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clearly, fome as through a glafs darkly*; but the obfcurest of them all to be contemplated with awful respect.

By his eternal Son, God made the world, and hath adminifiered it from the beginning. He therefore was plainly the fit perfon to conduct the most important of all its affairs, the recovery of mankind from fin and mifery; that in all things, as the apoftle expreffes it, he might have the pre-eminence, and in bim all fulness dwellt. In order to recover and reform men, he muft inftruct them: and doing it himself was unquestionably the most efficacious method. But how muft he come to do it? Had he appeared in a ftation of power and wealth; many would have been ready to pay court to him: but few, to obey his precepts from the heart. Even in his low eftate, fome followed him a while, merely for the loaves. And how much more hypocrify, a veryimproper qualification for the kingdom of righteoufnefs, would there have been amongst his hearers, had the circumftances of the teacher been more inviting! And how unfurmountable a disgrace might they have brought upon his whole undertaking in its very infancy, instead of the honour and fupport which it received from the unimpeached integrity of its first afflicted profeffors!

But further: Nothing enforces precepts, like example. Now what example could the Meflias have fet, in the midft of worldly pomp and grandeur? A very useful one certainly in fome points to fome of his chief officers, and others about his perfon but removed from the fight, and unfuitable to the condition, of the bulk of mankind: whereas in the fort of life, which he chofe, an extremely public, though a mean one, he was a daily and familiar pattern to all men, of the most general and difficult virtues: of condefcenfion, difinterestedness, and delight to do good; of indifference to worldly enjoyments, compofednefs under contempt, meeknefs under malicious provocations, and refignation to God's will under the bittereft fufferings of every kind. These things, moft of us, in one part or another of our pilgrimage, have need to practife and we find them fo hard to learn, that the encouragement of his having done and borne much more than he requires of us, and the affurance, that having been tempted himself, he will fuccour us when we are tempted‡, will, in a time of trial, be bleffings unSpeakable.

VOL. II.

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* 1 Cor. xiii. 12.

t See Col. i. 13-20.

Heb. ii. 18.

Then confider, befides, how great a confirmation his humility and patience add to the other proofs of his authority. A claim to worldly power, by virtue of a divine commiffion, raises apprehenfions of unfair defign. But when a perfon, declaring himself to come from heaven, renounces every thing on earth, which men ufually hold dear; when he fhews by plain facts, that his errand is, not to be miniftered unto, but to minifter, and to lay down his life for his followers*; when he forefces and foretells, that his doctrine will bring him to the fhamefulleft and cruelleft of deaths, and yet goes on, and meets it calmly here is the ftrongest evidence of fincerity; and the most engaging motive to love him who hath fo loved us, as to feal with his blood the truth of the good tidings, which he came to bring us.

But there is yet one reafon more of our Saviour's paffion, of which if we fee not diftinctly the full force, we fee however, that it may be of infinite force. Mankind are finners. Our first parents were fo: we have all been fo, few of us think to what a degree: and clofe upon fin follow weaknefs and guilt. The good inftructions and example of our bleffed Lord have indeed, without any thing farther, a powerful tendency to reform us, if we have ftrength to reform ourselves, on feeing that we ought. But what can they do for us, if we have not; which experience too often proves to be our cafe? or fuppofing them to do it ever fo effectually, ftill it would be true, that we have been finners; have difhonoured our Maker, and broken his laws: and who but himself can tell, what fatisfaction the holinefs of his nature and the honour of his government may demand to be made for fuch offences? mere forrow for having done amifs very teldom frees us in this world from the ill confequences of tranfgreffion: and what fecurity can we have, that it will in the next? living well for the future, is making no amends for having finned before: for it is no more than our duty, if we had never finned at all: befides that what men call living well, efpecially men deftitute of the fpirit of Chrift, is mixed with innumerable and grievous faults. In this ftate of things then, where is the certainty, that our fins would or could be forgiven; or the authority of God kept up in the eyes of his creation otherwife, than by punishing the guilty; and if that was to be done, the whole race of mankind

Matth. xx. 28.

mankind must fall under the fentence. Here it was therefore that his unfearchable wifdom interpofed, who, alone knowing the fittest means of reconciling justice with goodnefs, pitched upon this: that as a terrifying monument of the ill defert of iniquity, his beloved Son fhould in our nature, and in cur stead fuffer death; and for an eternal demenitration of the divite benignity, his undergoing it voluntarily fhould be rewarded with the highest glory to himfelf; and with pardon, and grace, and life eternal to all who made their humble claim to them, by repentance, faith, and love. Thus did God fhew himself just, and the juflifier of them which belive in fus*: thus did me: cy and truth meet together; righteousness" and peace kifs each otherf.

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Affuredly fo extraordinary a method would never have been taken without extraordinary used of it. That we should fully difcern the need, is no way neceffary: it fulices that God did. Our concern is no more than to accept falvation, Lis own gi, on his own terms: renouncing all merit in our ves, laying hold, by a lively faith, on the merits of our Redeemer's obedience, thanking our heavenly Father from the bottom of our fouls, for fending his bleffed Son into the world, and esteeming moft highly the chriftian creed, the chriftian worship, the chriftian facrament. God forbid, then, that we fould glory in any thing, face in the cross of our Lord Jefus Chrift: or ever te afhamed of that, for all the forn and ridicule of a thoughtlels and profane world. But God forbid alfo, that while we profess to believe on him, we thould crucify him to our felves afresh, and put him and his religion to fumes, by tranfgreiling and neglecting any obligation piety towards our Maker, our Saviour, our Sanctifier; ofjullie or goodneis towards our fellowcreatures; of humility, fobriety, temperance, chafity, in the goverument of ourfelves For in vain do we call bim Lord, unless we do the thing which he commands as in vain do we truft in his facrifice, unlefs we prefent our fouls and bodies, a fucrifice ac-· ceptable unto Goa¶: in vain do we imagine our peace is made through him in heaven, unless on earth we follow peace with all men, and that univerfal Lolin fs of life without which no man fball fee the Lord**.

Rom. iii. 26. § Heb. vi. 6. ** Heb. xii. 14.

+ Pfal. lxxxv. Ic.
| Luke vi. 46.

♦ Gal. vi. 41.

Rom. xii. 1.

SER

SERMON L.

FAITH IN A FUTURE STATE, THE CHIEF CONSOLATION UNDER AFFLICTION.

I COR. XV. 19.

If in this life only we have hope in Chrift, we are of all men moft miferable.

IN the words preceeding thefe, the apostle, after setting forth,

in several particulars, the evidence of our bleffed Lord's refurrection, goes on to prove from it the important doctrine of a general refurrection to eternal life.

It may seem to us now very strange, that any, who called themselves chriftians, could make the leaft doubt of fo known and effential an article of the chriftian faith. But if we confider the ftate, in which the world was then, we fhall wonder no longer, that, of profeffed believers, there should be fome, who did not believe the dead would be raised again. Among the Jews, the Pharifees indeed were firmly perfuaded of this truth. But the Sadducees, a confiderable fect, though not for the numbers, yet for the rank of those who embraced it, rejected the doctrine of a futuer life intirely: and looked on the refurrection, as a thing peculiarly incredible. Notwithstanding which, as they held a prefent providence that rules the world, they might many of them, reading the predictions of the Old Teftament concerning the Meffiah, feeing the accomplishment of them in the perfon of Jefus, and ftruck with the miracles, which he and his followers performed, be perfuaded, on the whole, that he was fent from God; and yet be very backward to understand what he taught, when he contradicted their former prejudices. But the heathens were ftill more likely to act thus. For amongst them, even the fteadieft believers of a future ftate all difbelieved the rifing again of the body, as a thing

which must always be Suppofe then christi

a thing both impoffible and unfit: for their men of learning thought it only the prifon of the foul; an impediment, instead of a help to it. anity preached, with proper evidence, to such persons as these : they would receive very gladly what was faid of the remiflion of fins, the obligations to virtue, the future life of the soul, happy or miferable, according to every one's deeds. But when the refurrection of the body was taught, there must evidently be great danger, either that they would reject the whole of the gefpel, because of this one feemingly incredible part; as the philofophers at Athens did, who are mentioned in the Als; or elfe, that they would fo interpret this part, as to reconcile it with their preconceived opinion. Accordingly, the history of the church informs us, that feveral, in the first ages, thought our Saviour died and rofe again, not in reality, but in miraculous appearance only. And others had equally wild fancies in other articles of religion: as indeed it was very natural for them to entertain furprifing imaginations, about matters fo intirely new to them; efpecially when, in all likelihood, great numbers were converted to the belief of chriftianity in general, by feeing or being informed of the miracles wrought in its favour; who perhaps had no opportunity, fər fome time, of hearing the particular doctrines of it explained fo diftinctly, by thofe who thoroughly understood them, as to be fet right in every point. And this may poffibly have been one chief reafon of the many ftrange notions, that we find fome of the early chriftians embraced.

Befides, they might the more eafily be mistaken, in the cafe before us, on this account: that the apostles, imitating the language, already in ufe concerning the few profelytes, expreffed the change, which chriftianity made in the tempers and condition of men, by the phrafes of dying to fin, being buried with Chrift in baptifm, and rifing again to newness of life. The ignorant or prejudiced might haftily conclude from hence, that no other rifing again was intended to be taught: and that therefore the refurrection was paft already, as we are told by our apofile, fome affirmed*.

Now this error, if it comprehended the denial of a future ftate, fubverted the main purpose of christianity: which was, influencing the world to piety and virtue, from the expectation

of

2 Tim. ii. 18.

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