"cording to his will, fhall be beaten with many ftripes: for he "that knew not, and did commit things worthy of ftripes, fhall be "beaten with few ftripes; for unto whomfoever much is given, of " him fhall be much required; and to whom men have committed "much, of him they will ask the more.'

Luke xiv. 11. "Whofoever exalteth himself, fhall be abafed; "and he that humbleth himself, fhall be exalted."

Ver. 12.

When thou makeft a dinner or fupper, call not thy "friends, or thy brethren, neither thy kinfmen, nor thy neighbours, left they alfo bid thee again, and a recompence be made "thee. But when thou makest a feaft, call the poor and maimed, "the lame and the blind, and thou shalt be bleffed; for they cannot recompenfe thee; for thou shalt be recompenfed at the refur"rection of the juft."

Ver. 33.

"So likewife, whofoever he be of you that is not ready "to forego all that he hath, he cannot be my difciple."

Luke xvi. 9. "I fay unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the "mammon of unrighteoufnefs, that when ye fail, they may receive "you into everlafting habitations. If ye have not been faithful in "the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your truft the true "riches? and if ye have not been faithful in that which is another "man's, who shall give you that which is your own

Luke xvii. 3. "If thy brother trefpafs against thee, rebuke him; "and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trefpafs against thee seven "times in a day, and feven times in a day turn again to thee, fay"ing, I repent, thou fhalt forgive him."

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Luke xvii." He spoke a parable to them, to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint."

Ver. 18. "One comes to him, and asks him, saying, Master, what "fhall I do to inherit eternal life? Jefus faid to him, If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He fays, Which? "Jefus faid, Thou knoweft the commandments: Thou shalt not "kill; Thou shalt not commit adultery; Thou shalt not steal; "Thou shalt not bear falfe witness; Defraud not; Honour thy "father and thy mother; And thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyfelf. He faid, All thefe have I obferved from my youth. Jefus hearing this, loved him; and faid unto him, Yet lackest "thou one thing: fell all that thou haft, and give it to the poor, and "thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." To understand this right, we must take notice, that this young man afks our Saviour, what he muft do to be admitted effectually into the kingdom of the Meffiah? The Jews believed, that when the Meffiah came, thofe of their nation that received him fhould not die; but that they, with thofe who being dead fhould then be raised again by him, should enjoy eternal life with him. Our Saviour, in answer to this demand, tells the young man, that to obtain the eternal life of the kingdom of the Meffiah, he muft keep the commandments. And then enumerating feveral of the precepts of the law, the young man fays, he had obferved thefe from his childhood: for which, - VOL. IV.

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the text tell us, Jefus loved him. But our Saviour, to try whether in earnest he believed him to be the Meffiah, and refolved to take him to be his king, and to obey him as fuch, bids him give all he has to the poor, and come, and follow hini, and he should have treasure in heaven. This I look on to be the meaning of the place: this of felling all he had, and giving it to the poor, not being a standing law of his kingdom, but a probationary command to this young man, to try whether he truly believed him to be the Meffiah, and was ready to obey his commands, and relinquish all to follow him, when he his prince required it.

And therefore we fee, Luke xix. 14. where our Saviour takes notice of the Jews not receiving him as the Meffiah, he expreffes it thus, "We will not have this man to reign over us." It is not enough to believe him to be the Meffiah, unless we also obey his laws, and take him to be our king, to reign over us.

Matt. xxii. 11-13. He that had not on the wedding-garment, though he accepted of the invitation, and came to the wedding, was caft into utter darkness. By the "wedding-garment," it is evident, good works are meant here. That wedding-garment of fine linen, clean and white, which we are told, Rev. xix. 8, is the dinara, "righteous acts of the faints :" or, as St. Paul calls it, Ephef. iv. I. "the walking worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called." This appears from the parable itself; "The kingdom of heaven,” fays our Saviour, ver. 2. is like unto a king who made a marriage "for his fon." And here he diftinguishes thofe who were invited into three forts; 1. Those who were invited, and came not, i. e. those who had the gofpel, the good news of the kingdom of God, propofed to them, but believed not. 2. Those who came, but had not on a wedding-garment, i. e. believed Jefus to be the Meffiah, but were not new-clad (as I may fo fay) with a true repentance and amendment of life, nor adorned with thofe virtues which the apostle, Col. iii. requires to be put on. 3. Those who were invited, did come, and had on the wedding-garment, i. e. heard the gofpel, ber lieved Jefus to be the Meffiah, and fincerely obeyed his laws. These three forts are plainly defigned here; whereof the laft only were the bleffed; who were to enjoy the kingdom prepared for them...

Matt. xxiii. Be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your mafter, ""even the Meffiah, and ye all are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your father which is in heaven. Neither be ye called mafters; for one is your master, even the Meffiah. But he that is greateft amongst you, fhall be your fervant; and whofoever shall exalt himself, thall be abafed; "and he that fhall humble himself, fhall be exalted."

Luke xxi. 34. "Take heed to yourselves, left your hearts be at any time over-charged with furfeiting and drunkenness, and cares "of this life."

Luke xxii. 25. "He faid unto them, The kings of the Gentiles :"exercife lordthip over them; and they that exercife authority upon them, are called benefactors. But ye shall not be fo: but he that

"is greatest amongft you, let him be as the younger; and he that " is chief, as he that doth serve."

John xiii. 34. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye "love one another; as I have loved you, that ye alfo love one an "other: by this fhall all men know that ye are my difciples, if ye "love one another." This command of loving one another is repeated again, chap. xv. 12. and 17.

John xiv. 15. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Ver. 21. "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is "that loveth me; and he that loveth me, fhall be loved of my "father, and I will love him, and manifeft myself to him." Ver. 23. "If a man loveth me, he will keep my words." Ver. 24. "He "that loveth me not, keepeth not my fayings."

John xv. 8. In this is my father glorified, that ye bear much "fruit; fo fhall ye be my difciples." Ver. 14. "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."

Thus we fee bur Saviour not only confirmed the moral law, and, clearing it from the corrupt gloffes of the Scribes and Pharifees, fhewed the ftrictnefs as well as obligation of its injunctions; but moreover, upon occafion, requires the obedience of his difciples to feveral of the commands he afresh lays upon them, with the enforcement of unfpeakable rewards and punishments in another world, according to their obedience or difobedience. There is not, I think, any of the duties of morality, which he has not, fomewhere or other, by himself and his apostles, inculcated over and over again to his followers in exprefs terms. And is it for nothing, that he is fo inftant with them to bring forth fruit? does he their king command, and is it an indifferent thing? or will their happiness or mifery not at all depend upon it, whether they obey or no? They were required to believe him to be the Meffiah; which faith is of grace promised to be reckoned to them for the completing of their righteoufnefs, wherein it was defective: but righteousness, or obedience to the law of God, was their great bufinefs, which if they could have attained by their own performances, there would have been no need of this gracious allowance in reward of their faith; but eternal life, after the refurrection, had been their due by a former covenant, even that of works, the rule whereof was never abolished, though the rigour was abated. The duties enjoined in it were duties ftill their obligations had never ceafed, nor a wilful neglect of them was ever difpenfed with; but their past tranfgreffions were pardoned, to those who received Jefus, the promised Meffiah, for their king; and their future flips covered, if, renouncing their former iniquities, they entered into his kingdom, and continued his fubjects, with a fteady refolution and endeavour to obey his laws. This righteoufnefs therefore, a complete obedience and freedom from fin, are ftill fincerely to be endeavoured after and it is no where promifed, that those who perfift, in a wilful difobedience to his laws fhall be received into the eternal blifs of his kingdom, how much foever they believe in thin..

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A fincere obedience, how can any one doubt to be, or fcruple to call, a condition of the new covenant, as well as faith, who ever read our Saviour's fermon on the mount, to omit all the reft? Can any thing be more exprefs than these words of our Lord? Matt. vi. 14. "If you forgive men their trefpaffes, your heavenly father wit "alfo forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trefpaffes, nei"ther will your father forgive your trefpaffes." And John xiii. 17. "If ye know thefe things, happy are ye if ye do them.". This is fo indifpenfable a condition of the new covenant, that believing without it will not do, nor be accepted, if our Saviour knew the terms on which he would admit men into life. 66 Why call ye me Lord, Lord," fays he, Luke vi. 46. and do not the things "which I fay?" It is not enough to believe him to be the Meffiah, the Lord," without obeying him: for that these he speaks to here were believers, is evident from the parallel place, Matt. vii. 21-23. where it is thus recorded; "Not every one who fays Lord, Lord,

fhall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the "will of my father, which is in heaven." No rebels, or refractory difobedient, thall be admitted there, though they have fo far bebelieved in Jefus as to be able to do miracles in his name; as is plain out of the following words, "Many will fay to me in that

day, Have we not prophefied in thy name, and in thy name have "caft out devils, and in thy name have done many wonderful "works? And then will I profefs unto them, I never knew you; "depart from me, ye workers of iniquity."

This part of the new covenant, the apoftles alfo, in their preaching the gofpel of the Meffiah, ordinarily joined with the doctrine of faith.

St. Peter in his firft fermon, Acts ii. when they were pricked in heart, and asked, " What shall we do?" fays, ver. 38. "REPENT, "and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jefus Christ, "for the remiffion of fins." The fame he fays to them again in his next fpeech, Acts iv. 26. " Unto you firft, God having raised up his fon Jefus, fent him to blefs you." How was this done è "IN TURNING AWAY EVERY ONE FROM YOUR INIQUITIES." The fame doctrine they preach to the high-prieft and rulers, A&s v. 30." The God of our fathers raifed up Jefus, whom ye "flew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his

right-hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give REPENTANCE "to Ifrael, and forgiveness of fins; and we are witneffes of these things, and fo is alfo the Holy Ghoft, whom God hath given to "them that obey him."

A&ts xvii. 30 St. Paul tells the Athenians, that now under the gofpel "God commandeth all men every where to REPENT."

Acts xx. 21. St. Paul, in his laft conference with the elders of - Ephefus, profeffes to have taught them the whole doctrine neceffary to falvation." I have," fays he, "kept back nothing that was "profitable unto you; but have fhewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, teftifying both to the Jews

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* and to the Greeks;" and then gives an account what his preaching had been, viz. "REPENTANCE towards God, and faith to"wards our Lord Jefus the Meffiah." This was the fum and fubftance of the gofpel which St. Paul preached, and was all that he knew necessary to falvation, viz. "Repentance, and believing Jefus "to be the Meffial;" and fo takes his laft farewel of them, whom he should never fee again, ver. 32. in these words: "And now, "brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, "which is able to build up, and to give you an inheritance among "all them that are fanctified." There is an inheritance conveyed by the word and covenant of grace, but it is only to those who are "fanctified."

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Acts xxiv. 24. "When Felix fent for Paul," that he and his wife Drufilla might hear him "concerning the faith in Chrift," Paul reafoned of righteoufnefs," or juftice, and "temperance;" the duties we owe to others, and to ourfelves, and of the judgement to come; till he made Felix to tremble. Whereby it appears, that "temperance and juftice" were fundamental parts of the religion that Paul profeffed, and were contained in the faith which he preached. And if we find the duties of the moral law not preffed by him every where, we must remember, that most of his fermons left upon record were preached in their fynagogues to the Jews, who acknowledged their obedience due to all the precepts of the daw, and would have taken it amifs to have been fufpected not to have been more zealous for the law than he and therefore it was with reason that his difcourfes were directed chiefly to what they yet wanted, and were averse to, the knowledge and embracing of Jefus their promised Meffiah. But what his preaching generally was, if we will believe him himself, we may fee Acts xxvi. where giving an account to king Agrippa of his life and doctrine, he tells him, ver. 20. I fhewed unto them at Damafcus, and at Jerufalem, and "throughout all the coafts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that "they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for re"pentance."

Thus we fee, by the preaching of our Saviour and his apostles, that he required of thofe who believed him to be the Meffiah, and received him for their Lord and deliverer, that they fhould live by his laws; and that (though in confideration of their becoming his fubjects, by faith in him, whereby they believed and took him to be the Meffiah, their former fins fhould be forgiven, yet) he would own none to be his, nor receive them as true denizons of the New Jerufalem, into the inheritance of eternal life, but leave them to the condemnation of the unrighteous, who renounced not their former miscarriages, and lived in a fincere obedience to his commands. What he expects from his followers, he has fufficiently declared as a legiflator. And that they may not be deceived, by mistaking the doctrine of faith, grace, free-grace, and the pardon and forgiveness of fins and falvation by him (which was the great end of his coming), he more than once declares to them for what omiffions and

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