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ment of a Holy and Virtuous Life, doing the Will of God, that we may know of the Doctrine, and truft Our Saviour to make good his Word, in giving more Light to Our Souls, if we thus feek it after the Method He himhas prefcrib'd to attain it.

Laftly, Since it has been fhewn, how much the Will is concern'd in Faith, Let us have an Extreme care of cheating ourselves with this ordinary Excufe, this too common Pretence, Belief is not in our Power, we would Believe if we could. Let No Man thus deceive his Own Soul, but let him examin feriously his Own Mind, whether he speaks Truth to himself or no, when he fays, He would believe. Let him, I fay, deal fincerely with himself, and enquire impartially whether He do's not wish for and favour the fide of his Lufts against Religion; whether these Doubts and Obfcuritys arise from the Nature of the things to be confider'd, or from the Prevarication of his Senfual Defires; whether he is not sway'd by fome indirect Means, that feem to have no Influence upon him, fome private Favourite Confideration, which he is loath to own, but which governs him effectually: Let him, as he values his own Salvation, do himself this Juftice, make this nice Search into himfelf; and he will by it perceive the Deceit

H

fulness

fulness of his own Heart, and will find his Dulnefs to proceed not from want of Ability but Will; like that of thofe of whom the Prophet complains, Who hear yet will not underftand, and feeing fee yet will not perceive; because their Heart is waxed grofs, and their Ears are dull of hearing, and their Eyes have they clos'd, left they should fee with their Eyes, and hear with their Ears, and understand with their Hearts, and be converted. Let him not then plead Inability to Understand or Believe, but Remember that generally all our Ignorance and Unbelief is Wilful, for want of Will to do God's Will; and with dread and awe confider, that when Ignorance fhall come to be pleaded in the Day when Chrift fhall come to judge the Secrets of Men's hearts, it may then amount to no better Excufe, than if instead of faying, We were unable to comprehend his Doctrine, we should alledge in our Juftification, that we were unwilling to obey his Law. What a Sentence fuch a Plea juftly deferves, is easy to conceive; but that it may never be by any of Us Experienc'd, Let us take cfpecial heed Brethren left there be in any of Us fuch an Evil Heart of Unbelief.

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SERMON V.

SERMON V.

Luke 24. 34.

The Lord is Rifen indeed.

T

HESE Words are the Glad Tidings, which the two Difciples, that were going to Emaus, brought back with them to the Eleven that were affembled at Jerufalem, full of anxious Thoughts and Difquiet, and scarce daring to believe the Return of their late Crucify'd Lord. But as express and positive as they are, they are yet the Words of those very Men, whom but just before we find confounded and overwhelm'd with Doubt and Defpair, and faying, But We thought this bad been He, who fhould have Redeem'd Ifrael. The Words of Them, who look'd upon the firft Relation of Mary Magdalen and the H 2

other

other devout Women, concerning the Lord's being Rifen, as idle Tales and Believ'd them not; and accordingly, (before their Eyes were open'd) gave Chrift himself this dubious and diffident Account of his own Refurrection, verse 23 and 24th of this Chap. Yea, and certain Women alfo of our Company made us aftonif'd, who were early at the Sepulchre, and when they found not his Body, came, faying, they had feen a Vifion of Angels, which faid, that he was Alive. And certain of them that were with us went to the Sepulchre, and found it as the Women faid, but Him they Saw not. In fuch a Confternation were the Followers of our Lord upon the ignominious and cruel Death of their Mafter. The pleafing Dream of that Temporal Grandeur, with which they had fo long amus'd and indulg'd their mistaken Hopes, being fled and vanish'd, had left them Spiritless, and fall'n from the Heights of an Imaginary Kingdom, to the loweft Depths of real Mifery and Despair. Inftead of following their triumphant Leader to the Poffeffion of his Throne, and a partaking of his Greatness and Power, they had been the wretched Spectators of his Majefty moft scornfully Vilify'd by the infulting Soldiers; the Enfigns of his Royalty abus'd and mock'd with a Scepter of Reeds and a Crown of Thorns, and himself at last Executed on the curs'd

Tree,

Tree, after the manner of the greatest Malefactor or the meaneft Slave. Their Minds having been fo long poffefs'd with Carnal Delufions, expecting fo fuddain and illuftrious a Delivery from the Roman Yoak, not that True and infinitely more Valuable Redemption from Spiritual Bondage and Sin; No Wonder if now their Hearts fail'd them, if their Faith was ftagger'd, and all the glorious Expectations of a Conquering and Princely Meffias were dead, and bury'd, and feal'd up with Chrift in the Grave. Neither the Miracles of his Life, which they had been fo frequent Eye Witneffes of; nor the Divinity of his Person, which they had believ'd and acknowledg'd; nor the joynt Predictions of the Prophets, which they had read; nor the exprefs Promife of their Lord that the Third Day he fhould Rife again, which they had fo often heard; were of Force enough to bear up their finking Spirits under the Preffure of this vaft Calamity, this, as they fear'd, irrecoverable Loss. With what an unexpreffible furprize of Joy muft we then needs imagine that they were feiz'd, who out of all these afflicting Doubts and Fears, out of the most difconfolate and dejected Condition of Mind, on a fuddain, by the undeniable Affurances of their own Senfes, being convinc'd of the Lord's Refurrection, were themselves alfo rais'd, as it H 3

were,

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