prefent benefit and advantage, our comfort and hap pinefs, even in this world; for God, in giving laws to us, hath impofed nothing upon us, but what in all reafon ought to have been our choice, if he had not impofed it; nothing but what is for our good, and is in its own nature neceffary to make us capable of that happiness which he hath promised to us. And what can be more gracious than to make one benefit the condition of a greater than to promise to make us happy for ever, if we will but do that which upon all accounts is really beft, and most for our advantage in this present life?

Thirdly, Here is abundant encouragement given to our obedience; we have the divine affiftance promifed to us, to enable us to the performance of the moft difficult parts of our duty: We have the holy Spirit of God to help our infirmities, to excite us to that which is good, and to help-and ftrengthen us in the doing of it.

For our further encouragement, we are affured of the divine acceptance in cafe of our fincere obedience, notwithstanding the manifold failings and imperfections of it, for the fake of the perfect righte oufnefs and obedience, and the meritorious fufferings of our bleffed Saviour: And though when we have done all we can do, we are unprofitable fervants, and have done nothing but what was our duty, yet God is pleafed to accept what we can do, because it is fincere, and to forgive the defects and imperfections of our obedience, for his fake, who fulfilled all righteousness.

And befides all this, we have the encouragement of a great and everlasting reward, infinitely beyond all proportion of any fervice and obedience that we can perform. And if God be ready to affift and ftrengthen us in the doing of our duty, and be willing fo graciously to accept and to reward at fuch a rate the fincerity of our endeavours to pleafe him, notwithstanding all the failings and imperfections of our beft fervice and obedience, what can we poffibly defire more for our encouragement to patient

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continuance in well-doing, and to be stedfaft and unmoveable, and abundant in the work of the Lord?

Fourthly, and lastly, The confideration of what hath been faid upon this argument may ferve feverely to rebuke the groundless prefumption of thofe who rely with fo much confidence upon Chrift for eternal falvation, without any confcience or care to keep his commandments; as if falvation lay upon his hands, and he knew not how to difpofe of it, and were glad of any one that would come and take it off ny terms. No, he came to save us from our fins, to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.

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So that the falvation which he hath purchafed for us, doth neceffarily imply our forfaking of our fins, and returning to God and our duty, and his death and fufferings are not more an argument of his great love to mankind, than they are a demonftration of his perfect hatred of fin. So that if we continue in the love and practice of fin, we defeat the whole defign of his coming into the world, and of all that he hath done and fuffered for us; and the redempti on which Chrift hath wrought for us will not vail us in the leaft. Salvation is far from the wicked, (fays David, Pfal. cxix. 155.) If we have been workers of iniquity, the Saviour of the world when he comes to judge it, will bid us to depart from him.

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From all that, hath been faid, it is evident, that it is the greatest prefumption in the world for any man to hope to obtain eternal falvation by any device whatfoever, or in the communion of any church whatsoever, without obedience and a holy life. For though our obedience cannot merit; yet it is necesfary to qualify and difpofe us for it: Though it does not make us ftrictly worthy; yet it makes us meet to be made partakers of the inheritance of the faints in light.

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SERMON CXXIV.

The authority of Jefus Chrift, with the commiffion and promife which he gave to his Apostles.

MATTH. xxviii. 18, 19, 20.

And Jefus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth: Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft: Teaching them to obferve all things whatsoever I have commanded you: And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

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HESE words are the last that our blessed Saviour fpake to his Apoftles, immediately before his afcenfion into heaven; and there are thefe three things contained in them:

I. A declaration of his own authority; All power is given unto me both in heaven and in earth.

II. A Commiffion to his difciples, grounded upon that authority; Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft: teaching them to obferve all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

III. A promife to encourage them in this work; And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

I. Here is our Saviour's declaration of his own authority; All power is given unto me in heaven and in carth. Here is an unlimited power and authority given him over all creatures in heaven and earth. This the fcripture tells us, was conferred upon him, as a reward of his fufferings; Phil. ii. 8, 9, 10. He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even VOL. VI. M

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the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name, which is above every name; that at the name of Jefus every, knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; that is, that all creatures, angels and men, and devils, fhould do homage, and acknowledge fubjection to him.

II. Here is the commiffion he gave to his Apoftles by virtue of this authority; Go ye therefore and teach all nations. The commiffion which he here gives, is founded in the authority he had before received. Having all power committed to him, he constitutes and appoints the Apoftles and their fucceffors to manage the affairs of this his fpiritual kingdom upon earth. And this feems to be the fame commiffion, which St. John mentions in other words, John xx. 21. As my Father hath sent me, even fo fend I you; that is, as my Father commiffioned me before, fo now having received full authority from him, I commisfion you.

Now in this commiffion, which our Saviour gave to his difciples, I fhall take notice,

First, Of the general import and defign of it. Secondly, A more particular declaration how they were to manage this defign.

First, The general import and design of this commiffion, Go ye and teach all nations. The word which we tranflate teach, is uanteúσars, difciple all nations; endeavour to make all the world Chriftians. One would think here was a power plainly enough given them, to preach the gofpel to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. Which will more fully appear, if we compare this paffage in St. Matthew with the other Evangelifts. St. Mark, chap. xvi. 15. hath it; Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. From which text I fuppofe St. Francis thought himself bound to preach to beafts and birds, and accordingly did it very often. and with wonderful fuccefs, as they tell us in the legend of his life. But to extend our Saviour's commiffion fo far, is want of common sense; in which St. Francis (though they

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tell us he had other gifts and graces to an eminent degree) was plainly defective.

But to proceed, St. Luke, chap. xxiv. 47. tells us, our Saviour commanded, That repentance and remiffion of fins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerufalem. So that their commiflion did plainly extend to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews; only they were to begin with the Jews, and to preach the gospel first to them, and when they had gone over Judea and Samaria, then to pafs to other nations, as St. Luke doth most exprefly declare, Acts i. 8. Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghoft is come upon you, and ye fhall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerufalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

But fee the ftrange power of prejudice, to blind. the eyes even of good men, in the plaineft matters. The difciples of our Saviour, for all they had entertained a new religion, yet they retained the old pride and prejudice of their nation against the reft of the world; as if none but themselves had any fhare in the favour of God, or were to have any part in the falvation of the Meffias.

Our Saviour did fo far confider this prejudice of theirs, that he never in his lifetime acquainted them with this matter, fo as to make them fully to underftand it, because they were not able to bear it. And it is very probable, that this is one of thofe things which our Saviour meant, John xvi. 12, 13. I have yet many things to fay unto you; but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth. That is, he fhould lead them into the knowledge of thofe truths of which they were not then capable. And though our Saviour, after his refurrection, feems to have declared this fufficiently to them; yet by their practice after his afcenfion, it appears that they understood all this only of the Jews, namely, that they were to preach the gospel first to the Jews that were at Jerufalem, and in Judea, and then to thofe that were difperfed in other nations: for it is clear from the history

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