SERMON IV. MATT. vii. 21. Not every one that faith unto me, Lord, W IV. HEN the Divine Author of our SERM. religion had entered upon the great work of preaching falvation to the world, He felected the humble and the upright, rather than the great or the learned, to be the witnesses of his actions, the historians of his life, and the promulgators of his doctrine. Afcending up into a moun IV. SERM. tain, he gave them his first instructions and exhortations in the prefence of an immenfe multitude, which, attracted by the fame of his miracles, had already followed him from all parts of Judea. After extending the precepts of the law, and delivering a most admirable system of morality, he concluded with warning them not to be bearers only, but doers of the word; for not they who called upon his name were to be justified,, but they who obferved the will of his Almighty Father. Yet, though our Lord himself hath here, and in many other paffages of holy writ, exprefsly declared the neceffity of obedience; though his apoftles repeatedly affure us, that to hear and not perform is but to deceive ourselves; and though reafon demonftrates the inconfiftency of acknowledging the authority of the lawgiver, and refufing to obey the law; yet fuch hath been the weakness and abfurdity of IV. of man, as to expect that juftification from SERM. particular modes of faith, and external rites of devotion, which can only be obtained by the union of piety and virtue. This blindnefs of the understanding hath been the confequence of those paffions which corrupt the heart: When no criminal defires are indulged, truth is eafily perceived; but when vice hath tainted the soul, every object is seen with a distempered eye; right and wrong, good and evil, truth and falfehood, are indiftinctly blended together, and each image is prefented to the mind difcoloured and confufed. While the judgment is thus perverted, we cannot wonder if the cleareft evidence be rejected, the moft striking conformity overlooked, and new interpretations given to accord with a depraved difpofition and enthufiaftic imagination, ་ Various SERM. IV. Various have been the methods devifed by men to deceive themselves, and wrest the fcriptures to their own destruction. That great article of our belief, the redemption of mankind, hath by fome been fatally misunderstood as tending to weaken the obligations of natural religion: Nothing but the most deplorable infatuation could ever have induced men to propagate an opinion like this, that He, who knew no fin, would contribute to establish it; that He, who abhorred all workers of iniquity, would offer up himself a facrifice to divine justice, that his followers might violate the laws of righteousness without fear of incurring the penalty. This, indeed, is not afferted in direct terms by the most zealous and bigotted declaimers; but is furely maintained, in effect, by their prepofterous doctrines; for if we declare that nothing else is required but a firm trust in the merits of Chrift's fufferings, and a confident perfuafion that He hath pur chafed IV. chafed for us eternal falvation; if we fay SERM. that our good works are wholly useless, do we not make Chrift the minister of fin, and endeavour to convert the glorious Gospel of truth and holiness into a covenant establishing superstition and iniquity? Who will forego the gratifications of vice, when he expects no advantage from his forbearance? Who will deal his bread to the hungry, comfort the widow, and protect the orphan, when he is affured that his good or evil deeds are equally unregarded by the Father of Heaven? Or who will ftrive to afcend the rugged fteep of virtue, when he may find a fhort and flowery path to felicity? Who will labour to do the will of the Lord, when he may be faved by calling upon his name? We are as ready to acknowledge, as those who affect fuch extraordinary humility, that we cannot, on account of our good works, claim any thing of the Al mighty; |