Theological works

THE

THEOLOGICAL WORKS

1

OF

WILLIAM BEVERLDGE, D.D.

SOMETIME LORD BISHOP OF ST. ASAPH.

VOL. III.
SERMONS LIL— LXXVIL

OXFORD :

JOHN HENRY PARKER,
MDCCCXL1V.

LONDON :

PRINTED BY MO? Eg AND BARCLAY, CASTLE STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE.

CONTENTS.

THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE SALVATION OF MAN, IN
THIRTEEN SERMONS.

SERMON LIL

(Page 1.)
THE ONE THING NEEDFUL.

Luke x. 42.

But one tiling is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good
part, which shall not be taken away from her.

SERMON LIII.

(Page 16.)
UNIVERSAL OBEDIENCE REQUISITE TO SALVATION.

Luke i. 6.

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the
Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord blameless.

SERMON LIV.

(Page 37.)
UNIVERSAL OBEDIENCE REQUISITE TO SALVATION.

Luke i. 6.

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the
Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord blameless.

IV CONTENTS.

SERMON LV.

(Page 58.)
THE GLORY OF GOD, THE FINAL CAUSE OF ALL THINGS.

Proverbs xvi. 4.

The Lord hath made all things for Himself, yea, even the
luichedfor the day of evil.

SERMON LVI.

(Page 74.)
THE GLORY OF GOD, THE FINAL CAUSE OF ALL THINGS.

Proverbs xvi. 4.

The Lord hath made all things for Himself, yea, even the
wicked for the day of evil.

SERMON LVII.

(Page 91.)
GOD ALONE TO BE SERVED.

Matthew iv. 10.
And Him only shalt thou serve.

SERMON LVIII.

(Page 109.)
THE ADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC WORSHIP.

Psalm cxxii. 1.

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house
of the Lord.

SERMON LIX.

(Page 126.)
THE DUTY OF PUBLIC THANKSGIVING.

Psalm xcv. 1, 2.

O come, let us sing unto the Lord, let us heartily rejoice in
the strength of our Salvation. Let us come before His
presence with thanhsgiving , and shew ourselves glad in
Him with psalms.

CONTENTS. V

SERMON LX.

(Page 144.)
THE SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE.

2 Timothy iii. 16, 17.

And it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may
be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

SERMON LXI.

(Page 159.)
THE PREFERENCE OF SPIRITUAL FOOD TO NATURAL.

John vi. 27.

Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat
which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man
shall give unto you ; for Him hath God the Father sealed.

SERMON LXII.

(Page 175.)

THE PREFERENCE OF THINGS INVISIBLE AND ETERNAL TO
VISIBLE AND TEMPORAL.

2 Corinthians iv. 18.

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen ; for the things which are seen
are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

SERMON LXIII.

(Page 190.)
OF TRUST IN GOD.

Psalm ix. 10.

And they that know Thy Name will put their trust in Thee ;
for Thou, Lord, hast never failed them that seek Thee.

SERMON LXIV.

(Page 207.)
THE NATURE AND NECESSITY OF RESTITUTION.

Luke xix, 8.

And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord,
the half of my goods I give to the poor ; and if I have taken
any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him
four -fold.

CONTENTS.

THE DEATH, RESURRECTION, AND ASCENSION OF CHRIST, AND
THE MISSION OF THE HOLY GHOST, IN THIRTEEN SERMONS.

SERMON LXV.

(Page 229.)
A GOOD FRIDAY SERMON.

Zechariah xii. part of verse 10.

And they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, and
they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only
son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in
bitterness for his first-born.

SERMON LXVI.

(Page 248.)
A GOOD FRIDAY SERMON.

John xix. 30.
And He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.

SERMON LXVIL

(Page 270.)
A GOOD FRIDAY SERMON.

Philippians ii. 8.

And being found in fashion as a Man, He humbled Himself,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
Cross.

SERMON LXVIII.

(Page 289.)

THE MYSTERY OF OUR RECONCILIATION BY CHRIST
EXPLAINED.

2 Corinthians v. 18, 19.

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself
by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of recon
ciliation : to wit, that God ivas in Christ, reconciling the
world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ;
and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

CONTENTS. "Vll

SERMON LXIX.

(Page 307.)
THE SATISFACTION OF CHRIST EXPLAINED.

1 John ii. 1, 2.

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin
not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous : and He is the propi
tiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world.

SERMON LXX.

(Page 346.)
AN EASTER SERMON.

1 Corinthians xv. 20.

But now is Christ risen from the Dead, and become the First-
Fruits of them that slept.

SERMON LXXI.

(Page 3G7.)
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION A PROOF OF HTS DIVINITY.

Romans i. 4.

And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to
the Spirit of Holiness, by the Resurrection from the dead.

SERMON LXXII.

(Page 3 76.)
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION A PROOF OF OURS.

1 Corinthians xv. 12.

Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how
say some among you that there is no Resurrection of the

dead ?

SERMON LXXIII.

(Page 386.)
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION THE CAUSE OF OUR REGENERATION.

1 Peter i. 3.

Blessed be the God and Father of oar Lord Jesus Christ,
Which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us
again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead.

Vlll CONTENTS.

SERMON LXXIV.

(Page 396.)
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION THE CAUSE OF OUR JUSTIFICATION.

Romans iv. 25.

Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for
our Justification.

SERMON LXXV.

(Page 418.)

CHRIST'S RESURRECTION AN OBJECT OF GREAT JOY.
AN EASTER SERMON.

Psalm cxviii. 24.

This is the Day which the Lord hath made ; we will rejoice
and be glad in it.

SERMON LXXVI.

(Page 432.)
CHRIST'S ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN PREPARATORY TO OURS.

John xiv. 2, 3.

In My Father s house are many mansions : if it were not so,
I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,
and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye
may be also.

SERMON LXXVII.

(Page 453.)
A WHITSUN SERMON.

Acts ii. 1, 2.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they ivere all
with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a
sound from Heaven, &fc.

SERMON LIL

THE ONE THING NEEDFUL.

LUKE x. 42.

But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good
part, which shall not be taken away from her.

ALTHOUGH a man of any religion, or of no religion, may
come to hear a sermon, so that we cannot discern by that,
whether he be a Jew, a Turk, an Heathen, or a Christian :
yet from your presence here at this time, and especially
from your coming to worship God, and to pray to Him in
the Name of Christ, as well as to hear His Word ; I cannot
but in charity believe that you are all Christians ; that you
were not only once baptized into Christ, and so made His
disciples, but that you still continue to be so, looking upon
Him as your Lord and only Saviour, and upon yourselves
as bound, both in interest and duty, to believe what He hath
taught, and to do what He hath commanded, that ye may be
saved. And verily, you have infinite cause to rejoice and
give thanks to God, that you are brought into a state of Sal
vation, and are as yet capable of obtaining it; capable of
being made all glorified Saints in Heaven, equal to the holy
Angels themselves in purity, happiness and glory.

Neither can any of you fail of it, but such only, as are
first failing to themselves in looking after it. But such, I
fear, are the most here present. And therefore seeing you
are present here, give me leave to deal plainly and faith
fully with you, as becomes a Minister of Christ, and to
advise you in His Name, to take care of yourselves, and to

B

2 The One Thing Needful.

SERM. mind your eternal good and welfare better than you have
'• — hitherto done it.

It is true, I cannot expect to be so happy, as to prevail
with all to do it : most people's hearts being so wholly set
upon the present, that they have little regard to their future
state, or to any thing that can be said concerning it. How
ever, I must do my duty, and leave the issue to God, who
hath the hearts of all men in His hand, and yours par
ticularly who are now before Him. And it will be worth
the while to say all I can, though but one of you shall be
persuaded by all I say, and God's blessing upon it, to mind
the one thing necessary for the future, above all things else.

For this purpose therefore, I have chosen these words
that I have now read, to explain unto you the words of our
blessed Saviour, spoken upon this remarkable occasion. As
He went about doing good, He came to a village near Jeru
salem, called Bethany, where a brother and two sisters lived
together. The brother's name was Lazarus ; the sisters',
Martha and Mary, who were all so truly pious and virtuous,
that our Lord had a particular kindness for them. For it
John 11. 5. is written, " Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and
Lazarus." How happy should we think ourselves ! how
happy should we be, if the same could be written or said of
us, that Jesus loves us ! Well, let us but be such as they were,
and we need not doubt but Jesus will love us as He did
them.

Our Lord being come to the village where these His faith
ful and beloved disciples dwelt, Martha being the house
keeper, invited and received Him into her house. And
being extremely pleased that she had got so Divine a guest
in her house, as she well might, she was very busy in pro
viding a suitable entertainment for Him, while her sister
39. Mary, in the meantime, sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His
Word. He was, it seems, no sooner come into their house,
but He feasted them with better food than they could pre
pare for Him ; for He entertained them with heavenly food,
the bread of life ; taking that, as He did all occasions of
discoursing to them that were about Him, of the things that
belonged to their everlasting peace. All the while that our
Saviour was thus speaking, Mary, in an humble and devout

The One Thing Needful. 3

posture, sat at His feet, (as scholars then used to sit at the Acts 22. 3.
feet of their masters) wholly intent upon what He said,
catching at every word that came from Him, and laying it
up in her heart, for her spiritual edification and comfort.
But Martha having more business upon that extraordinary
occasion than she could well turn her hand to, wondered
that our Lord should take no more care of her, but suffer
her sister to sit there, and leave her to serve alone. And
therefore desired Him to bid her come and help her. " But ver. 40.
Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou
art careful and troubled about many things, but one thing
is needful. And Mary hath chosen that good part which
shall not be taken away from her."

He knew that Martha had now a great deal of care and
trouble upon her, and that it was all for His sake, to enter
tain and serve Him ; yet nevertheless He lets her know,
that He preferred Mary's taking care of her own soul, be
fore her taking care of His body ; and therefore that Mary
should not leave hearing Him to help her ; no, though it
was to prepare an entertainment for Himself. Such a
mighty value doth He set upon the souls of mankind, which
He came to save. He came on purpose to save them, and
therefore preferred their Salvation, before His necessary
food, yea, before His very life ; for that also He laid down
to save them.

But then, according to His usual custom of taking all
opportunities of saying or doing something that might be of
general use and benefit to mankind, from Martha's being
careful and troubled about many things, He takes occasion
to put her and all mankind in mind, of the " one thing
needful:" and that we may know what that one thing is,
He points at it, by saying, that Mary had chosen that good
part: and to encourage us all to follow her example, in
choosing the same, He adds, " That it shall not be taken
away from her."

But, saith He, " There is need of one thing," or, as we
translate it, " one thing is needful." Generally needful for
all men, for all in man, in all respects, and at all times.
There are several things which are needful at some time,
and upon some particular occasions, as meat, drink, and

4 The One Thing Needful

SERM. clothing, of which our Saviour saith to His Disciples,
! 32> " Your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all
these things." But these things are needful only for the
body, and that too in this life only. But in my text, He
speaks of that which is absolutely needful, to make men
truly, perfectly, and eternally happy. That which all men
naturally desire and seek for. But they seek for it only
among the things of this world, where they can never find
it; for He that made them, designed them only for our
present convenience and support, and therefore put no such
power or virtue into them, that they should be able to make
men happy ; for that nothing can do, but what is able to
satisfy all our desires. But our desires are in a manner
infinite, so as to rest nowhere but in an infinite good.
Whereas the things of this world, are all but finite; and
therefore can never terminate or put a stop to our desires,
but how much, or how many soever we have of them, we
can still desire more, yea, though we had all things that God
ever made, we should be still but where we were ; for our
desires would still be running on further and further, till
they come to Him that made them; and that made them
incapable of fixing our desires, that Himself alone might be
the object of them.

Seeing therefore the things of this world can never make
us happy, none of them, nor altogether can be absolutely
needful for us ; but we may be happy without them as well
as with them, even in this life, much more in the next, when
they shall be no more. So that we must there be happy
without them, or not at all ; forasmuch as there will be none
of those things there, which men upon earth take so much
care and pains about, and all to no purpose, as to any real
happiness and satisfaction they can find in them : as they
themselves find by experience, and therefore must own all
these things to be needless and impertinent.

So very needless and impertinent, as to the making us
happy, that they cannot so much as keep us from being
miserable. But as we may be happy without them, as well
as with them, we may be miserable with them, as well as
without them, as all mankind generally is, how much or
how little soever they have of the things which are so much

The One Thing Needful. 5

admired and sought for here below; for "we are all by [Eph.a.s.]
nature the children of wrath," by reason of our original and
many actual transgressions of His righteous laws, that we
have all been guilty of; we are all under the displeasure of
the Almighty Governor of the world, and therefore our con
dition must needs be bad, whether we see it or no, and theirs
worst who will not see it ; for so long as He that made
us, is angry with with us, all sorts of misery and calamity
continually attend us, His curse is always upon us and upon
all we have, even in this life. And howsoever we may flatter
ourselves at present, His hand is stretched out, ready every
moment to destroy us, both soul and body in Hell. And
what can all the things of this world do for us ? Can they
appease the wrath of God, or rescue us out of His hands ?
They may help indeed to hasten and increase our misery, but
can never prevent or lessen it. It is not only the Wise Man's
observation, but the common experience of all mankind,
that " riches profit not in the day of wrath." " What profit prov. n. 4.
then hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the Eccles- l-3-
sun ?" No more than as if he had sat still and done nothing
at all, if his labour was only for the things under the sun.
For they are all, as the same Wise Man also observes, "Vanity [ver. 14.]
and vexation of spirit." They are vanity, and therefore can
never make us happy ; and they are vexation of spirit too,
and therefore serve only to make us miserable.

But let us hear what a greater than Solomon saith, even
Christ Himself; He saith, " What is a man profited, if he shall Matt.i6.26.
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall
a man give in exchange for his soul ? " Where we see, how
He who came into the world on purpose to save souls, takes
it for granted, that although a man could get all this world,
he may notwithstanding, lose his own soul ; and what then
will all that he has got profit him 1 Will he give it in ex
change for his soul ? He would certainly, if he could, with
all his heart. But alas ! when his soul is once gone, all he
had got is no longer his, but other people are possessed of
it ; and if it was still his own, he could not give it in ex
change for his soul : " For it cost 'more to redeem his soul, [PS. 49. s.]
so that he must let that alone for ever," and be eternally

6 The One Thing Needful

SERM. tormented in the other world, notwithstanding all that he
-^ — had got in this. And therefore nothing be sure in this
world, no not this whole world, can be the "one thing
needful," spoken of in my text.

But why did our blessed Saviour put that question, and
leave it upon record, for all men to consider at their leisure?
It was doubtless to teach us, that the chief thing that a man
is to take care of, is his soul, that it may not be lost, but
saved : for if all things in the world can no way profit him
if he lose his soul, the saving his soul, must needs be pre
ferred before all things in the world. Not only before the
riches, honours and pleasures in it, but before all things else,
which men are apt to busy themselves about, to the neglect
and hazard of their souls. Such, among other things, are
the controversies and disputes about the circumstances of
religion, which many are so hot and eager about, that they
let go the substance, upon which the Salvation of their souls
depends. This men were apt to fall into, even in the great
Apostle's days ; who therefore forewarned Titus of it, saying,
Tit. 3. 9. " But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and conten
tions, and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable
and vain." The same advice I must give to you, you can
not but know what strivings and contentions there have
been, and what mischiefs they have done among us. If
people believed in God, and worshipped and served Him
according to the doctrine and directions of our Church, they
would be undoubtedly saved. This the Devil knows well
enough ; and therefore to take them off from the Church,
he fills their heads with a parcel of vain and unprofitable
questions about little indifferent things, which serve only to
distract their minds, and divert them from the substantial
parts of religion, which are necessary to the Salvation of
their souls. Wherefore, as you tender that, avoid all such
unnecessary disputes and controversies, and follow only the
" one thing needful," that without which ye cannot be saved.
Remember there are no outward circumstances in the whole
Christian religion for which a man can have so fair a plea
to trouble himself about them, as Martha had for her pro
viding an entertainment for Christ Himself; and yet Christ

The One Thing Needful. 7

Himself here tells her, that she did more than she needed ;
" Martha, Martha," saith He, " thou art careful and troubled
about many things : but one thing is needful."

And that she might know what that " one thing" is, He
directs her to it, by saying, "And Mary hath chosen the
good part." Mary was careful and troubled about nothing
but the Salvation of her soul ; and therefore while her sister
was running about, she sat at her Saviour's feet, and heard
and received the word of Salvation from Him, that she
might be sanctified or made holy, without which, she knew
she could not be saved: wherefore our Saviour saith, that
she had " chosen the good part," the " one thing needful."
And hath thereby given us to understand, that the " one
thing" which He here calls " needful," is true piety, or
holiness, which is so absolutely needful to Salvation, that
no man ever was, or can be saved without it : whereas, they
who attain to true holiness, cannot but be saved ; God
Himself having engaged His Word that they shall. For
" holiness," or " godliness," as the Apostle tells us, " is i Tim. 4. H.
profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that
now is, and of that which is to come." It is of that mighty
profit and advantage to mankind, that it hath not only the
necessaries of this life, but eternal happiness and Salvation
in the next, promised to it by Him who cannot lie. Who
Himself also saith, that other people " shall go into ever- Matt.25.46.
lasting punishment ; but the righteous into life eternal."
And when the other shall be cast " into a furnace of fire,"
then " the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the ch. is. 42,
kingdom of their Father."

The righteous, or Saints : they who are " created in Christ [EPh.2.io.]
Jesus unto good works," and accordingly do all the good
works which God hath prepared for them to walk in. They
whose hearts are wholly inclined to God, and set to obey
His Commandments. They who " deny ungodliness and [Tit. 2. 12.]
worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously, and godly in
this present world." They who are wholly sanctified by the
Holy Spirit, and so are made " holy, as He who hath called [i Pet. i.
them is holy, in all manner of conversation." They shall
receive the "crown of righteousness ; an inheritance incor- [ipet.i.4.]
ruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in

8 The One Thing Needful

SERM. Heaven for them;" where they shall see and enjoy God,
-^ — and live as happily as it is possible for creatures to live for

Heb. 12. 14. evermore. But none else shall do so ; " for without holi
ness no man shall see the Lord ; " nor indeed can, if he
might ; for he that is not pure and holy, is not capable of
seeing Him who is purity and holiness itself; nor, by con
sequence, of enjoying those pure and spiritual joys which the
sight of Him affords : and therefore, such a one, though he

Col. 1. 12. might, yet he is not " meet to be a partaker of the inherit
ance of the Saints in light." It is the inheritance of the Saints,
and of them only. None else ever shall or can have any
part or portion in it.

From hence therefore we may see, what is the " one thing

2 Tim. 3. 5. needful ; " even that which the Apostle calls the " power of
godliness ; " whereby a man is able to overcome the world,
the flesh, and the Devil, and to exercise himself always to

[Acts 24. " have a conscience void of offence both towards God and
men ; " whereby his soul is so firmly fixed upon God, that
he is in a right disposition to love, and fear, and serve, and
honour, and obey Him, heartily and sincerely upon earth ;
and to behold, admire, and enjoy Him perfectly in Heaven.
Unless a man be thus holy, he can never be happy. And
therefore this must needs be the " one thing needful,"
which all men must labour for with all their might, above
all things upon earth besides, as ever they desire to be
saved.

But then the great question is, how we may get this " one
thing needful?" How we, who are all by nature corrupt
and sinful, may notwithstanding, become thus pure and
holy ? That the thing is possible, we cannot doubt, seeing
it hath been actually done. We read of many whom God
Himself in His Holy Word was pleased to call Saints,
righteous, and holy, and therefore may be confident Ihey
were such in His esteem, otherwise He would never have
given them such a character. And in alleges since, there
have been many such, though not in comparison of the rest
of mankind, yet absolutely considered in themselves. And
I doubt not but there are some at this time upon earth, and
would be many more, if people would but take the right
course for it. But that the generality of mankind will not

The One Thing Needful 9

do : most will not labour at all for it, and of those that do,
many seek it where it is not to be had. As our Saviour
Himself hath taught us, saying, " Strive to enter in at the Luke is. 24.
strait gate ; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in,
and shall not be able," even because they do not seek it
aright. They seek it by their own light, or by their own
strength, or by their own merits, or some such by-way,
which God hath not appointed for it, and then it is no
wonder if they miss of it ; for it is impossible to have it any
other way, than that which God hath made and prescribed
for our attainment of it.

Which in general is by His Son our Saviour Jesus Christ ;
for He is the "Way, the Truth, and the Life : no man cometh John u. 6.
unto the Father but by Him ;" " neither is there Salvation Acts 4. 12.
in any other," nor any thing necessary to it, much less
our Sanctification, which is in effect Salvation itself. And
therefore we are said to be " sanctified in Christ Jesus." i cor. i 2.
And to be " created in Him unto good works, which God Eph. 2. 10.
hath before ordained, that we should walk in them." " So phii. 4. 13.
that we can do all things through Christ, which strength-
eneth us." "But without Him we can do nothing;" nor j0im is. 5.
by Him, without believing in Him. For it is to our faith
in Him, that all things relating to our eternal Salvation by
Him are ascribed in His Holy Gospel, particularly, our
being sanctified or made pare and holy. For it is by
" faith " that our hearts are purified. And we are " sane- Acts is. 9.
tified by faith that is in Christ Jesus." And therefore the ch. 26. is.
first thing required towards our getting the " one thing
needful," is to believe in Christ, and trust on Him to give
it us ; without which, whatsoever else we do, will avail us
nothing, but all our endeavours after it will be in vain and
to no purpose.

Whereas if we live with a steadfast belief and trust upon
God our Saviour for it, He will most certainly fulfil the
promises which He hath made us for that purpose, and
accordingly bestow His special grace upon us, in the use of
the means which He hath ordained in His Church for that
end. And therefore our next care must be, to exercise our
selves constantly and sincerely in the use of the said means
that He hath appointed for our obtaining grace and Salva*

10 The One Thing Needful.

SERM. tion from Him, which we cannot choose but do, if we heartily
— and earnestly desire to have it.

I say, if we heartily and earnestly desire to have it ; for
unless we do so, we can never labour as we ought for it, nor

[i Pet. 1.9.] by consequence receive " the end of our faith, even the sanc-
tification and Salvation of our souls." Which therefore that
we may, we must follow the example of the great Saint in
my text, of whom Christ Himself gives this testimony, that
she " had chosen that good part." So must we ; we must
choose it, as she did, as it is the good part, the best we can
choose, the " one thing needful." And therefore before all
things upon earth besides. For if there be any one thing
which we choose before it, we do not choose it as it is the
" one thing needful," and therefore do not properly choose
it at all, as Mary did. Neither can we make it our chief
care to obtain it, as we must do, if we ever have it; we must
observe the method and order which Christ Himself hath

Matt. 6. 33. prescribed for it. We must first " seek the Kingdom of
God, and His righteousness;" that must be the uppermost
in all our thoughts ; the highest of all our desires ; the first
thing we seek and labour for in all the world. And so it
certainly will be, if we believe it to be the " one thing need
ful." For then all things else would seem to us, as they are
in themselves, needless and impertinent; at least in com
parison of that. We should then play no longer with
religion, but set about it in good earnest, and be willing to
part with all we have in the world, for that which we believe
to be better than all things in it. As the merchant in the
parable, who having found one pearl of great price, sold all

ch. 13.45-6. he had to purchase it. This is that pearl, that one pearl of
great inestimable price, for which we can never give, or
suffer, or do too much. When our minds are thus set upon
true piety and virtue, so as to look upon it, as it is the " one
thing needful;" then we shall be rightly disposed and qua
lified for the obtaining it in the use of the means which God
hath appointed for it, and shall readily catch at all oppor
tunities that we can get of using them, and thank God
heartily for them.

This being premised, give me leave to suppose, what I
most heartily wish, that all here present are thus minded ;

The One Thing Needful. 1 1

that you are fully persuaded in your judgments and consci
ences, that it is better to be good and virtuous, than it is to
be great and rich, and honourable in the world ; that the
greatest pleasure you can have, is to please God ; and your
highest honour, to honour him : " That to be righteous [Luke 1.6.]
before God, walking in all His commandments and ordi
nances blameless," so as to be " numbered with His Saints
in glory everlasting," is the " one thing needful " for all men
to seek and labour for.

Now supposing that you are thus minded, you cannot
choose but do all that lies in your power for the attainment
of so great a good, the " one thing needful " to your obtain
ing real and eternal happiness. For which purpose there
fore you must, in the first place, apply yourselves to Almighty
God for it, who is the Author and Giver of" every good and [James i.
perfect gift," such as this is. And who hath passed His 17'-'
Word, that He will give the Holy Spirit, the Fountain and
Principle of true holiness, "to them that ask Him." But Lukeii. 13.
you must ask Him for it, not only now and then, but con
stantly. You must pray always and not " faint." You must ch. is. i.
"pray without ceasing." And that too, not in a careless iThes. 5. 17.
and customary manner, as most do, but heartily, earnestly,
importunately, as for your life : for your life, your eternal
life depends upon it. But that ye may be sure to have what
you ask, ye must be sure to ask it in the Name of Jesus, the
only Mediator between God and men, who hath promised,
that if ye " ask any thing in His Name, He will do it." j0]m 14> 13
Which promise ye must have an eye unto, and believe and 14; 16- 23*
depend upon it in all your prayers : that ye may always
pray in faith, nothing wavering or doubting, otherwise ye jamesi.6,7;
will pray, as most people do, in vain ; for if ye will not do lTmu 2> 8*
Him so much right, as to take His Word, you have no
ground to expect that He should fulfil it to you.

If ye thus pray every day to your Father in secret, " your Matt. 6. 6.
Father which seeth in secret, will reward you openly," or in
public. For then ye will be always ready and prepared to
meet Him in His own house, and there sit as Mary did, at
the feet of Jesus, and hear His Word. But you will say,
perhaps, How can that be ? Jesus was then upon earth, in
the very place where Mary was, and therefore she might

12 The One Thing Needful.

SERM. well sit at His feet, and hear what He said: but He hath
'• — now left the earth, and is gone up into Heaven, and there

sitteth at the right hand of the Father, where we cannot so
much as see Him, much less come near Him, if we would:
how then can we sit at His feet, or hear what He saith ? To
that, I answer, It is true, our Saviour is now in Heaven ; and
it is well for us that He is there : for he is there interceding
for those who believe in Him, that they may have all things
that may conduce to their Salvation, and particularly the
" one thing needful." But that they may be sure to have it,
though His body be in Heaven, yet He Himself is with
them upon earth too, whensoever they meet together in His
Name to seek it : this we cannot doubt of, having His own

Matt.is.2o. Word for it, saying, " Where two or three are gathered
together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them."
And if He be in the midst of you, as He most certainly is,
at this, and all other times, whensoever ye meet together in
His Name, you may well sit at His feet and hear His Word,
as Mary did : for though ye cannot see Him with your

[Heb.ii.i-] bodily eyes, yet ye may see Him by faith, "the evidence of
things not seen : " whereby you may and ought to be as cer
tain as Mary was, that He is in the very place where you
are ; and as plainly hear His Word, though not as spoken
immediately by Himself, yet as repeated after Him by those

Lukeio.iG. whom He sends to do it ; to whom He therefore, saith, " He
that heareth you, heareth Me."

When I consider this, I cannot but wonder how people
can carry themselves as they commonly do at Church, with
no more reverence and devotion than they do at home, com
ing in, staying here a while, and then going out again, with
no more concern upon them, than as if nobody was among
them or saw them, but their fellow-creatures. But I beg of
you to consider, do not ye believe what Christ said to be
true ? I hope ye do. Now, suppose you saw Him, the
Eternal Son of God, your Lord, your Saviour, your Judge ;
suppose you saw Him at this time standing in the midst of
you, encircled with rays of glory and majesty about His
head, and with all spiritual blessings in His hand, ready to
distribute them to all that have a mind to them : if you thus
saw Him, could ye be able to stand upon your legs? Would

The One Thing Needful. 13

not ye all fall down and worship Him ? Would not your
eyes be all fastened upon Him, and your ears listen to what
He saith ? Would riot ye beseech Him, upon your knees,
to have mercy upon you, to bless you, and give you the
pearl of great price that is in His hand ? I dare say ye
would. And yet this is your case at this time, and at all
times when ye meet together in His Name. If you truly
believe the Gospel, ye cannot but see your Saviour with the
eye of faith in the midst of you, as plainly as Mary did,
when she sat at His feet. And then, how gravely, how
modestly, how reverently would ye behave yourselves before
Plim, all the while you are in his house, and especially at
His holy table, where you see Him coming to you, and
offering you His 'most blessed body and blood, to preserve
your souls and bodies to everlasting life ! You would then
not stand looking about you, but upon Him who is in the
midst of you, and strive all ye can to do the business that
He hath set you, so as that ye may please Him, and receive
His blessing.

Which therefore that ye may, and so never come altoge
ther, as many do, for the worse, but always for the better ;
let me advise you all, that whensoever ye go to the house of
God, consider whither you are going, and whom you are to
meet there. And so soon as ever ye come into his presence,
be sure to fall down upon your knees before Him, humbly
beseeching Him to assist you in doing the work you come
about. And then in an humble confidence of His assistance,
set upon it with all your might; offering up your prayers
and praises unto God, not only with your lips, but from the
bottom of your hearts : receiving the word you hear, not as
the word of man, but as it is in truth the Word of God,
" which effectually worketh in them who believe : " and feed- [1 Thess. 2.
ing upon the blessed body and blood of our Saviour, with K
such a quick and lively faith, that "His grace may be [2 Cor. 12.
alway sufficient for you, and His strength made perfect in 9'^
your weakness." I need not tell you, that you must be upon
your knees all the while that you are praying to Almighty
God : for that ye cannot but choose to be, if you pray in
faith, and without that ye had as good be out of the Church

14 The One Thing Needful

SERM. as in it, as to any good that you can either do or get there,
- as some here present have found, I fear, by long experience :
but this I must put you in mind of, that as ye must thus use
the means of grace continually, as often as ye can get an
opportunity ; so whensoever ye have used them, ye must
always lift up your hearts to Christ your Saviour, and trust
on Him for God's acceptance of what ye have done, and for
His blessing upon it. And then ye can never come to
Church, but ye will return home wiser and better than ye

[2 Pet. 3. came. And so grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus
Christ our Lord every day, more and more, till ye arrive at
that degree of righteousness or true holiness, which is the
" one thing needful" to make you happy for ever.

For this is that good part which Mary chose ; and which
our Saviour therefore said, should not be taken away from
her : seeing she had chosen it, nothing should hinder or
deprive her of it ; but she should most certainly have it, and
keep it; which is a great encouragement to us, to do as
she and many others have done before us. There are many
glorified Saints at this time in Heaven, which once were
sinful mortals upon earth, as we are now. But when they
were here, they laboured so as to get the " one thing need
ful," to make them eternally happy ; they were cleansed,
and sanctified, and justified, and reconciled to God, and
made His faithful servants and children by adoption and

[Matt. is. grace, and are now " shining forth as the sun in the king
dom of their Father." And why then should not we as
well as they ? We have the same Gospel to direct us, the
same Spirit to assist us, the same Mediator to intercede for
us, and all the same means to obtain the " one thing need
ful," which they had. Why then should not we obtain it
as well as they? Let us but resolve to labour for it as

[Phii.3.i4.] they did, by " pressing towards the mark for the prize of
the high calling of God, in Jesus Christ," and we cannot
miss of it.

This therefore, is that which I must now advise and
beseech you all in the Name of Christ to do. And for that
purpose desire you all to consider, first, that this is the
"one thing needful." There are none, I suppose, here

The One Thing Needful. 15

present, but have some business to do in the world : many
that like Martha are careful and troubled about many
things.

But to what purpose is all your care and trouble, about
many things, if they be such only as ye have no real need
of, and not that one thing which alone can do you good ?
Is not this to labour in vain? Is it not to moil and toil,
and all to no purpose ? Or rather, is it not to very ill pur
pose? even to make yourselves miserable, both here and
hereafter too : yet this is the case of most men ; of all who
" labour for the meat that perish eth," and not " for that [John 6.
which endureth to everlasting life;" who apply their minds 2/'-1
wholly to the affairs of this life, and not to the study of true
piety, to be and to do good in the world, the " one thing
needful," without which, whatsoever they get besides will
avail them nothing; whereas with it, they might have all
the good things they can desire.

For remember also the words of the Lord Jesus, how He
said, " Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His right- Matt. 6. 33.
eousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."
Whereby He hath assured you, upon His Word, that if ye
seek the " one thing needful " before all things else, ye shall
have both that and whatsoever else ye have any real need
of. Who then that are wise, and mind their own good,
would not do so ? And yet, after all, how few are in the
world that will ? But let others do what they please, and
take what follows. God grant that we may be all in the
number of those few, that make it their chief care and study
to get the " one thing needful," that the rest of our life
hereafter, may be pure and holy, so that at the last, we may
come to His eternal joy, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

SERMON LIII.

UNIVERSAL OBEDIENCE REQUISITE TO SALVATION.

LUKE i. 6.

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the
Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord blameless.

SERM. ALTHOUGH the whole nature of man be very much de-

LIII< — praved and disordered by the fall of our first parents, yet

by virtue of the promise which was immediately after made

[Gen.3.i5.] unto them, " That the seed of the woman should break the
serpent's head," there have been some in all ages, sincerely

Rom. 5. 19. good and righteous men. For as the Apostle saith, " As
by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners : so by
the obedience of one, shall many be made righteous." By
the disobedience of the first Adam, in eating the forbidden
fruit, many, even all mankind, which are very many indeed,
were both guilty of, and defiled with sin : but Christ, the

[PMi. 2. s.] second Adam, having been " obedient to death, even the
death of the Cross," many are thereby made and accepted
as righteous before God Himself. And that too, not only
since, but before His passion, in all ages since the beginning
of the world ; for the aforesaid promise being made to our
first parents, while they were yet in Paradise, upon the same
day on which they fell, from that time the virtue of Christ's
blood, signified in it, began to take place'; who is therefore

Apoc. is. s. called the " Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
For so He was in the decree and promise of God, which was
as certain to take effect, as if it was done already.

And hence it is that God hath always had His Church
upon earth, the Communion of Saints, a company of pious

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 17

and just persons, that walked in holiness and righteousness
before Him all their days : some of which are recorded in
the Holy Scriptures, and so are attested by God Himself to
have been such. As Abel is said to have been a righteous [Matt. 23.

35 1

person. " Enoch walked with God," that is, as St. Paul Gen. 5. 24 ;
explains it, "lie had this testimony, that he pleased God." Heb. 11.5.
" Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Gen. 6. 9.
walked with God." Such also were Abraham and his nephew
Lot, Isaac and Jacob, and other of the Patriarchs, Moses,
Aaron, Caleb, Joshua, Samuel. "Job was a perfect and Job. 1. 1.
upright man, one that feared God and eschewed evil."
" David was a man after God's own heart." And several i Sam. is.
of the succeeding kings, are said to have followed his steps,
as Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah.
Besides which, there were in every age many excellent
persons, whose names were written in the Book of Life,
although not recorded in the Holy Scriptures. In Ahab's
reign, when the Prophet Elijah himself knew of none but
himself that worshipped the true God, God knew of many
more, and therefore said. " Yet I have left Me seven thou- 1 Kings 19.

18 •

sand in Israel, that have not bowed the knee to Baal." Rom. u. 4.
And of these it was, that the Church of God then consisted,
when as to all outward appearance, it was quite overrun
with idolatry and superstition. Such there were in all ages
throughout the whole Old Testament, besides the Prophets
whom God raised up for their instruction and comfort. And
after that too, when the spirit of prophecy ceased, the spirit
of holiness still continued in the Church, or rather made the
Church still to continue, by enlightening, sanctifying, and con
firming many in the true faith and fear of God, as we read in
the history of the Maccabees ; and so all along from Malachi,
to our Saviour's coming into the world, which was about four
hundred years. But Malachi being the last of the Prophets
of the Old Testament, and knowing himself to be so, he con
cludes his prophecy with a clear prediction of Elias, or
St. John Baptist, the forerunner of Christ. For having
foretold the coming of Christ, as " the Sun of Righteous- [Mai. 4. 2.]
ness, which should arise with healing in His wings," and
exhorted the Church to continue in the meanwhile to ob
serve the Mosaic Law, he puts an end to his own, and all

c

18 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. the prophecies of the Old. Testament, by saying in the Name
Mal 4 5' 6 of God, " Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet, before
the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord ; and
he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the
heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite
the earth with a curse." Whereby he plainly intimated,
that no more Prophets were to be now expected, till Elijah
came, but that he should come next, and prepare the way
for Christ, the Messiah, whom all the Prophets had
foretold.

Now as the Prophet Malachi concludes the Old Testa
ment with the prediction of Elias ; the Evangelist St. Luke
begins the New, with a history of his coming, according to
that prediction. For that John the Baptist was that Elias,
which the Prophet spake of, is attested by the Holy Angel
Luke i. 17. who foretold his birth ; and by a greater witness than he,
Matt. n.14. by Christ Himself. And therefore this Evangelist, to shew
the great agreement betwixt the Law and Gospel, and to
connect or join them the better together, he begins his
Gospel where the Law ended, even with the birth of John
the Baptist : and for our better understanding how he
came into the world, he first acquaints us with his parents,
describing them both by their names, their family, and
their character ; his father's name was Zacharias, his mother's
Elizabeth, both of the family of Aaron, he being a Priest of
the course of Abia, she one of the daughters of Aaron,
although some of her ancestors had intermarried with the
tribe of Judah, as is plain from her being related to the
Luke i. 36. Blessed Virgin, and called her cousin.

But the thing I chiefly design to insist on at present, is,
the character, which the Evangelist here gives us of these
two persons, Zacharias arid Elizabeth, saying, " And they
were both righteous before God, walking in all the Com
mandments and Ordinances of the Lord blameless ; " which
is as high a character, as great an encomium as can be given
of any persons whatsoever. And it being given them by
the Holy Spirit of God Himself, we cannot but conclude
both these to have been in the number of those holy and
righteous persons before spoken of, sound members of that
Church which Christ had established upon earth before His

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 19

incarnation, real and true Saints, such as we must all be, if
we desire to go to Heaven. For these words contain a
plain and full description of such persons ; insomuch, that
should you ask me, who they are whom the Scriptures call
Saints, and whom God will accept of as such, I could not
resolve you better than in these words, they are such as are
righteous before God, walking in all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blameless. This is the character
which God Himself here gives of two of His Saints or Ser
vants, and which He hath left upon record, on purpose that
we might follow their example, and become such too. For
which purpose therefore it will be necessary to consider two
things in this text.

I. What is the true sense and meaning of the words in
general, as spoken of Zacharias and Elizabeth.

II. How we must apply them to ourselves, so as to
become such persons as they were.

But before we shew in what sense these words are to be
understood, we must first consider in what sense they are
riot to be understood : Even not so as if these two persons
were absolutely perfect and free from sin, as the Papists
and others interpret the words ; and therefore would infer
from them, that a man may be so perfect, and observe the
whole Law of God so exactly, even in this life, that he may
be justified by his own works, without any respect to the
righteousness and merits of Christ.

But this cannot possibly be the meaning of the words, as
being contrary to many other texts of Scripture, and to the
very context itself: For nothing is more frequently asserted
by God Himself, than that all mankind are guilty before
Him. " For there is no man," saith Solomon, " that sinneth i Kings s.
not ;" " Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am p6r'OVt 20 9>
pure from my sin ?" " They are all gone aside," saith PS. 14. 3.
David, " they are altogether become filthy, there is none
that doeth good, no not one." From whence St. Paul infers,
" That all the world is become guilty before God ;" " For Rom. 3. 19.
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Ver. 23.
Yea, the very best of men, in the best actions of their whole
life; for "there is not a just man upon earth that doeth Eccles.7.2o.
good and sinneth not." And therefore St. John himself,

20 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. one of the best men that ever lived, saith of himself and
all his fellow Saints ; " If we say that we have no sin, we

i. s. deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us ;" and " if we

ver. 10. say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His
Word is not in us." So that whosoever saith he hath no
sin, he sins in saying so ; for he tells a lie, yea, and makes
God Himself to be a liar too, which is one of the greatest
sins a man can be guilty of, which no good man, be sure, is :
But the better any man is, the worse he always looks upon
himself to be, as being more sensible of his own sins and
imperfections than others are. Who was ever more pure,
more holy, more righteous, more approved of by God Him-

[i Sam. is. self, than David was, " a man after God's own heart." And
yet how humbly doth he confess his sins, how frequently
bewail them, how earnestly beg pardon for them ? Not
only for one or two, but for many which he knew himself

PS. ss. 4. to be guilty of. " Mine iniquities," saith he, " are gone
over my head, as an heavy burthen, they are too heavy for

PS. 40. 12. me." " For innumerable evils have compassed me about,
mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not
able to look up : They are more than the hairs of my head,

PS. 19. 12. therefore my heart faileth me." And, " Who can understand
how oft he offendeth ? Cleanse Thou me from my secret
faults."

And in the New Testament, St. Paul, whom Christ Him-

[ Acts 9. is.] self called " a chosen vessel unto Him," and who, by the

Phil. 3. 6. Spirit of God, could truly say, that " touching the righteous
ness which is in the Law he was blameless." Yet after all,
he was so far from looking upon himself as perfect, that he
acknowledgeth himself to be less than the least of all Saints,

i Tim. i.i5. yea, to be the greatest of all sinners. " This," saith he, " is
a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
chief."

And if these two, King David and St. Paul, who were
certainly as great Saints as ever lived upon the face of the
earth, if they were not perfect, nor free from sin, we may
well conclude, that no mere man ever was so. And by
consequence, that the words of my text cannot be so
understood, as if the two persons there mentioned, were so

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 21

righteous, that there was no sin or unrighteousness at all in
them.

The same appears also from the context itself, where it is
said, that Zacharias was a Priest, and that he executed the
priestly office. But as St. Augustine observes, the Priests
offered sacrifices, " first for their own sins, and then for Lev. 16. 6.
the sins of the people." And therefore every time that
Zacharias offered any sacrifice, he thereby acknowledged
himself guilty of sins, of such sins as could not be expiated
but by some propitiatory sacrifice offered to God for them ;
yea, in this very place, we find him guilty of a great sin, in not
believing the message which God had sent him by an Angel :
which was so great a sin, that God was pleased to punish
him immediately for it, by making him dumb, and not able
to speak, until the day that the message was performed. Luke i. 20.
From all which, it appears, that these words cannot, without
manifest absurdity, be so interpreted, as if these two persons
were so righteous, that there was no unrighteousness in
them; that they walked in all the Commandments and
Ordinances of the Lord so as never to trip or stumble in
any of them ; or were so blameless, that God himself could
find no fault with them.

But in what sense then, are the words to be understood ?
To understand that, we must first consider them apart, and
then we shall easily see into the meaning of them altogether.

First therefore, they were both righteous, that is, good,
honest, virtuous and religious persons ; they both lived in
the true faith and fear of God ; they both believed aright
in Him, and their hearts were set to obey His command
ments, and to do all such " good works as He had prepared [Eph.2.io.]
for them to walk in." For so the word 8/xaio$ here used,
commonly signifies in the New Testament, as V"^, from
whence it comes, doth in the Old. Even as «^/x/«, ' un
righteousness,' is used for all manner of vice and wickedness,
so is dixaioffvvri, ' righteousness/ used for goodness and virtue
in general. And so St. John interprets the word, where he
saith, " He that doth righteousness, is righteous, as God is i John 3. 7.
righteous," where we see the word used of men in the same
sense in a lower, as it is used by God Himself in an higher
degree. And therefore must needs denote that Divine

22 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. frame and temper of mind whereby we resemble God Him-
- self, being in our capacities, " holy as He is holy, in all
[i Pet. i. manner of conversation."

Thus therefore, these two persons were both righteous,
and that too, as the text saith, " before God ;" that is, not
not only in the esteem of men, but in the sight of God
Himself: The great Searcher of hearts knew they did not
dissemble or play the hypocrites, but were hearty and sin
cere in their obedience to Him. They were not like Simon
Acts s. 21. Magus, of whom St. Peter said, that his " heart was not
right in the sight of God." But their hearts were as right
as their outward behaviour before Him, so as to serve Him,
i Chron. 28. as David adviseth his son, " with a perfect heart, and a
willing mind." And this sincerity or integrity of heart, is
that which God is pleased to accept of in the New Covenant
instead of perfection, and is frequently called by that name;
Gen. 6. 9. as where Noah is said to be a just and perfect man, and
Job. i. i. Job "to be a perfect and upright man;" that is, they
were cordial and sincere in all their duties to God, serving
Luke i. 75. " Him in holiness and righteousness before Him," or in His
sight, " all their days." Thus God Himself seems to explain
the word, when He ratified and confirmed the New Cove-
Gen. 17. i. nant with Abraham, saying, " Walk before Me, and be thou
perfect." As if He had said, Walk always as in My sight,
so as to keep thy heart right and sincere before Me, and
then, by the Covenant which I now establish with thee, thou
shalt be perfect, for I will accept of thee as such. And thus
it was that both these persons in my text walked before
God, and so were righteous, not only in outward appearance,
but truly and sincerely, God himself being witness.

But that we may the better understand wherein it was
that this their righteousness consisted, the Evangelist tells
us, it was in their " walking in all the Commandments and
Ordinances of the Lord." This was their righteousness.
They walked, implying this to be their way, their constant
course of life, to adjust all their thoughts, words and actions
to the Laws of God. They walked in all, not only in some,
but in every one of the Commandments ; not only in all the
Commandments, but likewise in all the Ordinances of the
Lord : of the Lord, not of men. It was no part of their

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 23

righteousness to observe the traditions of their forefathers,
which the Pharisees in those days laid so much stress upon ;
but they kept close to all the Commandments and Ordi
nances which the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, the Supreme
Lawgiver of the world, had delivered to them.

But seeing they are said to walk in the Ordinances, as
well as in the Commandments of the Lord, it is plain, these
were two distinct things, and therefore it will be necessary
to consider the difference between them. For which pur
pose we must call to mind, how Almighty God was pleased
to deliver three sorts of laws unto His people, the Moral,
the Ceremonial, and the Judicial law, which in the Old Tes
tament are commonly called Commandments, Statutes, and
Judgments; of which the last, even the judgments of judicial
law, concerned only the civil government of that nation,
which being at that time subject to the Roman Empire, and
governed for the most part by the Imperial laws, there is
no mention made of the judicial law in this place, but only
of the other two, even the moral and ceremonial, whereof
the first is called the Commandments, the other, the Ordi
nances of the Lord. And what part of the judicial law was
still in use, seems to be comprehended under the latter.
And it may not be unworthy our observation, that Moses
himself, though he often reckons up all the three laws to
gether, yet sometimes he compriseth them under two, as
where he saith, " Thou shaltkeep therefore His Statutes and Deut. 4.40.
His Commandments." Which the Seventy translate by the
same words that are used in my text, even evroXui and
dr/.ai<Jj/j.ara, ' Commandments and Ordinances,' or Statutes.

Now these two persons in my text walked in both these
laws, first in the moral Law, here called the Commandments,
which God at first wrote upon the " fleshly tables of man's [2Cor.3.3/|
heart," afterwards published with thundering and lightning
upon Mount Sinai, and at last transcribed with His own
finger upon two tables of stone, to signify their perpetuity,
that they were to remain for ever, although the other were
not, and therefore were not published or written after that
manner, as the Ten Commandments were. And besides,
the other laws were made only for the people of Israel, but
the ten oblige all mankind ; so that all mankind shall be

24 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. judged by them at the last day. And therefore Zacharias
— and Elizabeth took especial care to observe them in the first
place, first the Commandments, and then the Ordinances.
Neither did they observe only one or more, but all of them :
Those of the second, as well as those of the first table ; and
those which respected God, as well as those which respected

[Acts. 24. their neighbour : And to keep their conscience, as St. Paul
did, "void of all offence both towards God and towards man."
And although the Ceremonial or Levitical Law, here called
the Ordinances, was not of that universal or perpetual obli
gation as the Moral was, yet they being both Israelites, and
living before the death of Christ, with whom it expired, they
were then bound to observe that as well as the other, and
therefore did accordingly walk as in all the Commandments,
so likewise in all the Ordinances of the Lord, in all the rites
and ceremonies of the Levitical Law, so far as they were any
way concerned in them, he as a Priest, and either of them
as being of that nation. It is true, these Ordinances were
very many, very chargeable, and very difficult to be observed.
There were many sacrifices and many offerings to be made
upon several occasions, as besides the continual burnt-offer
ings, every morning and evening, there were the meat-offer
ings, peace-offerings, sin-offerings, trespass-offerings, first-
fruits, tenths, and the like. There were many feasts and
fasts to be observed throughout the year, many sorts of
food to be abstained from, many outward defilements to be
avoided, many things to be observed in the garments they
wore, and in the very ploughing and sowing, and reaping their
corn, insomuch that this Law of Commandments contained

EPh. 2. is. in Ordinances, as the Apostle calls it, was really a yoke of

Gal. 5. i. bondage. Yea, such a yoke, that few were able to bear it.
' And yet these two persons bore it so, that they walked, as in
all the Commandments, so likewise in all the Ordinances of
the Lord, blameless.

Blameless, apfpirroi, ( unreprovable.' The same word which

Phil. 3. 6. St. Paul useth of himself, where he saith, " that as touching
the righteousness which is in the Law, he was blameless."
So were both these persons, in respect both of the Moral and
Levitical Law, walking in all the Commandments and Ordi
nances of the Lord, so as never to give any just cause of

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 25

offence to any one. No man could justly blame or condemn
them, for any neglect or failure in any duty that was
required of them. They were both persons of a clear repu
tation in the eye of the world, as it became those to be, of
whom he was to be born, who was to prepare the way for
the Saviour of the world.

Neither were they blameless only in the sight of men, but
likewise in the esteem of God Himself. For though He
knew they had been guilty of many actual, as well as of
original sins, yet He had forgiven them, so as to esteem and
accept of them as righteous persons, and therefore not to be
blamed or condemned for what they had done amiss.

But lest this should seem strange, we must consider, that
God knowing the corruption and frailty of our nature,
whereby no man is able always to stand upright, but will
sometimes fall into sin, and so be liable to death and misery,
He Himself, of His infinite mercy to His own people, was
pleased to provide a remedy for them, whereby they might
be freed from the guilt they had contracted, at least in
ordinary cases. For in the very body of the Commandments
and Ordinances which He delivered to them, He ordained
some whereby to expiate the breach of the other. As that
if a man sin through ignorance against any of the Command
ments, he shall bring according to his quality, a young
bullock or a kid, " and lay his hand upon the head of it, Lev. 5. 6.
and the Priest shall offer it up as a sin-offering, and make
atonement for the sin which the man had committed, and"
then " it shall be forgiven him," as God expressly promised.
" And if a man sin wilfully, by telling a lie, swearing falsely, ch. 6. 7.
deceiving or wronging his neighbour," or the like, after
restitution made, " he shall bring his trespass-offering to
the Lord, a ram, and the Priest shall make an atonement
for him before the Lord, and it shall be forgiven him, for
any thing of all that he hath done, in trespassing therein."
These are the very words of the Law. The like provision
was made in most other cases, where either the Command
ments or Ordinances of the Lord were broken.

Whensoever therefore Zacharias or Elizabeth, or any
other truly devout person, had committed any sin, as be sure
they did sometimes, either of ignorance or wilfulness, they

26 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. presently took this course, they brought their sin or trespass-
— offering, according to the nature of their crime, and the
Priest having therewith made atonement for the sin, the sin
was effectually remitted, and the person that committed it,
was no longer guilty of it, but as blameless as if he had
never committed it, and that too, in the esteem of God
Himself: For He Himself saith, " The sin shall be for
given ;" or, as the words may be rendered, " The sin is
forgiven, ipso facto" And if the sin be forgiven, the guilt
is all taken away, and then the blame must needs cease,
and the person in the eye of the law, is in the same state he
was before he committed the sin, blameless.

As we see also in that remarkable character which is
given of David, much like that in my text, for as it is here
said, that these two persons " walked in all the Command
ments and Ordinances of the Lord blameless," so it is said

i Kings is. of David, " That he did that which was right in the eyes of
the Lord, and 'turned not aside from any thing that He had
commanded him, all the days of his life, save only in the
matter of Uriah the Hittite." David without all doubt, was
guilty of many other sins besides that, several of which are
recorded in Scripture ; as in the matter of Nabal, Mephi-
bosheth, and in numbering the people ; for which God was
so angry at him, that He punished him with a severe plague
among the people he had numbered. But for these and
suchlike sins, he had brought his trespass-offerings, and so
they were atoned and expiated, and therefore no longer
imputed to him. As it is particularly recorded in that of his
numbering the people ; for he had no sooner offered his

^Sam. 24. burnt - offerings and peace-offerings, " but the Lord was
entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from
Israel." And therefore notwithstanding his other sins, he
was looked upon in the eye of the law, as not having
" turned aside from any of the Commandments, save only in
the matter of Uriah the Hittite," for which the law had
provided no propitiatory sacrifice, as he himself confesseth

PS. 51. 16. in the exercise of his repentance for it, saying, " For thou
desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it, thou delightest
not in burnt-offering," that is, for such sins as these are.
They being so great, that nothing less than a broken spirit

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 27

and a contrite heart, will be accepted of as a sacrifice for PS. si. 17.
them.

But as for his other sins, the Law itself having acquitted
and discharged him from them, they were remembered no
more against him. And therefore it was truly said, that he
turned not aside from any of the Commandments ; because
he either kept the Commandments themselves, or did that
whereby the breach of them was made up.

But as it doth not follow from David's being said to
have done right in the eyes of the Lord, and not to have
turned aside from any of his Commandments, that he never
had committed any actual sin, but that in the matter of
Uriah ; so here, because it is said that Zacharias and
Elizabeth were both righteous before God, and " walked in
all His Commandments and Ordinances blameless," it doth
not thence follow, that they never had been guilty of any
sin, but that their guilt and blame was taken off by the
sacrifices, which God had ordained in that case, and so were
part of the Ordinances which they always walked in.

Not that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sin, Heb.io.4.
as the Apostle saith. There could be no such virtue in them,
but as they were types of Christ, who offered up Himself as
a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of mankind, and therefore
is called, "The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of John i. 29.
the world." But because He was to offer up Himself but
once, and that too in the last ages of the world, God was
pleased in the meanwhile to accept of bullocks, and goats,
and lambs, and the like, instead of Him, as He did of a ram
instead of Isaac, and to promise the pardon of sin to those
which offered them, upon the account of His own Son's
death signified by them, as it was by all the bloody sacrifices
that were ever offered by His appointment. Christ was
looked upon as typically slain or offered in them ; and it
was for His sake only that they which offered them obtained
remission of their sins : He being the only true propitiation, 1 John 2. 2.
or propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the world ; who is
therefore said, " to be made sin," that is, a sin-offering, " for 2 Cor. 5.21.
us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in
Him." And by reason of this relation betwixt the type and
antitype, or betwixt the sacrifices of the Old Law and the

28 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. death of Christ typified by them, he that brought any such
— — sacrifice, and laid his hand upon the head of it, as he was
bound to do, thereby transferred, as it were, his sin to
Christ ; and when the sacrifice was offered up, the merits of
Christ's death were transferred to him for the pardon of
them. Not but that repentance and faith in Christ were as
necessary in order unto pardon then, as now : but this was
the way which God Himself appointed at that time, for the
exercise of those graces to that purpose. For he that
brought a sin-offering, or a sacrifice to be offered for any
sin he had committed, did thereby plainly confess his sin,
and likewise express his repentance and sorrow for it, in
that he \vould be at so much charges to have it pardoned.
And then he testified by faith also in the promise that God
had made for the pardon of it, upon his bringing such a
sacrifice : for he would not have brought the sacrifice, if he
did not believe the promise. But all the promises of par
don, upon the account of such sacrifices, being made only in
Christ typified by them, his faith ultimately terminated in
Christ Himself; for whose sake therefore his sins were par
doned, and he himself accounted of as righteous before
God, notwithstanding the sins he had committed against
Him.

By this therefore, we may easily see the true sense and
meaning of the words in my text ; for seeing these two per
sons sincerely endeavoured to perform whatsoever either the
Moral or Levitical Law required of them, and whensoever
through ignorance, inadvertency, or the violence of tempta
tions, they happened to fall into any sin, by the breach of
either of those laws, they presently took care to have it
expiated, by bringing their sin or trespass-offering, as the
Law in that case had provided ; hence, as to the righteous
ness which was in the Levitical Law, they were blameless ;
yea, and righteous before God Himself, who was pleased to
accept of this their sincerity, instead of that absolute perfec
tion which the moral Law required, upon the account of that
most perfect obedience, which His own Son was to perform
for them, even unto death. In and by whom therefore
" they were both righteous before God, walking in all the
Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord blameless."

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 29

But you will say, perhaps, What is all this to us ? Is it
possible for us to be thus righteous and blameless as these
two were 1 To that, I answer, It is most certainly possible :
It is possible for every one here present to be so. Possible,
did I say ? nay, it is far more easy for us, than it was for
them : forasmuch as the Commandments which God hath
set us, are the very same which they walked in ; and the
Ordinances He hath delivered to us, are both fewer in num
ber, and far less difficult to be observed than theirs were :
and the whole way of our attaining to true righteousness, is
made much plainer, to us under the Gospel, than it was to
them under the Law. Insomuch that we are not only bound
to be as righteous as they were, but we have more obligations
upon us to be so, than they had. I do not say, that we are
bound to be more righteous, but that we are more bound to
be righteous than they were ; for they, doubtless, were as
righteous as we can be, and by consequence, as we are bound
to be. The righteousness of all the Saints, before and since
Christ's coming, and so from the beginning to the end of the
world, being all the same righteousness. And that these two
persons had attained to as high a degree of it, as it was need
ful, or indeed possible for them to do, we cannot doubt, in
that they have this testimony from God Himself, that they
were righteous before Him. But we, by the Gospel, having
clearer discoveries both of our duty to God and of His pro
mises to us, than they had under the Law, we must needs be
so much more obliged to " walk in all the Commandments and
Ordinances of the Lord blameless."

This therefore is that which we are now to consider, even
how we may become such righteous persons as these were :
righteous in the sight of God Himself? A question, which I
suppose you all desire to have resolved, as being, I hope, de
sirous to become such yourselves. And unless you really
desire it, it will be in vain for you to hearken to what shall be
said about it. But if you really and heartily desire it, you
cannot but resolve beforehand to practise whatsoever I shall
prove from God's Holy Word to be necessary in order to it.
And indeed such an holy resolution, is the first step towards
your obtaining of it : and that without which it will be to no
purpose for me to say any more concerning it : for what will

30 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. it signify to you, for me to shew you how you may be right-
— eous, if you in the meanwhile care not whether you may be
so or no ? Or to prescribe any rules about it, while you are
resolved not to observe them, or at least, are not resolved to
do it ? Nothing being more certain, than that no man will do
a thing, but what he is first resolved to do. Whereas, do but
resolve in good earnest with yourselves, that by the grace of
God you will from henceforth use the utmost of your care and
diligence, in observing every thing that may conduce to your
being truly and sincerely righteous as these persons were be
fore God, and you need not question, but that by the assist
ance and merits of your Blessed Saviour you may attain it.

For this purpose therefore I desire you to observe in gene
ral, how these persons became thus righteous. They " were
righteous," saith the text, " before God, walking in all the
Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord blameless." By
this means it was that they became righteous, by " walking
in all the Commandments, and" in all the " Ordinances of the
Lord" as they ought to do. And by this means it is that we
must be made righteous, if ever we be so at all ; which there
fore that you may be, or at least understand how to be so, I
shall shew, —

I. That you ought to walk in all the Commandments.
II. . What are those Ordinances you must walk in, and how
you must walk in all them too.

III. How by this means, you will become righteous before
God.

As for the first, what the Commandments of the Lord are,
you all know, even those Ten, which, as I observed before, He
delivered upon Mount Sinai, and afterwards wrote with His
own finger upon two tables of stone, under which all the
moral duties which you owe either to God Himself, or to
one another, are comprehended, as they are explained by the
Prophets in the Old, and by Christ and His Apostles in the
New Testament. These you must always walk in ; that is,
you must direct your thoughts, your affections, your words,
and your actions, all according to them ; sincerely endea
vouring all you can, never to turn aside from any of them,
either to the right hand or to the left ; but still keeping as
close as possibly you can to every one of them.

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 31

I say, to every one of them, for so did these two persons :
" They walked in all the Commandments." And so must
you too, if you would be righteous ; for how many soever
you observe, unless you observe them all, you are still un
righteous persons. A thing which I desire you all to take
special notice of; for many can make a shift to do some
things : Herod himself did many things gladly ; but that
will not do your business ; you had as good, in a manner, do
nothing at all, as not do all that is required of you, to the
the utmost of your knowledge and power ; which that I may
convince you of, and so, by the blessing of God, persuade
you all to " walk in all the Commandments of the Lord
blameless," I desire you to consider, —

1. All the Commandments of the Lord, are all, one as well
as another, the Commandments of the Lord. The same Lord
that commanded any one, commanded all the rest. And so
there is the same obligation upon you to observe all, as there
is to observe any one of them : they were all written with the
same finger, all published at the same time, all enacted by
the same authority, even that which governs the whole
world : and therefore must needs be all of the same force
and power ; and that too the greatest that any laws are
capable of, in that they are the laws of the Most High God
Himself, who is King of kings, God of gods, Lord of lords,
the Supreme Magistrate, the Universal Monarch of Heaven
and earth. It is He that has laid all these commands upon
you. And as He sometimes commands you to observe one,
and sometimes another of them, so He often commands you
to observe them all together. And now, Israel, saith Moses,
" what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Deut. 10.12.
Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways ?" " Therefore shall ch. 11. s.
ye keep all the Commandments which I command you this
day." And so our Blessed Saviour Himself requires the
Apostles to teach His Disciples " all things whatsoever He Matt.28.2o.
had commanded." And elsewhere, He makes this the cha
racter of His friends and Disciples, saying, "Ye are My John is. u.
friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." And there
fore, whoso neglects any of His commands, may be sure
Christ will never own him for His friend, or a truly right
eous man. To the same purpose Moses saith, " It shall be Deut. 6. 25.

32 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. our righteousness if we observe to do all these Command-
— ments before the Lord our God, as He hath commanded

us." From whence it appears, that there can be no such
thing as real righteousness, without universal obedience to
the whole Law : and that the neglect of any one command
ment, will hinder us from being righteous in the sight of
God, although it was possible for us punctually to observe
all the rest.

But indeed that is altogether impossible ; for he that lives in
the constant neglect of any one of God's Commandments, may
be confident that he keeps never a one of them as he ought
to do, and the reason is, because they being all, as I have
shewn, the Commandments of the Lord, they ought to be
therefore only observed, because they are His Command
ments ; for whosoever doth what God commands, upon any
other account, cannot be said to obey Him in the doing of it,
as being moved to it by something else besides His Will
and Authority in commanding of it, which is the only ground
of all true obedience. But he that keeps any of God's Com
mandments only upon that account, because they are God's,
he cannot but keep them all, as having the same reason for
all, as he hath for any of them. As for example. God hath
commanded you not to take His Name in vain, and He hath
commanded not to steal : now if you keep your tongues from
taking His Name in vain, only for that reason because God
hath commanded you not to do it, you must needs keep your
hands from picking and stealing too, because the same God
hath commanded you not to do that. And so you have the
same reason for this as you had for that : and if that reason
prevailed upon you to do that, it cannot but prevail upon
you to do this also. And so of all the rest of God's Com
mandments. No one of them can possibly be kept by itself,
without the other. But as they were all published together ;
so they are either broke or kept together, which made
PS. 119. 6. David truly say, " Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have
respect unto all Thy Commandments;" "when I have re
spect," that is, when I do not only do what Thou hast com
manded, but have respect to Thy Commandments, because
they are Thine, and so have respect not to some, but to all of
them.

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 33

But that you may the better understand, and so be more
fully convinced of, and affected with this great, truth, I desire
you to consider that remarkable passage of St. James to this
purpose, where he saith, " For whosoever shall keep the James 2.10.
whole Law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
As if he had said, whosoever keepeth the greatest part of
the Law, yea, the whole, except in one point, by his offend
ing in that one point, he is guilty of all ; of all, not of every
one. For he that commits one particular sin, doth not at
the same time commit every particular sin : many sins
being of that different nature, that they cannot possibly be
committed together. But in that he is guilty of one parti
cular sin, he is in effect guilty of all : for in that he commits
that, it is plain that he doth not keep any part of the Law
as he ought to do, in obedience to God ; for if he did, he
could not but avoid that, as well as any other sin. And if
he had the same temptations to other sins, as he hath to
that, he would commit them too, and so is liable to the
breach of the whole Law. Yea, he doth indeed break the
whole, as he that breaketh any one link of a chain, breaks
the whole chain. Or to make it more plain by a familiar
instance : Suppose two men make a covenant or agreement
upon certain articles or conditions, as suppose ten, to be
performed by each party, if either of the parties break any
one of these ten articles, he breaks the whole covenant, and
forfeits all the benefits which he might have had by keeping
it, as much as if he break them all. So here, the Command
ments are the conditions on our part in the covenant which
God makes with mankind, if we desire to continue in His
love and favour. And if a man should keep all the rest, yet
if he offend in any one point, he breaks the whole covenant :
though he be not so great a sinner as if he transgressed all
the Commandments, yet he is a sinner as well as if he did
so ; for he transgresseth the Law, and so is no righteous
person : for no man, in a legal sense, can be so, that doth
not walk in all the Commandments blameless ; nor in an
Evangelical sense, unless it be his constant and sincere en
deavour to do so. So that if you desire to be in the number,
and to enjoy the privileges of righteous persons, you must of
necessity make conscience of your whole duty, so as not to

D

34 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. live in the constant neglect of any one command, nor in the

T TTT

'• — wilful commission of any one sin you know of. For if you
do, howsoever strict and exact you may be in other matters,
you are still unrighteous persons, and by consequence, ob
noxious to all the penalties which the Law threatens against
the transgressors of it.

And that is the next thing which I would have you to
take special notice of in this particular : even that God's
blessings are promised only to such as observe all His Com
mandments ; His curses denounced against those that trans-

Deut. 28. i, gress any one of them. "And it shall come to pass," saith

2- Moses, " if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of

the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His Command
ments, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high, above
all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come

ch. 27. 26. on thee, and overtake thee." " But cursed be he that con-
firmeth not all the words of this Law to do them ; " which
last are the words which St. Paul means, where he saith,

Gal. s. 10. " For as many as are of the works of the Law, are under the
curse ; for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth
not in all things which are written in the book of the Law
to do them." From whence ye may plainly see, that it is
not your avoiding some sins, unless you avoid all ; it is not
your keeping of some of the Commandments, unless you
keep all, that can secure you from the curse of God ; for He
hath threatened it against all, that do not continue in all
things that He hath commanded. And therefore he that
offends in any one point, is obnoxious to it, as well as he
that offends in many. He is obnoxious to the curse, that is,
to all manner of misery and trouble that mankind is capable
of in this world or the next, and so to eternal death and
damnation in Hell-fire : it is all due to all, and every sin
that is committed ; to all as well as to any, and to every one

Rom. 6. 23. as well as to all. Hence the Apostle saith, " The wages of
sin is death." " The wages of sin," not only of this or that
sin, but of sin in general, and so of all sin, one as well as
another, death is due to it, as its just and proper wages,
which it deserves at the hands of God, who at first threatened
it only to one sin, but by that it was brought down upon all ;
for having forbidden Adam to eat of the tree of the know-

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 35

ledge of good and evil, He saith, " In the day thou eatest Gen. 2. 17.
thereof thou shalt surely die." Not if thou breakest all or
most of My Commandments, but in the day thou breakest
this one, " thou shalt surely die ; " that is, thou shalt be
guilty of, and obnoxious to, all manner of death, temporal,
spiritual, eternal death. And so he was. By this one sin
he entailed death, and so all sorts of misery, upon himself
and his whole posterity ; so that one sin corrupted and de
stroyed the whole world, and brought all manner of troubles
and calamities into it ; and therefore we may easily conclude
that it will do so to any particular person. Though you
should avoid all sins but one, that one will damn you as well
as all : one as well as a thousand. It is true, the more sins
you commit, the greater will your damnation be in Hell.
But if you live and die but in any one sin unrepented of, you
will still be condemned to the same place, even to utter
darkness, " where is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing [Mark 9.
of teeth ; where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not 4
quenched." And therefore it will be to little purpose for
you to leave off any of your sins, unless you leave them all
off; or to keep some of God's Commandments, unless you
keep them all as near as you can : for you will still be in the
number of wicked and unrighteous persons, and so the heirs
of eternal damnation.

Hence, in the last place, Christ died for all sin, one as well
as another ; yea, it is very observable, that He is never said
to have suffered for any particular sin, but only for sin in
general. " He was wounded for our transgressions, He was isa. 53. 5.
bruised for our iniquities." " He was delivered for pur Rom. 4. 25.
offences." "He died for our sins." "He is the Lamb of i Cor. 15.3.
God which taketh away the sin of the world." Not this or John i. 29.
that sin, but the sin of the world indefinitely, and so all
manner of sin that mankind can be guilty of. Which as it
is the greatest encouragement, so it is the strongest argument
imaginable, why you should forsake not only some or most,
but all manner of sin whatsoever. For whatsoever sin it is
that any of you indulge yourselves in, consider and bethink
yourselves, it was for that very sin, amongst others, that
Christ suffered, not only shame and pain, but death itself;
yea, the most shameful and painful death upon the Cross.

36 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. What! and will you take pleasure in that sin, which put
- your Saviour to so much torment ? Live in that for which
the Son of God died ? Continue to do that which brought
the best friend you have, with so much grief and sorrow to
His grave? God forbid. No. Let it never be said, that
you prefer your sin before your Saviour, so as to crucify Him
afresh, rather than mortify that. But rather as He died for,
do you die to, all manner of sin, so as to " walk in all the
Commandments of the Lord blameless." Otherwise you
may pretend what you please, but I dare assure you, you are
not such righteous persons as these in my text were ; how
soever you may appear before men, you are not righteous
before God.

This therefore is the first thing to be done, in order to
your being truly righteous. You must look every one into
his own heart, and search out every sin, that hath hitherto
reigned there, and do all you can for the future, to subdue
and expel it. You must leave and forsake, not only others,
but your own darling and beloved vices. You must be able
PS. is. 23. to say with David, " I was also upright," or as the word sig
nifies, " Perfect and righteous before Him, and I kept myself
from mine iniquity." You must set all the Commandments
continually before your eyes, and order all your actions ac
cording to them. You must not allow yourselves in any
one thing that God hath forbidden, nor wilfully neglect any
one duty that He hath commanded you to perform. You
[Acts 24. must keep your " conscience void of all offence both towards
[i Pet. i. God and men." " As He who hath called you is holy, so
must you be holy in all manner of conversation." In short,
ye must walk in all the Commandments of the Lord, and
then you will have but one more step to true righteousness,
and that is, to walk in all His Ordinances too.

SERMON LIV.

UNIVERSAL OBEDIENCE REQUISITE TO SALVATION.

LUKE i. 6.

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the
Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord blameless.

WHAT these Ordinances were, which Zacharias and
Elizabeth walked in, we have shewn already ; and from
thence may easily gather what those are, which we must
walk in, if we would be righteowg : for the Ordinances which
they observed, were those of the Levitical Law, which were
all positive precepts ordained by God, to make up the defects
of their obedience to the Moral Law, by the exercise of their
repentance and faith in Christ, the great propitiation for the
sins of the world. For these being the terms upon which
the merits of Christ's death are applied to any person for
the pardon of his sins, and for the acceptance of his sincere,
instead of perfect righteousness, it was as necessary for them,
as it is for us, to have some means of God's own ordaining,
whereby to obtain and act them. And such in the old Law,
were the sacrifices which they were bound to offer for the
sins they had committed : and therefore he that brought his
sin or trespass-offering, was first to confess his sin, and to
testify his repentance for it. "And it shall be," saith the Lev. 5. s;
Law, " when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he Num' 5' 7-
shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing." And the
Jews have a tradition, that this confession was made upon
the head of the sacrifice which the person brought : for lay
ing his hands between the horns of the sacrifice, he was to
say, " O Lord, I have sinned, I have done wickedly, I have

38 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

dealt falsely before Thee. Behold I repent, I am ashamed
of my deeds, I will never do that thing any more." Which
was as high and solemn an expression of their repentance, as
could be well devised. And the Jews themselves acknow
ledge also, that the sacrifices were of no efficacy nor ad
vantage at all, nor expiated any sin, without repentance and
confession. And therefore the Prophets all along make
repentance necessary unto pardon, notwithstanding all their
Ezek.i8.3o. sacrifices, as " Repent and turn yourselves from all your
transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin." And so
frequently elsewhere. Indeed, this was one great end of all
the bloody sacrifices, to put the people in mind of the
heinousness of their sins, which could not be expiated with
out the shedding of blood, and so to put them upon an hearty
and sincere repentance for them.

And as for faith, they had continual occasion given them
for the exercise of that, in all the sacrifices which were
offered for the expiation of sin : faith in God, in that they
were offered to Him ; and faith in the promised Messiah or
Christ, in that they were offered for the expiation of sin.
For they could not imagine that there was any such virtue
in the blood of beasts, as to satisfy God, the Almighty Crea
tor of the world, for the sins which they had committed
against Him, and so could have no ground to expect or
hope, that He would pardon them for the sake of a company
of slain beasts ; but all their hopes of pardon were grounded
upon God's promise annexed to such sacrifices, as that was
upon the death of Christ, typified and represented by them.
Col. 1. 14. For " it is only through His blood that we can have forgive-
Johm. 29. ness of sins." He is that true " Lamb of God which taketh
i Pet. 1. 19. away the sin of the world ;" that " Lamb without spot and
Eph. 5. 2. blemish, by whose precious blood we are redeemed ; " " Who
gave Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
isa. 53. 10. sweet-smelling savour ;" " Whose soul was made an offering
for sin," or " a siri-offering," as the Prophet himself speaks.
All other sin-offerings were only types and shadows of His :
that which He offered, by offering up Himself, was the sub
stance, the true and real sacrifice, which expiated the sins of
the world. This they knew before as well, though not so
clearly, as we do since it happened; as appears not only

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 39

from the Prophet before quoted, but from many other places
of the Old Testament. And therefore they believed in Christ
as well as we. "Abraham rejoiced to see Christ's day, he Johns. 56.
saw it and was glad." "Moses esteemed the reproach of Heb. 11.26.
Christ, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt." " For ch. 4. 2.
the Gospel was preached to them as well as unto us." And
indeed, the chief end of all their sacrifices, was to put them
in mind of that which Christ was to offer for them ; and so
to give them occasion to exercise their faith, and put their
confidence in Him for pardon and Salvation. And therefore
these Ordinances were indeed their means of grace, whereby
they obtained the mercy and assistance of God for the par
don of their sins, and the acceptance of their sincere, instead
of perfect righteousness, through the blood of Christ, and
His merits and intercession for them.

Now these Ordinances having respect to Christ as to come
afterwards, arid so being fitted only for that time, before
His coming in the flesh, they must needs cease in course,
when He was once come and had actually offered up Him
self for the sins of the world : and it was then necessary
there should be other Ordinances instituted in their place, as
the ordinary means whereby mankind might obtain grace,
and the favour of God, through Christ, to the end of the
world. And these we are now as much obliged to walk in,
as they were in theirs, if we desire to be righteous before
God ; that is, to come up to the terms of the Gospel, by
repenting of our sins, and believing in Christ, so as that we
may be justified before God, by His merits and Mediation
for us.

Of this sort is, first, the solemn hearing of God's Holy
Word read, expounded, or preached publicly, by a "minister"
of His own, commissioned to do it in His Name. They had
something I confess of this before. " For Moses of old time Acts 15.21,
had in every city them that preached Him, being read in the
synagogues every Sabbath-day." And so this might in some
sense be one of those Ordinances which they also walked in :
but the Scriptures, especially such as related to our Saviour,
were so obscure then, and wrapt up in such types and figures,
that the reading of them could not be so effectual to the
working in them true repentance and faith in Christ, as it is

40 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. now : when we have all the mysteries of our Salvation by
- Him, so clearly and fully revealed to us by Himself and His
Apostles ; whereby the hearing of God's Holy Word is now
become quite another thing, and so great a means of grace
and Salvation, that many have been converted by the hear
ing of one chapter read, or one sermon preached as it ought
to be : as St. Peter's preaching that one short sermon upon

Acts 2. 37, the day of Pentecost, about " three thousand souls were
pricked in their hearts, and so repented and turned to
Christ." And after the same Apostle had preached another

ch. 4. 4. sermon in the temple, it is said, " Many that heard the
Word, believed, and the number of the men was about five
thousand." And while the same Apostle was preaching to

ch. 10. 44. Cornelius and his friends, " The Holy Ghost fell on all them
that heard the Word." Many such examples we have in the

[Acts 26. Acts, of those who were turned from darkness to light, from
the power of Satan unto God, by the preaching of the Gos-

i Cor. LIB. pel, which St. Paul therefore calls, " the power of God."
And so it appeared to be, in that the greatest part of the
known world was by this means converted to the Christian
faith. And to this day it hath the same power and efficacy
as it ever had, as many have found by their own experience ;
and if it ever fail of having the same effect, it is not for want
of power in the Word preached, but by reason of some
indisposition in them that hear it : the ground is bad, and
then it is no wonder that the seed sown never comes to
perfection.

And besides, as by this means men are brought to a due
sense of their sins, and to a sincere repentance for them, so
likewise to true faith in Christ. For as the Apostle saith,

Rom. lo.i 7. " Faith cometh by hearing." By this we are instructed in
what we ought to believe, and by this we are enabled to
believe, what we are so instructed in : by this our faith is
begun, and by this we are confirmed and strengthened in it :
by this our understandings are enlightened, our judgments

[Acts 16. informed, and our hearts opened, as Lydia's was, to receive
the Word in love of it : by this, God is pleased to manifest
Himself to us, and to incline our minds to Him, His own
Holy Spirit usually working together with His Word, to
make it effectual to those great ends and purposes for which

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 41

He hath ordained it ; and therefore this is an Ordinance
which we must always walk in, as ever we desire to come to
the end of our faith, even the Salvation of our souls. LiPet.i.9.]

Another Ordinance, is that of praying and praising God
together, which in the Jewish Church was joined with their
sacrifices and incense ; for every day throughout the year,
they were bound to offer two lambs, the one in the morning,
and the other in the evening, for a burnt-offering : and upon
the Sabbath, and other extraordinary days, they were to offer
more ; at which times the people were bound to be there,
and they who made conscience of their duty seldom failed.
Now when the burnt-offering began, the singers sang, the
trumpeters sounded, and all the congregation fell upon their
faces, and worshipped and prayed, as we read in Hezekiah's
time. (2Chron. xxix. 28. So also Ecclus. 1. 17-19.) And
this continued till the burnt-offering was finished : after that
the priest went to the altar of incense before the veil, which
the people without in the outward court having notice of,
they all fell to their prayers, every one praying to himself,
without speaking a word ; and this continued all the while
the incense was burning, which was usually about half an
hour, their prayers ascending up to Heaven, as they sup
posed, together with the incense. And therefore none of
them offered to go away or leave off their prayers till the
incense being all burnt, the priest came out to pronounce Numb.6.24.
the blessing. This David alludes to, where he saith, " Let PS- HI. 2.
my prayer come before Thee as incense, and the lifting up
of my hands as the evening sacrifice." This being indeed
their constant way of praying, they commonly reckoning no
prayers acceptable to God, except they were joined with
burnt-offerings or incense. But such offerings were them- i Sam. 13.
selves looked upon as praying, and called by that name.

These things I mention here, that you may understand
their way of praying under the old Law, and some passages
also in this history of Zacharias : for it is here said, that
whilst he was gone into the temple or tabernacle to burn
incense, " the whole multitude of the people were praying Luke 1. 10.
without at the time of incense." And afterwards it is said,
" that the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that ver. 21.
he tarried so long in the Temple." "And when he came out, ver. 22.

42 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. he could not speak unto them." They had been at their
— '- — devotions longer than the incense used to be burning, and
therefore could not but wonder what should be the reason
he stayed so long : howsoever they durst not go away till he
came to give them the blessing ; but when he came out, he
could not speak, he could not pronounce the blessing, but
only beckoned to them, by which they perceived that he had
seen a vision, as he really had, and was struck dumb with it
too, to shew that the forerunner of Christ, being now to be
born, and by consequence Christ Himself to follow soon
after, the Levitical Priesthood was now to cease ; that those
kind of Priests were not much longer to bless the people,
but that this whole Ordinance or way of worship and praying
by typical sacrifices and incense, was to be abolished, and
another introduced in its room.

And so verily there was ; for praying under the Gospel is
quite another thing from what it was then : for our prayers
are now directed to God in the Name, and by the Medi
ation of Him whom all their legal sacrifices and incense
only typified ; which theirs were not : for we seldom find
them mentioning the Messiah in their prayers, nor to have
had any respect to Him, but as He was represented by their
sacrifices : whereas it is certain, that it is only in and through
Him, that any prayers that men make can be heard, or his
praises accepted before God. This Himself takes notice of,
saying to His Disciples brought up in the Jewish religion,

John 16. 24. " Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name." But then

ver. 23. He saith withal, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever
ye shall ask the Father in My Name, He will give it you."

ver. 26, 27. And again, " At that day ye shall ask in My Name. And
I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you, for
the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me,
and have believed that I came out from God." As if He
had said, I need not tell you, or I say not only to you, that
I will pray for you, that your prayers may be heard, but
that My Father Himself loves you for My sake, and for
My sake therefore ye may be sure that He will hear your

John 14. is. prayers. And elsewhere He saith, "Whatsoever ye shall
ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son." From whence we may observe, that

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 43

Christ being now in Heaven, and there appearing as our
Advocate before the presence of God for us, He takes notice
of all the prayers which are put up in His Name, and takes
care they be all answered, so far as what we ask is really
good for us.

And that we may the better understand how He doth
this, it was clearly described in a vision to St. John, when
he saw an angel come and stand at the altar, "having aRev.s. 3,4.
golden censer ; and there was given unto him much incense,
that he should offer it with the prayers of <all Saints, upon
the golden altar which was before the throne. And the
smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the
Saints, ascended up before God, out of the Angel's hand."
Where the Angel is Christ, the golden censer His body or
human nature, the incense His merits, with which He
offers up the prayers of all Saints, and so makes them effec
tual. Of all which, the incense that was used together with
their prayers in the Mosaic law, was only a type or figure :
this of Christ's merits is that real and substantial incense
that perfumes our prayers, and renders them acceptable
to God.

And not only our prayers, but our praises too, which
always are, or should be joined with them; for they also, by
reason of Christ's merits and Mediation for us, are accepted
of as real sacrifices offered up to God by Him. "By Him Heb. 13.15.
therefore," saith the Apostle, "let us offer the sacrifice of
praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips,
giving thanks to His Name." And thus it is, that instead
of the typical and material sacrifices of the old Law, we
now offer up real and " spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to i Pet. 2. 5.
God by Jesus Christ."

Hence therefore we may see how great an Ordinance this
of public prayer is, and how effectual a means of grace and
Salvation, especially as it is managed in our Church,
wherein all our prayers to God, are directed to Him only
in the Name of His only-begotten Son, all concluding with
these words, " through Jesus Christ our Lord," or others to
the same effect. Neither do we put them up only once or
twice a-week ; but as the Jews had their daily sacrifices, so
we have our daily prayers, every morning and evening ; and

44 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. every time we meet together to offer up these our spiritual
J— - — sacrifices, we praise God for every good thing we have, and

we pray unto Him for every thing we want, that can be
good for us. And all this being done only in the Name of
our great High Priest, who is always interceding for us, and
presenting our prayers to His Father with the incense of His
own all-sufficient merits, if we be not failing to ourselves in
acting our faith upon Him, we can never fail of a gracious
acceptance with Almighty God, nor by consequence of the
manifold blessings that follow upon it. So that by this
means we may obtain grace to repent of all the errors of our
life past : by this means we may obtain a quick and lively
faith in Christ our Saviour : by this means we may obtain
the pardon of all the sins we ever committed : by this means
we may obtain the Holy Spirit of God, to mortify our lusts,
and to quicken us with newness of life ; to keep us from
heresy and vice, and lead us into all truth and virtue ; to
open our eyes, enlighten our minds, purify our hearts, and
sanctify us wholly in soul, body and spirit : in short, by this
means we may be defended from all our enemies, protected
from all manner of evil, directed in all our affairs, and

[2 Pet. 1.3.] endowed with all things necessary both for life and godli
ness, to make us holy here, and happy both now and for
ever.

But for this purpose, there is another Ordinance to be
often joined with this of prayer, and that is, the Ordinance
of fasting, which though it be of no great power and
virtue without prayer, yet if duly performed, it adds great
power and virtue to it ; as our Saviour Himself plainly

Matt.i7.2i. intimates, where He saith, " there are some kinds of devils,
that go not out but by prayer and fasting together," and
therefore they who would be righteous, must often walk
in this, as well as any other Ordinance. This being the
great means whereby to keep our bodies under, and our
passions in order ; to clear up our apprehensions of spiritual
things, and incline our affections to them ; to take off our
minds from the earth, and raise them up to Heaven ; to fix
our thoughts in prayer, and to make our desires more
intense and fervent. In a word, this is the great means
whereby to cleanse our hearts from vicious and corrupt

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 45

humours, and so to make them fit temples for the Holy
Ghost to dwell in.

There are still two Evangelical Ordinances behind, without
which, where they may be had, the other will not do our
business, and they are the two Sacraments, Baptism, and the
Lord's Supper ; whereof the first was brought into the
Church, in the place of Circumcision, which was no part of
the Levitical Law, but an ordinance instituted long before
Moses, when God was pleased to establish His covenant
with Abraham, and to ordain this to be the sign of it, say
ing, " This is My Covenant, which ye shall keep between Gen. 17. 10.
Me and you, and thy seed after thee, every man-child
among you shall be circumcised." " And ye shall circum- ver. 11.
cise the flesh of your fore-skin, and it shall be a token of the
covenant betwixt Me and you." And from that time for
ward, this was the constant way appointed by God Himself,
for admitting any into the covenant with Him, which cove
nant being established in the blood of Christ, in token
thereof none were then admitted into it without blood,
which was always shed in Circumcision. But instead of
that troublesome and painful Ordinance, Christ hath com
manded that persons be initiated into His Church, and made
His Disciples, by being baptized in the " Name of the Matt.28.i9.
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." Which is as plain and easy
a way as could be found out ; and is not therefore to be
slighted or neglected, but rather the more highly esteemed,
and the more diligently observed.

As when Elisha bade Naaman the Syrian only go and
wash himself seven times in Jordan, and he shall be cured
of his leprosy. Naaman at first was angry that the Prophet
required so little a thing of him, and therefore would not do
it, until his servants, being wiser than their lord, said to him,
" My father, if the Prophet had bid thee do some great 2 Kings 5.
thing, wouldst thou not have done it ? How much rather lj
then, when he saith to thee, Wash and be clean ? " So here,
Christ only bids us wash, and we shall be clean ; and tells
us withal, that, " Except a man be thus born of water and John 3. 5.
of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God."
But that " Whosoever believeth and is baptized, shall be
saved." And therefore they who despise or neglect to do so

46 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. easy a thing as this, at his command, have no more ground
- — to expect to be saved by Him, than Naaman had to be cured
of his leprosy if he had not washed himself in Jordan as the
Prophet bade him.

But this is an Ordinance which we cannot so properly be
said to walk in, because it is to be done only once in a man's
life. But howsoever, as Zacharias and Elizabeth took care
to have their son circumcised according to God's command,
so are all parents as much obliged to have their children
baptized according to Christ's institution, otherwise they are
not like those two, righteous before God, as not walking
in all the Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord, as
they did.

The other Sacrament is that of the Lord's Supper, which
our Lord Himself ordained immediately before He was
betrayed and apprehended, in order to His being offered up
as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. For all legal sacrifices
being only types of His, and therefore to have an end, and
expire together with Him, our Lord was pleased to institute
this, not for a propitiatory sacrifice, as the Papists absurdly
imagine, but as a commemorative sacrifice, to put His
Church always in mind of that which He then offered, by

Luke22.io. that one oblation of Himself for the sins of mankind. " Do
this," saith He, " in remembrance of Me." By which means
this Sacrament supplies the defect of all the Levitical sacrifices,
the Paschal Lamb, the sin-offerings, the trespass-offerings,
the peace-offerings, the thank-offerings, the whole burnt-
offerings, they are all now laid aside, and this one substi
tuted in their place, of more power and efficacy to the ends
for which they were ordained, than all they put together ;
for they only foreshewed Christ's death until it happened,
this shews it forth to the end of the world : for as the

iCor.ii.26. Apostle saith, " As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this
cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come." And that
nothing might be wanting in this Sacrament which was of
any use in the Levitical Law, wheresoever it is administered,
we offer up something of what God hath bestowed upon us,
as a free-will offering, in acknowledgment, as of all the
other blessings we have received from Him, and hold conti
nually of Him, so especially of this, the fountain and found-

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 47

ation of them all, even the death which His only Son was
pleased to undergo for us.

This therefore being that Holy Sacrament, which our
Saviour Himself substituted into the room of all legal sacri
fices, and ordained in memory of Himself, we must needs be
obliged to receive it as oft as possibly we can. It is true,
He hath prescribed no set times for it, as He did for the
sacrifices under the Law ; yet however, seeing it comes into
their place, it ought to bear some proportion with them in
this respect, at least so far, that as they, besides their daily,
had their weekly sacrifices more than ordinary upon the
Sabbath-day ; so we should celebrate this Holy Sacrament
once a-week upon the Lord's Day, as we find the Apostles
did. And seeing Christ has limited no time for it, we ought
not to limit, but extend it as far as we can, so as to lay hold
on all opportunities that are put into our hands, of cele
brating the memory of the best Friend that we ever had, and
the greatest act of love that ever was or ever can be done
for us.

Especially considering the mighty benefits and advantages
that accrue to us by a due and worthy receiving of this Holy
Sacrament. Hereby we are put in mind of the sinfulness of
sin, and the dreadful punishments which are due unto it, [f?m- 7<
seeing nothing less than the blood of the Son of God could
expiate it. Hereby our minds are set against it, and our
whole souls are taught to abhor and loathe it. Hereby we
exercise our faith in Christ, for the pardon of all our faults,
and have them accordingly pardoned to us : hereby we wash
ourselves over again, as it were, in the blood of the Lamb of
God, which cleanseth us from all sin : hereby we derive
power and virtue from Christ, to withstand the temptations
of the world, the flesh, and the Devil, and to serve God with
a perfect heart and a willing mind : hereby we dwell in
Christ, and Christ in us ; we are one with Christ, and Christ
with us : hereby our repentance is renewed, our faith con
firmed, our sins weakened, our graces strengthened, our
hearts comforted, and our souls fitted to live with Christ in
the other world : for as our bodies are nourished by bread
and wine, so by the body and blood of Christ, here mysti
cally received, our souls are nourished and preserved to

48 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. everlasting life : as, I hope, many of us shall now find by
- experience.

These are, in short, those Ordinances which we must all
walk in, if we desire to be like Zacharias and Elizabeth,
righteous before God. Neither must we content ourselves
with any one or more of them, but as we must walk in all
the Commandments, so we must walk in all the Ordinances
too. For they also are all commanded by the same Lord,
and therefore all the same reasons that oblige us to observe
any of the Commandments, oblige us also to observe them ;
and the omission or neglect of any of them, is as great a sin,
and makes us liable to as great punishments, as the trans
gression of any other Commandment can do.

And besides, these are not only commanded themselves,
but they are appointed to be Ordinances and means whereby
we may be enabled to keep all the other Commandments :
and therefore they who do not keep these, may be confident
that they keep none at all, there being no way to attain the
end, without using the means ; all the means that are neces
sarily required in order to it, as be sure all these are ; for
otherwise they would not be required at all ; for it cannot be
imagined, that He who came into the world for no other
purpose but to save us, should require any thing of us but
what is necessary for Salvation. And therefore He having
-commanded us to be baptized, to read, and hear God's
Holy Word ; to fast and pray, and praise His sacred Name,
and to receive His Blessed Sacrament, we cannot possibly
refuse or neglect any of these Ordinances, without manifest
prejudice to ourselves, and apparent hazard of our eternal
Salvation by Him.

Neither must ye think, that the walking in any one of
these Ordinances will serve your turn without the other.
He that walketh only part of his way, will never come to
his journey's end. These Ordinances are indeed the effec
tual means of grace, not singly, but conjunctly : not one by
one, but altogether : they are all the way that leads to Hea
ven, and he that goes not quite through them, had as good
stand still, and never step into them ; for they all depend
upon, and influence, assist, and forward one another. By
hearing God's Holy Word, we are made sensible of our sins ;

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 49

by fasting, we humble ourselves for them; by prayer, we
obtain the pardon of them ; and by the Holy Sacrament, we
have that pardon sealed to us in the blood of Christ. By
hearing, our faith is begun ; by fasting, it is quickened ; by
praying, it is increased ; and by the Sacrament, it is con
firmed and strengthened : again, by hearing we come to
know our duty ; by fasting, we are disposed for it ; by pray
ing, we are inclined to it; and by the Sacrament, we are
enabled to perform it : or, in short, take it thus : hearing
makes us wise ; fasting, humble ; praying, devout ; and the
receiving of the Lord's Supper, makes us " steadfast, un- [i Cor. is.
moveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord," as
suring us, that " our labour shall not be in vain in the
Lord."

What therefore will it avail you to observe any one of these
Ordinances without the other ? Will that make you right
eous before God ? No surely. If it would, He would never
have ordained the rest ; but in that He hath ordained them
all, one as well as another, it is plain, they are all, in their
several respects, as necessary to be observed, in order to
your being righteous, as it is for a patient to go through the
whole course of physic, which his able physician prescribes,
if he desires to be cured of his malady.

Hence therefore I cannot forbear to advise and beseech
you all, especially those of this parish, who are committed
to my charge, that you would use all the care and diligence
you can, constantly to walk in all and every one of those
Ordinances which Christ your Saviour hath ordained, in
order to your obtaining Salvation by Him. I am very sen
sible, that I must ere long give up an account of my steward
ship to my great Lord and Master, and therefore dare not
but administer these means of grace to you, as often as the
Church or your necessities require it. You have the Word
of God read constantly every day in the week, and ex
pounded or preached every Lord's Day, and that too in so
plain and familiar a way, that, I hope, the meanest capacity
in the congregation may understand it. You have the
public prayers and praises of our Church read to you every
day throughout the year, according to the best form that
was ever composed by any church : you are put in mind of

E

50 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. keeping your bodies under by fasting and abstinence, as
— often as the Church requires it, or the common experience
of all Christians hath found it necessary. You have the
Sacrament of Baptism administered upon all occasions, in
your sight and hearing, to put you in mind of the solemn
vow and promise which you made, when you yourselves
were baptized. You have the Sacrament of the Lord's
Supper administered every Lord's Day in the year, and are
as constantly invited to it, and exhorted to partake of it :
and if there be any thing else that can conduce any thing

[Jude 20.] towards the building you up in your most holy faith, and so
to your eternal Salvation, I shall be as ready to administer
it, as you can be to desire it. And what defects Almighty
God sees (as I am conscious to myself He sees a great
many) in the discharge of my duty towards you, I hope, for
His Son's sake, He will pardon them all to me, and make
them up some other way to you. And therefore if it be not
your own faults, none of you but may attain eternal life and
happiness through Christ, in the use of these means, which
He for that very purpose hath ordained, and caused to be so
constantly administered to you, according to the order and
direction of that most excellent Church you live in.

But if you, after all, slight, despise, or neglect these Ordi
nances, or any of them, I shall lose the pleasure of giving
up my account with joy, but it is you that will feel the smart
of it. And then you will wish with all your hearts, that you
had neglected your carnal pleasures and profits rather than
prayers and Sacraments. But alas ! then it will be too late,
wishing will do no good ; you once had these opportunities
put into your hands, but you would not make use of them.
You might have heard the Word of God solemnly and pub
licly read every day, but you would not. You might have
joined together every day in praying and praising God, but
you would not : you might have received the Sacrament of
the Lord's Supper every week, but you would not ; except
perhaps when you had nothing else to do. How will the
remembrance of this grate upon your consciences? How
will it fret and torment your souls ? What an aggravation
will this be of your misery then, as it is of your sin now ?
So great an aggravation, that the consideration of it, would

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 51

almost tempt me, if I durst, to lay aside some part of these
opportunities, so as not to administer the Word and Sacra
ments so often as you now enjoy them. But alas ! I dare
not, it is my duty to administer them as I do, and therefore
must continue it, and leave the event to God and you, as
knowing that these are the means which God hath appointed
for your Salvation : and hoping, that although some by the
instigation of the Devil, neglect them, to their greater shame
and confusion, yet others, by the blessing of God, will im
prove them to their greater glory and happiness in the other
world.

All that I can do more, is to admonish and exhort you to
walk with Zacharias and Elizabeth, as in all the Command
ments, so likewise in all the Ordinances of the Lord blame
less. Do not take up with some without the other, not with
any without all ; nor yet with all without walking blameless
in them. Catch at all opportunities you can get, of present
ing yourselves before your Heavenly Father in our daily
prayers, and before your blessed Redeemer in the Holy Sacra
ment : and come with that presence of mind, with that sim
plicity of heart, with that humility, reverence and faith, as
becomes such sacred Ordinances: and I dare assure you,
your time will not be lost, but the best spent of any part of
your whole life. For by this means your hearts by degrees
will be emptied of all carnal and worldly thoughts, and filled
with such a sense of God and religion, as by His grace and
assistance, will keep you firm and steadfast in His faith and
fear all your life long, and so make you righteous before
God Himself.

How this comes to pass, even how by this means you will
become righteous before God, is the last thing I promised
to shew, and may easily do it : for although I do not deny,
but that after all your endeavours to walk in all the Com
mandments, you will offend in some ; and after all your
endeavours to walk in all the Ordinances of the Lord, you
will not be altogether blameless in any, as not performing
them with that perfect exactness as ye ought ; yet so great
are the mercies of God, and so all-sufficient are the merits
of your Saviour, that God for His sake will accept of what
you thus do sincerely, as well as if it was done perfectly ;

52 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. and so, notwitstanding your daily infirmities and manifold
LIV' — imperfections, He will look upon you in His Son as right
eous, and by consequence you will be righteous before Him,
or as the word signifies, in His sight. He will overlook
your infirmities and take notice only of your sincerity, and
Heb.i3.2i. that shall be "well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus
Christ."

This is that great mystery that is revealed to us in the
Rom. 3. 20. Gospel, wherein as we are assured, " That by the deeds of
the Law, no flesh sliall be justified," or accepted of as right
eous in the sight of God ; " so we are assured withal, that
ver. 24. we " are justified freely by His grace, through the redemption
iPet. 2. 5. that is in Christ Jesus;" that our "spiritual sacrifices are
EPh. 1.6. acceptable to God by Jesus Christ;" that He "hath made
2 Cor. 5. 21. us accepted in His beloved Son ;" that He who "knew no
sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made the right-
iCor. i.3o. eousness of God in Him;" who is therefore said, "to be
Jer. 23. 6. made righteousness to us," or " for us," and called " the
Lord our righteousness." The meaning of all which is, that
although we be not perfectly righteous in ourselves, nor can
be, so long as we are in the body, yet the only-begotten Son
of God, in whom He is well pleased, having in our nature
been obedient to death for us, God in Him is well pleased
with us too, and with what we do, if we do but sincerely
endeavour to do what we can to obey Him, and believe in
His said Son, for His assistance of us, in the doing it, and
for God's acceptance of it when it is done ; for then God
looks upon us, not as in ourselves, but as members of that
body whereof His Son is head, and so as partakers of all the
merits both of His life and death ; whereby our sins are not
only pardoned, but all the defects and imperfections of our
obedience are supplied and made up : that most perfect obe
dience and righteousness which He performed to God for
us, being made over to us, and reckoned ours. In which
therefore, although we be not perfectly so in ourselves, yet
we appear as righteous before God, and He is pleased to
accept of us as much as if we were perfectly so in ourselves,
or rather more. The righteousness which we have in Christ,
being far greater than it was possible for us to have per
formed in our most perfect state.

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 53

Thus it was, that these two persons, in my text, became
righteous in the sight of God, before Christ's coming ; and
therefore we cannot doubt but that we who live after it, may
be so too, if we do but follow their steps, " walking in all
the Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord blameless."

And who would not be so, if he can ? If he can, did I
say ? Who cannot be so if he will ? If he will, I say, but
set himself in good earnest about it. Blessed be God, you
are all as yet, not only capable of being righteous, but you
have all the means that can be desired in order to it. And
if you will not use them, whose fault is it ? Whom can you
blame but yourselves? You must even take what follows,
and thank yourselves for it : whereas, if you be but willing
and obedient, so as to seek the righteousness of God before
all things else, and walk in all the ways that lead to it, you
cannot miss of it, but may as certainly have this testimony
as ever Zacharias and Elizabeth had it, that you are right
eous before God.

And one would think, that you should not need many ar
guments, or much entreaty, to endeavour all you can after
it : it being your own interest and concern, and that the
greatest that you have or can have in the world, which that
I may convince you of, I desire you to consider only one
thing, and that is, that righteous persons are the only happy
persons in the world, both in this world and the next.

In this world, there are many, I know, esteemed very
happy : they that have crowns upon their heads, sceptres in
their hands, and whole kingdoms at their feet : they that
have stately houses, large estates, and great possessions at
command : they that are beloved and honoured by their
neighbours, and have many servants waiting continually
upon them : they that like Dives are " clothed in purple [Luke 16.
and fine linen, and fare sumptuously every day :" they that 19^
feed upon dainties, drink the choicest wines, lie upon beds
of down, and have their fill of all earthly enjoyments: these
are reckoned the happy people of the world, in comparison
of whom, the rest of mankind are a company of miserable
and contemptible wretches. But alas ! what is there in all
this to make men happy? Nothing certainly, unless men
were like brutes, capable of no other happiness but what

54 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

SERM. consisteth in pleasing their senses, gratifying their appetites,
or tickling their disturbed imaginations. But true happi
ness is quite of another nature, and so far above the reach
of such low and little things, that a man may be as happy
without them as with them, and as miserable with them as
without them. And therefore to find out those who are
really the most happy people upon earth, we must search
for such as have their portion, not in this world, but the

[PS. 17. 14.] other ; for such "whose bellies are not filled with hidden
treasure," but whose souls are filled with the treasures of
true wisdom and righteousness : for such as are " righteous
before God, walking in all the Commandments and Ordi
nances of the Lord blameless." These we shall find to be
the only happy people in the world, in comparison of whom,
all the rest of mankind, howsoever they may think of them
selves, or appear in the eyes of their fellow-mortals, are really
poor and miserable creatures. As I do not question but you
will all acknowledge, if you do but consider the great privi
leges that are conferred upon the righteous above all other
men.

The righteous, and they only, are in favour with God, the
Supreme Governor of the world ; and in so great esteem

[Mai.3.i7.] with Him, that He calls them His special, His peculiar
people, His treasure, His jewels. They have the honour of
waiting continually upon Him, and of enjoying His presence
and the light of His countenance. They are nearly related
to all and every person in the most sacred Trinity. They
have God the Father, to be their God and their Father, to
take care of them, and to provide all things necessary for
them. They have God the Son, to be their God and their
Saviour, to save them from their sins, and to appear con
tinually in Heaven for them, and to prepare them a place
there, against they go out of this world. They have God
the Holy Ghost to be their God, their Sanctifier, and their
Comforter, to prevent their falling into sin, to assist them in
their duty, and to support and comfort them in all conditions.
They have the Holy Angels to minister unto them, and to
keep them in all their ways. They have all the Saints in
Heaven and earth for their brethren, their companions and
fellow-citizens : they have the infinite wisdom of God to

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 55

guide and direct them in all their affairs, and to shew them
the way they ought to walk in: they have the Almighty
power of God, to defend them from all their enemies, and to
protect them from all danger and mischief: they have " all [Rom. s.
things in the world working together for their good," and con- '
curring to make them happy : they have God's blessing upon
every thing they do, and upon every thing they have, to
make it the best that it can be in its kind for them : they
have all things that are good, and nothing that is evil or
unprofitable for them: they have all occurrences, all cir
cumstances, all conditions of life sanctified to them : so that
if they fall into poverty, that is made better for them than
riches ; and so is sickness and disgrace, than health and
honour : they live under the immediate care and conduct of
God Himself, whose "eyes are continually upon them, and [Ps.34.is.]
His ears open to their prayers :" they have free access unto
Him upon all occasions, and are sure to obtain whatsoever
they ask that is really good for themselves or others. " For jamess.16.
the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth
much." They " are the salt of the earth," that keep the [Matt. 5.
rest of mankind from being consumed ; as we see in Sodom,
if there had been but ten righteous persons in it, God would
have spared it for their sakes, and would not destroy it till [Gen. is.
righteous Lot was gone out. ch.'ig. 22.]

Thus the Almighty Governor of the world hath a parti
cular kindness for the righteous, guiding them by His
counsel all the while they are upon earth, and afterwards
receiving them into glory : for " the wicked must go into Matt.25.46.
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal."
So that after they have lived a few years upon earth, they
are all translated to Heaven, where they behold the glory,
and enjoy the presence of the chiefest good ; where they live
with Christ, their dear and blessed Saviour, and solace them
selves continually in the embraces of His love and favour ;
where all tears are wiped from their eyes, all cares and fears [Rev.7.i7.]
are banished from their hearts, and all manner of sin and
imperfections perfectly rooted out of their souls ; where their
spirits are made absolutely perfect, and their bodies fashioned [Phil. 3.
like to Christ's glorious body : where they have the sweet
and blessed society of their fellow glorified Saints, and of the CLljke 20-

56 Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation.

Angels, being made altogether equal to them : where
- they have all things they can possibly desire, and so are
fully satisfied with what they have : where they are as blessed
as God Himself can make them, and have all the honour and
Matt.i3.43. glory that He can confer upon them : where " they shine forth
as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father." Where, in short,
they live as cheerfully, as pleasantly, as honourably, as glori
ously, every way as happily, as it is possible for creatures to
live, and that too, not only for some time, but for evermore.
Consider these things, and tell me, whether ye do not
really think that the righteous are the happiest persons in
the world ? And whether it be not your interest as well as
duty, to endeavour all ye can, to get into the number of
them ? I am confident you cannot but all acknowledge it ;
and therefore hope that you will for the future act accord
ingly. Blessed be God, you are all as yet in a capacity of
attaining to it ; yea, more than that, you are invited, you are
exhorted, you are commanded by Almighty God to " walk
in all His Commandments and Ordinances blameless," and
so to be righteous before Him. Neither do you want any
of the means that can contribute any way towards it. These
God hath been pleased to afford to you, and to all that live
in the Communion of our Church, in a more than ordinary
manner. Let me therefore beseech you in His Name, to use
these means so duly, so constantly, so sincerely, so earnestly,
that you may at length attain the end of them, that it may
be said of every man and wife among you, as it is here of
these two, that they are both righteous before God; and
that the same may be truly asserted of all single persons,
that you are not only hearers but doers of God's Word,
" walking in all the Commandments and Ordinances of the
Lord blameless." What an happy society, what a blessed
congregation of people would you then be, shining as lights
in the world, as all Christians ought to do !

For which purpose therefore, let me beg of you to im
print what you have now heard, so upon your minds, that
you may never forget it ; but always remember, that as you
can never be happy unless you be " righteous before God ; "
so you can never be "righteous before God," except you
" walk in all the Commandments and Ordinances of the

Universal Obedience requisite to Salvation. 57

Lord blameless." But if you do that as heartily and sin
cerely as you ought, and as near as possibly you can, you
will soon find it worth all the care and pains you take about
it : for I dare assure you, in the name of God, that He for
His Son's sake will not only pardon what you have hitherto
done amiss, but likewise accept of you as righteous before
Him, arid by consequence, receive you into His protection
here, and hereafter into His own kingdom and glory, through
the same our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ; to whom, &c.

SERMON LV.

THE GLORY OF GOD, THE FINAL CAUSE OF ALL THINGS.

PROV. xvi. 4.

The Lord hath made all things for Himself, yea, even the
wicked for the day of evil.

SERM. MAN being made in the image and likeness of God ; so
~ long as he continued in his first state, he had certainly as

_

26.] ' perfect a knowledge of God, His will and His works, as such
a creature was capable of. When all the fowls of the air
and beasts of the field were brought before him, though he
had never seen them before, yet he knew them so well, that

[ch. 2. 19.] he was able to give every one a name suitable to the nature
that God made it of. And although the woman was formed

[ver. 22.] of a rib taken out of the man while he was in a deep sleep,
and knew nothing of it while it was doing ; yet notwith
standing he no sooner saw her, but he knew that she was

ver. 23. taken out of him, and was " bone of his bone, and flesh of
his flesh." These instances are left upon record, that ye
may from hence see, what great knowledge man then had of
what God had made or done, without any revelation or in
struction, but was implanted in his own nature : he no
sooner saw a thing, but he knew the nature and the virtues
of it, and the end wherefore it was made.

But the case is not so with us now. For by our fall, the
faculties of our souls are so broken and disturbed, that of
ourselves we know but little of this, and nothing at all of
the other world, but only in general, that there is another
world as well as this: as it was long ago observed in the
Book of Wisdom. Hardly do we guess aright at things

The Glory of God, the final Cause of all Things. 59

that are upon earth, and with labour do we find the things
that are before us. But "the things that are in Heaven, Wisd. 9.16.
who hath searched out?" We see the works of God, and
wonderful effects produced every day ; but as to the imme
diate causes of them, and how they operate, we can only
guess : neither can we do that aright without much pains
and study, by laying things together, and then gathering one
from another as well as we can : and when all this is done,
we are but where we were ; for we are never certain that we
guess aright. As others have been mistaken, so may we ; so
that we know nothing more certainly, than that we have no
certain knowledge of the things of this world. And if we
could not be more certain of spiritual things than we are of
natural, for all our high conceits, we should be in woeful case.
But whether we are sensible of it ourselves or no, He
that made us knows our weakness and ignorance, and hath
accordingly of His infinite mercy provided, that we may not
be left to such uncertain conjectures, about the affairs that
belong to our future state ; for He Himself hath acquainted
us with them, by revealing to us, not only what He would
have us to believe and do, but likewise all that is necessary
for us to know concerning Himself, and what He hath done,
and still doth, in the world. And as what He hath not told
us of, we may be confident it is no matter whether we know
it or no : so what He hath been pleased to reveal to us, we
may and ought to be as confident that it is most certainly
true, in that we have His word for it, who cannot lie. By
which means we have the most certain ground that could
be made, whereupon to build our faith and knowledge of all
things belonging to our everlasting peace.

Now in those revelations which Almighty God hath given
us, to make us wise unto Salvation, He hath told us nothing
of the second causes which He hath established under Him
self, for the production of ordinary effects, that we may not
perplex ourselves about them, but always look up to Him, the
First Cause, as working by them, or without them, as He sees
good. But He hath told us plainly of the final cause or end
of all things, that we may keep our eyes always fixed upon
that, and accordingly strive all we can to promote it. This He
hath declared in several places of the Holy Scriptures, and

60

The Glory of God, the

SERM. particularly in these words, " The Lord hath made all things

— — — for Himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil."

For Himself, that is, to exert and manifest Himself, and
His Divine perfections, and so for His own honour and

tsa. 43. 21. glory. Thus He Himself explains that phrase, saying, " This
people have I formed for Myself, they shall shew forth My
praise." He formed them to shew forth His praise, and
therefore for Himself, or which is the same, for His glory,

ver. 7. as He Himself expresseth it in the same chapter, " I have
created him for My glory." This is the ultimate end of all
things ; neither can we imagine any other, that He could
propose to Himself in His wonderful works : for He being
the highest, and the only good, in comparison of whom
nothing else is good, He could aim at nothing but Himself
in what He did : nor at any thing for Himself, but to shew
forth the glory of His infinite perfections ; that as He Him-
. self had been infinitely happy in the enjoyment of them
from all eternity, so others also might see and praise Him
for them, by owning or acknowledging of them. This is all
that creatures can do for Him from whom they receive their
being. And yet He is pleased to account this glorifying of

PS. so. 23. Him, " Whoso offereth praise," saith He, " glorifieth Me."
For this end therefore it was that He made all things.

But the original word signifies not only to make, but to
do; and so implies, that He did not only thus make all
things for Himself at first, but that He still doth all things
for the same end. So that whatsoever He doth, He doth it
for His own glory, and will most certainly attain His end in
it. But how that should be ; how all things redound to the
glory of God, is a subject too high for us to reach in this
present low estate ; the clear sight of it being reserved for

[Col. 1.12.] the inheritance of the Saints in light. But howsoever the
better to raise up our thoughts and affections to our Almighty
Creator, we may offer at something towards it from the con
sideration of His creation of the world, and His redemption
of mankind. Under which two great works, is contained
more than we can comprehend ; but we notwithstanding
may see so much glory shining in them, that if we look
steadfastly upon it, it will dazzle our eyes, and fill us with
wonder and amazement, at the Author of them.

final Cause of all Things. 61

By his creation of the world, I mean, His production of
all things out of nothing; for by the world, we commonly
understand all things that God hath made. But how many
they are, is past our understanding : this globe of the earth
we live upon, is in itself a very great thing, being commonly
reckoned above twenty thousand miles round ; and hath an
innumerable company of creatures about it, upon it, and
within it, more than we are able to reckon up. And yet
this is a very little inconsiderable thing, in comparison of
that which we call Heaven, where the sun, and moon, and
stars are of all sorts and sizes. How many they are, we know
not, nor how great. It is beyond our skill to number or
measure them, or describe their distance from us, and from
one another, which is so vastly great, that we cannot so
much as send up our thoughts towards them, but they are
soon lost in the way. They who pretend to guess at it, sup
pose the sun to be near an hundred millions of miles from
the earth, and the nearest of the fixed stars, to be about
thirty times as far as that, from the sun : what then shall
we think of the prodigious compass of the whole Hea
vens ? How can we think of it, without admiring Him that
made it ?

But how was it made ? That we could never have known,
if He Himself who did it, had not revealed it to us : but He
hath told us as much of it as was necessary, or perhaps,
possible for us to understand. He saith, " In the beginning Gen. 1. 1.
God created the Heavens and the earth." In the begin
ning ; before which there was not any thing made : and
therefore all things must be made out of nothing. But how
could that be ? For that, we must observe, that He tells us
only in general, that He created the Heavens and earth, or
made them out of nothing ; but doth not here acquaint us
particularly with the way how He made the Heavens after
wards, as He doth how He formed the earth : but in that,
this was done by His Word, that be sure was done so too ;
as He Himself also assures us by David, saying, " By the Ps. 33. 6.
Word of the Lord, were the Heavens made, and all the
hosts of them, by the breath of His mouth." " For He PS. us. 5.
spake the word and they were made, He commanded and
they were created." He only signified His will what He

62 The Glory of God, tht

SERM. would have them be, and they were just as He would have
"~ them.

This we know because He hath told us of it, but He hath
not been pleased to tell us what kind of bodies He hath
given to the fixed stars and planets in Heaven, nor what
inhabitants He hath furnished them with, nor whether with
any or no, except Angels : and therefore it is in vain for us to
inquire after such things : for it is impossible for us, whilst
we are here below, to know any thing of them : we see many
glorious creatures which we call the sun, the moon and stars,
shining and moving to our appearance, from one place of
Heaven to another ; but what they are, or how they move,
we know not, nor whether they move at all ; all that we
know beyond what is revealed, is only plain matter of fact :
as that they sometimes appear lower, sometimes higher,
sometimes rising, and sometimes setting as to us : sometimes
in opposition, and sometimes in conjunction, with one an
other, and the like : and all this so certainly, that men, by
long observation, have found out ways how to tell the very
hour or minute when such things as these happened above a
'thousand years ago, or will do so a thousand years, or more,
if the world shall last so long ; which some have been able
to do, by supposing the sun to move about the earth ; others
by supposing the earth to move about the sun ; and others
again, by a supposition different from both them. And all
these suppositions have been so well designed, as to serve
well enough to solve all the appearances of this kind. And
many other suppositions may be contrived to do the same
thing ; but they are all but suppositions, without any certain
foundation ; and they are all attended with such unaccount
able difficulties, that I cannot imagine that any of them can
be true ; but have rather cause to suspect, that they are all
false, and to believe that this prodigious, unmeasureable
fabric, called the w^orld, consisting of Heaven and earth, is
actuated and influenced, as well as contrived, in such a man
ner, as never yet came into the thoughts of any man upon
earth, nor ever will. For it is impossible for us to see the
springs of those wonderful movements, which our constant
experience shews us to be in the world : we every day see
the effects and consequences of them, but their causes are

final Cause of all Things. 63

quite out of our sight. As God Himself also intimated to
Moses, saying, " Thou shalt see My back parts, but My face Exod.33.23.
shall not be seen." We see His works a posteriori, by their
certain effects and tendencies, but know nothing of them
a priori. And it is high presumption in us to pretend to it,
seeing God Himself hath told us that we shall not, and our
own reason and experience assures us that we cannot, seeing
they all proceed from that infinite Wisdom and Power,
which it is impossible for our finite understandings to com
prehend : and therefore all that we have to do in this case,
is only to take notice of the works which God hath made
in the world, and to admire the glory of His Divine per
fections, shining forth so clearly in them, and to praise
Him for them. This being the great end wherefore He
was pleased to make them. For He made all things for
Himself.

Thus therefore, God in the beginning created the Heaven
and the earth : He by His Word, made out of nothing the
whole mass or lump of matter, of which the Heaven, and
the earth, and all things in them should be formed. So that
there never was, nor will be one grain of matter more or less
in the world, than was then made. And then He is pleased
to tell us, as much as was necessary for us to know, of the
way and manner how He proceeded in reducing this vast
heap of indigested matter into the form it is now of. He
first tells us, that what was afterwards called the earth, was
then irQI inn ' without form and void,' a rude confused lump
of earth and water mixed together, without all shape and
order, and without any inhabitants of any sort : " And dark- [Gen. i. 2.]
ness was upon the face of this" great abyss or "deep," so
that nothing of it could be seen, if there had been any thing
to see it, but He that made it. But that His Spirit moved
upon the face of the waters, or, as the word signifies, was
moving or hovering, as it were, about to execute His word
of command, so soon as it was spoken.

And the first thing He said, was, " Let there be light ; " [ver. s.]
and He had no sooner said it, but " there was light." This
was the first thing He made, that we might see His power,
in making light to shine before He made the sun, which
now is the fountain of light: and as the sun now shines con-

64 The Glory of God, the

SERM. tinually upon one half of this globe of earth, and goes round
— about it in twenty-four hours, making day and night accord
ing as he riseth or sets in any part of it ; so the light which
was first made, had the same motions, making day where it
shone, and night in all other places till it rose upon them ;
and this it did, as the sun now doth in twenty-four hours ; so
that the evening, when this light set in any place, and the

Gen. 1.4,5. morning, when it rose again, was the first natural day, of the
same length as ours now are.

ver. 6, 7. The next day, God said, " Let there be a firmament in
the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the
waters : and it was so." The stately canopy of air that is
over our heads, was immediately raised and stretched out
all over the Heaven, farther than our eye or thought can
reach.

ver. 9. The third day, God said, " Let the waters under the Hea

ven be gathered together unto one place; and let the dry
land appear : and it was so." For the waters, which hitherto
were mingled with the earth, so as that no part of it was dry,
they immediately all hasted together into one place, called
the sea, so that the land appeared dry and fit for herbage.

ver. 10. And then God said the same day, " Let the earth bring forth
grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit
after his kind, whose seed is in itself: and it was so." For
grass, and herbs, and plants, and trees of all sorts immedi
ately started up out of the earth, and covered the surface of
it, every kind being impregnated and endued with such seed
within itself, whereby to propagate itself, as it hath done
ever since, and will do to the end of the world. So that not
one of the species ever failed, nor hath any other been since
made, but what was then made before the sun ; to shew,
that although their growth now depends upon the influence
of the sun, yet it did not so at first, but that God can make
the earth fruitful without the sun as well as with it.

ver. 14. But the fourth day, God said, " Let there be lights in the

firmament of the Heaven, to divide the day from the night,
and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and
for years : and it was so." For at His word, that vast
space above us, which we call the firmament and Heaven,
that hitherto was nothing but pure air and ether, was imme-

final Cause of all Things. 65

diately decked with an innumerable company of these glori
ous lights, the stars of all sorts and 'sizes ; which though
they be at such an unfathomable distance, yet all give more
or less light ; especially the two that appear greatest of all
to us, even " the sun to rule the day, and the moon the [PS. 136. s,
night." Thus « by His Spirit He garnished the Heavens." j0]b 2G. 13.

The fifth day, God said, " Let the waters bring forth
abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that
may fly above the earth in the open firmament of Heaven :
and it was so." For immediately the waters were replenished
with fish, and the air with fowls of all kinds, swimming and
flying about in their respective elements. And God blessed
them, and said, " Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the ver. 22.
waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth." By
virtue of which blessing, we see to this day, what a prodi
gious increase there is of fowl and fish, above all other crea
tures.

The sixth day, God first said, " Let the earth bring forth
the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing
and beast of the earth after his kind : and it was so." For
immediately out of the earth sprung forth all sorts of cattle,
beasts, and insects, from the " elephant to the mite," every
one with full power, and so strong an impulse to propagate
its kind, that all their several species are still in being, and
some or other of them in all parts of the earth.

When God had thus made the earth, enlightened it, and
furnished it with herbs, and fruits, and fish, and fowl, and
cattle, and all things necessary for mankind, He then said,
" Let Us make man in Our own image, after Our likeness." ver. 20.
He here changeth His phrase or way of speaking ; He doth
not say, Let there be a man upon earth : neither doth He
say, Let the earth bring forth men, as He said of other living-
creatures : but He saith, " Let Us make man :" and let Us
make him in Our image, after Our likeness. He speaks
altogether in the plural number, which cannot possibly be
understood any other way, than of the Three Divine Per
sons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, alt speaking
to one another, and concurring in making man, not only as
they are all one God, but likewise according to the distinct
properties of each Person, the Father as the Father, the Son

66 The Glory of God, the

SERM. as the Son, and the Holy Ghost as the Holy Ghost : they

- are all signified by the name of God, used all along- in the

creation, it being of the plural number, and joined with a

verb singular : the Spirit of God manifested Himself also in

moving upon the waters : and the Father and the Son, in

God's creating all things by His word : but in the making

man, They join together as it were in council, and agree to

make him in Their own image, after Their own likeness, in

Eph.4. 24; knowledge, arid righteousness, and true holiness, so as to

V>O1» 3. 10. i • • TT" 1 1 1 * *

i Pet. 1. 15. be holy, according to his capacity, " as He who made him is
holy, in all manner of conversation :" and gave him autho
rity over all living creatures upon earth, in the air and sea:
and the more to distinguish him from the rest of the creation,
He afterwards describes more particularly, how He made

ch. 2. 7. man out of the dust of the earth, " and then breathed into
him the breath of life, so that man became a living soul."
A living soul ; a soul that always lives, and can never be
extinct, or die, after it was once united to an human body.
And then He placed him in the garden of Eden, a garden of
pleasure and delight, that he might live as happily as it was
possible for a creature to live upon earth : and the better to
vest him with authority over all other living creatures upon
earth, God ordered them all to come before him, to per
form, as it were, their homage to him, and to own him for

[ver. 19.] their lord and master, which he then manifested himself
to be, by giving every one a name, such as he saw good.
After that, God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and
then taking a rib out of his side, of that He made a woman,
to be a meet help and companion for the man, and that out
of them might proceed the whole race of mankind that He
designed should ever be upon earth. And though they were

ch. 2. 25. then both naked, the man and his wife, yet they " were not
ashamed;" which is taken notice of, and recorded as a
certain mark or sign of their perfect innocence in that
happy state wherein they were made.

Thus God made man, as He made all things else, for
Himself. He had exerted and discovered His infinite power
in producing all things out of nothing by His word ; and
His infinite wisdom in contriving, ordering, and disposing
every thing in the best manner, and to the best purposes

final Cause of all Things. 67

that could be. But there was no creature upon earth, capable

of seeing and reflecting upon these Divine perfections, till

He made man. But He endued man with so much reason

and understanding, and with such innocence and purity,

that he was every way qualified to contemplate upon, admire

and adore his almighty and all-wise Creator, and to adore

and magnify Him for those Divine perfections which shone

forth in the creation of the world ; and so fully to answer

the end of his creation, in ascribing all to His honour and

glory, who was pleased in so wonderful a manner to exert

Himself and express His essential goodness, that it appeared

in all His works : for when He had made them all, He

" saw every thing that He had made, and behold it was very Gen. i. 31.

good."

But here we must further observe, that when God thus
made the world, He did not make it so that it should subsist
of itself, neither did He leave it to itself, but still kept the
government in His own hands : as He made, He still
" upholdeth all things by the word of His power." So that Heb. i. 3.
His creation was not a transient, but a permanent, a con
tinued act, "I," saith He, "form the light and create isa. 45. 7.
darkness." He did not do it only at first, but He is always
doing it: " It is in Him we now live, and move, and have Acts 17.23.
our being." Insomuch, that should He let go His hold of
us, and not keep us up in our being, we should immediately
fall down into nothing ; which Job was so sensible of, that
in his complaints he cried out, " O that I might have my Job o. s, 9.
request, and that God would grant me the thing that I long
for, even that it would please God to destroy me, that He
would let loose his hand and cut me off." He knew that if
God did but let loose His hand, so as not to support him in
his being, he should the same moment be cut off, and cease
to be. So necessarily do all the creatures upon earth sub
sist and depend upon the will and power of their Creator,
yea, and the whole earth itself. As He made it, and hung
it upon nothing at first, He doth so still, as Job again
observed, saying of God, " He stretched out the north upon ch. 26. 7.
the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing."

This, I know, hath heretofore been questioned by some,
and denied by others. But now all agree in it, since so

68 The Glory of God, the

SERM. many have sailed round about the earth ; for that could

T \T

- — never have been done, if the earth did not hang in the air,
without any thing but the immediate hand of God to sup
port it. But this is no new discovery ; for here we see that
Job, one of the oldest writers that is extant in the world, if
not the oldest of all, knew it in his days. And we have here
the word of God Himself for it, that He now, as well as at
first, hangs the earth upon nothing, holding it up continually
by His Almighty power, as He doth the sun and moon, the
stars and planets, which we see hanging and moving over
our heads in the firmament of Heaven, without any thing
else to support them but His hand that made them and
first placed them there, to shew forth the glory of His
power, which appears so glorious in them, that we cannot

PS. 19. i. but from thence see, " That the Heavens declare the glory
of God, and the firmament sheweth His handy work."

Neither did He only make the whole world at first, and
still upholds it by the word of His power, but He sustaineth
likewise all things in it by the power of the same word, and
orders every thing according to the pleasure of His will ; so
that as nothing was ever made, but what was made by Him,
so nothing ever was or can be done without Him. This, as
I observed before, is imported by the original word in my
text, even that the Lord did not only make, but doth all
things for Himself; He doth all things ; whatsoever may be
the instruments, He is the first cause of every thing that is
done. It is true, now that He hath created the world, and
established a series of second causes under Him, for the
production of ordinary effects, He doth not ordinarily act
immediately from Himself, as He did at first, without using
some inferior cause or other ; but He is still the supreme
Cause, which did not only constitute all other at first, but
still gives them all the force and efficacy they have, so that
nothing can act without Him, but He can do what He will
without any thing else.

Hence therefore, whatsoever is done in the world, for the
preservation and government of the whole, or any part of it,

isa. 45. 7. it is He that doth it, " I," saith He, " form the light, and
create darkness : I make peace, and create evil. I the Lord

PS. 147. s, 9. do all these things." It is He " who covereth the Heavens

final Cause of all Things. 69

with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh
grass to grow upon the mountains ; He giveth to the beast
his food, and to the young ravens which cry." " He sendeth PS. i-*7. 15-
forth His commandment upon earth, His word runneth
very swiftly. He giveth snow like wool, He scattereth the
hoar-frost like ashes. He casteth forth His ice like morsels,
who can stand before His cold ? He sendeth out His Word
and melteth them. He causeth His wind to blow, and the
waters flow." Thus we read all along in God's Holy Word,
that " whatsoever is done upon earth, He doth it Himself,"
by His Word commonly influencing the second causes, so as
to make them effect what He would have them ; and some
times without them, to shew that He is not confined to
them, but can act either with them or without them, as He
pleaseth.

This is a great truth, much to be observed, and always to
be kept in our minds : that we may never be tempted to
think that any thing ever did, or can happen in the world,
without Him who made and governs it : but may still
remember, that He rules and reigns over all, and doth
whatsoever " He pleaseth in Heaven and earth, in the seas, PS. 135. 6.
and in all deep places." Ordering and disposing of all
things, from the highest to the lowest, from the greatest to
the least thing ; that is, not only the public affairs of states
and empires, or the greater concerns of mankind, but every
creature that He hath made is equally under His care and
providence. He Himself has taught us, that although
" two sparrows are sold for a farthing, yet not so much as Matt. 10.
one of them can fall to the ground without Him ; but that 29> 30'
the very hairs of every man's head are numbered by Him."
And that not only such things as are the plain effects of
necessary causes, but such also as seem to us to have no
cause at all, but to be mere contingencies, or to fall out, as
we are apt to say by chance, even such things as these are
managed by the steady hand of His Divine Providence, to
the same great and wise ends, for which He doth all things
else. There being nothing so accidental unto us, but what is
necessary in itself; nor so little, but great things depend
upon it ; what greater chance can there be, than in casting
of lots ; yet when the " lot is cast into the lap, the whole Prov.i6.33.

70 The Glory of God, the

SERM. disposing thereof is of the Lord." Arid therefore when the

— land of Canaan was divided among the children of Israel by

lot, the Lord Himself is said to have divided it, and to

have divided it by lot, that we may know that the lots were

Acts is. 19. disposed by Him. And so is every thing that falls out in
the world ; whether we see or do not see how it comes about,
we may be sure it is God's act. It is He that doth it : and
that doth it for Himself, so as to make it one way or other
turn at last to His honour and glory.

This is that which we should now consider, even how the
Lord made and doth all things for Himself; or how all
things that He hath made, or doth, tend to His glory : but
here we shall be at a loss ; for we can never dive to the
bottom of this profound mystery ; but must be forced to cry

Rom. 11. out with the Apostle, " O the depth of the riches both of the
wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His
judgments, and His ways past finding out ! For who hath
known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been His coun
sellor?" We cannot see into the most immediate conse
quences of any thing that falls out in the world, much less
can we see how all things wind and turn, and work together,
till they accomplish the end for which they were designed ;
only this we know, because God hath told us, that all things
serve Him, by manifesting His infinite wisdom, and power,
and goodness in the world ; and that mankind was made on
purpose to behold, admire, and praise these His Divine per
fections upon earth, as the holy Angels do it in Heaven.

And therefore we find that His Saints and servants, even
all such as study to answer His holy end in creating and
preserving them, strive all they can to do it ; as we see in

PS. 104. 24. David, crying out, " O Lord ! how manifold are Thy works ?
In wisdom hast Thou made them all : the earth is full of Thy

Ps.i45. 1-5. riches." " I will extol Thee, my God, O King : and I will bless
Thy Name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless Thee,
and I will praise Thy Name for ever and ever. Great is the
Lord, and greatly to be praised. And His greatness is un
searchable. One generation shall praise Thy works to
another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts : I will speak of
the glorious honour of Thy Majesty, and of Thy wondrous

PS. 107. s. works." " 0 that men would praise the Lord for His good-

final Cause of all Things. 71

ness, and declare the wonders that He doth for the children
of men." Yea, He calls upon all things in Heaven and earth
to praise Him for His creation, and establishment of them by
His word, saying, " Let them praise the Name of the Lord ; ps.H8.5,6
for He commanded, and they were created: He hath also sta-
blished them for ever and ever : He hath made a decree which
shall not pass." And though we know but little of what the
Saints and Angels do in Heaven, we know they praise God
there, for the great and glorious works that He hath done,
saying, or singing, " Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts, isa, 6. 3;
the whole earth is full of His glory;" and, "Thou art eh. 4. ii.'
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power :
for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they
are and were created."

And though we of the Church Militant here on earth,
cannot do it so well as they who are triumphant in Heaven,
yet we ought to do it as well as we can ; especially in all
our religious assemblies : this being the great end of our
meeting together upon such occasions, that we may adore
and praise God together, for the wonderful works that He
hath done, and still doth in the world : and that is the reason
wherefore our Church hath so wisely contrived it, that a
great part of our public Liturgy consists of " psalms, and [Eph.s.ig.
hymns, and spiritual songs," setting forth the glory of
our Almighty Creator. And they who do not join with us
in it, do not only deprive themselves of the benefit of our
prayers, but rob God, as much as in them lies, of the praises
which are due unto Him.

But we must give glory to God, not only altogether, but
every one apart by himself, for every thing that happens in
the world, within the compass of our sight or knowledge :
according to the rule prescribed to us, " In every thing give iThess. 5.
thanks." For seeing nothing can be done without God, we
ought to acknowledge Him in every thing that is, and to
praise Him for it ; whatsoever He doth, proceeding from
the same infinite wisdom, power and goodness, which He
manifested in the creation of the world.

And this, indeed, is that which is properly called Religion:
so that as ever we desire to be religious indeed, we must live
with a constant sense. of this upon our minds, that Almighty

72 The Glory of God, the

God made and governs the world, and orders and disposeth
of all and every thing- in it by the same Divine perfections,
and to the same holy ends and purposes for which He made
it: and therefore must ascribe all honour and praise unto
Him, for all His providential dispensations, one as well as
another ; it was for this end He made us, and this is all that
He expects from us, for all the great things He hath done
for us ; wherefore, unless we do this, we do not answer the
end of our creation, but live to no purpose in the world ;
and then can expect no other, but that He who made us
should be angry with us, and dash us in pieces, as a potter
[PS. 2. 9.] doth such vessels as are good for nothing : whereas if we
glorify God in all things, we are always doing the work
He sent us into the world about, and therefore continue
always under His favour and protection, and have all
things concurring under Him to make us happy. For
looking upon all things as coming from His infinite wis
dom and goodness, we are always easy in our minds, and
well pleased with every thing that happens to us, saying
PS. 39. 10. with David, " I was dumb and opened not my mouth, for it
isam.3. is. was Thy doing ;" or with old Eli, " It is the Lord, let Him
Job 1.21. do what seemeth Him good;" and with Job, "The Lord
gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the Name of
the Lord."

But for that purpose, we must glorify God, not only with
our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to His ser
vice. As He doth all things for Himself, to His own glory,
iCor.io.3i. so must we; "Whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we
do," we must " do all to the glory of God." This is the only
way whereby it is possible for us to serve Him in the world,
by promoting the same end and design which He proposed
to Himself in the creation and government of it. And seeing
He made us, as well as all things else, for Himself, we are
bound by the laws and the end of our creation, to be as sub
servient to Him as we can, in promoting His honour and
glory in the world, by doing the business, and observing the
commands which He for that purpose hath set us ; by vin
dicating His supreme authority over the world, against all
that have the impudence to oppose it ; by resigning up our
selves wholly to Him, and submitting to all that He shall

final Cause of all Things. 73

see good to lay upon us : by persuading all we can to enter
into His service, and to join with us in admiring the won
derful works that He hath done, in extolling those infinite
perfections which He manifested in them, in worshipping
His Divine Majesty, with reverence and godly fear; and in
giving Him the glory that is due unto His Name, for His
making us and all the world, and for His making us for
Himself, to glorify Him for all the great things that He hath
done, even for all things that are. " For of Him, and through
Him, and to Him, are all things. To Him be glory for
ever." Amen.

SERMON LVI.

THE GLORY OF GOD, THE FINAL CAUSE OF ALL THINGS.

PROV. xvi. 4.

The Lord hath made all things for Himself; yea, even the
ivickedfor the day of evil.

THOUGH God was infinitely happy in the enjoyment of
Himself from all eternity, and therefore could not possibly
be any way better for any thing else ; yet howsoever, out of
His essential goodness, He was pleased to exert His Divine
perfections, so as that others also might behold, admire, and
enjoy them ; and so as that the glory of all He did, might
rebound and return to Him that did it : wherefore He is
here said to have "made all things for Himself;" yea, and
" the wicked also for the day of evil."

That I might give you what light I can into this great
truth, I promised to consider the two great works wherein
He hath manifested His glory ; the creation of the world,
and the redemption of mankind ; under which, all that He
hath done may be comprehended : and from which we may
easily discover, how He made " the wicked also for the day of
evil." The first I have already dispatched, by shewing how
His glory appeareth in His making all things out of nothing,
in His upholding all things in their being, and in His govern
ment and disposal of all things that He hath thus made and
upholds. We are now to consider His other great work, the
redemption of mankind, and how He did it for Himself.

But to set this in such a light that all may see it, it will
be necessary to open the way, by shewing what occasion there
was for His doing it : for which purpose we may observe,
that man being made in the image of God, perfectly good,

The Glory of God, the final Cause of all Things. 75

and fitted in all respects for the work lie was made for, even
to glorify Him that made him ; if he had continued in the
same state wherein he was first made, there would have been
no need of His being redeemed or made over again : but we
find, by woeful experience, that man is now become another
kind of creature than he was at first, an ignorant, a foolish,
an ungrateful, an useless, a sinful creature ; disordered in
all the faculties of his soul, and in all the members of his
body : averse from good, and inclined to all manner of evil ;
insomuch that God knows every " imagination of the thoughts Gen. 6. 5.
of his heart is only evil continually." By which means, of
the most happy, he is now become the most miserable crea
ture upon earth, good for nothing but to be cast into the fire,
the fire of God's wrath, which is incensed against him, and
ready every moment to devour him, in that he is no way fit
for the use he was designed for. Neither is this the case only
of some few, but of all mankind. " They are all gone astray, PS. 14. 3.
they are altogether become filthy ; there is none that doth
good, no not one." And therefore " all by nature are the Eph. 2. 3.
children of wrath," one as well as another.

But how comes this about that we could never have known
at this distance, if God Himself had not caused it to be
recorded in the Holy Scriptures given by His inspiration ?
But there we have the whole history of it, attested by His
own infallible Spirit ; and the several parts of it explained
in other places of His Holy Word : from whence I shall
endeavour to make it as plain as I can.

When God therefore created the Heaven and the earth,
as He made man a reasonable creature upon earth, so He
made other reasonable and intelligent creatures in Heaven
to be His Angels, that is, His messengers or ministers in
promoting and accomplishing His end in the creation of the
world. These He made without any sort of body, pure and
perfect spirits, which being all left to their liberty whether
they would continue in the same state wherein they were
made or not ; many of them chose to leave it, and so fell jud. ver. 6 ;
down and degenerated into unclean and wicked spirits, called,
" The Devil and his angels." Matt.25.4i.

Now man being made in a state of purity and perfection,
like that from which these angels fell, they envying his

76 The Glory of God, the

SERM. happiness, contrived how to bring him down into the same
wretched condition with themselves : for which purpose, the

Gen. 3. i. Devil knowing " that the serpent was more subtle than any
beast of the field which the Lord God had made," he, the
better to discover his design, entered into a serpent, and
spake by him, as he hath often done by those whom he hath
possessed, and as the angel spake by Balaam's ass. For
that this was the Devil's act in the serpent, we have the

Johns. 44. authority of Christ Himself, who therefore saith, " He was
a murderer from the beginning." And the same appears

Rev. 12. 9 ; also from the Apostle, calling the Devil or Satan, " The great
' dragon, that old serpent which deceiveth the whole world."
For so did he when he deceived our first parents, in whom
the whole world, or all mankind was contained. And that
this was known and believed by the old Jewish Church
before our Saviour's time, is evident from that remarkable
passage in the Book of Wisdom to this purpose ; where we
read, that God created man to be immortal, and made him

wis. 2. 2.3, to be an image of His own eternity. Nevertheless, " through
envy of the Devil came death into the world."

This subtle serpent therefore, not daring to venture upon
the man, for fear of being worsted, he set upon the woman,
thinking that she might more easily be deceived, and not
doubting but if he could get her down, the man would fall
with her, as it came to pass : from whence the Apostle ob-

iTim.2.i4. serves, that " Adam was not deceived, but the woman being
deceived was in the transgression." That is, Adam was not
first deceived, nor immediately by the serpent; but the
woman was deceived by him, and was the first that trans
gressed God's command.

But how was she deceived ? Why, the serpent said unto

Gen. 3. i. the woman, " Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every
tree of the garden?" He had heard, it seems, what God
had said to Adam, and knew well enough, that as it is

ch. 2. 16, 17. written, "The Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of
every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of
it ; for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die."
But though the serpent knew this, yet the better to bring
about his wicked design, he makes a question of it ; saying,

final Cause of all Things. 77

" Hath God said so ? And the woman said unto the serpent, Gen. 3.2,3.

We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden : but of

the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God

hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest

ye die." It is not recorded before, that the tree of which

God spake, but only the tree of life, was in the midst of the

garden ; nor that He had said, they should not touch it ; yet

it cannot be supposed that the woman, being as yet in the

state of perfection, would have said it, if it had not been so.

But the woman had no sooner said this, but the serpent said

to her, " Ye shall not surely die." Here he had the impu- ver. 4.

dence to contradict God Himself, and so to tell a plain lie,

which was the first that we know was ever told in the world.

But as our Saviour hath taught us, "When the Devil speaketh John s. 44.

a lie, he speaketh of his own : for he is a liar, and the father

of it." Here he sheweth himself to be so. But to mince

the matter that it might go down the better, he pretended

great kindness to the woman, more than God Himself had ;

" For God," saith he, " doth know, that in the day ye eat Gen. 3. 5.

thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as

gods, knowing good and evil." Here lay the main cheat,

covered with a fair pretence of shewing the woman how to

get into an higher state than that she was made in ; making

as if by eating of this fruit, they should be so far from dying,

that their eyes should be opened, and so they should be wiser

and more knowing than they were before ; yea, " that they

should be like gods, knowing good and evil," whereas before,

they knew nothing else but good. And so far it was true,

that this was the " tree of the knowledge of good and evil,"

but not in the sense which the Devil put upon it : for it was

not called so, because they who eat of it should know good

and evil in the general notion of it, better than they did

before : such knowledge they had before, otherwise they

could not have known, as be sure they did, how to choose

the good, and avoid the evil. But it was called the " tree

of the knowledge of good and evil," to put them in mind,

that if they eat of it, they should know evil, as before they

had known good, experimentally, so as both to practise and

suffer evil, which they had not done before, nor ever should,

if they had not tasted of that fruit. So that this was a plain

78 The Glory of God, the

SERM. diabolical fallacy and cheat put upon the woman, but such
a one, that she was deceived with it-

Gen. 3. 6. " For when the woman saw that the tree was good for
food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be
desired to make one wise : she took of the fruit thereof, and
did eat ; and gave also unto her husband with her, and he
did eat." That the fruit was pleasant to the eyes, she could
see ; but that it would make one wise, she could never have
thought it if the serpent had not said it ; she had only his
word for that; which notwithstanding she believed more
than what God had said. God had said, if they eat of that
fruit, they should die. The Devil said they should not die,
but become as " gods, knowing good and evil ; " and not
believing God's word, but the Devil's, she ventured upon
eating it. So that unbelief was the first sin, and that which
made way for all other: for if the woman had believed that
in the day that she eat of that fruit, she should surely die,
as God had said, all the Devils in Hell could never have
persuaded her to have done it. But not believing what God
had said, she did it, and had no sooner done it, but she found
Him to be true, and the Devil a liar : for they were so far
from being like to gods, that they became like to the Devil
himself, both in sin and misery.

ver. 7. For " the eyes of them both were opened, arid they knew

that they were naked : and they sewed fig-leaves together,

ch. 2. 25. and made themselves aprons." Before it is said, that " they
were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not
ashamed ;" that is, they were so perfectly innocent and free
from all irregular motions, that they had nothing to be
ashamed of. But now the case was altered ; for they found
themselves naked and divested of their former innocence ;
were ashamed of themselves and of what they had done, and
endeavoured to hide it as well as they could, but all in vain :
for God's word must stand ; they must die : yea, they are,
ipso facto, dead in law: the sentence is passed upon them ;
they are already dead in trespasses and sins ; and every
moment obnoxious both to temporal and eternal death.

Here then we may see, how all mankind fell from their
first estate, into that which they are now in : for these two
were not only the first, nor single persons only, but they

final Cause of all Things. 79

were all mankind then in being: and all men that should
ever be, were then in their loins. And therefore God called
them both " Adam ; " that is, man in general, as the word Gen. 5. 2.
signifies, because the whole species of man was in them ; and
all the individuals that should ever proceed from them, were
then present to God, and as much under His eye, as if they
had been all then born, and were actually living upon the
earth. Hence it is, that all mankind are guilty of the sin
which was then committed ; they are all corrupted and de
praved, and subject to the death which was then threatened ;
which that we may not doubt of, God Himself also hath
assured us of it by His Apostle, saying, " Wherefore as by Rom. 5. 12.
one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and
so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
From hence therefore we may discover the occasion that
was given for God's manifesting the glory of some of His
infinite perfections, which otherwise would never have been
seen, even by His redeeming fallen man ; which therefore
He was graciously pleased to do, the same day on which he
fell : for in the cool, or towards the evening of the day, Adam
and his wife heard the voice of God in the garden, speaking
to them, and asking several questions, only to make them
confess their fault with their own mouths, before He would
shew them any mercy. The man confessed that he had eaten
of the fruit of the tree which God had forbidden, but said,
that the woman gave it him. The woman confessed that
she also had eaten of it, but said, that "the serpent had be- ver. 8,9, is.
gulled her." Upon which, the Lord said unto the serpent,
" Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all ver. u.
cattle, and above every beast of the field ; upon thy belly
shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy
life." This He said to the serpent into which the Devil had
entered, for that he had been the instrument of so much
mischief; but as to the principal cause, the Devil himself
who had entered into him, the Lord said, " I will put enmity ver. is.
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed : it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
Here is no mention made of the seed of the man, but only
of that of the woman : but God here saith, that there shall
be such enmity between the woman and the serpent, and

80 The Glory of God, the

SERM. between their seeds, that the seed of the woman shall bruise
'- — the head of the serpent ; and that the serpent shall bruise

the heel of the seed of the woman. Where, by the seed of
the woman, is plainly meant one, who should be born of a
woman without the help of man : which none ever was, but

[Gai.3.i6.] only Jesus Christ. And therefore to our right understanding
of this promise, or first publication of the Gospel, it will be
necessary to consider, how both parts of it were fulfilled in
Him.

First therefore, we may observe, that this promise being
made by God, who cannot lie, and to whom all things are
present, it took effect, as His word always doth, as soon as
made, so that Adam himself, and his whole posterity, might
receive the benefit of it, although this promised seed did not

ch. 4. 4. actually appear in the world till many years after. " But
when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His
Son, made of a woman." And if made of a woman, then
her seed ; but He was before that the Son of God : and if
the Son of God, then God Himself, as it was necessary He
should be, who was to overcome so cunning and potent an

[Eph.2.2.] enemy, " the prince of the power of the air," who had been
too hard for mankind in their most perfect state.

i John a. s. For this purpose therefore, " was the Son of God mani
fested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil." That
He might undo all that the Devil had done, by recovering
mankind out of that sinful estate to which the Devil had
brought them, and enabling them to resist the Devil and all
his temptations, so as to force him to fly from them. This
is that which we are to understand by his bruising the head
of the serpent ; his head, where all policy and his power lay ;
and so disabling him from accomplishing the mischief, which
he designed and attempted against all mankind.

And verily, he who reads the life of Christ, may easily see,
what absolute power he had and exercised over the Devil
and all his angels. They trembled at the sight of Him ; and

Matt. s. 29, cried out, " What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son
of God? Art Thou come to torment us before the time?"

Luke 4. 34. And at another time, " Art Thou come to destroy us ? " They
knew that He was the seed of the woman that was to come
and bruise their head : as He did soon after ; and shewed

final Cause of all Things. 81

His authority over them, by casting theirf out of the persons

they had possessed, only with His word. Yea, a whole Matt. s. 16.

legion came out of two men at His command, and could not ver. 31, 32.

so much as enter into the swine, without His leave. Neither

did He only do it Himself, but gave His Disciples power to Luke 10.17.

cast out Devils in His Name, who accordingly did so ; not

only while He was with them, but when He was gone from

them too. St. Paul only said to a wicked spirit that had

possessed a damsel, " I command thee in the Name of Jesus Actsie. is.

Christ to come out of her : and he came out the same hour."

Yea, His Name was no sooner spread abroad, but the

famous oracles, where the Devil for many ages had given

his fallacious answers, immediately ceased.

And two hundred years after, Tertullian challenged all the
Roman empire, to bring a man possessed with the Devil, or
with one of those which they called Gods, and set him before
any Christian, and if the Christian did not make him own
himself to be a wicked spirit, the Christian should suffer
what punishment they pleased. So confident were the
Christians in those days, from their daily experience, that
the Devils were all subject to the Name of Christ; and so
they have been all along, and are to this day. Insomuch,
that in the relations which are extant of America, we find
that when the Heathens consulted the Devil about any
question, he could not answer them so long as any Christ
ians were among them. And I have read the same of the
Tartars in the east of Asia, that when by their usual charms
they had got the Devil to come to the place where they
were, he stayed upon the top of the house, and told them
plainly, he could not come in, because there was a Christian
there : for an Hungarian happened to be in the house, which
they knew not of; but the Devil it seems, did : and dreaded
the Name of Christ so much, that he durst not come near
any one that bore it. Which shews what a mighty advan
tage it is to be baptized in the Name of Christ ; and how
justly they who are cast out of the Church, are said to be
" delivered unto Satan." They being then under his power, [i Tim. i.
which before they were not.

But though the Devil dare not openly appear among those
who truly profess the Name of Christ, yet he hath his secret

82 The Glory of God, the

SERM. ways of assaulting them, by laying traps before them, or
'• — baits to draw them into sin : but in this also Christ shews

His power over him, in defeating all his designs ; by enabling
those who believe in Him, to withstand all the Devil's
temptations, and to get good by them ; for by faith in Him,

Eph. 6. 16. they are able " to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked
one." But whatsoever they do of this nature, it is by Christ
they do it. It is He that hath bruised the head of the ser-

[Matt. 16. pent, so that the gates of Hell, or all the devils there, can
never prevail against His Church, nor against any one
sound member of it.

But as the seed of the woman was to bruise the head of
the serpent, so the serpent was to bruise his heel : and so he
did : he bruised his heel, his lower part, as he was the seed
of the woman. As He was God, nothing could touch Him ;
but as He was man, the serpent should have leave to bruise
his heel, which was literally fulfilled in His crucifixion : for
as His hands were nailed to the transverse beam at the
upper end of the cross, so His feet were nailed to the upright
piece of timber that was set in the ground, which could not
be done without bruising His heel. So that not only His
death, but His death upon the cross, was signified by this
expression ; that kind of death whereby He redeemed man
from the curse which God had denounced against him for

Gal. 3. is. his disobedience. For, as the Apostle saith, " Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us : for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on
a tree."

But wherefore is the serpent said to bruise His heel, when
they were only men that did it, by fastening Him to the
cross? It is true men were the instruments, but the old
serpent, the Devil or Satan, was the chief contriver and cause

Luke22.s,4. of it : for it is written, " Then entered Satan into Judas, sur-
named Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And
he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and
captains, how he might betray Jesus unto them." And he
accordingly did betray Him to those who crucified Him. So
that as Satan entered into the serpent to tempt the woman,
to the destruction of herself and her whole posterity ; so he
entered into Judas to betray the seed of the woman, to be

final Cause of all Things. 83

put to death upon the cross ; hoping by that means to save

his own head, that it might not be bruised by Him. But

here his policy failed him ; and the deceiver was himself

most grossly deceived : for the serpent's thus bruising the

heel of the seed of the woman, was the occasion and the

means of His bruising the serpent's head. As the Apostle

also hath taught us, saying, " Forasmuch then as the child- Heb.2.i4.

ren are partakers of flesh and blood, He also, the Son of

God, Himself likewise took part of the same (by being born

of a woman) that through death He might destroy him that

had the power of death, that is, the Devil." It was by His

death therefore which He suffered upon the cross, when His

heel was bruised, that Christ destroyed the Devil, or bruised

his head, so that he could not be able to exercise that power

of death which he had gotten, by tempting man to do that,

for which God had said he should die.

For first, by this means He defeated the Devil's whole
design, by suffering that death Himself which God had
threatened, and therefore all mankind must otherwise have
suffered. God had said to Adam, to man in general, " In
the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die :" and he
accordingly did so ; Adam died that very day ; for the seed
of the woman having the whole nature of man in him, was
in the most proper signification of the word, Adam, or man i Cor. is.
in general, as he is also called. And the promise being made 45) 47'
the same day that Adam fell, he died the same day in the
decree and sight of God, and his death had the same effect
then that it hath now. And therefore He is called, " The Rev. 13. s.
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," so as to " take John i. 29.
away the sin of the world." " Of the whole world," from the i John 2. 2.
beginning to the end of it : which could not be, if the threat
ening had not been accomplished.

And besides that He was the seed of the woman, being
likewise the Son of God, His death was not only equivalent,
but more than that which was threatened, of greater value
than the death of all mankind ; in that it was suffered by a
person who was God as well as man ; who therefore dying in
the nature of man, united to His own Divine person, did
not only thereby take off the curse that was threatened, but
merited all sorts of blessings for mankind. So that by Him

84 The Glory of God, the

SLVIM* *ney also may be enabled to overcome the Devil and all his

temptations. As He Himself told St. Paul, when he was
troubled with " a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan

2 Cor. 12. to buffet him," saying to him, " My grace is sufficient for
thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Neither

Rom. 16. 20. can He only bruise Satan under their feet, that they may be
able to destroy his works ; but He can enable them also to

Phil. 4. is. work the works of God. They " can do all things through

i Pet. 2. s. Christ that strengthens them." And what they do, "is

Rom. 5. 19. acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ." " Wherefore, as
by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by
the obedience of one, shall many be made righteous." Even
by the seed of the woman, by His bruising the serpent's
head, and suffering the serpent to bruise His heel.

After God had made this promise, which is properly
called, vgurtua'y>yeXi(jv, ' the first gospel,' there are three things
to be observed, which give much light to it, and receive as
much from it. The first is, that although God cursed the
serpent, and the ground too for man's sake, yet He did not
pronounce either the man or woman cursed : He Himself
having prevented that, by promising one, in whom they and
their whole posterity should be blessed.

The next thing is, that after this, Adam called his wife's

Gen. 3. 20. name Eve, " because she was the mother of all living." He
had not given her a proper name before ; neither could he
give her this name after they were fallen ; when they were
both under sentence of death, and had no ground to expect
to live, much less have any children. But now that God had
promised a Saviour, and of the seed of the woman too, now
Adam made no doubt but he should have children of the
woman, and that their posterity should be as numerous, as it
would ha ye been if they had not fallen : and therefore gave
her a name that signified, that she should be the mother of
all mankind that should live upon the face of the earth.
Which clearly shewed his faith in the said promise.

The last thing to be observed here, is, that after all this, it

ver. 21. is said? " Unto Adam also, and to his wife did the Lord God
make coats of skins, and clothed them." By making them
coats, He confirmed His promise to them, and plainly
demonstrated that it took effect as soon as made, in that He

final Cause of all Things. 85

was now reconciled to them : and was so far from inflicting
the death which He had before threatened, that He Him
self took care of their living comfortably in this world, by
making them such clothes as might defend them from the
inconveniences of the weather. But why did He make
them of skins ? Herein certainly lay a great mystery, much
greater than appears at first sight. When the man and the
woman had eaten of the forbidden fruit, and then knew they
were naked, " They sewed fig-leaves together, and made Gen. a. 7.
themselves aprons." The fig-leaves might in some measure
hide their nakedness from themselves, and one another, but
not from God : neither could any thing else which they
could do, hide it from Him. And therefore He Himself
was graciously pleased to provide them a covering that
would do it effectually. He had now promised, and so had
raised them up a Saviour, of the seed of the woman, who by
being bruised in His heel, or dying upon the cross for their
sin, should expiate and cover it, so that He would take no
more notice of it, than as if it had never been committed.
Who therefore is called "The Lamb of God, that taketliJoimi.29.
away the sin of the world." By this lamb being not to be
actually slain till many years after, he slew certain beasts, as
types and figures of it, and clothed the man and woman
with the skins of those beasts ; that having them always
about them, they might better exercise their faith in Him
who was typified by the beasts, whose skins they wore : and
so might have their sins covered, and their persons also, by
His merits and righteousness ; and each of them might say,
as the Prophet after did, " I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, isa.ei. 10.
my soul shall be joyful in my God : for He hath clothed me
with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with
the robe of righteousness."

This, to me, seems plainly the reason why God clothed
them with skins : be sure they were the skins of beasts, the
first that were ever slain, and slain not by man, but by God
Himself. Which cannot in reason be supposed to be done
by Him, for no other end but only to cover the nakedness
of our first parents, or keep their bodies warm, when other
things might have done that as well, or better than skins :
but that He did it to cover their souls as well as bodies, by

86 The Glory of God, the

SERM. putting them in mind of that grand sacrifice which He had
-just before promised should be offered up for the sins
of the world. And this seems to be the original of that
general custom of sacrificing beasts, that hath obtained in all
places and ages ever since ; which could not have been so
universally received by mankind, as it hath been, if it had
not come from their common head. But Almighty God
having been pleased to foreshew how He would offer up the
flesh, which He had promised to take of the seed of the
woman, as an expiatory sacrifice for the sins of mankind, by
slaying beasts, and then covering the first man and woman
with their skins : He thereby sufficiently signified it to be
His will, that the memory of His said promise should be
kept up the same way, even by offering beasts in sacrifice to
Him, in all ages till it should be fulfilled. And therefore,
although we do not find that Adam himself did it, his wear
ing the skins that God Himself clothed him with, being a
sufficient token of it to him ; yet it is plain that his son Abel
did it, and God approved of his doing it. For when Cain
had offered of the fruit of the ground, and Abel of the first
lings of his flock, and the fat thereof, God had respect to

Gen. 4. 4,5. Abel and his offering, but not to Cain's. Abel's being such
a sacrifice as God Himself had ordained to represent the
death of His Son : he thereby shewed his faith in the pro
mise which God had made of it. And therefore it is written,

Heb. 11.4. " By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice
than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was right
eous. God testifying of his gifts : and by it, he being dead,
yet speaketh." He having offered beasts of the firstlings of
his flock to God, as a sign of his faith in the promised seed,
and being thereby accepted of as righteous before God, and

Matt.23.35. called " righteous Abel " by Christ Himself ; " He being-
dead, yet speaketh ;" He preacheth the Gospel, declaring
to all the world, that God by the seed of the woman, even by
Jesus Christ, hath redeemed mankind, from the state of sin
and death into which they were fallen, into a state of right
eousness and salvation : so that by faith in Him, men may be
made and accounted righteous again, and so be restored
unto, and live with Him in Paradise for ever.

FPs 118

23.] " This was the Lord's doing, and it was marvellous in our

final Cause of all Things. 87

eyes." But wherefore did He redeem man in such a won
derful manner ? He did it for Himself. As when the chil
dren of Israel had provoked him, He " nevertheless saved Ps- 106- 8-
them for His name's sake, that He might make His mighty
power to be known." So when all mankind were fallen
under His displeasure, yet nevertheless He redeemed and
saved them for his own sake, that the glory of His Divine
perfections might appear and be known in the world. He
had discovered His infinite wisdom, power and goodness,
and many other perfections in His creation and government
of the world. But there are some of them, which could not
be exerted in such kind of works ; particularly His mercy
and truth. For mercy cannot be shewn, but where there is
sin and misery. Though He made all things good, and is
accordingly good to all, yet He cannot be properly said to
be merciful to any but such as have offended Him and
incurred His displeasure. Neither could He have shewed
Himself to be true or faithful to His promises, unless He
had first made them.

But both these perfections, which otherwise had never
been seen, shine forth most gloriously in His redemption of
mankind by Jesus Christ. His mercy in giving His only-
begotten Son to die for their sins, and in promising them all
sorts of blessings and favours in Him ; and His truth, in the
faithful performance of all such promises : wherefore it is
written, that " grace, or mercy, and truth, came by Jesus John 1. 17.
Christ." They came into the world by Him, and without
Him had never been seen in it : but in Him God is so mer
ciful, as to promise pardon and Salvation to all that repent
and believe the Gospel; "And in Him all the promises of 2 Cor. 1.20.
God are Yea and Amen, to the glory of God by us." By us
who believe, and so give Him the glory of His mercy and
truth ; hence it is that faith is so indispensably required in
order to Salvation ; because unless men believe in the mer
ciful promises which God hath made, they do not answer
His end in making them, but deprive Him of the glory, and
Hby consequence, themselves of the benefit of them. Whereas
they who live with a firm belief and trust on the promises
which He hath made of grace and mercy, He is accordingly
gracious and merciful to them for Christ's sake, in that they

88 The Glory of God, the

give Him the glory which He designed to Himself by Him.
Rom 42Q As it is said of Abraham, that " he was strong in faith, giving
2Thess.' i. ' glory to God." And God is said to " be admired in all them
[i Pet. 1.9.] that believe." Who therefore " attain the end of their faith,
Uohns. 10. even the salvation of their souls." But "he that believeth
not God, hath made Him a liar ; because he believeth not
the record that God gave of His Son." And all such not
believing in Him, by whom alone they can be made arid
accounted righteous, they are all in the number of the
wicked, which the wise man here speaks of, saying, that He
made " the wicked also for the day of evil."

Though He did not make them wicked, yet He made
them, together with the rest of mankind : and He made
them all upright. And when they were fallen in their first
parents, He gave them a Saviour, by whom they might rise
again and become righteous, if it was not their own personal
fault. And although He foreknew that they would choose
to continue in their wickedness, yet notwithstanding He
made them, but He made them for " the day of evil." He
made them, as He made all things else, for Himself; that
His glory might appear in them : as He said to Pharaoh,
Rom. 9. 17; " Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I
' might shew My power in thee, and that My name might be
declared through all the earth." So He made such as He
foresaw would make themselves wicked, to shew His power
and justice in them. How illustriously did His power
appear in His destruction of the old wicked world, by
breaking up the foundations of the great deep, and opening
the windows of Heaven ? That is, by letting loose both the
sea and clouds upon them, in His consuming Sodom and
Gomorrah by fire and brimstone from Heaven, and in His
causing the earth to open her mouth and swallow up Korah,
and his accomplices. There are many such instances of
God's infinite power in altering the very course of nature,
for the punishment of wicked men.

And how glorious will His justice also shine upon them

2Thess. i. all in the evil day! evil indeed to them, "when the Lord.

Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with His mighty

Angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that

know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord

final Cause of all Things. 89

Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting de
struction, from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory
of His power ; when He shall come to be glorified in His
Saints, and admired in all them that believe." And in all
them that believe not too ; seeing they would not give Him
the glory of His mercy and truth, He will shew forth the
glory of His power and justice upon them. And so will
have His glory one way or other from all.

Wherefore, brethren, you had best to look to yourselves.
If notwithstanding all that God hath done for you, you will
be wicked still, and not glorify Him yourselves, He will
glorify Himself upon you. And then woe be to you. You
will find it " a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the [Heb. 10.
living God." If He once take you to task, He will make 3l'*
thorough work. It is not your wit, or your wealth, that can
help you. He will not lose His end in making and redeem
ing you : He did it for His own glory, and He will have it ;
either by your serving Him, or His punishing you. The
evil day is coming, in which His justice shall appear as illus
trious in His destruction of the wicked, as His mercy in the
Salvation of the righteous. And therefore you had need
take care before it be too late : there is no dallying with
Omnipotence. The Almighty Creator of the world will
make all men know that He made them, and that He
made them for Himself, to advance His glory ; and if they
will not do it, He will do it Himself, by making them ever
lasting monuments, not of His mercy, but of His justice and
truth.

Let us therefore now resolve, by His assistance, to set
upon this " great work " in good earnest ; now especially,
that He hath not only made, but redeemed us to Himself.
"We are bought with a price, and therefore should glorify iCor. 6. 20.
God, both in our body and in our spirits, which are God's."
And let us accordingly make it the chief care and business
of our life, to "shew forth the praises of Him, who hath [ipet.2.9.]
called us out of darkness into His marvellous light ; and to
give Him the glory that is due unto His Name:" the glory [Heb. 12.
of His power, by worshipping and serving Him with " reve- 28^
rence and godly fear :" the glory of His goodness, by loving
Him with all our hearts : the glory of His righteousness, by

90 The Glory of God, the final Cause of all Things.

SERM. observing all His laws : the glory of His wisdom, by submit-
- ting to His will : the glory of His truth, by believing all that
He hath revealed to us in His Holy Word : the glory of His
mercy, by living with a sure trust and confidence on Him
for all things necessary to our Salvation by Jesus Christ :
and the glory of all His perfections, by our constant admiring
and praising the wonderful works that He hath done : that
when we go out of the world, we may be able in some mea-

Johni7.4. sure to say, as our Saviour did unto the Father, "I have
glorified Thee on the earth, I have finished the work which
Thou gavest me to do." And in the meanwhile, let us sing

Rev. 7. 10, with the quire of Heaven, " Salvation to our God which
sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb ; Amen : Blessing,
and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and
power, and might, be unto our God, for ever and ever."
Amen.

SERMON LVII.

GOD ALONE TO BE SERVED.

MATT. iv. 10.
And Him only shalt thou serve.

HE that firmly believes, and rightly considers the infinite
power and all-sufficiency of the Most High God, may justly
wonder how it is possible for us, or any of His creatures, to
do Him any service : for what can we do for Him who wants
nothing, being all things in and to Himself? Wherein can
we serve Him, who is neither the better nor the worse for
any thing we do, but is still infinitely happy in the enjoy
ment of His own essential goodness and perfections ? And
yet in all His revealed will, there is nothing that He hath
more frequently, or more expressly commanded us, than to
serve Him. And therefore how this may and ought to be
done, is a matter that deserves our most serious inquiry.
Especially considering, that all who have any true sense of
God, being sensible withal of their manifold obligations to
Him, they cannot but look upon themselves as bound to do
Him all the service they can. And howsoever they may
differ about the way and manner of doing it, that it ought to
be done in general, they all agree. Insomuch, that whatso
ever opinion or persuasion men are of in the matter of reli
gion, they still pretend, or at least would be thought to serve
God in it : and yet, I fear, there are but few in the world
that rightly know what it is to serve God, much fewer that
truly serve Him according to their knowledge.

Hence therefore, that I may both clear up the true notion
of it, and likewise excite you to a diligent performance of so

92 God alone to be Served.

SERM. great and necessary a duty, incumbent upon all men as men,

- much more upon all Christians, as such ; I shall, by His

assistance, explain and apply to you these words of our

Blessed Saviour, which I have now read, and which were

uttered by Him upon this occasion.

The grand adversary of mankind the Devil, having pre
vailed with the first Adam to eat the forbidden fruit in the
garden of Eden, and so brought him and all mankind then
contained in him, into a state of sin and misery, he had the
impudence to set upon the second too, even Christ Himself,
after He had fasted forty days and forty nights in the Wil
derness. And his other temptations failing, at last he gets

Matt.4.8,9. Him up " into an exceeding high mountain, and from
thence sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the
glory of them, and saith unto Him, All these things will
I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me." To
which our Lord replies, " Get thee hence, Satan, for it is
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him
only shalt thou serve." As if He should have said, I defy
thee and all the proffers thou makest me, as being con
trary to the revealed will of God, in whose Holy Word it
is written, " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God," &c.
Upon which the Devil, as despairing of victory, flies from

ver. 11. Him, " and behold the holy Angels came and ministered
unto Him."

But here a great question may be raised in what place of
Scripture this is written ? For we do not find any place in
all the Old Testament, where these very words are written.
All the commentators and expositors that I have met with,
refer us to Deut. vi. 13, where it is written, " Thou shalt fear
the Lord thy God, and serve Him." But I could never per
suade myself, that our Lord quoted these words from thence;
for though it be there written, " Thou shalt serve the Lord
thy God," it is not written there, " and Him only shalt thou
serve." In the Greek translation by the Septuagint, I con
fess the word /AO'VW, ' only,' is inserted ; but I do not think that
it was put there by the Seventy translators themselves. For
it is neither in the Hebrew, nor Samaritan copies, nor yet in
the Samaritan version, nor in any of the Chaldee para
phrases ; neither indeed is it in the ancient Syriac and Arabic

God alone to be Served. 93

versions out of the Seventy. And therefore it seems to be
rather taken out of these very words of our Saviour, and
added there by some other hand, that so the place to which
he thought our Lord referred, might better agree with what
he quoted out of it. For so, many other places have been
dealt with, as well as this: and particularly, that parallel
place (Dent. x. 20), " Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God,
Him shalt thou serve." Some copies of the Seventy trans
late it, " Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and Him only
shalt thou serve." But others, and particularly the Alexan
drine, reads it, " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and
Him only shalt thou serve." Which being the very words
of our Saviour in my text, it is very probable that they were
interested there, instea'd of the true version of the Hebrew
text.

But that which prompts me most to believe that our Lord
did not intend that text, in this quotation, is, because He
quotes this Scripture to prove that He ought not to worship
the Devil as he desired. But in the foresaid text, there is
no mention at all of worshipping, but only of fearing and
serving God. And to say, as some have done, that worship
ping is implied in fearing, or the same with it, is so ground
less and absurd, that it is not worth confuting. Be sure our
Saviour would not produce a text to prove that which was
not mentioned nor designed in it.

But where then is this written, which our Lord here
speaks of? I answer in short, it is written in the second
Commandment : the scope and design, the sum and substance
whereof is this, that we must not worship or serve any thing
in the world as God, but only the Lord our God. And it is
very observable, that the Greek translation of the Seventy,
hath both the same words there, which our Lord useth in
my text, ou rtPoffKvvqffsis avrofg ovds fty Xargtvffsig avroTg, l Thou
shalt not worship them, nor serve them.' And what our
Saviour Himself, as well as His Apostles, often doth in other
quotations, He may well be supposed to do the same in this,
even to give us the true sense and meaning of the text He
quotes, in what terms He Himself sees best. And certainly
it is impossible to express the whole will of God in the
second Commandment, more fully and clearly, than our

94 God alone to be Served.

SERM. Lord doth in these words, " Thou shalt worship the Lord
- thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."

Where the word ' only ' hath reference not only to our
serving, but likewise to our worshipping too : as if He had
said, " Thou shalt worship only the Lord thy God, and Him
only shalt thou serve."

Here therefore are two duties which the Lord our God
hath appropriated to Himself, commanding us to perform
them to Himself, and to none but Himself, in a religious
manner, worship and service. What we are to understand
by worship, may be easily gathered from the Hebrew
word used in the Commandment, and from the Greek
word both there and in my text. For the Hebrew word
mnnttffi properly signifies to ' bow down,' and so is com
monly translated in that very place, as well as elsewhere,
4 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them/ And the
Greek word ffgoffxbvqffig, signineth the same too, even adora
tion ; that is, such an humble and reverent inclination or
bowing of our bodies, whereby to express our obeisance
and subjection. By this it is that we actually worship ; and
therefore must do it in a religious sense to none, but only to
the Lord our God.

But that which I chiefly design to speak to at this time, is
the serving of God, w^hich is all along in Scripture distin
guished from worshipping, and yet is as much God's peculiar
right and prerogative, as worship itself. Insomuch, that to
serve an idol, is altogether as bad as to worship it. And
therefore that horrid sin of idolatry, takes its denomination
from hence, even from giving that service to an idol, which
is due only to God. As Tertullian long ago observed, saying,
Tertui. de Idololatria omnis circa omne idolum famulatus, et servitus :
'All attendance and service done about any idol, is idolatry.'
And so St. Augustine, Idololatrce dicuntur, qui simulachris
earn servitutem exhibent quce debetur Deo : l They are called
idolaters, who give that service to images or idols, which is
due to God.'

When therefore it is said in the second Commandment,
" Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the
likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above, or in the earth
beneath, or in the water under the earth, thou shalt not

God alone to be Served. 95

worship them nor serve them;" the meaning is, that as we
must not actually worship any image or idol, by bowing or
prostrating ourselves to it ; so neither must we be service
able, nor contribute any thing towards its being so honoured
or worshipped ; we must not assist at the making, erecting,
or adorning of it ; we must not build altars or temples, nor
offer sacrifices, nor burn incense to it ; we must not buy, nor
sell, nor procure, nor fetch, nor carry any thing for that
purpose ; we must not keep any feasts, nor be present at any
shows that are dedicated to it ; we must not pray to it, nor
speak, nor write in its praise and honour : in short, we must
do nothing that may any way tend to its having Divine
worship performed to it, or to its being reputed or honoured
as a God. For he that doth any such thing to or for any
image or idol, or any creature whatsoever, though he do not
actually worship it, yet he serves it in a religious manner,
and so transgresseth the commandment of God, and is
guilty of idolatry properly so called.

From this, the right notion of serving any thing religiously
besides the true God, we may plainly infer, what it is pro
perly to serve Him, and Him only, and so what is the full
intent and purport of this Divine Law, " And Him only
shalt thou serve." For hereby we are commanded in
general, to do every thing that we can to promote the
honour and glory of the true God, that He, and He only
may be acknowledged, admired, praised, and worshipped as
God, as the sole Creator, Preserver, Governor, Possessor,
and Disposer of all things in Heaven and earth.

For the better understanding of this, we may consider,
how that the Most High God, although He be infinitely
happy in Himself, yet, as the Wise Man saith (Prov. xvi. 4),
" He made all things for Himself," for His own pleasure
and honour, in the exercise, and manifestation of Himself
and His Divine perfections. For this end it was that He
exerted and displayed His infinite wisdom, power, and good
ness, in the contrivance, production, and first establishment
of the world : and for this end it is, that He still continues
to preserve, govern, dispose and order all and every thing
that is in it. Not that He can be ever the happier in
Himself for any thing that He does or makes, but that His

06 God alone to be Served.

SERM. happiness and glory might appear to others, even to all

— such creatures as He for that purpose hath made capable

of reflecting upon Him, and of beholding and admiring that

transcendent glory which shines forth in His creation and

government of the world.

This therefore being the great end which Almighty God
is pleased to propose to Himself in all His works, so far as
any of His creatures contribute any thing towards it, they
may be properly said to serve Him : for so far they do His
work, and are subservient to Him in accomplishing the
design which He Himself carries on in the world : in this
sense all things in some measure serve Him, because all
[Ps. 19. i.] things some way or other tend to His glory. " The very
Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament
sheweth His handywork."

But as for reasonable and free agents, endued with under
standings to know, and with wills to choose what to do,
although God will serve Himself by every thing they do, by
making it conduce at last to His honour ; yet they cannot
be said to serve Him any further than as they choose and
design to set forth His honour, and to express their acknow
ledgment of His greatness and glory ; which is the only
way whereby it is possible for His creatures to magnify or
glorify Him their great and all-glorious Creator.

Thus it is that the glorified Saints and Angels always
serve God in Heaven, by owning Him for their Maker, and
continual Benefactor, extolling His power, and confessing
His goodness and bounty to them : as when they prostrate
Rev. 4. 11. themselves before Him, and cry out, " Thou art worthy, O
Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power ; for Thou
hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and
were created." And when they call upon one another, and
upon all the creatures in the world, to praise Him, saying,
" Hallelujah, praise ye the Lord." This is to serve God
indeed, when they do the work which He hath set them,
and answer the great end for which He made them ; punc
tually and cheerfully observing whatsoever He commands
them in order thereunto.

But it is not so with us poor mortals upon earth, who
generally live as without God in the world, hurried about

God alone to be Served. 97

with divers lusts and passions, whereby all true sense of
God, is almost stifled among us ; and we are so far from
serving God, that we commonly forget that we have any
God to serve : but we have certainly the same obligations
upon us to serve God upon earth, as the Saints and Angels
have in Heaven : and though we cannot do it so well as we
ought, we ought to do it as well as we can, by making it our
constant care, study and endeavour, that He may be better
known, sanctified, adored, and glorified in the world, and
particularly in the place where we dwell. And whatsoever
we do, that conduceth any thing to this end, He is pleased to
accept of it, as of service done to Himself, in that we thereby,
according to our weak capacities, promote His great and holy
design in the world ; as we are expressly commanded to do. iCor.io.si

Now that we may rightly apprehend how it is possible
for us thus to serve the Almighty Creator and Governor of
the world, we must further observe, that as whatsoever He
doth Himself, so whatsoever He commands us to do, is for
His own glory ; which is the ultimate end of all His laws, as
well as of all His works. And therefore all who sincerely
obey and do what He hath commanded, may be properly
said to serve Him, not only in that they thereby declare
their acknowledgment of the justice and goodness of His
laws, and of His power and authority over them ; but like
wise in that they do those things which He Himself hath
prescribed and appointed for the advancement of His honour
and glory in the world.

As for example, He commands you to love, and fear, and
trust, and believe on Him, for the honour of His goodness,
and justice, and power, and truth. He commands you to be
sober and temperate, for the honour of His image that He
hath enstamped upon you, and for the better fitting and dis
posing both your minds and bodies to honour Him. He
commands you to be meek, and patient, and thankful in all
conditions, for the honour of His wisdom and love, in what
soever happens to you. He commands you to be humble
and lowly in your own eyes, for the honour of His supreme
authority and absolute dominion over you. He commands
you to be bountiful, and kind, and merciful to others, for the
honour of that bounty, arid kindness, and mercy, which He

98 God alone to be Served.

SERM. shews to you. He commands you to be just and righteous
— in all your dealings, for the honour of that justice arid right
eousness which appears in all His works, and to manifest to
the world, that you really honour and prefer His love and
favour before all things in it.

Thus we might easily shew that whatsoever God com-
mandeth, He therefore only commandeth it, because the
doing of it tends to His honour ; and therefore they who do
what He commandeth, do ipso facto serve Him, in pro
moting the great end which He aims at in whatsoever He
doth. But to demonstrate this more fully and clearly to
you, I shall instance more particularly in some plain and
necessary duties, and shew how truly and properly we may
be said to serve God in the performance of them.

For this end we may first observe, that the Most High
God hath always had, and ever will have His Church in the
world, and hath instituted several offices and duties in it, on
purpose to keep up the knowledge of Himself amongst
men. Insomuch, that it is only within the pale of the
Church, that He is known, or worshipped, or honoured
upon earth as He ought to be. Hence therefore all that
enlarge, or defend, or do any thing sincerely in the behalf of
God's Church, may be truly and properly said to serve
Him, in that they contribute towards His being better
known and honoured upon earth, than otherwise He would
be. And hence it is, that God Himself frequently calls
Moses His servant, because he settled ; David His servant,
because he reformed ; and Zerubbabel His servant, because
he restored, the Church. And so for the Apostles and first
Disciples of our Blessed Saviour, who preached His Gospel,
and propagated His Church upon earth, they truly served
the Most High God in it, in that mankind was thereby
instructed in the right knowledge of Him the only true
God, and of Jesus Christ whom He hath sent, and were
taught how to give Him that honour which is due to His
sacred Name. Upon which account, they also are called the
servants of God, and the servants of Jesus Christ.

The same may be said of all at this day, who are any way
instrumental in planting or propagating the Church among
infidels, or bringing them over into it : and particularly they,

God alone to be Served. 99

\vlio take all the care, and do what they can, that Negroes
and other infidels in any of his majesty's dominions, or
foreign plantations, or elsewhere, be taught the principles of
the Christian religion, baptized, and so brought into Christ's
church, that they may worship and honour God there, they
are plainly serviceable to Him in a very high degree. And
so are they too, who vindicate or defend the Church against
Jews, Turks, or Heathens, its implacable or open adver
saries ; or else from real heretics or schismatics, its domestic
and private enemies, who endeavour to undermine and cor
rupt it with opinions and practices contrary to the doctrine
of the Gospel : for seeing it is only in Christ's Holy Catholic
Church, that God is truly honoured arid worshipped, what
soever is done for that, is done for God Himself, and is an
eminent piece of that service, which we owe to Him our
great Lord and Master. And therefore our gracious sove
reign, as he is the " defender of the faith," and of the Church
established among us, upon that, as well as many other
accounts, he is truly the servant of the Most High God.
And so are all they who under him, assist in the supporting
and upholding of our Church in its doctrine, discipline and
worship : for hereby it comes to pass, that the knowledge of
the true God is preserved, His prayers celebrated, and His
worship duly performed among us.

To these may be added likewise, all such as contribute
towards the building, repairing, adorning, or better fitting
places for the public worship of God ; or towards the main
taining and encouraging His Ministers, who instruct and
assist the people in the performance of it. For such places
and persons, being wholly set apart for that purpose, what
soever is done for them as such, is done for the keeping up
of God's honour and worship in the land ; and therefore
they that do it (as all ought, according to their power), may
be properly said to serve God in it.

And as for the duties performed in such plajces, they make
up so great a part of that service which we owe to God, that
they have got the name almost wholly appropriated to them
selves, being commonly called Divine Service ; and very
properly too. Whatsoever is there done, by the appoint
ment of our Church, being so contrived and ordered, that it

100 God alone to be Served.

SERM. most clearly sets forth the glory of God, as being a plain and
— - — '- — public acknowledgment either of His greatness and power
over us, or else of His goodness and mercy to us.

When we confess our sins to God, and declare our hearty
and unfeigned repentance for them, we thereby own His
authority to give us what laws He pleaseth, and His justice
and goodness in those which He hath given us, that we
were bound in duty and conscience punctually to observe
them all ; and therefore having broken them, we confess
ourselves to be but as so many guilty malefactors before
Him, the Judge of all the World.

When we beg His pardon, and consequently receive abso
lution from Him, by the hand of His Minister, we thereby
testify our acknowledgment that we lie in His mercy ; that
it is in His power only, to discharge and absolve us from our
sins, and to remit the punishment which is due unto us for
them ; and that He will do it according to the promises which
He hath made to mankind in Jesus Christ our Lord.

When we pray unto Him, and to Him only for grace, or
peace, or any thing we want either for our souls or bodies, '
for ourselves or others, we thereby profess and discover our
[James i. belief and persuasion, that He is the Author and Giver of
17'-' every good and perfect gift, that we have nothing but what

we receive from His gracious and bountiful hands, and that
He, and none but He can save or deliver us from any evil,
or give us any thing that is truly good for us.

And if in our praying, much more in our reading and
[Eph. 5. singing of " psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs," or an
thems (which make up a considerable part of our public
devotions), we set forth His honour and glory, they being
all composed and contrived on purpose to express our sense,
and declare our acknowledgment of His greatness and good
ness in Himself, and of the great and good things which He
hath done for us : by which means, we of the Church Mili
tant here on -earth, join with the Church Triumphant in
Heaven, in praising and extolling His great and glorious
Name ; and so in serving of Him.

Besides praying and praising God, we never come into
His house, but we have some part of His Holy Word read,
and sometimes explained to us : which in the Minister who

God alone to be Served. 101

doth it, it is properly serving God, in that he makes known
God's will and pleasure to His people. And though the
people cannot so properly be said to serve God by hearing
of His Word, yet that being the means whereby to learn
how to serve Him, it hath a near relation to it ; and indeed,
their hearkening to what He saith to them out of His Holy
Word, is a public owning their subjection to Him, and their
obligation to believe and observe what He commanded them.
And as such, it may come under the proper notion of serv
ing Him.

But the highest service that we perform to God in His
own house, is at His holy table, where, in obedience to His
command, we wait upon Him to celebrate the memory of
that death, which His Son in our nature suffered for us. In
which duty we make open profession of our faith, in all the
great mysteries of the Gospel, the most blessed Trinity, the
incarnation of the Son of God, and the propitiation which He
hath made for the sins of the whole world with His own blood.
This is most properly our Christian service, which we, as His
disciples, perform to our Master Christ, and to God, as re
vealed in His Gospel. So that it is by this chiefly that we
manifest ourselves to be Christians, to believe all the articles
of that holy religion which Jesus Christ hath settled in the
Word, and that we hope and expect to be saved only by His
merits and Mediation for us : which being so much for His
honour, the ultimate end of this, as well as any other of
God's commands, we may be truly said to serve Him in the
doing of it.

Thus, whensoever we come into God's house, we serve
Him there ; which is the proper work of the place. And
therefore it is said of Anna the prophetess, that " she de- Luke 2. 37.
parted not from the Temple, but served God with fastings
and prayers night and day ; " that is, as she constantly ob
served the fasts of the Church, to keep both her mind and
body in a right temper for it, so she constantly went to the
Temple at the hours of prayer, and there performed her
public devotions to God. And therefore she hath this testi
mony from God Himself, that she served Him. And so by
consequence, do all they, who after her holy example, daily
frequent the public prayers of the Church, or at least take

, 102 God alone to be Served.

SERM. all opportunities they can get to do it. For this is a public
owning of God and religion ; and therefore it always hath
God's blessing attending it : insomuch, that He hath made
the service which we perform to Him in His own house, the
ordinary means of obtaining grace and Salvation, and all
other blessings from Him : as we see in the foresaid pro
phetess, who constantly attending and serving God in the
Temple, had the favour at last to see Christ Himself there :
in like manner, all such among you, as constantly frequent
the house of God, where His Name is recorded, and accord
ingly worship and serve Him there, God Himself will most
certainly perform His promise to you ; for He will come
unto you, and bless you, and sanctify every thing you do for
His glory, so as to make it conduce to your own everlasting
good.

By this we may see, how truly they also may be said to
serve God, who take care of such places wherein He is
served : it is of God's great goodness to this kingdom, that
there is not a parish in it, but some part of it is dedicated to
Him, and He hath caused an house to be built upon it for
Himself, where all that live within the limits of that parish,
may meet and serve, as well as worship Him together. Now
all that are intrusted with the oversight of their houses of
God in the land, if they faithfully discharge their trust, in
taking effectual care within these several diocesses or juris
dictions, that they be kept in good repair, fit for the service
of God, and that His service be duly and regularly performed
in them, they cannot but be acknowledged to serve Him in
it. Whereas they who neglect their duty in this particular,
do not only betray the trust reposed in them, but plainly
demonstrate to the world, that they care not whether God
be served or no, and must expect to find accordingly, when
they come to give up their accounts to Him.

But we must not think, that because the houses of God
are appropriated to His service, therefore His service should
be confined to them : as if we were never bound to serve
God, but when we come to Church. For that we are obliged
to do wheresoever we are, by taking all the care, and using
all the means we can, that others also, especially such as we
have any power over, may know, and honour, and worship

God alone to be Served. 103

Him as they ought ; that they may " turn from darkness to [Acts 26.
light, from the power of Satan unto God :" which is so great 18'^
a piece a service to Him, that God hath promised an ex
traordinary reward to them who do it, assuring us, that
" they who turn many to righteousness, shall shine as the Dan. 12. 3.
stars for ever and ever ; " that is, they shall be advanced to
more than ordinary degrees of glory in the other world.
And the reason is, because they do not only serve God by
promoting His honour themselves, but likewise in persuad
ing others to it : and therefore shall partake of all the bless
ings which attend the services which those others do Him, as
well as their own.

And so for those, who reprove, correct, or execute their
civil or Ecclesiastical punishments upon notorious and scan
dalous offenders, that blaspheme God's most holy Name,
break His laws, deride His religion, and refuse and neglect
His service and worship ; they, I say, who punish such
people, plainly serve God in the doing of it ; for they do
but inflict the penalties which He Himself hath threatened
against such profane and wicked wretches. And therefore
the supreme magistrate is said to be "the Minister" and Rom. 13. 4.
servant of God, " a revenger to execute wrath upon him that
doth evil." And so not only the king himself, but all who
by virtue of any commission from him, put the laws in exe
cution against such notorious malefactors, they are therein
the ministers or servants of God too, in that they execute
the laws which He hath established to keep up the fear, and
dread, and honour of His great Name amongst us.

And as they serve God by punishing of vice and wicked
ness, so likewise by rewarding and encouraging virtue and
goodness where they find it. For hereby they excite and
stir up others to please, honour, and obey God, and so to
answer God's end in His creation, preservation, and redemp
tion of them.

Another great piece of service which both magistrates
and all others are bound to perform to God, is by using the
utmost of their skill and power in preventing or suppressing
schism, sedition, riots, tumults arid contentions, so as to
promote and settle peace and quietness in the government
under which they live. For St. Paul himself saith, that they

104 God alone to be Served.

SERM. who " cause divisions and offences, contrary to the doctrine"
Rom.i6.'i7, °f tQe Gospel, " serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their
own bellies." Indeed, it is a great shame and reproach to
our holy religion, that they who profess it, should act so
directly contrary to it, and so give too much occasion to the
enemies of our Lord to blaspheme His most sacred Name,
and so do Him all the disservice they can : and therefore
they who are not only peaceable themselves, but do all they
can to make others so too ; are not only the great patriots
of their country, but the servants of God ; who being a God
of peace and love, all that promote love and peace in the
world, plainly serve Him in it ; and are so high in His love
and favour for it, that He looks upon them not only as His
servants, but His children too ; and hath entailed a special
Matt. 5. 9. blessing upon them with His own mouth, saying, " Blessed
are the peace-makers ; for they shall be called the children
of God."

And besides that, they who by their counsel, valour, cou
rage, or conduct, are instrumental in procuring, or establish
ing the peace of the kingdom, give thereby an opportunity
to themselves and others to serve God quietly and peaceably
in their particular callings and stations, by providing not
only what is necessary for their own families, but likewise
wherewith to assist and relieve such as are in distress and
want : and what is done for such, God looks upon as done
ch. 25. 40. for Himself, " Verily," saith our Lord, " I say unto you, In
asmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these My
brethren, ye have done it unto Me." And the reason is,
because God hath promised to provide for the poor and indi
gent ; and therefore what is done for them, is done also for
Him, in that it redounds to the honour and glory of His
truth and faithfulness, in fulfilling His promise to them.

Hence therefore, all that take care of poor widows and
orphans; all that support the weak, heal the sick, relieve
the oppressed, or comfort the disconsolate ; all that feed the
hungry, clothe the naked, instruct the ignorant, or redeem
captives out of slavery and bondage ; and all that contribute
any thing towards these and suchlike pious and charitable
uses, they so far do God's own work, and are His servants
in doing that which He Himself hath promised to do. But

God alone to be Served. 105

as for those, who do not only supply their present necessities,
but erect schools, or colleges, for the education of youth ; or
hospitals, or alms-houses for poor widows and fatherless
children, for the sick or maimed, or decrepid, or any sort of
needy and impotent persons, and endow the said places with
a competent revenue for such good uses, they do not only
serve God while they are in this world, but when they are
gone out of it too. The estates which God gave them, being
still employed in His service upon earth, though they them
selves be gone to Heaven ; which doubtless is no small
addition to their joy and comfort there.

And as we are thus to serve God with our estates, so with
our lives too ; not only by ordering them according to His
holy and wise laws, but likewise by laying them down, if
there be occasion, for His honour and glory ; which rightly
and sincerely performed, is the greatest service that we can
ever do Him ; forasmuch as it is parting with the dearest
thing that we have in the world for His sake. Thus it was,
that the Primitive Christians served the Almighty Creator
of the world, when they chose rather to suffer the most cruel
death that wit or malice could invent, than deny Him, or
do any thing whereby they might seem to own any other
God. And therefore they were honoured with the title of
His Martyrs or witnesses, because they attested His honour
and sovereignty over the world, and sealed it too with their
own blood. And whosoever shall thus openly and resolutely
confess the true God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, before
men, so as cheerfully to suffer not only shame, and pain, and
imprisonment, slavery, and confiscation of goods, and the
like, but even death itself, merely for His sake, and as their
testimony to the truth of His holy Gospel, they thereby give
the clearest demonstration that is possible, of their belief of
His supreme authority over the world, and of all the great
mysteries which He hath revealed to us in the Gospel of
Christ, and so do Him the highest service they can upon
earth, and by consequence shall receive a proportionable
reward in Heaven.

These are some of those many ways, whereby we may
truly and properly be said to serve God, in that we set forth
His glory, and express our faith and fear of His great Name,

106 God alone to be Served.

SERM. and our acknowledgment of those infinite perfections which
— are concentred in His nature, and displayed in all His works.
For hereby we are plainly subservient to Him, in carrying
on and accomplishing the great end that He proposed to
Himself in His creation and government of the world, and
likewise in His redemption of mankind by the blood of His
own Son. Which therefore we are all bound to be, in the
highest manner that we can, by using these and all other
means that may any way tend to that most wise and holy
end. As be sure all true grace and virtue some way or other
doth ; so that if we exercise and employ ourselves continually
therein as we ought, our whole lives will be spent in His
service in whom we live ; for hereby, as the Prophet Za-
Luke i. 74, charias words it, we shall " serve Him without fear in holi
ness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life."
Now, having thus briefly put you in mind, how ye may
all serve Almighty God Himself, if ye will; I might use
some arguments whereby to persuade you to be as willing
as ye are able to do it. But that, I hope, will be altogether
needless, especially as to you, who know it to be both your
honour and your interest, as well as duty ; ye cannot but
acknowledge it to be a very great honour to serve a great
king or emperor upon earth. But what an honour then
must it needs be, to serve the King of all kings, the Uni
versal Monarch of Heaven and earth, who is greatness and
excellency itself! His service doubtless is not only perfect
freedom, but perfect honour too; the greatest that creatures
can ever be invested writh ; for it is doing the work of their
Creator Himself: it is honouring Him: and they that
honour Him, are sure to be honoured by Him : for they
i Sam. 2. 30; have His own word for it, saying, "Them that honour Me,
' I will honour." And how honourable must that man be,
whom God Himself delights to honour ! Yet this honour
[PS. 149.9.] have all the Saints and servants of the Most High God:
who honours them so highly, as to call them not only His
[Ex. 19. 5; servants, but His children, His friends, His peculiar people,
Ps6Ui35442-; ^*s treasure> His jewels ; which are such titles of honour,
Mai. 3. 17; that none but God Himself can give, and none but His

1 Pet. 2. 9.]

servants can receive. Wherefore as ever you desire to be
advanced to this real, substantial, eternal honour, so as to

God alone to be Served. 107

be honoured not only by men and Angels, and the whole
court of Heaven, but by God Himself, the Fountain of all
true honour ; do but devote yourselves to His service, and
it will be immediately conferred upon you.

Neither will this be only for your honour, but for your
interest too : for they who serve God, as they serve the
greatest, they serve the best master in the world. One who
never suffers His implacable enemies to go unpunished, nor
His faithful servants unrewarded. It is true, when we have
done all we can for Him, we are still but unprofitable [Luke 17.
servants ; we have done no more than what was our duty 10^
to do : yet howsoever, so infinitely good, and kind, and
gracious is He to those who do Him true and faithful
service, that He thinks nothing too much, nothing too good
for them ; but makes all things work together for their [R0m. s.
good. Insomuch, that they who serve God, have all things 28^
else to serve them. And what is wanting in His creatures
to make them completely happy, He Himself will make up
out of the inexhaustible treasure of His own infinite good
ness and felicity. So that although all the services they can
do Him, be but very imperfect, and come far short of what
they owe Him, yet He is graciously pleased, for His Son's
sake, not only to accept of them, but to reward them also
with a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. [2Cor. 4.

But we must remember, that whether we could get any 17^
thing by it or no, it is still our duty to serve Him who made
us, and who made us on purpose to serve Him ; and hath
expressly commanded us to do it. And therefore they who
live in the constant neglect of it, do what they can to frus
trate the very end of their creation, being mere cyphers in
the world, coming in, and going out of it again, without ever
doing the work they were made for ; and therefore can ex
pect no other, but that He that made them, should be for
ever displeased with them. And what will be the effects and
consequences of that, I leave you to judge.

But, I hope, ye will never make trial of it. But that now
you have heard, how you both may and ought to serve the
Lord your God, and Him only, you will for the future do it
to the uttermost of your knowledge and power, by employ
ing and improving your parts and learning, your wisdom

108 God alone to be Served.

SERM. and policy, your estates, authority, interest, and whatsoever
— — talents He hath put into your hands, wholly and solely for

[Matt. 5. His honour and glory, that your " light may so shine before
men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father which is in Heaven." Which if ye do, I speak in
His Name, He will most certainly guide, assist and bless
you while ye live, and when ye die, He will receive you to

[ch.25.2i.] Himself, saying, " Well done, good and faithful servants,
enter ye into the joy of your Lord ; " where ye will live in
the greatest splendour and glory, and enjoy the greatest
comfort and happiness, that creatures are capable of; and
all through the merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ our
Lord, to whom with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, be all
honour and glory given of us, and of all the creatures in the
world, from this time forth and for evermore. Amen.

SERMON LVIII.

THE ADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC WORSHIP.

PSALM cxxii. 1.

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house
of the Lord.

" THUS saith the Lord, The Heaven is My throne, and the jsa. 66. i.
earth is My footstool : where is the house that ye build unto
Me? And where is the place of My rest?" Whereby it
hath pleased His Divine goodness to signify to us, that He
lives and reigns on high, infinitely above all that we can
think, and that the earth is at His foot, to do what He will
with it, and with every thing that is in it, or upon it. So
that the whole earth is full of His glory, and the Heaven of [PS. 72. 19;
Heavens is not able to contain it. Where then shall we i-Kings 8<

— / \

build an house ? Where shall we find a place for Him to Isa- 6- 4-l
dwell in? Nowhere certainly, so as that He should be
included in it. Yet nevertheless, as He is said to dwell in
Heaven, because He there unveils Himself, and shines forth
in all His glory, before those pure and holy creatures that
dwell there, and are capable of beholding it : so He is said
to dwell in such places upon earth too, where He is gra
ciously pleased to manifest Himself, and discover any of His
Divine perfections in a more peculiar manner than He doth
elsewhere ; as He is often said to dwell between the [ps. so. i ;
cherubims over the mercy-seat, or covering of the ark, from "* ^
whence He was pleased to manifest His glory, and make
known His will unto His people. And wheresoever the
ark was, there He was said to dwell. So long as it was in
the Tabernacle which Moses by His appointment made for

1 10 The Advantages of Public Worship.

SERM. it, that was called His house or dwelling-place, because He

- there met with His people, and acquainted them with His

pleasure. And when the ark was put into the Temple which

John 2. 16. Solomon built for it upon Mount Sion, that was called His

house, not only in the Old Testament, but in the New, by

Christ Himself.

This therefore is that which the Psalmist here calls, " the
house of the Lord," even the place where the ark then was,
and where the Lord had therefore promised to be, in a
special manner. Thither all the men in Israel were bound
to go, at least three times every year, though many of them
lived above an hundred miles off. And some have thought
that this psalm was composed for that occasion, that the
people might better express the joy and pleasure they had
in that holy journey, saying or singing to one another as
they went, " I was glad, or rejoiced, when they said unto
me, we will," or " let us go into the house of the Lord. Our
feet shall stand in thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is
built as a city that is at unity in itself, for thither the tribes
go up, even the tribes of the Lord, to testify unto Israel, to
give thanks to the name of the Lord," &c.

But it might serve as well for those who living near it,
went every day to the house of the Lord, to perform their
devotions to Him, and to receive His blessing ; as all that
were truly pious did. They took all opportunities they could
get, of going thither at the hours of prayer, and were glad
when any put them in mind of it, and called upon them to
go, saying, " Let us go into the house of the Lord." And
so doubtless are all such at this day. All that truely love,
and fear, and honour God, are as glad to go into this house
now, as they were then.

It is true, we have no such outward signs of His special
presence in our churches, as they had of old in the Taber
nacle and Temple : but howsoever, we cannot doubt but that
He is as specially present with us in such places, as He was
with them. For we have His own word for it; saying,
Matt. is. 20. " Where two or three are gathered together in My Name,
there am I in the midst of them." Whereby we are fully as
sured, that He doth not now presentiate Himself only in one
place, as He did under the Law, but that wheresoever His

The Advantages of Public Worship. Ill

faithful people meet together in His Name, to serve and
worship Him, He is there with them, to assist them in what
they do, and to bless and sanctify it to them. And therefore
every such place dedicated to His service, may as properly be
called the house of the Lord, as the Temple was. And every
pious and devout soul delights as much in going thither, as
David did, and can as truly say, " I was glad when they said
unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord."

This therefore is that which I shall now demonstrate to
you, and for that purpose shall consider, first, the persons
who are always glad to go into the house of the Lord ; and
then, the reasons why they are so.

First, as to the persons ; we must not think that all sorts
of people delight in going to church, the house of God.
For we see the contrary by daily experience : even that
many, yea, most of these too who profess the faith of Christ,
choose rather to go any where else than thither. Some had
rather go to an alehouse, or tavern, or playhouse, where
they may please their flesh or their fancy. Others are for a
shop, a warehouse, or the exchange, where they may buy,
or sell, and get gain : like those in the Prophet, who said,
" When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn ? Amos, s. 5.
And the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the
ephah small, and the shekel great, falsifying the balances by
deceit;" that is, in plain terms, they had rather be cheating
their neighbours, than serving God. Nay, there are many,
too many, who choose to sit still at home, and do nothing,
rather than go to church, and do the work that is there
required of them. Such as these are not glad, but sorry
and troubled, when any say unto them, " Let us go into the
house of the Lord;" and will look upon them as their
enemies, for offering to make such an impertinent and
troublesome motion to them.

And it is no wonder. For such people know not what to
do at church, nor can take any pleasure in what is there
done : they care not for praying or praising God ; neither
doth " the word preached, any way profit them, not being Heb. 4. 2.
mixed with faith in them that hear it." The church is no
more to them than an ordinary house ; and the whole service
that is there performed, seems to them an insipid business,

112 The Advantages of Public Worship.

SERM. which they can no way relish or delight in. And the reason

I VTTI

— is, because their minds being taken up with the affairs of

this life, they are altogether incapable of all things belonging

iCor. 2. 14. to their everlasting peace ; for as the Apostle observes, " The
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ;
for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned." Hence it is,
that such men, when they are at church, they are restless
and uneasy all the while, and long to be out again, that they
may follow the business, or enjoy the pleasures their hearts
are set on : as for what is done there, they know not what
to make of it ; and therefore it is no wonder that they care
not how seldom they come thither ; and if they ever do, it
is not a pleasure, but a grief and a trouble to them ; which
notwithstanding they are forced sometimes to bear with, to
keep up their credit and reputation in the world ; lest their
neighbours should think them to be what they are, mere
natural and carnal men, that have no sense at all of religion,
but live as without God in the world.

But although these be not, there are other persons that
are glad, as David was, to "go into the house of the Lord."
But they are such as David was, of whom it is said, that

i Sam. is. "he was a man after God's own heart;" that is, he was a
truly good and virtuous man, one that loved God with all
his heart, and lived constantly in His true faith and fear,
making it his chief care and business to obey, and serve, and
please, and honour Him. His heart was wholly inclined to
God, and set to obey His Commandments, and to glorify
His Holy Name, and so was such a one as God would have
him to be, a man after His own heart : who therefore took
great delight in every thing that tended to the glory of God :
particularly, what vast preparations did he make for the
building and adorning the house of God, where He might
be served and worshipped ; and all because he had set his
affection upon it, as he himself said, 1 Chron. xxix. 3. What

PS. 26. s. a mighty love and zeal had he for it ! " Lord," said he, " I
have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where

PS. 69. 9. Thy honour dwelleth." " The zeal of Thine house hath
eaten me up." How earnestly did he desire to go thither !
How was he grieved when any thing hindered him from

The Advantages of Public Worship. 113

going to the house of God ! Envying the very sparrows
and swallows that could get thither, when he could not. PS. 84. 3.
How much did he prefer the time he spent there, before all
the rest of his life ! and the lowest place in the house of
God before the highest in all the earth besides ! " A day in ver. 10.
Thy courts," saith he, "is better than a thousand. I had
rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to
dwell in the tents of wickedness." And therefore he might
well say, " I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into
the house of the Lord."

And so may all good men as well as he : for they are all
of the same temper, all acted by the same spirit as he was.
And therefore cannot but delight as much in going to the
house of God as he did ; and that upon several accounts.
First, because of the great comfort they find in doing their
duty to God, in worshipping and serving Him that made
them, and so answering His end in the making of them : for
being conscious to themselves of the duty they owe to God,
they can never be at rest in their own minds, without paying
it, as far as they can, to Him. But when they are doing
that, their consciences are quiet, and their minds satisfied,
and pleased with the thoughts of their doing what God
would have them, and that He is therefore well pleased with
them. And whatsoever some may think, this is certainly
the greatest comfort that any man can have on this side
Heaven ; in comparison of which, all the seeming pleasures
of this world are nothing but fancy and delusion. " Our 2 Cor. 1.12.
rejoicing," saith the Apostle, " is this, the testimony of our
conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, we have
had our conversation in the world." This is the rejoicing
of every good man, when he goes into the house of God ;
that his conscience bears witness with him, that he is going
about the works of God, the works that he was made for,
even to serve and glorify his Maker : hence it is, that they
whom God hath sometimes stirred up to go to church, if
they afterwards leave it off again, or neglect it upon any
slight occasion, their consciences usually fly in their faces,
and torment them for it : whereas they who, like Anna the
prophetess, never depart from the house of God, but serve
Him there with fastings and prayer day and night ; that is, Luke 2. 37.

114 The Advantages of Public Worship.

SERM. never, or very rarely, omit either morning or evening sacri-
— fice, their consciences have nothing to say against them for
that, but bear witness for them that they do their duty, and
please God, and so always live under His favour and pro
tection ; and how great a pleasure that is, none can tell but
they who feel it : but they find and feel it to be the greatest
pleasure of their lives, the only true joy and comfort of their
hearts, and therefore must needs rejoice and be glad at all
opportunities they can get of going into the house of the
Lord.

And so they are too, because of the good company they
meet with there : for there they do not only meet with their
fellow Christians, ready to join with them in the work they
go about, but there they meet also with the best friend they
have in the world, with Almighty God Himself; not as He
is their Creator only, but as He is their Saviour also and

Matt. 18.20. Redeemer. For as such, He said, " Where two or three
are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst
of them." But whensoever we go to perform our devotions
in the house of God, we always do it in His Name. And
therefore whatsoever other company we may chance to meet
with there, we are sure of His. He is certainly among them,
in the midst of them ; for we have His own word for it,
which is infinitely more than as if we saw Him there with
our eyes, or heard Him speaking to us, as Moses sometimes
did in the Tabernacle ; for our eyes and our ears might

Tit. i. 2. deceive us, but God cannot : " He cannot lie." And there
fore He having said that He is in the midst of us, when we
meet together in His Name, He cannot but be there. And
we may and ought to be as confident of it, as we are or can
be of any thing in the world besides ; so as never to doubt,
but that as it is His house where we meet, so we always
meet with Him there.

But may we meet with our Lord and Saviour Christ,
whensoever we go into the house of God ? Is He always
there in the midst of us ? Who then would not go thither
as oft as he can ? Men generally delight in nothing so much
as in the company of one they love. But all good men, all
true Christians, love Christ Jesus above all the things and
persons upon earth. And therefore cannot but long to be

The Advantages of Public Worship. 115

where He is, and enjoy His company, "Whom having not i pet. i. s.
seen, they love; in whom though now they see Him not,
yet believing, they rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of
glory ; " though they see Him not with their bodily eyes, yet
by faith, which is the "evidence of things not seen," they Heb. n. i.
are fully assured that He is there, and therefore cannot but
delight and rejoice in being there, more than in any other
place or company upon earth besides. And they that do
not, have too much cause to suspect that they have not that
love and value for their Saviour which a Christian ought
to have, and without which no man can truly be called a
Christian : if they had, they could never think much of
spending an hour or two in a day in His presence, but would
look upon the time they are with Him, as the best spent of
any part of the day ; would joyfully embrace all oppor
tunities of meeting with Him, and would be glad when any
put them in mind of it, saying, " Let us go into the house
of the Lord/'

Especially considering in the next place, that He is there
in the midst of them, not only as a spectator, auditor, and
observer of what they do, and speak, and think together ;
but He is there as their Saviour and Redeemer, to assist
them in what they do ; to sanctify it to them, and to bestow
His manifold favours and blessings upon them, according to
their several necessities and occasions. Heark what He
Himself saith, " In all places where I record My Name, I Exod. 20.
will come unto thee, and I will bless thee." But whereso- ^
ever we meet together in His Name, there His Name is
recorded or remembered; and therefore He doth not only
come thither, but He comes on purpose to bless us. But
what blessings doth He bestow on those who meet together
in His Name ? In general, all sorts of blessings which they
are capable of and want : they were all purchased by Him,
with the price of His blood ; and therefore are wholly at
His disposal. And He usually distributes them in His own
house, to those who meet there in His Name, and so come
thither for them ; for when they are there, He, according to
His word, comes to them and blesseth them ; He blesseth
them with spiritual blessings in heavenly places; He gives [Eph. 1.3.]
them a true sight of their sins, with an hearty sorrow and

116 The Advantages of Public Worship.

SERM. repentance for them; He fills their souls with a sense of
LVI11' God's mercy in the pardon and forgiveness of them ; He

[Acts 26. opens their eyes, and turns them from darkness to light, and
from the power of Satan unto God ; He enlightens their

[PS. 119. minds, that they may see the wonderful things which are
written in the Law and Gospel; He directs them how to

[Phii.2. 12; wor]i out their Salvation with fear and trembling, and to
make their calling and election sure ; He grants whatsoever
they ask in His Name, so far as He sees it to be good for
them ; He perfumes their hymns and praises with the in
cense of His own merits, that God may smell a sweet savour
from them : He strengtheneth and refresheth their souls

[Heb. 12. with His own body and blood, " that they may run with
patience the race that is set before them;" He poureth
down such a measure of His grace and Spirit upon them,
whereby they are enabled to walk in holiness and righteous-

[Coi.i.i2.] ness before Him all their days, and so makes them "meet
to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light."

These are some of those many and great blessings, which
God our Saviour usually distributes in His own house, while
His people are there praying, and praising God, hearing
His word, and receiving the Sacrament of His Last Supper,
which are therefore called the means of grace, because they
are the ordinary means that Christ hath appointed wherein
to give us His grace and blessing, which all wise and good
men desire above all things else, and therefore cannot but
join with David in saying, " I was glad when they said unto
me, Let us go into the house of the Lord."

But hath He no temporal blessings to bestow as well as
spiritual ? Yes surely, they also are all at His disposal, and
He gives them to His servants, so far as they are blessings ;
that is, so far as they are good and necessary for them ; for
otherwise they are not blessings, but curses. But He gives
them ordinarily with the other, or rather upon their seeking
the other before them, and coming unto Him for them,

Matt. 6. 33. according to His word and promise, saying, " Seek ye first
the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these
things," that is, all things that are needful for you, " shall
be added to you." Whereby His faithful servants have as
great a security as can be given them, that they shall never

The Advantages of Public Worship. 117

want any thing that is good for them ; for they have the
infallible word of God Himself for it, from whom " comes James 1.17.
every good and perfect gift, and with whom is no variable
ness, neither shadow of turning." And therefore it is impos
sible that they who seek and serve Him before all things,
should want any thing that is really good for them, so far as
it is so : as impossible as it is for God to lie.

So that all who sincerely devote themselves to His ser
vice, need never fear losing any thing by leaving their shops
or houses, for a while, to go to church, the house of God.
But they should rather be confident, and rest fully satisfied
in their minds, that as they go thither to wait upon Him,
and to do the work that He hath set them ; so He, according
to His word, will come unto them and will bless them. He [Ps-121-8-]
will bless them in their going out and in their coming in ;
He will bless them in their basket and in their store ; He
will bless them in their callings that they may be sure to get
what is needful for them ; and He will bless what they have
so gotten, both to themselves and families. This they may
truly promise themselves, for God Himself hath promised
it. And therefore they may well rejoice and be glad at all
opportunities they can get of going into the house of the
Lord.

This will appear further, if we consider also the great
pleasure that good men take in what is done while they are
in the house of God ; howsoever irksome and tedious it may
seem to other people, they who truly love and fear God
above all things, find more true joy and comfort in His
house, than they can do any where else ; they are there in
their proper elements, about the business they are most
inclined to, and therefore must needs be most delighted in,
as being suitable to their renewed nature, and agreeable to
their spiritual temper and disposition. So that the whole
work of the place in itself affords them great joy and plea
sure, which is very much augmented also by the Holy Spirit
of God co-operating with them in it ; whereby the hearts of
those who are rightly disposed for it, are usually filled with
all the joy and comfort which as yet they are capable of:
according to the promise that God Himself hath made to
that purpose, where, speaking of those who faithfully serve

118 The Advantages of Public Worship.

SERM. Him, and love His Name, He saith, "Them will I bring to
— — My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of
prayer." " In My house of prayer ;" that is, the place where
He usually cheereth and refresheth His people's spirits, more
than in any other place upon earth : as I do not doubt but
many here present have often found by their own experience,
who coming sometimes dull, and heavy, and disconsolate,
into the house of God, have there had such discoveries of
His greatness and glory, and such intimations of His love
and mercy to them, whereby their hearts have been raised
up to the highest pitch of joy and cheerfulness, such as none
could give them, but He that promised to make them joyful
in His house of prayer ; and who never fails to perform His
promise to them who come thither duly prepared, and keep
their minds intent upon Him, and upon the duties which
are there performed to Him, according to the orders and
directions of our Church.

I say, according to the orders and directions of our
Church ; for I speak not of what is done in those private
assemblies, where the people have nothing to do but to
hearken to what is done by another ; and besides a sermon,
have nothing but an extempore prayer, which they know not
what it will be, until they hear it, and so cannot heartily
join in it. But I speak only of the offices and duties which
are constantly performed in the house of God, according to
the appointment of our Church. All which by God's bless
ing upon them, and by His grace working together with
them, both jointly and severally conduce very much towards
the making His people joyful, and therefore glad to go into
the house of the Lord.

Which that I may demonstrate to you, I shall instance
more particularly in some of them, and shew how they do
not only edify, but recreate and cheer the spirits of all that
are truly pious and devout, all the while that they are duly
exercised in them : for which purpose I may first observe,
that they having at their first entrance into His house con
fessed their sins to God, and being thereby possessed with a
deep sense of the insupportable and eternal torments which
they have deserved by them, the minister, in the name of
God. and by His authority, solemnly declares, "that He

The Advantages of Public Worship. 119

pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent, and
unfeignedly believe His Holy Gospel." Which to them who
are sensible of, and truly penitent for their sins, as all good
people are, is certainly the greatest comfort in the world : in
that they are hereby assured, that notwithstanding their
manifold provocations of Him, Almighty God, upon their
repentance and faith in Christ, is now reconciled to them,
and receives them into His grace and favour, as much as if
they had never offended Him. They who are not comforted
and rejoiced at this, have too much cause to suspect, that
they do not feel the weight of their sins, nor regard the
love of God ; for if they did, they would receive His abso
lution with the highest expressions of joy and thankfulness;
and would not only be glad to go into the house of the
Lord, but would be sure always to go soon enough to
receive it.

His faithful people now looking upon themselves as
absolved from their sins, and restored to the favour of God,
according to the promise He hath made in Jesus Christ our
Lord, they immediately address themselves to Him, as their
gracious and most merciful Father, saying, " Our Father
which art in Heaven." And so they go on in the several
parts of the service, to present their petitions to Him,
coming boldly, as the Apostle speaks, "to the throne ofHeb.4.ie.
grace, that they may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in
time of need," not doubting but that He being now recon
ciled to them through Christ, will grant them whatsoever
they ask in His Name, according to His own word, saying,
"Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name, He will John 16.23.
give it you." In confidence of which promise, they accord
ingly, ask whatsoever they stand in need of, either as to this
world or the next ; still keeping their eye and their faith
fixed upon the Almighty Creator of the world, as their most
loving Father; and upon His Son, as their most powerful
Advocate with Him, continually making intercession for
them, that their services may be accepted, and their petitions
granted by Him, so far as He in His infinite wisdom knows
them to be expedient for them. Thus, all the while they are
upon their knees, they are conversing with Almighty God, and
exercising their faith in Christ, and so have " fellowship both i John i. 6.

120 The Advantages of Public Worship.

SERM. with the Father and the Son." Now what a mighty plea-
- sure and comfort this is to all the true Saints and servants
of God, I need not tell them : though nobody else doth, they
know it, they feel it to be the greatest, the only true joy and
comfort of their hearts. For hereby they enjoy communion
with God, the chiefest, the only good, and rest fully satisfied
in their minds, that they shall want nothing that is good for
them, nothing that can either do them or make them good ;
seeing they have Him who is all good in Himself, and His
word for whatsoever they ask, that is so to them : whereby
they, according to their capacities, in this mortal state, in
some measure enjoy all the good things that God hath made,
and Him too that made them. Which is so great an happi
ness, that they who have once tasted of it, cannot but always
desire it, and therefore must needs be glad to go into the
house of the Lord to partake of it.

Besides that, they never go into the house of the Lord,
but they have some part of His own Word solemnly read, if
not expounded also to them, and so they always there hear
their Heavenly Father speaking and making known Him
self and His holy will unto them, what He would have them
believe and do, that they may continue in His love and
favour, which all His dutiful and obedient children prize
Ps.i9.9,io. and desire above all things in this world. " The judgments
of the Lord," saith David, " are true, and righteous altoge
ther, more to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much
fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb."
PS. 119. 72. "The law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of
ver. 103. gold and silver." " How sweet are Thy words unto my lips !
Sweeter than honey to my mouth."

And verily it is no wonder that the children of God thus
highly value and delight in His holy Word ; for as it is by
James LIB. His Word that they are begotten or born again of God, and
so made His children at first ; so the same Word is after
wards the proper nourishment of their souls, whereby their
new and spiritual life is sustained and increased in them, so
2 Pet. s. is. as to " grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and
i Pet. 2. 2. Saviour Jesus Christ." And therefore as " new-born babes,
they cannot but desire the sincere milk of the Word, that they
may grow thereby." But this is communicated to them by

The Advantages of Public Worship. 121

their Heavenly Father most effectually in His own house ;
for although they may read the Word of God over and over
again at home, or in any other place ; yet they find by expe
rience, that it never comes with so much power and efficacy
upon them, as when it is administered to them in His own
house, in His Name, by an officer of His own appointment,
while His people are met together to serve and worship Him,
and so have His Holy Spirit assisting and co-operating with
His Word, that it may work effectually in them that believe. jThess. 2.
Who, therefore, finding the Word of God to be quite another
thing when publicly read or explained in God's house than
it is at their own, they cannot but be exceeding glad of all
opportunities of going thither to hear it.

Especially, seeing when they come there they do not only
pray and hear God's holy Word, but they join together also
in praising and magnifying His holy Name ; not only a little
by the by, as occasion serves in the prayers and lessons, but
in a set and solemn manner : so that this makes a great, if
not the greatest part of our daily service ; which we have no
sooner begun, but we presently call upon one another, saying
in the words of the Holy Ghost, " O come, let us sing unto [PS. 95. i,
the Lord, let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our Salva
tion : let us come into His presence with thanksgiving, and
shew ourselves glad in Him with psalms." And when we
accordingly go on to praise Him with psalms, and hymns, and [Eph.s.ig-]
spiritual songs : we commonly repeat several psalms together,
and after every one of them, we constantly give glory to God,
saying, " Glory be to the Father," &c. After the first lesson,
we repeat the Te Deum, " We praise Thee, 0 God, we acknow
ledge Thee to be the Lord ; " or else the Benedidte, " O all
ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, praise Him, and
magnify Him for ever." After the second lesson we say the
Benedictus, " Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath
visited and redeemed His people;" or else the hundredth
psalm, called the Jubilate, " O be joyful in the Lord, all ye
lands, serve the Lord with gladness, and come before His
presence with a song." And so in the afternoon we sing the
Magnificat, or the ninety-eighth psalm, after the first lesson;
and after the second, the Nunc dimittis, or the sixty-seventh
psalm : besides all which, we constantly repeat the Creed,

122 The Advantages of Public Worship.

SERM. or confession of our faith, wherein we acknowledge the glory
— of the Eternal Trinity, and recount the wonderful things
which the Son of God hath done for us, how " He was con
ceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered
under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried, de
scended into Hell, rose again the third day, ascended up into
Heaven, and there sitteth at the right hand of God, in the
glory of the Father." By all which we set forth the praises
of the Most High God, in the best manner we can do it
upon earth.

Thus whensoever we come into the house of the Lord, we
join together in praising Him, our Almighty Creator, and
most merciful Redeemer, and so do the great work for
which He created and redeemed us ; which therefore must
needs be very pleasant and delightful to those who believe
themselves to be not only created, but likewise redeemed by
Him for that end and purpose. As David found by expe-

PS. 63. 6. rience, when He said, " My soul shall be satisfied even as it
were with marrow and fatness, when my mouth praiseth
Thee with joyful lips." Where we may likewise observe,
that joy fulness doth so necessarily accompany our praising
God, that we can never do it aright without it ; for we must

PS. si. i. always praise Him with joyful lips, " We must sing merrily
to God our strength, and make a cheerful noise to the God

PS. 92. 4. of Jacob;" and rejoice in giving praise for the operations
of His hands. Which we cannot choose but do, if we duly
consider those infinite perfections we acknowledge in Him,
and the glorious works we praise Him for; for the very
agnizing and celebrating of them fills our souls with
unspeakable joy and pleasure, the highest that we are
capable of. This is that which makes Heaven itself to be so
pleasant a place to those who dwell there, because they are
always praising God. There " the Cherubin and Seraphin
continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sab-
aoth, Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of Thy
glory." There " the glorious company of the Apostles
praise Him." There " the goodly fellowship of the Prophets
praise Him." There " the noble army of Martyrs praise

[Heb. 12. Him." There all the spirits of just men made perfect praise
Him continually. And if we shall ever be so happy as to be

The Advantages of Public Worship. 123

admitted into their blessed society, we shall join with them

in praising Him that brought us thither : this will be our

work, and this will be our pleasure for evermore : and as

ever we desire to do it there, we must delight in doing it

here first ; otherwise our hearts will not be set right for it,

and so we "shall not be meet to be partakers of the inherit- [Col. 1.12.]

ance of the Saints in light:" but that is the thing which all

that are truly wise and pious, most earnestly desire above all

things else, and therefore cannot but always rejoice and be

glad to go into the house of God, that they may there praise

Him, and so begin that work in time, which they hope to

continue to all eternity.

But that which above all makes the Saints and servants of
the Most High God so joyful in His house of prayer, arid
therefore so glad to go thither, is the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, usually performed there, ordained by our
Lord, the Almighty God, our Saviour Himself, on purpose to
put us in mind of Him, and so to confirm our faith in Him,
to inflame our love to Him, to excite our desires and longing
after Him, to fill our hearts with joy and thankfulness for
Him, that our souls may be strengthened and refreshed by
the body and blood of Christ, as our bodies are with bread
and wine. Here we receive the pardon of all our sins,
sealed to us in the blood of the Son of God. Here we eat
the flesh and drink the blood of Christ by faith, so as that
He dwelleth in us, and we in Him ; He is one with us, and
we with Him.

Hereby we are assured of God's love and favour to us,
and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical
body of His Son, which is the blessed company of all faithful
people, and also are heirs, through hope, of His everlasting
Kingdom, by the merits of the most precious death and pas
sion of His dear Son. Where shall we find matter of so
great joy and comfort on this side Heaven? Nowhere
certainly but in God's own house, where He is pleased to
give it us at His holy table, when the Sacrament of His
most blessed body and blood is there administered, as it is
every Lord's day in this and some other, and ought to be so
in all the houses of GOD in the land : that His people may
never want that spiritual food which He hath provided for

124 The Advantages of Public Worship.

SERM. them, wherewith to nourish and preserve both their souls
-1— and bodies to everlasting life, which His dutiful and obedient
children, always hungering and thirsting after, cannot but
be overjoyed at all occasions of having it administered unto
them. And therefore as they always rejoice and are glad
when any say unto them, " Let us go into the house of the
Lord," so especially when they say, let us go unto the table

PS. 65. 4. of the Lord ; and are always ready to say with David.
These things I thought good to put you in mind of at this
time, not only to shew what cause we have to thank God
that His house is refitted, and that we are got again into it ;
but likewise that you may see that it is your interest as well
as duty to frequent it as much as possibly you can. I am
very sensible, that all that I have now said, and all that can
be said upon this subject, will have but little effect upon the
greatest part of them which hear it : for we live in an age
that is only for hearing, not for doing any thing they hear ;
much less, that which ye have now heard ; which as I
observed before, none can receive in the love of it, but only

[Eph. 4. such as are " renewed in the spirit of their minds," and so
are wholly devoted to the service of God. All others will
think what you have now heard, to be a mere paradox.
They can never get it into their heads that there is any
profit or pleasure to be had at church, because they could
never find it there : but the reason is, not because it is not
to be had, but because their minds being set upon other
things, they are not qualified or disposed for those pure and
spiritual joys which God vouchsafeth to His people in His
own house, and to none but them. All others are altoge
ther unacquainted with them ; which being the many, or
rather the most, hence it comes to pass, that daily prayers
are so much slighted and neglected among us, far more, to
our shame be it spoken, than among any other sort of
people in the world. The Papists will rise up in judg
ment with this generation, for they every day observe their
Canonical hours for praying, at least, for that which they
believe to be so. The Jews will rise up in judgment with
this generation, for they never omitted to offer their daily
sacrifices, so long as they had an house of God wherein to
offer them. The Turks shall rise up in judgment with this

The Advantages of Public Worship. 125

generation, for when their priests call the people to prayer
as they do several times every day, they immediately run to
their mosques or temples, and if any offer to stay at home,
he is shunned by all, as a wicked, atheistical wretch. The
Heathens will rise up in judgment with this generation, for
if they had such opportunities as we have of praying and
praising their Almighty Creator every day, I doubt not but
they would do it far more constantly than it is done by most
of us. What then can we expect but that some severe judg
ment or other will ere long be inflicted on us ? When
people generally live as without God in the world, notwith
standing the clear discoveries that He hath made of Himself [Eph. 2.

12.1

unto them, and notwithstanding the means of grace which
are so constantly administered to them, but they will not
use them.

But let others continue if they please, in this wicked
course, and take what follows. You who have now heard
what a joyful and pleasant thing it is to go into the house
of God, to serve and worship Him there, be now advised to
do it, and to do it as oft as possibly you can. I dare assure
you, ye will then experience the truth of all that I have now
said of it, and far more than I am able to express. But for
that purpose, whensoever ye go into the house of the Lord,
ye must lay aside all other business, and apply yourselves
wholly to the duties of that holy place ; ye must keep your
minds intent all the while upon Him before whom ye are,
and upon the work which He hath there set you. You
must confess your sins heartily, you must receive His abso
lution faithfully, you must hear His Word attentively, you
must pray sincerely, you must praise Him lustily and with
a good courage ; and when ye receive the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, ye must do it with that true repentance, that
strong faith, that heavenly joy and thankfulness that is due
to so great a mystery. Thus exercising your souls con
tinually in these holy and spiritual duties, that are performed
in God's lower houses upon earth, ye will be every day more
and more prepared and fitted to live with Him in Heaven,
there to enjoy and praise Him for ever.

SERMON LIX.

THE DUTY OF PUBLIC THANKSGIVING.

PSALM xcv. 1, 2.

O come, let us sing unto the Lord, let us heartily rejoice in
the strength of our Salvation. Let us come before His
presence ivith thanksgiving, and shew ourselves glad in
Him with psalms.

SERM. As David was both a king and a prophet, he had in both
— respects the highest encomium given him by the Holy Ghost

Himself, that ever man had. As a king, he is said to be a
i Sam. is. " man after God's own heart ; " and as a prophet, he is
2 s'am. 23.i. called the " sweet psalmist, or singer in Israel." He having,
it seems, composed such divine songs to the praise and honour
of God, and played and sung them also after so divine a man
ner, that God Himself was pleased to declare Himself, to be
delighted with them, as we use to be with music that sounds
sweet or melodious in our ears. Which should be a great
encouragement to us to imitate him as near as we can in
praising God, that we also may find grace and favour in the
sight of God, as he did. It is true, we can never expect to
reach his pitch, either with our hearts or voices ; yet never
theless, if we do but set ourselves in good earnest about it,
and do it as well as we can, we cannot doubt but what we
do in it, will be also acceptable to God, through Jesus
Christ our Lord.

This therefore is the great duty which I intend, by God's
assistance, to discourse of from these words, wherewith this
sweet singer of Israel invites and calls upon others, upon all
all others, to join with Him in singing forth the praises of

The Duty of Public Thanksgiving. 127

God. He would not have them do it only by themselves,
but with him, that he might always make one among them.
He doth not say, O go and sing ye, but, " O come, let us
sing unto the Lord, let us heartily rejoice in the strength of
our Salvation." Neither would he have them do it with
him only, in his or any of their private houses, but in God's
own house, in His special presence, saying, " Let us come
before His presence with thanksgiving, and shew ourselves
glad in Him with psalms." And therefore our Church hath
wisely made choice of this psalm, wherewith to begin her
public praises to God every morning in the year. By this
we first call upon and excite one another to join together in
singing forth the praises of God, this day or at this time,
and then go on singing, or saying the rest of the psalms
appointed for the day, together with the other hymns and
the Creed, only interposing some part of God's holy Word,
wherein He having manifested Himself and His glory to
us, the reading and hearing of that too, tends towards the
setting forth His honour and praise : so that from the be
ginning of this psalm, to the end of the Apostles' Creed, our
public service is a continual praising God, as it ought to be ;
and therefore is very properly ushered in with these words,
" O come, let us sing unto the Lord, let us heartily rejoice
in the strength of our Salvation : let us come before His
presence with thanksgiving, and shew ourselves glad in
Him with psalms."

Now for our better understanding of these words, and the
duty contained in them, I shall shew,

I. What it is properly to praise God.
II. That this is a duty to be performed in all our reli
gious assemblies.

III. How it ought to be performed so as that it may be
acceptable to Almighty God.

The first may seem a very needless question : most people
thinking that they know well enough already, what it is to
praise God. And I heartily wish that all would do as much
as they know of it. But there may be more in it, than men
are commonly aware of. Or howsoever, it will be worth the
while to explain it, that we may have clear as well as right
notions of it : for which purpose therefore, our surest way

128 The Duty of Public Thanksgiving.

will be, to take our measures of it, from those who were
immediately directed and assisted in it by the Holy Ghost
Himself, and whose ways and methods of praising God are
recorded in His holy Word, on purpose that we might
better understand the nature of the duty, and how to do it.
Of which number David must needs be acknowledged to be

[2 Tim. 3. one: for as "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God,"
his psalms are particularly said to be so. For the Apostle

Heb. s. 7. quoting part of this very psalm, saith, " Wherefore as the
Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear His voice," &c.
The same may be said of all the rest : though David wrote
and spoke them, he did it by the Holy Ghost, or rather, the

2Sam.23.2. Holy Ghost did it by him, as he himself saith, "The Spirit
of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue."
Whereby we are fully assured, that David's way of praising
God was prescribed and dictated to him by God Himself.
And therefore, although I shall take in what I find in other
places of Scripture concerning this subject, yet I shall in a
more especial manner consult the Book of Psalms, which
treats more of praising God than all the other Holy Scrip
tures put together, and seems to be written and preserved
for this very purpose, that we may be fully instructed about
this great duty.

Now the first thing to be here observed concerning
praising God, is, that it is usually expressed by such words
as signify our owning, or acknowledging, and declaring
Him to be what is, and to do what is done in the world.
Sometimes it is called nbnn, from whence the whole book
is called D^bnn, ' psalms,' from a root which signifies to
manifest a thing so that it may appear and shine in the
world ; and accordingly to praise God, is properly to declare
and set forth His glory, that others may see and admire it.
But the most usual word for it is rmn, which in my text is
rendered ' thanksgiving,' but in most places it is translated
'praise:' and it is no great matter by which of these words
it is rendered, praise and thanksgiving being in effect one
and the same thing. But the Hebrew word comes from a
root which signifies to confess or acknowledge, as it is some
times translated, and may be so wheresoever it is used with
respect to God : as where it is said, " O that men would

The Duty of Public Thanksgiving. 129

praise the Lord for His goodness," in the original it is VrV
rrpn rnrpb " O that men would confess unto the Lord His PS. 107. s,
goodness." And whereas it is often said, "O praise," or Rs.Vis3;1'
" give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good," the literal 136> &c-
sense is, " 0 confess unto the Lord that He is good, that
His mercy endureth for ever." And so David himself
explains it, adding immediately after, "Let Israel now con- ps. 118.2-4.
fess," or " say, that His mercy endureth for ever ; let the
house of Aaron now say, that His mercy endureth for ever."
And so it is explained too in the beginning of the Te Deum,
" We praise Thee, O God, we acknowledge Thee to be the
Lord." This is properly to praise God, when we acknow
ledge and confess that He is the Lord, Jehovah ; being itself
the centre of all perfections ; that He made, preserves, and
governs the whole world, and all things in it ; that He is
infinitely good, and true, and merciful to mankind in gene
ral, and to us in particular. Thus it is that David, and all
Saints, have been always used to praise Him.

First, by acknowledging and setting forth His Name, His
glory, His wisdom, His power, His goodness, His majesty,
His immensity, His eternity, and all His Divine perfections.
Thus David begins to praise Him in this Psalm, saying,
" Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and shew our- Ps. 95. 3.
selves joyful unto Him with psalms : for the Lord is a great
God, and a great King, above all gods." And so elsewhere,
" Bring unto the Lord, O ye mighty, bring young rams unto PS. 29. 1,2.
the Lord : ascribe unto the Lord worship and strength : give
the Lord the honour due unto His Name." "Praise the PS. 104.1,2.
Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, Thou art become exceed
ing glorious, Thou art clothed with majesty and honour ;
Thou deckest Thyself with light as it were with a garment,
and spreadest out the Heavens like a curtain." "I will PS. 145.1-3.
magnify Thee, O God my King, and I will praise Thy Name
for ever and ever. Every day will I give thanks to Thee,
and praise Thy Name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord,
and marvellous, worthy to be praised, there is no end of His
greatness." "Sing unto the Lord, and praise His Name, PS. 96. 2, 3,
be telling of His Salvation from day to day. Declare His '
honour unto the heathen, and His wonders unto all people.
Glory and worship are before Him, power and honour are

130 The Duty of Public Thanksgiving.

SERM. in His sanctuary. Ascribe unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of

6g ' — the people, ascribe unto the Lord worship and power." " O
sing unto God, and sing praises unto His Name, magnify
Him that rideth upon the Heavens; praise Him in His
Name Jah, and rejoice before Him."

Thus David praises Him all along in the Psalms, and thus

Rev. 7. 12. the Angels in Heaven praise Him, saying, " Amen, blessing,
and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and
power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever."

And as we are thus to praise God by owning and cele
brating His Divine nature and glory, so also by acknow
ledging and extolling the wonderful works that. He hath
done in the world, as David doth in this Psalm, by saying,

PS. 95. 4-6. " In His hand are all the corners of the earth, and the
strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, and He made
it, and His hands prepared the dry land. O come let us
worship and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our

PS. 9. i. Maker." And so elsewhere, " I will give thanks unto Thee,
O Lord, with my whole heart, I will speak of all Thy mar-

PS. 66. i, 2. vellous works." " O be joyful in God, all ye lands, sing
praises unto the honour of His Name, make His praise to
be glorious. Say unto God, O how wonderful art Thou in

PS. IDS. i, Thy works." " O give thanks unto the Lord, and call upon
His Name, tell the people what things He hath done. O
let your songs be of Him, and praise Him, and let your
talking be of all His wondrous works. Remember the
marvellous works that He hath done, His wonders, and the

PS. us. 4-6. judgments of His mouth." "One generation shall praise
Thy works unto another, and declare Thy power. As for
me, I will be talking of Thy worship, Thy glory, Thy praise,
and wondrous works. So that men shall speak of the might
of Thy marvellous acts, and I will also tell of Thy greatness."

PS. 72. is, " Blessed be the Lord God, even the God of Israel, which
only doth wondrous things. And blessed be the Name of
His Majesty, and all the earth shall be rilled with His
Majesty." And as David thus praised God by speaking of
His works in general, so also by recounting particularly
what wonders He hath done and still doth in the creation
and government of the world. And so doth the choir of

Rev. 4. 11. Heaven in that seraphic anthem, " Thou art worthy, O Lord,

The Duty of Public Thanksgiving. 131

to receive glory, and honour, and power ; for Thou hast
created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were
created."

If we look over the Psalms, we shall find many such in
stances of David's thus praising God, by reckoning up the
wonderful works which He hath done, and particularly
those which he hath done for mankind, " O come hither," PS. 66. 4.
saith he, " and behold the works of God, how wonderful He
is in His doing toward the children of men ;" and, " O that PS- 107. s,
men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and declare
the wonders that He doth for the children of men." Above
all, he delighteth in the recognition of God's mercy and
truth unto His people. In one whole Psalm he doth nothing
but declare the great things which God did for Israel, and
acknowledge His mercy in them, by repeating after every
one of them severally, " For His mercy endureth for ever." PS. 136.
In another psalm he speaks of nothing but God's mercy, or PS. 117.
His loving-kindness and truth. And elsewhere saith, " My PS. 89. i, 2.
song shall be always of the loving-kindness of the Lord,
with my mouth will I ever be shewing Thy truth from one
generation to another : for I have said, mercy shall be set
up for ever ; Thy truth shalt thou establish in the Heavens."
And accordingly we find him often celebrating these two
Divine perfections together, Psalm Ivii. 11; c. 4 ; xxv. 9 ;
xxvi. 3; xl. 14; Ixxxv. 10; Ixxxvi. 15; Ixxxix. 25, 48;
cxv. 1 ; xcii. 2. Where, by God's mercy we are to under
stand pardon and grace, and all things necessary to our
Salvation that He hath promised ; and by truth, His faith
ful performance of all such promises in Jesus Christ : " For John 1. 17.
as the Law was given by Moses, grace," or mercy, " and
truth, came by Jesus Christ." And therefore in all places
where David speaks of God's mercy and truth, he thereby
celebrates the great work of our Salvation by Christ. Hence
it is, that he having said, " He hath remembered His mercy PS. 98. 4.
and truth towards the house of Israel," he immediately adds,
" And all the ends of the world have seen the Salvation of
our God." And the blessed Virgin, when her soul mag
nified the Lord for the Salvation of mankind by Him, who
was now to be born of her, she saith, " He remembering His [Luke i.
mercy, hath holpen His servant Israel, as He promised to 54'^

132 The Duty of Public Thanksgiving.

SERM. our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever;" where she

T T"V

— plainly ascribes our Salvation to God's mercy in promising
it, and to His truth in performing the said promise. And

Luke i. 68- so doth Zacharias in his divine hymn, saying, " Blessed be
the Lord God of Israel ; for He hath visited and redeemed
His people, and hath raised up an horn of Salvation for us
in the house of His servant David ; as He spake by the mouth
of His holy Prophets — to perform the mercy promised to
our forefathers, and to remember His holy covenant." And
so the Saints in Heaven praise God, by attributing their

Rev. 7. 10. Salvation wholly unto Him, saying, " Salvation to our God
which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." And

ch. 19. i. again, " Alleluja, Salvation, and glory, and honour, and
power, unto the Lord our God."

And as we ought thus to praise God for all His wonder
ful works, especially for His redemption of mankind by
Jesus Christ in general ; so we ought to do it for every par
ticular instance of His mercy and truth that He is pleased
to shew us in Him : for our health, and strength, and life,
and liberty ; for our meat, and drink, and clothing ; for our
safety, and preservation from danger ; for our deliverance
from our enemies ; for the love of our friends ; for our parts,
and gifts, and estates, and all the accommodations of this life ;
for the means of grace, and the hope of glory. Thus Moses
(Exod. xv. 1), and Israel (Numb. xxi. 17), and Deborah
(Judg. v. 1), and Hannah (1 Sam. ii. 1), and Jehoshaphat
(2 Chron. xx. 21), praised God upon particular occasions,
and David upon all How doth he stir up himself to bless

PS. ins. i, God for all the benefits he had received from Him ? " Praise

2' 5' the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His

Holy Name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not
all His benefits : who forgiveth all thy sin, and healeth all
thine infirmities ; who saveth thy life from destruction, and
crowneth thee with mercy and loving-kindness ; who satis-
fieth thy mouth with good things, making thee young and
lusty as an eagle." Yea, whatsoever happens to us, though
it be never so contrary to our present expectations and
desires, yet as it comes from God, we ought to praise Him
for it, as Job did, for His taking all he had from him, as

job i. 21. well as for His bestowing it upon him, " The Lord gave and

The Duty of Public Thanksgiving. 133

the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the Name of the
Lord."

I shall observe only one thing more concerning the nature
of this duty, as it was practised by the Saints of old ; which
is, that none of them thought they could ever praise God
enough themselves, and therefore called upon others to do
it, as David doth upon the kingdoms of the earth (Psalm
Ixviii. 32) ; upon all people (Psalm xlvii. 1 ; Ixvii. 3, 5) ;
upon all His Saints (Psalm xxii. 23 ; xxx. 4) ; upon all
Angels (Psalm ciii. 20, 21) ; upon all His works (ver. 22),
upon the sun, the moon, and stars ; upon the Heavens, and
the waters that are above the Heavens ; upon all things that
are upon the earth, upon dragons and all deeps ; upon fire
and hail, snow and vapours, wind and storms ; upon moun
tains, and all hills, fruitful trees, and all cedars, beasts and
cattle, worms, and feathered fowls ; upon kings of the earth,
and all people, princes, and all judges of the world, young-
men and maids, old men and children, he calls upon them
all to praise the Lord, saying, " Praise ye the Name of the PS. us.
Lord, for His Name only is excellent, and His praise above
Heaven and earth." And so do the three children in the
Benedicite, or hyinn appointed to be sometimes sung instead
of the Te Deum, beginning, " O all ye works of the Lord,
bless ye the Lord, praise Him, and magnify Him for ever.'*
And accordingly we read in the Revelations of St. John,
" Every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth, and Rev. 5. is.
under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are
in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory,
and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and
unto the Lamb for ever and ever." As David saith, " The PS. 19. i.
Heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament
sheweth His handywork." So every creature that is, affords
abundant matter for praising God, and if it had a tongue
should do it ; which St. John was so sensible of, that he
heard them in a manner doing it. And the true Saints of
God have always had such a mighty zeal for His honour
and glory, and so deep a sense of their own insufficiency to
praise Him as He deserves, that their most usual way of
doing it, is by calling upon others, and upon all the crea
tures in the world to praise Him, crying out indefinitely,

134 The Duty of Public Thanksgiving.

SERM. pn ^n l Praise ye the Lord/ Which occurs so often in the
- Psalms, especially at the beginning of them, that some have
thought it to be the title of the Psalm, and therefore in some
translations it is left out ; but it certainly belongs to the body
of such Psalms to which it is prefixed in the Hebrew, or
rather it is the very soul and life of them, influencing and
directing them to the end for which they are designed, even
the glory of God : yea it is a Psalm of itself, such a Psalm,
that the choir of Heaven sometimes sing it alone, as at other
times they begin or end their seraphic anthems with it.

Rev. 19. i, " I heard," saith St. John, " a great voice of much people in
Heaven, saying, Allelujah, Salvation, and glory, and honour,
and power unto the Lord our God." And again, " they said
Allelujah ; and I heard, as it were, the voice of a great mul
titude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of
mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluja, for the Lord God

ver. 4. omnipotent reigneth." " And the four-and-twenty elders,
and the four beasts, fell down and worshipped God that sat
on the throne, saying, Amen, Alleluja." This is the way
that they praise God in the Church Triumphant in Heaven,
and which we should therefore imitate in the Church Mili
tant here on earth, by calling upon one another, and upon
all the creatures in the world, saying, "Alleluja, praise ye
the Lord." To which the ancient church kept so close, that
they retained the very Hebrew word in their several lan
guages ; especially the Arabians ; for in the Arabic transla
tion of the Psalms, the Hebrew word n^ ^bbn is usually put
at the end of the Psalms in Arabic characters ; so that after
they had read any psalm, they said or sung, " Alleluja," as
we do, " Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the
Holy Ghost ; " which is the same thing in other words ; for
as all the Three Persons are n^ ' the Lord,5 so when we say,
" Glory be to the Lord," we do not only ascribe glory to
Him ourselves, but declare it to be due unto Him from all
His creatures, and accordingly call upon all to do it ; only
with this difference, that we particularly name all the Three

John 5. 23. Divine Persons to which all glory is equally due, " that all
men should honour the Son (and the Holy Ghost) even as
they honour the Father."

This will give us some light also into that which I promised

The Duty of Public Thanksgiving. 135

to shew in the next place, even that praising God is a duty
that ought to be performed in all our religious assemblies ;
for seeing it consists in recognising the glory, the power, and
the wonderful works of God, and in calling upon others to
do it, we ought certainly to take all occasions we can get for
it, and never meet together, at least upon a religious account,
without doing it as well as we can. And therefore where we
read of any great company of the Heavenly Hosts met toge
ther, we shall find them praising God : as at our Saviour's
birth ; when one Angel had delivered the joyful message to
the Shepherds, there were suddenly with Hirn a multitude
of them, " praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the J^ke 2- 13'
highest, on earth peace, good-will toward men." And in Rev. 5. s,
the Revelations of St. John, we meet with innumerable com- 7. 9, n;
panics of them met together about it. The same hath been 19> lm
the practice of the Saints on earth in all ages : they have
been always wont to meet together in God's Own house to
praise Him there in the public congregations, " My praise is PS. 22. 25.
of Thee," saith David, " in the great congregation." " Thou, ps. 65. i.
0 God, art praised in Sion, and unto Thee shall the vow be
performed in Jerusalem." " Blessed are they that dwell in ps.84. 4.
Thy house, they will be alway praising Thee." " O go your ps. 100. 3 ;
way into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts J^] J"3 ;
with praise." It was there, as the Prophet Isaiah saith,
" that they praised God." And David appointed officers on isa. 64. 11.
purpose to stand there every morning to thank and praise 30
the Lord, and likewise at even. And in the New Testament
we find Christ Himself there singing an hymn together with
His Apostles, when they were met together to eat the Pass- Matt.26.3o.
over. Which is supposed to have been Vnsn b^n, the great
hymn which the Jews used to sing upon such occasions,
consisting of the 113th Psalm, and the five following. And
after His Ascension it is said that the Apostles "returned to Luke 24. 52,
Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the 52
Temple praising and blessing God," that is, they went to the
Temple every day, continually, at the hours of prayer, to
praise God there : which shews that this is the great end of
all religious assemblies ; as our Church also informs us in the
exhortation at the beginning of her daily service, saying,

136 The Duty of Public Thanksgiving.

"That we assemble and meet together before God, to render
- thanks for the great benefits that we have received at His
hands, and to set forth His most worthy praise :" and there
fore hath accordingly composed her service so, that a great
part of it consists of Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs,
of which the Creed itself, as I observed before, may well be
reckoned one, as being a public acknowledgment and decla
ration of what God is, and of what He hath done for man
kind. And therefore may very well be always sung, as the
Nicene sometimes is : yea, the very collects begin and end
with praise, as the Lord's Prayer doth.

But that it is necessary to praise God, whensoever we

meet together to worship Him, is so plain and manifest, that

I need not insist upon the proving of it ; and therefore shall

only add concerning it, that although the public prayers and

supplications are, as they ought to be, read by the minister

alone, the people joining with him only in their hearts or

affections, without repeating the words aloud after him,

except it be in the Confession and Lord's Prayer; yet in

praising God, the whole congregation is equally concerned.

" Young men and maids, old men and children," as David

Rom. is. 6. speaks, " all that are there present, should with one heart,

2Chron.y.3. and one mouth, glorify God." As all the children of Israel

iiTis5;8' are sa/id to praise the Lord, and all the Saints and Angels

i49i-3; are represented as doing it in Heaven, so all the servants

of the Lord are required to do it when they corne into His

PS. i34.i-3. house. "Behold now, praise the Lord, all ye servants of

the Lord, ye that by night stand in the house of the Lord,

even in the courts of the house of our God : lift up your

hands in the sanctuary, and praise the Lord."

Now there are two ways whereby the whole congregation
may thus join together in praising God, both which are used
in our Church, either first, by having the Psalms and hymns
set to such ordinary and plain tunes, that all people may
sing them together, as we do the Psalms of David in our
parish churches ; or else by singing or saying them alter
nately, as in cathedral and collegiate churches, one side of
the choir sings one verse, the other the next ; in other places
the minister repeats one verse, the people another, and so

The Duty of Public Thanksgiving. 137

on, all along to the end of the Psalms or hymns appointed
for that occasion ; which is the most ancient way that we
know of, used by the Church of God. It was after some
sucli manner, that Moses and Miriam, and all the children
of Israel, praised God for their deliverance from the Egyp
tians, in that Divine anthem that Moses composed for that
purpose, as may be gathered from Exod. xv. 1, 20, 21.
Where Philo the learned Jew observes, that they sung, DC vit.
avripMyyoig ao^oviaig, ' with alternate harmonies,' answering Mos' L 3'
one another. At the building of the second Temple, we Ezra, 3.11.
read that the Priests and Levites sang together by course
in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord. And in
the vision which the Prophet Isaiah had of the Seraphim
singing in Heaven, it is said, " And one cried to another, isa. 6. 3.
Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth
is full of His glory." And when the four beasts in
the Revelations had sung the same hymn, the four-and-
twenty Elders answered, as it were by course, saying,
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, Rev.4.8-n.
and power." To this way of singing, St. Paul seems to
refer, where he saith to the Ephesians, " Speaking to your- Eph. 5. 19.
selves in Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing
and making melody in your heart to the Lord." Where by
Psalms, I understand those of David's composing ; by hymns,
such anthems as were made up chiefly of praise and thanks
giving, by whomsoever composed ; by spiritual songs, all
sorts of songs upon any spiritual subject. These the Apostle
would have them speak or sing to themselves, or to another
by course, as the words <7rgb$ iauroOs, here, being the same as
Col. iii. 16, T^S «XX?jXou£, signify. And accordingly we
find, from the testimony of Pliny, that the Christians in the
first age did, Carmen Christo quasi Deo dicere secum invicem, fin Ep. ad
* they sang or repeated in their assemblies, a verse or hymn liK. E^."
to Christ as God, among themselves by course, or one after 97^
another.' And this, as might be shewn, hath been the
practice of the Church of Christ all along, and is still
continued among us as being the most easy and proper
way for all sorts of people to join together in setting forth
the praises of God, and the best means whereby to keep

138 The Duty of Public Thanksgiving.

SERM. our minds intent upon the great work we are about, and
- — to assist, quicken, and excite one another in the perform
ance of it.

But how it ought to be performed, so as that it may be
acceptable to God, is the last thing I promised to consider.
For which we may observe, that this being the greatest
work we can ever do, we ought to do it with all our might,
and with all the art and skill that we can attain to in it.

PS. 33. 3. « Sing unto the Lord," saith David, " a new song, sing
praises lustily unto Him with a good courage ;" or as it is in
the other translation, " play skilfully with a loud noise."
But whatsoever strength or skill we use with our voices, we
must take special care that our hearts keep tune and time

Eph.s. 19. with them ; for it is then only that we make melody unto the
Lord. And therefore David calls upon his heart or soul

PS. 103. i. to do it. " Praise the Lord, O my soul, and all that is
within me, praise His Holy Name." And when he found his
heart in tune, right set for so great a work, then he set about

PS. 57. 8; it, " My heart," saith he, " is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed,

PS. 86*. 12; I will sing and give praise." " I will thank Thee, O Lord,
with all my heart, and will praise Thy Name for evermore."
And this is a thing that all must observe and do, that ever
desire to praise God acceptably. For how much soever any
words may set forth His praise, and notwithstanding that
the Church by appointing such Psalms and hymns to be
sung or said every day, hath done, and still doth all she can,
as a body, to have Him every day praised as He ought to
be, and I do not doubt but that God is graciously pleased to
accept of it as from the Church in general, and to manifest
His special favour and kindness unto her for it ; yet as for
particular persons, whatsoever Psalms, or hymns, or spiritual
songs, they may sing or repeat with their tongues, unless
they sing at the same time and make melody to the Lord in
their hearts, He never accepts of it from them, any further
than as they thereby assist, excite, and stir up others to
praise Him better, than otherwise perhaps they would do it.
For in this, as in all our services, He looks especially into
our hearts, whether they go along with our tongues or no.
And if they do not, our tongues, how well soever they may

The Duty of Public Thanksgiving. 139

be set and tuned, are but as so many organ-pipes, or other
musical instruments, which may help others to praise God,
but do it not themselves.

Hence therefore, I beseech and advise you all, whensoever
you meet together to praise God, that you would do it
heartily. Take heed of that careless and customary way
that hath prevailed too much among us, of running over the
Psalms and hymns, only as a task imposed upon you, or as if
no more was required of you but only to repeat the words
in such a tone or tune, without considering the sense and
meaning of them ; and so without performing any reason
able service unto God. But strive all ye can to keep your
hearts close to the great work you are about, all the while
you are about it : consider who it is you speak of, and who
it is you speak to ; as when ye say, " We praise Thee, O
God," you speak to Almighty God Himself, the Lord or
Governor of the whole world ; you acknowledge Him to be
so with your mouths, do it also in your hearts. When you
speak of, or unto Christ, as you often do in that and other
hymns, consider what you say of Him, so as that your hearts
may be affected with it, as they ought to be some way or
other, with every thing you say or sing upon that solemn
occasion, according as the nature of the subject requires.
As when we say, " Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost," we speak of Him who made us and
all the world, and therefore should accordingly fear and
dread Him : we speak of Him who redeemed us and all
mankind, and therefore should accordingly believe, and
trust on Him : we speak of Him too, who sanctifies us and
all the elect people of God, and therefore should accordingly
desire to be made holy by Him, and so give God the glory
of our creation, redemption, and sanctification, in our hearts
as well as with our mouths. Thus our minds, our under
standings, our wills and affections, as well as our tongues,
ought to be exercised all the while that we are singing forth
the praises of God, according to that of the Apostle, " I will i Cor. 14.
pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding
also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the
understanding also."

But that passion or affection which ought more especially

140 The Duty of Public Thanksgiving.

SERM. to be raised in the soul while we are praising God, is joy,
- which is so proper and necessary to it, that to rejoice in the
Lord, is often in Holy Scripture put for praising Him, and
ought always to be joined with it; as the Psalmist doth
here, " O come let us sing unto the Lord, let us heartily
rejoice in the strength of our Salvation : let us come before
His presence with thanksgiving, and she\v ourselves glad in

[Luke i. Him with Psalms." And the Blessed Virgin, " My soul
doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God

James s. 13. my Saviour." And St. James, " Is any merry, let him sing
Psalms." Implying, both that the best time to praise God,

PS. 92. 4. is when we are merry ; and the best way to express our
mirth, is by praising God, as David did. Hence it is
that the Church of God in all ages, hath been wront to
sing forth the praises of God, and often to use musical
, instruments in it, not only to help their voices, but also to
revive and cheer their spirits, and so to raise them to a due
pitch, and put them into a right frame and disposition for so
high and Heavenly a work as this is : and therefore when
David would praise God in the best manner that he could,

PS. si.i-3. he calls for instruments of music, "Sing we merrily unto
God our strength, make a cheerful noise unto the God of
Jacob : take the Psalm, bring hither the tabret, the merry
harp with the lute : blow up the trumpet in the new moon,
even in the time appointed, and upon our solemn feast-day."

ch. 98. 5-7. And he would have all others do so too, saying, " Shew
yourselves joyful unto the Lord all ye lands, sing, rejoice,
and give thanks. Praise the Lord upon the harp, sing to
the harp with a psalm of thanksgiving : with trumpets also
and shawms, O shew yourselves joyful before the Lord the
King." So Psalm Ixxi. 20; cxliv. 9; cxlix. 1-3. Yea, in
one short Psalm, he calls upon all to praise God thirteen
times, according to the number of the glorious attributes and

Exod. 34. Divine perfections which God proclaimed to Moses ; and he
would have them do it upon all sorts of musical instru
ments; and then concludes that, and all the Psalms, with

PS. i5o. singing, " Let every thing that hath breath praise the
Lord :" PP lV?n ' Praise ye the Lord.'

Thus it was that the Saints of old, when inspired and
directed by God Himself, were wont to praise Him. And

The Duty of Public Thanksgiving. 141

thus we therefore ought to praise Him as well as we can :
but being conscious to ourselves, that when we have done
our best, we come far short of what we ought to do, we
must trust in our Blessed Saviour for God's acceptance
of it, and then we need not doubt but these our spiritual
sacrifices will be acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ i Pet. 2. 5.
our Lord.

I shall observe only one thing more concerning this great
duty ; which is, that although it ought never to be omitted
in our religious assemblies, yet it ought not to be confined
to them ; for we ought to praise and give thanks to God i Thess. 5.
upon all occasions, for every thing, every day, continually. 2o.'
" By Him therefore," saith the Apostle, " let us offer the Heb> 13> 15
sacrifice of praise to God continually;" as all the Apostles Luke 24. 53
did ; and David, " I will alway give thanks unto the Lord, His ps'. 34. j .
praise shall ever be in my mouth." " I will magnify Thee, ps.i45.i,2.
O God, my King, and I will praise Thy Name for ever and
ever: every day will I give thanks unto Thee, and praise
Thy Name for ever and ever." " Seven times a-day do I ps.n9.i64.
praise Thee, because of Thy righteous judgments." Not but
that he did it oftener, but that was the least he ever did ; for
usually it was his continual employment for a whole day
together : " As for my tongue," saith he, " it shall be talking Pg 35 28
of Thy righteousness and of Thy praise all the day long."
And that too as long as he lived, "While I live will I praise Ps> 146> K
the Lord, yea, as long as I have any being, I will sing praises
unto my God." So Psalm civ. 33.

And that we and all mankind are bound to do so as well
as he, will easily be granted by all who consider that this is
the end of our creation, the end of our redemption, the end
of all the blessings that God is pleased to bestow upon us,
even that we may bless, and praise, and magnify His great
and glorious Name for them : for He made all things for
Himself, for the manifestation of His own glory ; and He
endued man particularly with reason to discern the glory
that shines forth in all His works, and with the use of
speech, to declare, extol, and praise it ; and by that means to
glorify Him, as He Himself saith, " Whoso offereth praise, ps.5o. 23.
glorifieth Me," and His Apostle intimates (Rom. xv. 9,
10). Wherefore, they who live in the neglect of this duty

142 The Duty of Public Thanksgiving.

SERM. do not answer God's end in making them ; which must
— needs be a great offence unto Him, and provoke Him to

[Ps. 2. 9.]

dash them in pieces as useless vessels, and destroy them for
ever. Whereas, they who are always praising God, are
always doing the work He made them for, and sent them
into the world about, and so always please Him ; for
nothing pleaseth God so much, as for a man to thank and

in Eph. s. praise Him, as Chrysostome observes ; and David himself,
Psalm Ixix. 30, 31 ; civ. 33, 34. And therefore nothing
prevents judgments, or procures mercy at the hands of

2Chron.2o. God more, than this doth by Jesus Christ; and none live

ch's. 12. in -^s favour and under His protection so much, as they
who are always praising and glorifying His Holy Name,
with their lips, as well as in their lives.

And as there is nothing we can do more pleasing unto
God, so nothing affords more pleasure to those who do it
as they ought; for this being that which we were at first
designed and fitted for, so far as we are restored to our
primitive state and temper, it is natural to us to be praising
and glorifying God. But all natural actions have some
thing of pleasure in them ; and this being the highest, and
that to which all other tend, must needs have most of all ;

Ps. 63. 6. as they find by experience who are exercised in it. " My
soul," saith David, " shall be satisfied, even as it were with
marrow and fatness, when my mouth praiseth Thee with

Ps. 147. i. joyful lips." " O praise the Lord, for it is a good thing to
sing praises to our God, yea, a joyful and pleasant thing
it is to be thankful." To recount and celebrate the wisdom,
the power, the goodness, the mercy, the truth, and all the
wonderful works of God, our Maker, our Saviour, our Sanc-
tifier, our God, this is a joyful and pleasant thing indeed :
it is the work of Heaven, the only place where perfect joy
and pleasure can be had. Though we know but little of
what they do there, we know they praise God there, and
seldom read of any thing else they do. This is their con
stant business and recreation too, their employment and
their pleasure both together : and so it should be ours ; for
we have the same obligations upon us to be alway praising
God, as they have ; and it is our own faults if we do not
take pleasure in it as they do. And it is a fault that must

The Duty of Public Thanksgiving. 143

needs be mended, before we can be truly happy ; for that we
can never be, till we delight in praising God, more than in
any thing in the world besides, as the glorified Saints and
Angels do : and as ever we desire to do it with them in
Heaven, we must begin to practise it upon earth, where we
are sure to have the best company, the most glorious crea
tures that are joining with us in it; as we do with them
whensoever we praise God. Although we be by ourselves,
and have none else to join with us in it, we praise God with
Angels, we praise Him with the spirits of just men made
perfect, we praise Him with all the host of Heaven, doing
the same thing here below, which they at the same time are
always doing above : how much more when we meet together
in God's Own house, and especially at His holy table to do
it, there we may well say or sing, as I heartily wish we could
all now do with one heart and mouth, " It is very meet, right,
and our bounden duty, that we should at all times and in
all places give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, Holy Father,
Almighty, everlasting God. Therefore with Angels and
Archangels, and all the company of Heaven, we laud and
magnify Thy glorious Name, evermore praising Thee, and
saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts," &c.

SERMON LX.

THE SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE.

2 TIM. iii. 16, 17.

And it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may
be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

SERM.
LX.

HE that with David considers the Heavens, the work of
God's fingers, the moon and the stars which He hath or-
Ps. s. 3, 4. dained, cannot but with him also cry out " Lord, what is man
that Thou art mindful of him ? or the son of man, that Thou
visitest him ? " For who can but admire and wonder, that
He who made such glorious creatures in Heaven, should
have any regard to those little worms upon earth, which
were no sooner made by Him, but they presently fell into
disobedience and rebellion against Him. This all mankind
did in their first parents : and yet notwithstanding, to the
wonder and amazement of the world, the Almighty Creator
of all things was graciously pleased not only to visit them,
but to visit them with His Salvation ; to provide a Saviour
for them, yea to become Himself their Saviour, to save them
from the sins they committed against Himself, and from the
punishments they had thereby deserved from Him.

Neither was His way of doing it less wonderful than the
thing He did. For as He made all things by His Word, so
He saveth mankind by His Word too ; by His Word incar
nate, and His Word written : " The Word was made flesh,"
and as such was offered up a sacrifice for the sins of the
world, or all mankind, " That whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life." And that men

[John l.
14.]

[John 3.
15.]

The Sufficiency of Scripture. 145

might do that, " God at sundry times, and in divers manners,
spoke in times past unto the fathers by the Prophets, and in
these last days He hath spoken to us by His Son," and His
Apostles, and hath caused the Word so spoken to be written,
that all may read it, and thereby know how to believe, that
they may be saved.

This is that written Word, which we call the Scripture;
given, as we have seen, by inspiration of God ; and therefore
is truly His Word : and being His Word, the Word of God
Himself, it must needs be all true, as God Himself is true ;
and we ought accordingly to believe and be fully persuaded
of the truth and certainty of every thing that is there written,
whether we do or do not understand it ; for in this case our
reason or understanding is no way concerned any further
than to search out the right sense and meaning of the words,
what it is which God saith ; which being once found out, our
belief of it is not grounded upon our understanding it, but
upon the Word of God, which is infinitely beyond all other
arguments and demonstrations in the world besides. It is
indeed the only firm and infallible ground we have to build
our faith upon, without which we could neither have known
what to believe, nor could we have had sufficient reason to
believe it, if we had known it. What knowledge could we
have had of the Creation of the world, the Redemption of
mankind, the Resurrection of the dead, and the like Articles
of our faith without the Holy Scripture ? And though we
had happened to have heard of some such things which are
necessary for all men to believe, yet how could we have
believed them? They are not the objects of any of our
senses, and therefore could never have come into our minds
by their means. Our reason, we find, often fails us in the
common affairs of this world, so that we can hardly guess at
what lies just before us ; how then can we trust to that, in the
things that belong to another world, and are so much above
us ? And if we had heard of them only from other men ;
they, we know, are all fallible, apt to be deceived themselves,
or may have a mind, for aught we know, to deceive us ; how
then could we believe such things merely upon their report
or testimony? How could we be ever certain that what
they said is true ? That we could never be, so long as we

L

146 The Sufficiency of Scripture.

SERM. know they are all men, liable to mistakes and errors of all
— sorts, as much as we ourselves are. So that after all that

can be said, there is no way possible for us to come to the
knowledge and faith of such things, so as to rest satisfied
and be fully persuaded in our minds of the truth and cer
tainty of them, but only from the testimony of God Himself.
Wherefore, that we might have no reason to doubt of such
things as belong to our Salvation, but might have all the
assurance that could be of them, God Himself was graciously
pleased not only to cause them to be revealed to us, but to
do it Himself, that we might have His Word for them, and
accordingly believe them upon that, without all manner of
hesitancy or doubting, how much soever they may seem
above our comprehension : as the father of the faithful did,
who having the word and promise of God, that he should

Rom. 4. 19- have a son in his old age, "in whom all the nations of the
earth should be blessed, he considered not his own body now
dead, when he was about an hundred years old ; neither yet
the deadness of Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the
promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God ; and being fully persuaded, that what
He had promised, He was able also to perform." Such a faith
it is that God now requires and expects from all those who
have His written Word ; whatsoever is there written, we
must not dispute or doubt how it can be ; but believe it
therefore, because He said it, upon pain of eternal damna
tion ; for this is the great condition required on our parts in
order to our being saved. So that no man ever was, or can
be saved without it ; and it is no wonder ; for not to believe
what God saith, is the greatest affront that can be offered to
His Divine Majesty: it is to make God a liar, and to deny
Him the glory of His truth, the manifestation whereof was
the great end wherefore He caused His Word to be written ;
that all the world might see how true the Lord is. And that
is the reason that none of His Divine perfections are so fre
quently mentioned in His Holy Word, as His mercy and
truth : and nothing so peremptorily commanded, as to believe
in Him and His Word ; which after all, if men will not do,
they can expect no other, but to find Him true in punishing

2Thess.i.9. them according to His Word, "with everlasting destruction

The Sufficiency of Scrij)ture. 147

from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His
power."

But they who knowing it is impossible for God to lie, take
His Word for whatsoever is written in the Holy Scripture,
and live accordingly with a firm belief and full persuasion
of it upon their minds, such as is due to the Word of truth
itself, they are sure of all the happiness which is there
promised in this life, as well as that which is to come : for
exercising their faith continually upon God's Holy Word,
they converse with the other world even while they live in
this. Their " faith being the substance of things hoped for, Heb. n
and the evidence of things not seen ; " by it they reckon
themselves as sure of what God hath promised, as if they
had it already; and are as certain of what God hath said, as
if they saw it with their eyes ; as certain that God governs
the world, as that there is a world to govern ; as certain that
He is wheresoever they are, as that they are there ; as certain
that Christ died for sinners, as that they themselves are
sinners ; as certain that He is now sitting at the right hand
of God in Heaven, as that there is a sun shining in the firm
ament; as certain that He will judge them at the Last Day,
as if they saw Him now upon His judgment-seat : for these
and such like truths being revealed by God Himself, they
are always plain and evident before the eyes of all that
believe His Word ; who therefore walk by the light of God's
Word through all things relating to the other world, as they
do by the light of the sun in this. By which means the
Word of God is of mighty use to them through the whole
course of their lives, far greater than any can imagine but
they who feel it.

For though other people may read it over and over, and
yet receive no benefit from it ; they who really believe the
Scripture was given by inspiration of God, and are conver
sant in it as such, they find it to be of such infinite advantage
to them upon all occasions, that if there were no other argu
ments for it, that would be sufficient to convince them that
it must come from infinite wisdom and goodness : nothing
else being able to contrive a writing of such universal use to
all who faithfully read it, that how many soever they are,
and whatsoever their condition be, every one may meet with

148 The Sufficiency of Scripture.

SERM. something there so proper and pertinent, as if it was de-
- signed for his very case. So that all the uses that may be
made of His Holy Writing can never particularly be
reckoned upon ; and therefore I shall not offer at it, but
shall only consider those four general heads to which the
Apostle reduceth them in my text, saying, that " it is pro
fitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness."

First therefore, the Scripture being given by inspiration
of God, " is profitable for doctrine," or teaching us all things
necessary for men to know that they may be saved : I say,
that they may be saved : for the Holy Scripture was not
intended to teach men mathematics, or logic, or natural
philosophy, or any other art or science, but only how to
serve and glorify God upon earth, so as to get at last to

James 1.21. Heaven. Therefore it is called " The engrafted word, which
is able to save our souls." And in the verse before my text,
the Apostle saith, " The Holy Scriptures are able to make
us wise unto Salvation." That is to be wise indeed, and to
good purpose. Whatsoever else goes under the name of
wisdom, will be found at last to be no better than folly or
madness, which may do us mischief, but never can do us any
good. This will both make us good, and do us good, all the
good we can desire : but this wisdom can be no way attained
but only by the Word of God ; but there we may certainly

PS. 19. 7. find it ; for " the law," or doctrine " of the Lord, is an unde-
filed law, converting the soul : the testimony of the Lord is
sure, and giveth wisdom unto the simple." It was for this

Rom. 15. 4. end that the Holy Scriptures were written : " For whatso
ever things were written aforetime, were written for our
learning ; that we through patience and comfort of the
Scriptures might have hope ; " hope of eternal life through
Christ our Saviour : according to that of His beloved Dis-

John2o.3i. ciple, " These things were written, that ye might believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye
might have life in His Name."

This therefore being the end wherefore God was pleased
to give us the Scriptures by His Own inspiration, it cannot
be imagined but that they fully answer the end for which
He gave them, by teaching us all things necessary to our

The Sufficiency of Scripture. 149

Salvation, both what we must believe, and what we must do,
that we may be saved. That we are there taught whatso
ever is necessary to be believed, we cannot doubt, seeing
nothing can be necessary to be believed, but what is there
taught ; for as we have seen already, we have no certain
ground to believe any thing of that nature, but from the
word and testimony of God Himself. But we have the
word and testimony of God for nothing but what is written
in the Holy Scriptures, or necessarily follows upon some
thing that is so. And therefore what is neither expressly
contained in the Holy Scriptures, nor may be clearly proved
from them, cannot be the proper object of our faith, much
less can it be necessary for us to believe it : if it was, God,
be sure, would have revealed it to us, that we might believe
it upon His word ; which seeing He hath not done, we are
not bound to believe it, but are rather bound to believe, that
it is not necessary to be believed.

But whatsoever God hath said in His Holy Word, it is
absolutely necessary for all men to believe it, and to believe
it merely upon His word, otherwise He Himself would never
have told us of it. But seeing He hath told us of it, He
hath thereby signified it to be His will that we should
believe it upon His word, as ever we expect mercy and
Salvation from Him.

And herein it is, that the Scripture is so profitable for
doctrine, because we are there taught by God Himself
whatsoever He would have us to believe, that we may obtain
His favour, and eternal life; what He would have us to
believe concerning Himself, His Essence, His Persons, His
Perfections, His Works, what He hath done, and still doth
in the world ; what He would have us to believe concerning
His Son, His Eternal Generation, His Godhead, His Incar
nation, His Life, His Death, His Resurrection, His Ascen
sion into Heaven, and the Intercession which He there
makes for those who believe in Him ; what He would have
us to believe concerning His Holy Spirit, and the gifts and
graces which proceed from Him, and the wonderful works
which He hath done, still doth, and ever will do in His
Church ; what He would have us to believe concerning His
said Church and the Communion of Saints which are in it,

150 The Sufficiency of Scripture.

SERM. concerning the Forgiveness of Sins, the Resurrection of the
- Body, and the Life Everlasting. All which articles of our
faith are briefly contained in the Apostles' Creed, explained
by those of the Council of Nice, and of St. Athanasius, out
of the Holy Scriptures, upon which they are all grounded.
These great doctrines, to which all other may be referred
which are any way necessary to ^e believed, God Himself
hath taught us in His holy Word ; and therefore it is not
left to our choice whether we will believe them or no, but
we must believe them upon His Word, or we can never be
saved, nor do any thing aright which is required of us in
order to it ; our obedience to what He hath commanded,
being wholly founded upon our belief of what He hath
revealed to us.

And as the Holy Scripture is thus profitable for doctrine,
by teaching us all things necessary to be believed ; so like
wise, by teaching us whatsoever is necessary to be done
towards our obtaining eternal life : for there God hath
revealed His whole will to us, what He would have us do,
both in relation to Himself our Creator, and to our fellow-
creatures. All which His Holy Commandments, as we
there read, He was pleased to reduce to ten general heads,
which He solemnly proclaimed by His Angels upon Mount
Sinai, then wrote them down with His Own finger upon two
tables of stone, and afterwards explained them by His Pro
phets, by His Own Son, and by His Apostles; so that every
one that will, may easily understand His Divine pleasure in
every particular, which therefore every one is bound to do ;
and not only to understand, but also to perform what He so
understands to be the will of God His Maker. And as it is
not enough for us to believe what God hath said, but we
must therefore believe it because He said it ; so it is not
enough to do what He commands, but we must do it there
fore because He commands it, in sincere obedience to Him,
as He is the supreme Lawgiver, and universal Governor of
the world, who alone hath power to enact laws which shall
oblige all mankind ; as all those moral Commandments do,
which I have hitherto spoken of.

But He was pleased heretofore to make some laws, as He
was in a peculiar manner the God and King of Israel, for

The Sufficiency of Scripture. 151

the polity and government of that Church and nation only
as it then stood; which therefore are not necessary to be
received or observed in any other, no more than those Ordi
nances are, about sacrifices and the service of the Tabernacle,
which He instituted only to represent and typify the great
work of man's Salvation, as it should be transacted by Jesus
Christ; which therefore were only temporary, and expired
in course at His death. But then He was pleased to com
mand all men to believe in the said Jesus as the Christ and
Saviour of the world ; and to ordain two Sacraments, the one
for the admission of all men into His Church, by baptizing
them in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost : the
other for the perpetual memory of His death, whereby He
took away the sins of the world ; that as it was foreshewn by
sacrifices all along from the beginning of the world until it
happened ; so from that time forward to the end of the
world, it might be commemorated by this Sacrament.

This is the sum of those great truths, which Almighty
God hath revealed, and of the laws which He hath given to
all mankind ; which being all taught in the Scripture, and
can be learned nowhere but there, therefore the Scripture
is here said to be profitable for doctrine. And " if any man iTim.6.3,4.
teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even
the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine
which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing no
thing," nothing that belongs to his peace and happiness.

The Scripture being thus profitable for doctrine, it must
needs be so for reproof too, or as the word signifies also, for
conviction, or such reproof whereby a man may be con
vinced of his error, or sin ; for seeing all necessary truths are
revealed in Scripture, whatsoever opinion a man espouseth,
if there be nothing plainly revealed one way or other con
cerning it, it is unnecessary, and they sin against the laws of
peace and charity who contend about it. If it be agreeable
to what is there revealed, it is certainly true ; and false, if
contrary. So that if it can be proved, that the opinion which
a man holds, is contrary to what God Himself hath said in
Scripture, he must be convinced that he is in an error ; it
being as impossible for God to be so, as it is for both sides of
a contradiction to be true. If this doth not convince him,

152 The Sufficiency of Scripture.

SERM. nothing in the world can : this being the strongest, and most
- — demonstrative way of arguing that can be used ; which none
can offer to withstand, without falling into the grossest
absurdities that mankind can be guilty of. Hence our Savi
our Himself took this course to convince the Jews of their

Matt.22.29. errors, and particularly the Sadducees : " Ye do err," said
He, " not knowing the Scriptures ; " and then proved from

ver. 34. thence that the dead shall rise again, so as to put them to

Luke 24. 27. silence. And it was out of Moses and the Prophets, that
He convinced His Apostles that He ought to suffer. In
this, as in other things, His Apostles also followed His
steps ; as we find in their Epistles and Acts, where it is said,

Acts 17. 2. that St. Paul " reasoned with the Jews out of the Scrip
tures." And this certainly, which is founded upon the Word
of God Himself, is the highest way of reasoning that can be
used, whereby to convince men of their errors in opinion.

As likewise of their sins or transgressions of God's law,
which can never be done any other way, than from that law
7. 7. which they transgress : as, " I had not known sin but by the
Law : for I had not known lust or concupiscence, except the
Law had said, Thou shalt not covet." So neither could I
convince another that what he doth is a sin, or unlawful,
except I prove it to be contrary to some law which he is
bound to observe. But if I can prove that he either doth
that which Almighty God hath forbidden him to do, or
leaves that undone which He commands him to do ; if I can
demonstrate this to him from God's own Word, or which is
the same, from the Scripture, whether he will own it or no,
he must be convinced in his conscience that it is a sin. And
therefore the Scripture is so highly profitable for reproof or
conviction, that nothing can do it but that ; but that will do
it so effectually, as to leave men without all excuse.

And seeing the Scripture is thus profitable for reproof
and conviction, it follows in course, that it is profitable also
for correction ; that is, for amendment or reformation : for
when a man is once thoroughly convinced of his sin, he is in
the ready way to forsake it, and can never be easy in his
own mind until he doth so. As we see in St. Peter's audi
tors upon the day of Pentecost, when he out of Scripture
had reproved them for their sin in denying and crucifying

The Sufficiency of Scripture. 153

the Lord of Glory, " They were pricked in their heart, and Acts 2. 37.
said to Peter and to the rest of the Apostles, Men and bre
thren, what shall we do ? " They were no sooner convinced
of their sin, but they were presently solicitous what to do,
whereby to shew their repentance of it, and their resolution
never to fall into the like again. And upon the Apostles
directing them what to do, they believed in Him whom they
had before crucified, and became His disciples. Such mighty
force had the Word preached upon the minds of those who
attentively hearkened to it.

But to make it still more profitable for correction or
reformation, it hath pleased God in Holy Scripture, to
threaten such dreadful punishments to those who continue
in sin and unbelief, and to promise such glorious rewards to
those who repent and believe the Gospel, that nothing could
ever have been invented of greater power upon the hearts
of men, to take them off from sin, and turn them unto God :
for there we find that they "who know not God, and that 2Thess. i.
obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, shall be '
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of
the Lord, and from the glory of His power." That they
shall be condemned to that everlasting " fire, which is pre- Matt.25.4i.
pared for the Devil and his angels." That " they shall be ver. 30.
cast into utter darkness, where there is weeping and gnash
ing of teeth ; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is Mark 9. 44.
not quenched." "Wherefore knowing from the Scripture 2 Cor. 5. 11.
this terror of the Lord, we may well persuade men to leave
their sins." If such terrible punishments as these, denounced
by Almighty God Himself, will not do it, what can ?

Especially if we consider also on the other side, that it is
there written, that " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nei- i Cor. 2. 9.
ther have entered into the heart of man, the things which
God hath prepared for them that love Him." That they
shall be made like to the "Holy Angels." And live with Luke 20. 36.
Christ Himself, and behold the glory which the Father hath John 17. 24.
given Him. That " they shall shine forth as the sun in the Matt. 13.43.
Kingdom of their Father ;" " in the Kingdom prepared for ch. 25. 34.
them from the foundation of the world." So that as " the ver. 46.
wicked must go into everlasting punishment, and the right
eous shall go into life eternal," what stronger motive, what

154 The Sufficiency of Scripture.

SERM. greater encouragement can there be than this which the
— Scripture affords, for all men to leave their sins, amend their
ways, and come into the number of the righteous ?

How they may do that, is the last thing which the Apostle
here saith,the Scripture is profitable for: " It is profitable for
instruction in righteousness ;" i. e. to teach us what we must
do, that we may become such as shall be accepted of, and
accounted righteous, not only before men, but God Himself.
This no man could ever learn any other way, but only by the
Scripture ; but there we are fully taught it.

For there we are taught all the Commandments of God,

in doing of which, that righteousness consisteth which His

Deut. 6. 25. Law requires. " It shall be our righteousness," saith Moses,

" if we observe to do all these Commandments before the

Lord our God, as He hath commanded us."

But we are taught withal by the Scripture, as well as by
our own experience, that of ourselves, or by our own natural
strength, we can never do all these commandments, at least,
not so as we are there commanded to do them. Wherefore
we are further taught in the Holy Scripture, how to obtain
the grace and assistance of God Himself in doing whatsoever
He hath commanded, even by faith in Jesus Christ ; that if
we believe in Him, and accordingly trust on the promises
which God hath made in Him to that purpose, His Spirit
[2 Cor. 12. shall be always ready to assist us, His u grace shall be suffi-
Phii. 4. 13. cient for us, and His strength made perfect in our weakness ;
so that we can do all things through Christ which strength-
eneth us."

But notwithstanding the strength and assistance which we
receive from Christ to do all that God commands, yet such
is the weakness and corruption of our nature, that we do
nothing so exactly as He commands it to be done: and
therefore nothing that in strictness of law can be termed
righteous. But in this also the Scripture helps us out,
teaching us that Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, was made
2 Cor. 5.21. sin, or a sin-offering for us, "that we might be made the
PhU. s. 9. righteousness of God in Him ; " " that we may be found in
Him, not having our own righteousness which is of the Law,
but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteous
ness which is of God by faith." Whereby we are given to

The Sufficiency of Scripture. 155

understand, that by our faith in Christ, besides our own
righteousness which we have in ourselves, we have another
in Him whose members we are, that most perfect righteous
ness which He fulfilled in our nature being reckoned ours,
whereby all the defects of our own are perfectly made up,
and ours, though in itself imperfect, yet is acceptable to God i Pet. 2. 5.
by Jesus Christ ; who is therefore " the end of the Law for Rom. 10. 4.
righteousness to every one that believeth ; " the whole Law
being accomplished by Him, and in Him, by all that truly
believe in Him, for the righteousness which is there
required. All which being taught in the Scripture, that
is so profitable for instruction in righteousness, as well as
for doctrine, reproof and correction, that any servant or
man of God, though he be a Prophet or Apostle, much more
he that is of a lower rank, may thereby be as perfect as he is
now required to be, being thoroughly furnished from thence
to every good work that God commands him to do, and to [2 Tim. 3.
his doing it so as that God will accept of it as good through
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Having thus expressed our thoughts upon the Holy
Scripture, as given by inspiration of God, and as profitable
for all things requisite to our being holy here, and happy
for ever ; how can we forbear to admire and adore the infi
nite goodness and mercy of the Almighty Creator of the
world, to us poor sinful creatures upon earth, in that, not
withstanding our un worthiness of the least of all His
favours, He hath been graciously pleased to reveal Himself
and His holy will to us in writing ; and that too in so won
derful a manner, that we have His own Word, His Divine
infallible Word for every thing that is there written, which,
next to the Word incarnate, is certainly the greatest blessing
that could be bestowed upon us, and we ought to value it
accordingly; by preferring the Holy Scripture, not only
before all other books that ever were or can be written ; but
likewise before all things else that we have, or ever can
have in this world. " The law of Thy mouth," saith David, PS. 119. 72.
" is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver." So
it really is, and ought to be so esteemed by every one of us.
It is our unspeakable happiness that we have it in our lan
guage so common among us. We must take heed that we

156 The Sufficiency of Scripture.

S LXM* ^° no* Pr^ze ^ tne IGSS' as many I fear do, Because it is com-

mon ; but we must rather praise God the more for it, arid
strive all we can to express our thankfulness for such an
inestimable favour, in deed as well as word.

For that purpose, we must first observe what is there

John 5. 39. commanded by Christ Himself; we must " search the Scrip
tures," as the Bereans did, and are highly commended for it

Acts 17. 11. by the same Spirit that wrote them, saying, " These were
more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received
the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
Scriptures daily, whether those things were so." They did
not search the poets or philosophers, nor consider what their
forefathers had told them, nor what their own carnal reason
suggested to them, but they searched the Scriptures ; taking
it for granted, that what is written there is true, but not
knowing whether any thing else be so. So must we upon

[Acts y.ss.] all occasions consult the Scriptures, as the lively oracles of
God, the only oracles that He hath given to the world ; and

PS. 119. 24. accordingly make them, as David did, " our delight and our
counsellors." And whatsoever straits or difficulties we
are in, if we do but always follow the advice and counsel
which is there given us, we can never do amiss.

But then we must have a care that we be not in the num-

2 Pet. s. 16. ber of those St. Peter speaks of, " who wrest the Scriptures
to their own destruction." There were such, it seems, in
those days, and so there are in ours. To prevent which
horrid abuse of God's holy Word, or at least that none of
you may be guilty of it, whensoever ye take the Bible into
your hands, remember .whose word it is ; it is the Word of
God Himself, and therefore beg of Him to open your eyes,

PS. 119. is. that ye may see the wondrous things which are there
written. And then read it, not as ye do other books, but
with that reverence and godly fear, as if ye heard what ye
read at that very moment uttered by a voice from Heaven,

James 1.21. from whence it came at first. And " therefore laying apart
all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, receive with
meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your

i Thess. 2. souls." And whether you read or hear it read, " receive it
not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of
God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."

The Sufficiency of Scripture. 157

Upon those who do not believe, it hath no effect at all ; but

it works effectually upon all that do. Which therefore that

it may upon you, you must be sure to mix every thing you

read with faith ; with such a faith as is due to the Word of Heb. 4. 2.

Him who cannot lie ; and then ye cannot fail of profiting

by it.

For which purpose ye must fix this as an undoubted prin
ciple upon your hearts that, as our Saviour saith, "The John 10.35.
Scripture cannot be broken." " It is easier for Heaven and Luke 16.17.
earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail ; " that what
soever is there said, is infallibly true ; and whatsoever is
foretold, threatened, or promised, hath, or shall most cer
tainly be accomplished : it is impossible it should be other
wise, as impossible as it is for God to lie. Keep but this
always fixed upon your minds, and you will think yourselves
to live in another world ; nay, ye will really do so ; for by
this means, whilst other people are led only by their outward
senses, minding* little or nothing but what they see, or hear,
or touch, or smell, or taste, you will have another kind of
sense in your souls, a sense of those spiritual things that are
revealed in God's holy Word, so as to be touched to the
quick with them, and affected more sensibly than with any
thing you meet with in this world. The Articles of the
Christian faith will not seem strange to you, but as evident
as any thing that is so of itself; your senses will be exercised Heb. 5. u.
to discern both good and evil. You will " taste the good ch. 6. 5.
Word of God, and the powers of the world to come." Ye
will " look at those things which are not seen." Ye will not 2 Cor. 4. is.
only know, but feel that God is always present with you ;
that His eye is upon you ; that His hand upholds you ; that
His only-begotten Son became man and died for you ; that
" He was delivered for your offences, and raised again for [Rom. 4.
your justification ;" that He is now sitting at the right hand 2^
of the Father ; that He is your Advocate there, making
intercession for you; that "in Him ye have redemption [Eph. 1.7.]
through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins ; " that in
Him Almighty God is your Father and your God; that [Matt. is.
whensoever ye meet together in His Name, He is in the
midst of you ; that whatsoever good thing you ask in His
Name, shall be granted you ; that His Holy Spirit is alway

158 The Sufficiency of Scripture.

SERM. ready to direct, assist and comfort you ; that His Holy
,-Rom 8 — Angels minister unto you ; that all things work together for
28.] your good. For these, and many such like things, ye have

the Word of God Himself in the Holy Scripture : and if ye
accordingly take His Word for them, ye will feel it to be, as
Heb. 4. 12. the Apostle saith, " quick and powerful, and sharper than
any two-edged sword ; " imprinting these great truths so
deep in your hearts, that your whole souls will be possessed
with a sense and feeling of them, more than of any thing
else ; and then you will find by your own experience, that
all Scripture is indeed given by inspiration of Almighty
God ; and will need no other arguments to convince you,
that " it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness," for every thing that is
necessary to your obtaining eternal life, through Jesus
Christ our Lord.

SERMON LXI.

THE PREFERENCE OF SPIRITUAL FOOD TO NATURAL.

JOHN vi. 27.

Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat
which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man
shall give unto you ; for Him hath God the Father sealed.

ALTHOUGH we live in a place where the Christian religion
is professed, we see but few that do any more than profess
it : some not so much ; for there is one sort of people risen
up among us, who have laid aside the public worship of God,
both the Sacraments that Christ ordained, and every thing
else that can shew them to be Christians. And of those who
were once baptized into Christ, and so were made His Dis
ciples or Christians, and still profess themselves to be so,
some contradict their profession by their practice, in sepa
rating from the Church of Christ, and "causing divisions Rom. 16.17.
contrary to the doctrine" that He taught. But the greatest
part take up and content themselves with the bare profession
of His religion, without ever concerning themselves about
believing or doing what is required in it.

It is to such, I shall speak at this time ; and yet not I, but
Christ Jesus : for I come not in my own name, but His ; and
shall say nothing but what I shall have His Word and war
rant for : and I hope you, who profess yourselves to be His
scholars and disciples, will hearken very diligently to what
soever He, your great Lord and Master, saith to you, and
particularly to what He saith in the words I have now read.

It is true, these words were first spoken to the unbelieving
Jews, who having seen our Lord feeding five thousand people

160 The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural.

SERM. with five barley-loaves and two small fishes, and having
- themselves been fed to the full with that miraculous food,

they went about next day again to seek Him ; and finding
that He was gone to the other side of the Sea of Tiberias,
they took shipping, and came to Him there also ; when our
Lord saw them, He knew that they were of the number of
those which He had fed with a miracle the day before, and that
they now came after Him again, not because they had seen
the miracle, and were convinced by it that He was indeed
the Christ, the Son of God, so as to become His disciples ;
but to get another meal's meat of His Divine dressing.
John 6. 26. " Verily, verily," saith He, " I say unto you, ye seek Me,
not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of
the loaves and were filled." Wherefore, according to His
usual custom of catching at all opportunities of doing good,
He took occasion from their following Him after this manner,
only for bodily food, to give them this wholesome and most
necessary advice : "Labour not for the meat which perisheth,
but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which
the Son of Man shall give unto you." And though He gave
it at first to them, yet He caused it to be recorded among
His Divine oracles, as a standing rule to be observed by all,
especially those who shall follow Him, and profess them
selves to be His disciples ; as all here present do : and are
therefore obliged in duty to Him, as well as for their own
interest, to learn and practise the great lesson which He
hath here set you. In which He teacheth you both what
ye ought not, and what ye ought to labour after : both which
parts of His Divine lesson, I shall endeavour to make so
clear and plain, that ye may all learn and understand your
Master's meaning and pleasure in them, and strive, for the
future, to act accordingly.

First therefore, He saith, " Labour not for the meat which
perisheth." What He means by labouring, I need not tell
you ; that you all know is a word that signifies a man's
taking care and pains about getting something which he
wants, or keeping what he hath. In which sense our Lord
here commands, that ye "labour not for the meat which
perisheth," that is, for the things of this life, and especially
such as belong to the support of it, which He here calls by

The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural. 161

the general name of meat, because it was that which the
Jews came to Him for at this time, and so gave Him occa
sion to speak these words. Wherein He commands you
therefore, not to take too much care or pains about food, or
raiment, or any thing which concerns only this present life.
I say, too much, because He doth not mean that you should
take no care or pains at all about them, so far as they are
necessary to the support of yourselves and families : for He
Himself elsewhere, by His Apostle, commands you to " study ixhes.4.ii.
to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with
your own hands;" "that if any would not work, neither 2Thes. 3.10.
should he eat." " And let him that stole," saith He, " steal Eph. 4. 2e.
no more ; but rather let him labour, working with his hands
the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him
that needeth." Where you see, He doth not only permit,
but require you to labour ; and that too, not only for your
selves, but other people, that ye may be able to supply their
wants as well as your own : especially such as are related to
you ; " For if any provide not for his own, and specially for i Tim. 5. 8.
those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse
than an infidel." Such a one, it seems, in the sight of God
Himself, is so far from being a Christian or a believer, what
soever he may pretend, that he is not so good as an infidel or
unbeliever. For the very law of nature, by which the infidels
were governed, taught them to provide for their parents and
kindred that were in want. But Christ came not to destroy
that law, but to vindicate, explain, refine, and enforce it.
And therefore He is so far from indulging men in sloth and
idleness, so far from commanding or suffering them to neg
lect the calling in which He hath placed them for the main
tenance of themselves and their families, that He looks upon
such as none of His disciples, but as bad, nay worse than
the very infidels themselves. It is not therefore in this sense
that He commands you " not to labour for the meat which
perisheth."

But He commands you, first, not to labour for it as these
people did to whom the words were first spoken, who left
their trades, and houses, and business at home, to seek for
food abroad, where they had no ground to expect it any
other way than by a miracle : you must not be like them ;

M

162 The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural

SERM. ye must not leave your callings and employments wherein
LXI' — you were bred, and so the ordinary way in which God hath
set you, whereby to provide necessaries for yourselves and
families by God's blessing which He hath promised upon
your endeavours, and then take any extraordinary or un
lawful course for it ; or think as these people did, that you
shall be fed with miracles, without taking any care about it
yourselves ; much less must ye pretend religion, when your
design is only to get bread or money, as these people did,
who followed Christ ; but it was only for the loaves, not out
of any love to Him or His religion : which is the case, I fear,
of too many among us, who follow this or that particular
sect or profession in religion, out of a desire, as they pretend,
to serve and worship God better ; when, after all, it is their
own worldly interest they seek : if they would but deal im
partially with themselves, and narrowly search into their
own hearts, I fear many will find that to be at the bottom.
This is that which our Lord condemns in those that followed
Him ; and therefore commands that ye be not guilty of it :
that ye " labour not for the meat that perisheth," under the
disguise and pretence of labouring for that " which endureth
unto everlasting life."

He commands you also not to labour for that only; as
these people had no other design in rambling about, but
only to get another bellyful of good victuals. I wish they
had been the only people that ever did so ; but, alas ! this is
the common practice of most men in the world, even to mind
nothing but their bellies, and to provide enough for them :
as if they came into the world for no other end but to eat
and drink awhile, and then go out again ; for what do most
people do besides? It is a great while before they are
capable of doing any thing else. And when they come to
years of discretion, so as to be able to serve God and work
out their own Salvation, yet they spend their whole time, week
after week, year after year, in nothing else but what concerns
this present life, labouring night and day, either to get what
to eat, or to eat what they have gotten, or to lay it up for
other people to eat it ; this is their business all their life long,
how long soever it is : the only business they ever mind or
think of, unless perhaps, a little upon the Lord's Day, when

The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural. 163

the laws of the land will not suffer them to follow their par
ticular callings openly ; but then also many do it privately,
and so spend all their days in labouring for nothing but only
the meat that perisheth ; as if they had neither God to serve,
nor souls to save. I doubt there are some such here present,
and heartily wish you would take some time to consider
that you have another world to live in as well as this ; and
that He who alone can save you, doth here expressly require
that you do not thus labour only for the meat that perisheth ;
nor chiefly neither ; that you do not make it your great and
chief design, as many do, to heap up riches, or enjoy the
pleasures of the world ; but that ye " seek the Kingdom of Matt. 6. 33.
God and His righteousness" in the first place, and other
things only after that, or in order to it. In which lower
sense ye may and ought to labour for the meat that perisheth,
so far as it is needful to your present subsistence ; but your
chief care and labour must be for that which endureth to
everlasting life.

O

This therefore is that which our Lord commandeth in these
words, according to the idiom of the sacred writings, and His
common way of speaking in the like cases : as where He saith,
" I will have mercy, and not sacrifice ;" that is, mercy, rather Matt. 9. is.
than sacrifice. So here, " Labour not for the meat which
perisheth, but rather," or chiefly, " for that which endureth
unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto
you." Where ye may first observe, that He would have
you all labour, not sit still and do nothing. The idle, un
profitable servant, that hid his master's talent in a napkin
and did nothing with it, was cast into utter darkness ; and
so will ye be too, unless ye labour and take pains, so as to
" work out your Salvation with fear and trembling." It is a PWI. 2. 12,
great work ye have to do, the greatest ye have to do in the
world ; and it can never be done effectually, without much
labour and pains, far more than men commonly take about
it. And that is the reason why there are so few that effect it ;
but most of those also who labour for it, labour in vain,
because they do not labour enough; they do some things,
but not all that is required of them. And what they do, they
do it carelessly and slothfully, without labouring or taking
that pains about it, which is necessary to the accomplish-

164 The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natvral.

SERM. ing of so great a work, and then it is no wonder that they

- never accomplish it. And hence it is, that He by whom

alone we can accomplish it, requires you all to labour, and

to labour with that dilgence, earnestness, zeal and constancy,

that such a work requires.

But what would He have you labour for? For the meat
which "endureth to everlasting life;" that is, for all things
necessary to your getting to Heaven, and living there for
ever ; which He calls meat, because they who gave Him
occasion to speak the words, came after Him for meat ; or
something to refresh and support their lives in this world :
which our Lord perceiving, He bids them not to be so soli
citous about the things of this world, as the next. Arid that
they might better understand His meaning, He accom
modates His speech to the occasion, and bids them not to
labour so much for their bodily food ; but for such meat as
will nourish and preserve their souls to everlasting life ; as
all things do which tend to the making them pure and holy,
and capable of seeing and enjoying God, and may therefore
be properly called the food and nourishment of the soul,
that whereby it is kept in health, and strength, and life.
And so the Holy Scripture delights to speak. As where

isa. 55. 1-3. the Prophet saith, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye
to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and
eat, yea come, buy wine and milk without money, and with
out price. Wherefore do ye spend your money for that
which is not bread? and your labour for that which satis-
fieth not? Hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that
which is good ; and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Incline your ear and come unto Me, hear and your soul shall
live." This is good and pleasant, strong arid excellent food
indeed, by which our souls may live. But it is not taken in
at the mouth, but at the ear ; by " inclining the ear," as the
Prophet speaks, "and hearkening diligently to the Word
of God." It is that which entering in at the ear, riourisheth

i Pet. 2. 2. and refresheth the soul, therefore called " the in ilk of the

Heb. 5. is. word ; " even " the word of righteousness," because by it the
soul is nourished with righteousness, as the body is by milk.

Matt. 5. 6. Hence is that of our Saviour, " Blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."

The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural. 165

Implying, that righteousness is both meat and drink to the
soul, and that all who accordingly hunger and thirst after it,
shall be filled with it. For righteousness, as the word here
signifies, containing under it all manner of virtue and good
ness, is that without which the soul is dead, " dead," as the EPh. 2. i.
Apostle saith, " in trespasses and sins." But by it the soul
lives the life that is proper for a soul or spirit to live, acts
and moves in its own sphere, and brings forth its proper
fruit, therefore called, "the fruit of righteousness, which Phil. 1. 11.
endureth for ever," or as our Lord here speaks, " unto ever
lasting life." This therefore is the meat that He requires
you to labour for, even " that ye may grow in grace, and in 2 Pet. 3. is.
the knowledge of Him, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
That "Giving all diligence, you add to your faith, virtue ; ch. i. 5-8.
and to virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge, temperance ;
and to temperance, patience ; and to patience, godliness ;
and to godliness, brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly kind
ness, charity. For if these things be in you, and abound,
they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful
in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ;" but will both
live the life, and die the death of the righteous, and so go
with them into life eternal.

But that ye may better apprehend both the quality of this
meat which endureth unto everlasting life, and also where
ye may have it, our Lord here adds, it is that " which He,
the Son of Man shall give unto you." Whereby He hath
given you to understand, that although you must labour for
it, or otherwise ye can never have it; yet after all your
labour, it is He only that gives it to you ; for it is He only
that hath it to give ; but He hath it in Himself. Hark what
He Himself here saith : " I am the bread of life. I am the John 6. 48,
living bread which came down from Heaven : if any man 5K
eat of this bread, he shall live for ever : and the bread that
I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the
world." " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and ver. 53, &c.
drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My
flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life ; and I will
raise him up at the Last Day. For My flesh is meat indeed,
and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh,
and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As

166 The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural.

SERM. the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father;
LXI' — so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me." And that
we may not mistake His meaning, as some of His auditors
John 6. 63. did, He afterwards adds, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth,
the flesh profiteth nothing : the words that I speak unto
you, they are Spirit, and they are life." Whereby He plainly
discovered, that all that He had said concerning eating His
flesh, and drinking His blood, is to be understood only in a
spiritual sense : not that we could eat that very flesh which
He assumed, and drink that very blood which was spilt
upon the cross; that is so absurd and impossible, that no
man in his senses can take His words in such a carnal sense
as that. But His meaning is, that He having taken our
flesh upon Him, and offered it up together with the blood
thereof, as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, they who
believe in Him, do as really partake of that sacrifice and
of all the benefits of it, as if they had eaten of the very flesh
that was sacrificed, as the Jews did of the Paschal Lamb.
By which means Almighty God being atoned and reconciled
to them, gives them that Holy Spirit which is united to, and
always accompanieth the flesh of Christ, to be a standing
principle of new life in them, to nourish and strengthen
them with all true grace and virtue, as truly and really as
our bodies are fed and supported by what we eat and drink.
So that the whole drift and design of this Divine discourse,
is briefly comprehended in that short sentence wherewith
He begins it, and which may serve as a key to open all that

ver. 47. follows, saying, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that be-
lieveth in Me hath everlasting life."

From hence we may see also by the way, into the meaning
of such expressions when used by our Lord in the institution

Matt. 26. of His Last Supper, saying of the Sacramental bread, " Take,
eat, this is My body." And of the cup, " Drink ye all of it :
for this is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed
for many for the remission of sins." For these expressions
are doubtless to be understood in the same sense here, as
those in St. John before mentioned. For though our Lord
did not then ordain this Holy Sacrament, yet He used words
so very like to those in the institution of it, that St. John
having recorded them, did not think it necessary to describe,

The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural. 167

as all the other Evangelists did, the institution of His Last

Supper, nor what words He then used, they being much the

same with those which he had before recorded, as spoken by

our Lord upon another occasion. But there is this difference

to be observed, that in St. John, He only saith, " That His

flesh is meat indeed, and His blood is drink indeed." But

in the Sacrament, He offers this His body to be eaten, and

His blood to be drunk by all that come to Him. So that

all who receive that Holy Sacrament with a quick and lively

faith, do really partake of all the blessings which He merited

by His body and blood being broken and shed for the sins

of the world ; and so as our Church expresseth it, " The body

and blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken and received

by the faithful in the Lord's Supper." And their souls are

there strengthened and refreshed by the body and blood of

Christ, as their bodies are by the bread and wine. This

therefore, is the meat which endureth to everlasting life, and

which our Saviour here saith " He will give unto you," even

to all that believe in Him ; so that they may all say with

St. Paul, " I can do all things through Christ which strength- Phil- 4. is.

eneth me."

Nothing now remains to be explained in the words, but
the reason which our Lord here gives for His last assertion.
He had said that the meat which endureth to everlasting
life, is that which He, the Son of Man, shall give. And
though His word and promise is a sufficient ground for our
faith ; yet for the greater confirmation of it He adds, " For
Him hath the Father sealed," that is, the Father hath sanc
tified and sent Him into the world to give life unto the
world, as the bread of life, " that a man may eat thereof, John 10. 36;
and not die." And as princes, when they send an ambas
sador into a foreign country, confirm his commission under
their seal ; so the Father confirmed His mission of the Son Eph. i. is.
of Man, by giving Him 'the seal of the Spirit. As He did at Matt. s. 17.
His Baptism, when He was solemnly inaugurated into His
Office ; and also by the wonderful works which He did ; to John 10.37,

38

which He Himself therefore appeals as an undeniable
argument that He came from the Father. So that He was
confirmed in His Office, as it were under the broad seal of
Heaven, that we may not doubt, but firmly believe, that He

168 The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural.
SERM. is indeed the bread that came down from Heaven, and that

LXI

- He came for that end and purpose, that we might have life,
John 10. 10. " and that we might have it more abundantly ; " and by con
sequence, that He will certainly do as He hath said, even
give the meat that endureth unto everlasting life, to all that
labour after it.

But then the great question is, How we must labour for
this meat, that we may be sure to get it ? Or, which is the
same, How we may seek so as to obtain that everlasting life,
wrhich the Son of Man here promiseth to give? He pro-
miseth to give it, but it is to those only who labour for it ;
and that labour so as He would have them. Otherwise
they will labour in vain, and to no purpose, as many do ;
Luke is. 24. « Many," saith He, " shall seek to enter in, and shall not be
able," because they seek amiss ; they do not observe the
rules that He hath set them for it, and then it is no wonder,
that after all their labour and pains they miss of it. That
this therefore may not be your case, I shall endeavour to
shew you, in as plain and perspicuous terms as I can, how
you all ought to labour for this meat which endureth unto
everlasting life, if you desire in good earnest to have it.

If you desire, I say, in good earnest to have it : for that is
the first thing required to your labouring aright for it, even,
that you heartily desire it, and set yourselves in good earnest
about looking after it, more than after all things in the
world besides : otherwise you will but beat about the bush,
and never find it ; ye may do something perhaps towards it,
but not all that is required : and what ye do, you will do it
with that coldness and indifferency that it will come to
nothing, unless your minds be wholly bent upon it, and
Matt. 5. 6. resolved to go through with it. Whereas if ye really " hun
ger and thirst after righteousness," Christ Himself saith,
"you shall be filled." If you earnestly desire and prefer it
before all things here below, and accordingly make it your
chief care and study to attain it, there is none of you but,
through Christ, may certainly attain it ; for He Himself
hath said you shall. Let this therefore, be the first step
you make towards it : make no longer any vain excuses ;
resolve in the Name of Christ, that from this time forward,
you will, by His assistance, labour with all your might for

The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural. 169

the meat which endureth to everlasting life ; and then you
will be sure to have it, as sure as God's Word is true.

But for that purpose you must observe the method here
prescribed for it. You must not labour any longer with so
much care and anxiety for the meat that perisheth ; but you
must keep your bodies under, by constant temperance, .arid
frequent abstinence, or fasting, that you may be rightly
disposed for that which endureth to everlasting life, and
able to endure all the labour and pains that is requisite to
the obtaining of it. Remember the words of the great
Apostle, " Every man that striveth for the mastery is tempe- iCor. 9.25-
rate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown ; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as
uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air : but I
keep under my body, and bring it into subjection ; lest that
by any means, when I have preached unto others, I myself
should be a castaway."

Being thus resolved and disposed for it, ye must " desire i Pet. 2. 2.
the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby;"
" That ye may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our 2Pet. 3. is.
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ; " " Till ye come in the unity EPh. 4. is.
of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ." This you can never do without the ministry of
the Word, nor by it neither, unless you hear, read, mark,
learn, and inwardly digest it, so as to turn it into proper
nourishment for your souls; which that you may, ye mustHeb.4.2.
always mix it with faith in the hearing of it. You must
receive it, not as the word of men, " but as it is in truth the 1 Thess. 2.
Word of God, which effectually worketh in them who
believe." To other people it is a mere dead letter, without
any life, or motion, or power at all. But in those who
believe, it works effectually, to the purifying and cleansing
their hearts from all vicious and corrupt humours, and to
the strengthening them in all true grace and virtue : so that
by the Word abiding in them, they are made so strong as to
be able "to overcome the world," "to work righteousness," Uohn2. u.
"to run with patience the race that is set before them," Heb. 12. i.
and to "work out their Salvation with fear and trembling." Phil. 2. 12.
And the great reason is, because, " if ye abide in Christ, and John 15. 7.

170 The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural.

SERM. His words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
— — shall be done unto you." They are Christ's own words, and
therefore ye must believe them, and accordingly pray to
God in His Name, to cleanse the thoughts of your hearts
by the inspiration of His Holy Spirit, that ye may perfectly
love- Him, and worthily magnify His Holy Name ; that
[2 Cor. 12. " His grace may be always sufficient for you, and His strength
made perfect in your weakness ;" that the power of Christ
[Phil. 4. may rest upon you ; that ye may " do all things through Him
that strengthened you." This you must pray for every day,
as you do for your daily bread : you do it for the meat
which perisheth, how much more for that which endureth to
eternal life ! If you really desire that, you must never let a
day go over your heads without praying for it morning and
evening, and at other times when you can get an oppor
tunity ; and that too, both privately, every one by himself,
and publicly in the church with other good people there
met together for that purpose. Unless you do this, if you
can go a whole day together without saying your prayers,
you may be confident that you have no appetite to this spiri
tual food, not so much as you have for bodily. There is
never a one, I dare say, among you, but feed your bodies
every day in the year ; and if ye had but the same care of
your souls as ye have for your bodies, you could not forbear
to feed them too, by praying every day for that meat which
will preserve them to everlasting life : which therefore, I
must advise and beseech you all to do : and to do it heartily,
sincerely, earnestly, as for your life ; for your life, your
eternal life depends upon it : and that ye may never pray in
vain, ye must always do it in the Name of Christ : it is He,
as ye have heard, that gives this spiritual food : and there
fore it is in His Name only, and for His sake, that you must
pray for it ; believing and trusting in Him, that He, accord-
John 14.H. ing to His promise, will do whatsoever ye ask in His Name;
and so exercising your faith continually in Him, to sanctify
and strengthen your souls with His grace and Holy Spirit,
that they may be preserved to everlasting life.

This is the chief work to be done, without which all your
labouring will avail you nothing : as appears from the words
following my text ; for our Lord having required them to

The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural. 171

labour or work, " for that meat which endureth unto ever
lasting life," the people said unto Him, "What shall we do John 14. 28,

29

that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered
and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe
on Him whom He hath sent." This is the work, the great
work upon which all the rest depend, and from which they
receive their efficacy, and attain their end. For it is by
this our believing in Him, that we eat His flesh, and drink
His blood, and so have " eternal life," as He Himself here ver. 54.
saith.

And that we may the better do it in the Sacrament of His
Last Supper, He gives us His body to eat, and His blood to
drink ; that receiving it with a quick and lively faith, we
may be strengthened and refreshed by it in the inward man.
" For the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the Com- iCor.io.ie.
munion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break,
is it not the Communion of the body of Christ?" And seeing
it is the Communion of the body and blood of Christ, every
worthy communicant or faithful receiver of those holy
mysteries, actually feeds upon the bread of life, the meat
that endureth to life everlasting. Which therefore all that
hunger, and thirst, and labour after, cannot but thankfully
embrace all opportunities of receiving that Holy Sacrament.

And they who slight, or neglect, or seldom come at it,
have too much cause to suspect, that whatsoever they may
pretend, they do not observe, but act just contrary to what
our Saviour here commands : they labour for the meat that
perisheth, not for that which endureth unto everlasting life.

Which being the case of many, if not of most here pre
sent, give me leave to deal plainly with you, and to admo
nish you, as you tender His favour, or your own welfare, to
take more care for the future to do the work which your
Lord and Saviour hath here set you. Remember, He is
your Lord, and therefore may command you what He
pleaseth, and you are bound to obey Him : and He is your
Saviour too, and therefore ye may be sure, that He com
mands you nothing but what is necessary to be done in
order to your being saved. Wherefore, if you care not
whether you be saved or no, you may still go on in labour
ing only for the meat that perisheth : but if ye have any real

1 72 The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural.
SERM. desire of that which endureth unto everlasting life, set vour-

I XT

- selves in good earnest upon labouring for it ; as your Lord
and Saviour here commands you, and gives you likewise
such reasons for it, that we need not go from the command
itself, for arguments whereby to prevail writh all sober and
considering persons to observe it.

For consider, first, that what you labour for besides, is
only the meat that perisheth ; that perisheth in the using,
and will cause you to do so too, if you set your hearts and

iCor. 6. is. take too much pains about it ; " Meats for the belly, and the
belly for meats, but God will destroy both it and them."

ch. 7.29-31. And so He will all that you labour for in this world ; " For
this, I say, brethren, the time is short ; it remaineth that
both they that have wives, be as though they had none ; and
they that weep, as though they wept not ; and they that
rejoice, as though they rejoiced not ; and they that buy, as
though they possessed not ; and they that use this world, as
not abusing it, for the fashion of this world passeth away."
It is not long but this world will be quite out of fashion, its
figure altered, and all things in it turned upside down : and
what will then become of all you laboured for ? or of your
selves that laboured for it ? You, be sure, in a short time
will be turned out of possession, and all that ye have gotten,
will go to other people, and perhaps to such as you never
heard of; who then would labour for such meat as this ?
meat that will not keep, but presently turns to rottenness
and putrefaction ; meat that may clog and surfeit, but can
never satisfy you : for nothing can do that, but what is
durable and lasting ; but this perisheth, and is in a manner
gone as soon as gotten : and therefore it can be worth no
man's while to spend much time to get it.

It is true, if we were, always to live in this world ; if there
was not another world to live in as well as this ; and if we
could keep and enjoy there, what we have gotten here,
something might be said in excuse for it : but seeing we are
not only sure that we must go out of this world ere long, but

[iTim. 6. likewise that we can carry nothing along with us, but must
leave all we have got behind us ; seeing there is not only
another world to live in, but a world where we must live for
ever ; and seeing all that we have gotten here will stand us

The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural. 173

in no stead there, unless it be to torment and vex us that

we have spent so much time in getting it ; it is one of the

most unaccountable things in nature, that men, who pretend

to act as reasonable creatures, should labour so earnestly as

they do for this meat that perisheth : especially considering

that we ourselves have known some who got much and

lived great, while they were in this world ; but now they are

gone out of it, other people have all they ever got, and never

thank them for it, and are never the wiser nor better for it,

no more than they were that got it. Which one thing duly

weighed, would be enough to prevail with all men faithfully

to observe this Divine command which our Saviour lays

upon all, saying, " Labour not for the meat which perisheth ;

but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life;"

which never perisheth, but endures for ever ; and that

endureth not to our hurt or trouble, but unto everlasting

life. This is meat worth labouring for indeed ; happy are

they that after all their labour, can attain it ; they will live

in perfect health, and strength, and vigour, both of body and

mind ; they will live in joy, and bliss, and glory, the highest

that can be imagined ; they will live with the Holy Angels,

with Christ, with God Himself, and enjoy all the pleasures [Ps. 16.11.]

that are at His right hand, and that too, not for some few

years or ages only, but for evermore ; and so be as happy as

it is possible for creatures to be made. Who in his right

wits, would not labour for this meat before all things in the

world ? In labouring for other things, you labour only for

the meat that perisheth, and so will ayail you nothing at

long run ; whereas by labouring for this, you labour for all

things that are or can be good for you, and may have them

too ; the things of this life also, so far as they are needful for

you. For Christ Himself hath assured you, that if " ye first Matt. 6. 33.

seek the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, all such

things shall be added to you." They shall be added, so that

you shall have them and that too which you sought in the

first place, even " the meat which endureth to everlasting

life."

And that is the last argument used in my text wherefore
ye should labour for that meat, because it is that which the
Son of Man shall, or will give unto you. Ye may labour

174 The Preference of Spiritual Food to Natural.

SERM. for other meat, and never get it : but if ye labour for this, ye
— are sure to have it; for ye have the word and promise of
God Himself for it.

Though ye cannot get it by your labour, yet upon your
labouring for it, He will give it to you : to every one of you,
John 6. 37. without exception : " For him that cometh unto Me," saith
He, " I will in no wise cast out." Whosoever therefore shall
labour so as to come unto Him for it, can never miss of it,
but is as certain to have it, as God hath said it.

Let us therefore now resolve by God's assistance to do so.
Let others, if they please, throw away their short-lived days
upon the meat that perisheth, upon the fading vanities of
this transient world. Let us remember that we have souls
to save, immortal souls, that must live either in Heaven or
Hell for ever. And therefore while we are in the body, let
us labour above all things for that spiritual food that will
nourish and preserve our souls unto everlasting life. Let
us exercise ourselves continually in the Word of God, in
fasting, and praying, and feeding upon His most blessed body
and blood, that we may grow wise, and humble, and holy,
and just, and good, and pure both in heart and life ; that we
may know, and love, and fear, and serve, and honour God
with a perfect heart, and a willing mind, all the rest of our
days, and so may live with a constant dependance and trust
on Him to carry us through all the changes and chances of
this mortal life, so as to bring us at last to that everlasting
life which He hath promised in Jesus Christ our Lord.

SERMON LXIL

THE PREFERENCE OF THINGS INVISIBLE AND ETERNAL TO
VISIBLE AND TEMPORAL.

2 COR. iv. 18.

While ice look not at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen ; for the things which are seen
are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

HE that impartially views the present state of mankind,
or even that of Christendom itself, must needs wonder at the
strange corruptions that are crept into it ; for he may easily
see, not only the rest of the world, but the greatest part of
those also which are called Christians, acting scarce like men,
but rather like the beasts that perish ; looking no higher
than the earth they tread on, nor farther than while they
tread on it ; living as without God in the world, and without
any regard to a future state, although they profess to
believe both. But whatsoever they profess, be sure they
really believe neither; for if they did, they could never
spend their time, as they commonly do, in nothing else but
scraping the dust of the ground together, or throwing it
about ; either in getting the riches, as they are called, of this
life, or else in spending what they have gotten, according as
their senses and humours lead them ; as if they had no such
thing as reason, much less religion, to rule and govern
them.

This is the case of all men by nature, and of most of those
too who name the Name of Christ, but not of all. He hath
a flock, though it be co/^v/ov pixpov, ' a very little flock,' that Luke 12. 32.
looks farther than the pasture where they feed. There

176 The Preference of Things Invisible and

always have been, and still are, some few upon earth, who,
by their faith in Him, have their eyes opened, so as to see
into the other world, things that are invisible and lie per
fectly hid to all other mortals. These St. Paul here speaks
of, and reckoning himself, as he certainly was, in the number
of them, he saith, " We look not at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen."

He is here speaking of the difficulties and trouble which
he and the rest of his fellow-servants met with in doing the
work which their master Christ hath set them, and shewing
the reason wherefore, notwithstanding that, they fainted
not, but rather went on with greater courage and resolution

2 Cor. 4. 17. in the accomplishing of it, even "because this light afflic
tion," saith he, " which is but for a moment, worketh for us
a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." But
lest any should not see into the force of this argument, he
explains it, by adding, " While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen : for the
things which are seen are temporal, but the things which
are not seen are eternal." As if he had said, They who mind
only the things of this life may well be discouraged at the
afflictions which attend the service of God. But that is not
our case, our eye is only upon the other world, and the
eternal glory which shall there be conferred upon those who
serve Him faithfully in this. And therefore we may well be

iCor.i5.58. " steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord, forasmuch as we know that our labour is not in
vain in the Lord."

But though that was the occasion of the Apostle's writing
these words, yet he doth not confine them to that occasion,
but makes use of that to shew how all true Christians, such
as he was, are always looking at things not seen in general :
which at first sight may seem to be a great paradox, if not a
contradiction. But I shall endeavour to make it so clear,
that ye may all see into the truth as well as into the useful
ness of it. And for that purpose, shall first explain the
words, and then apply them.

First therefore, that we may understand the true meaning
of these words, we must consider,

Eternal, to Visible and Temporal. Ill

I. What is here meant by things that are seen ?
II. What by the things which are not seen ? And what
by looking at things not seen ?

III. The reason which the Apostle here gives for it ;
because " the things which are seen are temporal, but the
things which are not seen are eternal."

As for the first, I need not insist long upon it ; for ye all
know well enough what is meant by the things which are
seen, they being always under your eye ; such as money and
goods, houses and lands, meat, drink, clothing, and the like.
These things you yourselves see, or at least may see every
day ; these therefore, and the like, are the things which the
Apostle here means, when he saith, " We look not at the
things which are seen." He means them, not in themselves,
as they are necessary to the support of human life ; but as
they are extravagantly coveted or abused to luxury and
excess. So far as they are needful to our subsistence in this
world, and so to our serving God in it, so far the best of men
may and ought to look after them.

But not so as to set their hearts upon them, and to be
always craving more and more of them : not so as to aim at
stately houses, large estates, delicious fare, gay clothing, or
the like. They do not thus look at these things that are
seen, nor indeed upon any thing at all that is so, upon
nothing which they can see with their eyes, in comparison
of the things which are not seen ; that is, such things as are
not the objects of our sight, nor come within the reach of
any of our senses. So that they who look upon things only
with their bodily eyes, and regard nothing but what comes
into their minds through some of their senses, can perceive
no more of them, than as if there were no such things in the
world. Although there be doubtless many more things in
the world which we never did see, than those we do : there
are many great kingdoms upon earth, with a vast number of
inhabitants of all sorts in them, which few, if any of us, ever
saw ; and yet none of us doubt but there are such, only
because we have heard of them by some who have been
there and seen them. In like manner there are many
things of another nature in the world, which we never did
nor can see with the eyes of our body, and yet have all the

178 The Preference of Things Invisible and

SERM. reason that can be to believe them, in that we have the

T "VTT

— infallible word and testimony of God Himself for them ;
which is infinitely more than if all the creatures in the

Luke 16. 31. world should come and tell us of them. "And if we hear
not Moses and the Prophets," or God speaking by them,
" neither should we be persuaded though one rose from the
dead " to acquaint us with them. Neither are these things
which we never saw, and yet have so much cause to believe,
only very many, more than we can imagine ; but they are
the far greatest and noblest things that be, and most worthy

Uohn4. 12. to be looked at : as for example ; " No man hath seen God

iTim. 6. 16. at any time :" " He dwelling in the light which no man can
approach unto, Whom no man hath seen, or can see." Inso
much that although He be every where, we can see Him no

Job 9. 11 where; but as Job saith, " Lo, He goeth by me, and I see
Him not: He passeth on also, but I perceive Him not."
And the reason is, because God is a Spirit, without any
matter or body, and therefore cannot possibly be the object
of any of our senses, which can be affected with nothing but
what is of their own nature, material or bodily. Neither is
He only a Spirit, but of that infinite purity and perfection
that He is infinitely beyond the reach, not only of our
senses, but of our apprehensions too. Yet nevertheless,
though we cannot see Him, we are as certain that He is, as
that we ourselves are ; for if He was not, we could not be :

Acts 17. 28. it being " in Him that we live, and move, and have our
being." And though He be perfectly out of our sight, yet
He hath manifested Himself sufficiently to us by the works

Rom. 1.20. which He hath done, and still doth continually. " For the
invisible things of Him from the creation of the world, are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal power and Godhead." So that all who
take no notice of Him, are without excuse. Especially now
that He hath made known Himself unto the world by His

Johm. is. Son too. For, though " no man hath seen God at any time,
the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father,
He hath declared Him ;" He hath most clearly revealed all
that is necessary or possible for mankind to know of God ;
and therefore all that believe in Christ, cannot but be always
thinking upon God though they cannot see Him, as much

Eternal, to Visible and Temporal. 179

as if they could. " I have set the Lord," saith David, PS. 16. s.
" always before me ; " or, as St. Peter interprets it, " I foresaw Acts 2. 25.
the Lord always before my face ; for He is on my right hand,
that I should not be moved." So all that truly believe, see Heb. 11.27.
Him that is invisible, as Moses did. They are always look
ing upon Him as looking always upon them, wheresoever
they are ; though they cannot see Him, yet their eye is
always upon Him, the " eye of faith " in God's Holy Word, ch. n. i.
whereby they look at the things which are not seen.
" Behold," saith David, " as the eyes of servants look unto PS. 123. 2.
the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden to the
hand of her mistress ; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our
God, until He have mercy upon us."

So also for our Blessed Saviour ; when He was in our flesh
upon earth, He was commonly seen, as other men are, for
several years together ; but He ceased to be so when He
went up to Heaven. It is true, St. Stephen saw Him after- Acts 7. 56.
wards standing on the right hand of God ; but the Heavens
were first opened in a wonderful manner, to make way for
that blessed sight. He was seen also of St. Paul several iCor. is. s.
years after ; but there was so much light and glory about
Him, that it struck St. Paul blind, and made him fall down Acts 9. 3,4,
upon the earth. And so it would certainly do to us, if we 9'
should now see Him ; our eyes could not possibly bear the
light of " His glorious body." But we need not fear it, for Phil. 3. 21.
He is now quite out of our sight, being exalted to the right
hand of God in the highest Heavens, where no mortal eye
can reach Him ; though the glorified Saints and Angels see
Him, and enjoy Him perpetually. As to us, He is one of
those things that are not seen ; yet howsoever, they who
truly believe in Him, cannot but be always looking upon
Him as their only Mediator and Advocate, with the eye of
faith beholding Him in the presence of God, there making
intercession for them; "Whom, therefore, having not seen i Pet. i. s.
they love ; in Whom though now they see Him not, yet
believing, they rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of
glory." Neither do they only thus look at Him in Heaven,
but upon earth too, whensoever they meet together in His
Name ; for He having said, that He is there " in the midst Matt.is.2o.
of them," they cannot but look upon Him as always there,

180

The Preference of Things Invisible and

SERM. as He is most certainly here in the midst of us at this time,

T "VTT

- as certainly as we ourselves are here. Though other men
do not see Him, they who believe His Word cannot but be
looking at Him, as observing what they do, and assisting
them in the doing of it.

And so they do, as to the Holy Spirit too: though He
works insensibly upon them, and they can neither see Him,
nor perceive how He doth it, yet finding by God's Word as
well as their own experience, that it is He who keeps them
from evil, and inclines them to that which is good, and
enables them likewise to perform it, their eyes are always
upon Him, wheresoever they are, and whatsoever they are
PS. 139. 6. doing : as we see in David, " Whither shall I go from Thy
Spirit?" In what place soever he was, he looked upon the
John 3. s. Spirit of God as there ; so do all that are born of the Spirit.
Besides this one glorious and Almighty God the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, there are many other things in the
world which neither are, nor can be seen as yet by us ; for
when He made the world, He made things invisible, as well
as visible in it. What those things are, we may learn from
Col. 1. 16. St. Paul, where speaking of Christ, he saith, " By Him were
all things created that are in Heaven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible ; whether they be thrones, or dominions,
or pincipalities, or powers." Which great names must needs
signify most glorious and powerful creatures ; but they are
all invisible to us, we know not so much as what they are,
but only in general, that they have not flesh and bones as we
have, but are of a spiritual nature, and of so great power,
that all the kings and emperors, sultans and potentates upon
earth joined together, could not stand before one of them ;
2 Kings 19. for we read, that one of them in one night smote an hundred
and fourscore and five thousand in the camp of the Assy
rians, who before thought themselves invincible; but this
was done by an invisible hand ; they could not see him that
smote them : neither do we understand how he did it ; nor
how these invisible creatures live together, nor what they
do, any further than God hath revealed it to us in His Holy
Word.

But there we find, that some of them " kept not their
first estate, but left their own habitation in which they were

35.

Jude 6.

Eternal, to Visible and Temporal. 181

created, and are therefore reserved in everlasting chains
under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." And
that they notwithstanding, still retain the same power, being
still " principalities and powers, and the rulers of the dark- Eph.6. 12.
ness of this world." And also that they have some kind of
government among themselves ; for one of them is called,
" The prince of the power of the air, the spirit that worketh ch. 2. 2.
in the children of disobedience." And he is properly the Matt.25.4i.
Devil, the other his angels. But all and every one also, is
called the Devil and Satan, the accuser and adversary of
mankind, that " as a roaring lion walketh about seeking 1 Pet. 5.8.
whom he may devour." But they always go in fetters and
chains, and cannot step one step further than God gives
them leave ; but if He once let them loose upon a man, they
immediately devour him ; neither is there any man, but
these wicked spirits some time or other set upon him ; some
they tempt to one sin, some to another, according as they
find a man is inclined by his temper, his calling, his com
pany, or other circumstances of his life. And when once
they have got hold of a man, they never leave him until they
have destroyed him, unless God by His special grace, rescue
him out of their hands. They infect him with heresy, or
draw him into schism ; they divert him by one trick or
other from going to Church, and using the means of grace ;
they hurry him from one ill company to another, and never
suffer him to be at rest, or to have time so much as to think
one serious thought ; they lay snares and traps wheresoever
he goes, that if he happen to escape one, he may be sure to
be caught in another. Thus the poor man is haunted by
those which he never sees, till he is got among them in the
infernal pit.

But although this implacable enemy of mankind cannot
be seen by any, yet they who truly believe the Gospel, have
their eyes always upon him, so as to be aware of him.
They "are not ignorant of his devices," and therefore 2Cor. 2.11.
"resist him steadfast in the faith," by which they are "able iPet.s.9.
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." Eph* 6< l6'

There are other of these created spirits, called also
Angels and Archangels, which continue in their first estate,
most pure and holy, waiting always upon the Almighty

182 The Preference of Things Invisible and

SERM. Creator of the world, and doing whatsoever He pleaseth in
— ' — it. Some have thought that every man, or at least, every

good man, hath one of these always about him, ready to
succour and defend him. Whether that be so or no, I shall

Heb. 1. 14. not undertake to determine, but am sure, that " they are all
ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall

PS. 91. 11. be heirs of Salvation ;" that God hath given them a charge
over such, " to keep them in all their ways ; " and that they
have accordingly done so all along, as we read both in the
Old and New Testament. And having God's Word for it,
we cannot doubt but they do so still. And therefore,
although we cannot see them, we cannot but look upon
them as always with us, ready upon all occasions to protect
us, and to convey all such blessings to us, as God is pleased
of His infinite mercy to send us by their hands.

But that which gave the occasion of the Apostle's speak
ing here of our looking at the " things that are not seen,"
and which we therefore ought especially to consider, is the

[Heb. 12. place where the Holy Angels, together with " the spirits of
just men made perfect," have their usual abode and resi
dence, even Heaven ; where they live together in perfect
light, and love, and peace, and joy, and health, and happi
ness, the greatest they are capable of: where they are
always rejoicing, and singing, and praising God, and the
Lamb that sitteth upon the throne : where they see God
face to face, as clearly as it is possible for creatures to do it :
where they enjoy Him and all His Divine perfections to the
full : where they have the light of His countenance always
shining upon them, refreshing, overspreading, and filling
them with all true joy and pleasure, as much as they are
able to hold : where they converse with their ever blessed
Redeemer, and behold the glory which the Father hath
given Him : where they have all things they can possibly
desire, and are fully assured they shall have them for ever.
This is a glorious place indeed ; but it is quite out of our

i Cor. 2. 9. sight, and beyond our very imagination too : for, " as it is
written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath
there prepared for them that love Him." But though we
cannot see them, we can look up towards them with longing

Eternal, to Visible and Temporal. 183

desires, and firm hopes, through Christ, to be one day made

partakers of them ; as we may in some measure be already

by faith, as it " is the substance of things hoped for," as well Heb. n. i.

as " the evidence of things not seen." At least, we can look

at them as the great end we aim at in all our actions.

And so, be sure, all true Christians do. Whilst other men
aim no higher than at the earth, and the trifles upon it,
moiling and toiling all their life long only for a little
money, or for a little applause among their fellow-worms,
or perhaps for such pleasures as the brutes enjoy ; they who
truly believe the Gospel aim higher, the highest that their
eyes can reach, and beyond it too ; they look at the things
that are not seen, they aim at Heaven itself; all their design
is to get thither, and there to obtain the greatest riches, the
highest honours, and those substantial pleasures which are [Ps. 16.12.]
at God's right hand for evermore, that they may be made
equal to the Holy Angels, and fellow-cominoners with them [Luke 20.
in their celestial joys and honours. They " labour not for John 6. 27.
the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth to
everlasting life." They " seek the Kingdom of God and Matt. 6. 3.3.
His righteousness before all things else." They strive all
they can to " work out their Salvation with fear and trem- PHI. 2. 12 ;
bling," and " to make their calling and election sure." They 2
" press towards the mark, for the prize of the high calling Phil< 3. 14<
of God in Christ Jesus." They, with Moses, " have respect Heb. 11.26.
unto the recompense of the reward;" and so "look not at
the things which are seen, but at the things which are not
seen."

" For the things which are seen are temporal; but the
things which are not seen are eternal." This is the reason
which the Apostle here gives why they do so ; and it is such
a reason, that whosoever duly considers it, must needs be
persuaded by it to do so too ; for why should men look at
such things as are only temporal, when at the same time
things eternal lie before them, and may as soon be had, if
not much sooner than the other ? But all the things we see,
are only temporal, or of a short continuance : if they last so
long, as they seldom do, they cannot possibly last any longer
than this life, which at the longest, is but short, and at the
best uncertain : you are never certain by all your care and

184 The Preference of Things Invisible and

SERM. pains, to attain any thing you fancy in this world ; if you

LXII. - . . _ .

- have it, you are never certain to keep it so much as one
moment. And if ye should happen to attain all ye do or can
desire, and keep it too for a while, ye must certainly leave
it ere long, and perhaps to such as will never thank you for
it, but spend it faster than you ever got it ; you yourselves,
i Cor. 7. 29- be sure, will have no benefit or comfort of it : for " this I say,
brethren, the time is short : it remaineth, that both they that
have wives, be as though they had none : and they that weep,
as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though
they rejoiced not ; and they that buy, as though they possessed
not ; and they that use this world, as not abusing it : for the
fashion of this world passeth away." All that we see in this
world is in perpetual motion, and never continueth in one
stay ; and it is not long but the whole fashion of it, and all
things in it, will be dissolved, so as never to be any more :
who then would set his heart, or fix his eyes upon those
things which are seen, seeing ere long they will vanish out
of sight, and be no more seen ?

Who would not rather look at the things which are not

yet seen, considering that they are eternal, or last for ever ?

The Almighty God, the chiefest good, in whose love and

favour all our happiness consisteth, He was, and is, and is

to come, from everlasting to everlasting, God blessed for

ever. Those invisible creatures, the holy Angels, with

whom we hope to live, though they had a beginning, they

shall never have an end, but shall live for ever ; and so do

all the Saints of God that live with them. The place where

2 Cor. 5.1. they live "is a building of God, an house not made with

i Cor. 9. 25. hands eternal in the Heavens;" the "crown" that every

one there wears is " incorruptible ; " and so is the inherit-

iPet. 1.4. ance they are there possessed of, "it is incorruptible, unde-

filed, and fadeth not away." The pleasures they enjoy at

PS. 16. 12. God's right hand, are " for evermore ;" and the whole king-

[Matt. 25. dom which they are there advanced to, as it was " prepared for

them from the foundation of the world," it shall continue to

the dissolution of it, and beyond that too, when time shall be

no more. So that all who once obtain the things that are

not seen, are sure to enjoy them for ever; and so live as

happily as it is possible for creatures to live to all eternity.

Eternal, to Visible and Temporal. 185

" For the wicked shall go into everlasting punishment, but Matt.25.46.
the righteous into life eternal."

These things being considered, one would think it an easy
matter to persuade people to look at the things which are
not seen, and not at the things which are. But after all, I
fear it will be very difficult ; men's thoughts being generally
so wholly taken up with what they see and converse with
every day, that there is no room left for any thing else to
enter ; so that we find, by sad experience, it is to little pur
pose to call upon them to look at things that seem a great
way off, and out of their sight : they can make a shift perhaps
to give us the hearing, but that is all ; as for doing what they
hear, that they seldom or never trouble their heads about.
Howsoever, hoping there may be some here present who
really believe the Word of God, and are accordingly con
cerned for their future state, how they may live in the other
world as well as this, such I would advise to observe and
practise what they have now heard, as the most effectual
means whereby to live happily both here and hereafter too.

For, first, by accustoming yourselves to look at the things
which are not seen, you will learn by degrees to despise those
that are, as not worthy to be compared, nor so much as
named or thought of the same day with the other : you will
then "not love the world, nor the things which are in the Uohn2.i5.
world."

For how can he love this world, whose eyes are always in
the other, where he sees things so infinitely above all things
here below, that he cannot but look upon them as below
him to look upon ? How can he love any thing upon earth,
whose heart is in Heaven, where he beholds glory, beauty,
excellency itself in its highest perfection ? To such a one,
all things that are seen seem as they are, as nothing and
vanity ; and therefore howsoever they fall out, it is all one
to him ; he is never moved one way or other by them : he
still looks upon God as his Father, upon Christ as his Ad
vocate, upon the Holy Ghost as his Comforter, upon the
glorified Saints and Angels as his Fellow-citizens, and upon
Heaven as his Inheritance. These are the things that take
up his affections, and fill his soul with so much love, desire,
and joy, that he cannot concern himself with the little trifles

186 The Preference of Things Invisible and

SERM. of this world, any further than to get well out of them, and
- to use them so as may be most for his interest in those great
and glorious things which are not seen.

This is the way, therefore, to keep your spirits also from
sinking under any trouble or difficulty you meet with here
below ; for by looking at the things that are not seen, you
will be so taken and enamoured with them, that you will
think nothing too great to suffer, nothing too hard to do for
the attainment of them : as we see in St. Paul, when it was
told him by the Holy Ghost that bonds and afflictions waited
for him in every city ; " But none of these things," saith he,

Acts 20. 24. " move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that
I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which
I have received." And when the brethren besought him
with tears not to go up to Jerusalem, because of the troubles

ch. 21. 13. that would there befal him ; he answered roundly, " What
mean ye to weep and to break my heart ? For I am ready
not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the
Name of the Lord Jesus." This was the true Christian
spirit indeed ; but how came the Apostle by it ? By his

[2 Cor. 4. looking at things not seen. " Our light affliction," saith he,
" which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not
at the things which are seen, but at the things which are
not seen." His eye was at Heaven, and therefore he was
resolved that nothing upon earth should hinder him from
going thither : in which he did but follow the example of

Heb. 12. 2. his and our great Lord and Master, " Looking unto Jesus,
the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that
was set before Him, endured the Cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Moreover, this is the way not only to withstand, but over
come the temptations of the wrorld, the flesh, and the Devil ;
for they being all taken from things that are seen, he that
looks only at the things that are not seen, can never be

2 Cor. s. 7. taken with them. He " walking by faith, and not by sight,"
lives out of their reach, and hath the power of God Himself

i John 5. 4. engaged to overcome and keep them under. " For this is
the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

[Luke i.e.] This is the way also to " walk in all the Commandments

Eternal, to Visible and Temporal. 187

and Ordinances of the Lord blameless," and so in the narrow
path that leads to life ; for he that is always looking upon
Almighty God as the Governor of the world and of all
things in it, cannot but make it his constant care and study
in all things to obey and please Him ; and having the
place he is going to always in his eye, will walk directly
to it, whilst others ramble about, going they know not
whither.

This is the way too whereby we may go, when we will,
from earth to Heaven, and see, as St. John did, what they
are doing there ; how they worship and fall down before the
Eternal God, and the Lamb that sitteth upon the throne.
How Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Elias, and all
that ever lived and died in the true faith and fear of God,
how they employ arid recreate themselves together ; how
happily they live ; how cheerfully they look ; how pleasantly
they sing their Hallelujahs ; and how they join with the
Angels and Archangels, in crying to one another, " Holy,
Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts, Heaven and earth is full
of Thy glory. Glory be to Thee, O Lord, most high." Thus
all who rightly look at the things which are not seen, even
while they are upon earth, " They have their conversation Phil. 3. 20.
in Heaven ; from whence also they look for the Saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ."

This also is the way to "be meet to be partakers of the Col. 1. 12.
inheritance of the Saints in light." They who, while they
are in this world, look only at the things which are seen ;
when they go into the other, if they should be admitted into
Heaven, they could know nobody there, nor what they are
doing, having never seen any such thing before ; and so
would be altogether unfit for that holy society, and incapable
of their celestial joys : whereas they who have accustomed
themselves to look at the things which are not seen, when they
go to Heaven, neither the place, nor the company, nor the
employment, will seem strange to them ; for they had been
used to it before, and had their eye all along upon it. And
therefore they will no sooner come into that blessed assembly,
but they will immediately strike up with them in singing
forth the praises of the Most High God.

188 The Preference of Things Invisible and

SERM. Lastly, this is the way to use the means of grace, so as

— really to obtain grace by them. Neither can it be done any

other way : he that looks only at the things which are seen,
can never pray to any purpose ; for he doth not see Him he
prays to ; he cannot hear the Word of God as such, in that
he doth not look upon Him whose word it is. And in the
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, though he may eat the
bread and drink the wine which he doth see, he cannot
possibly receive the body and blood of Christ ; for they are
not seen : whereas, they who look at the things which are
not seen, they find and feel wonderful life, and vigour, and
efficacy in these holy institutions : all the while they are
upon their knees, their eyes and their hearts are wholly
upon God, to whom they pray, and upon their Advocate at
His right hand, in whose Name they do it : all the while
they are singing psalms, or hymns, or spiritual songs, they
join with all the invisible host of Heaven in praising and
glorifying their Almighty Creator, and most merciful Re
deemer: all the while they are hearing the Word of God
read or expounded to them, though they see only a man
i Thess. 2. speaking, they " receive it not as the word of man, but as it
is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh in
them who thus believe." And when they are at our Lord's
table, looking not at the bread and wine, or any thing
else they see, but only at Christ Whom they do not see,
they verily and indeed receive His most blessed body
and blood, to preserve both their souls and bodies to
eternal life.

Wherefore by our thus using the means of grace, we may
grow, as in all other, so particularly in this grace, of looking
always at the things which are not seen, which will excite
and quicken all other graces in us, and put us upon the
constant exercise of them ; for if we go, as we ought, every
day to the house of God, where we have nothing to do with
any thing that is seen, but only with what is not seen, and
accordingly look at the things which are not seen there, we
shall learn by degrees to do so every where else too ; and
then we shall live like Christians indeed : for wheresoever
we are, our thoughts will be always running upon God as

Eternal, to Visible and Temporal. 189

present with us, and upon our Saviour as interceding for us ;
our hearts will be always in Heaven, where our treasure is ;
and we shall never be easy in our minds, but whilst we are
doing something in order to our getting to it : that when we
leave all these things which we now see, we may go to those
which we do not yet see, but hope for, through the merits of
the Eternal Son of God ; to whom, with the Father and the
Holy Ghost, be glory for ever.

SERMON LXIIL

OF TRUST IN GOD.

PSALM ix. 10.

And they that know Thy Name will put their trust in Thee ;
for Thou, Lord, hast never failed them that seek Thee.

SERM. As all men desire to live happily in the world, there are
Lxm- none but may do so if they will, notwithstanding all the
crosses and troubles they meet with in it ; for our happiness
doth not depend upon any thing without us, but is seated
wholly in our own breasts, where nobody can deprive us of
it, unless we ourselves consent. If all be right there, and
we continue steadfastly resolved to keep it so, nothing that
falls out will be able to discompose or move us. Though
storms and tempests should arise and beat upon us, we shall
still be serene and calm within ; and so as happy as we can
expect to be in this mortal and imperfect state.

But this happy temper of mind there are but few attain
to in this life, nor any without great study and application;
for it is not to be gotten from any thing, or all things upon
earth, but must be fetched from Heaven, if we ever have it ;
for we find by our own experience that our souls are of that
nature, that nothing which God hath made can satisfy or
terminate our desires ; but how much soever wre have, our
desires still run on and on, ad infinitum, and so can never
rest till they come to an infinite good ; such as none is but
God. But He is such an infinite good, that in Him we
have all, and more than we can possibly desire. And there
fore if our souls be once fixed on Him, there they rest as in

Of Trust in God. 191

their proper centre, though all things else that are about us
be in perpetual motion.

This our reason itself, assisted by Divine Revelation (with
out which it is but a blind guide), may easily direct us to ;
as I doubt not but some here present have already found.
Howsoever, it being a subject wherein we are all so nearly
concerned, they who are so wise as to mind their own real
interest, cannot but take all occasions to exercise their
thoughts upon it. And it will be very seasonable to do it
now : for which purpose, therefore, I have chosen these
words, where the royal Prophet having been speaking of
God's supreme authority over the world, and of the right
eous judgment which He executeth in it, he on a sudden
turns his discourse, and applies himself immediately to Him,
saying, " And they that know Thy Name will put their trust
in Thee : for Thou, Lord, hast never failed them that seek
Thee."

Where we may observe, first, the qualification requisite
to the fixing our minds upon God, even the knowledge of
His Name : then the necessary tendency of such a qualifi
cation, " They that know Thy Name will put their trust in
Thee." And lastly, the reason of it, " For Thou, Lord, hast
never failed them that seek Thee." For the truth of all
which he appeals to God Himself, the God of truth, direct
ing what he saith to Him, the better to confirm us in the
belief of it.

First therefore, it is here supposed, that although it be
easy to talk of trusting in God, there are but few that do
it ; none but they who know His Name ; but all such will
certainly do it. And to understand who they are that are
thus qualified for it, we must consider what is here meant
by His Name ; and what by knowing it : neither of which
questions can be truly resolved any other way, than from
the Holy Scriptures; forasmuch as we can have no right
knowledge of God, not so much as to know what it is to
know Him, but from the revelations that He hath there
made of Himself to us ; as appears but too plainly from all
those who never had the Holy Scriptures made known to
them : though they might perhaps have some general notions
and traditions among them about that invisible Being which

192 Of Trust in God.

SERM. we call God, and they by some name or other in their re-

LX1II

— '— spective languages ; yet they were so weak, imperfect, and
confused, that they could not be properly said to know any
thing at all of Him, neither what He is, nor what He doth
in the world. The old Greeks and Romans, I confess, before
our Saviour's birth, spoke and wrote a little more refinedly
of Him ; but it was after the Israelites or Jews had been a
long time dispersed among them, and had given them some
hints of what was revealed to them, which the other endea
voured to improve as well as they could, but to little or no
purpose, notwithstanding all their art and learning. Before
that time, we do not find that either they or any other, had
any knowledge of the. true God ; nor could have any but
from Himself, Who therefore was pleased to reveal and make
Himself known, first to His Own people, and by them to
other ; which He need not have done, if He could have been
known as well without it.

But now we are fully assured, how the knowledge of God
came into the world. It was first sent, and then brought into

Matt.n.27. it by His Son ; Who therefore saith, " No man knoweth the
Son but the Father : neither knoweth any man the Father,
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal

John i. is. Him." And, " no man hath seen God at any time ; the
only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He

iPet. 1.11. hath declared Him." He hath declared or revealed Him
all along from the beginning of the world by His Spirit in

2 Pet. 1.21. the Prophets, who therefore "spake, as they were moved,

2 Tim. 3. 16. by the Holy Ghost." Thus "all Scripture is given by in
spiration of God : " and there it is that He hath revealed
Himself, and whatsoever is necessary for us to know con
cerning His Holy Name.

In these Holy Writings therefore we find the word, ' Name,'
used for person, as the Name of God for God Himself.
But in reference to Him, there seems to be a particular
reason for it, even because it is by His Name that He hath
manifested Himself, and signified His pleasure, how He
would have us to think of Him. When Moses desired to

Exod.3.i4. know His Name, He said, " I AM THAT I AM. And,
thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath
sent me unto you." He doth not say, I AM this or that,

Of Trust in God. 193

but I AM in general, and I AM what I AM, or I will be
what I will be. Thus He calls Himself, when He speaks
of Himself in the first person : but when we speak of Him,
He would have us call Him by a name of the same root and
sense, in the third person, Jehovah, He is. We following
the Greek, translate it THE LORD, in great letters ; and
wheresoever it is so written, the original word is Jehovah.
This He calls His own Name ; and it is His alone. It is isa. 42. s.
proper and peculiar to Him ; so that nothing ever was, or Ps' 83' 18'
can be truly called so, but He. But He is called by it all
along in the Old Testament, after He had finished the
creation, and so caused all things to be, though not before.
Particularly in my text, the word which we translate LORD,
in the original is JEHOVAH.

This therefore being the great Name whereby it hath
pleased the Almighty Creator of the world to make Himself
known to mankind, by considering the proper signification
of this Name, together with what He hath elsewhere said of
Himself in Holy Writ for the clearer explication of it to us,
we may truly know Him, or, as it is here expressed, His
Name, so as to be able to form as high and clear perceptions
of Him in our minds, as our present state is capable of; for
hereby we are given to understand, that He is not any
limited or particular Being, as all other things are ; but that
He simply is Essence or Being itself in general, beyond
which it is impossible for any thought to reach. That He
therefore existeth in and of Himself, and gives both essence
and existence to all and every thing else that is. That " He Rev. i. 4.
was, and is, and is to come," as St. John interprets His great
Name in respect of us. But in Himself, He always is from
everlasting to everlasting the same, without any variable
ness, or shadow of change. That He is not compounded of
several parts, powers, properties or perfections ; but abso
lutely is one pure, simple, undivided, indivisible Being. That
all the perfections or properties therefore which are attri
buted to Him, as wisdom, power, goodness, &c. as they are
in Him, are neither distinguished from one another, nor
from Him in whom they are said to be, but only in our
finite apprehensions of one and the same infinite perfection.
That the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, " these Three are i John 5. 7.

194 Of Trust in God.

SERM. One ;" that is, as He Himself elsewhere saith, One Jehovah,
Deut 6 ^ one Essence or Substance ; or, as we render it, " one Lord."
Acts 17. 28. That " it is in Him we live, and move, and have our being."
That, whatsoever lives, lives in Him; whatsoever moves,
moves in Him ; and whatsoever is, is or subsists in Him.
That He is therefore every where, knows every thing, and
doth whatsoever He will, only by willing it should be done.
That as He thus made the world only by speaking, or ex
pressing His will that it should be, so He continues to
preserve and govern all and every thing that is in it. That
not so much as a sparrow can fall to the ground without
Him, but the very hairs of our heads, and all the minutest
things that are, as they are in Him, so they are numbered
PS. 93. i ; and ordered by Him. That He is therefore the Lord of
Sabaoth, the Being of beings, the Cause of all causes, that
PS. 135, 6. reigneth over the whole world, and " doth whatsoever He
pleaseth in Heaven and in earth, in the seas, and all deep
places."

All this we are certain is true of Almighty God ; for we
have it from Himself, who only knows Himself, and hath
been pleased thus to reveal Himself to us, that we may
know Him. But we must not think that all, who barely
know what He hath thus said of Himself, are in the number
of those who are here said to know His Name ; for a man
may know all this to be true, so as to have high speculations
of God, and be able to discourse with great elegancy as well
as propriety of speech concerning Him, and yet not have
any right knowledge of Him ; for that is not like the know
ledge of other things which swims only in the brain, but
sinks down into the heart, and overspreads it with a quick
sense of His Divine glory and goodness, which none are
qualified for, but they whose hearts are cleansed from all
impure and corrupt affections, according to that of our
Matt. s. 8. blessed Saviour, " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God." Of all other, that of the Prophet is verified,
isa. 6. 9 ; that, " by hearing they shall hear, and shall not understand ;

Matt.13.14. , / , „

and seeing, they shall see, and shall not perceive ; because
their hearts are waxed gross," and so not capable of being
affected with what they hear and know. Whereas they
whose hearts are pure and holy, and so in some measure

Of Trust in God. 195

according to their capacities like to Him, they understand
what is said of God, so as to be touched to the quick with it.
They feel His power, they taste His goodness, they see His
glory shining in themselves. Their whole souls are pos
sessed with such a sight and sense of Him, that they are all
in a flame with love to Him, and wholly incline to serve,
honour and obey Him in all that He commands.

Especially they who thus " know His Name will put
their trust in Him," as He Himself here saith by His royal
Prophet. They will put their trust in Him; that is, they
will not fear any creature in the world, nor any thing that
may happen in it ; but keeping their hearts always fixed
upon the Lord, the Almighty God, as governing the world
and disposing of all things in it, they rest, as the Word sig
nifies, safe and secure in Him, not doubting, but firmly
believing that He will preserve them from evil, and do that
which is really the best for them. " In God have I put my PS. 56. 11.
trust," saith David, " I will not be afraid what man can do
unto me." And "a good man," saith he, "shall not be PS. 112. 7.
afraid of evil tidings. His heart is fixed, trusting in the
Lord."

But they who truly know Almighty God their Maker,
being conscious likewise to themselves that they have
offended Him, by not observing the laws, nor doing the
work He sent them into the world about for the setting
forth His glory in it, and so not answering His end in
making them, how can they ever hope for any favour from
Him? They have rather just cause every moment to fear
that He will dash them to pieces, as a potter doth a vessel
that will not serve to the use for which he made it. It is
true, they have so, if they look upon Him only as their
Maker.

But they who know His Name, according to the revela
tions that He hath given us, they know that " He so loved John 3. 16.
the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that who
soever believeth in Him should not perish, but have ever
lasting life;" that " in the fulness of time, this His only [Gal. 4. 4;
Son" was for that purpose " born of a woman, and so was Jc
made flesh," or took upon Him the form or nature of man,

196 Of Trust in God.

SERM. by the same inconceivable power whereby He had before
— '— made the worlds. That being thus made man, He as such

i John 2. 2. died for the sins or offences of mankind, so as to " be a pro
pitiation for the sins of the whole world," and therefore for

Rom. 4. 25. all, from the beginning to the end of it. That as " He was
delivered for our offences, He was raised again for our justi
fication;" and for that end went up to Heaven, where He
hath been ever since, and is now in our nature continually
appearing in the presence of God, as our Mediator and
Advocate, making intercession for all that ever did, or shall
believe in Him, and accordingly apply themselves unto Him
for it. And that for His sake therefore, and upon His
Mediation, grounded upon the infinite merits of His death,
it hath pleased God to promise His grace and favour again
to mankind in all ages, together with all sorts of blessings
that are any way needful to make them holy and happy
for ever.

Now they who know the Name of God, knowing and
believing all this to be true upon His Word, as they cannot
but repent that they have ever offended Him ; so notwith
standing their offences, they cannot but put their trust in
Him, forasmuch as they have His own word and promise
for it that He will receive them into His grace and favour ;
especially knowing and considering withal, that the death
which His Son suffered for their offences, and in their stead,
was of much greater worth and value in His sight, and so
more satisfactory to Him, than all theirs could ever have
been ; for theirs altogether, could have been no more than
the death of so many finite persons ; whereas His was the
death of a person that is infinite. Whereby also He hath
brought more glory to God, than all mankind could ever
have done if they had continued in their first state, and had
always done the work which He for that purpose had set
them. Because hereby two of His all-glorious perfections
shine forth most gloriously in the world, which otherwise
could never have been seen ; even His grace and His truth :

John 1. 17. " For the Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ." His infinite wisdom, power and
goodness, were manifested in His Creation of the world, and

Of Trust in God. 197

in His creatures observing the laws which He hath pre
scribed to them ; but His grace and truth appear only in
His Redemption of man by Jesus Christ.

But in that they both appear most illustriously. His
grace, in the gracious promises He hath made; and His
truth, in His faithful performance of them. And that
is the reason wherefore the Gospel so frequently and so
strictly requires us to believe in Christ, or, as it is expressed
in the Old Testament, to trust in God, as ever we hope to
be saved ; because otherwise we call His truth into question,
we make God a liar, and so deny Him the glory which is
due unto His Name for it.

But how diffident soever other people may be, be sure
they who know His Name, as it was proclaimed by Himself,
saying, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, Exod. 34. 6.
long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth," they
must needs believe whatsoever He hath said or promised,
and accordingly trust on Him ; otherwise they would act
contrary to their own knowledge. And if any fears or
doubts happen to arise in their minds, from the remem
brance of their former sins or present infirmities, they
knowing who is the Mediator between God and them,
" even the man Christ Jesus," they lift up their hearts to [i Tim. 2.
Him, as standing at the right hand of God, and there 5'
making atonement and reconciliation for them, by virtue of
that great propitiatory sacrifice which He once offered for
them, by dying in their stead ; by which means, they live
with a constant dependence and trust on God, in the midst
of all the changes and chances of this mortal life. "Though isa. so. 10.
they walk in darkness, and have no light, they trust in the
Name of the Lord, and stay upon their God." They rest
themselves, as the word may be rendered, upon Him, not as
He is their Maker only, but as He is their Saviour and their
God ; and therefore can never be moved, being supported
by the same Almighty hand which upholds the whole world,
and ordereth all things in it.

There is still another reason to be given why they who
know the Name of the Lord, " will put their trust in Him ; "
that which the Psalmist here gives, by the direction of God
Himself, saying, " For Thou, Lord, hast never failed them

198 Of Trust in God.

SERM. that seek Thee." If He never did fail them that seek Him,
M^fa"'. we may be confident He never will. He being " Jehovah,
the Lord that changeth not." But that He never did, is
here affirmed by God Himself, and hath been found true by
the constant experience of all that ever sought Him. And
therefore they who know His Name, must needs put their
trust in Him, as being fully assured that He will never fail
them, when they seek Him : as they, be sure, always do.

But for our better understanding this, it will be necessary
to consider, what is here meant by seeking the Lord ; and
then in what sense it is here said, that He never failed them
that do so.

As for the first, we may observe, that when it pleased the
Eternal God to make the world, and among other creatures,
mankind upon earth, He made nothing to make them happy,
intending Himself alone and His own perfections should be
the object of man's felicity, as well as of the Holy Angels:
and for that purpose, having made them capable of enjoying
His Divine goodness, He actually stated them in it, so as
that they might enjoy as much as they could hold of it, and
so be as happy as it was possible for them to be. And when
we, by our unhappy fall, had lost this our interest in Him,
He, through the Mediation of His only-begotten Son, was
graciously pleased to restore us to a capacity of regaining it,
and to put us into such a way for it, that none of us can miss
of it, but by our own default : which they who know His
Name being fully assured of upon His Own word, and hav
ing their eyes opened to see where their real interest lies,
and how they may recover it, cannot but earnestly desire to
be reinstated in Him, the chiefest good, that they may have
Him again to be their God, and so may live under His im
mediate care and protection, in His special love and favour,
and under the light of His countenance shining upon them.
This they desire, not as they do other things, but above all
things in the world besides. As we see in David, saying,
PS. 73. 24. " Whom have I Heaven but Thee ? and there is none upon
earth, that I desire in comparison of Thee."

Now this holy desire being thus kindled, as it always is,
in the hearts of those who know God, it excites and puts
them upon doing all they can to recover their interest in

Of Trust in God. 199

Him, that they may have His wisdom again to direct them,
His power to defend them, His grace and Holy Spirit to
sanctify and govern both their souls and bodies, and His
blessing upon all they have or do. And this is that which
in His Holy Oracles, is called, " Seeking the Lord ; seeking HOS. 5. is;
His face," or favour ; " seeking Him with all their hearts, Deut°4'. 29?
and with all their souls;" "and with their whole desire," ^hron> 15<
"diligently." This is to seek the Lord indeed, when our ^J^1^ 6
hearts are wholly set upon Him, our desires carried after
Him, and our hopes all placed in Him, so that we expect
nothing but from Him, and therefore use all possible means
to reconcile ourselves to Him, that we may receive from
Him, who alone can give us whatsoever we desire, expect,
or hope for.

But they who thus would seek the Lord God Omnipotent,
so as to find Him gracious and merciful to them, must first
leave their sins, and turn to Him. According to that of the
Prophet, "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call isa.55.6,7.
ye upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him
return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and
to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." And, " Thus Zech. i. 3.
saith the Lord of Hosts, Turn ye unto Me, saith the Lord of
Hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts."

For this purpose therefore, they must search into their
hearts, and look back upon their lives, and consider wherein
they have transgressed His righteous laws, and resolve by
His assistance to do so no more. They must avoid whatsoever
is offensive to His Divine Majesty, or dishonourable to His
glorious Name, for that only reason, because it is so. They
must " abstain from all appearance of evil," as well as from [i Thess. 5.
that which plainly appears to be so, for fear of incurring His ^
displeasure. They must set themselves in good earnest upon
the work He sent them into the world about, even to serve
and glorify Him that sent them hither. They must walk
with Zacharias and Elizabeth, " in all the Commandments Luke i. 6.
and Ordinances of the Lord blameless." They must love
Him with all their hearts, and " whether they eat or drink, i Cor. w.
or whatsoever they do, they must do all to the glory of God."
In short, they must always do those things that please Him ; John s. 29.

200 Of Trust in God.

SERM. which that they may, whatsoever " they do in word or deed,
Col. 3. 17. tneJ must do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving

thanks to God and the Father by Him."

John 14. 6. For after all, He only is " the Way, the Truth, and the Life,
Heb. 7. 25. no man cometh to the Father but by Him." But "He is
able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by
Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them."
[Heb. 9. For them, though not for others, He is always appearing in
the presence of God, and interceding with Him to accept
of them, and of what they do, upon the account of what He
Himself hath done and suffered for them. By which means,
all the good works they do, although they come short of
what the Law requires, yet they are pleasing and acceptable
i Pet. 2. 5. to God through Jesus Christ ; who being made a propitiation
for the sins of the whole world, all who thus seek God by
Him, are sure to find Him propitious to them ; so perfectly
reconciled, as to take them into His own particular care, and
to give them all things necessary both for life and godliness.
They who have thus prepared themselves to seek the Lord,
can never seek Him in vain; for He is always at hand,
ready to assist, protect, and supply them with whatsoever
they want, upon their applying themselves to Him for it, by
Esther 5. 3, prayer and supplication, or petition, which in the holy lan-
EzraVe. guage is usually expressed by seeking. Thus Daniel "set
>an. 9. a. jjjg face un£O ^]ie ;Lorc[ God, to seek by prayer and supplica
tion." And when the people had occasion and an heart to
2Chron. 11. seek the Lord, they went up to the Temple at Jerusalem to
pray unto Him there, as they had done before at the Taber-
Exod. 33. 7. nacle ; for it is said, that when Moses had set it up, " Every
one which sought the Lord, went out unto the Tabernacle of
the congregation, which was without the camp." They went
thither to seek the Lord, by offering up their prayers toge
ther with their sacrifices to Him residing there, and pre-
sentiating Himself in a peculiar manner, from between the
wings of the Cherubim over the mercy-seat or throne of
grace. This way of meeting with Almighty God, and seeking
Him upon any occasion, continued all along not only in the
Tabernacle, but Temple too, where the Ark with the mercy-
seat over it was set in the most holy place, so called because
that was there.

Of Trust in God. 201

We have no such way now ; but we have one which in all
respects is as good, and in some better; for He doth not
manifest His special presence now in any one particular
place only, as He did then ; but in all places where any that
know His Name meet together in it ; we may be confident
of it; for we have it from His Own mouth, saying, "Again, Matt.is.i9,
I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as
touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of My Father which is in Heaven. For where two or
three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the
inidst of them." Where we may take notice, that this pro
mise is made only to public congregations or assemblies of
His people met together in His Name, and to such only as
agree together beforehand, what to ask of Him : and there
fore not to those where the people know not what the mi
nister will ask, nor perhaps he himself, until he hath asked
it. But to such as this, where we all knew before, and
agreed that such and such things should be prayed for, we
have His Own word for it, that what we have thus agreed
to ask, shall be granted us : and so we have too, that He is
here in the midst of us ; for if He be so where but two or
three, the least number that can be, much more where so
many are gathered together in His Name, as we now are :
and therefore may and ought to be as certain that He is now
in the midst of us, as that we ourselves are here ; and that
we may seek Him by prayer and supplication in this place,
as effectually as His ancient people did before the mercy-
seat. "Let us therefore," as the Apostle speaks, " come Heb. 4. 16.
boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need."

But that we may be sure to find the favour we seek God
for, there are three things especially to be observed. First,
that we ask it only in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ ;
for we have no ground to expect any thing from Him but
what He hath promised to us, and according as He hath
promised it : but He hath nowhere promised to give us
what we ask in any other name, but only in the Name of
Christ; for so runs the promise, " If ye shall ask any thing johnH.u.
in My Name, I will do it;" and, "Verily, verily, I say ch. IG. 23.
unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name,

202 Of Trust in God.

SERM. He will give it you." It must still be in His Name ; " For

LXIII

2" — there is none other name under Heaven given among men

whereby we must be saved," nor whereby we can receive any

John 1.17. mercy at the hands of God ; "For the Law was given by
Moses, but grace arid truth came by Jesus Christ." It was
merited for us only by His death, and is conferred upon us
only by His Mediation. Hence it is, that His faithful people
under the Law offered up their daily prayers while the sacri
fice and incense were burning upon their respective altars,
typifying His death and intercession ; which was in effect
praying in His Name, as Daniel expressly did, when He

Dan. 9. 17. prayed to God to hear him for the " Lord's sake," which
could be no other but the Lord Christ. And therefore,

John 16. 24. when our Lord saith to His Disciples, "Hitherto have ye
asked nothing in My Name," it is not to be so understood,
as if they had not before prayed in the Name of Christ, as
the promised Messiah ; but they had not yet prayed in the
Name of Jesus, in His Name, as He was the Christ that was
promised, which we must now do, as ever we desire to be
heard. In all the prayers that we make to the Almighty
Creator and Governor of the world, we must look up to
Jesus, the only Mediator between Him arid us, desiring
nothing but in His Name, for His sake, and upon the
account of His death, whereby He purchased all manner
of blessings and favours for us. Otherwise, we have no
reason to think that He should hear such sinful creatures as
we are ; whereas if we do that, we have His Own word for
it, that we shall have whatsoever we ask.

But then, in the next place, we must not expect that God
should give us what we ask, immediately from Himself, or
by altering the course of nature, but in the use of such ordi
nary means as He hath appointed for it : as if we pray that

[2 Cor. 12. " His grace may be always sufficient for us," we must exer
cise ourselves continually in those which we call the means
of grace. If we want and desire the necessaries of this life
from Him, we must follow some such particular calling or
employment, which by His blessing may procure them for
us. If we be in any great difficulty or trouble, and pray to
be delivered from it, we must do what we lawfully can our
selves for it ; I say, lawfully ; for he that takes an unlawful

Of Trust in God. 203

course to get out of any trouble, will but sink himself deeper
into it ; if he doth not fall into a greater, as it often happens.
Be sure it is impossible to get good by doing ill ; we may
flatter ourselves at present with the thoughts of it, but we
shall soon see our mistake, especially if we pretend to seek
help of God, and yet go out of His way to find it : this is not
seeking, but provoking God : it is not praying, but mocking
Him ; which He will never endure, but avenge most severely
one time or other. But if we ask any thing sincerely, ear
nestly, and incessantly of God, in the Name of Christ, and
use all such means, and such only as are agreeable to His
revealed Will for it, we need not, or rather we ought not to
doubt but that He will give it us at such time, and so far as
He sees it to be good for us.

For that is the last thing to be observed in all our prayers,
that we trust in God for the answer of them. Though we
must use the means, we must use them only as means,
not depending at all upon them, but only upon Him, who
alone can make them effectual ; but we must trust on Him prov. 3. 5.
with all our hearts. And for that purpose must lay aside
that mischievous custom which is crept in I know not how,
among all sorts of Christians, of putting up many prayers to
God, without ever minding afterwards whether He answer
them or no : for that is the way never to have them answered
indeed. But we, when we have directed our prayers to God, Ps. 5. 3.
must look up, as David did, expecting the blessing we prayed
for, according to His promise; for He having promised to
give us what we ask in His Son's Name, unless we do Him
so much right as to take His Word, and believe that He
will make it good, we lose our interest in His promise, and
make ourselves incapable of having it performed to us.
Therefore our Lord makes this a necessary condition in all
our prayers, saying, " All things whatsoever we shall ask in Matt. 21. 22,
prayer, believing, ye shall receive ;" and, "therefore I say Mark 11.24.
unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them ; " which being
the words of Him, by Whom alone our prayers are heard,
we cannot but from thence conclude, that as ever we expect
that our prayers should be heard by Him, we must always
pray in faith, nothing wavering or doubting, but firmly James 1.6.

204 Of Trust in God.

SERM. believing that God, according to His Word, will give us
— what we ask in His Name, if it be really good for us. And
that if He doth not give it us, it is because He knows it is
better for us to be without it, than to have it ; which if we
had known as well as He, we should not have prayed Him
to give us it, but rather not to give us it. And so He an
swers our prayers in general, by not giving us that particular

[Rom. 12. thing we prayed for ; but in that case too, if we " continue
instant in prayer," according to His Will, He never fails to
give us something that is better for us in lieu of it.

For He never fails them that seek Him. This is the
reason which He Himself by His Prophet David here gives,
why they who know His Name, put their trust in Him ; and
therefore it must needs hold good, as God Himself is true

Tit. i. 2. an(j "cannot lie." For He having made so many promises
to all those who diligently seek Him, He hath engaged His
truth for the performance of them : His truth, that Divine
perfection that is so particularly celebrated all the Bible
over ; where there is nothing more frequently spoken of
than His mercy and His truth ; His mercy in making, and
His truth in fulfilling His promises to us ; and all, that we
might have the firmest ground that can be to believe and
trust in Him. Which therefore also is made the great
duty, upon which all our hopes and expectations from Him
depend, both for this life and the next. Insomuch that

[Ps.32.io.] according as our trust is in Him, so is His mercy to us.

PS. 37. 40; And jje doth not only save them who trust on Him, but He

Jer. 39. 18. J

therefore saves them, because they do so. Well then might
PS. 2. 12. the Psalmist say, " Blessed are all they that put their trust
in Him."

Thus blessed are all they who know His Name; they

constantly put their trust in Him, and as constantly find,

that He never fails them who thus seek Him. He never

fails to give them the blessing they seek Him for, and more,

yea, all they can desire ; we may be confident of it, for we

have His Own word, and the constant experience of all His

PS. 34. 4. faithful people for it. " I sought the Lord," saith David,

" and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."

2Chron. 14. " We have sought the Lord our God," saith king Asa, " we

have sought Him, and He hath given us rest on every side."

Of Trust in God. 205

The same might be said of all that ever sought Him aright ;
they always found Him true and faithful to His word, gra
cious and liberal to them beyond either their deserts or
desires, always making all things work together for their [Rom. 8.
good, and sometimes altering the very course of secondary
causes for it ; as we find it recorded in the Holy Scriptures.
So happy are all they who seek Him with all their hearts,
and live with a steadfast dependance upon Him ; whatsoever
other people may imagine ; such, I mean, as either do not
know Him, or else do not seek Him as they ought.

Now from these things thus plainly delivered, we may
first observe, how necessary it is for all men to be fully in
structed in the knowledge of the true God, the Maker of the
world, and Saviour of mankind ; for it is their ignorance of
Him, that makes them slight His promises, as well as trans
gress His laws. Did we all but know God according as He
hath manifested Himself unto us, as we should never dare to
offend Him, we should put our whole trust and confidence
on Him, so as to fear nothing in the world but offending Ver. 2. par.
Him.

From hence we may also learn, how much it concerns us
to beware of those who bring in damnable heresies, "denying [2Pet..2.i.]
the Lord that bought them," and Him that made them too,
so as not to own Him any further than their own natural
reason and philosophy, that is, their pride and conceit, seems
to represent Him to them. To such, all that I have now
said, will seem groundless and insipid, or at the best, like
their natural philosophy, mere guess and conjecture, although
it be taken out of God's Own Word ; yea, for that very rea
son, because it is so. These can never know God aright,
and then it is no wonder they neither love Him, nor fear
Him, nor serve Him, nor worship Him, nor believe nor
trust in Him, as they ought ; but after all their fine talk and
fair pretences, live as without God in the world. But [Eph. 2.
although they will not seek Him, it is not long but they will 12'^
find, there is a God that judgeth the world.

None here present can take this as spoken of themselves.
For your presence here commands me in charity to believe
that you all desire to seek God, and came hither for that
very end. That being the only end of our meeting together

206 Of Trust in God.

SERM. at this time and place. And I heartily wish we could all

LXIIL for the future take all occasions we can get of doing it : and
of doing it so, as He Himself hath prescribed in His Holy
Word. We should then experience the truth of what we
have now heard, even, that He never fails them who seek
Him : and how happily should we then live, in the midst of
this troublesome and naughty world ! Whilst others are

[Ps.112.7.] tossed to and fro, as in a tempestuous ocean, our hearts will
be always fixed, trusting in the Lord. When His judgments
are in the world, we need not fear ; for the Lord of Hosts is

[Ps.46.ii.] with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. For He that
governs the world hath promised to take care of them that
seek Him. And therefore whatsoever happens, they may
rest fully satisfied in their minds, that no real evil shall befal
them, nothing but what some way or other shall do them
good. And although they cannot always see it here, they
shall hereafter ; when He shall unveil Himself, and lay
open His wonderful works before them, that they may see
how, by the power of His Word, all things concurred to the
setting forth His glory, in fulfilling the promises He hath
made. Then we shall clearly see what infinite cause we have
to admire and praise His infinite love, and goodness, and
truth, and mercy to us in Jesus Christ, that Lamb of God
which was once slain to take away the sins of the world, and
by virtue of the blood which He then shed, is now and
always making atonement and intercession for all that come
unto God by Him. And then we shall join with Angels,
and Archangels, and with all the company of Heaven, in
singing forth the praises of the Most High God, according

[Rev.5.i3.] as St. John heard them, saying, " Blessing, and honour, and
glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne,
and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Amen, Amen.

SERMON LXIV.

THE NATURE AND NECESSITY OF RESTITUTION.

LUKE xix. 8.

And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord,
the half of my goods I give to the poor ; and if I have taken
any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him
four -fold.

REPENTANCE being so absolutely necessary to Salvation,
that no man can be saved without it, it hath pleased God in
His Holy Word, not only to call upon us and command us
to repent, but He hath given us likewise several examples
of it, that so understanding how the Saints of old set upon
this great work, we may the better know how to do it too.
But one of the most remarkable instances that we have of
this kind, either in the Old or New Testament, is that of
Zaccheus, who having lived many years in a great and noto
rious sin, and coming afterwards, upon the sight of Christ,
to a sight and sense of his sin too, he immediately became so
true a penitent, so sincere a convert, that his example is left
upon record for all generations to know and imitate.

To understand the story aright, it will be necessary to
consider the several circumstances of it. For which, we
must know, that in the several countries and places belong
ing to the Roman emperor, he had a certain toll, tribute, or
custom paid him, which was let out at a certain rate to some
that lived thereabouts, which were therefore called, reXwva/,
the farmers or purchasers of the customs, as the word signi-
fies. Omnes qui quid a fiseo conducunt, recte appellantur *• ^P
publicani. leg. i.]'

208 The Nature and Necessity of Restitution.

SERM. These employed others under them to collect the customs,

LXIV

- who were therefore called by the Romans, " Portitores,"
because they went to the ports and other places to gather
and receive them, and then to bring them to the farmers,
which used to sit at a place appointed for the receipt of

Matt. 9. 9. them, therefore called rsXuv/ov, ' the receipt of custom,' where
our Lord found St. Matthew sitting, when He called him
to Him. Now they who thus farmed the customs, or any
public revenues, were therefore called " Publicani," by the
Romans ; as we learn from Ulpian, the old Roman lawyer,

L. 12, &c., and the famous civilian : Publicani dicuntur, qui publica

cams^11 vectigalia habent conducta. ' They,' saith he, ' are called
publicans, who have the public revenues farmed out to
them.' Which I therefore mention, that ye may know who
or what these publicans were, which you read of so often in
the New Testament ; for they were not, as they are com
monly thought to be, such as gathered the customs them
selves, but such as hired them at a certain rate, which they
paid yearly into the exchequer, or by order from thence.
And usually many joined together in taking all the public
revenues in such a place, and are therefore in the civil law
called Socii vectigalium, l the partners or companions of the
customs,' which they managed either jointly or separately, as
they could agree among themselves. And that is the reason
that you often meet with many of them together, as Matt. 9.
10; Luke 3. 12; 15. 1., because they that managed the busi
ness jointly, or in common, were usually together.

Sometimes one man might take all the customs that
should grow due in such a place, especially if the place was
but small, and he could give such security as the public liked
of; and he would either take care of the whole himself, or else
let either all or some part to others under him, and therefore
was called Ag^mXw^g, 'chief among the publicans;' such a

ver. 2. one there was at Jericho, called Zaccheus, and he was "rich,"
as it is here said. And he must needs be rich, who could
farm so considerable a part of the public revenues, and give
such security as would be required of him in that case.

Now this rich publican, having heard much of the fame of
Jesus, and understanding that He was to pass through
Jericho, in His way to Jerusalem, he had a great mind to

The Nature and Necessity of Restitution. 209

see Him ; but being a man of a low stature, he could not
possibly set his eyes upon Him, by reason of the crowd that
was about Him ; and therefore " he ran before, and got up
into a sycamore tree" that was in the way. "When Jesus Luke 19. 5.
was come to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said
to him, Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for to-day I
must abide at thy house." The man could not but be very
much surprised to hear one whom he had never seen before,
calling him by his name, and inviting Himself to his house,
as if He had been an old acquaintance, especially seeing He
did not only desire, but bid him come down, and that
quickly ; from whence he could not but think there was
something more than ordinary in it ; and so certainly there
was : for though he had never seen Jesus, Jesus had seen
him before he was got into the sycamore, as He had seen
Nathanael when he was under the fig-tree. Even by His John i. 48.
all-seeing eye from which nothing could be hid, and by
which He knew his very heart too, how desirous he was to
see Him in the way, and what He would do at home, better
than he himself knew it : for it is more than probable, that
he had no thoughts as yet of saying, or doing, what he after
wards did.

Christ had no sooner spoken to Zaccheus to make haste
and come down, but he presently obeyed: for "he made Luke 19. 6.
haste and came down, arid received Him joyfully." Where
we may observe by the way, how punctually he observed
Christ's command, and hearkened to His call: Christ bid
him come down, and he came down ; Christ bid him make
haste, and he did make haste to do it ; Christ told him, that
he must go to his house, and he did not only receive Him,
but did it joyfully; and all this in a matter which might
seem very indifferent. Howsoever, Zaccheus made no scruple
of that ; he had Christ's command, and that was enough for
him, for he presently and cheerfully obeyed it : and so hath
set all Christians an example what to do in the like case ;
what Christ commands us to do, we must not dispute about
it, but do it in obedience to His command, and we shall soon
find the happy effect of it, as Zaccheus did.

But behold the malice and wickedness of men, even of
those also who had the happiness to converse with Christ

210 The Nature and Necessity of Restitution.

SERM. Himself; for Zaccheus had no sooner received this Divine
-L— guest into his house, but they who came along with Him, in
stead of commending Christ for condescending so far as to go
into Zaccheus's house, and Zaccheus for his kind entertain
ment of Christ, they presently fall a railing at both ; at
Zaccheus, for having been a great sinner : and at Christ
Himself, for accepting of an entertainment from him ! For

Luke 19. 7. ft js 5^^ "\Vhen they saw it, they all murmured, saying,
that He was gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner."
For the Jews looked upon all publicans as great sinners, not
only because they usually exacted more than their due, but
because they were publicans to the heathen emperors, and
farmed their revenues ; which they, esteeming themselves
the only people of God, were mightily offended at, insomuch
that they would never come near them, nor have any con
versation with them : and if any one offered to sit down and
eat with them, they were presently scandalised at it, and
therefore murmured against Christ Himself and His Disciples
for doing it, not only at this, but any other time, as Luke v. 30.
But see here the wisdom and power of God, in bringing
good out of evil. Zaccheus hearing himself called a sinner,
and Christ upbraided for only coming into his house, was
presently pricked in the heart, and called his sins to remem
brance, and was struck with so quick a sense of them, with
so great a sorrow for them, and with so strong an aversion
to them, and resolution against them for the future, that he
was not able to bear it any longer, nor so much as to keep
it in ; but up he gets, and in the midst of them all addresseth
himself to our Lord in this humble and penitent manner,
saying, " Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the
poor ; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false
accusation, I restore him fourfold." As if he had said, I
perceive, Lord, that the people who attend Thee are very
much offended at Thy coming into my house, who am a
sinner. I confess I am so, a very great sinner : but I beseech
Thee not to disdain to stay a little with me and to be my
guest, upon that account ; for whatsoever sins I have hitherto
committed, I now heartily repent of them, and resolve and
promise before Thee and them, that I will never commit
them any more. And to testify my sincerity herein, behold,

The Nature and Necessity of Restitution. 211

Lord, I will now relieve the poor as much as ever I oppressed
them ; for I will give them half my goods, and whatsoever I
have wronged any man of, I will not only restore it to him
again, but I will give him four times the value of it.

Our Lord having heard this ingenuous confession and holy
vow made by the publican, presently cries out, " This day is Luke 19. 9.
Salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is the
son of Abraham." As if He had said, I see that this man is
now truly penitent for his sins, and so is this day come into
a state of Salvation ; that Salvation which I am come to pro
cure for mankind, it is this day come home to him, and by
his means to his whole house, forasmuch as he also is of the
seed of Abraham, to whom the promises of My Gospel do
peculiarly belong. And although he hath hitherto been a
sinner, yet that shall not hinder his obtaining Salvation by
Me ; for I, " the Son of Man am come to seek and to save ver. 10.
that which was lost;" that is, I am come into the world on
purpose to seek such sinners as he hath been, and to save
them from their sins ; for, " I am not come to call the right- Matt. 9. 13.
eous, but sinners to repentance." He hath been a sinner, I
have called him to repentance : he hath accordingly repented,
and therefore he shall be saved.

How did Zaccheus rejoice to hear these gracious words
from Christ's own mouth ! How happy should we think
ourselves, or rather, how happy should we be, if the Saviour
of the world should say the same of us, and of every one of
our houses, that this day is Salvation come home to us !
And yet it is no more than what we may be all as certain of
as Zaccheus was, if we do as he did. He had been a great
sinner, and so have we ; but he repented truly of all his
sins ; and if we do so too, we shall be saved as he was : and
if we do it this day, this day will Salvation come to us, as it
did to him, the same day that he repented.

Well then, that we may be thus happy this day, let us
seriously consider how Zaccheus testified his repentance, so as
to find grace and favour in the sight of Christ, that we may
go and do likewise ; that from this day forward we may be
reckoned among true penitents, such as he was ; that we may
obtain the same Salvation as he did.

Zaccheus therefore being come to himself, as soon as

212 The Nature and Necessity of Restitution.

SERM. Christ was come into his house, and being touched with a

— sincere repentance for all the errors of his life past, expressed

it in the same way as Daniel advised Nebuchadnezzar to do it,

Dan. 4. 27. when he said, " Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be accept
able unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and
thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor." Thus did
Zaccheus; " he brake off his sins by righteousness," in making
just and full restitution of what he had wronged others of;
and he " brake off his iniquities by shewing mercy to the
poor," in that he gave them half of all his goods.

He begins with his charity and mercy to the poor first, as
the way whereby to find mercy at the hands of God, in the

Eccius.s. pardon of his sins ; and therefore we read, that " Alms
maketh atonement for sins," that is, they put a man into the
way of having the propitiation or atonement which Christ
hath made for the sins of mankind, applied particularly to
him. As we see in the famous instance of Cornelius the
centurion, whose " alms," together " with his prayers," being

Acts. 10.4. gone " up for a memorial before God," God sent an Angel
from Heaven, on purpose to direct him how to come to the
knowledge of Christ, and so to pardon and Salvation by him.
But as Zaccheus's sins had been great, his alms must be
so too. And therefore not contenting himself with giving a
little, but to make his future charity bear some proportion to
his former sins, he resolves to make the poor equal sharers
with him in his whole estate, " half of my goods," says he,
" I give to the poor." Half of my goods, that is, of such as
shall remain to me after I have made complete restitution of
what I have taken wrongfully from others, for he could
reckon up no more as his own ; but whatsoever he could
truly call his own, that he would divide into two equal parts, and
keep one for himself and his own necessary occasions, and give
the other to the poor, for the relief of their necessities.

But then, you will say, are we bound to do so too ? to give
half of our estates to poor people, as he did ? No surely ; it
is not necessary for all to follow his steps in this particular,
but only for such as are in the same circumstances with him.
Some may be bound to give more, others may not be bound
to give so much as he did. Our Lord enjoined the young
Matt.i9.2i. rich man in the Gospel, " to sell" not only " half," but " all

The Nature and Necessity of Restitution. 213

that he had, and give to the poor ; and commended the
poor widow for " casting into the treasury all that she had, Mark 12.44.
even all her living." But others, on the contrary, may be
so far from being bound to give either all or half, that they
may be bound not to give a fifth part, because their circum
stances may be such that they cannot do it without trans
gressing such commands of God, whereby they are pre-
obliged to provide necessaries for themselves and families.
Indeed, as to the quota, how much every one ought to give to
pious and charitable uses, it is nowhere determined in Scrip
ture ; for God would have it to be a free-\vill offering : and
therefore, although He hath commanded us in general to
offer, He hath left it to our own freewills how much to offer,
that so there may be something in it of our own choice, as
well as of His command. Only knowing the corruption of
our wills, and how prone we are to abuse that freedom that
He hath given us in this particular, He hath set us some
general rules whereby to regulate ourselves in it ; and these
we are all bound to observe, as exactly as Zaccheus himself
did ; who hath set us such an example in it, that could we
follow it as we ought, our charity would be as acceptable to
Christ as his was.

For first, Zaccheus being sensible of his former sins, not
only in griping, but likewise in not relieving the poor as he
ought to have done, he now resolves to be free and liberal to
them for the future ; not only to give them a little something
now and then, but to give so much, as to demonstrate him
self to be now as liberal, as he was before covetous: as the
Prophet saith, "The liberal deviseth liberal things." Soisa.32. s.
Zaccheus did ; he devised how to distribute his charity so, as
that he might become a truly liberal man ; and for that pur
pose did not trouble himself about the minimum quod si(,
just how much he was bound to give, but resolved to give
much, so much, that he might be sure to give rather more
than the Law strictly required of him, than less. The same
we read of Cornelius too, that " he gave much alms to the Acts 10. 2.
people." And the same measures certainly we ought to
take in the distribution of our alms ; for as Saint Paul saith,
" He which soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly : and 2 Cor. 9. 6.
he which soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully:"

214 The Nature and Necessity of Restitution.

which is the same in effect with that of the Wise Man, " The

Prov n 25 liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth, shall be
watered also himself." From whence we may observe, that
the more we give to the poor, the more we shall receive from
God ; the more bountiful we are to them, the more bountiful
He will be to us ; which plainly shews, that although He
hath nowhere appointed us how much to give, yet He is
pleased with them that give much, more than with those who
give but little : and by consequence, that as we expect and
desire much mercy from Him, we must express as much
charity to others as we can.

As much, I say, as we can; for herein also Zaccheus
hath set us an example, who did not only resolve to
give liberally in general, but to give as liberally as his
estate would bear : and for that purpose, considering
with himself how much he had that he might properly
call his own, and that one half of it would be sufficient for
himself and his family, he resolved to give the other half
to the poor. And though all are not bound to give the
same proportion as he did, yet all should give in some pro
portion to what they have, be it more or less. This rule the
Apostle himself prescribed to the Corinthians by the inspi
ration of the Holy Ghost, who hath also kept it upon

i Cor. 16. 2. record, that all Christians might observe it: "Upon the
first day of the week," saith he, " let every one of you lay
by him in store (for the poor Saints) as God hath prospered
him." Which doth not only shew, that all Christians, even
in the Apostles' time, made their offerings as we now do,
by the order of our Church, every Lord's-day ; but likewise,
that every one was bound to give according to his ability,
or, as the Apostle words it, " as God hath prospered him."
The same in effect, was commanded long before by Moses,

Deut.i6.io. saying, " And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the
Lord thy God, with a tribute of a free-will offering, which
thou shalt give according as the Lord thy God hath blessed
thee." And a greater than either St. Paul or Moses, even

Luke 11. 41. Christ Himself, requires as much, where he saith, " Bat
rather, give alms as ye are able; and behold all things
are clean to you," as it is rightly translated in the margin of
your Bibles : for so the Greek words n\nv ra svovra dors

The Nature and Necessity of Restitution. 215

properly signify, as might easily be shewn. So
that our Lord Himself here affirms, that if we give as much
alms as we are able, all things are clean to us, otherwise
not : And therefore, in order to our having all things to be
clean to us, He requires us to give as much as we can to
pious and charitable uses ; and if we do that, how much or
how little soever it be, it will still be acceptable to God :
according to that remarkable passage in the Book of Tobit,
inserted among the sentences we read at the offertory,
" Be merciful after thy power, if thou hast much, give plen- Tobit 4. s,
teously : if thou hast little, do thy diligence gladly to give
of that little : for so gatherest thou thyself a good reward
in the day of necessity." And therefore, as I hope ye all
make conscience of giving something to the poor, out of
that which God hath given to you for that purpose ; so I
desire that you would always observe this rule in the doing
of it, even to proportion your charity to your estates, lest
otherwise God justly proportion your estates to your charity:
and if ye do not give as much as ye are able, make you
able to give no more than ye do.

Moreover, although Zaccheus gave so great a proportion
of his estate to the poor, he did it freely and of his own
accord. Nobody, as we read of, bade him, or so much as
advised him to it. It was purely his own choice, as appears
both from his promptness and readiness to do it, and like
wise from that cheerfulness and alacrity he expressed in
doing it. So soon as ever he duly considered it was his
duty, his mind was wholly bent upon it, and therefore
without being spoke to, he stands up, and freely offers half
of his estate to God for the use of the poor ; and in this also
we ought to follow him. Whatsoever we give, we must
give it with our hearts as well as with our hands, otherwise
howsoever acceptable it may be to the poor, it will not be
so to God ; who, as He hath commanded us to give, so He
hath commanded us likewise to do it heartily. " Thou shalt Deut.is.io.
surely give," saith He, " unto thy poor brother, and thine
heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him." You
must not be grieved that God requires this of you, but be
as glad to give, as the poor are to receive : " He that giveth," Rom. 12. s.
saith the Apostle, " let him do it with simplicity : he that

216 The Nature and Necessity of Restitution.

SERM. sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness." And elsewhere, " Every
2 Cor. 9. 7. man> according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give,
not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful
giver."

But how came this publican all of a sudden to be thus
willing to part with half his estate ? Doubtless that which
inclined him chiefly to it, was the great respect and reve
rence he had for Christ then present, and his hearty desire
to please Him. As appears from his standing up and
applying himself to Christ, saying, " Behold, Lord, the half
of my goods I give to the poor." Where, as he plainly
acknowledgeth Christ to be his Lord, so he desires him to
take notice of what he was about to say and do ; which
clearly shews, that he had a regard to Christ in what he
did : and so must we too, in whatsoever we give unto the
poor. Though we give it to them, we must not give it for
theirs, but for Christ's sake, with respect to His command,
and for the setting forth of His honour, as He is our great
Lord and Master. And whatsoever we thus sincerely do
upon His account, He will be sure to accept of it, and to

Mark 9. 41. reward us accordingly for it; for we have His own Word
Matt.,0.42. for ;t

There is still another thing behind, much to be observed
in Zaccheus's charity ; and that is, that he did it presently,
at the same time that he was convinced it was his duty :
" Behold, Lord," saith he, " the half of my goods I give to
the poor ;" he speaks in the present, not in the future tense ;
not I " will give" it hereafter, but I " do give" it now ; now
that I am in Thy presence, and in the presence of all these
people, who are as so many witnesses of this my deed of gift,
I give and dedicate to the use of the poor, half of my whole
estate ; so that from this day forward, I will not look upon
it as mine own, but as theirs for Thy sake.

And herein certainly all are obliged to follow his example :
whatsoever God hath enabled you to give to pious and
charitable uses, you must not put off the giving it from day
to day, much less to your last day, as the custom of some
is, who will give nothing to others so long as they can keep
it themselves ; but hope to make amends for their neglect of
this great duty all their lives, by doing it when they die ;

The Nature and Necessity of Restitution. 217

•when they die, they know they must part with their estates
whether they will or no ; and therefore in their last will
and testament, which is not in force till they are dead, they
can make a shift to bequeath something to the poor. But
although the poor may be the better for what they then
give, they themselves will be never the better for it, it being
no charity at all, forasmuch as they do not then give it from
themselves, but from their heirs and executors. Neither
are the poor beholden to them, but to their mortality for it ;
for at this rate, if they should never die, they would never
give. This is not to do as Zaccheus did, who was so far
from deferring his charity to the last, that it was the first
thing he did after his conversion. And I heartily wish, that
we could all follow him in this, as well as in the other par
ticulars, even resolve this day to give as much as we can to
the poor, for God's sake ; that so Christ may say of us as
He did of him, " This day is Salvation come into" this parish,
and to all that are here before me at this time.

Zaccheus having thus given half his goods to the poor,
he presently considered, what goods he had which he could
properly call his own, and therefore had power to do what
he pleased with them ; for he was conscious to himself that
he had many goods in his possession, which he had no right
or title to, but was bound to restore' them to their right
owners, which he therefore resolves immediately to do ; for
till that was done, he could not tell how to perform his
former promise of giving half his goods to the poor, for fear
of giving other men's as well as his own, which would have
spoiled his charity to all intents and purposes ; and therefore
he had no sooner said, " Behold, Lord, half of my goods I
give to the poor," but he adds with the same breath, " and
whatsoever I have wronged any man," or " taken from
any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." In
which words there are two things to be considered, what
it was he would restore, and how he would restore it, even
fourfold.

As for the first, he resolves to restore whatsoever he had
unjustly or wrongfully gotten from any man, whether by
false accusation, or any other unlawful way, for so the word
!<ruxopavr»j<ra here used, signifies, as I could easily shew. But

218 The Nature and Necessity of Restitution.

SERM. for our better understanding of it, we must call to mind
— what I observed before, that the publicans were the farmers

of the public revenues, for which they paid a considerable
sum of money, or else gave security for it, and therefore
were allowed to make what they could of them, and were
intrusted with full power and authority to demand and
receive them as they became due ; but as it was necessary
they should have such power granted them, it was almost
impossible to prevent their abusing it, by exacting more
than what was really their due ; which they so commonly
did, that the magistrates were forced to make very severe
laws to restrain them ; some of which are still extant in the
Digests or body of the old Roman laws. One of which
L. 12. de begins thus, Quantce audacice et quantce temeritatis sint

Publicanis. . ~ ,, ,

publicanorum factiones, nemo est qui nesciat. ' Of how great

boldness, of how great rashness the factions or combinations

[Cap. i. cf. of the publicans are, nobody can be ignorant.' Livy, in his

c. is.]" 25th book, gives a strange instance of the horrible vices

[Suid. s.v. they were guilty of; for which, as Suidas truly saith,

A/s£s£X^ro Traga ro/g •raXa/o/g nat TO rou reXwvou o vo/xa, * the very

name of a publican was odious to the ancients.' Where he

also reckons up some of the horrid sins that were common

among them : As the open force and violence they used in

their exactions ; their incorrigible rapine, their shameless

covetousriess, their unreasonable contentiousness, and their

impudent dealing with people, to gain something from

them.

Indeed fraud, cozenage, lying, perjury, oppression and
extortion, were the common sins of all publicans in those
days. And therefore it is no wonder that publicans and
sinners are so often joined together in the New Testament,
as if they were synonymous terms, as Matth. xi. 19 ; ix. ] 1 ;
Mark ii. 15 ; Luke v. 30. And publicans are always placed
first, as being not only sinners, but the greatest of all sin
ners. And it is very observable, that when the publicans
came to John the Baptist, and asked him what they should
Luke s. 13. do, he said unto them, " Exact no more than that which
is appointed you." Implying, that extortion was the com
mon sin they were all guilty of; and that to exact no more
than their due, was so extraordinary a virtue in a publican,

The Nature and Necessity of Restitution. 219

that he could require no more of them, in order to their
being baptised by him.

From hence therefore, we may gather what it was which
Zaccheus here promiseth to restore ; for he being a publican,
and one of the chief of them, had doubtless been guilty of
the same sins which were so rife among the men of his order, [Pro.pi.23.
as Cicero, or rather of his faction, as the civil law calls it; gj13
he had cozened and cheated many a poor man ; he had
extorted and exacted more than was appointed him ; he had
wronged others to enrich himself; he had by open violence
and secret fraud and cunning, got other men's money and
goods into his hand, which he now resolves to restore, and
not only so, but to do it fourfold.

But why fourfold ? Why any more than what he had
unjustly gotten? And why so much more as fourfold? To
understand this, we must consider, that by the Mosaic Law,
which he professed, "If a man stole an ox or a sheep, and Exod.22. i.
killed it, or sold it, he was bound to restore five oxen for
an ox, and four sheep for a sheep." According to which
Law, when Nathan the Prophet in his parable told David, 2Sam.i2.6.
that a rich man had taken away a poor man's lamb, David
said that "he should restore the lamb fourfold." From
whence it appears, that in some cases of theft a fourfold
restitution was required by the Law of God ; and so it was
too, by the law of the Roman empire under which Zaccheus
lived, and of which he held his place; for so we read in the
Pandects, or body of the old Roman laws still extant, that
goods either taken away by force, or manifestly stolen, were L. i. D. <ie
to be restored in quadruplino, that is, « fourfold.' But this law Publicanis-
was made more mild and gentle as to publicans : for of them
it is enacted, Quod illicite, public^ privatimque exactum est, L. 9. § in
cum altero tanto passis injuriam exolvitur : per vim res extorta, eod*
cum pcena tripli restituitur. ' What is unlawfully exacted by
a publican, either publicly or privately, is paid back with as
much more to those who have suffered the wrong : but what
is extorted by force, is restored threefold.'

But there was this great privilege also granted to a pub
lican, that if he restored what he had forcibly taken away
without going to law about it, omni onere exuitur, * he was L. i. § in
freed from any further punishment or trouble about it.' So ecd'

220 The Nature and Necessity of Restitution.

SERM. that Zaccheus being a publican, if he had voluntarily restored
— '— what he had unjustly taken away, or the bare value of it,
the Law could have taken no hold of him ; and if he had
stood it out to the last, he could have been forced to have
restored no more than the double of what he had unlawfully
exacted, or the treble of what he had violently extorted from
any man.

But Zaccheus, being now truly penitent for his sins, would
not make use of the favour which the law shewed to pub
licans ; but considering that the law both of God and man
required fourfold restitution in the case of manifest theft,
and being fully persuaded in his conscience that all the ex
action and extortion that he had used, was plainly theft or
robbery, howsoever the Law might call it, he presently re
solves to restore, whatsoever he had any way wronged any
man of, fourfold. That so he might be sure to do not only
what the law, but what his own conscience required of him ;
which being once touched with a sense of his sin, would
never have been satisfied with his making only simple resti
tution of what he had unlawfully gotten; for by that means
he would have suffered nothing for his sin, neither would he
have made full restitution of all that he had unjustly gotten ;
for he had doubtless wrongfully taken money from some
people many years before ; all which time he had enjoyed,
and they had lost, the use of the said money, which in an
ordinary way of trading might probably have amounted to
four times as much as the principal ; and therefore he would
not content himself with restoring any less, for fear he should
restore too little : he was now resolved to do all he could to
express his hearty sorrow and repentance for what he had
done ; and for that purpose having given half his own goods
to the poor, so whatsoever he had wronged other men of, he
restores it to them fourfold.

And herein Zaccheus hath set you a great example. Not
that all are bound to restore fourfold, any more than to give
half their goods to the poor, as he did ; for his case was
extraordinary in this also, and therefore is not to be brought
in as an ordinary example ; I say ordinary, for some men
may be in such circumstances, that they may be as much
obliged as he was, to make the same restitution as he did.

The Nature and Necessity of Restitution. 221

But we speak now only of ordinary or common restitution,
or at least of that which ought to be as common and ordinary,
as deceit or fraud : and in this certainly, all men that ever
wronged others, ought to follow this publican's example in
restoring it fully to them.

But this being a matter wherein many persons are deeply
concerned, we shall briefly consider, who are bound to make
restitution, and how and why they ought to do it.

As for the first, it is easy to determine who are bound to
make restitution, even all persons that ever wronged any
man of any thing whatsoever, they are all bound to restore
it again; by what way or means soever it was that they
wronged him. All that by forging deeds, or suborning of
witnesses, have got possession of other men's estates : all
that by robbing upon the highway, breaking open of houses,
picking of pockets, or by any other kind of theft, have stolen
any thing from their neighbours : all apprentices and ser
vants that have neglected their master's business, embezzled
his goods, purloined his money, and converted any part of
his estate to their own use : all that by false weights, false
measures, or false sights, have imposed upon their customers,
so as to give them either less, or not so good as they agreed
for : all that industriously dissemble or conceal the faults
or defects of the wares they sell, and so make the buyer pay
more than what it is really worth according to the market
price : all that by their diabolical cunning and subtilty,
cheat, or overreach those they deal with, either in buying or
selling, or any sort of contract or bargain : all that by lying
or swearing, or any such wicked artifice, defraud their cre
ditors, or any other persons, of what is their just due : all
that by smuggling their goods, forswearing themselves, or
bribing of servants, withhold from the king any part of his
customs, or other revenues, which the laws of God and of
the land, have given him a just right and title to : all that
by slandering or false accusing of their neighbours, have
taken from them what they had, or hindered them from
getting what they lawfully might : in short, all that have
been either principals or accessories in wronging any man
of any thing, howsoever it was done, they are bound to make
him full restitution.

222 The Nature and Necessity of Restitution.

SERM. I say full restitution: which is the next thing to be con-
- sidered ; for all that are bound to make any restitution, are
bound to make it as full as they can, so as to restore, if it be
possible, the very thing itself in specie ; and if that cannot
be, the full value of it in money or other commodities, toge
ther with a reasonable consideration for what he that took
it hath gotten by having it, and he from whom it was taken
hath lost for want of it ; for otherwise the party wronged
will not have full recompense made him for the wrong that
was done him : and he that did the wrong, will still have
something in his hand which is not his own, as not being
gotten by his own goods, but by his from whom he took
them. Hence it is, that by the Mosaic Law, something
more was always to be restored than was taken away either
Lev. 6. 5. by stealth or fraud. The least that was required, was a fifth
part over and above the principal. And by parity of reason,
I suppose the least that any one among us ought to restore,
besides the principal, is the legal interest of it, for so long
time as he hath had it : as if a man wronged his neighbour
of an hundred pounds two years ago, the least he ought to
restore is an hundred and ten ; and so proportionably for
other sums. But here it will be necessary to resolve a few
cases of conscience which often occur.

Ques. 1. Suppose the person whom you have wronged be
dead, to whom must ye make restitution ?

Ans. To his heirs, executors, administrators, or to that
person to whom the Law would have given it, in case you
had not taken it away ; but in case that there be no such
person to be found, as sometimes there is not, then you must
restore it to God, as the Supreme Proprietor of all things,
and the only owner that you can find of it ; be sure it is
none of yours, you can claim no right to it, neither can any
one else as you can find upon earth : so that it is as a waft
or stray, that belongs only to the Head Landlord of the
world, to whom therefore you must restore it, by laying it
Num. s. s. out upon pious or charitable uses, as He Himself also com
manded in the Old Law.

Q. 2. Suppose a man be not able to make full restitution
to all whom he hath wronged, what must he do ?

A. His case is very sad and deplorable; for if his eyes be

The Nature and Necessity of Restitution. 223

once opened so as to see his sin and folly, he will not be able
to endure himself, for having wronged others, and disabled
himself from righting them again : however, I would not
have such a man to despair, but repent, and manifest his
repentance as well as he can ; for which purpose, if he can
not restore as much as he ought, he ought to restore as
much as he can ; and labour day and night to get, if possible,
out of that miserable condition ; and if, after all, he cannot
by any lawful means get enough to satisfy those whom he
hath wronged, he ought to go to them and confess his sin,
and desire them to remit the wrong that he hath done them ;
in which case they are bound in conscience to do it ; as they
themselves expect and desire that Almighty God should
pardon the sins that they have committed against Him.
Arid if he who suffered the wrong, hath once forgiven it, he
that did it, hath no more to do, but to make his peace with
God too ; and then his conscience may be quiet.

Q. 3. What must they do, who are conscious to them
selves that they have wronged many, but know not who
they were ?

A. This is the case of many tradesmen, who by false
weights, or measures, or other unjust dealing, defraud and
cheat persons that come accidentally into their shops or
warehouses, whom they never saw before nor since, and
perhaps could not know them again if they should see them ;
so that it is impossible for them ever to make restitution to
the persons themselves, or to the families they have wronged ;
but they must of necessity live and die in debt to them : and
it is very difficult, if not impossible for them, ever to extri
cate themselves out of that miserable condition which their
own covetousness hath brought them into ; which should
make all men very cautious how they deal in the world, lest
for the sake of a little money, they contract that guilt which
can never be wiped off. The best advice that I can give
such is ; first, to leave off such wicked courses, and then to
compute as well as they can what they have gotten by such
unjust dealings, and to make full restitution of whatsoever
they have wronged those of whom they know, and to pay
the overplus all to the poor. I say pay, not give it ; for it is
not an act of charity, but j ustice ; they owe it to somebody,

224 The Nature' and Necessity of Restitution.

SERM. though they do not know to whom ; if they did, they ought
- to pay it to them : but seeing they do not know the persons
to whom they ought to pay it, they pay it to the poor in
their steads ; but so that if they should ever happen to know
the persons themselves whom they have wronged, they are
bound in conscience to pay it to them too : that being the
only proper restitution, which is made to the person that is
wronged; and which all ought to make, to the utmost of
their power.

And this brings me to the last thing I promised to shew,
even why they who have wronged others are bound to
restore to them whatsoever they have wronged them of; or
what necessity there is of making such restitution as I have
now described. To understand this, we may consider, first,
that there is the same obligation upon all persons to restore
what they have wronged others of, as there is not to wrong
them ; for they wrong them all the while, until they have
restored it again, by detaining from them the use of what
they wronged them of: so that he, who by stealth or fraud,
or any other unlawful way, gets five pounds, suppose, of
another man's into his hands, he doth not only sin in the
first act whereby he unlawfully got it, but he commits the
same sin all the while he keeps it ; for so long as he hath it
in his hands, he still wrongs his neighbour as much as he
did when he first got it ; and therefore all those laws of God
which forbid you to steal or defraud others, oblige you to
restore what you have defrauded or stolen from them ; for
till that be done, ye live in the plain breach and violation of
those Divine laws : and whatsoever sin it was whereby ye
got your neighbours' goods at first, ye commit the same sin
every day, until ye put him again into the actual possession
of them ; which sufficiently demonstrates the absolute neces
sity of restoring, as soon as possible, whatsoever any of you
have defrauded others of, lest otherwise ye both live and die
in sin.

Moreover, ye cannot but all acknowledge the equity of
that golden rule which our Lord hath set you, and corn-
Matt. 7. 12. manded you to walk by it, saying, " All things whatsoever
ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to
them." According to which, restitution must needs be

The Nature and Necessity of Restitution. 225

necessary : for as I believe there are but few of you, but
some time or other have been circumvented and wronged in

o

your estates, I dare say there is not a man of you but would
have restitution made you of whatsoever hath been wrong
fully taken from you : now therefore lay your hands upon
your breast, and do as ye would be done by ; whatsoever ye
have been wronged of by others, yc would have restored to
you ; and therefore, whatsoever ye have wronged others of,
do ye restore that to them, otherwise ye do not observe
Christ's command, as becometh honest and good men to do.
And indeed honest and good men in all ages have made
as much conscience of this, as of any one duty whatsoever.
When Joseph had privately conveyed his brethren's money
into their sacks, though they knew not how it came there,
and so could have no hand in it, yet their father Jacob would
needs restore it back again, saying, " Carry it again in your Gen. 43. 12.
hands, peradventure it was an oversight." Whence we may
observe how scrupulous the good old man was of making-
restitution, upon a mere suspicion that it might be an over
sight. Whereby he hath taught you all to be so exact and
just in restoring what ye have of other men's in your hands,
that although ye get it riot by plain fraud or cheating, but
only by some oversight or inadvertency either in them or
yourselves, ye restore it to them again as soon as you can.
Samuel's example also is much to be observed in this case,
who, having gathered all Israel together, said to them,
" Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, iSam.i2.3.
and before His Anointed : whose ox have I taken ? or
whose ass have I taken ? or whom have I defrauded ?
whom have I oppressed ? or of whose hand have I received
any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith ? and I will restore
it you." He knew not that he had wronged any man ; but
if any man knew he had, he was ready to make him restitu
tion. So ye, although ye cannot remember that ye ever got
any thing from any man by any unlawful means; yet if
others can remember and prove it, ye ought immediately to
restore it to the right owner.

To the right owner I say, for so certainly he is, by what
unlawful way soever ye came by it : it is not yours, but his
from whom ye got it ; it is as much his now it is in your hands,

Q

SERM.
LXIV.

August,
Epist. 54.
ad Mace-
donium.
[Ep. 153.
§22.]

Lev.
&c.

i. 2, 3

226 The Nature and Necessity of Restitution.

as when it was in his own ; for injustice can never deprive
a man of his right to what he hath justly gotten ; for that is
still in him, wheresoever the thing itself lies, whether in his
hands or yours ; and therefore if ye have unjustly got it from
him, ye are bound to restore it to him again, by the same laws
which oblige you to pay every one their own ; and until ye
do that, ye are his debtors, and ought to take as much care
to pay him, as ye do to pay any bond or bill that you ever
signed.

But that which should most of all excite and prevail with
you to restore whatsoever ye have either got or kept unjustly
from other men, is because till this be done, your sin can
never be pardoned ; for it is plain, there can be no pardon
without true repentance ; and it is as plain, that there can be
no true repentance without restitution ; for no man can be
said to be truly penitent for any sin, that still continues in
it ; but as I observed before, he that sinned in getting his
neighbour's goods, still continues in the same sin, until he
hath restored them to him ; for he wrongs him as much by
unlawful keeping, as he did by unlawful getting of them.
And therefore it is in vain to pretend that you are sorry for
the sin, until you restore what you got by it. As St. Augus
tine observes, Si enim res aliena propter quam peccatum est,
cum reddi possit, non redditur, non agitur pcenitentia, sed
fingitur. ' If another man's goods, for which the sin was
committed, be not restored when they may, repentance is
not acted but feigned.' And therefore he adds, Si autem
veraciter agitur, non remittetur peccatum, nisi restituatur
ablatum. ' But if repentance be truly acted, the sin will not
be forgiven, except what was taken away be restored.'
Hence in the Old Law, when any one had robbed, or
deceived, or defrauded his neighbour, as ever he desired
to have his sin pardoned, he was first to restore what he had
taken from him, with a fifth part more ; when that was
done, he was to carry a ram for his trespass-offering to the
priest, who with that made an atonement for him, and then
his sin was forgiven. So that until he had made restitution,
the priest could not accept of his offering, nor make an atone
ment for him, and so till then, his sin could not be pardoned.
To this our Lord seems to allude, Matt. v. 23, 24. And it is

The Nature and Necessity of Restitution. 227

very observable, that Almighty God Himself, by the Pro
phet Ezekiel, promiseth to pardon such sins only upon these
terms, " If the wicked," saith He, " restore the pledge, give Ezek.33.is.
again that he hath robbed, walk in the statutes of life, with
out committing iniquity, he shall surely live, he shall not
die." But we need not have gone any further than my text
itself, to have proved this ; for here we find that upon Zac-
cheus's making restitution, our Lord presently said, " This
day is Salvation come into this house." Whereby He hath
given us to understand, that till that time the man had been
in a state of sin and damnation ; but now that he had restored
whatsoever he had wronged others of, his sin was pardoned,
and his soul should be saved.

These things I thought good to put you in mind of at this
time ; because, as I fear, many among you have, by lying,
or stealing, or cheating, or some unlawful way or other, got
other men's money or goods into your hands ; so, I hope,
there are none of you but are now sorry for it, and heartily
desire Almighty God to pardon it. But that I am sure He
will never do, until you have restored, if ye be able, what ye
have so gotten. It is in vain for you to expect it, He hath
in effect told you that He will not ; and how can ye expect
that He should break His word for you ? No, mistake not
yourselves; so long as you are so unjust to others as not to
restore what ye have wrongfully taken from them, ye have
no ground to hope that God will be so merciful to you as to
pardon the sins that ye have committed against Him ; but
rather, till that be done, ye must look for nothing but wrath
and indignation from Him, and all the curses that He hath
denounced against impenitent sinners. He will curse what
ye have got lawfully, for the sake of that which ye have un
lawfully gotten ; it will be a moth in your estates which
will certainly eat them up, either in your own, or your Jer. 17. n.
children's time. And it would be well for you if that was
all ; for if ye live any longer without making restitution, ye
may die also without doing it, and by consequence bewail
your folly and madness in Hell-fire for evermore,

Let me therefore beseech and advise you all to go home
and retire into your closet, or some private place, and there
look back upon your lives, recollect yourselves, and consider

228 The Nature and Necessity of Restitution.

seri°usly whether ye have not injured some person or other,
by getting some part of their estates into your hands : and
if, upon an impartial view, you find ye have, let not the sun
go down before ye have at least resolved to make restitution
as soon as possible : and likewise to express your repentance
for defrauding others, by a more than ordinary liberality to
the poor. Do this, and then you may firmly believe that
God, for Christ's sake, will pardon your sin, and receive you
again into His grace and favour ; for then ye will do this
day, as Zaccheus once did ; and then Christ will say to every
one of you, as he did to him, " This day is Salvation come
into this house." Which God grant it may, through the
same Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for ever. Amen.

SERMON LXV.

A GOOD FRIDAY SERMON.

ZECH. xii. part of verse 10.

And they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, and
they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only
son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in
bitterness for his first-born.

WE this day commemorate the Passion of our Blessed
Saviour, the Passion of the Son of God, the greatest mystery
that ever was known or heard of in the world : that light
itself should be darkened, love rejected, innocence accused,
justice condemned, life die, even God Himself suffer; who is
able to think upon it without ecstasies and raptures ? Who
can speak of it without astonishment and admiration ? And
yet how strange soever it may seem to be, it is altogether as
true too, as being attested by truth and veracity itself.

And it is well for us it was so, even that He who suffered
was truly God as well as Man ; otherwise we had been all
lost and undone for ever ; for if He had not been Man, He
could not have suffered at all for us ; so if He had not been
God too, He could not have saved us by His sufferings ; all
the virtue and efficacy of His Passions depending altogether
upon the worth and excellency of the person that underwent
them, who being God as well as Man, although He suffered
only in His manhood, yet that manhood being at the same
time united to the Godhead in the same Person, these His
sufferings could not but be of infinite value and merit, as
being the sufferings of God Himself, who is therefore said to
have " purchased His Church with His own blood." Acts -20.28.

230 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. And this indeed is the only ground and foundation of all

LXV

'- — our hopes and expectations from Christ ; for He being both
perfect God and perfect Man in one and the same Person,
did, by His one oblation of Himself once offered, make a
full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction
for the sins of the whole world ; whereby there is none of us
but in and through Him may now obtain both the pardon
of all our sins, and the eternal happiness and Salvation of
our souls, if we do but perform those easy conditions which
are required of us, in order to our having the sufferings of
our human nature in Christ, applied to our own particular
persons : that so we may be looked upon as having already
undergone the punishment of our sins in Him, who died in
our stead, and by virtue of His merit and Mediation for us,
may be truly sanctified, and by consequence received into
God's grace and favour here, and into His Kingdom and
glory hereafter.

And verily now that Christ hath done and suffered so
much for us, we cannot surely but look upon ourselves as
highly obliged to do and suffer all we can for Him, at least,
all that He expects from us, which indeed is but very little,
or rather, nothing in comparison of His love and kindness
to us. For what would He have us to do for Him ? Only
what He Himself hath commanded in the words of my text,
saying, " They shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced,
and they shall mourn for Him," &c.

For that these words are to be understood of Christ, is
certain from the infallible testimony of St. John himself,
who having related the doleful tragedy of our Lord's Passion,
how they pierced His hands and feet with nails, and His
side with a spear, he saith, that " all this was done that the
John 19. 37. Scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, they shall look
on Him Whom they have pierced." Where he plainly quotes
the words of my text, and applies them to our Blessed Saviour ;
and indeed they cannot possibly be understood of any other
person in the world ; for none could speak these words but
one who was both God and Man. That He was God, is
plain from the former part of the verse, where He saith, " I
will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication." For it

A Good Friday Sermon. 231

is acknowledged by all that the Spirit of grace is not at the
disposal of any creature, but that it is only in the power of God
to bestow it upon us. And therefore He that here promiseth
to pour out His Spirit upon His Church, could be no other
than God Himself: and then that He was Man too, appears
from the next words, even those of my text, " And they shall
look upon Me Whom they have pierced." For if He had
not been Man, He would not have been capable of being
pierced by them. In short therefore, if He had not been
God, He could not have said, " I will pour upon them the
Spirit of grace and supplication;" and if He had not been
Man, He could not have said, " They shall look upon Me
Whom they have pierced." And therefore He that spake
these words, could be no other than Christ Himself, there
being no person in the world that ever was, or so much as
pretended to be, both God and Man, but only He.

And as these words were spoken by Christ Himself, so He
spake them to His whole Church and all the members of it,
which He here calls the House of David and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem ; under which titles, both in this and other
Prophets, the whole Church of Christ is frequently compre
hended, especially in this place, where the Spirit of grace
and supplication is promised. For this promise of the Spirit
cannot possibly be restrained only to the Jewish nation, or
inhabitants of Jerusalem, in a strict and literal sense ; it
being a great promise which was always made, and hath
been all along fulfilled to the Universal Church, or congre
gation of faithful people dispersed over the whole world.
And therefore we, as members of the Catholic Church, are
all equally concerned in what is here said. But we must
take all together. And as we desire Christ should perform
the promise which here He makes to us, so we must be sure
to perform the duties which He here requires of us, saying,
" And they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced,
and shall mourn for Him," &c.

First, saith He, " They shall look upon Me Whom they
have pierced ;" which words, I confess, may seem to be a
promise as well as a command ; our Saviour here promising
to assist us with His grace and Spirit, to look upon Him as
we ought to do ; but seeing He neither promiseth to enable

232 A Good Friday Sermon.

us to do any thing but what Himself commandeth us to do,
- I shall briefly consider the words only as containing Christ's
command to us, and by consequence our duty unto Him ;
and that we may understand His Divine will and pleasure
in them aright, we must know that the verb t^sn here used
in the original, sometimes signifies the beholding any object
with our bodily eyes, but in this place it cannot possibly be
so understood, for in that sense the whole Church never
did, nor never shall see Christ, until we all appear before
His judgment-seat ; and therefore the word must needs be
here, as it is elsewhere, used in a more large and meta
phorical sense, even for our looking upon Him with the
eye, not of sense, but of reason and faith.

And so it imports that we ought to contemplate often,
and meditate upon our Saviour's death, not simply as in
itself considered, but as suffered purely upon our account.
" They shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced ;"
implying, that we should look upon Him as pierced, as
crucified by ourselves for our sins, so as to acknowledge
and believe that whatsoever He suffered, was not for His
[isa. 53. own, but only for our sakes. That " He bare our grief and
4'5'-' carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our trans

gressions, and bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement
of our peace was upon Him, that by His stripes we might
be healed." He assumed our human, that we might par
take of His Divine nature. He was weary, that we might
rest ; He hungered, that we might eat the bread ; and thirsted,
that we might drink of the water of life. He grieved, that
we might rejoice ; wept, that we might laugh ; and became
miserable, to make us happy. He was apprehended, that
we might escape ; accused, that we might be acquitted ; and
condemned, that we might be absolved. He died, that we
might live ; and was crucified by men, that we might be
2Cor.s.2i. justified before God. In brief, " He was made sin for us,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."

And looking thus upon Christ as dying for us and bearing
the punishment of our sins, that we might be freed from
them ; we are to look up unto Him, as the Word also
signifies, so as to expect and hope for pardon and Salvation
from Him, humbly trusting and confiding, and believing on

A Good Friday Sermon. 233

Him, both for grace to repent, that our sins may be par
doned ; and for pardon of our sins when we have repented ;
and likewise for His continual assistance of us in the per
formance of all such good works as He hath prepared for
us to walk in ; that we may do all things through Christ [Phil. 4.
that strengthened us, and be made so holy now, that in and
through Him, we may be happy for ever.

For which end, we must perform the other duty also here
enjoined, which I design chiefly to speak to, expressed in these
words; " And they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth
for his only son ; and be in bitterness for Him, as one that is
in bitterness for his first-born."

In which words, we may observe the person changed
from the first to the third. In the foregoing words it was
said, " They shall look upon Me," here " and they shall
mourn for Him ;" which change in the person is very com
mon in the Prophets. But here it seems to imply that
though Christ Himself spake the former words, or at least,
the Prophet in the person of Christ, saying, " They shall
look upon Me ;" yet these that immediately follow, " And
they shall mourn for Him," were spoken by the Prophet
only in the Name of Christ, as other Prophets use to speak.
And whereas he saith, " They shall mourn for Him, as one
mourneth for his only son, and be in bitterness for Him, as
one that is in bitterness for his first-born ;" although I do not
question but the Prophet might allude to our Saviour's
being the only-begotten of the Father, and the first-born
of every creature, as the Apostle calls him, yet I look upon Col. i. is.
the words as intended principally to express the greatness
of that grief and mourning which should be in the Church
for the Passion of our Blessed Saviour; like that of a man
that hath lost his only son, or his first-born ; which being
the greatest loss a man can suffer, it usually causes the
greatest sorrow that a man can shew in this world.

Now in speaking to this duty, I shall first shew that there
ought to be some time set apart every year to commemorate
our Saviour's Passion, and to fast and mourn for the occa
sion of it : and then, secondly, I shall endeavour to assist
and direct you in the performance of it.

As for the first, I think it needful to speak something to

234 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. it, both to justify our present meeting together upon this

- occasion, and also because my text itself leads me to it, and

supplies me with an argument for it ; for when the Prophet

hath told us how the Church shall mourn for the death of

[Zech. 12. Christ, he in the next words saith, " In that day there shall

be great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadad-

rimmon in the valley of Megiddo."

For the right understanding of which words, we must
know first, that Hadadrimmon was a city near Jezreel,
[Hieron. in in the valley of Megiddo, which St. Jerome saith in his
xii.°tom!Piii. time was called Maximianopolis. Secondly, near to this
Ed5 Park c^y m t^ie va^e7 °f Megiddo, that pious King Josiah was
1609.] slain by Pharaoh-Necho, king of Egypt, as we read in
2 Chron. xxxv. 24. Thirdly, upon the death of that good
king, the Prophet Jeremiah and the Church at that time
made great lamentations, and ordered that the death of the
said king should be lamented every year, like the death and
martyrdom of our late Sovereign of ever blessed memory,
as we may easily gather from the twenty-fifth verse of the
[Hieron. in said chapter; from whence also we may observe with St.
[Joseph. Jerome, Joseph us, and others, that the Book of the Lamen-
Ant. Jud. tations was written by the Prophet upon that occasion ; and
tom. i. ' indeed it agrees exactly with the sad and lamentable estate
Haver.] ' of the Church immediately after the death of Josiah, although
it be here and there interspersed with some prophetical ex
pressions relating to the destruction of Jerusalem which
happened soon after ; so that the Book of the Lamentations
seems to have been a kind of service-book, or Office com
posed by the Prophet, and appointed to be used and inserted
into their public devotions every year, upon the day when
they commemorated and lamented the death of so good a
king. Fourthly, this anniversary mourning for Josiah being
occasioned by his death near Hadadrimmon in the valley of
Megiddo, and the inhabitants of that city being, as may be well
supposed, the first that observed it, and the most strict in the
observation of it : hence it was afterwards called " The
Mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo."

Now the premises being thus considered, it is easy to
draw our conclusion from them. For it is here said that
the mourning for the death of Christ shall be like that of

A Good Friday Sermon. 235

Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo. But the mourn
ing of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo was an
anniversary mourning for the death of King Josiah. And
therefore it necessarily follows that the mourning for our
Saviour's Passion should be anniversary too. For otherwise
it would not be like to that ; and for my own part, I can
see no reason in the world why these words should be
inserted here, and this comparison used by the Prophet,
but only to shew that it is the will of God that the Church
should once every year commemorate the Passion of our
Blessed Saviour with fasting and mourning, as the Jews
did the death of King Josiah.

To this we may add another argument out of the Old
Testament also, drawn from the Day of Expiation, so reli
giously observed in that Church by the express command of
God Himself. For the explaining whereof, we must con
sider, first, that once every year, viz. upon the tenth day of
the seventh month, afterwards called Tisri, the High Priest
was to make atonement for the people. For which end,
amongst other things, there were two he-goats presented
before the Lord ; whereof the High Priest took one, and
offered him up for a sin- offering, and with the blood of it
he went into the holy of holies, which he never did but
upon this day. Then he took the other goat, laid both
his hands upon the head of the goat, and confessed over
him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and laid them
upon the head of the goat, and then sent him alive into
the wilderness, and therefore it was called Azarel, or the
scape-goat, which, as the text says, " bore upon him all Levit. 16.
their iniquities into a land not inhabited." Now this was a 22
most exact type of Christ, upon Whom God hath laid the
iniquities of us all. The goat that was offered up as a sin-
offering, typified the human nature of Christ, yet it was
offered up as a sacrifice for our sins. The other, the scape
goat, typified His Divine nature ; which surviving the hu
man by virtue of its union to it, carried our sins away into
the land of forgetfulness, never to be remembered more.
So that this was indeed the most lively representation in the
whole Mosaic Law of that grand expiatory sacrifice, which
Christ, as God-man, was to offer up for the sins of the

236 A Good Friday Sermon.

wk°*e world. Secondly, upon the day that this was done,
Leyit> 16 the people were commanded to afflict themselves. " This,"
29. saith God, " shall be a statute for ever unto you, that in the

seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall
afflict your souls;" that is, you shall afflict them with fasting,
[p. iss. 1.3. as the Jerusalem Targum and Jonathan expound it, so do
1648.] the Arabic and Samaritan versions ; and not only the fathers,
but Philo Judaeus1 and Josephus,2 both learned Jews, say they
fasted upon that day till evening : so says the Talmud ; yea,
Jer. 36. 6. the Prophet Jeremiah calls it the fasting day, and St. Luke
Acts 27. 9. the fast. The Jews also call it ' the fast,' ' the great fast,'
sometimes NDV, 'the day/ %ar e^o^v, as the greatest day in
isa. 58. is. the whole year : Isaiah calls it the Sabbath ; yea, God Him-

Lev. 16. si. self calls it pnatt? riatt?, < a Sabbath of rest;' from whence
cap. xvi. Theodoret rightly observes, that it was croXXw rou aa(3[3arov
22' ' much more sacred and venerable than the

s'chuize fd' common Sabbath;' all which shews in how great esteem this
day was amongst them, and how strictly it was observed by
the appointment of God Himself.

But what should be the reason of all this ? Why should
this day be so religiously observed above all others ? For
that we must consider in the third place, that the reason is

Ver. so. assigned by God Himself, Who saith, " You shall then afflict
your souls, because on that day atonement shall be made for
you to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins
before the Lord," and because it is DnQS DV, ' the day of

Lev. 23. 28. expatiations or atonement,' to make atonement for you be
fore the Lord ; so that they were therefore to fast and afflict
their souls upon that day, because upon that day their sins
were expiated. Expiated how ? By the blood of bulls and

Heb. 10.4. goats ? No ; that is impossible, as the Apostle teacheth ; but
they were expiated by the blood of Christ, then represented
to them under the types and shadows before spoken of.

Hence I observe in the last place, that although the Law
itself was ceremonial, and therefore abolished ; yet the reason
of it is moral, and so obligeth us as much as it did them.
For we believe and hope for expiation of our sins by the
blood of Christ, as much as they did ; and therefore the same

1 [Phil. Jud. de decem Oraculis, torn. 2 [Joseph. Ant. Jud. iii. cap. 10,

ii. p. 206, 1. 15. Ed. Mangey.] torn. i. p. 172. Ed. Havercamp.]

A Good Friday Sermon. 237

reason that obliged them to fast and mourn once every year
at the representation of Christ's death unto them, the same
obligeth us to do the same at the commemoration of it.

Besides that, although the sacrifices then offered were
typical, and the day on which they fasted ceremonial, and
therefore now not necessary to be observed, but rather neces
sary not to be observed by us: yet fasting itself is a moral
duty, and so of perpetual obligation. And therefore, seeing
it hath pleased the Most High God to declare it to be His
will and pleasure that His Church should perform this duty
once every year, upon the account of Christ's suffering and
making atonement for us, I see no way how it is possible for
us to be excused from fasting upon this occasion, any more
than we are or can be from fasting in general.

Especially if we consider what our Saviour Himself said
while He was upon earth : for when some asked Him, say
ing, " Why do the Disciples of John and of the Pharisees Mark 2. 20.
fast, but Thy Disciples fast not?" He answered them, " Can
the children of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom
is with them? But the days will come when the bride
groom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they
fast in those days." In what days? Even in those days
wherein He the bridegroom was taken from them ; that is,
the day whereon He was crucified, and the next day while
He lay in the grave, not being restored to them again till
His resurrection. In those days, saith He, they shall fast ;
and that not only at that time, but every year after, when
those days return. And think not this to be any novel in
terpretation of these words : I '11 assure you it is near as
old as Christianity itself, as appears from Tertullian, who [DC Jejun.
lived in the very next age to the Apostles. For he, speak- pap5'44* c
ing of the Catholic or orthodox Christians at that time, Ed.Rigait.]
saith, Certe in Evangelio illos dies jejuniis determinatos
putant, in quibus ablatus est Sponsus. ' They surely think or
believe those days in which the Bridegroom was taken away,
to be determined or devoted to fasting in the Gospel itself:'
and therefore both at that time, and ever after, those days
were religiously observed in the Church, as might easily be
demonstrated. But as for the day of the Passion itself, [De Orat.
which we are now speaking of, the same ancient Father A.]4' p'135'

238 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. saith expressly, that upon that day, there was in his time,
— Communis et quasi publica jejunii religio. So that they
reckoned it a great part of their religion to fast upon that
day ; and so have all Christians in all places and ages ever
since, insomuch that there is scarce any one thing in the
whole Christian religion, wherein all the professors of it have
so unanimously and perpetually agreed, as they have in the
strict and religious observation of this day : yea, at this very
time, except some few among ourselves, and one or two
neighbour nations, go where you will into any part of the
known world, and if there be any Christians there, you will
find them at this time of the year fasting and mourning for
the Passion of Christ. This being one of those common
notions and general customs which have spread over the face
of the universal Church, and have been received in all places
of the whole Christian world.

And therefore if any one seem to be contentious, and will,

notwithstanding all this, indulge his appetite upon this day,

I may answer him as the Apostle did the seditious Corinth-

[i Cor. 11. ians in the like case, that " we have no such custom, neither

the Churches of God."

Thus I have briefly touched upon some of those many
arguments, which might be produced for the anniversary
commemoration of our Saviour's Passion; to which I might
add the great reasonableness of the thing itself; but that
will better appear under the second general head, wherein I
promised to assist and direct you in the performance of this
duty : which being the work, the great work of the day, I
hope you have spent some time already in it, and are now
rightly disposed to hearken to any thing that may conduce to
your better observation of this day, this great day of atonement,
whereon the Son of God made satisfaction for our sins.

First therefore, in order hereunto, it is necessary that we
seriously contemplate, and be heartily grieved for the suffer
ings which our blessed Lord underwent for us, " That we
look upon Him Whom we have pierced, and mourn for Him
as one mourneth for his only son ; and be in bitterness for
Him, as he that is in bitterness for his first-born." For
which end we need not any ocular representations of our
Saviour's Passion, such as are used in the Church of Rome, to

A Good Friday Sermon. 239

the great scandal of the Christian religion, turning the mys
teries of our faith into matters of sense, as if we were to act
altogether by sight, and not by faith. No, the most effectual
means is to meditate with faith and attention upon the sad
and doleful story of our Lord's Passion, as it is recorded in
the Holy Gospels: out of which I shall endeavour to repre
sent it to you in few terms.

But that you may be duly affected with it, I desire you to
carry two things in your minds all the while that I am
speaking of it. First, that He who suffered was the Eternal
Son of God, of the same nature, substance and glory with
the Father. Secondly, that all He suffered was only upon
our account, and for the expiation of " our sins," for He had
no sins of His Own to suffer for : and therefore had it not
been for man's sins, whose nature He assumed, He neither
would, nor could have suffered at all.

Recollect yourselves therefore, my beloved, and consider
each one with himself, what sins you know yourselves to
have been guilty of; and remember, remember these were
they which brought our Saviour with grief and sorrow to
His grave. These were they which exposed the Son of God
to all the malice that men or devils could express against
Him. These were they which made the Maker of the world
to be affronted, reviled, blasphemed, rejected, despised,
abused, by his own creatures. Indeed, they made His whole
life upon earth but as one continued exercise of patience
and self-denial. But to pass by the misery and trouble He
underwent before, let me desire you only to accompany your
Lord from the garden to the Cross, and then tell me whether
you have not all the reason in the world to have compassion
for Him, whose passions were so great, so exceeding great
for you ?

First therefore, go into the garden of Gethsemane, where
you find your Saviour the day before His Crucifixion. See Matt.26.36.
here what your sins have done, into what a miserable con
dition they have brought the Son of God Himself, lying so
heavy, pressing so hard upon Him, that His whole soul
seems to be overwhelmed with grief and anguish for them.
Why, what doth He say ? Even that which should cut us
to the very heart to hear. " My soul," saith He, " is exceed- Ver. ss.

240 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. ing; sorrowful even unto death." Wonder of wonders! the

LXV

— joy and life of the whole world is exceeding " sorrowful
even unto death," and all for those sins which we, ungrateful
wretches that we are, have lived and delighted in. But
what! shall our Lord be thus exceeding sorrowful for us,
and we not sympathise with Him ? express no grief, no
sorrow for Him, nor for those sins neither that brought
all this upon Him ? Surely it is impossible, or at least
unreasonable.

Especially if you go but a little farther into the garden,
for there you see ; oh ! what do we see there ? The saddest
spectacle that ever mortal eye has yet. beheld, even the Son

Matt.26.39. of God, the Only-begotten of the Father, lying flat upon the
ground ; a strange posture for so great a prince, for Glory,
for Majesty, for Eminence itself to lie in. But what is the
matter ? Alas ! the reason is as plain as sad, for He sees
a cup in His Father's hand, a cup of deadly poison, mixed
and compounded of all the sins of mankind, and of all the
fire and brimstone, the wrath and vengeance that was due
unto them. This cup He sees approaching to Him, brought
by the hand of His Own Father ; upon this the human
nature, being left as it were to itself, began to shrink, as
loath to drink down this bitter cup. Hence it is that you
find Him in this doleful posture, wherein He offered up
prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto
Him that was able to save Him from death, saying, " O My
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me." If it be
possible, if Thou hast not absolutely determined the con
trary, and if it be possible for mankind to be otherwise
saved, "let this cup pass from Me :" but He had no sooner
spoke the words, but the Divine Will exerts and manifests
itself, upon which the human immediately submits ; and
therefore He adds, " Nevertheless not My will, but Thine be
done."

And now His soul was made an offering for sin indeed.
For He hath no sooner drunk this envenomed cup, but
see how the poison works ! It puts Him into a perfect
agony : His veins swell, His blood is inflamed, it ferments
and boils to that height, that it forceth its passage through

Luke 22. 4i. His very skin. "So that He sweats drops, great drops of

A Good Friday Sermon. 241

blood." How fast do they trickle down His blessed sides !
as if all the pores of His body were now opened to let His
blood out, and grief and anguish into His heart.

Consider this all ye that are here present, and tell me
whether ever " sorrow was like unto Christ's sorrow," in the
day when God laid on Him " the iniquities of us all." Tell
me, how it was possible for the human nature to have under
gone it, unless it had been supported by the omnipotence of
that Divine Person to which it was united ? Tell me also
how you can be able to endure yourselves, when you remem
ber how much the Eternal Son of God endured for you ?
Verily, methinks the serious consideration of it should make
our hearts sink within us ; at least it should make us lament
and mourn, loathe and abhor ourselves, and repent in dust
and ashes, that ever we should be the occasion of so much
grief and anguish, horror and consternation, to the Son of
God Himself !

But alas ! this is not all neither ; for He was no sooner
got up, and a little recovered from His agony, but presently,
as if Hell was let loose upon Him, behold ! yonder comes a
great multitude of people with swords and staves to take
Him, and amongst them His own perfidious Disciple, by
whose assistance they both find Him out, and lay violent
hands upon Him : and now we see what it is to fall into the
hands of the rabble, against whose rage and fury neither
majesty nor innocence itself is any security ; for they have
no sooner seized Him, but away they hurry Him from place
to place, affronting, abusing, tormenting Him all the way ;
they spit in His face, they buffet Him, they mock Him,
they blindfold Him, they smite Him with the palms of
their hands, they hale Him from one judgment-seat to
another, crying out wheresoever they come, " Crucify Him!
Crucify Him ! " they prefer a thief and murderer before Him,
and never leave Him till they have extorted a sentence of
condemnation against Him.

And now our Lord is condemned; He is condemned by
those that could not have pronounced the sentence against
Him, had not He Himself at the same time vouchsafed
them breath to do it. He is condemned to die, to die for
us, that we might not be condemned to eternal death by

R

242 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. Him ; He is condemned to die the death, the shameful,
LXV> — the painful, " the accursed death upon the cross," and all to

redeem us from shame, from pain, and from all the curses
of the Law.

Oh the power of Divine love ! That ever the Judge of
the whole world should thus suffer Himself to be appre
hended, accused, arraigned, condemned by those who must
one day appear before His judgment-seat, and all that Him
self at that great day might not condemn both them and all
mankind besides.

But now He is condemned, will they offer to execute so
severe, so unjust a sentence upon Him? Yes, certainly, and
that too with all the malice and fury that Hell itself could
put into them ; for so soon as condemned, they immediately
scourge Him, bow the knee before Him in mockery and
derision, they put a crown of thorns upon His head, and
instead of a sceptre, a reed into His hands; and in this
ignominious manner they lead Him to the place of execution,
where the cross being fixed in the ground, they raise His
sacred body upon it, and fasten His hands and feet unto it
with nails drove through them ; and in this sad posture they
leave the great and glorious King of Heaven and Earth.

Now let us imagine ourselves to have stood by the Cross
whilst our Saviour thus hung upon it, and so exercise the
same passions as we should have done, had we been really
there ; or howsoever let us but act our faith, that faith which
[Heb. 11. is "the evidence of things not seen," and that will realise
1>] these things unto us, as if we saw them before our eyes. By

this I see my Saviour, my dear, my only Saviour, hanging
yonder upon a cross ; I see His hands stretched out and
nailed to the transverse beam at the upper end, and His feet
towards the bottom of it ; I see both His hands and feet all
bloody ; how fast doth the blood gush out of the orifices
which the nails have made! What sharp and cruel pain
must He needs feel in those nerves and tender parts thus
pierced with iron ! Methinks I see the pain first raised
there, immediately diffuse itself over His whole body : His
head begins to ache, His heart to pant, His joints are all
upon a rack, and His soul is tormented with the sense of
God's wrath and indignation against sin now laid upon

A Good Friday Sermon. 243

Him ; methinks I see Him all in a flame, offering up Him
self as a whole burnt-offering for the sins of mankind in
general, and for mine in particular ; vile wretch, unworthy
creature that I am, that ever I should be the cause that so
pure, so holy, so Divine a person should be thus afflicted !

But hark ! What mournful noise is that I hear ? Woe
is me, it is the voice of my Lord, crying out in the anguish
and bitterness of His soul, " Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani ?
My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"

From whence I plainly see, that His pain and torment
was now as great as it was possible for man, in the Person
of God Himself to undergo ; "for although He doubts not of
God's love and favour to His Person, yet He finds and feels
the utmost of His wrath and justice against the sins of that
nature which He assumed, and wherein He now suffers to
that height, that He cries out as if He had been " forsaken
by God " in the midst of all His troubles, and deprived of all
that comfort and assistance which He was wont to receive
from Him.

" My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ? " Oh,
who is able to express that pain, that grief, that horror which
our Lord was in for our sakes, when He spake these doleful
words? Which certainly was so exceeding great, that He
was not able to endure it long, for He soon after commended
His spirit into His Father's hands, and so " gave up the
ghost," and died. And died to the astonishment of the
whole world. Indeed all the while that He was upon the
Cross, the sun hid his head as ashamed to behold so sad a
sight : and the Heavens put on their mourning weeds, as
condoling and sympathizing with their Lord and Master.
But He was no sooner dead, but the whole creation seems
so surprized, amazed, confounded at it ; " the veil of the
Temple was rent in twain, the earth quaked, the rocks were
split, the graves were opened, and many bodies of Saints
which slept arose." What! And shall we alone, of all the
creatures in the world, be unconcerned at it ? Are our
hearts more senseless than the earth ? More hard than
rocks ? More stubborn than the graves ? More dead than
rotten carcasses ? How then is it possible for us, who caused
all this grief and trouble to Him, not to be grieved and

244 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. troubled for it ourselves? How is it possible for us to look

T "VV

— " upon Him whom we have thus pierced," and not " mourn
for Him, as one mourneth for his only son ; and be in bitter
ness for Him, as he that is in bitterness for his first-born?"
How is it possible for us to commemorate our Saviour's
Passion, as we do this day, and not break forth into this, or
[Jer.g.i.] the like 'lamentation for it, "Oh that my head were waters,
and mine eyes a fountain of tears ! that I might weep day
and night" for the death of my Blessed Saviour, and for my
sins which were the occasion of it : that ever I should have a
hand in His blood, and be accessary to the murder of the
Son of God ! " The remembrance of it is grievous to me,
the burden of it is intolerable." What shall I do with my
self? Why, this I am resolved to do: let others laugh and
be merry if they can ; for my part, I'll weep, lament and
mourn myself into an utter hatred and detestation of those
sins which caused my Saviour Himself to grieve, lament
and die.

And that is the next thing which is necessary to our right
observation of this day. We must not only mourn, but so
mourn for Him whom we have pierced, as to hate and
abhor those sins by which we pierced Him : otherwise we
cannot be said to mourn, nor so much as to be sorry for
Him. And if so, how few mourners hath Christ among us !
For how few are there amongst us, but who are so far from
hating, that they love and delight in those sins for which
Christ suffered so much pain and sorrow ! AVhat else means
that luxury and uncleanness, that debauchery and intempe
rance, that pride and self-conceitedness, that fraud, covet-
ousness, hypocrisy, and indifferency for religion, which is so
common, so general amongst us ? Doth not this plainly
argue, that notwithstanding all that Christ hath done and
suffered for us, we have still more love for our sins than we
have for Him, and still prefer the world, ourselves, our very
lusts, before Him ?

But how shall we answer for this, when we come to
stand before Christ's tribunal ? Yea, what answer shall we
return unto Him, now that we are in His special presence ?

Oh Blessed Jesu ! we confess that we have nothing to
plead for ourselves before Thee. We adore and magnify

A Good Friday Sermon. 245

Thy Name, that Thou vouchsafest to suffer for our sins :
but we loathe, we abhor ourselves before Thee, that we
have not as yet sufficiently loathed and abhorred our sins
for which Thou wast pleased to suffer. We humbly crave
Thy pardon for what is past, and for the future beseech
Thee to endow us with that measure of Thy Grace and Holy
Spirit, that as Thou wast pleased to offer up Thyself for us,
so we may offer up ourselves wholly unto Thee, as we desire
to do this day.

This indeed was one great end of our Saviour's death ;
and therefore this ought to be the great end of our com
memoration of it at this time ; even that we may so mourn
for our sins, which were the occasion of it, as to detest and
hate them ; and so detest and hate them, as to forsake and
leave them, and for the future, live wholly unto Him that
died for us : without which, all our fasting and mourning,
and whatsoever else we do this day, will avail us nothing.
And certainly as the death of Christ is the most effectual
means whereby we may, so it is the strongest argument in
the world too, why we should forsake our sins and turn to
God. For what, shall the Eternal Son of God condescend
so far as to become man, in order to the expiation of our
sins, and shall we yet continue in them ? Shall He suffer
reproach in His Name, pain in His body, sorrow at His very
heart for them, and yet we continue in them ? Yea, shall
He be arraigned, condemned, and crucified for them too,
and yet we continue in them ? Oh " tell it not in Gath, l> Sam. i.
publish it not in the streets of Askalon, lest the daughters
of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncir-
cumcised be glad." Tell it not in Hell, publish it not in
the regions of darkness, lest the Devil himself rejoice, and
his fiends triumph to see the Son of God dying for the sins
of men, and yet the sons of men still living in their sins !
What is, if this be not, to crucify to yourselves the Son of [Heb.6.6.]
God afresh, and to put Him to an open shame? I know you
cannot but all blame Judas for betraying, Pilate for con
demning, and the Jews for crucifying, your Blessed Saviour.
But what ? Will you act the same tragedy over again, and
do that yourselves, which you so justly abhor in them?

Oh that this might not be said of any one here present.

246 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. But that you would all for the future be revenged of your
— sins for the miseries they brought upon your Saviour,

[Gal. 5. 24.] and serve them as they served Him, even " crucify the
flesh with its affections and lusts," and give up yourselves
to Him, who gave Himself for you on purpose that He

[Tit. 2. 14.] might " redeem you from all iniquity, and purify you to
Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." That
this may be the happy effect of your meeting together upon
this sad and solemn occasion, give me leave to conclude with
this brief exhortation to you.

Men, brethren, and fathers,

We have this day been looking upon " Him whom we
have pierced," and I hope, " mourning for Him ;" we have
considered how much the Eternal Son of God hath suffered
in our natures, that we might not suffer in our own persons
unto all eternity : how He became not only a man, but

[Tsa.ss. 3.] « a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief," destitute,
afflicted, tormented, crucified, and all to satisfy God's jus
tice for our sins, and to purchase for us all things necessary
to make us happy. Now therefore that you have heard
so much of what the Son of God hath suffered for your
sakes, you cannot surely but look upon yourselves as highly
obliged to do all you can for His sake.

In His Name therefore, and for His sake, I beseech you
all, " by His agony and bloody sweat, by His Cross and
Passion, by His death and burial," that you would dote no
longer upon the toys and trifles of this lower world, but
love, honour and prefer Him your Saviour before all things

[Matt. 16. in it. For His sake I beseech you to " deny yourselves,
take up your cross, and follow Him," avoiding whatsoever
you know to be forbidden, and doing whatsoever is com-

[Matt. s. manded by Him. For His sake I beseech you, " Let your
light so shine before men, that others may see your good
works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." For
His sake I beseech you to be constant in your devotions
to God, steadfast in the profession of your faith, and zealous
for that religion which He hath prescribed and settled
amongst you. For His sake I beseech you to be sober
and temperate in the use of His creatures, free and liberal
in your contributions to His poor members, just and right-

A Good Friday Sermon. 247

eous in all your dealings ; in short, I beseech you all, for
Christ Jesus's sake, to live continually in the true faith and
fear of Almighty God, in humble obedience to the king
and to all that are put in authority under him, in brotherly
love and charity to one another ; and when you have done
all, put your full trust and confidence in Him, and Him
alone, both for the pardon of your sins, and for the accept
ance of your persons and performances before God.

Do but all this for His sake, and then I dare assure you,
you will soon find the fruit and efficacy of His death and
passion for you ; for then He will be your Advocate in
Heaven, and plead your cause before His Father ; He will
take care that your sins be all pardoned, and your obliga
tions to punishment cancelled and made void ; He will
supply you continually with the influences of His Holy
Spirit, and with all things necessary both for life and godli
ness ; He will carry you through all the " changes and
chances of this mortal life," so as to make them all conspire
and work together for your good ; He will defend you
against all the attempts and contrivances both of men and
devils, so that the gates of Hell itself shall never be able to
prevail against you ; and at last He will take you to Him
self, to live with Him, to be Kings and Priests, and glorified
Saints in Heaven ; when all your mourning for Him shall
be turned into praises and adorations of Him, and you will
spend eternity itself in doing that which I humbly desire
you all to join with me in doing at this time, even in
praising and magnifying the Eternal God our Saviour, of
Whom we have been now speaking in the words of the holy
Evangelist.

" Unto Him that loved, and hath washed us from our sins ^Rey l
in His Own blood, and hath made us Kings and Priests to 6.]
God and the Father, to Him be glory and dominion for ever
and ever." Amen.

SERMON LXVI.

A GOOD FRIDAY SERMON.

JOHN xix. 30.
And He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.

SER.M. WHENSOEVER we commemorate the death of Christ, as
"~ we do this day, we ought at the same time to remember
also the sins that caused it. And not only the sins of man
kind in general, but ours likewise in particular ; the sins
which we all know, every one himself, to have been guilty
of, and the condition they have brought us all into ; for till
this be done, we can never be duly affected as we ought
with the consideration of what the Son of God hath suffered
for us.

For this purpose therefore, let us first look back a little
upon our former lives, and take a short review of what we
have and what we have not done ; what duties we have
neglected ; and what vices and wickedness we have com
mitted since we came into the world. And if we do this
with a single and impartial eye, we may easily perceive that
our whole lives have been but as one continued sin against
Him in Whom we live ; and all our thoughts, words and
actions, a plain contradiction to those holy, and wise, and
righteous laws, which He that made us hath set before us ;
we contracted that guilt by coming through the loins of
our sinful parents, for which we might justly have been con
demned to everlasting darkness, before we had ever seen the
light of the sun. And yet, as if that had not been enough,
as we were born, so we have lived all along in sin. Our
childhood and youth, at best, were spent in ignorance and

A Good Friday Sermon. 249

vanity. And since we came to riper years, how little good,
how much evil have we done ! what place, what company,
or'what condition were we ever in, wherein we carried our
selves so wisely and religiously as we ought ? What spiritual
duty, or civil employment did we ever set about, but we failed
some way or other in the performance of it ? Which of us
have answered the end of our creation ? We were all created
to serve and honour our Creator ; which of us have done it
as we ought ? But instead of that, how have we all broken
His laws, abused His mercies, slighted His judgments, mis
trusted His promises, despised His threatenings, and so dis
honoured His sacred and most glorious Name, through the
whole course of our lives.

I need not descend to particulars; you cannot but all know,
every one the plague of his own heart, and the several mis
carriages of his own life, which, in the best of us," are so
many and great, that the remembrance of them must needs
be grievous to us, and the burden so intolerable, that it is a
wonder that wre are able to bear it, as considering whom we
have offended, and what we have deserved by them. By
our sins we have offended the Almighty Creator and Gover
nor of the world ; for His Law being like Himself, pure, and
holy, and perfect, every transgression of it is not only an
affront to His majesty, but a repugnancy to His very nature,
and therefore must needs be very offensive and displeasing
to Him. Hence it is, that He hath expressed so much
anger against all sinners, such as we have all been. Which,
if duly considered, is of itself sufficient to make our hearts
even sink within us ; that He that made and maintains us,
should be angry with us; that wisdom, glory, power, justice,
yea, goodness, and love, and mercy itself, should be dis
pleased at us ; who can think of it without horror and amaze
ment ? Especially if we consider withal, the sad effects of
this Divine displeasure and vengeance, which we have de
served, and may justly expect to be executed upon us.
Shame, and pain, and grief, and poverty, and sickness, and
temporal death, these are the least, and but the beginnings
of them ; for over and above these, we are liable every
moment to be cast down headlong into the bottomless pit
of Hell, " where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not Mark 9. 44.

250 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. quenched ;" that is, where men's consciences are perpetually
-J— gnawed and tormented with the remembrance of their former
sins and follies, and the fire of God's wrath is always burn
ing in their breasts, never to be quenched or abated. This
we have all deserved a thousand times over by our sins, and
therefore cannot but look upon ourselves, at this time, as so
many guilty malefactors here assembled before the Judge of
Heaven and earth, who may justly condemn us when He
pleaseth to these our deserved torments ; we lie perfectly at
His mercy : and yet we have no ground in the world to hope
for any at His righteous hands, unless there be some way or
other found out, whereby His wrath may be appeased, and
His justice satisfied for the dishonour we have done Him
by the sins that we have committed against Him.

This therefore is the work, the great work which the Son
of God Himself undertook, and as upon this day accom
plished for us, when, as it is here said, " He bowed His
head, and gave up the ghost." Which that we may rightly
understand, we shall consider three things.

I. Who the Person here spoken of was, who thus un
dertook to make atonement and satisfaction for our sins.

II. What He did for the accomplishment of it, " He gave
up the ghost."

III. How we come to be so far interested in what He
then did, as to obtain pardon and Salvation by it.

First, as to the Person, He is here called JESUS, that is,
a Saviour, which name was given Him before He was con-
Matt. 1.21. ceived in the womb, upon this very account, because "He
was to save His people from their sins." But to know what
kind of Person this was, and is, so as to frame a right idea
of Him in our minds, we must take notice of three things
especially in Him, wThich if we consult the Oracles of God
without prejudice, we may easily find to be so peculiar to
Him, that they all three never did, nor can meet together in
any other person in the world, but only in Him.

1. That He was the Only-begotten Son of God, begotten
from eternity, of the Essence or Substance of the Father,
and therefore of the same Essence or Substance with Him ;
the Second Person in the most Blessed Trinity; really
and truly God, coequal, consubstantial, coeternal with the

A Good Friday Sermon. 251

Father and the Holy Ghost, one and the same God with
them.

2. That in the "fulness of time" He became Man also, [Gal. 4. 4.]
born of a woman, and therefore of the same nature and sub
stance with the rest of mankind, consisting of such a soul

and such a body as other men have.

3. That as He was both God and Man, so He was not,
nor is one Person as God, and another Person as Man, but
one and the same Person both as God and Man. The
human nature which He assumed having no subsistence out
of His Divine Person, but at its first conception was so
united to it, as to make but One Person with it. " So that
as the reasonable soul and body is one man, so God and
Man is one Christ," as it is expressed in the Athanasian
Creed.

If you ask how this could be done, that the infinite and
immortal God should become also a finite and mortal man ?
I answer, that we being fully assured by God Himself that
it is so, as we cannot question the possibility of it, so we
ought not to be too curious in searching into the way and
manner how it was effected. What is necessary for us to
know concerning it, is as clearly, as so great a mystery could
be, revealed to us in the answer which the Angel Gabriel,
at the same time when it was done, gave to the Blessed
Virgin, wondering how it was possible for her, who knew no
man, to bear a son. "The Holy Ghost," saith he, " shall Luke i. 35.
come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall over
shadow thee : therefore also that Holy Thing which shall be
born of thee, shall be called the Son of God." Where we
may observe, that this great mystery was effected by the
almighty power of God, the Holy Ghost Himself coming in
a wonderful manner upon the Blessed Virgin, and so over
shadowing her, as to cause her to conceive without the help
of man, and at the same time uniting what was so conceived
to the Son of God. And therefore what was then conceived,
and afterwards born of that Virgin, is here called not an
holy child, or an holy man, or person only, but ro' a^/ov,
'the Holy Thing;' which plainly imports the whole com
position, God and Man in One Person, according to that
famous prophecy of Isaiah, " A Virgin shall conceive, and isa. 7. u.

252 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel;" Immanuel,
— that is, " God with us," as the word signifies, <3>edv6gu<ros9 God
and Man together.

But here we may farther observe, that it is here said that
because the Holy Ghost should come upon the Virgin, and
the power of the Highest should overshadow her : therefore
also that Holy Thing which should be born of her, should be
called the Son of God ; which shews that He was the Son
of God, not therefore only because as God, He was begotten
from eternity of the Father ; but therefore also because as
Man, He was conceived by the almighty power of God. So

Luke 3. 38. that as Adam was therefore called the Son of God, because
he was formed immediately by God Himself out of the dust
of the earth ; so Christ is therefore also called the Son of
God, because He was formed likewise by the immediate
power of God, out of the flesh of the Virgin. Neither is
this the only thing wherein Adam and Christ agree ; for
besides their being both formed immediately by God Him
self: as Adam when he was first formed, was not only one
particular man, but all mankind was contained in him ; and
therefore he was not called by any particular name, but
Adam, that is, man in general : so also Christ, He was not
only one particular human Person, but human nature in
general was united to His Divine Person, and therefore all
mankind, as partaking of that nature, were as really con
tained in Him, as they were in Adam. And hence it is,
that He also is called Adam by the Apostle himself, saying,

i Cor. is. " The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam

Rom. 5. was made a quickening spirit." And the same Apostle shews
at large, that Adam and Christ were equally the common
heads and representatives of all mankind, that all might
recover by the one what they had lost by the other. And as

ver. 19. by one man's disobedience, " many were made sinners : so by
the obedience of one, shall many be made righteous." And

i Cor. is. elsewhere he saith, " As in Adam all die, even so in Christ
shall all be made alive." Which I therefore observe here,
because it will give us great light, as we shall see presently,
into that mysterious, as well as most wise and gracious
method which Christ took to expiate our sins, and to ac
complish our Salvation.

A Good Friday Sermon. 253

Which is the next thing to be considered, even how this
Divine Person having thus taken our nature upon Him,
made atonement and satisfaction to God for the sins of man
kind, so as to put us again into a state of Salvation? I
answer in general, He did it by laying down His life : when,
as it is said in my text, " He bowed His head, and gave up
the ghost;" then did He make full and complete satisfac
tion to God for the sins of mankind. But for our better
understanding of this, before we come to speak of His death,
it will be necessary to look back a little upon His life, and
consider what He had done before in order to it.

For this purpose therefore we may observe, that Christ,
after He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the
Virgin Mary, lived about thirty years as it were incognito in
the world, being looked upon all that while as no more than
a private person. But then being baptized and consecrated
to it by the Holy Ghost descending visibly upon Him, He
publicly entered upon His office, and set upon the work He
came to do, even to save mankind . And from that time forward
whatsoever He spake, or did, or suffered, was doubtless some
way or other in order to that end. His words were all as so
many oracles uttered by God Himself, to direct and instruct
mankind what to believe and do that they might be saved.
And as never man spake as He spake, so never man did as
He did. For He went about continually doing good, and
dispersing His miraculous charity among the people; whereby
He did not only cure their bodies, but their souls too, by
convincing them that He was their Saviour, and so confirm
ing their faith in Him, without which they could never be
saved by Him.

But at the same time that He began publicly to do good,
He began likewise to suffer evil. Not that He had deserved
any Himself, for as He was conceived and born, so He lived
and died, perfectly void of sin. And therefore all His suffer
ings from first to last, could be for no other but only for the
sins of mankind, in whose nature He underwent them. And
it is much to be observed, that whatsoever kind of punish
ment we have deserved for our sins, He suffered the same
for our sakes, and in our stead. Have we deserved to be
tempted and hurried about by the fiends of Hell ? He was

254 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. no sooner baptized, but He was led into the Wilderness, and
— there tempted by the Devil, who from thence carried Him
to Hierusalem, and there set Him upon a pinnacle of the
Temple, and then hurried Him to the top of an exceeding
high mountain, and all to prevail with Him, if it had been
possible, to sin against God. Have we deserved hunger, and
Matt. 4. 2. thirst, and weariness ? He at the same time fasted " forty
days, and forty nights, and was afterwards hungry ; " and
at another time was weary with His journey, and so thirsty,
John 4. 6, 7. that He desired a woman of Samaria to give Him a little
water to drink. Have we deserved to live in penury and
Matt. s. 20. want of all things ? He had not so much as a house to put
ch. 17. 27. His head in ; nor money enough to pay His tribute without
Luke s. 3. working a miracle ; nor victuals, but what He was beholden
to some good women for, who ministered to Him of their
substance. Have we deserved shame, reproach and igno
miny ? Never did man bear so much of that, as our Lord
did for our sakes ! He was despised and rejected of men.
He was reproached for being mad, and for dealing with
[John 7. 20; the Devil. He was called a Samaritan, a glutton, a wine-
ii^Matt> bibber, a " friend of publicans and sinners." He was made
the derision and laughing-stock of the rabble. He was
stripped, and then clothed with scarlet. He had thorns put
upon His head for a crown, and a reed into His hand for a
sceptre. He was mocked, He was spit upon, He was
smitten upon the head. He was haled from one judge to
another, and at last was hanged upon a cross between two
Matt. 27. notorious malefactors.

Have we deserved grief and sorrow of heart ? He was " a

[is. 53. 3.] man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." He wept, He

Matt.26.38. was grieved, His " soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto

death." Have we deserved pain and torment in our bodies?

Luke 22.44. He was in that pain and torment, that He sweat great drops

of blood, which fell down from His blessed body to the

ground. Have we deserved to be forsaken of all our friends ?

He was forsaken of all His Disciples, and betrayed too by

one of them. Have we deserved to be accused, arraigned,

condemned for our sins? He was accused, He was arraigned,

He was condemned for them. In a word, have we deserved

death ? He hath suffered it, even the death upon the Cross.

A Good Friday Sermon. 255

And now we have brought our Lord unto the Cross, let
us dwell a little upon the contemplation of what He did,
and what He suffered all the while He was upon it, which
was three long hours together. One remarkable thing He
did upon the Cross was, that He prayed for those who nailed
Him to it, that God would pardon that very sin they com
mitted in it, saying, " Father, forgive them, for they know Luke 23. 34.
not what they do." He extenuates their crime as much as
possible, by imputing it to their ignorance ; but it being a
sin never to be pardoned without Him, He Himself prays
for the pardon of it. Whereby He hath not only taught us
by His example as well as precept, to love, and pray for our
very enemies, but hath certified us withal, that it is only by
His merits and Mediation for us, that our sins can be for
given. After this, seeing His mother standing by, He com
mitted her to the care of His beloved Disciple : and so hath John 19. 26,
left us a great example of that care and honour that children
ought to have for their parents, not only while they live, but
when they die. Then He converted one of the thieves, to
shew that conversion comes from Him.

These things He did upon the Cross ; but who is able to
express what He suffered all the while He was upon it ?
He being fastened to it with nails drove through His hands
and feet, the most nervous parts of His pure and vigorous
body, the pain of His body could not but be the most exqui
site and acute that it was possible for any one to bear. And
yet that was nothing in comparison of what He suffered in
His soul, which was so overwhelmed with the sense and
horror of the sins for which He suffered, that He cried out
as if He had been forsaken by God Himself, " Eli, Eli, [Matt. 27.
Lama Sabachthani, My God, My God, why hast Thou for- 46']
saken me?" And now His soul was made an offering for
sin : a whole burnt-offering : wherefore being all in a flame,
and knowing also that all things which the Prophets had
foretold should be done unto Him before His death, were
now accomplished, but only that one, " They gave Me gall PS. 69. 21.
for My meat, and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to
drink : " that this also might be fulfilled, He said, " I thirst ; " [John 19.
upon which some that stood by, having filled a sponge with
vinegar mixed with gall, they put it upon a stalk of hyssop,

256 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. and so reached it up to His mouth, which when He had re-

LXVI

— ceived, He said, " It is finished ;" that is, All that was necessary
for Me to do for the Salvation of mankind before My death,
is now finished ; so that I have nothing else to do but to die.
And having said this, " He bowed His head, and gave up
the ghost."

His hands and feet being nailed to the Cross, He could
riot bow His whole body, but His head being loose, He
bowed that, and so worshipped and adored Almighty God
His Father in the most solemn manner that He could, which
plainly shews the extreme ignorance, or rather impudence of
those who deride and condemn this ancient and natural way
of worshipping God by bowing our heads or bodies towards
Him : as if it were a mere superstitious rite and ceremony.
For here we see our Lord Himself did it, yea, it was the last
act He did in His whole life : and therefore it is strange to
me how any who pretend to be His disciples, should either
neglect it themselves, or blame others for doing what their
Master did. But because it is here said only, that " He
bowed His head," we must not think that He performed
only bodily worship ; for, as St. John here saith, " He bowed
His head, and gave up the ghost ;" St. Luke says, that He

Luke 23. 46. said, " Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit," and
having said thus, " He gave up the ghost." From whence
it appears, that at the same time that " He bowed His head,"
He said, " Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit,"
and so worshipped Him both in body and spirit too.

And having done this, He immediately gave up the ghost,
tfageduxe rb vvevfta, He delivered it up accordingly into the
hands of His Father ; which shews, that His soul was not
forced from His body by the violence of the pain, but He
breathed it out of His own accord, as the Fathers frequently

John 10. 17, observe: agreeably to what He Himself saith, "Therefore
doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that
I might take it again : no man taketh it from Me, but I lay
it down of Myself." And that He did so, appears likewise
from His crying with so loud a voice immediately before His
2 expirme » as tne Evangelists agree He did, when He uttered

50; Mark these words, " Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit."

23.46'.] ^ ie For if His body had been so weak as not to be able to con-

A Good Friday Sermon. 257

tain His soul any longer, He could not have spoke at all,
much less so strongly as He did. And therefore His speak
ing so loud at the same time that He breathed out His soul,
clearly argues that He might have kept it longer if He had
pleased, and by consequence, that He gave up the ghost
then voluntarily and of His own accord. Insomuch that
the centurion who stood by and heard it, could not but from
thence conclude that He was indeed the Son of God, in that Markis.39.
He did not die as others do, by having their souls forced
from their bodies, but by sending it forth Himself, before the
time that it would otherwise have departed : as it is plain
also that He did, in that He died before the two thieves that
were crucified with Him ; for the soldiers were forced to
break their legs to despatch them, but they did not break Jolm 19.33.
His, because they saw that He was dead already. But
His body being so clear and strong, as be sure it was,
could not but have held out longer than theirs, according
to the ordinary course of nature. And therefore His
dying before them plainly demonstrates that it was His
Own voluntary act, and that to make His sacrifice more
acceptable and satisfactory for the sins of mankind, He
offered up Himself as a free-will offering to His Father for
them.

But some perhaps may say, what necessity was there that
He should give up the ghost ? Had not He suffered enough
before to expiate our sins, but He must needs die too ? I
answer, it is true that He being God as well as well as man,
all His sufferings were of infinite yalue. But howsoever, it
was as necessary that He should suffer death, as any other
punishment that we have deserved : as you may easily see, if
you will but cast your eye a little upon the first establish
ment of the Gospel in Paradise, which in short was this ;
God said to Adam the same day he was created, " Of the Gen. 2. 17.
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat ;
for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die."
Adam notwithstanding did eat thereof, and therefore God,
who cannot lie, having said it, it was necessary both that he
should die, and that he should die that very day wherein he
did it. But see here the infinite wisdom and love of God, Who
found out a way to make His Word good, and yet save man

s

258 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. from death. For Adam at that time was not the only, but
— all the men in the world, all mankind being then in him,

the whole nature and species of man ; for which cause, as I
observed before, he had no particular name given him, but
was called Adam, man in general. Hence therefore the
death that was threatened in case of disobedience, was not
threatened to Him as a single or particular person, but to
the whole nature of man contained in him ; which therefore,
according to that threatening, must have died that very day,
so as that there never would have been another man upon
earth, but only the first, and he would not have continued a
whole day upon it. To prevent which, God was pleased
immediately, in the cool of the same day, to unite, by pro
mise, the said nature of man to the person of His Own Son,
and there to inflict that death upon it, which He had before

Gen. 3. is. threatened against it. For He then promised, that the seed
of the woman should break the serpent's head, and the ser
pent should bruise his heel. In which few words are couched
all the great mysteries of the Gospel. Christ's conception
by the Holy Ghost of the seed of the woman, without the
help of man : His conquest over Satan ; " He shall break the

[i John 3. serpent's head ; " that is, He shall destroy the works of the
Devil, and so rescue man from that sin and misery which
the Devil had brought him into : and then, here is the way
and manner how He shall do it, even by His Passion and
Resurrection. " The serpent shall bruise His heel," that is,
shall put His lower part, His human nature to death, but he
shall bruise only one heel, and therefore the other being still
whole He shall rise again. This is that ^wrsuayyix/oi/, ' the
first Gospel' that was published to the world, which although
it may seem something obscure to us now, yet Adam doubt
less understood it as clearly as we do that which is written
by the Evangelists.

Now this promise being made the same day that Adam
fell, Christ was looked upon as existing at the same time,
because what God saith shall be, is as certain as if it already

iCor.i5.47. was. And hence it is that the Apostle calls Christ the
second man : " The first man is of the earth, earthy ; the
second man is the Lord from Heaven." Because when He
was first promised, and so constituted our Saviour, there was

A Good Friday Sermon. 259

never another man in the world, but only the first Adam
and He. Hence also it is that He is called, " The Lamb Rev. is. 8.
slain from the foundation of the world," because the virtue
and efficacy of His death commenced from the time that
God had first promised that He should die, when He said,
the serpent should bruise His heel. Hence also He is said
to be a "propitiation for the sins of the whole world," Uohn 2. 2.
because the sacrifice which He offered, looked backward as
well as forward, so as to respect the sins of all mankind,
from the first man that was made, to the last that shall be
born upon earth. Hence lastly, it appears that that threat
ening, " In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely
die," was punctually fulfilled ; for though Adam's person, to
which it was made, lived above nine hundred years after,
yet his nature, or the nature of man in general, for which it
was intended, died in effect, that very day, in the Person of
the Son of God.

From these things thus briefly premised, it is easy to
observe, not only that it was necessary that Christ should
die, but likewise that His death was of the same extent and
latitude with that which was threatened to Adam : which
implied not only the separation of the soul from the body,
but likewise all manner of pain and misery, temporal, spiri
tual, or eternal, that our nature is capable of. Christ's death
was equivalent to them all. Insomuch, that if mankind had
never committed any other sin, but only that of eating the
forbidden fruit, no man would have ever suffered any
punishment or misery at all, but only Christ. And there
fore children who have no other guilt upon them but that of
Adam, if they are baptized, and so have the merits of Christ
applied to them, and then die without committing any actual
sin, they are undoubtedly saved, as the Church always be
lieved.

But it is not so with others ; for mankind in general did
not only contract guilt by eating the forbidden fruit, but our
very nature was poisoned and corrupted with it, and hath
been inclined to sin and wickedness ever since: insomuch
that so soon as ever men are capable of doing any thing,
they are still prone to do something they ought not to do,
and to leave something undone which they ought to do;

SERM. whereby it comes to pass that, as the wise man saith, " There

260 A Good Friday Sermon.

whereby it comes to pass that, as the wise n

is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth

20. not." But every sin deserveth death as well as the first;

and was implicitly threatened with it at the same time. And
therefore unless Christ's death had respect to all other sins
as well as that, we are still but where we were, liable every
moment to death and destruction.

But there is no fear of that; no doubt but there is as
much virtue in Christ's cross, that tree of life, to heal us, as
there was venom in the tree of knowledge of good and evil
to infect us : for He, the second Adam, was set up on pur
pose to suffer all the evil that was deserved, and to restore
all the good that was lost by the first, both to himself and
his posterity. The first Adam incensed God against us,
the second hath reconciled Him to us. The first corrupted
our nature, the second sanctified it, by taking it into His
own Person. By the first we were made sinners, by the
second we are made righteous. The first forfeited all our
happiness, the second hath purchased it for us again. The
first made us subject to the curse of the Law, the second
redeemed us from it. By reason of the first, we all die ; by
virtue of the second, we shall all be raised up to life. In
short, by the fall of Adam, we are all guilty of many actual
transgressions ; but by the death of Christ, we are absolved
and discharged from them ; that being a sufficient satisfac
tion to God, not only for the first, but for all the sins that
were occasioned by it ; that is, for the sins of the whole
world, and of every man that is in it ; for it is said, that

Heb. 2. 9. " Christ tasted death for every man." And therefore every
man must needs be concerned in His death, so as to be
capable of obtaining pardon by it.

And the reason is, because Christ suffered in that nature
which every man is of. And therefore every man must
needs be entitled to the merits of these sufferings. But
these sufferings are of infinite merit ; because the person
that suffered was infinite. So that now every man has infi
nite merits in Christ to make atonement for his sins, and to
purchase pardon and Salvation for Him ; and by conse
quence, if any man miss of it, he cannot impute it to any
insufficiency in Christ's merits and power to save him, but

A Good Friday Sermon. 261

he must ascribe it wholly to his own neglect, in not perform
ing the conditions required in the Gospel, whereby to apply
to his own person the merits of those sufferings which Christ
underwent in His nature before, and when He gave up the
ghost; for he that doth this, can no more fail of Salvation,
than Christ can fail to be a Saviour.

Which brings me to the last question I promised to con
sider, even, how we come to be interested in what Christ
hath done and suffered, so as to obtain pardon and Salvation
by it? A question, the propounding whereof transports my
soul into ecstasies of joy, and praise, and thanks to God, for
that the thing itself is possible : that it is possible for us to
obtain pardon and Salvation by what Christ hath done and
suffered for us ; without Him be sure it is as impossible for
us to obtain either, as it is for God to lie. Whereas by Him,
our sins may be as certainly pardoned, as ever they were
committed ; and our souls as easily saved, as we can in rea
son wish they should be ; for, blessed be His great Name for
it, we have a Saviour, " who is able to save to the uttermost He^- 7.25.
all that come unto God by Him." A Saviour, who being God
as well as man, is of infinite power, and therefore can do
what He will ; and of infinite love and pity, and therefore
will do what He can for us. A Saviour, who being Man
also as well as God, is perfectly acquainted with our temper,
and touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and therefore [Heb. 4.
perfectly knows both what we want, and how to help us. A 15^
Saviour, who, being both God and Man in one and the same
Person, was most exactly qualified both to suffer and to
satisfy for our sins, and so to reconcile both God to us, and
us to God. A Saviour, who as Man is always in Heaven,
there making intercession for us ; and as God is always
upon earth too, every where present with us, and so as God-
man is at all times, and in all places, both able and ready
to assist, defend and comfort us. In a word, we have a
Saviour, who once died to purchase pardon and Salvation
for us, and ever lives to apply it to us.

But now the question is, how He doth that ? and what
He requires on our parts in order to it? Which being a
question concerning what our Saviour Himself doth, and
what all they must do who desire to be saved by Him, I

262 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. shall not undertake to determine it of mine own head, but
- shall consult Him about it, Who best knows after what

manner, and upon what terms, we come to be actually
possessed of the purchase He hath made for us ; which
having cost Him so dear as it did, no less than His own
blood ; as we cannot imagine that He should require more
of us than what is absolutely necessary to our being vested
in it ; so we may be confident that He would take care
to leave us such instructions about it, whereby we may
easily understand what He would have us to do in order
to it.

And indeed this He hath done abundantly in His Holy
Gospel, where His Divine sayings are recorded on purpose
that mankind may always know from His Own mouth, what
to do in this case. Now if we look into His Gospel, we
shall find these and suchlike expressions often coming

John s. 16. from Him : " For God so loved the world that He gave
His only-begotten Son, that whatsoever believeth in Him,
should not perish, but have everlasting life." And again,

ver. 36. " He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life ; and
he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the

ch. 12. 46. wrath of God abideth on him." And elsewhere, " I am
come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me,

ch. 11. 25, should not abide in darkness." And, " I am the Resurrec
tion and the Life, he tha.t believeth in Me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever liveth and believeth in
Me shall never die." And in the very last words He spake

Mark 16.15, to His Apostles before He left them, He said, " Go ye into
all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature ; he
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that
believeth not shall be damned."

If we run over all the writings of the Evangelists, we
shall meet with nothing more frequently proceeding from
our Saviour's mouth than such sayings as these ; whereby
He plainly gives us to understand that the great thing that
He requires of us, in order to our being interested in the
merits of His Death for our pardon and Salvation, is, to
believe in Him ; not only to believe Him and what He said
to be true, but to believe in Him as our Saviour, so as to put
our whole trust and confidence in Him, and in Him alone,

A Good Friday Sermon. 263

both for our Salvation itself, and for all things necessary in
order to it.

Now as no man can be saved, unless his sins be first
pardoned ; so no man's sins can be pardoned, until he hath
first repented of them. And therefore that we may be
saved by Christ, we must believe and trust on Him, both
for grace to repent, that so our sins may be pardoned ; and
also for the pardon of our sins when we have so repented ;
for both these things are wholly at His disposal, whom
" God hath exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and Acts 5. 31.
a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness
of sins." And therefore He Himself immediately before
His Ascension said, " That repentance and remission of sins Luke24.47.
should be preached in His Name among all nations." Still
repentance first, and then remission.

The first thing therefore which we ought to believe and
trust in Christ our Saviour for, is, that He will save us from
our sins, that He, or which is all one, God for His sake
will give us grace to repent and forsake our former sins,
and to walk for the future in newness of life. And verily uohna.s;
we have all the reason in the world to trust in Christ for ^.Ph- 5t 25»
this, this being the great end of His Incarnation, Passion, ^^tg.
Resurrection, Ascension, and Intercession for us, as the Acts 3. 26 ;'
Scriptures testify. And what He designed in His gracious
undertaking for us, we cannot question but He is able and
willing to accomplish in us. He sanctified our human nature
in general, by uniting it to His Divine Person ; and He
sanctifies our human person in particular, by making us
partakers of His Divine Nature, which He communicates
to us by dispersing His Holy Spirit from Himself, the head,
into all the sound members of His body, that is, to all that
truly believe in Him. And therefore He Himself saith,
" He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth John is. 5.
forth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing."
From whence it is plain and evident, both that we can do
nothing without Him, and that there is nothing but we can
do by Him : As St. Paul found by his own experience, when
he said, " I can do all things through Christ which strength- phii. 4. is.
eneth me." And if we do but believe in Him as St. Paul
did, we also shall receive the same strength from Him as

264 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. St. Paul had, so as to be able to do all things by Him. By
[James 4 Him we can " resist the Devil and make him fly from us ;"
?•] and not only withstand, but conquer all temptations. By

[Gal. 5.24.] Him we can " crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts,"
[Rom. 6. so as to suffer " no sin to reign any longer in our mortal
bodies," that we should obey it in the lusts thereof. By
Him we can overcome the world so as to live above it, even
whilst we are in it. By Him we can be contented in all
conditions, and rest fully satisfied with whatsoever happens
to us. By Him we can fast and pray, and read and hear,
and receive His mystical body and blood to His glory and
our own comfort. By Him we can feed the hungry, clothe
the naked, instruct the ignorant, support the weak, relieve
the oppressed, and do good to all men, out of pure obedience
to His commands. By Him we can be meek, and patient,
and humble, and sober, and just in all our ways. By Him
[PMi. 3. we can " have our conversation always in Heaven," and
[Matt. 6. our hearts there, where our treasure is, where He our
Saviour is, where our portion and estate lies. By Him we
can love, and fear, and honour, and obey, and serve God
with all our hearts and souls, with all our might and mind.
[i Pet. i. In short, by Him w^e can be " holy, as He who hath called us
is holy, in all manner of conversation;" for He is the fountain
of all goodness, and therefore by Him we may be, and by
Him we may do good all our days, if we will but believe
and trust on Him to enable us. For that is the means
which He Himself hath appointed, whereby to derive grace
and virtue from Him, to sanctify both our hearts and lives ;
Acts 26. is. for He Himself saith, that " we are sanctified by faith that
is in Him." So that as none can be sanctified by Him,
except they believe in Him, none can truly believe in Him,
but they are certainly sanctified by Him : at least so far, as
that by His assistance they shall sincerely perform whatso
ever is required of them ; and whatsoever they so perform,
shall by His merits and Mediation be as acceptable to God
as if it was absolutely perfect : for all true believers are, as
i Pet. 2. 5. St. Peter saith, " An holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."

Now when we have thus, by a quick and lively faith,
obtained grace and power from Christ to repent, arid bring

A Good Friday Sermon. 265

forth fruit meet for repentance, then we may and ought to
believe and trust on Him likewise for the pardon of all our
sins, for His sake, " in Whom we have redemption through Col. i. 14 ;
His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." It was for this
that He shed His blood, that He gave up the ghost and
died. By which one oblation of Himself once offered, He
hath made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation
and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world. And if for
the sins of the world, then for mine among the rest. And
if I believe in Him, as St. Paul did, I may say as he said,
" That Christ loved me, and gave Himself for me." For Gal. 2. 20.
me in particular, so as to satisfy God's justice for my sins.
And so all that rightly believe and trust on Him for it, do
thereby apply and appropriate all the merits of Christ's
sufferings in their human nature, to their own particular
human persons ; whereby all their obligations to punish
ment are cancelled and made void ; and how many, how
great soever their sins have been, they are all pardoned and
done away, so that they shall neither rise up to shame them
in this, nor to condemn them in the world to come. They
shall be, in this respect, as if they had never been ; Christ
has taken them all away, by suffering whatsoever was due
to God's justice for them. So that Almighty God is no
longer angry with us, but is reconciled to us, and receives
us into His grace and favour again, and is as well pleased
with us as if He had never been offended at us ; and all for
the sake of His Beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased,
with all that repent and believe in Him. And if our sins
be thus pardoned, our persons justified before God, and by
the merits and Mediation of His Son, it follows in course
that our souls shall be saved by Him ; for as the Apostle
saith, " Whom He justified, them He also glorified." Rom. s. so.

Thus therefore it is that we may be all interested in all
the merits of Christ's death, even by faith, which, as the
Apostle saith, " is the substance of things hoped for," caus- [?ieb. n.
ing them to subsist in us, and so putting us into the actual l'
possession of all those glorious things which God hath pro
mised, and we therefore hope for, upon the account of what
His only Son hath done and suffered for us. By this we
may all regain what we lost by the sin of our first parents

266 A Good Friday Sermon.

or our own. By this our lusts may be all subdued, our
hearts cleansed, and our whole man sanctified in soul, body
and spirit. By this our sins may be all pardoned, our
punishment remitted, and our persons justified before God.
By this our duty, though imperfect, may be accepted, and
our souls eternally saved. In short, by this all we who are
here assembled, may as certainly be glorified Saints here
after in Heaven, as we are now miserable sinners upon earth.
And if any of us be not, the fault will be wholly our own ;
for we have all the reason and encouragement imaginable
to believe and put our whole trust and confidence in our
blessed Saviour for all things necessary to make us holy
here, and happy for ever. For we have all the miracles
that He ever wrought to confirm us in it ; we have the
examples and experiences of His Apostles, Martyrs, Con
fessors, and all the Saints that ever lived, to assure us of it;
and above all, we have the Word, the promises, the oath of
God, of truth itself for it. So that we have more ground to
believe in Christ for grace and pardon, and eternal Salvation,
than we have to believe what we see, or hear, or understand ;
for our senses may deceive us, and so may our reason too :
but God is of that infinite wisdom, that He cannot be de
ceived Himself; and of that infinite goodness, that He
cannot deceive us.

Nevertheless what saith our blessed Lord ? " When the

[Luke is. Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith upon earth?" I
fear if He should come now, He would not find much.
Nothing, I know, is more common than to talk of faith, and
pretend to it ; bat nothing, I doubt, is more rare than to
have such a faith as the Gospel requires, and we have now
been speaking of. Such a faith as unites our soul to Christ,
and fixes our hearts and minds upon Him. Such a faith as

[Gal. s. 6.] continually derives power and virtue from Him to work by

[2 Cor. 4. love. Such a faith whereby " we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen," and

eh. s. 7.] so live by faith and not by sight. Such a faith as overcomes
5. t|ie worjc[j purifies our hearts, and adorns our lives with all
manner of good works. This is the faith that lays hold upon
the merits of Christ's death, and applies them to us for the
pardon of our sins and the Salvation of our souls. And

A Good Friday Sermon. 267

therefore thus it is that we must believe in Christ, as ever
we desire to be saved by Him.

Which therefore that we may do, we must be sure to make
use of those means which God hath appointed for it ; we
must converse much with the Word of God, the object of
our faith; for as St. Paul saith, " Faith comes by hearing, Rom. 10.17.
and hearing by the Word of God." We must earnestly
pray to Almighty God to give us faith ; for as the same
Apostle saith, " Faith is the gift of God." Eph. 2. s.

We must be very constant and serious both at our public
and private devotions, wherein as we exercise our faith in
Christ, He ordinarily increaseth and strengtheneth it. We
must often receive the Sacrament of our Lord's Supper,
instituted on purpose to put us in mind of His death, and
to confirm our faith in it. We must keep the blood of
Christ always fresh in our minds and memories, and take
all occasions we can to ruminate upon it ; especially at such
times as the Church hath set apart for that purpose : as all
the Fridays in the year, except Christmas-day, are to be
observed as days of fasting and abstinence only upon that
account, because it was upon that day that Christ suffered.
And therefore as the very observing of that day should put
us in mind of His sufferings ; so they that would observe it
aright, should spend at least a good part of it in contem
plating upon them, and acting their faith in them, for the
pardon of those sins for which He suffered. The same
should be the subject of our meditations all the Lent, espe
cially this the last week of it; wherein the Church hath
ordered the history of our Saviour's Passion to be read every
day, that so we may daily exercise our faith in Him. But,
above all, this day is consecrated wholly and solely to the
memory of Christ's death, that so we may repent of the sins
for which He suffered it ; and act our faith and trust on Him
for the pardon of them. This is the proper work of this
day, and therefore let us now set about it in good earnest,
thinking thus with ourselves.

Oh ! the breadth, the length, the depth, the height of the [Eph. 3.
love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord ! Who is able to com
prehend it ? Who can but admire and adore it ? That ever
the Almighty Creator of the world, should have so much

268 A Good Friday Sermon.

S£ivi' ^°Ve an(* V1^ ^°r US ^*S s^u^ creatures uPon earth, as to

- send His Only-begotten Son, to die, to die upon the Cross,

and all for us and for our sins against Himself. Ungrateful

wretches that we are, that ever we should commit such sins

against Him, which nothing less than the blood of His

[Jer. 9. i.] beloved Son could expiate ! " Oh that our heads were
waters and our eyes a fountain of tears, that we might weep
day and night," and this day especially, that ever we should
be the occasion that the Son of God should die ! But where
fore did He die? to save sinners ! Then He died to save us,
the chiefest of all sinners. Why then should we despair of
Salvation, who have got such an all-sufficient Saviour as this

[Heb. 7. is? One Who is able to save to the utmost all that come to

25 1

God by Him. By Him therefore, we will go to God; we
will believe in Him, we will put our whole trust and con
fidence on Him, both to be cleansed from our sins, and
justified before God by Him.

O blessed Jesu ! who once, as upon this day, sufferedst
death upon the Cross, and art now at the right hand of Thy
Father in Heaven interceding for us, our eyes are up to
Thee, all our hopes and expectations are from Thee. Send
down Thy Holy Spirit, we beseech Thee, into our hearts, to

[Acts 26. work in us true repentance, to open our eyes, " to turn us
from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto
God." Blessed Lord our Saviour, we know Thou hearest
us, and believe Thou wilt, according to Thy promise, grant
our request ; Thou wilt give us Thy Holy Spirit, whereby
we shall mortify the deeds of the flesh, and walk for the

[Phil. 4. future in all Thy Commandments blameless. "We can"
now " do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us."
And now, what if our former sins were many ? What if
they were great? God knows they are so. But He knows
also that His Own Son hath died for them ; for whose sake
therefore He is now reconciled to us ; why then should we
despond ? What need we fear ? What can men or devils
do against us ? What evil can befall us ? What good things

Rom. s. si- can be withholden from us? For as it is written, " If God

35, 37-39. -foe for US) W}i0 can be against us ? He that spared not His
Own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He
not with Him also freely give us all things ? Who shall lay

A Good Friday Sermon. 269

any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that jus
tified!, who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died ;
yea, rather that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand
of God, Who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than con
querors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded,
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord." To Whom with the Father and Holy Ghost, be
all honour and glory. Amen.

SERMON LXVII.

A GOOD FRIDAY SERMON.

PHIL. ii. 8.

And being found in fashion as a Man, He humbled Himself,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
Cross.

SERM. HE that reads, and firmly believes what is here written,
" cannot but fall down and worship God, adoring that infinite
wisdom, justice, and mercy, that He manifested in the
redemption of fallen man ; for here we read, that our
Redeemer Jesus Christ, being in the form, subsisting in the
[Phil. 2.6.] nature or essence of God, "thought it not robbery to be
equal with God." He did not think that He robbed God
of any glory, or offered Him any injury or affront, by assert
ing Himself to be equal to Him, of the same substance,
wisdom, power, and all other perfections with Him. Yet
nevertheless, this glorious, eternal, infinite, Almighty Person,
subsisting thus in the form of God, made Himself of no
reputation : He emptied, debased, humbled Himself, by
taking upon Him the form of a servant ; being made in the
likeness of men, a real and perfect man, like to the rest of
mankind in all the integral or essential parts of a man. And
being thus found in fashion or habit as a man, in such a soul
and body as other men have, He humbled Himself lower
yet, becoming obedient, or subject to those laws, which He,
as Lord of all, had made for others, not only all His life,
but even to death itself, and that too, not any ordinary or
common death, but the most painful, the most shameful, the

A Good Friday Sermon. 271

most accursed death that any mortal could undergo, even
" the death of the cross."

Oh mystery of mysteries ! That God Himself should
become man, and die, and die upon the Cross too ! Who
can think of it without astonishment and admiration ? Espe
cially if we consider withal the ends and reasons of it, which
are altogether as great and mysterious as the thing itself.
Certainly, if we do that, we shall need no other arguments
to persuade us to join with the Catholic Church in the cele
bration of it, as we do this day.

This therefore is that which I shall now offer at, even to
consider the great ends and reasons, why this Divine Person,
subsisting in the form or nature of God, took upon Him the
form or nature of man, and so died. Not that I think it
possible for me fully to comprehend, much less to explain so
great a mystery ; which I can no sooner cast my eye upon,
but it is immediately dazzled with the glory and splendour
of it. Howsoever, it being a matter wherein we are all so
highly concerned, and having it delivered to us in the Holy
Scriptures in as plain and perspicuous terms as the nature
of the thing would bear, I shall from thence endeavour to
express my thoughts of it as clearly as I can ; humbly
beseeching Him of Whom I speak, so to assist and direct
me in speaking of Him, that I may utter nothing but what
is agreeable to His Word, and becoming His honour and
majesty.

First therefore, we may consider, that although the Most
High God be infinitely happy in Himself, yet He made all
things for Himself, even for His own glory, which is the [Prov. ie.
ultimate end of this, and of all His other actions. Where- 4'^
fore, when He made the world, He made two sorts of crea
tures in it, capable of reflecting upon, and acknowledging
those glorious perfections which He displayed in the Creation
of it ; and they were Angels and men. All which He made
not only rational and free agents, and so able to do the work
they were made for ; but likewise of such a temper and con
stitution, that their only ease and happiness consisted in the
doing of it.

The first of these, viz. the Angels being all made, and
actually existing together, although most of them continued [Jude 6.]

272 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. in the same state in which they were created, yet others fell
— from it, degenerating into wicked and impure spirits ; which
not answering the end of their creation, are always uneasy
and restless in their minds, and tormented with the sense of
their sin, and of the wrath of their Almighty Creator against
them for it.

But as for men, it was not so with them ; for they never
did, nor ever will, till the end of the world, all actually exist
together. But at first, only one man was made, and endued
with power to propagate his kind to others, and so succes
sively, till the whole number of individuals, or persons that
God designed of that nature, should be made up.

But howsoever, seeing all mankind were to proceed from,
and so were virtually contained in, the first man, who was
therefore called Adam ; that is, man in general ; hence if he
had stood, all mankind must needs have stood with him;
but he falling, all fell with him into the same wretched and
miserable estate with the devils or apostate angels before
spoken of.

So that now of the two sorts of creatures which God made
on purpose to know, worship and enjoy Him that made
them ; a great part of the one, and all the other, were lost
and undone as to all the intents and purposes of their crea
tion, and are become of themselves as sinful and miserable,
as they were designed by God to be holy and happy for
ever.

And now there is occasion given for the manifesting two
Divine perfections, which otherwise could not have been
exerted, even vindictive justice and mercy; both which sup
pose sin and guilt ; for if none had ever sinned, none could
ever have been justly punished, nor would have stood in
need of mercy. For though God is good, and kind, and
gracious, and bountiful to all His creatures, He could not
properly be said to be merciful to any, but to such as have
contracted guilt and so deserved punishment at His hands,
as many of the Angels and all mankind had now done, and
so were become proper objects either of His justice, or
mercy, or both, as He should see good to exercise them.

Wherefore the apostate angels having all sinned, every
one in his own person, God was pleased to execute His

A Good Friday Sermon. 273

justice and vengeance upon them to the utmost extremity,
having condemned them all to everlasting fire, which, as
our Saviour tells us, " is prepared for the Devil and his Matt.25.4i.
angels." And therefore St. Peter saith, that " God spared 2 Pet. 2. 4.
not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Hell, and
delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto
judgment." And St. Jude, that "the Angels which kept Jude6.
not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath
reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the
judgment of the great day." So that not one of them can
ever escape, but they are all made standing, everlasting
monuments of the Divine vengeance and just indignation
against sin, never to be appeased.

And the same might justly have been the condition of all
mankind too ; for they all sinned in their common head, and
so fell from their first estate, as well as the apostate Angels,
and therefore have deserved the same punishment which
was inflicted upon them. But howsoever, seeing they did
not all actually consent in their own persons to the sin of
their first parents, but only in their general nature, which
was then contained wholly in them ; hence their great and
most gracious Creator was pleased to shew mercy towards
them, but so as to manifest His justice also both against
that original, and all the actual sins they should ever be
guilty of, so as to make them the objects both of His justice
and of His mercy too ; of His justice, by punishing the sins
they had committed ; and of His mercy, by pardoning those
who had committed them, upon such easy terms, that if it
be not their own personal faults, they may be all restored to
the same estate of bliss and happiness from which they fell.

For this therefore it was that Christ came into the world,
for this it was that He did and suffered so much when here,
and for this it was that He died upon the Cross, even for the
exaltation of God's justice and mercy, and so for the advan
cing of His glory in the Redemption of mankind from the
state of sin and misery into which they were fallen, to a
state of grace and Salvation.

Now we being all in the number of those to whom the
great Creator of the world hath been thus infinitely merciful
as well as just, it must needs behove us very much to under-

T

274 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. stand and apprehend this great mystery aright, that so we may
^- be duly affected with it, and thankful for it, and know what
to do, that we may be really and eternally the better for it.

For which purpose therefore, we may consider, first, that
the Person who undertook our Redemption, was none of the
creatures that God had made, but His only Son, whom He
had begotten from eternity, by communicating His own
essence to Him, who is therefore here said to subsist in the
[Phil. 2.6.1 form or essence of God. He subsists in it, and so is a distinct
Person or subsistence in it; but in that He subsists in it,
He must needs be of it ; it being impossible that any thing
should subsist in the essence of God, but what is of that
essence. Hence He is truly and properly ' God of God, Light
of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, of one
substance or essence with the Father,' as the first general
Council determined out of the Holy Scriptures, and the
Catholic Church hath always held both before and since.
Indeed there is no one truth more clearly revealed in the
Gospel than this is. And it is but necessary it should be so :
this being the very foundation of our religion, and of all our
hopes of being saved in it : take away this, and our Redemp
tion falls to the ground, as being built wholly upon the
Divine power and nature of our Redeemer. And therefore
Turks and Socinians, and all such as deny the Divinity of
our Saviour, do thereby deny Him to be our Saviour too,
and so make themselves incapable of being ever saved by
[Eph. 4. Him. But blessed be God, we have better learnt Christ;
being fully assured out of His Holy Word, that though He
be a distinct Person from the Father, He is the same God,
of the same Divine power and nature with Him.

This Divine Person therefore, subsisting in the form of

God, having undertaken our Redemption, for the effecting of

it, took upon Him the form of a servant, the nature of man,

not of this or that particular man, but of man in general.

So that the whole human nature which was contained in

Adam, was now assumed by Christ, who is therefore called

Adam too, that is, as I observed before, man in general,

i Cor. is. " The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam

was made a quickening spirit." Hence He is called also

iCor.i5.47. the " second man," by the same Apostle, saying, " The first

A Good Friday Sermon. 275

man is of the earth, earthy ; the second man is the Lord
from Heaven." Why the second man? But because He
was looked upon as become man from the time that He
was first promised, when-as there was never another man
besides in the world, but only the first man Adam ; and
especially, because He was the next man in general after
Adam. All other men betwixt them being only particular
human persons, but Adam and Christ sustained the whole
human nature. In which sense, as Adam was the first,
Christ was properly the second man. Neither is this a mere
airy speculation, but so great, so necessary a truth, that our
Salvation depends very much upon it ; for all mankind
being contained, and therefore sinning in the first man
Adam, unless there be another Adam or man in general
found out, who hath borne the punishment of that sin, all
mankind must still be subjected to it: whereas there being
now another Adam set up, in Whom the whole nature of
man, and so all mankind is contained, as well as in the first,
by Him we may be all freed from the sin we contracted, and
so repair all the losses we sustained in the first Adam, and
be made as righteous by the one, as we were made sinners
by the other : as the Apostle proves at large, in the fifth
chapter of his Epistle to the Romans.

But here we must farther observe, that the human nature
which the Son of God assumed, having no subsistence out of
the Divine Person who assumed it, it could not make a
person of itself distinct from the Divine, but was so united
to it, that although He had two distinct natures, the one
Divine, communicated to Him by the Father from eternity,
the other human, assumed by Himself in time, and so was
really both God and Man, yet He was not one Person as
God, and another as Man, but He was only one Person both
as God and Man, as the third general Council determined
against Nestorius. And the same may be fully demon
strated, not only from many particular places in the Holy
Gospel, but likewise from the whole scope and design of it ;
for if He had been one Person as God, and another Person
as Man, then all His sufferings as Man, being the sufferings
only of a finite person, would have terminated in Himself,
and could never have reached the rest of mankind. What-

276 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. soever He might have merited for Himself, He could not

T "V^'T T

- have merited any thing for us by them, in that He under
went them only as a mere human person, such as every one
of us is. So that by this means we should still be where we
were, lost and undone for ever. Whereas on the other side,
Christ, both as God and Man, being only One, and that a
Divine and infinite Person, whatsoever He did or suffered
in His human nature, it being done and suffered by an
infinite Person, it could not but be of infinite worth and
value, and so be able to reach and profit all that should or
could ever partake of that nature wherein it was done or
suffered ; for be they never so many, both they and their
number is still but finite ; whereas His merits could not but
be like Himself, infinite.

But this being the great article upon which the main
stress of our Salvation depends, it may not be amiss to con
firm and explain it a little farther to you : for which purpose
I might produce many of Christ's Own sayings, and as many
passages out of the writings of His Holy Apostles, which
make it both certain and clear. But I shall instance only
Acts 20. 28. in those words of St. Paul to the Asian Bishops, " Take
heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over the
which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the
Church of God which He hath purchased with His Own
blood." Where we find it expressly said, that God hath
purchased the Church with His Own blood, which could not
possibly be, unless the same Person who was God had blood
wherewith to purchase it. But this blood could be no other
but the blood of the human nature ; which if it had been an
human person, it could not have been truly called, as it is
here, the blood of God. But seeing the blood which Christ
shed as Man, was most certainly what it was here called,
even the blood of God, an infinite Person, it could not but
be of sufficient value to purchase the whole Church, as it is
here said to have done.

From hence therefore we may infallibly conclude, that
although the two natures in Christ were preserved entire
and distinct from one another, after as well as before their
union to one Person, as the fourth general Council declared
against Eutyches and his followers ; yet they were so united

A Good Friday Sermon. 277

to one Person, that whatsoever was done in either nature,
was still done by one and the same Person. And by con
sequence, that whatsoever Christ either did or suffered as
Man was done and suffered by one who was really and truly
God ; when Christ as Man was derided, God was derided ;
when He was sorrowful, God was sorrowful ; when He was
crucified, it might be truly said that God was crucified ; for
so the Apostle himself speaks, saying, that " they crucified i Cor. 2. s.
the Lord of glory," which is the same in effect as if he had
said, they crucified God.

If we carry these truths along with us, they will give us
great light into the mystery of our Salvation by Christ ; for
seeing He was really and truly God, of the same nature
with the Father, and became really and truly Man, of the
same nature with us, so as to be still but one Person both
as God and Man; hence it necessarily follows, that when
He humbled Himself, and became obedient, as it is here
said, the obedience which He performed, infinitely exceeded
the most perfect obedience that all mankind could ever have
performed, if they had continued in their first and best
estate ; for their obedience could have been no more than
what was due to God, and at the highest it would have been
the obedience only of finite creatures : whereas His was the
obedience of God Himself, which could not be properly said
to be due to Himself. And therefore it is here said, " that
He humbled Himself, by becoming obedient," as the Greek
words import ; for He having no previous obligations upon
Him to observe those laws which He Himself had pre
scribed to mankind, it was great humility and condescension
in Him to obey them. It is true, as Man He was bound to
obey God, as other men are. But no man ever was, or
could be bound to perform Divine obedience, such as Christ
performed in His manhood united to a Divine Person, which
was so exceeding great, such infinite obedience, that it could
not but be of as great, as infinite value and merit for man
kind, in whose nature He performed it.

Especially considering that He was obedient, not only
through the whole course of His life, but as the Apostle
here saith, " unto death ;" unto death, not as the object, but
the great and last subject of His obedience. God had said

278 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. to the first Adam, "In the day thou eatest thereof, thou

LXVII

-1— shalt die the death:" and the second Adam accordingly
died the death, " even the death of the Cross," in which were
contained all the shame, the pain, and curses that were due
to the sins of mankind ; which death being undergone by
the whole nature of man, in the Person of God, and so by
God Himself, it was more in itself, and more satisfactory to
the Divine justice, than if all human persons in the world
should have suffered eternal death ; for theirs could have
been no more than the death of finite persons; which, if it
could ever satisfy Divine justice, would not be eternal. But
His being the death of an infinite person, it could not be but
of infinite value, and therefore as much as justice itself could
require for sins committed against a Person that is infinite.
And it being undergone in the nature of man, all the infinite
value, merit, and satisfaction that is in it, must needs have
respect or relation to those only, and to all those who par-
Heb. 2. 9. take of that nature. And therefore it is said, that " Christ
i Tim. 2. 6. tasted death for every man ; " that " He gave Himself a
i John 2. 2. ransom for all ; " that " He was a propitiation for the sins of
the whole world ;" that is, as our Church expresseth it, " He
by His one oblation of Himself once offered, made a full,
perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction, for
the sins of the whole world, or of all mankind, in whose
nature He did it."

Now these things being considered, it is easy to see what
grounds we have to hope for pardon and Salvation by Christ ;
for in order to the pardon of our sins, it was first necessary
that God's Law and justice should be satisfied for the injury
and dishonour He hath received by them. But this Christ
hath now done more effectually by dying in the human
nature, than all human persons could have done by dying
eternally. So that it will be no violation of His justice to
pardon our sins, seeing His Own Son hath undergone the
punishment which was due unto Him for them. Upon
whose account therefore, He is now ready to shew us so
much mercy, as to discharge and acquit us of all our sins,
and to receive us again into His grace and favour, upon our
repentance and submission.

And seeing both reason and justice require that we should

A Good Friday Sermon. 279

repent of our sins, and turn to God, before we be pardoned
by Him, Christ hath merited this also for us ; and therefore
is now exalted by the right hand of God, "to be a Prince Acts 5. si.
and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and remis
sion of sins;" first repentance, and then remission: so that
now by reason of His infinite merits, He hath power not
only to pardon our sins if we do repent, but to give us re
pentance also, that so they may be pardoned. Where, by
repentance, we are to understand all manner of grace. and
power to do whatsoever is required of us in order to our
pardon and Salvation ; it is now all at Christ's disposal.
Insomuch that as He Himself tells us " without Him we John is. 5.
can do nothing." But as His Apostle saith, " I can do all run. 4. 13.
things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

But notwithstanding the continual supplies of grace and
virtue from Christ, whereby we are sanctified or made sin
cerely holy ; yet by reason of the remainder of sins in us,
neither our persons nor our actions are perfectly righteous,
and by consequence, not acceptable in themselves to God.
But this also our blessed Saviour hath taken care of, making
up the defects and imperfections both of our persons and
duties, with that most perfect and Divine obedience which
He performed in our natures. By which means we may be
justified or accepted of and accounted as righteous before
God, as if we were exactly so in ourselves : so that, " as by Rom. 5. 19.
one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so by the
obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

But "many," you may say, why not "all?" Christ did
not take upon Him the person or persons of one or more
particular men, but the nature of man in general, and died
in it ; why then are not all saved that are of that nature ?
To which I answer, it is true, it is indeed a great wonder
that Christ having died in the nature of man, and so put all
mankind into a capacity of being saved by Him, yet that all
should not be saved by Him. But this certainly cannot be
imputed to any defect or insufficiency in His merits or
power to save them ; but it must be wholly their own faults,
in that they will not do what God requires, in order to their
having the merits of Christ's obedience and sufferings in
their human nature applied and made over to their own

280 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. particular human persons; that is, they will not believe in
— Him, nor trust in those promises which are made and sealed
to us in His blood : for this is the great condition required
on our parts, in order to our partaking of what He hath
merited for us. As appears from the whole tenour of the
Gospel, yea, from Christ's Own express words, who best
knew upon what terms we should be saved by Him ; for

John s. 16. " God so loved the world," saith he, " that He gave His
Only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should

ver. is. not perish, but have everlasting life." " He that believeth in
Him is not condemned; but he that believeth not, is con
demned already, because he hath not believed in the Name

Mark 16. 16. of the Only-begotten Son of God." And elsewhere, " He
that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved ; but He that
believeth not, shall be damned."

There are many such expressions dispersed over the
whole Bible ; which plainly shew that the main thing
required of us in order to our being saved by Christ, is to
believe in Him, to have a sure trust and confidence on Him,
for all things necessary to our Salvation.

And the first and great thing we must believe and trust in
Him for, is for grace to repent and forsake our sins, for such

[Rom. s. a measure of His Holy Spirit, whereby we may " mortify
the deeds of the flesh," and be sanctified throughout in soul,
body and spirit; for though our human nature in general
be sanctified by its being united to the Divine Person, no
human person in particular can be sanctified but by partak
ing of the Divine Nature, communicated to us by the opera-
John 7. 38, tion of the Holy Spirit, which Christ is always ready to give
to those who believe in Him for it. Insomuch, that whoso
ever doth not receive grace and assistance from Him to

[Tit. 2. 12.] " live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world,"
he may pretend what he will, but he doth not believe in
Christ as he ought ; for if he did, he could not fail of being
purified and made holy by Him. This being the great end

ver. 14. why Christ " gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us
from all iniquity, and purify us to Himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works."

When, by our believing in Christ, we have thus obtained
power and grace to repent of our sins, then we may, arid

A Good Friday Sermon. 281

ought to trust in Him also for the pardon of those sins
which we have thus repented of; steadfastly believing, that
how many and great soever our former sins have been, yet
that now, upon our hearty and sincere repentance of them,
God hath absolved us from them all, for Christ Jesus's sake,
and hath accepted of that death and punishment which His
Own Son underwent in our natures, as if it had been under
gone by us in our own persons ; so as to be now as perfectly
reconciled to us, as if He had never been offended at all
with us ; yea, that He doth not only pardon and forgive us
what is past, but He reckons us in the number of righteous
persons, and accepts of us as such, in His beloved Son ; who
knowing no sin in Himself, "was made sin for us, that we 2 Cor. 5.21.
might be made the righteousness of God in Him." And not
only our persons neither, but that our actions also, even our i pet. 2. 5.
sincere though imperfect duties and good works, are all
acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. And
that being thus justified by Him in time, we shall be glori- Rom. s. so.
fied with Him for evermore.

By such a regular and lively faith as this (which always [Gai.s.6.]
works by love) none of us but may be really interested in
all these glorious things which the Son of God hath pur
chased for us with His Own blood ; for faith, as the Apostle
tells us, "is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence Heb. 11.1.
of things not seen." It is the substance of things hoped for ;
that is, whatsoever good things we hope for upon the
account of what Christ hath done and suffered for us, and
God hath promised to us for His sake, faith is the very sub
stance of them to us ; it causeth them to subsist in us, and
so puts us into the actual possession of them.

As, do we hope for Christ's Holy Spirit to sanctify and
make us holy ? By faith, as we dwell in Christ, Christ's
Spirit dwells in us ; we are one with Christ, and Christ with
us ; and so we have the substance of what we hope for, even
His Divine Nature subsisting virtually in us, as our human
nature really subsisted in Him. And therefore Christ Him
self saith, " that we are sanctified by faith that is in Him." Acts 26. is.
Do we hope for Christ's merits to pardon and justify us
before God ? Faith is the substance of them to us ; applying
and appropriating all the merits of Christ's obedience and

282 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. sufferings in our nature to our own particular person. And

- therefore it is that we are so often said to be justified by

faith, not as it is a work in us, but as it is the substance of

Christ's righteousness to us, so that we also are accounted as

righteous by it.

The same may be said of all the great blessings which
Christ hath purchased for us, and God hath promised to us
in Him, and which by consequence we hope for from Him.
Faith is so the substance of them to us, that by it we actually
obtain and enjoy them. Insomuch, that they who have a
strong and steadfast faith in Christ, are so fully possessed of
God's love and mercy in Him, that nothing is able to remove
them from it. A remarkable instance whereof we have in
St. Paul, who acting his faith and confidence in his Saviour,
Rom. s. 33- cries out in a triumphant manner, " Who shall lay any thing
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth, who
is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God,
Who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ ? Shall tribulation or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ?
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that
neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Thus now I have endeavoured to unfold as much as I could
of the great mystery of our Salvation by Christ. I am very
sensible that there are many things in it which we are not able
to conceive, and that we may conceive much more than we
are able to express. Howsoever, from these great and neces
sary truths which we have now premised, as plainly revealed
in the Gospel, and therefore believed always by the Catholic
Church, none of us but may easily discern what cause we
have to believe that mankind in general, and by consequence
all we in particular, notwithstanding our fall from our first
estate, are now capable of obtaining eternal bliss and happi
ness, which the fallen angels are not capable of; for they,
as they have all sinned against God, so they must all bear

A Good Friday Sermon. 283

every one the punishment of his own sins, in his own person.
There being no other way whereby Almighty God can mani
fest His justice and displeasure against them for it; for, as
the Apostle observes, the Son of God took not on Him the [Heb. 2.
nature of Angels, but the seed of Abraham ; and therefore
the apostate Angels are never the better for all His sufferings,
as not being undergone in their nature. And therefore their
case is desperate, their misery unavoidable. It is true, they
know and believe there is a God, but they cannot trust on
Him, nor expect any mercy from Him ; for He never pro
mised them any. And therefore they " believe and tremble," [James 2.
as knowing that God is always angry with them, and can by 19'^
no means be ever reconciled to them. And hence it is that
they can never repent of their sins ; and, if they did, it would
stand them in no stead. No : sentence is past upon them,
they are all condemned to everlasting fire. And there is no
remedy, but they must endure it for ever.

But, blessed be God, the case is not so with us ; for He
Himself hath provided us a Saviour, an all-sufficient Saviour,
one Who is " able to save them to the uttermost that come Heb. 7. 25.
unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession
for them."

Indeed, this is that which crowns all the rest; that as He
once died to make satisfaction for us upon earth, He ever
lives to make intercession for us in Heaven, where He now
is in our Nature united to His Divine Person ; upon which
account, God hath so highly exalted Him, even as He is
Man, that He " hath given Him a Name, which is above Phil. 2. 9,
every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should 1(
bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things
under the earth ; and that every tongue should confess thai
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." So
that He is now " advanced above all principality and power, Eph. i. 21,
and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not 22'
only in this world, but also in that which is to come ; and
God hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be
the Head over all things to the Church." Such a glorious
Saviour have we now in Heaven, whom the Angels them
selves are bound to worship and continually do it : and
though His manhood be only in Heaven, His Divine Person,

284 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. to which that manhood is united, is every where upon earth
—^ too. So that be we where we will, He is always present
with us, and we may make our applications to Him when
we please. He is here with us at this time, and knows
every word that I have said of Him, and how every one of
you are affected towards Him. When we are at our devo
tions, public or private, He is there ready to assist and
perfume them with His Own merits. When we are in secret,
where nobody else sees us, be sure He doth. When we are
in streights, and know not whither else to go for help, we
[Gal. 2.20.] may still go to Him "Who loved us and gave Himself for
John 6. 37. us ; " and hath therefore told us, that " those that come to
Him He will in no wise cast out."

This therefore is that which I would now advise you to :
for which purpose you must give me leave to speak freely
to you, for I come not to you in my own name, but in His
Name Who died for you, Who redeemed you to Himself with
His Own blood, and therefore may well be allowed to be
plain with you.

That you are all sinners, I need not tell you ; but I must
tell you, that as ye are sinful, ye cannot but be miserable
too ; yea, therefore miserable because sinful : so miserable,
[Eph. 2.3.] that ye are " all by nature the children of wrath," whatso
ever outward prosperity ye may seem to enjoy ; ye are
always liable not only to be stripped of that, but to be tor
mented with all the pain, and shame, and horror, that either
your souls or bodies are capable of; for He that made you
is angry with you, and incensed against you : and what will
you do, if He should rise up to take vengeance of you, for
breaking those wise, and good, and righteous Laws, that He
hath set before you ? Can you be able to dwell with ever
lasting burnings, or endure the scorchings of a consuming
fire ? How would you be amazed and confounded if you
should see Omnipotence itself setting itself against you ;
Glory, Majesty, Justice, yea, Goodness and Mercy itself
frowning upon you, demeaning itself as angry and displeased
with you, and therefore pouring down fury, vengeance, and
indignation upon you every moment !

Yet this is no more than what your sins have made you
all obnoxious to. Insomuch, that if you look no farther

A Good Friday Sermon. 285

than yourselves, you have no ground to expect one moment's
respite out of the infernal flames, " prepared for the Devil [Matt. 25.
and his angels."

Consider this, and then tell me, what you think of a
Saviour, one who can save you from your sins, and from the
wrath of God that is due unto you for them. One that can
reconcile Almighty God to you, and you to Him. One
who can alter your estate and disposition too, so as to make
you "equal to the Holy Angels" themselves both in grace [Luke 20.
and glory. How happy would the fiends of Hell account 3
themselves, if they had such a Saviour ! How earnestly
would they flock after Him, and strive which should em
brace and love Him most, which should serve and please
Him best, that so they might be restored by Him to their
former estate again ! But this is an happiness which they
can never hope for, it being designed only for mankind.
But it being designed for mankind in general, all you that
hear me at this time, may not only hope for it, but you may
have it too if ye will ; nay, it is God's pleasure and command
you should ; for He would have all men to be saved, and by
consequence you amongst the rest. And therefore if any of
you be riot, the only reason is, because ye will not. " Ye j0hn 5. 40.
will not," as Christ said, " come to Him, that ye might have
life." And no wonder then if you be not saved, when ye
\vill not come to Him Who alone can do it.

But are there any such men in the world ? Men that will
not be saved though they may ? Men that refuse happiness
when it is proffered them, and had rather continue in sin and
misery than to be freed from it ? I wish there were not, but
fear there are too many such amongst ourselves ; some that
think they can save themselves, and therefore will not be
beholden to Christ for it. Others so much in love with sin,
that they will not part from it for all that Christ hath pur
chased for them, and therefore will not go to Him, for fear
lest He should make them holy. But the greatest part of
mankind, and of those also who have given up their names
to Christ, are so much taken with the sensible objects they
converse with here below, that they prefer them before all
that the Son of God hath or ever can do for them ! Un
grateful wretches! is this the return you make the Son of

286 A Good Friday Sermon.

God for all His love and kindness to you? What could He

. **

LXVII. have done, what could He have suffered, what could He
have procured more for you than He hath done? And is
all this nothing ? not so much as the dreams and shadows of
this transient world ?

But I hope there are not many such amongst you, and
heartily wish there were none at all. Howsoever, give me
leave to deal plainly with you. Do ye really believe that
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, or do ye
not? If you do not, what make you here, especially upon
this day ? Why are ye not rather at some Turkish mosque,
or idol-temple, or else about your worldly business ? What
need you concern yourselves about the Death of Christ, if ye
do not believe that He died to save sinners ? But do you
really believe that He died to save sinners ? Then He died
to save you, who cannot but acknowledge yourselves to be
sinners. And if so, what mean you, that ye mind not your
Salvation by Him, more than all things in the world besides ?
Is it not the greatest, the only happiness you can ever attain
to ? Did the Son of God Himself think it worth His while
to lay down His Own life to procure it for you, and can you
think it not worth your while to lay out your lives in the pur
suit of it ? Certainly you cannot think so. But why then
is it that you do not do it ?

Especially considering, that how great an happiness soever
it be, there is not a soul here present but may attain it, ii
you will but set yourselves in good earnest about it : Christ's
blood being of that infinite value and virtue, that it can both
expiate and " cleanse you from all your sins." As many
tj\ ° thousands have found already by their own experience, who

once were miserable sinners upon earth, as you now are ;
but are now by Christ made glorified Saints in Heaven.
And why may not you be made so as well as they ? You
have all the same Saviour as they had, and He is both as
able and as willing to save you, as He was to save them.
Insomuch, that if any of you perish, your blood will be upon
your own heads. And not only yours neither, but His too :
in that you neglect and trample upon it, and will not make
use of it to the saving of your souls, for which He shed it.

But let others do what they please, and take what follows.

A Good Friday Sermon. 287

Let us who believe what we have now heard, even that
Jesus Christ being in the form of God, took upon Him the
form of a servant, the nature of man, and in it was obedient
to death, even the death of the Cross, that He might save
us from our sins, and make us happy ; let us, I say, who
profess to believe this, endeavour to live accordingly, that
we may lay hold on that eternal life which the Son of God
hath purchased for us at so dear a rate : for which purpose
let us apply ourselves to Him in the sincere and constant
use of those means which He hath appointed for our obtain
ing Salvation by Him ; such as praying and fasting, reading
and hearing His Holy Word, and receiving His mystical
body and blood, still trusting in Him to assist and influence
them so with His Holy Spirit, that they may be effectual
to the ends for which He hath ordained them, even to the
begetting and confirming our faith in Him, and so to the
mortifying our lusts, and to the quickening us with newness
of life. Let us study His Gospel, and whatsoever He hath
there said let us therefore believe it because He Who is
Truth itself hath said it ; and whatsoever He there commands,
let us therefore do it because He hath commanded it Who
coming into the world on purpose to save us, would be sure
to command us nothing but what is absolutely necessary for
our Salvation.

Wheresoever we are, let our eye be still upon Him as
always present with us, and interceding with His Father for
us. " Whatsoever we do in word or deed," let us " do all in [Coi.s.i7.]
the Name of the Lord Jesus," trusting on Him for His
assistance of us in the doing it ; and for God's acceptance of
it when it is done. Let our minds be always running after
Him, and our faith so steadfastly fixed on Him, that we
may continually derive grace and virtue from Him, to
subdue our corruptions, to withstand temptations, to live
above the world, and to " walk in all the Commandments of [Luke i 6.]
God blameless." Whatsoever our condition be in this life,
let us still believe in Him that died for us, to bless and
sanctify it to the end for which He died, even to the Salva
tion of our souls. Let us not despond or despair of God's
mercy to us, nor of any thing that is, or can be good for us ;
" For He that spared not His Own Son, but delivered Him R0m. 8.32.

288 A Good Friday Sermon.

SERM. up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us

LXV1I. •••• -I . n »

- all things ?

Being thus prepared and qualified for it, let us put our
whole trust and confidence in Him, to pardon and absolve
us from all our sins, to defend and protect us from whatso-
[John 16.5 ever is really evil for us, to " guide us into all truth," to
confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, to direct, assist,
and bless us through the whole course of our pilgrimage
here below, that when we depart out of this miserable and
wicked world, we may go with Him Who hath done these
great things for us, and enjoy that life which He hath pur
chased by His Own death, even life with Him, the Eternal
Son of God our Saviour, to Whom with the Father and the
Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, now and for ever.
Amen.

SERMON LXVIII.

THE MYSTERY OF OUR RECONCILIATION BY CHRIST
EXPLAINED.

2 COR. v. 18, 19.

And all things are of God, ivho hath reconciled us to Himself
by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of recon
ciliation : to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ;
and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

As man is properly called a reasonable creature, notwith
standing there may be here and there one that never had,
or hath lost, the use of reason, and few that use it aright ;
so although there may perhaps be some particular men in
the world which have no knowledge of God, and few that
live as if they had ; yet nevertheless mankind in general
may be truly said to agree in the acknowledgment of that
Invisible Being which we call God, that made and still pre
sides over the whole wrorld. There being no nation we
know of upon earth, so barbarous and savage, but where
people some way or other express their sense and fear of
such a Being, and do something or other, whereby to get
Him to be favourable to them. And it is much to be ob
served, that almost all mankind in all ages and places upon
earth have concurred in the use of blood for that purpose ;
some killing beasts, others men, and some their own children,
thinking thereby to obtain the favour of Him that governs
the world, and so procure something which they think would
be good for them, or else avert some evil which otherwise
might fall upon them.

u

290 The Mystery of our

SERM. How tliis should come about, deserves our most serious

T l^VT TT

- inquiry. That all mankind should have some general
notions of God we cannot wonder, seeing the knowledge of
Him was imprinted at first upon our very minds ; and
though the first impressions be much defaced and worn
out, yet there are such footsteps of them still remaining as
are plainly visible to the very light of nature ; so that no
man that useth his reason can deny or doubt of the existence
of the Deity, without offering violence to himself.

But that God should be pleased with men's taking away
the life which He Himself gives to His creatures, is not only
above, but seems contrary to, our natural reason, and to those
common notions of the Divine perfections, which are inter
woven, as it were, in our frame and temper. And therefore,
as no man could ever have thought this to be an acceptable
service to God, unless He Himself had appointed and de
clared it ; so the knowledge and practice of it could never
have spread itself, as it hath, all over the earth, unless it had
come from some common root or stock. But how it should
do so, he could never have known, but only from the Holy
Scriptures : this being one of those many wonderful things,
which no certain account can be ever given of, but only by
Divine Revelation.

But there we find, that the common parents of all man
kind having transgressed the command, and so incurred the
displeasure of Almighty God their Maker, and thereby made
themselves and their whole posterity liable to the death
which He had threatened in case of their disobedience ; He
was graciously pleased to promise and declare to them, that
one should be born of the seed of the woman, who should
suffer death for them, and so redeem all from it who would
believe the said promise and trust on His word for the per
formance of it ; which therefore that all might do, He was
pleased to ordain that the death of this great Redeemer of
mankind should be foreshewn and represented by sacrificing
or killing of beasts all along, until it should be actually done,
which was not to be till many ages after; that mankind
might all the while depend wholly upon His word for it,
and so give Him the glory due unto His goodness and truth.
And accordingly the first of Adam's children that is reckoned

Reconciliation by Christ explained. 291

among the righteous, even Abel, offered of the firstlings of Matt.23.ss.
his flock, and of the fat thereof; which he would not have
done, if it had not been first commanded by God. But doing
it in obedience to His command, and in confidence of His
promise before mentioned, " God had respect to him and to Gen. 4. 4.
his offering;" that is, He both approved of what Abel did,
and accepted of him as a righteous person for the doing it ;
which being so remarkable a thing, his brethren could not
but all take notice of it, and for the future do as he did, that
God might shew the same respect to them as He had done
to Abel : and likewise teach their children the same way
whereby to obtain the favour of God. And so, doubtless,
this practice was continued all along until the flood ; which
was no sooner over, but righteous Noah also built an altar, ch. s. 20.
and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and
offered burnt-offerings on the altar. " And the Lord smelled ver. 21.
a sweet savour;" that is, He was well pleased with what
Noah did, and with him for the doing it ; which his children
observing, such of them as feared God, and desired His
favour, could not but take the same course for it, and trans
mit it also down to their posterity : and all the earth being
overspread by them, hence it came to be received and con
tinued, more or less, in all the parts of it; Africa itself not
excepted, that was peopled by the offspring of Ham. Though
he not being so careful to instruct his children in it as his
brethren were, it seems to have been more forgotten and
disused in some places there, than in the other parts of the
world.

But although this way of appeasing the wrath, and con
ciliating the favour of God, by killing and offering living
creatures to Him, hath been thus received by universal tra
dition in all the parts of the earth, and people generally
have used it in all ages ; yet in process of time, they came to
use it only as an old custom received from their forefathers,
without knowing any thing of the reason or design of it ;
which therefore God was pleased to put His people the
Jews in mind of, by ordering their sacrifices to be offered in
such a manner, and with such circumstances, as plainly
shewed the respect they had to the great sacrifice which was
to be offered, according to His promise, for the sins of the

292 The Mystery of our

anc^ ^at tney were only types and shadows of that ;
and therefore had no virtue in themselves, nor power to
effect what was designed by them, but what they received
from thence ; which God's faithful people understood so
well, that in all those typical sacrifices they had still an eye
to that which was typified by them, as the great and only
effectual means whereby to have Almighty God reconciled
to them : though all other having a veil upon their faces,
could not so well see through the types and figures under
which this great truth was then represented.

But now the veil is taken away, so that all may see it.
For now that this grand sacrifice which was promised and
typified all along from the beginning of the world, hath
been accordingly offered up by Jesus Christ, the Only-
begotten Son of God, in the body which He for that purpose
assumed ; now, I say, it is evident to all that do not wilfully
shut their eyes, that it is only in Him, and by virtue of His
sacrifice, that Almighty God is reconciled to mankind, so as
to shew them any grace or favour. For this is now brought
to light by the Gospel ; and is indeed the chief thing that is
there revealed all along; and particularly in this place by
the Apostle, saying, that " God hath reconciled us to Him
self by Jesus Christ, and hath given unto us the ministry of
reconciliation. To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconcili
ation."

Which words containing the great mystery of our recon
ciliation to the Most High God, I shall endeavour to give
you as full and clear an explication of them as I can, by
considering these things.

I. What is here meant by God reconciling the world
unto Himself.
• II. That He hath done it by Jesus Christ.

III. In what sense the Apostle here saith, that the minis
try and word of this reconciliation is given and committed
unto us, and that by God Himself.

That we may clearly see into the meaning of God's recon
ciling the world unto Himself, it will be necessary to look
back upon the reason of His being angry with it ; without

Reconciliation by Christ explained. 293

which there would have been no occasion or subject-matter
for a reconciliation. For which purpose therefore, I shall
endeavour to explain this first question in these following
propositions : —

1. Almighty God being infinitely great and good and
happy in Himself, we cannot imagine what other end He
could propose to Himself in making the world, than His
Own glory, even to manifest Himself and the glory of His
Divine perfections : according to that of the wise man,

" The Lord hath made all things for Himself." And as this Prov. 16. 4.
was the end of His making, so it is of His preserving and
governing the world, and of all and every thing that He
ever did, or doth, or will do in it. Whatsoever He doth, He
doth it for His own glory.

2. Hence He made all things so as might best serve to

that end. For "God saw every thing that He made, and, Gen. i. 31.
behold, it was very good ; " that is, every thing was exactly
fitted to set forth His glory in the way and manner which
He designed it should do so, and so answered His end in
making it.

3. All the material world, and all creatures whatsoever
which are not endued with reason, always did, and still con
tinue to accomplish His end in making them, by acting and
moving always according as He would have them, and so
discovering the glory of His infinite wisdom, power and
goodness, in the contrivance, production, and government of
them. Thus " the Heavens declare the glory of God, and ps. 19. i.
the firmament sheweth His handy-work." And so doth
every one of the least, as well as the greatest things both in
Heaven and earth.

4. If He had made none but the material world, although
He displayed His glory in the making it ; yet there would
have been nothing to have seen it but Himself; simple mat
ter not being capable of reflecting upon itself, or any thing
else. Wherefore God was pleased to make some creatures
of a spiritual nature, enduing them with reason and under
standing to contemplate upon, admire and celebrate the
infinite perfections which He manifesteth in the world, and
likewise with liberty or freedom of will, that they might do
what He commanded for His glory ; not like other creatures,

294 The Mystery of our

SERM. with a kind of natural impulse, but out of choice, with

T "WTTT

- the bent and inclination of their minds. Of these He made
two sorts, the one purely spiritual, called Angels ; the other
partly spiritual, and partly material, or spirit joined to mat
ter, which we call men, created here upon earth, as the
other were in Heaven.

5. Of these two sorts of reasonable and free agents, the
first called Angels, being all created together, and left to
use that freedom of will wherewith they were endued, the
greatest part of them chose to continue in the same estate
wherein they were created, and have accordingly been ever
since glorifying their Almighty Creator, and doing the work

PS. 103. 20, which He for that purpose hath set them, and therefore
lojnfy'.ii, always continue in His love and favour. But many of them
12> abusing the freedom which God had given them, chose to

[Jude 6.] leave their first estate, to lay aside the business, and trans
gress the laws which He had prescribed whereby to advance
His honour and glory ; wherefore He that made them was
justly displeased with them : and seeing they would not give
Him the glory that was due to the goodness which He
manifested in making them, He manifested the glory of His
2 Pet. 2. 4. justice in casting them down to Hell and "delivering them
into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment," as
a potter dasheth that vessel in pieces, that is not fit for the
use to which He designed it.

6. As many of the Angels, so all mankind fell from their
first estate, though not as the other did, every one by His
own personal act ; yet all in their common head, Adam ; for
being all to proceed by successive generations from him, and
therefore contained in him, when he eat of the fruit which
God had forbidden him, they were all thereby corrupted,
and made unfit for the service for which they were created ;

[PS. 14. 2.] insomuch, " that there is none that doeth good, no not one.'
None that serve and glorify their Almighty Creator by
observing the laws which He hath set them. But they are

[ver. 4.] " all gone out of the way ;" they all neglect the business
which God sent them into the world about, and so have
frustrated His holy end in making them ; and therefore

EPh, 2. 3. they are altogether fallen under His displeasure, " they are
all by nature the children of wrath," and might justly have

Reconciliation by Christ explained. 295

been all condemned to that " everlasting fire " which is " pre- [Matt. 25.
pared for the Devil and his angels," before spoken of. Nei- '
ther could they expect any other, seeing they as well as the
fallen angels have offended Him that made them, and dis
honoured His holy Name, by making themselves uncapable
of the service He made them for, and so not answering His
end in making them.

But, lastly, there being now two sorts of creatures in the
world that have offended their Almighty Creator by not
giving Him the glory which He designed to Himself in
creating of them, the fallen angels and men ; He was
pleased to retrieve arid advance His Own glory another way
by each of them. Upon the first He manifested, as I
observed before, the glory of His justice, by condemning them
to their deserved punishments : but in the other, He shewed
forth the glory of His wisdom, by finding out a way whereby
to reconcile them to Himself, as the Apostle here speaks,
that is, to restore them again to His favour ; for that is the
proper meaning of the word, wheresoever it occurs in the
New Testament, where one is said to be reconciled to ano
ther, when that other is reconciled to him : as where our
Saviour saith, that when one remembereth that his brother Matt. 5. 23,
hath aught against him, he must first be reconciled to his
brother, before he offer his gift. Where the brother being
the person offended, it is plain, that by his being reconciled
to his brother, is meant his brother's being reconciled to
him, so as not to be any longer angry or displeased with
him for the offence or wrong which he had received from
him. So here, where the Apostle says, that God was recon
ciling the world to Himself, the meaning is, that God was
reconciling Himself to the world, or to mankind, as the
word "world" here signifies, as well as in many other places
of Holy Writ; that is, God was pacifying Himself, or
appeasing the wrath which He had justly conceived against
mankind for the dishonour He had received by their trans
gressing the laws which He had enacted for the glory of
His Holy Name. Thus the Apostle himself explains the
meaning of God's reconciling the world to Himself, by
adding, " not imputing their trespasses unto them ; " that is,
not charging their offences or transgressions upon them, so

296 The Mystery of our

SERM. as to punish them according as they deserved, but forgiving
— and remitting them all to them, so as to be at peace again
with them, and receive them again into His grace and
favour, as much as if they had never offended Him. Which,
in other places of Scripture, is expressed by His being
gracious and merciful unto them, by His loving and delight
ing again in them, and by His being as well pleased with
them as if He had never been displeased. This is that
which is here meant by God's reconciling the world unto
Himself.

But how can this be ? How can we imagine that the Lord
most holy, should ever be reconciled to the wicked world ?
He made men to honour Him, but they would not do it ;
but acted rather just contrary to what He for that purpose
commanded them ; which was a great affront and dishonour
to His Divine Majesty, in that He hereby seemed to lose
His end in making them. For which therefore His wrath
was highly incensed against them ; and who is able to abide
]Sam 2. 25. it ? " If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge
him ; but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for
him?" None certainly can do it effectually for men, without
making satisfaction to Him for the dishonour which He
hath received from them ; which being impossible for any
creature to do, God Himself was graciously pleased to
undertake it. As we are here assured by His Apostle, say
ing, that " God had reconciled us to Himself." But how
did He do it ? He did it, as it is here also said, in and
through Jesus Christ. " He hath reconciled us to Himself,"
saith the Apostle, " by Jesus Christ." And again, " God
was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself."

This is the great mystery revealed in the Gospel of Christ,
isa. 9. 6. Who is therefore called " the Prince of Peace," because it is
14.] by Him that our peace is made with God. According to

isa. 52. 7. that of the same Prophet concerning Him, " How beautiful
upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth good
tidings, that publisheth peace ! " To the same purpose is that
of the Prophet Daniel, speaking of the precise time of
Dan. 9. 24. Christ's coming into the world, " Seventy weeks are deter
mined upon Thy people and upon Thy Holy City, to finish
the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make

Reconciliation by Christ explained. 297

reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting right
eousness," &c. And accordingly when He was actually born,
a "multitude of the Heavenly Host sang, Glory be to God Luke 2. is,
in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men."
Whereby we are taught, that by Him, Whose Nativity was
then celebrated by the choir of Heaven, Almighty God was
at peace with the earth, and had a good-will or kindness again
for men, and that too in such a way that His glory was
secured, yea, and advanced ; it is " glory in the highest."
The Holy Angels themselves, who had hitherto been taken
up with praising and glorifying the infinite wisdom and
power which He manifested in the Creation of the world,
and the goodness which shined forth in all His works, they
had now new matter of praise and thanksgiving in that their
Almighty Creator and Governor now displayed the glory of
His love and favour to their fellow-creatures upon earth,
notwithstanding their manifold provocations of Him, and
that too in so wonderful a manner, that they could not but
admire and adore Him in the highest manner they could for
it, saying, " Glory be to God in the highest." And that we
might know wherefore they gave this most high glory to
Him, they add, " Peace upon earth, good-will towards
men." This is His glory, the highest glory which the
Angels themselves could praise Him for.

And verily, if we could look as far into this great mystery
as the Holy Angels do, we should soon be of their mind,
and join with them in glorifying Him to the highest for it.
But that we can never expect to do till we come to them :
howsoever, that we may have as clear a sight of it as we are
capable of in this mortal state, we must first observe in
general, that the glorious Person Who was then born, the
Prince of Peace, purchased our peace for us with the price
of His Own blood : for, as His Apostle saith, " When we Rom. 5. 10.
were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of
His Son." " For He is our peace, who hath made both EPh. 2. u-
[Jew and Gentile] one, and hath broken down the middle
wall of partition between us, having abolished in His flesh
the enmity, even the Law of Commandments contained in
Ordinances ; for to make in Himself of twain, one new man,
so making peace ; and that He might reconcile both unto

298 The Mystery of our

SERM. God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity
thereby." It was therefore by the blood which He shed, by
the death which He suffered upon the Cross, that our peace
and reconciliation with God was made. As it was typified

Lev. 16. is, also in the Mosaic Law, by the Priests making atonement
or reconciliation for the sins of the people with the blood of
the sacrifice which He had before offered. And accordingly
wre read, that in King Hezekiah's time, the Priests brought

2Chron.29. forth the he-goats for a sin-offering, and " killed them, and
they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to
make an atonement for all Israel." Which was only a type
or shadow of that grand sacrifice which our true High
Priest offered in His body upon the cross, to make atone
ment for the sins of the world, that Almighty God might be
at peace, or as we say, at one again with us. According to

Heb.2»i7, that of the Apostle, "Wherefore in all things it behoved
Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be
a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to
God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For
in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able
to succour them that are tempted." But that we may fully
understand how we are thus reconciled to God by the death
of His Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, it will be necessary to
observe these following particulars :

First, that the Apostle doth not only say, that God hath
reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, but likewise " that
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself." It
was still God's Own work, but He did it by Christ, and in
Him too : so that God was in Christ at the doing of it, and
of every thing that was done in order to it. As we learn

John 14. 10. also from Christ Himself, saying, " Believest thou not that I
am in the Father, and the Father in Me ? The words that
I speak unto you I speak not of Myself, but the Father that
dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." Every thing there
fore that was done by the Man Christ Jesus, was done also

Col. 2. 9. by God dwelling in Him : " For in Him dwelleth all the
fulness of the Godhead bodily." It was substantially united
to His human nature, so that He was God and Man in one
and the same Person. And therefore when He offered up

Acts 20. 28. Himself, it was God that did it : the blood He shed was the

Reconciliation by Christ explained. 299

blood of God. And " hereby," saith St. John, " perceive we Uohns. 16.

the love of God, because He laid down His life for us."

Which being so plainly revealed by God Himself, how much

soever it may seem above the reach of our finite and corrupt

understanding, we have all the reason that can be to believe

it. And it is well for us we have so, seeing the main stress

of our reconciliation lies upon it ; insomuch, that he who

doth not believe this, can never believe it possible for him

ever to find any favour in the sight of God- Whereas, he

who believes this, as all must do that believe the Scripture [2 Tim. 3.

to be given by inspiration of God, may easily see, what

ground we have to expect all the favour we can desire from

Him.

For, from hence it appears, in the next place, that the
death which Jesus Christ suffered for the sins of the world,
was more than the death of all the men in the world ; foras
much as the death of all the men in the world could have
been no more than the death of so many finite persons ;
whereas His was the death of a person that is infinite : and
therefore not only as much, to the utmost, as was due to the
sins of all mankind, but infinitely more. And so did not
acxfr only satisfy the justice, but likewise merited the favour
of God for them ; and that too in the same way, wherein
they had before lost it. They had lost the favour of God, by
not giving Him the glory which He designed to Himself in
His creation of them. But now His glory was advanced
more than they could ever have done it, if they had conti
nued in their first estate. For a Divine Person having suf
fered the punishment of their sins, the glory of His justice
appeared more gloriously than it did, or could ever have
done any other way. And by this means also a way was
opened, whereby to discover the glory of several other of
His Divine perfections, which otherwise would never have
sinned forth as they now do in the world.

For, thirdly, His Only-begotten Son having thus offered up
Himself as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of all mankind,
God in "Him, and upon the account of His most meritorious
death, hath promised them His grace and favour again ; and
so hath engaged His truth for the performance of all such
promises which Hejnade in Christ; "for all the promises of 2Cor'1-20-

300 The Mystery of our

SERM. God in Him are Yea. and in Him Amen, unto the glory of

T XVTTT

- God by us." To the glory of God ; for that appeareth most
gloriously in all His promises ; the glory of His grace in
making, and the glory of His truth in His fulfilling of them.

John 1.17. So that, as the " Law was given by Moses, grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ." They came into the world by Him,
without Him mankind had never seen or known either of
these Divine perfections ; for God would neither have shewn
them any grace or mercy, nor made them any promises
whereby to manifest His truth unto them ; whereas in Christ,
His grace and truth appear as glorious in the world, as His
wisdom or power, or any other of His infinite perfections.
And seeing He doth all things for His own glory, if we may
take the boldness to offer our conjectures at the reason of
any thing which our Almighty Creator doth, this might be
given as one wherefore He was pleased to suffer mankind to
fall, even that the glory of His grace and truth might appear
in the Redemption of them by Jesus Christ, which otherwise,
as far as we can see, it could never have done.

Hence, lastly, therefore it is, that although Jesus Christ
died for the sins of the whole world, and the promises are
accordingly made to all, yet none have His grace actually
conferred upon them, without believing His Word, and so
giving Him the glory of His truth, which He designed to
Himself in the Redemption of them. For without that, they
do not answer His end in redeeming, no more than they did
before in His creating them : and therefore have no ground
to expect any more grace or favour at His hands ; from
whence also, we may see the reason wherefore faith is abso
lutely required, as it is in God's Holy Word, in order to our
obtaining any of the blessings which Christ hath merited,

2Tiiess. i. and God in Him hath promised to us ; even that God may
be thereby glorified, as He is in all that believe. And there
fore all that believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, according to
what God hath revealed of Him in His Holy Word, and
accordingly trust on the promises which are there made and
confirmed to mankind in Him, they have the said promises
actually fulfilled to them, so as to enjoy all the benefits of
Christ's death for the pardon of their sins, and for their

Eph. i. 7. justification before God. " In Him they have Redemption

Reconciliation by Christ explained. 301

through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the
riches of His grace." And though they be not perfectly
righteous in themselves, yet through His merits they are
accounted righteous by God Himself: " For He hath made 2Cor. 5.21,
Him Who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him." This was the end
wherefore He Who was no sinner suffered as a sinner for
us, that we who are not righteous may be accepted of as
righteous through Him. As our sins were laid on Him,
His righteousness is imputed unto us ; and so we are "jus- Rom. 3. 21-
tified freely by His grace, through the Redemption that is in 26*
Christ Jesus, Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
(or rather a propitiatory) through faith in His blood, to
declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are
past, through the forbearance of God ; to declare, I say, at
this time His righteousness ; that He might be just, and
the justifier of Him which believeth in Jesus."

These things being thus briefly premised, we may easily
see, how God was in Christ reconciling the world unto
Himself; for, as He Himself tells us by His Apostle,
" being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through ch. 5. i.
our Lord Jesus Christ." And, " being now justified by ver. 9.
His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."
Whereby we are assured, that upon our believing in His
Son Jesus Christ, our sins, for which He was justly offended
with us, are done away by His blood, and that He looks
upon us no longer as sinners, of the stock of the first Adam,
but as members of the last Adam Christ, and in Him as [i Cor. 15.
just and righteous persons; and therefore is no longer45^
angry, but at peace with us, reconciled, and well-pleased
with us in Him, as much as if we had never offended or
displeased Him. According to that remarkable saying of
the Apostle to the Colossians, " You that wrere sometime Col. i. 21-

00

alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet
now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through
death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprov-
able in His sight ; if ye continue in the faith, grounded
and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the
Gospel." Where we see that God Himself in the body of the
flesh which He assumed and through the death which He suf-

302 The Mystery of our

SERM. fered in that body, reconciles those who before were enemies,
— if they continue in the faith, so as to present them holy,
unblameable and unreprovable in His Own sight. Though
He see their faults, He doth not blame so as to condemn
them for them, having taken the punishment upon Himself,
and so hath discharged them by the death He suffered
for them in His Own body. So that He now looks upon
them as holy and righteous persons in His Son ; and like
wise makes them such in themselves, as far as they are
capable of it in this their corrupt and imperfect state. He
[Acts is 9.] purifies their hearts at the same time, and by the same faith
2 Cor. 5. 17. whereby He justifies their persons. They being in Christ,
Eph. 2. 10. are become " new creatures ; " " being created in Christ
Jesus unto good works ; " and so are another sort of people
from the rest of the world ; a Communion of Saints, wholly
inclined and addicted to piety, and virtue, and all manner
of good works, as other people are to vice and wickedness.
Col. 3. 17. And whatsoever " they do in the Name of the Lord Jesus
i Pet. 2. 5. Christ," " is acceptable to God through Him." All the
defects in their good works (which in the best are many)
being perfectly made up by that most perfect obedience
which He performed in their nature and stead, to death
itself, even the death of the Cross. By means whereof He
smells a sweet savour, and is pleased with all the good
works they do, notwithstanding all their imperfections.
Prov. is. s. " The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord;
but the prayer of the upright is His delight."

Thus, therefore, it is that God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto Himself, suffering in Him the punishments
which were due unto their sins, and therefore absolving all
that believe in Him, so as to accept of them as righteous,
and dealing accordingly with them ; for He now looks upon
them as His Own children, His elect and peculiar people,
and is so perfectly reconciled to them, that He hath a
special love and kindness for them ; and all because they
believe in His Son Jesus Christ, in Whom He Himself is
well pleased, and by Whom He hath reconciled them to
Himself. As we learn also from the mouth of the Son
Himself, saying to His Disciples, and in them to all that
John 16. 27. believe in Him; "For the Father Himself loveth you,

Reconciliation by Christ explained. 303

because ye have loved Me, and have believed that I came
out from God."

But here we must farther observe, that the Apostle
saying, " that God was in Christ reconciling the world
unto Himself," he thereby intimates, that this is no trans
ient, but a permanent, or rather a continued act : He did
not only do it once, but He is always doing it : He is still
reconciling the world unto Himself by Jesus Christ, the
Lamb of God, not Who did, but Who doth " take away the John i. 29.
sin of the world," or is always " taking it away," as the word
6 a/£«v implies. Though He offered up Himself but once,
yet by virtue of " that one oblation of Himself once offered,
He is the propitiation of our sins ; and not for ours only, i John 2. 2.
but for the sins of the whole world," continually propitiating
or reconciling His Father unto all that truly believe in
Him. He is always the Mediator between God and them, i Tim. 2. 5.
" their Advocate with the Father," " now appearing in the i John 2.1.
presence of God," " and ever living to make intercession ^eb^ 92524'
for them," and so reconciling them unto God, and making
their peace with Him whensoever there is an occasion for
it ; as there always is : the best men doing [nothing] that is
perfectly good, and many things so ill, that they could never
continue in the favour of God, if His Son was not con
tinually interceding for them, and reconciling Him unto
them. But He the " Sun of Righteousness" shining con- [Mai. 4. 2.]
tinually in Heaven, and from thence reflecting His right
eousness upon them, both they themselves, and all the good
works they do, appear by that means, as if they were per
fectly righteous ; and that is the reason they always live
under the light of God's countenance shining upon them,
and are kept in His love and favour, even because their
Advocate and High Priest is always making atonement and
reconciliation for them. By means whereof every true
believer may say as St. Paul did, " I am persuaded, that Rom. s. ss,
neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor principalities, nor 39*
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to sepa
rate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord."

304 The Mystery of our

SERM. Thus I have endeavoured to set before you, in as clear a

LXVIII

L light as I could, the great mystery of the Gospel ; " to wit,
how God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself;"
whereby you may see, how you also may be reconciled to
Him, if ye will. Nothing now remains, but to consider in
what sense the Apostle here saith, " That God hath com
mitted unto us the ministry and word of reconciliation ;"
which may be soon despatched : For the Lord of Sabaoth,

[i Tim. 6. the Almighty Creator and Governor of the world, " dwelling
in the light which no man can approach unto ; Whom no
man hath seen nor can see :" if He Himself should speak
unto us in His Own Divine Person, we could not see Him
that speaks, much less should we be able to bear what comes
immediately from His Infinite height and glory. And
therefore as He was graciously pleased to take upon Him
our nature, and in it to reconcile the world unto Himself, so
He is pleased likewise to make use of some that are of the
same nature, to declare and apply this His reconciliation to
the rest of the world, that they might receive it from Him
by the hands of such whom they themselves could see, and
accordingly give Him the glory of His grace and truth, by
taking it upon His word, delivered to them by such as He
sends to do it. I say, such as He sends, for none can take
this office upon them, unless they be called and sent by

Rom. lo.is. God Himself; " For how shall they preach except they be
sent ?" Other people may speak the same things ; but they
cannot preach the Gospel of reconciliation, except they be
sent by God Himself to do it, no more than he who hath
no commission, can execute the office of an ambassador ;
wherefore the Apostle speaking in the name of all that are
sent by God, saith, " That God hath committed unto us the
word of reconciliation ;" that is, He hath given us commis
sion and authority to propound and treat of peace and
reconciliation with you in His Name, as His ambassadors
sent by Him for that end and purpose. And therefore the

[2 Cor. 5. Apostle immediately adds, " Now then we are ambassadors
for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray
you in Christ's stead to be reconciled unto God." And
certainly to be an ambassador for Christ, an ambassador of

Reconciliation by Christ explained. 305

peace too, of peace with the King of kings, is an Office not
to be slighted, as it is in this profane age, but highly
esteemed and magnified, as the most sacred and most
honourable employment that any man can have.

For here ye see what our Office and ministry is. " We
are ambassadors for Christ ;" we come not in our own name,
but His ; neither do we come to proclaim war, but to offer
peace ; that peace which He hath procured for you with
His Own blood. You have all rebelled against Almighty
God your Maker, and are therefore obnoxious to His dis
pleasure. But He hath reconciled you to Himself in our
Lord and Master Christ ; and sends us to declare and offer
this His reconciliation to you. And we according to our
instructions, pray you in His stead to accept of it ; that you
would stand out no longer, but take care to be reconciled
to God, or to partake of that peace and reconciliation which
He hath made for you.

For which purpose therefore, I pray you all in Christ's
stead, to repent and believe the Gospel ; forsake and avoid
the sins wherewith ye have hitherto dishonoured and offended
the Most High God your Maker, and study for the future
to serve and honour Him, by doing all such good works as
He hath set you: " And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [Coi.s.17.]
do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ," believing and
trusting on Him to make your peace with God. Do but
this, and I assure you in His Name, that He will do it for
you. He will reconcile you to Almighty God, and restore
you to His love and favour, as much as if ye had never lost
it. And how happy will ye then be, when He that governs
the whole world shall become your Friend, and have a parti
cular kindness for you ! His grace will then be alway suf- [2Cor. 12.
ficient for you, and His strength made perfect in your weak- 9
ness. His Spirit will be always ready to direct you what
to do, and to assist you in the doing it. His Holy Angels
will minister unto you, and keep you, by His order, in all
your ways. His blessing will be upon all ye have, and upon
all ye do. His power will protect you from all evil, and
make " all things work together for your good," all the [Rom. s.
while ye are here below ; and when ye go hence, ye will go

306 The Mystery of our Reconciliation, &fc.

SERM. to Christ in Paradise, and there enjoy all the fruits of that

T XVTTT

- blessed peace which He hath made for you, in their highest
perfection. Then you will taste and see what infinite cause
ye have to bless God, to praise Him, to worship Him, to
glorify Him, to give Him thanks for His great glory, in
reconciling you to Himself by His Only-begotten Son Jesus
Christ; to Whom with the Father, and Holy Spirit, be
honour and glory for ever. Amen.

SERMON LXIX.

THE SATISFACTION OF CHRIST EXPLAINED.

1 JOHN ii. 1. 2.

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin
not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous : and He is the propi
tiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world.

THIS Epistle, written by the Apostle and Evangelist
St. John, is called his Catholic or General Epistle, because
it is not written to any particular person, as both his other
are ; nor to any particular Church or society of Christians,
as most of St. Paul's were ; but this is written to the whole
Catholic Church, to all Christians in general ; which he calls
his little children. Little children he might well call them,
because the Church being as yet in its infancy, they were but
newly born again of water and of the Holy Ghost, or as
St. Peter speaks, were "but new-born babes;" at least in iPet. 2. 2.
respect of him, who was a father in the Church. And his
little children, because he had been a great instrument in
propagating the Church in which they were so regenerate
and born again : and besides, he useth this endearing com-
pellation, "my little children," the better to shew the great
care and love he had for them, such as a father hath for
his little children, that they might be the more ready to
hearken to that fatherly advice he was now to give them.
As St. Paul for the same purpose saith to the Corinthians, " I l cor,4. H,
write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons 15>
I warn you. For though you have ten thousand instructors

308 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus
-L— I have begotten you through the Gospel." So St. John
here saith to all Christians, " My little children, these things
I write unto you, that ye sin not."

These things, all that went before, and all that follow
after, all that I write in this Epistle, all these things I write
unto you for this end and purpose, " that ye sin not ; " that
ye allow not yourselves in any known sin, or rather (as he
afterwards expresseth it), that ye do not commit sin, no sin
whatsoever, neither of omission, nor of commission ; neither
against the first, nor against the second table ; that ye never
wilfully and deliberately transgress any one of God's Laws,
either by doing what He hath forbidden, or not doing what
He hath commanded ; but that ye make it your constant

[Luke i. cafe and study to "walk in all the Commandments and

6-} Ordinances of the Lord," to the utmost of your knowledge

and power, " blameless." This was the great end of his
writing these things unto them, as it is of all the Holy
Writings, that men might know the will of God and do it,
and so not sin against Him; which the Apostle therefore
requires them to take special heed of above all things else ;

[Jude4.] even " that they sin not ;" that they do not " turn the grace
of God into wantonness ; " that they do not abuse the great
doctrine he was about to deliver to them concerning the
propitiation which Christ hath made for their sins ; that they
do not abuse it, so as to take encouragement from thence to
continue in sin, or do any thing contrary to the Laws of
God ; but that they make it the chief care of their whole
lives to avoid all manner of sin, as much as possibly they
can. " These things," saith he, " I write unto you, that ye
sin not."

But then he adds, " And if any man sin, we have an Ad
vocate with the Father." He had said a little before, " If
we say that we have no sin, wre deceive ourselves, and the

ch. i. s, 10. truth is not in us :" and again, " If we say that we have not
sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us."
And therefore, notwithstanding the strict charge he here
gives to all Christians not to sin, yet knowing and consider
ing the frailty of our nature, he supposeth that any man,
after all his care and diligence, may sometimes fall into sin,

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 309

not only into the common sins of human infirmity, which all
are continually subject to, but likewise into some such sin as
may wound his conscience to the quick, and lie so heavy
upon his mind as to be ready to sink him down into horror
and despair at the remembrance of it. Now, what would
the Apostle have a man do in this case ? Would he have him
lay aside all hopes of mercy, and despair of ever having his
sin pardoned ? No ; by no means. But he would have such
a one look up to Heaven, and consider that we have an Ad
vocate there ; " If any man sin, we have an Advocate with
the Father ; " we, all of us, as we have all sinned, we have
all an Advocate to plead our cause, and intercede with the
Father for the pardon of our sins, and that no less a Person
than " Jesus Christ the righteous," perfectly righteous in
every circumstance and punctilio of the moral Law, " who Heb. 7. 27.
needed not daily, as the High-Priests under the Law, to offer
up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's ;"
ts for He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth," T Pet- 2- 22>
and therefore is completely qualified (which otherwise He
would not have been) to intercede for the pardon of other
men's sins ; and He is able to do it effectually too, in that
" He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole world."

This is the design and meaning of the words in general.
But seeing they contain matter of such extraordinary use
and comfort to all sinners (such as we all are), it will be worth
our while to treat a little more particularly of them, and for
that purpose to shew,

I. In what sense Christ is here said to be the propitia
tion for our sins.

II. That He being the propitiation for our sins, He is
therefore a most powerful Advocate with the Father for us.

III. That seeing Jesus Christ the righteous is such an
Advocate with the Father for us, to our great comfort, we
cannot fail of God's mercy in the pardon of our sins, if we
do but repent and believe the Gospel.

First, therefore, we may observe, that " propitiation" is ori
ginally a Latin word, and signifies the appeasing the wrath
of God, or doing something whereby He may be rendered
propitious, kind, or merciful to us, notwithstanding that we

310 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. have provoked Him to anger by any sin or offence com-
— '• — mitted against Him. And the original word in my text,
/Xao-//,o£, is used by the Greeks exactly in the same sense, as
might easily be shewn. But that we may fully understand
the true notion of the word as it is here used, our best way
will be to consider how it is used in the Greek translation
of the Old Testament, made long before St. John's time ;
for he writing to those who were generally accustomed to
the words and phrases in that translation, it cannot be
supposed but he useth this, as well as other words, in the
same sense as it is used there ; for otherwise they would
not so well have understood him. Now there we find that
'/Xaffxsffdai and gJ/Xd<7cc<y0oc/, all along answer to the ~13D, which
signifies ' to appease, to pacify, to reconcile a person offended,
to atone or make him at one again with the offender.' So
both the Hebrew and Greek words are used, where it is

Prov. 16.14. said, " The wrath of a king is as messengers of death ; but
a wise man will pacify it." And also, where Jacob having
sent a present before him to his brother Esau that was

Gen. 32. 20. offended with him, saith, " I will appease him with the pre
sent that goeth before me." He calls his present nn2B, a
word commonly used for offerings to God. That was his
propitiation, whereby his brother was reconciled to him.
So were the sacrifices in the Levitical Law ; they were the
/Xao-^o/, 'the expiations, or propitiations,' whereby God was
atoned or appeased towards him which brought them, or as

Lev. 1.4. it is there expressed, they were accepted for him, to make
atonement for him. And when a man had thus brought
his offering, and the Priest had therewith made atonement
for him for the sin he had committed, then it was forgiven
him, as we often read, Lev. iv. 20, 26, 31 ; v. 10, 18. In
all which places, both the Hebrew and Greek words before-
mentioned are used ; the first by Moses himself, the other
by the Seventy which translated him. And therefore we
cannot doubt but that the Greek word in my text, coming
from the same root, is here also used in the same sense, for
such a propitiation, or propitiatory sacrifice whereby God is
reconciled, or rendered propitious to us, and our sins are
forgiven us ; God accepting as it were of that sacrifice
instead of the punishment which was due unto us for them.

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 311

The same appears also from several words derived from
the same Hebrew root, as -"1ED which the Seventy sometimes
translate Xi/rga, or Xurgov, which signifies a ransom, a price
paid for the redemption of a man's life that was forfeited Exod. 21.
by any capital crime, something given in recompense and 30.' 12;
satisfaction for the crime whereby it was done. Sometimes ^^ 3°*
aXXay/ua, 'commutation, or propitiation;' as the Vulgar Prov- 6>35;
Latin renders it. Sometimes KkPixo&aepa, ' piaculum,' or a isa. 43. 3 ;

• /» /v» i /> i • •• i • Amos 5. 12.

sacrifice offered for the purging or expiating some heinous [pedi pro-
crime; or for the diverting some heavy judgment from one I^

to another, as Prov. xxi. 18, where the wise man saith, accipientes.

Amos.]

" The wicked shall be a ransom (as we translate it) for the

righteous ;" that is, as he himself elsewhere explains it,

" The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked Prov. n.s.

cometh in his stead." Sometimes they translate it sg/'Xao^a, [ps. 48.7.]

1 propitiation, expiation.' And so the Jews anciently used

this word in their common discourse ; for when one of them

would shew the greatest love he could to another, he would

say, V1S3 ^371, ' Behold, let me be his expiation ;' that is,

as one of their most learned writers interprets it, " Let his BaaiAmch,

iniquities be upon me, that I may bear the punishments of m VOCI

them :" which will give us great light into the true notion of

the word, as we shall see anon.

Another word from the same Hebrew root is D*H53, which
is commonly used likewise for a ransom, atonement, expia
tion, propitiation, or the like. As where we read of the
O'nMn P)DS, ' the atonement money,' the Seventy render it
rb agybgiov rr^c, ei<r<poga$, the tribute money that every man Exo(I 30
was to give for the ransom of his life, when the people 12» 15» )6>
were numbered. The sin-offering of atonement, rjj;
Jg/Xarfsw;, ' of propitiation,' as the Seventy translate it, Numb.
xxxix. 11 ; Exod. xxx, 10. The ram of the atonement, in
the Greek, xg/og ro\j iXaff/^ov (the word in my text), 'the ram
of propitiation,' Numb. v. 8. So Ezek. xliv. 27. In all
which places we see the word is used to denote something
offered or laid down for the pardon of a man's sins, and so
for the redemption of his life that was forfeited by them.
But that which is most observable in this case is, that the
great day, when the two goats were chosen, the one for a
sin-offering, with the blood whereof the High-Priest made

312 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

atonement for the people in the most holy place ; and the
Lev. 167T57 other for the scape-goat, upon the head whereof he con
fessed and laid the sins of the people, and then sent him
away into the wilderness, never to be heard of more ; this
ch. 25. 9 ; day, I say, is called Q^Q^n DV, ' the day of atonement,' or as
. 27, 28. ^ geventy render it, by the word in my text, j)/*gg« roD
/Aacr/AoO, and which is the same, rou JJ/Xao^oD, ' the day of
propitiation.' To which we might also add, that the lid or
cover of the ark where the Law lay, is called mDS, which
the Seventy translate /Xaor^/ov, ' the propitiatory,' we ' the
[Exod. 25. mercy-seat.' But of that I may have occasion to speak

17; 35. 12; /,,

Levit. 16. more afterwards.

These things, I confess, may seem something too nice
and critical, but I could not but take notice of them for the
satisfaction of myself and of all that understand the original
languages, as being of great use to our finding out what
the Apostle here means by propitiation, according to the
common notion of the word he useth in those days, and
among those to whom he wrote ; for hereby we may per
ceive that by the word propitiation here used is meant such
a sacrifice or offering made to God for the sins of men,
which He is pleased to accept of as a sufficient atonement
and satisfaction for the dishonour and injury that was done
Him by them, so as not to require the punishments which
were due unto Him for them, but to forgive them all, and
to become again as kind and propitious to the persons that
offended Him, as if He had never been offended by them.
For He is now propitiated, He is pacified, and reconciled
to them ; He receives them into His love and favour again,
and so into the same state they were in before He was
displeased with them.

But could any of those Levitical sacrifices which we have
discoursed of be such a propitiation for the sins committed
against God ? No surely, not in themselves ; for as the

Heb.io.i-4. Apostle observes, " The Law having a shadow of good things
to come, and not the very image of the things, can never
with those sacrifices which they offered year by year conti
nually make the comers thereunto perfect ; for then would
they not have ceased to be offered ? Because that the wor
shippers once purged should have had no more conscience

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 313

of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance
again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that
the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins."
Howsoever they might serve to the " purifying of the Heb 9 13
flesh," as the same Apostle speaks, that is, to the cleansing
of outward and Levitical impurities, they could have no
virtue in themselves to take oft* the guilt that was con
tracted by the breach of the moral law. But all the atone
ment of propitiation that is said to be made by them for
any sin, was effected only by the blood of Christ, typified
and represented in them. For He is here said to be " the
propitiation for the sins of the whole world." And there
fore no sin in the world could ever be expiated, or have
propitiation made for it any other way but by Him. His
being the only real and substantial sacrifice that ever
was offered, all others were only types and shadows of His,
and therefore could have no power or efficacy at all with
out it.

But His was so powerful and effectual to all intents and
purposes, that He, as the Apostle here saith, " is the pro
pitiation for the sins of the whole world ;" that is, as our
Church explains it, " He, by the one oblation of Himself
once offered, made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice,
oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world,"
or of all mankind. So that there is no man in the whole
world, but his sins may be all pardoned by it, and he may
be accepted of as righteous before God, without any viola
tion of His honour, justice, or truth. But this being the
main foundation of all our hopes of pardon and Salvation,
I shall endeavour to make it as clear as I can in these follow
ing propositions :

1. The Eternal Son of God, when He became Man, took
not on Him the nature of any particular human person, but
the whole nature of man in general, which having no sub
sistence out of His Divine Person, could not constitute
another person distinct from the Divine, but He was one

only Person both as God and Man ; " The Word was made John i. u.
flesh."

2. He in this nature, so assumed, lived several years upon
earth in perfect obedience to the moral law, and at length

314 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. died too in it. He was obedient all His life until death,

LXIX

" even the death of the Cross."

Phil. 2. 8.

3. He could not have suffered this death but for some sin
Rom. 6. 23. or other. For "death is the wages of sin." Therefore

where there is no sin, there can be no death.

Dan. 9 26 4. ^e could not suffer for any sin of His Own ; for He
i Pet. 2. 22. had none to suffer for. " He did no sin, neither was guile
found in His mouth ; " but was every way most perfectly
righteous, and the only Man that ever was so ; and there
fore is properly called in my text, " Jesus Christ the right
eous." Hence,

5. That death, and whatsoever else He suffered, He
suffered it only for the sins of men, in whose nature He
suffered it. There were no other sins that we know of in
the world for which He might have suffered, except those

[Heb. 2. Of the fallen Angels ; but He took not on Him their nature,
and therefore could not suffer for their sins. But He took
upon Him the nature of man, the common nature that all
men are of, and whatsoever He ever suffered, was only in
that nature, and by consequence, for the sins only of those
who are of that nature in which He suffered, even for the
sins of men, as the Holy Scriptures all along assure us.

Rom. 4. 25. " He was delivered for our offences," saith St. Paul. " He

isa. 53.5,6! died for our sins according to the Scriptures." "He was
wounded for our trangressions, He was bruised for our
iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him ; and
with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have
gone astray ; we have turned every one to his own way, and
the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." And

iPet, 2. 24. " He His Own self bare our sins in His Own body on the
tree."

6. The death which Christ thus suffered for sins was in a
most proper sense a sin-offering, a sacrifice offered to God to
make atonement and propitiation for sins. This appears,

1. From the testimony of the infallible Spirit of God,
which in the Holy Scriptures frequently and expressly

isa. 53. TO. asserts it : as where, speaking of Christ, He saith, " Thou
shalt make His soul an offering for sin," and elsewhere,

Eph. 5. 2. » Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given
Himself an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 315

savour," in allusion to the le«;al sacrifices which are often Lev« '• 9>

13 17' 2 2

said to be of a sweet savour unto the Lord. The words in Gen. a. 21.'

the original mrP3 m properly signify ' a savour of rest,'
which God was pleased to accept of, so as to rest and cease
from anger. Thus where Christ is said to be " made sin for 2 Cor. 5.21.
us," the meaning is that He was made a sin-offering, or a
sacrifice for our sins, and so the word is rendered in Heb. x.
6, and should be so not only in the place before quoted, but
likewise Rom. viii. 3 ; Heb. xiii. 1 1 . For as the Hebrew word
nNton, so the Greek a/xa^r/a which answers to it, in all these
places, signifies a ' sin-offering' as well as ' sin,' and cannot be
here understood in any other sense. The Epistle to the
Hebrews all along declares this great truth, as if it was writ
ten on purpose to convince us that Christ properly offered
up Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, and that He did it
only once, that being sufficient to expiate the sins of the
whole world. For He offered up Himself " without spot to Heb. 9. u.
God." " He needed not daily, as those High-Priests, to offer ch. 7. 27.
up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's ;
for tins He did once when He offered up Himself." He
offered "one sacrifice for sins;" and " by, that one offering ch. 10. 12.
He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." So ver* 14'
also ch. ix. 25-28. From all which it is as plain as words can
make it, that God Himself looked upon the death of Christ
as a true expiatory sacrifice, a sacrifice offered up to Him for
the sins of the world.

2. This appears also from the nature of such sacrifices
under the Law. For they were always offered in the stead
of him that brought them ; who having by some sin or
breach of God's Law deserved death, he brought some live
creature, such as God had appointed in that case, to the
Priest, to be killed in his stead, and so to suffer that death
which he must otherwise have suffered himself. For God
Himself saith, " The life (or soul) of the flesh is in the blood, Lev. 17.11.
and I have given it to you upon the altar, to make an atone
ment for your souls : for it is the blood that maketh atone
ment for the soul ;" where we see the reason why the blood
made atonement for the soul of a man, was because the life
or soul of the beast was in it. And so when the beast was
offered, the soul of that was given and accepted instead of

316 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. the soul of the offender that brought it ; and therefore it
- made atonement for his soul. It was his T)S3, his ' expi
ation,' bearing the punishment which his iniquities had
deserved : so the Jews commonly used that word, as I
observed before. But for this purpose, he who brought
Lev. i. 4. the sacrifice was to put his hand upon the head of it. " And
he shall put his hand," saith God, " upon the head of the
burnt-offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make
atonement for him." It was by this means, therefore, even
by the person's laying his hand upon the head of his burnt-
offering, that it was accepted of for him and in his stead, to
make atonement for his sins. This the Jews themselves
acknowledge. One of the most learned of them, even Abar-
banel, saith expressly, that if the High-Priest sinned through
ignorance against any of God's Commandments, it was but
just that he should be punished with death, and his body

Abarb.Pref. burnt ; but the Law required, VTTOH
m Levit. ^D> ^^ nnn ^ ^ nQ N^tt>, that he shall bring a young
bullock instead of himself, and shall lay his hands upon him,
to signify that this is his substitute, his commutation, or in
his place. Hence all the expiatory sacrifices were properly
avrAJ/u^a, as some of the ancients call them, as being offered
avri -^VMS, ' instead of the life ' of him that brought them.
And that is the reason, neither can any other be given, why in
capital crimes, as murder, idolatry, and the like, for which
the Law required that they who committed them should die
themselves in their own persons, for them there was no
sacrifice ordained, because the man being to die himself, no
beast could be substituted in his place, or die in his stead.

Such were the expiatory sacrifices under the Law; and

such was that which Christ offered up to God for us ; He

died in our room, and so made atonement or expiation of

our sins, as those legal sacrifices are said to have done, or

the Priest by them, for the sins of those who brought them ;

iPet.4. i. for He suffered UK&O r^w, 'for us' in the flesh. " He once

2 Cor. 5. 14. suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust ;" " He died for all ;"

Rom. 5. 6. He died for the " ungodly ;" " He tasted death for every man ;"

Luke 22.19, He Himself saith, " This is My body which is given for you,

and this cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is

shed for you." To which we may add the place before

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 317

quoted, where Christ is said to be made sin, or a sin-offering 2 Cor. 5. 21.
for us. In all which places, the original word is bveg, which
commonly used to signify a commutation or substitution of
one for another. And though in some other places it may,
yet in these it cannot be taken in any other sense : this being
the only sense that is proper to those places that speak of
Christ's dying or suffering for us ; for His death, as we have
shewn, was most properly an expiatory sacrifice. But such
sacrifices were offered up for the offender, so as to be substi
tuted in his stead. And therefore when Christ is said to
have suffered for us, it must be so understood as that He did
it in our stead, that being the only sense of the phrase, that
is proper to such sacrifices.

But to put the matter quite out of dispute, Christ Himself
saith that He came to give Himself Xurgoi/ avri voXXuv, ' a ran- Matt.2o.28.
som instead of many :' for that this is the proper meaning of
the place is evident, not only from the notion of a ransom,
which implies it, but from the particle avri, which in the
Greek tongue usually signifies either contrariety or substi
tution. But here it cannot possibly be taken in the first
sense, and therefore must be in the latter, even for the com
mutation or substitution of one in the place of another, that
Christ gave His life a ransom instead of many which must
otherwise have died, and so gave His flesh for the life of the John 6. 51.
world. To the same purpose is that of St. Paul, where he
saith, " that Christ gave Himself, dvrfaurgov vvsg wdvruv, a iTim. 2. 6.
ransom for all : " a ransom for all, so as to be in the place
of all ; or, if ye will, a commutative ransom, for so the pre
position avri, joined to Xurgoi/, plainly signifies, and more
emphatically than it would have done if used by itself; so
that I do not see how it was possible that Christ's dying in
our stead could have been revealed more clearly to us by
any words whatsoever than it is by these. And they that
strive to wrest these to any other sense might do as much to
any other words that could be used in any language whatso
ever : and so would make all words signify nothing but what
they themselves please ; yea, the sacred oracles of God Him
self would be written in vain to such people, who take not
the sense of them from the words themselves wherein they
are delivered to us, but from their own opinions and fancies.

318 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. How they will answer such a nabuse put upon God's Word
- at the last day, I know not, but fear they never think of
that.

Moreover, the same thing, even that the death of Christ
was properly a sin-offering, or a sacrifice to expiate or make
atonement for sin, appears also from the end of such sacri
fices under the Law, which was, that the sins for which they
were brought might be forgiven, and so God reconciled to
the person that brought them ; for he having redeemed or
purchased off that death, which by the Law was due unto
his sins, by bringing another living creature, according to
God's appointment, to suffer it in his stead, the Law was now
looked upon as satisfied, and he was no longer obliged by it
to die for his sins as he was before, for his sins were for-
Lev. 4. 26, given ; as it is frequently said in the Law : " The Priest shall
31'3555-10' make atonement for him, as concerning his sin, and it shall
Numb. is. be forgiven." It shall be forgiven; that is, it shall not be
imputed to him, nor laid to his charge, but taken off and
Deut. 21.8. removed, or put away from him, as the Law speaks, so that
2 Sam. 12. he shall not die for it ; as Nathan said to David, " The Lord
also hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die." Thus when
atonement was once made by the sacrifice which any man
had offered for his sins, he was thereby redeemed or freed
from that death which he was before obnoxious or subject
PS. so. 5. ^ to, and God, " in Whose favour is life," was now reconciled,
and become as gracious and propitious again to him, as if
He had never been angry or displeased with him. This
therefore was the way prescribed in the Law, whereby to
obtain forgiveness of sins, and reconciliation to God, even
by the death or blood of such living creatures as God for
that purpose had ordained to be offered to Him ; as the
Heb. 9. 22. Apostle observes, saying, " And almost all things are by
the Law purged with blood ; and without shedding of blood
is no remission."

[Heb. 10. But in this, as well as in other respects, the " Law had

only the shadow of good things to come,7' typifying and

foreshewing the great end arid the glorious effects of the

John i. 29. death of Christ, Who was the true Lamb of God " that

Tit. 2. 14. taketh away the sin of the world ;" " Who gave Himself

Col.' i* 14. for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity;" "in

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 319

Whom, therefore, we have Redemption through His blood,
even the forgiveness of sins." For this end it was shed,
as He Himself saith, at the institution of the cup in His
Last Supper, " This is My blood of the New Testament, Matt.26.28.
which is shed for many for the remission of sins." And
therefore, as St. John saith, "The blood of Jesus Christ Uohn i. 7.
cleanseth us from all sin," as well it might : " For if the Heb. 9. is,
blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer
sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the
flesh : how much more shall the blood of Christ, Who
through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to
God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the
living God ?" So that " being justified by His blood, we Rom. 5. 9.
shall be saved from wrath through Him," even from the
wrath of God ; " for if, when we were enemies, we were ver. 10.
reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more,
being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."

There are several such places in his Epistles, where St.
Paul speaks of our reconciliation to God by the death of
His Son, as Eph. ii. 16 ; Col. i. 20, 21. And lest we should
mistake the true notion of reconciliation, he explains it,
saying, that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world 2 Cor. 5. 19.
unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them."
For from hence it appears, that by our reconciliation unto
God, the Apostle means also God's reconciliation unto us,
in that he explains it by God's not imputing our sins to us.
And to make it yet more plain, he adds, that " Christ was ver. 21.
made sin," or a sin-offering, "for us, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him." For to be made the
righteousness of God is the highest expression that can be
of His reconciliation to us, by virtue of that sacrifice which
His Son was pleased to offer for us, by dying in our room.
To all which I shall add only one place more, and that is,
where the same Apostle saith, " Christ hath redeemed us from Gal. 3. 13.
the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us;" whereby
we are assured not only of Christ's Redemption of us from
the curse of the Law, but likewise of the manner how He
did it, even by being made a curse for us ; that is, by taking
it upon Himself, and bearing it in our stead. We, by not [ver. 10.]
continuing in all things that are written in the Law, are

320 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. accursed by it: but Christ having; suffered the accursed

LXIX

- death in our nature and stead, He hath thereby freed our
persons from it : He hath redeemed us from all the curses
which are threatened in the Law against those who break it,
and restored us to all the blessings which are there promised
to those who keep it. This, to me, seems to be the plain
and natural sense of the words ; neither do I see how they
can possibly bear any other.

I have laid all these places of Holy Scripture as near
together as I could, that we may at one view behold what
firm ground we have to believe, that one great end of
Christ's death, and that upon which the rest depend, was
to expiate our sins, to discharge us from the guilt we have
contracted by them, to redeem us from the punishments
which they had made us obnoxious to, to fulfil the word, to
satisfy the justice, and to appease the wrath of God against
us for them, to make up the breach they had made between
Him and us, to reconcile Him to us, so that He might,
without any violation of His word or justice, be merciful
and propitious to us, and receive us again into His love
and favour, notwithstanding our manifold provocations of
Him. And this is that which the Apostle here means, by
saying, that " Jesus Christ the righteous is the propitiation
for our sins ;" not He was, but is ; the death which He
once suffered being a continual propitiation for the sins
which we continually commit.

And not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole
world, which the Apostle adds, that we may not think that
Christ is thus a propitiation for the sins only of His Apostles,
or first Disciples, or any other particular persons, but for
all mankind, from the beginning to the end of the world,
which He therefore calls the whole world ; because there
never was, nor is, nor will be any man in the world, for
whom Christ is not a propitiation. For though He did not
actually die till many ages after the beginning of the world,
yet His death was as effectual a propitiation for their sins
who lived in any of the ages before, as it is for ours who
live so many ages after it happened. And the reason is,
because it was promised and undertaken by Him at the
beginning of the world, so soon as any man had occasion or

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 321

need of it, when it was said, that " the seed of the woman Gen. 3. is.
shall bruise the serpent's head," and the " serpent should
bruise his heel." As a man may purchase an estate, and
have the possession and the whole benefit of it many years
before he actually pays the price agreed upon for it, if he
gives such security for the payment of it as the seller will
accept of; so here, Christ undertook the Redemption of
mankind at the beginning of the world, promising or engag
ing His Word to pay the price agreed on at such a time
the Father accepts of His Word or Promise as a sufficient
security, the best indeed that could be given, it being im
possible that He should lie. Upon which Christ immedi
ately entered upon His purchase, and by virtue of that
blood which He should afterwards shed as the Aur^ov, or
price of Redemption for them, He was the propitiation for
the sins of all mankind, according to the covenant made and
published first to Adam; afterwards confirmed to Abraham Gal. 3. 17,
by God in Christ, who was therefore looked upon as slain 18<
for the sins of the world, from the very beginning of it.
Yea, and is said to be so. For, whatsoever some critics, to
shew their skill in playing with God's Word, have offered
to the contrary, that is the plain and literal sense of those
words in the Revelations, " whose names are not written in Rev. 13. s.
the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world." For as for the new sense (if it might be called
sense) which they would put upon them, by making the
words run thus, " Written from the foundation of the world
in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain ;" it plainly perverts
the order in which the Holy Ghost hath placed them,
without any reason ; for as for that which they usually give,
even because it is said upon another occasion, " Whose ch. 17. s.
names were not written in the Book of Life, from the
foundation of the world," that is no reason at all : for here
is no mention made of the " Lamb slain," as there is in the
other text, which alters the case much, and shews that the
Holy Ghost designed something else in that, than in this,
even that the " Lamb was slain from the foundation of the
world," and therefore hath placed the words so that they
cannot, without violence, have any other sense forced upon
them. And after all, take the words how ye will, this

Y

322 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. great truth is still contained and revealed in them ; for if
— men's names were written from the foundation of the world

in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain, the Lamb must be
supposed to be slain from the foundation of the world, other
wise it could not have been the Book of the Lamb as slain.
And to that which they bring to invalidate the common
reading and most obvious sense of the words, we may op
pose another text which confirms it, even where it is said,

i Pet. 1.19, we are redeemed with the " precious blood of Christ, as of
a Lamb without blemish, and without spot ; who verily was
fore-ordained before the foundation of the world, but was
manifest in these last times." From whence it appears, that
Christ was slain, and His blood shed in the decree of God,
before the foundation of the world, as He was from the
foundation of it, in all the expiatory sacrifices that typified
and foreshewed it ; for it was His blood only that made
them expiatory, without which they would have had no
virtue at all to cleanse or expiate sin.

But that the death of Christ was both necessary and
effectual for the expiation of sin from the foundation of the
world, appears also from the argument which the Apostle
useth, whereby to prove that Christ need not offer Himself
often, as the High Priest who went every year into the

Heb. 9. 26. I10ly place with the blood of others ; " because He then
must often have suffered since the foundation of the world,"
for this argument would have no force at all in it, if the
expiation of sin did not depend upon His death all along
from the foundation of the world ; which He therefore takes
for granted by the Hebrews themselves, unto whom He
wrote. And this seems to be St. Paul's meaning, where he

Rom. s. 25. saith, that " Christ was set forth a propitiation for the
remission of sins past," even of those which were committed
before He suffered. Be sure St. Peter could mean nothing
else, where, speaking of the Fathers before Christ, he saith,

Acts 15. 11. « But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, we shall be saved even as they:" x«0' Sv rgoVov xamTvoi,
1 after the same manner as they ; ' which plainly shews that
they who lived before, and they who lived after Christ,
were all saved after one and the same manner, even by
means of that death which He suffered for the sins of the

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 323

world. He being the " Lamb of God," the only " Lamb John 1.29.
that takcth away the sin of the world ; " or as it is in my
text, " the sins of the whole world ; " the whole race of man
kind from first to last : He gave " Himself a ransom for i Tim. 2. 6.
all :" " He tasted death for every man ;" not only for this Heb. 2. 9.
or that, or the other man, but for every man in the world.
And the reason is, because, as I observed before, He did not
take upon Him the nature of any one, or more particular
men only, but the common nature of all mankind, the same
that every man is of. And therefore every man hath an
equal right and title to all the merits of the death which
Christ suffered in that nature. And every man may and
ought to believe that Christ died for him ; as St. Paul did,
where speaking of Christ, he saith, " Who loved me, and Gal. 2. 20.
gave Himself for me;" and every man that truly believeth
in Him, shall most certainly be pardoned and saved by Him;
for He Himself hath said, "God so loved the world, that Johns. IG.
He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life;" where
we see God hath made no exception against any person in
the world ; and therefore no man ought to except against
himself, or any other, but every man is bound by the Word
of God, to believe that whosoever believeth in Him, accord
ing to the same Word, shall not perish, but have everlasting
life.

By this we see what reason we have to believe that Jesus
Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, and
by consequence, how truly He is called the Saviour of the j0hn4.42;
world. " Neither is there Salvation in any other • for there ]££"*{ ™'
is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby
we must be saved." But by Him there is no man but may
be saved ; for God is now so far from excluding any that He
hath declared, that " He would have all men to be saved and i Tim. 2. 4.
to come unto the knowledge of the truth ;" " not willing that 2 Pet. 3. 9.
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
Which shews that God is so far reconciled to all mankind,
by the death which His Son underwent for all, that He
would have all men to be saved by it. And so indeed all in
some sense are, at least for some time ; for there is no man
but is saved from some trouble or other, and all men are

324 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. saved for some time from that everlasting fire which " is
[Matt 25 prepared for the Devil and his angels;" which would never
41 •] have been, if Christ had not been a propitiation for their

sins, for without that no man could ever have received any
sort of deliverance or Salvation, nor any mercy or favour at
all from the hands of God, but all men must immediately
have been condemned to the aforesaid " everlasting fire ; "
as is plain from those for whom it was prepared, even " the
Devil and his angels." For they were the workmanship of
God's Own hand, as well as men are, and were made as
knowing, as wise, as good, every way as excellent creatures,
as were ever made by Him, and therefore might very well
expect as much favour from Him as any other ; but notwith-
Pet. 2.4. standing, " God spared not the Angels that sinned, but cast
them down to Hell, and delivered them into chains of dark
ness, to be reserved unto judgment." And all this imme-
[EX. 34. 6.] diately upon their sinning against Him ; so that He never
was merciful, or gracious, or long-suffering, or abundant in
goodness and truth to them ; He never forgave any one ini
quity, transgression, or sin, that any of them were guilty of;
He never had any pity or compassion of them, nor shewed
them any kindness or mercy at all from that time to this,
nor ever will. Which, to me, is as clear a demonstration as
the thing is capable of, that all the mercy that God shewed
to mankind, is wholly upon the account of Christ our
Saviour: if He had taken upon Him the angelic, and not
the human nature, God would have been merciful to the
Angels only, and not to men ; but all mankind must have
been in the same condition wherein the fallen angels now
[Heb. 2. are ; but seeing He took not on Him the nature of angels,
but the seed of Abraham, therefore God is merciful to men
only, and not at all to the angels ; to never a one of them,
but to all men ; they all live some time on earth, and not in
Hell ; they are all here free from many of the punishments
that might justly be inflicted on them; they all enjoy more
or less of the good things of this life. Though all have
some, none have all the troubles they have deserved. And
though none may have all they desire, all have more than
they deserve of outward and temporal blessings ; yea, God is
so merciful to all men, so long as they are upon earth, that

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 325

they are all the while in a capacity of attaining everlasting
life and happiness : all which mercies must be ascribed
wholly to the great propitiation which Christ had made for
their sins, without which they could neither have had any
mercy, nor have been capable of having any at all ; no more
than the apostate angels are for want of a Saviour.

From whence we may see into the Apostle's meaning,
where he saith, that " God is the Saviour of all men, spe- i Tim. 4.10.
cially of those that believe." For all men partake more or
less of the benefits of that death which God the Son was
pleased to suffer for them, and so He is one way or other a
Saviour of them all ; but in a more especial manner of those
who believe, for to them " He is the Author of eternal Sal- [Heb.s. 9.]
vation ; " and if He be not so to others, it is only because
they do not believe in Him ; for as we heard even now, we
have God's own Word for it, that " whosoever believeth in [John 3.
Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life." And 16>^
therefore nothing can ever hinder any men from being
saved by Him, but their not believing in Him.

It was by unbelief that the first Adam, and in him all
mankind, was at first destroyed: and Christ, the second [i Cor. is.
Adam, having done all that was necessary on His part to 45'-'
restore them to their first estate, He requires no more of
them in order to it, than not to continue in unbelief, but to
believe God's Holy Word, and what is there said concerning
Him their Saviour, so as to believe in Him as their Saviour,
and accordingly to trust and depend upon Him for all
things necessary for their Salvation ; if we do this, we shall
certainly be saved. For this being the condition required on
our part, by thus believing in Him, we apply to ourselves
the merits of that death which He suffered for all. The
propitiation which He hath made for the sins of the world
in general, being hereby made over to us in particular, for
the pardon of our sins, and for God's reconciliation unto us :
as, under the Law, when a man had committed a sin, if he [Lev. 1.4.]
brought his sin-offering, and laid his hands upon the head
of it, and slew it, testifying thereby his belief that God
would, according to His word, accept of the death of that
beast instead of his, the priest with the blood of his said sin-

326 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. offering made atonement for his sins, and particularly for

— '-— that for which he brought the offering. So he who by faith

lays hold upon the sacrifice which Christ hath offered for the
sins of the world, trusting, or as the Prophet speaks, staying,
or leaning upon that alone for the expiation of his sins, he
thereby becomes interested in it, it is his sacrifice, his sins
are expiated by it, God accepting now of that death which
Christ suffered in His nature, instead of that which he must
otherwise have suffered in his own person : and God being
now reconciled to him by the death of His Son, upon His
intercession, by virtue of His said death, He gives His Holy
Spirit to such a believer, to enlighten, quicken, sanctify, and
assist him in ordering his whole conversation for the future
as becomes the Gospel of Christ.

And hence it is, that although our reconciliation to God
depends wholly upon our believing in his Son, yet no man
can thus believe in Him, but he will likewise obey and serve
Him ; and whosoever doth not do so, may be confident that
he doth not believe aright ; for if he did, his sins would be
all pardoned, which it is plain they are not ; for if his sins
were all pardoned, or taken away by the blood of Christ,
then God would be reconciled to him ; and if God was recon
ciled to him, He would most certainly give him grace to
live according to His Laws: if God justified, or accounted
him righteous by the merits of His Son, He would also
sanctify or make him righteous by the power of His Holy
Spirit. And therefore, although faith and obedience be two
distinct things in the notion, they are never separated in the
subject; but always go together, or rather, the one always
follows upon the other, obedience upon faith. No man can
obey God unless he believe in Christ ; and no man can be-
Gai. 5. 6. lieve in Christ, but he will obey God, for true faith always
Rom.i3.io; works by love. But " love is the fulfilling of the (whole)
37^3*9 22- Law ; " or, the doing of all such good works as God hath
[Eph. 2. there prepared for us to walk in. So that, as our Church
Article 12. hath rightly declared, " Albeit that good works, which are
the fruit of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put
away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgments,
yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 327

do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith, insomuch
that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known, as a
tree discerned by the fruit."

But though he who believes in Christ cannot but obey
Him, yet it is not by his obedience, but faith, that he par
takes of that propitiation which Christ hath made for the
sins of the world; "For we are made partakers of Christ," Heb. 3. 14.
saith the Apostle, " if we hold the beginning of our con
fidence steadfast unto the end." If we continue confident
and fully persuaded in our minds, that Christ died for our
sins, so as steadfastly to trust on Him for pardon and grace,
and all things necessary to our Salvation, we thereby par
take of the merits of His death, and shall be accordingly
pardoned, and sanctified, and saved by Him. And that we
may have ground sufficient whereupon to " build this our [Jude 20.]
most holy faith," the infallible Spirit of God assures us in my
text, that " Christ is the propitiation for our sins ;" and that
we may not doubt but He is so for ours, as well as others,
He acquaints us moreover, that He is the " propitiation for
the sins of the whole world," and therefore for ours be sure
among the rest ; that we, as well as any others, may comfort
and support ourselves with it under the weight and burden
of our sins.

II. And so certainly we both may and ought to do ; consi
dering what I promised to shew in the next place, that Christ
being thus a propitiation for our sins, He is therefore a most
powerful advocate with the Father for us. " If any man
sin," saith the Apostle, " we have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and He is the propitia
tion for our sins." He first tells us, for our comfort, that
Jesus Christ is our advocate, and then how He becomes to
be so ; such an advocate that we may confidently rely upon
Him for the pardon of our sins, even because He is the pro
pitiation for them. For having offered up Himself as a
sacrifice for our sins, and so undergone the punishment
which was due unto us for them, He is thereby fully capaci
tated and enabled to be our Advocate with the Father, to
plead our cause, and to make effectual intercession with Him
for the pardon of those sins which we have committed, but
for which He hath suffered.

328 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

To explain this more fully, I need not trouble you with
any critical observations about the Greek word wagdxXyros,
here used, for in this place it is rightly translated according
to the most usual signification of the word, ' an advocate,' one
who undertakes the defence of a person accused of some crime
to bring him off, that he may not be condemned, or at least,
not have the sentence executed upon him for it. Such a
one, saith the Apostle, is Jesus Christ with the Father for
[iTim.2.5. us ; and therefore in other places He is said to be the Medi-
'J ator between God and us, to make intercession for us, to
mediate or interpose Himself so as to make up the difference
betwixt His Father and us, that He may not be angry with
us, nor punish us as we have deserved for our sins ; but dis
charge or acquit us from them, so as to be reconciled and well
pleased again with us, and receive us into the same favour we
should have had with Him, if we had never offended Him.

But there are three things especially to be observed in
this case. First, that Christ is thus our Advocate by virtue
of the propitiation or propitiatory sacrifice which He hath
offered for our sins, as was typified also under the Law :
when a man had committed a sin, it was not presently for
given him upon his offering and slaying a beast for it ; but
when the beast was slain, and the Priest was appointed to
take some of the blood, and present it some way or other in
the tabernacle before the Lord, and by that means made his
atonement for the sin, that it might be forgiven. So that
none but the Priest could make the atonement, nor he any
other way, than by means of the sacrifice that was offered for
the sin. So here, Christ having offered up Himself as a sacri
fice for our sins, our sins are not thereby immediately par
doned, but He, as our Priest, by virtue of that sacrifice,
propitiates, atones, or reconcileth His Father to us, inter
ceding with Him to accept of that death which He had suf
fered, instead of that which we had deserved, and so obtains
our pardon or forgiveness.

But the clearest type or representation of this under the

Law, was upon the day of expiation, only once a year, when

Lev. 16. is, the High Priest made atonement for the sins of all the

people : they having brought him two goats, he cast lots

upon them, which should be for the sin-offering, and which

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 329

for a scape-goat ; the first he himself killed, and brought the
blood of it into the most holy place within the veil, and there
sprinkled it upon the mercy-seat, and before it, and so made
atonement for himself, his household, and all the congrega
tion of Israel. And to shew that their sins were now for
given, he then took the scape-goat, and laying both his hands
upon the head of the goat, he confessed over him all the
iniquities of the children of Israel, putting them upon the
head of the goat, and so sent him away into the wilderness ;
and the goat, saith the text, " shall bear upon him all their Lev. 16. 22.
iniquities, unto a land not inhabited," that is, into a place
where they shall never be heard of any more. Now all this
was only a figure of what Christ was to do for us : " For he," Heb.9. 11,
as the Apostle saith, " being come an High Priest of good 12>
things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands ; neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once into the
holy place, having obtained eternal Redemption for us."
He by His own blood having obtained our Redemption, by
virtue of that He entered into the holy place, not that made
with hands, " but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the ver. 24.
presence of God for us." And there He continues to execute
His Priestly office ; " for if He w^ere on earth, He should not ch. s. 4.
be a Priest" any longer. For when He offered up His
sacrifice, He had done all that the High Priest had to do,
until He went into the holy place. But being now in Hea
ven, He there, as our High Priest, continually makes atone
ment and propitiation by the virtue of His blood for our
sins, and that so effectually that they are carried away nobody
knows where, they will never be heard of any more, so as to
rise up in judgment against us. And hence it is that He is
so powerful an Advocate with the Father for us ; because
He having paid the full price of our Redemption, He hath
that always to plead for us; or, as St. Paul words it, " He iTim.2.5,6.
is the one Mediator betwixt God and man, having given
Himself a ransom for all." And so, as " He was delivered Rom. 4.25.
for our offences, He rose again for our justification." He rose
again, and ascended up to Heaven, there to justify us from our
sins, by means of that death which He had suffered for them.
The next thing to be observed here is, that Christ doth this

330 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. for us continually. The Apostle here saith, "We have an

- Advocate," we have one now "with the Father ;" and so may

all believers, in all ages, every moment say, we have at this

[Heb.9.24.] present an Advocate in Heaven, and He now appears in the
presence of God for us. It was not so under the Law, when
the Priests could make atonement only now and then, and
the High Priest only once a year ; but there was then some
shadow of it in the continual burnt-offerings, and the fire
that was always burning upon the altar ; but most especially
in the propitiatory, or mercy-seat, that was always in the
most holy place ; for which we must know, that Christ is not
only called }\affpb$, i the propitiation of our sins,' in my text ;
and again, 1 John iv. 10, but He is called /Xatfr^/ov, which we

Kom. 3. 25. translate ' propitiation,' " whom God hath set forth a propiti
ation." But it properly signifies the propitiatory, answering
to the Hebrew l"Vnb?, ' the mercy-seat,' which was the cover
to the ark or chest in which the two tables of the Covenant,
or the Law written with the finger of God, was always kept.

Ex.25. 10, To this ark, made of shittim wood, God commanded a cover
to be made of pure gold, exactly of the same dimensions with
the ark, two cubits and an half long, and one and an half
broad. This cover was called the propitiatory or mercy-seat ;
and it was upon this, that the blood of the sin-offering was
sprinkled by the High-Priest on the day of expiation. At
the two ends of this mercy-seat were two Cherubims placed
of beaten gold, one at the one end, and the other at the other
end ; and they were so ordered, that their wings oversha
dowed the mercy-seat, and their faces both looked down
towards it; and between these two Cherubims above the
mercy-seat, God was pleased in a peculiar and wonderful
manner to reside, to give His answers, and shew Himself

ver. 22. propitious to His people ; " And there," saith He, " I will
meet with thee, and I will commune with thee." Now all
this was done to foreshew and typify our Advocate with the
Father, the true mercy-seat of pure gold, all over pure and
holy, set between God and His Law, to cover, as it were,
and hide the Law from Him, that He might not see how
much we had broken it. This propitiatory, or mercy-seat,
was just of the same dimensions with the ark in which the
Law was kept ; to shew, that Christ should exactly observe

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 331

the Law for us in His life, and that the propitiation which
He should make for us by His death, should be as broad
and as long as our transgressions of it. It was from this
mercy-seat that God shewed Himself propitious to His
people, to put them and us in mind, that all the mercy and
favour that He shews us, comes to us only by Jesus Christ.
Upon the day of expiation, the High Priest sprinkled the
blood of the sin-offering upon the mercy-seat, and so made
atonement for the sins of the people, to shew that Christ,
our true High Priest, makes atonement for us, or reconciles
His Father to us, by virtue of that blood which He shed for
our sins ; the faces of the Cherubims were always looking
towards the mercy-seat, to shew, that the Angels themselves
admire those great mysteries of the Gospel of Christ, and
man's Redemption by Him ; to which St. Peter alludes,
where, speaking of the Gospel, he saith, "which things the i Pet. 1.12.
Angels desire to look into." It was from the mercy-seat
that God met and communed with His people ; to shew,
that it is only by Christ that He makes known His will, and
manifesteth His love and kindness to us. The place where
the mercy-seat stood, was called the Holy of Holies, or the
most holy place, as being a type of that where our Advocate
is now sitting at the right hand of God, " who is not entered Heb. 9.24.
into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures
of the true; but into Heaven itself." Bat that which is most
observable to our present purpose is, that although the
High Priest went in to make atonement for the people by
sprinkling blood upon it only once a-year, yet the mercy-
seat or propitiatory itself always stood in the same place
between the majesty of God, sitting betwixt the Cherubim
above it, and His Law lying in the ark below it ; and the
blood which was sprinkled upon it once a-year was never
wiped off, but remained upon it all the year long ; which
was so clear and exact a type of Christ, that he is called by
the same name, the propitiatory, the mercy-seat, or, as the
Apostle speaks, " the throne of grace," where grace and
mercy sits in all its glory, and whereby alone we can ever
obtain mercy, " and find grace to help in time of need." ct. 4 . 16.
Whereby was plainly represented Christ's continual inter
cession or Mediation between God and us, and the means

332 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. also whereby He makes it so effectual, even His blood ;
- which though He shed, not once a-year, but only once for
all, yet the virtue of it is always remaining before God in
Heaven. By this He, sitting as it were between God and
us, quenches the fire of His wrath against us for breaking
His Law, propitiates and reconciles Him to us, procures
the gifts and graces of His Holy Spirit for us, obtains His
favour to accept of what we do, and to justify or account us
righteous in Him, notwithstanding our manifold imperfections.
By this He defends His Church and all the true members of

[Rom. s. it, and " makes all things work together for their good : " in
short, by this, He always continues to do every thing for us
that is any way necessary to our obtaining eternal Salvation

Heb. 7. 25. by Him, and therefore is " able to save them to the utter
most that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to
make intercession for them."

And this brings me to the third and last thing to be here
observed concerning our Advocate, that He makes interces
sion " for those that come unto God by Him," for those who
believe in Him, and so turn to God by Him ; for them, for
all them He makes intercession, but for none else. And so
in my text, "We," saith the Apostle, "have an Advocate"
with the Father, we who are His faithful servants and dis
ciples, we have an Advocate to intercede for us, but no other
have one but we, and such as we are. That this is his mean
ing, appears from his saying afterwards that He is the Pro
pitiation not only for our sins, but also for the whole world ;
whereby he plainly asserts that Christ died not only for be
lievers, but for all mankind ; but he doth not say so of His
intercession, not we have an Advocate, and not only we, but
the whole world ; but only we, we Christians, we believers,
we the disciples of Jesus Christ, we, and none but we, have
Him for our Advocate with the Father. And so in other
places of Scripture, though Christ be often said to have died
for the world, and for all men, yet He is never said to in
tercede for all, or for the world in general, or for any but
those who believe in Him.

isa. 53. 12. The Prophet indeed saith, that " He made intercession for
the transgressors ;" but admitting the translation, this is
generally interpreted only of that intercession He made

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 333

upon the Cross at His death, which the Prophet there speaks

of, when He prayed the Father to forgive those which

crucified Him, not of that which He makes in Heaven.

And if it should be understood of that, He there also maketh

intercession for transgressors ; He can make it for no other ;

for none but transgressors have need of an intercessor ; but

He makes it only for such transgressors as believe in Him

for the pardon of their transgressions, and for grace to serve

God, and keep His Law for the future ; such transgressors

come to God by Him, and therefore He maketh intercession

for them, as St. Paul saith He doth for the Saints ; and Rom. 8. 27.

afterwards speaking of himself and all true Christians, and

of Christ's dying for them, he adds, " Who also maketh in- ver 34.

tercession for us." But it is nowhere said, that He doth it

for the world ; but, on the contrary, He Himself saith plainly

that He doth not ; where speaking to the Father concerning

His Disciples, He saith, " I pray for them, I pray not for the John 17. 9,

world, but for them which Thou hast given Me." I know 20<

these words are commonly brought as the great argument to

prove that Christ did not die for all, because He doth not

here pray for all, but only for His Disciples ; but this is a

mere fallacy ; for He doth not here speak one word of His

death, but only of His intercession ; He doth not say, I will

not die, but, I do not pray for the world, but for those which

Thou hast given Me. He hath said elsewhere as plainly as

He could speak, both with His Own mouth, and by His

Apostles, that " He gave His flesh for the life of the world ;" [joimG.si;

that " He gave Himself a ransom for all," and the like. But lTim> 2'6'J

here He saith, and hath left it upon record, that we may all

know, that notwithstanding that He died for the world, yet

He doth not pray or intercede for the world, but "for those

only which are given Him out of the world," even such as

believe in Him, and come unto God by Him ; as the High

Priest made atonement only for the children of Israel.

And hence it is, that although many of those for which
Christ died, shall notwithstanding perish eternally, as the
Apostle plainly intimates, by saying, " Destroy not him with Rom. 14.15.
thy meat, for whom Christ died;" and again, " Through i COT. 8.11.
thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom
Christ died : " yet none of those who believe in Him shall

334 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. perish, but they shall, according to His Word, all "have

'

[Heb. 7.' everlasting life," because " He ever lives to make interces-

Johnii 42 s*on ^or ^em '" anc^ He never intercedes in vain, the Father
always hears Him : insomuch, that if He interceded, as He
died for the whole world, the whole world would be saved :
and the only reason why any are not saved by Him, is
because they will not believe and trust on Him as their
Saviour, so as to take His yoke upon them, and do what He
hath required in order to it; and therefore although He
died, yet He will not intercede for them, but leaves them to
perish in their sins : and so they lose all the benefit of His
death by their own obstinacy and unbelief.

I have endeavoured to make this as plain as I could in so
few words, because it is a thing that is but very seldom, if
ever, considered as it ought ; and yet there is nothing of
greater use and comfort to us. As for the use, we may learn
from hence, how indispensably necessary it is to believe in
our Blessed Saviour, and to use all means to come up to the
terms which He hath propounded to us in His Gospel ; for
otherwise, although He be the propitiation for our sins, yet
we shall not have Him to be our Advocate with the Father ;
and if He do not take our cause in hand, if He do not inter
cede for us, if He do not propitiate and reconcile His Father
to us by the blood which He shed for our sins, all the world
cannot help us, but we ourselves must die in our sins, and

[Matt. 25. have our portion with unbelievers, in that " everlasting fire
which is prepared for the Devil and his angels."

But as for the comfort which this great doctrine affords to
all true believers, that is the last thing I promised to shew
from these words, and that for which the Apostle at first
wrote, and I have now endeavoured to explain them. " If
any man sin," saith he, " we have an Advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," such an Advocate as
is Himself the propitiation for our sins, and such a pro
pitiation as is sufficient to propitiate the Father, not only for
our sins, " but for the sins of the whole world ; " but we have
all sinned, we have all done wickedly, we have all broken
the Laws of God, we have all done what we ought not to do,
and we have all left undone what we ought to do, and so we
have all sinned against God, and incensed His wrath against

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 335

us; we have all forfeited our lives to Him, and He may
justly destroy us when He pleaseth ; we lie perfectly at His
mercy ; but how can we expect to find any mercy at His
hands ? What have we to plead for it ? Shall we plead the
many services we have done Him, the good works we have
performed for Him? What services did we ever do Him>
what works did we ever perform to Him, more than we were
bound in duty to do, whether we had ever sinned against
Him or no? How then can they satisfy His justice, or ap
pease His anger for our sins, although they were all as
perfect and exact as His Law required them to be? But
alas ! all the good works we ever did are at the most but few,
and at the best but bad, far short of what they ought to have
been, and therefore are so far from meriting the pardon of
our sins, that they themselves want one, being in strictness
of justice no better than sins themselves ; so that we never did
any thing so well, but God might justly condemn us for it.

But how then shall we support ourselves, so as not to
sink down into despair under the weight and burden of our
sins? Shall we do it with the consideration of God's infinite
mercy? It is true He is infinitely merciful, but He is infi
nitely just too: and though He be infinitely just in Himself,
He is infinitely merciful only in His Son. And therefore
when we have done all we can, we must fly unto Him for
refuge, without Whom God never did, nor ever will shew
mercy to any of His creatures that, have sinned against Him,
as we have all done, and therefore without Him must of
necessity be undone for ever.

But howsoever, let us not despond or despair of mercy,
though we can have none without Christ ; there is none but
we may have it by Him, He hath purchased all mercy for us
with His Own blood, He hath borne the punishment of our
sins, He hath pacified the anger of His Father against us,
He hath propitiated or reconciled Him to us ; for " He was
the propitiation for our sins," and is now our Advocate to
plead it for us, and to apply it to us, that our sins may be
pardoned and forgiven by it.

III. This, therefore, is that which the Apostle here pro
pounds as the only comfort that a sinner hath ; and it is cer
tainly the greatest we can ever have, for seeing we have such

336 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. an Advocate with the Father, "Jesus Christ the righteous," we
- cannot fail of God's mercy in the pardon of our sins, if we
repent and believe the Gospel ; as I promised to shew in the
last place. But this follows so necessarily from what we
have already discoursed upon this divine subject, that I need
do no more now, than only to demonstrate what an ex
traordinary comfort this is to us under the sense of the
many sins that we have committed against God our Maker.
And that will sufficiently appear, if we do but consider the
many great and most glorious effects of that intercession
which Jesus Christ our Advocate is always making in
Heaven for all that truly believe in Him.

For this purpose, therefore, let us apprehend our blessed

[Eph. i. Saviour as now exalted at the right hand of God, above all
principalities and powers, and every name that is named in
the highest Heavens, and there managing the great affairs
of His Church in general, and of every sound member of it
in particular, that none who believe in Him might perish,
but that all of them may have " everlasting life." The first
thing He doth, is to take care that the blood He shed upon
earth may not be spilt in vain, but applied to the use for
which He shed it, even for the pardon of the sins that such
persons have been guilty of; He sees they have been guilty
not only of original, but of many actual sins in the course of
their lives. He hath taken notice of them all along, and

[Matt. 12. knows them all and every one, to an "idle word" or vain
thought ; and seeing His Father displeased with them for
not observing the Laws which He hath set them, and His
hand stretched out to punish them for it, He, as the Medi
ator, to keep off the stroke, interposeth Himself; He steps in,
as it were, between the Father and them, shewing Him the
wounds which were made in His hands, and feet, and side
for them ; how He hath undergone that death which the
Law had threatened against them, and hath undergone it for
them, and in their stead, and therefore intercedes that His
death may be accepted of instead of theirs, and the punishments
which He hath suffered for their sins, instead of those which
they had deserved by them. Upon which the Father, to speak
after the manner of men, approves of what His Son pleads
for them, declaring Himself satisfied with the propitiation

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 337

which He had made for the sins of the world ; and seeing
these are owned by His Son Himself to believe in Him, and
to be real members of His body, in that He has become their
Advocate, therefore upon His intercession He discharges and
absolves them from all their sins ; He draws in His hand,
and lays aside the wrath He had conceived against them, so
as to be as propitious and gracious to them, as if He had
never been angry or displeased with them ; by which means
they are now out of all danger : all their obligations to the
punishments which they had deserved by their sins being
now cancelled and made void, by the most powerful inter
cession of their Advocate with the Father for them.

And if this be not a comfort, an exceeding comfort to
all true believers, for my part, I know not what is. For
now their hearts may be at ease, the sins which they have
hitherto committed and repented of being now so perfectly
pardoned and done away, that none of them can ever
rise up in judgment against them, either to shame them in
this, or to condemn them in the world to come. And
although, do what they can, they will be sometimes apt to
fall into one sin or other, so long as they are in this im
perfect state, they need not fear but their Advocate will
take care that it shall not be their ruin, He being ready
upon all occasions to make up the breach, and to reconcile
His Father to them.

And yet that is not all neither : for He by His interces
sion, doth not only prevent the execution of the sentence
which the Law hath passed upon them as criminals, but He
prevails so far, that notwithstanding they are still imperfect
in themselves, yet they are accounted as j ust and righteous
persons in Him, and that before God Himself; who, as the
Apostle saith, "made Him to be sin for us, who knew no 2Cor. 5.21.
sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in
Him." This was one great end both of the sacrifice which
He once offered, and of the intercession He is always
making for them, that as their sins were imputed unto Him,
so His righteousness might be imputed to them, that their
sins might not be only pardoned, but likewise their persons
justified or declared righteous in the court of Heaven ;
which He therefore sees accordingly done : interceding

338 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. continually with the Father, that not only His death, but His

PhiL 3> gt righteousness also may be accepted of for them ; " that they
may be found in Him, not having their own righteousness
which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." By
which means they are now no longer reckoned among the
men of this world, but of the communion of saints, of the
household of God, His righteous servants, His sons, His
heirs, His elect, His special and peculiar people; which
must needs be acknowledged to be as great a comfort and
happiness as any man can have on this side Heaven. I am
sure St. Paul thought so, when he gloried and triumphed in

Rom. s. 33, this above all things in the world, saying, " Who shall lay
any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that
died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."

But then we must further observe, that to make His
intercession always effectual for their pardon and justification
before God, He always takes effectual care also, that they
themselves may perform whatsoever is required by the terms
of the new Covenant in order to it. As first, that they
repent of those sins for which He intercedes, that they may
be pardoned ; for without repentance there can be no remis-

Lukeis.3,5. sion. He Himself hath said, " Except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish ; " and therefore we can have no ground to
hope that He will intercede for the pardon of our sins,
except we repent of them. But our comfort is, that we

Heb. 4. is. have not an " High Priest which cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities ; but was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin;" He having taken our
nature upon Him, while He was upon earth, where we now
are, He was subject to all the common infirmities of it, to
hunger and thirst, and weariness, and sorrow, and the like,
and was also assaulted with all sorts of temptations which
such infirmities make men liable to ; and it is particularly
noted of Him, as a thing extraordinary and peculiar to Him,
that He notwithstanding was without sin; but He being
still in the same nature, although free from all such infirmi
ties, yet He is still sensible that we cannot be so ; but that

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 339

His most faithful Disciples, which strive all they can to
walk exactly in the ways that He hath set them, will some
times step aside, or stumble and fall down into one sin or
other ; and if they should lie or continue in it, and not rise
up again by a hearty and sincere repentance, they must in
evitably perish. And therefore He takes care all along to
keep their consciences awake to check them for their sins,
to arm them against temptation, to quicken and strengthen
their resolutions of obedience and watchfulness, and so sup
plies them from time to time with grace to repent, that they
may be pardoned ; for that this is one great end of Christ's
exaltation at the right hand of God, is plain from the Apostle
saying, "Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be Acts 5. 31.
a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and
forgiveness of sins."

But although they by Christ's assistance live in such a
continual exercise of repentance for the sins and infirmities
they are continually subject to; yet, after all, if their faith
fail, they can never be pardoned and justified before God ;
arid yet they are in great danger of this too, by reason of the
many temptations to which they are daily exposed in this
world ; which may sometimes be so strong and violent, as
to be ready to shake the strongest faith, and to destroy it
too, if it be not supported by an Almighty Hand. But
their comfort is, that they have an Advocate in Heaven,
" Who was in all things made like unto His brethren, that Heb. 2. 17,
He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things 18*
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the
people ; for in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted,
He is able to succour them that are tempted." He knows
by His Own experience how busy the Devil is to tempt
men to unbelief, to mistrust the Word of God, or to pervert
it to a wrong sense, that they may not rightly believe in it ;
He Himself was so tempted, and therefore is able to succour
them that are so ; so able as to be willing also, and ready
upon all occasions to do it for all His faithful disciples, as we
see He did it for St. Peter, saying, " Simon, Simon, behold Luke 22.
Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as31'32'
wheat ; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not."
By this means St. Peter recovered himself from the great

340 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

temptation that he. afterwards fell into ; his faith though
shaken, never failed ; but he lived and died both in it and
for it. Thus it is that Christ always intercedes for His
faithful servants ; He prayeth that their faith fail not, and
so keeps them duly qualified for the pardon and justification
which He hath purchased, and now solicits for them.

For these, therefore, and suchlike ends and purposes, He
having propitiated and reconciled His Father to them, sends
down the Holy Spirit upon them, to enlighten, quicken,
assist, direct, sanctify and govern them through the whole
course of their lives. This He Himself promised when He

John 14. 16. was upon earth, saying, " I will pray the Father, and He
shall give you another Comforter, even the Spirit of Truth."
For though this promise was made chiefly to the Apostles
and their successors in the government and ministry of the
Church, yet it had respect also to all true believers in it ;

ch. 7. ss. as appears from His saying, " He that believeth on Me, out
of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters :" for as St.

ver. 39. John assures us, " He spake this of the Spirit, which they
that believe on Him should receive : for the Holy Ghost
was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified."
From whence it appears also, that the coming of the Holy
Spirit upon believers is the effect of Christ's intercession in
Heaven for them. And this seems to be the reason why,
soon after His ascension, He sent down the Holy Spirit in
so visible and wonderful a manner, that all might take
notice that they are beholden to His intercession for all the
spiritual gifts and graces which they are endued with.

Of this He Himself hath given us a specimen in the in
tercession He made for His Disciples a little before His

John 17. is, Passion, saying to His Father, "I pray not that Thou
shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest
keep them from the evil : sanctify them through Thy Truth,

ver. 20. Thy Word is Truth." " Neither pray I for these alone, but
for them also which shall believe on Me through their
word." Thus He then did, and thus He always intercedes
for them, that they may be preserved and sanctified by the
Spirit of Truth, which, proceeding from Him as well as
from the Father, is diffused into all the sound members of
that body of which He is head ; whereby they are fortified

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 341

against all temptations, and enabled to do whatsoever is

required of them. As St. Paul found by experience, saying,

" I can do all things through Christ which strengthened! piui. 4. 13.

me."

This cannot be better explained than by the sun in the
firmament; which is not only the fountain of all the light
and heat that is upon the earth, but the chief cause, under
the first, that animals live, and plants grow, and bring forth
fruit upon it. Now, what the sun is to the earth, that is
Christ to His Church. "Unto you," saith the Prophet, Mai. 4. 2.
" that fear My name, shall the Sun of Righteousness arise
with healing in his wings ; and ye shall go forth, and grow
up as calves of the stalls." All acknowledge this to be
understood of Christ ; He therefore is the sun shining most
gloriously in the highest Heavens ; He is " the Sun of
Righteousness," the Fountain of all the Righteousness that
is in His Church ; all the spiritual light and heat, all the
knowledge and grace that believers have to be or to do
good, it all proceeds from Him, rising upon them with
healing in His wings, the sweet influences of His blessed
Spirit moving upon them, and so healing their distempers,
and guiding, exciting, and empowering them to grow up
and abound in virtue and good works. So that whensoever
we see the sun, it should put us in mind of our Saviour
and Advocate, the Sun of Righteousness, shining forth in
all His glory in the Heaven of Heavens, and from thence
darting down, and displaying the beams of His marvellous
light and grace continually upon His Church, and all that
live and believe in it, to impregnate, quicken, and strengthen
them, so that they may bring forth love, joy, peace, long- [Gal. 5.22.]
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,
and all the fruits of the blessed Spirit. And though, after
all, such is their weakness and frailty that they can bring
forth none to perfection, yet such is His power and glory,
that He improves and perfumes them with the sweet odours
of His Own merits, and by that means presents them so
unto His Father, that He smells a sweet savour from them,
and accepts of them as well as if they were in all respects
most absolutely pure and perfect.

Another great advantage of our having such an Advocate

342 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. and High Priest in Heaven, is, that now we may, as the
Heb> 4> |6t Apostle speaks, " come boldly to the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of
need:" where he seems to allude to the propitiatory under
the law, or the mercy-seat, where God was pleased to reside
or sit between the cherubim, and from thence to shew
mercy, and give His answers to the questions and petitions
which His people put up to Him, as we often read He did
in the Old Testament; this, as I observed before, was a
type of Christ ; He is the true mercy-seat, or as the Apostle
calls it, " the throne of grace ;" it is by Him only that we
can obtain mercy, " and find grace to help in time of need ;"
Eph. 2. is. but by Him we may always have it ; for " through Him we
have access unto the Father." By Him we may apply our
selves upon all occasions unto God, with an humble con-
John 16.23. fidence, that "whatsoever we ask in His Name He will
give it us," for He Himself hath said it, and is always ready
to make it good ; which is an unspeakable comfort and
encouragement to all true believers; for having such an
Advocate always with the Father for them, and using His
Name in all their addresses to Him, they can never pray in
vain, nor want any thing that is good for them ; for it is
but asking, and they have it. By which means, as they
[Rom. s. desire, so they have all things to work together for their
Eph. i. 22. good, by His all-powerful intercession, " who hath all things
under His feet, and is the head over all things to" or " for
the Church."

But to speak particularly of all the benefits we receive
by Christ's intercession would be endless, for there is no
end of them. They are so many that they cannot be num
bered ; so great that they cannot be weighed ; and so dur
able that they will last for ever. All the blessings that we
ever had, or have, or hope for, come to us only this way ;
but there is none that God Himself can give us, but we
may have them by means of our Advocate's intercession for
us, who takes that continual care of all which truly believe
and trust on Him, that He supplies them continually with
[ i Pet. 1.9.] all things necessary to their obtaining the "end of their
faith, even the eternal Salvation of their souls" by Him
in the highest Heavens ; He is gone thither before on pur-

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 343

pose to prepare a place for them. " In My Father's house," John 14.2,3.
saith He, " are many mansions : if it were not so, I would
have told you ; I go to prepare a place for you. And if
I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may
be also."

As He did not die, so neither did He go up to Heaven
for Himself, but for His faithful people, to do all things
necessary, and to make all things ready for their coming to
Him, and living for ever with Him : Which that they may,
He Himself prayed when He was upon earth, " Father, I ch. 17. 24.
will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me
where I am ; that they may behold My glory, which Thou
hast given Me." And so He still continues to intercede for
them, not by making any formal supplication, but only sig
nifying His will, what He would have for them ; He need
do no more, His will being always fulfilled. And therefore,
seeing He wills that they whom the Father hath given Him
should be with Him, we may be confident they shall be
always with Him, and enjoy Him for ever, and all by the
means of His intercession for them. To which the Apostle
therefore ascribes the whole accomplishment of our Salva
tion, saying, " Wherefore He is able to save them to the Heb. 7. 25.
uttermost, that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever
liveth to make intercession for them."

If people would but seriously consider these things, they
would need no other arguments to persuade them to do all
they can to get into the number of these blessed souls,
which have such an Advocate always interceding in Heaven
for them. They would leave no stone unturned, neglect no
opportunities or means of attaining a quick and lively faith
in Him, such a faith as would be a principle of new life in
them, and put them upon sincere obedience to the whole
Law of God. They would fast and pray most earnestly for
it, they would read and hear God's Holy Word to beget it,
and often receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper to
confirm and strengthen it in them. They would think
nothing too great to do, nothing too hard to suffer, nothing
too dear to part with for it. And when they have it, they
would not, for they need not, envy the greatest monarch

344 The Satisfaction of Christ explained.

SERM. upon earth, as such, their estate being as much beyond his,

— as Heaven is above the earth. Indeed, they are the only

happy persons in the world, the only persons that know

what true joy and comfort means. For all the rest of man -

[Actss.23.] kind are " in the gall of bitterness, and the bond of iniquity,"
subject continually to the torments of a guilty conscience,
to the wrath of God, and to all the curses written in His
Law, so as to stand upon the brink of the bottomless pit,
ready every moment to be thrown into it ; whilst these in
the meantime are out of all danger. For though they also
have sinned, " yet they have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous, and He is the propitiation for
their sins," and by virtue of that is continually making
intercession for them. By which means they have Almighty
God, the Supreme Governor of the world, reconciled to
them, and well pleased with them ; they are pardoned, they
are absolved from all their sins, they are justified or ac-

fPhii.4. 3.] counted righteous before Him; their "names are written
in the Book of Life," and enrolled in the catalogue of
Saints, God's faithful and obedient servants ; their con
sciences are always kept awake, ready upon all occasions
to check them for their sins, arid to put them upon the
exercise of repentance unto life ; their faith will never fail,

[PS. 112. their " hearts being always fixed, trusting in God" their

[2 Cor. 12. Saviour ; they have the " grace of Christ always sufficient

fphii4 is! ^or tnem'" and His power resting upon them, and so " can
do all things through Christ which strengtheneth them ;"
they are illuminated with all necessary knowledge ; they

[John 16. are "guided into all truth;" they are assisted in all their
actions, they are comforted in all their troubles ; they are
cleansed and sanctified wholly by the Spirit of God Himself:

[Heb. 4. they can " go boldly to the throne of grace," and are sure
to have whatsoever they ask, that is truly good for them ;

[Rom. s. they have the whole creation at their service, and " all
things working together for their advantage ;" they need
not fear, but desire to go out of this miserable and naughty
world, for they shall certainly go to a better, where they will
find a place ready prepared for them by Christ Himself, that
they may live with Him, and be as happy as He can make
them for evermore ; ^ind all because He is their Advocate

The Satisfaction of Christ explained. 345

with the Father, and is always making intercession for
them.

Tell me now, all ye that admire this world, what is there
in it comparable to an interest in Christ our Saviour ?
Where will ye find a friend that can do so much for you, as
He both can and will, if ye do but believe as ye ought in
Him ? And therefore if ye have any regard to your own
good, if any love for yourselves, if ever ye desire to be truly
happy, make it your constant care and study to believe in
Him as the great Prophet of the world, so as to be fully
persuaded of the truth of all that He hath said ; to believe
in Him as your great High Priest and Advocate, so as to
trust in Him to make reconciliation for you ; and to believe
in Him as your Lord and King, so as to obey and serve
Him. Do but this, and I dare assure you in His Name, ye
will find all that I have said to be not only true, but far
short of what He will do for you, so as to be able to say with
the Apostle, " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ? Rom. s. 35,
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or 3/
nakedness, or peril, or sword ? Nay, in all these things we
are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For
I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to
come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall
be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord." To whom, &c.

SERMON LXX.

AN EASTER SERMON.
1 COR. XV. 20.

But now is Christ risen from the Dead, and become the First-
Fruits of them that slept.

WHEN we seriously consider how much the Son of God
suffered for our sins, we cannot but be highly concerned and
troubled at the remembrance of those sins for which so great
a Person suffered ; for certainly it was the greatest demon
stration that ever was or could be given of the Divine dis
pleasure and vengeance against the sins of mankind, that
no less a Person than the Son of God Himself was able to
expiate them, nor He by any less means than His own blood.
The consideration whereof should not only deter us from the
commission of sin hereafter, but it should make us loathe
and abhor ourselves for those which we have committed
heretofore. What grief, what horror, should seize upon our
spirits every time that we consider how the Eternal Son of
God, the Only-begotten of the Father, was affronted, was
abused, was spit upon, was arraigned, was condemned, was
crucified, was put to death, to the painful, to the shameful,
to the cursed death upon the Cross, and all for those very
sins which we, ungrateful wretches that we are, have lived
and delighted in ! Methinks the remembrance of it should
make us blush and be ashamed of ourselves, and never think
that we can grieve enough for those sins, for which Christ
Himself not only grieved, but died.

But lest this consideration, duly weighed, should lie so
heavy upon our spirits, as by degrees to sink them down

An Easter Sermon. 347

into despair, we must consider withal, that as the remem
brance of Christ's sufferings for our sins affords us great
matter for grief and sorrow, so the remembrance of His
Resurrection supplies us with as much cause of joy and com
fort. We had great reason the other day to lament and
bewail those sins which brought our Blessed Lord with sor
row to His grave. And we have as great reason this day to
rejoice and triumph that He was raised again from it : which
was so great, so exceeding great a blessing to mankind, that
it ought to be our constant employment while we are upon
earth, as it will be when we come to Heaven, to praise and
magnify the Eternal God for it. At least, upon every Lord's
Day, which was therefore set apart for our Lord's service,
because He rose upon it. But above all other the Lord's
Days, that which succeeded the Jewish Passover, wherein our
Lord suffered, hath been all along devoted by the Church to
the memory of His Resurrection, which happened upon it,
and to our rejoicing and praising Almighty God for so great
a mercy as that was.

This, therefore, being the proper work of the day, that I
may prepare you the better for it, and assist you, as well as
I can, in the due performance of it, I shall endeavour to
shew you what you ought to believe concerning the Resur
rection of Christ, and what cause you have to rejoice and to
give thanks to God this day, that you can say with the Holy
Apostle, " Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become
the first-fruits of them that slept."

In which words we may observe, —
I. That Christ did truly rise again.

II. That He thereby became " the first-fruits of them that
slept."

In speaking to the first, we shall consider,

1. In what sense Christ is said to have risen from the
dead ;

2. What ground we have to believe that He did so ;

3. What benefit we have received by it, for which we
ought to rejoice and give thanks unto God this day.

As for the first, In what sense Christ is said to have risen
from the dead : that we shall easily understand, if we do
but consider how that Christ so took our human nature upon

348 An Easter Sermon.

SERM. Him that He became really and truly a man, of the same
- nature and substance with other men in all things except
sin ; consisting, as other men do, of a rational soul and a
terrestrial body, and both so united together as that His
body was quickened, informed, and actuated by His soul ; by
which means He performed all vital actions, and therefore
was properly said to live as we do, and that for several
years together, until at length His body, by the excessive
pain and torture that He suffered upon the Cross, being
made incapable of all vital motion, and so unfit for the soul
to inhabit any longer, the knot was untied, and His soul was
separated from His body, and so continued for some time ;
during which time, although both the essential parts of man,
His soul and body subsisted, or were in being, as well as they
were before, yet not subsisting conjunctly, but separately,
He was properly dead, as other men are when their souls
have left their bodies. And in this state He continued from
Friday till Sunday morning, when His body being made a
fit receptacle for the soul again, the same soul was again
united to it, and so the same man that before was dead, now
lived again, and is therefore said to be " raised from the
dead," or out of that state of death wherein He had conti
nued all that time ; yea, He so lived again as never to die
more ; but though it be above sixteen hundred years since
He rose again, He is still alive, and so will be for evermore.
2. The next question is, What ground we have to believe
that Christ thus rose from the dead ? In general, we have
as much ground to believe that Christ rose from the dead,
as we have to believe that we ourselves are now alive ; or, if
you will, as much as it is possible for a thing of that nature
to be capable of; for besides that it was plainly foreshewn in
the types, and infallibly foretold by the Prophets under the
Law, and so could not but come to pass, we have the testi
mony of two Angels for it, who were both eye-witnesses of
the fact itself, for they saw Him, not only risen, but rising,
and assisted Him in it, by rolling away the stone which was
at the mouth of the sepulchre where He lay, and told the
Luke 24. 4- Disciples that came to the place to see Him, that " He was
6; Matt. 28. ^ there, but was risen." And after He was risen, His Dis
ciples frequently saw Him, conversed familiarly with Him,

An IZaster Sermon. 349

yea, ate and drank with Him as really as they had done it

before His Passion. And that it was the same person they

knew by His visage, by the lineaments of His body, by His

voice, and by the print of the spear in His side, and of the

nails in His hands and feet wherewith He had been fastened

to the Cross ; which was so clear a demonstration that it was

the same body that was before crucified, that when one of

His Disciples doubted of it, whether it was He or no, He

said to him, " Reach hither thy finger, and behold My John 20. 27,

hands ; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My

side;" which that Disciple had no sooner done, but he was

fully convinced that it was the same Person that had those

wounds given Him upon the Cross. And so his doubting

proved the occasion of our being more confirmed in the

truth of it.

And, indeed, it is much to be observed, that both St. Thomas
himself and the rest of the Apostles were so fully assured
that their Master, Jesus, was risen from the dead, that all the
troubles and persecutions that they afterwards underwent
for His sake could never make them so much as doubt of it,
much less deny it ; but they all attested it to the last, and
sealed it with their own blood ; which certainly they would
never have done, had they not been as sure that they had
seen Him alive after He had been dead, as that they had
seen Him so before He died. And, questionless, there never
was any matter of fact since the world began so fully proved
by the concurrent testimony of so many persons, not only
hazarding, but actually laying down their lives in the defence
of it, as this was.

Neither must we think that this fundamental article of our
Christian religion is grounded only upon the testimony of
men and Angels ; for Christ Himself hath given us so full,
so clear a demonstration of it, that though no creature in the
world had ever seen Him after His resurrection, yet none
could deny but that He did rise again ; in that He did so
exactly fulfil what He had promised before ; for He told
His Disciples a little before His Passion, that when He was
gone from them, He would send another Comforter, even the ch. 16. 7.
Holy Ghost unto them ; which you know He accordingly
did upon the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost descending

350 An Easter Sermon.

SERM. in a miraculous manner upon His Disciples, and enabling
Acts 2. 1-3. them to speak all manner of languages. But how was it
possible for Christ to have done this except He rose from
the dead ? Can a man that lies in the grave, and is not able
to lift up himself from the earth, can such a one get up to
Heaven, and from thence send down the Spirit of God ? It
is impossible ; for a dead man can do nothing, much less so
great a thing as that was, and, therefore, His doing of it is
an undeniable argument that He is indeed risen from the
dead.

To which we may also add that infallible testimony that
Almighty God Himself hath hereby given to this truth :
Heb. 2. 4. in that He bore witness to them that preached it, " both
with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles and gifts of
the Holy Ghost, according to His Own will," as the Apostle
speaks. For would He, who is Truth itself, bear witness to
a lie ? Would He have given such extraordinary power,
and courage, and success to the Apostles in publishing this
unto the world, if it had not been a great truth? No cer
tainly ; every sermon that the Apostles preached, every
miracle that they wrought, every suffering they underwent,
every danger they were in for Christ's sake, was a more than
mathematical, a Divine demonstration, that He is risen from
the dead ; especially considering, that how, incredible soever
it might seem at first, yet, by the Almighty power of God
accompanying the publication of it, the whole world was
soon convinced of the truth and certainty of this proposition,
that Christ is risen from the dead ; and therefore I need not
insist any longer upon shewing what grounds you have to
believe it, seeing God Himself hath proved it so effectually
to you, that I dare say you are all, by His grace, fully per
suaded of it.

3. The other and principal thing to be considered in this
subject, especially upon this day, is, what are those great
benefits we have received by Christ's Resurrection, for which
we ought to rejoice and give thanks to God at each comme
moration of it ? In general, they are so many and so great,
that did we but fully understand them, and were we but
truly sensible of them, nothing would come near our hearts
this day but joy and thankfulness to God for so unspeakable

An Easter Sermon. 351

a mercy as this was. It is past my skill either to describe
or number them all to you ; and therefore I shall not under
take that ; but only endeavour to present you with some such
considerations about it, whereby your hearts may be duly
affected and raised up to a more than ordinary pitch of joy
and praise to God for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ this
day. For,

1. Hereby He was declared to be the Messiah and the
Son of God. As the Apostle expressly asserts, where speak
ing of our Saviour, he saith, " That He was declared to be Rom. i. 4.
the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holi
ness, by the Resurrection from the dead ; " that is, God, by
raising Jesus from the dead by His Almighty power, did
thereby fully declare and demonstrate to the world that this
Jesus whom He thus raised was His Son; not a mere man
only, but the Only-begotten of the Father : So that by rais
ing Him from the dead, He confirms what He had said of
Him when He was baptized, " This is My beloved Son, in Matt. 3. 17.
Whom I am well pleased." Arid therefore what the Psalmist
speaks of Christ in general, saying, " I will declare the de- PS. 2. 7.
cree ; the Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son ; this
day have I begotten Thee," the Apostle applies to the Re- Acts is. 33;
surrection of Christ. Because by that means God did declare
to the world, that this Christ was His Only-begotten Son :
otherwise He would never have raised Him from the dead,
and so have confirmed all that He had ever said or done :
so that the question which the High Priest propounded to
our Saviour, saying, " I adjure Thee by the living God, that Matt.26 63.
Thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God,"
was now effectually answered by His being raised from the
dead, and so declared to be so by God Himself.

Now what a mighty consolation is this unto us all, that
our Saviour is by His Resurrection declared to be no less a
person than the Son of God ! One so far above all creatures,
that He hath absolute authority over them : One, who being
raised from the dead, " is set at the right hand of God in Eph. 1.20,
the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, 21
and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come : "
One so highly exalted by God, that He hath a Name given

352 An Easter Sermon.

SERM. Him "which is above every name; that at the Name of

Phil 2 9-11. JGSUS every knee shall bow, of things in Heaven, and things
in the earth, and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory

Heb. i. 6. of God the Father :" One whom the Angels themselves are
commanded to worship, and to acknowledge to be their
Lord. And it is very observable that so they did imme-

Matt. 28. 6. diately upon His Resurrection ; " He is not here," saith the
Angel, " He is risen ; come see the place where the Lord

ver. is. lay." He is their Lord, it seems, as well as ours, " All
power being given to Him both in Heaven and earth," as
Himself said after His Resurrection. Now, what can, if this
doth not, transport our hearts into holy ecstasies of joy and
thankfulness to God, Who hath provided so great, so mighty,
so Almighty a Saviour for us ? What cause have we all to

[Luke i. sing with the blessed Virgin this day, " My soul doth mag
nify the Lord, and my spirit rejoiceth in God my Saviour!"
" In God my Saviour ; " what a comfort is this, that God Him
self should be our Saviour, or which is all one, our Saviour
God ; yet this is plainly declared to us by His Resurrection
from the dead.

2. By Christ's Resurrection from the dead His Gospel
was established, and our faith confirmed in Him. The

iCor.is. 17. Apostle, a little before my text, saith, " If Christ be not
raised, your faith is vain;" for all our expectations from
Him had been frustrated, all our hopes and confidence in
Him would have been groundless, because all His promises
would have been void and of none effect, except He had
risen from the dead; for He would not have been in a
capacity to have fulfilled them to us. Whereas by His Re
surrection from the dead, all the promises which He, or God
in Him, hath made to mankind, are so far confirmed to us,
that there is no place left for doubting or unbelief; for,
indeed, they were all comprehended and so fulfilled in this
one, even in God's raising Christ from the dead according
to His promise : and how great joy and comfort this affords

Acts is. 32, us, the Apostle intimates, saying, " We declare unto you
glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the
fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children,
in that He hath raised up Jesus again."

An Easter Sermon. 353

Glad tidings indeed ! That as there are no good things
but what God hath promised to us in Christ, so there are
none of His promises but what He hath fulfilled and con
firmed to us, by raising Him from the dead. So that now
we have no cause at all to doubt of any thing that is either
said or promised in the Gospel, for God Himself hath fully
approved and established, and set His Own Almighty hand
and seal to it. And therefore we may boldly say, that
nothing was never affirmed by Christ but what was true ;
nothing foretold but what hath or shall be fulfilled ; nothing
commanded but what is just and good ; nothing threatened
but what shall be executed upon impenitent and unbelieving
sinners ; nothing promised but what shall certainly be per
formed to all that repent and believe in the Gospel. Away,
therefore, with all doubts and diffidence about any thing that
is there revealed ! " Heaven and earth shall pass away, but Matt. 24.
Christ's word shall never pass away." Hath He said, " I joimio.so.
and My Father are one ?" then, whether we understand it or
no, we may be confident of the truth of it. Hath He fore
told that He will one day come in glory, and all the holy
Angels with Him, and that " He will then sit upon the Matt. 25.
throne of His glory, and before Him shall be gathered all31'32
nations ?" Then you may be as certain that you shall one day
see Him upon His throne, as you are that ye are now in this
place. Hath He commanded you to deny yourselves, to ch. 16. 24.
take up your cross, and to follow Him ? Then you may be sure
it is good, and just, and necessary for you to do so. Hath
He threatened destruction to all that live and die in their
sins without repentance, saying, " Except ye repent ye shall Luke 13. 3.
all likewise perish ?" Then there is no avoiding it, you must
either repent or be damned. And hath He promised rest
to all " that labour and are heavy laden," if they come to rMatt> lle
Him? Then there is no question can be made of it, but that 28-]
He will most certainly do it ; for we have not only His Own
Word for it, but God the Father hath confirmed it to us by
raising Him from the dead ; which, as it strengthens our
faith, it must needs be matter of extraordinary joy and com
fort to us ; yea, all the joy and comfort that ever we expect
from Christ is grounded upon this one article of our faith,
that He is risen from the dead.

A A

354 An Easter Sermon.

SERM. 3. By the Resurrection of Christ, we are fully assured that

- He hath made complete satisfaction for our sins ; so that

upon our repentance of them, they will all for His sake be

certainly pardoned and forgiven us. This necessarily follows

upon the former, and therefore the Apostle joins them to-

fi. Cor. is. gether in the place before quoted, saying, " If Christ be not
raised, your faith is vain: ye are yet in your sins:" imply
ing, that if Christ had not risen, our believing in Him would
have been to no purpose, and by consequence we should
still lie under the guilt of our sins, obnoxious to eternal
damnation for them : whereas on the other side, Christ
being indeed risen from the dead, as we have all the reason
in the world to believe in Him, so by our believing in Him,

Cci. i. u. " we have redemption through His blood, even the forgive
ness of sins."

And the reason, in short, is this: we, by our affronting the
Majesty, dishonouring the Name, and transgressing the
commands of our great Creator, have incurred His dis
pleasure, and rendered ourselves obnoxious to all the
punishments, even to that death itself, which His Law and
justice have threatened against such ungrateful and rebel
lious creatures. But the debt which we have hereby con
tracted being so great, that it is impossible for us ever to
pay it ; the Son of God Himself was pleased to undertake it
for us, to become our surety, and to satisfy God's justice for
our sins, by undergoing those punishments in our nature,
which we must otherwise have undergone in our persons for
evermore. Hence He, having taken our nature upon Him,
suffered the extremity of the Law, even death itself in our
steads, and for our sakes, in whose nature He suffered it ;

Uoim,2.2. by which means, He was " a propitiation for our sins, and
not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world." Now
Christ having thus suffered death for us, and so paid that
debt which was due from us to God, God was pleased, the
third day after, to raise Him up to life again, and so to open,
as it were, the prison doors, and acknowledge Himself fully
satisfied for the sins of mankind, by having that death
which He had threatened to us undergone in our nature
united to the person of His Own Son : by virtue of which
hypostatical union, that death was more and of greater

An Easter Sermon. 355

value than the eternal death of all mankind could be. And
God having thus discharged our surety by raising Him from
the dead, all our obligations to punishments are now cancel
led and made void, so soon as ever we perform those easy
conditions which the Gospel requires of us, in order to the
applying the sufferings of our human nature in Christ to our
own particular persons. So that by the Resurrection of
Christ we are fully assured that the work of our Redemption
was finished, and that if it be not our own faults, our sins
may be all pardoned, and our persons justified before God
upon His account, Who, as the Apostle saith, " was delivered Rom. 4. 25.
for our offences, and raised again for our justification ;" that
is, Who died for our sins, and rose again, that by virtue of
that death He might justify our persons before God.

Consider this, all ye that are sensible of your sins, and then
tell me whether you have not cause to rejoice and bless God
this day for the Resurrection of your Saviour ? If Christ
had not risen again, what a sad, what a dismal condition had
you all been in ! Like the fiends of Hell, reserved " in [Jude 6.]
chains under darkness, to the judgment of the great Day."
Whereas now that Christ is dead and risen again, what
soever sins you have committed, it is but repenting of them,
and they shall all be pardoned. Howsoever you have in
censed the wrath of God against you, it is but believing and
obeying the Gospel for the future, and He will be reconciled
to you ; for Christ " was made sin for us, that we might be E2 Cor. 5.
made the righteousness of God in Him :" we have sinned,
but He hath suffered for our sins; we have deserved death,
but He hath undergone it for us. Neither did He only die
for us, but is risen again to confirm and apply the merits of
His death to us : " Who, then, shall lay any thing to the Rom. s. 33,
charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth: who is he 34'
that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that
is risen again." Let us therefore lay aside all melancholy
and desponding thoughts this day, and put our whole trust
and confidence on Him that died and rose again for us.
And to testify our acknowledgment of so great a mercy, let
us spend this day in praising, in adoring, in magnifying the
Eternal God our Saviour, who is risen from the dead, and
" become the first-fruits of them that slept." Jj ^or. 15-

356 An Easter Sermon.

SERM. 4. Christ beine* raised from the state of death, He is now

LXX

- able to raise us from a state of sin, and to quicken us with
His Own Spirit : so that our sanctification as well as our
justification depended upon His Resurrection : had He
continued in His grave, all mankind had continued in their
trespasses and sins ; but when He our Head arose, we His
members could not but rise with Him, as the Apostle

Col. 3. i, assures us we did; saying, " If ye then be risen with Christ."

ch. 2. 12. And elsewhere : " Buried with Him in Baptism, wherein also
ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of

Eph. 2. 5. God, Who hath raised Him from the dead." " When there
fore we were dead in (trespasses and) sins, God quickened

Rom. 6. 4. lls together with Christ." " That, like as Christ was raised
up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life." And as we thus rose in
Christ our Head, so He, being risen, continually diffuses
His Holy Spirit into all His members, whereby we are
actuated, and so enabled to repent and obey His Gospel ;

Acts 5. si. for being raised from the dead, " God hath exalted Him with
His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give
repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." From whence
it appears, that Christ, being upon His Resurrection advanced
to Heaven, doth from thence distribute not only His pardon
for those sins which we repent of, but likewise grace to
repent of our sins, that so they may be pardoned ; and by
consequence all the graces of His Holy Spirit here compre
hended under that of repentance. So that whatsoever is
necessary to be performed by us, in order to our pardon and
Salvation, Christ, being raised from the dead, can now enable

Phil. 4. is. us to perform it, or, as the Apostle words it, we "can do
all things through Christ which strengtheneth" us.

Now, how great a comfort is this to all such amongst you
as are weary of their sins, and desire to be eased of them, I
need not tell you ; you yourselves cannot but find it by your
own experience, what a mighty refreshment it is in all your
spiritual conflicts to consider that your Saviour, being risen
from the dead, is always ready to assist you, and to supply
you with such measures of His grace, whereby you may be
enabled, either totally to subdue your lusts, or effectually to
withstand all temptations to them : for mine own part, I

An Easter Sermon. 357

verily think there is no joy, no pleasure in this world, com
parable to that which ariseth from a firm faith, and right
apprehensions of Christ's being always not only interceding
for us in Heaven, but also present with us upon earth, to
direct, support, and carry us through the various changes
and chances of this mortal life, till He hath brought us to
Himself in glory ; that He is always more ready to help,
than the Devil can be to tempt us ; that His grace is [2 Cor. 12.
always sufficient for us. When we are in such streights and
perplexities that we know not what to do, He presently con
veys such light into our minds, whereby wre plainly see the
way we ought to walk in. When our souls are dejected,
distressed, tormented with the remembrance of our former
sins, He saith to us, as He did to the man in the Gospel,
" Be of good cheer, My son, thy sins are all pardoned." [Matt. 9.
When we meet with crosses and troubles in the world, 2'
which are apt to distract our thoughts, and to make our
passions turbulent and unruly, He, by His Holy Spirit, re-
duceth them into order, and gives us strength not only to
bear, but to improve whatsoever happens, to His glory and
our own good. When we are touched with so quick a sense of
our present infirmities, and the reliques of sin and corrup
tion still remaining in us, that it cuts us to the heart, and
makes every thing uneasy and uncomfortable to us, He
binds up our wounds, He healeth our troubled breasts, and
gives rest to our souls, by assuring us, that He Himself will
stand by us, and enable us not only to resist, but overcome
all these our spiritual enemies. So that when we cry out, in
the words of the Apostle, " O wretched man that I am ! Rom. 7. 24,
who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?" we may
add with him, " I thank God through Jesus our Lord."
He that thinks not this to be a matter of real joy, knows
not as yet what it is to be a Christian.

5. By the Resurrection of Christ, we are fully assured that
He will be our Judge at the last day ; as the Apostle long
ago observed, saying, that " now God commands all men Acts 17.30,
every where to repent, because He hath appointed a day
in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by
that Man whom He hath ordained, whereof He hath given
assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from

358 An Easter Sermon.

SERM. the dead." It is true, His commission to judge the world

John 5. 22. was granted to Him before His Passion ; " For the Father

Matt.28.i8. judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the
Son," as He Himself tells us. But it was sealed and pub
lished at His Resurrection from the dead, whereby God
publicly owned, declared, and confirmed Him to be as the
Saviour, so also the Judge of mankind. This being one

2 Cor. 5. 10. great end of His being raised again, that we may " all appear
before His judgment-seat, and there receive according to
what we have done in the flesh, whether it be good or evil."
And this certainly is no small comfort to them who be
lieve in Christ, that they shall give up their accounts at the
Last Day to Him in Whom they believe ; that He Who is
now their Advocate, shall be then our Judge ; for then we
may be confident that we shall have all the favour shewed
us that either the Law or Gospel can allow of. Neither
can we doubt but that all the promises which He made us
when He was upon earth, will be exactly fulfilled by Him
when He sits upon His throne. Hath He promised that

John 6. 37. those " that come to Him He will in no wise cast out?"
Then we need not fear being rejected by Him to eternity, if
we do but come unto Him in time. Hath He promised

ch. s. 16. that they who believe in Him " shall never perish, but have
everlasting life?" Then be sure He will make it good at
that day ; so that no one person that ever did, or ever shall
believe aright in Him, but shall then be saved by Him
from ruin and destruction. Hath He promised that He
will place all His faithful Disciples, all real Saints, as sheep

Matt.25.34. at His right hand, and say to them, " Come ye blessed of
My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world ?" " Hath He said it, and will He
not perform it ? " Yes, doubtless, they that are truly such
will as certainly hear that blessed sentence pronounced upon
themselves at the Last Day, as ever it was pronounced by
Him before. In short, hath He promised to prepare a

JohnH.2,3. place for us, and to receive us to Himself, " that where He
is, there we may be also ?" Then we need not, we cannot
question but that the place will be ready for us, and that
we shall live with Him for ever. The consideration whereof
cannot surely but make our hearts even leap with joy, and

An JZaster Sermon. 359

fill our mouths with nothing but praise and thankfulness
this day to Almighty God for the Resurrection of Jesus
Christ, the great foundation of all these our hopes and
expectations from Him. Especially considering that not
only our souls, but our bodies too, and so our whole man,
will be at that day advanced to the highest glory they are
capable of: For as Christ is risen from the dead, "so He
is become the first-fruits of them that slept," which is the
other thing to be considered in the words, even that,

II. " Christ being risen from the dead," thereby " became
the first-fruits of them that slept." For the understanding
whereof, we must know, that the Apostle is here proving
that our bodies shall rise again at the Last Day, and he
proves it from this argument, because Christ rose again.
" Now," saith he, " if Christ be preached that He rose from iCcr.i5.i2.
the dead, how say some among you that there is no resur
rection of the dead?" And then having prosecuted the
argument, by shewing how many absurdities would follow
upon the denial of Christ's Resurrection, he concludes it
with these words ; " But now is Christ risen from the dead,
and become the first-fruits of them that slept ;" that is,
Christ's Resurrection is a plain and undeniable argument,
that we also, who sleep or die, shall rise again ; for, as the
same Apostle elsewhere observes, "If the first fruit beRom.ii.ie.
holy, the lump is also holy." So here, " Christ is the first-
fruits of them that slept," so that He rising again, all
others must needs rise too. In the same sense He is else
where called, " the beginning, and the first-begotten of the Col. i. is;
dead." Not but that there were several raised from the
dead before, as some in the Old Testament, and some by
Him in the New, as Lazarus, and the widow's son at Nairn ;
but these rose so as to die again ; whereas Christ was raised
to an immortal life, so as never to die more ; and He was
the first that ever did so ; and whosoever do so, as all shall
at the Last Day, they do it by virtue of His Resurrection.

For, as the Apostle argues in the following words, " Since [i Cor. is.
by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of
the dead : for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all
be made alive." All mankind being contained in Adam,
when he fell, all fell in him ; and so the whole human

360 An Easter Sermon.

SERM. nature being contained in Christ, when He rose, all rose

LXX- with Him, at least virtually and potentially. So that by

virtue and power of His rising from the dead in our nature,

all that partake of that nature in which He did it shall rise

[i Cor. is. again too, and therefore He is called the second Adam :
one by whom all mankind shall be raised from that death
to which they were made subject by the first. The first
Adam died, and therefore we must die too. The second
Adam rose again, and therefore we shall rise again too. So
that Christ's Resurrection is not only a proof, but the cause
of ours ; and we shall as certainly rise again as Christ ever
did so, and because He did so. In which respect, Christ's
Resurrection affords us as great matter of joy and comfort,
as any we have hitherto mentioned ; as appears from the
matter, the manner, and the end of our resurrection, which
I shall briefly explain unto you.

1. As for the matter, it is plain that the same bodies that
die shall rise again. As our Saviour's body was the same
after His Resurrection that it was before and at His Pas
sion, of the same stature, the same proportion, the same
features, the same substance every way, so it will be with
us. The same bodies out of which our souls depart when
we die, shall be raised to life again at the resurrection ; for
otherwise, if there should be any change of the substance, it
could not be properly called a resurrection, our bodies
cannot be said to rise again, unless they be the same they
were before, at least as to the substance; it must be the
same flesh, the same bones, the same nerves and sinews, the
same veins and arteries, the same head, the same heart, the
same hands and feet, and so as to the other parts of the body ;
the substance will be the same.

This is that wherewith Job comforted Himself in the

job 19.25- midst of all his troubles, saying, " I know that my Redeemer
liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the
earth ; and though after rny skin worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God ; whom I shall see for my
self, and mine eye shall behold, and not another." But
this he could never have expected, unless he had been sure
that that very flesh and eye which he then had, should be
raised again at the latter day, and not another.

An Easter Sermon. 361

But here we must observe, that though the substance of
our bodies will be the same as they are now, or as they
will be when we die, yet the disposition and qualities of that
substance will be much altered ; for, as the Apostle saith,
" It is sown in corruption ; it is raised in incorruption : it i Cor. 15.
is sown in dishonour ; it is raised in glory : it is sown in 4'
weakness ; it is raised in power : it is sown a natural body ;
it is raised a spiritual body." It is still the same body, but
it is now endowed with incorruptible, with glorious, with
powerful, and with spiritual qualities. And so, though it be
still the same body, yet that body shall be so disposed and
ordered, that it shall far exceed that wherein our souls are
at present immured ; so far, that our bodies shall be then
made like to the body of Christ Himself; for, as the Apostle
assures us, " He shall change our vile body, that it may be Phil. 3. 21,
fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the
working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto
Himself."

Now, who is able to express the comfort that a soul which
is truly pious must needs receive from a firm belief and
serious consideration of this, that that very body which He
now hath shall not only be raised again, but it shall be made
much better than it was before, fashioned like to Christ's
body, that is, as pure, as glorious, as spiritual, as it is pos
sible for a body to be ? We cannot but all find, by sad and
woeful experience, that the bodies we now carry about with
us are a great clog and hinderance to us in the performance
of all religious duties, and so both in the pursuit and enjoy
ment of real happiness ; and that, too, not only when they
are in pain or sick, but likewise when we have all outward
ease and health that we can desire. For our souls being so
closely united to our bodies, that so long as they are in
them they cannot act without them, but in all their opera
tions are forced to make use of the animal spirits in our
bodies, which are generally either too gross and heavy, or
else irregular and disorderly : hence it comes to pass, that
we are commonly very dull and heavy in all religious exer
cises, or else our imaginations are so disturbed, our passions
so unruly, and all our thoughts so desultory and inconstant,

362 An Easter Sermon.

SERM. that we find it very difficult to fix our minds so as to serve
— the Lord without distraction ; every little humour that
ariseth in the body being apt to discompose the animal
spirits, so as to make them unfit for the service of the soul.

And besides that, our bodies, by reason of the several
humours which are apt by turns to be predominant in them,
do not only impede and hinder us in doing what is good,
but excite and stir us up to what is evil and wicked ; from
hence it is that some are passionate and fretful, others me
lancholy and dejected. Some are inclined to lust and un-
cleanness, others to drunkenness and intemperance ; which
last, is in divers respects both the effect and the cause of
such ill humours arising in the body : be sure these, and
many such like sins, though they would not be sins without
the soul, yet they would not be committed without the body ;
which therefore is the occasion of a great part of those vices
which men are so generally addicted to.

But it will not be so when our bodies are risen again ; for
then they will be so nimble and active, so pure and spiritual,
so free from all petulant and domineering humours, that
they will be perfectly subject to the soul, and obedient to
the dictates of reason and religion ; as ready upon all occa
sions to serve the soul, as the soul shall be to serve God.
As the whole shall never be sick, or out of tune, so neither
will any part of them : our brains will never be clouded, but
always serene and clear ; our imaginations will never be
disturbed, but shall always represent things to our minds
just as they are in themselves. Our passions will never
be headstrong and exorbitant, but always shall move regu
larly towards their proper objects. Our bodies shall there
be supported by the Almighty Power of God, without
the use of meat and drink; and therefore our stomachs
shall never be clogged, nor our heads annoyed with their
fumes. As we shall be always doing good, we shall never
be weary of doing it ; for whatsoever we do, our bodies
shall never be discomposed nor out of tune, but we shall
always be quick and lively, cheerful and pleasant, fresh as
the morning ; continually beholding, praising, and adoring
Him who rose from the dead, " and became the first-

An Easter Sermon. 363

fruits of them that slept." How comfortable the consider
ation of this is to all that truly love and fear God, they
themselves experience far better than I am able to express.

2. And it is no small addition to their comfort to consider
also the manner how they shall rise again, even with greater
joy and triumph, with greater pomp and solemnity, than
any one as yet is able to imagine ; for as the holy Angels
attended our blessed Saviour at His first coming into the
world, so they will do it at His second coming also ; for our
Lord Himself tells us, that when the Son of Man shall
come again, all the holy Angels shall come with Him. Matt. 25.
" And that He will send them," His Angels, " with a great ch.' 24. 3.
sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His
elect from the four winds, from one end of Heaven to the
other." At the sound therefore of a trumpet, blown by the
holy Angels, so as that it may be heard all the world over,
the dust of every body that ever was informed by a rational
soul shall immediately gather up itself again, and haste
into the place where it was before, so as to compose the
same individual body, and their bodies being thus refitted,
the souls of all the elect shall come down from Heaven,
and be united again to them, so that the same persons that
died in the faith of Christ, shall now be raised through His
power to a life immortal, by the ministry of no less nor
fewer persons than all the holy Angels.

What a joyful day then must this needs be to all those
that love Christ's appearing ! It is true, it will be a very sad
and terrible day indeed to all those that lived and died in
their sins ; but I speak not now of these, but of such only as
live and die sincere members of Christ's body, real and true
Saints : how pleasant will the trumpet sound, how wel
come will this day be to such as these ! How will their
souls rejoice to meet their old mates, their bodies, again!
What a sweet intercourse and greeting will there be be
tween them! When these bodies which they had mor
tified and kept under by fasting, and watching, and pray
ing upon earth, shall now be reassumed by them, to par
take with them of glory and immortality in Heaven ! And
that for the effecting of this great mystery, God should
make use of no less glorious instruments than the holv

364 An JEaster Sermon.

SERM. Angels which continually attend Him ! This is that
- which the holy Apostle looked upon as matter of extra
ordinary comfort to all that truly believe in Christ, and
iThes.4.i6- obey His Gospel : " For the Lord Himself," saith he,
" shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the Archangel, and with the trump of God : and the
dead in Christ shall rise first : then we which are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we be
ever with the Lord : wherefore comfort one another with
these words."

3. But that which is the greatest comfort of all is still be
hind, and that is the end of our Resurrection ; even that they
who believe in Christ upon earth, may live with Him in
Heaven, as the Apostle assureth us in those words. I know
the souls of all that die in the Lord will be with Him before,
but not their bodies, and by consequence not the whole man:
but now both soul and body, and so their whole persons,
will be advanced to the highest glory, honour, and happi
ness that creatures are capable of; for there the eye both of
our body arid mind shall be so enlightened, that we shall be
able to see perfectly, and contemplate the whole creation, and
that infinite wisdom, power, and goodness which appears in
both, in the contrivance and government of the world :
there we shall familiarly converse with the holy Angels and
glorified Saints, which will be our constant companions and
fellow-citizens of the New Jerusalem : there we shall behold
and enjoy the top of the creation, Christ Himself in our
own nature united to the Divine Person, and so exalted
above all creatures : yea, there we shall perfectly behold
our Creator Himself; Whose glory, beauty, excellency, and
perfections, shall be so clearly unveiled and discovered to us,
that our whole souls shall be transported into flames of
love unto Him, and continually ravished with ecstasy of joy
and pleasure in Him.

But what do I mean to speak of these glories which the
" eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, and which the heart
of man is not able to conceive ! " Alas ! we poor mortals
upon earth little think what it is to be in Heaven ; and
therefore it is in vain for us to offer at the description of it :

An Easter Sermon. 365

only this we may say in general, that whatsoever can any
way conduce to the making either of our souls or bodies happy,
shall there be fully, perfectly, eternally enjoyed by all and
every one that dies in the true faith and fear of God, after
they are risen from the dead.

Having thus considered how many and great advantages
accrue to us by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ; — that He was
thereby declared to be the Messiah and Son of God ; — that
His Gospel was thereby established and our faith confirmed
in it; — that we are thereby assured that He hath finished our
Redemption and made complete satisfaction for all our sins; —
that He is able to mortify our lusts, and make us holy ; —
and that He is thereby become the " first-fruits of them that
slept ; " so that by the means and virtue of His Resurrec
tion we also shall rise again to a life immortal; — hence as we
cannot but acknowledge we have cause to do so, so it must
needs be our duty to rejoice this day, and to praise and mag
nify the eternal God for so unspeakable a mercy as this was ;
for, as the Psalmist saith, " This is the Lord's doing, and it is PS. us. 23,
marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord
hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it."

Let us therefore, as the Apostle saith, "keep the feast, i Cor. s. s.
not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and
wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and
truth." Let us keep it, " not with rioting and drunkenness, [Rom. 13.
not with chambering and wantonness, not with strife and l'
envying," but with rejoicing and praising God for raising
our Saviour from the grave, to turn us from these and all
other vices whatsoever.

Neither must we content ourselves with remembering
Christ's Resurrection to-day, but as St. Paul gave it in charge
to Timothy, saying, " Remember that Jesus Christ, of the 2 Tim. 2. s.
seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my
Gospel;" so say I to you, Remember always that Christ
is risen from the dead, that He is gone to Heaven, that He
is now there at the right hand of God, making intercession
for you. And " if ye be risen with Christ, seek those things Col. 3.1,2.
which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of
God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on
the earth." For where should your hearts be, but where

366 An Easter Sermon.

J°ur treasure is? Where should your affections be but
[Matt. 6. where your Lord and Saviour is, the best friend, the greatest
treasure that you have in the whole world ? Let us there
fore now bid adieu to all things here below, and go up to
live with Christ in Heaven ; that our hearts may be there
now, where we hope both our souls and bodies shall be for
ever, in and through Him Who is risen from the dead,
and become " the first-fruits of them that slept."

SERMON LXXI.

CHRIST'S RESURRECTION A PROOF OF HIS DIVINITY.

ROM. i. 4.

And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to
the Spirit of Holiness, by the Resurrection from the dead.

ALTHOUGH our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ subsisted
from all eternity in the form of God, and was Himself " God [Rom. 9.5.]
blessed for ever," yet when He had " taken upon Him the [Phil. 2. 7.]
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, He
humbled Himself" to the lowest degree among them ; though
all the world was His, as God, yet as Man He had not where [Matt. s.
to lay His head. Though all mankind lived continually 2(
upon His bounty, He for some time lived upon the bounty Luke 8. 3.
of certain women who ministered to Him of their substance.
Though He was honoured and adored by all the Angels in
Heaven, yet upon earth He was rejected and despised of [isa.53.3.]
men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Thus
He lived while He was here below, in the lowest and meanest
condition that He well could, and He doubtless chose to do
so for great and wise ends. To us the difference between
the several ranks of men among us seems great and con
siderable, but it seemed not so to Him ; to Him they were
all alike, the greatest monarch upon the earth was as much
below Him as the poorest beggar, and therefore in itself it
was all one to Him what outward state and condition of life
He should lead while He conversed upon earth ; but He was
pleased to choose that which we call the lowest, not only to
teach us by His example, as He did by His precepts, to
contemn this world, but especially that by that means He

368 Christ's Resurrection.

SERM. might the better attain the great end of His coming into it,
— even to offer up Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of man
kind. If He had appeared here in pomp and grandeur, like
a mighty prince and conqueror, as the Jews expected the
Messias to be, He would have been so much above them,
that they neither durst nor could have touched His life ; but
He seeming to be in a much lower degree than most of
themselves were ; they had Him as it were at their foot, and
could trample upon Him as they pleased ; and accordingly
they slighted, reviled, and reproached Him all the while He
was among them, and at last arraigned, condemned, and
hanged Him on a Cross, as if He had been some great male
factor, little thinking all the while that they crucified the
Lord of Glory, and did that to Him which He came into
the world to suffer for the sins of it.

But as all the while He lived among them, notwithstand
ing the meanness of His outward appearance, He demon
strated Himself by the works He did to be Almighty, so
He made His death too an occasion of demonstrating the
same thing to them by His rising again to life ; for as His
death shewed Him to be a real and true Man, so His Re
surrection as plainly shewed Him to be the One living and
true God. This is that which the Apostle here asserts, and
I shall endeavour to prove from the words I have now read,
compared with other places of the Holy Scriptures.

The Apostle, the better to recommend what He was about
to write to the Romans, be gins his Epistle to them with a
catalogue of the titles wrhich God had given him, and which
he esteemed, as they were, the greatest that could be con
ferred upon him, saying, " Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an Apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God
(which He had promised afore by the Prophets in the Holy
Scriptures) ;" and that they might better understand what
this Gospel of God was, which he was now to preach to
them, he tells them first in general that it was " concerning
His Son Jesus Christ our Lord," and then he gives them
a particular description of His Person, who or what this
Jesus Christ was, " Which," saith he, " was made of the seed
of David according to the flesh ; and declared to be the Son
of God writh power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by

a Proof of His Divinity. 369

the Resurrection from the dead." Where he describes our
Saviour according to both His natures, " according to the
flesh," that is His human nature, and " according to the
spirit of holiness," that is His Divine nature. For so
the word spirit, when it is used of our Saviour in oppo
sition to the flesh, always signifies, as might easily be j pet. 3. is
shewn. Now the Apostle here saith that our Lord ac- \^°" 3'
cording to the flesh, or human nature, was of the seed
of David, of that royal family of which David was the
head ; but according to His spiritual or Divine nature, He
was the Son of God, and declared and manifested to be so
with power, by the Resurrection from the dead ; so that he
here makes Christ's Resurrection from the dead to be a
most powerful, invincible argument and demonstration that
He was the Son of God; the Only-begotten of the Father,
of the same nature and substance with Him ; the only
Almighty and Eternal God. To the same purpose is that
of the same Apostle, where, speaking of Christ's Resurrec
tion, he quotes those words which God spoke of His Son by
the Psalmist, " Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Acts 13.33.
Thee;" that is, This day I have declared and manifested to
the world that Thou art My Only-begotten Son. For in
Scripture things are then said to be, when they appear to be
so, as David after Absalom's rebellion said, " Do not I know 2 Sam. 19.
that I am this day king over Israel ; " he had been king 22>
over Israel many years before, but he was now publicly
owned and declared to be so, and therefore speaks as if he
had been made but that day. So here Christ was the Son
of God from all eternity, but by His Resurrection from the
dead He appeared to be so to men, and therefore is said to
be then begotten, because He was then declared by God
Himself to be begotten of Him, and so His essential and
eternal Son.

And verily among the many, I may say innumerable
arguments which are dispersed all over the Bible to confirm
us in this great fundamental article of our faith, this is so
plain and strong, that if there were no other, this of itself
is sufficient to do it. For that there was something extra
ordinary in Christ's Resurrection, appears in that He was
not only the first, but the only Person that ever yet rose

B B

370 Christ's Resurrectio n

SERM. from the dead so as never to die any more ; there were some

LXXI

— raised by His Prophets in the Old Testament, and some by
Himself in the New ; but they were raised only to a mortal
life, and therefore soon died again : whereas He rose from
the dead, so as to conquer death itself, and was never after

Col. i. is. subject to it, and therefore is called Kguroroxog sx ruv vsxfiv,
1 the first-born from the dead.' He that hath been dead,
and is made alive again, hath a new life given him, and
therefore may be properly said to be born again. In which
sense Christ is properly said to be the first-born from the
dead, He being the first that ever rose again to an immortal
life, and and it is only by virtue of His Resurrection that all
others shall rise again at the Last Day, He being, as the

iCor.i5.2o. Apostle saith, "The first-fruits of them that slept."

But that which was most extraordinary in the Resurrec
tion of Christ was, that it was a plain declaration and demon
stration of His eternal power and Godhead, as might be
easily shewn from those words of St. Peter, where speaking

Acts 2. 24. of Christ, he saith, " Whom God raised up, having loosed
the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should
be holden of it." For if He had not been God Himself,
but one of His creatures, it would have been possible with
God to have held Him in the state of death, for all things
are possible with God : He can annihilate, or destroy, or
keep any of His creatures in what state He pleaseth ; and
therefore if Christ had been only a creature, it would have
been possible for Him as well as others, to be holden of
death, which God Himself by His Apostle absolutely denies,
and thereby declared Him not to be a mere creature, but
His Own Eternal and Only-begotten Son.

But that God declared Him to be so by raising Him from
the dead, appears most plainly in that He thereby declared
Himself fully satisfied and well pleased with what He had
said and done while He lived upon earth ; for if Christ had
done any thing contrary to God's will, or said any thing
that was not perfectly true, He would have been a sinner as
other men are, and so obnoxious to that death which God hath
threatened against all sinners, never to rise again so as to
die no more till the Last Day, when all sinners must be
judged. And therefore His Resurrection from the dead so

a Proof of His Divinity . 371

soon after He died, was as clear a testimony as could be
given to the world, that God approved and confirmed all
that He had either said or done, that His actions were all
most perfectly good, and His whole doctrine most certainly
true, every thing just as He said it was.

Now, the great doctrine that Christ taught all along was,
that He was the Son of God, and at His very trial too, when
the High-Priest asked Him, "Art Thou the Christ, the Son Marku.ei,
of the Blessed ? " Jesus said, " I am." This the High- 62<
Priest and all the Jews that were present judged to be blas
phemy, and accordingly condemned Him to be guilty of
death for it ; which they could never have done, if they had ver- 64-
not understood Him so as that, according to the common
meaning of that phrase in those days, by calling Himself the
Son of God, He made Himself equal with God, as they said
also upon another occasion He did, because He said that
God was His Father: and indeed, it was in this sense that Johns, is.
He constantly affirmed that God was His Father, that He
Himself was " the Son of God, the Only-begotten of the
Father," and the like. And lest He should be mistaken, He
took all occasions to let the world know, that although He
now appeared only as a man upon earth, yet that He was
indeed the great God of Heaven, equal to the Father, and
one with Him ; " What," saith He, " if ye shall see the Son ch. e. 62.
of Man ascend up where He was before ?" " No man hath ch. 3. 13.
ascended up to Heaven, but He that came down from Hea
ven, even the Son of Man which is in Heaven." "Mych. 5.17.
Father worketh hitherto, and I work." " The Father judgeth Ver. 22, 23.
no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son;
that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the
Father." " For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath ver. 26.
He given to the Son to have life in Himself." " He that ch. u. 9.
hath seen Me hath seen the Father." " Believe Me that I ver. n.
am in the Father, and the Father in Me." " I and the Father ch. 10. 30.
are one." Many such expressions came from Him while He
was upon earth, whereby He asserted His eternal Godhead
and unity with the Father, and God the Father as plainly
asserted the truth of what He said, by raising Him from the
dead ; and therefore by His resurrection from the dead, as it
is said in my text, He was declared to be the Son of God.

372 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. The same thing appears also from the power by which He
LXXI. aga-n . wiien a mere man dies? his soul being separated

from his body, he ceaseth to be the person he was ; he is no
longer a man, nor can act any thing at all as such, much
less can He reunite his soul to his body, so as to make him
self alive again ; that is only in the power of God, all acknow
ledge it is He alone that can give life ; but this did Christ
do, He raised Himself after He was dead and buried, He

John 2. 19. gave life to Himself, or made Himself alive again ; " Destroy
this temple," saith He, " and in three days I will raise it up."

[ver. 21.] This, as the Evangelist there observes, "He spake of the
temple of His body," that He would raise up that again ;
that He Himself would do it. And so He Himself saith

ch. 10. 17, also in another place ; " Therefore doth My Father love Me,
because I lay down My life, that I may take it again. No
man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself; I have
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."
Which could not possibly be any other than the power of
God, and therefore He who had it in Himself, as He saith
He had, must needs be God : if He had been only a creature,
howsoever He had been raised again, He could never have
done it himself, for being dead, he was no longer Himself,
the person He was before ; but being God as well as man,
and both in one Person, His manhood not constituting a
person of itself, nor ever subsisting but in His Divine Per
son, though one part of His manhood was separated from
the other, He was still the same Person that He was before,
and whatsoever He then did, the same Person did it ; when
He was raised from the dead, He raised Himself, and there
fore is often said to have risen again in an active sense, to
shew it was His own act ; it was He that did it, but that He
could never have done Himself if He had not been a Divine
Person, of another nature besides that in which He rose ; for
that nature be sure could never have raised itself, neither
could any other have done it, but that which is Divine ; this
being an act of Divine power, of Omnipotence itself; where
fore seeing He Himself rose, or raised Himself from the
dead, He thereby most evidently discovered Himself to be
the one Almighty God.

Acts 2. 24. But He is sometimes said to be raised up by God, " Whom

a Proof of His Divinity. 373

God hath raised up," saith St. Peter. " But God raised Acts 13. 30.
Him from the dead," saith St. Paul. It is true, but this is
so far from weakening, that it strengthened the argument,
and makes it invincible ; for seeing He is sometimes said to
have raised Himself, and" at other times is said to be raised
by God, it puts it beyond all dispute that He Himself is God,
otherwise the same act could never be imputed to God and
to Him too, in the same sense as it is in this case, and there
fore His Resurrection from the dead was as clear a demon
stration of His Divine power and nature as could be given
to the world.

It is indeed so clear and full, that Christ Himself pro
pounds it as a most infallible sign and evidence of His
Divine power and mission from Heaven ; for when the Jews
said to Him, " What sign shewest Thou unto us, seeing that John 2. is,
Thou doest these things?" Jesus answered and said unto19'
them, " Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it
up." And when at another time they said, " We would see Matt.i2.39,
a sign from Thee ;" He answered and said unto them, " An
evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign ; and
there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the Prophet
Jonas ; for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the
whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth." In both which

O

places He plainly propounds His Resurrection from the
dead the third day after He died, as a most sure and certain
sign that He really was what He declared Himself to be,
Christ the Eternal Son of God, so that there was no need of
any other sign to convince the world of it, this being of itself
sufficient to shew it, to all that do not wilfully shut their eyes
against it. To the same purpose is that where He saith,
" When ye have lift up the Son of Man, then ye shall know j0hn 8.23.
that I am." As if He had said, When ye have put Me to
death, I will rise again, and by that ye shall know 6V/ J/w £/>/> [in Joan .
4 that I am ;' so it is in the original, " I am He that should come ^£9. s.
into the world ;" or in general, as St. Augustine observed, ed. Bened.
" I am ;" as God said to Moses when he desired to know 2.] '
His Name, " I am that I am, and I am hath sent Me unto Ex. 3. u.
you." And as Christ Himself saith again in this very chap
ter, " Before Abraham was I am." So here, " Then ye shall ver/W 29.

374 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. know that I am in and of Myself, Jehovah, the everlasting
LXXL God, the Son of the Father." And therefore He adds, "And

I do nothing of Myself, but as My Father hath taught Me,
I speak these things, and He that sent Me is with Me ; the
Father hath not left Me alone." That we might know, that
although He Himself also be Jehovah, yet He was begotten
of the Father, received His Divine essence from Him, was
sent into the world by Him, and that the Father is always
with Him, or, as He expresseth it in another place, that the

John 10. 38; Father is in Him, and He in the Father. And, by conse
quence, that He is the Son of God, or God the Son, God of
God, but still the one living and true God, and He was
" declared " or confirmed to be so " with power," as the
Apostle here saith, "by His Resurrection from the dead."

Seeing, therefore, that this great truth is confirmed to us in
so wonderful a manner, let us take care to live with a con
stant and firm belief of it, suitable to the evidence we have
for it. Of all the errors and heresies which the Devil hath
sown among us, beware of those which deny or strike at the
Divinity of our Blessed Saviour, for they overthrow the
foundation of our whole religion, and all our hopes of Salva
tion in it, for none can save us but God ; He Himself saith,

HOS. is. 4. " Thou shalt know no God but Me, for there is no Saviour
beside Me." And therefore, unless Christ be God, He could
not be our Saviour, and none can believe in Him as their
Saviour, unless they believe Him to be God ; but they who
do not believe in Him are sure to perish everlastingly ;

John s. 24. remember how He Himself said, " If ye believe not that I
am, ye shall die in your sins."

But seeing we have such an Almighty Saviour, let us
never despair of Salvation, but put our whole trust and
confidence in Him for all things necessary in order to it, in
the use of the means which He for that purpose hath or
dained in His Church, never doubting but that He who came
into the world on purpose to save sinners, will save us as
well as any other, if we do but apply ourselves to Him by a
quick arid lively faith for it.

But for that end, we must take heed that we never offend
His Divine Majesty, nor dishonour His great Name, but
make the best use that possibly we can of the grace He is

a Proof of His Divinity. 375

pleased to afford us, to live answerably to our faith in Him,
and as becometh those who believe Him to be the Almighty
God who governs the world now, and will judge it at the
Last Day.

This we are assured of by His Resurrection : and therefore
let us praise and magnify His Name for this undeniable
evidence He hath given us of His Almighty power to save
us. There are many other most glorious effects of His
Resurrection from the dead, but the efficacy of them all
depends upon this, and therefore we can never be sufficiently
thankful for it, " That the stone which the builders refused is PS. us. 22
thus become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's
doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day
which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in
it." " The Lord is my strength and my song, and is now Ver. u.
become my Salvation." "My soul doth magnify the Lord, P^e i.
my spirit rejoiceth in God my Saviour." And that we may
do it the more acceptably to God our Saviour, let us now
go to His Own table, and there offer up the sacrifice of
praise and thanksgiving to Him for all His infinite love
and goodness to mankind, and particularly for raising up
that body from the dead, in which He died for us, and now
liveth with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God blessed
for ever. Amen.

SERMON LXXII.

CHRIST'S RESURRECTION A PROOF OF OURS.

1 COR. XV. 12.

Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how
say some among you that there is no Resurrection of the
dead ?

SERM. THAT Jesus Christ, after He was put to death upon the

T ~X"X"TT

— Cross, was raised again to life, is not only one of the articles
of our Christian faith, but that upon which all the rest are
founded ; so that take away this, and the other would all
fall to the ground, together with all our hopes of pardon

i Cor. is. and Salvation. For as the Apostle here observes, " If Christ
be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is
also vain." Not only in that all that we believe besides
stands upon the same bottom with this, but likewise because

[iPet.i.9.] without this we could never "attain the end of our faith,
even the Salvation of our souls," that depending upon the
intercession which Christ maketh for us in Heaven, which
He could never have made if He had not risen from the
dead ; especially that great article, the Resurrection of the
dead, depends so entirely upon Christ's Resurrection, that a
man cannot believe the one without the other, and he who
believes either must needs believe both. At least, he that
believes that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, cannot but
believe that all mankind shall do so as well as he, he having
the same ground for the one as he hath for the other.

Hence, therefore, the Apostle in this chapter being directed
by the Spirit of God to reveal what was necessary to be
known and believed concerning the Resurrection of the dead

Christ's Resurrection a Proof of Ours. 377

in general, he begins with the Resurrection of Christ, and
the grounds we have to believe that He rose from the dead :
first, from the testimony of the Holy Scriptures, foretelling * Cor. 15-
that Christ should rise from the dead ; and then from the
testimony of those who had seen Him after He was risen,
assuring us that He " was seen of Cephas, then of the Twelve, ver. 5-8.
after that of above five hundred brethren at once, after
that He was seen of James, then of all the Apostles again,
and last of all of himself" too. From whence he takes
occasion to shew how unworthy he was of so great a favour ;
and then he draws this conclusion from what he had thus
premised concerning Christ's Resurrection, that the dead
shall certainly rise again : " Now," saith He, " if Christ be
preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among
you that there is no Resurrection of the dead ?"

From whence we may first observe, that there were some
in those days that denied it; such were the sect of the
Sadducees, who said " that there is no resurrection ;" and Matt.22.23;
such were Hymenaeus and Philetus, of whom the same
Apostle saith, "That they have erred, saying that the 2 Tim. 2. 17,
Resurrection is past already, and overthrew the faith of some."
Where we may observe by the way, that by saying that
the Resurrection is past already, they overthrew the faith of
such as hearkened to them ; so that they could have no true
faith at all, that being wholly grounded upon the same
bottom with our hopes of the Resurrection to come ; and yet
this damnable heresy, which hath been asleep almost ever
since the Apostles' days, is now received, to our shame be
it spoken, in ours. There being a sort of people risen up
among us, who leaving the good Word of God and following
their own corrupt humours and fancies under the name of
the light within them, have been led themselves, and strive
to lead others, into this among other most horrid opinions,
that strike at the foundation of the Christian religion ; for
though they profess to believe the Resurrection of the dead,
yet they understand it, not of the body, but the soul ; when
that riseth from the death of sin to the life of righteousness,
and so is in effect the same with regeneration, which being
effected in this life in all that are regenerated, it is past
already, and therefore not to be expected hereafter, which

378 Christ's Resurrection a Proof of Ours.

SERM

LXXII. plainly overthrows this great article of our faith, " the
Resurrection of the body," and by consequence the faith of
all that are so weak and careless of their own Salvation, as
to suffer themselves to be led blindfold into such pernicious
and destructive heresies.

Against such kind of heretics the Apostle here argues,
wondering how any can deny the Resurrection of the dead,
now it is so plain and undeniable that Christ was raised
from the dead. " Now if Christ," saith he, " be preached that
He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there
is no Resurrection of the dead?" He looks upon this as
such an invincible argument, that he cannot but admire
how any are able to withstand it ; and so shall we too, if
we do but impartially consider these few things.

For, first, this answers all the reasons that can be alleged
against the possibility of it, for which so many have denied
that the dead shall rise again to life, even because it seemed,
at least to them, altogether impossible, that the soul which
is once separated from the body should be afterwards united
to it again, and that the parts of a body that are separated
from one another, and reduced perhaps into thousands of
atoms, and dispersed in as many various and far distant
places, should notwithstanding come together again, every
one into its proper place, so as to make up the same body
as they did before : but that the soul which is separated
from its body may be united to it again, cannot be now
doubted of, seeing it was actually done in the Resurrection
of Christ. For it is a known principle, that what hath been
done may be done ; but the soul of Christ was reunited to
His body, and therefore souls may be united again to their
bodies, how long soever they have been separated from
them. And if a separate soul or spirit may be united again
to its body, much more may the parts of the same body,
when separated, be again united together, they being all of
the same nature, and having a natural tendency and inclina
tion to the place from whence they came, and being all
under the eye of God, when separated from one another, as
much as when they were all joined together in the same
body. But it is a certain rule, that He who can do the
greater can do the less. And therefore seeing He raised

Christ's Resurrection a Proof of Ours. 379

Christ from the dead, no question can be made but that He
can thus raise us too if He please.

And that He will be pleased to do it, appears also from the
Resurrection of Christ. For as He died, so He rose again,
not in a private but public capacity : not as a single person
only, but as the common head and representative of all
mankind, so that we are said "to be risen with Him." coi.s. i.
Because our nature in general rose in Him, all that partake
of that nature must needs do so too, His Resurrection being
not only a most certain pledge and earnest, but the first-
fruits of ours, as the Apostle here saith, " Now is Christ iCor.is.2o.
risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them
that slept." But as the same Apostle elsewhere saith, " If Rom.ii.io.
the first-fruit be holy, the lump is also holy." And if He
rose as the first-fruits, the whole lump or mass of mankind
must also arise. And therefore the Apostle here adds,
" For since by man came death, by man came also the i Cor. is.
Resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so
in Christ shall all be made alive." That is, all mankind
shall as certainly rise again to life in Christ the second
Adam, as they died in the first ; and all by virtue of His
Resurrection from the dead, which therefore is not only the
pattern and example, but the cause of ours : and such a
cause that it cannot but take effect. But all men that die
shall as certainly rise again, as Christ did so, and because
He did so.

Moreover, from the Resurrection of Christ, we may infal
libly conclude that we shall rise again, because He was Rom. 1.4.
thereby declared to be the Son of God. For God having
declared Him to be His Son by raising Him from the dead,
He thereby attested and confirmed all that Christ had said
or taught ; but He, through the whole course of His minis
try, taught mankind that they should rise again at the last
day. " The hour is coming," saith He, " in the which all ^hn 5- 28>
that are in the graves shall hear His voice, 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 ;" and elsewhere He promiseth those that
come unto Him, " That He will raise them up at the last chap. 6. 40-
day ;" " and that they shall be recompensed at the Resur- Luke 14.14.

380 Christ's Resurrection a Proof of Ours.

LXXH* rection of the Just" An(i wlien tne Sadducees, which de-

nied the Resurrection, propounded a question to Him about
it, which they thought to be unanswerable, He did not only
convince them of their ignorance and error, but demonstrated
to them, out of the writings of Moses himself, that the dead

Luke2o.37, snaU rise again; "Now," saith He, "that the dead are
raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the
Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob ; for He is not a God of the dead, but of the
living ; for all live unto Him." Which argument was so
plain and evident to them, that they had not a word to say
against it. Seeing, therefore, Christ thus effectually taught
and proved that the dead shall rise again, and seeing God,
by raising Him from the dead, declared that He was His
Son, and, by consequence, that whatsoever He had taught
was true, therefore whosoever believeth that Christ was
raised from the dead, must of necessity believe that all shall
be so at the last day.

The same thing appears also from the end of His Resur-

Rom. 14. 9. rection, " for to this end Christ both died and rose and
revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living ;"
" that He might exercise supreme authority arid dominion
over all," as He will at the last day, when, as it there follows,

ver. 10. "we shall stand before the judgment-seat of Christ." Which
we are likewise fully assured of by His Resurrection from

Acts 17 31 ^l16 dead, as we learn from the same Apostle, saying, " That
God hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the
world in righteousness, by that Man whom He hath or
dained, even Jesus Christ; whereof He hath given assurance
unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead."
From whence it is evident, that He was therefore raised
again, that He might judge both the dead and the living,
and that we are thereby also assured by God Himself, that
He will do it ; but that He cannot do, unless the dead be
raised again to life ; for so long as their bodies continue in
the grave, or in a state of separation from their souls, they
are not in being as men, and so riot capable of appearing as
such before Him : and therefore unless the bodies of all men
that ever died should be raised again and their souls re
united to them, so as to be all made alive again as they were

Christ's Resurrection a Proof of Ours. 381

before, Christ would lose the end of His Resurrection, as
well as of all things else He did for mankind ; but there is
no fear of that, God doth nothing in vain, but always attains
the end He aims at in what He doth. Seeing Christ rose
again that He might be the Judge both of quick and dead,
He will most certainly raise up the dead again, and summon
them all together, with such as shall be then living, to
appear before His judgment-seat: or rather He will raise
them up, by His summoning them to come before Him, for l Thess 4
He will summon them by the sound of a trumpet, blown by 16-
an Archangel, so as to be heard all the world over ; and the 1 Cor. is.
trumpet shall no sooner sound, but the dead shall be raised,
and they who are then living shall be changed ; " and then 2 Cor. 5. 10.
we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that
every one may receive the things done in his body, accord
ing to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." And
therefore the Apostle might well say, as he doth in my text,
to the Corinthians, " If Christ be preached that He rose
from the dead, how say some among you that there is no
resurrection of the dead ?"

I hope this cannot be said of any here present, for that
you all believe and are fully persuaded that the dead shall
rise again: but, howsoever, to confirm your faith in this
fundamental article of the Christian religion, waiving all
other arguments that might be produced for it, I have
briefly shewn how necessarily it follows upon the Resurrec
tion of Christ, so that no man can believe that Christ rose
from the dead the third day, but he must of necessity believe
also that all men shall rise again at the last ; wherefore as
ye believe the one, ye must never doubt of the other, but be
fully persuaded in your minds, that as certainly as you shall
ever die, you shall as certainly live again ; that although your
souls shall be separated from your bodies, and continue so
for some time, perhaps for many years, yet at last they shall
return unto them, so that you shall then live again as really
as you are now alive.

And do not trouble your heads about the way and manner
how this great work shall be effected ; as he did whom this
Apostle in this chapter speaks of, saying, " But some man i cor. 15.
will say, How are the dead raised up ? and with what body 35~38*

382 Christ's Resurrection a Proof of Ours.

SERM. do they come?" To whom lie gives this sharp answer,
— " Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except
it die ; and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that
body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat,
or of some other grain ; but God giveth it a body as it hath
pleased Him, and to every seed his own body." Where we
may first observe, that the Apostle calls him "fool" for asking
such a silly question ; " Thou fool," saith he, intimating that
it is a great piece of folly and madness for people to concern
themselves about any thing but what is necessary for them
to know and believe concerning this or any other article of
our Christian faith, but that we should rest contented with
what is plainly revealed. And then we may also observe,
that he acquaints us here with all that is necessary for us to
know in this matter under the similitude of a grain or any
seed sown in the ground, which first rots or dies there, and
then riseth up again, not barely as it was sown, but with a
stalk, an ear, or husk, or what else is proper for it, and God
(for it is still His work) He gives to every seed its own
body ; as if wheat be sown, there comes up wheat, if barley,
there comes up barley again ; so here, when our bodies are
dead and rotted in the earth or sea, or any where else,
Almighty God, when He sees good, causeth them to rise up
again, giving to every man his own body ; that body out of
which his soul departed, shall be raised up again, and the
same soul that departed from it shall be restored and united
again to it ; and so the same man that died shall live again
in the same body in which he died : as our Saviour's body
which rose, was the same that He suffered in upon the cross,
so that they who knew Him before knew Him again after
He was risen, which they could not have done, if His body
had not been of the same proportion, features, and linea
ments which they had before observed in Him. And, to put
it beyond all dispute that it was the same, He shewed them
the prints which the nails had made in His hands and feet,
and which the spear had made in His side, which was the
clearest evidence that could be given, that it was the very
same body that had been nailed to the cross, and out of
which His soul there departed : and as His was, so every
man's body, when it is raised up, shall be the same it was at

Christ's Resurrection a Proof of Ours. 383

the time when he died ; the same that dies shall rise again,
and we shall be the same men or women then that we are
now, and every one may say as Job did long ago, " I know Job 25
that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the 27.
latter day upon the earth : and though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh (this very flesh of mine
which I now have) shall I see God, whom I shall see for
myself, and mine eye (these very eyes), shall behold and not
another : though my reins be consumed within me."

But here we must farther observe, that the Apostle, speak
ing of the Resurrection of the just, saith, " It is sown in ]2c£j' 15>
corruption, it is raised in incorruption ; it is sown in dis
honour, it is raised in glory ; it is sown in weakness, it is
raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a
spiritual body." Though it be still a body, and the very
same body that it was before, as to the substance of it (for
otherwise it would not be properly a resurrection), yet the
qualities of it shall be much altered ; it shall now be an
incorruptible, a glorious, a powerful, a spiritual body : a body
still, but endued with such spiritual qualities, that it shall be
as active, as nimble, as tractable every way, as obedient to
the will and motions of the soul, as if itself also was a spirit ;
for it shall then be raised to the highest degree of purity,
glory, and perfection that matter is capable of, being made
as like as it is possible to the body of Christ Himself, Who,
as this Apostle tells us, " shall change our vile body, that it Phil. 3. 21.
may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to
the working whereby He is able to subdue all things to
Himself." And therefore, as He now doth, so shall " the Matt. 13.43.
righteous then shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father."

Having thus briefly shewn what ground we have to believe
that we shall rise again, in that our Saviour did so, and what
we ought to believe concerning this great fundamental arti
cle of our religion, as it is revealed in God's Holy Word, I
shall just mention some of the great uses that are to be
made of this doctrine. First, therefore, ye may hence learn,
whensoever you remember your Saviour's Resurrection, to
think likewise of your own, and consider that as certainly as
He rose again from the dead, so shall you too ; that although

384 Christ's Resurrection a Proof of Ours.

SERM. your bodies shall return to the earth out of which they were
LXXIL taken, and perhaps lie there in dust for many years together,
yet they shall one day be raised up and quickened, so as to
live again as really as we are now alive ; and that as Christ
therefore rose again that He might be Judge both of quick
and dead, so you shall rise again that you may be judged by
Him, and either advanced to eternal glory, or condemned to
everlasting punishment, according as you have or have not
believed in Him and obeyed Him while you lived upon
the earth, which I heartily wish you would not only believe,
as I hope you all do, in general, but that ye would live with a
constant sense of it upon your minds, so as to be always
thinking with yourselves, that ye hear the trumpet sounding
in your ears, " Arise ye dead, and come to judgment !" for ye
will one day as certainly hear it, as ye are now in this place,
and hear me speak.

From hence we may also see, how much it concerns you
all to take care how ye now live in the body. If ye were to
die like beasts, ye might live like beasts : if ye had no other
world to live in but this, it would be no great matter how ye
lived in it; but seeing that when your souls leave their
bodies, they still live without them, as really as they lived
before in them, and seeing at the last day your bodies also
will be raised again, so that you shall then live in them
again as ye now do, and that too not only for some time,
but to all eternity, either in a state of perfect joy and hap
piness, or else of extreme misery and torment, according as
ye lived here in obedience or disobedience to the Command
ments of God your Maker : if ye firmly believe this as ye
ought to do, you cannot but be sensible how much it behoves
you to endeavour all ye can to live in the true faith and fear
of God whilst you are in this world, that so ye may live
happily in the next, which, blessed be God, ye may all do if
ye will but take care and pains about it, such as a matter of
so great consequence requires; for ye have an Almighty
Saviour, the Only-begotten Son of God, Who having been
[Rom. 4. " delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justifi
cation," is now the propitiation for our sins, and the Author of
eternal Salvation to all them that obey Him, which I therefore
heartily wish you would all do. Strive all ye can to live for

Christ's Resurrection a Proof of Ours. 385

the future in sincere obedience to all that He hath taught
and commanded, and then you will find by your own expe
rience, that He will not only direct and assist you in doing
His will all the while you live in this world, but at the last
day He will raise you up to life everlasting, that ye may live
with Him, His Saints and Angels, in perfect joy and bliss
for ever.

Lastly ; from what ye have now heard, you may learn, what
infinite cause ye have to thank God for the Resurrection of
Jesus Christ, as upon many other accounts, so particularly
for that ye are thereby assured, that your bodies shall not
always lie rotting in the grave, nor be scattered about in dust
and atoms, but that they shall one day be raised to life again ;
and that if ye now fight the good fight, finish your course, 2Tim.4.7,s.
and keep the faith, there is laid up for you a crown of righte
ousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give you
at that day, and not to you only, but to all them that love
His appearing ; " for when He shall appear, we shall be like i John, 3. 2.
Him, for we shall see Him as He is," and ever live with
Him, who liveth with the Father and Holy Ghost, one God
blessed for ever.

c c

SERMON LXXIII.

CHRIST'S RESURRECTION THE CAUSE OF OUR REGENERATION.

1 PET. i. 3.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us
again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead.

SERM. THIS Epistle being written by the Apostle of the eircum-

_ LXXIII. cjsion? it is directed to all that were converted from the
Jewish to the Christian religion, in the Lesser Asia : who

i Pet. 1.2. were elect, as it is here said, " according to the foreknow
ledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit,
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ;"
that is, that they might obey the Gospel, and be sprinkled
with the blood of Christ revealed in it, and so admitted into
the new Covenant, and be made partakers of all the privileges
established in it, here signified by the sprinkling of the blood
of Christ, upon which the Covenant was founded : as when
Moses after the delivery of the Law had ordered oxen to be
sacrificed, he took half of the blood and sprinkled it upon the
altar, and then read the book of the Covenant to the people,
which they promised to obey ; after that he took the rest of

EX. 24. s. the blood, " and sprinkled it upon the people, and said, Behold
the blood of the Covenant, which the Lord hath made with
you concerning all these words." By the sprinkling of the
blood of the sacrifice upon the people, as it was a type of the
blood of Christ (the only true sacrifice for the sins of the
world), God signified to them that they were now in covenant
with Him, and He with them ; that they should accordingly

Christ's Resurrection, Sfc. 387

perform what they had promised on their parts, and that He
would perform what He had promised to them by virtue of
the blood now sprinkled upon them.

And so the Apostle, writing to the Hebrews who believed
and were baptized into Christ, saith, " That they were come Heb. 12.24.
to Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant, and to the blood
of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than the blood of
Abel ; " where the blood of Jesus, as the " Mediator of the
new Covenant," is called " the blood of sprinkling," because
it was sprinkled upon them, so as to wash them from their
sins, and deliver them from the wrath of God ; as the child- EX. 12. 23.
ren of Israel were delivered from the plague wherewith God
smote the Egyptians, by having the sides and door-posts of
their houses sprinkled with the blood of the Paschal Lamb,
typifying that of Christ, the true Passover.

These things I take notice of here, by the way, that ye may
see how it comes to pass, that instead of dipping persons bap
tized, or washing them all over as they used to do in hotter
countries, in cold climates' it hath been all along customary
only to sprinkle the water upon them ; for that being a sign
or symbol of the blood of Christ now, as the blood of the
sacrifices was of old, and the Holy Ghost having been
pleased to signify the application of the blood of Christ by
sprinkling it, as well as by washing with it, it was very
obvious and easy to infer, that it might be represented and
applied by sprinkling as well as any other way, if not in
some sense better: forasmuch as this comes closer up to the
phrase of sprinkling the blood of Christ, so often used in the
Holy Scriptures, and which may seem to be used on pur
pose to prevent the great mistake which some notwith
standing have fallen 'into, that unless persons be dipped or
washed all over with water, they are not rightly baptized :
as if sprinkling the water did not represent the sprinkling
of the blood of Christ as well as dipping in it. But this mistake
is grounded upon another, which was worse, even that the
efficacy of the Sacrament depends upon the quantity of the
water, whereas it depends wholly upon the institution of
Christ, and the promise He hath annexed to it, Who there
fore used a word in the institution, that in the original signi
fies only washing in general with water more or less, and so

388 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. the sprinkling or pouring it upon the person baptized as
— well as dipping him in it : and as in the other Sacrament,
one crumb of the bread represents the body of Christ as well
as the whole loaf; and one drop of the wine His blood, as
well as the whole cup, so here in our present case, one drop
of water is as much as the whole ocean ; and if any one part
is sprinkled, the whole is washed and cleansed by the blood
of Christ, as He Himself also hath taught us ; for washing
His Disciples' feet, and having said to Simon Peter, " If I
John 13. s- wash thee not, thou hast no part in Me," the Apostle saith,
" Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head."
Upon which Jesus said unto him, " He that is washed
needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit;"
whereby He hath sufficiently declared, that unless we be
washed by Him, we have no interest at all in Him ; and that
it is not necessary to wash the whole, but that if any part of
us be washed, our whole man is cleansed by Him, which the
said Apostle to whom those words were spoken intimates
also in this place, in that he expresseth Christ's washing us
from our sins in His Own blood by sprinkling it, which doth
not use to be done upon the whole, but only upon some part,
and yet hath the same effect as if it was upon the whole.

I should not have insisted so much upon this at present,
but that we seldom have such occasion to mention it as the
Apostle here gives, in describing the persons he wrote to, and
to whom he therefore wisheth that grace and peace may be
multiplied ; and then begins his Epistle with praising God for
His infinite mercy to him, to them, and to all His faithful
people in these words : " Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to His abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheri
tance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away,
reserved in Heaven for you."

In which words are several things much to be observed : I
shall touch only upon these following : 1 . That the Saints
of God are begotten again by Him. 2. They are begotten
to a lively hope. 3. This is done by the Resurrection of
Jesus Christ. 4. For this they have great cause to bless
God.

the Cause of our Regeneration. 389

I. First, I say, we may here observe, that the Saints and
servants of the Most High God, such as St. Peter was, are
begotten again of Him ; " Blessed be the God," saith he,
" and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to
His abundant mercy hath begotten us again." But how can
this be ? As Nicodemus said to our Lord, " How can a man John 3. 4.
be born when he is old ? Can he enter a second time into
his mother's womb, and be born ?" But our Saviour resolves
the doubt, saying, " Except a man be born of water and ofver-5-
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." The
original word is of the same signification with that in my
text, there it is yswvfcttg avudev, here avayewtiffag, and may be
equally rendered either begotten or born, the one necessarily
supposing or following upon the other.

How this wonderful work is effected, is past our reach to
apprehend ; we know not how we were formed at first, much
less how we are born again. Only in general we may observe,
that all men that proceed naturally from the first Adam are
conceived and born in sin ; their nature is corrupted and
depraved, so that they are prone of themselves to do evil,
and unable to do any thing that is truly good. But when
a man believes in Christ the second Adam, and so is made [1 Cor. is.
a member of His body, he is quickened and animated by
His Spirit, which being the principle of a new life in him, he
thereby becomes a new creature, another kind of creature
from what he was before, and therefore is properly said to
be born again, " not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor John i. 13.
of the will of man, but of God;" the Spirit by which he is
now actuated and influenced being God Himself, whereby
it comes to pass, that such a man is quite altered from what
he was, he is turned into another man, as Samuel said Saul isam.io.6.
should be, "when the Spirit of the Lord came upon Him."
And all because, as it is said of Caleb, " he hath another Num. 14.24.
Spirit with him." Which being the Spirit of God Himself,
his whole nature is changed; for he now partakes of the 2 Pet. 1.4.
Divine Nature, and is made in his capacity like to God
Himself; and so is quite another thing, another kind of
creature, from what he was before.

This is that which the Apostle means, where he saith, " If 2 Cor. 5.17.
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : old things are

390 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. passed away ; behold all things are become new." His old
- false imaginations, unruly passions, and inordinate desires of
the things of this world are all passed and gone, and instead
of them, he hath a new set of thoughts and affections, a new
sight and sense of God, a new bias upon his mind, so that
he is now as much inclined to virtue, as he was before to
vice, and of a foolish, proud, sinful, and carnal creature, is
become wise, and humble, and holy, and spiritual, and all by
means of the new Spirit that is in him : whereby he is made a
new man, which is as different from the old as that is from a
beast, and more too, forasmuch as both men and beasts are
acted only by something that is finite ; whereas the new man,
or new creature, is acted and governed by the Spirit of God
Himself, which is infinite : and whereas other men are
born only of the flesh, such a one is regenerate, or born
again of the Spirit : and so there is the same difference
between him and them, as there is between Spirit and flesh,
according to that remarkable saying of our Blessed Saviour,

John 3. 6. " That which is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is
born of the Spirit is Spirit." For every thing being of the
same nature with that from whence it proceeds, as they who
are born, as all men by nature are, of the flesh, are carnal
and sensual, so they are carnal and sensual like the flesh
they are born of; so they who are born again, being then
born of the Holy Spirit of God, they are thereby made holy
and spiritual, of the same nature with Him from whom they
receive their new birth.

2. Hence all such are called the sons of God, and are really

Hom. s. u, so ; for as the Apostle observes, " As many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not
received the spirit of bondage again to fear;*but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry ' Abba,'
Father. The Spirit Itself beareth witness with our spirits,
that we are the children of God :" which He may well do,
seeing it is He that makes us so ; for they that have received
the Spirit of adoption have an undeniable title to eternal life,
and it is that which all who are begotten again of God are
born to, and they accordingly hope for it, not with a faint or
dead, but with a quick and lively hope, which puts them
upon doing all things requisite to their obtaining of it. This

the Cause of our Regeneration.

hope they are begotten to, the same Spirit of whom they are

begotten again "witnessing with their spirits that they are Rom.s. ic.

the children of God." And so confirming their hope of it ;

" For if children, then they are heirs ; heirs of God and joint ver. 17.

heirs with Christ." And if heirs, then they have a right " to Col. i. 12.

the inheritance of the Saints in light ;" the richest inheritance

that is in the world, for it consists of all things that are in

the world: "They inherit all things." They not only have Rev. 21. 7.

all things, but have them by the way of an inheritance, as

they are the heirs of Him Whose all things are, and joint

heirs with Him Who is appointed "heir of all things." Heb. i. 2.

This is that which the Apostle here saith the children of

God are begotten and born to, "even to an inheritance i Pet. 1.4.

incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved

in Heaven for you." It is not like the inheritances which

men are born to upon earth, and yet may never have them,

or may afterwards be cheated or deprived of them, and at

the best must one day leave them; but this is reserved in

Heaven, in secure hands, where none can hinder them of it,

nor take it from them, but they are sure to have it and enjoy

it for ever.

This lively hope and glorious inheritance, the Apostle here
saith " they are begotten and born unto by the Resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead." It is only by Him that we
receive any mercy at all from the hands of Almighty God ;
we cannot so much as look up to Him, much less expect any
favour from Him, for any thing that we ourselves or all the
creatures in the world, can do for us, who have so grievously
offended Him : if we do but begin to think of His Divine
Majesty as He is in Himself, we are immediately at a loss
and confounded, our thoughts scatter and ramble we know
not whither, and we can never gather them up and fix them
upon Him, but by apprehending Him as the Father of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who being both of His
Nature and our own, by Him we have access unto the [EPh.2.is.]
Father, and can have it no other way but by Him, as He
Himself saith, "No man cometh unto the Father, but by John i i.e.
Me ;" but by Him, the Only-begotten Son, " Which is in the ch. i. is.
bosom of the Father, and hath declared Him to us." By
Him we can not only raise up our hearts to God, and

392 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. contemplate upon His Divine glory and goodness, but we
— can hope for all the good things that we can desire of Him,
in His Name Who hath merited them all for us by His
death, and is now our Advocate with Him, interceding for
us that we may have them. This is the way, and the only
way, whereby we can seek God so as to find any favour in
His sight ; but by means of this intercession, which His Only-
begotten Son is always making with the Father for those
who believe in Him, we may obtain the greatest of all
blessings from Him, for we may be begotten again of Him,
and made His children and heirs ; and therefore the Apostle
here doth not say, Blessed be God, absolutely, but " Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Because
it is as such only, even as He is the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that He hath begotten us again to a
lively hope by the Resurrection of the said Jesus Christ from
the dead.

For He, having suffered death for our sins, and being
raised again from the dead, was exalted to the right hand of
God, and made the Mediator between Him and us : by
virtue of which Mediation He sends down His Holy Spirit
upon all that believe in Him to regenerate or beget them
again, and make them the children of God : and so it is
John 1. 12. written, " As many as received Him, to them gave He power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on
His Name." He gives them this power by giving them His
Holy Spirit to accomplish this great work in them, that as
He is the Only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His essence
from all eternity, so they who believe in Him may be begot
ten again of God, and so made His children by adoption and
grace, which He could not have done if He had not been
raised from the dead.

3. And as we are thus begotten again of God by the Resur
rection of Jesus Christ, so by that also we are begotten
again to a lively hope ; the Resurrection of Christ being
the firmest ground that could be made whereupon to build
our hopes of God's mercy and favour, forasmuch as we are
hereby fully assured not only of the truth of the Gospel, and
of all that Christ ever taught or promised, but likewise that
He hath made a complete sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction,

the Cause of our Regeneration. 393

as He undertook, for our sins by His death, in that God was
pleased to^raise Him again from the dead, and to set Him
at His Own right hand to make atonement and reconciliation
for us, as our great High-Priest, by virtue of His said sacri
fice ; so that now there is no room left for doubting. " If i Cor. is.
Christ had not been raised, our faith and hope had been in
vain : " but now that Christ " is risen and become the first- ver. 20.
fruits of them that slept," we have now all the reason that
can be to have a quick and lively faith and hope in Him, for
that eternal inheritance which He hath purchased for us
with His blood, and for all things necessary to qualify and
fit us for it : and the more to assure us of it, God Himself
hath here given us His Own word for it, by His Apostle,
saying, " That He of His abundant mercy hath begotten us
again to a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ."
4. Now what infinite cause have we all to bless God for this
unspeakable gift! For, as the Apostle argues, " Behold, i Johns, i,
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that
we should be called the sons of God." Yet this love hath
the Father for all that believe in His Son Jesus Christ, for
they are begotten again of God, and so are made and called
the sons of God, which is such an expression of His love
and kindness, that we could never have thought ourselves
capable of it, nor so much as have thought at all of it, if He
Himself had not revealed it to us. Who could have thought
that such frail and sinful worms as we mortals upon earth
are, should be received into so near a relation to the Al
mighty Governor of the World, as to be called His child
ren? That He Who made us should likewise beget us, and
so become our Father as well as Maker? This is so high
an honour, so great a favour, that when I think of it, I
cannot but wonder with myself that we are not all ambitious
of it, so as to make it our only care and study to attain it ;
for what is there in the world that we can spend our thoughts
and time about to so great profit and advantage to ourselves ?
By your care and pains about the things of this world, you
may perhaps get something in it, and perhaps not, and how
much soever it be, it is nothing at all in comparison of what
the children of God all have : " All things are theirs :" all
things that God hath made, and He Himself too that made

394 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. them. And what can they desire more? There is nothing

T 1T\^T T T

— more for them to desire ; and therefore their minds must-

needs be at rest, and their souls as full as they can hold of
all true joy and comfort.

Who then would not be in the number of these blessed
souls ? Who would not be regenerate, and made a child of
God, if he might ? And who may not, if he will ? Blessed
be God, we are all as yet capable of it, for now that Christ

[Actss.si.] is risen from the dead, arid " exalted at the right hand of
God, to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and
forgiveness of sins," if wre do but apply ourselves to Him,
and believe and trust on Him for it, His Father will be ours
too : He will beget us again in His Own likeness, and admit

[Rom. s. us « into the glorious liberty of His Own children."

Let us, therefore, now resolve by God's assistance to do so,
and for that purpose let us exercise ourselves continually in
the means of grace and Salvation : using them only now and
then will never do the business. But if we constantly and
sincerely perform both our public and private devotions to
Almighty God every day, attentively hear and meditate
upon His Holy Word, and receive the Sacrament of our
Lord's Supper as often as we can have it administered to us,
and in the uses of all these means look up to Christ, and
trust on Him to make them effectual, we may by this means
attain such a true Evangelical faith, whereby wre shall be
united unto Christ, made sound members of His body, and so
partake of His Holy Spirit, to renew and purify us to that
degree, that we may really become the children of the Most
High God, and by consequence live the rest of our days
under His fatherly care and protection, carry ourselves in

[Acts 26. all respects as becomes His children, and at last " receive an
inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith in
Jesus Christ our Lord."

This they who are begotten again may well hope for, for
it is to this hope that they are begotten again by the Resur
rection of Christ from the dead, which therefore was of such
mighty advantage to mankind, that we can never sufficiently
praise God for it. We have infinite cause to praise Him for
His Incarnation, His Birth, His Life and Death; how much
more if it were possible for His Resurrection, without which

the Cause of our Regeneration. 395

the other would have availed us nothing ! Though He took
our flesh, we could not have had His Spirit; though He
was born once, we could not have been born again ; though
He lived upon earth, we could not have lived in Heaven ;
and though He died for our sins, we must have died too,
unless He had risen again, to apply the merits of His Death
to us, and to wash us in the blood which He had shed for
us. Let us now therefore go unto the Altar of God, and
there offer up unto Him the sacrifice of praise and thanks
giving for all the wonderful works that He hath done for
the sons of men, and especially for His raising up Jesus
Christ our Saviour from the dead ; and in the meanwhile let
us all from the bottom of our hearts join with the Apostle
in the words of my text, saying, " Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to
His abundant mercy hath begotten us again to a lively
hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."
To Whom with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, be all
honour and glory now and for ever.

SERMON LXXIV.

CHRIST'S RESURRECTION THE CAUSE OF OUR JUSTIFICATION.

ROM. iv. 25.

Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for
our Justification.

SERM. THE Apostle is here speaking of our Lord and Saviour

— Jesus Christ, and positively asserts two things concerning

Him, much to be observed of all who hope to be saved by

Him. The first is, " That He was delivered for our

Rom. 8.32. offences ;" He was delivered by His Father, " Who spared
not His Own Son, but delivered Him up for us all." He

John 10. is. was delivered by Himself of His Own accord; "No man,"
saith He, " taketh My life from Me, but I lay it down of
Myself." He was delivered both by His Father and Him
self into the hands of the Jews ; they delivered Him to
Pilate the Roman governor ; Pilate having unjustly con
demned Him, delivered Him to the soldiers ; the soldiers,
after many horrid abuses put upon Him, crucified Him
with two notorious malefactors that were justly condemned
and executed for their crimes. Jesus Himself the Eternal
Son of God was thus delivered up to death, even to the
death of the Cross, and that doubtless for some sin too ;

[Rom. 6. for death is the wages only of sin, therefore where there is
no sin there can be no death : but He could not be delivered
for any sin of His Own, for He had none ; and therefore
as the Apostle here saith, " He was delivered for our offences,"
for the sins of mankind, as being of that nature in which
He was so delivered. The malefactors which were crucified
with Him suffered each man for his own sins ; but He

Christ's Resurrection, fyc. 397

suffered for the sins of other men, or rather for the sins of

all men, and fox ours among the rest. This the Prophet

long ago foretold, or rather did not foretell, but spake of it

as a thing already done, because it was as certain to be

done as if it had been done already, and it was looked upon

as done from the beginning of the world, because God then

said it should be. Hence, I say, the Prophet speaking of

Christ, saith, " He was wounded for our transgressions, He isa.53.5,6.

was bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement of our

peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray ; we have turned every

one to his own way ; and the Lord hath laid on Him the

iniquity of us all." This also is the constant language of

the New Testament ; " Christ died for our sins according to i Cor.is.s.

the Scriptures." " He His Ownself bare our sins in His i pet. 2. 24.

Own body." " He suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, ch. 3. is.

that He might bring us to God." " He was made a curse Gal. 3. is.

for us." " He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem Tit. 2. 14.

us from all iniquity." "He was made sin for us," or an2Cor.5.2i.

offering for our sins. "He was the propitiation for ouriJohu2.2.

sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole

world." There are many such places in God's Holy Word,

whereby we are fully assured from Himself that His Son

suffered death for us, that death which He had threatened

against us as sinners, and which we therefore must have

suffered in all our own persons if He had not suffered it in

our stead.

This I mentioned here, because it is necessary to our
right understanding the other thing which the Apostle here
asserts of our blessed Saviour, even that as " He was de
livered for our offences, so He was raised again for our
Justification," which is the thing I chiefly intend, and by
His assistance shall endeavour at this time to explain, but
could not so well have done it, unless I had premised at
least so much concerning His death, upon which our Justi
fication is principally founded. I know that several men
have undertaken to explain this doctrine several ways ; and
although I do not deny but most of them may be brought
at last to meet in the same thing ; yet the way that some go
is so intricate and obscure, and that which others take

398 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. seems at least so remote to the truth itself, that it is no easy
— — matter to bring them together. For my part, in this, as in
all other points, I shall keep close to the doctrine of our
Church, as being fully persuaded that she in this, as in all
other doctrines, delivers to us the true sense of God's
Word, according to the interpretation that Christ's Holy
Catholic Church hath always put upon it, and therefore
hath always taught and preached for this purpose ; there
fore I shall here consider two things :

I. What the Scriptures mean by Justification, and how
we are said to be justified.

II. In what sense Christ is here said to be raised again
for our Justification.

1. To understand the first, it will be first necessary to consider
the term or word itself, which we must know is a judicial
word, a word taken from courts of judicature, where a man
is said to be justified when he is acquitted, or declared to
be just and innocent of the crime or crimes laid to his
charge, and so not liable to the punishments which by the
law are due to such crimes ; and therefore Justification is
properly opposed to condemnation. So we find it often is
in the Holy Scriptures themselves ; as where it is said, if
there be a controversy between men, that they come unto

Deut. 25. i. judgment, that the judges may judge them, then "they
shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked." In
the original it is 37ttnn /"IN ISWim |TH2n n« IjTHSm, 'they
shall make the righteous to be righteous, and they shall
make the wicked to be wicked,' that is, they shall declare
or pronounce them to be so ; and that is their justifying
the one, and condemning the other. Hence the wise man

Prov.i7.i5. saith in the same words, "He that justifieth the wicked,
and he that condemneth the just, even they both are an
abomination to the Lord." Where we see Justification and
condemnation plainly opposed to one another ; so they are

Matt, 12.37. by Christ Himself, saying, " By thy words thou shalt be
justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." To

Rom. s. 33, the same purpose is that of the Apostle, " Who shall lay
any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that jus
tifieth. Who is he that condemneth ?" From whence it is
evident that the Holy Ghost useth this word 'Justification' to

the Cause of our Justification. 399

signify a man's being accounted or declared not guilty of
the faults lie is charged with, but in that respect a just or
righteous person, and that too before some judge, who in
our present case is the Supreme Judge of the world,
Almighty God Himself. When He is pleased to discharge,
or to declare a man free from the crimes that are laid
against him, so as to account him a just or righteous person,
then He is said to justify that man ; and this is plainly the
sense wherein our Church also useth this word in her
Articles, for the title of the eleventh Article is thus, " Of the
Justification of man," but the article itself begins thus, "We
are accounted righteous before God ; " which clearly shews,
that in her sense, to be justified is the same with being
accounted righteous before God ; which I therefore observe
that you may not be mistaken in the sense of the word', as
it is used by the Church, and by the Holy Ghost Himself
in His Holy Scriptures, like those who confound Justification
and Sanctification together, as if they were one and the
same thing : although the Scriptures plainly distinguish
them ; Sanctification being God's act in us, whereby we are
made righteous in ourselves : but Justification is God's act

O

in Himself, whereby we are accounted righteous by Him,
and shall be declared to be so at the judgment of the Great
Day.

But as it is in Job; "How can man be justified withjob. 25. 4.
God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman ?"
How can he that is a sinner be accounted righteous by the
most righteous Judge of the whole world ? This, I confess,
is a mystery which we should never have found out, nor so
much as thought of, but that God Himself hath revealed it
to us in His Own Word, which, as it is the only ground we
have to believe it, so it is the only rule we must go by in
explaining it to you. According to which, I shall endeavour
to give you as clear an account of it as I can, in these
following propositions :

I. No man is by nature righteous in himself; this we are
fully assured of by the Word of God, where we find that
the first man God ever made sinned against Him by eating
of the fruit which God had forbidden him to eat of; and that
all men being then contained in him, all likewise sinned in

400 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. him, and became liable and prone to do so in their own

- persons. He, by eating that forbidden fruit, poisoned his

blood, and corrupted the whole nature of man, insomuch

that all that ever did, or ever shall proceed naturally from

him, are conceived in sin, and brought forth in iniquity, and

therefore afterwards do nothing else by nature but conceive

Rom. 5. 12. mischief and bring forth vanity, " For, as by one man sin

entered into the world, and death by sin ; so death passed

PS. u. s. upon all men, for that all have sinned." " They are all gone

aside, they are altogether become filthy : there is none that

Rom. s. 10. doeth good, no not one." Or as St. Paul renders it, " There

Eccies.7.2o. is none righteous, no not one." " There is not one righteous,

not one just man upon earth that doeth good, and sinneth

i Kings, s. not-" " For there is no man that sinneth not." " And if any

46j h i s man say that he hath no sin, he deceives himself, and the

[Gal. s. 22.] truth is not in him." " For the Law hath concluded all

Rom. 3. 19. unc[er sinj that every mouth may be stopped, and all the

ver. 23. world may become guilty before God." " Because all have

sinned, and come short of the glory of God." And so are

all under the curse which God hath denounced against every

Gal. 3. 10. one " that continueth not in all things which are written in

the Book of the Law to do them." But this no mere man

ever yet did, or ever will do ; and therefore none ever was or

ever can be perfectly righteous in himself, while he is upon

earth.

ch. 3. 22. And as the Scripture thus concludeth " all under sin," so all
Prov. 20. 9. men find it true by their own experience ; for " who can say, I
have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin ? " ]N"o man
except Christ could ever truly say it ; for all that have any
sense of the difference between good and evil, cannot but be
conscious to themselves that they have done evil, more evil
than good, at least not so much good as they might and
ought to have done since they came into the world. If I
should ask all here present, one by one, whether they do not
know themselves to have done something they ought not to
have done, or else not to have done something which they
ought, I dare say every man's conscience would force him
to confess it ; and whether we be sensible of it or no, I am
sure this is the state of all mankind by nature. There never
was a mere man upon the face of the earth free from sin, and

the Cause of our Justification. 401

therefore never any one that was righteous in himself; but
every man, woman, and child, may truly pray with David,
" Enter not into judgment with Thy servant, 0 Lord, for in Ps. 143. 2.
Thy sight shall no man living be justified."

2. No man can of himself do any thing whereby he can
merit or deserve to be accounted righteous before God. This
I lay down as my second proposition, because some have
conceited that though all be by nature sinners, yet some may
do such good works, and perform such obedience to the Law
of God, whereby they may deserve to be accounted righteous
men : this our Church denieth, saying in the aforesaid Article,
we are accounted righteous before God, not for our own
works or deservings ; and it is as contrary to the plain and
express words of Scripture, where it is said once and again,
" By the works of the Law there shall no flesh be justified." Gal. 2. IG;
And I cannot but wonder how such a conceit could ever R
come into any man's head ; for, seeing all men are by nature
sinners, whatsoever any man doth by his own natural strength
must needs be sin. " A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good [Matt. 7.
fruit," a poisoned fountain cannot send out wholesome
streams. As the man is, so are all his actions ; if he be sinful,
so are they : they are not done as God willed and com
manded them to be done ; and therefore, as our Church saith,
" We doubt not but they have the nature of sin." And by Art. 13.
consequence, to say that such a man may be justified by any
thing that he himself doth, is the same in effect as to say a
man may be justified by his sins, or he may be accounted
righteous for his unrighteous deeds, which is next door to a
contradiction ; and suppose a man in doing such works acts
not by his own natural strength, but by the grace of God,
and suppose again he doth never so many good works by it,
what then? he doth no more than what he was bound in
duty to do, how then can he deserve any thing by it? And
how so much, that God should therefore account him a
righteous man, notwithstanding the many evil works that
he is guilty of? And besides, if he did them by the grace of
God, God is not beholden to him, but he is beholden to God
for them ; how then can he merit any thing from God by
them ? Did ever any man pay his debts, by owing more ? or
deserve his creditor should account him no debtor, because

D D

402 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. he runs more upon his score? What a man doth by the

LXXIV

— — grace of God, he is bound to thank God for it ; but he cannot
in reason expect that God should therefore account him a
righteous man, because he hath done one or more righteous
acts by His assistance. Suppose he hath done ten thousand
good works, and suppose that which cannot be truly supposed,
that they are all perfectly good, yet after all the man is still
a sinner, so long as he is guilty of any one sin, as be sure
the best men are of many, for any one sin denominates a
man a sinner : and, so long as such, he cannot be accounted
righteous or justified by any thing that he himself doth, how
James 2. 10. great or how good soever it may seem to be; "For whoso
ever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point,
he is guilty of all ; " and if guilty, the Law condemns him,
as if a man be accused often crimes before a judge, as sup
pose of ten felonious acts, although he be cleared of nine of
them, yet if he be found guilty of any one, he is a felon, and
must bear the punishment of the law. How then can he who
is guilty of any, much less if guilty of all, as the Apostle
speaks, be justified before God? Can a man be guilty and
not guilty at the same time? Condemned and justified?
Be found a sinner, and yet no sinner, but righteous, and
that too in the eyes of God Himself? So absurd and ridi
culous a thing it is for any to imagine, that any man can do
any thing of himself, whereby he can be justified or accounted
righteous before God !

3. Notwithstanding all this, there have been some men in
all ages, and doubtless there are some now, whom God Him
self hath accounted righteous, for we find several in the
Holy Scriptures expressly called so by Himself. He calls
Abel, righteous Abel, Matt, xxiii. 35, Heb. xi. 4 ; so Noah,
Gen. vi. 9 ; Lot. 2 Pet. ii. 7 ; Job, Job i. 1 ; Simeon, Luke
Matt. 1. 19. ii. 25 ; Joseph, to whom the blessed Virgin was espoused, and
Luke23.5o. Joseph of Arimathea, are all declared by God Himself to be
ch. i.e. righteous. Zacharias and Elizabeth were both righteous
before God. Our Blessed Saviour tells His Disciples, that
Matt.i3.i7. many Prophets and righteous men had desired to see those
things which they saw. Thus all along, both in the Old and
New Testament, there is frequent mention made of righte
ous men, men that were righteous in the account and esteem

the Cause of our Justification. 403

of God Himself. Otherwise He Himself, be sure, would never
have called them so.

But how can these things be ? " Shall not the Judge of Gen. 18.25.
all the earth do right?" Hath not He Himself said, " He Prov.i7.i5.
that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just,
even they both are abomination unto the Lord ?" How then
doth He do that Himself which He abominates in others ?
These which He calls righteous were all the children of
Adam ; they were all men, wricked and sinful men in them
selves, guilty of original and guilty of many actual sins. How
then can He justify them, account and declare them to be
righteous ? to be such as He Himself knew they were not
in themselves? This is the great mystery to be now un
folded, for which end we must lay down this as our next
proposition.

4. Whosoever, therefore, are thus accounted righteous by
God, must be so accounted from some other righteousness
than their own in themselves ; for it is plain, as I have shewn,
that no man hath any righteousness of his own in himself,
whereby he can be truly accounted righteous ; and it is as
plain that God Himself accounts some men righteous, from
whence one of these two things must of necessity follow :
either, first, that God passeth a wrong judgment upon some
men, by accounting them righteous when they really are not
so, which to say is downright blasphemy ; or else, in the
second place, that there is some other righteousness in the
world which men may be so interested in, as to be truly
accounted righteous by it, although they have none in them
selves whereby they can ever be so. And seeing the first
cannot without manifest absurdity, this other consequence
from the aforesaid premises must of necessity be granted ;
and then the whole mystery of our Justification will lie plain
and easy before us. For although, as the Apostle saith,

" God justifieth the ungodly," yet if those wrho are ungodly R0m. 4. 5.
in themselves can any other way procure to themselves true
and perfect righteousness, God may justly account and
declare them righteous for that, though not for any thing in
themselves.

5. This other righteousness which men are capable of
obtaining to themselves, whereby to be accounted righteous

404 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. before God, is the righteousness of Christ. All the wit of
LXXIV- man could never find out any other, neither could this be
ever found out but only by Divine Revelation ; whereby we
are fully assured that God Himself, of His infinite wisdom
and goodness, hath made this way, whereby we may be jus
tified before Him, notwithstanding that we are not perfectly
just and righteous in ourselves, or by any thing that we our
selves can do. But to make this as clear and manifest as I
can, it will be necessary to proceed gradually; for which end,
therefore, we may observe,

1 . Jesus Christ was perfectly righteous in Himself. This
isa.53.n; none can doubt of that read and believe God's holy Word,
Uohn2.i. wjiere jje js Often called righteous; which He could never

have been, if He had not been so in Himself, there being no
other righteousness which He could possibly have but His

i Pet. 2. 22. Own. And besides it is expressly said, that " He did no sin,

Uohns.s. neither was guile found in His mouth;" and that " in Him
is no sin ; " and if there was no sin, there could be nothing-
else but righteousness in Him. But I need not insist upon

Johns. 46. this, seeing no man could ever convince Him of sin. And
therefore all must acknowledge Him to be altogether righte
ous. I shall only add, that He was thus perfectly righteous
and obedient, not only through the whole course of His life,

Phil. 2. s. but " unto death itself, even the death of the Cross."

2. This righteousness of Christ was the righteousness not
only of man, but God Himself; for, He being both God and
man in one person, whatsoever He did being done by a Divine
person, must needs be a Divine act, the act of God. And
therefore His righteousness is all along in Scripture called
the " righteousness of God." As where St. Paul speaking

Rom. i. 17. of the Gospel, saith, that, " therein is the righteousness of God
ch. 3.21, 22. revealed." And afterwards he saith, " But now the righte
ousness of God without the Law is manifested, being wit
nessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness
of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all." And
ch. 10. 3, 4. again, " For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and
going about to establish their own righteousness, have not
submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For
Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness." Where he
doth not only call the righteousness of Christ the end, or full

the Cause of our Justification. 405

accomplishment of the Law, but he calls it the righteousness
of God, and opposeth it to a man's own righteousness. And
so he doth too where He desires to be found not having His
own righteousness, but " the righteousness which is of God." Phil. a. 9.
And this is that which Christ Himself would have us seek
before all things, because without this all things else will
stand us in no stead, saying, " Seek ye first the kingdom of Matt. 6. 33.
God, and His righteousness:" His, not our own; but His
so as to get it to be our own. And as all the righteousness
which Christ performed in His life was the righteousness of
God, so was that too which He performed in obedience to
the Divine will at His death. His life was the life of God>
and His death was the death of God. So saith His beloved
Apostle, " Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He iJohns.io.
laid down His life for us." Hence the blood He then shed
is called "the blood of God :" because, although He laid Acts 20. 28.
down the life and shed the blood only of His human nature,
yet that nature being at the same time united to His Divine
Person, the life He laid down, and the blood He shed, was
the life and the blood of God Himself, which I therefore
observe here, because the main stress of our Justification lies
upon it, as we shall see more presently. But for that pur
pose we must farther observe, that,

3. All the righteousness that Christ performed upon
earth, whether in His life or at His death, was wholly and
solely for us, and upon our account, in whose nature He per
formed it ; for, seeing it was only for us that He took our
flesh upon Him, whatsoever He did in it must needs be for
us only. He Himself had no occasion or need of it for Him
self, but only as He had undertaken to be our Redeemer and
Saviour, and so with respect to us and our Salvation. He
as God was not bound to submit to those Laws which He
had made, not for Himself, but for men to observe ; and as
man, although " it became Him to fulfil all righteousness," [Matt. 3.
and perform perfect obedience to the whole Law as He did,
yet He was not bound to perform Divine obedience, such as
His was, the obedience of a Divine Person to laws made
only for men, which were not capable, and therefore could
not be obliged to perform such obedience to them as that
was ; so that the obedience of His whole life was more than

406

Christ's Resurrection

SERM.

LXXIV.

1 Serai, of
Sal vat.
[p. 28. Ed.
Oxon.
1882.]

1 Cor. 1.30,

2 Cor. 5. 21,

Jer. 23. 6.
[2 Pet. 1.
21.]
Isa. 54. 17.

ch.45.24.
Ps. 24. 4, 5

Ps. 4. 1.

R.om.4.6-8.

was or could be required of mere men : and so was the last
act of it, His obedience unto death, even the death of the
Cross ; for though all the men in the world had died eter
nally, that could have been no more than the death of so
many finite persons, whereas His was the death of a person
that was infinite, and so was of infinite worth and value for
all those for whom He suffered it, as was likewise all He did
through the whole course of His life ; by which means He
really merited pardon, righteousness, and Salvation for us,
for whose sake only He did whatsoever He did in our flesh,
which He took upon Him only for that purpose. This is
the true ground or reason of all His merits, or of His merit
ing so much as He hath done for us, because He did more
than we were bound to do for ourselves, and He did it all for
us ; He was born for us, He lived for us, and He died for
us ; so that, as our Church expresseth it in her Homilies,
Christ is now the righteousness of all them that truly believe
in Him ; He for them paid their ransom by His death, He
for them fulfilled the Law in His life.

Hence He is said " to be made of God to us wisdom and
righteousness," " and He hath made Him to be sin, or a sin-
oifering, for us, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him;" "in Him," that is, by virtue of that
righteousness which is in Him, arid therefore He is called
" the Lord our Righteousness." And He Himself, whose
Spirit, as St. Peter saith, was in the Prophets, saith by His
Prophet Isaiah, " This is the heritage of the servants of the
Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord/' So
that one may surely say, " In the Lord have I righteousness
and strength." " For he that hath clean hands and a pure
heart shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righte
ousness from the God of his Salvation ;" that is, from God
his Saviour, whom David therefore calls, " the God of my
righteousness." And the same royal Prophet, as St. Paul
saith, described! the blessedness of the man unto whom God
imputeth righteousness without works, saying, " Blessed are
they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."
For where He imputes no sin, He imputes righteousness, as
the Apostle here argues. But there is no other righteous-

the Cause of our Justification. 407

ness that can be imputed to us, but the righteousness of
Christ, that which He hath merited for us. And therefore
it is by this, and this only, that we can be justified or accounted
righteous ; as our Church hath declared in the Article of
Justification, saying, "We are accounted righteous before Article n.
God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ."

4. Although it is sufficient for all, and all are capable of it,
yet none have this righteousness of Christ actually reckoned
or imputed to them, except they truly believe in Him ; but
all that do so are justified or accounted righteous by it, faith
being the means, or true instrument as it were, whereby we
lay hold on it, and apply it to ourselves for that purpose, as
appears from the Word of God Himself, where it is plainly
asserted, that " Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness Rom. 10. 4.
to every one that believeth :" that " with the heart man be- ver. 10.
lieveth unto righteousness :" that " God hath set forth Christ ch.3.25,26.
to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through
the forbearance of God ; to declare, I say, His righteous
ness ; that He might be just, and the Justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus :" " Therefore we conclude that a man is ver. 28.
justified by faith without the deeds of the Law ;" " knowing Gal. 2. 16.
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;"
" for by Him all that believe are justified from all things, Acts is. 39.
from which they could not be justified by the Law of Moses."
But it would be endless to reckon up all the places where
God hath been pleased to reveal this to us; I shall only add
one or two more. St. Paul, discoursing of the Gentiles and
Jews, saith, " What shall we say then ? That the Gentiles, Rom. 9. so-
which followed not after righteousness, have attained to
righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But
Israel, which followed after the Law of righteousness, hath
not attained to the Law of righteousness. Wherefore ? Be
cause they sought it not by faith. For they stumbled at that
stumbling-stone." Where we may observe, not only that no
man can ever attain to righteousness any other way but
only by faith, and that it is therefore called the righteousness

408 Christ's Resurrection

but we maJ observe likewise from hence, that this
doctrine was a great stumbling-block to the Jews, and so it
is to some Christians at this day. Men would very fain find
something in themselves whereby they might be accounted
righteous before God, and are very loth to be beholden to
another, no, not to Christ Himself for it ; but let them find
another way if they can. For my part, I desire to say with

Phil. ss. 9. St. Paul, " I count all things but loss for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, and that I may be
found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is
of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith." And this I am
sure is the doctrine of our Church, delivered in the Article
above-mentioned in these words, " We are accounted righte
ous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or de-
servings."

But to understand this more fully, it will be necessary to
consider what is here meant by faith, or believing in Christ ;
and then what hand it hath in our Justification, or in what
sense we are said to be justified by it. As for the first, I
know that several men have given several definitions of faith,
of that faith which we speak of in this place, that whereby
we are said to be justified and saved. I shall not trouble
you with the private opinions of other men, much less with
my own, if I had any about it ; but shall give you the sense
of our Church arid of the Holy Scripture itself concerning it.
Our Church, therefore, in the first part of the Homily or ser-

[p.as.Ed. mon of faith, speaking of a quick and lively faith, such as
the Gospel requires, in order to our Justification, saith, that
this is not only the common belief of the Articles of our faith,
but it is also a true trust and confidence of the mercy of God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, and a stedfast hope of all
good things to be received at God's hand ; where, as in
several other places of her Homilies, she plainly m ;kes the
object of our faith to be all the good things that God hath
promised in Christ, and the act itself to be a true trust and
confidence of God's mercy through Him, for the perform
ance of all those promises ; and that this is the proper sense
of the word, as it is used by the Holy Ghost in Scripture,

the Cause of our Justification. 409

appears from the description which He Himself hath given
of it, where He saith, "Faith is the substance of things Heb. 11. i.
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." It is " the sub
stance of things hoped for ;" that is, whereas God hath been
pleased to promise to mankind in His Son Jesus Christ all
the good things we can desire and hope for, according to the
same promise to make us happy ; faith is so true a trust and
confidence in Christ for those things so promised, that it is
the very substance of them, it causeth them in a manner to
subsist in us, and puts us into the actual possession of them,
so that by believing, or as it is expressed in the same chap
ter, embracing the said promises, we enjoy the full benefit
of them, and have them really fulfilled to us : and it is " the
evidence of things not seen ;" that is, whereas God hath
revealed many things to us in His Holy Word, which we do
not as yet see by the eye either of sense or reason ; yet hav
ing God's Word for them, we are as fully persuaded of them,
and they seem as evident and certain to us, as if we saw
them plainly before our eyes.

Now, according to this the true notion of faith described
by the Holy Ghost Himself, as we hope for pardon and jus
tification from Christ, according to the promises which God
hath made us in Him, upon our believing in Him for it, we
are accordingly pardoned and justified by Him, because we
are thereby actually stated in Him and made partakers of
Him, and of all that He hath merited for that purpose ; as
the Apostle saith, " We are made partakers of Christ, if we ch. 3. u.
hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end."
So that if we continue stedfastly to believe in Christ, we are
thereby partakers of Him ; and if of Him, then be sure of
all that is in Him, as He is our Mediator and Redeemer.
Hence they who truly believe in Him are said to be " one John 17. 21.
with Him;" "to be joined to Him;" "to be in Him ; " i Cor.6. 17.
" to dwell in Him;" "to abide in Him;" "as a branch Rom.'fe!?!
abideth in the vine," " and a member in the body ; for He J*]1^;^ \3
is the Head of the body the Church ;" " and believers are all ch. 3. 6.

. Jolml5.4-6.

members, every one in particular; " yea, they are mem- col. i.is.
bers of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones ;" " and so E^'i?^.'
are united and joined to Him as a wife is to her husband." ™r- 23> 31»
This is that mystical union that is betwixt Christ and His

410 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. Church, betwixt Christ and all that truly believe in Him ;
- by their believing in Him they are thus united to Him, and
by virtue of this their union to Him, they partake of all His
merits : as a branch partakes of the sap and juice that is in
the stock, as a member partakes of the spirit that is in the
head, and as a wife partakes of all the honours, estate, and
privileges of her husband, so dotli a believer partake of all
the merits of Christ, by reason of his being joined to Him,
Gai. 2. 20. and abiding always in Him. He was crucified with Him,
Col. 3.1. and he rose again with Him. He was in Him and with
Him in all He did or suffered, and so he in Him satisfied
God's justice for his sins, he in Him fulfilled all righteous
ness, and therefore he in Him may justly be accounted
righteous before God Himself. He cannot but be so, upon
Rom. s. i. that very account, because he is in Christ. " For there is no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." And if
they be not condemned, they must needs be justified, and if
they be justified, or accounted righteous before God, it must
be by that righteousness which they have in Him, in
whom they are, for they have no other which may truly be
accounted so ; but in Him they have most absolute and per
fect righteousness, because His was so; and being His in
whom they are by their believing in Him, it is reckoned
theirs too as effectually, to all intents and purposes, as if it
had been performed in their own persons.

By this, therefore, we may clearly see into the manner of
our Justification by faith in Christ ; for it is not, as some
have fondly imagined, as if we could be wise by another's
wisdom, or healthful by another's health, which we are no
way concerned or interested in. For we are accounted
righteous by the righteousness of Christ, not as it is in Him,
and so another's, but as it is our own in Him. We, upon our
believing on Him, having by virtue of God's Word and pro
mise an absolute right and title to it, so that He is called,
[Jer.2?. 6.] as 1 shewed before, " The Lord our Righteousness :" and as
2 Cor. s. 21. He was the righteousness of God in Himself, we are "the
iCjr.i.30. righteousness of God in Him :" and He was "made right
eousness to us." And if it was made to us, then it is ours.
To this purpose that passage of St. Paul before quoted is
PM1. 3. 9. very remarkable, where he desires to " be found in Christ,

the Cause of our Justification. 411

not having his own righteousness which is of the Law, but
that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith." Where we may observe two
things : first, that he desires to be found in Christ, the only
way, as I have shewn, to have righteousness or any thing
else in Him ; secondly, that he speaks here of a twofold
righteousness, one his own in himself, and to distinguish it
from the other, he calls it his own, which is after the Law:
this he disclaims, and desires to have the other which is after
the Gospel, the "righteousness of God by faith." This he
desires to have, that this also might be his own, though not
in himself, as the other was, yet his own in Christ. And if
he had it, as be sure he had, it must needs be his own, other
wise he could not be said to have it. And seeing they who
believe in Christ are thus vested in His righteousness, so as
to have it for their own, they may well be justified or ac
counted righteous by it, which otherwise they could not be.
For, as no man hath any righteousness in himself which can
bear God's test, and be truly esteemed so in his account and
judgment, so no man can be accounted righteous by any
righteousness but his own. If it be not his own, he hath
nothing to do with it, and therefore cannot be righteous by
it; and if he be not righteous, he cannot justly be accounted
so. And that is the reason why, notwithstanding all the
righteousness that is in Christ, they who do not believe in
Him cannot be justified by Him, because, not being united
to Him by faith, they have no interest in Him, or His right
eousness. Though it be in Him, it is not theirs in Him, and
therefore they cannot be esteemed righteous by it, no more
than as if there was none at all in Him ; whereas they who
by their believing in Him are possessed of Christ's righteous
ness as their own in Him, they may truly plead it at God's
judgment-seat, and need not fear but they shall be justified
by it, according to the tenure of the New Covenant. But so
that they who are thus accepted in the beloved must ascribe Eph. i.e.
it to the infinite goodness and free grace of God, who might
justly, if He had pleased, according to the first Covenant,
have exacted perfect righteousness and obedience from them,
performed by every one in his own person, or for want of
that have condemned them to everlasting punishment.

412 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. Bat here we must observe, that all who, being- thus in

LXXIV

- Christ, are justified by His merit, they are also sanctified by

Rom. s. i. the Spirit that is in Him. As there is " no condemnation
to them that are in Jesus Christ, so they walk not after the

2 Cor. 5. 17. flesh, but after the Spirit." And " If any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature : " therefore a new creature because in
Him, Who is made to us wisdom and sanctification, as well as
righteousness and redemption ; and all that are of Him par
take of all that is in Him ; of His wisdom, to make them
wise, and His grace to make them holy in themselves, as
well as of His righteousness and merit to justify them before
God ; and seeing it is by believing that we are thus inter
ested in Him, therefore we are said to be sanctified as well

Acts 26. is. as justified by faith ; for Christ Himself said, that " They
may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them
which are sanctified by faith that is in Me." And St. Paul

Gal. c. 6. tells us, that " True faith works by love ; " but " Love is
' fulfilling of the whole Law." And therefore, whosoever hath
true faith, he must needs do good works, all manner of good
works that he is capable of doing; otherwise he maybe con
fident that he doth not believe as he ought in Christ, that
his faith is not that true and lively faith that will bear a man
out at God's judgment-seat; for, as our Church hath rightly

Art. 12. declared, " Good works do spring out necessarily of a true
and lively faith ; insomuch that by them a lively faith may
be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit."

And this is that which St. James means, where he treats upon
this subject, wherein some have thought that he contradicts
St. Paul, but that is a great mistake, for St. Paul saith, that

Rom. s. 28. " We are justified by faith without the deeds of the Law."
St. James doth not say that we are justified by the works of

James2. 24. the Law without faith, he only saith, that "A man is justified
by works, and not by faith only ;" where He plainly asserts
our Justification by faith, and only denies that we are justified
by faith only, or by such a faith as is alone, without good
works. It is of such a faith he speaks all along in that chap-

ver. 17,26. ter, saying, that " Faith without works is dead, being alone."

ver. 21, 22. And, that Abraham " had works as well as faith : that faith
wrought with his works, and by works his faith was made
perfect;" but that he was justified only by his faith, and

the Cause of our Justification. 413

the Scripture, saith he, was fulfilled, which saith, "Abraham James2.23.
believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness."
And this is that which St. Paul saith, and the Holy Scrip
tures confirm all along, as \ve have shewn, even that we are
justified only by faith, but we are justified only by such a
faith as produceth good works : so that no man is accounted
righteous by his faith in Christ, unless it be such a faith
whereby he is likewise made sincerely righteous in himself.
Though, after all, it is not for his own righteousness in him
self, or his own good works, that he is or can be accounted
righteous before God, but only by the righteousness which
he hath in Christ, there being no other that is truly and per
fectly so in God's account. And therefore we may conclude
this with the words of our Church, whereby she hath deter
mined the whole matter in few terms, saying, that * Justify- Sermon i.
ing faith doth not shut out repentance, hope, love, dread, tion,[p?27.]
and the fear of God, to be joined with faith in every man
that is justified, but it shutteth them out from the office of
justifying.'

All that I have hitherto discoursed upon this subject, will
receive great light from comparing the several states of man
kind, by nature and by grace, together. Let us therefore
take a short view of each of them. At first, we know, God
made only one man, Adam ; but He made him so, that all
men that were ever to be in the world, should by successive
generation proceed from him, and therefore were all then in
him. But soon after Adam was made, before any one as yet
proceeded from him, God having planted a garden, gave
him liberty to eat of any fruit in it, except one tree, and if he
ate of that, He told him plainly " that he should surely die." Gen. 2. 16,
Adam notwithstanding ate of the fruit of that tree, and so 17>
sinned against God, and made himself subject to the death
which God had threatened, and therefore could not in justice
but inflict upon him; and all mankind being then in him,
all sinned in him, all were corrupted with sin, and made
obnoxious to death by it. Upon which our most gracious
Creator was pleased of His infinite grace and goodness to
raise up another Adam, His Only-begotten Son, to take the
nature of man upon Him, as fully and wholly as it was in
the first Adam, Who therefore sanctified the nature of man

414 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. again by assuming; it into His Own Divine Person, and in it

LXXIV

- performed perfect obedience to the whole Law of God, and
in it also suffered the death which God had threatened, and
so satisfied His justice, which required the fulfilling of His
Word. Now, that particular human persons might receive
the benefit of what He thus did and suffered in their nature,
He was pleased so to order it, that as all men proceed from
Adam by natural generation, so all who would believe in
Him the second Adam should be regenerate and born again

John 1. 12 ; of Him by that Holy Spirit which proceedeth from Him ;

3' 5* and so should be looked upon as really in Him as they were

in the first Adam, their nature in general being equally in
both. Hence, therefore, all who truly believe in Him, as they
incurred death in the first Adam, they suffered it in the
second ; as they were corrupted in the one, they are sanc
tified in the other, and as Adam's sin, so Christ's righteous
ness is imputed to them ; it is reckoned theirs to all effects as
much as if it had been performed in their own person, as it
was in their nature united to a Divine Person, and so they
are justified by the second Adam the same way as they were
condemned in the first, and made righteous by the one, as
they were sinners by the other ; as we are taught by the in
fallible Spirit of God Himself, saying by His Apostle :

Rom. 5. is, " Therefore, as by the offence of one, judgment came upon
all men to condemnation ; even so by the righteousness of
one, the free gift came upon all men unto Justification of
life. For as by one man's disobedience many wrere made
sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made
righteous." Which, I think, makes this whole doctrine as
plain and certain as words can make it; and therefore we
need not insist any longer upon the explication of it.

2. But I must not forget what I promised to shew, in the
last place, even in what sense or wherefore Christ is said to
be raised again for our Justification. W hich may be soon dis
patched, for Christ having in our nature been obedient, even
unto death itself, and so fulfilled the Law, and satisfied the
justice of God for us, it was necessary for our Justification
that He should still continue to apply His merits to us for
that purpose, which He could not have done, if He had not

iieb. 9. 24. risen again, and gone up to Heaven, there as our Advocate

the Cause of our Justification. 415

to appear in the presence of God for us. And therefore
St. Paul lays the main stress of our Justification upon this
saying, " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Rom. s. 33,
elect ? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that conderaneth ?
It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is
even at the right hand of God, who also inaketh intercession
for us." "Yea rather, that is risen again:" implying, that
all which lie had done and suffered in our nature, would
have stood us in no stead, if He had not risen again, and
ascended to Heaven to make intercession, by the virtue of
what He had so done and suffered for us; without which,
notwithstanding all that He hath merited for us, no man
could ever have been justified or saved by Him : for, as the
Apostle saith, " He is therefore able to save them to the Heb. 7. 25.
uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever
liveth to make intercession for them." And therefore it
may well be said, that, " As He was delivered for our
offences, He was raised again for our Justification."

Now from this doctrine, thus briefly explained, we may
easily observe, that it is so far from encouraging men in vice
and wickedness, as some have ridiculously imagined, that it
is the greatest encouragement in the world to virtue and good
works. No man in his right wits can be emboldened by this
to continue in his sin, or in the neglect of his duty to God,
seeing that although he can be justified only by his faith in
Christ, yet he cannot be justified by any faith, but that
whereby he is sanctified also at the same time; though he
can be accounted righteous before God only by the right
eousness which he hath in Christ, yet he can never be ac
counted so in Him, unless he be made sincerely righteous in
himself: for He is not in him, if He was, he could not but
be a new and holy creature : and all that are not so may be [2 Cor. 5.
confident they do not believe in Christ aright. Whatsoever
they may fancy, their faith is nought, it is not a quick and
lively, but a dead and rotten faith, or rather it is not faith at
all, such as the Gospel requires ; and so they will find at the
Last Day, " when all men shall be judged according to their Matt.25.34,
works," as the Judge Himself hath foretold us. They who
have not fed the hungry, nor clothed the naked, they who
have lived all along in sin, and neglected their duty to God

416 Christ's Resurrection

SERM. and their neighbour, they shall be condemned as criminals,
- as having lived in the continual breach of God's Laws, which
they could not have done if they had truly believed in Christ;
but they who exercise themselves continually in good works,
in works of piety, justice, and charity, they shall be justified,
though not for their works, yet by their faith in Christ,
which will be itself justified and demonstrated to have been
true and right, in that it produced such works.

But why do I speak of that ? This doctrine is so far from
encouraging men in sin, that it is the strongest motive and
the greatest encouragement wre can have to do good. We
cannot but be all sensible of our own natural weakness, that

f2 Cor 2 " we are n°t sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as

50 of ourselves," and therefore, if we look no farther than our

selves, we may justly despair of ever doing any one good work.

[ch. 12. 9.] OUF onty support and comfort is, " that the grace of Christ
is sufficient for us," that in Him we have both righteousness

Phil 4. 13. and strength ; such strength that " we can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth us." But although we
can do all things by Him, yet seeing it is we that do it,
we corrupt and frail creatures, we cannot but be conscious
to ourselves, that notwithstanding His assistance, we can do
nothing as we ought, nothing so exactly as the Law requires ;
but do what we can, we still come short of it, both in not
doing so much good as we might, and in doing nothing so

[PS. 130.3.] well as we should. So that, should "God be extreme to
mark what we do amiss," He may justly condemn us for
something that is amiss in the best action we ever did. But
why then should we trouble our heads about doing good,
when after all we can do nothing that is truly so ; but when
we have done all we can, we are still but where we were,
guilty, and obnoxious to the judgment of God ? For my own
part, could I have no other righteousness but my own, no
other but what I could attain to in myself, I should never
think it worth my while to look after any at all, for I am
sure I could never attain it. But when we consider, that
although we cannot have any in ourselves, yet we may have
perfect righteousness in Christ our Saviour ; and if we sin
cerely endeavour to be as righteous as we can, and believe
in Him for it, He will make up the defects of ours with His

the Cause of our Justification. 417

righteousness, so that all we do shall be acceptable to God i Pet. 2. 5.
through Him ; and we ourselves also accounted righteous in
Him, before the Judge of the whole world ; this must needs
inspire us with holy desires, and make us " steadfast, un- i Cor. is.
moveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, as 58
knowing that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord."

Wherefore let us now resolve to take this course, seeing
the Eternal Son of God is become our Saviour, our all-
sufficient, our Almighty Saviour ; seeing He was delivered
for our offences, and raised again for our justification, let us
make it our constant care and study to offend God no more,
but to walk in all His Commandments and in all His Ordi- [Luke I.G.]
nances, to the utmost of our power, blameless : but when we
have done all we can, let us believe and trust only in our
ever blessed Saviour both for the pardon of our sins, and
for God's acceptance of us as righteous in Him, and then
we need not fear, for being justified by faith, we shall have
peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord : to Whom
with the Father and Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory,
now and for ever.

E E

SERMON LXXV.

CHRIST'S RESURRECTION AN OBJECT OF GREAT JOY.
AN EASTER SERMON.

PSALM cxviii. 24.

This is the Day which the Lord hath made ; we will rejoice
and be glad in it.

SERM. THIS is one of the proper Psalms appointed for this day,
LXXV- — and it is as proper for it, as if it was made on purpose to
be said or sung at the commemoration of our Saviour's
rising from the dead ; for as the whole Psalm, in the opinion
also of the Jews themselves, hath respect to the Messiah
or Christ, this part of it points directly at His Resurrection,

Ps.iis.22.it being here said, "The stone which the builders refused,
is become the head of the corner." For, that the stone here
spoken of is Christ, we cannot doubt, seeing He Himself

Matt.2i. 42; applies this place of Scripture to Himself: and how it is

Luke io'.i?! to be understood, we learn from His Apostle St. Peter, who
having told the rulers and elders of Israel, that the larne
man who stood before them was made whole by the Name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom they had crucified, and
Whom God had raised from the dead, he immediately adds,

Acts 4. 11. " This is the Stone which was set at nought by you builders,
which is become the head of the corner." From whence
it appears, that the builders which set at nought this stone,
were the rulers and elders of Israel who rejected Christ, so
as to put Him to death, but that He being now raised
from the dead, was made the head of the corner, exalted

Matt.28.i8. above them and all things else ; all power in Heaven and

Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy. 419

earth being given to Him, upon His Resurrection from the
dead.

" This," saith the royal Prophet, " is the Lord's doing, PS. us. 23.
and it is marvellous in our eyes." He speaks, as the
Prophets used to do in the like cases, of what was to be
done afterwards, as if it was then done, and ascribes it
wholly to the Lord ; it was in a peculiar manner His act,
and such an act, that although we should always have it
in our eye, we can never look upon it without wonder and
amazement.

And then it follows in my text, " This is the day which
the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it."
This day, whereon the stone which the builders refused was
made the head of the corner : this day, whereon Jesus
Christ, Who was crucified by the Jews, was raised again by
the power of God, and made the head of the Church and of
all the world too ; " This is the day which the Lord hath
made," which He hath made famous and renowned above
all other days, by the extraordinary power and goodness
which He then manifested to the sons of men, who have
therefore infinite cause to rejoice and be glad upon this
day.

And we could not choose but do so, if we did but rightly
apprehend and duly consider the many and great benefits
which we receive from our Saviour's Resurrection ; which
are so many, that it is impossible to reckon them all up ;
and as impossible fully to describe the greatness of any one
of them : and therefore I shall not offer at that ; but only
endeavour to give you what light I can into some few of
them, which may of themselves be sufficient to raise up our
hearts to the highest pitch of joy and gladness upon this
day whereon we celebrate the memory of it.

First, therefore, by our Saviour's Resurrection we are fully
assured that He is the Son of God ; for God Himself hath
told us this by His Apostle, who, speaking of Jesus Christ our
Saviour, saith, "That He was made of the seed of David Rom. i .3,4.
according to the flesh ; and declared to be the Son of God
with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the Resur
rection from the dead : " where lie gives us a plain descrip
tion of the person of Jesus Christ, both as to His human

420 Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy.

SERM. and Divine nature. According to the first, He was of the
T Y^irv

— — seed of David, according to the other He was the Son of

God, and declared to be so with power, by His Resurrection
from the dead ; the Son of God, in that sense wherein He
Himself had often said He was, Who called Himself " the
Only-begotten Son of God," and affirmed that God was His
Father, and He the Son of God, in such terms that the
Jews judged Him to be guilty of blasphemy, and condemned
Him to death for it, which they could not have done if
they had not understood Him so as that, according to the
common meaning of that phrase in those days, by calling

Johns, is-, Himself the Son of God, He made Himself God, and equal
with God, as they said He did. And so verily He did, in

ver. so. plain terms, when He said, " I and My Father are one;"
not one person, but as the original word imports, one
thing, one being, of one essence, which was declared or
manifested to be true, by His rising from the dead ; for if
this or any thing else that He said had not been perfectly
true, He would have been guilty of sin, as other men are,
and so obnoxious to the death which God hath threatened
against all sinners, who shall never rise again so as to die
no more till the Last Day ; and therefore His Resurrection
from the dead so soon after He died was as clear a testi
mony as could be given, that God approved and confirmed
all that He had said, and particularly that He was indeed,
as He had said, the Son of God, of one essence or substance
with the Father.

The same appears also from the power by which He

ch. 2. 19. rose ; for He rose by His Own power. " Destroy this
temple," saith He, " and in three days I will raise it up."

ch. 10. is. « I have power to lay clown My life, and I have power to
take it again." Which could not be any other than the
power of God, and therefore He Who had it in Himself
must needs be God ; for if He had been a mere man, and
not God too in the same person, howsoever He had been
raised again, He could never have done it Himself; for
when a man is dead he is no longer himself, the person he
was while he lived. But He being God as well as Man, and
both in one person, His manhood not constituting a person
of itself, nor ever subsisting but in His Divine Person,

Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy. 421

though one part of His manhood was separated from the
other, He was still the same Person that He was before,
and whatsoever He then did, the same Person did it when
He was raised from the dead ; He raised Himself, and there
fore He is often said to have risen again, in an active sense,
to shew that it was His Own act it was He that did it,
but that He could never have done Himself, if He had not
been a Divine Person, of another nature besides that in
which He died and rose again ; for that nature, be sure,
could never have raised itself, neither could any other have
done it but that which is Divine, this being an act of infinite
power, so that by raising Himself from the dead, He evi
dently discovered Himself to be God Almighty.

But He is sometimes said to be raised by God. It is Acts 2. 24
true ; but that is so far from weakening, that it strengthens ch' 13' 30>
the argument, and makes it invincible ; for, seeing that He
is sometimes said to have raised Himself, and at other
times to be raised by God, this puts it beyond dispute that
He Himself is God, for otherwise the same act could not
be imputed to God and to Him too in the same sense, as
it is in this case ; and therefore, if there were no other, as
there are many all over the Bible, His very rising from the
dead was a sufficient demonstration of His Divine Power
and Godhead.

Now from hence we may see what great cause we have to
rejoice and be glad this day for the Resurrection of our
blessed Saviour, seeing that we are thereby assured that
He is the only living and true God; for what a mighty
consolation is this to all that hope for Salvation, that we have
such a Saviour ! A Saviour who is with us wheresoever we
are, and knows our tempers, our infirmities, our conditions,
our necessities, and all our circumstances, better than we
ourselves do : a Saviour who hath proclaimed Himself to be
"the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long- Exod. 34. f
suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth :" a Saviour
of that infinite goodness that He will do what He can, and
of that infinite power, that He can do what He will for us :
a Saviour who is " over all, God blessed for ever." How Rom. p. 5.
well, then, may we sing this day with the Evangelical Pro
phet, " Behold, God is my salvation ; I will trust and not be Tsa. 12. 2.

422 Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy.

SERM. afraid : for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song :
-L— He also is become my salvation ;" and with the Blessed

Luke i.46, Virgin, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my Spirit

47< rejoiceth in God my Saviour ! "

And it is a great addition to our joy this day, that as our
Saviour, by His Resurrection from the dead, was declared
to be the Son of God, so as Man too He was advanced not
only above all the sons of men, but above all other creatures
whatsoever, by the mighty power of God, which He wrought

Eph. i. 20. as gt> paui sajt]l5 « in Christ, when He raised Him from the
dead, and set Him at His Own right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this
world, but also in that which is to come : and hath put all
things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all
things to the Church, which is His body." All which can
be understood only of His human nature ; it was only in
that He died and rose again, and so it was in that only that
He is so highly exalted above all things else that God hath
made ; and it is no wonder, forasmuch as He in Himself
excels them all, there being no creature in the world so near
to God as He is, none united to God but only He ; how
excellent soever any of the Angels are, they are still but
mere creatures, subsisting in no other but their own finite
nature, upheld by the power of God, and therefore not
comparable to Him Who subsisteth in the form and sub
stance of God, and is personally united to Him, so as to be

Col. 2. 9. God Himself as well as Man, "All the fulness of the
Godhead dwelling in Him bodily:" which it doth in no
other creature, and therefore He might well be preferred

i Tim. 6. above all others, and be made their Head and Governor, " the

15

blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of
Lords."

Neither did He deserve to be so only for what He was,
but likewise for what He did and suffered, the Merits of His
life and death also being assigned for the reason of His
Phil. 2. 9- exaltation, by the Apostle, where, having said, " That Christ
Jesus being in the form of God, and yet having taken upon
Him the form of a servant, and become obedient to death,
even the death of the Cross," He immediately adds, " Where-

Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy. 423

fore God hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name
that is above every name ; that at the Name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in
earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God
the Father." He was therefore so highly exalted, because He
had been obedient all His life to His accursed death upon
the Cross, and by that means had brought more glory to God
than all other creatures ever did or could do ; for the Angels
themselves can do no more than acknowledge the glory of
those perfections which God hath manifested in the world ;
whereas, Jesus Christ made way for the manifestation of
some of the Divine perfections, which otherwise would never
have appeared, for it is written, " The Law was given by John 1.17.
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." They
were not given by Him as the Law was by Moses, but they
existed or came by Him, so as that without Him they
would never have appeared in the world ; God would never
have promised any grace or mercy to the sons of men, no
more than He did to the fallen Angels, nor have manifested
His truth in fulfilling the promises He made to them, but
for Jesus Christ in Whom He made them ; and therefore He,
and He alone, having by His death made way for the
exercise and discovery of these Divine perfections, highly de
served to be advanced above all other creatures, as the Angels
themselves acknowledged, when they said with a loud voice,
in the hearing of St. John, " Worthy was the Lamb that was Rev. 5. 12.
slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength,
and honour, and glory, and blessing."

But that which adds most to our joy and comfort upon
this occasion is, that Jesus Christ being raised from the
dead, was thus "given to be Head over all things to the EPh. 1.22.
Church." To the Church; it was for the sake of "the [Acts 20.
Church, which He had purchased with His blood," that this
supreme authority and dominion over all things was con
ferred upon Him ; that all things being subject to Him,
neither His Church itself, which is His Body, nor any sound
member of it, might ever be destroyed, " but that all who John 3. ie.
believe in Him might have everlasting life." According to
what He Himself also said to His Father, "Father, the John 17. i,

424 Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy.

SLXXV' k°ur ig come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may
— glorify Thee : as Thou hast given Him power over all
flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou
hast given Him."

From the premises thus briefly laid down, I should now
shew what cause we have to rejoice and be glad this day
that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and set at the
right hand of God, at the very top of the whole creation ;
but who is able to do that ? That the nature which we are
all of should be exalted above all other natures that God
hath made ! That the Man Christ Jesus should be made
the Lord and Governor of all the Angels and Powers in
Heaven, as well as over all things upon earth, and in hell

[Gal. 2. too! That " He who loved us, and gave Himself for us,"
now lives and reigns on high, and doth whatsoever He
pleaseth all the world over ! That all things are in such

[Rom. s. entire subjection to Him that He can " make them all work
together for our good !" That all His power is given Him
for the benefit of His Church, that all who believe in Him
upon earth may live with Him in Heaven! Whats hall
we say to these things? Where shall we find words to
express the comfort they afford to all who are the faithful
disciples of this most glorious and all-powerful Saviour,

i Pet. 1.8. " Whom having not seen, ye love; in Whom, though now ye
see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable
and full of glory?"

Moreover, by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, His whole
Gospel is established, and our faith in Him confirmed by

i Cor. is. God Himself. The Apostle tells us, " If Christ be not
risen, our preaching is vain, arid your faith is vain;" arid
again, " If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain ; ye are
yet in your sins : " for if He had still continued in the state
of death, He would not have been in a capacity to have
applied the Merits of His death, and to perform His pro
mises to us, upon which our faith is grounded ; whereas,
now there is no room left for diffidence or unbelief, but we

[Jude 20.] have the strongest ground that could be made, " whereon to
build up our most holy faith." For, that Christ should rise
from the dead was the great promise of all, upon which the
rest depended ; and therefore, seeing that was fulfilled,

Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy. 425

there can be no doubt but all the other will be so, to our
unspeakable comfort, according to that of the Apostle: "We A3cts i3'32'
declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which
was made unto the Fathers, God hath fulfilled the same
unto us their children, in that He hath raised up Jesus
again."

Glad tidings, indeed ! that whereas there are no sort of
blessings but what are promised to us in Jesus Christ, all the
promises are confirmed to us by His rising from the dead ;
for, that being an act of God, God Himself did thereby set,
as it were, His hand and seal to them; so that now we have
no pretence, nor shadow of excuse, for mistrusting the per
formance of any of them, if we do but perform the conditions
required on our part in order to it, the chief of which is, to
take His word, and believe that He will make it good.
They who do not that, make God a liar; they reject, deny,
and contradict His truth, which is one of the great perfec
tions that are manifested, as I before observed, in Jesus Christ ;
and then they can have no ground to expect that the other,
even His grace or mercy, should be shewed them ; and that
seems to be the great reason why faith is so strictly required
in the Gospel, in order to our receiving any benefit or
advantage from it, because without that we do not give God
the glory of His truth that came by Jesus Christ, and so do
what we can to frustrate the great end of His coming into
the world, especially now that He is risen from the dead,
and so hath confirmed the truth of all the promises, and is
able to fulfil them all, and every one, to us.

The greatest blessing of all that God hath promised, and
that to which all the other tend, is grace to repent and turn
to God, that we may be duly fitted for pardon and Salva
tion : but Jesus Christ being raised from the dead, we may
now most certainly have it by Him ; for, as St. Peter saith,
" God having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless Acts s. 26.
you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities ; "
" For Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a ch. 5. si.
Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and
forgiveness of sins." As He is a Saviour, He saves us from
our sins, and from the wrath of God that is due unto us for
them ; as a prince at the right hand of God, He gives us

426 Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy.

SERM. repentance to qualify us for so great a blessing; and for that
- purpose, He sends down His Holy Spirit to mortify the

[Rom. s. deeds of the flesh, and quicken us with newness of life, to
enlighten, sanctify, direct, and assist us, in doing our whole

Phil. 4. is. duty both to God and man, so that " We can do all things
through Jesus Christ which strengthened us."

This, therefore, is the first thing that we ought to believe
and trust in God our Saviour for, Who rose from the dead

Col. 2. 12. that He might bestow it upon us : " For we are risen with
Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath

Rom. 6. 4. raised Him from the dead ; " " that like as Christ was raised
up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we
also should walk in newness of life : " which we may now
all do, if we do but believe in Him for His assistance and
grace ; and if we do it not, we may be confident that we do
not believe in Him as we ought ; for He never faileth them

John 1. 16. who put their trust in Him, but they all " receive of His
fulness, and grace for grace ; " all manner of grace and
virtue that is necessary to the purifying of their hearts and

[Col. 1.12.] lives, that they may " be meet to be partakers of the in
heritance of the saints in light." This is the great blessing
that we hope for from Him who rose from the dead, and
because He did so ; and therefore may well rejoice this day,

iPet.i.3,4. and praise God with the Apostle, saying, " Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Which according
to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively
hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to
an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth
not away, reserved in Heaven for us."

When we are thus sanctified by faith in Christ, then we
may well believe that we shall be pardoned and justified

Rom. 4. 25. by Him " Who was delivered for our offences, and raised
again for our justification." For, He having taken upon
Him our nature, and offered it up as a sacrifice for our
sins, God, by raising Him up from the dead, plainly shewed
that He was fully satisfied with the sacrifice which He had
offered for them ; and accepted of the death which His Son
had suffered in our nature, instead of that which we must
otherwise have suffered every one in his own person, and
that all who believe in Him might be sure to receive the

Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy. 427

benefit thereof. When risen from the dead, He was set at
the right hand of God, and now sits there, not only as our
Lord and King, but likewise as our High Priest, making
atonement and reconciliation for our sins, and as our Me
diator and Advocate, pleading our cause, and interceding
with His Father for us, that He would remit the punish
ments that we have deserved, seeing He had suffered them
for us; that He would be reconciled to us, and receive us
again into His grace and favour ; that He would accept of
our sincere though imperfect obedience, for the sake of that
which He had performed in our nature unto death ; and
that, although we be not perfectly so in ourselves, yet that
we may be accounted righteous in Him, " Who knew no sin, 2 Cor. 5. 21.
and yet was made sin for us, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him."

They who have no sense of their sins will have little
regard for this doctrine, although revealed by God Himself,
and therefore revealed by Him, that we may not despond or
despair of His mercy to us : but as for those who are truly
sensible of their manifold sins and infirmities, that they
have often offended God, and are still prone to do so, this is
their only support under the heavy burden that lies upon
their consciences, and the greatest comfort they have on
this side Heaven, that they have not an High Priest there Heb. 4. is.
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without
sin. That we have an High Priest there Who, by the one
oblation of Himself once offered, made a full, perfect and
sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of
the whole world, and for ours among the rest, one Who
perfumes all our devotions and good works with the incense
of His Own Merits, so as to render them well pleasing to
God, notwithstanding their imperfections ; that we have
such an High Priest who can " wash us from our sins with [Rev. i. 5.]
His Own blood," and such an Advocate that He can justify
us before God by what He Himself hath done and suffered
for us. What then need we fear? For " who shall lay any Rom. 8< 33?
thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth, 34*
who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea

428 Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy.
SERM. rather that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of

LXXV

— — God, Who also maketh intercession for us."

To add still more to our joy for the Resurrection of
Jesus Christ, we are thereby certified that we shall also rise
iCor.i5.i2, again as He did ; for, as the same Apostle argues, " Now if
Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say
some among you that there is no Resurrection of the
dead? But if there be no Resurrection of the dead, then is
Christ not risen. But now is Christ risen from the dead,
and become the first-fruits of them that slept. For since by
man came death, by man came also the Resurrection of the
dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all
be made alive." This effect the Resurrection of Christ shall
have upon all mankind, though all shall not be saved by
Him, but only such as believe in Him; yet all shall be
raised up at the Last Day, whether they believed in Him or
no. And they that would not believe it before, shall find by
Acts 24. is. woeful experience, that " there shall be a Resurrection of
John s. 28, the dead, both of the just and unjust." " Marvel not at this,"
saith Christ Himself, " for the hour is coming in the which
all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, 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."

What a glorious sight will that be, to see Adam himself,
and his whole posterity, every body that was ever informed
by a reasonable soul, all met together at the same place,
upon that great and terrible day of the Lord ! It will be a
terrible day, indeed, to all that would not repent and believe
the Gospel ; but let them look to that. I dare not speak
of such now, for fear of interrupting the work of this day,
whereon we are to rejoice and thank God for the Resur
rection of Jesus Christ, which none can do heartily but they
who are His faithful Disciples, and obedient servants, who
live while they are upon earth in His true faith and fear,
doing all such good works as He hath set them, and trusting
in Him, and in Him alone, for all things necessary to make
them holy and happy for ever.

Their souls are no sooner out of their bodies, but they are

Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy. 429

presently with Christ, being carried by the Angels, as La
zarus was, " into Abraham's bosom," where they enjoy per- Lukei6.22.
petual rest and felicity, the highest that they are capable of,
while separate from their bodies ; and at the Last Day their
bodies will be raised up and united to them again, the same
bodies out of which they went as to their substance, and
all the essential parts of a body, but so rarely tempered,
modified, and, as it were, spiritualized by our Lord and
Saviour, that they shall be " fashioned like unto His glo- Phil. 3. 21.
rious body, according to the working whereby He is able
even to subdue all things unto Himself." And then our
whole man, both soul and body, will be brought into a state
of absolute perfection, so that we shall never be distempered
or out of tune any more, but always cheerful and pleasant,
always rejoicing, and praising, and adoring God and the
Lamb that sitteth upon the throne, always " shining forth Matt.ia.43.
every one as the sun in the Kingdom of our Father : " and
all through Him Who as upon this day rose from the dead.

For, by His rising from the dead, we are assured also, and
that by God Himself, that He will be our Judge at the Last
Day ; for it is written, that God " hath appointed a day, in Acts 17. si.
the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that
Man whom He hath ordained ; whereof He hath given
assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from
the dead." For in that He raised Him from the dead, He
confirmed, as was before observed, all that Christ had said.
But He had said that "the Father judgeth no man, but hath John 5. 22,
committed all judgment unto the Son; and hath given Him
authority to exercise judgment also, because He is the Son
of Man." The original power of judging all men is in the
Father, but He hath committed the execution of it to the
Son, because He is also the Son of Man, that so we may see
our Judge sitting upon the throne in our own nature, and
may be sure that we shall be judged exactly according to
the gracious terms proposed in the Gospel, seeing it was He
that made them.

And this surely is no small comfort to us, that we shall
give up our accounts at that day to the best Friend that we
ever had in all the world ! That He who is now our Ad
vocate, will be then our Judge ! For now we cannot doubt

430 Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy.

SERM. but that we shall have all the favour shewn us that the
-1- Gospel itself can allow of, all that He hath promised, Who
hath promised all things that we can desire, to make us
truly, perfectly, eternally happy; and that we may be the
more confident of it, He hath acquainted us beforehand
with the sentence that He will then pass upon all that truly
believed in Him, and served Him faithfully in this life : to

Matt.25.34. them He will then say, " Come, ye blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world." In which blessed sentence, every word
affords us matter of extraordinary joy and comfort.

But that which is chiefly to be observed is, that He bids
them all come and inherit the Kingdom prepared for them ;
it was prepared for them before, but now He gives them all
and every one the actual possession of a kingdom, a whole
kingdom, and that no less than the Kingdom of God and of
Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven and the crown of glory,

Lukei2.32. called also " the Kingdom :" as if there was no kingdom in
the world but that, and indeed there is none that is worthy
to be named together with it.

For this is a kingdom whose sovereign is the Almighty
Creator of all things, the chiefest good, and the subjects all
pure and spotless creatures, Saints and Angels conversing
familiarly together, as we do here with one another ; a king
dom, where there never are any wars nor rumours of wars ;
no fear of foreign invasions or domestic troubles, no strife or
contention about any thing, every one having all he can de
sire. A kingdom where all the subjects are of one mind,
of one heart, and of one will, and that no other than the will
of their Sovereign ; and, by consequence, there are no schisms
or divisions among them ; no sin, or evil of any sort, but all
harmony and concord, love and charity, goodness, piety and
peace in perfection. A kingdom where there never is any
plague or sickness, nor the least indisposition of mind or
body, nor ever any famine, scarcity, or want of any thing,
but abundant plenty of all things that can any way contri
bute either to their security or satisfaction. A kingdom that
hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it,

Rev. 21.23. " for the glory of the Lord lightens it, and the Lamb is the
light thereof:" by which glorious light they see all the

Christ's Resurrection an Object of Great Joy. 431

glorious things which God hath done, and Him too that
did them : they see Him as we see the sun, by His Own
light. A kingdom where all who love our Lord Jesus
Christ in sincerity, live with Him they love, and behold the
glory which the Father hath given Him Who loved them, so [John 17.
as to redeem them to Himself with His Own blood, on purpose
that they might live with Him and enjoy Him for ever. A
kingdom where all the inhabitants, by the light of God's
countenance shining so gloriously upon them, are continually
enlightened, quickened, refreshed, glorified, and filled to the
full with all the joy and happiness they are capable of;
though some may hold more than others, every one hath as
much as he can hold, and so is as happy as it is possible for him
to be. A kingdom where all their work and business is to
rejoice, adore, and sing praises to the Lord God Omnipotent,
and to ascribe blessing, and honour, and glory and power to
Him that sitteth upon the Throne, and to the Lamb that
brought them thither. A kingdom that can never be shaken,
but always continues -in the same glorious and happy state to
all eternity ; for of this kingdom there shall be no end.

God grant that we may all be admitted into this kingdom ;
and blessed be His Holy Name, we may all be so by Him,
Who when He had overcome the sharpness of death by His
rising from the dead, He did open the Kingdom of Heaven
to all believers ! Let us then rejoice and be glad, and give
honour to God, for that inestimable benefit which we this
day celebrate ; and that we may do it the more acceptably,
let us go unto His altar, and there offer up unto Him our
sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, and dedicate ourselves
wholly to His service ; that, living for the future in our several
places as becometh His faithful servants upon earth, we may
at last be advanced to His Heavenly Kingdom, by His Son
our Saviour Jesus Christ, to Whom with the Father and
Holy Spirit, be ascribed all honour and glory now and for
ever. Amen.

SERMON LXXVI.

CHRIST'S ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN PREPARATORY TO OURS.

JOHN xiv. 2, 3.

In My Fathers house are many mansions : if it were not so,
I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,
and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye
may be also.

SERM. OUR Blessed Saviour having acquainted His Disciples
LXXVI. ^^ jje -mugt now ]eave them, and observing that they were
much concerned and troubled at it, He takes occasion from
thence to direct them how to keep their hearts from being
too much cast down at the apprehension of that or any other
trouble that might befall them in this world ; even by exer
cising their faith on Him, " Let not your hearts be troubled,"
saith He, " ye believe in God, believe also in Me." Whereby
He hath plainly discovered two things to us ; first, That it is
His will and pleasure that His Disciples should never suffer
their hearts to be ruffled or discomposed at any trouble or
affliction they meet with here below, but that they should
walk through all the changes and chances of this mortal
life with an even frame and temper of mind, equally ready to
do or to suffer whatsoever God shall see good to require of
them, or lay upon them, saying, " Let not your hearts be
troubled ;" and then, secondly, that the most effectual means
to do this, is always to live by faith in God and in Him ; " Ye
believe in God," saith He, " believe also in Me." As if He
had said, Ye believe in God, ye believe that He made arid
that He governs the world, and orders and disposeth of all

Christ's Ascension, $'c. 433

things in it according to His Own pleasure : and you trust
on Him to preserve you from evil, and to supply you with
whatsoever is really good for you : and as you thus believe
in God, believe also in Me. Believe that I am the Son of
God, and am come into the world on purpose to save sinners:
that I am " able to save to the uttermost all that come unto [Heb. 7.
God by Me," and therefore put your whole trust and confi- 25*J
dence on Me for the pardon of all your sins, for the healing
all your infirmities, for the strengthening you against all
temptations, for the making your sincere though imperfect
duties acceptable unto God, and so for the bringing you at
last to Heaven. And do not fear nor doubt in the least but
I will do it for you, notwithstanding that I am now to de
part for a while from you, for I am only going home to My
Father's house, where I will take as much care of you, as if
I was still present with you, if you do but continue to believe
in Me : and therefore let not your hearts be troubled at My
departure from you, nor for any thing else that may befall
you in this world, but as ye believe in God, believe also in
Me, your Saviour and Redeemer. And then He adds, for
their greater comfort and encouragement against all the
troubles and difficulties they should meet with here below,
" In My Father's house are many mansions," &c.

Which words, being uttered by Christ Himself, afford so
much matter of solid and substantial joy to His Disciples,
that did we but rightly understand, firmly believe, and duly
consider them as we ought, we should never suffer our
spirits to sink under any burden that is laid upon us in our
journey towards Heaven, but should bear it not only with
patience, but with cheerfulness and alacrity of mind, so as to
esteem it a blessing rather than a cross and trouble to us :
for which purpose, therefore, I shall first explain them to
you in the same order wherein our blessed Lord was pleased
to pronounce them, and then shew how much a firm belief
and due consideration of them will conduce to the end for
which our Saviour spake them, even to the keeping our
hearts from being troubled.

First, therefore, Our Lord saith, " In My Father's house,"
that is, in Heaven, which in Holy Writ is usually called by
such names as signify some certain place where people use

F F

434 Christ's Ascension into Heaven

SERM. to dwell together; sometimes it is called a kingdom, as

Luke 12. 32. where our Saviour saith, " Fear not, little flock ; for it is
your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom."

Matt. 6. 33. And " seek ye first the Kingdom of God." Sometimes it is

Heb. n.16. called a country, as in the Epistle to the Hebrews, " But
now they desire a better country, that is an Heavenly."
Sometimes a city, as in the same place, where it is said,
" He hath prepared for them a city ; " and elsewhere,

ch. 13. u. " For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to
come." Sometimes it is called the habitation or house of
God, as where Moses enjoins the people to say in their

Deut.26.i5. prayers to God, " Look down from Thy holy habitation,
from Heaven." And to the same purpose, the Prophet

isa. 63. is. Isaiah saith, " Look down from Heaven, and behold from
the habitation of Thy holiness and of Thy glory." And so
in my text, our Saviour calls it His Father's house, which
is the same in effect with the house or habitation of God ;
but He calls it peculiarly His Father's house, the better to
confirm His Disciples in their hopes and expectations from
Him, by assuring them that He was not to go to any
strange place, where He had no relation, interest, or
acquaintance, and so could do them no service, but tha He
was going to His Own Father's house, where He was sure
to have all the favour that He could desire either for Him
self or them, as being the Only-begotten Son of the Master
of the house, Who once and again had publicly declared the
great love and kindness He had for Him, saying of Him,

Matt. 3. 17; " This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased."
And seeing He was now to go to this His Father's house,
to live with Him, and to have His ear upon all occasions,
His Disciples might be confident that He would be able
still to assist and protect them, and to procure as much, or
rather much more grace and favour for them, when He
was gone from them, than if He had still continued with
them ; arid this seems to be the reason why our Blessed Lord
calls it in a particular manner His Father's house.

But wherefore is Heaven here called the house of God, or
of the Father ? Many reasons may be alleged for it, some
of which I shall touch upon and explain, so that you may
understand something of the purity, the pleasantness, and

24*

Preparatory to Ours. 435

the excellency of that blessed place, at least so much as to
make you think long till you get thither.

First, therefore, it is called God's house, because it is of
His making or building, as St. Paul observes, saying, " For 2 Cor. 5. i.
we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made
with hands, eternal in the Heavens." And in the Epistle Heb. 11. 10.
to the Hebrews, Abraham's hopes of Heaven are expressed
by his looking for a city which hath foundations, whose
Builder and Maker is God. And in the Old Testament we PS. 96. 5 ;
often read that the Lord made the Heavens. Yea, it was isa. 42.5;'
the first thing He ever made, for, " In the beginning God c
created the Heaven and the earth." First Heaven, and
then earth, where as all along in the Old Testament, the
Hebrew word for Heaven is D^Ettf of the dual number, to
signify both the material and the immaterial Heavens ; the
place where the sun, moon and stars move and shine ; and
likewise the place where the Holy Angels live, and praise,
and enjoy God, which, to distinguish it from the other, is l Kinss 8-
sometimes called the Heaven of Heavens. And in Nehemiah,
the Levites, praying to God, say, " Thou, even Thou, art Neh. 9. 6.
Lord alone ; Thou hast made Heaven, the Heaven of
Heavens, with all their host." Where by Heaven He
means the sky or firmament ; by the Heaven of Heavens,
that high and holy place where the blessed spirits behold
the face of God, which as far excels the other Heaven as
that doth the earth, and yet this as well as the other was
made by the Lord ; it was His wisdom that contrived, and
it was His power that raised this stately and most glorious
fabric out of nothing ; He only spake the word, and imme
diately the foundation was laid, the superstructure erected,
and the whole finished altogether; and therefore David
saith, " By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made, PS. 33. 6.
and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth."

But if God made this house, be sure it is well made, as
well as it was possible for it to be, as to all the intents and
purposes for which He made it ; but He made it for a
place of perfect joy, and bliss, and glory, to the Holy Angels,
and the spirits of just men made perfect, where they might
live in perfect rest and happiness, the highest that their

436 Christ's Ascension into Heaven

SERM. nature is capable of; and therefore we may be confident,
LXXVI' that there is no sort of true and real felicity which pure

and perfect spirits can possibly enjoy, but what is there to
be had in its highest perfection imaginable, for they live
in an house which God Himself made on purpose to be
an house of pleasure for them, which therefore may well
be called His house, as being made wholly and solely by
Himself.

And besides, as it was God alone Who made, it is He
alone Who upholds, maintains, and preserves this house
continually, in the very same state and condition wherein He
at first made it, suffering no decay in any part of it, nor any
thing to come near it that may so much as defile or annoy

Rev.2i.27.it, as we read in the Revelations: "There shall in nowise
enter into it any thing that clefileth, neither whatsoever
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie." Hence it is that
there is no sin or wickedness there, for that, by reason of
its contrariety to the pure nature of God, is the greatest
filth and annoyance in the world ; and therefore God always
keeps His house perfectly clear and free from all appear
ance of evil, insomuch that, so soon as ever some of the first
inhabitants had sinned, He banished them immediately out
of His house, lest it should be defiled, and so made unfit
for His pure and holy creatures to dwell in : and ever
since that time, there never was, nor ever will be any, no,
not the least sin imaginable committed there ; though there
be innumerable inhabitants, there is not the least spot, or
"blot, or blemish in any one of them, there is no ignorance
or error, no pride or ambition, no envy, hatred, or malice
to be found, there is no such thing as schism and faction,
no rebellion, no sedition, no riots or tumults raised ; there
is no swearing, nor lying, nor stealing from one another,
no striving or contending about meum or tuum, no brawling
or scolding, nor so much as an impertinent or idle word to
be heard from any of their mouths, nor vain thought to be

[Ps. 93. s.] seen in any of their hearts ; but as " holiness becomes God's
house for ever," all that live there are perfectly holy in all
manner of conversation, so as never to offend God, either in
thought, word, or action.

O blessed place ! Who can but long to be there, where

Preparatory to Ours. 437

we shall be thus perfectly free from all manner of sin, and
by consequence, from all manner of suffering too ; where, as
we shall never offend God, God will never afflict us any
more ; no, this house is kept so absolutely clean and sweet,
that there is nothing in it that can in the least molest or
annoy those that dwell there, but so soon as ever any are
admitted into it, God wipes away all tears from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain. So that all the Rev. 21.4.
inhabitants of that blessed place live in perpetual rest and
felicity ; they are never vexed or disturbed at any thing,
for there is nothing that can possibly do it, every thing
falling out just as they would have it: as they have no
aches, or pains, or distempers about them, so they are
never crossed in their designs, never disappointed of their
hopes, never interrupted in their business, never surprised
by any accident, never lose any thing they have, nor want
any thing they have not : by which means they are never
discomposed, or out of tune, but always of the same temper,
always quiet and at ease, neither feeling nor fearing any
thing to disturb or trouble them, for they are fully assured
that their condition shall never be altered, but they shall
always live just as they do ; in that the place they live
in is kept and maintained by Almighty God Himself, and
therefore may be truly called His house.

And so it may also, because it is of His furnishing : it is
He alone Who furnisheth this house with inhabitants, and
with all things necessary and convenient for them ; as for
the inhabitants, He at first filled it with an innumerable
company of immaterial or spiritual creatures called Angels,
the greatest part whereof have continued there since the
beginning of the world to this day, are there now, and will
be so to all eternity ; but some of them not keeping their
first estate, but leaving this their own habitation, " God jude 6.
hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto
the judgment of the great day." And these being thus
cast out of Heaven, and roving about in these lower regions
of the world, they found mankind made in the image of
God, and so fitted to live in that holy habitation which they
had left ; which these apostate angels were so troubled at,

438 Christ's Ascension into Heaven

SERM. that they set upon the first man Adam, in whom the rest

— were all contained, and so far prevailed upon him that he by

their instigation sinned against God, whereby both he him
self, and his whole posterity, were so far tainted and polluted,
that they became altogether unfit to live in that holy place,
from which the others fell. Upon which God was pleased of
His infinite mercy to set up another Adam, His Only-
begotten Son, Who, by His dying in the nature of man, should
expiate the sins of mankind, so that " whosoever repented
and believed in Him might be saved ;" by means whereof
some men, in all ages since the beginning of the world, at
their departure out of this life, have been translated into this
heavenly habitation, and so will many be in all ages to the end
of the world ; insomuch that it is very probable that there
will be as many men saved as there are angels damned, and
so this house of God will be as full of inhabitants at last, as
it was at first; but they must all ascribe it wholly to the
goodness and mercy of God that they ever came thither,
and therefore must acknowledge it to be His house, in that
it is so wholly at His disposal, that none but He can ever
admit one person into it.

And as it is He alone Who furnisheth this house with in
habitants, so it is He alone Who furnisheth it with all things
necessary and convenient for them, with every thing they can
possibly have occasion of, or can any way contribute towards
their living as safely, as pleasantly, and as happily there as
it is possible for creatures to live ; for they have all the
accommodations they can think of or desire. They can de
sire nothing but they immediately have it, or rather they
always have whatsoever they can desire, and so can never
desire any thing which they have not ; for, indeed, all things
in the world are theirs, their proper goods and inheritance,

Rev. 21.7. as God Himself assures us, saying, "He that overcometh,
shall inherit all things." He, that is, every one that over
cometh the world, the flesh, and the Devil, so as to get to
Heaven, shall there inherit all things, all things shall be
actually conferred upon him, so that every one shall enjoy
all things in the world, as fully as if he was the sole pos
sessor of them, or as if there was no person to enjoy any
thing in the whole world but only himself. All the true

Preparatory to Ours. 439

riches, all the real honours, all the solid and substantial
pleasure that any thing in the whole world can afford them,
are continually possessed and enjoyed by all and every one
that is in Heaven ; by which means they are as happy as it
is possible for them to be, as happy as the whole creation,
yea, as happy as the Creator Himself can make them. As
they never fret or vex, or grieve, or fear any thing, so they
are always full of love, and joy, and peace, and goodness,
and all sorts of true felicity, as their souls can hold, always
lively and vigorous, always cheerful and pleasant, always re
joicing and singing, and praising God Who of His infinite
mercy hath brought them thither, and out of the inexhaust
ible treasure of His Own goodness hath provided so plenti
fully for them in His Own house. And it may well be called
His house, seeing all things in it are of His providing, and
belong wholly and solely to Himself.

Especially, considering that it is the place where He Him
self is pleased in a more especial manner to reside, there it is
that He keeps His Court ; that is properly His Throne, as
He Himself saith, " Heaven is My Throne, and the earth is isa. 66. i.
My footstool." And therefore David addressing himself to
God, saith, " Unto Thee lift I up mine eyes, O Thou that PS. 123. i.
dwellest in the Heavens !" And Our blessed Saviour all along
in the Gospel calls Him Our Father which is in Heaven, and
commands us to direct our prayers to Him as residing there,
saying, " Our Father which art in Heaven ; " not as if He
was not every where else too, but because it is there that He
is pleased in a more particular manner to manifest Himself,
to unveil His perfections, and to shine forth in all His glory ;
insomuch, that this place hath no need of the sun, neither of
the moon, to shine in it; for " the glory of God lightens it, Rev. 21. 23;
and the Lamb is the light thereof." And indeed this is that c
which gives the greatest lustre, the highest perfection to the
happiness of those who live there, that they always see God
face to face, behold His glory, and enjoy His presence, and
have the light of His countenance shining continually upon
them, and influencing them so, that their whole souls seem
nothing else but flames of love and joy, arising from the full
sight of God, and the clear apprehension of His special favour
and goodness towards them, whereby they themselves also will

440 Christ's Ascension into Heaven

SERM. be so enlightened as to " shine as the brightness of the fir-
Dan. 12. 3. mament, and as the stars for ever and ever." Yea, our
Matt. 13.43. Saviour Himself tells us, that " the righteous shall there
shine as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father." But what
do I mean to offer at any thing towards the description of
[iCor.2.9.] that place, " which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive it?" It is
sufficient to our present purpose, that God Himself dwells
there, and upon that account Our Blessed Saviour might
truly call it, as He doth in my text, " His Father's house."

In which, He saith, " there are many mansions;" which
words are not to be so understood as if there were several
distinct rooms or apartments in Heaven, where every one
might live by himself as in his own proper cell, for here
they all live in common ; and the whole house, with all things
in it is common to all and every one that is admitted into it,
every one enjoying it as much as if there were none to enjoy
it but himself, as I observed before.

But what then doth Our Saviour mean by saying, " In
My Father's house are many mansions ?"

His meaning in short is, that Heaven is a very large capa
cious place, able to receive and entertain a great many
people. The Apostles were very much grieved to hear that
their Master was to leave them, although it was in order to
His going to Heaven, as not well knowing as yet whether
they could follow Him thither, or whether there was room
enough for Him and them too, as considering that He would
have a vast train of holy Angels about Him, which might
fill up the whole place ; but Our Lord bids them be of good
cheer, assuring them that His Father's house, whither He
was going, is a place of very great reception ; " there are
many mansions in it," abundance of room, enough for them
and many more, even for all that should ever believe in Him.
And indeed Heaven must needs be a very large place, that
can hold such a multitude of inhabitants which are already
in it. The holy Angels, the ancient inhabitants of the place,
which have lived there ever since it was first founded, are
doubtless very many, so many, that I question whether they
themselves can tell how many they are. Daniel, in a short
vision he had of the place, saw " thousands and thousands"

Preparatory to Ours. 441

there " ministering unto God, and ten thousand times ten Dan. 7. 10.
thousand standing before Him." And St. John, having had Rev. 5. n.
the like vision, saith, " I beheld and I heard the voice of
many Angels round about the throne and the beasts and the
elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand," that is, they were so many, that they exceeded
his arithmetic. And as for the children of men, whom Christ
had purchased with His Own blood to live with Him in that
holy place, the same St. John in another vision saw an
hundred forty and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the
children of Israel ; and after this, saith he, " I beheld, and, ch. 7. 9.
lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all
nations and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before
the Lord, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes,
and palms in their hands." From whence we may observe,
by the way, that when Our Saviour calls His flock " a little
flock," and saith, that " there are but few that find the way [Luke 12.
to life," He is to be understood only comparatively, that Matt.7.u.]
His flock is but little in comparison of the multitudes that
follow after sin, the world, and the Devil, and that there are
but few who find the way to life, in comparison of the many
who miss of it, which notwithstanding, considered absolutely,
and in themselves, are certainly very many ; as our Lord
Himself here intimates, by saying, that " in My Father's
house are many mansions ;" where there were great multi
tudes, not only of Angels, but likewise of Saints residing in
St. John's time, and many have been going to them ever
since, and still are, and ever will be to the end of the world.
And why may not you and I be in the number of them as
well as other people ? If we be not, we must even blame
ourselves. Be sure there is room enough for us there, as
well as for others ; for Christ Himself hath told us, " there
are many mansions in His Father's house," on purpose to
excite and encourage us to look after it ; and if we do but
set ourselves in good earnest about it, and apply ourselves to
Him for it, we cannot possibly fail of coming thither, for He
Himself hath assured us that He is gone before to prepare a
place for us. " If it were not so," saith He, " I would have
told you;" as if He had said, if there had not been room
enough for you as well as for Me and others, in My Father's

442 Christ's Ascension into Heaven

SERM. house, I would have acquainted you with it, that so your
— — expectations might not be frustrated ; for I would not impose
upon you, nor flatter you with vain hopes of living with Me
in the other world, if there was no ground for you to expect
it ; but you have all the reason in the world to expect it,
seeing that I Myself assure you there " are many mansions
in My Father's house," and that I am now going thither on
purpose to prepare a place for you.

From whence we may observe, by the way, how careful
Our Blessed Saviour was to conceal nothing from us that
might any way conduce either to our Salvation or comfort.
" If it was not so," saith He, " I would have told you ;" and
so He certainly would have told us many other things, which
He hath not, if it had been necessary for us to have known
them ; and therefore we may conclude, that whatsoever He
hath not told us, it is no matter whether we know it or no.
There are a great many nice questions raised in divinity,
especially by the Schoolmen, which have perplexed the
minds of the greatest scholars, and have caused great heats
and animosities in the Church ; but they are generally of such
things which Our Blessed Master never thought good to de
termine, nor to tell us any thing of them, which He would
not have failed to have done, if either our future happiness
or our present comfort were any way concerned in the
knowledge of them; which I therefore observe unto you, that
so you may not trouble your heads with any impertinent con
troversies about our holy religion, which serve only to amuse
and distract men's minds, and to divert them from what is
substantial and necessary ; what Christ hath taught you
either with His Own mouth or by His Apostles, that you
must believe, and act accordingly, if you expect to be saved
by Him ; but as for other things, let others dispute about
them if they please, but do you rest satisfied in your own
minds, that if it had been necessary for you to have known
them, Christ would have told you of them, as He assures
His Apostles, saying, " If it was not so, I would have told
you."

And then He adds, " I go to prepare a place for you ;" He
doth not say I go to make room for you, as if there was not
room enough made already, but " I go to prepare a place for

Preparatory to Ours. 443

you," to take care that you as well as other persons may
have room there. And He repeats it again in the same
words, saying immediately, "And if I go and prepare a place
for you;" to shew that this is a thing which He would have
us take special notice of, and to carry it always in our minds,
that it is by Him only that we can get to Heaven, that it is
He, and He alone, that prepares a place for us in His
" Father's house," and therefore it must needs behove us
very much rightly to understand His full intent and meaning
in these words.

For which purpose, therefore, we must consider, first, that
Our Blessed Saviour having done and suffered all that was
necessary for our Redemption and Salvation upon earth, He
was then taken up to Heaven, where He hath been ever
since, and ever will be, sitting at the right hand of God ; that
is, He is exalted above all the creatures in the world, and
vested with absolute power and dominion over them, as St,
Peter informs us, saying, " That Christ is gone to Heaven, i Pet. 3. 22.
and is on the right hand of God ; Angels, and authorities,
and powers being made subject to Him." And to the same
purpose St. Paul saith, " That God having raised Christ EPh. i. 20,
from the dead, set Him at His Own right hand in the Hea
venly places, far above all principality, and power, and
might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not
only in this world, but also in that which is to come." And
elsewhere, that "God hath highly exalted Him, and given Phii.2.9-n.
Him a name which is above every name ; that at the Name
of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." The
meaning of all which is, that Jesus Christ was no sooner got
to Heaven, but He was immediately advanced above all the
creatures in the world, that the very Angels and Archangels
themselves were obliged to own Him for their Lord, and to
do Him homage ; that all power is committed unto Him [Matt. 28.
both in Heaven and earth, so that He can do whatsoever He 18^
pleaseth in the whole world ; that no creature can resist His
will, nor oppose His authority when He sees good to exer
cise it ; that all places are at His disposal both in the Church
Triumphant in Heaven, and in that which is Militant here

444 Christ's Ascension into Heaven

SERM. on earth ; that He reigns above, as King of kings, and Lord
— of lords, yea, as the Ruler and Governor of the whole crea
tion ; that not only Angels and men, but the very devils
themselves are subject to Him, and can do nothing without
His command or leave ; that He can pardon or condemn, He
can save or destroy, He can take in or shut out of Heaven,
whom He pleaseth ; in short, that He is an absolute Monarch
over the whole world, so that we and all things in it are
wholly at His command, He may do with us what He will,
there is no withstanding of Him, no appeal from Him, for He
is the supreme Judge both of quick and dead, both of men
and Angels, they are all as equally subject to Him, and shall
be all equally judged by Him ; for as He Himself saith,
Johns. 22, " The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judg
ment unto the Son ; that all men should honour the Son,
even as they honour the Father."

But what is all this to us ? Are we concerned any more
than other creatures in Christ's exaltation at the right hand
of God ? Yes, certainly, very much, for He having taken
our nature upon Him, whatsoever He did or was done to
Him in that, was wholly for us and upon our account ; He
Tsa. 9. 6. was born for us, as the Prophet saith, " Unto us a Child is
i Pet. 2. 21. born, unto us a Son is given." " He suffered for us, leaving
isa.53.4,5. us an example, that we should follow His steps." " He bare
our griefs, and carried our sorrows ; He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities ; the chas
tisement of our peace was upon Him ; and with His stripes
2 Cor. 5. 21. we are healed." " He was made sin for us, that we might be
i Cor. i.3o. made the righteousness of God in Him." "He is made
unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifi cation and
Rom. 4. 25. redemption." And as " He was delivered for our offences,
He was raised again for our justification." And so when He
went to Heaven, He went thither on purpose to appear in
Heb. 9. 24. the presence of God for us ; and therefore St. Paul, having
said that Christ is exalted far above all principality and
Eph.i.22, power, presently adds, "That God put all things under His
feet, and gave Him to be Head over all things in the Church,
which is His body." Where we may observe, that as Christ
is made Head or Governor over all things, He is made so to
the Church for the sake of His Church, that He may order

Preparatory to Ours. 445

and dispose of all things for the good of it, and of all the
sound members in it ; which plainly shews that Christ's
advancement to so high a degree of glory and power in
Heaven is of mighty advantage to us upon earth.

But you will say, perhaps, what doth He there do for us ?
What? more, doubtless, than we are able to understand;
but that we may understand it as fully as we are able in this
life, He is represented as being our Advocate with the
Father; so St. John calls Him, saying, " If any man sin, Uohn2.i,2.
we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
Righteous : and He is a propitiation for our sins ; and not
for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world." An
advocate, wre know, is one that pleads in the behalf of a per
son accused, shewing cause why he ought not to be con
demned. Now, saith the Apostle, " if any man sin," that is,
if any hath committed such a sin for which he fears he shall
be condemned, let such a one remember that we have an
Advocate with the Father, no less a Person than His Own
Son, Jesus Christ the Righteous ; who, being Himself a pro
pitiation for our sins, may well plead that we ought not to
be condemned for them, seeing He Himself hath borne all
the punishment that was due unto them, and so can easily
bring us off, arid obtain a full discharge and pardon for us.

As it was typified also in the old Law ; for the High-Priest
once every year, even upon the Day of Expiation, having
killed the goat of the sin-offering, brought some of the blood
of it into the Holy of Holies, and there sprinkling it upon
and before the mercy-seat, made thereby an atonement for
the whole congregation, and then laid his hands upon the
head of the scape-goat, confessing over him all the sins of
the people, and so putting them upon the head of the goat,
sent him away into the wilderness never to be heard of
more ; so Christ, our High-Priest, having offered up Himself
as a sacrifice for our sins, He entered into the Holy of all
Holies, into Heaven itself; and there, by virtue of that blood
which He shed, makes such an effectual atonement for all Lev. 16 ;
our sins, that they are presently carried away, nobody knows
whither, so as never to be heard of any more, than as if they
had never been committed.

And hence it is that He is called "a Mediator betwixt i Tim. 2. 5.

446 Christ's Ascension into Heaven

SERM. God and man ; " One who makes up all differences betwixt
us, reconciling God to us, and us to God ; and for the same
reason, He is said also to make intercession for us, to inter
cede with His Father that He would not be angry with us,
nor punish us for our sins, but that He would accept of His
sufferings for us, as a full recompense and satisfaction for all
the wrongs and injuries that we have done Him ; which He
doth so effectually, that St. Paul challenged! all the world to
shew any reason why they who believe in Christ, and obey

Rom. s. 33, His Gospel, should be condemned, saying, " Who shall lay
any thing to the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justi-
fieth, who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died,
yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand
of God, Who also maketh intercession for us." " Who also
maketh intercession for us : " there lies the whole stress of the
business, that our ever blessed Saviour, Who suffered for our
sins upon earth, is now making intercession for us in Hea
ven ; for it is by this means that He applies the Merits of
His death unto us, both for the pardon of our sins, and for
the enduing us with grace and power to forsake them, toge
ther with all the other blessings which He hath purchased
for us. He intercedes with His Father on our behalf, and
prays Him to bestow them upon us.

And Christ, be sure, never prays in vain, but whatsoever
He asketh of the Father is always granted. When He was

John n.42. upon earth He could say to His Father, " I know that Thou
hearest Me always." How much more, if it were possible,
now He is in Heaven, and hath actually merited all the good
things that He can ever desire for us ! There, certainly,
whatsoever He desires, He immediately hath it, as we see in

ch. 14. 16. that remarkable promise He made to His Disciples: " I will
pray the Father," saith He, " and He shall give you another
Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever, even the
Spirit of Truth." This was the greatest thing that He could
ever pray for, and yet He was no sooner got to Heaven, but
the Spirit of God was given to them in a miraculous manner ;
by which we see, both that He had prayed according to His
promise, and that His prayer was heard ; and so it always is,
by which means He can do what He will for us, for it is but
His willing it to be done, and immediately it is so : and

Preparatory to Ours. 447

this indeed is the proper notion of Christ's Mediation or in
tercession for us, for we must not think that He makes any
solemn prayers to His Father, as we do, or at least ought to
do. No, whatsoever He would have, He only actually wills
it should be so, and presently it is just so as He would have
it; which is the greatest comfort in the world to all that
believe in Him, and the greatest encouragement for us all to
do so ; for as we have no ground to mistrust His good- will
towards us Who so loved us as to give Himself for us, we
have as little to mistrust His power Who can do what He
will for us, but may well conclude with the Apostle, " That Heb. 7. 25,
He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God
by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for
them."

From hence, therefore, we may easily understand how truly
Our Lord here saith, " I go to prepare a place for you ;" for
seeing that when He went from hence, He was carried
directly into Heaven, seeing when He came thither He had
all power immediately conferred upon Him, and seeing He
there exerciseth that power continually for us, in order to
His bringing us at last to Himself in Heaven, He may be
properly said to prepare a place for us there, and to go
thither for that purpose, that being the great end of His
ascension into Heaven, and of His exaltation there, even that
He might from thence supply us with whatsoever is neces
sary to our following Him thither, that we may be actually
possessed of that happiness, which He hath bought for us
with the price of His Own blood ; to which it being ab
solutely necessary that we repent of our sins, and so have
them pardoned, therefore it is said, that " God hath exalted Acts 5. si.
Christ with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour,
for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins."
Under which is comprehended whatsoever is required, or can
any way contribute to our being saved by Him.

For which purpose, therefore, Christ being now, in His
human nature, at the right hand of God in Heaven, and in
His Divine nature always present with us upon earth too, He
often puts us in mind of the evil of sin in itself, and of the
dismal effects it will have upon us, if we continue in it. He
stirs up our hatred of it, strengthens our resolutions against

448 Christ's Ascension into Heaven

SERM. it, and assists our endeavours to forsake and avoid it. He
by the sweet influences of His Holy Spirit inflames our

minds with the love of God, and with sincere desires to serve
and please Him ; He prevents our falling into temptations,
or gives us power to withstand and overcome them ; Pie
sanctifies all occurrences to us, so as to make them work
together for our good ; He gives us opportunities of exer
cising our faith, and fear, and trust on God ; our patience,
humility, meekness, self-denial, and all other virtues, and
assists us in the exercise of them ; He affords us the means
of grace, and co-operates with them, that so they may be
effectual to us ; when we read or hear the Word of God, He
opens our eyes to see, and our hearts to receive the truth in
the love of it ; when we are at our devotions, He assists us
in the performance of them, and perfumes them with the
incense of His Own Merits, that God may be well pleased
with them ; when we are at the Holy Sacrament, He stands
by us, and feeds us with the spiritual food of His Own most
blessed body and blood ; when we are in streights, and know
not which way to take, He directs us to that which shall be
most for our advantage ; when any trouble falls upon us, He
either takes it off, or else gives us strength to bear, and grace
to make a good use of it. When, by any surprise or indis
position of body, our minds are disordered and out of tune,
He composeth and brings them into a right frame again ;
when we are about any good work, He is at both ends of it,
and in the middle too, assisting us in the doing it, and inter
ceding with His Father to accept of it when it is done. In
short, He leads and directs us through the whole course of
[Col. 1.12.] our lives, till He hath " made us meet to be partakers of the
inheritance of the Saints in light," and then He brings us to
it, and gives us the full possession of it. And He Who went
thither on purpose that He might thus prepare us for Heaven,
as well as Heaven for us, might well say, " I go to prepare
a place for you."

And then He adds, " And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself." But
what! will He not receive us before that? Yes certainly,
He will receive our souls, so soon as ever they depart out of
our bodies, as we may gather from what He Himself said to

Preparatory to Ours. 449

the thief upon the cross, "To-day shalt thou be with Me in Luke23.43.

Paradise." For from hence it is evident, that although the

penitent's body was to be laid in the earth, yet his soul was

to be carried the very same day he died directly to Christ,

in Paradise or Heaven, where He then was as God, although

His manhood ascended not till some days after. The same

appears from St. Paul's "desire to depart and be with Phil. i. 23.

Christ:" which plainly shews that he firmly believed that

he should be with Christ so soon as ever he departed out of

this life. But the clearest demonstration of this great truth,

and that which puts it beyond all doubt, is taken from

St. Stephen, who, being just at the point of death, committed

his soul into the hands of Christ, saying, " Lord Jesus, A.cts 7. ^.

receive my spirit." Which questionless he would not have

done, had he not been fully assured by the Holy Ghost, that

Christ would, according to his desire, receive his spirit unto

Himself, at the same moment that it left his body ; and so

doubtless every soul that ever departed out of this life in the

true faith of Christ, is now with Him in Heaven, His Holy

Angels carrying it, as they did Lazarus, directly thither. [Luke 16.

But what then doth our Lord mean by His coining again 22'-'
and receiving us to Himself then ? His meaning in short is,
that although He was now to leave this world and go up to
Heaven, there to continue many years, preparing a place for
us ; yet at the Last Day, when the whole number of His
elect shall be accomplished, He will come hither again, and
then He will receive us altogether, both soul and body, and
so our whole man unto Himself, that so the same persons
who believed in Him and served Him upon earth, may live
with Him for evermore in Heaven ; as He Himself hath
promised in the following words, saying, " I will come again
and receive you to Myself, that where I am there ye may
be also."

This He knew w^ould revive and rejoice His Disciples'
hearts exceedingly, that they should live with Him in the
other world ; and therefore He is often pleased to put them
in mind of it, "If any man serve Me," saith He, "let him John 12.26.
follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant
be." And elsewhere, He saith, "To him that overcometh Rev. 3. 21.

G G

450 Christ's Ascension into Heaven

SERM. will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also over-

L.XXVI

- came, and am set down with My Father in His throne." And
that we may be sure to do so, He prays to the Father for it,

John 17. 24. saying, " Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given
Me, be with Me where I am, that they may behold My
glory." Where we may take notice also how He prays or
intercedes for us, even by signifying His will to have it so,
as I observed before : " Father, I will," saith He, " that they
also whom Thou hast given Me be with Me." And what
could we ourselves have desired more, nay, what could Christ
Himself have desired more for us than this, that we may
live with Him ? For if we live with Him, we shall live with
the best Friend that we have in the whole world, and Whom

[Gal. 2.20.] we love above all things in it ; with Him " Who loved us too,
and gave Himself for us ; " with Him Who took all our sins
upon Himself, and bore all the shame and pain that was due
unto us for them ; with Him Who was derided, scoffed at,
buffeted, scourged, crowned with thorns, arraigned, con-

[Rev. i. 5.] demned, crucified, and all for us ; with Him " Who washed
us from our sins in His Own blood, and hath made us kings
and priests to God and the Father ; " with Him Who saves

[2 Pet. 1.3.] us from our enemies, and delivers us out of the hand of all
that hate us ; with Him " Who gives us all things necessary
both for life and godliness," and enables us to make a right
use of them ; with Him who is now interceding and pre
paring a place for us on purpose that we may live with Him

[Phii.3.2i.] in Heaven; in Heaven, where He "will fashion our vile
bodies, that they may be like His glorious body," and make
our souls perfect like His Own, that so we may be fit to keep
Him company, where He will always smile upon us, and
manifest His special love and kindness to us; where He
will shine forth in all His glory before us, and keep our eyes
always open to behold it ; where He will advance us to the
highest degrees of honour that we are capable of, and fill us
as full of all true joy and comfort as our souls can hold : in
a word, where we shall live with Him, our dearest Lord and
ever-blessed Saviour, not only for some time, but for ever

i Thess. 4. and ever, as His Apostle hath taught us, saying, that " we
who shall be alive and remain at the Last Day, shall meet

Preparatory to Ours. 451

the Lord in the air, and so shall be ever with the Lord."
And then adds, " Wherefore comfort one another with these
words. ""

And well may he add that, for this certainly is the greatest
comfort that a true Christian can ever have, insomuch that
it hath prevented me in that which I promised to shew in
the last place, even that the consideration of these things
should keep our hearts from being troubled at any thing we
meet with here below ; for if we firmly believe and duly
consider these words of our Blessed Saviour, and what we
have now heard upon them, how can we suffer either our
heads or our hearts to be troubled about any thing upon
earth, but only how to get to heaven? What if we should
be deprived of all our temporal enjoyments, what need we
be troubled, when we have mansions above ready furnished
to our hands with all the good things we can desire ? What
if it be difficult to get a place there ? We have an Almighty
Harbinger gone before to prepare one for us. What if we
have never so many enemies, yea, what if all the men upon
earth, and all the Devils in Hell, should conspire to ruin us ?
What need we be troubled at that, when we have a sure
friend in Heaven who can abate their pride, assuage their
malice, confound their devices, and make them against their
wills do us good by all they design against us? What if
we have no body here below that minds or matters what
becomes of us ? What need we be troubled at that, when
we have an infinitely wise, and powerful, and good, and
merciful Saviour above, continually taking care of us, and
providing all things necessary for us, and One who can aid
and assist us in all conditions, upon all occasions whatsoever:
if we be in want, He can supply us ; if in danger, He can
deliver us ; if in pain, He can ease us ; if in disgrace, He can
bring us to honour ; if we be accused, He can acquit us ; if
sorrowful, He can comfort us ; if weak, He can strengthen
us ; if sick, He can heal us ; if dying, He can receive us to
Himself? Can, did I say? yea, and will too, if we do but
obey and trust Him as we ought.

Let us not, therefore, trouble our heads any more about
any thing, but how to serve our great Lord and Master
Christ, by doing all such good works as He hath set us,

452 Christ's Ascension into Heaven, 8fc.

anc^ Puttmg our whole trust and confidence only on Him,
both for God's assistance of us in the doing them, and for
His acceptance of them when they are done. Let us but
constantly do this, and then we may be sure that He will
guide, assist, and bless us through the whole course of our
lives, and at length bring us to that blessed place which He
hath prepared for us in His Father's House, that we may
always live with Him who liveth and reigneth with the
Father and the Holy Ghost, world without end.

SERMON LXXVII.

A WHITSUN SERMON.

ACTS ii. 1, 2.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all
with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a
sound from Heaven, frc.

As in the Creation of the world from nothing, so also in
the Redemption of Mankind from sin, all the three Persons
in the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, did
jointly concur, every one contributing towards it according
to their several ways of working; for man by his fall into
sin being both guilty of it, and defiled with it, God the
Father sent His Son to expiate his guilt, and both Father
and Son send the Spirit to cleanse him from the filth of sin,
and to restore him to purity and holiness again ; for which
ends the Son came down to die for him, and the Spirit
to live within him ; and though there was no visible ap
pearance of either of them till many years after the be
ginning of the world, yet the power and efficacy of cither's
undertaking commenced from the first promise which was Gen. 3. 15.
made to man immediately after his fall. For from that
time Christ was looked upon as slain for the sins of men,
and the Holy Ghost thereupon moved upon their hearts
" to turn them from darkness unto light, and from the [Acts 26.
power of Satan unto God ; " by which means the Patriarchs 1£
of old, and many that lived long before Christ came into
the world, had their sins pardoned, their persons accepted,
and their hearts purified, and by consequence are now in
Heaven.

454 A Whitsun Sermon.

SERM. « But when the fulness of time" prescribed by the Father

[Gal. 4. 4.] " was come," the second Person came down from Heaven,
and having clothed Himself with flesh, conversed several
years in our own nature with men on earth ; but all the
while that He was here, the Spirit came not any more than

John 7. 39. it had done before, neither could come until Himself was
gone. From whence we may observe, that the Spirit's
coming from Heaven to earth depended upon the Son's
return from earth to Heaven, being, as it were, part of the
purchase that He made by His death for us, so that had
not the First died, to free us from our guilt, and justify our
persons, neither would the Spirit have come to cleanse us
from our lusts, and sanctify our natures ; but when by His
death He had purchased both pardon and grace, both
justification and sanctification for us, then He had power
afterwards to send the Spirit, Who by His grace might
reconcile us to God, as Himself by His death had reconciled

John 16. 7. God to us ; and therefore He said, that " when He was
gone He would send the Comforter, that is the Spirit."
Where also it is observable the Spirit is called napa^x^ro?,

i John 2.1. properly the Advocate, as it is rightly rendered of our
Saviour ; for, indeed, as Christ is our Advocate in Heaven,
so is the Spirit God's Advocate upon earth ; Christ there
pleads with God for us, the Spirit here pleads with us for

John 16. s. God ; yea, so that our Saviour tells us, He shall " convince
the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."
Thus, therefore, our Saviour to .comfort His Disciples, pro
mised them several times before He died, that when He was
gone He would send them another Comforter, or Advocate,

John 14. 16- m His room,, "even the Spirit of God Himself;" neither
did He promise it onlv before His Passion, but after His

en. 15. 26. A

Luke 24. 49. Resurrection too; and therefore bids them wait at Hieru-

Acts 1.4. salem for it. But why at Hierusalem? That so the Spirit

might find them where He left them, and that, being

endowed with power from above, they might there begin to

proclaim the Gospel, where Christ had sealed it with His

Own blood ; and that the ancient Prophecy also might be

Isa. 2. 3. fulfilled, " Out of Sion shall go forth the Law, and the Word

of God from Hierusalem." Neither doth He only appoint them

the place where they should expect the coming of the Spirit,

A Whitsun Sermon. 455

but assures them too, that it should not be many days before
He came. He would not send Him too soon, that they Acts. i. 5.
might be more desirous of Him, and better prepared to
receive Him; but He would not stay too long, lest they
should suspect either His power or faithfulness, in not per
forming what He had so often promised ; and therefore He
tells them before, that it should be some days, but not many,
before He came : some, that their desires might be stronger
after the fulfilling of the promise ; not many, lest their faith
should grow weaker in Him that made it, Who made it also,
and fulfilled it, on purpose that their faith might be confirmed
in Him.

Our Saviour, therefore, having thus made this promise
immediately before His Ascension, His Disciples could not
but wait at Hierusalem for the fulfilling of it. And verily
it was not many days before it was fulfilled, exactly accord
ing to our Saviour's promise and prediction, for He was
crucified at the Passover, and rose again the third day, the
day from whence the Jews began to reckon their fifty days
to the Feast of Pentecost. After He was risen, He continued
forty days upon earth, before He ascended up to Heaven : Acts i. 3.
so that, as the Israelites, after they had eaten the first
Paschal lamb, were forty years in the wilderness before they
got to the land of Canaan ; so our Saviour, the true Pass
over, after He was slain and raised again, continued forty
days in the wilderness of this world, before He went up to
Heaven, the true land of Canaan. And it was but imme
diately before His Ascension that He made this promise,
and therefore there were but ten days betwixt the making
and the accomplishing of it, for there were but fifty days in
all from the Resurrection to the Pentecost ; forty were ex
pired at His Ascension, and therefore there were but ten
remaining to the Pentecost, when the Spirit came down,
according to the relation which St. Luke hath made of it in
my text, " And when the Day of Pentecost was fully come,"
&c.

In which words is briefly contained whatsoever is neces
sary to be known, concerning the great mystery of the Holy
Ghost's coming down to reside with men ; and therefore, that

456 A Whit sun Sermon.

SE RM. you may fully understand them, I shall endeavour to explain
- them clearly unto you, as they lie in order.

First, therefore, here is the time when He came down,
" When the Day of Pentecost was fully come ;" for the
opening whereof we shall consider,
I. What this Day of Pentecost was.

II. Why He came upon this Day.

First, therefore, for our better understanding what this
Day of Pentecost was, we must know that the Jews were
commanded by God Himself to observe three feasts every
year, which they call drb:n, because all men, wheresoever
they were, were bound to come on foot to them; and they
were the Feast of the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the
Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles was kept
in autumn, on the fifteenth day of their month Tisri, which
answers partly to our September ; the Feast of the Pass
over was kept on the fifteenth day of their first month, Abib,
or Nisan ; for upon the fourteenth day of the same month
the Passover was slain, and the fifteenth day was the Feast
of the Passover, or of unleavened bread. Now, from the
next day after the feast of the unleavened bread, they were
to reckon seven weeks, which make forty-nine days, and the
next day after, which was the fiftieth day, was their other
great feast, which, because it was reckoned by weeks, was
called ntotprin, <the Feast of Weeks;' and it being kept
upon the fiftieth day from the morrow after the Feast of
unleavened bread, it was therefore called rnvryxoffrf) fa'spa, ' the

Levit. 23. fiftieth day,' and simply irevrexoarq, 'the Pentecost.'

Upon this day, therefore, it was that the Holy Ghost came
down to enlighten and better this world, by enabling the
Apostles to preach, and others to believe and obey the
Gospel ; and hence it is that it hath always been kept with
as much devotion by Christians, as ever it was by the Jews,
not because Moses commanded it, but because the Holy
Ghost hath sanctified it; and therefore in ancient times this
was one of the principal days of Baptism, and the persons
baptized always being clothed with white, hence I suppose
our English name of it had its first original ; as also the
Greek xug/ax^ Xa/^a, ' the bright sun-day ;' and questionless

A Whitsun Sermon. 457

never was day so bright, so glorious as this, wherein the
glorious light of Heaven itself, the Holy Ghost, came down
to visit and enlighten our dark horizon.

Secondly, Why did the Holy Ghost make choice of this
day, wherein to manifest Himself to the world ? One reason
may be, because the Law was given on Mount Sinai fifty
days after the Paschal Lamb, or the first Passover, was slain ;
for from the fourteenth day of the first month, when the
Lamb was slain, to the third day of the third month when
the Law was given, were just fifty days. Hence, therefore, Exod. 19.
as St. Augustine also long ago observed, " The Spirit came [Ep. 119.
down fifty days after Christ, the true Passover, was slain, to
enable us to keep that Law which was then promulgated on
Mount Sinai, and to write it on the tables of our hearts
which was then written only on tables of stone."

Another reason may be, because then there was to be a
greater concourse of people, which might be both witnesses
of, and converted by, His coming then ; for all Jews from
all parts were then obliged by their Law to present them
selves before the Lord in the Temple at Hierusalem ; and
that many did so at that time, is plain from what follows in
that very chapter, Acts ii. 5. This therefore seemed to be
the fittest time for the Spirit to come down so visibly
amongst them, that some of all parts of the world might be
eye-witnesses of it, and not only be themselves convinced by
so great a miracle of the truth of the Gospel confirmed by
it, but also carry the news of it to their several countries all
the world over ; by which means also, all that had seen
Christ crucified at the Passover, might see the Spirit come [Cf. Cy-
down at Pentecost. ^^

There is still another thins: much to be observed in the Sanct.Ed.

lialuz. App.

day whereon the Holy Ghost vouchsafed to descend to us cxivi. AU-

poor mortals upon earth, and that is, that the Day of Pen- ng'

tecost that year happened to be the first day of the week, or
Sunday ; as not only the ancient Fathers asserted, but reason Act.
itself concludes to be most certain ; for the Pentecost, or m. p. 20. A.
fifty days must be reckoned from the morrow after the Feast cf.*An*

of unleavened bread, on which day our Saviour rose : but it I on

is plain from Scripture that He rose the first day of the Bending the
week. Now if, beginning at the first day, we reckon seven Ghost.]

458 A Whitsun Sermon.

SERM. weeks complete, that is forty-nine days, the fiftieth day must
- necessarily follow to be the first day of the week again.
What cause have we then to reverence and celebrate this
day with all solemnity and devotion imaginable, seeing the
whole work of our Salvation was accomplished on it ; for on
it our blessed Saviour rose from the earth to justify our
persons, and on it the Holy Ghost came down from Heaven
to sanctify our natures : so that, as the Father had sanctified
the seventh day of the week to be kept holy from the begin
ning of the world to that time, so both Son and Spirit have
sanctified the first day of the week, to be kept holy from that
time to the end of the world. No wonder, therefore, that
Christians in all ages have been so strict in keeping of this day
holy. The greatest wonder is, that we should dare to profess
ourselves to be Christians, and yet profane it.

2. To whom was it that He first appeared ? If we
Acts 1.26. look into the foregoing chapter, we may be apt to think

that it was only the twelve Apostles who had this honour
conferred upon them, as to have the Holy Ghost so visibly
come down amongst them ; but it is very probable that it
was not only the twelve Apostles, but the hundred and
twenty disciples mentioned chap. i. 15 : by whom also
Matthias was chosen into the number of the Apostles in the
room of Judas, who had forfeited his Apostleship by betraying
his Master, and prevented his repentance by hanging him
self; for that all the hundred and twenty were then
present, consisting of men and women, old and young to
gether, even all that as yet believed in Christ, the Apostle
Peter intimates, in quoting for their defence the prophecy
of Joel, Acts ii. 16, 17, 18, and is plain also from ver. 14, 15,
where Peter standing up with the Eleven, said, that " those
who spake so much with other tongues were not drunken ;"
which therefore must needs be distinct from the twelve
Apostles that spake it of them.

3. Where were the Disciples when the Spirit came to
them ? Why, they were all with one accord in one place ;
they were all assembled together, where we may consider
the manner and the end of their present assembling.

1. For the manner, it is said, that they were all with one
accord in one place; with one accord, that is, with one

A WJdtsun Sermon. 459

heart, one mind, and one soul ; they were not some of one
opinion, and some of another, neither were there any strifes
or contentions, nor any animosities, or heartburnings, one
against another : no pride or self-conceitedness, but rather
every one accounted others better than himself, contending
about nothing, but which should be the least contentious
among them ; but as all their hearts were united to God, so
were they to one another ; so that there seemed to be but
one soul amongst them all ; and therefore also they did not
only meet together with one accord, but in one place too.
One was not in one place, and another in another, but, as
they had all one heart, so they were all in one place.

2. As for the end, why they met thus with one accord in
one place : certainly it could be upon no bad design ; they
came not hither to plot treason, or sow sedition ; they came
not to inveigh against their governors, or to vent their
malice against their neighbours ; neither came they to con
sult about the world ; nor to lay their heads together how to
advance their credits or estates ; much less came they hither
to indulge their senses with carnal pleasures, or to spend
their time in rioting and drunkenness. If they had come
upon these or such like designs as these are, they would
have been altogether uncapable, as well as unworthy, to
receive so great a blessing as was then vouchsafed unto
them: neither could they have expected the Spirit, but
rather the judgments of God, to have come down upon them.
There might indeed have come a sound from Heaven, not
such a one as to rejoice their souls, but rather to make their
ears to tingle, and their hearts to tremble. There might
have been a mighty rushing wind, but not to fill their house
with glory where they sat, but rather to throw it down
upon their heads ; not cloven tongues, but feet, might have
appeared unto them, and such a fire have set upon them as
might consume both their souls and bodies, and so, instead of
speaking with other tongues, that they had lost their own,
for they had all been speechless.

The event, therefore, shews what they were met about in
general, even to perform that worship and homage to Al
mighty God, which He required of them ; and whilst they
were paying their devotions to Him, Christ fulfilleth His

460

A Whitsun Sermon.

i?xxvn Prom^se un^° them, in pouring forth His Spirit upon them.
~ But what particular acts of devotion they now did, we may
gather from what they used to do when met together at
other times.

1 . They never met, but still they prayed ; not so carelessly
and perfunctorily as we are too apt to do, but with all their
might and mind, or, if you will, with one heart and mind,
with one accord. But what kind of prayers they were
wont to perform to God, what humility, faith, and sincerity
they expressed in them, we may easily gather together from
Acts iv. 24, 25, 30. Thus, when they met, they used to join
their forces together to take Heaven as it were by violence,
that no real evil might fall upon them, no real good be
wanting to them. And it is more than probable that at
this time especially they were big with the expectation of
the promise which Christ had made them, and therefore
with one accord were praying that it might be now fulfilled
to them, which accordingly was done, and that not only at
this, but at other times, as Acts iv. 31. From whence we
may observe, that whilst they were sending up their spirits
unto God, God sent down His Spirit unto them, and by
consequence, that the best way for us to obtain any mercy
from God is still to ask it of Him ; God having not only
promised, but His Saints experienced, that what they ask
faithfully, they still obtain effectually.

2. They were wont to have the Word of God preached
or expounded to them, as we read St. Paul did.

3. But the great thing they did whensoever they met
together, was to receive the Sacrament ; so that their coming-
together was still upon this account, where, by breaking of
bread, we are to understand the Sacrament, as also where
soever it occurs in the New Testament, because the principal
thing in the Sacrament, even the death of Christ, is sig
nified by breaking of the bread ; and therefore, saith the
Apostle, " The bread which we break, is it not the Com
munion of the body of Christ?" Neither did they content
themselves with receiving the Sacrament now and then, but

Acts 2. 42, it was their daily, their continual employment. And there
fore we cannot doubt but that on the day of Pentecost,
when they met together, they did that which was the work

Acts 20. 7.

ibid.

1 Cor. 10.
16.

A. Whitsun Sermon. 461

of every day, even administer and receive the Sacrament of
the Lord's Supper. And it is very observable, that when
our Saviour after His Resurrection met with two of His
Disciples as they were going to Emaus, though they knew
Him not before, yet when according to His Own institution
He had taken bread and blessed it, and broken it, and given
it to them, " Their eyes were presently opened, so that they Luke 24. 30,
knew Him." Questionless He could have manifested Him- 3u
self to them many other ways besides this, but this He did
to shew that the principal way to come to the right know
ledge of Him, is by breaking of bread, by frequent be
holding Him mystically crucified in the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper.

Now, as Christ discovered Himself to two of them, so it
seems He gave His Spirit to all His Disciples, whilst they
were breaking of bread : for, seeing they never omitted this
Sacrament, much less would they omit it now upon the day
of Pentecost, when they were all together with one accord,
in one place, " at which time there came a sound from
Heaven," &c. Give me leave to apply what hath been
already spoken of concerning the circumstances preceding
the descent of the Holy Ghost ; and here give me leave to
deal plainly with you : we have been this day commemo
rating that blessed time when Christ, being Himself gone
up from earth to Heaven, sent down His Spirit from Heaven
to earth : we have seen also what the Disciples were doing
when the Spirit came unto them, even the same things that
you and I are now here met about; and amongst other
things they were doing that which you and I are now to
do, even the receiving the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

And verily I hope that there is none of you but have so
considered what I suggested to you the last Lord's Day
concerning the necessity of receiving this Sacrament, that
you are all prepared for it, being both ashamed and afraid
to omit it any longer, as heretofore many of you have done ;
though I cannot but oftentimes wonder with myself with
what face any one can go out of the congregation when the
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is to be administered, as if
it was not as necessary for us to receive the Sacrament, as
it is to hear a sermon ; but surely such of you never allow

462 A Whitsun Sermon.

SERM. yourselves time to think that yourselves are sinners, and
- Christ your only Saviour. For if you did but consider that
aright, you would need no other arguments to persuade you
to receive that Sacrament which Himself hath ordained to
testify your faith in Him, and partake of the benefits of His
Death and Passion. I dare say if you had all places of trust,
or offices of never so little value under his majesty, which
by the late act you could not hold without taking the
Sacrament, there is not a man of you but would receive it
presently. Judge therefore in your own consciences whether
it be not a sad, a dismal thing, that you should do that for
a little pelf, which neither Christ's command, nor the
eternal concerns of your own immortal souls, can bring
you to.

But I cannot, I dare not but hope better things of you,
and therefore, trusting in the living God, that He hath both
excited and enabled you to prepare yourselves for this
blessed Ordinance, let us all address ourselves unto it. Who
knows but Christ may manifest Himself to us, as He did to
the two Disciples in breaking of bread ? Who knows but
the Holy Ghost Himself may come down, as He did in my
text, whilst we are receiving of the Sacrament, and fill our
hearts with all true grace and virtue ? This I am. sure of,
that none of us shall receive it aright, but we shall also
receive unspeakable benefit and comfort from it ; which
that we may do, let us bid the world adieu, and call in for
all our scattered affections, and present them before Him
that made them. Let us soar aloft for a while, and in our
aspiring thoughts contemplate nought but Christ. Let us
fix the eye of our faith, so that we may look through the
signs to the things signified ; that so together with the
bread and wine we may receive Christ with all the benefits
of His Death and Passion, and so may return home with
our sins pardoned, our lusts subdued, our minds enlightened,
our natures cleansed, and our hearts rejoicing in God our
Saviour.

We have seen the time when, the persons to whom, and
the duties wherein the Holy Ghost first made His visible
appearance upon earth. We are now to consider the man
ner and the effects of it : for the opening whereof we must

A Whitsun Sermon. 463

know, that though He came of His Own accord, yet He was
sent also by the Son, not only as He proceeds from Him
as well as from the Father, but also upon the account of
His death, whereby He having redeemed us from sin, He
had right and power to send His Spirit to make us holy.
And therefore the Spirit's descent to earth was not only the
consequent, but the effect too of Christ's ascent to Heaven.
For as the ancient emperors, after they had conquered their
stubborn enemies, were wont to ride in triumph over them,
and towards the end of their triumphant shows, to scatter
gifts and largesses amongst their subjects and spectators,
so here, our blessed Lord had a sharp encounter with the
two great and potent enemies of mankind, Sin and Death :
these He fought upon the Cross, though both His hands
and feet were tied, yea nailed to it. The battle continued
long, till Sin at length gave Christ so great a blow, that it
struck Him down ; but He would not fall alone, but plucked
down both Sin and Satan along with Him ; and then rising
again at His Resurrection, He got above them both, gave
them their mortal wound, and so obtained a most signal
victory over them ; in token whereof He afterwards rode
triumphantly into Heaven ; a cloud being His triumphant
chariot, and the whole host of Heaven His attendants, who
all congratulated the conquest He had won over the enemies
of that nature He had assumed, and welcomed His safe
return into His Father's Kingdom. And the more to set
out His triumph, and manifest His victory He had got, He
soon distributed His gifts amongst His new-bought subjects
upon earth, as both the Psalmist and Apostle long ago
observed, saying, of Him, that when He "ascended up onEph. 4. 8;
high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." Ps' 68' 18*
And as there never was so great a victory got as our
Saviour got, so never did conqueror give such gifts as He
gave. Other princes used to adorn their triumphs with
scattering silver or gold, and suchlike trash amongst their
people. But such gifts as these were too mean, too low for
so great a conqueror, and so mighty a prince, to give upon
such an occasion as this was ; for this being the greatest
victory that ever was or ever can be gotten, it was rather to
be signalized with the greatest gifts that ever were or ever

464 A Whitsun Sermon.

SERM. can be given. And so verily it was ; for our Saviour was

LXXVIT

- no sooner got into His Kingdom, but He presently sends down
His Spirit to distribute all His gifts and graces amongst
His beloved subjects upon earth. The manner whereof is
here described by the Evangelist St. Luke, who hath left it
upon record on purpose for our comfort and admonition.
" For there came," saith he, " a sound from Heaven," &c.

Where we may observe, first, in general, that the Spirit
came, and not in a secret and invisible way, as He might,
but as openly and visibly as He could. It is true, if He
would, He might have insinuated Himself, and have in
stilled all His gifts and graces into the hearts and souls of
the Disciples, without any sign or external appearance what
soever, so that neither others, nor themselves, at first could
have taken any notice of it. But it pleased Himself to come,
and the Son to send Him, in more state than so, and in such
a public and open manner as He did, upon these accounts :

1. That the Disciples might take particular notice of
Christ's fidelity to them, in performing that promise which
He made them before He had departed from them : He
had told them that He would send the Spirit to them, and
therefore they could not but expect it ; but if it had come in
that clandestine manner unto them as it useth to go to others,
they would not have had that signal testimony of Christ's
fulfilling His promise to them, which was necessary to the
confirming of their faith in Him, neither would they have
been affected so much with the performance of it, as after
wards they were.

2. It came in this visible manner to them, that others
might be convinced that what the Disciples taught, though
it might seem both new and strange to them that heard it,
or to us that hear of it ; yet it proceeded not from enthusiasm
or fanaticism, or a vain and false pretence to Divine revela
tion, but that it was really infused into them by God Him
self, seeing the Holy Ghost came down so visibly, so appa
rently upon them.

3. The Spirit, Who hitherto came incognito into true be
lievers, now made His public entrance into this lower world,
to shew that Himself was concerned in man's Salvation as
well as the Father and the Son. The Father had openly

A Whitsun Sermon. 465

engaged Himself by promise to send His Son to be our
Saviour ; the Son as openly appeared upon the stage of this
world in our very nature, wherein He died too in the view
of all that stood by ; and therefore the Holy Ghost, that He
also might openly manifest His concurrence to our Salvation,
chose to come in this open and public manner, that all there
present might behold it, and that we might all admire at the
infinite love and mercy of the Eternal God in man's redemp
tion, seeing all the Persons in the sacred Trinity so much
concerned themselves in the offering of it.

Now, as for the particular ways whereby the Holy Ghost
manifested His coming to the Disciples, I shall endeavour
to explain them in the order that they are here set down.

First, therefore, " There came a sound from Heaven as of
a mighty rushing wind, and it filled all the house where they
were sitting ; " it was not therefore a real wind, but only the
sound, as if it had been of a mighty rushing wind. There
was a sound, to strike terror into them, and a sound as of a
mighty wind to shew what He would do in and by them,
even turn all things upside down, as He doth wheresoever
He comes. If He comes but into a private heart, how does
it bear down all before it ! What changes and alterations
doth it soon make in it ! How doth it shift and turn every
thing upside down ! making it love what before it hated, and
hate what before it loved ; admire what before it scorned,
and scorn what before it admired; desire what before it
abhorred, and abhor what before it desired.

But if we consider what He did when He came into the
world at this time, His coming might well be compared to a
mighty rushing wind indeed ; for nothing was able to stand
before it, the highest mountains, even the proudest spirits,
were humbled by it ; the rocks were rent, and the hardest
and stoutest hearts soon trembled and shook before it :
idolatry and superstition, which had taken such deep root in
the hearts of men, were plucked up by the roots and thrown
down by it ; the strongest and stateliest fabrics in the world,
the temples, were not able to withstand it, yea the very gods
themselves were forced to stoop unto it ; Saturn and Apollo,
yea, and Jupiter himself, with the rest of the feigned deities,
all fell down before it, to give way to a crucified Christ ;

H H

466 A Whitsun Sermon.

SERM. their oracles were soon struck dumb, so soon as the Spirit

LXXVII

-1- began to speak, and to enable the Apostles to preach the
Gospel. So fitly was the Spirit ushered into the world with
a sound as of a mighty rushing wind, seeing that the strongest
fortresses that Satan had erected him in the world, no, nor
the very gates of Hell, were able to stand up against it.

2. There appeared to them cloven tongues. The Spirit
first presented Himself to the ears, and then to the eyes of
the Disciples. First they heard a sound that gave them
warning of the approaching wonder, and then they see the
sight, such a one as never was before, nor ever shall be
again ; for there appeared to them cloven tongues, tongues
divided into as many parts as there were languages in the
universal world, signifying that the Apostles' tongues should
be so cloven as to be able to speak plainly and distinctly
whatsoever language was spoken upon the face of the
earth ; neither were they only cloven tongues, but like as of
fire, to shew how quick, how piercing, how forcible their
words should be, that they should not only speak to the ears,
but to the very hearts of men ; their words, like fire, insinu
ating themselves into every corner of their hearts that heard
them, burning up the briers and thorns, consuming all the
lusts and corruptions it should meet withal, and so cleanse,
so purify and refine their souls that they should be fit habit-
acles for God Himself to dwell in.

Thus, therefore, the cloven tongues like as of fire appeared
to them ; and then it follows, " and it sat upon them ; " that
is, the Holy Ghost sat upon each of them ; it did not leap
from one to another, but sat severally upon each of them,
high or low, rich or poor, yea, old or young, without any
distinction whatsoever.

But though it sat a while it did not sit long upon each of
them, but sunk down into them, for they were presently all
filled with the Holy Ghost, even as the house before had
been with the sound as of a rushing mighty wind. Thus they
were full of the Holy Ghost ; an expression very usual in
Scripture, and no less observable ; for none is ever said to
be full of an Angel, or full of any creature, but only full of
the Holy Ghost, who by consequence must needs be no
creature, but the infinite God Himself, otherwise He could

A Whitsun Sermon. 467

never have filled the souls of men, which are so vast and
capacious, that no one, no, nor all the creatures in the world
can ever fill them.

Having thus explained the manner of the Holy Ghost's
coming- down upon the Disciples, we are in the next place to
consider the effects, which were either immediate, such as
shewed themselves at the same time, or else such as appeared
afterwards.

The first and most immediate effects of all were seen upon
the Apostles, upon whom the Spirit was no sooner come,
but, according to the appearance which they had seen, their
tongues were immediately cloven, they were all expert lin
guists ; " For they began," saith the text, " to speak with
other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." And
what those other tongues were we may see, ver. 5-11.
Where we must observe that these were all Jews, come from
these several parts of the world to worship in the temple at
Hierusalern upon the Feast of Pentecost, as the Mosaic Law
enjoined. And therefore, ver. 5, they are said to be Jews
dwelling, xaro/xoDi/rss, ' sojourning' rather, at Hierusalem, and
to be guXaCgft, ' devout men,' because they came thither upon
a righteous account, so that it is a great mistake for any
one to think they were Gentiles.

But then, you will say, how come the Jews to be so dis
persed all the world over, as is here intimated they were ;
for that, we must know, that of the twelve tribes of Israel,
ten were carried captive by Salmanassar king of Assyria, and
placed in Hala and Habor, by the river ofGozan, and in the 2 Kings 17.
cities of the Medes. Few of which ever returned again,
though the more devout amongst them made shift some
times to come to Hierusalem to perform their devotions
there, and these are they which are called Parthians, Medes,
and Elamites, or Persians of the province of Elymais. The
two other tribes of Judah and Benjamin were afterwards
carried by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon, and placed in the
cities and countries thereabout, where a great part of them
staid, though many returned in the reign of Cyrus to Hieru
salem again; and these were they which are here called
dwellers in Mesopotamia and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Phrygia and Pamphylia. Besides these two dispersions of

468 A Whitsun Sermon.

SERM. the Jews beyond the river Euphrates by Salmanassar and

— ^ Nebuchadnezzar, Ptolomseus Lagi, one of the Greek kings

[Ant. Jud. reigning in Egypt, as Josephus himself tells us, did after-

t. i.'p. 585. wards take Hierusalem by surprise, and carried many of the

Have?1' mnabitants into Egypt, and planted them in Alexandria and

camp.j other places thereabouts. These, though they continued Jews,

and observed the Mosaic rites as well as they could, yet

being subject to the Grecian Empire, they spake the Greek

tongue, and in their Synagogues used the Greek translation

of the Bible, or the Septuagint made in Egypt, and therefore

Acts 6. i. are called Grecians or Hellenists. These therefore are they

which are here said to dwell in Egypt, and in the parts of

ver. 10. Lybia about Cyrene. And they being thus scattered abroad

into so many countries, no wonder that at length we find

some of them at Rome too, others amongst the Cretes and

ver. 5. Arabians, yea, and in every nation of the known world.

The dispersed Jews, therefore, coming from these remote
parts, and meeting at Hierusalem, they there find a company
of illiterate men that knew by nature no more than their
mother tongue, speaking the several languages of every one
from what places soever he came, so that they were able on
a sudden to entertain or discourse with any of them in their
own proper and native language; with the Grecians in Greek,
with the Arabians in Arabic, and with the Romans in Latin ;
such a miracle as was never heard of before ; but there were
eye and ear-witnesses of it, whose devotion at this time had
brought them to Hierusalem : many whereof found also
another wonderful effect of the Spirit's coming down upon
the Disciples, for from the Disciples it diffused itself into
them too ; for as the Disciples' tongues, so their hearts were
rent. For St. Peter had no sooner spoke a few words to them,
but presently they were pricked at their hearts, and cried
ch. 2. 37. out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Insomuch,
that on that one day there were no less than three thousand
ver. 4i. souls converted and added to the Church. Oh glorious
effect of the coming of the Holy Ghost ! How happy were
they who came from the remotest parts of the world to per
form their devotions in the temple of Hierusalem, upon the
feast of Pentecost! They were witnesses of the greatest
miracle that was ever acted, and partakers of the greatest

A Whitsun Sermon. 469

blessing that could be desired ; whereas if they had stayed
at home as the rest of their brethren did, they had neither
seen the one nor enjoyed the other.

Besides those immediate effects which the coming of the
Spirit had upon the spot, and at the very place and time of
His appearance, there are many others, which you and I
should be both mindful of, and thankful for ; I shall only
mention such as our Saviour promised should be, and the
event testified that they really were the effects of His
coming.

1. By the virtue and assistance of the Spirit thus come
upon them, the Apostles and Disciples were enabled to write
the Gospels, and to transmit to posterity whatsoever was
needful to be known of what Our Saviour did or said when
He was upon earth ; for it is certain that none of the Gospels
were written till some time after Our Saviour's ascension: but
then you will say, how could the Evangelists remember the
several passages of Our Saviour's life, so as to deliver them
so exactly unto us? especially, how could they remember
the long sermon that He made upon the Mount, and before
His Passion, so as to repeat it verbatim, word for word, some
years after, as it is most certain St. John did in his Gospel ?
Questionless, it was only by the Spirit of God calling to their
minds whatsoever Our Saviour said to them, which it was
necessary that they should hand down to us, for so Our
Saviour expressly promised them before His death. And John 14. 2<>
therefore how much cause have we to celebrate this day with
joy and thankfulness to the Eternal God for what was done
upon it, for as much as we are to ascribe unto the mercy and
miracle of this day, that we have any infallible records of
what Our Saviour did or said ; that we have any Gospels
which we may confide in ; and that all those excellent and
Divine sermons, discourses, and expressions, which Our
Saviour uttered, are not buried in oblivion ! So that, do we
certainly know that there was such a person once as Christ
upon earth? Do we know how He was born, and how
bred up? Do we know what He did, and what He suf
fered ? Do we know how He died and rose ao%ain ? Do

o

we know those Divine truths He taught, and those excellent
laws that He prescribed ? Do we know how He ascended

470 A Whitsun Sermon.

SERM. up to Heaven, and afterwards sent down His Spirit unto

LXXVII

- earth? Why it is to this the last thing He did, that we must
ascribe the knowledge both of itself and all things else con
cerning Him ; so that had the Spirit never come down to
earth, be sure we should never have gone up to Heaven, for
we had never known the way thither, but had still continued
in darkness and infidelity, yea in heathenism and idolatry
itself; and therefore, if we be Christians, and desire to con
tinue so, we must needs bless God for the mercies of this day,
without which we had never known what Christianity had
been.

Especially considering that it was by the Spirit only thus
coming upon them, that the Apostles were directed to all
such truths as were necessary to be known in order to our

John 16. 26. Saviour's promise. So that the writing not only of the Gos
pels, but of all the other parts of the New Testament, de
pended upon the coming of the Holy Ghost ; to which also
we are obliged for the propagating as well as for the writing
of the Gospel ; for the fulfilling of this promise, which Christ
had made them did not only embolden the Apostles, but
enable them too to preach the Gospel, maugre all the op
position which was made against it ; yea, and to work miracles
for the confirmation of it, and at last to seal it with their own
blood. For it was by the Holy Ghost alone that they were

Luke24.49. empowered to do so, as Our Saviour Himself foretold them
immediately before He parted with them.

Thus have I endeavoured to give you some small light into
the manner and effects of the first visible appearance that the
Apostles, after Our Saviour's Ascension, had of the Holy
Ghost descending upon them. Whether your affections have
been moved suitably to what you have heard, or whether you
have been moved at all, I leave that to God and your own
consciences. This I am sure of, that if you have considered
all along what we have been discoursing of, you could not but
find work enough for all the powers of your souls to be em
ployed, which certainly ought to have put forth and exercised
themselves after the same manner as if we had really seen
as well as heard of the Spirit's coming down upon the Dis
ciples. For, suppose that instead of hearing of, we should
see this very sight represented again before our eyes ; and

A Whitsun Sermon. 471

now that we are met upon the day of Pentecost, I hope with
one accord, and in one place, suppose that whilst I am
speaking there should suddenly come a sound, as of a rush
ing' mighty wind, and fill the place where we now are ; and
that there should appear unto us cloven tongues like as of
fire, and sit upon each of us ; and so we should all be filled
with the Holy Ghost, and begin to speak with other tongues,
so that in the twinkling of an eye never an one of us, man,
woman, or child, but should be able to discourse exactly in
Greek or Hebrew, Chaldee or Syriac, Turkish or Arabic,
Persian or Ethiopic, Samaritan or Sclavonic, yea any lan
guage that is spoken upon the face of the earth ; would not
our hair stand on end, and our whole souls be struck into
horror and amazement at it ? Why, the same effect that the
sight would, the hearing of this miracle ought to have upon
us ; so that we should all stand as it were in amaze, astonished,
that God Himself, that inhabits eternity, should thus come
down to dwell with men, with creeping, crawling dust and
ashes upon earth. " Oh, what is man that Thou art mindful [PS- s. 4.]
of him, or the son of man that Thou shouldst visit him?"

But though the Disciples then present were the only
persons that saw this blessed sight, yet we may partake of
the benefits of it as well as they ; for in that our blessed
Lord then sent down His Spirit upon His Disciples in so
visible a manner, He therefore assures us that His Spirit
shall never be wanting to such as are His true disciples ; but
if we be His true disciples indeed, we shall have the same
Spirit come down on us as they had, and be endued with as
great power as they were, even to work miracles, though not
upon others, yet upon ourselves. I cannot say that we shall
be able to give eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame, health
to the sick, or life to the dying, with a word speaking, as the
Apostles ; yet we that were born spiritually blind shall have
our eyes so opened, as to see all things that belong to our
eternal estate ; we that before could not go one step in the
ways of God without stumbling, shall be able to "walk in [Luke i.e.]
all the Commandments of God blameless." We, who before
were distempered in our whole man, shall have all the facul
ties of our souls arid members of our bodies restored to a
sound frame and constitution ; yea, we who before were dead

472 A Whitsun Sermon.

SERM. in trespasses and sins, shall be quickened unto newness of

LXXVII

[Eph 2 i.'l ^e' whicn questionless are as great miracles as ever were or
ever can be wrought, and which else none but the Spirit of
God Himself can do.

But that the Spirit may come down on us as it hath done
on them, our spirits must be still rising up to Heaven, en
deavouring to meet Him as it were half way, so as still to be

Luke 11. 13. praying for it, and confiding in Our Saviour's words. Es
pecially when we meet to perform our devotions unto God,
we are to expect that He will perform His promise unto us,
as I hope He hath done to many of us already, who having
met together on the Day of Pentecost, as the Disciples did,
have been made partakers of the same Spirit as they were,
which if we are, how happy shall we be ! For, if once the
Spirit moves upon the face of our souls, He will soon dispel
all clouds and mists, and clear up our apprehensions of the
chiefest good ; He will enlighten our dark minds, and rectify
our crooked wills, inform our erring judgments, and reform
our sinful lives ; He will awaken our sleepy consciences,
and regulate our inordinate passions ; He will sanctify our
seeming griefs, and refine our real joys ; He will soften our
hard hearts, and humble our proud spirits ; He will weaken
our strong sins, and strengthen our weak graces. In a word,
He will make us as much averse from sin, and inclined to
holiness, as we have heretofore been averse from holiness,
and inclined to sin ; and so being holy by the Spirit in all
manner of conversation here, we need not fear but we
shall be happy through Christ in all manner of perfection
hereafter.

END OF THE THIRD VOLUME.

London: — Moyes and Barclay, Castle Street, Leicester Square.

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