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terpretations seem to have fallen short of our SER M. Saviour's meaning, and left out that which VI. was immediately defign'd, to take in what was only by confequence to be inferr'd. For whatever may be at other times intended by the metaphor of gates, when taken feparately, yet, if we confult the phrase either of fcripture or of other writers, we shall never find it join'd with Hades or hell, but to denote either death or the grave, or the feparate ftate of departed fouls. And therefore, when it is promised that the gates of hell fhall not prevail against the church, this may be confider'd in a twofold view, with regard both to the present and the future life. As to the prefent life it, may be taken to affure us, that however the members of this visible church are by the condition of their mortal nature in perpetual change and variation, yet this fhall not extinguish or deftroy it, but there fhall be a continual fucceffion of fuch faithful members as fhall fuffice to preserve it to the end of the world, that it may never be faid to fail or perish from the earth. (And what can be more clear for perpetuity than this?) And fo again, as to the other life, it may be taken to afford matter of the jufteft confolation, to affure us, that all they who believe in the Lord Jesus, and love him in fincerity, however they may

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SERM. fubmit to that common law of mortality VI. which is paffed upon all men, yet shall not death finally prevail or triumph over them, but their very mortality hall one day be fwallow'd up of life, when their fouls and bodies fhall be again united, and death fhall bave no more dominion over them. Such promises of refurrection to eternal glory were ufual to be made by our blessed Saviour, in return for fuch confeffions of his Divine miffion and Meffiahship as this before us. And reafon good, fince he is the Author of that great falvation, and it is by virtue of this faith in him, that we may hope to be entitled to fuch glorious privileges, for he that believeth in him fhall not be finally condemned, but is passed from death unto life.

From hence indeed what was advanced by the other expofitions, may be inferred by confequence. For if Chrift has fo overcome death as to fecure his church against the terror of it, he must then have taken out the fting of death, which is fin, and deftroyed him that has the power of death, i. e. the devil. And if thus our fpiritual enemies be difarm'd and baffled to our hands, why should we defpair of fuccess in our engagement with them, or fufpect them to be ftill able to extinguish and destroy the church? Alafs! if that were fo, they muft be victors, and not Chrift; he could not then

then have answered the characters of the SER M.
Meffiah, our faith in him would be confe- VI.
quently vain, we should be yet in our fins.
From the contrary affurances that are given
of his victory, we arm ourselves invulne-
rably with the shield of faith; we have
the present fatisfaction of knowing ourselves
to be faithful members of his church,
which, tho' not neceffarily confined to any
one quarter of the world, nor to any exact
number of perfons, much lefs to the par-
ticular church of Rome, and to the boasted
fucceffors of St. Peter (as the Papifts fondly
imagine, the vanity of whose boafting has
already been exposed) is yet always to con-
tinue upon earth in a perpetual fucceffion
of fincere believers, and to be found of
them that seek it faithfully; we have, last-
ly, the undoubted profpect of a happy re-
furrection, if we continue ftedfast in the
profeffion of this faith, and the promife
which is here made by our Saviour, (that
the gates of bell, or death, shall not prevail
against his church, shall not finally domineer
or triumph over it) has been abundantly
confirmed by our Lord's own Refurrec-
tion, who is become the firft-fruits of them
that flept; and as our Head is gone before
to take poffeffion for us of our heavenly
inheritance, to manage the affairs and fup-
ply the exigencies of his church, and af-

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SERM. fure us that as he died and rose again, even VI. fo them alfo which fleep, in fefus, will God → bring with him*.

To God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, now and henceforth for evermore.

*

Amen.

1 Theff. iv. 14.

SER

SERMON VII.

MANNA in the Wilderness confidered and applied.

DEUT. viii. 3.

And be humbled thee, and fuffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna (which thou kneweft not, neither did thy fathers know) that be might make thee know, that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.

T

1

HESE words do very plainly refer SER M., to that stupendous method of Pro- VII. vidence, whereby God was pleased, for forty years together, to fuftain his people in the Wilderness of Paran, not in the ordinary way of nature, by fruits produced out of the earth, when cultivated by the

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