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the moral law cleared and perfected) is not neceffary to our acceptance with God, and the obtaining of eternal life; but on the contrary, it is our Saviour's exprefs direction to the young man, who asked, what good things he should do, that he might obtain eternal life? If thou wilt (fays he) enter into life, keep the commandments: And that he might understand what commandments he meant, he inftanceth in the precepts of the moral law. And indeed, the whole tenor of our Saviour's fermons, and the precepts and writings of the Apoftles, are full and exprefs to this purpofe. Not every one that faith unto me, Lord, Lord, fhall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Whosoever heareth these fayings of mine, (that is, thefe precepts which I have delivered) and doth them not, I will liken him to a foolish man, who built his houfe upon the fand; and the rain defcended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. If ye know these things, happy are ye, if ye do them. In every nation, he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him. In Jefus Chrift, neither circumcifion availeth any thing, nor uncircumcifion; but faith, that is acted and inspired by charity. And that the Apoftle here means, that charity or love, which is the fulfilling of the law, is evident from what he fays elsewhere, that neither circumcifion availeth any thing, nor uncircumcifion; but the keeping of the commandments of God. In which text it is plain, that the Apoftle fpeaks of the terms of our juftification, and what is available with God to that purpose. And St. James to the fame purpofe, tells us, that by the works of obedience our faith is made perfect; and that faith without works is dead and furely a dead faith will neither justify nor fave any man. St. John likewife very earnestly cautions us to take heed of any fuch doctrine, as would take away the neceffity of righteoufnefs and obedience; Little children (fays he) let no man deceive you be that doth righteousness, is righteous, as he is righteous. To all which I fhall only add the

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plain words of my text, that Chrift became the author of eternal falvation to them that obey him.

So that no man hath reason to fear, that this do&rine of the neceffity of obedience to our accept ance with God, and the obtaining of eternal life, fhould be any ways prejudicial to the law of faith, and the law of grace. For, fo long as these three things are but afferted and fecured;

ft, That faith is the root and principle of obedience and a holy life, and that without it, it is impoffible to please God.

adly, That we ftand continually in need of the divine grace and affiftance to enable us to perform that obedience which the gospel requires of us, and is pleased to accept in order to eternal life.

And,

3dly, That the forgivenefs of our fins, and the reward of eternal life, are founded in the free grace and mercy of God, conferring these bleffings upon us, not for the merit of our obedience, but only for the merit and fatisfaction of the obedience and fufferings of our bleffed Saviour and Redeemer: I fay, fo long as we affert these three things, we give all that the gospel any where afcribes to faith, and to the grace of God revealed in the gospel.

For

I have been careful to exprefs these things more fully and diftinctly, that no man may imagine, that whilft we affert the neceffity of obedience and a holy life, we have any defign to derogate in the least. from the faith and the grace of God; but only to engage and encourage men to holiness and a good life, by convincing them of the abfolute and indifpenfable neceffity of it, in order to eternal falvation. all that I have faid, is in plain English no more but this, that it is neceffary for a man to be a good man, that he may get to heaven; and whoever finds fault with this doctrine, finds fault with the gofpel itself, and the main end and defign of the grace of God therein revealed to mankind, which offers falvation: to men upon no other terms than these which I have mentioned And to preach and prefs this doctrine, is certainly, if any thing in the world can be fo, to pursue the great end and design of the Chriftian re

ligion, fo plainly and exprefly declared by St. Paul, Tit. ii. 11, 12. The grace of God that bringeth falva tion, hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lufts, we should live foberly, righteously and godly in this prefent world. And if the grace of God declared in the gofpel have this effect upon us, then we may with confidence wait for the bleffed hope, and the glorious appearance of the great God, and our Saviour Jefus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works; and then he adds, Thefe things teach and exhort, and rebuke with all authority; that is, declare and inculcate this doctrine, and rebuke feverely thofe who teach or practise contrary to it. And he repeats it again with a more vehement charge to Titus, to prefs upon men the neceffity of obedience and good works, chap. iii. 8. This is a faithful faying, and these things I will that thou affirm conftantly, that they who have believed in God, be careful to maintain good works.

All that now remains, is to make fome ufeful inferences from what hath been faid upon this argu ment, and fo to conclude this difcourfe.

First of all, To convince us that an empty profef fion of the Chriftian religion, how fpecious and glo rious foever it be, if it be deftitute of the fruits of obedience and a holy life, will by no means avail to bring us to heaven. No profeffion of faith in Chrift, no fubjection to him, though we be baptized in his name, and lift ourselves in the number of his difciples and followers, though we have made a conftant profeffion of all the articles of the Christian faith, and have performed all the external parts and duties of religion, have gone conftantly to church, and fre quented the fervice of God, and have joined in pu blick prayers to God with great appearance of devotion, and have heard his word with great reverence and attention, and received the bleffed facrament with all imaginable expreffions of love and gratitude to our bleffed Redeemer; nay, though we had heard Our bleffed Saviour himself teach in our streets, and

had eaten and drunken in his prefence; yet if all this while we have not done the will of God, and obeyed his laws, none of all these things will fignify any thing to bring us to heaven, and make us partakers of that falvation, which he hath purchased for mankind.

But we cannot plead fo much for ourselves, as thofe did, of whom our Saviour speaks. None of us fhall be able to alledge for ourselves at the great day, that we had prophefied in his name, and in his name had caft out devils, and in his name had done many wonderful works; and yet if we could alledge all this, it would do us no good. All that fuch can fay for themfelves is, that they have called him Lord, Lord: that is, they have made profeffion of his religion, and been called by his name; that they have paid an outward honour and refpect to him, and declared a mighty love and affection for him but they have not done his will, but have hated to be reformed, and have caft his commandments behind their backs; they have only born the leaves of an outward profeffion, but have brought forth no fruit unto holiness, and therefore can have no reasonable expectation, that their end should be everlasting life. So that when thefe men fhall appear before the great and terrible Judge of the world, they fhall have nothing to fay but thofe vain words, Lord, Lord: To which our Saviour will answer in that day, why call ye me Lord, Lord, when ye would not do the things which I faid? Notwithstanding all your profeffion of faith in me, and fubjection to me, ye have been workers of iniquity, therefore depart from me, I know you not whence ye are.

Secondly, The confideration of what hath been faid, fhould ftir us up to a thankful acknowledgment of what the author of our falvation hath done for us. And there is great reafon for thankfulness, whether we confider the greatnefs of the benefit conferred upon us, or the way and manner in which it was purchased, or the eafy and reasonable terms upon which it may be obtained.

ft, If we confider the greatnefs of the benefit conferred upon us, and that is falvation, eternal fal

vation,

vation, which comprehends in it all the bleffings and benefits of the gospel, both the means and the end, our happiness, and the way to it, by faving us from our fins; from the guilt of them, by our juftification in the blood of Chrift; and from the power and dominion of them, by the fanctifying grace and vir tue of the Holy Ghoft.

And it comprehends the end, our deliverance from hell and the wrath to come, and the bestowing of happiness upon us, a great and lafting happiness, great as our wishes, and immortal as our fouls; all this is comprehended in eternal falvation.

2dly, If we confider the way and manner in which this great benefit was purchafed and procured for us, in a way of infinite kindness and condefcenfion, in the lowest humiliation, and the unparalleled fufferings of the Son of God; for never was there any forrow like unto his forrow, wherewith the Lord afflicted him, in the day of his fierce anger; in his taking upon him the form of a servant, and the perfon of a finner, and his becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross, which was the punishment of the vileft slaves, and the moft heinous malefactors. The Son of God came down from heaven, from the highest pitch of glory and happiness, into this lower world, this vale of tears, and fink of fin and forand was contented himself to suffer; to fave us from eternal ruin; to be the most despicable, and the most miferable man that ever was, that he might raife us to glory and honour,and advance us to a state of the greatest happiness that human nature is capable of.

row;

3dly, If we confider the eafy and reasonable terms upon which we may be made partakers of this unfpeakable benefit, and that is by a conftant and fincere and univerfal obedience to the laws of God, which fuppofeth repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jefus Chrift, as the root and principle of all the virtues of a good life; that is, by doing that which best becomes us, and which is moft agreeable to the original frame of our nature, and to the di&tates of our reason, and which, fetting afide the confideration of our reward, is really beft for our

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