returning to the love of God and goodnefs; and no man can return to the love of God, who believes that he bears an implacable hatred against him, and is refolved to make him miserable for ever. During this perfuafion, no man can repent. And this feems to be the reafon, why the devils continue impenitent. But the Heathens were not without hopes of God's mercy, and upon thofe finall hopes which they had, they encouraged themselves into repentance; as you may fee in the inftance of the Ninevites, Let them turn every one from his evil ways, and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell, if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? Jonah iii. 8. 9. But if we, who have the cleareft dif coveries, and the highest affurance of this, who profefs to believe that God hath declared himself placable to all mankind, that he is in Chrift reconciling the world to himself, and that upon our repentance he will not impute our fins to us; if we, to whom the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, and to whom life and immortality are brought to light by the gofpel; if after all this, we ftill go on in an impenitent courfe, what fhall we be able to plead in excufe of ourselves at that great day? The men of Nineveh fhall rise up in judgment against fuch an impenitent generation, and condemn it; because they repented upon the terror of lighter threatnings, and upon the encouragement of weaker hopes. And therefore it concerns us, who call ourselves Chriftians, and enjoy the clear revelation of the gofpel, to look about us, and take heed how we continue in an evil courfe. For if we remain impenitent, after all the arguments which the gofpel, fuper-added to the light of nature, affords to us to bring us to repentance, it fhall not only be more tolerable for the men of Nineveh, but for Tyre and Sidon, for Sodom and Gomorrah, the most wicked and impenitent Heathens, at the day of judgment, than for us. For, because we have stronger arguments, and more powerful encouragements to repentance, than they had, if we do not repent, we shall meet with a heavier doom, and a fiercer damnation. The heathen world had many excufes to VOL. VIII. - plead B plead for themselves, which we have not. The times of that ignorance God winked at: but now commands all men 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 affurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. SERMON CLXXIV. Of the immortality of the foul, as difcovered by nature, and by revelation. 2 TIM. i. 10. But is now made manifeft by the appearing of our Saviour Jefus Chrift, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light, through the gospel. T The firft fermon on this text. HE defign of the Apostle in these two piftles to Timothy, is to direct him how he ought to demean himself, in the office which he bore in the church; which he does in the firft epiftle and to encourage him in his work; which he does here in the fecond: in which, after his ufual falutation, he endeavours to arm him against the fear of thofe perfecutions, and the fhame of those reproaches, which would probably attend him in the work of the gofpel, ver. 8. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the teftimony of our Lord, nor of me his prifoner; but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God, who hath faved us, and called us with an holy calling": as if he had faid, The God whom thou ferveft in this employment, and by whofe power thou art ftrengthened, is he that hath faved and called us with an holy calling, that is, it is he who, by Jefus Chrift, hath brought falvation to us, and called us to this holy profeffion; not according to our works, that is, not that we, by any thing that we have done, have deserved this at his hand, but according to his own purpofe and grace, that is, according to his own gracious purpofe, which was given us in Chrift before the world began, that is, which from all eternity he decreed and determined to accomplish by Jefus Chrift; but is now made manifeft by the appearing of our Saviour Jefus Chrift; that is, which gracious purpofe of his is now clearly discovered by our Saviour Jefus Chrift's coming into the world, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light, through the gospel. Which words exprefs to us two happy effects of Christ's appearance: 1. The abolishing of death; and, 2. The bringing of life and immortality to light. In the handling of thefe words, I fhall, Firft, Open to you the meaning of the feveral expreffions in the text. Secondly, Shew what our Saviour Jefus Chrift did towards the abolishing of death, and bringing to light life and immortality. For the first, I fhall fhew, 1. What is here meant by the appearing of Fefas Chrift. II. What by the abolifbing of death. III. What by bringing to light life and immortality. 1. What is here meant by the appearing of our Saviour Jefus Chrift. The fcripture ufeth feveral phrafes to exprefs this thing to us. As it was the gracious defign of God the Father, fo it is called, the giving of his Son, or fending him into the world. John iii. 16. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. Gal. iv. 4. In the fulness of time God fent his Son. As it was the voluntary undertaking of God the Son, fo it is called his coming into the world. In relation to his incarnation, whereby he was made vifible to us in his body, and likewife in reference to the obfcure promises, and prophecies, and types of the Old Teftament, it is called his manifeftation, or appearance. So the Apoftle expreffeth it, 1 John iii. 5. Ye know that he was manifefted to take away our fins; by which we are to underftand primarily his incarnation, his appearing in our B 2 nature, As he was nature, whereby he became visible to us. I fay, by his appearing we are primarily to underftand his incarnation: yet not only that, but likewise all that was confequent upon this, the actions of his life, and his death and refurrection; because all these concur to the producing of these happy effects mentioned in the text. II. What is meant by the abolishing of death. By this we are not to understand, that Chrift, by his appearance, hath rooted death out of the world, so that men are no longer fubject to it. For we fee that even good men, and thofe who are partakers of the benefits of Chrift's death, are still subject to the common law of mortality but this expreffion of Chrift's having abolifhed death, fignifies the conqueft and victory which Chrift hath gained over death in his own perfon, in that after he was dead, and laid in his grave, he rofe again from the dead, he freed himfelf from the bands of death, and broke loofe from the fetters of it, they not being able to hold him, as the expreffion is, Acts ii. 244; and confequently hath, by this victory over it, given us an affurance of a refurrection to a better life. For fince Chrift hath abolished death, and triumphed over it, and thereby over the powers of darkness; (for fo the Apoftle tells us, that by his death, and that which followed it, his refurrection from the dead, he hath deftroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. The devil, he contributed all he could to the death of Chrift, by tempting Judas to betray him, and engaging all his inftruments in the procuring of it; as he had before brought in death into the world, by tempting the first man to fin, upon which death enfued; thus far he prevailed, and thought his kingdom was fafe, having procured the death of him who was fo great an enemy to it; but Chrift, by rifing from the dead, defeats the devil of his defign, and plainly conquers him, who had arrogated to himfelf the power of death;) I fay, fince Chrift hath thus vanquished death, and triumph ed ed over it, and him that had the power of it, death hath loft its dominion, and Chrift hath taken the whole power and difpofal of it; as you find, Rev. i. 18. I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death. Now, Chrift hath not only thus conquered death for himself, but likewife for all thofe who believe on him; fo that death fhall not be able to keep them for ever under its power but Chrift, by the fame power whereby he raifed up himfelf from the dead, will alfo quicken our mor tal bodies, and raife them up to a new life; for he keeps the keys of hell and death: and as a reward of his fufferings and fubmiffion to death, he hath power conferred upon him, to give eternal life to as many as he pleafes. In this fenfe, death, though it be not quite chafed our of the world, yet it is virtually and in effect abolished by the appearance of Jefus Chrift, having, in a great meafure, loft its power and dominion; and fince Chrift hath affured us of a final rescue from it, the power of it is rendered infignificant and inconfiderable, and the fting and terror of it is taken away. So the Apoftle tells us in the fore-mentioned place, Heb. ii. 14. 15. that Chrift having, by death, deftroyed him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; he hath delivered thofe who, through fear of death, were all their life-time fubject to bondage. And not only the power and terror of death is, for the prefent, in a great measure taken away; but it shall at last be utterly deftroyed. So the Apostle tells us, 1 Cor. xv. 26. The last enemy that shall te deftroyed is death; which makes the Apostle, in the latter end of this chapter, to break forth into that triumph,ver.54.55. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then fhall be brought to pass the faying that is written, Death is fwallowed up in victory. O death! where is thy fting? grave! where is thy victory? III. What is here meant by bringing life and immortality to light. Life and immortality is here, by a frequent Hebraifm, put for immortal life; as alfo immediately before the text, you find purpofe and grace, put for God's gracious purpose. The phrafe of bringing tolight is fpoken of things which were before either wholly or |