted you from day
to day, and disturbed your nightly slumbers. On these
accounts you conclude, perhaps, that you are true peni-
tents : but, alas ! after all this, you may be but impenitent
sinners. True evangelical repentance has the following
distinguishing characteristics; by which I request you to
examine yourselves.

I. It extends to the heart as well as to the practice.
Every true penitent, indeed, has an affecting sense of the
many sins and guilty imperfections of his life ; but then his
repentance does not stop there, but he looks into the
horrid arcana, the secrets of wickedness within. He traces
up these corrupt streams to the more corrupt fountain in
his heart, from which they flow. A blind mind, a stupid
heart, a heart disaffected to God, that could live content
for months, for years, without loving God, a heart dead to
nis service, a heart insensible to eternal things, a heart ex-
cessively set upon things below, a secure conscience, a
stubborn, ungovernable will; these, to the true penitent,
appear the greatest crimes, while, by a thoughtless world,
they are hardly noticed as slight imperfections. Hence
when his walk in the eyes of men is unblameable, and even
imitable, he still finds daily occasion for repentance and
humiliation before God. For oh ! his heart, or his inward
temper, is not such as it should be : he does not love God
nor man as he knows he should: he does not delight
in the service of God as he should : every thought, every
motion of his heart towards forbidden objects alarms him,
like a symptom of the plague, or the stirring of an enemy
in ambush ; and he is immediately in arms to make resist-
ance. The world in general are very well pleased if the

OF TRUE REPENTANCE. 391

matter of their actions be good, and if they abstain from
what is materially evil : but this does not satisfy the true
penitent : he narrowly inspects the principles, the motives,
and the ends of his actions ; and there he finds sufficient
cause for mortification and sorrow, even when his actions
in themselves are lawful and good. In short, every true
penitent is a critic upon his own heart ; and there he finds
constant cause for repentance while in this imperfect state.

The proof of this is so evident, that I need hardly men-
tion it. Can you suppose it will satisfy a true lover of
God and goodness, just to have a clean outside, while his
heart is a mere mass of corruption ? Will it content such
a one, that he performs all the outward duties of religion,
if there be no life or spirit in them 1 Will God account
that man truly penitent, who thinks it enough that he is
not guilty of open acts of wickedness, though he indulges
it, and loves it in his heart ? No ; such repentance is a
shallow, superficial thing, and is good for nothing. David's
repentance reached his heart. Hence, in his penitential
Psalm (li.) he not only confesses his being guilty of the
blood of Uriah, but that he was shapen in iniquity, and
conceived in sin, and earnestly prays, " Create in me a
clean heart, O God ; and renew a right spirit within me."
Psalm li. 5, 6, 10. And he is deeply sensible of the want
of truth or integrity in the inward parts.

Now, my brethren, if this be an essential ingredient in
true repentance, do not some of you see, that you are des-
titute of it, and consequently, that you are still impenitent
sinners, and ready to perish as such ? A dreadful convic-
tion ! But do not shut your eyes against it, for, until you
see your error, you cannot correct it.

II. In evangelical repentance, there is a deep sense of
the intrinsic evil of sin, and a hearty sorrow for it as done
against God.

392 THE NATURE AND NECESSITY

Many that think they repent of sin have no proper
sorrow upon the account of sin against God, but only on
account of the punishment it is like to bring upon them-
selves. It is not sin they hate, but hell. Were it possible
for them to enjoy their sins, and yet be happy, they would
never think of repenting ; and hence repentance is really
a hardship in their view. Need I tell you that such a
servile, forced repentance is good for nothing? If the
criminal is very sorry, not because he has offended, but
because he is to be executed for it, would you call him a
true penitent 1 If your slave cries and trembles, not from
a sense of his offence against you, but for fear of the lash,
do you think he truly repents of it ? No ; it is self-love,
and not the love of duty ; it is fear of punishment, and not
hatred of the crime, that is the principle of this servile,
ungenerous repentance.

Hence you may see you may be very sorry for your
sin, because it may fix a scandal upon your character,
because it may have injured your temporal estate, or be-
cause it may ruin you in the eternal world : I say, you
may be very sorry for sin on such servile reasons as these,
and yet know nothing of true repentance. True repen-
tance is a more kindly, generous thing; it proceeds from
an affecting sense of the baseness and malignity of sin in
itself. Sin appears to the true penitent, as some sorts of
poison to us ; that is, not only hateful because it is deadly
and destructive, but hateful and nauseous in itself. I do
not mean that the fear of punishment is no ingredient in
true repentance : the love of God and self-love are very
consistent, if the latter is kept in a due subordination to
the former; and therefore the fear of punishment has great
weight even with the evangelical penitent. But I mean
the fear of punishment is not the principal, much less the
only spring and motive of true repentance ; the true peni-

OF TRUE REPENTANCE. 393

tent hates sin, even when he is not thinking of heaven or
hell, but only viewing it in its own nature. Though it
were allowed him to go to heaven in the ways of sin, he
would by no means choose it. Heaven itself would be
the less acceptable to him, if it were the end of such a
course.

He is also deeply sorry for sin, as against God, or as
contrary to him. As rebellion against his authority, as a
contrariety to his holiness, as an opposition to his will and
pleasure, as a most base, ungrateful return for all his good-
ness, and as the cause of all the agonies of the blessed
Jesus, he hates it; he mourns over it with ingenuous and
kindly relentings of heart. It was sin in this view, as
against God, that lay heaviest upon David's heart. He
seems to have forgotten the injury he had done to Uriah
and his wife, while all his attention was engrossed by the
horror of his crime, as against God. " Against thee, thee
only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight." Psalm
li. 4. It was this view of sin that armed Joseph, in the
heat of youth, with powers to resist the solicitations of his
mistress. " How can I do this great wickedness, and sin
against God ?" Gen. xxxix. 9. Oh ! the thought of sin-

o o

ning against God, against so glorious, so gracious and ex-
cellent a Being, pierced him to the heart, and he could not
bear it. Thus it is with every true penitent. It wounds
him to the heart to think that he should treat so good and
holy a God so basely. This thought would break his
heart, even though sin should be attended with no danger
to himself; and it does in fact grieve him, and melt down
his soul into generous sorrows, even when he has not one
thought of his own danger.

Nay, of so generous a nature is evangelical repentance,
that the penitent soul never melts so freely, nor bursts out
into such a flood of ingenuous sorrows, as when it has

VOL. II.— 50

394 THE NATURE AND NECESSITY

reason to hope that a gracious God has freely forgiven it.
Then it sees the base ingratitude and complicated vile-
ness of sin, as committed against so gracious a God. God's
forgiving the penitent is a reason to him why he should
never forgive himself. If God had concealed the glory of
his grace, and rendered himself less lovely, he would be
less sensible of the evil of sinning against him, and less
sorry for it. But oh ! that he should sin against a God
who is so gracious as to forgive him after all ! This
thought cuts him to the heart. Hence the evidences of
pardon and the hope of salvation do not put an end to true
repentance, but, on the other hand, promote it. This
blessed hope, indeed, abates the terrors of a slave, and
mixes many sweets in the bitter cup of repentance ; but it
is so far from putting a stop to the flow of generous, filial
sorrows, that it opens new springs for them, and causes
them to gush out in larger streams.

How different is this from the general temper of the
world! If they repent, it is while hell stands open be-
fore them, and the load of guilt oppresses them. But
could they believe that God has forgiven their sins, and
that they shall notwithstanding be saved, they would be
very easy about it; nay, they would most ungenerously,
from this very consideration, take encouragement to sin
the more boldly. This is more than the secret senti-
ment: it is the avowed profession of multitudes. Ask
them how they can go on impenitent in sin, and be easy
in such a course 1 their answer is, " God is merciful ; and
they hope he will forgive and save them after all." What
is this but an explicit purpose to sin against God, because
he is good, and to abuse his mercy, if he will be merciful?
Nothing but the lash can keep such sordid, slavish souls in
awe. Their hearts are dead to gratitude and every gen-
erous passion. If God will have them to repent, he must

OF TRUE REPENTANCE. 395

give them no hope of pardon and happiness; for as this
hope rises, their repentance ceases, and sin appears a harm-
less, inoffensive thing. But how different is this from the
generous temper of the true penitent ! It wounds him
more to offend a sin-pardoning than a sin-punishing God.
And never does his heart melt so kindly, as when under
the warm beams of divine love ; never does he repent so
heartily as with a pardon in his hand, and with the pros-
pect of heaven open before him. Do not think this an
excessive refinement of repentance, for common sense may
tell you, that God will never accept of that repentance
which has the punishment and not the crime for its object ;
and this generous temper is assigned to the true penitent
in the sacred Scriptures. See Ezek. xvi. 63. After God
has promised many blessings to the Jews, this is mentioned
as the consequence, " That thou mayest remember and be
confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because
of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that
thou hast done, saith the LORD God." So, (Ezek. xxxvi.
31,) after many promises of rich blessings, it is said, " Then
shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings
that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your
own sight, for your iniquities and for your abominations."
You see this shame and confusion, this penitential remem-
brance and self-loathing, are the effects of God's being re-
conciled. When he is pacified, then they are ashamed,
confounded, and loathe themselves.

Brethren, does your repentance stand this test ? Exam-
ine and see; for if it does not, it is only a repentance to
be repented of.

III. True repentance extends to all known sin, without
exception.

If sin, considered in itself, or sin, as done against God,
be the object of true repentance, then it follows, that what-

396 THE NATURE AND NECESSITY

ever is sin in itself, or against God, must be the object of
it. Every sin, whether it consists in neglecting what is
commanded, or doing what is forbidden : whether it be
immediately against God, against our neighbour, or our-
selves; whether it be fashionable, constitutional, pleasing,
or painful; every sin, without exception, as far as it is
known, is hated and lamented by the true penitent. He
should indeed regard them according to their different
degrees of aggravation; but he should not except any of
them, even the smallest. They are all forbidden by the
same divine authority ; all contrary to the holy nature of
God ; all opposite to the obligations of duty and gratitude
we are under to him ; and, therefore, they must be all re-
pented of. This was the character of David, That he
hated every false way. Psalm cxix. 128.

Now, does not this consideration prove some of you
impenitent sinners ? Do you not except some sins out of
your repentance, and plead for an indulgence to them ?
If so, you may be sure your hearts are not right with God.

IV. True repentance always includes reformation.

There are many whose whole life seems to be one con-
tinued struggle between the strength of sin and conscience ;
and they run round in a circle of sinning and repenting,
repenting and sinning, all their days. Sin is so strong that
it will prevail, in spite of all the struggles of conscience;
and conscience remains so vigorous, that it still continues
to struggle, though without success. They commit sin,
then are sorry for it ; then commit it again : and in this
vicissitude they spend their lives. Nay, the repentance of
some is so far from reforming them from sin, that it rather
encourages them to return to it; for now, they think, they
have cleared off the old score, and they may venture upon a
new one ; till that also swells very high, and then they have
another fit of repentance to clear off this new account.

OF TRUE REPENTANCE. 397

Alas ! brethren, is this repentance unto life 1 What
does that sorrow for sin avail, which leaves the heart as
much in love with it as ever 1 The only reason why sor-
row is a necessary ingredient in repentance is, because we
will not, we cannot, forsake sin, till it be made bitter to
us ; and, therefore, when our sorrow has not this effect, it
is altogether useless. Can that repentance save you, which
is so far from being an ingredient of holiness, that it is a
preparative to sin ? A repentance that answers no other
end but to make conscience easy after a debauch, and pre-
pare it for another surfeit 1

Is this the nature of true repentance? No; it is the
character of every true penitent, that sin has not an habi-
tual dominion over him. Rom. vi. 14. Remember that
maxim of the wise man, " He that covereth his sins shall
not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them,
shall have mercy." Prov. xxviii. 13. Observe, not only
confessing, but also forsaking them, is necessary to the
obtaining of mercy. The same thing appears from the
various expressions used in Scripture to describe repent-
ance. To repent, in the language of the Bible, is to de-
part from our evil ways ; to cease to do evil, and learn to
do well ; to cleanse our hands, and purify our hearts :
which expressions signify not only sorrow for sin, but
especially reformation from it. In vain, therefore, do you
pretend to repent, if you still go on in the sins you repent
of. If you indulge yourselves in any one known sin, how-
ever small you may think it, you are utter strangers to
true repentance. I do not mean by this, that true peni-
tents are perfectly free from sin in this life : alas ! their
painful experience makes the best of them sensible of the
contrary. But I mean two things, which deserve your
notice : the one is, that every true penitent has an habitual
dominion over sin : the principles of religion and virtue

398 THE NATURE AND NECESSITY

/

are prevailingly uppermost in his soul, and habitually regu-
late his behaviour. As for gross, overt acts of sin, he is
habitually free from them, and, indeed, generally this is no
great difficulty. To him it is no such mighty exploit to
abstain from drunkenness, swearing, injustice, or the like.
And as to his daily infirmities, they are contrary to the
habitual, prevailing bent of his soul, and are matter of his
daily lamentation. And this introduces the other remark
I had in view; which is this, that it does not appear a
kind of privilege to the true penitent that he cannot be
perfect in this life : but it is the daily grief and burden of
his soul that he is not. Many seem well pleased that this
is an imperfect state, because they think it furnishes them
with a plea or an excuse for their neglect of the service
of God, and for their sinful indulgences. In short, sin is
their delight, and, therefore, freedom from it would be a
painful bereavement to them ; and they are glad they are
in such a state as will admit of their retaining it. Now
such persons, as I observed, do really esteem it a privilege
to be imperfect, and they rejoice in it as their happiness,
that they are able to sin : but it is quite the reverse with
the true penitent: perfection in holiness, and an entire
freedom from sin, is the object of his eager desire and
most vigorous pursuit ; and he can never be easy until he
enjoys it. If he cannot enjoy the pleasure of serving God
as he would in the present state, he must, at least, enjoy
the pleasure of grieving over and lamenting his guilty im-
perfections. If he cannot get free from sin, his old enemy,
he will, at least, take a kind of pleasing revenge upon it,
by hating and resisting it, and loathing it, and himself
upon the account of it. In short, the remains of sin, all
things considered, and taking one time with another, afford
him more uneasiness, perplexity, and sorrow, than all other
things in the world. Oh ! if he were but delivered from

OF TRUE REPENTANCE. 399

this body of death, he would be happy, however oppressed
with other burdens ; but while this lies upon him, all the
world cannot render him easy and happy.

From the whole, you see that reformation is an essen-
tial ingredient of true repentance ; and in vain do you pre-
tend that you repent of sin, if you still indulge yourselves
in it. You may try to excuse yourselves from the frailty
of your nature, the imperfection of the present state, or
the strength of temptation : but in spite of all your ex-
cuses, this is an eternal truth, that unless your repentance
reforms you, and turns you from the outward practice or
secret indulgence of those sins you are sorry for, it is not
repentance unto life.

V. And lastly, Evangelical repentance implies a believing
application to God for pardon only through Jesus Christ.

Evangelical repentance does not consist in despairing
agonies and hopeless horrors of conscience, but is attended
with an humble hope of forgiveness and acceptance; and
this hope is founded entirely upon the merits of Jesus,
and not of our repentance and reformation.*

How opposite to this is the prevailing spirit of the
world ! If they repent, it is to make amends for their
sins, and procure the divine favour by their repentance;
and thus, even their repentance becomes a snare to them,
and one cause of their destruction. In this sense, a bold
saying of one of the Fathers may be true : " That more
souls are destroyed by their repentance than by their
sin ;" that is, sin is evidently evil, and they are in no dan-
ger of trusting in it to recommend them to God. But
even their superficial, servile repentance has the appear-
ance of goodness, and therefore they make a righteous-
ness of it ; and upon this quicksand they build their hopes,
until they sink in remediless ruin.

* See a foregoing Sermon.

400 THE NATURE AND NECESSITY

Thus I have endeavoured to open to you the great gos-
pel duty of repentance, as distinguished from all counter-
feits and delusive appearances. I hope you have all
understood me ; for I have laboured to make myself under-
stood, and spoke as plainly as I could. If you have ex-
perienced such a generous, evangelical repentance, as has
been described, you may venture your souls upon it, that
it is repentance unto life ; but if you are strangers to it, I
may leave it to yourselves to determine, whether you can
be saved in your present condition.

I have only two or three remarks more to make for the
farther illustration of this subject. The first is, that all
the principles of degenerate nature can never produce this
generous and thorough repentance, but that it is the pecu-
liar work of the Holy Spirit. Self-love, and the other
low and slavish principles of nature, may produce a ser-
vile, mercenary repentance, proceeding from the fears of
punishment : but only the love of God, and the noble prin-
ciples of the new nature, can bring you to a kindly, inge-
nuous repentance, from noble motives; and it is the Holy
Spirit alone that can shed abroad the love of God in your
hearts, and implant these generous principles of the new
nature. The second remark is, that this generous, super-
natural repentance, is not the first repentance of an awak-
ened sinner. No; he is first alarmed with terror and
dreadful apprehensions of punishment; and all the springs
of nature are put in motion before these nobler principles
are infused, and he is brought to a genuine, evangelical
repentance. Therefore, thirdly, The only way to attain
to this supernatural repentance is, to use all proper means
to excite the springs of natural repentance, particularly,
to reflect upon your sins, upon their number and aggrava-
tion, and your dreadful danger. While you are destitute
of the love of God, let self-love excite you to be sorry for

OF TRUE REPENTANCE. 401

your sins. While you cannot see the intrinsic evil of sin
as against God, see at least the insupportable misery it is
like to bring upon you. If you have not such gener-
ous souls as to mourn over sin as against a sin-forgiving
God, at least mourn over sin as against a sin-punishing
God. And while the principles of nature are thus ex-
erted, who knows but God may work in you diviner prin-
ciples, and give you repentance unto life.

My subject is now ripe for application ; and this shall
be nothing else but a short illustration of the other parts
of my text.

Let me then, in the first place, publish the royal edict
of the King of heaven in this assembly : God commandeth
all men to repent; he commands you in various ways;
commands you with the motions of his Spirit striving with
you, and by the voice of your own consciences, which is
the voice of God ; commands you by his providence, which
tends to lead you to repentance, and especially by his gos-
pel, which he has sent to you for this end. He now com-
mands you by my mouth ; for while I speak what his word
authorizes, it does not lose its efficacy, nor cease to be his
word by passing through my lips. Remember, he com-
mands you, he lays his authority upon you, to repent.
You are not left to your discretion in the case. Dare you
reject the known, express command of the divine Majesty?
Should a voice now break from the excellent glory, directed
to each of you by name, saying, Repent ! repent ! would
it not startle you? would it not shock you, to set your-
selves in opposition to so express and immediate a com-
mand of the God that made you? Well, his command to
you in the gospel is as real, as authoritative and binding,
as an immediate voice from heaven. And dare you dis-
obey it? Dare you go home this day with this additional
guilt upon you, of disobeying a known command of the

VOL. II.— 51

402 THE NATURE AND NECESSITY

supreme Lord of heaven and earth? Dare you provoke
him to jealousy ? Are you stronger than he ? Can you
harden yourselves against him, and yet prosper? I again
proclaim it aloud in your hearing. The King of kings,
my Master, has issued out his royal mandate, requiring
you, by these presents, to repent, upon pain of everlasting
damnation. This day it is proclaimed in your ears, there-
fore this day repent. If you refuse to repent, let this
conviction follow you home, and perpetually haunt you,
that you have this day, when you were met together
under pretence of worshipping God, knowingly disobeyed
the great gospel-command. And to the great God you
must answer for your disobedience.

In the next place, my text tells you, he commands all
men to repent : all men, of all ranks and characters.
This command, therefore, is binding upon you all. The
great God cries to you all, Repent ! Repent, young and
old, rich and poor, white and black, free and bond : Re-
pent, ye young sinners, now, while your hearts are soft
and tender, and your passions easily moved, and you are
not hardened by a long course of habitual sinning. Re-
pent, ye grey-headed, veteran sinners, now at last re-
pent, when the load of sins, heaped up for so many years
lies so heavy upon you, and you are walking every mo-
ment on the slippery brink of eternity : Repent, ye rich
men ; ye are not above this command : Repent, ye poor ;
ye are not beneath it : Repent, ye poor slaves ; your colour,
or low estate in life, cannot free you from this command :
Repent, ye masters, for your sins against your Master, who
is in heaven. In short, God commandeth all men, kings
and subjects, the highest and the lowest, and all the inter-
mediate ranks, to repent.

To render the call still more pointed and universal, it is
added, He commandeth all men, everywhere to repent.

OF TRUE REPENTANCE. 403

Everywhere, in city and country ; in palaces and cottages ;
in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, wherever the trum-
pet of the gospel sounds the alarm, to repent; in Virginia,
in this very spot, where we now stand. Repentance
is not a local duty, but it extends as far as human nature,
as far as the utmost boundaries of this guilty world.
Wherever there are sinners under a dispensation of grace,
there this command reaches. It reaches to the busy mer-
chant in his store, to the laborious planter in the field, and
to the tradesman in his shop ; to the sailor tossing on the
waves, and to the inhabitant of solid ground ; to the man
of learning in his study, and to the illiterate peasant; to
the judge upon the bench, as well as to the criminal in the
dungeon ; to the man of sobriety, to the unthinking rake,
and to the brutish debauchee ; to the minister in the pulpit,
and to the people in their pews ; to the dissenter in the
meeting-house, and to the conformist in church ; to hus-
bands and wives ; to parents and children ; to masters and
servants ; to all the sons of men, whatever they are, wher-
ever they dwell, whatever they are doing ; • to all these the
command reaches. And do you not find yourselves in-
cluded in it? If you are men, if you dwell anywhere upon
this guilty globe, you are included ; for, let me tell you once
more, God commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent.

Nor are you allowed to delay your compliance. Re-
pentance is your present duty : For now he commandeth
all men everywhere to repent : Now, when the times of
ignorance are over, and the gospel sheds heavenly day
among you : Now, when he will no longer wink, or con-
nive at your impenitence, but takes strict notice of it with
just indignation : Now, while the day of grace lasts, and
there is place left for repentance : Now, before you are
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, and while his
spirit is striving with you : Now, while his judgments are

404 NATURE AND NECESSITY OF REPENTANCE.

in the earth, and your country is surrounded with the
terrors of war : Now, while he is publishing his command
to a guilty country to repent, by the horrid sound of trum-
pets and cannons : * Now, while you have time, which
may be taken from you the next year, the next week, or,
perhaps, the very next moment : Now, while you enjoy
health of body, and the exercise of your reason, and your
attention is not tied down to pain and agony : Now, and
not to-morrow; not upon a sick bed; not in a dying hour.
Now is the time in which God commands you to repent;
he does not allow you one hour's delay ; and what right
have you to allow it to yourselves 1 Therefore, now, this
moment, let us all repent : all, without exception. Why
should there not be one assembly of true penitents upon
our guilty globe ? And oh ! why should it not be this ?
Why should not repentance be as universal as sin 1 And,
since we are all sinners, oh ! why should we not all be
humble penitents ? Repent, you must, either in time or
eternity, upon earth, or in hell. You cannot possibly
avoid it. The .question is not, shall I repent ? for that is
beyond a doubt. But the question is, " Shall I repent
now, when it may reform and save me; or shall I put it
off to the eternal world, when my repentance will be my
punishment, and can answer no end but to torment me ?"
And is this a hard question ? Does not common sense
determine it in favour of the present time 1 Therefore,
let the duty be as extensively observed as it is commanded :
Let all men everywhere repent. Blessed God ! pour out
upon us a spirit of grace and supplications, that there may
be a great mourning among us; that we may "mourn, as one
that mourneth for an only son ; and be in bitterness, as
one that is in bitterness for a first-born." Zech. xii. 10.
Grant this for Jesus' sake ! Amen.

* This Sermon is dated New- Kent, May 22, 1757.

THE TENDER ANXIETIES OF MINISTERS. 405

SERMON XLV.

THE TENDER ANXIETIES OF MINISTERS FOR THEIR PEOPLE.

GALAT. iv. 19, 20. — My little children, of whom I travail
in birth again until Christ be formed in you, I desire
to be present with you now, and to change my voice : for
I stand in doubt of you.

NOTHING could be more agreeable to a generous spirit
that loves God and mankind, than to be fully satisfied of
the real goodness and happiness of his fellow-creatures :
and nothing is more painful than an anxious jealousy and
fear in a matter he has so much at heart. Some profess
themselves very easy in this respect, and they glory in
this easiness as a high pitch of charity and benevolence.
They hope well of all — except, perhaps, their personal
enemies, who, for that very reason, must be very worth-
less and execrable creatures. Though Scripture and
reason do jointly declare, that men of bad lives who
habitually indulge themselves in sin, and neglect the known
duties of religion and morality, are no objects of rational
charity at all, but must be judged destitute of true piety
by all that would judge according to evidence ; "yet, God
forbid, say they, that they should judge any man. They
are not of a censorious spirit, but generous and benevolent
in their hopes of all." They can venture to hope that the
tree is good, even when the fruit is corrupt : that is, that a
good man may lead a bad life. But this temper ought not
to be honoured with the noble name of Charity. Let it be

406 THE TENDER ANXIETIES OF

called ignorance, gross ignorance of the nature of true
religion; or infidelity and avowed disbelief of what the
Scripture determines concerning the character of a good
man ; or let it be called indifferency, an indifferency whe-
ther men be now good or bad, and whether they shall be
happy or miserable hereafter. Where there is no love or
affectionate concern, there will be no uneasy jealousy.
Or let it be called a mere artifice for self-defence. Men
are often cautious for condemning others, not from benevo-
lence to them, but out of mercy to themselves, not being
willing to involve themselves in the same condemnation ;
since they are conscious they are as bad as others, they
must be sparing to others, in order to spare themselves.
These are the true names of what passes current under
the name of Charity in the world.

St. Paul, whose heart was capable of the kindest senti-
ments to mankind, could not enjoy the pleasure of this
promiscuous charity. He could not thus conclude well
of all, not even of all under the Christian name ; not of all
whom he once hoped were his spiritual children ; no, not
of all the members of the once flourishing churches of
Galatia, where he met with so friendly a reception, and
had so much promising appearance of success. I stand in
doubt of you, says he.

The state and character of these churches, we may
partly learn from this epistle. A considerable number of
Galatians had been converted from heathenism to Chris-
tianity by St. Paul's ministry; and in the transports of
their first zeal they made a very promising appearance :
hence he puts them in mind that they had begun in the
Spirit, (ch. iii. 3.) that when they first started in the
Christian race, they had run well, (ch. v. 7.) that they
suffered many things in the cause of the gospel; (ch. iii. 4.)
and as to their affection to him, it was very extraordinary.

MINISTERS FOR THEIR PEOPLE. 407

" Ye received me," says he, " as an angel of God, even as
Christ Jesus. I bear you record, that if it had been pos-
sible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have
given them to me." (ch. iv. 14, 15.) But alas ! how natu-
rally do the most flourishing churches tend to decay!
How frail and fickle is man ! How inconstant popular
applause ! These promising churches of Galatia soon
began to decline, and their favourite St. Paul, their apostle
aud spiritual father, appeared in quite another light, ap-
peared as their enemy, because he told them the truth.
There was a spurious set of preachers in that age, who
corrupted the pure gospel of Christ with Jewish mixture.
The ceremonies of the law of Moses, and the traditions of
their elders, they held as of perpetual and universal obliga-
tion ; and as such they imposed them even upon the Chris-
tian converts from among the Gentiles, who never had
any thing to do with them. Had they been recommended
to their observance as indifferences or prudentials, it would
not have had such bad influence upon Christianity. But
they continued to impose them as absolutely necessary to
salvation, and represented the righteousness revealed in the
gospel as insufficient without these additions. Thus they
laboured to corrupt the great doctrine of a sinner's justifica-
tion by faith alone, through the righteousness of Jesus
Christ, that grand article upon which the church stands or
falls, according to an old observation of Luther. These
judaizing teachers had artfully insinuated themselves into
the Galatian churches, and spread the poison of their legal
doctrines. This sunk St. Paul in the esteem of his con-
verts, and they exchanged his pure gospel for another,
more adapted to their taste. In consequence of this, reli-
gion was declining fast among them ; and St. Paul is
alarmed lest he should have bestowed labour in vain upon
them.

408 THE TENDER ANXIETIES OF

This epistle is an affectionate attempt to recover them.
It is for the most part argumentative ; for its author was
not fond of moving their passions without enlightening
their understandings. But sometimes he melts into the
most pathetic strains, and gives the most affecting touches
to the heart. Such a tender, passionate address is this in
my text. " My little children, of whom I travail in birth
again, till Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present
with you now, and to change my voice ; for I stand in
doubt of you." What a tender, moving, parental address
is this !

My little children — This is a fond, affectionate appella-
tion; the language of a tender father. It strongly ex-
presses his paternal love and solicitude for the Galatians.
The same style he uses to the Thessalonians — " Ye know
how we exhorted and comforted, and charged every one
of you, as a father doth his children," 1. Thess. ii. 11.
He may also call them his children, to intimate that he
had begotten them by the gospel as spiritual children to
God : or rather as the following words suggest, he alludes
to the sickness and anxiety of a mother in conception, and
the pangs and agonies of child-bearing; and by these he
illustrates the pangs and agonies of zeal, and the affection-
ate solicitude he had felt for them while Christ was form-
ing in them under his ministry, and they were in the
critical hour of the new birth. He might well call them
his children, because he had suffered all the pains of a
mother for them. He adds the epithet little, my little
children, because the fond language of a parent affects
such diminutives, or perhaps to intimate their small pro-
gress in Christianity. They were but little children int
grace still.

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again — I
have just observed this is an allusion to the painful dis-

MINISTERS FOR THEIR PEOPLE. 409

orders and pangs of conception and birth ;* by which the
apostle strongly represents the agonies of affectionate zeal,
and tender anxieties he felt for the Galatians. But what
rendered them doubly painful to him, was, that he was
obliged to feel them more than once — / travail of you in
birth again. He had cheerful hopes that Christ was
indeed formed in them, and that they were born from
above, and consequently that he should have no more
occasion to feel those agonies and throes he had suffered
for them. But alas ! he had now reason to fear the con-
trary, and, therefore, he must again feel the same pangs
and agonies ; he must travail in birth again.

Until Christ be formed in you ; that is, until they are
made new creatures after the image of Christ; until the
sacred foetus be formed in their hearts ; until the heavenly
embryo grow and ripen for birth, or until they be con-
formed to Jesus Christ in heart and practice ; till then he
can never be easy. Though they should retain the
Christian name, though they should make great profi-
ciency in other attainments, though they should become
as much attached to him as ever, yet he must still feel the
pangs of birth for them, till Christ be really formed in
them.

/ desire to be present with you now. In his absence
they had been corrupted by the judaizing teachers ; and
he hoped his presence might have some happy influence
to recover them. He was impatient of the restraints of a
literary correspondence, and longed to pour out all his
heart to them in a free address.

I desire to be present with you now, and to change my
voice. When he left them they were in a flourishing state,
and therefore he took his leave of them in the warmest

* Critics observe that the word wo/i/a) is expressive of the sickness of con-
ception, as well as the pangs of birth.
VOL. II.— 62

410 THE TENDER ANXIETIES OF

language of affection, approbation, and confidence. " But
now" says he, " / wish to be present with you" that I may
alter my address ; that I may change my voice into more
severe and alarming strains; and instead of congratulating
you upon your happy state, warn you of your danger."
Or his meaning may be, " I find myself obliged to use
severe language with you in this epistle, which is by no
means agreeable to me. I therefore desire to be present
with you, that I may in person use means for your recovery,
that thereupon I may change my voice, and speak to you
in a soft, approving strain, which is always most pleasing
to me, as it would be to you. It is quite contrary to my
inclination to use such chiding language to my dear little
children." Or perhaps he may mean, " I desire to be
present with you, that I may know the different characters
of youf members, and that I may be able to change my
voice, and address them accordingly ; that I may warn,
admonish, exhort, or comfort you, as your respective cases
may require. I would willingly speak comfortably to you
all promiscuously, but this I cannot now do."

For I stand in doubt of you. When I parted with you
last, I had great confidence in you, and hoped that you
would persevere : but now I stand in doubt of you, and
therefore must alter my voice to you if I were present
with you. While I am thus doubtful of you, I cannot
speak comfortably to you all promiscuously; but I must
honestly tell you my suspicions of you, and, until there
appear a change in you, I cannot change my voice into
more pleasing strains.

My dear hearers, this charge is intrusted to me by the
great Shepherd, for which I must give an account : you
and I are too nearly concerned in this text to consider it
merely as a piece of history, referring only to St. Paul
and the Galatians 1700 years ago : I must bring it nearer

MINISTERS FOR THEIR PEOPLE. 411

home in a particular application. God forbid so vain and
proud a thought should ever find a place in my heart, as to
set myself upon the footing of equality with St. Paul, the
chief of the apostles. I will not tell you how much and
how often I have been mortified, especially of late, at the
thoughts of my vast inferiority, not only to him, but to the
ordinary ministers of Christ of a lower class. You sel-
dom hear a sermon from me but what fills me with
shame and confusion in the review; and I almost cease to
wonder that the gospel has so little success among you,
while managed by so unskilful a hand. Yet I hope I may
truly profess so much sincere affection and concern for
you, as to warrant me to borrow the words of the apostle,
though in a much lower sense : " My little children, of
whom I travail in birth, till Christ be formed in you, I
desire to be present with you, and to change my voice,"
according to the variety of your cases; "for I am in doubt
of some of you." And I hope you are disposed to give
me a serious hearing, and a serious hearing is justly ex-
pected from you ; for, remember, the day of death and
the day of judgment will come, and that you must die, you
must be judged, you must be doomed to your everlasting
state.

I stand in doubt of some of you. I am jealous over
you with a godly jealousy. And if there be no ground
for it, you will forgive me; for if it be an error, it is the
error of love. Though I was an entire stranger to you
all, I might justly harbour this jealousy of some of you,
upon this general principle, that there never yet was so
pure a church met in one place, as not to have one insin-
cere, hypocritical professor in it. Even the apostles, the
most select society that ever was formed, had a Judas
among them. And can we expect more than apostolic
purity in such a large promiscuous crowd as generally fre-

412 THE TENDER ANXIETIES OF

quents this house? In every church there are, alas ! some
suspicious characters ; and my present design is to describe
such characters, and then leave it to yourselves to judge
whether there be not such among you.

Forgive me, if I suppose some of you live in the greatest
neglect of family religion. You lie down and rise up,
perhaps, for weeks, months, and years, and yet never call
your families together morning and evening to worship the
great God who has placed you in families. If this be the
character of any of you, then I must plainly tell you, I
stand in doubt of you. I really doubt you have no relish
for the worship of God ; for if you had, how could you,
as it were, excommunicate yourselves from the precious
privilege of drawing near to God with your dear families,
and devoting yourselves and them to him ? I really doubt
you have no deep affecting concern for the salvation of
your domestics, nor consequently for your own, otherwise,
how could you neglect a duty that has so direct a natural
tendency to make religious impressions upon their minds ?
Can anything more naturally tend to make them sensible
of their obligations, their sins, their wants, and mercies,
than to hear you solemnly mention these things every day,
in the presence of the great God? Your character in
this is opposite to that of good men in all ages. You will
find in the history of the patriarchs, particularly of Abra-
ham, Isaac, and Jacob, that, wherever they had a dwell-
ing for themselves, they had an altar for God. You find
David returning from the solemnities of public worship to
bless his house, 2 Sam. vi. 20, and saying, Evening, morn-
ing, and at noon, will I pray. Psalm Iv. 17. You find
Daniel praying, as he was wont, three times a day, even
when the penalty was not only the loss of his place at
court, but his being thrown as a prey to hungry lions.
You find St. Paul saluting some of the primitive Chris-

MINISTERS FOR THEIR PEOPLE. 413

tians, with the church that was in their house. Rom. xvi.
5; 1 Cor. xvi. 19; Coloss. iv. 15; Philem. 2. Which
is a strong intimation that they made their families little
churches by celebrating the worship of God in them ; for
a church without the worship of God would be an absurd
society indeed. I had almost forgotten the example of
Joshua, who bravely resolved, That whatever others should
do, he and his house should serve the Lord. Joshua xxiv.
15. You see, then, your character in this important in-
stance is the opposite to that of the saints in all ages.
And have I not reason to stand in doubt of you, especi-
ally as you cannot now plead ignorance : since you have
been so often instructed in your duty on this head ? You
may plead your incapacity or hurry of business, or that
your neighbours would point at you as ostentatious Phari-
sees. But this is so far from clearing you, that it renders
you still more suspicious. If these be the reasons of your
neglect, I greatly doubt you love your reputation and the
world more than the honour of God, more than his ser-
vice, and more than the immortal interest of your children
and servants. How would it shock you if God should
authoritatively lay that restraint upon you which you vol-
untarily put upon yourselves? Suppose he should say,
" I will allow all the families around you to worship me
every day, but I lay your family under an interdict ; from
them I will receive no worship;" how would this shock
you ! And will you of your own accord take this curse
upon yourselves ] Oh ! think of it, and this very evening
consecrate your houses to God.

Again, I will suppose some of you generally observe
the outward duties of religion : you pray in secret and in
your families : you attend upon public worship : you re-
ceive the sacrament, and you sometimes fast: but gene-
rally this is but a dull round of lifeless formalities. Even

414 THE TENDER ANXIETIES OP

a judicious Christian may suspect that your whole hearts
are not engaged, that the vigour of your spirits is not ex-
erted, and that there is no spiritual life in your devotions.
This man may suspect; and he who searches the heart
may see it so in fact. Now, if this be your character, I
must tell you, / stand in doubt of you. If you are really
lukewarm Laodiceans, the case is quite plain : it is not a
matter of doubt, but of sure belief, that you are the most
odious creatures upon earth to Jesus Christ. He could
wish you were cold or hot, or anything rather than what
you are. And where the appearances of such formality
are found, where there is a dull uniformity in all your
devotions, without any signs of those divine changes which
the gracious presence of God produces, your case looks
very suspicious, even to men. I really stand in doubt of
you ; and you have great need to look to yourselves, lest
the suspicion shall be well-grounded.

Some of you perhaps think you can easily clear your-
selves from the suspicion of formality, for you have often
had your hearts melted, your passion raised, and you find
a great change in your dispositions in devotion : sometimes
you are cold and dull, and at other times all zeal and
ecstasy : but notwithstanding this, there may be great
reason to doubt concerning some of you. I doubt these
are only warm flights of the passions, under the influence
of a heated imagination, aiM not such rational emotions of
the heart as proceed from a well-enlightened mind, that
sees the nature, importance, and excellency of divine
things. I fear these warm passions have no effectual ten-
dency to make you better, that is, to subdue your favour-
ite sins in heart and life, to make you more watchful
against them, and to long and labour after universal holi-
ness. I am afraid they have no tendency to humble you,
to degrade you in your own eyes, and make you appear

MINISTERS FOR THEIR PEOPLE. 415

mean and vile to yourselves, but on the other hand, that
they tend to set you off to advantage in your own view,
and to make you think highly of yourselves. I am afraid
they are shallow and superficial, and never reach deep
enough to transform the settled temper of the whole soul,
and give it a prevailing, habitual bent towards God. I am
afraid, among your various exercises of heart, you have
none of those humbling, heart-breaking sensations which a
poor believer often feels, when lying helpless before God,
and casting his guilty soul upon Jesus Christ. I am afraid
your exercises are of a more selfish, haughty, and pre-
sumptuous kind. I am afraid of some of you, my dear
people, in this respect, because this has been, in fact, the
case of multitudes, and therefore it may be yours.

I also stand in doubt of some of you, that you have
worn off your religious impressions before they ripened
to a right issue. This is a very common case in the
world, and therefore it may be yours. I am afraid some
of you are farther from the kingdom of God to-day, than
you were some months or years ago. Formerly you
were serious and thoughtful, but now you are light and
vain; formerly you had some clear, affecting convictions
of your sin and danger, which made you pensive and
uneasy, set you upon the use of the means of grace with
unusual earnestness and diligence, and made you more
watchful against sin and temptation. Had you but per-
severed in this course, your case would have been very
hopeful; nay, you might ere now have been sincere Chris-
tians, happy in the favour of God, and the joyful expecta-
tion of a blessed immortality. But, alas! now you are
become more thoughtless and secure, more negligent and
careless, more worldly-minded, more bold and venturous
as to temptation, and particularly ensnaring company; less
sensible of your sin and danger, less afraid of the divine

416 THE TENDER ANXIETIES OF

displeasure, less solicitous for a Saviour, and less affected
\vith eternal things. I stand in doubt of you that this is
the case of some of you ; and if it be, it is very dismal :
the last state of that man is worse than the first. Perhaps
your religious impressions went so far, that yourselves
and others too began to number you in the list of sincere
converts. But, alas ! you have relapsed, and now your
case is dismally dark; it is very doubtful whether ever you
had one spark of true piety. Like the Galatians you did
once run well; but the corruptions of your own hearts, the
cares of the world, the influence of bad company, and the
temptations of the devil, have hindered you, and made you
turn back, and now you are got into the easy, slippery,
descending road of apostacy; from whence, as from a
precipice, your feet will, ere long, slide, and let you fall into
the fiery gulf below. You are every day running farther
and farther from God and heaven, and so much nearer to
the chambers of eternal death. Your consciences, by
repeated violences, will be stunned into insensibility, your
hearts will harden more and more, like moistened clay in
the sun. Your corruptions are gaining the victory in re-
peated conflicts, will grow more strong and insolent, like
veteran troops inured to war and conquest. In short,
your case grows every day more and more discouraging;
and I stand in doubt of you, lest you should never recover
your religious impressions, nor enter into the kingdom of
God.

I am also in doubt of some of you, that the world has
your hearts: your thoughts seem to be engrossed by it,
and your affections fixed upon it as your supreme good,
and hence your mouth is full of it ; for out of the abun-
dance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Now if any man
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Covetousness is idolatry; and you know that no idolater

MINISTERS FOB THEIR PEOPLE. 417

has eternal life. I fear this is the character of some of
you.

Is there not also reason to doubt of some of you, from
the discoveries you give of an unchristian spirit towards
mankind? You may perhaps make a specious profession
of religion, and punctually attend upon divine ordinances;
but do you not discover insufferable pride, and unchristian
resentment, and an unforgiving spirit under injuries, a
disposition to overreach and take the advantage in your
dealings? Such a temper, when predominant, is utterly
inconsistent with the spirit of Christianity, and proves
you entirely destitute of it; and the appearances of the
prevalence of such a temper render your case very suspi-
cious.

Let me add farther,* Suppose that in this day of blood
and slaughter, when the Lord of Hosts calls you to weep-
ing and mourning, and girding with sackcloth; when the
wounds of your bleeding country, and the streams of blood
that are running by sea and land, call for your sorrowful
sympathy; when your everlasting state stands in a dreadful
suspense, and you know not whether heaven or hell will
be your residence if you should die this night; or, when
the evidence lies against you, and you have good proof
that you are utterly unprepared for eternity in your pre-
sent condition, when the Spirit of God seems withdrawn
from us; and consquently but few are pressing into the
kingdom of God, and general languor and inefficacy run
through the ministrations of the gospel; when your conduct
may encourage others to run into extravagancies, and
forget God and their souls, as well as throw yourselves
causelessly into the way of temptation, and cherish that
levity of mind which directly tends to wear off your reli-
gious impressions ; when at a time in which you pretend

* This Sermon is dated at Hanover, January 8, 1758.
VOL. II.— 53

418 THE TENDER ANXIETIES OF

to commemorate the birth of the holy Jesus, who came to
destroy the works of the devil and the flesh, and particu-
larly revellings, and to make you sober and watchfnl to
prayer, and to shun all appearances of evil ; when in your
transition from the old year to the new, in which you may
die, and never see the close of it; and when one would
think it would better become you solemnly to recollect
how you have spent the year past, and devote yourselves
to God for the future with new vows and resolutions;
suppose, I say, that at such a time, and in such circum-
stances, you indulge yourselves in feasting and carousing,
that perhaps you prosecute and chase the diversion from
house to house, in order to prolong it, and guard against
the returns of serious, retired, and thoughtful hours ; as if
laughing, dancing, and frolic, were proper expressions of
gratitude for the birth of a Saviour, and as if there was
nothing in time or eternity of sufficient moment to make
you serious, and check your growing levity— What shall
I say of such a practice? The mildest thing I can say
is, that I stand in doubt of you, who promote, or willingly
tolerate, or join in such entertainments. I have no busi-
ness at present to determine, whether music, dancing, and
feasting, be lawful in themselves. Granting them to be as
lawful as you could wish, I am sure that, at such a time,
and in the circumstances that generally attend them, they
are utterly unlawful to every Christian, and have a natural
tendency to banish all serious religion from among us.
You are but little acquainted with me, if you think I say
this as a sour ascetic, or an enemy to the lawful pleasures
of mankind, or that I place religion in morose, mopish,
melancholy austerities. Such of you as are acquainted
with me must know the contrary. But after all, I must
declare, I shall have very little hopes of the success of the
gospel among you, if once I should have a congregation

MINISTERS FOR THEIR PEOPLE. 419

of dancing, frolicking Christians. Alas ! they are not like
to dance and frolic themselves into heaven. It is with
great reluctance I touch upon such a subject, though with
a gentle hand; but duty commands, and I must obey: and
I wish the admonition may be so effectual, as to prevent
all occasion to repeat it in time to come.

Thus I have delineated sundry dubious characters, and
now I leave you to judge whether there be not many such
among you. Examine yourselves thoroughly, that you
may have the judgment of God in your favour; for by that
you must stand or fall.

Some of you, perhaps, may think it strange I have
omitted so many characters that are frequent among us.
I have said nothing of the profane sinner, the drunkard,
the swearer, the whoremonger, the thief, the knave con-
fessed : I have said nothing of the infidel and scoffer, who
affect to disbelieve the religion of Jesus, and relapse into
heathenism; and who openly make a mock of things
sacred: I have said nothing of the careless creature, who
lives in the general neglect of even the forms of religion :
I have said nothing of the stupid, thoughtless creature,
who never troubles his head, as he may affect to speak,
about religion; and whose heart has hardly ever received
any impression from it; but who lives like a brute, merely
for the purposes of the present life : I have said nothing
of such as these, because they do not come under the class
of doubtful characters. I have no doubt at all about such.
I am sure they are utterly destitute of all true religion,
and must perish for ever, if they continue in their present
condition. If you would know how I come to be sure as
to them, I answer, Because I believe my reason and my
Bible; for both put the character and the doom of such
beyond all doubt. Common sense is sufficient to convince
me, that such are unholy, impenitent sinners; and I am

420 THE TENDER ANXIETIES OF

sure, both from reason and revelation, that an unholy, im-
penitent sinner, while such, can never enter the kingdom
of heaven. Let such as harbour a wider charity for them,
point out the grounds of it. Indeed there is one thing
lamentably doubtful as to such : it is very doubtful whether
ever their present condition will be changed for the
better. The most promising period of life is over with
them, and even in that period they continued impenitent
under all the means of grace they enjoyed ; and is it not
more likely they will continue so in time to come ? Oh !
that they would take the alarm, and lay their danger to
heart in time, that they may use proper means for their
deliverance !

Nothing can turn the full evidence against them in their
favour, and nothing can render the doubtful case of the
former class clear and satisfactory but the formation of
Christ within them. This alone can put it beyond all
doubt that they are Christians indeed, and prove their
sure title to everlasting happiness. This shall be the sub-
ject of the remainder of this discourse.

Here you would ask me, I suppose, What it is to have
Christ formed within us?

I have already told you briefly, that it signifies our be-
ing made conformable to him in heart and life, or having
his holy image stamped upon our hearts. This is essen-
tial to the character of every true Christian. Christ dwells
in the heart of such by faith, Eph. iii. 17, and if any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Rom. viii. 9.
He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to
walk even as he walked, saith St. John, 1 John ii. 6. Let
this mind be in you, saith St. Paul, which was also in
Christ Jesus. Phil. ii. 5. Whom he foreknew, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.
Rom. viii. 29. The temper of a Christian has such a re-

MINISTERS FOR THEIR PEOPLE. 421

semblance to Christ's, that it was called Christ in embryo,
spiritually formed within us. It is indeed infinitely short
of the all-perfect original, but yet it is a prevailing temper,
and habitually the governing principle of the soul. That
filial temper towards God, that humble veneration and sub-
mission, that ardent devotion, that strict regard to all the
duties of religion, that self-denial, humility, meekness, and
patience, that heavenly-mindedness and noble superiority
to the world, that generous charity, benevolence, and mercy
to mankind, that ardent zeal and diligence to do good, that
temperance and sobriety which shone in the blessed Jesus
with a divine, incomparable splendour : these and the like
graces and virtues shine, though with feebler rays, in all
his followers. They have their infirmities indeed, many
and great infirmities — but not such as are inconsistent with
the habitual prevalency of this Christ-like disposition. You
may make what excuses you please, but this is an eternal
truth, that unless you have a real resemblance to the holy
Jesus, you are not his genuine disciples. Pray examine
critically into this point. Have you a right to take your
name Christian from Christ, by reason of your conformity
to him?

Again, if Christ be formed in your hearts, he lives there.
The heavenly embryo is not yet complete, not yet ripe
for birth, into the heavenly world, but it is quickened. I
mean, those virtues and graces above mentioned are not
dead, inactive principles within you, but they operate, they
show themselves alive by action, they are the governing
principles of your practice. You are not like him in heart,
unless you are like him in life too ; and if your life be con-
formed to his, it will plainly distinguish you from the world,
while it continues so wicked. If you are like to him, you
will certainly be very unlike to the generality of mankind ;
and they will acknowledge the difference, and point you

422 THE TENDER ANXIETIES OF

out, and hate you, as not belonging to them. They will
stare at you as an odd, unfashionable stranger, and wonder
you do not copy their example.

" If ye were of the world," says Christ, " the world
would love its own : but because ye are not of the world,
but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you." John xv. 19.

I hope you now know what it is to have Christ formed
within you. And in what heart among you is this holy
thing conceived and growing? Where are the followers
of Jesus? Surely they are not so like the men of the
world, the followers of sin and Satan, as to be undistin-
guishable. Oh ! how many impostors does this inquiry
discover, false pretenders to Christianity, who are the very
reverse of its great Founder ! And as many of you as
continue unlike to him now in holiness, must continue un-
like to him for ever in happiness. All Christ's heavenly
companions are Christ-like ; they bear his image and super-
scription.

Before I dismiss this head, I must observe that the pro-
duction of this divine infant, if I may so call it, in the
heart, is entirely the work of the Holy Spirit. It is not
the growth of nature, but a creation by divine power. It
is the hand of God that draws the lineaments of this image
upon the heart, though he makes use of the gospel and a
variety of means as his pencil.

But you would inquire farther, " In what manner does
this divine agent work ; or how is Christ formed in the
hearts of his people?"

I answer, The heart of man has a quick sensation.
Nothing can be done there without its perceiving it ; much
less can Christ be formed there, while it is wholly insensi-
ble of the operation. There is indeed a great variety in
the circumstances, but the substance of the work is the

MINISTERS FOR THE PEOPLE. 423

same in all adults. Therefore, if ever you have been the
subjects of it, you have been sensible of the following par-
ticulars.

1. You have been made deeply sensible of your being
entirely destitute of this divine image. Your hearts have
appeared to you as a huge, shapeless mass of corruption,
without one ingredient of true goodness, amidst all the
flattering appearances of it. In confidence of this disco-
very, your high conceit of yourselves was mortified, your
airs of pride and self-consequence lowered, and you saw
yourselves utterly unfit for heaven, that region of purity,
and ready to fall, as it were, by your own weight, into hell,
that sink of all the pollutions of the moral world. This
is the first step towards the formation of Christ in the soul.
And have you ever gone thus far? If not, you may be
sure you have never gone farther.

2. You have hereupon set yourselves in earnest to the
use of the means appointed for the renovation of your
nature. Prayer, hearing the gospel, and other divine ordi-
nances, were no more lifeless, customary formalities to
you ; but you exerted all the vigour of your souls in them.
You also guarded against every thing that tended to che-
rish your depraved disposition, and hinder the formation
of Christ within you. Then you durst not play with
temptation, nor venture within its reach. This is the
second step in the process. And have you ever gone
thus far 1 If not, you have never gone farther ; and if you
have never gone farther, you can never reach the kingdom
of God in your present condition.

3. You have been made sensible of your own weakness,
and the inefficacy of all the means you could use to pro-
duce the divine image upon your hearts ; and that nothing
but the divine hand could draw it there. When you first
begun your endeavours, you had high hopes you would

424 THE TENDER ANXIETIES OP

do great things; but, after hard strivings and strugglings,
after many prayers and tears, after much reading, hearing,
and meditation, you found no great effect followed ; nay,
the corruption of your hearts appeared more and more,
and hence you concluded you were growing worse and
worse. Thus the blessed Spirit convinced you of your
own weakness, and the necessity of his influence to work
this divine change. He cleared away the rubbish of pride
and self-righteousness from your hearts, in order to pre-
pare them, as a clean canvas, to receive the image of Christ.
And have you ever been thus humbled and mortified?
Have you ever been reduced into this medicinal self-despair?
It is the humble heart alone that is suspective of the image
of the meek and lowly Jesus. Pride can never receive its
lineaments, nor can it be carved on an insensible stone.
4. Hereupon the Holy Spirit enlightened your minds to
view the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and the
method of salvation revealed in the gospel. The bright
beams of the divine perfections shining in that way of sal-
vation, the attractive beauties of holiness, and all the won-
ders of the gospel, struck your minds with delightful aston-
ishment : and you viewed them in a light unknown before.
Hereupon you were enabled to cast your guilty, corrupt,
helpless souls upon Jesus Christ, whom you saw to be a
glorious, all-sufficient Saviour; and with all your hearts
you embraced the way of salvation through his mediation.
The view of his glory proved transformative : while you
were contemplating the object, you received its likeness;
the rays of glory beaming upon you, as it were, rendered
your hearts transparent, and the beauties of holiness were
stamped upon them. Thus St. Paul represents the mat-
ter, " We all with open face beholding as in a glass the
glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from
glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor.

MINISTERS FOR THEIR PEOPLE. 425

iii. 18. Thus your hearts retained the image of his glory,
like the face of Moses after he had been conversing with
God in the Mount. You contracted the temper of Jesus
Christ, and imbibed his spirit: he was formed in your
hearts, and began to live and act there. The life you
lived in the flesh, you lived by the faith of the Son of God.
Now your minds took a new turn, and your life a new
cast ; and the difference began to appear even to the world.
Not knowing the divine original, they knew not whose
image you bore. Therefore the world knoweth us not,
saith St. John, because it knew him not. 1 John iii. 1.
This, however, they knew, that you did not resemble
them ; therefore they looked upon yon as odd sort of crea-
tures, whose tempers and manners were as different from
theirs as if you were foreigners; you soon became as
speckled birds among them, and they were weary of your
society, and you of theirs. Brethren, have you ever been
the subjects of divine operation? Has Christ ever been
thus formed in your hearts? I stand in doubt of some of
you, though blessed be God, there are others who give
good grounds for a charitable hope concerning them, by
their apparent likeness to Christ.

5. If Christ has ever been formed in you, it is your
persevering endeavour to improve and perfect this divine
image. You long and labour to be fully conformed to
him, and, as it were, to catch his air, his manner, and
spirit, in every thought, in every word, and in every action.
As far as you are unlike to him, so far you appear deformed
and loathsome to yourselves. While you feel an unchris-
tian spirit prevail within you, you seem as if you were
possessed with the devil. And it is the labour of your
life to subdue such a spirit, and to brighten and finish the
features of the divine image within you, by repeated
touches and re-touches.

VOL. II.— 54

426 THE TENDER ANXIETIES OF

By this short view, my brethren, you may be assisted
in determining whose image you bear : whether Christ's
or Satan's, whether Christ's or the world's, whether Christ's
or your own. And let me tell you, if you cannot deter-
mine this, you know not but you may be in hell the next
hour ; for none shall ever find admittance into heaven who
are not formed after the image of Christ. The glorious
company upon Mount Zion are all followers of the Lamb:
they are like him, for they see him as he is. A soul un-
like to him would be a monster there ; a native of hell
broke into heaven ; a wolf among lambs ; a devil among
angels. And can you hope for admission there, while you
are unlike him ? The two grand apartments of the eternal
world are under two opposite heads ; the holy Jesus pre-
sides in the one — and the Prince of devils, the prime
offender and father of sin, in the other. Both apartments
are thick settled with colonies from our world ; and the
inhabitants of both are like their respective heads. There-
fore, if ye resemble the Prince of Heaven, with him you
shall dwell for ever ; but if you resemble the tyrant of hell,
you must for ever be his miserable vassals. Therefore
push home the inquiry, Is Christ formed in my heart, or
is he not ?

If he be, then rejoice in it, as a sure earnest of the hea-
venly inheritance. None ever went to hell that carried
the image of Christ upon their hearts; but the heavenly
regions are peopled with such. His image is the grand
passport into that country, a passport that was never dis-
puted ; and, if you bear it, the celestial gates will be flung
wide open for your reception, and your human and angelic
brethren, who have the same looks, the same manner, the
same spirit, will all hail your arrival, and shout your wel-
come; will own you as their kindred, from your visible
resemblance to them ; and you will immediately and natu-

MINISTERS FOR TEIR PEOPLE. 427

rally commence a familiarity with them, from the confor-
mity of your dispositions. The Father of all will also own
the dear image of his Son, and the blessed Jesus will ac-
knowledge his own image, and confess the relation.
Blessed moment! when wilt thou arrive, when all the
followers of the Lamb shall appear upon Mount Zion, in
his full likeness, without spot or wrinkle, or any such
thing? When no stranger of another countenance and
another spirit shall mingle among them, but be all cast in
the same mould, and all be clothed in uniform, with the
beauties of holiness and the robes of salvation ? Oh ! my
brethren, must not your eager hearts spring forward to
meet that day ?

But amid all the joy which that transporting prospect
affords, it must humble you to think, that though Christ
be really formed in your hearts, it is but very imperfectly,
as an unfinished embryo. His image as yet is but very
faint ; you still carry the traces of some infernal features
about you. Let this consideration constrain you to put
yourselves daily under the operation of the blessed Spirit,
till he finish the heavenly picture by repeated touches, and
diligently attend upon all the means which he is pleased to
use as his pencil. Guard against every thing that may
deform the divine draught, or delay its perfection. Go on
in this way, and the glorious picture will daily catch more
and more the likeness of the divine original, and soon come
to complete perfection.

But I must speak a concluding word to such of you in
whom Christ has never yet been formed. Pray turn your
eyes upon yourselves, and survey your own deformity.
Do you not see the image of the devil upon you ? Have
you not forgotten God, and refused to love him, like a
devil ? Have you not loved and practised sin like a devil ?
Or have you not wallowed in sensual pleasures, and

428 TENDER ANXIETIES OF MINISTERS.

confined all your concern to the present life, like a beast,
and thus made yourselves the most horrid monsters, half
beast, half devil ? And can you love yourselves while this
is your character ? Can you flatter yourselves such can
be admitted into heaven 1

Since it is possible your deformed spirits may yet re-
ceive the image of Christ, will you not use all possible
means for that purpose, while there is hope 1 This day
begin the attempt, resolve and labour to become new men
in this new year.

But alas ! exhortation is but feeble breath, that vanishes
into air between my lips and your ears; something is
wanting to give it force and efficacy. We have the gospel,
we have preaching, we have all the means of salvation ;
but something is wanting to give them life, to make them
efficacious, and bear them home upon the hearts of sinners
with that almighty energy which they have sometimes had.
Something, alas ! is wanting for this purpose : and what is
it ? It is Thou, eternal Spirit. Thou, the Author of all
good in the hearts of the children of men : thou, the only
former of Christ within : thou art absent, and without thee
neither he that planteth is anything, nor he that watereth;
they are all nothing together. Come, thou life of souls,
thou spirit of the gospel, thou quickener of ordinances,
thou assistant of poor ministers, thou opener of their
hearers' hearts, Come visit this congregation. Come to-
day: oh! come this moment! and Christ shall be formed
in us, the hope and the earnest of glory.

COMPASSIONS OF CHRIST TO SINNERS. 429

SERMON XLVI.

THE WONDERFUL COMPASSIONS OF CHRIST TO THE GREATEST

SINNERS.

MATT. xxm. 37. — 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that
killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto
thee, how often would I have gathered thy children toge-
ther, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings, and ye would not !

THERE is not, perhaps, a chapter in the whole Bible so
full of such repeated denunciations of the most tremendous
woes as this. Certainly there is none like it, among all
the discourses of Christ, left upon record. Here the
gentle Jesus, the inoffensive Lamb of God, treats the un-
believing Scribes and Pharisees with the most pungent
severity. Wo, wo, wo, breaks from his lips like repeated
claps of thunder. He exposes them with an asperity and
indignation not usual in his mild addresses. He repeatedly
calls them hypocrites, fools, and blind, blind guides, whited
sepulchres, children of hell, serpents, a generation of vipers,
who could not escape the damnation of hell. But in my
text he melts into tenderness, even in this vein of terror,
and appears the same compassionate, gentle Saviour we
are wont to find him. His most terrible denunciations
were friendly warnings, calculated to reform, and not to
destroy. And while denouncing the most terrible woes
against Jerusalem, in an abrupt flow of passion he breaks
out in the most moving lamentation over her: "O Jerusa-

430 THE WONDERFUL COMPASSIONS OF

lem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest
them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have
gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings, and ye would not !"

This is one of those tender cases which requires a
familiar and moving, rather than a grand illustration ; and
that which Jesus has here chosen is one of the most
tender, familiar, and moving that could be devised. " How
often would I have gathered thee, O Jerusalem, as a hen
gathereth her chickens under her wings." As much as to
say, " As the parent-bird, when she sees some bird of prey
hovering over her helpless young, gives them the signal,
which nature teaches them to understand, and spreads her
wings to protect them, resolved to become a prey herself
rather than her tender brood ; or, as she shelters them
from the rain and cold, and cherishes them under her
friendly feathers, so, says the compassionate Redeemer;
so, O Jerusalem! I see thy children, like heedless chickens,
in the most imminent danger ; I see the judgments of God
hovering over them ; I see the Roman eagle ready to seize
them as its prey ; I see storms of vengeance ready to fall
upon them; and how often have I invited them to fly to
me for shelter, and gave them the signal of their danger !
how often have I spread the wings of my protection to
cover them, and keep them warm and safe as in my
bosom ! But, oh, lamentable ! oh, astonishing ! ye would
not ! I was willing, but ye would not ! The silly chick-
ens, taught by nature, understand the signal of approach-
ing danger, and immediately fly for shelter; but ye, more
silly and presumptuous, would not regard my warnings ;
would not believe your danger, nor fly to me for protec-
tion, though often, oh how often, warned and invited!"

His compassion will appear the more surprising, if we
consider the object of it. " Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! thou

CHRIST TO THE GREATEST SINNERS. 431

that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent to
thee, though upon the kind design of reforming and saving
thee, and who wilt, in a few days, crucify that Saviour
who now laments thy doom, how often would he have
gathered even thy ungrateful children and received them
under his protection, with an affection and tenderness, like
the instinctive fondness and solicitude of the mother-hen
for her brood ! Here is divine compassion, indeed, that
extends itself even to his enemies, to his murderers !
Strange! that such generous benevolence should meet
with an ungrateful repulse ! that the provoked Sovereign
should be willing to receive his rebellious subjects into
protection, but that they should be unwilling to fly to him
for it !"

The important truths which my text suggests are such
as these : — That sinners, while from under the protection
of Jesus Christ, are in a very dangerous situation — that
they may obtain safety by putting themselves under his
protection — that he is willing to receive the greatest sin-
ners under his protection — that he has often used means
to prevail upon them to fly to him, that they may be safe
— that notwithstanding all this, multitudes are unwilling to
fly to him, and put themselves under his protection — that
this unwillingness of theirs is the real cause of their de-
struction— that this unwillingness is an instance of the
most irrational and brutal stupidity — and that it is very
affecting and lamentable.

1. The text implies, that sinners, while from under the
protection of Jesus Christ, are in a very dangerous situa-
tion. As the hen does not give the signal of danger, nor
spread her wings to shelter her young, except when she
sees danger approaching, so the Lord Jesus would not
call sinners to fly to him for protection, were they not in
real danger. Sinners, you are in danger from the curse

432 THE WONDERFUL COMPASSIONS OF

of the divine law, which is in full force against you, while
you have no interest in the righteousness of Christ, which
alone can answer its demands: you are in danger from
the dread arrest of divine justice, which guards the sacred
rights of the divine government, and will avenge itself
upon you for all the insults you have offered it : you are
in danger from the various judgments of God, who is
angry with you every day, and whose judgments are
hovering over you, and ready to seize you, like hungry
birds of prey: you are in danger from your own vile cor-
ruption, which may hurry you into such courses as may
be inconvenient, or, perhaps, ruinous to you in this world,
may harden you in impenitence, and at length destroy you
for ever : you are in danger from your own conscience,
which would be your best friend ; but it is now ready to
rise up in arms against you, and, like an insatiable vulture,
prey upon your hearts for ever : you are in danger from
the arrest of death, which is ready every moment to stretch
out its mortal hand, and seize you: you are in danger
from the malice and power of devils, who, like hungry
lions, are ready to snatch away your souls, as their help-
less prey. In short, you are surrounded with dangers on
every hand, and dangers rise still more thick and dreadful
before you. You are not sure of an hour's enjoyment of
one comfort; nay, you are not sure there is so much as one
moment between you and all the miseries of the damned.
This minute you are upon earth, thoughtless, secure, and
gay ; but the next may be — I tremble to tell you where
— in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, tor-
mented in flames. Yes, sinners, one flying moment may
strip you entirely naked of all the enjoyments of earth,
cut you off from all hope of heaven, and engulf you in
remediless despair. Some of you, whose very case this
is, will not, probably, believe me, nor take the alarm. But

CHRIST TO THE GREATEST SINNERS. 433

here, alas ! lies your principal danger. If you would take
warning in time, you might escape; but you will not be-
lieve there is danger until it becomes inevitable. Had
Lot's sons-in-law taken warning from him, they might
have escaped ; but they saw no sensible appearance of the
impending judgment, and, therefore, they continued blindly
secure, regarded the good old man as a mocker, and
therefore perished in Sodom. Had Jerusalem been ap-
prehensive of its danger in time, it might have flourished
to this day; but it would not be warned, and therefore
became a ruinous heap : and this will be your doom, sin-
ners, unless you be apprehensive of it before it breaks
upon you like a whirlwind. Indeed it may make one sad
to think how common this danger is, and how little it is
apprehended, to see crowds thoughtless and merry on the
brink of ruin ; secure and careless while hanging over the
infernal pit by the frail thread of life. This is sad ; but,
alas ! it is a common case in the world, and, I am afraid,
it is too common among you, my hearers. And whither
shall you fly for safety ? Is the danger inevitable ? If so,
where is the friendly arm that can guard you 1 where the
wing that can shelter you from those judgments that are
hovering over you, like ravenous birds, to make a prey of
you 1 Blessed be God, I can show you a place of safety ;
for,

2. The text implies, that if sinners fly to Christ, and
put themselves under his protection, they shall obtain
safety.

The beautiful allusion to the protection a hen affords
her young under the shelter of her wings, implies thus
much, as we may learn from the meaning of the same
allusion in other places. So in that beautiful passage,
Psalm xci. 1-4. He that dwelleth in the secret place of
the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Al-

VOL. II.— 55

434 THE WONDERFUL COMPASSIONS OF

mighty. I will say of the LORD, he is my refuge, and my
fortress — Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of
the fowler — He shall cover thee with his feathers, and
under his wings shalt thnu trust ; that is, he shall protect
thee in safety, and thou shalt trust in his guardian care.
This is David's meaning, when he prays, " Lord, hide me
under the shadow of thy wings." Psalm xvii. 8. And
when he resolves, " yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I
jnake my refuge, until these calamities be overpast;" just
as the hen's helpless brood hide under her wings until the
storm be blown over, or the bird of prey has disappeared.
Psalm Ivii. 1. "I will trust," says he, "in the covert of
thy wings." Ps. Ixi. 4. "Because thou hast been my help,
therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice." Ps.
Ixiii. 7.*

How great and seemingly inevitable your dangers ; yet,
if you place yourselves under the protection of Jesus Christ,
you are safe for ever; safe from the deluges of divine wrath,
that are ready to rush down upon you : safe from the
sword of justice, and the thunders of Sinai; safe from the
intestine insurrections of your own conscience, and from
the power and malice of infernal spirits ; safe from the op-
pression of sin ; and you shall be gloriously triumphant
over death itself, the king of terrors. These may disturb
and alarm you, they may give you a slight wound, and put
you in great terror ; but none of them can do you a last-
ing, remediless injury; nay, the very injuries you may
receive from them in this life, will, in the issue, turn out
to your advantage, and become real blessings to you. If
ye are Christ's, then, saith the apostle, "all things are
yours, whether life, or death, or things present, or things

* See the same metaphor, used in much the same sense, in Psalm xxxvi. 7 ;
Exod. xix. 4: Deut xxxii. 11, though, in the two last places, it includes
conduct as well as protection.

CHRIST TO THE GREATEST SINNERS. 435

to come, all are yours," 1 Cor. iii. 21 ; that is, you have
a kind of property in all things that you have any connec-
tion with, so that they shall work together for your good,
as if they were all your own, by a private right. Bre-
thren, if we are covered with the righteousness of Christ,
the sword of divine justice cannot reach us. All its de-
mands are answered, and justice itself becomes our friend.
If we are sheltered under the wings of his guardian care,
the most threatening dangers of time or eternity cannot
affect us with real injury. How happy, then, how safe
are such of you as have put yourselves under his protec-
tion ! Now every blessing is yours, and nothing can do
you a real injury. You shall never fall a prey to your
various enemies, but shall at length obtain an illustrious
victory over them all, through the blood of the Lamb.
To you I may apply those sublime words of Moses, " As
an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young,
spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on
her wings ;" so the Lord alone does and will lead you,
Deut. xxxii. 11, 12; defend you, cherish you, and bear
you along to your eternal home. You have, therefore,
reason, with David, amidst all the peculiar dangers of this
life, to rejoice under the shadow of his wings. The name
of the Lord is a strong tower, and you have fled to it, and
are safe. Amidst all your fears and terrors, have you not
some secure and delightful hours, when you, as it were,
feel yourselves gathered under the wings of your Re-
deemer? In such hours, do not even such weaklings as you
dare to brave all your enemies, and bid defiance to earth
and hell ? Oh how happy, how secure is your situation !
But here a grand question arises in the minds of some
of you. " How may I know whether I have fled to Jesus
for protection ? How may I know whether I have placed
myself under his guardian wings ?" This is a question of

436 THE WONDERFUL COMPASSIONS OF

the utmost importance: and I must offer a word or two
in answer to it. Observe, then, if ever you have fled to
Jesus for safety, you have been made deeply sensible of
your danger. If ever you have sought shelter under his
wings, you have seen your sins, the curses of the law, and
the powers of hell, as it were, hovering over you, and
ready to seize and devour you as their prey. You have
also been made deeply sensible, that Jesus alone was able
to save you. You found you could not shelter yourselves
under the covert of your own righteousness, and were con-
strained to give up all hopes of saving yourselves by any
thing you could do in your own strength. Hereupon, as
perishing, helpless creatures, you have cast yourselves
entirely upon the protection of Jesus Christ, and put your
souls into his hands, to be saved by him in his own way :
and you have also submitted freely to his authority, willing
to be ruled and disposed of entirely according to his plea-
sure. These few things must suffice to determine this
grand inquiry; and I hope you will make use of them for
that purpose : if they help you to discover that you have
fled to Jesus for refuge, rejoice in your happy lot, and let
your mouths be filled with praise. But alas ! are there
not some of you that have made the contrary discovery,
and, consequently, that you are exposed to all the dreadful
dangers of a sinner without Christ? And is there no
place of safety for you ? Yes, under those wings where
believers have sheltered themselves. In Jesus Christ there
is safety, if you fly to him : but you may perhaps inquire,
" What encouragement have I to fly to him ? I, who am
so vile a sinner ; I, who have nothing at all to recommend
me ? Can I hope that he will stretch out the wings of his
mercy, and receive me into protection ?" Yes, poor,
trembling creature, even you may venture ; for remember
what my text farther implies, viz :

CHRIST TO THE GREATEST SINNERS. 437

3. That the compassionate Jesus is willing to receive
the very greatest sinner under his protection. Can you
question this, after this moving lamentation of his over Je-
rusalem? Jerusalem, that killed the prophets, and stoned
them that were sent unto her, though upon messages
of grace; Jerusalem, upon whom should come all the
righteous blood of the prophets, through a length of near
four thousand years, from the blood of Abel to the blood
of Zacharias ; Jerusalem, the den of those murderers, who,
he well knew, would in a few days imbrue their hands in
his own blood ; Jerusalem, that had abused so many mer-
cies, been incorrigible under so many chastisements, deaf
to so many invitations : yet, of this very city, the compas-
sionate Saviour says, How often would I have gathered thy
children under the wings of my protection : thy children,
obstinate and ungrateful as they are ! Oh what gracious
encouragement is here to the greatest sinners among us !
Jesus is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; the
same compassionate, all-sufficient Saviour. He did not
lose his pity for Jerusalem after he had suffered death by
her bloody hands ; but after his resurrection he orders his
apostles to make one trial more with her obstinate chil-
dren : " Go," says he, " and preach repentance and remis-
sion of sins to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Luke
xxiv. 47 ; as much as to say, " Though Jerusalem be the
ungrateful city, where so much pains have been taken in
vain, and where I have just been crucified with cruel hands,
yet do not give them up ; try once more to gather them
under my wings ; yes, let them have the very first offer of
grace under this new dispensation : make the first offer of
pardon through my blood to the wretches that shed my
blood; invite them to me as a Saviour, who nailed me to
the cross as a malefactor and a slave. 'J Oh what melting,
overpowering mercy ! What an overflowing and free grace

438 THE WONDERFUL COMPASSIONS OF

is here ! This exemplifies his own declaration, that " he
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance ;"
and sinners of the vilest characters are welcome to him.
He took care, at the first introduction of the gospel, to
select some of the most daring sinners, and make them
the monuments of his grace to all ages, that their history
might give the strongest assurance of his grace to sinners
of the like character, from that time to the end of the
world. Such an instance was the famous St. Paul. This
is a faithful saying, says he ; a saying that may be de-
pended upon, and worthy of all acceptation ; worthy to be
received as true, and embraced with joy by all the sons of
men, " that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ;
of whom I am the chief." 1 Tim. i. 15. This chieftain,
this king of sinners, was made a happy subject of Jesus
Christ. And " for this cause," says he, " I obtained mercy,
that in me first, or in me the chief,* Jesus Christ might
show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which
should hereafter believe on him." Blessed be God, there
are many such instances now in heaven, in the glorious
company of angels ! " There," as one observes, " is mur-
derous and idolatrous Manasseh among the true worship-
pers of God; there is oppressing Zaccheus among the
spirits of just men made perfect; there is Mary Magdelen,
possessed by seven devils, among the saints of the Most
High, filled with the Holy Spirit of God. In a word,
there are the betrayers and murderers of our blessed Lord
and Saviour, receiving eternal life and happiness from that
precious blood which their own guilty hands had shed."t

* The same word in the same sense is thus translated two or three words

before — Jiv [sell fy/eproAoii'] Trpoiriij el/it ey<i> — and then follows — iv ipoi irpoirw, 1

Tim. i. 15, 16.

f Dr. Grosvenor, in a sermon entitled "The Temper of Jesus Christ to-
wards his Enemies, and his Grace to the Chief of Sinners, in his commanding
the Gospel to begin at Jerusalem," has the following very lively and strik-
ing passage : — " It is very affecting that the first offers of grace should be

CHRIST TO THE GREATEST SINNERS. 439

And what farther arguments need I produce of the will-
ingness of Jesus Christ to receive the vilest sinner among

made to those who, of all people in the world, had done it the most despite !
That the heavenly gift should be tendered to those first who least deserved
it: not that any can deserve it at all. for then it were not grace; but they
of all people had most deserved the contrary ! That they, who had abused.
Christ to a degree beyond the most pitiful description, should yet be upper-
most in his care, and stand foremost in his pity, and find so much mercy
from one to whom they showed none at all !

" One would rather have expected the apostles should have received an-
other kind of charge, and that Christ should have said, ' Let repentance and
remission of sins be preached, but carry it not to Jerusalem, that wicked
city, that has been the slaughter-house of my prophets, whom I have often
sent. After them I sent John the Baptist, a burning and a shining light ;
him they killed in prison. Last of all, I myself, the Son, came also ; and
me, with wicked hands, they have crucified and slain. They may do the
same by you ; the disciple is not like to be better (treated) than his Lord :
•let not the gospel enter those gates, through which they led me, its Author,
to crucifixion.

" ' I have been preaching there myself these three years, I have mingled
my tears with my sermons, I have supported my pretensions and character
from the Scripture of Moses and the prophets, I have confirmed them by
divine miracles, and sealed all with my blood, yet they would not give ear :
0 Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! all that I have left for thee now is, what I have
before dropt over thee, viz., a compassionate tear and wish, that thou hadst
known in this thy day the things that belonged to thy peace! but now they are hid
from thy eyes ; and so let them remain ; for I charge you, my apostles, to
preach repentance and remission of sins to all other nations, but come not near
that wicked city.'

" But God's thoughts are not as ours, neither are his ways as our ways ;
but as far as the heavens are above the earth, so are his thoughts and ways
above ours. Our way is, to make the chief offenders examples of justice, to
avenge ourselves upon those who have done us personal injury and wrong ;
but Christ chooses out these to make examples of mercy, and commands the
first offer of eternal life to be made to them, and all the world are to wait till
they have had the first refusal of the gospel salvation.

" As if our Lord had said, It is true my sufferings are a universal remedy,
and I have given my life in ransom for many, that the Gentiles afar off
might be brought nigh, and nil tho ends of the earth might see the salvation
of God and therefore^ into all nations and offer this salvation as you go;
but, lest the poor house of Israel should think themselves abandoned to de-
spair, the seed of Abraham, mine ancient friend, as cruel and unkind as they
have been, go, make them the first offer of grace, let them have the first re-
fusal of gospel mercy ; let them that struck the rock, drink first of its refresh-
ing streams ; and they that drew my blood, be welcome to its healing virtue.

" Tell them, that as I was sent to the toil sheep of the house of Israel, so, if

440 THE WONDERFUL COMPASSIONS OF

you, upon your coming to him? I might prove the same
joyful truth from his repeated declarations, from his inde-
finite invitations, and especially from that kind assurance
which has kept many a soul from sinking : him that comet h
unto me I will in no wise cast out. John vi. 37. But
this argument from matters of fact is sufficient. There-
fore come, sinners, fly to Jesus, however deep your guilt.
Had you been murderers of fathers, or murderers of mo-

they will be gathered, I will be their Shepherd still. Though they despised
my tears, which I shed over them, and imprecated my blood to be upon
them, tell them it was for their sakes I shed both, that by my tears I might
soften their hearts towards God, and by my blood I might reconcile God to
them.

"Tell them I live; and because I am alive again, my death shall not be
their damnation ; nor is my murder an unpardonable sin, but that the
blood of Jesus cleanseth from all sin, even the sin by which that blood was
drawn.

" Tell them, you have seen the prints of the nails upon my hands and
feet, and the wound of the spear in my side, and that those marks of their
cruelty are so far from giving me vindictive thoughts, that every wound
they have given me speaks in their behalf, pleads with the Father for remis-
sion of their sins, and enables me to bestow it ; and by those sufferings
which they may be ready to think have exasperated me against them, by
those very wounds, court and persuade them to receive the salvation they
have procured.

" Nay, if you meet that poor wretch that thrust the spear into my side,
tell him, there is another way, a better way of coming to my heart, even my
heart's love, if he will repent, and look upon him whom he has pierced, and will
mourn, and I will cherish him in that very bosom he has wounded ; he shall
find the blood he shed an ample atonement for the sin of shedding it. And
tell him from me, he will put me to more pain and displeasure by refusing
this offer of my blood, than when he first drew it forth. In short,

"Though they have gainsayed my doctrine, blasphemed my divinity, and
abused and tormented my person, taken away my life, and, what is next
valuable to every honest man, endeavoured to murder my reputation too, "by
making me an impostor, and imputing my miracles to a combination with
Beelzebub; however, go to Jerusalem, and by beginning there, *how them
such a miracle of goodness and grace, that they themselves must confess too
good for the devil to have any hand in, too God-like for him to be assisting
to; that may convince them of their sin, and at the same time that nothing
can be greater than their sin, except this mercy and grace of mine, which,
•where their sin has abounded, does thus much more abound, beginning at
Jerusalem."

CHRIST TO THE GREATEST SINNERS. 441

thers ; nay, had you come hither this day with hands reek-
ing in the blood of the Son of God, yet if you repent and
believe, he is willing to receive you under the shadow of
his wings. I may therefore invite you in the language of
the following lines :*

Outcasts of men, to you I call,
Harlots, and publicans, and thieves ;
He spreads his arms to embrace you all ;
Sinners alone his grace receives.

Come, all ye Magdalcns in lust:
Ye ruffians fell, in murders old,
Kepent and live; despair and trust!
Jesus for you to death was sold.

Come, O my guilty brethren, come,
Groaning beneath your load of sin !
His bleeding heart shall make you room,
His wounded side shall take you in.
He calls you all, invites you home;
Come, O my guilty brethren, come!

To encourage you the more, and even to constrain you,
consider what my text implies farther, viz. :

4. That the Lord Jesus has often used means to prevail
upon you to fly to him for safety. What he says to Jerusa-
lem may be applied to you : how often would I have gathered
thy children together ! How often has he given you the
signal of danger, that you might fly from it ! how often
has he spread out a friendly wing to shelter you ! as often
as the law has denounced his curses against you ; as often
as the gospel has invited and allured you : as often as con-
science has checked and warned you, or prompted you to
your duty : as often as the Holy Spirit has moved upon
your hearts, and excited some serious thoughts and good
purposes and inclinations: as often as Providence has
allured you with its profusion of blessings, or chastened
you with its afflictive rod; as often as you have seen a
good example, or heard a pious word dropped in conver-

* Mr. Wesley.
VOL. II.— 56

442 THE WONDERFUL COMPASSIONS OF

sation ; in short, as often as any means of any kind have
been used with you, that had a tendency to make you sen-
sible of your danger, or your need of Jesus Christ, so
often has he used means with you to engage you to fly to
the shelter of his wings for protection. Oh ! how fre-
quently and by what great variety of means, has he called
you in this congregation ! This is the very business of one
day in seven, when you are called away from the noise
and bustle of the world to listen to the voice of his invita-
tion. But this is not the only time when he calls you.
While you are at home, or following your business through
the rest of the week, you have a Bible, a Providence, a
conscience, and the Holy Spirit still with you ; and these
are still urging you to fly to Jesus, though their voice may
be disregarded, and lost in the din and confusion of the
world around you. The gracious call of a compassionate
Saviour has followed you ever since you were capable of
hearing it to this day. But, alas ! does not the next re-
mark hold true as to some of you, viz. :

5. That, notwithstanding all this, multitudes are unwill-
ing to fly to him for protection? It was not of Jerusalem
alone, that he had reason to say, / would have gathered
you, but ye would not ! I was willing, but ye were unwill-
ing. This is strange indeed, and might seem incredible,
were it not a notorious fact. That the Judge should be
willing to' pardon, but the criminal unwilling to receive par-
don— that the offended Sovereign should be ready to take
a perishing rebel under his protection, but the rebel should
stand off, and rather perish than fly to him — this is a most
astonishing thing ; and it is the hardest thing in the world
to convince sinners that this is their conduct towards the
Lord Jesus. They are generally more suspicious of his
willingness to save them, than of their own to come to him.
Were he but as willing to save them as they are to be

CHRIST TO THE GREATEST SINNERS. 443

saved by him, they think there would be no danger of their
salvation ; but the case is directly the reverse ; the unwill-
ingness lies entirely upon their side. To convince them
of this let it be considered, that we are not truly willing to
be saved by Christ at all, unless we are willing to be saved
by him in his own way, or upon his own terms. We are
not willing to be saved, unless the nature of the salvation
offered be agreeable to us. Now one principal part of the
salvation which we need, and which Christ offers, is de-
liverance from sin ; deliverance from the power, the plea-
sures, the profits of sin, as well as from the destructive
consequences of it in the world to come. And are sinners
willing to accept of such a salvation as this from Christ?
No, this appears no salvation to them; this seems rather
a confinement, a loss, a bereavement. They are willing
to indulge themselves in sin, and therefore it is impossible
they should, in the mean time, be willing to be restrained
from it, or deprived of it. This is the thing they struggle
against, and to which all the means used with them cannot
bring them. To tear their sins from them is to rob them
of their pleasures ; and they rise up in arms against the
attempt. And are these willing to be saved by Christ,
who abhor the salvation he offers them ? The truth of
the matter is, the conduct of sinners in this case is the
greatest absurdity ; they are willing to be happy, but they
are not willing to be holy, in which alone their happiness
consists : they are willing to be saved from hell, but they
are not willing to be saved from those dispositions which
would create a hell within them, even according to the na-
ture of things : they are willing to go to heaven when they
can live no longer in this their favourite world ; but they
are unwilling to be' prepared for it in their temper and dis-
position. An eternity spent in holy exercises would be an
eternal drudgery to them, unless they have a relish for

444 THE WONDERFUL COMPASSIONS OF

holiness. Freedom from sin would be a painful bereave-
ment to them while they take pleasure in sin, and how
then could they be happy, even in the very region of hap-
piness, since the sordid pleasures of sin never mingle with
those pure rivers of living water? In short, they act as
absurdly as if they were willing to recover their health, and
yet were unwilling to part with their sickness, or to be
restrained from those things which are the causes of it.
They are willing to go to heaven, but it is in their own
way : that is, in the way that leads to hell. The only way
of salvation according to the divine appointment, is the
way of holiness. Indeed Christ came into the world to
save sinners ; but these sinners must be made saints before
they can enter into his kingdom; and he makes them
holy in order to be happy. And this is not an arbitrary
appointment, but necessary, in the very nature of things :
for, as I observed, till they are made holy, it is impossible
in the nature of things they should be happy in heaven,
because the happiness of heaven consists in the perfection
of holiness. To be saved without holiness is as impossi-
ble as to be healthy without health, or saved without sal-
vation. Therefore, for God to gratify the sinner, and
gratify him in his own way, that is, in his sins, is an im-
possibility ; as impossible, as for a physician to heal an ob-
stinate patient in his own way; that is, to heal him by letting
him retain and cherish his disease ; letting him cool a fever
with cold water, or drink poison to cure a consumption.
God is wise in all his constitution, and therefore the way
of salvation through Christ is agreeable to the nature of
things ; it is in itself consistent and possible : and if sin-
ners are not willing to be saved in this possible way, they
are not willing, in reality, to be saved at all.

Again, the way of salvation by Christ is all through
grace. It is adapted to stain the glory, and mortify the

CHRIST TO THE GREATEST SINNERS. 445

pride of all flesh, and to advance to the mercy of God,
and the honour of Christ, without a rival. Now haughty,
self-righteous sinners are unwilling to be saved in this
humbling, mortifying way, and therefore they are un-
willing to be saved by Christ. If they would be saved
by him, they must be saved entirely upon the footing of
his merit, and not their own; they must own that they
lie at mercy, they must feel themselves self-condemned,
they must utterly renounce all dependence upon their
own righteousness, and receive every blessing as the free,
unmerited gift of grace. And it is the hardest thing
imaginable to bring a proud sinner so low as this ; but till
he is brought thus low, he cannot be saved upon the
gospel plan. Nor is this part of the constitution arbi-
trary any more than the former. It would be incon-
sistent with the honour of the great God, the Supreme
Magistrate of the universe, and with the dignity of his
government, to receive a rebel into favour, on any other
footing than that of mere grace. If after sinning so much
the sinner still has merit enough to procure a pardon, in
whole or in part, or to render it cruel or unjust for God
to condemn and punish him, certainly he must be a being
of very great importance indeed; and sin against God
must be a very small evil. To save a sinner in a way
that would give any room for such insinuations as these,
would be inconsistent with the honour of God and his
government; and therefore the plan he has constituted is
a method of grace, of pure rich grace, in all and every
part. Now while sinners are not willing to be saved in
this way, they are not willing to be saved at all. Here
lies their grand mistake; because they have a general
willingness that Christ should save them from hell, they,
therefore, conclude they are really willing to come to
him according to the gospel-constitution, whereas there is

446 THE WONDERFUL COMPASSIONS OF

nothing in the world to which they are more averse.
There are many that think, and perhaps declare, they
would give ten thousand worlds for Christ, when, in
reality, they are not willing to receive him as a free gift:
they are not yet brought to that extremity as to fly to
him. No, the sinner is brought low indeed before he is
brought to this. He is entirely cut off from all hope from
every other quarter; particularly, he sees that he cannot
shelter himself any longer under the covert of his own
righteousness, but that he will be overwhelmed with a
deluge of divine vengeance, unless he hides himself under
the wings of Jesus.

I beg you would examine yourselves impartially on this
point, my brethren, for here lies the grand delusion that
ruins thousands. If you are really willing to fly to Jesus,
and be saved by him in his own way, you may be sure he
is infinitely more willing than you are; nay, your willing-
ness is the effect of his, for he first made you so. But if,
when you examine the matter to the bottom, you find,
that notwithstanding all your pretensions, you are really
unwilling to fly to him, consider your dangerous situation ;
for,

6. The text implies, that this unwillingness of sinners is
the real cause of their destruction.

Sinners complain of the want of ability; but what is
their inability but their unwillingness 1 Coming to Christ
is an act of the will, and, therefore, to will it heartily is
to perform the act. To be unable to come to him is to
be so perverse, so disaffected to Jesus Christ, as not to
have power to will to come to him. This, by the way,
shows the vanity of that popular excuse, " I am not able
to fly to Christ, and therefore it is not my fault if I do
not." That is, you are so wicked that you can do no
good thing; you are so disaffected to Jesus Christ that

CHRIST TO THE GREATEST SINNERS. 447

you have no will, no inclination, to choose him for your
Saviour; you are such an obstinate enemy to him, that
you would rather perish than take him for your Friend ;
therefore your not coming to him is no crime. Is this
consistent reasoning? Is it not all one, as if a rebel
should think to excuse himself by pleading, " I have such
an inveterate hatred to my sovereign, that I cannot love
him?" Or a robber,"! have such an aversion to honesty,
that I cannot possibly help stealing?" Would not this
be an aggravation of the crime rather than an excuse?
Is the invincible strength of your disaffection to Christ,
a vindication of it? Are you the more excusable, by
how much the more you hate him? Sinners, give up
this foolish reasoning, for the matter is too important to
be trifled with. Your inability in this case is nothing
else but your unwillingness; and your unwillingness is
the effect of nothing else but your disaffection to Jesus
Christ; therefore own that this is the true cause of your
destruction.

In short, whatever pleas and excuses you make, you
will find at last that your destruction is entirely the effect
of your own perverse choice. Ye will not come unto
Christ that ye might have life, John v. 40, and therefore
you must perish without it. This reflection will for ever
torment you, that you wilfully destroyed yourselves, and
were guilty of the most unnatural self-murder. Jesus was
willing, but you would not. God has even sworn that
he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that he
turn and live. To you, therefore, I may properly address
that expostulation, Why will ye die ? Why will ye ? why
do you most wilfully destroy yourselves? why do ye ruin
yourselves by your own free choice? why will you die?
you, whom Jesus is willing to save, whom he has so often
invited, why will you, above all men in the world, cause-

448 THE WONDERFUL COMPASSIONS OF

lessly die by your own act ? Are you capable of so much
stupidity ? It is stupidity that is a dreadful peculiarity of
your own, for,

7. Unwillingness to fly to Jesus is the most irrational,
and worse than brutal, stupidity.

This is implied in my text. No sooner does the hen
give the signal of danger, than her little family, taught by
instinct to understand the alarm, immediately fly under
her wings. " So," says Christ, " I gave you the alarm,
but you would not regard it; so I spread out the wing of
my guardian care to defend you, but you would not
shelter under it." What more than brutal stupidity is
this? In this light, the conduct of sinners is frequently
exposed in the sacred writings. "The ox knoweth his
owner," says Isaiah, " and the ass his master's crib : but
Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider."
Isaiah i. 3. "Every one turneth to his course," says
Jeremiah, " as the horse rusheth into the battle. Yea,
the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times;
and the turtle, and the crane, and the swallow, observe
the time of their coming ; but my people," more stupid
than they, " know not the judgment of the LORD." Jer.
viii. 6, 7. To refuse the offer of eternal salvation, when
proposed upon the most reasonable terms — to rush into
hell, rather than be saved by the friendly hands of Jesus
Christ — to suffer the most terrible execution, rather than
accept a free pardon — to reject all the bliss of heaven,
when freely proposed — to choose the pleasures of sin
for a season, rather than an eternity of the most exalted
happiness — to resist the calls of redeeming love, and all
the friendly efforts of divine grace, to save a sinking soul —
is this the conduct of a reasonable creature ? No : show
me the brute, if you can, that would act so stupid a
part in things that come within the sphere of his capa-

CHRIST TO THE GREATEST SINNERS. 449

city. Would it not be better for you to be a cat or dog
(to use the language of the Earl of Rochester) than that
animal man, who is so proud of being rational, if you
make so irrational a choice ? Let me endeavour to make
you sensible,

8. And lastly, that this conduct is extremely affecting
and lamentable.

It is on this account that Jesus laments over Jerusalem
in such pathetic strains in my text. He knew the truth
of the case ; his all-seeing eye took it in all its extent, and
viewed it in all its circumstances and consequences.
And since he, who knew it best, deeply laments it, we
may be sure it is lamentable indeed, and it cannot but
appear so even to us who know so little of it. An im-
mortal soul lost ! lost for ever ! lost by its own obstinacy !
lost amidst the means of salvation ! how tragical a case is
this ! — God dishonoured ! Jesus rejected ! his love de-
feated ! his blood trampled upon ! his Spirit grieved ! how
lamentable is this ! And yet are there not some of you
in this lamentable condition in this assembly? It was
over such as you that Jesus wept and mourned : and shall
he weep alone ? Shall not our tears keep time with his,
since we are so much more nearly concerned 1 Oh that
our heads were waters, and our eyes fountains of tears,
that we might weep along with the Saviour of men ! But,
alas ! our tears are too much reserved for dying friends, or
some less affecting object, while immortal souls perish
around us, unpitied, unlamented !

VOL. II.— 57

450 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

SERMON XLVII.

THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND CHRIST OPENED AND

ENFORCED.

JOHN xxi. 17. — He saith unto him the third time, Simon,
son of Jonas, lovest thou me ? Peter was grieved because
he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me ? And
he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou
knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed
my sheep.

THERE is nothing more essential to religion, or of more
importance in it, than divine love. Divine love is the
sole spring of all acceptable obedience in this life, and the
grand pre-requisite for complete happiness in the enjoy-
ment of God in the world to come; and without it, our
religion, all our gifts and improvements, however high and
miraculous, are vain.

And as it is of the utmost importance in reality, it is
confessed to be so by all mankind, who acknowledge the
existence of a Deity. Whatever be the religion, or what-
ever be the object, still it is universally acknowledged,
that love is an essential part of it. And, indeed, the evi-
dence for this is so very glaring, that it is no wonder man-
kind have not been able to shut their eyes against it.
Religion without love, is as great a contradiction as friend-
ship without love. To worship a God whom we do not
love, to adore excellences which we disaffect, to profess a
religion founded by an enemy, this is the greatest absurdity

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 451

imaginable. Such a religion must appear abominable to
God and man.

Now divine love is the subject of my text, which I
have chosen for your present meditation; and you see I
have not chosen a subject that is trifling in itself, or the
disputed peculiarity of a party. You need not, therefore,
be under apprehensions, that I would proselyte you to
anything but the sincere love of God and Jesus Christ.
However I would not have you judge of my design by my
verbal declarations, but by the apparent tendency of my
discourse, of which you will be able to form a judgment
when I have done. Therefore entertain no prejudices or
suspicions till you see reason, lest you deprive yourselves
of that benefit you might otherwise receive from your
present attendance.

There is so little solicitous inquiry among men con-
cerning the sincerity of their love to God, that it would
seem self-evident, and beyond all dispute. Whatever
sins they indulge themselves in, however much they
practically neglect God and religion, yet still they insist
upon it, they love him sincerely. This piece of merit
they all claim, as belonging to them beyond dispute. But
is divine love indeed a thing so common, so universal?
We read that the carnal mind is enmity against God.
Rom. viii. 7. And is there no such thing as a carnal
mind now to be found upon earth? We are told of some
that were haters of God. Rom. i. 30; — enemies in their
minds by wicked works. Col. i. 21. And are there none
such to be found among us? The heart-searching Jesus,
while conversant among mortals, told the Jews, who
made so great a profession of their love to God, and
suspected their own sincerity as little as any of us, / know
you, that ye have not the love of God in you. John v. 42.
And were he now to pass sentence upon us, would he not

452

THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

make the same declaration with regard to sundry of us,
who, perhaps, are least apprehensive of it? Is it a
needless thing for us to enter into a serious conference
with our own hearts, and ask them, "Do I indeed love
the ever blessed God, and the only Saviour? Will
my love stand the test? What are its properties and
effects?" Is this, my brethren, a superfluous or imperti-
nent inquiry? I am sure it did not seem so to Christ,
who put Peter to the trial upon this point no less than
thrice.

Our Lord made a meal with his disciples, to convince
them of the reality of his body after his resurrection.
WThen it was finished, he turns to Peter, and asks him a
very serious question, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ?
The very proposal of the question seems to suppose that
Peter had given some reason to suspect his love to him,
as he had really done, a few days before, by denying him
thrice, with shocking aggravations; and with this reference
the inquiry was very cutting to Peter, and no doubt made
him think thus with himself : "Ah! it is no wonder my
Lord should call my love in question, who so lately most
ungratefully 'denied him." The question is put to him
openly, before the whole company, which might perhaps
increase his confusion; but it was prudently ordered, that
he might declare his love to Jesus as openly as he had
denied him, and that his brethren might be satisfied of his
sincerity, and recovery from his late fall.

The first form of the question implies a comparison :
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?
that is, more than these thy fellow-disciples ? " It is not
long since, Peter, that thou didst declare, Though all
should forsake thee, yet will not I ; though all my fellow-
disciples should prove treacherous, yet I am determined
to adhere to thee, come what will; and art thou still of

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 453

the same mind?" Peter modestly replies, Lord, thou
knowest that I love thee : as much as to say, " Lord, I
own that I have fallen more foully than any of my
brethren, and I dare not say I love thee more than they
do : I dare say nothing of the high degree of my love, in
comparison with others; but, Lord, I must assert the
sincerity of my love, weak as it is, and I humbly adven-
ture to appeal to thee, who knowest all things, and canst
not be deceived with fair pretensions, for the truth of my
profession."*

Peter, no doubt, hoped this declaration would satisfy
his Lord. But Jesus, after a pause, put the question to
him again, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? And
Peter insists upon his former answer, Yea, Lord, thou
knowest that I love thee.

Now he hoped to escape all future questions upon this
point. But Jesus, as though he were still suspicious of
him, puts it to him a third time, Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thou me? Peter was grieved that this inquiry
should be put to him successively no less than thrice ; it
cut him to the heart with the remembrance of his base
denial of his Master as often, and perhaps with a fear
that he would not now be convinced of his sincerity, but
was about to expose him as a traitor, and discard him.
Upon this he grows warm, and replies with the most
passionate vehemence, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou
knowest that I love thee. As much as to say, "Lord,
why dost thou try me so often upon this point? Look

* Or the comparison in the question may refer to the provision they had
just fed upon, and the employment they had just been in. Q. D. " Lovest
thou me more than thou lovest these fish and thy fishing trade? Peter
replies, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. Well, says Christ, if thou
dost really love me, leave this employment, and feed my sheep ; let that be
thy business for the future, and show thy love to me by thy tender cure of
my sheep ; that is, of my church."

454 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

only into my heart, which lies all open to thy view, and
be thou judge thyself, whether I do not sincerely love
thee. I must confess my late conduct looked very sus-
picious : and I reflect upon it with shame and sorrow : I
am unworthy to be ranked by thee among thy friends.
But, Lord, unworthy as I am, and base and suspicious as
my conduct was, I must insist upon it, that I do love
thee; and it wounds me to the heart that thou shouldst
seem so jealous of me. I cannot give up this point ; and
I appeal to thyself for the truth of it." Jealousy in love,
my brethren, suspicion among friends, is a very painful
and anxious passion; and never so much so to a pious
heart, as when the sincerity of our love to God is the
object of it. Such a person cannot be easy while a matter
of so much importance lies under suspicion, but must put
it beyond all doubt.

And let me tell you, Sirs, this is a question in which
we are all most nearly concerned. Are our conduct and
temper towards God so entirely and uniformly friendly
and dutiful, as to put it beyond all doubt that we do truly
love him? Alas! are there not many things that look
very suspicious in our case? Should Jesus now call each
of us by our names, as he did Peter, and ask us, one by
one, Lovest thou me? what could we answer? Could we
honestly desire him to look into our hearts, that he might
see that sacred principle there ? and could we produce the
genuine evidences of it in our lives ? My brethren, if there
be an inquiry within the compass of human knowledge that
deserves the most solicitous attention, certainly this does.
And it is my present design to assist you to come to a de-
termination upon it. I say, we are now going upon this
search, "Do I really love the Lord Jesus?" Come, Sirs,
let us all join in it; let us all resolve to be determined in
this point before we leave this place. For this purpose, I

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 455

shall point out some plain marks of genuine love, and
then, supposing that you will have discovered your real
character in this respect, I shall address you as divided
into two different classes; the friends, and the enemies of
Jesus. And as love to God, and love to Jesus Christ, who
is God as well as man, are substantially the same, and
cannot be separated, I shall not nicely distinguish between
them, but speak upon the one or the other, as may be
most conducive to my design.

1. I am to point out some plain, genuine marks of di-
vine love ; and these I shall derive either from plain Scrip-
ture, or from the apparent nature and inseparable proper-
ties of that passion.

I need hardly tell you, that while there is so much
hypocrisy, flattery, and compliment in the world, a man's
professing the Christian religion, and a supreme regard to
its Founder, is no certain evidence of divine love. Insin-
cerity and treachery, which have done so much mischief
in private friendships, and betrayed so many kingdoms,
has diffused itself, like a malignant poison, into the affairs
of religion ; and men dare to compliment and flatter even
the heart-searching God. Judas betrayed his Lord with a
Hail, Master, and a kiss ; and his conduct before that had
the appearance of friendship, otherwise the disciples would
have suspected him for the traitor upon the first hint.
Therefore there must be something more substantial to
evidence the truth of our love, than a mere profession, or
the external forms of religion.

Nor does true love consist in a speculative, languid
esteem, or a careless, unaffecting good opinion of Jesus
Christ. We may think and speak highly of him, and be-
lieve very great things concerning him, while the heart is
dead and cold towards him ; yea, full of enmity against
him. All this may be the effect of education, or cool

456 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

reasoning, and may hover in the head, without sinking
deep into the heart, and becoming a governing principle in
practice. It is this speculative good opinion of him which,
I am afraid, the generality mistake for divine love. They
cannot but know that their hearts are habitually careless
and indifferent towards God, that they do not feel those
affectionate emotions and strong tendencies of soul towards
him, which they feel towards all other objects of their love.
However, when they happen to think of him, it is some-
times with a kind of high esteem; and this they take to
be a genuine love to him, though it has no correspondent
effects upon their temper or conduct.

I may add farther, that some may love God upon a
mistake ; that is, they love him upon supposition that he
is quite another kind of being than he really is ; and did
they conceive of him as he is, he would appear to their
depraved hearts rather an object of terror and abhorrence,
than of love and delight. For example, they may suppose
him so soft, easy, and passive a being, as not to resent
their rebellious conduct : so merciful as hardly ever to
execute justice upon sinners; so careless of the honour
of his law and government, as to pass by all their disobe-
dience ; and so foolishly fond of his creatures, as to ad-
vance them to happiness promiscuously, without any regard
to their moral character, or the honour of his perfections.
Such a deity as this is formed exactly according to their
taste, to encourage them in sin, and relieve them from
horrors of conscience and the fears of futurity ; and no
wonder they should love such a being as this, so like them-
selves; even criminals would love a judge of this character.
But this is not the true God, but the creature of their
own foolish imaginations. This is not that God before
whom the celestial armies cry, "Holy, holy, holy; who is
of purer eyes than to behold iniquity ; who is a God of

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 457

truth, and without iniquity ; just and right is he :" who
turns the wicked into hell, and all the nations that forget
God; and who will not admit one soul into heaven but
what is made holy in temper and practice beforehand.
And did they view him in this light, they would be so far
from loving him, that their carnal minds would rise in
enmity against him. Now to love God upon such a sup-
position, is not to please him, but to reproach and affront
him; and he resents it as the highest indignity. How
would you take it, if a rake or a villian should love you
upon a mistaken notion, that you were a libertine, a thief,
or a liar, like himself? Would you thank him for such a
friendship ? No ; you would esteem it the basest affront.
And when you had convinced him of his mistake, his love
would be turned into hatred. My brethren, we must love
God for what he is, otherwise we do not love him at all.
We must, therefore, know him in such measure as he is,
before we can rationally love him ; and particularly we must
know and delight in those perfections which are most unac-
ceptable to guilty and depraved creatures, his justice, holi-
ness, and infinite hatred of sin, before we can truly love him.

Having cautioned you against these plausible and popu-
lar mistakes, I now resume my purpose, and shall point
out some undoubted marks of genuine and sincere love.
And that I may not perplex you with too many particulars,
I shall only mention these four : that it is of a divine and
supernatural original ; and that it produces frequent and
affectionate thoughts of its object; a delight in communing
with him: and an earnest study and endeavour to please
him, by a life of universal obedience.

1. If you would determine this important inquiry, "Do
I really love the Lord Jesus Christ!" you must previously
inquire how you came by your love ; whether it be the
mere effect of nature, of education, or of anything within

VOL. II.— 58

458 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

the power of man ; or whether it was wrought in your
hearts by the almighty power of God, after many rebellious
struggles and insurrections, and a full conviction of the
innate enmity of your carnal minds against him 1 If it be
the spontaneous production of your own hearts, or of
natural causes, if you have always been possessed of it,
and never found it difficult to obtain or cherish it ? If
you have not been sensible of a supernatural power work-
ing it in you, you may be sure it is all delusion. For
though the passion of love be innate in our nature, and is
easily excited by a thousand created beauties, yet, alas ! it
has no natural tendency towards God. Human nature in
its present state is strangely indisposed and disaffected in
this respect, as experience has abundantly convinced us}
unless we have been stupidly unobservant with regard to
ourselves. A state of nature is uniformly represented in
Scripture as a state of enmity against God. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh, John iii. 6 ; and, therefore, by
nature, we are all flesh in the Scripture style. Now,
" they that are in the flesh cannot please God," says St.
Paul, " because the carnal mind is enmity against God,"
&c. Rom. viii. 7, 8. The Scriptures everywhere repre-
sent us as being saved in the way of reconciliation ; now
reconciliation supposes a previous variance and enmity.
Nay, St. Paul expressly tells us, that " we were enemies,
when we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son."
Rom. v. 10. By nature, we are children of wrath, Eph.
ii. 3 ; and surely we cannot be children of wrath and
lovers of God at one and the same time ! Here, then, you
must all plead guilty. Whatever you now are, it is be-
yond all doubt that you were once enemies to God. It is
sufficient conviction against you that you are men, and
belong to a race universally disaffected. And now have
you ever been brought out of that state ? If not, you are

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 459

enemies to God still. You could not pass from death
unto life in a dream, or an entire insensibility; for you
must have experienced a great change, and you must have
been sensible of, and may now recollect a great many deep
and affecting sensations that attended it. You must have
seen and been shocked at your disaffection : you must have
been brought to cry in the most importunate manner to
God to give you a better temper, and to shed abroad his
love in your hearts by the Holy Ghost. Rom. v. 5. In
short, you are made new creatures; old things are passed
away, and all things are become new ; and all these new
things are of God, who hath reconciled you to himself. 2
Cor. v. 17, 18. Now if these be the test, what would you
say to this question, Lovest thou me ? Some of you, I
trust, could answer ; " Lord, I am afraid of the truth of
my love; but this I am sure of, a great change has been
wrought in my soul. Whether I am now a sincere lover
of God or not, I am sure I am not what I once was; not
only my outward practice, but the inward temper of my
heart towards thee is vastly altered ; it is more filial, affec-
tionate, and dutiful." If any of you can advance thus far
in your answer, my brethren, it looks comfortable, though
you should still be jealous of yourselves. But, sirs, let
conscience now deal honestly with you; are there not
many of you who are still in your natural state? All your
religion is an earth-born, self-sprung thing. You have
never been the subjects of a supernatural work of divine
grace, nor felt such a great change in the temper of your
minds ; and if this is your case, I must pronounce, that,
however many amiable qualities you may be possessed of,
and however fair a profession you make of religion, you
have not the love of God in you; for how should you have
it, when it is not natural to you, and when it has not been
implanted in you by an operation above nature 1 Indeed,

460 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

my brethren, if this be your case, you are plainly covicted
this day of being destitute of the very first principle of all
religion; and pray admit the conviction: you may as well
expect to be men without being born, as to love God with-
out being born again. But,

2. If we love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, we
frequently and affectionately think of him. This you
know is the genius and tendency of love in general, to
fix our thoughts upon its object; and the Psalmist often
mentions this, as an attendant of his love to God. " How
precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God ! how
great is the sum of them ! if I should count them, they
are more in number than the sand: when I awake I am
still with thee." Ps. cxxxix. 17, 18. " I remember thee
upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night-watches."
Ps. Ixiii. 6. " My meditation of him shall be sweet." Ps.
civ. 34. Isaiah represents the whole church as saying,
" The desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remem-
brance of thee : with my soul have I desired thee in the
night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee
early." Isaiah xxvi. 8, 9. This you see is the character
of the lovers of God. And on the other hand, his ene-
mies are characterized as persons who do not like to re-
tain him in their knowledge, Rom. i. 28, who forget God ;
Psalm ix. 17, and 1. 22. God is not in all your thoughts,
Ps. x. iv ; but they practically say unto the Almighty, de-
part from us ; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
Job xxi. 14. The thoughts of an enemy are always un-
grateful, especially if he is unable to avenge himself of his
adversaries ; and the mind will turn every way to avoid
them. But thoughts of one we love, how sweet, how
welcome, how often do they return ! How often does the
dear image of an absent friend rise to the mind ! and with
what affectionate endearments ! Unless you are entire

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 461

strangers to this generous passion, you know, by experi-
ence, this is the nature and tendency of love.

And do not these things enable some of you to give a

•f

comfortable answer to this question, Lovest thou me ? You
are often jealous of your love ; but if you love him not,
why do your thoughts make so many eager sallies to him 1
Once your thoughts could dwell within the compass of
created nature, and fly from vanity to vanity, without
attempting a flight to heaven. But now do they not often
break through the limits of creation, in eager search after
God as that supreme good? And with what affectionate
eagerness do they at times dwell there? How do your
souls delight to survey and gaze -at his perfections, and
contemplate the wonders of his works ! And how often
do your thoughts hover round a crucified Jesus, and, as it
were, cling and cluster to his cross, like the bees round
the hive ! You do not indeed think of him so frequently,
or with such affectionate endearments as you should. But
can you not appeal to himself, that the thoughts of him are
welcome to your minds ; that you do at times dwell with
pleasure in the delightful contemplation, even when your
hands are busy about other things ; and that it is your
daily sorrow that your hearts are not more intimate with
him, and pay him more frequent visits? Does not your
experience tell you, that you cannot always let your
thoughts grovel in the dust, or run out in an endless chase
of things below, but that, in some happy hours, they rise
on the wings of love, and most affectionately cleave to
your dear Redeemer? And your thoughts are not the
cold speculations of a philosopher, but the warm, passion-
ate, and heart-affecting thoughts of a Christian. If this
be your care, my brethren, take courage. You love the
Lord Jesus Christ, and you may be sure he loves you, and
will treat you as his friends.

462 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

But are there not many of you who may be convinced
by those things, that you have not the love of God in you ?
For are you not conscious that your affectionate thoughts
are prostituted to some trifle in this lower world, and hardly
ever aspire to him? Nay, are not the thoughts of God,
and things divine and eternal, unwelcome to you? and do
you not cast them out of your minds as you would shake
a spark of fire from your bosoms? Do you not find your-
selves shy of him, and alienated from him? Do not those
things give you pain which would turn your thoughts to-
words him ? You do not affect such subjects of meditation
or conversation, and you soon grow weary and uneasy when
your minds are tied down to them. And what can be the
cause of this, but a strong disaffection to God, and a secret
consciousness that he is your enemy on this account? O
sirs ! what can be more astonishing, or what can be a stronger
evidence of enmity to God, than that men should live in
such a world as this, and yet hardly ever have one affec-
tionate thought of their great Author, Preserver, and Bene-
factor? His glory shines upon them from all his works,
and meets their eye wherever they look ; his word exhi-
bits him to their view in a still more bright and amiable
light. It represents the Lord Jesus in all the love and
agonies of his crucifixion, and in all the glories of his ex-
altation ; they are receiving mercies from him every mo-
ment of their lives ; for in him they live, and move, and
have their being : their own reason and consciences tell
them that he is the most excellent and lovely being, and
worthy of supreme and universal love, and they profess to
believe it; and yet he cannot, after all, gain so much as
their frequent and affectionate thoughts ! Their thoughts,
those cheap and easy things, are ungratefully denied to
him, who gave them a power of thinking! Oh what
stupid indifferency about the supreme good, or rather what

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 463

prevailing enmity is here ! Can you pretend to be lovers
of Jesus Christ while this is your case? Can you excuse
or extenuate this under the soft name of infirmity? No,
it is rank, inveterate, sullen enmity: and a righteous God
resents it as such. But,

3. If you love God and the Lord Jesus Christ, you de-
light in communion with them. Friends, you know, de-
light to converse together, to unbosom themselves to one
another, and to enjoy the freedoms of society. They are
fond of interviews, and seize every opportunity for that
purpose; and absence is tedious and painful to them. If
you are so happy as to have a friend, you know by expe-
rience this is the nature of love. Now, though God be a
spirit, and infinitely above all sensible converse with the
sons of men, yet he does not keep himself at a distance
from his people. He has access to their spirits, and allows
them to carry on a spiritual commerce with him, which is
the greatest happiness of their lives. Hence God is so
often said, in the Scriptures, to draw near to them, and
they to him, James iv. 8; Heb. vii. 19; Psalm Ixix. 18;
and Ixxiii. 28; Heb. x. 22; Lam. iii. 57; and St. John,
speaking of himself and his fellow-Christians, says, " Truly
our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus
Christ." 1 John i. 3. This divine fellowship is promised
by Jesus Christ to all his friends, John xiv. 21, 23. " He
that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love
him, and will manifest myself to him ; my Father will love
him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with
him." This mystical fellowship is peculiar to the friends
of God ; and others know nothing of it. They are repre-
sented as poor strangers and aliens, that have no commu-
nication with God. Eph. ii. 12 : Col. i. 21. He is shy of
them, and they of him : they keep at a distance from one
another like persons disaffected. This communion on

464 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

God's part consists in his communicating to his people the
influences of his grace, to quicken them, to inflame their
love, to give them filial boldness in drawing near to him,
in assuring them of his love to them, and representing him-
self to them as reconciled and accessible. And on their
part it consists in a liberty of heart and speech in pouring
out their prayers to him, a delightful freedom of spirit in
all exercises of devotion, in returning him love for love, and
dedicating themselves to him. Thus there is a kind of in-
terchange of thoughts and affections, mutual freedoms and
endearments, between them. And oh ! how divinely sweet
in some happy hours of sacred intimacy ! This indeed is
heaven upon earth : and, might it but continue without in-
terruption, the life of a lover of God would be a constant
series of pure, unmingled happiness. But, alas ! at times
their Beloved withdraws himself, and goes from them, and
then they languish, and pine away, and mourn, like the
mourning turtle that has lost his mate. This intercourse
with God may be a strange thing to some of you ; and to
vindicate the want of it, you may give it some odious
name ; enthusiasm, fanaticism, or heated imagination. But
I must tell you, if you know nothing of it, your temper
and experience is entirely different from all the friends of
God, and, therefore, you cannot rank yourselves in that
happy number.

Now the ordinances of the gospel are, as it were, the
places of interview, where God and his people meet, and
where they indulge those sacred freedoms. It is in prayer,
in meditation, in reading or hearing his word, in commu-
nicating at his table ; it is in these and the like exercises
that God communicates, and, as it were, unbosoms himself
to those that love him ; and they enjoy the freedom of
children and friends with him : and on this account they
delight in those ordinances, and take pleasure in attending

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 465

upon them. The workings of their hearts in this respect,
you may discover in David, when, by the persecution of
Saul, or the rebellion of his son Absalom, he was banished
from the stated ordinances of public worship, Ps. xlii.
1, 2, 4, and Ixxxiv. throughout, and xxvii. 4.

And now, my brethren, to come nearer home, have not
some of you experienced the sacred joys of communion
with God ? And were not those the sweetest hours of
your life ? Have you not found it good for you to draw
near to him ? And when he has withdrawn his presence,
how have you languished and mourned, and could never
be easy till he was pleased to return to you ? Do you not
also find a sacred pleasure in the institutions of the gospel,
because there you hope to meet your God, and enjoy
communion with him ? Is this the principle that prompts
you to pray, to hear, and perform every religious duty 1
Then you may appeal to a heart-searching God, Lord, thou
knowest that I love thee.

But does not this view of the matter give the conscience
of some of you reason to condemn you ? You have
neither known nor desired this fellowship with the Father,
and his Son Je.sus Christ. Alas ! you know nothing of
those freedoms of divine friendship : and you have no
prevailing pleasure in devotion. You either neglect the
duties of religion, or else you perform them from custom,
education, constraint of conscience, or some other such
principle. Let me point out one instance as a specimen ;
and that is secret prayer and closet devotion. Nothing
can be more expressly commanded than this is by Christ,
Matt. vi. 6, and is this your daily practice ? Is this the
most pleasant exercise of your life? Or is it a mere
formality, or a weariness to you? My brethren, inquire
honestly into this matter.

4. And lastly, If you love the Lord Jesus Christ, you

VOL. II.— 59

466 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

earnestly study and endeavour to please him by a life of
universal obedience. Love is always desirous to please
the person beloved ; and it will naturally lead to a conduct
that is pleasing. This, then, you may be sure of, that if
you love Jesus, it is the labour of your life to please him.
The grand inquiry with you is not, Will this or that please
men? will it please myself? or will it promote my interest?
but, Will it please my God and Saviour ? If not, I will
have nothing to do with it. This is the standing rule of
your practice: let others consult their own inclinations,
or the taste of the age ' let them consult their own secular
interest, or the applause of mortals; you consult what is
the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. Rom.
xii. 2. See also Eph. vi. 6; 1 Pet. iii. 17; Heb. xiii. 21;
and if you may but please him, it is enough. But are
there not some of you who are hardly ever concerned
with this dutiful solicitude ? If you can please yourselves,
and those whose favour you would court, if you can but
promote your own interest, you are not solicitous whether
you please God or not. This proves you destitute of his
love.

The only way to please God, and the best test of your
love to him, is obedience to his commandments. This is
made the decisive mark by Christ himself. " If a man
love me, he will keep my words — He that loveth me not,
keepeth not my sayings." John xiv. 23, 24. He repeats
it over and over in different forms : " He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth
me," ver. 21. " If ye love me, keep my commandments,"
ver. 15. " Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I
command you." John xv. 14. " This is the love of God,"
says St. John ; that is, it is the surest evidence, and the
natural, inseparable effect of our love to God, " that we
keep his commandments; and his commandments are not

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 467

grievous." 1 John v. 3 ; that is, they will not seem griev-
ous to one that obeys them from the generous principle
of love.

Here, then, you that profess to love the Lord Jesus,
here is an infallible test for your love. Do you make it
the great study of your life to keep his commandments?
Do you honestly endeavour to perform every duty he has
enjoined, and that because he has enjoined it? And do
you vigorously resist and struggle against every sin,
however constitutional, however fashionable, however
gainful, because he forbids it? And is the way of obe-
dience pleasant to you? Would you choose this way to
heaven rather than any other, if it were left to your elec-
tion? What does conscience answer to this? Do not
some of you stumble and hesitate here? If you should
speak the truth, you must say, " I cannot but confess that
I do wilfully indulge myself in some things which Jesus
has forbidden, and leave unattempted some duties which
he has commanded." Alas! is this the case? Then his
love does not dwell in you: you are undeniably his
enemies, whatever be your pretensions. But if you can
say, " Lord, I own that in many things I offend ; and in
many things I come short of my duty ; but if I know my-
self, I think I can honestly declare, that it is my sincere
and earnest desire to do thy will, and that it is my real
endeavour in every instance in which it is made known to
me ;" I say, if you can make this declaration, your case
looks encouraging ; this is the dutiful temper and modest
language of genuine love.

o o o

And now, my brethren, if Jesus should put this question
to each of you, Lovest thou me? are you prepared to
answer him ? Can you desire more plain or more certain
evidences than have been given? Surely, no; and there-
fore, if you are still quite undetermined, it is owing to the

468 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

real obscurity and perplexity of your case, or to your
carelessness and inattention, or to your wilfully shutting
your eyes against conviction. My brethren, if you have
these characteristics of love to Jesus, away with your
painful jealousies, and believe that your hearts are upright
before him. But if you are destitute of them, be assured
you are equally destitute of his love. Love can never be
separated from its natural fruits and effects ; and therefore,
without these, it is the greatest absurdity to pretend to it.
Can you rise up now, and tell the Lord Jesus to his face,
" Lord, it is true, I have not the fruits and evidences of
love, but I love thee notwithstanding; I love thee above
all, though I have no frequent affectionate thoughts of
thee; I love thee, though I hate to think of thee; though
I have no pleasure in conversing with thee, nor any con-
cerns to please thee, and keep thy commandments; that is,
I love thee, though my temper and conduct towards thee
be those of an enemy !" Alas ! Sirs, will you presume to
impose upon an omniscient God, with such absurd con-
tradictory pretensions as these? Would such a love as
this pass current among men? Offer it now to your
governor, your father, or your friend, and see if they will
accept of it. Tell your friend, "I most sincerely love
you, though I do not love to think of you, or converse
with you; I love you, though I care not whether I please
you ;" would he not discard you from his friendship, as an
inconsistent pretender, and highly resent it, that you
should think to impose upon him by such absurd preten-
sions ? And shall that pass for sincere, supreme love to God,
which would not be accepted as common friendship among
men ? Shall enmity, disguised under hypocritical preten-
sions, be offered to him, under the name of friendship ?
With horror I mention it ; and yet I must mention it, that
you may be shocked at your conduct! Do you think he

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 469

wants understanding to be thus imposed upon? It is a
plain case you have not the least spark of true love to
him : you are enemies to him in your minds, by wicked
works, therefore, pass sentence upon yourselves : " Here is
a soul so perverse and wicked, that it has never yet loved
its divine Parent and the supreme excellency; has never
loved the blessed Jesus, the Friend of sinners." And
now, should all the enemies of God in this assembly walk
to one side, and crowd together by themselves, how thin
would they leave this congregation ! How few would be
left behind ! Well, the day is coming, when you must be
separated, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats.
To the left hand, sinners, to the left hand of your Judge
you must go, who continue destitute of his love. Then
you will know the truth of your case ; but, alas ! it will be
too late to correct it. But now the discovery of it is the
first step towards the amendment of it. And, therefore,
let your consciences now anticipate the proceedings of
the great judgment day, and draw a line of separation be-
tween you, that I may address you according to the classes
in which you are found. This leads me, pursuant to my
proposed method,

II. To address myself to you who have now discovered
that you are sincere lovers of Jesus Christ, notwithstanding
your many imperfections. And my time will allow me to
offer only two things to you.

The one is, your heaven is sure. I repeat it again,
your heaven is sure ; as sure as the sincerity of your love.
Love is the grand qualification for the enjoyment of God.
You can be happy in his presence, because you love him ;
happy in his service, because you love him ; happy in the
contemplation of his glories, because you love him. In
short, love renders you fit for heaven, and all its employ-
ments and fruitions, and therefore you shall certainly be

470 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

admitted there ; for God never will exclude one soul that
is fit for it, or that could relish the happiness there. Love
is the substance of all religion and obedience ; love is the
fulfilling of the law ; and that love you have in your hearts.
Oh happy souls, " rejoice in hope of the glory of God :"
for, as the apostle reasons, " your hope will not make you
ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in your
hearts by the Holy Ghost." Rom. v. 4, 5. Love is an
important principle. Charity, or love, never faileth.
1 Cor. xiii. 8. It is, therefore, not only your privilege,
but your duty, to rejoice : and how can you refrain, when
in a few years, at most, you will be with {hat Jesus whom
you love unseen, in all the glories, and in all the felicities,
of the heavenly world.

The other thing I would mention to you is, alas ! how
faint, how imperfect is your love ! And what great reason
have you to cherish it, and labour to raise it unto a vigo-
rous flame ! I need not offer much for your conviction
on this head ; for, alas ! you cannot but be sensible your
love bears no suitable proportion to the excellency of the
divine nature, the dying love of Jesus, and your obliga-
tions to him. Alas ! it is but a feeble spark, and some-
times so buried and suffocated under the weight of your
corruptions, that you can hardly discern it at all, and fear
it is entirely extinguished. Oh then, I beseech you,
love your God more: love your dear Redeemer more.
Do not affront him with such a languid love : think over
his excellences, his relations to you, his unbounded love
and grace to you ; and these considerations may fire your
hearts, cold as they are. Cry to him to kindle the sacred
flame in your breasts, and avoid every thing that tends
to damp it: guard against the friendship of this world,
which is enmity against God, and against all the work-
ings of sin : avoid all causes of variance and distance be-

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 471

tween God and you, and labour to maintain a settled peace
and a constant correspondence. But the other class of
my hearers stand in greater need of immediate relief, and
therefore,

III. I shall address myself to such of you as may have
discovered, by this day's trial, that you are destitue of
the love of Christ, and what I have to say to you, my
dear fellow-mortals, may be reduced under two heads,
your sin aud danger ; and the most proper means of de-
liverance.

To convince you of your sin and danger in not loving
God and his Son Jesus Christ, consider,

I. It is the supreme excellency that you have refused
to love. The most venerable Majesty, the most consum-
mate wisdom, the most rich goodness and grace, the most
amiable justice ; these are the things you disaffect, while
you are disaffected towards God ; for these are his very
nature. You neglect and disgust faithfulness, candour,
veracity, mercy, benevolence, and every moral beauty in
the highest perfection. You are enemies to the origin,
the sum total of all excellency. Now this may strike you
with conviction in various views — as first, how depraved
and corrupt must your souls be, that can be disaffected to
such a glorious object ! How must your taste be vitiated,
that cannot relish the supreme good ! You can love the
faint shadows of these perfections in your fellow-creatures :
you can love generosity, benevolence, mercy, justice, and
such virtues, in mortals, and may you not fall down over-
whelmed with astonishment, and cry out, " Lord, what is
this that has befallen my soul, that I cannot love thee ? that
I can love anything else that is lovely, and yet cannot
love thee ? Oh ! what a perverse, depraved, abominable
soul is this !" Sirs, must you not be shocked to think you
have such souls within you? If your bodies were all

472

THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

overrun with rotten ulcers; if your features were all
convulsed and distorted into the most hideous forms; if
your limbs were all shattered and dislocated ; if your taste
were so vitiated that you loathed all healthful food, and
you should crawl upon the earth, feeding on its mire and
dirt; all this would not render you half so odious and
horrible a monster as a soul disaffected towards God.
Again, what an aggravated wickedness must this be ?
Your obligations to love him are just in proportion to his
loveliness and excellency ; and the wickedness of breaking
these obligations is in exact proportion to their strength.
And as his excellency and your obligations are infinite,
your wickedness in not loving him must be so too. What
illustration shall I use to represent this crime in its proper
infernal colours 1 If you should commence an enemy to
the whole creation ; prosecute men and angels with impla-
cable abhorrence; detest the father that begat you, and
the breasts that gave you suck; nay, if you should com-
mence a direct enemy to yourself, be perpetually plotting
against your own life, all this would not equal the crime
of hating the ever-blessed God ; for all these beings toge-
ther have no excellency compared to him, and your obliga-
tion to love him is prior and fundamental to all others.
Here your love should begin, here it should centre, and
then extend its lines to all parts of the circle of creation ;
therefore, no more plead your innocence. If you had
never committed one sin beside in all your life, this one of
not loving God is sufficient to condemn you for ever to
the lowest hell. Further, this sin will appear more aggra-
vated, if you consider, that, by not loving God, you do in
the strongest manner declare, that he has not these excel-
lences, but is a worthless being, undeserving of your love.
When you do not love him, after all the discoveries he has
made of himself to you, it is plain that this is the habitual

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 473

sense of your hearts, that he has no excellency worthy of
your love. This is the language of your hearts ; and this
language is much more strong and expressive than that of
your lips. You may speak things inadvertently, which
your second thoughts would retract ; but by being all your
life destitute of the love of God, you have all your life
been declaring that you look upon him as a worthless
being, far inferior to a thousand things upon earth, to
which you have given your love. Now you would not
dare to utter such blasphemy as this, and how can you
dare to declare it, much more strongly, by the temper of
your hearts, and stand to it as a truth 1 Oh ! will you
never retract it by becoming a lover of God ? My bre-
thren, can you imagine a more shocking, insolent wicked-
ness than this 1 And what a hateful soul must that be
that has been guilty of it all its days ! What is this but to
say, with the atheistic fool, No God 1 for he is not God,
if he be not supremely excellent and amiable. And if
you wish there were no God, what do you do but wish
universal desolation, and imprecate destruction to your-
self and every other being? For were there no God,
there could be nothing else ; there would not have been
one spark of being through infinite space in any point of
duration.

2. Your not loving God is a most unnatural wicked-
ness. He is your Father; and that in a higher sense
than your earthly parents can be. He is the author of
your bodies, because it was he that first established, and
still continues in force, those laws of generation, by which
they were produced : and had it not been for this, men
could no more produce one another than a stone or a clod
of earth. As to your souls, the nobler part of your per-
sons, they are his immediate offspring, produced by him
without the instrumentality of secondary causes, of any

VOL. II.— 60

474 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

pre-existent materials. Thus he is your Father in the
highest sense; and yet you have not loved him. You
have not loved him who gave you the power of love.
You have not loved him from whose creative hands you
came a few years ago. What an unnatural wickedness is
this ! What were you a hundred years ago 1 You were
nothing ; and you would have continued so to all eternity,
had he not spoke you into being. And yet you have not
sincerely loved him to this moment. Most astonishing !
Must you not tremble at and abominate yourselves as the
vilest and most unnatural monsters? Should the child
that received his being from you in a subordinate sense,
the child you dandled upon your knees, and for whom you
are now laboriously making provision, should he hate the
sight of you, shun your company, and do nothing to please
you, how would you take it ? Would you not think the
unnatural miscreant unworthy of life ? And yet thus you
have treated your heavenly Father, to whom you were
under much higher and more endearing obligations. You
have treated him as only a despised broken idol, in whom
you could take no pleasure. And are you pleased with
yourselves notwithstanding? Shall not such a shocking
prodigy, at which angels gaze with horror, be struck with
horror at itself? Should all the world treat God as you
have done, what would be the consequence ? Why, there
would not be one lover of God to be found among all the
numerous race of man. And yet, if you have a right to
hate him, they have too. Have you any peculiar indul-
gence in this case ? Can you produce an exemption from
that universal law, Thou shall love the, Lord thy God with
all thy heart, &c. ? You see, then, whither your conduct
leads, and do you not shudder to think of it ? And can
you imagine yourselves innocent still? Do you think
you have tolerably good hearts for all? I am sure your

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 475

reason, if it be not entirely lost, will not allow you to
think so.

3. This is a most ungrateful wickedness. Think what
God has done for you ; how many mercies he has given
you, as many mercies as moments; think how many de-
liverances he has wrought for you: see what a well- fur-
nished world he has formed for your accommodation.
Think, oh think, of the love and sufferings of Jesus; see
the abasement, the labours, the hardships of his life ; see
the agonies of his crucifixion; see the crown of thorns,
the mangled visage, the disjointed limbs, the flowing blood,
the bursting heart, the dying pangs of your blessed Re-
deemer. Oh ! think upon and view these things, and then
say, what do you think of your enmity against him after
all this ? Can ingratitude rise to a higher pitch ? Oh !
is this your return for all the kindness of God ? for all the
love of Jesus 1 There was something very cutting in his
question to the Jews, " Many good works have I done
among you." I have never provoked you by anything
but good works ; " and for which of these do you stone
me ?" John x. 32. This may be easily accommodated to
you. Many kind actions has he done to you, many
grievous sufferings has he undergone for you ; and for
which of these do you hate him ? Oh ! must not such an
expostulation wound you to the heart, and melt you down
at his feet in the deepest repentance ? Oh ! can you con-
tinue enemies to the very cross of Christ ? Must not that
disarm your resentment, and dissolve your hearts, hard as
they are, into the most tender love ?

4. This is a most comprehensive wickedness. You
are repeatedly told, that love is the fulfilling of the law.
Rom. xiii. 8, 10 ; James ii. 8. The first and great com-
mandment upon which ( with a like precept with regard
to our neighbour) the whole law and the prophets depend,

476 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

is, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,"
&c., that is, love is the root, the principle, the substance
of all obedience, because it constrains a man to a cheerful
observance of every divine precept, and naturally disposes
him to a dutiful conduct. Now, if love be the fulfilling
of the whole law, it follows, that the want of love is the
breach of the whole law : it is dashing the two tables of
the law in pieces at once. As love is the principle of all
obedience, so enmity is the principle of all disobedience ;
and while this reigns in your hearts, it diffuses a deadly
poison through every thing you do ; and you cannot per-
form one action acceptable to God. All your endeavours
are but the treacherous flattery of an enemy, or the forced
homage of a rebel obliged to feign submission. In short,
the want of love to God is the want of every thing that is
morally good : it is the root of all evil ; it is a complica-
tion of all wickedness; a summary, nay, I may say, the
sum total of all disobedience and rebellion. And can you
any longer build your hopes on the fewness or smallness
of your sins ? Alas ! while you are possessed of this
temper, your hearts are full of every evil. This renders
not only your actions, your words, and thoughts of every
kind, guilty and vile, but the stated, settled bent and dis-
position of your minds, most wicked and abominable.*
And must you not fall on your faces before your injured
Sovereign, and cry, Guilty, guilty ? But,

5. This is a most inexcusable wickedness. Your mouth
must be stopped, and you have no plea left to excuse or
extenuate it. You cannot plead here, as you do in some
other things, " There are so many different denominations
in the world, so many different opinions about religion,

* When the omniscient God views you asleep, when all the powers of
action are suspended, what can he say of you but this, " Here lies an
enemy of God !"

CHRIST OPEXED AND ENFORCED. 477

that I know not what to choose;" for here, as I told you,
all are agreed. They are all unanimous in this, that love
to God is essential to religion. Not only all denomina-
tions of Christians, but Jews, Mahometans, Heathens, and
all that believe the existence of a God, confess this. And
are you of a religion that does not include the love of
God in it ? It is the religion of devils, or rather it is the
most diabolical irreligion. I insist the more boldly upon
this point, because it is a catholic truth, free from all suspi-
cion of party. You cannot plead that you have no time
for the exercise of love to God ; for love is not the work
of the hands, but of the heart; and may be performed
while you are engaged in other business. Can you not
think affectionately of a friend behind a counter, or over
a plough? So you might love God, and yet follow your
daily employments. Nor can you excuse yourselves from
your inability ; for God has implanted the passion of love
in your nature, and you find it easy to love other things :
you can love the world, you can love a child or a friend,
and why cannot you love God ? The act of love is the
same in both cases, and one would think it would be an
easier thing for you to love him who is the Supreme Ex-
cellence, than imperfect creatures, whose excellency is
limited, or mingled with many hateful qualites. Whence
then is your inability in this case ? It is nothing else but
the strength of your enmity; that is, you are so disaffected
to the ever-blessed God, that you cannot love him ; and
does this lessen your crime ? Do the inveteracy and rancor
of your enmity excuse it 1 Alas ! that is its most dreadful
aggravation. Oh ! how wicked must you be when you
are so disaffected to the God that made you, and the
Saviour that died for you, that you cannot prevail upon
your hearts to love him ! Farther, Have you tried what
can be done to root out and subdue this enmity by the

478 THE NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND

power of the Holy Spirit ? Have you cried to God in
earnest prayer, and used all means for that end ? If not,
it is plain you are an enemy to God, and love to continue
so ; you hate him, and .practically insist upon it you do
right. Nor can you pretend ignorance in this case ; for
your own conscience tells you, it is your duty to love
God. In short, you are entirely inexcusable; you sin
against the full conviction of your own minds, and you
must join with God, angels, and men, in your own con-
demnation.

6. This temper, if it continue, will certainly exclude
you from the kingdom of heaven. Alas ! what would you
do with your disaffected hearts ? Heaven would be an
enemy's country to you. What pleasure could you have
in the society or service of that God whom you hate ? in
those exercises and enjoyments for which you have no
relish ? Could you be happy in the practice of eternal
flattery, bowing and singing insincere complimental praises
to an enemy? Could you affect the society there ? There
is not one like you in all that innumerable assembly : they
all love that God whom you disgust. And with what
pleasure could you mingle among them ? How could you
live in a country where the laws, the customs, the employ-
ments, the disposition of the inhabitants, are all contrary
to your temper 1 Oh ! you need no sentence from your
Judge to exclude you, you would exclude yourselves, and
choose to mingle with your fellow-devils : — Which leads
me to add,

7. This temper, if it continue, will certainly lead you to
hell. You are fit for no other place. Where should the
enemies of God be, but in an infernal prison ? There is
the same propriety in it as in shutting up madmen in bed-
lam, or rebels in a dungeon. Why, you are devilized
already; you have the very temper of devils; enmity to

CHRIST OPENED AND ENFORCED. 479

God is the grand constituent of a devil : the worst ingre-

. ®

dient in that infernal composition; and this you have in

your hearts, and, as it were, incorporated with your
habitual temper. And what do you think will become of
you? Judge yourselves, must you not be doomed to that
everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his
angels, whom you resemble?

Here I must subjoin, that if ever you are brought to
love God it must be in this world. In heaven and hell no
new dispositions are planted; but those that are found
prevalent in the soul will ripen and grow to perfection.
None begin to grow wicked in hell, or to love God in
heaven : the seeds are all sown in the present state, which
then spring up to maturity. Therefore, if you would ever
have the love of God shed abroad in your hearts, now,
now is the time ; now or never.

But, "What means (you will say) shall I use for this
purpose ?" Here I must be short : but if you are really
in earnest, you will easily understand the shortest hints.

1. Labour to be deeply sensible of the aggravated sin-
fulness and danger of your present state. Deeply impress
your minds with this. Check the levity of your minds,
and indulge a serious, anxious, sorrowful temper ; for your
case really requires it.

2. Be deeply sensible of the necessity of divine grace
to change your hearts, and inspire you with divine love.
The disease is so far gone, you cannot heal yourselves ;
but, blessed be God, he is able, he is able to make such
an enemy as you his hearty friend and dutiful subject.
Therefore,

3. Betake yourselves to earnest prayer; and confess
your guilt, your vileness, your liableness to divine dis-
pleasure : cry for his Spirit to shed abroad his love in
your hearts: here let your petitions centre; for this is the

480 NATURE OF LOVE TO GOD AND CHRIST ENFORCED.

main thing. Endeavour to devote yourselves to him, to
give up your disaffected hearts to him, to bow that rebel-
lious soul at his feet.

4. Meditate upon the glory of God, his kindness to
you, the love and sufferings of Christ, and such subjects as
tend to beget and inflame your love to him.

5. Be not weary in the use of these means, but perse-
vere, hold on, until you find a thorough change produced
in your hearts. Your eternal all is concerned ; therefore
be not remiss and careless; be not soon tired or dis-
couraged. Never give over until your last breath; and
who knows but that hostile spirit of yours may soon be-
come the friend of God, and at length shine among his
celestial friends in all their transcendant glories, and ineffa-
ble and eternal felicity ! Amen.

NATURE AND AUTHOR OF REGENERATION. 481

SERMON XLVIII.

THE NATURE AND AUTHOR OF REGENERATION.

JOHN iii. 7. — Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be
born again.

THOSE doctrines are not always most absurd in them-
selves, nor strange to a well-informed mind, which are
most wondered at in the world. Ignorance is apt to
wonder, where knowledge discovers nothing amazing or
unaccountable. To support our observations, proofs must
be given ; but it is to my present purpose to take notice
only of one, one that excited from Nicodemus wonder,
about 1700 years ago, and is still wondered at; nay, more,
is ridiculed in an ignorant world ; I mean the doctrine of
Regeneration or the New Birth.

Nicodemus comes to Christ with a conviction of his
high character as a Teacher from God, who attested his
commission by the strong and popular evidence of miracles.
From such a Teacher he expects sublime instructions;
and from his own improvements in Jewish learning, he, no
doubt, flatters himself he shall be able to comprehend
them ; but when, instead of gratifying his curiosity by tell-
ing him strange and great things of the kingdom of the
Messiah, as a secular prince, and a mighty conqueror, as
he and his countrymen expected, or discoursing like a
Rabbi on the Jewish law; I say, when, instead of this,
Jesus opens the conference by a solemn and authoritative
declaration of the necessity of something under the name

VOL. II.— 61

THE NATURE AND

of another birth, how is Nicodemus surprised ! This he
cannot understand. This seems strange, new doctrine to
him; and he has an objection ready against it, as an ab-
surdity and an impossibility : " How can a man be born
when he is old ! Can he enter the second time into his
mother's womb, and be born?" This objection, which
was altogether impertinent, and founded upon a gross
mistaken notion of the doctrine, may serve as a specimen
of all the objections that have been made against this
doctrine ever since; they have all proceeded from igno-
rance, or from gross mistaken notions of an evident truth;
and hence men have imagined, like this master of Israel,
that they reasoned strongly against it, when in reality
they were saying nothing at all to the purpose, and did not
so much as understand the case.

Our condescending Lord took a great deal of pains to
give Nicodemus right notions of this doctrine. For this
purpose he presents it before him in various views. He
tells him, he did not mean a second natural birth, but a
birth of water and of the spirit; a birth that renders a
man spiritual, and consequently fit for that spiritual king-
dom he was about to erect; and that the free and Sove-
reign Spirit of God, the Author of this new birth, operated
like wind, which bloweth where it listeth. Nicodemus still
continues gazing at him, and wondering what he should
mean. He is puzzled, after all, and asks, How can these
things be ? Jesus tells him the wonder did not lie in the
doctrine, but in his ignorance of it, when he was a teacher
of the law; Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not
these things?

The connection of my text is this: "That which is
born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the
Spirit, is spirit; therefore, marvel not that I said unto
thee, Ye must be born again." That is to say, " The

AUTHOR OF REGENERATION. 483

doctrine you are so much surprised at, is not at all absurd,
so as to make you wonder to hear it from my mouth.
You cannot but know, that all mankind are born of the
flesh; that is, propagated in a way that communicates a
depraved nature to them; and hence, they are flesh; that
is, corrupt and carnal; and therefore wholly unfit to be
admitted into my kingdom, which is pure and spiritual.
But that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit; that is,
spiritual and holy; and therefore fit for that spiritual and
holy kingdom, which I am come to set up. Now, if
this be the case, you have certainly no need to marvel
at this doctrine : can it seem strange to you, that impure,
unholy creatures must be changed, before they can be fit
members of so holy a society ? Can you marvel at this ?
No ; you would have more reason to marvel at the contrary.

It is one part of my design to-day to inquire, Whether
the doctrine of the new birth be indeed such a strange,
absurd, or impossible thing in itself, as to deserve that
amazement, and indeed contempt, which it generally meets
with in the world; or whether it be not rational, necessary,
and worthy of universal acceptance ? But before I enter
upon this, it will be proper to inquire,

What the new birth is? And,

Who is the author of it?

And in what way does he generally produce it?

Remove your prejudices, my hearers, against this doc-
trine, suspend your disbelief, and cease to wonder at or
ridicule it, till these points be explained, lest you be found
to speak evil of the things you know not.

1. Let us inquire, What it is to be born again ?

To gain your attention to this inquiry, I need only put
you in mind, that whatever be meant by the new birth,
it is not an insignificant speculation, not the disputed
peculiarity of a party, not the attainment of a few good

484 THE NATURE AND

men of the first class, but it is essential to every good
man, and absolutely necessary to salvation. You cannot
doubt of this, if you look upon Jesus Christ as a person
of common veracity, and worthy of credit in his most
solemn declarations ; for he has declared, over and over
again, with the utmost solemnity, that Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven. John
iii. 3, 5, and 7. Attend, then, if you think your eternal
salvation worthy of your attention.

The phrase, to be born again, like most other expres-
sions used upon divine subjects, is metaphorical, and
brings in natural things with which we are familiarly
acquainted, to assist our conceptions of divine things,
which might otherwise be above our comprehension. We
all know what it is to be born; and our knowledge
of this may help us to understand what it is to be born
again. As by our first birth we become men, or partake
of human nature, so by our second birth, we become
Christians, and are made partakers of a divine and spiri-
tual nature. As our first birth introduces us into this
world, and into human society, so our second birth in-
troduces us into the church of Christ, and makes us true
members of that holy society. As by our first birth we
resemble our parents, at least in the principal lineaments
of human nature, so by our second birth we are made
partakers of the divine nature; that is, we are made to
resemble the blessed God in holiness: or, as St. Paul
expresses it, we are renewed after his image in knowledge,
righteousness, and true holiness. Eph. iv. 24; Col. iii. 10.
The effect is like its cause; the child like the parent.
That which is born of the flesh, is flesh ; and that which is
born of the Spirit, is spirit* In our first birth we are

* Flesh of flesh, and spirit of spirit. This is according to the established
laws of generation, by which every thing begets its like.

AUTHOR OF REGENERATION. 485

endowed with child-like and filial dispositions towards our
human parents ; and when we are born of God, we are
inspired with a child-like and filial temper towards him, as
our heavenly Father. By our natural birth we are placed
in an imperfect, but growing state. We have all the
powers of human nature, though none of them in perfec-
tion ; but from that time they grow and improve, till they
at length arrive to maturity. In like manner, in our second
birth, all the principles of virtue and grace are implanted ;
but their growth and improvement is the work of the
Christian life : and from that time they continue gradually
growing, though with many interruptions, till at death they
arrive at maturity and perfection. In our natural birth
we pass through a very great change. The infant that
had lain in darkness, breathless and almost insensible, and
with little more than a vegetative life, enters into a new-
state, feels new sensations, craves a new kind of nourish-
ment, and discovers new powers. In like manner, in the
second birth, the sinner passes through a great change: a
change as to his view of divine things : as to his temper,
his practice, and his state; a change so great, that he may
with propriety be denominated another man, or a new
creature. As I shall adjust my discourse to the narrow
limits of an hour, I must pass over, or but slightly touch
upon all the particulars suggested by the metaphor in my
text, except the last, which is the most comprehensive and
instructive: namely, that the new birth implies a great
change in the views, the temper, the practice, and the
state of the sinner; and under this head, sundry of the
other particulars may be reduced.

The various forms of expression, which the Scripture
uses to represent what is here called a second birth, all
conspire to teach us, that it consists in a great change.
It is represented as a resurrection, or a change from death

486 THE NATURE AND

to life: You hath he quickened, saith St. Paul, who were
dead in trespasses and sins. Eph. ii. 1. It is represented
as a new creation : If any man be in Christ, says the
same inspired author, he is a new creature : old things are
passed away ; behold all things are become new. 2 Cor.
v. 17. Put on, says he, the new man, which, after God,
is created in righteousness and true holiness. Eph. iv. 24.
These and like expressions signify a very great change,
and such forms of speech are very commonly used in the
same sense ; which shows they are so far from being ridi-
culous, that they are agreeable to the common sense of
mankind. When we see a man that we once knew, look,
and speak, and act as he used to do, it is customary to say,
" He is the old man still." But if we see a great altera-
tion in his appearance, his temper, or behaviour, we are
apt to say, " He is a new man " or, " He is quite another
creature." When we see a rugged, boisterous man become
meek and inoffensive, we are apt to say, " He is become
a mere child." These forms of speech are so significant
and popular, that they have even passed into proverbs,
and that in various countries and languages; and hence
they are used in the Scriptures as plain and familiar repre-
sentations of this great truth. And hence we are bold to
use them, in spite of that senseless ridicule and contempt,
which some would cast upon them ; but which rebounds
upon themselves, for censuring modes of expression that
are not only sacred, but agreeable to common sense.

Now, since it is evident the new birth signifies a great
change ; you are impatient, by this time, I hope, to know
more particularly what it is. It is the change of a
thoughtless, ignorant, hard-hearted, rebellious sinner, into a
thoughtful, well-informed, tender-hearted, dutiful servant
of God. It is the implantation of the seeds or principles
of every grace and virtue in a heart that was entirely desti-

AUTHOR OF REGENERATION. 487

tute of them, and full of sin. The sinner that was wont
to have no practical affectionate regard for the great God,
is now made to revere, admire, and love him as the greatest
and best of Beings ; to rejoice in him as his supreme hap-
piness, and cheerfully to submit to him as his Ruler.
Formerly his temper and conduct would better agree to
the infidelity of an atheist than to the faith of a Christian :
but now, he thinks, and speaks, and acts, as one that really
believes there is a God; a God who inspects all his ways,
and will call him to an account. The heart that was wont
to disgust the holiness of the divine law, and murmur at
the strictness of its precepts, now loves it; loves it for
that very reason for which it was wont to hate it ; namely,
because it is so holy. This was the temper of the Psalm-
ist: Thy word is very pure ; therefore (that is, on that very
account) thy servant loveth it. Ps. cxix. 140; and of St.
Paul, the law is holy, and the commandment holy — and what
follows 1 I delight, says he, in the law, after the inward
man. A?id I consent unto the law that it is good. Rom.
vii. 12, 16, 22. The haughty, stubborn, deceitful heart,
is now made humble, pliable, simple, and honest, like that
of a little child. Hence Christ says, " Except ye be con-
verted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter
into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever shall humble
himself as a little child, the same is greatest in the king-
dom of heaven." jVEatt. xviii. 3, 4. This was also the
temper of David: "LoRD, my heart is not haughty; surely
I have behaved myself as a child that is weaned of his
mother; my soul is even as a weaned child. Ps. cxxxi.
1, 2. The heart that used to have no delight in commu-
nion with God, but lived as without God, in the world,
now feels a filial desire to draw near to him, and address
him with the humble boldness and freedom of a child.
" Because ye are sons," says St. Paul, " God hath sent

488 THE NATURE AND

forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba,
Father," Gal. iv. 6. That is, Father, Father : the repe-
tition of so tender a name intimates the greatest endear-
ment and affectionate freedom. The heart that had no
realizing, affecting views of a future state, now feels the
energy of that doctrine, and looks upon heaven and hell
as indeed the most important realities; the heart that was
once earthly and sensual, eagerly set upon things below,
as its vain pursuit, is now taught to aspire to heaven ; in
heaven is its treasure, and there it will be. The thoughts
that were once scattered among a thousand trifles, are now
frequently collected, and fixed upon the great concerns of
religion. Now also the heart is remarkably altered to-
wards the Lord Jesus: formerly it seemed sufficient to
wear his name, to profess his religion, to believe him to
be the Saviour of the world, to insert his name in a
prayer now and then, and to give a formal attendance upon
the institutions of his worship ; but oh ! now he appears
in a more important and interesting light. Now the sin-
ner is deeply sensible that he is indeed the only Saviour,
and he most eagerly embraces him under that endearing
character, and entrusts his eternal all in his hands. Now
he appears to him all lovely and glorious, and his heart is
for ever captivated with his beauty. Now he prays, and
longs, and languishes for him, and feels him to be all in
all. Oh ! now the very thought of being without Christ,
kills him. Thus, God, who first commanded light to
shine out of darkness, hath shined into his heart, to give
him the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in
the face of Jesus Christ; 2 Cor. iv. 6, in that face where
it shines with the fairest beams.

Now also the man has very different views of himself:
he sees himself to be a guilty, depraved, vile creature, all
overrun with sin, and destitute of all goodness, but as it is

AUTHOR OF REGENERATION. ' *489

wrought in him by divine grace ; how different is this from
the proud, self-righteous estimate he was wont to form of
himself! His views of sin are also quite different from
what they used to be : he used to look upon it as a slight,
excusable evil, except when it broke out into some gross
acts. But now he sees it to be unspeakably vile and base,
in every instance and degree. An evil thought, a corrupt
motion of desire, an indisposed heart towards God, ap-
pears to him a shocking evil, such as nothing but the infinite
mercy of God can forgive, and even that mercy, upon no
other account but that of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
He sees it does most justly deserve everlasting punishment ;
and he is often lost in wonder that the gospel should open
a door of hope even for him, who has been so deeply
guilty. It breaks his heart to think that he indulged so
base a thing so long ; and he can never be fully reconciled
to himself, while he feels the remains of it within him.
His repentance now takes a new turn. Formerly he was
entirely under the influence of self-love, and therefore,
when he had any concern for his sin, it entirely proceeded
from the servile principle of fear; fear of the punishment,
and not hatred of the crime. But now his soul is enno-
bled with more generous principles : now he can mourn
over sin, as a base, ungrateful evil, even when he has no
thoughts of the punishment ; now he can mourn over sin
as against God, and not only as against a sin-punishing, but
as against a sin-pardoning God. Now he mourns with
generous sorrow over pardoned sin ; and God's being so
good as to forgive him, is so far from lessening the evil of
sin in his view, that this very consideration peculiarly
affects him. Oh ! that he should be so base as to. sin
against a God who is so gracious as to forgive him after
all ! This thought breaks his heart ; and God's forgiving
him, is a reason why he can never forgive himself. The

VOL. II.— 62

49(!

THE NATURE AND

heart has also a new temper in the duties of religion ; it
can no more indulge in habitual coldness or lukewarmness
in them, but exerts its powers to the utmost; and when it
has a languishing interval, it cannot be easy in that condi-
tion, but tries to rouse itself again. Experience teaches
that it is good to draw near to God ; and the ordinances
of the gospel are not tiresome formalities, as they were
wont to be, but the means of life and refreshment; and
they are its happiest hours which are spent in attending
upon them. Now the gospel is not that dull, stale, ne-
glected tale it once was, but the most joyful tidings that
ever came from heaven. As a new-born babe, the regene-
rate soul desires the sincere milk of the word, that it may
grow thereby, 1 Peter ii. 2, and it is esteemed more than
necessary food. Now the careless, secure soul, that was
always cautious of over-doing in religion, and flattering
itself there is no need of being so much in earnest, is effec-
tually roused, and strives in earnest to enter in at the strait
gate, convinced both of the difficulty and necessity of en-
tering. Now religion is no longer a matter by-the-by, but
a serious business; and every thing that comes in compe-
tition with it must give way to it. The man is resolved to
save his soul at all adventures ; and this, he is now con-
vinced, is no easy work. To sum up the whole, for I can
only give a few specimen's of particulars, the regenerate
soul is changed universally in every part. I do not mean
the change is perfect in any part : alas ! no ; sin still lives,
and sometimes makes violent struggles, though crucified.
The old man dies hard, but I mean, the change does really
extend to every part. The soul is in no respect the same
it was wont to be, as to the concerns of religion. It has
new views, new sensations, new joys, new sorrows, new
inclinations and aversions, new hopes and fears : in short,
as the apostle tells us, all things are become new, 2 Cor.

AUTHOR OF REGENERATION. 491

v. 17, and according to his inspired prayer, the whole man,
soul, body, and spirit, is sanctified. 1 Thess. v. 23.

By way of confirmation, let me add a few characters of
a regenerate man, which are expressly scriptural. Every
one that loveth is born of God, saith St. John, 1 John iv. 7.
That is, every new-born soul is possessed with a generous
love to all mankind, which prompts it to observe the whole
law in its conduct towards them, (for love is the fulfilling
of the whole law,} and restrains it from doing them any in-
jury : (for love worketh no evil to his neighbour,} Rom.
xiii. 10. This love extends not only to friends, but also
to strangers, and even to enemies. It is a friendship to
human nature in general ; it spreads over the whole earth,
and embraces the whole race of man. But as the right-
eous are the more excellent ones of the earth, it terminates
upon them in a peculiar degree : and the reason is obvi-
ous ; they are, in a peculiar sense, the saints' brethren, the
children of the same heavenly Father; and they bear a
resemblance to him : and if he loves the Original, he
must also love the copy. Thus, says St. John, " every
one that loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is be-
gotten of him." 1 John v. 1.

Another character of regeneration the same apostle
gives you, 1 John v. 4, 5, and that is, victory over the
world by faith. " Whatsoever is born of God, overcometh
the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the
world, even our faith." That is, whatever temptations
may arise from the riches, honours, or pleasures of the
world, or from the society of mankind, the man that is
born of God has such believing views of eternal things, as
constrains him to conflict with them, and overcome them.
He has not such a mean, dastardly soul, as to yield to op-
position. He is enabled by divine grace, to brave dangers,
and encounter difficulties in so good a cause : he dares to

492 THE NATURE AND

be wise and happy, though all the world should turn against
him. Oh what a change is this from his former temper !
Another distinguishing characteristic of the new birth,
is, universal holiness of practice, or a conscientious observ-
ance of every known duty, and an honest, zealous resist-
ance of every known sin. There is no known duty, how-
ever unfashionable, disagreeable, or dangerous, but what
the true convert honestly endeavours to perform; and
there is no known sin, however customary, pleasing, or
gainful, but what he honestly resists, and from which he
labours to abstain. This necessarily follows from what
has been said; for when the principles of action are
changed within, the course of action will be changed too.
When the heart is made holy, it will infallibly produce
habitual holiness of practice. A good tree must bring
forth good fruit. This St. John asserts in the strongest
manner, and in various forms. Ye know, says he, that
every one that doeth righteousness ; that is, that habitually
practiseth righteousness, is J)orn of God, 1 John ii. 29.
We know that whosoever is born of God, sinneth not ; that
is, he sinneth not habitually, so as he may be denominated
a sinner by way of distinction ; but he that is begotten of
God, keepeth himself ; that is, keepeth himself from the in-
fection of sin; and that wicked one toucheth him not.
1 John v. 18. Little children, says he, let no man deceive
you : he that doeth righteousness is righteous — But he
that committeth sin is of the devil. Whosoever is born of
God doth not commit sin, i. e., as I explained it before, he
does not habitually sin in the general tenor of his practice,
so as to make his sin his distinguishing character ; for his
seed remaineth in him; that is, the principles of grace,
implanted in him in regeneration, are immortal, and will
never suffer him to give himself up to sin, as formerly;
and he cannot sin because he is born of God: his being

v O

AUTHOR OF REGENERATION. 493

born of God happily disables him for ever from abandon-
ing himself to sin again. In this the children of God are
manifest; and the children of the devil: that is., this is
the grand distinguishing characteristic existing between
. them, Whosoever doeth not righteousness, is not of God.
1 John iii. 7-10. You see, then, a holy practice is one of
the most certain signs of regeneration ; and, therefore, in
vain do such pretend to it, or boast of high attainments in
inward experimental religion, who are not holy in all man-
ner of conversation, and do not live righteously, soberly,
and godly in the world.

By this time, I hope, my brethren, you understand what
it is to be born again. And now, upon a review of the
subject, there are several things of importance, which I
would submit to your consideration.

First, I leave you now to consider, whether baptism be
the same thing with regeneration, or the new birth in the
Scripture sense. I grant that baptism is a sacramental
sign of regeneration, just as the Lord's Supper is a sacra-
mental sign of the body and blood of Christ; and, there-
fore, baptism may be called regeneration, by the same
figure which Christ uses when he says of the bread, This
is my body. In this metonymical sense, this method of
speaking has been used by many great and good men :
and when they call baptism regeneration, they only mean,
that it is an outward sign of it, just as the sacramental
bread, for the same reason, is called the body of Christ.
Were it always used in this sense, it would hardly be
worth while to take notice of it as an impropriety ; though
I must confess, I cannot find the same form of speech
indisputably used concerning baptism in the Bible. But
when men are taught that the whole of that regeneration,
or new birth, which the Scripture requires as absolutely
necessary to salvation, means no more than just being bap-

494 THE NATURE AND

tized ; and when they that have been baptized, begin to
think that they have no more to do with the new birth,
the error is too dangerous to be passed over in silence.
I shall just lead you into a track of thought, by which you
may easily make yourselves judges in this controversy.
If baptism be regeneration in the Scripture sense, then,
whatever the Scripture says concerning persons regener-
ated, born again, or created anew, will also hold true con-
cerning persons baptized. This is so plain a principle,
that it is hard to make it plainer ; for if baptism be the
same with regeneration, the new birth, or the new crea-
tion, then the same things may be said of it. Proceeding
upon this obvious principle, let us make the trial in a few
instances. It may be truly said of him that is born of
God, in the Scripture sense, that he does not habitually
sin, &c. Now substitute baptized, instead of born of God,
and consider how it will read, " Every one that is baptized
sinneth not; but he that is baptized keepeth himself; and
the evil one toucheth him not." Has this the appearance
of truth ? Do not all of you know so much of the con-
duct of many who have been baptized, as to see this is
most notoriously false ? for where can we find more auda-
cious sinners upon earth, than many who have been bap-
tized ! Let us make another trial. Whosoever is born of
God, in the Scripture sense, overcometh the world. But
will it hold true, that whosoever is baptized, overcometh
the world 1 If any man be in Christ, in the Scripture
sense, he is a new creature ; old things are passed away,
and all things are become new. But how will it sound if
you read, If any man be baptized, he is a new creature :
old things are passed away, and all things are become new ?
Does baptism universally make such a change in the sub-
ject, as that it may, with any tolerable propriety, be called
a new creation ? I might easily make the same experi-

AUTHOR OF REGENERATION". 495

ment with many other passages of Scripture ; but these
may suffice as a specimen. And now, must it not be as
evident as any mathematical demonstration, that regenera-
tion, or the new birth, in the Scripture sense, is something
else, something more divine, more intrinsical, more trans-
formative of the whole man, than baptism? That man
must labour to be deceived, who can work up himself to
believe, after such a representation of the case, that if he
has been baptized, he has all that regeneration which is
necessary to his admission into the kingdom of heaven. I
know no absurdity parallel to it, except the doctrine of
transubstantiation, the characteristical absurdity of the
church of Rome. Because Christ, in the distribution of
the elements in the Eucharist, said of the bread, This is
my body, putting the sign for the thing signified, therefore
Papists conclude, the bread is substantially the very same
with the body of Christ signified by it, though it still
retains all the sensible properties of bread. Some Protes-
tants have fallen into the same error as to the other sacra-
ment of baptism, and that with less plausibility. I can
find no Scripture that says of baptism, " This is regenera-
tion :" and yet they insist upon it that it is the very thing ;
and make the sign and the thing signified one and the same.
Let me borrow a very plain and popular, and yet sub-
stantial, argument from Limborch. " The great design
of Christ's coming into the world was, to renew and re-
generate men ; this is a work worthy of his own imme-
diate hand." And yet we are told, Jesus baptized not,
but his disciples. John iv. 2. A plain evidence that he
made a distinction between baptism and regeneration, St.
Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says, " I thank God that
I have baptized none of you, but Crispus and Caius." 1
Cor. /. 14. But if baptism be regeneration, his meaning
must be, I thank God that I regenerated none of you.

496

THE NATURE AND

But is this cause of thanksgiving ? Could he give thanks
to God that he had not regenerated any of them? Christ,
says he, sent me not to baptize. But can we think Christ
did not send the chief of the apostles to promote the great
work of regeneration 1 He elsewhere calls himself their
spiritual father, /or, says he, in Christ Jesus I have be-
gotten you, through the gospel. 1 Cor. iv. 15. But if
baptism be the new birth, he could not have been their
father, or begotten them, unless he had baptized them.
From which it is evident that St. Paul made a great dif-
ference between baptism and regeneration."

Therefore, let no man deceive you with vain words.
Baptism is an ordinance of Jesus Christ, which you should
think highly of; but do not put it out of its. place, by sub-
stituting it for quite another thing. Believe me, this is
not that kind of regeneration which you must be the sub-
jects of, if you would enter into the kingdom of God.

Another thing which I would now leave to your con-
sideration is, whether regeneration, or the new birth, in
the sense I have explained it, be not a rational, noble
thing ? And whether so great a change in a man's temper
and conduct may not emphatically be called a new birth ?
When a man is born again, the ruins of his nature are
repaired, and every noble and divine grace and virtue are
implanted in his heart. His heart is made capable of
generous sensations ; his understanding has suitable views
of the most interesting and sublime objects ; and his tem-
per and behaviour are rightly formed towards God and
man. In short, the mean, depraved, earth-born creature,
is made an infant-angel; nay, St. Peter tells you, he is
made partaker of the divine nature. 2 Pet. i. 4. What a
glorious and surprising change is this ! Should you see a
clod of earth rising from under your feet, and brightening
into a sun, it would not be so glorious a transformation.

AUTHOR OF REGENERATION. 497

This change gives a m'an the very temper of heaven, and
prepares him for the enjoyments and employments of that
sacred region.

Therefore, marvel not that I say unto you, ye must be
born again. Do not gaze and wonder at me, as if I told
you some strange, new, absurd thing, when I tell you, you
must be regenerated in the manner I have explained, if
ever you would enter into the kingdom of heaven. Con-
sult your own reason and experience, and they will tell
you, that as heaven is the region of perfect holiness, and
as you are indisputably corrupted, depraved creatures, you
must be so changed, as to be made holy; or, in other
words, you must be born again, before you can enjoy the
happiness of that holy place ; or consult the Bible, which
you must own to be true, or own yourselves to be the
most gross hypocrites in professing the Christian religion;
consult your Bible, I say, and you will find the absolute
necessity of being born again asserted in the strongest
terms. Need I remind you of the solemn asseveration of
Christ in my context, " Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of heaven !" The same blessed lips have assured us, that,
" Except we be converted, and become as little children,
we cannot enter into his kingdom." Matt, xviii. 2. St.
Paul speaks in the same strain : If any man be in Christ,
as we all must be before we can be saved by him, he is a
new creature, fyc. We are his workmanship, says he,
created in Christ Jesus to good works. Eph. ii. 10. "In
Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor
uncircumcision, but a new creature." All external forms
of religion, whether Jewish or Christian, are of no avail,
without this new creation. Gal. vi. 15. This is also more
than intimated in that comprehensive promise of the Old
Testament. Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 26. "A new heart will I

YOL. II.— 63

498 THE NATURE AND

give you; and a new spirit will I put within you." &c.
And are not these repeated declarations sufficient to con-
vince you of the necessity of this great change ? Will you
any more marvel, when you are told, you must be born
again ? No ; rather marvel to hear the contrary : it may
make you wonder indeed, to be told, that an unholy sinner,
without any change, is fit for the presence of a holy God,
fit to relish the holy enjoyments of heaven : and capable
of being happy in what is directly contrary to his nature.
This would be strange, absurd doctrine indeed ! and wher-
ever you hear it, you may justly wonder at it, and despise
such nonsense.

Now if this be true, that " Except a man be born again,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," then it will
follow, that just as many persons in this assembly as have
been born again, just so many are in a state of favour with
God, and prepared for the happiness of heaven. And,
on the other hand, just as many as are unregenerate,
just so many lie dead in sin, under the wrath of God,
and liable to everlasting misery. Let each of you par-
ticularly admit this conviction : " If I am not born again,
I have not the least ground to hope for happiness in my
present state."

Upon this follows another inquiry, of the utmost impor-
tance ; and that is, Whether you have ever experienced
the blessed change of the new birth ? Have your views,
your dispositions, and your conduct been changed in the
manner described ? and can you lay claim to those distin-
guishing characters of a regenerate soul, which have been
mentioned? Pause, and think seriously; recollect your
past experiences ; look into your own hearts ; observe the
tenor of your practice ; and from the whole, endeavour to
gather an honest answer to this grand question, " Have I
ever been born again ?"

AUTHOR OF REGENERATION. 499

If you can answer this in your favour, St. Peter will
tell you the happy consequence; and I shall only desire
you to read those most comfortable verses, 1 Pet. i. 3-6 :
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which according to his abundant mercy, hath be-
gotten us again to a lively hope — to an inheritance incor-
ruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the
last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a
season (if need be) ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations."

But if, on the other hand, you find you have never
been born again, what is to be done? Must you lie still
in that condition 1 or should you try to get out of it ? I
am sure my design in endeavouring to let you see your
condition, is, that you may escape out of it and be happy ;
and if you are so kind to yourselves as to concur with me
in this design, I hope, through divine grace, we shall suc-
ceed. This introduces the next inquiry, namely,

II. Who is the author of this divine change, called the
new birth?

The change is so great, so noble, and divine, that from
thence alone we may infer it can be produced only by
divine power. And the nature of man, in its present
state, is so corrupt and weak, that it is neither inclined
nor able to produce it. It is also uniformly ascribed to
God in the sacred writings. The regenerate soul is re-
peatedly said to be born of God ; " born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but
of God." John i. 13. All things are become new, says St.
Paul, and all things (that is, all these new things) are of
God. 2 Cor. v. 17, 18. Every good gift, and every per-
fect gift, says St. James, is from above, and cometh down

500 THE NATURE AND

from the Father of lights — of his own will begat he us
with the word of truth. James i. 17, 18. The Spirit is
repeatedly mentioned as the author of the new birth, in
the chapter where my text lies. This may suffice for the
truth of so plain a point.

Here then, sinners, you see to whom you must look for
this blessing. You can no more regenerate yourselves
than you could beget yourselves at first. And this you
must be deeply sensible of. But he that made you at
first is able to new-make you, and to repair his own work-
manship, which you have demolished. And it is he
who has actually changed many a heart in our guilty
world. Here the next inquiry comes in very seasonably,
namely,

III. In what way does this divine agent produce this
change 1

He is pleased to use such a variety, as to circumstances,
that I cannot take time to describe them. But as to the
substance of the work, which is the same in all adults, he
generally carries it on in the following manner. The first
step is, to convince the sinner of his need of this change,
by discovering to him his guilt and danger, and particularly
the universal corruption of his nature. He is roused out
of a state of stupid security by an affecting view of the
holiness of God, of the purity of his law, of the terror of
its penalty, of the great evil of sin, and of his own ex-
posedness to the divine displeasure upon the account of it.
Upon this he becomes sad and serious, uneasy in his
mind, and anxious about his condition. He endeavours to
reform his life; he prays, and uses the other means of
grace with earnestness unknown before. And when he
has gone on in this course for some time, he begins per-
haps to flatter himself, that now he is in a safe condition.
But alas ! he does not yet know the worst of himself.

AUTHOR OF REGENERATION. 501

Therefore the Holy Spirit opens his eyes to see the in-
ward universal corruption of his whole soul, and that a
mere outward reformation is far from being a sufficient
cure of a disease so inveterate. Hereupon the awakened
sinner betakes himself to the use of the means of grace
with redoubled vigour and earnestness, and strives to
change the principles of action within. But alas ! he finds
his heart is a stubborn thing, and altogether unmanageable
to him ; and after repeated strivings to no purpose, he is
effectually convinced of his own inability, and the absolute
necessity of the exertion of divine power to make him
truly good. Therefore he lies at the throne of grace, as
a poor, anxious, helpless sinner, entirely at mercy, and
unable to relieve himself. It would take up more time
than I can allow, to describe the various exercises, the
anxious fears, and eager pantings, the strong cries and
tears of a soul in this condition. What I have hinted
may put such of you in mind of them, as have never been
the subjects of them. While the sinner lies in this de-
sponding situation, it pleases God to pity him. Now the
important hour is come, when the old man must be cruci-
fied; when the divine and immortal principles must be
implanted in a heart full of sin ; and when the dead sinner
must begin to live a holy and divine life. The great God
instantaneously changes the whole soul, and gives it a
new, a heavenly turn. In short, now is wrought that
important change, which I have already described, which
is called the new birth, and denominates the man a new
creature.

Here again you may furnish yourselves with materials
for self-examination. If you have been born again, you
have thus felt the pangs of a new birth, and seen your
guilty, sinful, and dangerous condition in a true light,
And can you put your hand upon your heart, and say,

502 THE NATURE AND AUTHOR OF REGENERATION.

" Here is the heart that has been the subject of this ope-
ration ?"

Hence also may be gathered some proper directions
for such as are in a state of nature how to attain the new
birth.

Endeavour to be thoroughly acquainted with the cor-
ruption of your nature : it is from this that the necessity
of a new birth proceeds.

Be fully convinced of the indispensable necessity of this
change to your salvation.

Break off from and forsake whatever tends to obstruct
the new birth ; as excessive worldly cares, bad company,
and in short, all sin.

Seriously use all the means of grace; as, earnest prayer,
attentive hearing of the word, &c.

Persevere in so doing, till your endeavours are crowned
with success. And particularly, do not grow impatient
of those anxieties and fears that will at first attend your
pursuit.

These short hints may suffice by way of direction, if
you are sincerely desirous of being directed. And what
do you determine to do 1 Will you not resolve to seek
after this important change, upon which your eternal all
depends ? Oh ! let us part to-day fully determined upon
this, that we will implore the power and mercy of God
to create in us clean hearts, and renew within us right
spirits.

DIVINE LIFE IN THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 503

SERMON XLIX.

THE DIVINE LIFE IN THE SOULS OF MEN CONSIDERED.

r

GAL, ii. 20. — I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I
live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the
Son of God.

THE principal design of St. Paul in this epistle, is to
assert his divine mission, in opposition to the insinuations
of the Judaizing seducers that had intruded into the
Galatian church; and to prove the justification of a sinner
to be only through the merit of Christ's righteousness,
and the instrumentality of faith. To confirm the latter
he argues, Gal. ii. 15, 16, from the case of the apostles
and Jewish Christians in general : " We who are Jews by
nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a
man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the
faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus
Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ,
and not by the works of the law." And Gal. ii. 19, he
explicitly declares his own case in particular, as agreeing
with theirs. "I, through the law, am dead to the law,
that I might live unto God ;" that is, by the knowledge of
the perfection of the law, as to its extent and spirituality;
I am utterly unhinged and thrown off' from all dependence
on the works of the law for justification, and from expect-
ing strength to yield obedience to be conveyed, according
to the covenant of works; — and God's design in bringing

504 DIVINE LIFE IN

me off from this dependence, and mine in relinquishing it,
is not that I may turn libertine, and cast off all obligations
to obedience, but that I may, by strength derived from
Christ, devote myself wholly to him, and make my life a
series of obedience to his will.

He goes on relating his own case in the text; in which
you may observe these truths :

First, "That believers are endowed with spiritual
activity; or, that they are enabled to serve God, and per-
form good works." This is intimated by two expressions,
I am crucified, and I live ; which, though they seem con-
tradictory, do really mean the same thing. / am crucified,
signifies the mortification of indwelling sin, the subduction
and extirpation of corrupt principles and inclinations ; and
he calls the mortification of these the crucifixion of him-
self, (I am crucified} because of their intimate inhesion
with his very nature ; they were a sort of self to him.
We have a like expression used, and explained by himself
in Rom. vi. 6. "Our old man is crucified with him, that
the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we
should not serve sin." Now the mortification of sin is a
part of the service of God, at least a necessary pre-
requisite. So the apostle reasons in Rom. vi. 2, 6, 11,
"How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein? Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,
but alive unto God." The other expression, / live,
signifies spiritual activity; a vigorous, persevering serving
of God; a living unto God, (as it is explained ver. 19,
and Rom. vi. 11.) Life, as ascribed to a rational being,
imports, not only a continuance in existence, in which
sense inanimate things may be said to live, but espe-
cially a power of rational operation frequently exer-
cised;— and when attributed to a morally upright being,
as such, it imports more than some kind of power of

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 505

operation, namely a vital principle of spiritual and holy
operation, and the frequent, persevering exercise of it.
Such a principle or power is very significantly called
life, to denote its intimacy in the soul, its vivacity, and
permanency.

Secondly, We may observe, that " the vital principle
of holiness in believers, whereby they are enabled to
serve God, is communicated to them through Christ
only as a Mediator." This is intimated by that expres-
sion, I am crucified with Christ ; that is, sin is crucified
in me, by virtue of the crucifixion of Christ; from the
merits of his death my strength to subdue sin results:
and the mortification of it is the certain consequent of
his sufferings, because thereby divine grace was pur-
chased and insured for his chosen, to be communicated
at the time appointed. To the same purpose he speaks
in Gal. vi. 14. Far be it from me " that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom [or
by which] the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the
world." This is also asserted in the emphatical epanor-
thosis, I live : yet not I, but Christ liveth in me : that is,
spiritual life is formally in me, but it is not self-origi-
nated; it does not result from my natural principles,
(which are so essential to me, that I may represent them
under the personal pronoun I) but was first implanted,
and is still supported and cherished by the power and
grace of God through Christ; and it is in every respect
so dependent upon him, and his influence is so intimately
diffused through my soul, that I may say, Christ liveth in
me. A like expression is used in Col. iii. 3, 4. Christ
is our life.

Thirdly, We may take notice, "that believers receive
supplies from Christ for the maintenance and nourish-
ment of their spiritual life." • The life which I now live,

VOL. II.— 64

506 DIVINE LIFE IN

(or, as it might be rendered more significantly, what I
now live) in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of
God.

So that the substance of the text is exhausted in these
three doctrines, " That all true believers are endowed with
an ability to serve God : That this ability was first com-
municated, and is still maintained through Christ only:
and, That it is by faith they derive supplies from him, for
the support and nourishment thereof."

You may observe I here reason from a particular to a
universal, and infer, that because these doctrines are true
with respect to St. Paul, therefore they are true with
respect to believers in general; and the scope of the text
warrants this method of reasoning in this instance, which
is confessedly fallacious in other cases ; for St. Paul here
introduces his own case with a design to represent and
illustrate the case of believers in common; which he
could not reasonably have done, had not theirs been sub-
stantially the same with his in these respects. Besides,
he declares these things of himself, not upon the account
of any circumstances peculiar to himself, which might
appropriate them to him; and therefore, though so
eminent a saint might have peculiar degrees of them, yet
as to their reality and kind, they equally belong to all true
Christians.

Nothing can be more profitable, nothing more neces-
sary, than right notions about spiritual life. It is the
main business of those that have it not, to seek it, and
of those that have it, to cherish it; but how can they
do either, if they know not what it is? Without it our
religion is vain; we cannot serve the living God here,
nor enjoy him hereafter; we are exposed to the eternal
agonies of the second death, and our souls are pining
under a spiritual decay, that will at length consume our

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 507

vitals. How necessary, then, is spiritual life ! And the
necessity of the thing infers the necessity of the know-
ledge of it. The profession of it is the source of all
vital religion; it is the health of the spirit; the ornament
and perfection of the human nature; the grand pre-
requisite to everlasting happiness; the dawn of celestial
glory; is it not, then, incomparably profitable? And
must not the right knowledge of it be so too? Yet
some are entirely ignorant of it; others, who say they
see, are widely mistaken about its nature, the time and
manner of its communication, its subjects, the author and
meritorious cause of it, and the way in which it is sup-
ported and cherished: and therefore, for the instruction
of the ignorant, the rectification of wrong sentiments, and
the confirmation of our minds in the truth, it may be
expedient briefly to attempt the solution of the following
inquiries.

I. Wherein spiritual life consists ?

II. When it is communicated ?

III. Whether it be instantaneously communicated, or
gradually acquired by repeated acts ?

IV. WTho are the subjects of it? or, in what extent is
it communicated ?

V. In what sense is it communicated and supported
through Christ ?

VI. How faith derives supplies from him for its support
and nourishment?

I. " Wherein does spiritual life consist?" This inquiry,
though necessary both to inform your minds and to repel
the charge of unintelligibleness, so frequently alleged
against this doctrine, yet is exceeding difficult, both be-
cause of the mysteriousness of the thing in itself, and be-
cause of the blindness of the minds of those that are not
endowed with it. It is mysterious in itself, as every kind

508 DIVINE LIFE IN

of life is. The effects and many of the properties of
animal life are plain, but what animal life is in itself is an
inquiry too sublime for the most philosophic and soaring
mind. Now spiritual life still approaches nearer to the
life of the divine Being, that boundless ocean of incom-
prehensible mysteries, and consequently exceeds our capa-
city more than any other. But besides, such is the blind-
ness of unregenerate souls, that they cannot receive or
know the things of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. ii. 14, and
therefore, what is knowable by enlightened minds concern-
ing spiritual life, cannot be apprehended with suitable
clearness by them. The power of understanding it seems
to be the effect of the thing understood, and cannot exist
separately from it. So it is in other kinds of life. No-
thing but reason can inform what is a rational life. Let
the faculties of the most sagacious animal be ever so much
polished, it can receive no ideas of it. So " he that be-
lieveth, hath the witness in himself," 1 John v. 10, and
none but himself can hear its testimony.* But suppose
we could form clear ideas, we should still be at a loss for
clear expressions. I have a clear idea of many of the
appetites, passions, and motions of animal life ; but words
may fail me to express them intelligibly to another, especi-
ally if he has no experience of them himself. It need
not, therefore, afford you any surprise, if after all that
shall be said to illustrate this point, it still remains obscure.
To design any more than to give you some faint glimmer-
ings, some half-formed, inadequate conceptions of it would
be a piece of arrogant vanity.

* I do not mean that the unregenerate have the same degree of incapa-
city in the one case as beasts have in the other, but only that the one is as
really incapable as the other. Reason in the unregenerate approaches
nearer to spiritual life than the powers of animal life do to reason, and yet
comes entirely short of it.

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 509

Now spiritual life supposes a living spiritual principle,
and it implies a disposition and a power to serve God, or
of holy operation.

1. It supposes a living spiritual principle. There can
be no life, no vital actions, without a vital principle, from
whence they flow ; e. g., there can be no animal life, no
animal sensations and motions, without a principle of
animal life. By a vital principle I mean that from which
life and its actions and passions immediately proceed : e. g.,
in the formation of our souls a principle of reason is con-
created with them, which is the source, the immediate
cause of their life and rational operations. I call this a
principle, because it is the beginning of life. Now spirit-
ual life must suppose a principle of holiness. A principle
of life of any kind will not suffice ; it must be particularly
and formally a holy principle ; for life and all its opera-
tions will be of the same kind with the principle from
which they proceed. Now a holy principle is something
distinct from and superadded to the mere natural principle
of reason. By virtue of this a man can think and will ;
but experience assures us, that thinking and willing, ab-
stractedly considered, or under sundry modifications which
they are capable of, are very different from thinking and
willing in a holy manner, or with those peculiar modifica-
tions which spiritual operations bear. I can will an indif-
ferent or evil object, if it appears to me as good ; but my
willing that which is morally good as such, is a very dif-
ferent act; and the principle from which the former act
with its modification proceeds may not be capable of pro-
ducing the latter so modified. This may be illustrated by
the case of the devils and their associates of the human
race. They still retain the principle of reason, and are
capable of thinking and willing ; otherwise they would be
incapable of torment, for without consciousness there

510 DIVINE LIFE IN

could be no sense of misery, and consciousness implies think-
ing; and without willing there can be no desire of happi-
ness, or abhorrence of penal evil ; but yet they are utterly
incapable of thinking and willing in a manner morally
good, and therefore a principle of holiness must be some-
thing distinct from a mere rational principle.

It may be urged, " That all the acts of spiritual life
may be resolved into the acts of reason, namely, thinking
and willing in a holy manner : and therefore the principle
of the former is the same with that of the latter. In
answer to this, I grant that the principle of reason, when
it implies a power of putting forth such acts, and about
such objects, as holiness includes ; when it implies a power
of knowing and choosing those things which the divine
law requires us to know and choose, that then it is the
same with a principle of spiritual life ; and this is the case
of such reasonable beings as still continue in their original
uprightness; but the principle of reason may be so
maimed as to lose this power, and yet not lose its nature ;
that is, it may become incapable of that manner of opera-
tion which spiritual life produces, and yet continue a prin-
ciple of reason still. This is evident from the case of in-
fernal spirits, formerly mentioned. Now the principle of
spiritual life supplies this moral defect ; it adds to reason a
capacity of exercising itself suitably about spiritual things.
Such a capacity is a separable adjunct of reason, and by
the corruption of our natures it is actually separated from
it : and consequently till it be superadded to our rational
powers, we are incapable of spiritual operation; I mean
such a manner of spiritual operation as is morally good
and acceptable to God. Our rational powers indeed can
still exercise themselves about divine things, but then it is
not in a fit manner : and therefore when a sinner is quick-
ened by efficacious grace, a power of acting in a fit man-

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 511

ner with respect to these things is superadded to his
rational powers ; and before this there is nothing in him
out of which such a power may be educed.

To illustrate this matter, let us suppose a man deprived
of the faculty of memory, and yet to continue rational,
(as he might in a low degree ;) according to this supposi-
tion, he will be always incapable of an act of memory,
however strong his powers of perception, volition, &c.,
may be, till the power of exercising his reason in that par-
ticular way which is called remembering, be conferred
upon him. So let a sinner's mere natural powers be ever
so much refined and polished, yet, if there be no principle
of spiritual life distinct from them infused, he will be ever-
lastingly incapable of living religion. This gracious prin-
ciple is called the seed of God, 1 John iii. 9, to intimate,
that as the seed of vegetables is the first principle of the
plant, and of its vegetative life, so is this of spiritual life,
and all its vital acts.

2. Spiritual life implies a disposition to a holy opera-
tion, an inward propensity, a spontaneous inclination to-
wards holiness, a willing that which is good. Rom. vii.
18. Every kind of life has some peculiar innate tenden-
cies, sympathies, and antipathies : so animal life implies a
natural inclination to food, to move at proper seasons, &c.
There is a savour, a relish for divine things, as essential to
spiritual life as our natural gusts and relishes are to natural
life. Hence gracious desires are often signified in Scrip-
ture under the metaphors of hungering and thirsting ; and
to this St. Peter expressly alludes : " as new born babes
desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow
thereby." 1 Pet. ii. 2. By virtue of this disposition, be-
lievers set their affections on things above, Col. iii. 2;
they relish, they savour, they affect things above. This is
the spiritual-mindedness, the savour of the spirit, which is

512 DIVINE LIFE IN

spiritual life ; and stands in opposition to the relish and
propensities of mere nature. Rom. viii. 6. By virtue of
this, the strongest bent of their souls is God-ward ; they
tend, they gravitate towards him as their proper centre.
Their desire is unto him, and to the remembrance of his
name. Isa. xxvi. 8. Their soul follows after him. Psalm
Ixiii. 8. By virtue of this they incline to keep all God's
commandments ; they have an inward tendency to obedi-
ence; they love God's law; they delight in it after the
inner man, Psalm cxix. 97 ; Rom. vii. 22 ; and their love
and delight will habitually sway them to observe it ; re-
ligion is their element, their choice. It is not in them
forced and unnatural, as all those operations are which do
not proceed from an intrinsic principle ; and that reluc-
tancy and indisposedness which they sometimes unhappily
feel in themselves to religious duties, is preternatural with
respect to this spiritual disposition; as the loathing of
healthful food is to the human body; it proceeds from a
disorder, a weakness in their spiritual life, occasioned by
the strugglings and transient pre valency of contrary prin-
ciples : it is owing to the lustings of the flesh against the
spirit. Again, Their obedience is not servile and merce-
nary, resulting merely from the apprehension of the misery
which will ensue upon disobedience; but it is* generous
and filial, proceeding from a convictive view of the intrin-
sic reasonableness, congruity, and amiableness of the duties
of holiness; from the pleasure and satisfaction which the
performance of them, under this view, naturally produces ;
(so a man is excited to eat, not merely by his apprehen-
sion of the necessity of it for the support of his body, but
also by the pleasure he finds in the very action,) and from
a sense of the divine authority enjoining those duties.
By this the genuine acts of spiritual life are infallibly dis-
tinguished from that low and ignoble devotion which flows

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 513

from custom, education, horrors of conscience, and all the
principles of mere nature.

It is true, indeed, some persons by nature, and conse-
quently without this supernatural disposition, may incline
to and delight in sundry things, that, as to the matter of
them, are religious duties. So («•?•§•.) some are naturally
averse to intemperance; and sobriety is inwrought in
their very constitutions. Yet still this gracious dispo-
sition is distinguished from such a natural inclination by
these two marks : the first implies a distinct reference to,
and a sense of the authority of, the divine Lawgiver as en-
joining those duties, and prompts a person to observe
them formally as duties, as acts of obedience; but the
latter prompts to the observance of them, considering them
as things agreeable to the person's natural temper, without
any distinct reference to God ; and so they are rather acts
of self-gratification than of obedience to the divine authority;
and the person would incline to them if they were not
commanded at all. They are duties materially in them-
selves, but not formally, as performed by him; a regard to
the authority of God, which is the constitutive form of
obedience, is left out. A -generous temper may incline to
give alms; for the Lord's sake is omitted. (2.) Spiritual
life disposes to all duties of religion and acts of holiness
universally. It delights in holiness as such, and regards
the authority of the law for itself; and consequently,
whatever has the nature of holiness, whatever has the
sanction of divine authority, it cannot but affect and relish,
even though it should be very contrary to a man's natural
inclinations and temporal advantage. But a natural pro-
pension is always partial and limited, and inclines to some
duties only, neglecting others of equal or greater import-
ance, which thwart the man's corrupt propensions. In a
word, such a one's religion proceeds from the very same

VOL. II.— 66

514 DIVINE LIFE IN

disposition that his sins proceed from, namely, a disposition
to please himself. Hence it is always a maimed, imper-
fect, half-formed thing ; it has not that amiable symmetry
and uniformity, that congruous proportion and connection
of parts, which are the ornament and distinguishing cha-
racteristic of that religion which flows from a heart uni-
versally disposed to holiness.

3. Spiritual life implies a power of holy operation. A
heavenly vigour, a divine activity animates the whole soul.
It implies more than an inefficacious disposition, a dull,
lazy velleity, productive of nothing but languid wishes.
So every kind of life implies a power of operation suitable
to its nature. Animal life (e. g.) has not only an innate
propensity, but also a natural power to move, to receive
and digest food, &c. They that wait on the LORD shall
renew their strength, Isa. xl. 31; that is, they have strength
given them ; renewed and increased by repeated acts, in
the progress of sanctification. They are strengthened with
might, by the Spirit in the inner man. Eph. iii. 16. I do
not mean that spiritual life is always sensible and equally
vigorous ; alas ! it is subject to many languishments and
indispositions : but I mean there' is habitually in a spiritual
man a power, an ability for serving God which, when all
pre-requisites concur, and hindrances are removed, is capa-
ble of putting forth acts of holiness, and which does
actually exert itself frequently. So animal life is subject
to many disorders, which weaken its powers of operation,
but yet still retains those powers ; and they are in some
measure active, even under the greatest indisposition, at
least in resisting the disorder, though perhaps with faint
struggles. Again, I do not mean an independent power,
which is so self-active as to need no quickening energy
from the divine Spirit to bring it into act, but a power
capable of acting under the animating influences of grace,

THE SOUL CONSIDERED 515

which, as to their reality, are common to all believers,
though they are communicated in different degrees to dif-
ferent persons, There is no need of the infusion of a
new power, which the Spirit might actuate; but they have
a power already, which needs nothing but the suitable
concurrence of other causes to educe it into act. So the
power of reason is not independent, so as to be capable
of operation without the concurrence of divine Providence,
common to mankind, to quicken it into act; yet it is a
power of reason still, because it is capable of rational acts,
under common providential influence. But should we
suppose a beast the object of that influence, it would still
continue incapable of rational acts, till a rational power be
implanted in it. The illustration itself directs us to the
application of it.

Thus I have briefly shown you wherein spiritual life
consists ; but I am afraid it may be still wrapped in obscu-
rity from the eyes of some. And indeed it would require
longer time, larger extent, and greater abilities to reflect
sufficient light on so mysterious a point. Before we lose
sight of this head, let us improve it to these purposes :

Let us improve it as a caution against this common mis-
take, viz., that our mere natural powers, under the com-
mon aids of divine grace, polished and refined by the insti-
tutions of the gospel, are a sufficient principle of holiness,
without the addition of any new principle. You see a
principle of spiritual life is supernatural ; it is a divine, hea-
ven-born thing ; it is the seed of God ; a plant planted by
our heavenly Father. But, alas ! how many content them-
selves with a self-begotten holiness ! They have formed
to themselves a system of natural, self-sprung religion,
(I mean that it is natural originally and subjectively,
though it be pretended to be divine objectively, because
its patrons acknowledge objective revelation,) in this they

516 DIVINE LIFE IN

acquiesce as sufficient, as though they knew not that that
which is born of the flesh is flesh. The cogitiveness of
matter appears to me a notion very like this ; for I think
it might be demonstrated as clearly, that our mere natural
powers, in our present lapsed state, without the infusion
of any divine supernatural principle, are incapable of liv-
ing, evangelical holiness ; as it can, that mere matter, with-
out the superaddition of a principle entirely distinct from
it, is capable of thinking, however much it be polished, or
however differently it be modified.

Let us also improve what has been said, to remove an-
other equally common and pernicious error, namely, That
gospel-holiness consists merely in a series of acts materially
good. Some imagine that all the actions they do, which
are materially lawful, and a part of religion, have just so
much of holiness in them : and as they multiply such ac-
tions, their sanctification increases in their imagination.
But alas ! do they not know, that a principle, a disposition,
a power of holy acting must precede, and be the source
of -all holy acts? That a new heart must be given us, and
a new spirit put within us, before we can walk in God's
statutes and -keep his judgments, and do them ! Ezek.
xxxvi. 26, 27. That we must be created in Jesus Christ
unto good works, Eph. ii. 10, before we can walk in them !
That the love of God must be shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost, Rom. v. 5, before we can love him ! I
do not say that they that are void of spiritual life should
not attempt to perform religious duties in the best manner
they can, by virtue of their natural powers ; for this is un-
doubtedly their duty, both because their sin is less when
only the manner of their actions is sinful, than when the
matter and manner too are sinful; and because God, who
has a right to appoint what methods he pleases, for the col-
lation of his own favours, has constituted this as the way

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 517

for them to obtain a spiritual life. But I say religious
and moral duties, however frequently and perseveringly
performed, are not evangelical holiness, when they are not
done from a gracious supernatural principle : they are but
spurious fruits growing from the wild root of depraved na-
ture ; and we had best not please ourselves with the view
of them, as though they were the fruits of holiness, lest
we be consumed at last as fruitless and noxious briers and
thorns.

Further, Let us improve our account of spiritual life, to
inform us of a very considerable difference between a mere
moral and spiritual life ; or evangelical holiness and mo-
rality. Spiritual life is of a divine original; evangelical
holiness flows from a supernatural principle; but mere
morality is natural ; it is but the refinement of our natural
principles, under the aids of common grace, in the use of
proper means ; and consequently it is obtainable by unre-
generate men. Hence the same act may be differently de-
nominated, according to the principles from which it pro-
ceeds ; that may be a piece of mere morality in one, who
acts from natural principles only, which is an act of holi-
ness in another, who acts from a principle of spiritual life.
So an alms, when given from a gracious principle, and for
Christ's sake, is a gracious act ; but when given from a
principle of natural generosity only, it deserves no higher
name than that of mere morality. A mistake in this is a
rock we may tremble to look at, and ought anxiously to
avoid ; for, alas ! how many have been dashed to pieces
upon it !

Again, We may improve what has been said, to convince
us, that a life of formality, listlessness, and inactivity, is
far from being a spiritual life. Where these things are
habitual and predominant, they are infallible symptoms of
spiritual death. It is true (as has been already observed)

518 DIVINE LIFE IN THE SOUL CONSIDERED.

believers are subject to many sickly qualms and frequent
indispositions ; yea, at times, their languishments are such,
that the operations of the vital principle within them are
hardly discernible to themselves or others ; and the vigour
of their devotion, in their most sprightly hours, is checked
and borne down by the body of death under which they
groan. Yet still, there is an inextinguishable spark of life
within, which scatters a glimmering light in the thickest
darkness, and sometimes shines with illustrious brightness.
The pulse of the spirit, though weak and irregular, still
beats. There is an active power that reluctates and strug-
gles against the counter-strivings of the flesh : that under
the greatest langour, put forth some weak efforts, some
faint essays, and under the actuating influence of the divine
Spirit, invigorates the soul to mount up with wings like an
eagle, to run without wearying, and walk without fainting.
And oh ! the joy, the pleasure of such heavenly activity !
We therefore may write Tekel on the dull, inoperative re-
ligion of many ; it serves for no other end, but to prove
them dead in trespasses and sins. The design of the
whole dispensation of God's grace towards fallen sinners,
is their vivification to holiness, that they may bring forth
fruit unto God, Rom. vii. 4 ; and sure, where that design
is not obtained, there can be no true religion. Let us
therefore beware lest we should have a name to live, while
we are dead.

DIVINE LIFE IN THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 519

SERMON L.

THE DIVINE LIFE IN THE SOULS OF MEN CONSIDERED.

GAL. ii. 20. — I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I
live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life
which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the
Son of God.

WE proceed to inquire,

II. When spiritual life is communicated? To this the
Scriptures direct us to answer, That it is communicated
in that change which is generally called Regeneration, or
Effectual Calling. This is more than intimated by the ex-
pressions used to signify the first communication of it.
When spiritual life is infused, then it is that God is said to
beget us again to a lively hope, I Pet. i. 3 ; to beget us of his
own will, James i. 18 ; to quicken us who were dead in sin,
Eph. ii. 5 ; to give us a new heart, and put a new spirit
within us ; to take away the stony heart, and give a heart
ofjlesh, Ezek. xxxvi. 25 ; and we are said to be created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, Eph. ii. 10 ; born again,
John iii. 3 ; born or begotten of God, John i. 13 ; 1 John
iii. 9. Now it is evident that these metaphorical expres-
sions signify what is commonly called regeneration, and
that they express the first implantation of spiritual life.
Several of them contain a direct allusion to the first com-
munication of animal and human life, as regeneration or
begetting, regeneration or being begotten again, creation,
&c. And since these, taken literally, signify the first com-

520 DIVINE LIFE IN

munication of natural life, they must, when used meta-
phorically and spiritually, signify the first communication
of spiritual life. Life before generation, creation, &c.,
is an absurdity ; and generation, creation, &c., without the
communication of life suitable to the nature of the being
generated, created, &c., is also an absurdity. The other
expressions, as quickening us while dead in trespasses and
sins, giving a new heart, and the like, even literally sig-
nify this.

Hence, by way of improvement, we may be instructed
to avoid a common mistake ; namely, " That a power of
living to God is universally conferred upon mankind in
creation : and therefore that there is no need of a new
supernatural principle to be infused, but only of the con-
currence of common providence, and the institutes of the
gospel, to polish and refine our natural principles." And
some say, " That God in creation infuses spiritual life into
all, on account of Christ dying for them ; and that if it be
given without the merit of the recipient, it may as properly
be ascribed to divine grace when it is a natural endow-
ment bestowed in creation, as it would be if it were a
supernatural gift communicated by an act distinct from and
posterior to that of creation."

In order effectually to subvert this notion, consider,
1. If spiritual life were communicated in creation, there
would be no propriety or significancy in the expressions
used to denote the communication of it. There would be
no need of a new, a second birth, if we were spiritually
alive by virtue of our first birth. Were we holy by virtue
of our first creation, what necessity of being created in
Christ Jesus, or of being made new creatures ? 2 Cor. v.
17; Gal. vi. 15. There could be no opposition between
the old man and the new. Rom. vi. 6 ; Eph. iv. 22, 24 ;
Col. iii. 9, 10. The dispositions concreated with us can-

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 521

not be called a new man. 2. The implantation of spiritual
life is not only posterior to creation, but also to corrupt
principles, which are innate. We are first dead in sin
before we are quickened, Eph. ii. 5 ; we have a stony heart,
which must be taken away before a heart of flesh is given,
Ezek. xxxvi. 26. Such expressions undoubtedly signify
an act posterior to, and consequently distinct from, crea-
tion. 3. The implantation of a principle of spiritual life
is eminently an act of special grace, which the concreation
of onr natural endowments is never said to be. The wash-
ing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost,
is an act of mercy and the effect of the kindness and love
of God our Saviour. Tit. iii. 5. " God, who is rich in
mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
with Christ (by grace ye are saved.") Eph. ii. 4, 5. It
is according to God's abundant mercy, that we are begotten
again unto a lively hope. 1 Pet. i. 3. But why need I
multiply instances ? The entire tenor of the gospel directs
us to ascribe the regeneration and sanctification of sinners
to distinguishing and peculiar grace. But though our
natural powers are the free communications of divine
goodness, yet we are never said to be " created according
to the grace and mercy of God." It is not agreeable to
the sacred dialect to call the powers of reason, vision, &c.,
" the gifts of grace," in the same sense that spiritual life is
so called ; nay, I cannot find that our natural powers are
ascribed to mercy, grace, free grace, at all; and it seems
more congruous to ascribe them to other perfections of
the Deity, as creative wisdom, power, and goodness. To
this I may add, that spiritual life is always represented as
communicated " through Christ as Mediator, and for his
sake;" but our natural endowments are not said to be
given through him. " The Holy Ghost is shed on us

VOL. II.— 66

522 DIVINE LIFE IN

abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour." Tit. iii. 5,
6. " We are sanctified through the offering up of the
body of Christ once for all." Heb. x. 10. " It is in Jesus
Christ that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings."
Eph. i. 3. He is made sanctification to us, 1 Cor. i. 30 ;
and of his fulness we all receive. John i. 16. But we are
never said to be created for Christ's sake, or to be made
rational creatures on the account of his righteousness.
And when we are said to be created by him, it signifies
by him as an efficient, not as a meritorious cause.

From all which it appears, that spiritual life in a fallen
creature is wholly supernatural : it is of a divine extract,
and heaven-born in a peculiar sense. The sons of God
are born of God, and not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man. If therefore any of us con-
tinue in our natural estate, we are dead in sin, however
strict formalists or refined moralists we may be. Let us
inquire,

III. " Whether spiritual life be instantaneously com-
municated 1 Or, whether (as some allege) it be gradually
acquired by repeated acts ?"

Here let it be observed, that we are not inquiring, how
spiritual life is nourished and confirmed ? for that is un-
doubtedly done gradually, by repeated acts, correspondent
to the nature of spiritual life, and perfective of it in the
progress of sanctification, as the power of reason is im-
proved by a series of suitable exercises ; but our inquiry
is, how it is first obtained 1 Whether it be communicated
in the instant of regeneration, as the power of understand-
ing is in creation ? And to this I answer affirmatively, for
the following reasons.

1. "It is a contradiction that it should be originally
acquired by acting, or a series of acts ; for that supposes
that it exists, and does not exist, at the same time : as it

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 523

acts, it exists; and as it is acquired by acting, it does not
exist. It will perhaps be objected, " That it may be ac-
quired by the repeated acts of another kind of life, namely,
rational; or the exercises of our rational powers about
spiritual objects." But this may be answered from what
was observed under the first head, namely, that a principle
of spiritual life is something distinct from and superadded
to our natural powers. Now the acts of one kind of life,
however often repeated, will never acquire a life of a quite
different kind : e. g., the longest course, and the most fre-
quent repetition of animal acts, will never acquire a prin-
ciple of reason. Let a blind man hear ever so well, and
ever so frequently, that will not acquire a visive faculty.
So let our natural principles be exercised about spiritual
objects with ever so much frequency and permanency, that
will never acquire spiritual life. They are so depraved,
that there remains nothing in them out of which it can be
educed, without the communication of something super-
natural. Be they ever so strong and active, they can con-
tribute no more to our vivification, than the quick sensa-
tion of the auditory nerve can contribute to the acquisi-
tion of sight. Principles of action may be confirmed, and
rendered more prompt to act, by frequent exercise ; but
can never be originally obtained that way.

2. The terms whereby the communication of spiritual
life is signified, as begetting, creating, quickening, or
raising the dead, &c., denote an instantaneous communi-
cation.

3. Spiritual life is represented as prior to and the
source and principle* of all acts of evangelical holiness:
and consequently it cannot be gradually acquired by such
acts, but must be implanted previously to the putting forth
of any such acts; as reason is not acquired by reasoning,
but is a pre-requisite and principle of all the acts of reason.

524 DIVINE LIFE IN

We are created in Christ Jesus, to make us capable of
good works. Eph. ii. 10. We must have a new heart and
a new spirit, and the Spirit of God must be put within us,
that we may walk in God's statutes, and keep his judgments
and do them. Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27. We must be drawn
of the Father, must hear and learn of him, before we can
come to Christ. John vi. 44, 45. God gives his people
one heart, and one way, that they may fear Him for ever.
He puts his fear in their hearts, before they cease to de-
part from Him. Jer. xxxii. 39, 40. Now if all acts of
holiness be the effects of a vital principle of holiness pre-
viously infused, then this principle is not acquired by a
course of actions, and consequently it is not gradually ac-
quired, but instantaneously infused; for that which is not
acquired by acting, is obtained by immediate communica-
tion from another, and therefore it does not take up time
to obtain it, as a series of acts does. Again, There must
be a first act of holiness ; for if there be not a first, there
cannot be a second, &c. Now since a principle of spiritual
life is in the spring and the beginning of all acts of holiness,
it must be, in order of nature, prior to the first act of
holiness : and consequently it is not gradually acquired by
such acts, but precedes them all, and therefore must be
instantaneously infused.

Hence we may see the vanity of that religion which is
gained in the same manner that a man learns a trade, or
an uncultivated mind becomes knowing and learned, namely,
by the repeated exercises of our natural powers in use of
proper means, and under the aids of common providence.
We have seen that a principle of spiritual life is not a good
act, nor a series of good acts, nor anything acquirable by
them, but the spring and origin of all good acts. Let us
then, my brethren, try whether our religion will stand this
test.

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 525

Hence also we may learn a considerable difference be-
tween what is commonly called morality and gospel-holiness.
The one is obtained, as other acquired habits are, by
frequent and continued exercises ; the other proceeds from
a principle divinely implanted.

IV. Our inquiry is, Who are the subjects of spiritual
life 1 or in what extent is it communicated ?

The answer to this is easy, from what has been
already offered : for since it is communicated only in
regeneration, then the regenerate only are the subjects of
it; and since all men are not regenerate, then all men are
not the subjects of it. Again, since it is something dis-
tinct from and superadded to our rational powers, then it
cannot be proved that all that are endowed with rationality
are the subjects of it. Again, since it is communicated by an
act distinct from and posterior to creation, there is no
reason to conclude that it is co-extended with creation, or
with the bounds of humanity. And since all these things
are so, we may safely conclude, negatively, that it is not
communicated to mankind universally and positively; that
it is communicated to all the regenerate, and to them only.
Hence result two corollaries.

1. That there is no such thing as universal grace suffi-
cient to qualify all men to serve God acceptably, without
the supernatural communication of distinguishing grace;
for " God is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must
worship him in spirit and in truth." John iv. 24. Those
acts which do not proceed from a principle of spiritual life
will no more be accounted by him vital, spiritual acts, than
the chattering of a parrot, or the seemingly rational pranks
of an ape, will pass with a man of sense for human
actions : and without a principle of spiritual life there can
be no spiritual acts, as there can be no rational acts
without a principle of reason. And since, as has been

526 DIVINE LIFE IN

shown, spiritual life is not universally communicated,
then there is no sufficient grace universally communicated ;
for the latter necessarily implies the former, and cannot be
without it.

2. We may observe further, That the "best actions of
the unregenerate are not properly and formally good
and acceptable to God." It is true their performing the
duties of religion and virtue in the best manner they are
capable of, is less displeasing to God than the wilful
neglect of them, or the commission of the contrary sins,
and therefore they should endeavour to perform them;
but yet it cannot be said to be positively pleasing to him.
It is not the act materially, or in itself, that is sinful, but
formally, and as done by them, e. g., they do not sin as
far as they pray, but as far as they pray in a sinful man-
ner, without a gracious principle, without faith, and other
requisites to acceptable prayer. " They ask and receive
not, because they ask amiss." James iv. 3. " So then
they that are in the flesh, cannot please God. Rom.
viii. 8. A tremendous thought to the unregenerate!
Their whole life is an entire series of provocation ; one
continued act of rebellion against the great King of heaven.

V. Our next inquiry is, In what sense is spiritual life
communicated and supported through Christ?

To explain and illustrate this point, let these three things
be considered.

1. That " by the sin of our first parents and representa-
tives, our principle of spiritual life was forfeited, and the
forfeiture is continued, and spiritual death brought on us
by our personal sin."

That Adam was constituted the representative of his
posterity, and consequently that his sin is imputed to
them, I shall take for granted, not having time to prove
it. And if this be granted, then we are destitute of

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 527

spiritual life ; for, that disobedience may be punished, con-
sistently with reason and justice, by the judicial privation
of our power to obey, cannot be denied, if these reason-
able postulata be conceded : That it is consistent with
the justice and goodness of the Deity to suspend the
continuance of the powers of upright moral agency con-
ferred upon his creatures, on the condition of their right
improvement of them : That when such powers are
abused and misimproved, they may justly be withdrawn:
And that, when withdrawn in consequence of* their being
forfeited by a criminal mis-improvement, God is not obliged
in justice to restore them. Now these postulata imply no
contradiction, and, therefore, may have been matters of
fact; and they are implied in the Scripture representation
of the circumstance of Adam and his posterity, as related
to him; and therefore were matters of fact, and con-
sequently Adam and his posterity, on the account of his
sin, actually are, at least justly might be, deprived of
spiritual life.

As to our personal sin, it contributes two ways to de-
prive us of spiritual life, morally and physically ; morally,
in the same sense that Adam's sin does, as it involves us
in guilt, and so infers the judicial privation of the imper-
fect relics of our Maker's moral image ; and physically,
as every act, and especially a series of acts, naturally
tends to strengthen and encourage the principle from
whence they flow ; to acquire that facility in acting which
is called a habit ; and to weaken and extirpate all con-
trary principles, and so indispose for the exertion of con-
trary acts.

Hence it follows that in order to the restoration^ of
spiritual life, the moral influence of sin must be removed
by making a competent satisfaction to divine justice, to
redeem the blessing forfeited ; and its physical influence

528 DIVINE LIFE IN

obstructed by purchasing and communicating divine influ-
ences, to weaken and extirpate the principles of sin, and
that i'atal promptitude and facility of acting which is con-
tracted by the frequent exercise of them ; and to infuse an
opposite principle of holiness, and mature it into a habit.
And this introduces the other two things intended; and
therefore,

2. The Lord Jesus, by his sufferings, made a " com-
plete satisfaction to divine justice ;" and thereby redeemed
the blessing forfeited ; and by the merit of his obedience,
purchased divine influence for the extirpation of the prin-
ciples of spiritual death which lurk in our natures, and
the implantation of holiness. Hence the regeneration
and sanctification, as well as the salvation of his people,
are ascribed to his merits and death. We are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Christ. Heb. x. 10
And the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself without spot, to God, purges the con-
science from dead works to serve the living God. Heb.
ix. 14. He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us
from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works. Titus ii. 14. Hence our
old man is said to be crucified with him ; Rom. vi. 6 ;
and we to be quickened together with him. Col. ii. 13.
Therefore it is only on the account of his righteousness
that spiritual life is first given and afterwards maintained
and cherished. God acts in the whole affair, as the God
of grace, with a distinct reference to the mediation of
Christ.

3. Christ, the Purchaser, is appointed also "the Com-
municator of spiritual life" to his people. "The Son
quickeneth whom he will." John v. 21. "He is exalted
as a prince to give repentance to Israel." Acts v. 31.
" He is our life," Col. iii. 3, 4, " and the Author and

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 529

Finisher of our faith;" Heb. xii. 2. In a word, "all power
in heaven and on earth is given to him," Matt, xxviii. 18;
a sovereign empire of grace founded in his own blood, is
devolved upon him, and " He is given to be head over all
things to his church." Eph. i. 22 ; a head not only of
government, but of quickening influence: for "from
him all the body by joints and bands having nourishment
ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase
of God." Col. ii. 19. It is therefore by his own hands
that all the blessings purchased by his blood are communi-
cated.

Hence for the particular improvement of this head,
let believers be taught to look to the Lord Jesus, the
great Treasurer of heaven, for the supplies of his grace
to support and nourish their spiritual life. Poor things !
You are weak in yourselves, but his grace is sufficient
for you, and his strength shall be made perfect in your
weakness. Ye are complete in him, therefore be strong
in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; strong in the
Lord, and in the power of his might ! Come up out of
the wilderness, leaning upon your Beloved. Be of good
courage, and he will strengthen your heart. Do not
indulge a dastardly temper, nor harbour diffident and
desponding fears : For " have you not known ? Have
you not heard that the everlasting God the LORD, the
Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is
weary ? He giveth power to the faint, and to them that
have no might he increaseth strength." If you " compass
yourself with sparks of your own kindling," your devo-
tions will be cold and languid, and a deadly chillness
will benumb your spirit. Place yourselves, therefore,
under the vivifying beams "of the Sun of righteous-
ness, and you shall go forth and grow up as calves of the
stall."

VOL. II.— 67

530 DIVINE LIFE IN

And let " the slain of the daughter of my people" ap-
ply to him for quickening grace. Behold, sinners ! your
Physician ; cry after him ; plead for him ; plead for life.
See the great treasury of vivifying influence; stand at the
door knocking, begging, and weeping, and never depart
till you can say, " I return a living soul." Here is a
fountain of life opened, and let him that is athirst come ;
and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
But I hasten to inquire,

VI. " How faith derives supplies from Christ for the
support and nourishment of spiritual life ?"

I shall proceed to the solution of this by the following
gradation.

1. The communication of grace from Christ to main-
tain and nourish spiritual life in his people, is a peculiar
and distinguishing communication, It is appropriated to
them and not promiscuously dispensed to mankind in
general. So animal spirits and nervous juices are com-
municated from the head to that particular body to which
it belongs, and to none other. So a vine conveys nutritive
and prolific sap to its own branches, exclusive of all
others. It may, indeed, be of service to other things, in
other respects, as for shade, the entertainment of the sight,
&c., but in this respect it supplies its own branches only.
Thus Christ sheds his extensive influence on the whole
creation : for by him all things consist ; but that par-
ticular kind and degree of influence whereby believers
are quickened and kept alive, is peculiarly appropriated to
them.

2. It is fit and necessary there should be a peculiar
union between Christ and his people, as the foundation of
this peculiar influence.

Spiritual life, as to its infusion and preservation, pro-
ceeds from the Lord- Mediator, both morally and physi-

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 531

cally. Morally, from the merit of his obedience and suf-
ferings, whereby it was purchased ; and physically, from
his operation, whereby it is effected. And in both these
views, it is congruous and necessary that it should suppose
a special union with him.

As it results morally from his high merit, it is fit there
should be a special legal union, as the foundation of it.
Christ and his people must be actually " one in law," be-
fore they can be actually entitled to or receive and enjoy
the blessings purchased by his obedience to the law. So
a wife must be made legally one with her husband, by a
conjugal union, in order to entitle her to and give her the
possession of his estate. An insolvent debtor must be
legally one with his surety, that the surety's discharge of
the debt may procure his acquittance.

And as the spiritual life proceeds physically from his
agency, it is necessary there should be a previous union,
as the reason of the termination of that agency upon the
believer rather than upon another. This must be a real,
though spiritual union, as the communication of vital influ-
ences flowing from it is real though spiritual. Wherever
there is a special communication of influence, there is
always a special union, as the source and foundation of it.
So the peculiar influence of the soul upon the body, of the
head upon the members, supposes that they are peculiarly
united.

Accordingly the Scriptures represent a peculiar union
between Christ and his people, which is not between him
and the rest of mankind, to whom he does not communi-
cate spiritual life. / am the vine, says he to his disciples,
and ye are the branches ; he that abideth in me, and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit ; for without me
ye can do nothing. John xv. 5. To the same purport
elsewhere, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be

532 DIVINE LIFE IN

made perfect in one. John xvii. 23. This is intimated
when the relation between Christ and his people is repre-
sented by a conjugal union. They " are become dead to
the law by the body of Christ, that they should be married
to one another, even to him who is raised from the dead."
Rom. vii. 4. " They are members of this body, of his
flesh, and of his bones." Eph. v. 28, 32. But it is most
plainly asserted in those passages where Jesus is repre-
sented as the head, the church collectively as his body,
and particular believers as the members of his body. " As
the body is one, and hath many members, and all the
members of that one body,, being many, are one body; so
also is Christ. For by one Spirit we are all baptized
into one body. Now ye are the body of Christ, and
members in particular." 1 Cor. xii. 12-27. "God gave
him to be head over all things to his church which is his
body." Eph. i. 22, 23. See also Eph. iv. 15, 16; Col. ii. 19.

3. It is fit that that grace which has a peculiar concur-
rence or instrumentality in the uniting of the soul to Christ,
and in continuing that union, should also have a "pe-
culiar concurrence or instrumentality in deriving supplies
of spiritual strength from him ;" for since union is the true
special ground of the communication, it is fit that that
which is the peculiar instrument of this union, should also
be the peculiar instrument of receiving, or vehicle of com-
municating vital influences. Now,

4. Faith has a "peculiar concurrence" or "instru-
mentality in the first union" of the soul to Christ, and the
consequent continuation of the union. It is the grand
ligament whereby they are indissolubly conjoined. It is
true, the spiritual man, as well as our animal bodies, con-
sists of several essential parts. Repentance, love, and the
whole system of evangelical graces and moral virtues are
as necessary, in their proper respective places, as faith.

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 533

But then faith has a peculiar aptitude, above all other
graces and virtues, for performing the part we now appro-
priate to it. So heart, lungs, bowels, &c., are essential to
the human body, as well as nerves and arteries ; but the
nerves are the peculiar vehicles to carry the vital spirits
from the brain : and the arteries are the only conveyancers
of the blood from the heart, through many labyrinths, to
the whole body.

Faith, in a special manner, implies those things in its
very nature, which reason directs us to look upon as
suitable pre-requisites or concomitants of deriving vital
influence from Christ. For instance, it is fit that all that
receive spiritual life as a blessing of the covenant of grace,
should submit to and acquiesce in the terms of the cove-
nant. Now such a submission and acquiescence is faith.
It is fit all that derive strength from Christ should be
brought to place an humble, self-diffident dependence upon
him for it, conscious of their own weakness. Now faith
principally consists in such a dependence, and therefore is
so often called a trusting in the Lord.

Moreover, the sacred oracles assert the peculiar instru-
mentality of faith in this matter. Christ is said to dwell
in our hearts by faith, Eph. iii. 17; and it is by "believ-
ing in his name that we receive power to become the sons
of God." John i. 12. He himself tells us, "He that
eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me,
and I in him. As I live by the Father, so he that eateth
me, even he shall live by me." John vi. 56, 57. And by
eating his flesh and drinking his blood, is undoubtedly
meant faith in him; and consequently it is by faith believers
are nourished.

For the particular improvement of this head, I shall
make these three remarks :

1. That a saving faith is always operative; and what

534 DIVINE LIFE IN

renders it so is its constant dependence on Christ for
quickening grace. It is designed by God, and has a pe-
culiar aptitude in its own nature to derive strength for all
acts of holiness from Christ; and he will not deny any of
the influences it naturally craves. He is a living head,
and will not suffer any of its members to languish under
perpetual mortal decays, or drudge away their lives in
successless toil, or supinely waste them in sloth and inac-
tivity. He will fail none that trust in him ; but their de-
pendence on him will be like the leaning of the ivy on the
oak, or the radication of a tree in a fruitful soil, an assured
method to obtain support and nourishment. So far is a
dependence on him from leading to sloth and libertinism,
as some slanderously surmise.

2. We infer, that without faith it is impossible to please
God. It has been shown, that without union to Christ
we cannot have an actual interest in his righteousness, or
be the special objects of that quickening influence, whereby
the spiritual life and activity of his people are maintained ;
and without these, our persons or performances cannot be
accepted, unless our own righteousness be sufficient, with-
out an actual interest in his, to procure the pardon of sin,
and reinstate us in the divine favour : and unless human
nature, labouring under the maladies of its present de-
generacy, be capable, without the special aids of divine
grace, to yield suitable obedience to the law : neither of
which can be asserted, without virtually renouncing the
whole gospel. And we have seen, that faith has so impor-
tant a place in the unition of the soul with Christ, and,
consequently, in entitling us to his righteousness, and
deriving vital influence from him, that without it we cannot
be at all united to him, or share in the happy consequences
of this union, no more than there can be a circulation of
the blood without veins and arteries.

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 535

3. We observe that gospel holiness may be distinguished
from all counterfeits, and particularly from what some
dignify with the name of morality, by this criterion, that it
pre-supposes a special union with Christ, and is cherished
in the heart, and exercised in practice, by virtue of the
quickening influences flowing from him, as the head of his
church, and received by faith; whereas mere morality
does not necessarily suppose such a union, but may result
from our natural powers, under the common influences of
divine Providence.

I shall conclude with a short general improvement of
the whole subject, in the following inferences :

1. That the reason why religion is so burdensome to
many is because they are " destitute of a principle of
spiritual life," and the " quickening communications of
divine grace." Constrained by self-love, they drudge and
toil in religious duties, and cry, " What a weariness is it!"
Or impatient of so disagreeable a burden, they neglect
them entirely. Religion is not natural to them, for want
of a new nature. But to you that believe, "Christ is pre-
cious ; all his ways are pleasantness, and all his paths are
peace. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light."

2. Let us examine ourselves, whether the evidences of
spiritual life, which may be collected from what has been
said, give us reason to conclude that we are possessed
of it. Let us cast the discourse into a form of interro-
gation, and propose the following inquiries to our con-
sciences :

Do we feel, or have we felt, a supernatural principle
working within? Is our religion heaven-born? or is it

o °

natural and self-sprung ? Is the habitual bent of our wills
God-ward ? Do our hearts propend towards him as their
ultimate scope? Do we "delight in his law after the
inner man, and will that which is good, even when we

536 DIVINE LIFE IN

cannot do it?" Do we perceive ourselves at times
" strengthened with might in the inner man ?" And that
we can " do all things through Christ strengthening us ?"
Have we ever experienced the important change of re-
generation ? Are " old things passed away, and all things
become new 1 Have we put off' the old man with his
deeds, and put on the new man, which after God is created
in righteousness and true holiness ?"

Is our religion more than a mere acquired habit, origi-
nally obtained by our own industry only, and the exercise
of our natural powers, excited and assisted by education,
custom, the means of grace, &c.? Was it begun in the
instantaneous infusion of a gracious principle, immediately
by the Holy Spirit 1

Do we derive our strength for obedience from Christ
by faith? Is he our life? Are we generally crying,
" Lord, we have no strength; but our eyes are unto thee?"
Can we say with the apostle, " I live ; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me; and what I now live in the flesh, I live by
the faith of the Son of God ?"

My dear brethren, let us search ourselves with these
and the like inquiries ; for many are destructively deceived
in this matter. Living religion is wrapt in darkness from
the eyes of most; they either place it in that in which it
does not consist at all, or take the circumstances and
appendages for the substance of it. Great is the mystery
of godliness, not only objectively as revealed in the Scrip-
tures, but also subjectively, as wrought in the heart of a
believer. It ought, therefore, to engage our most serious
and intense thoughts.

3. Let those who are made spiritually alive, " acknow-
ledge and admire the distinguishing grace of God, and act
as it becomes their character."

You have seen that spiritual life is not promiscuously

THE SOUL CONSIDERED. 537

dispensed to mankind in general, but only to the regene-
rate, who are comparatively few. And can you restrain
your wonder, that you should be the chosen objects of
sovereign grace ? or avoid breaking forth into ecstatic
praises at so surprising a dispensation ?

Moreover, the design of your vivification, and the
natural tendency of the principle of spiritual life is, that
you may live to God ; and therefore you are peculiarly
obliged to make your whole life a series of obedience to
him. Indulge the propensions and tendencies of the new
nature ; obey and cherish all the impulses and motions of
the divine principle within you. To offer violence to the
new man, to cramp and fetter its powers, to resist its mo-
tions, and suffocate its heavenly aspirations, is the most
horrid crime. It is to attempt to murder the child of
grace in embryo ; and sure, this is the worst of murder.
" Reckon ye yourselves, then, to be dead indeed unto sin,
but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let
not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it
in the lusts thereof: neither yield ye your members as
instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield your-
selves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead;
and your members as instruments of righteousness unto
God." And "if ye be risen with Christ, seek those
things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affections upon (savour and
relish,) things above, not things on earth. And when
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also
appear with him in glory."

4. I request and importune those that are dead in sin,
to " use all proper means for the obtaining of quickening
grace." The exhortation implies no contradiction or im-
possibility ; for though they are spiritually dead, yet their
natural principle of reason is still alive, and capable of

VOL. II.— 68

538 DIVINE LIFE IN THE SOUL CONSIDERED.

exercising itself about spiritual objects; and God has
enjoined them to make the best use they can of it, as the
only way to obtain a better principle. God deals with us
according to our nature and circumstances. We are cor-
rupted creatures, and therefore he exerts his exceeding
gr.eat and mighty power to work principles of holiness in
us : but still we are rational creatures, and therefore he
uses the powers of moral suasion with us, and justly re-
quires us to exert our rational faculties in all the institutions
of the gospel.

Be persuaded then, sinner, no longer to lie still in
security; but, "arise, call upon thy God; if so be that
God will think upon thee, that thou perish not. Lazarus !
come forth. Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from
the dead ; and Christ shall give thee light." Linger not,
lest eternal death overtake thee. Methinks I see him just
at thy heels, for " thy damnation now of a long time slum-
bereth not." Arise, come forth at the call of the gospel ;
otherwise, how wilt thou stand the shocking terror of that
final alar.ni, " Awake, ye dead, and come to judgment ?"
But I must conclude with my hearty wish, " That the
hour may come," and oh ! that this may be the hour, " in
which the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God ;
and they that hear shall live." Which gracious prediction
may the God of Grace accomplish upon us all, for Jesus'
sake. Amen.

THE WAYS OF SIN HARD AND DIFFICULT. 539

SERMON LI.

THE WAYS OF SIN HARD AND DIFFICULT.

ACTS ix. 5. — It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

You often hear of the narrow and rugged road of reli-
gion, which leadeth unto life; and some of you, I am
afraid, have not courage enough to venture upon it. You
rather choose the smooth, broad, down-hill road to vice
and pleasure, though it leads down to the chambers of death.
It must be owned, that a religious life is a course of diffi-
culties, a hard struggle, a constant conflict; and it is fit
you should be honestly informed of it : but then it is fit
you should also know, that the difficulties arise not from
the nature of religion, but from the corruption and de-
pravity of the nature of man in its present degenerate state.
A course of religion is disagreeable, is hard, is difficult to
mankind ; just as a course of action is difficult to the sick,
though it is easy and affords pleasure to those that are
well. There are difficulties in the way of sin, as well as in
that of holiness, though the depravity of mankind renders
them insensible of it. This is the view of the case I would
now lay before you. There is a sense, in which it is true,
that it is a hard thing to be a sinner, as well as to be a
saint: there are huge difficulties in the way to hell, as
well as in the way to heaven. And if you are insensible
of them, it is owing, as I just observed, to the corruption
of your nature, and not to the easiness of the thing in
itself. It may be easy and pleasing to you to sin, just as

540 THE WAYS OF SIN

it is easy to a dead body to rot, or pleasing to a leper to
rub his sores. But to a reasonable creature, in a state of
purity, with all his powers uncorrupted, it would indeed be
an unpleasing, a hard, a difficult thing, to take that course
which is so easy and so delightful to you : as it is hard
and painful for a living man to suffer the mortification of
his limbs, or for a healthy man to make himself sore. If
it be hard, in one sense, to live a life of holiness, it is cer-
tainly hard, in another sense, to live a life of sin ; namely,
to run against conscience, against reason, against honour,
against interest, against all the strong and endearing obli-
gations you are under to God, to mankind, and to your-
selves : or, in the words of my text, " It is hard for you to
kick against the pricks."

This is a proverb, in use among various nations, which
has received a sanction from heaven in this text. It is
used by Pindar, Euripides, and jEschylus, among the
Greeks, and by Terence among the Latins : and from the
sense in which they use it, we are helped to understand it.
" To kick against the pricks," is an allusion to a lazy or
unruly plough-horse, or ox, that when pricked with a goad,
(an instrument used in ploughing, in sundry places, instead
of a whip,) refuses to go on, and spurns and kicks against
the goad, and so wounds himself, and not the driver. In
such circumstances, it is much harder to kick against the
goads, and resist, than to go on : if he goes on, he need
not fear the goad; but his resistance only hurts himself.
It is to this that the phrase alludes ; and it signifies a re-
sistance injurious to the person that makes it, when it
would be both easy and advantageous to obey.

Hence we may learn the precise sense in which it is
used by the mouth of Christ, in this pungent address to
Saul the persecutor, whom we now know under the higher
name of Paul the apostle.

HARD AND DIFFICULT. 541

Saul, animated with a furious, misguided, though honest
zeal, against the disciples of Jesus, was now on his way to
Damascus in pursuit of them ; and had a commission from
the highest court of the Jews to apprehend them : a com-
mission which he was impatient to execute. This, in
human view, was a very unpromising hour for his conver-
sion ; now it appears more likely that vengeance will arrest
him as a criminal, than that grace will prevent him as a
vessel of mercy. But oh ! what agreeable exploits of
grace has Jesus performed ! At the first introduction of
his religion, it was fit he should single out some great sin-
ner, and make him a monument of his mercy, for the en-
couragement of future ages. Therefore he surprises his
fierce persecutor in his daring career, darts the splendours
of his glory around him, and pierces him to the heart with
this irresistible expostulation, " Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me?" Saul, in a trembling consternation, replies,
" Who art thou, Lord ?" He thought he was only bring-
iifg to justice a parcel of contemptible, blasphemous sec-
taries, unworthy of toleration ; and little did he think that
his persecuting zeal reached so high : little did he expect
to hear one crying from the throne of heaven, " Why per-
secutest thou me?" But Jesus feels and resents the inju-
ries done to his people, as done to himself. The head
sympathizes with its members ; therefore he answers, " I
am Jesus whom thou persecutest." And then follows my
text, " It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." q. d.
" Since it is Jesus whom thou persecutest, the injury done
to me will only rebound upon thyself; I am infinitely ad-
vanced beyond the reach of thy rage ; and even my peo-
ple, who now seem in thy power, can suffer no real or
lasting injury from it in the issue; for under my manage-
ment, all things shall work for their good ; but thy perse-
cuting fury shall prove ruinous to thyself, as the wild ox

542 THE WAYS OF SIN

that spurns and kicks against the goad, hurts himself and not
the driver." Thus, as I told you, this proverb signifies a
resistance injurious to the person resisting, and harmless
to him against whom it is made. And is not this hard?
Is it not an arduous, preposterous exploit, to break through
the strong restraints of the innate principle of self-preser-
vation, and ruin one's self by a blow intended against an-
other, beyond the reach of injury? This, one would
think, is a piece of folly and cruelty, of which a being
that has the least remains of reason or self-love, would be
incapable.

This proverb may signify more : q. d., I am Jesus whom
thou persecutest ; Jesus, the Lord of glory : Jesus, the Sa-
viour of sinners : Jesus, who has died for such sinners as
thee; Jesus, who is all love and mercy, excellency and
glory; Jesus, who has given thee such sufficient evidence
of his divine mission, and the truth of his religion ; and
canst thou persecute Jesus ? Oh ! is this an easy thing to
one that has the least reason or gratitude ? Art thou able
to break through such strong and endearing obligations?
Is it not hard for thee to spurn against one so great, so
glorious, so gracious and condescending? Must not this
be a horrid exploit of wickedness beyond thy power?

That I may the-more fully illustrate the striking thought
suggested by my text, I shall point out to you some seem-
ingly insuperable obstacles in the way to hell, or some dire
exploits, which, one would think, would be too hard for
you to perform, which yet you must perform, if you per-
sist in a course of sin.

1. Is it not a hard thing to be an unbeliever, or a deist,
in our age and country, while the light of the gospel shines
around us with full blaze of evidence?

Before a man can work up himself to the disbelief of a
religion attended with such undeniable evidence, and in-

HARD AND DIFFICULT. 543

spiring such divine dispositions and exalted hopes, what
absurdities must he embrace ! what strong convictions
must he resist ! what dark suspicions, what boding fears
and misgivings, what shocking peradventures and tremend-
ous doubts must he struggle with ! what glorious hopes
must he resign ! what gloomy and shocking prospects must
he reconcile himself to ! what violence must be offered to con-
science ! what care must be used to shut up all the avenues
of serious thought, and harden the heart against the ter-
rors of death and the supreme tribunal ! How painful a
piece of preposterous self-denial to reject the balm the
gospel provides to heal a broken heart and a bleeding con-
science, and the various helps and advantages it furnishes
us with to obtain divine favour and everlasting happiness !
How hard to work up the mind to believe that Jesus, who
spoke, and acted, and suffered, and did every thing, like an
incarnate God, was an impostor, or at best a moral philo-
sopher ! or that the religion of the Bible, that contains the
most sublime and God-like truths, and the most pure and
perfect precepts of piety and morality, is the contrivance
of artful and wicked men, or evil spirits ! These, bre-
thren, are no easy things. There are many sceptics and
smatterers in infidelity, but few, very few, are able to make
thorough work of it, or commence staunch unbelievers.
The attempt itself is a desperate shift. A man must have
reduced himself to a very sad case indeed, before he can
have any temptation to set about it. He has, by his wil-
ful wickedness, set Christianity against him, before he can
have any temptation to set himself against Christianity :
and when he proclaims war against it, he finds it hard, yea,
impossible, to make good his cause. He may indeed put
on the airs of defiance and triumph, and affect to laugh at
his enemy, and at times may be half persuaded he has
really got the victory. But such men find the arms of

544 THE WAYS OF SIN

their own reason often against them, and their own con-
science forms violent insurrections in favour of religion,
which they cannot entirely suppress ; so that they are like
their father, whatever they pretend, they believe and trem-
ble too. Alas ! that there should be so many unhappy
companions in this infernal cause, in our country and na-
tion. They find it hard, even now, to kick against the
goads : and oh ! how much harder they will find it in the
issue ! Their resistance will prove ruinous to themselves ;
but neither they nor the gates of hell shall prevail against
the cause they oppose. Christianity will live when they
are dead and damned, according to its sentence. It is a
long-tried bulwark, that has withstood all the assaults of
earth and hell for near six thousand years, and has still
proved impregnable. Infidels may hurt themselves by op-
posing it ; as an unruly stupid ox, their proper emblem, may
hurt himself, but not the goads, by kicking against them.

2. Is it not hard for men to profess themselves believers,
and assent to the truth of Christianity, and yet live as if
they were infidels?

A professed speculative atheist, or infidel, is a monster
that we do not often meet with : but the more absurd and
unaccountable phenomenon of a practical atheist ; one who
is orthodox in principle, but an infidel in practice, we may
find wherever we turn : and it would be strange if none
such have mingled in this assembly to-day. To such I
would particularly address myself.

If you believe Christianity, or even the religion of na-
ture, you believe that there is a God of infinite excellency;
the Maker, Preserver, Benefactor, and Ruler of the world,
and of you in particular; and consequently, that you are
under the strongest and most endearing obligations to love
him, and make it your great study and endeavour to obey
his will in all instances. Now is it not strange, that while

HARD AND DIFFICULT. 545

you believe ttiis, you are able to live as you do? How
can you live so thoughtless of this great and glorious God,
who bears such august and endearing relations to you?
How can you withhold your love from him, and ungrate-
fully refuse obedience? Is not this a hard thing to you?
Does it not cost you some labour to reconcile your con-
sciences to it? If this be easy to you, what champions
in wickedness are you ! how mighty to do evil ! This
would not be easy to the mightiest archangel : no, it is a
dire achievement he would tremble to think of. And if it
be easy to you, it is, as I observed before, in the same
sense that it is easy to a dead body to rot. Your strength
to do evil is your real weakness, or which is the same, the
strength of your disease.

Again, If you believe the Christian religion, you be-
lieve the glorious doctrine of redemption through Jesus
Christ ; you believe that he, the Father's great co-equal
Son, assumed our nature, passed through the various
hardships of life, and died upon a cross for you ; and all
this out of pure, unmerited love. And is it no difficulty
to neglect him, to dishonour him, to slight his love, and
disobey his commands ? Does this monstrous wickedness
never put you to a stand ? Degenerate and corrupt as
you are, have you not such remains of generous principles
within you, as that you cannot, without great violence to
your own hearts, reject such a Saviour? Does not at
least a spark of gratitude sometimes kindle in your hearts,
which you find it hard to quench entirely ? Does not
conscience often take up arms in the cause of its Lord,
and do you not find it hard to quell the insurrection ?
Alas ! if you find little or no difficulty in treating the
blessed Jesus with neglect, it shows that you are mighty
giants in iniquity, and sin with the strength of a devil.

Again : If you believe the Christian religion, you must

VOL. II.— 69

546 THE WAYS OF SIN

believe that regeneration, or a thorough change of heart
and life, and universal holiness, are essentially necessary
to constitute you a real Christian, and prepare you for
everlasting happiness. And while you have this convic-
tion, is it not a hard thing for you to be only Christians in
name, or self-condemned hypocrites, or to rest contented
in any attainments short of real religion? Is it an easy
thing to you to keep your eyes always shut against the
light, which would show you to yourselves in your true
colours ? to keep such a close guard, as never to let the
mortifying secret pass, that you are indeed but a hypocrite,
and to harden yourselves against the portion of hypocrites,
which will ere long be distributed to you ?

Finally, if you believe Christianity, or even natural re-
ligion, you believe a future state of rewards and punish-
ments ; rewards and punishments the highest that human
nature is capable of. And is it not a hard thing to make
light of immortal happiness, or everlasting misery ? Since
you love yourselves, and have a strong innate desire of
pleasure and horror of pain, how can you reconcile your-
selves to the thoughts of giving up your portion in heaven,
and being ingulfed for ever in the infernal pit 1 Or how
can you support your hope of enjoying the one, and
escaping the other, while you have no sufficient evidence ?
Can you venture so important an interest upon an uncer-
tainty, or dare to take your chance, without caring what
might be the issue ? Are you capable of such dreadful
fool-hardiness ? Do you not often shrink back aghast from
the prospect 1 Does not the happiness of heaven some-
times so strongly attract you, that you find it hard to resist?
And do not the terrors of hell start up before you in the
way of sin, and are you not brought to a stand, and ready to
turn back ? The pit of hell, like a raging volcano, thun-
ders at a distance, that you may not fall thereinto by sur-

HARD AND DIFFICULT. 547

prise. You may perceive its flames, and smoke, and roar-
ings, in the threatenings of God's law, while you are yet
at a distance from it. And is it easy for you to push on
your way, when thus warned ? Oh ! one would think, it
would be much more easy and delightful to a creature en-
dowed with reason and self-love, to abandon this danger-
ous road, and choose the safe and pleasant way of life.

I might multiply instances under this head ; but these
must suffice at present. And I proceed to ask,

3. Is it not hard for a man to live in a constant conflict
with himself? I mean with his conscience.

This obstacle in the way to hell has appeared in all the
former particulars : but it is so great, and seemingly insu-
perable, that it deserves to be pointed out by itself. When
the sinner would continue his career to hell, conscience,
like the cherubim at the gates of paradise, or the angel in
Balaam's road, meets him with his flaming sword, and turns
every way, to guard the dreadful entrance into the cham-
bers of death.

When a man goes on in the thoughtless neglect of God,
and the concerns of eternity, or indulges himself in vice
and irreligion, conscience whispers, "What will be the end
of this course ? thou shalt yet suffer for this. Is it fit
thou shouldst thus treat the blessed God, and the Saviour
Jesus Christ ? Is it wise to neglect the great work of sal-
vation, and run the risk of eternal ruin ?" I may appeal
to sinners themselves, whether they do not often hear such
remonstances as these from within ? Indeed, in the hurry
and bustle of business and company, and the headlong
career of pleasure and amusement, the voice of conscience
is not heard. But you cannot always avoid retirement ;
sometimes you must be by yourselves, and then you find
it hard to close up and guard all the avenues of serious
thought. Then conscience insists upon a fair hearing, and

548 THE WAYS OF SIN

enters many a solemn protestation against your conduct,
warns you of the consequence, and urges you to take an-
other course. Whatever airs of impious bravery you put
on in public, and however boldly you bid defiance to these
things, yet, in such pensive hours, do you not find that
you are cowards at heart ? Is not conscience like to get
the victory ? Are you not obliged to break out into the
world, and rally all its forces to your assistance, that you
may suppress your conscience ? Now, how hard a life is
this ! The life of the sinner is a warfare, as well as that
of the Christian. Conscience is his enemy, always dis-
turbing him; that is, he himself is an enemy to himself,
while he continues an enemy to God. Some, indeed, by
repeated violences, stun their conscience, and it seems to
lie still, like a conquered enemy. But this is a conquest
fatal to the conquerors. Oh ! would it not be much easier
to let conscience have fair play, to pursue your own hap-
piness, as it urges you, and leave the smooth, down-hill
road to ruin, from which it would restrain you ? Con-
science urges you to your duty and interest with many
sharp goads, and will you still kick against them ? Oh !
do you not find this hard ? I am sure it would be very
hard, it would be impossible to a creature under the right
conduct of reason and self-love. And before you can be
capable of performing this dire exploit with ease, you must
have acquired a prodigious, gigantic strength in sinning.
This is what the mightiest saint upon earth could not dare
to do. No; he owns conscience is his master: long did
he resist, but now he must submit : and he would not
incur the displeasure of his conscience for all the world.
Oh ! that we were all weak in this respect ! My time will
allow me only to add,

4. Is it not a hard piece of self-denial for you to deprive
yourselves of the exalted pleasures of religion ?

HARD AND DIFFICULT. 549

You love yourselves, and you love happiness, and there-
fore one would reasonably expect you would choose that
which will afford you the most solid, refined, and lasting
happiness, and abandon whatever is inconsistent with it.
Now religion is a source of happiness. Yes ; that dull,
melancholy thing, religion, which you think, perhaps,
would put an end to all your pleasures, and which, for that
reason, you have kept at a distance from ; religion, which
its enemies will tell you has made some intolerably precise
and dead to all the joys of life, and turned others mad and
melancholy ; religion, I say, will afford you a happiness
more pure, more noble, and more durable than all the
world can give. Religion not only proposes future hap-
piness beyond the comprehension of thought, but will
afford you present happiness beyond whatever you have
known while strangers to it. The pleasures of a peace-
ful, approving conscience, of communion with God, the
supreme good, of the most noble dispositions and most
delightful contemplations; these are the pleasures of re-
ligion. And ask those who have enjoyed them, those
whom experience has qualified to be judges, and they will
tell you with one voice, " There are no pleasures compar-
able to these." Besides, religion has infinitely the advan-
tage of other things as to futurity. Those pleasures
which are inconsistent with it end in shocking prospects,
as well as pale reviews. But religion opens the brightest
prospects; prospects of everlasting salvation and happi-
ness ; prospects that brighten the gloomy shades of death,
and the awful world beyond, and run out infinitely beyond
our ken through a vast eternal duration. My heart is so
full of my subject, that I must borrow the more expressive
words of another, to give it vent.*

* See a Letter to Mr. Hervey by a physician, prefixed to his Meditations,
Vol. 1.

550 THE WAYS OF SIN

" Let the proud Witling argue all he can,
It is religion still that makes the man ;
'Tis this, my friends, that streaks our morning bright :
'Tis this that gilds the horrors of our night.
When wealth forsakes us, and when friends are few ;
When friends are faithless, or when foes pursue ;
'Tis this that wards the blow, or stills the smart ;
Disarms affliction, or repels its dart ;
Within the breast bids purest pleasures rise ;
Bids smiling conscience spread her cloudless skies
When the storm thickens, and the thunder rolls ;
When the earth trembles to th' affrighted poles ;
The pious mind nor doubts nor fears assail,
For storms are zephyrs, or a gentler gale.
And when disease obstructs the labouring breath,
When the heart sickens, and each pulse is death,
Even then religion shall sustain the just,
Grace their last moments, nor desert their dust."

Such, my brethren, is religion ; the highest, the most
substantial, and most lasting happiness of man. And is
it not a painful piece of self-denial to you, to give up all
this happiness, when nothing 4s required to purchase it
but only your choice of it ! Is not this doing violence
to the innate principle of self-love and desire of happiness ?
Can you be so stupid, as to imagine that the world, or
sin, or anything that can come in competition with reli-
gion, can be of equal or comparable advantage to you?
Sure your own reason must give in its verdict in favour
of religion. And is it not a hard thing for you to act
against your own reason, against your own interest, your
highest, your immortal interest, and against your own
innate desire of happiness? Do you never find it any
difficulty to live for years in the world, without once tasting
the sweets of the love of God, or the pleasures of an
applauding conscience? Is it not hard, that while others
around you, in the use of the very means which you enjoy,
are made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light,
and are animated to endure the calamities of life, and

HARD AND DIFFICULT. 551

encounter the terrors of death, by the prospect of ever-
lasting glory, while they are now often lost in ecstatic
wonder, while surveying the things that God hath laid up
for them that love him: I say, is it not hard, that you
should be destitute of all these transporting prospects, and
have nothing but a fearful expectation of wrath and fiery
indignation, or at best a vain self-flattering hope, which
will issue in the more confounding disappointment 1 Is
not this really hard ? Must it not be a difficulty to you to
live at this rate ?

- And now, sinners, will you with infernal bravery break
through all these obstacles, and force a passage into the
flames below? Or will you not give over the prepos-
terous struggle to ruin yourselves, and suffer yourselves
to be saved ? Oh ! let me arrest you in your dangerous
career, as the voice which pronounced my text did St.
Paul; and let me prevail upon you for the future to
choose the highway of life, and take the course to which
God, conscience, duty, and interest urge you. In that
indeed you will meet with difficulties; it is a narrow and
rugged road; and it will require hard striving to make a
progress in it. But then the difficulties you have here to
surmount are in the road to happiness, with which there-
fore it is worth your while to struggle; but those in the
other are in the road to destruction; and your striving to
surmount them, is but striving to destroy yourselves for
ever. It may be worth your while to labour and con-
flict hard to be saved; but is it worth while to take so
much pains, and strive so hard to be damned ? Besides,
the difficulties in the heavenly road result from the weak,
disordered, and wicked state of human nature, as the
difficulty of animal action and enjoyment proceeds from
sickness of body; and consequently every endeavour to
surmount these difficulties tends to heal, to rectify, to

552 THE WAYS OF SIN HARD AND DIFFICULT.

strengthen, and ennoble our nature, and advance it to
perfection. But the difficulties in the way to hell pro-
ceed from the contrariety of that course to the best
principles of human nature, and to the most strong and
rational obligations; and consequently, the more we
struggle with these difficulties, the more we labour to
suppress and root out the remains of all good principles,
and break the most inviolable obligations to God and our-
selves. The easier it is for us to sin, the more base and
corrupt we are: just as the more rotten a limb is, the
easier for it to drop off; the more disordered and stupefied
the body is, the more easy to die. To meet with no
obstacle in the way to hell, but to run on without restraint,
is terrible indeed; it shows a man abandoned of God, and
ripe for destruction. Such an ease in sinning is the quality
of a devil.

Upon the whole, you see, that though there be diffi-
culties on both sides, yet the way to heaven has infinitely
the advantage; and therefore, let me again urge you to
choose it. You have walked long enough at variance
with God, with your own conscience, with your own
interest and duty: come now, be reconciled: make these
your antagonists no longer. While you persist in this
opposition, you do but kick against the pricks; that is,
you make a resistance injurious to yourselves. For the
future, declare war against sin, Satan, and all their con-
federates, and ere long ye shall be made more than con-
querors; and for your encouragement remember, "He
that overcometh shall inherit all things : and I will be
his God, and he shall be my son, saith the Lord God
Almighty."

THE CHARACTERS OF THE WHOLE AND SICK. 553

SERMON LII.

THE CHARACTERS OF THE WHOLE AND SICK, IN A SPIRITUAL
SENSE, CONSIDERED AND CONTRASTED.

MATT. ix. 12. — But when Jesus heard that, he said unto
them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they
that are sick.

THERE is no article of faith more certain than that
Jesus Christ is an all-sufficient and most willing Saviour,
"able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God
through him, and that those that come unto him, he will
in no wise cast out." They that entrust their souls in his
hands he keeps, and none of them is lost. It is also
certain that all the guilty sons of Adam stand in the
most absolute need of him: in vain do they look for
salvation in any other. Without him, they are undone
for ever: and without him, their very existence becomes
a curse, and their immortality but the duration of their
misery. The disease of sin has so deeply infected
their souls, that none but this divine Physician can heal
them.

Since this is the case, who would not expect that
Jesus would be universally the darling of mankind ? Who
would not expect that as many as are wounded, and just
perishing of their wounds, would all earnestly apply to
this Physician, and seek relief from him upon any terms ?
Who would suspect there should be so much as one heart
cold and disaffected towards him ? Must not all love and

VOL. II.— 70

554 THE CHARACTERS OF

desire him, since all need him so extremely, and since he
is so completely qualified to be their deliverer ?

But, alas ! notwithstanding such favourable presumptions
from the nature of the thing, it is a most notorious fact
that this divine Physician is but little regarded in our
dying world. This all-sufficient and willing Saviour is
generally neglected by perishing sinners. There are
thousands among us that have no affectionate thoughts of
him, no eager longings after him, they exert no vigorous
endeavours to obtain an interest in him, nor are they
tenderly solicitous about it. They indeed profess his
religion, and call themselves Christians after his name :
they pay him the compliment of a bended knee, and now
and then perform the external duties of religion, and
thus have high hopes they shall be saved through him :
but as to their hearts and affections, he has no share
there: these are reserved for the world, which, in prac-
tical estimation, they prefer to him, whatever they pro-
fess.

Now whence is this strange and shocking phenomenon
in the rational world 1 Whence is it that the dying are
careless about a Physician? That a Deliverer is ne-
glected by those that are perishing? The true reason
we may find in my text, " They that be whole, need not
a physician, but they that are sick ;" that is, " they who
imagine themselves well, however disordered they are
in reality, do not feel their need of a physician, and
therefore will not apply to him; but they who feel them-
selves sick, will eagerly apply to him, and put themselves
under his care."

This is the answer of Christ to the proud cavilling
Pharisees, who censured his free conversation with publi-
cans and sinners, at an entertainment which Matthew had
prepared for him. The publicans were a sort of custom-

THE WHOLE AND SICK. 555

house officers among the Jews, appointed by the Romans,
whose tributaries they then were, to collect the levies or
duties imposed by the government. They were generally
persons of bad morals, and particularly given to rapine
and extortion in raising the taxes. On this account they
were particulary hated by the Jews, especially by the
strict sect of Pharisees. Their very office would have
rendered them odious, even though they had behaved well
in it ; for it was a public badge of the slavery of the Jews
to the Romans ; which, to a people so proud and so fond
of liberty as the Jews, was a mortification they could not
patiently bear. The publicans, therefore, were objects of
general contempt and abhorrence, as an abandoned sort of
men; and the Jews, particularly the rigid and haughty
Pharisees, held no conversation with them, but kept them
at a distance, as though they had been excommunicated.
Hence, says Christ, concerning one excommunicated by
the church for incorrigible wickedness, " Let him be to
thee as an heathen man, and a publican," Matt, xviii. 17,
that is, have no intercourse with him, but treat him as the
Jews do the publicans.

The condescending Jesus, who " came to seek and save
that which was lost," did not conduct himself towards
those poor outcasts, upon the rigid principles of the Pha-
risees. They held them in such contempt, that they did
not labour to instruct and reform them. But Jesus
preached to them, conversed with them freely, used the
most condescending, affable, and ingratiating measures to
reform them, and called some of them to the honour of
being his disciples: of this number was Matthew, the
author of this history ; once an abandoned publican, after-
wards a disciple, an apostle, and one of the four evan-
gelists, whose immortal writings have diffused the vital savour
of the name of Jesus through all ages and countries. Oh.

556 THE CHARACTERS OF

the condescension, the freeness, the efficacy of the grace
of Christ ! it can make a publican an apostle ! an abhorred
outcast the favourite of heaven, and the companion of
angels ! What abundant encouragement does this give to
the most abandoned sinner among you to turn unto the
Lord! Let publicans and sinners despair of mercy and
salvation if they continue in their present condition ; but
if they arise and follow Jesus at his call, and become his
humble, teachable disciples, they need not despair ; nay,
they may rejoice in hope of the glory of God, and be
assured they shall be admitted into the kingdom of God,
when the self-righteous children of the kingdom are shut
out.

When Matthew had embraced the call, he made a feast
for his new Master, that he might show his respect and
gratitude to him, and that he might let his brother publi-
cans and old companions have an opportunity of convers-
ing with him, and receiving his instructions. How natural
is it for a sinner, just brought to love Jesus, to use means
to allure others to him, especially his former companions !
Having seen his own guilt and danger, he is deeply affected
with theirs, and would willingly lead them to that Saviour
who has given him so gracious a reception. Indeed his
generous endeavours of this kind, though the most sub-
stantial and disinterested evidences of friendship, often ex-
cite the contempt and ridicule of his former companions;
and the more so, as they are generally attended with the
imprudent but well-meant blunders of inexperience, and
an honest zeal mingled with wild fire. But at times such
a convert is made the instrument of bringing those to be
his companions in the way to heaven, who had walked
with him in the ways of sin : and this is sufficient encour-
agement to such of you as have been called, like Matthew,
to use your best endeavours with our fellow-sinners. Who

THE WHOLE AND SICK. 557

knows but we may " save a soul from death, and hide a
multitude of sins ?" And what a noble, beneficent exploit
is this ?

The blessed Jesus, who was always ready to embrace
every opportunity of doing good, whatever popular odium
it might expose him to, cheerfully complies with Matthew's
invitation, and mingles with a crowd of publicans at his
table. Like a physician he employs himself in an hospital,
among the sick and dying, and not among the healthy and
gay. The conversation of sinners could not be agreeable
to him for itself; but as it gave him opportunity of doing
them good, it afforded him a generous pleasure. To con-
verse with his Father and the holy angels in his native
heaven, would have been more pleasing in itself to his
holy soul; but if by conversing with sinners in our guilty
world, he can but save the perishing creatures, he cheer-
fully submits to self-denial, and even rejoices in it; just as
a compassionate physician, though he has no pleasure in
the melancholy mansions of sickness, yet frequents them
that he may relieve the distressed.

The Pharisees now thought they had a good handle to
raise popular clamour against Christ, and therefore cavil
at these freedoms, as though they had been profane and
inconsistent with the character of the Messiah, or even of
a prophet. If he claimed this character, they thought it
much more becoming in him to keep company with them,
than with profligate publicans. Hence to stumble and
perplex his disciples, they come to them, and ask, " Why
eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?" The
disciples were not as yet endowed with that mouth and wis-
dom which all their enemies could not withstand; and
therefore Jesus answers them, and takes upon himself his
own defence. " The whole," says he, " have no need of
a physician, but they that are sick." Some suppose, that by

558 THE CHARACTERS OF

the whole, Christ means those who were really whole, or
that were not so infected with the disease of sin, as to stand
in need of him as a physician. When such persons can be
found among the sons of men, this exposition will appear
more plausible. But since we know that all have sinned,
and stand in need of Christ as a Saviour, it is much more
reasonable, I think, to suppose that, by the whole, Christ
means those that imagined themselves whole, though really
languishing with the deadly disease of sin. It seems to
me that he here answers the Pharisees upon their own
principles, and proves his conduct to be justifiable, even
supposing their high opinion of themselves, and their con-
temptuous idea of the publicans, to be true ; as if he had
said, " I come into the world under the character of a phy-
sician for sick souls. Such, you will grant, these despised
publicans are; and therefore, you must also grant, that
these are the persons I have to deal with, and these are
the most likely to make application to me. But as for
yourselves, you think you are righteous ; you think you
are not so far gone with the disease of sin as to need a
physician sent down from heaven to heal you. Now I
will not determine at present, whether this high opinion
you have of yourselves be just or not. Be it right or.
wrong, it is certain, that while you entertain it, you can-
not consistently find fault with my conduct. If you are
such, I have no business with you as a physician. I must,
therefore, rather choose to converse with these sinners,
who now begin to see themselves such, and to be sensible
of their need of a physician."

Thus, as I observed, Jesus here forms an argument ad
hominem, or vindicates his conduct even upon the princi-
ples of the Pharisees themselves. It was not now to his
purpose to dispute the high opinion they had of them-
selves ; even that opinion furnished him with a sufficient

THE WHOLE AND SICK. 559

defence. But, when it was proper, he faithfully exposes
their true character, as proud, self-righteous hypocrites,
and denounces the most terrible woes against them.

I might perhaps render the matter plainer by a familiar
illustration. Suppose a man of learning in company with
two persons : the one really ignorant, but highly conceited
of his knowledge, and consequently unteachable ; the other
ignorant too, but sensible of it, and therefore desirous of in-
struction : suppose he should turn from the self-conceited
creature, and carry on conversation with the other, who
was likely to profit by it ; and suppose the former should
resent it, and say, " If he were indeed a scholar, as he pre-
tends to be, he would not be fond of the society of such
an ignorant dunce, but would rather choose me for a com-
panion." How properly might a teacher reply, " Oh !
you are a wise man ; and have no need of my instruction ;
and, therefore, as a teacher, I have no business with you ;
but this poor, ignorant creature is sensible of his want of
instruction ; and, therefore, it is most fit I should converse
with him." Such a reply has a peculiar pungency and
mortifying force in it; and such Jesus used in the case be-
fore us.

To give a fuller view of this text, and to adapt it to
practical purposes, I intend to describe the characters of
those that are whole, and of those that are sick, in the
senses here intended.

There are none of the sons of men who are really whole.
Their souls are all diseased ; for all have sinned, and there
is none righteous, no, not one. And perhaps there are
none upon earth so proud, and so ignorant of themselves,
as to affirm in so many words, that they are whole ; that
is, " perfectly righteous." Therefore, by the whole, can-
not be meant either those who are really free from all sin,
or those who imagine themselves entirely free from it. It

560

does not appear that even the proud Pharisees were capa-
ble of flattering themselves so far. But by the whole, are
meant those who are indeed guilty, depraved sinners, and
who are ready to make a superficial confession in words
that they are sinners, but continue secure and impenitent,
insensible of their guilt, their corruption, their danger, and
their need of a Saviour ; that is, those who are really sick
and dangerously ill, and yet are as easy, as unapprehensive
of danger, as careless about applying to the physician, as
if nothing ailed them. The disease is of a lethargic na-
ture, and stupefies the unhappy creatures, so that they are
not sensible of it. It renders them delirious, so that they
think themselves well, when the symptoms of death are
strong upon them. What multitudes of such may we see
in the world ! The wrord of God pronounces them dan-
gerously ill ; their friends may see the most deadly symp-
toms upon them : but alas ! they are stupidly insensible of
their own case. Jesus, the divine Physician, warns them
of their danger, offers them his help, and prescribes to
them the infallible means of recovery ; but they disregard
his warnings, neglect his gracious offer, and refuse to sub-
mit to his prescriptions. This is the general character of
those that are whole, in the sense of my text.

By the sick, are meant those who, like the former, are
really guilty, corrupt sinners, in extreme need of a Saviour,
and who readily confess they are such; but here lies the
difference, they are not only such in reality, and they not
only acknowledge that they are such, but they are deeply
sensible of it, they are tenderly affected with their case :
their temper and conduct, their thoughts .of themselves and
of Jesus Christ, their designs and endeavours, are such as
are natural to a soul sensibly sick of sin, and such as bear
a resemblance to those of a person sick in body, and using
all means for a recovery. It is the characteristic of this

THE WHOLE AND SICK. 561

class of sinners ; not that they are less holy, or in more dan-
ger, than others ; but that they are more sensible of their
condition, and more solicitous and laborious about deliver-
ance. They feel themselves disordered ; they put them-
selves under the care of Jesus, the only Physician of souls ;
they submit to his prescriptions, and use all means for their
recovery to soundness of mind, from the deadly disease of
sin. This is the general character of the sick, in the sense
of my text ; but it is necessary I should descend to parti-
culars.

The particular characters of the whole and the sick, in
contrast, are such as these :

] . He that is whole has never had a clear affecting sight
and sense of sin ; but he that is sick is fully convicted, and
deeply sensible of it. The one has only a general, super-
ficial, unaffecting conviction, that he is a sinner : that he
has not been so good as he should have been ; that his
heart is somewhat disordered : and especially that he has
been guilty of sundry bad actions. But, alas ; he neither
sees his sinfulness in its full extent, nor is suitably affected
with that little of it he sees. He does not clearly see the
entire and universal corruption of his heart, and the num-
berless principles and seeds of sin that are there ; the blind-
ness of his mind as to divine things ; the secret disaffection
of his heart towards God and holiness; the carnality of
his mind, and his lukewarmness and formality in the duties
of religion. He may have a transient glance, a superfi-
cial view of these things ; but he has not a deep, settled
conviction of them : nor is he suitably affected with what
he knows of his own sinfulness. It does not appear to
him such a mighty matter to have such a disordered heart
towards God, to have dropped a forbidden word now and
then, or to have committed a few bad actions ; few, I say,
for so they appear to him, though repeated times and ways

VOL. II.— 71

562 THE CHARACTERS OF

beyond number. Sin appears to him a trifling peccadillo,
a small evil, and he has a thousand excuses to make for it.
Hence he is as easy, as careless, as presumptuous in his
hopes, as if he believed he did not really deserve punish-
ment from a righteous God, and therefore was in no dan-
ger. Though the leprosy of sin spreads ever so wide,
and breaks out into ever so many putrid and mortifying
sores, yet he is easy and secure, and insensible of the dis-
ease. Thus, like a man in health, he is unconcerned, and
neither apprehends himself sick, nor uses the least means
for his recovery.

Oh ! what multitudes of such are among us ! They
will confess themselves sinners, with as little concern as if
they were quite free from sin, or as if they thought there
was little or no danger in it.

But is it so with the poor sick sinner ! Oh ! no : he
sees, he feels that his whole head is sick, and his whole
heart faint, and that from the crown of the head, even unto
the sole of the foot, there are nothing but wounds, bruises,
and putrefying sores. He feels the plague of a hard, sense-
less heart, and the secret springs of wickedness within him.
He feels that sin has enfeebled all his powers, and that he
is no more able to exert them in religious endeavours,
than a sick man is to employ himself in active life. Oh !
into what a consternation is the sinner struck, when he is
awakened out of his lethargic security, and his eyes
are opened to see himself in a just light! He had
flattered himself that he had a good constitution of soul,
and that little or nothing ailed him ; but now he is sur-
prised to see the strong symptoms of spiritual death upon
him.

Suppose some of you, who have come here to-day
vigorous and healthy, should suddenly discover the spots
of a plague broken out all over you, how would it strike

THE WHOLE AND SICK. 563

you with surprise and horror! Such is the surprise and
horror of the awakened sinner ; thus is he alarmed and
amazed. So clear are his views of his entire and univer-
sal depravity, and imminent danger, that he is utterly
astonished he was so stupid as never to discover it before.
Now, also, he has a deep sense of the evil of sin : he not
only sees himself universally disordered, but he sees, he
feels the disorder to be deadly : sin now appears to him
the greatest evil upon earth, or even in hell. Oh ! how
worthy of the severest vengeance from a righteous God !
how contrary to the divine purity ! how base, how un-
grateful a violation of the most strong and endearing obli-
gations ! how destructive to the soul, not only according
to the penalty of the divine law, but in its own native ten-
dency ! During the progress of the Christian life, he feels
himself recovering a little, though very slowly, while he
follows the prescriptions of his divine Physician, and re-
ceives healing influences from him. He feels his enfeebled
soul gathering a little strength ; his vitiated taste gradually
corrected ; and the welcome symptoms of returning health ;
but oh ! he is sensibly sick still. The cure is not complete
in this world; but the remains of his old disorder hang
upon him all his life, and he is subject to many dangerous
relapses, in which it gathers new strength, and he is afraid
it is incurable.

2. They that are whole are generally easy and secure,
and unapprehensive of danger; but the sick soul is alarmed
and anxious : and cannot be easy, till it perceives some
appearances of recovery.

He that is whole, is benumbed with a stupid insensi-
bility ; but he that is sick is in pain from the disease of
sin, which he sensibly feels. The one can walk about
merry and thoughtless, with a hard, depraved heart within
him; the other is perpetually uneasy, and, like a sick

564 THE CHARACTERS OF

man, has no taste for anything while he feels such a heart
within him. If the one is anxious, it is with some worldly
care ; if the other is anxious, it is chiefly for the recovery
of his dying soul. The one can give himself up to busi-
ness, or pleasure, or idleness, as a man in health, and at
ease ; the other is apprehensive that his soul is in great
danger; and, like a sick man, gives up his eager pursuits,
till he sees whether he is likely to recover. He is alarmed
with the deadly consequences of sin, as it exposes him to
the wrath of God, the loss of heaven, and all the miseries
of the infernal world. But this is not all that distresses
him; he considers sin, in itself, as a loathsome disease,
and is pained with its present effects upon him. As a
sick man is not only alarmed at the consequence of his
disease, namely, death, but considers it as a present pain,
and as depriving him of the present comforts of life; so
the sick soul feels sin as a loathsome, painful disease,
that now deprives it of the exalted pleasures of religion,
and renders it incapable of serving its God with vigour
and life. This indisposition of soul for the exercises of
religion, is, in itself, a constant uneasiness to him who is
spiritually sick. How strongly does St. Paul represent
the case, when he cries out, " Oh ! wretched man that I
am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this death !"
Rom. vii. 24. The image seems to be that of a living man
walking about with a rotten, nauseous carcass tied fast to
him, which oppresses him, and he cannot, with all his
efforts, cast it off; but it lies heavy upon him wherever he
goes : which constrains him to cry out, " Oh ! who shall
deliver me from this dead body ?" This is the character
of the soul sick of sin. But he that is whole hath little or
no uneasiness upon this account. If he is alarmed at all,
it is with the consequence of sin; his slavish soul fears
nothing but the punishment. As for the disease itself, it

THE WHOLE AND SICK. 565

is so far from giving him uneasiness, that he is in love with
it. It affords him sensations of pleasure, rather than of
pain, and he rather dreads a recovery, than the continu-
ance of the disorder. Sin has intoxicated him to such a
degree, that holiness, which is the health of the soul, is
disagreeable to him, and he would rather continue lan-
guishing than recover.

My brethren, you can easily distinguish between sick-
ness and health of body ; and you are very ready to do it.
And will you not inquire what state your souls are in ?
whether they are sensible of their sickness, and in a way
of recovery ? or whether they are stupefied, or made de-
lirious by the disorder, insensible of their danger, and
unsolicitous about their recovery] I pray you examine
yourselves in these particulars.

3. They that are whole are unwilling to apply to a
physician, or to follow his prescriptions ; but to the sick a
physician is most welcome, and they will submit to his
directions, however self-denying and mortifying. This is
the point my text has particularly in view, and therefore
we must take particular notice of it.

They that are in health have no regard to a physician,
as such ; they neither send for him, nor will they accept
of his help, if offered gratis : they look upon the best of
medicines with neglect, as of no use or importance to
them : the prescriptions proper to the sick they hear with
indifference, as not being concerned. Thus it is with
thousands, who imagine themselves whole in spirit. The
Lord Jesus exhibits himself to the sons of men under the
character of a physician ; the gospel makes a free offer of
his assistance to all sick souls that will freely accept it.
And what reception does he generally meet with 1 Why,
multitudes neglect him, as though they had no need of
him. They may indeed pay him the compliment of pre-

566 THE CHARACTERS OF

fessing his religion, because it happened to be the religion
of their fathers and their country, but they have no eager
desires after him ; they are not in earnest and laborious to
obtain his assistance; they do not invite him with the most
affectionate entreaties to undertake their case; they do
not beg and cry for relief from him, like blind Bartimeus,
Mark x. 47, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on us.
In short, whatever regard they may profess for him, they
are not deeply sensible of their absolute need of him : they
are not feelingly affected towards him, as towards a being
with whom they have the nearest personal concern, a con-
cern of the utmost importance : and the reason is, they
are whole in their own apprehensions; or if they feel some
qualms of conscience, some fits of painful remorse, they
soon heal their own hurt slightly, crying, Peace, peace,
when there is no peace. They make a medicine of their
own prayers, tears, repentance, and religious endeavours,
and with this they hope to heal themselves. Thus Jesus
is neglected ; they give him the name of a Saviour ; but in
reality they look to themselves for a cure. How is the
gospel that makes the offer of relief from this heavenly
Physician, generally received in the world ? Alas ! it is
neglected, as the offer of superfluous help. It is heard
with that indifference with which men in health attend to
the prescriptions of a physician to the sick, in which they
have no immediate concern. Brethren, is this neglected
gospel the only effectual mean for healing your dying souls ?
Then what means the stupidity and inattention with which
it is heard? What means the general neglect with which
it is treated 1 Oh ! how affecting is it to see a dying
world rejecting the only restorative that can heal their
disease, and preserve their lives ! But alas ! thus it is all
around us.

Again, Jesus prescribes to the sons of men the only

THE WHOLE AND SICK. 567

means of their recovery. Particularly he enjoins them
no more to drink poison; that is, no more to indulge
themselves in sin, which is, in its own nature, the most
deadly poison to the soul. And what can be more rea-
sonable than this ? Yet this is what a stupid world prin-
cipally objects against, and multitudes rather die than
submit to it. A disordered, empoisoned constitution of
soul is to them the most agreeable. This divine Physi-
cian likewise requires them to use the means of grace
instituted in the gospel : to meditate upon their condition,
and obtain a deep sense of their disorder; to read and
hear the word with solemn attention and self-application ;
to pray with frequency and importunity. These are his
prescriptions to all that would recover under his hands.
But how few observe them in earnest ! What a general
neglect of the means of grace prevails in our country, or
what a careless attendance upon them ! which is equally
pernicious ! Christ also enjoins them to submit to him as
their Physician, to flatter themselves no longer that they
can heal themselves by means within their own power, but
to apply his blood as the only healing balm to their
wounded souls. But, alas ! they disregard this grand pre-
scription ; they will not submit to him ; but, like an obsti-
nate patient, will have their own way, though eternal death
should be the consequence.

But this is not the case of the sinner spiritually sick : he
will do any thing, he will submit to any thing, if it may but
save him from the mortal disease of sin. How ardently
does he long after Jesus ! With what cheerfulness does
he put himself under his care ! With what joy and grati-
tude does he hear the offer of free salvation in the gos-
pel! and how dear is the gospel to his heart on this
account ! With what eager, wishful eyes does he look
upon his Physician ! How does he delight to feel him-

568 THE CHARACTERS OF

self under the operation of his hand ! to feel him probe
his wounds, and then apply the balm of his blood ! With
what anxiety does he observe the symptoms, and inquire
whether he is upon the recovery or not ! and oh ! with
what pleasure does he discover the signs of returning
health ! to feel a little eager appetite for spiritual food ! to
feel a little spiritual life in religious exercises ! to feel him-
self able to run in the way of God's commandments ! to
feel the principles of sin weakened within him ! How
sweet is this ! How willingly does he submit to the pre-
scriptions of his Physician, and attend upon the means of
grace, however disagreeable to a carnal mind! he makes
the law of God the rule of his regimen, and would not
indulge himself in any thing which that sacred dispensatory
forbids. He guards against relapses, and keeps out of
the way of temptation, as far as possible, lest his frail con-
stitution should be hurt. The society of sinners is like
the company of persons infected with a contagious disease
which he is in danger of catching, and therefore he avoids
it as cautiously as he can. Let those that think their
souls healthy and vigorous, boast of their strength, and
what mighty things they can do in religion : as for him,
he feels his weakness; he feels he can do nothing aright,
but just as he receives daily strength from Christ. He
feels himself every day troubled with some disorder or
other, yea, with a complication of them : therefore he is
daily sensible of his need of the Physician, and makes
daily application to him. He does not begrudge to take
time from his other affairs, and, as it were, to keep his
chamber a while, that he may use means for the recovery
of his soul : for, oh ! if he lose his soul, what would the
whole world profit him ? In short, the sick sinner is a
tender, delicate, frail creature, entirely subject to the pre-
scriptions of Christ, . and every day taking means from

THE WHOLE AND SICK. 569

him ; anxious for his recovery, and willing to submit to
any thing that may promote it. This is the man in our
Christ-despising world that gives Jesus a most willing and
welcome reception, and embraces his gospel, as containing
all his salvation and all his desire. Oh ! that there were
many such in our world ! for this man is in a hopeful way
of recovery. This world is a vast hospital, full of dying
souls: Jesus descends from heaven, and enters among
them, offering them health and eternal life, if they will but
submit to his directions, which are as easy as possible.
Repentance, indeed, and some other bitter ingredients, are
included in a religion for sinners; and how can it be other-
wise, since these are necessary for their recovery, in the
very nature of things? Besides, even these are sweet,
when taken in the vehicle of a Saviour's dying love; and
many a soul has found more noble pleasure in generous
sorrow for sin, than ever they found in the commission
of it.

But after all, the generality die in their sins, amidst the
full means of their recovery : and the great reason is, they
will not be convinced of their danger, nor be persuaded to
apply to the Physician. Oh ! how tragical and affecting
a case this ! and what may render it the more so to us is,
that it is the case of some of us. Yes, my brethren,
though I am unwilling to harbour one hard thought of any
of you, yet I cannot avoid concluding that there are some,
I am afraid many, souls in this assembly, who are not sen-
sible of their dangerous disease, and their need of Christ
as a Physician, and therefore are in danger of perishing
without him. Sin, like a strong dose of opium, has stupe-
fied you, and you feel easy and whole-hearted, as if nothing
ailed you, when the symptoms of death are strong upon
you. We can weep and lament over the sick-bed of a
dying friend, and we even drop our tears after him into

VOL. II.— 72

570 THE CHARACTERS OF

the grave : but shall we drop no tears this day over dying
souls, that are so numerous among us ! What renders
the case more affecting is, that they perish by their own
wilful obstinacy, under the hands of an all-healing Physi-
cian : — " Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a
fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night over
the slain of the daughters of my people !" Ye secure
and whole-hearted sinners, must it not shock you to think
that Jesus Christ, the only Physician, gives you up 1 You
see, in my text, he looks upon you as persons that he has
no business with. He had rather converse with publicans
and sinners than with you, as having more hopes of suc-
cess among them. Let publicans and sinners take the hint,
and be encouraged to apply to Jesus. Come, ye profli-
gates and libertines, drunkards, swearers, whoremongers,
come, sinners of the most abandoned characters, apply to
this Physician. He is willing to heal you : he offers you
healing. Wilt thou be made whole ? is his question to you
this day. He is also perfectly able, able to save to the
uttermost, however inveterate your disease may be. If
the children of the kingdom shut themselves out : if self-
righteous Pharisees reject this Physician, and die in their
sin, do you come in ; put yourselves under his care, sub-
mit to his prescriptions, and you shall yet live, and be re-
stored to perfect health and eternal life. Rugged as you
are, you are very proper materials for the temple of God.
If you are sensibly sick, it should not discourage you from
entering yourselves into Christ's hospital, and putting your-
selves into his care ; nay, this should even encourage you.
Your being sick of sin is a necessary qualification to ren-
der you his patients : they are such he loves to converse
with, and they are only such who are recovered by him.
Therefore, this day give yourselves up to him as his will-
ing patients. Cry to him to undertake your case : Heal

THE WHOLE AND SICK. 571

me, 0 Lord, and I shall be healed. Submit to his pre-
scriptions, and follow his directions, and you shall live for
ever.

I shall conclude my subject, by giving answers from it
to some questions that may arise in your minds on this
occasion.

What is the reason that the world lies in such a dead
security around us ? Whence is it there is so much sin in
the world, and so little fear of punishment ? Whence is
it that men will entertain such hopes of heaven upon such
slight evidences, or rather with the full evidence of the
word of God against them? Alas! the reason is, they
are whole in their own imagination : they think themselves
well, and therefore apprehend no danger, but lie in a dead,
inactive sleep.

What is the reason why so many neglect the means of
grace in public and private 1 Whence is it that there are
so many prayerless families and prayerless closets among
us ? Why is the Bible thrown by in some families, as a
piece of useless lumber? Why is the house of God so
thinly frequented in many places, and the table of the
Lord almost deserted ? Why is Christian conversation so
unfashionable? And why do we hear so few inquiries
from sinners, what they shall do to be saved ? The reason
is, they imagine themselves well ; they are whole-hearted ;
and, therefore, it is no wonder they neglect the means of
recovery : they think they have no more to do with them
than persons in health with physic. The only method to
bring them to use those means in earnest, is to make them
sensible of their dangerous disease. And oh ! that their
ministers may use all proper means with them for this end,
and that divine grace may render them effectual !

What is the reason that the means of grace are attended
upon by others with so much formality and indifference ?

572 THE CHARACTERS OF

Whence is it there are so many lukewarm, spiritless
prayers, and solemn mockeries of the great God ? so many
wandering eyes and wandering hearts in the heavenly
exercise of praise, and in hearing the most solemn and
affecting truths? Whence is it that all the religion of
many is nothing but a dull round of insipid, lifeless formali-
ties? Alas! the same reason returns; they are whole in
their own conceit. And how can they, while they flatter
themselves with this imagination, use those means in
earnest, which are intended for the recovery of the sick ?
The sick will use them in earnest; but to others they are
mere customary formalities.

Would you know what is the reason that the blessed
Jesus, the most glorious .and benevolent person that ever
appeared in our world, is so generally neglected? Oh!
why is his love forgotten by those very creatures for
whom he shed his blood? Why are there not more
longings and cries for him? Why is not a Saviour, an
almighty and complete Saviour, more sought after by
perishing sinners? Why is his name of so little impor-
tance among them? How comes it to pass, that he may
continue for months, for years, for scores of years, offer-
ing salvation to them, entreating, commanding, and per-
suading them to accept it, and warning them of the dread-
ful ruin they will bring upon themselves by rejecting it ?
Whence is it that, after all, he is despised and rejected
of men, and that but very few will give him suitable en-
tertainment ? Whence is this shocking conduct in reason-
able creatures? Oh! it is the same old reason still;
they are whole-hearted, and do not feel themselves dan-
gerously ill; and how, then, can they be solicitous about a
physician?

What is the reason that the gospel, which reveals and
offers life and salvation to the world, meets with so cold

THE WHOLE AND SICK. 573

a reception? Why does not the way of salvation therein
discovered spread transport and praise over all the earth?
Why does not the song of angels sound from every human
tongue, Glory to God in the highest for peace proclaimed
on earth, and good will towards men ? Why does the
Christian world in general practically despise that religion
which they profess ? Oh ! it is because they are whole in
their own imaginations, though dying by thousands all over
the world. It is because they are not sensible of their
need of the gospel and its blessings. Oh ! if they were
but once sensible how dangerously ill they are, they would
soon change their opinion.

Let me bring this matter still nearer home. Whence
is it that the gospel, even with all the disadvantages that
attend it from, my unskilful lips, does not meet with a
more affectionate welcome among you? There are many,
I am afraid, who statedly or occasionally attend here to
hear the gospel, who yet despise it in their hearts, or do
not affectionately embrace it. And what is the reason
of this ? May I not venture to affirm, that the gospel
has been dear to some, who have sat under no better
ministry? Must not this be the reason? That there
are multitudes of whole-hearted sinners, even among us,
that mingle among us in the same assembly, and hear
the gospel from the same lips ! Multitudes who are in-
sensible of their disease, and consequently of their need
of a physician ! Oh ! inquire whether this be not the true
reason why the gospel meets with such a cold reception
among us.

Would you know why so many fools make a mock of
sin? Why they can go on impenitent in it, apprehending
little or no danger from it ? Why they are every day
singing, and every day merry, thoughtless, and gay?
Why they can love and delight in sin, which God hates,

574 THE CHARACTERS OP

and which he has threatened with such heavy vengeance ?
Alas! the reason is, they are whole: they do not look
upon sin as a deadly disease that requires a cure, but as
their health which ought to be cherished. This is the
disease under which our body politic now languishes.
It is this disease that enfeebles our councils and un-
dertakings; but who suspects that this has any bad
influence in the case? Who endeavours the cure of this,
as the most effectual cure for a languishing, bleeding
country 1

What is the reason that men are cautious of coming
near a house infected with a contagious sickness, and that
duty itself can hardly constrain them to enter, but
that they can venture their souls without cause into en-
snaring company, and within the sphere of temptation ?
Whence is it, that, for the recovery of their mortal bodies,
they will submit to the most self-denying regimen, take
the most nauseous draughts, and be at great pains and
expense, while for their souls they will take no pains,
use no means, deny themselves in no gratifications?
What is the reason of this? Oh! it is the same reason
still ; they do not feel the least sickness of their souls, but
imagine they have a firm, invulnerable constitution, in-
capable of infection in the most contagious places, and
that it will recover by its native strength, without extrinsic
help.

Would you know why there is so much spiritual pride
and vanity in the world ? Why so many religious Thrasos,
vain boasters, who imagine they can turn to God when
they please, in their own strength, and who pretend they
can perform such great things in religion, when they are
disposed to make the attempt? Oh! it is because they
do not know they are sick: they do not feel themselves
enfeebled by sin and disabled from doing anything truly

THE WHOLE AND SICK. 575

good. You have seen some in a delirium, who imagined
they were well, able to go about, and perform their usual
business, when in the meantime they were under the
power of a deadly disease, and the symptoms of death
perhaps then upon them. Just so it is with these ostenta-
tious boasters; and could you but cure their delirium, and
make them sensible of their disorders, they would soon
feel and confess themselves poor, weak, languishing crea-
tures, unable to do anything, but just as they receive
strength from on high.

Would you know why so many hate faithful preaching,
and resent it if any means are used for their recovery?
It is because they imagine themselves well ; and such do
not like to be teased with the importunities of a physician,
nor to have disagreeable medicines forced upon them.
Oh ! were they but sensible of their condition, they would
willingly submit to the prescriptions.

Would you know where you should begin your religion ;
or what is the grand preparative for your embracing the
gospel in such a manner as to be saved by it? To this
interesting inquiry you may easily infer an answer from
what has been said. Begin your religion in a deep sense
of sin; let your wound be probed to the quick, in order to
a thorough cure, otherwise it would be but slightly skinned
over, and it will again break out, and prove more dangerous
than ever. Labour to get a deep sense of your disease,
and then you will so give yourselves up to the physician,
that he may apply to you what he thinks proper, and
make an effectual cure.

Some of you perhaps have wondered why you see
poor mourning creatures here and there, that cannot live
as you do, thoughtless, careless, and unaffected. You
ascribe it perhaps to melancholy, to preciseness, to hypo-
crisy, or an affection of singularity. But I will tell you

576 THE CHARACTERS OF

the true reason. They are sick ; whereas you imagine
yourselves well; and you cannot wonder that the sick and
the healthy should behave in a different manner. Why
do they not neglect Jesus Christ as you do? Oh! it is
because they are sick, heart-sick, and therefore must long
and cry for a physician. Why do they not indulge them-
selves in sin as you do ? Is it because they are sick of it ?
They see it to be a mortal poison, and they cannot be
easy while they feel it working through their frame.
Why do they use the means with so much earnestness ?
WThy do they pray, and hear, and attend upon every reli-
gious ordinance with so much zeal and solicitude ? Why
can they not, like you, attend upon them in a careless,
formal way, or entirely neglect them ? Oh ! the reason
is, they are sick, heart-sick, and they are using these
means for their recovery. And did you view yourselves
in the same just light, you would use them too: yes, you
would be as strict, as earnest, as laborious as any of them.
Why do they not, like you, abandon themselves, and de-
vote all their time to some worldly pursuit? Oh ! it is
because they are sick, and must take time for the use of
means for their recovery, whatever be omitted. WThy are
they so much afraid of temptation, and keep out of its
way? It is because they are afraid of a relapse, and that
sin, their old disease, will renew its strength. Whence
are they so often filled with doubts, and fears, and anxious
perplexities ? Oh ! it is because the symptoms of the dis-
order are doubtful, and they know not whether they are
in a way of recovery or not. When they are satisfied in
this point, then they can rejoice, and that with a joy more
noble than you are capable of.

And poor, sick souls, be of good cheer ; you shall yet
be healed. Yes, there is balm in Gilead; there is a
physician there : Jesus can heal you ; and, blessed be his

THE WHOLE AND SICK. 577

name, he is as willing as he is able. Continue steadfast in
the use of the means appointed for your recovery, and he
will make them efficacious. Yes, these sick souls of yours
shall yet be as healthy and vigorous as an angel ; and you
shall ere long be advanced to the region of immortal
health, where the inhabitants no more say, I am sick;
where you shall breathe a pure, salubrious air, agreeable to
your delicate constitutions, and be vigorous and lively for
ever.

Do not think much of it, that a disease so inveterate
and mortal should be painful and difficult in the cure.
The operation will not last long ; and if it does but suc-
ceed, the pain and self-denial will be infinitely more than
compensated.

The deep sense of your disorder is often discouraging
to you ; Oh ! you are afraid it will at last prove mortal.
But this very thing ought to encourage you. The per-
sons that I cannot speak one comfortable word to, are not
of your character; they are the secure, whole-hearted
sinners ; but for you there is strong consolation ; so strong
that it may bear down all your fears before it. The sense
of your disorder qualifies you for the Physician, and
renders you proper objects of his care. The poor, the
maimed, the halt, the blind, the broken-hearted, are the
character of the persons that he has to do with, and who
are recovering under his hands. And are not these your
characters? They are, indeed, humbling and mortifying;
but, oh ! they are encouraging, as they prepare you for
Christ's healing care.

But as for you, whole-hearted sinners, I must pronounce
you lost and dead souls. Jesus himself has declared, that
he has no business with such as you. And if he casts
you off, oh! what other physician can you employ!
Alas! you will die in your sins ! Die in your sins ! Oh!

VOL. II.— 73

578 THE CHARACTERS OF THE WHOLE AND SICK.

dreadful ! better to die in a ditch, or a dungeon, than die
in your sins! Therefore now labour to be sensible of
your disorder, while it is curable; for all that are not
healed in this life, are given up as incurable for ever.
Now apply to Christ as a Physician, for he is willing to
undertake your cure.

CHRIST THE DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS. 579

SERMON LIII.

A SIGHT OF CHRIST THE DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS IN

ALL AGES.*

JOHN vin. 56. — Your Father Abraham rejoiced [earnestly
desired] to see my day ; and he saw it, and was glad.

WHEN we see the crowd, the unthinking majority of
mankind in our day, neglecting the Lord Jesus, we see
nothing new. This neglect is indeed stupid, ungrateful,
criminal, and extremely affecting and lamentable ; but in
this respect as well as others, there is no new thing under
the sun. The blessed Jesus has been despised and re-
jected of men in every age, ever since sin first entered
into the world, and raised enmity against him in the mind
of man.

But, blessed be God, such excellency has attracted love
and admiration in every age. He has been loved and
adored, not only by the angels who knew him best, and
are spectators of his glory in his native heaven, where he
keeps his court in conspicuous splendour, but also by some
poor sinners of the race of man, in every period of time,
since his glory first dawned upon the world in that early
promise, " The seed of the woman shall bruise the
serpent's head." Gen. iii. 15. John and his cotemporary
Christians, who lived upon earth when the Word was mode
flesh, and dwelt among men, beheld his glory, God-like

* A Sacramental Sermon.

580 A SIGHT OF CHRIST THE

glory, as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. John i. 14.

In these dregs of time, when iniquity abounds, and the
love of many waxes cold, there are some, nay, there are
many scattered here and there through the world, who
believe in and love an unseen Saviour; and while they
believe and love, rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of
glory. 1 Pet. i. 8. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob also, and
all the pious patriarchs, who lived in the early dawn of the
gospel-light, looked forward with eager eyes to the pro-
mised and expected rising of the Sun of righteousness.
His beams were but faintly reflected upon them ; yet they
could distinguish his light from that of every inferior
luminary. They foresaw some illustrious personage,
superior to themselves, and all the ordinary messengers of
God, about to appear in the world ; and though it does
not appear to me that they distinctly knew who he should
be, or what should be the peculiarities of his office, and
how he should perform it,* yet they expected him under the
welcome character of a Deliverer, and that in some way
which Divine wisdom would appoint he should bring salva-
tion to penitent sinners. Thus Jesus congratulates his
disciples upon their peculiar privilege, above the best men
of the preceding times ; " Blessed are your eyes, for they
see ; and your ears, for they hear ; for verily I say unto
you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired
to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them ;

* It is evident, that the apostles before Christ's resurrection, though they
enjoyed the light not only of the ancient types, promises, and prophecies,
but also of many instructions from his own lips, yet were ignorant of his
death and resurrection, the nature and extent of his kingdom, and many
other important peculiarities of the gospel. And much more so, may we
suppose, were the prophets and good men of ancient times. Several great
divines have, I think, represented their faith as much more particular and
distinct than it appears to have been.

DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS. 581

and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard
them." Matt. xiii. 16, 17. Their desiring to hear and
see these things, which the gospel reveals, implies that
they had some general imperfect knowledge of them ; for
there can be no desire at all of a thing entirely unknown;
but their knowledge was indistinct and obscure, and not
satisfactory to their pious curiosity. Therefore, as St.
Peter informs us, the prophets did not fully understand
their own prophecies, but inquired and searched diligently
concerning the salvation and grace now brought to us;
searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of
Christ, which was in them, did signify, when it testified
beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that
should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not they,
but we, should fully enjoy the advantage of their own pro-
phecies, or that not unto themselves, but unto us they did
minister the things which are now reported unto you, by
them that have preached the gospel unto you, with the Holy
Ghost sent down from heaven; which things, not only the
prophets, but even the angels of heaven, those superior
intelligencers, desire to look into and study. 1 Pet. i. 10-12.

To the same purpose St. Paul speaks concerning Abra-
ham, Noah, and other pious patriarchs : These all died in
faith, not having received the promises; that is, the accom-
plishment of them, but having seen them afar off, and were
persuaded of them, and embraced them ; that is, they saw
by faith, though afar off, at the distance of thousands of
years, the blessings contained in those early promises, par-
ticularly that great, all-comprehending blessing, the Mes-
siah ; and were persuaded they would be fulfilled in due
time, and embraced them with eager affection and confi-
dence, as their highest hope and happiness.

This is the influence which even the faint discovery of
a Saviour had upon good men many ages ago ; but St.

582 A SIGHT OF CHRIST THE

Paul tells us, whose privilege it was to live in gospel-day,
that " God has provided some better thing for us, that they
without us should not be made perfect," Heb. xi. 40 : for
us he has provided the clear revelation of the gospel ; and
shall not this have a proportionable influence upon us?
We should at least be as much affected with these things
as Abraham, who was far inferior to us in external advan-
tages : and how Abraham was affected, we are told by
Jesus himself in the text : " Abraham rejoiced to see my
day ; and he saw it, and was glad."

The Jews, in the context, are pleading the cause of
their own pride and self-confidence, against some just re-
flections which Christ had made upon them. When he
insinuates that they were slaves to sin, and therefore stood
in need of freedom from him, they resent it as a scanda-
lous imputation, intolerable to a people so proud and tena-
cious of their liberty; and either not understanding in
what sense he meant they were slaves, or imagining that
they could not be the servants of sin, who were the natu-
ral descendants of Abraham, they think to defend them-
selves by pleading, " We are Abraham's seed, and were
never in bondage to any man : how sayest thou, ye shall
be made free?" I cannot see how they could have made
good this assertion ; for they had been in bondage to the
Babylonians, the Syrians, and the Greeks, and were then
in subjection to the Roman empire ; but what is there so
false or absurd, but men will plead in their own defence,
when once they have renounced the gospel? Jesus, in
his answer, tells them, that the dispute at present was not,
who was their natural father ? but, who was their father in
a moral sense? And he lays down this principle, upon
which to settle their moral genealogy, namely, that they
were his children, whom they resembled in temper and
practice. Now they did not resemble Abraham, much less

DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS. 583

God, whom they also called their Father ; and therefore
they were not the children of Abraham, or of God, in
such a sense as to be free from slavery to sin ; which was
the sense then under consideration ; but they resembled
the devil in doing his lusts, and particularly in their love
of falsehood, and enmity to truth : and therefore, says he,
" Ye are of your father the devil." In the progress of
the debate, the Jews were offended, because Christ insinu-
ated that he was greater than Abraham and the prophets.
And my text may be considered as referring both to this
and the former argument. As referring to the last," it
may be thus understood : " Abraham himself was sensible
how much I am superior to him ; for he rejoiced at the
distant sight of my day, when a much greater person than
he should appear upon the stage of the world, from whom
himself, as well as his posterity, and all nations of the
earth, should receive the most important blessings." As
referring to the former, the meaning may be : " You can-
not be the genuine children of Abraham, in the sense now
under consideration ; for you are not at all like him. You
live in my day, and yet rejoice not in it ; but he earnestly
desired a sight of it, and rejoiced in the sight, though faint
and afar off. His disposition and yours towards me, are
entirely different, and therefore you cannot be his true
spiritual children." Thus, in both these views, the text
contains a conclusive argument in vindication of Jesus
Christ, and in confutation of his enemies.

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. The day
of Christ primarily signifies the time when he appeared in
the flesh, and conversed with men. So the days of John
the Baptist, the days of Noah, &c., signify the time when
John the Baptist and Noah lived upon earth. Matt. xi. 12,
and chap. xxiv. 37. But we are to consider the Lord Jesus
as coming into the world under a public character ; that is,

584 A SIGHT OF CHRIST THE

as a Saviour of sinners, and as the improver of the Mosaic
and patriarchal religion, by the introduction of the gospel
dispensation ; and therefore the day of Christ, which Abra-
ham desired to see, must signify the time when he should
appear upon earth as a great prophet, to make a more per-
fect revelation of the will of God ; the time when he should
offer the great propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the
world, of which the sacrifices of former dispensations were
but types and shadows ; the time when he should receive
dominion, glory, and a kingdom from the ancient of days,
which should not be confined to the Jews alone, but ex-
tend to all people, nations, and languages, Dan. vii. 14, or,
in other words, the time when the great radical promise
to Abraham should be fulfilled, That in his seed all the na-
tions of the earth should be blessed. Gen. xxii. 18. The
time when the dispensation of the gospel should be set up
in its full glory, the most perfect dispensation of religion
on this side heaven ; which is not to give way to another,
like that of Moses, but to continue to the end of the
world. This is the illustrious day here intended : and
according to this explication, you see it includes not only
the time of Christ's appearance upon earth, but also the
whole space from that time to the end of the world, or the
whole time of the gospel dispensation. This is a long and
glorious day, and in this day it is our happy lot to live.
Abraham would have thought himself happy to live in the
same age with us : He would rather have lived in Han-
over* than in Canaan with all his riches ; and would rather
have been a member of our church, than the great patri-
arch of the Jewish church.

The time of Christ's appearance upon earth, and of
the gospel dispensation introduced by him, may be called
a day, not only in conformity to the usual language of

* The name of a county in Virginia, where this sermon was preached.

DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS. 585

Scripture, in which the time of a person's life, the dura-
tion of a thing, or the time allotted for any business, is
called a day, though it should contain many hundreds or
thousands of natural days ; I say, it may be called a day,
not only on this account, but also to intimate, that it is
a season of light to the moral world, a season when the
Sun of Righteousness shines upon this benighted earth,
pierces the glooms of ignorance that covered it, and brings
the deepest mysteries to light; a season, when the perfec-
tions of the divine nature, the way of pardon and accep-
tance for obnoxious mankind, the wonders of the unseen (
world, and the things that belong to our peace, are dis- *-
played in full splendour. The night of heathen darkness,
and the twilight of the Abrahamic and Mosaic dispensation,
kindle into day, wherever the gospel shines. Abraham
lived in the twilight or early dawn ; and therefore, says
Christ, he desired to see my day. It is translated, he re-
joiced to see my day ; and it must be owned, this is the
usual sense of the original word ;* but this cannot be its

* tfyaXXido-aro. — Since <iyaXX«3/jai, which is commonly used metaphorically,
and signifies to exult or leap for joy, literally signifies to leap, why may it not
be understood literally without a metaphor in this place ? As if he had said,
" Abraham leaped up, he raised himself like one endeavouring to catch a
glance of some distant object, that he might see the distant gleamings of
Christ's day." But this new criticism I only hint, and submit it to exami-
nation.

The editor of these Discourses of Mr. Davies, thinks it not improper to
subjoin a criticism upon this word from Mr. Anthony Blackwall : " I beg
my reader's leave," says he, "to propose one conjecture, by putting down
dyaXX^ai as a peculiarity in St. John, signifying to desire with vehemence.
And this sense aflixed to it, which is not strained or unnatural, will solve
what seems to me to be a gross tautology in our translation. It is this, ' ho
rejoiced to see my day, and saw it, and was glad ;' that is. he was glad to see
my day, and saw it, and so was glad. In this signification it runs easy and
clear, he earnestly wished or desired to see my day, and saw it and rejoiced.
The Persian, Syriac, and Arabian versions all. give it this sense, and the
particle IvaAn the original seems to require it. It is a very natural me-
tonymy, whereby antecedents and consequents are put for each other."

Sacred Classics, Vol. i. pp. 35, 36.

VOL. II.— 74

586 A SIGHT OF CHRIST THE

meaning here, for this would make a needless tautology
with the last part of the verse, he was glad. To rejoice
and to be glad, is the same thing; but it would hardly be
sense to say, Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw
it and rejoiced. Besides, to rejoice that he might see,
seems absurd; for his rejoicing could not be to the end
that he might see, but because he did see. I therefore
conclude the word here must signify a strong transport of
desire, and should be rendered, " Your father Abraham
earnestly desired that he might see my day ; he wished to
live in an age when Christ and the gospel should be fully
revealed. From the dawn, he looked forward with eager
desire to see the sun rising, and the heavenly day shining
around him, revealing to his view those lovely prospects
which were then wrapt in darkness. He longed to see
that illustrious personage springing from his seed," in whom
all nations should be blessed, " and who was his Lord and
Saviour as well as his Son."

Nor was his desire in vain : for Jesus adds, he saw it ;
that is, my day. His desire was granted, and he was
favoured with the sight he longed for. But here it may
be queried, How, or in what sense, could Abraham be
said to see Christ's day, since he died so long before his
appearance in the flesh ? To this sundry answers have
been given, particularly, 1. That he saw Christ's day by
faith in the promises given him, of the accomplishment of
which he was confident : and this confidence inspired him
with joy. Faith, says the apostle, is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, Heb. xi.
1, and such was Abraham's faith in the promise of a
Messiah. He saw his day by faith, and was persuaded of
his certain appearance, and embraced him, as though he
had been then in the reach of his arms. 2. Abraham
might be said to see the day of Christ in that strange

DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS. 587

transaction, the offering up of his own son Isaac. This is
the most striking typical representation, I think, which we
find in the whole Bible, of the manner in which the world
should be redeemed by Jesus Christ ; namely, by human
sacrifice, and by God's making his own Son a propitiatory
sacrifice, as Abraham was commanded to offer up his ; and
probably this seemingly hard and unnatural trial was im-
posed upon him, as a peculiar favour, that he might see by
a significant action what he so earnestly longed to see, the
manner of man's redemption. This welcome sight he
probably had upon Mount Moriah, where he went to offer
up his only son. And the inscription he, as it were, left
upon that mount, may intimate thus much, In the mount
of the LORD it (that is, the day of Christ) shall be seen.
Gen. xxii. 14. This may also be St. Paul's meaning,
when he says, Abraham received Isaac from the dead in a
figure, or typical representation, which plainly pre-signified
to him the resurrection of Christ from the dead, without a
figure ; that is literally, after he had been actually sacri-
ficed for the sins of men.* This appears to me as proba-
ble a sense as any. Yet, 3. Perhaps, it may mean, that
when Jehovah appeared to Abraham in human form ; and
familiarly conversed with him, it was a prelude to his in-
carnation, and gave him a clear idea of the day of Christ's
actual appearance in the flesh.

But in whatever sense he saw it, it was a very welcome
and joyful sight to him ; for Jesus further tells us, he saw
it, and was glad. Light is sweet ; but no light was so

* Heb. xi. 19. Dr. Wat-burton, in his Divine Legation, offers so many
plausible things in favour of this sense, that I think it has some consider-
able appearance of probability. And thus he and Wolfius apply the text,
urging that lv ™pa/?oX,j answers to and signifies a typical representation. The
word *«i prefixed, *ai c* xapa/3o\7h which shows there is a particular stress to be
laid upon iv irapa/3o\r}, confirms this exposition : as if he had said, " he received
him from the dead, not only as he narrowly escaped death, but also in a
figure, that is, as a figure or type of something future."

588 A SIGHT OF CHRIST THE

sweet to Abraham's eyes as that of the day of the Son of
Man. He saw him not as Simeon, when he took him in
his arms, and wished that he might never take up anything
else, but depart in peace from this world of sin and sorrow ;
but Abraham saw him in such a light, as to fill his heart
with joy and gladness, though only through the medium
of faith, and not of sense.

These remarks may suffice to explain the text, as it
refers to this patriarch : but it is your personal advantage
I aim at, and therefore I shall make some reflections upon
it, as it may be accommodated to you : and the reflections
are such as these :

That the dispensation of the gospel may be called a
bright and illustrious day :

That it is a day which good men under former dispen-
sations earnestly desired a sight of:

That good men earnestly desire clear discoveries of
Jesus Christ, and his gospel :

That these desires shall be accomplished : and,

That the accomplishment of them affords great joy.

1. The dispensation of the gospel may be called a
bright and illustrious day,

When John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, was
born, the morning-star arose, or, as his father Zacharias
expresses it, The day-spring from on high visited us.
Jesus is the Sun of righteousness, Mai. iv. 2; the Light
of the world, John viii. 12, and chapter xii. 46; a light to
lighten Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel, Luke
ii. 32; and when he made his appearance in the world,
then we are told, The people that sat in darkness saw
great light ; and to them that sat in the region and shadow
of death, light sprung up. Matt iv. 16. To carry on the
metaphor with uniformity the gospel is called the day of
salvation, 2 Cor. vi. 2; the light, 2 Cor. iv. 4; a marvel-

DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS. 589

lous light, I Pet. ii. 9 ; a true light shining, when the
darkness is past, I John ii. 8 ; and Christians are said to
be light, Eph. v. 8. — the children of the light and the day.
1 Thess. v. 5.

There is good reason for the use of this significant
metaphorical language ; for as the day discovers the fair
face of nature, and opens her lovely prospects to view,
which were unseen while covered with darkness, so the
gospel reveals the perfections of God, the wonderful
scheme of Providence, the beauties of holiness, the nature
of true religion, the duty of man in all its extent, the won-
ders of the scheme of redemption through Jesus Christ,
and the method in which obnoxious sinners of the race of
man may be reconciled to God, the prospects of life and
immortality, and the important realities of the eternal
world. All these are brought to light by the gospel, after
they had long been concealed, or seen but faintly through
the glimmering light of reason in the heathen, or the typi-
cal, or prophetical revelation of the Mosaic dispensation.

The gospel day, like a light shining in a dark place,
pierces the darkness of the human heart, reveals the mys-
teries of iniquity, and the depths of Satan there, and dis-
covers sin in all its native deformities. This penetrating
light, when enforced by his power who first commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, has flashed conviction
upon many a secure conscience, and opened the most sur-
prising discoveries to many a blind mind. The gospel,
like clear day-light, shows us the way of duty and happi-
ness, for which the world had long groped in darkness, so
that now we may walk in it without stumbling; for if
any man walk in the day he stumbleth not, because he seeth
the light. John xi. 9, 10.

Divine things are not only brought to light by the gospel,
but also represented in the most amiable and engaging

590 A SIGHT OF CHRIST THE

view; especially when there is not only a clear medium
without, but the organ of spiritual vision, the mind, is rec-
tified so as to be able to perceive those objects in this
medium. If we should suppose a man had spent twenty
years of his life in darkness, and never seen nature about
him in that lovely and magnificent view in which it appears
through the medium of light, and should he be suddenly
brought into the light, how would »he be overwhelmed
with delightful astonishment at the first sight of the uni-
verse ! What amazing prospects, what new and glorious
wonders would open to his eyes ! How different would
the face of nature appear from the view he had of it while
an inhabitant of darkness ! Thus is the sinner surprised,
when not only the gospel shines round him, but his mind
is also enlightened to view divine things in that heavenly
light. Then, as St. Peter expresses it, he is brought out
of darkness into God's marvellous light, 1 Pet. ii. 9; a
light that represents the most marvellous things to his
astonished sight. Then in what a new and glorious light
does the great God appear, and all the truths revealed in
the gospel ! What new and surprising views has he of
himselfj of sin, and of the eternal world ! all is real, inter-
esting, and affecting ! Oh ! my brethren, have you ever
been introduced into this marvellous light? or are you,
like the birds of night, lovers and inhabitants of darkness
still?

Again, In that darkness which overspread the world
before the introduction of Christianity, the wicked spirits
of hell, like beasts of prey, roamed this wilderness and
discovered great power in their oracles, in possessing the
bodies of men, &c. But when the gospel shone upon the
world in its meridian glory, then these terrors of the night
fled to their den, and could no more roam at large as they
had done.

DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS. 591

The day is the time for work and action ; so the gospel
day is the season to work out our salvation. It is not a time
for sleep and sloth, but for labour and action. But this is
the accepted time ; this is the day of salvation.

This, my brethren, is the glorious and blessed day in
which we live. Let us therefore inquire, Are we the
children of the light and of the day ? For this purpose
inquire, whether it is day within, as well as without? that
is, whether your minds have been divinely enlightened
within, as the light of the gospel shines round you without?
Is not that sacred light to some of you like the sun to a
blind man ? that is, it makes day without him, but all is
dark to him, and he sees nothing. Are there not some of
you blind to the glory of God in the gospel, to the evil of
sin, and the great realities of the eternal world? The
light shines indeed, but it shines in a thick malignant dark-
ness, that comprehends it not; a darkness impenetrable
even to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness.
Is not your heart a dungeon of darkness, where the vilest
lusts crawl, like toads and serpents? Do you not hate
the light, and refuse to come into the light, lest your
evil deeds should be reproved? Do you not practice the
works or darkness, works that will not bear the public
view, much less the examination of the supreme tribunal ?
Have you ever beheld the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ, the glory of the word made flesh, and
dwelling among men, as the glory of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth ? Oh ! have
you ever seen how lovely, how suitable, and how
glorious that Saviour is, who is revealed in the gospel ?
I beg you would put these questions home to your
hearts, that you may know whether you are the children
of the light, or whether you are in darkness even until
now.

592 A SIGHT OF CHRIST THE

If you have hitherto chosen darkness rather than light,
remember, the gospel, which has lightened many a pilgrim
to heaven, will only show you the way to hell, and bring
you, as it were, to a more horrible precipice, from whence
you will fall with a greater violence into the pit. If you
perish from under the gospel, it will be with a peculiarly
aggravated destruction. Tophet has been prepared of old ;
and, like a furnace, always supplied, it has been heating
more and more for thousands of years, and now, under
the gospel, it is heated more than ever ; and the hottest
place there is reserved for you, if you still resist the light,
and continue in darkness. Oh! remember who it was
that made that awful declaration, This is the condemna-
tion ; that is, this is the occasion of the most aggravated
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil. John iii. 19. If the gospel be hid, it is only to them
that are lost. 2 Cor. iv. 3.

But I doubt not but sundry of you not only have day
without, but within you: God, who commanded light to
shine out of darkness, has shined in your hearts, to give
you the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of
Jesus Christ. Blessed are your eyes, for they see. And
oh ! what affecting sights have they seen ? what vileness
and deformity in sin ! and what beauty in holiness ! what
corruption and depravity in yourselves, and what glory
and excellency in God ! what meanness and unworthiness
in yourselves, and what loveliness, what all-perfect right-
eousness, with attractive glory in Jesus Christ ! what van-
ity in this world, and what reality and importance in the
world to come ! Well, this day is but the dawn of im-
mortal day, which you shall enjoy in heaven. You are
children of light, and you are hastening to that world,
where God himself shall be your light, and there shall be

DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS. 593

no more night. Therefore, walk as the children of light,
and let your light so shine before men, that they, by seeing
your good works, may glorify your Father which is in
heaven.

Bless God that the gospel shines around you, and opens
such discoveries to your view. To-day it shows you a
feast of fat things for hungry souls ; it shows you that
strange sight, which struck all nature with horror, when it
first appeared ; I mean the Son of God hanging on a cross,
and expiring there for guilty men. This ordinance is a
bright ray of evangelical light; and it helps you to see
the love and agonies of Jesus, the great atonement he made
for sin, and the method of your pardon and salvation.
Come then, ye children of light, come and gaze, and won-
der at these astonishing sights !

Again, Since it is day-time with us, let us shake off
slumber, and rise to work. Awake to righteousness, sin-
ners ! Awake, and call upon God, and betake yourselves
to work : to the important, but long delayed and neglected
work of salvation. The night of death is coming, when
no man can work : then the Sun of righteousness will be
set, and the day of the gospel be over, as to you ; and the
Lord will cause darkness, and your feet will stumble on
the dark mountains, and the shadows of the everlasting
night shall be stretched out over your heads. Now, there-
fore, rise and do the work of life : do it now, in this your
day ; or it must remain for ever undone. And ye, who
are children of the light, abound in the work of the Lord,
while your day lasts. Never let him find you idle, but
always busy in doing good. Do not you sleep, as do
others ; but watch and be sober. God has distinguished
you with his grace, above thousands of his eminent ser-
vants ; and this lays you under peculiar obligations of duty
to him : — Which leads me to add,

VOL. IL— 75

A SIGHT OF CHRIST THE

II. That the dispensation of the gospel is a day, which
good men under former dispensations earnestly desired a
sight of.

The most that they generally know was, that religion
should be much improved, and the world receive great
advantage, by some illustrious persons that should arise ;
and they desired themselves to share in that improvement
and advantage. They had a general persuasion that God
was reconcilable ; but, oh ! to know the person by whom,
and the manner in which this reconciliation was to be
brought about ! They had many intimations that it was
to be brought about by sacrifice, or the offering up the in-
nocent for the guilty ; but they wanted nearer views of
this great mystery. They had ordinances of worship
divinely instituted : but these were so expensive, burden-
some, and comparatively carnal, that it is no wonder they
looked forward with eager eyes to the time of reformation,
when a more easy, spiritual and noble method of worship
would be introduced : they hoped for happiness beyond
the grave, and believed a future state of rewards and pun-
ishments ; but the sanctions of the dispensations under
which they lived, consisted so much in temporal rewards
and punishments, as to render those of the world to come
less clear and affecting. No wonder, then, they longed
for gospel day, by which life alone and immortality are
brought fully to light, and all doubts and suspicions entirely
removed. In short, so much darkness, uncertainty and
perplexity, attended many things of great importance, that
are now clearly revealed, that it was natural and unavoid-
able for every good man that was concerned to please
God, and enjoy his favour, to desire farther satisfaction,
and look forward with eager eyes to the rising Sun,
which should cast a divine light upon these interesting
secrets.

DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS. 595

Now this happiness, which they so ardently desired,
we enjoy : and shall we make light of it, and neglect to
improve our particular privileges ? How would Abraham
have rejoiced to hear what we hear this day, and sit
down at the sacred table, which is now prepared for us !
And shall we dare to neglect it, or attend upon it in a
languid, careless, irreverent manner! Abraham would
have willingly exchanged his personal converse with
Jehovah, and all his privileges as the patriarch of the
Jewish church, for the privilege of the meanest Christian
among us. And shall not we esteem and improve what
he esteemed so very highly, and longed for so ardently !
Brethren, if we do not all crowd into heaven in a body,
it is our own fault in a peculiar degree. Our external
advantages for religion are greater than those of Abraham,
the friend of God : than those of Moses, who " conversed
with him face to face, as a man with his friend;" of
David, the man after God's own heart : and of the many
thousands that entered the gates of heaven, before Jesus
left it to make his appearance in our world. And did
they obtain salvation by a Redeemer so little known, and
shall any of us perish, when he is so clearly revealed to us,
and so explicitly proposed to our acceptance ? God
forbid ! Whatever became of sinners in Canaan, or
Greece, or Rome, where they had prophets or philoso-
phers, but no Jesus to show them the path of life, oh! let
sinners in Hanover press into the kingdom of heaven.
For shame, let them seek salvation, lest Jews and heathens,
and all the world, rise up in judgment against them. But
I observed from the text,

III. ' That good men earnestly desire clear discoveries
of Christ and his gospel.

This was not peculiar to Abraham and the Old Testa-
ment saints, but it is common to all good men in all ages

596 A SIGHT OF CHRIST THE

and countries: and if you belong to their number, this is
your disposition. Oh ! how you long to know more of
Jesus, and dive deeper into the mysteries of his gospel!
How are you mortified and grieved for your ignorance !
And how sweet is every beam of heavenly light that
breaks in upon your minds and discovers more of the
glory of Christ to you, and the wonders of his gospel !
This was your end (was it not?) in coming hither to-day;
and for this end you intend to sit down at his table, even
that you may see the Lord Jesus in an advantageous point
of view by faith, and be more charmed with his glories ?
Is not this what you desire and long for 1 Well, for your
comfort, I can assure you,

IV. That these desires shall be accomplished.

Abraham desired to see Christ's day, and he saw it :
his desires were fulfilled. And he was not the only one
to whom divine veracity performed its promise, and divine
goodness bestowed its bounties. No, the same blessing
has been conferred upon every soul, in every age and
country, that, like him, earnestly desired Jesus Christ.
This desire pre-supposes a deep sense of our guilt and
depravity, and of our inability to make atonement for our
sins, or to sanctify our nature, and prepare ourselves for
heaven, that region of perfect holiness : and it also implies
a general conviction of the glory and excellency of Jesus
Christ, and his suitableness to our case. Desires pro-
ceeding from such a sense of conviction, are lively and
operative, and will set us in action to obtain the thing
desired. They are not lazy, inactive desires, which per-
sons profess, and yet remain all the day idle, and never
exert their utmost strength in earnest endeavours to
obtain an interest in Christ, as their supreme good and
highest happiness. Such active desires are connected
with the promises of eternal veracity, which almighty

DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS. 597

power will certainly perform. Therefore, fear not, ye
that seek Jesus who was crucified. You shall not always
pine away with hungry, eager desires and pantings for
him, but your utmost wishes shall be accomplished, in
the enjoyment of the good you desire. And if ever you
have had any experience in this case, I need hardly tell
you,

V. That the accomplishment of these desires affords
great joy.

Abraham had his desire of seeing Christ's day fulfilled ;
and it inspired him with joy : he saw it and was glad.
How transporting, to view the glory of God shining in
the gospel! to contemplate the love, the grace, and all-
sufficient fulness of Jesus! to feel the lively emotions of
proper affections towards him, and all those heavenly
exercises of mind, which attend the sight of Jesus Christ
in the gospel ! What is heaven but the day of Christ ; a
brighter day indeed, but enlightened by the same sun that
shines in the gospel; the glory of God enlightens it, and
the Lamb is the light thereof. Rev. xxi. 23. Therefore
as much as you enjoy of this sacred light, so much of
heaven do you enjoy on earth.

And now, to conclude. You have heard of Jesus
Christ, and of the disposition of Abraham, and all good
men towards him. But is not this all mystery and unin-
telligible talk to some of you ? You never have experienced
anything like it. And can you expect salvation from a
neglected, unknown Saviour! Or are you able to save
yourselves without him! Alas! both are impossible.
Therefore, my brethren, this day admit the conviction of
your guilt and danger, be thoroughly convinced of your
own unworthiness of salvation by natural means, or the
guidance of your own wisdom, pray earnestly for spiritual
help from above, in and through a glorious and all-powerful

598 CHRIST THE DESIRE AND DELIGHT OF SAINTS.

Mediator, and never be easy till you get out of darkness
into day.

As for the children of light, let them surround the table
of their Lord, and there place themselves under the warm,
enlivening beams of the Sun of righteousness.

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 599

SERMON LIV.

THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

GAL. iii. 23. — But before faith came, we were kept under
the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards
be revealed.

IN such a time of general deadness and security as this,
it may really afford me painful perplexity what subject to
choose. Now this and now that occurs to my mind, and
engages my thoughts to pursue it for a while; but after
many fluctuations and perplexities, I have at length fixed
upon this text, and determined to open to you the nature
of the law and gospel, and your concern with each of
them : and I have this encouragement, that this may be
styled an Apostolic subject, by way of eminence, and is
that very doctrine which did such mighty execution among
the Jews and Gentiles, and converted thousands to the
faith of Christ, upon the first publication of Christianity.
The law and the gospel were the grand topics of St. Paul's
preaching, if we may judge of his sermons by his Epistles;
for in his Epistles, particularly those to the Romans and
Galatians, he insists at large upon these subjects. These
may also properly be called the doctrine of the reforma-
tion from Popery; for no sooner did that sacred light dawn,
than it began immediately to clear up the nature and the
difference between the law and the gospel, and the con-
dition of mankind as under the one or the other of these
constitutions. Luther, in particular, made this the great

600 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

scope of his preaching and writings; and he wrote an
excellent commentary upon this epistle to the Galatians
for this very purpose. And who knows but such a sub-
ject as this, which has been the ancient weapon for de-
molishing the kingdom of Satan, and wounding impenitent
hearts, may do some execution, through the divine blessing,
even when managed by my unskilful hand 1 Be the event
what it will, in the name of the Lord, I would make the
attempt.

I shall be the shorter at present, in explaining the text,
because the whole of the following discourse will tend to
reflect light upon it.

Faith, in my text, and in sundry places in this epistle,
seems to have a complex signification : it signifies the
object of faith, revealed in the gospel, or the method of
salvation through faith in the righteousness of Christ ; and
it also signifies the grace of faith in the soul, or a hearty
compliance with this way of salvation, so that this expres-
sion, before faith came, refers to the time before the
doctrine of faith was revealed in the gospel to the Gala-
tians, and before the grace of faith was wrought in their
hearts. Here it may be proper to observe, that the
members of the primitive church in general, and particu-
larly that in Galatia, were brought under the gospel dis-
pensation, and embraced the doctrine of the gospel by
faith at one and the same time. But they were not, like
us, educated under the gospel dispensation ; for part of
them had been Jews, educated under the Mosaic dispensa-
tion, which by way of eminence is frequently called the
law; and, as they were under the legal dispensation, they
were generally under the influence of a legal spirit; that
is, they sought for justification by their own works of obe-
dience to that law

Another part of them had been educated heathens, and

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 601

were destitute at once of the revelation of the gospel, and
of faith in it. Of this sort the generality of the Galatians
had been. And yet St. Paul represents them also as
having been under the law, not the Jewish or Mosaic law,
which the Gentiles had no concern with, but the law of
nature, which is universally binding upon all mankind.
And as they were under this law, they were also possessed
of a legal spirit ; that is, they sought salvation by their
own obedience to it, as the only way which they knew,
and which was natural to them. But, when the gospel
dispensation was set up in the world, and the doctrine of
faith preached to them, they immediately believed, and so
were freed from the outward dispensation of the law, and
from a legal spirit at once ; and they heard the doctrine,
and received the outward dispensation of the gospel, and
savingly believed, " at one and the same time." Hence
the apostle speaks of their being delivered from the dis-
pensation of the law, and from a legal spirit, and of their
being brought under the gospel dispensation, and cordially
believing the gospel doctrine, in the same language " as one
and the same thing;" and what he says is sometimes equally
applicable to the outward dispensation and the inward
temper denominated from it, and sometimes more pertinent
to the one than to the other. So in my text, the time
before faith came, is applicable to the state of the Gala-
tians, while under the dispensation of the law, and under a
legal or self-righteous temper ; and while they had neither
heard the doctrine of faith, nor received the grace of faith.
And when in opposition to this (v. 25) he observes, " after
that faith is come, we are no longer under the law as a
schoolmaster:" he means both after the preaching of the
gospel, and after it was received by faith. Many more
instances of this might be given; particularly chap. iv. 3, 5;
Rom. vii. 1, 7.

VOL. II.— 76

602 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

From hence we may infer, that what St. Paul says con-
cerning the state of those that were under the law, as that
" they are in bondage, shut up under sin, under the curse,
that the law is their schoolmaster to bring them to Christ,"
&c., is not to be confined to the Jews, or to persons in
that age, but may in part, at least, be applied to us, though
we have been educated under the gospel, and never were
under the Jewish law; for we may be possessed of a legal
spirit, though we live under the gospel, and never were
subject to the Mosaic economy. Our observation also
supported from hence, that the apostle represents the
Galatians (the main body of whom were Gentiles, and had
no more connection with the law of Moses than we) as
under the law, under the curse of the law, &c., in this
sense; and as freed from the law by their faith. There-
fore, though the outward dispensation of faith came into
our parts of the world before we were born, yet we may
apply the text to ourselves and say, before faith came; that
is, before faith came into our hearts; before the evangelical
grace was wrought in us by the power of God, we were
kept under the law ; the original word is very emphatical,*
we were prisoners under close confinement, we were held
in custody by the law, as by a strong guard, to prevent all
escape. We were shut up to the faith. Here again the
original word is very emphatical,t we were enclosed all
round; every way of escape was stopped, but only that
of faith; we were shut up to this way; in this way we
were obliged to fly, or to continue for ever bound fast
under condemnation ; shut up to the faith nhich should
afterwards be revealed. This also may be accommodated
to us, and signify the clear discovery of the gospel to our
minds, as an object of faith, by that illumination of the
Spirit, which is the cause of it. But it is more properly

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 603

and peculiarly applicable to the Galatians, while as yet the
doctrine of faith in the gospel was not revealed to them.
They were held in custody by the law till that happy time
came, and then, upon their believing the gospel, they were
set at liberty.

My present design is to lay down some propositions for
the explication of the apostolic doctrine concerning the law
and the gospel, that you may see in what sense mankind
are kept prisoners by the law, under condemnation, and
shut up to the faith; or to the method of justification,
through the righteousness of Christ, as the only way of
escape.

The propositions I would lay down are these : That all
mankind in all ages are under a law to God : That this
law was first given to man, in a state of innocence, in the
form of a covenant of works, by which he was to obtain
happiness : That it has passed through several editions,
and received several additions and modifications in differ-
ent ages : That this law requires perfect, personal, and
perpetual obedience : That it is impossible for any of the
sons of men to be justified and saved by this constitution :
That therefore God has graciously made another constitu-
tion, namely, the gospel, by which sinners may be justified
and saved through the righteousness of Jesus Christ : That
all mankind are under the law, as a covenant of works, till
they willingly forsake it, and fly to the gospel for refuge
by faith in Christ : And consequently, that they are shut
up by the law to this method of salvation, as the only way
of escape.

I. " All mankind, in all ages, are under a law to God."
This can be denied by none who grant there is such a
thing as sin or duty ; for where there is no law, there can
be no duty or transgression. If murder or blasphemy are
universally evil with regard to all mankind, in all ages, it

604 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

must be because they are forbidden by a law universally
and perpetually binding. If the love of God, or justice
towards men, be a duty binding upon all mankind, in all
ages, it must be because it is enjoined by some law of uni-
versal and perpetual obligation. This cannot be disputed
with regard to the Jews, the subjects of the Mosaic law,
who are said, by way of eminence, to be under the law :
and the apostle infers, that those who lived between Adam
and Moses were also under a law, from the punishment of
death inflicted upon them ; for as where there is no law,
there can be no transgression, so where there is no law,
there can be no punishment : for punishment is the execu-
tion of the penalty of the law upon an offender, for trans-
gressing the precept. Thus St. Paul reasons, (Rom. v.
13, 14,) until the law ; that is, all the time from Adam's
fall till the giving of the law at Mount Sinai, (about 2536
years,) sin was in the world ; and consequently there was
a law then in force; for sin is not imputed where there is
no law. But sin was evidently imputed in that period ;
for though the Sinai law was not then published, " never-
theless death," the penalty of the law, " reigned with dread-
ful uncontrolled power, from Adam to Moses." Thus
you see the patriarchal age was under a law to God.
And as to the Gentiles, though they had not the revealed
law, yet they were not lawless, but bound by the law of
nature : of the contents of which their own reason and
conscience informed them in the most important particu-
lars. Thus St. Paul tells us, " that the Gentiles who have
not the revealed law," perform by nature the part of a
law,* and therefore u are a law to themselves, the works
of the law being written in their hearts." Rom. ii. 14, 15.
As to us, who live under the gospel, " we are not," as the

* So I would choose to render $vaei ra TOO vo^ov iroirj; and thus it agrees
better with what follows, tauroij tiai yfyoj.

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 605

apostle observes, « without law to God, but under the law
to Christ;" (1 Cor. ix. 21,) that is, we are still under a
law to God, with all those endearing obligations super-
added, which result from the gracious gospel of Christ.
And we cannot suppose the contrary, without supposing
that the gospel has put an end to all religion and morality,
and set us at liberty to all manner of vice and impiety ;
for if we are still obliged to religion and virtue, it must
be by some constitution that has the general nature of a
law. St. Paul rejects the thought with horror, that the
law is made void by the gospel. " Do we then make void
the law by faith? Far be the thought, nay, we establish
the law." Rom. iii. 31. This first proposition, therefore, is
sufficiently evident, " That all mankind, in all ages, and
under every dispensation of religion, are under a law to
God." Let us now advance a step farther : /fcT^

II. This law was first of all given to man in a state of'
innocence, under the model of a covenant of works ; that
is, it was the constitution, by obedience to which he was
to secure the favour of God, and to obtain everlasting feli-
city. It was his duty to observe it with a view to obtain
immortality and happiness by it ; and these blessings he was
to secure by his own works of obedience. That the law
was first published to man with this view, is evident from
many passages of Scripture, particularly from that often-
repeated maxim of the apostle, " The man that doth these
things shall live by them;" (Rom. x. 5; Gal. vii. 12; see
also Lev. xviii. 5; Neh. ix. 29; Ezek. xx. 11, 13, 21;)
nay, he tells us expressly " that the commandment was
ordained unto life ;" (Rom. vii. 10,) that is, it was appointed
as a plan by which man was to obtain life. Hence Christ
assures the lawyer, who had repeated the substance of the
law to him, " This do, and thou shalt live," Luke x. 28.
This implies, that if he fully obeyed the law, we would

606 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

certainly obtain life by it, according to the original design
of that constitution. And when St. Paul says, That the
salvation of sinners was a thing which the law could not
do, in that it was " weak through the flesh," Rom. vii. 3 ;
it is implied, that it was not weak in itself, but fully suffi-
cient to give life ; only by the weakness of our flesh, we
were not able to obey it, and on this account it was not
able to save us. This proposition also is sufficiently evi-
dent, that the law was first given to man in innocence, as
a covenant of works, or as a constitution according to
which he was to obtain life by his own works. I now
proceed to the next proposition, and to show you,

III. That this law has passed through several editions,
and received several additions and modifications, adapted
to the various circumstances of mankind, and the designs
of heaven towards them.

That you may more fully understand this, I would ob-
serve, by the way, that the law is either moral or positive.
By the moral law, I mean that law which is founded upon
the eternal reason of things, and that enjoins those duties
which creatures under such and such circumstances owe
to God, and to one another, and which necessarily flow
from their relation to one another. Thus, love to God,
and justice to mankind, are moral duties universally bind-
ing upon mankind in all circumstances, whether in a state
of innocence, or in a state of sin ; whether under the re-
vealed law, or the law of nature. There can be no pos-
sible circumstances in which mankind are free from the
obligation of such duties, and at liberty to commit the con-
trary sins. These are more properly the materials of a
moral law. But there is another set of duties agreeable
to the circumstances of fallen creatures under a dispensa-
tion of grace, which I may call evangelical morals; I mean
repentance and reformation, and the utmost solicitude to

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 607

re-obtain the forfeited favour of our Maker. These are
universally binding upon mankind in their present state,
and result from their circumstances, and consequently par-
take of the general nature of a moral law. By a positive
law, I mean a law not necessarily resulting from the rea-
son of things, and our relations and circumstances, but
founded upon the will of the lawgiver, and adapted to some
particular occasion. Such was the appendage to the first
covenant, " Thou shalt not eat of the tree of knowledge."
Such were the institution of sacrifices immediately after
the fall, the ordinance of circumcision given to Abraham,
and the various ceremonies of the law of Moses ; and such
are baptism and the Lord's supper, and the institution of
the first day of the week for the Christian Sabbath under
the gospel. These ordinances are not binding in their own
nature, and consequently they are not of universal or per-
petual obligation, but they are in force when and where the
lawgiver is pleased to appoint. And the moral law, under
every dispensation, has had some of these institutions an-
nexed to it ; though in the state of innocence, and under the
spiritual dispensation of the gospel, they are but few and easy.
I now resume the proposition, " That the law has passed
through several editions, and received several additions
and modifications." With regard to Adam in his original
state, it only required of him the duties naturally binding
upon him, and adapted to his condition as an innocent
creature, with this one positive precept added, that he
should not eat of the tree of knowledge. This was its
model while a covenant of works. But when man fell, it
received several additions and modifications adapted to his
circumstances, and subservient to the gospel, the new plan
of life, which was immediately introduced, as I shall have
occasion to observe more fully hereafter. Such was the
early institution of sacrifices, to prefigure the grand atone-

608 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

ment of Christ, which then took its rise, and thence spread
through all nations, though they soon forgot its original de-
sign and evangelical reference. Thus the law continued
for many hundred of years, from Adam's fall to the deluge.*
After the deluge, it was given to Noah, with the institution
of sacrifices continued, and the addition of some new laws,
particularly the allowance of animal food, with the excep-
tion of blood. And it is this addition of the law that was
most strictly universal with regard to all mankind, who
were the posterity of Noah, the second root of human na-
ture, and who received it from him ; though it was soon
forgotten or adulterated with superstitions. After some
time,t when the knowledge and worship of the true God
was lost in the world, he was pleased to separate Abraham
from the idolatrous world, to set up his church in his
family, and to continue the former edition of the law, with
the addition of the sacred rite of circumcision, as a token of
initiation in the church, and of the purification of the heart,
and as a seal of the righteousness of faith. And this con-
stitution continued in the posterity of Abraham for about
four hundred and thirty years ; when it was new-modelled
and improved by a more full edition. A summary of the
moral law was published with the utmost majesty and ter-
ror on Mount Sinai, and written by God himself on two
tables of stone. But besides this moral law, and besides
the positive institutions given to Adam, Noah, and Abra-
ham, God was pleased to add a great variety of positive
laws, concerning the manner of sacrificing, and the system
of worship, concerning ceremonial pollutions, concerning
the Jewish policy, or civil government of that people, and
many other things : of all which we have a full account
in the law of Moses.

* About 1656 years. Universal History, Vol. xx. p. 2.

f About 427 years, circumcision was instituted 451 years after the deluge.

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 609

This dispensation continued in force from that time for
about 1525 years, till the ascension of Christ, and the day
of Pentecost, when the more glorious dispensation of the
gospel was introduced. It is often called the law, by way
of eminence ; and it is to this most perfect dispensation of
the law that the apostle particularly refers, when disprov-
ing the possibility of a sinner's justification by the law.
And it was to his purpose to have this particularly in view :
for if a sinner could not be justified by this edition of the
law, which was the most complete, and that in which the
Jews peculiarly gloried and trusted, it is evident that he
cannot be justified by the law at all, under any form what-
soever. Now, though the gospel, or the covenant of grace,
as I shall observe presently, was interwoven with this dis-
pensation, as well as every other, and it was the great
design of the law to be subservient to it, yet there was
much of a covenant of works in this dispensation, and that
in two respects. 1. In the dreadful majesty and terror of
me publication from amidst the thunders and lightnings,
and darkness of Sinai, which spread such a horror through
the whole camp of Israel, and made even Moses confess, /
exceedingly fear and quake. This had not the aspect of
friendship : it did not appear as if God was amicably con-
versing with an innocent people, and setting up a constitu-
tion of mere grace among them. It rather appeared like
a dispensation of a provoked God towards a guilty people,
intended to strike terror into their impenitent hearts, to
make them sensible of his awful majesty and justice, of the
terror of his law, and of their aggravated breaches of it.
There were indeed gracious designs at the bottom of all
this : but they were such designs as could not be accom-
plished till sinners were made deeply sensible of their
dreadful guilt, and the terrors of God and his holy law,
which they had broken ; and therefore to accomplish them,

VOL. II.— 77

610 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

God puts on all these dreadful forms of wrath. Thus the
Sinai dispensation was intended to prepare men for the
method of salvation through Christ, by making them sensi-
ble of their miserable condition by the breach of the cove-
nant of works ; and hence, it had so much of the terrible
aspect of the covenant of works in its promulgation. This
is one thing the apostle means, when he says, the law
worketh wrath, Rom. iv. 15, that is, it is adapted to im-
press a sense of divine wrath upon the minds of the guilty.
Hence he calls that dispensation the ministration of death
and condemnation, 2 Cor. iii. 7, 9; that is, it had a ten-
dency to excite a sense of death and condemnation : and
he makes Hagar, the bond-woman, an allegorical represen-
tation of this Sinai covenant, Gal. iv. 24, 25, because it
was calculated to excite in sinners a spirit of bondage, or
to strike them with a sense of slavery, terror, and condem-
nation. This view also clears up the meaning of several
things which he says of the Jewish law as that it was added
because of transgression, Gal. iii. 19; that is, it was an-
nexed to the covenant of grace, because it was necessary
that sinners should be made deeply sensible of their guilt
and condemnation by the breach of the law, in order to
their seeking salvation in the way of grace through Christ.
And hence, says he, the law was our schoolmaster, to bring
us to Christ, ver. 24; that is, the painful discipline and
smarting rod of the law were necessary and conducive to
constrain us to fly to Christ as the only Saviour, without
whom we were shut up under irreversible condemnation.
And again, Rom. v. 20, the law entered, that the offence
might abound ; that is, that it might appear that the offence
had abounded, and overspread the world ; and, therefore,
that they stood in the utmost need of a Saviour.

Thus you see, the dispensation of the law at Sinai had
the appearance of a broken covenant of works, and in this

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 611

view was subservient to the gospel. But this was not all;
for, 2. If we consider that covenant as the constitution of
the Jewish church and state, and the model by which they
were to govern themselves in the land of Canaan, it was
properly a covenant of works. As a visible national
church and civil society, God would reward or punish
them in temporal things, according to and for their works.
While they continued obedient to the external forms and
institutions of this law, they were to hold their possessions
in the land of Canaan ; and, when they publicly violated
this covenant, they were cast out of their possessions, and
brought into slavery. These temporal possessions they
held upon the footing of a covenant of works ; though
such of them as were good men, were saved by quite a
different constitution, even in the way of grace, and faith
in Christ, as we are now, as I may have occasion to observe
hereafter.

This remark will explain such places in the law and in
the prophets, where we meet with such declarations as
this, " If a man observe my statutes, he shall live in them ;"
of which you have more instances than one in the 18th
chapter of Ezekiel. They are said to be "just," &c., as
members of the Jewish church and state, because they had
observed the externals of that law, which was the consti-
tution of their republic, and which in that view only, re-
quired an external obedience, which it was in their power
to yield ; and therefore they were entitled to life and its
blessings, in the land of Canaan, according to that constitu-
tion. Indeed God seems to have governed not only the
Jews, but all the kingdoms of the earth, considering them
as civil societies, very much in this manner, upon the foot-
ing of a covenant of works. Spiritual and immortal bless-
ings are bestowed upon individuals in every age in a way
of grace, without regard to their personal works; and the

612 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

holiness necessary to the enjoyment of them, is not merely
outward, but in the whole soul ; and it is God only that
can work in them. But nations, as such, are under a
kind of covenant of works, the condition of which is an
external observance of the laws of God, which is in their
power, without any special assistance from him; and as
they perform or break this condition, temporal rewards and
punishments are distributed to them by divine Providence.
This thought brings me in mind of thee, O Virginia ! O
my country ! for if God deal with thee upon this plan, how
dreadful must be thy doom ! But to return. This sug-
gests to us another reason why the apostle so often speaks
of the Mosaic law as a covenant of works ; namely, be-
cause, considering it as the constitution of the Jewish
republic in temporal respects, it was really such; but it
was never intended that the Jews should seek or obtain
spiritual or immortal blessings by it under this notion. I
have been so much longer than I expected on this pro-
position, that I must be the shorter on those that follow.
The next proposition is,

IV. That the law of God requires perfect, perpetual
and personal obedience. This holds true with regard to
every law of God, whatever it be. If it requires purely
moral duties, it requires that they be performed exactly
according to its prescriptions. If it requires evangelical
duties as repentance or sincerity, it requires perfect repent-
ance, perfect sincerity. If it requires the observance of
any ceremonial or sacramental institutions, as sacrifice,
circumcision, baptism, or the Lord's Supper, it requires a
perfect observance of them. Men have got the notion
into their heads of a divine law that does not require per-
fect obedience, or that makes allowance for imperfection.
But this is bad sense, as well as bad divinity. It is the
greatest absurdity imaginable ; for to say that a law does

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 613

not require perfect obedience, is the same thing as to say,
that it does not require what it does require : to do all that
the law requires, is perfect obedience ; and since it requires
us to do all that it does require, it certainly does require
perfect obedience ; and if it does not require perfect obe-
dience, it does not require all that it does require : which
is a direct contradiction. In short, it is plain to common
sense, that there never was, nor ever can be, any law,
moral or positive, divine or human, that does not require
perfect, absolute obedience. Farther, Is not every sin
forbidden? is not every duty enjoined? Undoubtedly it
is : you are not at liberty to commit one sin, or to omit
one duty, not even the least. Indeed the very notion of
sin and duty supposes a law forbidding the one and enjoin-
ing the other ; and they are just commensurate with the
prohibitions and injunctions of the law. This is also the
voice of Scripture. That perfect obedience is required,
appears from the dreadful curse pronounced upon every
transgression for the least offence : " Cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things that are written in the
book of the law, to do them." Gal. iii. 10. Not some
subjects, but every one, of every rank and character, must
not only resolve or endeavour, but must do, not some
things, or many things, but all things written in the law ;
not for a time, or for the most part, but he must always
continue to do them. And if he fail in one thing, in one
moment of his existence, the penalty of the law is in full
force against him, and he falls under the curse. His obe-
dience must be universal, perpetual, and uninterrupted.
There is the same reason for his obeying all in all things,
and at all times, as for his obeying in anything, or at any
time. And all this obedience the law requires of him in
his own person : the law allows of no imputation of the
righteousness of another; no obedience by proxy or sub-

614 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

stitute ; it is the covenant of grace alone that allows of
this, and the law must be so far dispensed with in order to
make room for such a constitution.

This, my brethren, is the nature of the law, of every
law that God ever made under every dispensation of reli-
gion, before the fall, and after the fall, before the law of
Moses, under it, and under the gospel. In all ages, in all
circumstances, and from all persons, it requires perfect,
perpetual, and personal obedience : to the performance of
this, it promises eternal life: but the sinner, by every the
least failure, falls under its dreadful curse, and is cut off
from all the promised blessings. And hence it most evi-
dently follows,

V. That it is absolutely impossible for any of the fallen
sons of men to be justified and saved by the constitution
of the law. Take what dispensation of the law you
please, the law of innocence, the law of Moses, or the
moral part of the gospel, it is impossible for one of the
fallen posterity of Adam to be saved by it in any of these
views; and the reason is plain, there is not one of them
but what has broken it: there is not one of them that has
yielded perfect obedience to it : and, therefore, there is
not one of them but what is condemned by it, to suffer its
dreadful penalty. This is so extremely plain from what
has been said, that I need not insist upon the proof of it.
I shall only subjoin the repeated declaration of the apostle,
that " by the deeds of the law no flesh can be justified."
Rom. iii. 20. Gal. ii. 16. And that " as many as are of
the works of the law, are under the curse." Gal. iii. 10.
Come, "ye that desire to be under the law, do you not
hear the law." Gal. iv. 21. Hark! how the thunders of
Sinai roar against you as guilty sinners. Can you pretend
that you have always perfectly obeyed the law? that you
have never committed one sin, or neglected one duty?

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 615

Alas ! you must hang down the head, and cry, guilty,
guilty; for in many things you have all offended. Then,
be it known unto you, there is no life by the law for you.
Set about obedience with ever so much earnestness ; re-
pent, till you shed rivers of tears; fast, till you have re-
duced yourselves to skeletons; alas! all this will not do,
if you expect life by your own obedience to the law ; for
all this is not that perfect obedience which it absolutely
requires of all the sons of men; and whatever is short of
this is nothing, and leaves you under its curse. You may
make excuses to men, and to your own consciences, but
the law will admit of none. Perfect obedience! perfect
obedience! is its eternal cry; and till you can produce
that, it condemns you to everlasting misery; and all
your cries, and tears, and reformation, are to no purpose.
Thus you are held in close custody by the law; you are
shut up under condemnation by it. And is there no way
of escape ? No ; there is no possible way of escape —
but one; and that shall be the matter of the next proposi-
tion.

VI. That God has made another constitution, namely,
the gospel, or the covenant of grace, by which even
guilty sinners, condemned by the law, may be justified
and saved by faith, through the righteousness of Jesus
Christ.

According to this constitution there is encouragement
for sinners to repent and use the means of grace ; and all
who are saved by it, are not only obliged to yield obe-
dience to the law, but also enabled to do so with sincerity,
though not to perfection. They are effectually taught
by it " to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live
righteously, soberly and godly in the world;" and, in
short, holiness of heart and life is as effectually secured in
this way as in any other. But then, here lies the differ-

616 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

ence ; that all our obedience to the law, all our endeavours,
all our repentance, prayers, and reformation; in short, all
our good works, all our virtues and graces, are not at all
the ground of our justification; they do not, in whole or
in part, more or less, constitute our justifying righteous-
ness; so that in justification we are considered as guilty,
law-condemned sinners, entirely destitute of all personal
righteousness; and we are pardoned and accepted, only
and entirely upon account of the righteousness of Jesus
Christ, imputed to us, and accepted of God for us, as
though it were our own. I say, the righteousness of
Jesus Christ, or his yielding the most perfect obedience to
the precept of the law, and suffering its dreadful penalty
for us, or in our stead, is the only ground of our justifica-
tion. This is a righteousness as perfect as the law of
God requires. And consequently the law is not repealed
when we are justified in this way; it is still in full force;
and all its demands are answered by this righteousness,
which is equal to the severest requisitions of the covenant
of works ; only it is dispensed with in one particular ;
namely, that whereas the law properly requires personal
obedience from every man for himself, now it accepts of
the obedience of Christ as a surety in our stead, and is
satisfied by his righteousness imputed to us, as though it
were originally our own. But how do we obtain an
interest in this righteousness? I answer, it is only ob-
tained by a vigorous pursuit, and in the earnest use of
the means of grace ; but then all these endeavours of ours
do not in the least entitle us to it, or it is not at all be-
stowed upon us on account of these endeavours ; but the
grand pre-requisite, and that which has a peculiar con-
currence in obtaining it, is an humble faith ; that is, when
a sinner, deeply sensible of his guilt, of his condemnation
by the law, and of his own utter inability to do anything

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 617

at all for his own justification; I say, when such an humble
sinner, despairing of relief from himself, renounces all his
own righteousness, and trusts only and entirely in the free
grace of God in Jesus Christ ; when he places all his de-
pendence upon his righteousness only, and most earnestly
desires that God would deal with him entirely upon that
footing, then he believes; and then, and thus, this right-
eousness is made over to him, and accepted for him, and
God no more views him as a law-condemned sinner, but
as one that has a righteousness equal to all the demands
of the law, and therefore he deals with him accordingly :
he pronounces him just, and gives him a title to life and
every blessing, as though he deserved it upon his own
account, or had a claim to it upon the footing of his own
obedience to the covenant of works.

My brethren, I am bold to pronounce this the gospel-
method of salvation ; and, whatever scepticism and un-
certainty I feel about many other things, I have not the
least scruple to venture my soul, with all its guilt, and
with all its immortal interest, upon this plan. If I have
thoroughly searched the Scriptures for myself in any one
point, it is in this. And could I but lay before you all
the evidence which has occurred to me in the search, I
cannot but persuade myself it would be fully satisfactory
to you all; but at present I can only point out to you a
few passages. Acts xiii. 39. By Jesus Christ, says St.
Paul, all that believe are justified from all things, from
which they could not be justified by the law of Moses,
which was the most complete dispensation of the law.
Rom. iii. 21-38. Now the righteousness of God without
the law (that is, the righteousness which does not at all
consist in the works of the law, but is quite a different
thing from it,*) is manifested — even the righteousness of

* Xup'S vdpov lueatoirvvri.

VOL. II.— 78

618 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

God, which is by the faith of Christ. This you see is
the way in which it comes unto all and upon all them that
believe; for there is no difference of Jew or Gentile
here : all being freely justified by his grace, through the
redemption that is in Christ. Therefore we conclude
that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the
law: so Rom. iv. To him that worketh, and on that
account is considered as righteous, the reward is reckoned
not of grace, but of debt : he is not at all dealt with in the
gospel method, which is entirely a plan of grace (ver. 4;)
but to him that worketh not, with a view to his justifica-
tion, and is not considered as entitled to it upon the
account of his works, but believeth, humbly trusteth and
dependeth upon him that justifieth the ungodly, upon him
that considers the sinner, whatever previous endeavours
he may have used, ungodly, and destitute of all personal
righteousness, to such an humble believer, his faith is
counted for righteousness ; (ver. 5.) Even as David de-
scribeth the blessedness of that man, to whom the Lord
imputeth righteousness without works, &c., (ver. 6.) Gal.
ii. 15. We, says St. Paul, who are Jews by nature, (and
therefore stand most fair for justification by the law, if it
were possible) and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by
the faith of Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ,
that we might be justified by the faith of Christ ; for by
the works of the law shall no flesh be justified, (ver. 16.)
These, my brethren, are but specimens of the many plain
and express Scriptures that support this doctrine; and I
think it plain, upon the whole, that if we can understand
anything contained in that sacred book, we may safely
conclude that this truth is contained in it.

Here I would hint, what I intended to enlarge upon,
had the time allowed, that this is the only way in which

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 619

any of the sons of Adam have been saved since the fall ;
and that this gracious scheme has run through all the
dispensations of religion from Adam to Noah, from Noah
to Abraham, and from Abraham to Moses, and from
Moses to Christ; and that now, by the gospel, it is more
fully and illustriously revealed, the object of a more dis-
tinct, particular, and explicit faith. Rom. i. 17. It was
first published immediately after the first breach of the
covenant of works, in that gracious promise, " The seed
of the woman shall break the serpent's head." Gen. iii.
15. It was communicated to Abraham in that promise.
In thy seed; that is, as St. Paul teaches us to understand
it, in Christ, who shall spring from thee according to the
flesh, shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Gen. xxii.
18; Gal. iii. 16. Hence St. Paul tells us, that the Scrip-
ture, "foreseeing that God would justify the heathen
through faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abra-
ham." Gal. iii. 8. This was, as it were, the substratum
of all the ceremonies and institutions of the law of Moses ;
and, as was observed, the whole of this law, and the
solemn and dreadful manner of its publication, were in-
tended to subserve this scheme, by making men more
sensible of their need of it, and constraining them to fly
to it for refuge. The prophets also received this evan-
gelical light, and continued to diffuse it around them, till
the Sun of Righteousness arose ; but all these discoveries
were but dark, when compared to the clearer revelation
we have of it in the New Testament, particularly in the
epistles to the Romans and Galatians, which designedly
treat upon it. However, they that lived under former
dispensations, had light enough to direct them to place
their trust in the mercy of God, and to look out with
eager eyes for the Messiah, through whom alone they were
justified, though they might not have distinct ideas of the

620 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

way. Hence Abraham and David are mentioned by St.
Paul as instances of the gospel-method of justification by
faith in Christ. Rom. iv. 1-7. I now proceed to another
proposition.

VII. That all mankind are under the law, as a covenant
of works, till they willingly forsake it, and fly to the gospel
for refuge by faith in Christ.

There are but two constitutions that God has set up in
our world, by which mankind can obtain life, namely, the
covenant of works and the covenant of grace, or the law
and gospel; and all mankind are under the one or the
other. They are all either under the constitution which
demands perfect obedience as the only title to life, and
threatens death, eternal death, to the least failure ; or under
that which does indeed both require and enable them to
yield sincere obedience, but does not insist upon our obe-
dience at all as the ground of our acceptance and justifi-
cation, but confers that honour entirely upon the complete
righteousness of Jesus Christ, received by the humble faith
of a guilty, self-condemned, helpless, broken-hearted sin-
ner. We are all of us, my brethren, under one or other
of these constitutions; for to be from under both of them
is the same thing as to be lawless, and to be under no plan
of life at all. Now, we are under the law while we are
under the government of a legal spirit; and we cannot be
freed from it till we are brought off from all dependence
upon the law, and constrained to choose the gospel-method
of salvation as helpless, law-condemned sinners, by our
own personal act. We live under the gospel dispensation
indeed, and were never under the law of Moses: and yet
we may be under the law notwithstanding, as the Romans
and Galatians were till they were set free by faith, though
they had been heathens, and were never under the Mosaic
dispensation. An outward dispensation is not the thing

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 621

that makes the difference in this case. Many who lived
under the dispensation of the law had an evangelical spirit,
or faith in Christ, and therefore they were upon the gospel-
plan, and obtained salvation in the way of grace. And
multitudes that live in the New Testament age, under the
gospel administration of the covenant of grace, and who
profess the Christian religion, and were never subjects to
the law of Moses, are under the influence of a legal, self-
righteous spirit, and therefore are not under grace, but
under the law as a covenant of works; upon this footing
they stand before God, and they can enter no claim to life
upon any other plan. As for the righteousness of Christ,
and the grace of the gospel, they have nothing to do with
it, because they have not chosen it, and made it theirs by
their own personal act.

And would you know whether you are set free from
the law, and placed under the covenant of grace 1 St.
Paul, who knew it both by his own experience, and by in-
spiration from heaven, will inform you. (1.) You have
been made deeply sensible of sin and condemnation by the
law. " By the law is the knowledge of sin." Rom. iii. 20.
I had not known sin but by the lain, says St. Paul, person-
ating a convinced sinner under the law, without the law.
Rom. viii. 7 ; that is, while I was ignorant of the extent
and spirituality of the law, sin was dead, as to my sense
and apprehension of it ; but when the commandment came,
with power and conviction to my conscience, sin revived,
and I died ; that is, I saw sin to be alive in me, and my-
self to be dead, dead in trespasses and sins, and condemned
to death by the law, verse 9 ; the law also worketh wrath ;
that is, a sense of the wrath of God, and the dreadful pun-
ishment of sin; Rom. iv. 14. And has the law ever had
these effects upon you, my brethren ? Have you ever had
such a conviction of sin and condemnation by it ? If not,

622 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

you are still under it. (2.) If you have been delivered
from the law, you have been cut off from all hopes of
obtaining justification by your own obedience to it ; you
have given up this point as altogether desperate ; or in the
strong language of the apostle, you have been slain by the
law. " When the commandment came, sin revived and I
died.'' Rom. viii. 9. My brethren, says the apostle to the
Christians at Rome, ye are become dead to the law, verse 4,
that is, ye are become dead to all endeavours, all hopes
and desires of justification by the works of the law ; you
see nothing but death for you in that constitution. And
he tells you how this death was brought about ; " I
through the law am dead to the law," Gal. ii. 19; that is,
the law itself became the executioner of all my hopes of
life by it, and for ever put an end to all my endeavours to
seek justification in that way : it was a view of the ex-
tensive demands of the law that discovered to me my own
inability to comply with them, and so deadened me en-
tirely to all expectations of life by my obedience to it.

And have you ever, my brethren, been thus slain by
the law to the law 1 Have you ever been made sensible
of the absolute impossibility of working out a justifying
righteousness for yourselves by your own endeavours, and
thereupon given up the point, as hopeless and desperate ?
If not, you are still under the law, and your hearts eagerly
cling to it, and will not be divorced from it. Here you
will hold and hang, till you drop into the bottomless pit,
unless God deliver you from this legal spirit.

(3.) If you have been set at liberty from the law, and
brought under the covenant of grace, you have believed
in Christ, and fled to the gospel, as the only way of escape
from the bondage and condemnation of the law. It is the
uniform doctrine of the apostle, that it is by faith only
that this happy change is brought about in our condition.

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 623

" We have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be
justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of
the law." Gal. ii. 16. But after faith is come, we are
at liberty, and no longer under the law, as a schoolmaster.
Gal. iv. 25. " Righteousness shall be imputed to us also,
if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the
dead." Rom. iv. 24. Faith, you see, is the turning point.
And so it is represented by Christ himself. " He that
believeth on him is not condemned : but he that believeth
not, is condemned already," John iii. 18 ; he has sinned,
and therefore the sentence of condemnation is already
passed upon him by the law. And have you, my brethren,
ever been brought thus to believe? Have you found
yourselves shut up to the faith, as the only way of escape ?
and have you fled to the mercy of God in Christ in that
way, with all the vigour of your souls ?

(4.) If you are under the covenant of grace, then you
are not willing slaves to sin, but make it your great busi-
ness to live to God. This is represented as the privilege
and constant endeavour of all that are delivered from the
law. Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are
not under the law, which requires obedience, but furnishes
no strength to perform it, but under grace, which will en-
able you to resist sin, and live to God. Rom. vi. 14. Ye
are dead to the law, that ye might be married to another,
even to him that is raised from the dead, that you might
bring forth fruit unto God. This is the great design of
your divorce from the law, and your marriage to Christ,
Rom. viii. 4. " I, through the law, am dead to the law,
that I might live unto God." Gal. ii. 19. And do you
thus live to God, sirs 1 Is this the great business and con-
stant endeavour of your whole life ? If not, you are not
under grace, but under the law, the Egyptian task-master,
who demands perfect obedience, but gives no ability to

624 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

perform it ; and now, you that are under the law, take a
serious view of your condition. " They that are of faith
are blessed," Gal. vi. 9 ; but faith has never entered your
hearts, and therefore you have nothing to do with the
blessing. But you may read your doom in the next verse:
" As many as are of the works of the law are under the
curse," (verse 10,) for, " cursed is every one that contin-
ueth not in all things that are written in the book of the
law to do them." Thus you lie under the ministration of
death and condemnation, and you can never get free from
its curse till you can perform impossibilities ; till you can
annihilate all your past sins, till you can transform your
sinful life into an uninterrupted course of perfect obedi-
ence. Do this, and you shall live, even according to that
constitution under which you are. But till you can do
this, till you can yield perfect, perpetual obedience, in your
own persons, you can never get free from the curse, or
obtain life, while you affect this way of justification. I
tell you again, all your prayers and tears, all your repent-
ance and reformation; in short, every thing that comes
short of perfect obedience, will avail you nothing at all
upon this constitution : they are but fig-leaves that cannot
hide your nakedness. And do not imagine that the right-
eousness of Christ will supply your defects, and procure
you acceptance ; for his righteousness belongs only to the
covenant of grace, and is imputed only to such as have
received it by faith ; but while you are under the law, you
have nothing to do with it. St. Paul himself will tell you,
" Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of
you would be justified by the law ; ye are fallen from
grace," Gal. v. 4 ; you stand entirely upon your own bot-
tom; and God will deal with you just as he finds you in
yourselves, without any relation to Christ at all.

And now, my dear brethren, do you now begin to find

THE LAW AND GOSPEL. 625

yourselves pinched closely, and in a sore strait ? Do you
not feel yourselves imprisoned and shut up under the law?
And are not you casting about, and looking out for some
way of escape 1 Well, I will show you the only way
left, and that is by faith in the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. The gospel! the gospel! Oh that my voice could
publish the joyful sound in every corner of this globe in-
habited by guilty sinners ! The gospel of grace is the
only relief for you. Fly thither, ye helpless, law-con-
demned, self-condemned sinners; fly thither, and you are
safe. As depraved and guilty, as ungodly and destitute
of all righteousness, accept of the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. Cast all your dependence upon it, and make it
the only ground of all your hopes. Regard the law
always as a rule of life, and labour to form your practice
upon that sacred model : but as a covenant of works, by
which you should obtain life, fly from it, abandon it, give
up all your hopes and expectations from it : and betake
yourselves to the covenant of grace, of pure, free, un-
mingled grace, without the least ingredient of merit. In
this way, I offer you pardon, justification, and eternal sal-
vation ; and such of you as have chosen this way may be
assured of these blessings, notwithstanding all your sins
and imperfections. Oh ! that this representation of your
condition may recommend Jesus Christ and his righteous-
ness to you ! Oh ! that it may effectually draw off sin-
ners from all their vain, self-righteous schemes, which, like
cobwebs, they would form out of their own bowels, and
constrain them to stoop and submit to the righteousness of
God, and the method of grace ! If after all, they refuse,
they will leave this house condemned and under the
curse. But such of you as comply, like the penitent pub-
lican, you will return to your own house justified, how-
ever guilty you came here this morning. I shall conclude

VOL. II.— 79

626 THE LAW AND GOSPEL.

with a stanza or two from that evangelical writer, Dr.
Watts:

Go, ye that rest upon the law,

And toil, Hnd seek salvation there ;
Look to the flames that Moses saw,

And shrink, and tremble, and despair :

But I'll retire beneath the cross ;

Jesus, at thy dear feet I lie ;
And the keen sword that justice draws,
Flaming and red, shall pass me by.

THE GOSPEL INVITATION. 627

SERMON LV.

THE GOSPEL INVITATION.

A SACRAMENTAL DISCOURSE.

LUKE xiv. 21-24. — Then the master of the house being
angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets
and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and
the maimed, and the halt, and the bli?id. And the ser-
vant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and
yet there is room. And the Lord said unto the servant,
Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them
to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto
you, that none of those men which were bidden, shall
taste of my supper.

So vast and various are the blessings proposed to our
acceptance in the gospel, that they can never be fully
represented, though the utmost force of language be ex-
hausted for that purpose in the sacred writings. Among
other lively images, this is one in my context, where the
gospel is compared to a feast, a marriage-feast of royal
magnificence. The propriety and significancy of this
representation are obvious at first sight; for what is more
rich and elegant, and what more agreeable to mankind,
than such an entertainment !

Though it is my principle design to consider this para-
ble in its general secondary sense, as applicable to the
evangelized world, yet I shall hint a few words upon its

628 THE GOSPEL INVITATION.

particular primary sense, as immediately applicable to the
Jews at the time it was spoken.

Jesus was ready to improve every occurrence for pro-
fitable conversation ; and when one of the guests made
this remark, "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the
kingdom of God," or in the reign of the Messiah; he
takes occasion to let him and the rest of the company
know, that the kingdom of God under the Messiah would
not be so acceptable to the world, particularly to the Jews,
as might be expected ; but that they would generally
reject it, though they pretended so eagerly to expect and
desire it.

" He said unto him, A certain man made a great sup-
per;" that is, the great God has made rich provisions
through Jesus Christ of all blessings necessary for the
complete salvation and happiness of a guilty world : " and
jie bade many ;" that is, he invited the whole nation of
the Jews to a participation of these blessings, when they
should be revealed; invited them beforehand, by Moses
and the prophets, and by John the Baptist. " And he
sent his servant at supper time ;" that is, he sent Christ
and his apostles, when the gospel dispensation was intro-
duced, and those blessings fully revealed, " to say to them
that were bidden," that is, to the Jews, who had been
invited by his former messengers ; alluding to the custom
of those times, when, besides the general invitation to
nuptial entertainments given some time before, it was
usual to send a particular invitation when the feast was
ready, and the attendance of the guests was immediately
expected ; " Come, for all things are now ready." Em-
brace the long-expected Messiah, who has now made his
appearance among you, and accept the blessings he offers
you now, when they are fully revealed. " But they all,
with one consent, began to make excuse;" that is, the

THE GOSPEL INVITATION. 629

Jews in general rejected the Messiah, and the blessings he
proposed to their acceptance. The true reason was,
their natural aversion to one who taught so holy a religion,
and proposed only a spiritual deliverance. But they cover
over their conduct with plausible excuses ; as if the guests,
invited to a banquet, should say, " I have bought a piece
of ground, and I must needs go and see it ;" or, " I have
bought five yoke of oxen, and go to prove them ;" or, " I
have married a wife, and cannot come; therefore, pray
excuse me." These excuses, you see, are all drawn from
the affairs of life; which perhaps was intended to intimate,
that the pleasures and cares of this world are the reason
why the Jews and sinners in all ages reject the invitations
of the gospel. It is also observable, that the excuses
here made are very trifling and not plausible. What
necessity for viewing a piece of ground, or proving oxen,
after the purchase ? That ought to have been done before
the purchase. Could a man's being newly married be a
reason against his going with his bride to a place of feast-
ing and pleasure? No; these excuses are silly and im-
pertinent ; and Christ may have represented them in this
light, on purpose to intimate, that all the objections and
excuses which sinners plead for their non-compliance with
the gospel, are trifling, and not so much as plausible.

Then the Master of the house being angry ; that is,
" the great God resenting the obstinate infidelity of the
Jews, and determining to reject them for it, said to his
servant;" that is, gave the commission to his apostles,
" Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city,"
where beggars sit to ask charity, " and bring in hither the
poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind." Per-
haps this may refer to the sending of the gospel to the
Jews that were dispersed in heathen countries, and their
proselytes, when their countrymen in the Holy Land had

630 THE GOSPEL INVITATION.

rejected it. They were not in the highways and hedges,
like the poor Gentiles, nor yet settled in the houses in
Jerusalem, but are very properly represented as beggars
in the streets and alleys of the city ; not in such abandoned
circumstances as the Gentiles, nor yet so advantageously
situated as the Jews in their own land, under the imme-
diate ministry of the apostles. The first invitation is
represented as given to persons of fashion, to intimate the
'superior advantages of the Jews, resident in Judea, to
whom the gospel was first preached. And those dispersed
among the Gentiles are represented as lying in the streets
and lanes, as poor, maimed, halt, and blind beggars, to
signify their miserable condition in common with all man-
kind, without the blessings of the gospel ; and their disad-
vantageous situation, compared with the Jews in and about
Jerusalem. Or perhaps sending the invitation to those
poor creatures, when they first had rejected it, may sig-
nify the first preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, upon
the Jews rejecting it. And then the servant being
ordered to go out again, not into the streets and lanes of
the city, as before, but into the highways and hedges, may
signify the farther preaching of the gospel among the Gen-
tiles, who were far off from the church, the city of God,
and like poor country beggars, lying as outcasts upon the
public roads. But if we understand the former passage
in the first sense, as signifying the publication of the gospel
to the Jews dispersed among the Gentiles, and to their
proselytes, then this second mission of the servant must
signify the sending of the gospel for the first time to the
Gentiles, after both the Jews resident in their own country,
and those scattered in other nations had rejected it. The
parable concludes with a terrible denunciation against those
who had refused the invitation : " None of those men
which were bidden shall taste of my supper ;" that is,

THE GOSPEL INVITATION. 631

'•' The infidel Jews, though first invited, shall never enjoy
the blessings of the gospel; but my church shall be fur-
nished with members from among the poor outcast hea-
thens, rather than such should continue in it."

These things must suffice to show you the primary
meaning of this parable, as applicable to the Jews of that
age ; and the reception of the Gentiles into the church in
their stead. But I intend to consider it in a more exten-
sive sense as. applicable to us in these latter times.

Before I enter upon the consideration of this passage, it
is necessary I should clear up an inquiry or two, which
may reflect light upon the whole.

What are those blessings of the gospel which are here
represented by a marriage feast ? And, What is meant by
the duty here represented by a compliance with an invita-
tion to such a feast ?

These blessings, here represented by a marriage-feast,
are infinitely rich and numerous. Pardon of sin ; a free
and full pardon for thousands, millions of the most aggra-
vated sins; the influences of the Holy Spirit to sanctify
our depraved natures, to subdue our sins, and implant and
cherish in our hearts every grace and virtue; freedom
from the tyranny of sin and Satan, and favourable access to
the blessed God, and sweet communion with him, through
Jesus Christ, even in this world; the reviving communi-
cations of divine love, to sweeten the affections of life ;
and the constant assistance of divine grace to bear us up
under every burden, and to enable us to persevere in the
midst of many temptations to apostacy, deliverance from
hell, and all the consequences of sin ; and a title to heaven,
and all its inconceivable joys; in short, complete salvation
in due time, and everlasting happiness equal to the largest
capacities of our nature. This is a short view of the
blessings of the gospel. But the riches of Christ are un-

632 THE GOSPEL INVITATION.

searchable ; and human language can never represent them
fully to view. But from the little that we know of them,
do they not appear perfectly suited to our necessities ; and
such as we would ask of God, should he give us leave to
ask what we please ?

These blessings are represented to us in a striking and
sensible manner in the Lord's Supper; and hence you see
with what propriety it is called a feast. It is a rich en-
tertainment for hungry souls ; and the blessings which it
signifies, and the conveyance of which it seals to believers,
satisfy the most eager desires, and fully support and cherish
the spiritual life. This, indeed, is not the feast primarily
intended in this parable; for the Lord's Supper was not
instituted when this parable was spoken ; yet most of the
things contained in it may very properly be accommodated
to this ordinance.

You see the feast to which we are invited, namely the
rich blessings of the gospel. And now let us inquire,
What is meant by the duty here represented by a compli-
ance with an invitation to a marriage-feast?

It supposes a deep, affecting sense of our want of these
blessings, and of our perishing condition without them ;
It supposes eager desires after them, and vigorous endea-
vours to obtain them. It supposes a willingness to abandon
every thing inconsistent with them ; and it implies a cordial
willingness to accept of them as they were offered; for to
pretend to be willing to receive them, and yet refuse the
terms upon which they are offered, is the greatest ab-
surdity. And how are they offered] They are offered
freely ; and therefore freely we must receive them, if we
receive them at all. We must not offer our own imaginary
merit to purchase them ; but take them as free gifts to us,
purchased entirely by the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
They are offered conjunctly; that is, in an inseparable con-

THE GOSPEL INVITATION. 633

junction with one another. Pardon and sanctifying grace,
holiness and happiness, deliverance from the power, the
pleasures, and the profits of sin, as well as from hell and
the punishment of sin, the cross and the crown, self-denial
and the most noble self-possession, are proposed to our
choice in conjunction, and they cannot be separated; and,
therefore, in conjunction we must receive them, or not at
all; we must receive them all or none. To accept the
pardon, and reject sanctifying grace; to accept the rewards,
and refuse the work of holiness ; to accept deliverance
from the punishment of sin, and yet refuse deliverance
from sin itself, as though it were a painful confinement, or
bereavement; to accept of Christ as our Saviour, and re-
ject him as our Ruler; this is the wildest absurdity, and
absolute impossibility. To pretend to accept God's offer,
and in the meantime to make our own terms, is to insult
and mock him. What God and the nature of things have
joined, let no man put asunder.

Hence you may see, that the duty represented by com-
plying with an invitation to a marriage feast, in this para-
ble, implies our embracing the gospel as true, which is op-
posed to the unbelief of the Jews ; our accepting the bless-
ings of the gospel freely, as the gracious gift of God for
the sake of Christ, renouncing all our own imaginary
merit; and our voluntary dedication of ourselves to the
service of God, or consenting to be holy in heart and in
all manner of conversation. Whoever complies with the
invitations to the gospel in this manner, shall be admitted
to the marriage-supper of the Lamb at the consummation
of all things, and be happy for ever.

Now, I hope you will know what I mean, when, in the
progress of this discourse, I shall exhort you in the lan-
guage of my text, to come to this feast, or to comply with
the invitation ; I mean, that you should freely and heartily

VOL. II.— 80

634 THE GOSPEL INVITATION.

accept of the blessings of the gospel, as they are offered
to you by the blessed God, who alone has a right to ap-
point the terms.

After these preliminaries, I proceed to the immediate
consideration of my text.

The first thing that occurs, is a lively representation of
the wretched state of mankind, previous to their being en-
riched with the blessings of the gospel. They are poor,
and maimed, and halt, and blind, lying as beggars and
outcasts in the streets and lanes of the city, and by the
highways and hedges in the country. What can repre-
sent a more pitiable condition, with regard to this world?
To be poor, maimed, halt and blind, in a palace, in the
midst of all the necessaries and comforts of life, is a most
melancholy situation ; but to be poor, maimed, halt and
blind, in the streets and lanes, or scattered about in the
highways and hedges, as forlorn outcasts, without any
covering but the inclement sky, without any bed but the
cold ground, without any sustenance but the charity of
passengers ; this is the most melancholy situation that can
be imagined : and this is the situation in which all mankind
are represented, with regard to the eternal world, by one
that perfectly knew their case, and who could not but give
the most impartial account of it. This is your condition,
my brethren, till you accept the rich blessings of the gos-
pel. You are poor, poor as the most helpless beggar on
the highway ; destitute of pardon ; destitute of all real
goodness in the sight of God, whatever splendid appear-
ance of virtue you may have in the sight of men : desti-
tute of all qualifications for heaven, as well as of a title to
it ; destitute of all happiness suited to the spiritual nature,
immortal duration, and large capacities of your souls : des-
titute of the favour of God, which is better than life, and
without which life itself will be a curse ; destitute of an

THE GOSPEL INVITATION. 635

interest in the righteousness and intercession of Christ the
only Saviour of sinners ; destitute of the sanctifying influ-
ences of the Holy Spirit, who alone can make you truly
holy. And what a poor, destitute condition is this? You
are maimed and defective, in a moral sense ; defective in
those graces and virtues which are essential members of
the new man. Your souls are incomplete, unfinished
things. Your understandings without divine knowledge ;
your wills without a divine bias towards God and holiness ;
your affections without a proper tendency towards suitable
objects; and these are as monstrous defects in a moral
sense, as a body without limbs, or a head without eyes in
a natural sense. You are halt or lame : without power of
spiritual motion, or tendency towards it ; without strength
%>r inclination to walk in the ways of God's commandments.
You are blind as to spiritual and eternal things; that is,
ignorant of the glory of God, and the excellency of Jesus
Christ, and the way of salvation through him ; ignorant
of the evil and deformity of sin ; and blind to the beauties
of holiness. You may indeed have fine speculative no-
tions about these things ; but your notions are faint and
unaffecting, and have no proper influence upon your heart
and practice, and therefore, as to all the useful and practi-
cal purposes of knowledge, you are stupidly blind and ig-
norant. Oh ! what an affecting, miserable situation is this !
and what renders it still the worse is, that you are not sen-
sible of it. The poor, blind, impotent beggar in the
streets, or on the high-road, is sensible of his condition,
longs for deliverance, and begs and cries for relief from
day to day. But, alas ! you are rich and increased with
goods, and have need of nothing, in your imagination ;
when you are wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind,
and naked. And hence you are so far from crying im-
portunately for relief, like blind Bartimeus by the wayside,

636 THE GOSPEL INVITATION.

" Jesus thou Son of David, have mercy on me !" that you
will not accept relief when it is freely offered to you.

And are not you very unlikely guests to furnish out a
nuptial feast? May not the great God justly leave you
out in the invitation of the gospel, and refuse you the
offer of its invaluable blessings ? But, oh ! the astonishing
condescension and grace ! to you is the word of salvation
sent. Hear the commission first given to the apostles, and
still continued to ministers of the gospel of a lower rank,
Go out — go out quickly, the case is too dangerous to ad-
mit of delay. Without immediate provision the poor out-
casts will perish, therefore make haste to find them out
wherever they lie, and think it no hardship or indignity to
you to go to the meanest places in quest of them. Go
through the streets and alleys of the city, and search the.
hedges and highways in the country ; and bring them in ;
urge them to come ; insist upon their compliance : take
no denial. Bring them in hither — hither, into the arms
of my favour ; — hither, into my church, the grand apart-
ment appointed for the celebration of this magnificent en-
tertainment ; — hither, into the society of the most honour-
able guests, and into a participation of the richest bless-
ings. Bring them in hither, poor, and blind, and lame,
and halt, and maimed, as they are. They are all welcome.
Him that cometh unto me, though clothed in rags, and des-
titute of all things, / will in no wise cast out.

To discharge this benevolent commission, I appear
among you this day; and shall I find none among you
that will comply with the invitation ? Where are the poor,
the maimed, the halt, and the blind? In quest of you I
am sent ; and I am ordered to bring you in. And will ye
refuse ? Come, ye poor ! accept the unsearchable riches of
Christ. Come, ye blind ! admit the healing light of the Sun
of Righteousness. Ye halt and maimed ! submit your-

THE GOSPEL INVITATION. 637

selves to him, who, as a Physician, can heal what is disor-
dered, and as a Creator, can add what is wanting. Come,
ye hungry, starving souls ! come to this feast of fat things :
that is, (to speak without a metaphor,) accept the blessings
of the gospel now freely offered to you. " Ho ! every
one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath
no money ; come ye, buy wine and milk, without money,
and without price." Will ye rather sit still in the streets
and hedges, than be guests at this divine feast? Will ye
refuse the invitation, when without these blessings you
must famish for ever ?

However, if ye refuse, I hope I shall be able to make
my report to my Master, like the servant in my text,
" Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded." " Lord, I
have published thy gracious invitations, and persuaded
them, in the best manner I could, to come in ; and if they
still refuse, themselves must be accountable for it, and bear
the consequence."

But I must indulge the pleasing hope, that some of you
will this day accept this gracious invitation ; and such of
you may be sure you shall be admitted. Nay, if all this
assembly should unanimously consent, they would find the
blessings of the gospel more than sufficient to supply all
their wants. For after the servant had brought in a
numerous company of guests from the streets and lanes,
he tells his Lord, yet there is room ; there is room for
many more guests. There are many seats still vacant;
the room is large, and will contain many more ; and the
provision is sufficient, more than sufficient, for thousands,
for millions more. Yes, my dear brethren, be not dis-
couraged from coming, as if there was no room left for
you. The virtue of that blood which streamed upon
Mount Calvary about 1700 years ago, which has washed
away many millions of sins, from the fall of Adam to this

638 THE GOSPEL INVITATION.

day, through the space of near 6000 years ; I say, the vir-
tue of that blood is still as powerful and sufficient as ever ;
as powerful and sufficient as when it first flowed warm
from the wounded veins of the blessed Jesus.

The mercy of God endureth for ever. It is an inex-
haustible ocean, sufficient to overwhelm and drown a
world of the most mountainous sins, and supply the most
numerous and desperate necessities. The church of
Christ is sufficiently large for the reception of all the
inhabitants of the earth, and it ig a growing structure,
which never will be complete, till all nations are incor-
porated in it as living stones. In heaven are many man-
sions, prepared for the reception of many guests to the
marriage-supper of the Lamb : and many of them are as
yet empty ; and may they be filled up by multitudes from
this place ! There, I hope, are seats provided for some
of you, who are now strangers from the commonwealth of
Israel, and from the covenant of promise. I do not
mean that you can be admitted there in your present con-
dition : neither you nor I have any reason to hope for
this ; but I hope that divine grace may yet prepare you
for those mansions of purity and glory. This hope gives
a new spring to my endeavours, and therefore I invite the
worst of you, the most impenitent and audacious, the most
profligate and debauched among you, to come in. Come,
O my guilty brethren ! Come, publicans and sinners,
drunkards, harlots, and thieves ; come, sinners of the vilest
characters, repent and believe the gospel, you shall be ad-
mitted to this celestial feast. Oh ! must it not break the
heart of the hardest sinner among you, to hear, that, after
all your aggravated and long-continued provocations, and
notwithstanding your enormous guilt, that great God whom
you have offended, though he stand in no need of you,
and might easily glorify himself by inflicting righteous pun-

THE GOSPEL INVITATION. 639

ishment upon you, yet is ready to wash away all your sins
in the blood of his own Son, and to bestow upon you all
the immortal blessings of his favour? Oh! is there a
heart among you proof against such a melting considera-
tion as this ? Then all the principles of generosity and
gratitude are lost and extinct within you !

I proclaim to all in this assembly this day, " all things
are now ready; come unto the marriage." And why
should you not all comply ? why should any one of you
exclude yourselves ? Let every one resolve for himself,
" for my part, I will not make myself that shocking excep-
tion." How do you know but this resolution is now
forming in the person that sits or stands next to you?
And shall you be left behind ? Will you, as it were, shut
the door of heaven against yourselves with your own
hand ? I once more assure you, there is yet room, room
for you all. There are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and
the patriarchs, and yet there is room. There are many
from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from
the south, and yet there is room. There are persecuting
Manasseh and Paul ; there are Mary Magdalene, the de-
moniac, and Zaccheus, the publican, and yet there is room.
There is the once incestuous and excommunicated, but
afterwards penitent, Corinthian ; nay, there are several of
the Corinthians ; who, as St. Paul tells us, were once for-
nicators, idolaters, effeminate, Sodomites, covetous, thieves,
drunkards, revilers, and extortioners, yet there they now
are, " washed, sanctified, justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God :" and there may you
also be, though vile as they, if, with them, you come in at
the call of the gospel : for yet there is room. There is,
says St. John, Rev. vii. 9, a " great multitude, which no
man can number, out of every kindred, and tongue, and
nation;" multitudes from Europe, Asia, Africa, and

640 THE GOSPEL INVITATION.

America; and yet there is room. There is room for you,
poor negroes ! and for you, I hope, some vacant seats in
heaven, are reserved. Therefore, " I turn to the Gen-
tiles ; for to you also is the word of this salvation sent."
You may, with peculiar propriety, be represented by the
poor, the blind, the halt, and maimed, in the highways and
hedges. To you, therefore, I am sent with the offer of
all the rich blessings of the gospel : and let me tell you,
you are in extreme need of them, whether you feel your
want or not ; you need them more than liberty, than food,
than health, than life itself; and without them you mnst
perish for ever. Come then, let this feast be adorned
with your sable countenances, and furnished with guests
from the savage wilds of Africa. Do not mistake me, as
if I was just now inviting you to sit down at the Lord's
table : alas ! many have sat there who are now banished
for ever from that Saviour, whom they professed to com-
memorate ; and shut up in the prison of hell. But I am
inviting you to accept of the blessings of the gospel, which
I have briefly explained to you. A hearty consent to this,
and nothing short of it, will save you. Come then, ye
poor Africans, come add yourselves to the guests at this
divine entertainment; for yet there is room for you, and
you are as welcome as kings and princes.

There being so much room left unoccupied in the
spacious apartment, is represented as an excitement to the
Master of the feast to send out his servant to invite more
guests : for when the servant had made this report, the
Master immediately orders him to " Go out into the high-
ways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that his
house might be filled." He could not bear it, that the
seats about his table should be empty, or his provisions be
lost for want of guests. So the blessed God will not
suffer the death of his Son to be in vain, nor the mansions

THE GOSPEL INVITATION. 641

he has prepared to be empty. That Jesus may see his
spiritual seed, and the travail of his soul, and be satisfied ;
and that the heavenly mansions he has prepared may be
furnished with guests, God has appointed the ministry of
the gospel, and the means of grace, to be continued from
age to age ; for this end he exercises a providential go-
vernment over the world, and manages all its affairs in sub-
serviency to the grand scheme of redemption, for peopling
the heavenly world with colonies transplanted from our
guilty globe. For this he has continued our sinful world,
so ripe for destruction, through the space of near six thou-
sand years ; and he will not be defeated in his purpose. If
you and thousands more should refuse, yet his feast shall be
furnished with guests. He will send it, where thousands of
perishing sinners will eagerly embrace it, and obtain eternal
salvation by it. But oh ! how deplorable will be your loss !
Since his house shall and must be filled, oh ! why should
it not be filled from Virginia, and particularly from among
you, my dear people ? Will you not make trial, whether
there be not seats prepared in heaven for you ? whether
there be not room in the arms of divine mercy for you ?
whether the blood of Christ has not efficacy to procure
pardon and life even for you, great sinners as. you are ?
We meet together in the house of God on earth ; and many
of us sit down together at his table. And oh ! why should
we not all meet together at the great supper of the Lamb
in heaven?

Compel them to come in. Overcome them with argu-
ments, subdue them with persuasions and entreaties, take
no denial ; never give over till you prevail. This is the
commission of gospel-ministers : and oh ! that one of the
meanest of them may be enabled to act according to it !

The patrons of persecution, those common enemies of
liberty, religion, and human nature, have tortured this

VOL. II.— 81

642 THE GOSPEL INVITATION.

text to speak in their favour : and it has been their mis-
fortune to be confirmed in their savage sentiment by the
opinion of good St. Augustine, who understood it as
authorizing and even requiring the propagation of Chris-
tianity, and the suppression of erroneous opinions, by the
terrors of the secular power. In answer to this, I might
observe, that we often find the word here rendered com-
pel* used in such a mild sense, as to signify only a com-
pulsion by argument and entreaty. But it is sufficient to
observe, that it is evident Christ never commissioned his
apostles, nor did they ever pretend to propagate his reli-
gion, like Mahomet, with a sword in their hand, but by
dint of evidence, and the power of the Holy Spirit : — and,
indeed, no other arms were fit to propagate a rational
religion. The terrors of the secular arm may scare men
into the profession of a religion, but they have no tendency
to enlighten the understanding, or produce a real faith ;
and therefore they are fitted only to make hypocrites, but
can never make one genuine, rational Christian. The
weapons of the apostolic warfare, which were so mighty
through God, were miracles, reasoning, entreaty, and the
love of a crucified Saviour; and these were adapted to
the nature of the human mind, to subdue it without vio-
lence, and sweetly captivate every thought into obedience
to Christ.

These weapons, as far as they may be used in our age,
I would try upon you. I would compel you to come in,

* aivayKaiTOv.

So Matt. XIV. 22, and Mark VI. 45, ^vayKaatv b Irjaovs rouj paOriras avrov

infiriva.1, Jesus compelled or constrained his disciples to go into a ship.
St. Paul, in his reproof to St. Peter, Gal. ii. 14, tells him, "Why dost
thou compel or constrain [di/ayicd&is] the Gentiles to act as do the Jews ?"
In which place.*, the word signifies to compel, not by violence, but by com-
mand, persuasion, or example. And in this sense, men are, and ought to
be, compelled to embrace the gospel. Thus Tertullian, Qui studerit intelli-
gere, cogetur, et credere.

THE GOSPEL INVITATION. 643

by considerations so weighty and affecting, that they must
prevail, unless reason, gratitude, and every generous
principle be entirely lost within you. By the conside-
ration of your own extreme, perishing necessity ; by the
consideration of the freeness, the fulness, and sufficiency
of the blessings offered ; by the dread authority, by the
mercy and love of the God that made you, and who is
your constant Benefactor; by the meekness and gentle-
ness of Christ; by the labours and toils of his life; by
the agonies of his death ; by his repeated injunctions, and
by his melting invitations; by the operation of the Holy
Spirit upon your hearts, and by the warnings of your own
consciences; by the eternal joys of heaven, and the
eternal pains of hell; by these considerations, and by
every thing sacred, important, and dear to you, I exhort,
I entreat, I charge, I adjure you, I would compel you to
come in. Come in, that these rich provisions may not be
lost for want of partakers, and that God's house may be
completely furnished with guests. As yet there is room ;
as yet the guests are invited ; as yet the door is not shut.
The number of those who shall enjoy this great salvation is
not yet made up. But, ere long, the ministry of the gospel
will be withdrawn, the servants be recalled, and no longer
be sent to search for you. The door of heaven will be
shut against all the workers of iniquity. Therefore, now
is the time to come in.

I shall only urge, as another persuasive, the awful de-
nunciation that concludes my text ; / say unto you, none
of those men who were bidden, and refused the invitation,
shall so much as taste of my supper; that is, none who
now refuse to receive the blessings of the gospel, as they
are offered, shall ever enjoy any of them ; but must con-
sume away a miserable eternity in the want of all that is
good and happy.

644 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

SERMON LVI.

THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION, AND THE NATURE AND
CONCERN OF FAITH IN IT.

ROM. i. 16, 17. — For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ : for it is the power of God unto salvation to
every one that believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to
the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith. [Or, therein is the right-
eousness of God by faith revealed to faith.*]

HOWEVER little the gospel of Christ is esteemed in the
world, it is certainly the most gracious and important dis-
pensation of God towards the sons of men, or else our
Bible is mere extravagance and fable ; for the Bible speaks
of it with the highest encomiums, and the sacred writers
are often in transports when they mention it. It is called
the gospel of the grace of God, Acts xx. 24 ; the gospel
of salvation, Eph. i. 13 ; the glorious gospel, or, the gospel
of the glory q/"t Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 4; the gospel of peace,
Eph. vi. 15 ; nay, its very name has something endearing
in the sound, [/ioajje^ov,] good tidings, joyful news. It is
the wisdom of God in a mystery, 1 Cor. ii. 7 ; the mystery
which had been hid from ages and from generations,
Col. i. 26 ; the ministration of the Spirit, and of righte-
ousness, which far exceeds all former dispensations in glory.
2 Cor. iii. 8, 9. And it is represented as the only scheme
for the salvation of sinners. When the wisdom of the

* Doddridge in loc. •)• EwoyytXiou rfjj ddfijj row Xpiirruu.

AND OF FAITH IN IT. 645

world had used its utmost efforts in vain, it pleased God,
by the despised preaching of this humble gospel, to save
them that believe. 1 Cor. i. 21. In my text it is called
" the power of God unto salvation, to every one that be-
lieveth, whether Jew or Gentile." St. Paul, though the
humblest man that ever lived, declares he would not be
ashamed of professing and preaching the gospel of Christ,
even in Rome, the metropolis of the world, the seat of
learning, politeness, and grandeur. He represents it as
a catholicon, a universal remedy, equally adapted to Jews
and Greeks, to the posterity of Abraham, and to the
numerous Gentile nations, and equally needed by them all.

Now this must be all extravagance and ostentatious
parade, unless there be something peculiarly glorious and
endearing in the gospel. It must certainly give the most
illustrious display of the divine perfections ; it must be the
most grand contrivance of infinite wisdom ; the most rich
and amazing exertion of unbounded goodness ; and parti-
cularly, it must bear the most favourable aspect upon
the guilty sons of men, and be the best, nay, the only
scheme for their salvation. And what are the glorious
peculiarities, what are the endearing recommendations of
this gospel? One of them, in which we are nearly inte-
rested, strikes our eyes in my text, " For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith." Here
let us inquire into the meaning of the expressions, and
point out the connection.

The righteousness of God has generally one uniform
signification in the writings of St. Paul; and by it he
means that righteousness, upon the account of which a
sinner is justified ; that righteousness for the sake of which
his sins are forgiven, and he is restored to the divine favour :
in short, it is our only justifying righteousness. It may
be called the righteousness of God, to distinguish it from

646 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

our own personal righteousness ; it is the righteousness of
God, a complete, perfect, divine, and God-like righteous-
ness, and not the mean, imperfect, scanty righteousness of
sinful, guilty men. So it seems to be taken, Rom. x. 3.
" Being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about
to establish their own righteousness, they have not sub-
mitted themselves to the righteousness of God;" where
the righteousness of God is directly opposed to, and dis-
tinguished from, their own righteousness.

The various descriptions of this righteousness, and of
justification by it, which we find in the apostolic writings,
may assist us to understand the nature of it; and, there-
fore, it may be proper for me to lay them before you in one
view. It is frequently called the righteousness of Christ;
and it is said to consist in his obedience ; by the obedience
of one shall many be made righteous, Rom. v. 19. Now
obedience consists in the strict observance of a law; and,
consequently, the obedience of Christ, which is our justi-
fying righteousness, consists in his obedience to the law of
God. Hence he is said to be " the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth." Rom. x. 4, 5.
To be justified by his righteousness is the same thing as to
be justified by his blood, Rom. v. 9 ; to be reconciled to
God by his death, &c., ver. 10. From whence we may
learn, that the sufferings of Christ are a principal part of
this righteousness ; or, that he not only obeyed the precept,
but also endured the penalty of the divine law in our stead ;
and that it is only on this account we can be justified.

This righteousness is called the- righteousness of God
without the law, Rom. iii. 21 ; an imputed righteousness
without works, Rom. iv. 6. And it is plain, from the
whole tenor of this epistle, and that to the Galatians, that
the righteousness by which we are justified, is entirely
different from our own obedience to the law : and hence

i* AND OF FAITH IN IT. 647

we may learn, that our own merit or good works do not
in whole or in part constitute our justifying righteousness ;
but that it is wholly, entirely, and exclusively the merit of
Christ's obedience and sufferings.

This righteousness is often called the righteousness of
faith. Thus, according to some, it is denominated in my
text, which may be thus rendered, " For in it the right-
eousness of God by faith is revealed to faith ;" and this is
most agreeable to the phraseology of this epistle. Others,
following our translation — or the apparent order of the
original, understand it in another sense ; yet still so as to
assign faith a peculiar concern in the affair. " The right-
eousness of God is revealed from faith to faith ;" that is,
according to some, it is entirely and all through by faith ;*
or, from one degree of faith to another ; or from faith to
faith, from believer to believer, all the world over, among
the Jews and Gentiles ; or from the faithfulness of God in
the word, to the grace of faith in the heart. You see that
whatever sense you put upon this difficult phrase, it still
coincides with or countenances the translation, which I
would rather choose. " The righteousness of faith is re-
vealed to faith." So it is expressly called in Romans iii.
22, " The righteousness of God, which is by the faith of
Christ." See chap. iv. 11, 13, x. 6; Phil. iii. 9. "Not
having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith." From whence we may infer,
that faith has a peculiar concurrence of instrumentality in
our justification by the righteousness of Christ.

My text further observes that in the gospel this justify-
ing righteousness is revealed to faith ; that is, in the gospel
it is clearly discovered, proposed, and offered as an object
of faith. The light of nature is all darkness and uncer-

* See Mr. Locke.

648 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

tainty on this important point; it can only offer obscure
and mistaken conjectures concerning the method of par-
don and acceptance for a guilty sinner ; it leaves the anx-
ious conscience still unsatisfied and perplexed with the
grand inquiry, " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord ?
How shall such a guilty creature as I re-obtain the favour
of my provoked Sovereign?" It may suggest some plau-
sible things in favour of repentance, as the only method
of pardon ; it may flatter the sinner, that a God of infinite
goodness will not rigorously execute his law ; and it may
draw a veil over the attribute of his justice; and thus
it may build the hopes of the sinner upon the ruin of
the divine government, and the dishonour of the divine
perfections. But a method of justification by the right-
eousness of another, by the obedience and death of an in-
carnate God ; by his perfect obedience to the law, and
complete satisfaction to justice, instead of the sinner; a
method in which sin may be pardoned, and in the mean-
time, the honours of the divine government advanced, and
the divine perfections gloriously illustrated ; this is a mys-
tery, which was hid from ages and generations ; this was
a grand secret, which all the sages and philosophers, and
all the sons of men, who had nothing but the light of na-
ture for their guide, could not discover, nor indeed so much
as guess at. This scheme was as far above their thoughts
as the heavens are above the earth. Nothing but infinite
wisdom could contrive it : nothing but omniscience could
reveal it. In the writings of Moses and the prophets, in-
deed, we meet with some glimmerings of it; some few
rays of gospel-light were reflected back from the Sun
of Righteousness, through the dark medium of three or four
thousand years, and shone upon the minds of the Jews, in
the sacrifices, and other significant types of the law, and in
the prophecies of the Old Testament writers ; and hence

AND OF FAITH IN IT. 649

the apostle says, that " the righteousness of God is wit-
nessed by the law and the prophets," Rom. iii. 21 ; but it
is in the gospel alone that it is explicitly and fully revealed :
in the gospel alone it is proposed in full glory, as a proper
object for a distinct, particular, and explicit faith.

And hence we may easily see the strong and striking
connection of the text. You may connect this sentence,
"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from
faith to faith," with the first part of a foregoing text, " I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ ;" and then the sense
will be, " No wonder I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ among Jews or Gentiles, and even in Rome
itself; for it makes a most glorious and important discovery,
in which they are all concerned ; a discovery which the
Jews, with all the advantages of the law and the prophets,
could not clearly make: a discovery which the Greeks
with all their learning and philosophy, and the Romans with
all their power and improvements, could not so much as
guess at ; and that is the discovery of a complete God-like
righteousness, by which the guilty sons of men, of every
nation under heaven, may obtain justification from all their
sins; a righteousness which is a sufficient foundation for
the hopes of sinners, and gives the most majestic and amia-
ble view of the great God : a righteousness, without which
Jews and Gentiles, and even the Romans, in the height of
their empire, must unavoidably, irreparably, universally,
and eternally perish, in promiscuous ruin." Such a glo-
rious and divine righteousness does the neglected and de-
spised gospel reveal ; such a benevolent, gracious, and re-
viving discovery does it make ; and who would be ashamed
of such a gospel? "For my part," says St. Paul, " I am
not ashamed of it, but would boldly publish it unto
kings and emperors, to sages and philosophers; and
whatever sufferings I endure for its sake, still I glory

VOL. II.— 82

650 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

in so good a cause, and would spend and be spent in its
service."

Or we may join this clause, " For therein is the right-
eousness of God revealed from faith to faith," with the
last part of the preceding verse, For it is the power of
God unto salvation, &c., and then the connection will run
thus : " The gospel of Christ, so destitute of all carnal
and secular recommendations, is sufficiently recommended
to universal acceptance by this, that it is the only power-
ful and efficacious expedient for the salvation of all such
as believe it, whether they be Jews or Gentiles. And no
wonder it is attended with this divine power and efficacy,
for in it, and in it only, the righteousness of God by faith
is revealed to the faith and acceptance of a guilty world.
No religion but that of a Mediator can provide or propose
such a righteousness ; and yet without such a righteousness,
no sinner, whether Jew or Gentile, can be saved : and, on
the other hand, the revelation of such a righteousness
directly tends to promote the important work of salvation,
as it encourages the despairing sinner, and inspires him
with vigour : and as it lays a foundation for the honorable
communication of the influences of the Holy Spirit, with-
out which this work can never be effected."

I hope these things are sufficient to give you a view of
the sense and connection of the text. And there is only
one thing I would repeat and illustrate before I proceed to
a methodical prosecution of my subject; and that is, that
the righteousness of God, or the righteousness of Christ,
on account of which we are justified, signifies the obedi-
ence and sufferings of Jesus Christ, to answer the demands
of the law, which we had broken ; or, as it is usually ex-
pressed, "his active and passive obedience." He obeyed
the law, and endured its penalty, as the surety or substi-
tute of sinners : that is, he did all this, not for himself, but

AND OF FAITH IN IT. 651

•

for them, or in their stead. This is a matter of so much
importance, lhat you should by all means rightly under-
stand it; and I hope it is now sufficiently plain without
enlarging upon it, though I thought it necessary to repeat it.
My thoughts on this interesting subject I intend to dis-
pose in the following order :

I. I shall briefly explain to you the nature of justifying
faith, and show you the place it has in our justification.

II. I shall show, that no righteousness but that which
the gospel reveals is sufficient for the justification of a sin-
ner: And,

III. I shall evince that it is the gospel only which re-
veals such a righteousness.

I. I am to explain to you the nature of justifying faith,
and show you the place it has in our justification.

You see I do not propose to explain the general nature
of faith, as it has for its object the word of God in gen-
eral ; but only under that formal notion, as it has a pecu-
liar instrumentality in our justification. When I men-
tioned the term justification, it occurs to my mind that
some of you may not understand it ; and for the sake of
such, I would explain it. You cannot but know what it
is to be pardoned, or forgiven, after you have offended :
and it must be equally plain to you what it is to be loved,
and received into favour, by a person whom you have
offended ; and these two things are meant by justification ;
when you are justified, God pardons or forgives you all
your sins ; and he receives you again into his love and
favour, and gives you a title to everlasting happiness. I
hope this important point is now sufficiently plain to you
all ; and I return to observe, that I intend to consider
faith at present, only under that- formal notion, as we
are justified by it ; and in that view it is evident that the
Lord Jesus, as a Saviour who died for sinners, is its pecu-

652 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

•

liar object. Hence a justifying faith is so often described
in Scripture in such terms as these ; " Believing in Christ,
faith in his blood," &c.; and the righteousness of Christ,
by which we are justified, is called " the righteousness of
faith, the righteousness which is of God by faith," &c.
Therefore a justifying faith in Christ includes these two
things — a full persuasion of the truth of that method of
salvation through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which
the gospel reveals — and a hearty approbation of and con-
sent to that method of salvation.

1. A justifying faith includes a full persuasion of the
truth of that method of salvation through the righteous-
ness of Jesus Christ which the gospel reveals.

Faith, in its general nature, is the belief of a thing upon
the testimony of another. A divine faith is the belief of
a thing upon the testimony of God; and- consequently
faith in Christ must be the belief of the testimony of God
concerning him in the gospel. Hence faith is said to be
a receiving the witness of God, which he hath testified of
his Son ; and unbelief, on the other hand, is the not be-
lieving the record which God gave of his Son. 1 John v.
9, 10. Now St. John tells us, that the substance of the
record or testimony, which God hath given of his Son, is
this : That God hath given unto us eternal life ; and
this life is in his Son, verse 11; that is, " God in the gos-
pel testifies, that he has established and revealed a method
of bestowing immortal life and blessedness upon guilty
sinners, who were justly condemned to everlasting death.
And he farther testifies, that it is only in and through his
Son Jesus Christ that this life and blessedness can be ob-
tained ; it is only through him that it can be hoped for ;
and nothing appears but horror and despair from every
other quarter. Now faith is a firm, affecting persuasion of
the truth of this gracious and important testimony. And

*'* AND OF FAITH IN IT. 653

as the foundation of all is, that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God, the true Messiah, promised as the Saviour of sin-
ners ; hence it is, that believing that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, &c., is so frequently the definition of
faith.

The scheme of salvation through Jesus Christ, supposes
that all are sinners, exposed to condemnation, and unable
to make satisfaction for their offences, or merit the divine
favour by anything they can do or suffer ; and represents
the Lord Jesus as substituting himself in the place of the
guilty, bearing the punishment due to their sin, and obey-
ing the law of God in their stead ; and it represents our
injured Sovereign as willing to be reconciled to such of
his guilty creatures, on this account; but then that, in
order to enjoy the blessings of righteousness, they must,
as guilty, helpless sinners, place their whole dependence
upon it, and plead it as the only ground of their justifica-
tion ; and that, though they must abound in good works,
yet they must not make these in the least the ground of
their hopes of pardon and acceptance. This is the sub-
stance of the testimony of God in the gospel ; this testi-
mony has been repeatedly published in your ears ; and if
you have believed with a justifying faith, you have yielded
a full assent to this testimony ; you are thoroughly con-
vinced, and deeply sensible that these things are true, and
you can cheerfully venture your eternal all upon the truth
of them. You are convinced that this Jesus is indeed the
only Saviour ; that his righteousness is alone sufficient, and
to the entire exclusion of every other righteousness in
point of justification. Such a faith may appear a very •
easy thing to a careless, impenitent sinner, who has im-
bibed this belief from his earliest days, and found no more
difficulty in it, than in learning his creed, or assenting to a
piece of history. But a person of this character is not at

654 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

all the subject of a saving faith; it is the poor self-con-
demned penitent, broken-hearted sinner, that is capable of
such a faith ; and truly it is no easy matter to him ; for
one that sees his sins in all their aggravations, the divine
law, and the righteous severity of divine justice : one that
finds the lusts and prejudices of his heart rising against
this method of salvation as foolishness, and as giving an in-
tolerable mortification to his pride and vanity ; for such a
one to believe, is not an easy matter ; it is the working of
God's mighty power. Eph. i. 19, But,

2. A justifying faith more peculiarly includes a hearty
approbation of and consent to this method of salvation by
the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

To believe the gospel as a true history; to believe it
as a true theory or speculation, with a languor, an indif-
ferency, or a disaffection of heart, this indeed is the com-
mon popular faith of our country, and it generally prevails
where the profession of Christianity is become fashionable;
but, alas ! it is not that faith by which we can be justified
and saved. A hearty approbation of the way of salvation
through Christ; a willing, delightful dependence of the
whole soul upon his righteousness ; a free, vigorous choice
of it, and a cheerful consent to all the terms of the gospel ;
this is essential to such a faith. It is the greatest incon-
gruity to suppose that it is sufficient to believe the gospel
with a lukewarm indifferency, or a careless, unaffecting
assent; or that our faith in Christ should be merely the
act of a constrained, necessitated soul. He is the beloved
Son of God, in whom he is well pleased ; and we must
be well pleased with him too, before we can expect salva-
tion by him. To receive a scheme which God has so
much at heart, a scheme, for the accomplishment of which
Jesus bled and died; a scheme on which our everlasting
life depends, and without which we are undone for ever ;

AND OF FAITH IN IT. 655

to receive such a scheme with a languid assent, what pro-
faneness ! what impiety !

If you have ever truly believed in Jesus Christ, my
brethren, it has not been the languid act of a cold, im-
penitent, unwilling heart, but your whole souls have ex-
erted their utmost vigour in it, and it has been the most
cheerful, animated act of your whole lives. It is true,
necessity had no small influence in the case. You saw,
you felt yourselves lost for ever without this righteousness ;
you saw no other way of escape or safety ; you found
yourselves shut up to the faith; and it was this sense of
your necessity that first set you upon seeking after Christ,
and turned your thoughts towards this method of salva-
tion. But when God sinned into your hearts, to give you
the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of
Jesus Christ, when you received the first glances of his
glorious righteousness, and heard, as with new ears, the
offer of it in the gospel, stand, and pause, and recollect
what were your sentiments, and the temper of your heart
in that important and memorable hour. Was not their
language, " Blessed Jesus ! till now I have been blindly
seeking after thee from a servile principle, not from the
agreeable constraint of love, but from the painful compul-
sion of fear, horror, and necessity; not because I desired
thee on account of thine own excellency, but because I
was desirous to be saved from hell, though it should be by
an unacceptable hand. I have been striving to work up
my reluctant heart to a compliance with thy gospel, not
because I saw thy glory, but merely because I must perish
for ever if I rejected it. But now, when I see thy glory,
O thou lovely Saviour, I most cheerfully consent to the
metho'd of salvation revealed in the gospel, not only be-
cause I must, but because I choose to do so. I see it is
a scheme well ordered in all things, and sure, and there-

656 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

fore it is all my salvation and all my desire. I would not
only be saved, but I would be saved by thee, blessed Jesus !
I am willing, I am desirous, that thou, and not I, should
have the glory of it. Pardon is sweet to a guilty crimi-
nal ; salvation is sweet to a perishing soul ; but oh ! par-
don by thy righteousness, salvation through thy grace,
this is doubly sweet." Such, my brethren, has been, and
such still is the language of your hearts, if you have ever
received the righteousness of Christ through faith.

And hence it follows, that faith supposes the superna-
tural illumination of the mind and renovation of the heart,
by the power of divine grace. Alas ! while nature is left
in its original darkness and depravity, it has no such views
of the way of salvation through Christ, nor any such de-
light in it. There are many, I am afraid, that secretly
wonder what peculiar wisdom and grace there should be
in the gospel, and why God should commend it so highly,
and saints should be in raptures when they speak of it ; for
as for their part, they can discover no such great matters
in it. Their hearts are cold and careless about it, or form
insurrections against it. The way of salvation through
the righteousness of Christ is something quite unnatural
and mortifying to the sinful sons of men ; they have no
relish for it, nor aptitude or inclination to seek salvation,
in this way; it is much more natural for them to choose
some other, though it should be much more painful. They
will submit to the heaviest penances and bodily austerities;
they will afflict themselves with fasting ; they will drudge
at the duties of religion, in order to work out a righteous-
ness of their own ; and they are as fond of the covenant
of works to obtain life, as if it had never been broken,
but tell them of a free salvation, purchased by Jesus Christ,
and offered in the gospel; tell them that it is only on
account of his righteousness they can be pardoned, and

AND OF FAITH IN IT. 657

that all their personal good works, however necessary for
other purposes, must all stand for nothing in this affair ;
they are amazed, and wonder what you mean : it is strange,
unintelligible doctrine to them, and their hearts rise
against it. Hence many a believer has found that it was
easier for him to work up his heart to anything than to
believe in Jesus Christ, and that God alone could enable
him to do this. But, when God works in him the work
of faith with power, he opens his understanding to see a
surprising glory in the mediatorial scheme of salvation, and
gives him a heart to relish it : and without this, no exter-
nal recommendations of this scheme, no speculative con-
viction in its favour, can gain the cordial approbation of
the sinner.

I shall now endeavour, in a few words, to show you the
peculiar place which faith has in our justification. You
may observe, then, that as the righteousness of Christ is
the peculiar ground of our justification, so the grace of
faith has a peculiar reference to that righteousness ; it is,
as it were, the bent of the soul towards that particular
object. Repentance has sin for its object; love, the in-
trinsic glory and communicated goodness of the divine
nature ; charity and justice have a reference to man ; and
none of these objects are the proper grounds of our justifi-
cation ; and consequently none of these graces which ter-
minate upon them can have any direct concurrence in it.
But our justifying righteousness is the immediate, direct
object of faith ; and therefore faith must have a special
instrumentality in our justification.

And if we recollect what has been said about the nature
of faith, there will appear a peculiar propriety in confer-
ring this honour upon it. It is certainly fit we should
believe in him who is our Saviour ; and it would be ab-
surd to apply to him in that character, while we suspect

VOL. II.— 83

658 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

him for an impostor. It is fit we should approve of the
righteousness by which we are justified, and heartily con-
sent to that scheme by which we are saved. And, on the
other hand, it would be highly preposterous that we
should be justified and saved by a Saviour, and in a way
we despise or disgust. These considerations show not
only the wisdom but the grace of the constitution. Ap-
prove of the Saviour, and you shall be saved ; trust in his
righteousness, and you shall be justified; consent to the
covenant of grace, and you shall inherit all its blessings ;
and could you desire lower or easier terms ? This appro-
bation, this trust, this consent, is faith : and now, I hope,
you see the peculiar place it has in our justification. Let
us now proceed,

II. To show you that no righteousness but that which
the gospel reveals is sufficient for the justification of a
sinner.

In order to form a right judgment of this matter, we
must place ourselves in a proper situation and view it in
an advantageous point of light. Is a blind, self-flattering
sinner, who does not see the strictness of the law and
justice of God, or who secretly murmurs at it as too pre-
cise and rigid, and who does not see the infinite evil of
sin, but loves it, indulges it, and is expert in making ex-
cuses for it, and diminishing its aggravations, who forms
his maxims of the divine government from the procedure
of weak and partial mortals in human governments, who
compares himself with his fellow-sinners, and not with
the divine purity, and the holy law of God, whose con-
science is secure, who places the tribunal of his supreme
Judge far out of sight, and who forms his notions of his
government not from his word, but from the flattering sug-
gestions of his own deceitful heart : I say, is such a blind,
partial, careless sinner a competent judge in this matter?

AND OF FAITH IN IT. 659

But let him be awakened to see himself and his sins in a
proper light, and let him see the purity and extent of the
divine law, and make that the only test of his good works,
let him realize the divine tribunal, and place himself in the
immediate presence of his Judge, and then the controversy
will soon be at an end : then all his high thoughts of his
own righteousness are mortified; all his excuses for his
sins are silenced ; and then he sees his absolute need of a
perfect and divine righteousness, and the utter insufficiency
of his own. O sirs ! if you have ever placed yourselves in
this posture, you have done for ever with all disputes on
this point. What could ease your consciences then but the
complete righteousness of Jesus Christ ? Oh ! " none but
Christ, none but Christ,'' then appeared sufficient.

Here I beg leave to translate a very animated and strik-
ing passage, written about two hundred years ago, by that
great and good man, Calvin, who had long groped for
salvation among the doctrines of merit in the church of
Rome, but could find no relief, till the gospel discovered
this righteousness to him. " It is a very easy thing," says
he, " to amuse ourselves with arguments for the sufficiency
of good works for justification, while we are ingeniously
trifling in schools and colleges of learning ; but when we
come into the presence of God, we have done with all
such amusements : for there it is a very serious affair, and
not a ludicrous logomachy, or an idle dispute about words.
There, there we must place ourselves, if we would profit-
ably inquire after the true righteousness, and how we shall
answer our celestial Judge when he shall call us to an
account. Let us represent this Judge to ourselves, and
not such as our fancies would imagine him to be, but such
as he is really represented in the Scriptures ; as one by
whose brightness the stars are turned into darkness ; by
whose power the mountains are melted ; at whose anger

660 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

the earth trembles ; by whose wisdom the wise are caught
in their own craftiness ; before whose purity all things
are turned into pollution : whose justice even angels are
not sufficient to bear; who will by no means clear the
guilty; whose vengeance, when once it is kindled, burns
and penetrates to the lowest hell : let him, I say, sit Judge
on the actions of men, and who can securely place him-
self before his throne of judgment ?" Lord, if thou mark
iniquity, who, 0 Lord, shall stand ! " All must be con-
demned, and unavoidably perish." " Shall mortal man be"
justified before God? or "be purer than his Maker? Be-
hold he putteth no trust in his servants ; and his angels he
chargeth with folly : how much less in them that dwell in
houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are
crushed before the moth !" Job. iv. 17, &c. " Behold he
putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not
clean in his sight; how much more abominable and filthy
is man which drinketh iniquity like water!" Job. xv. 15,
&c. Eliphaz is struck silent ; for he sees that God cannot
be appeased even with angelic holiness, if their works
should be brought to the impartial scale of justice — and
certainly if our lives should be compared to the standard
of the divine law, we must be stupid indeed, unless we are
struck with the terror of its curses, and particularly of
that, " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things
that are written in the book of the law to do them."
And all the disputes we may have about the method of
justification, are vain and insipid, unless we place our-
selves as guilty before our heavenly Judge, and, solicitous
for a pardon, voluntarily prostrate and empty ourselves
before him.

" To this great tribunal, sinners, you must lift your eyes,
that, instead of vainly exalting yourselves, you may learn
to tremble before him. While the comparison is between

AND OF FAITH IN IT. 661

man and man, it is easy for every man to think he has
something which others should not despise ; but when we
place ourselves before God, all that confidence falls and
perishes in an instant.""

I might go on with my quotation from this excellent
author ; but this is sufficient to show you a grand pre-re-
quisite to the impartial determination of this point. And
now, with a deep impression of this, with a deep sense of
our sins, and of the strictness of the law and justice, and
placing ourselves, as in the presence of our righteous
Judge, let us inquire what righteousness is sufficient for
our justification before him.

It may be of service to observe, that there is something
singular in the phraseology of Scripture on this point, and
different from what is used in other cases of the same
general nature. To receive a pardon is a very different
thing, in common language, from being justified. When
a man is pardoned, it supposes that he has broken the law,
but that the law is dispensed with, and the threatened pen-
alty not executed; but when he is justified, it supposes
that he has a righteousness equal to the demands of the
law, and therefore that he may be acquitted according to
justice. These, you see, are very different things ; but in
the affair before us, they are happily united. The sinner
is said to be pardoned and justified at once ; and the rea-
son of this unusual dialect is this : The sinner has broken
the divine law, and has no obedience to answer its de-
mands ; and therefore, his being freed from the guilt of sin
and the threatened punishment, is, in this respect, a graci-
ous, unmerited pardon. But by faith he has received the
righteousness of Christ ; and God imputes it to him, as
though it were his own; and this righteousness answers all
the requisitions of the law, and it has no charges against

* Calvin. Instit. Lib. iii.

662 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

him : so that, in this respect, he is justified, or pronounced
righteous according to law and justice.

Hence it follows, from the very meaning of the terms
used in this case, that no righteousness can justify us in
the sight of God but that which is equal to all the de-
mands of the divine law. It must be perfect, and con-
formed throughout to that standard ; for if it be not, we
cannot be pronounced righteous in the eye of the law;
but the law charges and condemns us as transgressors,
and its sentence lies in full force against us. And now,
if any of you have such a perfect righteousness, produce
it, glory in it, and carry it with you to the divine tribunal,
and demand acquittance there. But if you have not, (as,
if you know yourselves, you must own you have not) then
fall down as guilty sinners before your righteous Judge,
confess that you dare not appear in his presence in your
own righteousness, but lay hold of and plead the right-
eousness of Jesus alone ; otherwise the law thunders out its
terrors against you, and justice will seize you as obnoxious
criminals.

It was from such premises as these, that the apostle
reasoned, when he drew this conclusion, that by the deeds
of the law no flesh shall be justified, Rom. iii. 20, 28; and
that we are justified by faith, without the deeds of the
law. He grants, that if any can produce a perfect right-
eousness of their own they shall obtain life by the law ;
the law, says he, is not of faith : but the man that doeth
these things, shall live in them. Gal. iii. 12. But then he
proves, that all the sons of men, both Jews and Gentiles,
have sinned, and consequently have no righteousness
agreeable to the law : he stops every mouth, and brings
in the whole world, as guilty, before God: and hence, he
infers the impossibility of justification by the works of the
law : and then he naturally introduces another righteous-

AND OF FAITH IN IT. 663

ness equal to all the demands of the law. " But now,"
says he, " the righteousness of God, without the law, is
manifested, — even the righteousness of God, which is by
the faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that
believe : — being justified freely by his grace, through the
redemption that is in Christ, whom God has set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in his blood, for the remission
of sins : — that he might be just, and the justifier of him that
believeth in Jesus." Rom. iii. 21-26. O glorious
scheme of salvation ! O complete, divine righteousness !
A righteousness by which Jew and Gentile, the greatest
sinner as well as the least, may be made divinely righteous,
and completely justified, even at the bar of a holy and just
God. Here, ye guilty sinners, ye condemned criminals,
ye bleeding consciences, here is the only righteousness for
you. Put forth the hand of faith, and humbly lay hold
upon it.

It would be easy to collect a great variety of arguments
to support this important truth ; but if you carefully read
over the apostolic writings, particularly this epistle to the
Romans, and that to the Galatians, you cannot but be
satisfied for yourselves. And this brings me in mind of a
frank declaration of that true free-thinker, and impartial
inquirer after truth, Dr. Watts. " If I may be permitted
to speak of myself," says he, " I might acquaint the world
with my own experience. After some years spent in the
perusal of controversial authors, and finding them insuffi-
cient to settle my judgment and conscience, I resolved to
seek a determination of my doubts from the Epistles of
St. Paul, especially in that weighty doctrine of Justification.
I perused his letter to the Romans with the most fixed
meditation, laborious study, and importunate requests to
God, for several months together. I very narrowly ob-
served the daily motions of my own mind: I found it very

664 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

hard to root out old prejudices, and to escape the danger
of new ones. I met with some expressions of the apostle
that swayed me to one opinion, and others that inclined
the balance of my thoughts another way; but I bless the
Divine Goodness that enabled me at last to surmount all
these difficulties, and established my judgment and con-
science in that glorious and forsaken doctrine of the justi-
fication of a sinner in the sight of God, by the imputation
of a perfect righteousness, which is not originally his
own.'" This was the practice of this excellent man ; and
you see the result of his search. Go you and do likewise ;
and I doubt not but you will make the same discovery. I am,

III. And lastly, To show that it is the gospel only that
reveals such a righteousness as is sufficient for the justifi-
cation of a sinner.

The Jewish religion, as I observed before, gave several
intimations of this method of justification by the righteous-
ness of another. There were many prophecies and types
of this import ; and this was undoubtedly the original de-
sign of sacrifices ; for it is quite unaccountable, that ever
men should imagine that they could appease the wrath of
God, and procure the pardon of sin, by offering to him
sacrifices of brutes in their stead, unless we suppose that
God did at first institute this method to signify that the
way in which he would be reconciled to sinners was by
the sufferings and death of another, as a sacrifice substituted
in their room. This institution seems to have been im-
mediately after the fall of man, when the first beam of
gospel-light blessed our world in that promise, the seed of
the woman, &c.; for we are told that God made coats of
skins, and with them covered our first parents. Gen. iii.
21. Now animal food was not allowed to man till after
the flood : and consequently those beasts, whose skins

* Orthodoxy and Charity united. Essay vii. \ 1.

AND OF FAITH IN IT. 665

were used for this purpose, were not killed for that use :
and we cannot suppose they died naturally so soon after
their creation. It is therefore most probable that Adam
had killed them for sacrifices; and that God had com-
manded him to do this, immediately upon the promulga-
tion of that promise, to typify the manner of its accom-
plishment, namely, by the sacrifice of Christ in the fulness
of time. This practice we find continued by Cain and
Abel : and thus Noah consecrated the new world after the
flood. Gen. viii. 20.

But though the patriarchs and Jews had these intima-
tions of the method of pardon and acceptance, they were
very dark and perplexing to them, and just as much as
they had of this light, just so much they had of the gos-
pel ; and therefore the gospel, taking the word in its full
extent, claims the honour of this discovery.

Now, if we except the patriarchal and Jewish religion,
which had a mixture of the gospel in it, there is none that
pretends to discover a complete and perfect righteousness
and atonement for the justification of a sinner. The reli-
gion of Mahomet is silent on this head ; and the Socrateses
and Platos of heathen antiquity, who had only the light of
nature for their guide, knew nothing about it; much less
did the ignorant populace, who are always the greater
part of mankind. The custom of sacrifice was indeed uni-
versal : but, as it was received by a very remote tradition,
mankind had quite lost its original design ; and they cor-
rupted it into the most absurd and cruel superstition. They
offered their sacrifices to imaginary deities, or (as the"
apostle tells us) to devils. 1 Cor. x. 20. They were so
unnatural and barbarous, that they offered human sacri-
fices, and even their own children, to propitiate their
angry gods. And, if we may believe some of their best
authors, this was often practised by the express command

VOL. II.— 84

666 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

of their oracles : — a sufficient evidence that it was not the
true God that gave answers by them. Alas ! how were
the poor creatures- bewildered and perplexed about the
method of expiating their sins ! They knew nothing of the
great atonement which was to be made by the High Priest
of the Christian profession, which the gospel reveals to us.
Nay, the Jews themselves are often reproved by the
prophets for their self-righteous trust in their sacrifices, to
the neglect of their morals, and the grand atonement which
they prefigured. The light of nature might teach the
heathen world, that if they perfectly obeyed the law of
God, they might be assured of his favour, or at least that they
should not be punished ; but it informed them, that they had
not done so, but on the other hand, had repeatedly broken
the law of God ; and they had no notion at all of the possi-
bility of their being justified by the righteousness of another.
This alone determines the point I am now proving. I
have shown already, that a sinner cannot be justified but
by a perfect righteousness ; and it is evident that none of
the sons of men can pretend to such a righteousness.
Where, then, can it be found 1 Consult the light of nature ;
ask the multitude in the heathen world; nay, ask their
most improved sages and philosophers, and you will find
all silent, all bewildered and perplexed : nothing was ever
farther from their thoughts than a complete atonement for
sin by the death of an innocent and divine person. I ap-
peal to such of the negroes as came from Africa, as the best
judges in this case. Did you ever hear, in your own
country, of a righteousness equal to all the requisitions of
the law of God, by which you could be justified ? Was
there no thoughtful person among you whose conscience
was uneasy about his sins against a holy God, and who
was concerned how he should obtain a pardon ? And what
way did he take to ease his mind ? Alas ! he knew no-

AND OF FAITH IN IT. 667

thing of the righteousness of God by faith. This happy
discovery, poor creatures, you have met with in the land
of your bondage ; and oh ! if you make a proper use of
it, it will make your slavery the greatest blessing to you.

The light of nature might surmise a great many things
upon this head ; but, alas ! all was uncertain. It might inti-
mate, " that God is the compassionate Father of mankind,
and therefore would dispense with the threatenings of his
law, and not execute them rigorously upon his own crea-
tures." This we often hear urged by sinners among our-
selves, who, notwithstanding their profession of Christi-
anity, will form a system of religion, and a scheme of re-
conciliation with God, according to their own selfish and
flattering prejudices ; and it seems to them incredible that
God should inflict eternal punishment on his own crea-
tures for the sins of a few years. But to this it might be
replied, that since God is the Father of mankind, it is a
more unnatural and aggravated wickedness to sin against
him : that he is not only the Parent but also the Lawgiver
and Judge of the world, and that he must sustain both these
characters with honour. He must maintain the honour
of his law, and preserve his government from contempt;
and therefore the communications of his goodness must be
consistent with justice. He must also execute his laws
upon sinners, in order to warn and deter others ; and there-
fore every sinner must tremble for fear of the execution
of the divine threatenings upon him. To all this I may
add, that the miseries that are inflicted by divine Provi-
dence in this world, and that very often upon the best of
men, must leave the sinner in a dreadful suspense.

If God does not suffer the sins even of the best of men
always to escape unpunished in this world, but afflicts them
with pains, sickness, and an endless variety of calamities,
how can our reason, that knows so little of the counsels

668 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION.

of heaven, assure us that he will not punish them also, and
that with greater severity, in the world to come ? Nothing
but a revelation from himself could ease an anxious mind
from this dread suspicion.

The light of nature may also perhaps surmise, " That
repentance and reformation are sufficient to procure the
pardon of sin :" and mankind seem naturally inclined to look
for pardon in this way. Hence sinners among ourselves,
notwithstanding the clearer discoveries of the gospel, fly
to repentance and reformation, not only as a pre-requisite
to their salvation, but as sufficient ground of acceptance ;
and they gaze and wonder at a man if he intimates the con-
trary. It must be granted that repentance and reforma-
tion are necessary; but the question is, are repentance
and reformation alone sufficient? And this is easily an-
swered, if what has been proved before be true, viz.:
That no righteousness but that which is perfect, and fully
conformed to the divine law, can be sufficient for our jus-
tification. Now repentance, at best, is but a reformation
from a wrong course, and a return to obedience; which
should never have been interrupted. If the reformation
were perfect, it would be but doing what we are obliged
to do for the present time ; and consequently it can be no
atonement or satisfaction to the law for past offences ; but,
alas ! The sinner, in the midst of all his repentance and
reformation, is sinning still ; there are guilty imperfections
in his best duties ; and can these atone for his past sins ?
So that repentance and reformation cannot be a sufficient
justifying righteousness. Again, what kind of government
would that be among men, in which all crimes were par-
doned upon repentance? What encouragement would
this give to offenders! How soon would such a govern-
ment fall into contempt! and what a low idea would it
give of the wisdom and justice of the ruler, and of the

AND OF FAITH IN IT. 669

evil of sin! And shall the Supreme Ruler imitate so
weak a conduct, and thus obscure his perfections, depre-
ciate his laws, and encourage vice?

It is a virtue in a private man to forgive an injury ; and
it may be a piece of generosity in such a one to give up
some of his rights ; but, as I have told you, God is not
to be considered, in this case, as a private person, but as a
supreme Ruler, at the head of the universe : and sin as an
offence against him in that capacity; and therefore for
reasons of state, it is not fit he should remit it merely upon
the sinner's repentance. He must maintain the dignity
of law and government, and consult the public good ; not
the good of this man and that, nor even of the whole race
of men, but of men through all their generations; of an-
gels through all their various ranks and orders, and in
short, of the whole universe of reasonable creatures? and
the interest of individuals must be subservient to the more
general good of the whole. An error in such an extensive
government, through an excessive lenity towards offenders,
would have a most extensive ill influence, and injure more
worlds than we know of. If the magistrate in one parti-
cular government be lax in the execution of the laws, he
may injure a whole nation. But what would be the con-
sequence, if the Ruler of heaven and earth and the whole
creation, should relax his law, and suffer sin to go unpun-
ished, upon so cheap a retaliation as repentance? No
human government could be supported upon this principle,
much less the divine.

Further : it should be considered, that, in order to en-
courage offenders to repent, it is necessary it should be
made a fixed constitution, and openly published, that who-
soever, in all time coming, should be guilty of any offence
against the laws of God, he shall be forgiven if he does
but repent. Now, what encouragement would such a de-

670 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION,

claration give to sin ! It would also be unprecedented in
human governments. It is true, civil rulers do forgive
some offenders : but then they do not declare beforehand
that they will do so, or who the objects of their clemency
shall be. To make a previous declaration of this, would
be to give license to men to break the law. Let it also be
considered, that when civil rulers forgive criminals, there
is no necessity they should receive them into special
favour ; but in the divine government these two things are
inseparable : there is no medium between high favour
and misery. When God forgives, he receives the sinner
into complete happiness and intimacy with himself, as well
as rescues him from punishment. And is it fit he should
do this merely upon his repentance? How would such a
conduct look in human governments?

Finally, the pardon of a crime, is a matter of sove-
reignty, and only has place in governments where the
royal prerogative is above law, and has a power to dis-
pense with it. Whether such a prerogative belongs to the
divine government (that is, whether it would be a perfec-
tion upon the whole in such a government) I shall not
now dispute : but suppose it be, still it is a matter of sove-
reignty ; that is, it lies entirely in the breast of the Su-
preme Ruler, whether he will pardon penitents or not;
and they can know his pleasure no other way but by his
declaring it. This consideration shows the necessity of a
revelation from God, to give a sinner assurance that he
will pardon him upon any terms. The light of nature
leaves a sinner awfully uncertain whether ever he can re-
obtain the favour of his offended sovereign. Now, this
revelation we have in the gospel, with the additional dis-
covery of the way in which forgiveness and acceptance
can be obtained. And it appears, from this short survey,
that it is in the gospel alone we can find this discovery.

AND OF FAITH IN IT. 671

I. I shall now conclude with two reflections.

I. Let this suhject lead us to a strict examination of
the ground of our hopes, whether they be founded on the
righteousness of God alone, or partly at least upon our
own. To speak freely, I am afraid that some of you, my
dear people, have built upon this sandy foundation. This
may be the case of some of you who have very fair cha-
racters ; for it is such sort of persons, and not those who
make little or no pretensions to good works, that are most
in danger of the extreme of self-righteousness. I there-
fore beg you would inquire after this sly, lurking delusion;
a delusion which perverts the best things into the worst,
and makes your good works the occasion of your destruc-
tion, instead of means of salvation. I beg you would
inquire, whether ever you have been deeply sensible of
the aggravated evil of sin, the perfection of God's law,
the strictness of his justice, and the guilty imperfections
of your own best works; whether ever you have seen the
glory of God in the gospel, and the excellency and suffi-
ciency of the righteousness of Christ? Have you cheer-
fully embraced it with your whole souls ? And do you
lay the whole dependence of your salvation upon it?
Do you find it is the only relief for your wounded con-
sciences, the only cordial for your sinking hearts? Do
your whole souls embrace it with the tenderest endear-
ment, and tenaciously cling to it as the only* plank to
keep you from sinking, after the general wreck of human
nature ? Do you relish its doctrines, even those that are
the most mortifying to your pride and vanity, and love to
hear them honestly preached ? Are the humble, despised
doctrines of the cross sweet to you, and the very life of
your souls ? If you can give a comfortable answer to
these inquiries, then,

* Tabula post naufragium.

672 THE NATURE OF JUSTIFICATION.

II. This subject affords you abundant encouragement,
and strong consolation. It is true, you can never think
too humbly of yourselves. You are as sinful as you can
possibly suppose yourselves to be; your righteousness is
as insufficient and imperfect, and you are as undeserving
of the favour of God, as you can possibly imagine. But
it is not to yourselves that you look for a righteousness,
which will bear you out at the bar of your Judge ; you
have been obliged to give up that point for ever; you tried
to stand upon your own footing as long as you could, but
you found it would not do. And now your only refuge is
the righteousness of Christ by faith ; here you rest, and
you look for salvation in no other way. My brethren, I
would fain do honour to this righteousness ; but, alas ! the
highest thing I can say of it is quite too low. It is indeed
a righteousness sufficient for all the purposes for which
you want it; it is a sure, a tried foundation. Thousands
have built their hopes upon it, and it has never failed one
of them yet; you may make the experiment with the
same safety. There is not a charge which the law or
justice, your own conscience, or Satan, the accuser of the
brethren, can bring against you but what it can fully
answer. Here, then, is safe footing, and let nothing drive
you from it ; and oh, give glory to God for so great a
blessing !

THE END OF VOL. II.

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