“ IT Thews us, that the ground of our “ AccepTANCE with God is through CHRIST, “ whom he hath made a PROPITIATION for “ the Sins of the World; and who alone is the “ true and LIVING WAY, whereby we may “ draw near to God with a true Heart, in full

ASSURANCE of Faith; having our Hearts Sprinkled from an evil Conscience. « THROUGH Christ we understand the « TERMS on which God will Thew Fa

vour and Grace to the World; and by « him we have Ground of Access with Free “ dom and Boldness unto God. On his Account we may hope not only for GRACE to SUBDUE our Sins, RESIST TEMPTATIONS, CONQUER the Devil, and the World: but having fought this good Fight, and finished our Course, by patient continuance in Welldoing, we may justly look for Glory, Ho

NOUR, and IMMORTALITY, and that “ Crown of RighTEOUSNESS which is laid up

for those who wait in Faith, HOLINESS, and “ Humility, for the appearance of Christ from « Heaven.

“ NOW what Things can there be of

greater Moment and IMPORTANCE for Men “ TO KNOW, or God to REVEAL, than the Na“ ture of God, and our felves, the State and « Condition of our Souls, the only way to « avoid ETERNAL MISery, and enjoy EVER

LASTING Bliss ! “ THE Scriptures discover not only Matters of Importance, but of the greatest Depth and Mysteriousness. There are maf

ny

ny wonderful Things in the Law of God;

Things we may admire, but are never able “ to comprehend.

" THE Scripture comprehends Matters of s the most universal Satisfaction to the Minds " of Men; though many Things do much “ exceed our Apprehensions, yet others are « most suitable to the Dictates of our Nature. « As the Nature of true HAPPINESS, wherein “ it lay, and how to be obtained.

" TRUE CONTENTMENT under the Trou

BLES of Life, which the Scripture only ac“ quaints us with the true Grounds of; and “ all the Prescriptions of Heathen Moralists « fall as much Thort of, as the Directions of

an Empirick doth of a wise and skilful Phy« fician.

“ AVOIDING the Fears of DEATH, “ which can alone be through a grounded Ex“ PECTATION of a future State of HAPPINESS, " which Death leads Men to; which cannot “ be had but through the right UNDERSTAND

ING of the Word of God.

“ THUS we see the Excellency of the « Matters themselves contained in this Reve

LATION of the Mind of God to the World.

« AS the Matters themselves are of an ex" cellent Nature, so is the Manner wherein " they are revealed in the Scriptures. And

« that,

First, IN a clear and perspicuous Manner; not but there may be still some Passa

“ges

ges which are hard to be understood, as be

ing either Prophetical, or containing Mat“ ters above our Comprehension; but all those “ Things which concern the Terms of Man's “ Salvation, are delivered with the greatest “ Evidence and Perspicuity.

" WHO cannot understand what these “ Things mean? What doth the Lord require

of thee, but to do justly, and to love Mer

cy, and to WALK HUMBLY with thy God? ~ That without Faith, it is imposible to

PLEASE God; that without HOLINESS, none Jhall see the Lord; that unless we be BORN

again, we can never Enter into the KING“ DOM of Heaven. These, and such like Things, « are so PLAIN and CLEAR, that it is nothing “ but Men's SHUTTING their Eyes against the « Light, can keep them from understanding « them. God intended these Things as Di

RECTIONS to Men; and is not he able to

SPEAK INTELLIGIBLY when he please? He " that made the Tongue, shall he not speak « so as to be understood without an infallible

Interpreter ? especially, when it is his design to make KNOWN to Men, the Terms of their ETERNAL HAPPINESS?

Will God judge “Men at the great Day, for not BELIEVING “ those Things which they could not UNDER

STAND? Scrange, that ever Men should judge the Scriptures OBSCURE in Matters neceffary, when the Scripture accounts it so great a JUDGMENT for Men not to UNLER

STAND them. If our Gospel be HID, it is "bid to them that are lojt; in whom the God of

f 2

" this

“ this World hath BLINDED the Minds of them " which BELIEVE not, left the Light of the “ GLORIOUS GOSPEL of Christ Mould shine unto o them.

Secondly, IN a powerful and AUTHORITATIVE Manner: As the Things contained in Scripture do not so much beg acceptance as

COMMAND it; in that the Expressions where« in our Duty is concerned, are such as

AWE Mens Consciences, and pierce to their “ Hearts, and to their secret Thoughts.

Thirdly, IN a pure and unmixed manner: The same Vein of Purity and Holi

NESS running through the whole Book of " SCRIPTURES.

Fourthly, IN an uniform and agreeable

manner.

1. THAT this Doctrine was delivered by Persons who lived in different Ages and « Times from each other. In the sacred Scrip

ture, we read not one Age condemning ano“ ther; we find Light still increasing in the “ Series of Time in Scripture, but no Reflec“ tions in any time upon the IGNORANCE or " WEAKNESS of the Precedent; the dimmest

Light was sufficient for its Age, and was a step to further Discovery.

“ 2. By Persons of different Interests in the " World.

" GOD

« GOD made choice of Men of all Ranks to be Enditers of his ORACLES; to make it appear, it was no Matter of State Policy, or

particular Interest, which was contained in “ his WORD; which Persons of such different “ Interests could not have AGREED in, as they “ do. We have Moses, David, Solomon ; Per« sons of ROYAL RANK and QUALITY; and “ can it be any mean Thing which these think " it their Glory to be Penners of? We have

Isaiah, Daniel, and other Persons of the “ Highest Education and ACCOMPLISHMENTS; “ and can it be any trivial thing which these

mploy themselves in? We have Amos, and “ other PROPHETS in the OLD TESTAMENT, " and the APOSTLEs in the New, of the mean

er sort of Men in the World; yet all these “ Joen in CONSORT together: when God tunes " their SPIRITS, all agree in the same strain of “ Divine Truths, and give Light and Har

MONY to each other.

“ 3. BY Persons in different Places and “ Conditions.

“ ALL the different Dispensations agree in " the same common Principles of Religion: " the fame Ground of ACCEPTANCE ' with

God, and OBLIGATION to Duty, was com

MON to all; though the peculiar Instances " wherein God was served might be diffe

rent, according to the Ages of Growth in « the Church of God. So that this

great

UNIFORMITY, considered in these Circumstances, “ is an Argument that these things came ori“ginally from the same SPIRIT, though con