Cj -PT?TT^r!Tr.nRm>T int. J. <vJ> 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 Presented by Mr Samuel Agnew of Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Ag:ieiv Coll. on Baptism, No. 
 
 
 /0I57 
 
the 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS WORKS 
 
 OF 
 
 ARCHIBALD M'LEAN. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
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MISC1ILILAM1 dDUTS ¥®11 
 
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 ABCTIIBAILID IK 3LIEAM, 
 
 
 Th* 3 pleasanc ' house 
 
 PETi .'J ALL 
 
THE 
 
 COMMISSION 
 
 GIVEN BY 
 
 JESUS CHRIST TO HIS APOSTLES 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 SERMON ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 
 
 By ARCHIBALD fftl'LE AN, 
 
 ONE OF THE PASTORS OF THE BAPTIST CHURCH, EDINBURGH. 
 
 WITH A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, BY W. JONES, A.M. 
 
 TENTH EDITION. 
 
 ELGIN: 
 PETER MACDONALD. 
 
 HOULSTON & STONEMAN, LONDON; R. BANKS, NEWCASTLE: 
 
 WILLIAM INNES, EDINBURGH; 
 
 WILLIAM COLLINS and JOHN NIVEN, Jun. GLASGOW. 
 
 MDCCCXLYII. 
 
riUKTEB AT THE COURIER OFFICE, ELGKN 
 T.V JEANS -VXD M'GILLIVBAY. 
 
. 
 
 NOTICE BY THE PUBLISHER. 
 
 It has long been the settled conviction of the Publisher, 
 that the writings of Archibald M'Lean are admirably adapted 
 to promote the interests of pure and undefiled religion in 
 the world ; and he fondly hopes that the present attempt to 
 preserve from oblivion some of the most useful of his produc- 
 tions will subserve the same desirable end. His work on the 
 ' Commission' is so highly appreciated by those who are al- 
 ready acquainted with it, as to render any commendation of 
 it quite superfluous. He shall only say in the language of a 
 Reviewer, " that it has been the means of drawing the atten- 
 tion of numbers in different places to the ' Faith once de- 
 livered to the Saints/ and to the order and discipline of 
 Christ's house : nor can he doubt that in proportion as the 
 minds of professors are led to enquire into the nature of pri- 
 mitive Christianity this simple and scriptural elucidation of 
 the subject will engage their notice and regard." 
 
 This new edition has undergone a very careful revision,, 
 and everything has been done in all other respects, to make it 
 a faultless volume. 
 
 Should the Publisher meet with that encouragement which 
 he anticipates, he intends issuing another volume, on various 
 important subjects by the same author, in the same form 
 and size as the ' Commission/ 
 
3 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ********* 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Preface, vii. 
 
 Memoir of the Author, ...... xv. 
 
 Of Christ's power and dominion, 1 
 
 His power and dominion the ground and reason of the 
 
 commission, 4 
 
 Plain inferences from Christ's power, ... ib. 
 
 Of the apostolic office, and what was peculiar to it, . 6 
 
 The commission not confined to the apostles, . . 9 
 
 PART I. 
 
 The sense and extent of this part of the commission, how the 
 
 apostles executed it and what it was they taught the nations, 12 
 
 The subject matter of the apostolic doctrine, viz. the gospel, 20 
 
 Of faith, 58 
 
 The declaration and call of the gospel is unto all, . 67 
 
 The promise of salvation restricted to him that believeth, 70 
 All who believe are immediately conscious of it, and so 
 
 have evidence of their own particular salvation, . 73 
 The fruits of faith an additional evidence of this to a man's 
 
 own conscience, 80 
 
 PART II. 
 
 The form, subjects, and import of christian baptism, . . 84 
 
 What baptizing is, ib. 
 
 The element, 86 
 
 The name into which believers are to be baptized, . 87 
 
 The subjects of this ordinance, 89 
 
 The import and design of baptism, .... 100 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 The commandments and institutions of Christ which the 
 
 apostles taught believers to observe, 122 
 
 The visible separation of christians from the world, . 173 
 Their union in a visible church-state, . . . .178 
 
 The duties of church members in relation to each other, 184 
 
 The rules of discipline in dealing with offenders, . . 201 
 
 The public ordinances of divine service, . . . 210 
 
 The Peomise — And lo, I am with you always, fyc. . . 228 
 Imports the fulfilment of all the prophecies and promises 
 
 relating to his kingdom to the end of the world, . 238 
 
 On the Assurance of Hope, 277 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The design of this publication is to draw the Reader's at- 
 tention to that kind of Christianity which was instituted by 
 Christ himself, and propagated by his inspired apostles, 
 according to the commission which he gave them, and 
 which is to be found pure and unadulterated only in the 
 writings of the New Testament only. 
 
 It has been usual for writers on primitive Christianity 
 to collect the greater part of their materials from the 
 writings and records of the first three or four centuries, 
 from which they have exhibited a picture of that divine 
 and heavenly religion in many respects very unlike the 
 original. 
 
 The Christian religion began to be corrupted very 
 early. False teachers were propagating their pernicious 
 doctrines even in the days of the apostles. In the age 
 immediately succeeding, its original purity and simplicity 
 were much defaced by a mixture of vain philosophy, error, 
 mysticism and superstition, adopted and propagated by 
 such as were reputed the most pious and orthodox fathers 
 of the church. In the beginning of the fourth century it 
 must have been essentially corrupted, otherwise it could 
 never have been accommodated to the nations of this evil 
 world, incorporated with the civil constitution, and adopted 
 as the established religion of the Roman empire. This 
 union of church and state paved the way for the kingdom 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 of the clergy, which gradually advanced to the summit of 
 its power and glory in the Romish hierarchy ; a kingdom 
 as opposite in all respects to the kingdom of Christ, which 
 is not of this world, as the mystery of iniquity is to the 
 mystery of godliness. As therefore we cannot form a 
 proper judgment of pure and genuine Christianity from 
 any records posterior to the apostolic age, much less from 
 the modern forms of it which are at present established 
 among the nations called Christian, I have in the follow- 
 ing work confined myself entirely to the saered scriptures, 
 which are the only pure, unerring, and unalterable stand- 
 ard of Christian faith and practice. 
 
 The objections of infidels to the truth and excellency of 
 the Christian religion, are many of them founded on the 
 corruptions of it, and the unworthy conduct of many of 
 its professors, with which it has no concern. But if they 
 would not deceive themselves in such an important matter, 
 they ought first to learn from the scriptures what real 
 Christianity is, and then judge of it from its own evidence, 
 pretensions, and merits. If they consult the New Testa- 
 ment they may easily perceive, that it was never intended 
 as an engine of state, a foundation for priestcraft, or to be 
 subservient in any respect either to the religious pride, 
 or worldly lusts of men : they may also see, that it was 
 never designed as a rule for any form of godliness which 
 in the present state of things the nations of this world, as 
 such, may be supposed to assume ; and that it is altogether 
 impossible to apply it to such purposes without essentially 
 corrupting it. Its great object is to make known the way 
 of salvation from guilt and misery through a crucified 
 Saviour, and by this means to reconcile men unto God, to 
 separate them from the communion of infidels and ungodly 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 professors, to unite them among themselves in the closest 
 union and most fervent love for the truth's sake, and to 
 direct and influence them in their conformity and obedi- 
 ence to Christ in this world, that they may partake of 
 his glory in the next. In this view the New Testament 
 appears a plain, perfect, and consistent rule, but in no 
 other ; for its chief design is to promote the interests of 
 that kingdom which is declared to be not of this world. 
 
 The evidence of the truth of the Christian religion does 
 not rest upon human authority. It claims our belief and 
 regard as a revelation from God, and bears such evidence 
 of its divine origin, as will undoubtedly leave every one 
 who rejects it without excuse. It clearly discovers itself 
 to be the exact and circumstantial fulfilment of Old Testa- 
 ment prophecies ; and who but the omniscient God, could 
 possibly foresee or reveal before-hand such a wonderful 
 scheme and series of events, so remote, and so different from 
 the ordinary course of things ? who but the almighty Go- 
 vernor of the universe could so over-rule the determinations 
 of free agents, and so order and dispose all things in a 
 subserviency to his purpose, as to ensure and effectuate a 
 circumstantial accomplishment of such predictions ? — The 
 miracles which at first attended the publication of the 
 gospel were so many divine attestations of its truth, for 
 none but the Almighty could possibly perform them. They 
 were so mighty, wonderful, and numerous, and done so 
 openly in the sight of multitudes, that the most prying 
 and obstinate opposers could not deny them ; and though 
 some most absurdly ascribed them to the agency of demons, 
 yet others no less inimical to the cause, were constrained 
 to acknowledge that they were effects of divine power ; so 
 that it was reserved for the infidels of latter times to dis- 
 
I PREFACE. 
 
 pute the reality of them. — The resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ from the dead is another demonstrative proof of 
 the truth of his religion. He referred his enemies to this 
 evidence of his divine mission, and the precautions they 
 took to prevent all imposition in this matter, served only 
 to establish more clearly the truth of the fact. He shewed 
 himself alive to his apostles after his passion by many in- 
 fallible proofs, and was also seen of above five hundred 
 brethren at once, who were appealed to as living witnesses 
 of it many years after. As the chosen witnesses of this 
 important fact had every possible means of satisfying 
 themselves, so they could not be deceived ; and they con- 
 firmed the truth of their testimony to others by miracles, 
 and demonstrated the sincerity of their own belief by 
 sealing it with their blood. — Besides these, the internal 
 characters of the Christian religion clearly demonstrate its 
 divine original. It gives such a glorious manifestation of 
 the true God, as infinitely transcends all our best natural 
 conceptions of him. It exhibits such an amazing plan of 
 redemption, so admirably calculated to display the divine 
 character, and so w^ell suited to the perishing condition of 
 guilty mortals, that none but God could either contrive, 
 execute, or reveal it. Its doctrines are so sublime and 
 heavenly, its precepts so pure and perfect, its motives so 
 noble and powerful, and the whole of it so worthy of God, 
 so greatly surpassing all that could have entered into the 
 heart of man to conceive, and yet, when revealed, so con- 
 sonant to his enlightened reason and conscience, and so 
 conducive to his best end and interest, that it clearly ma- 
 nifests itself to be from heaven. Such, however, as have 
 no discernment of divine excellence, nor any relish for the 
 things of God, cannot properly perceive this last kind of 
 
PKEFACE. XI 
 
 evidence. " The natural man receiveth not the things of 
 the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, 
 neither can he know them, because they are spiritually 
 discerned." Hence the necessity of divine illumination. 
 
 Those who profess the Christian religion ought to try 
 their faith and practice by the New Testament, which is 
 the infallible rule, and the only standard which Christ 
 hath authorised and established in his kingdom. So far 
 as their profession does not agree with the word of Christ 
 and his inspired apostles, it is undoubtedly false, however 
 sanctioned by universal custom, human systems, or na- 
 tional establishments : " We are of God," says the Apostle, 
 " he that knoweth God heareth us ; he that is not of God, 
 heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and 
 the spirit of error." 
 
 If we take a view of what currently passes for Chris- 
 tianity in what is called the Christian world, and compare 
 it with the religion contained in the New Testament, we 
 shall scarcely be able to trace a resemblance. The greater 
 part think they have a title to be called Christians from 
 their country, birth, or what they call baptism, though 
 they know little more of the religion of Jesus than Mo- 
 hammedans or Pagans do. Multitudes are zealously at- 
 tached to the authorised forms of their country, whose 
 faith is founded on human instead of divine authority, and 
 whose fear of God is taught by the precepts of men. 
 
 Among those who acknowledge in general that the 
 word of God is the only rule of Christian faith and prac- 
 tice, there are many who, in direct opposition to that 
 principle, claim a liberty to add to, or dispense with that 
 rule, according as the difference of times, established cus- 
 toms, or other circumstances may, in their opinion, re- 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 quire. Many pass high encomiums on primitive Christi- 
 anity, and profess to admire the divine purity of its 
 doctrines, and the beautiful simplicity of its institutions, 
 worship, order, and discipline, who yet freely censure 
 every attempt to revive it.* It is impossible for candour 
 itself to reconcile this with a due regard for the word of 
 God, unless we can suppose that they look upon that 
 word as calculated only for the first age of Christianity, 
 or as authorising the superstitious institutions of succeed- 
 ing ages. Those who would be thought liberal in their sen- 
 timents despise what they call the little singularities of 
 parties, and they are right so far as these singularities are 
 of human invention. They do not, however, stop here, but 
 treat many things in the New Testament itself as matters 
 of indifference or non-essentials : but whatever may be 
 said of the comparative importance of things, it is essential 
 to the character of a true Christian to consider himself 
 as indispensably bound to believe and practise all things 
 whatsoever Christ hath revealed or enjoined in his word, 
 so far as he understands it ; so that no article of the faith 
 once delivered to the saints, nor any one of the least of 
 Christ's commandments, however singular and unfashion- 
 able they may be, can, in the fear of God, be treated as 
 the trivial nostrums of a party. True Christianity is the 
 most benevolent and generous religion that ever appeared 
 on the earth ; but at the same time it is a very singular 
 institution ; it is not of this world, but quite opposite to 
 
 * Take for an instance of this, the censure which Dr Mosheim and 
 his translator pass upon iErius for condemning the superstition of 
 his time, and attempting to reduce Christianity to its primitive sim- 
 plicity, though they allow that the design, considered in itself, was 
 noble and laudable. Eccles Hist. Vol. i. p. 314, -315. Second Edition, 
 
PREFACE. Xlll 
 
 the spirit and course of it : therefore, such as unreservedly 
 follow Christ, and conscientiously observe his sayings, must 
 necessarily be distinguished from the world, and looked 
 upon as a party. 
 
 Several additions have been made to this new edition. 
 At the end I have given a sketch of the prophetic visions 
 of the Apocalypse, with the corresponding prophecies in 
 the Old Testament, and marked the distinguished events 
 in which many of these predictions seem to have been al- 
 ready accomplished. I have also, taking the prophets for 
 my guide, set forth in several particulars the happiness of 
 the Millennium period, without presuming to fix the times 
 or seasons of future events. 
 
 As to the execution of this work, I leave the Reader to 
 judge for himself, and only request that he would not 
 hastily reject anything advanced till he has first carefully 
 consulted the scripture authorities referred to at the 
 bottom of the pages ; and in so far as it tends to promote 
 the glory of God, and the cause of pure and undefiled re- 
 ligion, I earnestly pray that it may be attended with the 
 divine blessing. 
 
 62 
 

 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHORS 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 HIS BIRTH, FAMILY; EDUCATION., AND EARLIER HISTORY. 
 
 Archibald M'Lean was born on the 1st of 'May, 1733, 
 O.S. at East Kilbride, a small village about eight miles south 
 of Glasgow. His father drew his first breath and passed his 
 youth in the Highlands of Scotland. He was the third in 
 descent from Brolus, eldest son of Duart, the chief of the 
 clan of the M'Leans. About the year 1720, he came to reside 
 in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, and occupied a farm at 
 Kilbride, where he afterwards married a Miss Struthers, the 
 daughter of a respectable farmer, and mother of the subject 
 of this Memoir. Several of the friends of his youth continued 
 to visit him, whenever they had occasion to pass through that 
 part of the country where he resided. Among these was a 
 Highland laird, who took notice of young Archibald, and re- 
 quested his parents would let him go with him to the High- 
 lands as a companion to his own son, a youth about the same 
 age. This request was complied with, and Archy proceeded 
 to the Isle of Mull, where he continued about six months, 
 and learned to speak and read the Gaelic language, an acqui- 
 sition which he prized in after life on various accounts, and 
 among others, because it enabled him to trace the etymology 
 of many English terms, and to mark the affinity between the 
 Gaelic, the Welch, and the native Irish dialects, which have 
 all one common origin. 
 
 The residence of our Author in the Island of Mull afforded 
 him the opportunity of there contemplating nature in its wild- 
 est aspect. Here the mountains of water roll down in tor- 
 rents from the great Atlantic, and in tempestuous seasons ex- 
 hibit scenes truly grand and magnificent ! Young as Archi- 
 bald then was, these objects fired his imagination ; and at a 
 
XVI MEMOIR OP 
 
 subsequent period of life he would take pleasure in relating 
 to his domestic circle his amusements in the Island of Mull, 
 and the impressions that had been made on his imagination, 
 while seated on the craggy cliffs, or wandering among the 
 caverns on the shore. He was at this time about eight years 
 old, a period when the mental faculties begin to expand, and 
 a contemplation of these sublime objects appears to have 
 produced corresponding conceptions of the power and wis- 
 dom of their great Creator, which made a lasting impression 
 on his youthful mind. 
 
 On his return from the Highlands he was put to school, and 
 in a few years acquired a competent knowledge of the ele- 
 mentary branches of education — the reading and writing his 
 mother tongue, arithmetic, and the Latin language. In a 
 subsequent period of his life, he also became sufficiently con- 
 versant with Greek and Hebrew, to read the word of God in 
 the original ; but this was the fruit of his own industry and 
 application, acquired too without the aid of a living teacher. 
 When he afterwards came to reside in Glasgow, he was fond 
 of visiting those places in the neighbourhood which brought 
 to his recollection the days t)f his youth ; and among others, 
 would point out to his friends the schools of Cathcart and 
 Cowcaddens, at which he was educated. It is to the honour of 
 North Britain to have taken the lead among the nations of 
 Europe in duly appreciating the benefits of education. But 
 a century ago the Presbyterians of Scotland were much more 
 concerned to bring up their children "in the nurture and ad- 
 monition of the Lord," than to bestow upon them those ele- 
 gant accomplishments on which we of modern times are apt 
 to plume ourselves. The parents of our author early dis- 
 covered in him an aptness to receive instruction, and while 
 they spared no expense or pains to give him the best educa- 
 tion that could be procured, they were commendably atten- 
 tive to the duty of imbuing his mind witli religious principle. 
 I have heard him speak in terms of warm commendation of 
 the Assembly's Catechism, and urge the importance of teach- 
 it to children with the scripture proofs ; and he would in- 
 stance his own experience in attestation of the good effects 
 resulting from it. He used to say that he was taught it when 
 a boy ; and that though when he began to mingle with the 
 world, and to have his mind engaged about its vanities, he 
 
THE AUTHOR. XV11 
 
 lost all recollection of his catechism, it was one of the 
 first things that occurred to him when he became religious, 
 and he could answer all the questions proposed in it, and ad- 
 duced the scripture proofs with perfect ease. This he found 
 of great advantage to him in every subsequent part of his life. 
 
 While Mr. M'Lean was prosecuting his education, the ce- 
 lebrated George Whitfield was in the zenith of his popularity, 
 and in the practice of statedly visiting Glasgow among the 
 other towns of Scotland. Accustomed, as he was, to preach to 
 thousands in the open air, he frequently came to Cambuslang, 
 a village in the neighbourhood where our author resided, 
 which gave him the opportunity of seeing and hearing that 
 extraordinary man, whose person and manner of preaching 
 made a strong impression on his mind, insomuch that it be- 
 came a favourite theme of comment and of interesting remark 
 with him in the social circle as long as he lived. Pie would 
 entertain his friends very pleasantly in describing Mr. Whit- 
 field's person and striking manner of address ; in repeating 
 many of his pointed sayings ; and in specifying the effects 
 that were produced upon his audience, which, in many in- 
 stances, were truly surprising. Cambuslang was the scene 
 of some extraordinary awakenings in religion under the 
 preaching of Mr. Whitfield, of which our author was a wit- 
 ness ; and although at a more advanced period of his life, he 
 gave it as his opinion that there might be much on that occa- 
 sion which was not genuine, he always honoured Mr. Whit- 
 field for his zeal, and considered him as an instrument of 
 great good to the souls of thousands. 
 
 When he had attained the age of fourteen, his parents 
 were desirous that he should fix upon some profession with 
 a view to his future plan of life ; and his fondness for books 
 naturally directed his attention to the printing business. In 
 this choice he was fortunate enough to meet the concurrent 
 wishes of his parents, who considered it quite suited to the 
 natural bent of his mind. In various instances they had per- 
 ceived in him an ardent thirst for information, with consider- 
 able acuteness of intellect, and a strong attachment to books. 
 Accordingly, in 1746, he was articled as an apprentice to a 
 printer in Glasgow, by whom he was highly prized and es- 
 teemed. This was an employment every way congenial to 
 his disposition. The variety of works which were constantly 
 
XV111 MEMOIR OF 
 
 passing through his hands, proved at the same time a source 
 of amusement and information ; and he soon made himself per- 
 fectly acquainted with every branch of the printing business. 
 His leisure hours were devoted to the study of the languages in 
 which the Scriptures were originally written ; and to facili- 
 tate his acquaintance with them, he constructed several 
 grammars for his own use, some of which are still extant in 
 the possession of the family. During the term of his ap- 
 prenticeship, he also applied himself to a course of general 
 reading, and to the particular study of some branches of 
 science connected with Theology, which laid the foundation 
 of that extensive acquaintance with the Scriptures which he 
 ultimately attained. After the expiration of his apprentice- 
 ship he continued at the printing business, and having ac- 
 quired considerable respect, as well as eminence in his pro- 
 fession, he was often consulted by authors on the subject of 
 their manuscripts, as a person of correct taste and judgment. 
 It cannot be satisfactorily ascertained in what year of his 
 life he was brought to the saving knowledge of the truth ; but 
 it appears pretty certain that it was under the preaching of 
 Mr. M'Laurin, who was at that time one of the ministers of 
 Glasgow ; and there is some reason to think that it could not 
 be long after he entered upon his apprenticeship ; for he was 
 a member of a fellowship prayer-meeting of the Established 
 Church, when little more than fifteen years of age. In these 
 meetings he was much admired on account of his modesty, 
 and the talent he discovered even at this early age. His 
 fervent piety and exemplary conduct excited towards him 
 the attachment of all the serious people, and he became in- 
 creasingly known and respected in Glasgow. Mr. M'Laurin's 
 ministry was evidently very useful to him, and that may ac- 
 count to us for the frequency and the delight with which 
 he was accustomed to converse of this great man. Many of 
 his friends can recollect him mentioning the astonishment 
 with which he used to listen to his discourses while standing 
 like a statue in the pulpit, and pouring out copious streams 
 of the most sublime doctrine on his favourite topic, "the 
 glories of the cross of Christ." The few writings that Mr. 
 M'Laurin left were also in high estimation with him, and he 
 took every opportunity of warmly recommending them to 
 others. When he first mentioned them to the writer of this 
 
THE AUTHOR. XIX 
 
 Memoir, he made use of the following strong expression — 
 " Every sentence of his sermon, on glorying in the cross of 
 Christ, might serve as a text to preach from ! " 
 
 In 1759, Mr. M'Lean married Isabella, the youngest daugh- 
 ter of Mr. William Moore, Merchant in Glasgow, with whom 
 he obtained a small property, sufficient, however, to enable 
 him to commence business on his own account, which he did 
 the year following, as a bookseller and printer, in Glasgow. 
 He was not, indeed, very well calculated for the management 
 of a shop, nor for conducting any business which requires an 
 expertness in dealing with the world. He, therefore, got 
 completely dissatisfied with business ; and, having conducted 
 it about seven years, he resolved to relinquish it for a stated 
 income, that should be adequate to the support of his family, 
 which now began to increase upon his hands. 
 
 In June 1767, Mr. McLean quitted Glasgow, leaving his 
 family there, and sailed for London, thinking it probable that 
 such a situation as he wished to meet with, might be more 
 readily found there than in his native country. The voyage 
 proved uncommonly tempestuous, and the passengers nar- 
 rowly escaped a watery grave. On his arrival in the metro- 
 polis, our author addressed the following letter to his beloved 
 partner in life ; and as it has hitherto escaped the wreck of 
 time, its interesting nature seems to justify the propriety of 
 preserving it from oblivion. 
 
 LETTER TO MRS. M f LEAN. 
 
 London, 13th July, 1767. 
 
 My Dear Wife, — After a tedious, dangerous, and ex- 
 pensive voyage, I have at length arrived at this place : the 
 particulars are as follows : — 
 
 On Thursday, the 18th June, I set off from Glasgow, and 
 sailed from Leith on Monday, June 29, at 4 o'clock in the 
 afternoon, with a fair wind. On Tuesday, at 7 in the morn- 
 ing, we were off Berwick, with the wind fair — Wednesday, 
 off Shields, below Newcastle at 9 in the morning, and at night 
 came in sight of Flamborough Head — wind still fair. On 
 Thursday morning, we were off Hull, with a brisk fair gale, 
 and about noon lost sight of land. In the afternoon, the 
 wind changed directly against us, so that we were obliged to 
 
XX MEMOIR OF 
 
 tack without making much way. Friday morning, at 9, we 
 were off Yarmouth — dropt anchor in Leostoff Roads, till the 
 tide should favour us, the wiud being directly a-head — 
 weighed anchor at 10 at night, and made some little progress 
 by tacking, with the assistance of the tide. On Saturday 
 morning, we were driven back to Leostoff Roads and dropt 
 anchor — the wind continuing strong and contrary. We 
 weighed anchor again, by favour of the tide, but dropt it 
 again opposite Aldbourgh. On Sunday morning, weighed 
 anchor again, and bore up against a very high wind, but 
 again cast anchor two leagues above Oxfordness. At 8 
 o'clock in the morning, a violent hurricane came on, so that 
 the ship would not obey the helm ; and, as the captain ima- 
 gined it would not continue long on account of its violence, he 
 dropt anchor, being unwilling to loose anything he had 
 gained ; but the wind and rain still increasing, the sea rose 
 to a prodigious swell, and being far from land, and fully ex- 
 posed, we were apprehensive the cable would break, and that 
 we should be driven back upon the Ness in the night. The 
 storm was so excessive, that the spray of the waves rose 
 higher than the yard-arm, and the rolling of the vessel was 
 so great, that every person and thing in it, were tossed about 
 in the strangest manner imaginable. The fore part of the 
 vessel, which lay towards the weather, was as often below as 
 above the water, and the seas, or waves, which she shipped 
 ahead, frequently ran along the deck to the stern. I often 
 looked out of the cabin hatchway, and in a moment was ren- 
 dered as wet as if plunged into the sea. All the rest of the 
 passengers were sick, and some of them staring wildly, ex- 
 pecting every moment to go to the bottom. For my part, I 
 was never touched with sickness, nor was I apprehensive of 
 danger, till I observed the captain much concerned, and the 
 tears starting from his eyes, and then I thought there must 
 be real danger. As there were ships at anchor on every side 
 of us, we were apprehensive that some of them might run foul 
 of us, and, therefore, the carpenter was ordered to have his 
 hatchet in readiness to cut the cable in case any of the 
 vessels to the windward should fall back upon us. 
 
 At 10 at night, a vessel broke her cable and appeared to 
 be coming our way, and now we were on the point of cutting 
 ©ur cable ; but, providentially, she came in nearer than a 
 
THE AUTHOR. XXI 
 
 cable's length. At half-past eleven at night, our cable broke, 
 and the vessel instantly heeled about, on which the sea and 
 storm beat upon one of the cabin windows. I immediately 
 ran a sheet in it, nailing it with my fist, without any sense of 
 pain at the time. The whole of the passengers now expected 
 immediate death: some of them moaning, others praying. 
 Some of them entreated me to perform worship ; but I told 
 them the thing was improper in the present state of confusion, 
 and desired each of them to commend their souls to God, at the 
 same time telling them that I was not yet without hope of 
 deliverance, for that God who rules the raging of the sea 
 and stilleth the waters thereof, could soon give the winds and 
 sea an effectual rebuke, and say, c Peace, be still.' 
 
 The other anchor was dropped with all expedition, and 
 the storm still continued. The vessel danced so prodigiously 
 high, and gave such twitches to the cable, that the captain 
 said with a heavy sigh, ' she could not stand it long.' Be- 
 sides, the vessel was exceedingly leaky, and required to 
 be pumped every half-hour. I have it, however, to remark 
 to the goodness of God, that I preserved a calmness and se- 
 renity of mind, even in the view of death ; and the thoughts 
 of leaving you and the children constituted my chief reluc- 
 tance ; for it certainly affected me much to think with what 
 concern you would receive the intelligence of my death. 
 However, I commended you and them to the merciful protec- 
 tion and bountiful providence of our gracious God and com- 
 passionate Father. 
 
 At break of day, we were somewhat encouraged, as we 
 could then see about us ; but at 8 o'clock on Monday morn- 
 ing, the other cable broke, and now having lost all our 
 cables, we were reduced to the necessity of driving before the 
 wind. The passengers entreated that the vessel might 
 be run on shore, which they thought gave them the only 
 chance for life : but the captain, unwilling to lose the vessel, 
 was for standing off to sea ; but, to do that, our stock of pro- 
 visions was insufficient. As the vessel was now driving be- 
 fore the wind, we were afraid of running foul of some vessels 
 to leeward, before we could get the broken cables hauled in, 
 and sails struck ; but God, in his providence, prevented it. 
 Having struck sail, we bore to Yarmouth Roads — and ar- 
 rived off Leostoff, on Monday morning at six o'clock, where 
 
XX 11 MEMOIR OF 
 
 we hoisted a flag of distress. A boat immediately came off 
 from the shore, with eight men, who risked their lives for 
 our relief. In about an hour we got an anchor on board, and 
 myself and fellow passengers went ashore in the boat which 
 brought the anchor. We remained at Leostoff that night, 
 and on Tuesday set off for London by land, having 120 miles 
 to travel, and we arrived here on Friday, at 3 o'clock in the 
 afternoon. A. M. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 HIS BAPTISM, SETTLEMENT AT EDINBURGH, AND CALL 
 TO THE PASTORAL OFFICE, &C. 
 
 Mr. M'Lean's parents were members of the Presbyterian 
 Church of Scotland, and trained up their son in a veneration 
 for that national establishment of religion. It has already 
 been mentioned also, that he was brought to a saving ac- 
 quaintance with the truth, as it is in Jesus, under the preach- 
 ing of Mr. M'Laurin, a minister of the Established Church ; 
 he consequently entered into the communion of that church, 
 and continued several years a very zealous member of it. He 
 regularly attended the fellowship, or prayer-meetings, and 
 strictly conformed to all the institutions of the Presbyterian 
 plan of church government. Mr. M'Laurin died in 1754, at 
 which time our author was about the age of twenty-one. It 
 does not appear whether he continued to hear his successor. 
 Professor Finlay, or not ; but we know that sometime after- 
 wards, he sat under the ministry of Dr Gillies, in the College 
 Church. He has been often heard to speak in warm terms of 
 the happiness he enjoyed, during the time he was in connec- 
 tion with the Established Church, in which there were then 
 many pious persons, who held frequent meetings for prayer 
 and religious instruction, and who were living examples of 
 the power of godliness, both in their families, and in the 
 world. 
 
 He was first led to call in question the propriety of all na- 
 tional establishments of Christianity, by reading Mr. J. Glas's 
 " Testimony of the King of Martyrs." This publication he al- 
 ways regarded as (e a most judicious and scriptural illustration 
 of the good confession which our Lord Jesus Christ witnessed 
 
THE AUTHOR. XXlll 
 
 before Pontius Pilate, concerning his kingdom, as distinguished 
 from the Jewish Theocracy, the kingdoms of this world, and 
 the churches that now bear its name." In consequence of this 
 change in his view of things, he in 1762 withdrew from the 
 communion of the national church, and united with a small 
 society of Christians, who, at that time, were the only Inde- 
 pendents in Glasgow. His continuance with them, however, 
 was of short duration ; for, in the following year, he left 
 them on a case of discipline, in which he could not conscien- 
 tiously agree with the church. 
 
 At the time that Mr. M'Lean withdrew from the Indepen- 
 dents, a Mr. Robert Carmichael left them also. This gentle- 
 man had been an Anti-burgher minister at Cupar-in-Angus ; 
 but, adopting congregational views of church government, he 
 seceded from that body of professors, and connected himself 
 with the friends of Mr. Glas. When the separation from the 
 latter had taken place, the subject of baptism presented itself 
 to the consideration of Mr. M'Lean and his friend. Mr. Car- 
 michael one day said, " What think you of the subject of 
 baptism ?" This took place in the year 1763, about which 
 time the latter received a call from a society of Independents 
 in Edinburgh, and was upon the point of removing from 
 Glasgow to become their pastor. Mr. M'Lean promised to 
 take the subject into consideration, and transmit his thoughts 
 to him fully on the point. He accordingly drew up a long 
 letter, dated July 2d, 1764, in which he went through the 
 whole of the New Testament Scriptures on this head ; and, 
 as he used to say, " laid before his friend the whole subject 
 as clearly and plainly as ever he could have done at any sub- 
 sequent period of his life." He had at this time, as he told 
 me, never read a line that was written on the subject by any 
 Baptist ; his plan was, to take the New Testament in his 
 hand and go through every page of it with fixed attention, 
 noting down whatever he found in it respecting baptism ; and 
 particularly remarking whether any mention were made in it 
 of the baptism of infants. The result of the whole was, that 
 he became a decided Baptist in principle, and, in the issue, 
 the means of leading many hundreds of others into similar 
 views of the subject. 
 
 This letter, however, did not immediately satisfy Mr. Carmi- 
 chael; for, after receiving it, he baptized the child of his co-pas- 
 
XXIV MEMOIR OF 
 
 lor. In about a year afterwards, he came to be fully convinced 
 that Mr. M'Lean's views of this subject were agreeable to 
 scripture, on which he declared his sentiments to the church 
 coder his pastoral care, five of whom avowed themselves of 
 his mind on the subject. At this time, there was no society 
 of Baptists in Scotland, nor an individual in the country 
 known by thein, to whom they could apply for baptism in a 
 scriptural way. It was then resolved that Mr. Carmichael 
 should go to London, and be baptized by Dr. Gill, which he 
 accordingly was at Barbican, Oct. 9, 1765, and on his return, 
 he baptized the five persons above mentioned, and also two 
 others. A few weeks after this, Mr. M'Lean, who now re- 
 sided at Glasgow, went over to Edinburgh, and was baptized 
 by Mr. Carmichael. Mrs. M'Lean was at this time a member 
 of the Church of Scotland; and, when on her husband's re- 
 turn to Glasgow, she was told he had become a Baptist, she 
 declared that she could not have been more sorry if he had 
 become a Roman Catholic ! It was not long, however, be- 
 fore she herself joined the Baptists, and continued a most 
 exemplary and useful member with them till her death. 
 
 A Baptist church was now formed in Edinburgh, of which 
 Mr. Carmichael was the sole pastor. Mr. M'Lean was at a 
 distance of more than forty miles from them ; but they had 
 frequent correspondence, and he occasionally visited them. 
 He was held in high estimation by his brethren, on account 
 of his character and talents ; and they ardently wished for 
 his settlement among them in Edinburgh. In 1767, as we 
 have already seen, he went to London, where he continued 
 at his printing business until the month of December, when 
 an application having been made to him, to become the over- 
 seer of the extensive printing concern of Messrs. Donaldson, 
 & Co. in Edinburgh, he acceeded to the proposal, and quit- 
 ting the metropolis, settled there with his family, to the great 
 joy and satisfaction of his friends. 
 
 He now statedly assembled with the small church in 
 Kdinburuh, in the capacity of a private member; but, in 
 June, 176^, he was chosen colleague to Mr. Carmichael, and 
 the following are the circumstances which led to this event. 
 Mr. Carmichael happened to be taken suddenly ill on a 
 Sunday morning, and the church had assembled for worship, 
 before any intimation could be given of the circumstance. In 
 
THE AUTHOR. XXV 
 
 this dilemma, some of the members proposed that Mr. M'Lean 
 should give them a discourse, to which, with some reluctance, 
 he consented ; and while his brethren were engaged in sing- 
 ing the first hymn, he fixed his attention on 1 Cor. iii. 11, 
 " For other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, 
 which is Jesus Christ." This was his first regular discourse 
 to the church. He divided his subject into two branches, 
 but the time did not permit him to discuss more than the first 
 of them. Mr. Carmichael was so far recovered in the after 
 part of the day as to attend in his place ; but the church were 
 so pleased with what had been said to them in the forenoon, 
 that they requested Mr. M'Lean might be allowed to finish 
 his subject, which he accordingly did ; and soon after he was 
 chosen to the pastoral office, as Mr. Carmichael's colleague 
 June, 1768. 
 
 In the year 1769, several persons came from Glasgow to 
 Edinburgh and were baptized. Not long afterwards, several 
 others in that city adopted the principle of believer's bap- 
 tism, and applied to Mr. M'Lean to come over to Glasgow; 
 with the view of setting them in order as a church, with 
 which he complied — Mr. Neil Stuart being appointed to the 
 pastoral office among them. This was the origin of the first 
 Baptist Church in Glasgow. On this occasion, Mr. M'Lean 
 baptized several other individuals there, who made applica- 
 tion to him. The river Clyde, flowing past that city, made 
 it very convenient for the purpose of administering the ordi- 
 nance of baptism. On the appointed day, the novelty of the 
 thing excited considerable curiosity, and thousands of per- 
 sons assembled in the large green, at a place called the Herd's 
 House, on the banks of the river, to witness the strange scene ! 
 Mr. M'Lean was indeed well known in that city, and highly 
 respected. As soon as he made his appearance on the Green, 
 the people opened up a way for him, and the candidates for 
 baptism, who, having made the necessary preparations, pro- 
 ceeded with great solemnity to the river, where he adminis- 
 tered the ordinance to them, during the whole of which, the 
 multitude behaved with the utmost propriety and decorum. 
 It is generally supposed that he was the first person who ad- 
 ministered the ordinance by immersion, on a profession of the 
 candidates' faith at Glasgow. 
 
 The church in Edinburgh soon after this time began to 
 
 c2 
 
XXVI MEMOIR OF 
 
 increase rapidly. In the year 1777, he published " A De- 
 fence of Believer's Baptism," in answer to a pamphlet which 
 had recently made its appearance at Glasgow, in behalf of 
 infant sprinkling. This drew the attention of many persons 
 to the subject : the controversy got access into a Psedobaptist 
 congregation at Edinburgh ; and soon afterwards six of their 
 number came off, embraced baptism, and were added to the 
 church. In the space of six months nearly twenty more fol- 
 lowed their example, among whom was Henry David Inglis, 
 Esq., the grandson of the celebrated Colonel Gardiner. 
 
 Mr. M'Lean continued to superintend the extensive con- 
 cerns of Donaldson's printing office for eighteen years, 
 namely, from 1767 to 1785, and this must necessarily have 
 been a period of extraordinary exertion to him, in every 
 point of view. The increase of the church in Edinburgh, and, 
 we may add, the spread of the Baptist profession in different 
 parts of Scotland also, unavoidably entailed upon him a large 
 portion of additional duty in the pastoral office, and called 
 for augmented exertions in various respects. Sustaining the 
 station of leader of the denomination, he had to conduct a 
 pretty extensive correspondence, which must have occupied 
 no little time, and which demanded no inconsiderable expense 
 of thought and study. His ministerial duties at home were 
 attended to with the utmost assiduity ; though, during all 
 this period, he received no pecuniary compensation for his 
 services from the church ; on the contrary, indeed, he contri- 
 buted much to the support of the profession, and thus set an 
 example to the flock of that liberality, disinterestedness, and 
 love to Christ's name which the apostles of our Lord so 
 strongly inculcated upon eiders or ministers of the word. As 
 he did not take the oversight of them for the sake of " filthy 
 lucre," so he could adopt the noble appeal of the great 
 apostle of the Gentiles, and say, " Ye, yourselves, know that 
 these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and unto 
 them that belong to me. I have set an example to other pas- 
 tors, how, that so labouring, they ought to support the weak, 
 and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, 
 iC It is more blessed to give than to receive." In Mrs. M'Lean, 
 he was blessed with a consort whose spirit and disposition 
 were perfectly congenial to his own turn of mind. She was 
 naturally generous, open-hearted, and given to hospitality. 
 
THE AUTHOR. XXV11 
 
 The consequence was, that their house was free to all the 
 poor country members, in lodging and entertaining whom 
 they took great pleasure, though it unavoidably pinched them 
 in their circumstances, and abridged the comforts of the fa- 
 mily. By this noble and disinterested conduct, he certainly 
 laid the denomination at large to which he belonged, and the 
 Edinburgh church in particular, under great obligations. His 
 stated income was but small, probably much less than most 
 of his brethren imagined ; but he was singularly modest and 
 reserved in everything that respected himself. 
 
 In March, 1778, Mr. William Braidwood, who had been 
 the pastor of an Independent society at Edinburgh, embraced 
 the Baptist profession, joined the church under Mr McLean's 
 ministry, and in the following year was chosen joint-pastor 
 with him. 
 
 In October, 1784, Mr. H. D. Inglis was appointed an addi- 
 tional pastor of the church in Edinburgh ; so that, from this 
 time to the period of the much-lamented decease of the latter, 
 in 1806, an interval of more than twenty years, this society 
 was eminently blessed with the advantage of having three 
 able pastors, to labour in the word and doctrine, and to con- 
 duct the affairs of the house of God. Thus auspiciously cir- 
 cumstanced, the church enjoyed as much internal peace as 
 is probably to be expected in the present imperfect state of 
 knowledge and sanctification ; " They walked in the fear of 
 the Lord, enjoyed much of the consolations of the Holy 
 Spirit, and were both edified and multiplied." 
 
 In January, 1778, the distinguishing sentiment of the Bap- 
 tists got access into an Independent Church in Glasgow, under 
 the pastoral care of Mr. Robert Moncreiff, and the result was, 
 that himself and nine of his brethren, becoming convinced of 
 the propriety of the baptism of believers, on a personal profes- 
 sion of the faith, applied to Mr. M f Lean to come over and 
 baptize them, which he accordingly did, and set them in church 
 order, Mr. Moncreiff being appointed to the pastoral office. 
 
 Mr. Moncreiff was descended from a family of great re- 
 spectability in Scotland, and the late Sir Henry Moncreiff, 
 Wellwood, was his elder brother. The talents which he 
 possessed were of no ordinary cast ; and, under his power- 
 ful ministry, the Baptist cause in Glasgow speedily resumed 
 an entirely new aspect. His popular talents a,nd striking 
 
XXV111 MEMOIR OF 
 
 manner of delivery drew the attention of a great number of 
 hearers ; and his amiable deportment, conjoined with a most 
 exemplary conduct, tended much to conciliate all classes, 
 and disarm the disaffected of their prejudices. In the course 
 of eight or nine years the church rapidly increased ; and Mr. 
 James Duncan, bookseller in Glasgow, was chosen fellow- 
 elder with Mr Moncreiff. The latter, however, in the winter 
 of 1787* was attacked with symptoms of consumption, which 
 rapidly increased upon him. His physicians recommended a 
 removal to the south of France, and the importunity of his 
 friends induced him to comply with their advice. His last 
 public interview with the church exhibited an extremely af- 
 fecting scene, which is still fresh in the recollection of many. 
 He addressed them in a short discourse, from 2 Cor. xiii. 11, 
 " Finally, brethren, farewell : Be perfect ; be of good com- 
 fort, be of one mind, live in peace ; and the God of love and 
 peace shall be with you." The greater part of the church 
 were in tears, sorrowing most of all for the hints he gave, 
 and the fears they had, that they should see his face no more. 
 He set out, accompanied by his wife and a medical atten- 
 dant ; but, having arrived at London, it was not thought ad- 
 visable that he should proceed on his journey farther than 
 Lynn, in Dorsetshire, where he finished his course, and was 
 interred in April, 1788. He was a faithful, zealous, and ac- 
 tive servant of the Lord Jesus, and the loss of him was deeply 
 felt and lamented, both by the church under his pastoral care, 
 and indeed by the whole denomination. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 SOME ACCOUNT OP MR. M'LEAN'S WRITINGS. 
 
 About the year 1785, the exertions which the station the 
 great Head of the church had manifestly called him to fill, 
 were perceived by his brethren to be greater than his consti- 
 tution would sustain. He was much afflicted with diseases 
 of the stomach, arising from his studious habits, his sedentary 
 life, and close application to writing. An ardent concern for 
 the glory of Christ, and the prosperity of the various societies 
 with which he stood connected in the bonds of the gospel, 
 engrossed his chief attention, and so absorbed it, that he 
 
THE AUTHOR. xxix 
 
 seemed tog rudge the time allotted for his ordinary meals, 
 and he seldom went to rest before one o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, as he found himself more fitted for study at night than 
 during the bustling hours of day. In this way, indeed, he 
 generally past the last thirty years of his life, for the most 
 part in his study, depriving himself of the pleasures of so- 
 ciety, and even in his old age, sacrificing many of the comforts 
 of life, that he might promote the edification of his brethren, 
 and further the cause of primitive Christianity in the world. 
 
 The spread of the cause in various parts of Scotland, and 
 the discriminating principles of the churches formed upon the 
 plan of those of the Scotch Baptists, having extended also 
 to various parts of England, occasioned numerous applica- 
 tions at this period to Mr. M'Lean for visits, to set societies 
 in order^ and ordain pastors over them in the work of the 
 Lord. As his engagements in Mr. Donaldson's printing 
 office precluded the possibility of a compliance with the 
 greater part of these applications, and as the church in Edin- 
 burgh was now greatly increased in point of numbers, they 
 urged it upon him to. give up his secular employ, and ac 
 cept such a salary from them as their ability enabled them to 
 raise him. His moderate wishes and contented state of mind, 
 made him easily satisfied in this respect, and his anxious de- 
 sire to spend and be spent for the good of others, induced a 
 cheerful compliance with the proposal of his brethren. He 
 had laboured among them nearly twenty years without re- 
 ceiving any temporal emolument ; but, as his whole time and 
 labour was henceforth to be devoted to the duties of the 
 pastoral office, he consented to accept a salary from the 
 church of sixty guineas per annum, at which sum it continued 
 for several years ; and though, when an extraordinary rise in 
 all the necessaries of life took place, it was gradually aug- 
 mented, yet it never exceeded a hundred guineas, which was 
 the sum he was in receipt of at the time of his decease. 
 
 Having his hands, however, thus as it were set at liberty, 
 he began to look around him, and to consider how he might 
 best promote the extension of the kingdom of his divine 
 Master in the world ; and from this period we begin, in a 
 a more especial manner, to trace his history as an author. 
 
 In 1786, he published his invaluable treatise entitled, " The 
 Commission given by Jesus Christ to his Apostles, illustrated." 
 
XXX MEMOIR OF 
 
 It is, perhaps, not going too far to say of this publication, that 
 there is nothing in the English language which exhibits so scrip- 
 tural a view of primitive Christianity as this small volume. It 
 is so completely in unison with the scope of the New Testa- 
 ment, the writings of which whether by evangelists or apostles, 
 our author has happily brought to bear upon every part of 
 hie subject, and laid them under contribution in the way of 
 illustrating it, that it carries an irresistible conviction to the 
 mind of the reader ; and it would be difficult to name a book 
 which has obtained more unqualified commendation. The 
 work has gone through ten editions, and probably done more 
 to recal the attention of Christ's disciples to that kind of 
 Christianity which was propagated by himself and his apostles, 
 and that is found pure and unadulterated only in the writings 
 of the New Testament, than any human production now ex- 
 tant. It now constitutes the first volume of his works, in 6 
 volumes, 8vo. 
 
 About this time also, Mr. M'Lean drew up an " Essay on 
 the Calls and Invitations of the gospel," which was inserted 
 in the Missionary Magazine. It is the immediate design of 
 this Essay to show that the Gospel not only contains a decla- 
 ration of facts concerning the person and work of Christ, 
 but that it also includes the most kind and gracious invita- 
 tions, calls, and exhortations to unbelievers to partake of the 
 blessings of salvation, all which are founded on that declara- 
 tion of facts ; thus placing the subject in that luminous point 
 of view, that it gave a new turn to the preaching of numbers 
 both in Scotland and England, while it drew forth testimo- 
 nies of approbation from several distinguished authors, par- 
 ticularly the venerable John Fawcett of Ewood Hall, author 
 of the " Devotional Family Bible," who, in one of his smaller 
 pieces, bestows upon it the warmest commendation, express- 
 ing his very grateful acknowledgments to our author for this 
 able fruit of his pen. 
 
 Mr. M'Lean was considerably engaged about this period 
 in visiting various places in Scotland and England, where the 
 principles of the Baptists had gained access, and in forming 
 societies and aiding the regulation of their affairs. He rarely 
 omitted an annual journey into England, during which he 
 visited London, Hull, Beverly, Chester, Nottingham, Liver- 
 pool, &c. &c, in all which places he had brethren, who 
 
THE AUTHOR. XXXI 
 
 highly prized his visits, and were always solicitous to obtain 
 them. The gathering of disciples into churches, baptizing 
 professed believers in Christ, regulating their social church 
 order, settling cases of difference that might arise, and then 
 restoring peace and brotherly love among them ; and ordain- 
 ing pastors in every church, where persons properly qualified 
 for that office appeared to have risen among them : these 
 were the primary objects of his attention on such occasions. 
 
 To exemplify his deportment in this respect, perhaps I 
 cannot do better than here introduce the following letter, 
 which he wrote to one of those infant societies in 1788, on 
 his return home, after having spent a month among them, 
 and formed them into a body : — 
 
 " It gave the church here great joy to hear of your affairs. 
 They have you much upon their heart. Our views of Chris- 
 tianity are such, that we look upon a company of disciples 
 united upon the apostolic gospel, and under its primitive in- 
 fluence, to be a very rare sight, and next to a prodigy in the 
 world called Christian. Nothing but the same divine power, 
 which attended the Gospel in the beginning, can produce this 
 in reality ; and wherever this appears, there we must see the 
 grace of God and be glad, if indeed we are lovers of Christ's 
 kingdom. I feel myself deeply interested in your spiritual 
 prosperity, and can in some measure adopt the Apostle's 
 words to the young church at Thessalonica, " Now we live, 
 if ye stand fast in the Lord." You are now in that situa- 
 tion to which the word of God speaks directly, particular- 
 ly the apostolic epistles to the churches, and if you are hear- 
 tily engaged in your profession, and in the duties of your 
 connection — for which you have now a proper field — you will 
 learn more in a little time of the real meaning of the scrip- 
 tures from experience, than you could have done all your 
 life time in another situation, by the most intense study and 
 abstract speculation. Every thing that occurs among you, 
 whether agreeable or disagreeable, will quicken your atten- 
 tion to it, and throw additional light upon it, as well as 
 experimentally convince you of the importance of every- 
 thing therein contained, either in the way of doctrine, re- 
 proof, correction, or instruction in righteousness. 
 
 As the faith of the gospel is the foundation of all your 
 hope and happiness, and the motive and spring of all your 
 
XXX11 MEMOIR OF 
 
 activity in the Christian life ; as it is that which purifies 
 the heart, overcomes the world, and works by love — you 
 will see the necessity of attending to all the scripture exhor- 
 tations to hold fast the faith, which imports not the mere 
 knoivledge, hut firm belief of the truth testified concerning 
 Christ. Again, as there can be no real belief of the gospel 
 without loving it, as we cannot be happy in that which we 
 do not love, as we cannot know our interest in Christ by 
 mere speculations without receiving the love of the truth, 
 and as all outward obedience will not profit us without this, 
 so you will perceive the importance of what the Scripture 
 says respecting the state of your hearts and affections to- 
 wards God, whether in a way of esteem, desire, gratitude, or 
 delight. Christ demands our supreme affection, and makes 
 it essential to our being his disciples. — Further, as faith with- 
 out works is dead, and as Christ describes those who love him 
 to be such as have his commandments and keep them, and 
 repels all the pretensions of such as do not the things which 
 he says ; as he connects blessedness not with merely knowing 
 but doing these things, and has declared that he will judge 
 all his professed servants at last according to their works ; 
 this must show you the necessity of observing all things 
 whatsoever he hath commanded, both in point of duty, gra- 
 titude, and interest; and particularly his new commandment 
 cf brotherly love, whereby his disciples are distinguished 
 from false professors, know they have passed from death 
 into life, and of the works of which he will make honourable 
 mention in the judgment. As in following the Lord fully, 
 you will meet with much opposition, both from the world 
 without, and the remaining corruptions of your own hearts, 
 so you will find it necessary to be watchful and circumspect, 
 to deny yourselves and take up the cross, to have constant 
 recourse to a throne of grace, both to obtain mercy to pardon, 
 and grace to help in time of need ; for the Christian must 
 daily live by mercy ; and as it is only through the power of 
 God, he is kept in the faith, and through faith unto salvation, 
 a just sense of our own imperfection and weakness is neces- 
 sary to keep us humble, self-diffident, and dependent upon 
 the merits and grace of the Redeemer. Lastly, as there are 
 many things which tend to obstruct the fervent exercise of 
 love amongst brethren, even where there is no stated offence, 
 
THE AUTHOR, XXXlll 
 
 you must be carefully upon your guard against such things, 
 lest you gradually fall off from the spirit of your profession, 
 and sink into a cool indifference, which bears no resemblance 
 to Christ's love to us. It is an important exhortance, " Let 
 brotherly love continue.'' In order to this, we must beware of 
 every disposition opposite to it, such as pride, envy, evil-judg- 
 ing, covetousness, &c; and, on the other hand, we must keep 
 in view the love of Christ, imitate his meekness, patience, 
 and gentleness, and use every scriptural method to shew our 
 affection, and to provoke to love and good works. 
 
 Thus will the church below 
 
 Resemble that above, 
 Where streams of endless pleasure flow, 
 
 And every heart is love. 
 
 rf Let all men, therefore, know that you are Christ's dis- 
 ciples, not merely by the soundness of your principles, for 
 which they will give you little credit, but especially by your 
 love to one another. Let gainsayers be convinced, not with 
 fiery zeal, or mere dint of argument, but by shewing out of a 
 good conversation your works, with meekness of wisdom. 
 But I must have done at present, commending you to God, 
 and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, 
 and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanc- 
 tified ; and may the God of peace that brought again from 
 the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the 
 sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make 
 you perfect in every good work, to do his will, working in 
 you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus 
 Chirst, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 The church here send their affectionate salutation to you 
 all, in which I most heartily join, and am your affectionate 
 brother and servant in the truth, 
 
 Archibald M'Lean. 
 
 After perusing this letter, the reader will easily perceive 
 that the views which the subject of this memoir entertained 
 of the nature of a Christian church, the duties of its members 
 one towards another, and the important ends of their fellow- 
 ship, were such as are not generally entertained among re- 
 ligious people. The truth is, that he had taken his sentiments 
 
 d 
 
xxxiv MEMOIR OP 
 
 from the apostolic writings, and not from any human formu- 
 lary, and his grand aim through life was, to reduce the pro- 
 fession of Christianity to the standard of the New Testament. 
 He occasionally preached for many of the Baptist minis- 
 ters when on these tours, particularly for Mr. Austin, Fetter- 
 lane, whose views of divine truth coincided very much with 
 his own ; Mr. Sowerly, at Battlebridge ; Mr. Upton and Dr. 
 Rippon, in the Borough, &c. &c, as well as in various parts 
 of the country, such as Chester, Liverpool, Hull, Leeds, and 
 Birmingham, at which latter place he preached for both Mr. 
 Pearce and Dr. Williams, previous to the settlement of the 
 latter at B,otherham. On one of these occasions, a printed 
 sermon was put into his hands at Hull, entitled, " The faith 
 of the operation of God," by a Mr. S. Barnard of that place. 
 As he considered the principles of that discourse to be ex- 
 tremely unscriptural, and the tendency of the doctrine main- 
 tained in it, to make men undervalue the Gospel and all it 
 reveals, as of little or no consequence to their salvation, and 
 to lead them to seek for a foundation of hope in some opera- 
 tion within them, distinct from the influence of the truth, or 
 some mystical principle wrought in their hearts, by a spirit 
 which does not speak in the scriptures; he delivered two 
 discourses in opposition to it, during his visit at Hull ; and 
 after his return home, published them (1791) under the title 
 of " The belief of the Gospel Saving Faith." The two ser- 
 mons were, however, cast into one, and an appendix sub- 
 ioined, containing a refutation of the principles advanced in 
 Mr. Barnard's sermon. This pamphlet has since been reprinted 
 in a detached form, and well deserves the consideration of 
 every enquirer after truth ; for on no one article has so much 
 false doctrine been propagated, as upon the simplest of all 
 subjects, the nature of faith. It maybe added, also, without 
 arrogance, or being thought guilty of panegyric, that there 
 is no writer of his age to whose labours the Christian church 
 is under greater obligation than to our author, for the suc- 
 cessful manner in which he has exposed and confuted the 
 many strange and absurd hypothesis that have been advanced 
 on this subject, and for placing it in the clear light of the New 
 Testament. 
 
 I do not find that Mr. M'Lean published anything of con- 
 sequence from this time till 1797, when a new and enlarged 
 
THE AUTHOR. xxxv 
 
 edition of his Illustration of Christ's Commission made its ap- 
 pearance. The principal additions are to be found in the 
 Preface, where he introduced an epitome of the evidences of 
 Christianity, and in the concluding part of the volume where 
 he glances at the fulfilment of the prophecies and promises 
 which relate to Christ's kingdom, from the times of the 
 apostles to the final consummation of all things. He has also 
 ably advocated the doctrine of Christ's spiritual reign, or the 
 universal extent of his kingdom, and the prevalence of his 
 religion during this period. The other enlargements made to 
 this work, are to be found in one or two long notes on the 
 subject of Faith. 
 
 In 1802, he published ' ' A Reply to Mr. Fuller's Appendix 
 to his book on the Gospel worthy of all acceptation." The 
 parties had previously exchanged minds, for they had met at 
 Kettering, by Mr. Fuller's invitation, and spent two or 
 three days together in friendly conversation. After his de- 
 parture, it became known among the neighbouring ministers 
 that this interview had taken place, and the question was na- 
 turally mooted, " So you have had an interview with Mr. 
 M'Lean of Edinburgh ; well, and what think you of him ?" 
 His answer was laconic, but, like the rest of his speeches, sen- 
 tentious and pithy — " An acute reasoner, and mighty in the 
 Scriptures/' 
 
 In 1807, appeared a u Review of Dr. Wardlaw's Lectures 
 on the Abrahamic Covenant, and its supposed connection 
 with Infant Baptism.'' Dr. Wardlaw is a man of eminent 
 talents, which he has employed with great success on various 
 subjects, and especially against the Socinians ; and his effort 
 to prop the drooping cause of Psedobaptism, by his Lectures 
 on the Abrahamic Covenant, may be regarded as the ablest 
 attempts that has been yet made on that side of the question. 
 His opponent in the " Review of his Lectures," gives him 
 "credit for his abilities, and admits that he has put as 
 plausible a face upon infant-baptism, as an untenable cause 
 could possibly admit ; and though he has grounded his argu- 
 ments chiefly on the principles of the Jewish constitution, 
 yet he avows his persuasion that, if infant-baptism were out 
 of view, he could not pursue the same strain of doctrine on 
 any other subject." I remember to have heard Mr. M'Lean 
 remark (with a smile) that Mr. Haldane avowed himself a 
 
XXXVI MEMOIR OF 
 
 Baptist in about eight days after the publication of the " Re- 
 view of Dr. Wardlaw's Lectures," in which he was followed 
 probably by some hundreds of his friends of the Tabernacle 
 connection. 
 
 About the year 1805, Mr. M'Lean, having arrived at the 
 age of seventy, was strongly urged by some of his friends, 
 who were aware that they could not now reasonably expect 
 his continuance with them many years, to publish an uniform 
 edition of his works, to which he consented, intending to add 
 to those already before the public several other treatises, 
 which were either prepared or projected, and particularly 
 a " Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews." This last 
 mentioned undertaking had for a number of years occupied a 
 leading place in his intentions. He had bestowed much time 
 and pains upon it in his studies — two or three distinct courses 
 of lectures had been delivered on that important portion of 
 the sacred writings to the church under his pastoral care, 
 which had excited the strongest prepossessions in its favour, 
 throughout the circle of his acquaintance whenever it should 
 make its appearance — and in order to confer upon the work 
 all the accuracy and perfection of which he was capable, he 
 revised and re-wrote the copy three different times. 
 
 It may not be amiss, in this place, to specify the contents 
 of the six volumes which are now before the public. Vol. I. 
 comprises the L( Apostolic Commission Illustrated." Vol. II. 
 An Essay on the Calls and Invitations of the Gospel, with 
 a Reply to some Animadversions made upon the Essay — a 
 Dissertation on the Influence of the Holy Spirit — Defence of 
 the Doctrine of Original Sin — a Dialogue between a Sjeceder 
 and a Baptist, concerning the extent of the Gospel Promise, 
 and the Distinction and Consistency of Justification by Faith 
 and Works; shewing the agreement of Paul and James on 
 that subject. Vol. III. Letters to Mr. Glas, in answer to his 
 Dissertation on Infant-baptism — a defence of Believer's Bap- 
 tism, as opposed to Infant-sprinkling— Some Strictures on 
 Mr. Carter's Remarks, in a letter to Mr. W. Richards of 
 Lynne — a Letter to a Correspondent, showing that all the 
 arguments for infant-baptism are rendered null bythePsedo- 
 baptists themselves ; and that there can be no positive divine 
 Institution without express Scripture precept or example — 
 Baptism must precede visible church-fellowship — on the Di- 
 
THE AUTHOR. XXXVH 
 
 vinity and Sonship of Christ, and the Evidence, Import, and 
 Influence of Christ's Resurrection. Vols. IV. and VI. con- 
 sists entirely of Sermons on various important subjects, viz., 
 The Belief of the Gospel Saving Faith — the Parable of the 
 Sower — the Scripture Doctrine of Divine Grace — the Eco- 
 nomy of Redemption — the Preferable Happiness of being 
 with Christ — the Doctrine of Reconciliation — the Truth of the 
 Gospel Testimony and Promises — the great Object and end 
 of the Prophetic Dispensation — the Subjection of all nations 
 to Christ — Christ's Providential Government of the World — 
 the Gospel Report, and grounds of its rejection Illustrated — 
 the Gospel Feast — on the Importance of the Fear of God — 
 the happiness which attends true Religion — on the Unity of 
 Christ's Disciples — the Stumbling Block removed, and the 
 Believer strengthened — on the Duty of Keeping the Heart — 
 the Christian Race — the Old and New Man described — on 
 the World's Hatred of Christ's disciples — on the Duty and 
 Privilege of Prayer — on the Duties which Christians owe to 
 Magistrates — God the Portion of his People — the Believer's 
 triumphant challenge — on the Assurance of Hope — on Dis- 
 conformity to the World. 
 
 It is no difficult matter, indeed, to find an apology for the 
 high contempt in which he was accustomed to hold the flimsy 
 harangues, which are continually issuing from the press in 
 the shape of sermons, in which rounded periods and great 
 swelling words of vanity are made a succeclaneum for the 
 bread of eternal life. It seems possible, however, to run into 
 the opposite extreme. Were all Christians blessed with 
 powers of attention and judgment, equal to those which the 
 author himself possessed, the complaint we are now making 
 would instantly fall to the ground ; but, alas, for one father 
 in Christ that is to be found in the Christian church, there 
 are unhappily ten babes who are incapable of digesting 
 strong meat, and to whom milk alone is palatable, Heb. v. 12 
 — 14. The preponderance of doctrinal sentiment in our au- 
 thor's discourses, was almost an unavoidable result from a 
 long-continued habit of compressing everything he wrote 
 into as few words as possible, paring excrescences, expung- 
 ing expletives, and, to the utmost of his power, making the 
 language of inspiration the vehicle through which he spake 
 to his fellow-mortals. There are indeed one or two excep- 
 
 d 2 
 
XXXVlll MEMOIR OF 
 
 tions in the volume of sermons to which this reference is 
 made. The discourse on the parable of the Sower, and that 
 also on the preferable happiness of being with Christ, are not 
 liable to the above complaint ; and the style in which they 
 are composed is full proof that their author was capable of a 
 different mode of composition, had his judgment approved of 
 it. I may also remark, that the sermons which are contained 
 in the sixth volume of his works, are far more exempt from 
 the charge in question, than almost any other part of his 
 writings — they are less laboured ; the style is more free and 
 animated ; and on these very accounts, I confidently antici- 
 pate their better reception with the religious public. This, 
 however, is to be attributed principally to his not having him- 
 self prepared them for the press ; they are in general the 
 spontaneous effusions of his own richly furnished mind, com- 
 mitted to writing and preached in his own congregation ; but 
 had they passed a second time through the crucible, they 
 had doubtless lost in ease what they would have gained in 
 solidity. I am not, however, certain that they would, on 
 that account, have been more extensively useful. The Ser- 
 mon on the Scripture doctrine of Divine Grace — that on the 
 Economy of Redemption — a third on the doctrine of Recon- 
 ciliation, with some others, all contained in the fourth volume 
 of his Works, would, I humbly conceive, have been more ap- 
 propriately designated " Dissertations" on those important 
 topics than Sermons. They are, nevertheless, unspeakably 
 valuable, and it would not be easy to find anything in the 
 English language, on those subjects, that is comparable to 
 them. Vol. V. The Paraphrase and Commentary on the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews. At the end of the volume is added 
 an Appendix, containing five distinct Essays or Dissertations, 
 intended to illustrate more copiously than could be properly 
 done in the Commentary, some important topics which had 
 come under discussion. No. I. On the double sense of 
 Prophecy. No. 2. On the Administration of Angels, pre- 
 vious to Christ's resurrection and exaltation. No. 3. On 
 the commencement of the exercise of Christ's office as High 
 Priest. No. 4. An Illustration of Heb. xii. 6 — 11, and No. 5. 
 An Illustration of Heb. xii. 28, 29. 
 
 From what hath been already said respecting the care and 
 labour bestowed by Mr. M'Lean on this " Commentary on 
 
THE AUTHOR. XXXIX 
 
 the Hebrews," it may naturally be inferred that the work 
 ought to possess superior merit ; and, that it does so, no 
 competent judge will deny. Though all his writings are valu- 
 able in my estimation, yet were I to make a preference, it 
 would certainly be in favour of this illustration of that grand 
 portion of the sacred writings. The work has everything to 
 recommend it that is calculated to do so. The grandeur, 
 extent, and importance of the subject are undeniable ; and in 
 the discussion of it, the whole compass of Christian doctrine 
 necessarily comes under consideration. I have heard him re- 
 mark, that the study of the Epistle to the Hebrews had done 
 more to enlarge and expand his views of the economy of Re- 
 demption (a theme which angels contemplate with wonder 
 and amazement) and also to establish his mind in the firm 
 belief of it, than any other subject to which he had ever de- 
 voted his'attention. The excellency of the publication con- 
 sists not only in the success with which he has traced the in- 
 spired writer in all his positions and reasonings — followed 
 him in every distinct idea, unfolding its import and illustra- 
 ting its meaning to the best of his ability (for in the Preface 
 to his Paraphrase he disclaims the supposition of having pro- 
 duced a faultless work) but also in the singularly condensed 
 and compressed state in which all this is at the same time ef- 
 fected. But certainly in the talent of uniting simplicity with 
 vigour, and conciseness with perspicuity, he has no rival in 
 the English language. 
 
 I dismiss this brief review of our author's writings with re- 
 marking, that in collecting them into one body, a form in which 
 they will do doubt descend to a remote posterity, he has 
 shewn his solicitude to divest them as much as possible of a 
 controversial air, and has omitted the republication of such 
 pieces as could be considered of only temporary interest. 
 For though he was much oftener called by a sense of duty 
 to take up the weapons of controversy, than suited his incli- 
 nation ; and though he never failed to distinguish himself 
 when thus urged to the combat ; he was no ways anxious to 
 perpetuate his victories, his utmost ambition being restricted 
 to a defence of the cause of truth. 
 
xl MEMOIR OF 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 MR. M'LEAN'S HISTORY CONTINUED TO THE PERIOD OP 
 
 HIS DEATH. 
 
 In the year 1790, Mr. M'Lean sustained a heavy domestic 
 calamity in the loss of his wife, who had been for some years 
 considerably afflicted with asthma, especially during the 
 winter season. Mrs. M'Lean had throughout life, exemplified 
 all the excellent qualities that can adorn the female character. 
 To great sensibility of heart, and active benevolence in her 
 deportment, she united a clear and penetrating judgment re- 
 specting divine truth, and her remarkable piety commanded 
 universal respect. She rejoiced in ever}' opportunity that 
 presented itself of feeding the hungry and clothing the naked ; 
 and the happiness she felt in thus ministering to the necessi- 
 ties of saints, often engrossed so much of her attention as to 
 make her unmindful of her own wants and comfort. She was 
 related by birth to some of the most ancient and powerful 
 Highland families in Scotland — her grandmother being the 
 eldest daughter of McDonald of Sanda. But though her so- 
 ciety was sought after by females of considerable rank and 
 distinction, she in general shrunk from the world, and sacri- 
 ficed the pride of life to a conscientious conformity to the 
 revealed will of God, in which she found greater satisfaction. 
 Her companions were chiefly such as needed to have benefits 
 conferred on them, and who repaid her assiduities by their 
 delightful and refreshing conversation on that topic which 
 stood foremost in her mind, the glories of her Redeemer, 
 and the happiness of the saints in light. She was born in the 
 Isle of Arran, 1733, in the house of Drumlaboro, which was 
 built by her own father, Mr. Moore, a merchant of Glasgow, 
 on the estate of her grandfather, Hamilton of Cotts, and died 
 at Edinburgh on the 14th Dec. 1790, in the 57th year of her 
 age. The following letter, which was written by Mr. M'Lean 
 to her sister, Mrs. M'Kinlay of Glasgow, on occasion of her 
 decease, is so just a picture of her character, and at the same 
 time exhibits his own resignation under the bereaving dis- 
 
THE AUTHOR. xli 
 
 pensation of Providence in so striking a light, that it would 
 be unjust to all parties to omit its insertion : — 
 
 Edinburgh, Dec. 29, 1790. 
 My Dear Sister, — Scarcely had I been a week at home, 
 after my return from England, when I began to suspect that 
 the time of my wife's departure was at hand. She continued, 
 however, for three weeks longer under very severe and in- 
 creasing distress, and now has exchanged the imperfections 
 and troubles of this life, for the blessedness of the dead who 
 die in the Lord. The faith of the Son of God, by which 
 she lived during her pilgrimage here, was her support in 
 passing through the valley and shadow of death. She spoke 
 till within a very little of her departure in such a pleasant, 
 joyful, and edifying manner, as deeply to affect a number 
 that were about her, and to take away almost every impres- 
 sion of the gloomy aspect of death. In the sharpest conflict 
 with that last enemy, she with a noble magnanimity triumphed 
 over it, through the faith of him " who liveth and was dead, 
 and is alive for evermore, and has the keys of hell and of 
 death," words which she often repeated. Many of her words 
 and ejaculations were lost at times, through inability to 
 speak above her breath ; at other times she spoke audibly, 
 and seemed to regret nothing so much as the want of 
 strength to speak more abundantly to the praise of the dear 
 Redeemer. As for myself, my grief is almost swallowed up 
 in the joyful and well-grounded persuasion, that she is now 
 with the Lord, whom she supremely loved, and with whom 
 she longed to be present. Death had scarcely made a pause in 
 her song here, when she resumed it above with new and un- 
 abating ardour, and never-ending rapture and joy. How 
 grand and glorious the transition ! the thought of it may well 
 make us forget everything else. But, alas ! I am yet in the 
 body. Reflections on my own loss frequently recur. The 
 dear remembrance of a most tender and affectionate wife, my 
 constant and faithful friend and companion for thirty-two 
 years — a judicious, zealous, and exemplary sister in the 
 faith, who has so often counselled, quickened, and encouraged 
 me in the Christian race — such reflections followed out in all 
 their tender and affecting circumstances sometimes unman 
 me a little in my solitary hours. But I must not indulge this 
 
Hi MEMOIR OF 
 
 Xlll 
 
 selfish grief. I ought rather to be thankful that she was with 
 me so long. My present loss is her unspeakable gain. Being 
 found in Christ, she is not lost to me. I hope soon to join 
 her in the blessed assembly of the spirits of the just made 
 perfect, where in connection with all the redeemed company, 
 Jesus and his salvation will be the everlasting centre of our 
 joy and the burden of our song. 
 
 Such, dear Sister, is my consolation, under this sharp but 
 merciful dispensation, and such I hope is yours. I feelingly 
 sympathise with you under your bodily distress, and my 
 prayer is that your mind may be supported with the lively 
 hope of a blessed immortality through the meritorious death 
 and triumphant resurrection of our glorious Redeemer. 
 
 I am, &c, 
 
 Archd. M'Lean. 
 
 From this time to the period of his own death, an interval of 
 more than twenty years, our author remained a widower. He 
 had had a number of children, most of whom were taken away 
 in the earlier part of life, and only one of whom survived to 
 smooth the evening of his declining days : This was a daugh- 
 ter, who had married Mr. Kerr, a deacon of the Baptist 
 Church in Glasgow, and who was snatched away from her by 
 consumption in March 1792, in the bloom of life, leaving her 
 the widowed mother of four children. Soon after the death 
 of her husband, Mrs. Kerr, anxious to contribute what was 
 in her power to the accommodation of her honoured parent, 
 removed with her four sons to Edinburgh, sacrificing many 
 worldly advantages which were connected with her continua- 
 tion in Glasgow, that she might minister to his comfort. Nor 
 did her dutiful kindness rest there ; she cheerfully contributed 
 of her own property, towards keeping a respectable house 
 for her father, and in entertaining his brethren, when his own 
 income was inadequate to meet the expense to which his 
 public station in the church unavoidably exposed him. 
 
 The Baptist Mission to India was an undertaking which, at 
 this time, engaged much of Mr. M'Lean's attention, and in 
 furthering it he took a very lively interest. This, indeed, 
 was only the legitimate consequence of his own views of the 
 nature of the Gospel, and of our Lord's Commission to " Go 
 into all the world, and preach (or proclaim) it to every crea- 
 
THE AUTHOR. xliii 
 
 ture ;" and of his promise to be with his servants, who are en- 
 gaged in doing so, ''always, even to the end of the world." 
 He considered it to be his duty to assist the society which had 
 been established for the support of the mission, to the utmost 
 of his ability. Hitherto the cause was in its infancy in Eng- 
 land, and no individual in Scotland had been stirred up to 
 take any active measures in its behalf. But towards the close 
 of the year 1795, Mr. M'Lean delivered a discourse to the 
 church and congregation among whom he laboured, founded 
 upon Psalm xxii. 27, 28. "All the ends of the earth shall 
 remember and turn unto the Lord ; and all the kindreds of 
 the nations shall worship before thee ; for the kingdom is the 
 Lord's, and he is the governor among the nations." The ef- 
 fects of this sermon were very considerable, and as the 
 preaching and publication of it was followed up by "An Ad- 
 dress to the People of God in Scotland, on the duty of using 
 means for the universal spread of the Gospel of Christ," our 
 author's zeal happily stimulated all classes of his countrymen 
 to co-operate in promoting the interest of the Baptist Mis- 
 sion to India. To augment its funds he set on foot contribu- 
 tions among the different churches with which he stood con- 
 nected, and remitted the proceeds to Mr. Fuller. Ke also 
 circulated information concerning the affairs of the mission 
 in every possible direction ; and perceiving that many persons 
 were desirous of encouraging the translation of the Scriptures 
 into the Oriental languages, who had scruples about co-ope- 
 rating with the Missionaries in preaching the Gospel, he de- 
 livered a discourse in the Circus at Edinburgh, to a very nu- 
 merous congregation, from 2 Tim. iii. 16, on the importance 
 of the Holy Scriptures, and the duty of aiding the translation 
 of them, and also disseminating the word of life throughout 
 every nation, tongue, and people. On this occasion another 
 collection was made amounting to about £100, and that lie 
 also remitted to Mr. Fuller for the use of the Society. Thus 
 he had the honour of taking the lead in this good work in 
 Scotland. His powerful talents stimulated Christians there 
 of every denomination to unite their exertions ; and he had 
 the satisfaction before he died of seeing the subject of mis- 
 sions to heathen lands as popular in his own country as it 
 was in England. Such cordial co-operations, and vigorous 
 exertions, tending greatly to strengthen the hands of the 
 
xliv MEMOIR OF 
 
 parent Society at Kettering ; and Mr. Fuller did them the 
 justice at all times to acknowledge, that to no class of Chris- 
 tians was the mission more indebted than to the Scotch Bap- 
 tists, whose liberality, he used to say, was unbounded. 
 
 A s the occurrences now mentioned were calculated to draw the 
 attention of the people of England towards the Baptist profes- 
 sion in Scotland, which had hitherto attracted but little notice ; 
 and as Mr. M'Lean was himself convinced that it might even- 
 tually prove beneficial to both classes to cultivate a greater 
 intimacy with each other, he drew up in the year 1795, " A 
 Short Account of the Scotch Baptists," which was inserted in 
 Dr. Rippon's Baptist Register, Vol. ii. p. 361, to which I 
 have been indebted for several particulars mentioned in this 
 memoir. After detailing the rise and progress of the Baptist 
 profession in Scotland, he has, towards the close of the ar- 
 ticle, furnished an epitome of the doctrinal sentiments main- 
 tained among them, and of their social church order, which I 
 think may be properly introduced in this place, and therefore 
 I subjoin it. 
 
 " As to their principles, they refer us to no human system 
 as the unexceptionable standard of their faith. They think 
 our Lord and his apostles used great plainness of speech in 
 telling us what we should believe and practise ; and hence 
 they are led to understand a great many things more literally 
 and strictly than those do who seek to make the religion of 
 Jesus correspond with the fashion of the times, or the decent 
 course of the world. They believe that the salvation of guilty 
 helpless sinners is first and last of sovereign free grace, and 
 not of him that willeth or runneth. That Jesus is the Saviour 
 of his people from their sins — the Christ, or anointed prophet, 
 priest, and king of his Church — the Son of God, or the Word 
 made flesh, God manifested in the flesh, the first begotten 
 of the dead, and constituted heir of all things — that by his 
 life, death, resurrection, and ascension into the heavenly, 
 holy place, with his own blood, he hath obtained eternal re- 
 demption for his people, from the guilt, power, and all the 
 consequences of sin, and procured for them everlasting life 
 with himself from the dead — that men are justified freely by 
 divine grace, without works of any kind, but solely through 
 the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, whenever they really 
 
 believe, or credit the testimony of God concerning his Son 
 
THE AUTHOR. xlv 
 
 which belief is not of themselves but the gift of God — that 
 all who believe and are justified, have immediate peace with 
 God in proportion to the degree of their faith : and joy in 
 God through Jesus Christ, by whom they have now received 
 the reconciliation — that the belief of the truth will work by 
 love to God who hath first loved us, and to those who are of 
 the truth for the truth's sake which dwelleth in them ; it will 
 overcome the world, with all the allurements and tribulations 
 thereof; and purify the heart, not only from the guilt of sin, 
 but also from worldly lusts, such as the lust of the flesh, the 
 lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, i. e. sensuality, covetous- 
 ness, and ambition — that in proportion as we hold fast the 
 faith, and are influenced by it to love God and keep his com- 
 mandments, we shall have an increasing evidence of our inte- 
 rest in Christ, additional to what we had on our first believ- 
 ing, and therefore ought to give all diligence to make our 
 calling and election sure, and to shew the same diligence to 
 the full assurance of hope unto the end. Though they hold 
 the doctrine of particular election, of God's unchangeable and 
 everlasting love, and of the perseverance of the saints ; yet 
 they think it dangerous to comfort people by these considera- 
 tions when they are evidently in a backsliding state. In this 
 case, they think the Scripture motives to fear are most useful, 
 and ought to have their full force, even the fear of fall- 
 ing away, and of coming short of the heavenly rest. They 
 think it also unsafe, in such a case, to draw comfort from the 
 reflection of our having once believed, it being their opinion, 
 that we must be reduced to the mere mercy of God, through 
 the atonement, which gave us relief at first. These appear to 
 be their views of the leading doctrines of the Gospel, and of 
 Christian experience. 
 
 S* Their church order is strictly congregational, and, so far as 
 they can discern, upon the apostolic plan, which is the only 
 rule they profess to follow. The nature of their union re- 
 quires that they should be strict and impartial in discipline, 
 both to preserve purity of communion, and to keep clear the 
 channels of brothely love, that it may circulate freely through- 
 out the body. They continue stedfastly every first day of 
 the week in the apostles' doctrine, i. e. in hearing the Scriptures 
 read and preached — and in the fellowship, or contribution — and 
 in breaking of bread, or the Lord's Supper — and in prayers, 
 
xlvi MEMOIR OF 
 
 and singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. The 
 prayers and exhortations of the brethren are also admit- 
 ted in their public meetings. They abstain from eating 
 blood and things strangled, i. e. flesh with the blood 
 thereof; because these were not only forbidden to Noah 
 and his posterity, when the grant of animal food wa9 
 first made to man, but also under the Gospel they are 
 most solemnly prohibited to believing Gentiles, along 
 with fornication and things offered to idols. They think 
 that a gaudy external appearance in either sex, be their sta- 
 tion what it may, is a sure indication of the pride and vanity 
 of the heart: that women professing godliness are not to 
 adorn themselves with plaited or broidered hair, or gold, or 
 pearls, or costly array ; but with modest outward apparel, as 
 well as with the inward adornments of the mind ; also, that it 
 is a shame for a man to have long hair, however sanctioned 
 by the fashion. As to marriage, though they do not think 
 that either of the parties being an unbeliever dissolves that 
 relation, when once entered into, (or if entered into before 
 either of the parties know the truth) yet they hold it to be 
 the duty of Christians to marry only in the Lord. They also 
 consider gaming, attending plays, routs, balls,and some other 
 fashionable diversions, as unbecoming the gravity and so- 
 briety of the Christian profession. 
 
 " As to their political sentiments, they consider themselves 
 bound to be subject to the powers that be in all lawful matters ; 
 to honour them, pray for them, and pay them tribute; and ra- 
 ther to suffer patiently for a good conscience, than in any case 
 to resist them by force. At the same time, they are friendly 
 to the rational and just liberties of mankind, and think them- 
 selves warranted to plead, in a respectful manner, for any 
 just and legal rights and privileges to which they are entitled, 
 whether of a civil or religious nature/' 
 
 On a retrospect " of the days of the years of his pilgrim- 
 age," there was much in the success with which it had 
 pleased God to crown his labours in the Lord's vineyard, 
 that was calculated to console the mind and cheer the droop- 
 ing heart of Mr. M'Lean, independent of the glorious Gospel 
 which he believed to his salvation. Surveying the state of the 
 Christian profession at this period, and contrasting it with 
 what it was half a century before, when there was not a 
 
THE AUTHOR. xlvii 
 
 Baptist Church in Scotland, he might be allowed to say with 
 one of old, "What hath God wrought?" but still he knew 
 that this was not his rest. As a follower of Christ, " he had 
 not yet attained the mark of the prize of his high calling,'' 
 but he followed after, in the confident hope of apprehending 
 " that for which also he was apprehended of Christ Jesus.'' 
 As a Christian pastor, too, he had frequently been engaged 
 in warning his fellow-travellers to Zion, that it was " through 
 much tribulation they must enter the kingdom of heaven." 
 To his own brethren he had often said, " We can do nothing 
 against the truth, but for the truth ; for we are glad when 
 we are weak, and ye are strong ; and this also we wish, even 
 your perfection,'' 2 Cor. xiii. 8, 9. When appointing persons 
 to the pastoral office, he had sometimes adverted to the so- 
 lemn warning of the Apostle — "" Also of yourselves shall men 
 arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after 
 them.' 7 
 
 It has been adopted as a favourite maxim by some, that 
 the pastors of Christian churches are to go before the flock in 
 wery thing. Although I never could subscribe to this dogma 
 in its utmost latitude, yet I am fully persuaded that it is in- 
 cumbent on persons in that office to be " examples to their 
 brethren in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in 
 faith, in purity." 1 Tim. iv. 12. They are not to be lords 
 over God's heritage, but " ensamples to the flock '' in every 
 Christian virtue — to imitate the meekness and gentleness of 
 Christ, and to consider themselves the servants of the church 
 for Jesus' sake. Tt was a noble spirit which was manifest in 
 Paul when he said, " I will very gladly spend and be spent 
 for you ; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be 
 loved." But how rarely is this exemplified now a days. 
 Modern times, I am persuaded, have produced not many in- 
 stances of it more remarkable than what appeared in the sub- 
 ject of this memoir. He knew how to make allowance for 
 the waywardness of the human mind, and to manifest a pa- 
 tient and forgiving spirit under personal insults and the most 
 injurious treatment. He used often to quote the maxim of 
 Solomon — " The rich hath many friends ; but the poor is 
 hated even of his own neighbour." He naturally possessed 
 a large portion of sensibility, which prompted him to feel 
 most acutely for the weak and defenceless, when he perceived 
 
xlviii MEMOIR OP 
 
 anything that had the semblance of oppressing them. About 
 the middle of November, 1812, he was seized with a dimness 
 in one of his eyes. Electricity was applied, but without any 
 perceptible effect. He nevertheless continued his labours in 
 the church, and preached as usual on the Lord's day, Dec. 
 Gth, and on Monday evening visited a friend, from whom he 
 returned home, not apparently worse. On the following day 
 he was seized with a want of feeling in his left hand, which, 
 as it interrupted his studies and writing, made him rather un- 
 easy. He tried the effect of a walk, but came home still consi- 
 derably indisposed, and was evidently aware that the time of 
 his departure was at hand. He uniformly manifested the 
 greatest resignation to the will of God ; and when his friends 
 expressed their hope of his recovery, he would say, " I am 
 an old man ; this tabernacle must come down — it is falling 
 away by degrees." He would then call their attention to the 
 importance of considering their latter end, and to the un- 
 speakable happiness of those who shall be " made pillars in 
 the temple of God, to go no more out." Continuing mucli 
 indisposed, he omitted going to the meeting of the church on 
 Tuesday evening. On Wednesday morning he did not rise 
 at his usual time to breakfast, which induced his daughter> 
 Mrs Kerr, to go several times into his bed room ; but he did 
 not seem to take any notice of this, and appeared very much 
 overcome with sleep. In this state he remained till 12 o'clock* 
 when she awoke him, and enquired how he had slept. He 
 answered in broken accents, " Very ill." She then put some 
 other questions to him, and by his attempts to answer she 
 was led to discover that he had received during the night a 
 stroke of some disease resembling palsy. Medical assistance 
 was immediately called for, and various methods employed to 
 remove the stupor with which he was affected, and that kept 
 him almost constantly asleep. The shock which he had sus- 
 tained during the night had paralysed the whole of his left 
 side. But the means employed for his recovery were ineffec- 
 tual. Death was now at hand. He, however, survived a 
 few days, during which he was occasionally alert and cheer- 
 ful, and at other times quite overcome with sleep. As often 
 as he was able to do it, he spoke of the kindness and conde- 
 scension of God to his people, in "making all their bed in 
 their sickness ;" thus quoting the forty-first Psalm, on several 
 
THE AUTHOR. xlix 
 
 parts of which he commented with much energy and empha- 
 sis. The disorder was found beyond the power of medicine 
 or the surgical art to relieve ; and the hour of his dissolution 
 drew rapidly nigh ; to him no doubt an hour of joyful release 
 from the troubles of life, the infirmities of nature, and a body 
 of sin and death. He had fought a good fight, his course 
 was now finished ; he had kept the faith ; and was about to 
 possess that crown which he had long contemplated with joy- 
 ful hope, and to which he had often directed the attention of 
 others. On the morning of the Sabbath, Dec. 20th, he grew 
 more visibly worse. In the evening the struggle of dissolv- 
 ing nature was apparent ; and at one o'clock on Monday 
 morniug he exchanged this mortal state for the happiness of 
 the saints in light. Like a tree that for many years had blos- 
 somed, and borne fruit in this wilderness, his root is now 
 transplanted into a better climate, and a more genial soil — 
 there to bloom in perpetual vigour, unaffected by wintry 
 blasts, or the sultry heats of summer, through the countless 
 ages of eternity. His remains were interred on Thursday, 
 Dec. 24th, in the "West Church-yard burying ground, near 
 the middle of the high ground, on the left side of the en- 
 trance from the south. 
 
 No sculptur'd marble marks the place ; 
 No weeping willow waves its head, 
 To tell the stranger what he was, 
 That moulders there among the dead. 
 
 The following paragraph appeared in several of the news- 
 papers at the time : — 
 
 14 Died at Edinburgh, on the 21st of December, 1812, in 
 the 80th year of his age, Archibald M'Lean, pastor of the 
 Baptist church. He was known by his writings to many, 
 though comparatively familiar to few. A man whose time 
 was chiefly devoted to the study of the sacred volume, in 
 which he took great delight. Age had not impaired those 
 clear and acute faculties of mind for which he was so emi- 
 nently distinguished, and which he enjoyed till the commence- 
 ment of his last short illness. During his life here he gave the 
 most gratifying proof of that noble confidence in God, and the 
 hope of immortality with which true Christianity alone can 
 inspire the soul, and support it both in life and death." 
 
 e 2 
 
1 MEMOIR OF 
 
 The affecting intelligence of his decease was communicated 
 by a circular letter from Mr Braidwood, one of his colleagues 
 in the pastoral office, to the different churches in the connec- 
 tion,* most of whom testified their unfeigned respect to his 
 memory, and their sorrow for his departure, by addresses to 
 the Edinburgh church, copies of which the reader will find 
 in the appendix to his enlarged Memoir by William Jones. 
 On the following Sabbath (Dec. 27th), this afflictive dispen- 
 sation of Providence was suitably improved to the church, 
 lately under his pastoral care, in a discourse delivered by Mr. 
 W. Peddie, one of the pastors, from Hebrews xiii. 7, 8. 
 " Remember them who have had the rule over you ; who 
 have spoken unto you the word of God ; whose faith follow, 
 considering the end of their conversation, Jesus Christ, the 
 same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." And as he has oblig- 
 ingly favoured the writer of this memoir with a sketch of 
 it, he is happy in presenting to the reader an extract from it 
 in the appendix. t I shall close this memoir, by a feeble at- 
 tempt to delineate his character and talents ; for though he 
 himself be far removed beyond the reach of praise or censure, 
 and no doubt alike indifferent to either, we may surely in- 
 dulge the hope that his example will continue to administer 
 instruction to others, while the fruits of his pen remain to 
 edify the Church of Christ to the latest posterity. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 AN ESTIMATE OF HIS CHARACTEK AND TALENTS. 
 
 We have already seen that Mr M'Lean was called to the 
 work of the ministry in the year 1768, at which time he was 
 about thirty-five years of age, and that he continued an inde- 
 fatigable labourer in the Lord's vineyard to the close of 1812, 
 a period of five-and-forty years. His acquired advantages in 
 qualifying him for the arduous undertaking, were few and 
 easily told. Of the benefits resulting from an academical 
 education, if any such really exist, which I own I greatly 
 question, he had not availed himself: and even of years of 
 experience as a private member of a Christian church, a 
 
 * See Appendix, No. I. f See Appendix, No. II. 
 

 THE AUTHOR. li 
 
 school in which much useful knowledge pertaining to the pas- 
 toral office is certainly to be gained, he was not so fortunate 
 as to have partaken. The church with which he united was 
 itself in its infancy, and he had not been many months con- 
 nected with it, ere he w r as called to take the oversight in the 
 Lord. In point of classical literature, too, he was in a great 
 measure self-taught. It is necessary to state these things at 
 the outset, and to keep them in mind while we estimate his 
 character ; for it is only by looking back to the smallness of 
 his beginnings, and tracing the various degrees by which he 
 gradually arose to the eminent station, which in process of 
 time he attained, that we can form any proper view of this 
 matter. 
 
 Some other considerations, also, are too important to be 
 here omitted. In the present state of Christian society, in 
 our highly favoured country, we assuredly possess many ad- 
 vantages of which our author, at that day, was in a great 
 measure deprived. The last half century has been remark- 
 able for nothing so much as the rapid and extensive diffusion 
 of religious knowledge. By means of the collision of senti- 
 ment among different parties, truth has been elicited, and a 
 wonderful alteration produced in the style of both preaching 
 and writing on Evangelical subjects ; and towards effecting 
 this, I cannot but regard our author's own productions from 
 the press, as having contributed quite as much as the labours 
 of any one of his cotemporaries. To estimate his progress, 
 therefore, we must survey the ground from which he started, 
 as well as the goal at which he arrived; and we must connect 
 with these things the additional consideration, that for twenty 
 years after he entered upon the work of the ministry, he sup- 
 ported himself and family by means of a secular employment. 
 The writers in favour of primitive Christianity, were half a 
 century ago but few in number ; and even to those, many ex- 
 ceptions were to be made in respect of some particular senti- 
 ments held by them ; so that our author had to explore his 
 path by the light of the New Testament, and debate almost 
 every inch of his way by the pen of controversy. 
 
 It will probably now be expected that I endeavour to de- 
 lineate his character, as the pastor of a Christian church, and 
 then proceed to ascertain the point of altitude, at which the 
 subject of this memoir had arrived, w r hen he was called up 
 
Hi MEMOIR OF 
 
 from his labours in the church militant, to join the general 
 assembly and church of the first born. But gratifying as 
 this would be to my own feelings, I am happy to be spared 
 that task, by the far abler manner in which it is already done 
 by Mr Peddie, in the Sermon preached on occasion of his 
 decease, as before mentioned, and which the reader will find 
 at the end of this memoir.* Besides, were he now personally 
 on earth, the pen would be checked by his own remonstrance, 
 which I conceive would be couched in something like the 
 following terms : — " I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath 
 enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into 
 the ministry/' 1 Tim. i. 12. " Unto me, who am less than 
 the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach 
 among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ," Eph. 
 iii. 8. " By the grace of God, I am what I am ; and his 
 grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I 
 laboured more abundantly than many ; yet not I, but the grace 
 of God, which was with me," 1 Cor. xv. 10. e ' For who maketh 
 thee to differ? and what hast thou which thou didst not re- 
 ceive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as 
 if thou hadst not received it ?" 1 Cor. iv. 7. The sentiment 
 contained in these various texts, conspicuously marked his 
 conversation while a sojourner in this world, and it were absurd 
 to suppose that his happy spirit is less in unison with it now 
 that he has entered into the joy of his Lord. 
 
 Mr. McLean has left behind him writings in abundance, 
 from which posterity may judge of his attainments, both as 
 an Author and as a Minister of the Gospel of peace ; and 
 were there no other fruits of his pen remaining, the Sermons 
 contained in volume six of his works, are amply sufficient for that 
 purpose. Let the reader who feels any interest in the en- 
 quiry, peruse them with attention, comparing them with the 
 oracles of God. Let him carefully remark the extent, the 
 variety, and the compass of sentiment, both doctrinal and 
 practical, which is elucidated in them ; and having done so, 
 let him then ask himself and others where, in the whole round 
 of the English language, he can find these important and 
 highly interesting topics, so ably and scripturally illustrated. 
 Even the single sermon " On the Assurance of Hope," were 
 
 * See the Apendix, No. II. 
 
THE AUTHOR. ]iii 
 
 it but properly attended to, and the sentiments contained in 
 it allowed to regulate the preaching of the generality of mi- 
 nisters of the present day, would rid the Christian world of 
 loads of Hyper-Calvinism, and of corrupt theology. Instead, 
 therefore, of expatiating upon the eminence to which our 
 author had actually attained, the profit of the reader may be 
 more effectually secured by marking the steps which led him 
 to it ; and thus converting his history into an example for 
 our imitation. And here I cannot but place foremost in the 
 list of things which contributed to his eminence, as a minister 
 of the Xew Testament, 
 
 The delight which he invariable took in studyino the Holy 
 Scrijyturcs. This was a necessary consequence of the views 
 which he entertained of their importance and excellency. He 
 could truly say with the Psalmist, u O how love I thy law ; 
 it is my meditation all the day. Thy testimonies have I taken 
 as an heritage for ever ; for they are the rejoicing of my 
 heart," Psalm cxix. 97, 111. Regarding the inspired writ- 
 ings as a revelation of the divine mind and will, on the things 
 that related to his eternal peace, he received them with duti- 
 ful submission and reverence, as the very words of the living 
 and true God; and he rejoiced "at this word as one that 
 findeth great spoil," ib. 163. The constant and diligent stud}' 
 of the scriptures, therefore, was through life the first object 
 of his pursuit ; and he reaped the reward of it in the conso- 
 lation and joy which it imparted to his own mind. " The 
 word of God dwelt in him richly in all wisdom," and he thus 
 became eminently qualified to teach and to admonish others. 
 Human writings he could read ; and if they contained the 
 things that were consonant to sound doctrine ; if they tended 
 to cast light upon any obscure parts of the word of God, 
 he cheerfully availed himself of their aid ; but they were 
 always read in a due degree of subordination to the law and 
 the testimony — to the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles. 
 No part of the Scriptures was neglected by him ; for while he 
 considered that " all Scripture was given by inspiration of 
 God. and that it is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, 
 and instruction in righteousness ;" consequently able to make 
 the man of God (or christian minister) perfect, " thoroughly 
 furnishing him to every good work," he considered it culpable 
 to slight any portion of it. This regard to the whole will of 
 
liv MEMOIR OP 
 
 God, had a natural tendency to enlarge and expand the 
 powers of his mind, so as to make him compreheDd in a more 
 abundant measure, " the breadth, and length, and heighth, and 
 depth," of the revealed will of God, and the result was to 
 " fill him with the knowledge of the will of God, in all wis- 
 dom and spiritual understanding," Col. i. 9. The sacred 
 Scriptures became the standard to which every thing that en- 
 gaged his intellectual powers was submitted ; and it was 
 either approved or condemned as it corresponded thereunto. 
 The effects of this intimate acquaintance with the word of 
 God, were conspicuous in his conversation, his preaching, and 
 his writings ; all of which not merely derived a raciness and 
 flavour from being thus tinged or impregnated with the oracles 
 of truth, but the latter engrossed such an ascendancy in his 
 mind, his judgment, and his affections, that it became as 
 natural to him to deliver his sentiments on divine things, in 
 language borrowed from divine revelation, as it was for him 
 to breathe the vital air. 
 
 Well might Mr. Fuller say of him, that he was ei an acute 
 reasoner, and mighty in the Scriptures." He used to remark, 
 that there is a dignity and majesty in the language of inspira- 
 tion, adapted to reach conviction to the understandings and 
 hearts of men, which no other phraseology, however elegant 
 and refined, could fairly pretend to ; and he consequently 
 made it his continual study to adopt it in preference to any 
 other, as the vehicle of communicating religious instruction, 
 whether from the pulpit or the press. This is so obvious in 
 all his writings, that I need not take time to prove it. And in 
 this respect he exhibited a pattern, which it would be well if 
 others engaged in the same sacred service would imitate. In- 
 stead of obtruding himself upon the notice of the hearer or 
 reader, his great concern always was to retire into the background 
 as much as possible, and to let Christ or his apostles and 
 prophets speak, through the words of Scripture, to the con- 
 sciences and hearts of men. Thus he became a scribe, well 
 instructed into the mysteries of the kingdom, and at all 
 times able to bring out of the treasures of the divine word 
 things both new and old. 
 
 Another thing which contributed its influence, in raising 
 our author to eminence, was his inflexible attachment to the 
 cause of truth. Divine truth, or the Gospel of Christ, in which 
 
THE AUTHOR. lv 
 
 he found all his own salvation — immutable truth in all its 
 multifarious bearings, was an object ever near his heart. He 
 preached it with singular simplicity and energy, in a style 
 adapted to all capacities, equally remote from vulgarity on 
 the one hand, and from refinement on the other. It was the 
 great thing, too, for which he contended in all his writings. 
 Let the truth live, was the motto that invariably regulated his 
 conduct, and to defend it he was ever prepared to sacrifice 
 the enjoyments of life, and even life itself were he called to it. 
 Attachment to the righteous cause of truth, was the standard 
 also by which his friendships were regulated ; and a company 
 of beggars united together by the truth, living under its in- 
 fluence, and loving one another for its sake, would have been 
 honourable in his eyes ; while the first society in the land for 
 rank and splendour, destitute of a relish for the saving truth, 
 would have possessed no charms for him. It was the love of 
 truth that strengthened and invigorated all the powers of his 
 mind, gave a noble intrepidity to his conduct, and alwaj's 
 rendered him prompt to follow wherever the celestial torch 
 led him. As truth and a good conscience will always give a 
 man confidence, he pursued the even tenor of his way, and 
 with all the . powers of an enlightened and vigorous mind, 
 maintained the cause of God and truth against many opposers, 
 " until a little one became a thousand, and a small one a 
 strong city :" the Lord hastened it in his own good time. 
 
 One thing more which I must mention, as contributing in no 
 small degree to establish his reputation was, the noble indepen- 
 dence of his mind. This not only raised him superior to all 
 the little paltry artifices by which men court popularity, but 
 it enabled him to look down upon the world with disdain, 
 as an object unworthy of his attention and solicitude. Mak- 
 ing God the supreme object of his fear and hope, he was also 
 the centre of his best affections ; and his glory, consequently, 
 became the ultimate end of all his actions. He sought not 
 his own honour, nor the honour which cometh from man ; 
 and, to use his own expression, " he thought very little of 
 the flattering breath and esteem of ignorant, erring mortals. 
 or of all the fantastical vanishing splendour of this world :" 
 his views were directed forward to the glory which is to be 
 revealed at the appearing of Jesus Christ. This independent 
 state of mind rendered him content with what, it is to be 
 
Ivi MEMOIR OP 
 
 feared, the generality of ministers would have considered a 
 very scanty allowance, and it freed him from all the mean 
 and disingenuous artifices which are so commonly resorted to 
 by the clergy for augmenting their salaries]and bettering their 
 wordly circumstances. It enabled him also to discharge his 
 official duties in the ministry of the word with fidelity to the 
 souls of men, without meanly courting their smiles or servilely 
 fearing their frowns ; „and the effect was sometimes not a 
 little remarkable amongst his own brethren. When the church 
 had increased, and risen into what is commonly called " a 
 flourishing state," having several rich members among them, 
 he considered it his duty to be pretty plain in enforcing the 
 scriptural admonitions against covetousness, and would at 
 times come home to the conscience so closely, that some of 
 them could not bear such hard sayings, and a hint would be 
 dropped that there was no occasion to be so pointed about 
 matters — the subject might be treated of in a general way ! 
 He would listen silently to these sage admonitions without 
 appearing to notice them ; and on the ensuing Sabbath some 
 such text as the following was sure to be the subject of his 
 discourse : " The time will come when they will not endure 
 sound doctrine,'' &c. 2 Tim. iv. 3. And thus, by manifes- 
 tation of the truto, he commended himself to the consciences 
 of his hearers as in the sight of God. 
 
 I shall not here attempt any more minute description of 
 him as a minister of the word and pastor of a Christian church, 
 but refer the reader to the masterly sketch with which we 
 have been favoured of this part of the subject by his friend 
 and colleague, Mr. Peddie, as inserted in the Appendix. We 
 shall now, therefore, proceed to a few miscellaneous reflec- 
 tions on his more private character as a Christian. And 
 under this view the particular traits in his deportment, on 
 which I should wish to fix attention, are those of humility and 
 self-denial — spirituality of mind, and disconformity to the 
 world — and candour in judging and speaking of others. 
 
 Mr. M'Lean was a man whose life in a very peculiar man- 
 ner exhibited the influence of genuine Christianity. The 
 doctrine of the cross — the grand theme of his ministry — a 
 doctrine which stains the pride of all human glory, had 
 powerful practical influence upon the whole of his sentiments 
 and actions. " If the gospel of the grace of God have any 
 
THE AUTHOR. Ivil 
 
 salutary influence whatever upon us," lie used to say, " it 
 •must surely produce humility ; it must abase us in our own 
 eyes, and hide pride from man." This was evidently the 
 effect which it had upon himself, as every part of his deport- 
 ment testified. Xo attentive reader of his printed works can 
 fail to perceive how strongly they inculcate this temper of 
 mind, as the genuine and never-failing tendency of receiving 
 the true grace of God. But we all know how much easier it 
 is to exhort others to this duty than to practice it ourselves : 
 and it is painful to add, that of the different classes of men 
 into which society is divided, there is, perhaps, not one more 
 demonstrably deficient in the practical exercise of humility 
 and self-denial than those who by office are engaged in en- 
 forcing them upon others. Exceptions, no doubt, there hap- 
 pily are ; and the subject of this memoir was a striking proof 
 of it. In the year 1793, the College of Rhode Island, in 
 America, thought proper to confer upon him an honorary de- 
 <nr>:, in consequence of his writings ; but he declined taking 
 any notice of it ; and the only effect it had upon him was to 
 lead him to pity the childishness of those who transmitted it. 
 The bauble was transmitted to the magistrates of Edinburgh, 
 and by them, in a body, tendered to him, with all " the pomp 
 and circumstance " of magisterial dignity ; but he never made 
 any use of it, nor, I believe, ever spake of it to any of his 
 friends, unless it were first mentioned by themselves, and 
 then he always seemed to betray an uneasiness which ap- 
 peared to indicate something like a consciousness of shame 
 that he could be thought capable of receiving gratification 
 from human applause in the service of Christ ! It was 
 his highest ambition to follow Christ, in humility, in lowliness 
 of mind, in disconformity to the course of this world, in 
 meekness and self-denial ; to exhibit a pattern of these things 
 to his brethren, and thus exemplify, in his own deportment, 
 the spirit of that doctrine which he taught, both from the pulpit 
 and the press. Nor did the popularity which he lived to 
 acquire by means of his writings, produce the least apparent 
 alteration in his deportment. He rose in the public estima- 
 tion without any effort or wish on his part ; but his inter- 
 course with the church and the world continued to be cha- 
 racterized by the same humble and condescending behaviour, 
 that had distinguished him when an obscure individual, and 
 unknown to fame. The writer of this memoir has had many 
 
 / 
 
Iviii MEMOIR OP 
 
 opportunities of witnessing how nobly he could " conde- 
 scend to men of low estate." To see a man whose powers of 
 mind and literary attainments qualified him for associating 
 with the ablest philosophical and scientific characters of the 
 age, denying himself to the pride of life, cultivating the most 
 endearing familiarity with the poor of Christ's flock, visiting 
 them in their humble habitations, and always content with 
 their homely fare ; accommodating himself to the rudeness 
 of their speech, and, by his edifying conversation, establish- 
 ing their faith and hope in the gospel, and encouraging them 
 in their way Zion-ward, was a spectacle not only gratifying 
 in itself, but one that was calculated to reach conviction to 
 the mind that there is a reality in true religion — a power in 
 godliness beyond the pomp of words, or the boasted profes- 
 sions of many. 
 
 Another remarkable trait in the character of our author, 
 was his spirituality of mind, which discovered itself by a con- 
 versation richly impregnated with the savour of divine things. 
 It was said of a late eminent statesman; that you could not 
 stand with him half an hour under a gateway in a shower of 
 rain, without perceiving by his conversation, that you were 
 in the company of one of the greatest men of the age. Al- 
 though I should deem it quite extravagant to speak of the 
 subject of this memoir in similar terms, I may be permitted 
 to say, that I always thought his superiority to men in general, 
 appeared fully as conspicuous in his conversation, as by either 
 his writings or preaching. The extent of his information on 
 general subjects, was considerable ; but his great forte was the 
 knowledge of the Scriptures, and his peculiarly happy talent 
 at illustrating them in a manner the most free and familiar that 
 can be conceived. But there was nothing about him that 
 ever surprised me more than the order and regularity in 
 which his knowledge lay in his mind. For whatever were 
 the subjects you entered upon with him, if the object was in- 
 formation, you were sure to obtain it. He would take up the 
 matter from the beginning, and place before you the doctrine 
 of the Scripture concerning it, in the most luminous point of 
 view ; unfolding and simplifying it so successfully, that you 
 were ready to say, this is all that can be said to purpose on 
 the subject. But then it was always done without pedantry 
 and affectation — there was no pomp of words, no display of 
 superiority — nothing of the dictator. Never was there a 
 
THE AUTHOR. lix 
 
 man more free from the solemn grimace which characterises 
 a certain class of men whose ultimate object in conver- 
 sation is easily perceived to be, not your profitable instruc- 
 tion, but an exhibition of their greatness. And as his own 
 mind was richly imbued with the savour of divine things, it 
 was his delight to converse upon them. True, indeed, they 
 were never forced upon you by constraint ; it was more 
 agreeable to him that others should start the conversation ; 
 but if the profit of his brethren rendered the introduction of 
 a subject necessary, he would himself introduce it, by asking 
 the opinion of some individual present, on a topic which would 
 lay a foundation for it — perhaps the meaning of a text of 
 Scripture; and thus you were gently led into a strain of 
 richly edifying conversation. I remember many years ago, 
 introducing him to the acquaintance of a religious family, who 
 resided at some distance from the place of my own habita- 
 tion, and with whom, at their request, he spent a few days. 
 The heads of the family were members of a Baptist Church, 
 and had a very near relative in the ministry. When I next 
 saw them they knew not how to express the admiration and 
 delight they had experienced in the society of my friend — " For 
 once in their lives they had been privileged with seeing the 
 Christian character exemplified in real life !" Such was their 
 very language, and such the impression that was made upon 
 their minds by a short acquaintance with the subject of this 
 memoir. For myself, I shall merely add, that I never have 
 entered so fully into the meaning of the exclamation of the 
 two disciples at Emmaus, (Luke xxiv. 32.) as when I have 
 been engaged in close conversation with him in my own 
 family, whether during the hour of breakfast, or in the still- 
 ness of the evening. It was at these refreshing seasons that 
 I think I learned experimentally what is meant by " the heart 
 burning within us while the Scriptures are opened to the un- 
 derstanding." 
 
 The subject of this memoir was one of the most candid 
 men living, in his judgment of other persons, and remarkable 
 for his cautious manner in speaking concerning them. 
 
 This amiable trait was in him a religious principle which dif- 
 fused its influence throughout every part of his conduct and 
 conversation, whether in the church or the world. It in- 
 duced him cautiously to avoid whatever had the appearance 
 of being cynical and censorious — invariably to put the most 
 
Ix MEMOIR OF 
 
 candid construction upon tilings which their circumstances 
 would admit of — and to make such allowances as he should 
 himself expect, were the case his own. We must not. how- 
 ever, confound it with pusillanimity, or that kind of cour- 
 tesy which would barter truth, or sacrifice principle for the 
 sake of peace, and shew itself equally complaisant to truth 
 and error. So far from it, that no man could be more deter- 
 mined, I might say, who could use greater sternness, when 
 the occasion appeared to him to demand it. But having 
 studied to form his conversation on the precepts of the Gospel, 
 his conduct exemplified much of the wisdom that is from 
 above, which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy 
 to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without parti- 
 ality and without hypocrisy. Nor can I dismiss this particu- 
 lar topic, without remarking how strikingly this candid state 
 of mind manifested itself in the readiness with which he 
 would always listen to the efforts of his Christian brethren, 
 however feeble, in exhorting and edifying one another in the 
 public meetings of the church. He was ever ready to re- 
 ceive the word of exhortation from his private brethren, and 
 the " truth spoken in love" by the stammering tongue, was 
 always listened to by him, not merely without impatience, 
 but with marked indications of pleasure and satisfaction. 
 
 I need not enlarge much on his qualifications as an Author. 
 Though he made no pretensions to critical accuracy in his 
 compositions, and though the fulness of his mind with the sub- 
 jects on which he wrote seldom left him at leisure to polish 
 his periods, he had habitually accustomed himself so much to 
 correctness, that if his thoughts were committed to writing at 
 all, they needed very little revision for the press. Though 
 he could stand up and deliver an extempore discourse without 
 notes, yet it was rarely his practice to do so. He had, from 
 the outset of his ministry, accustomed himself to the practice 
 of writing his sermons, not altogether at full length, but a 
 pretty copious outline of them ; and of this he usually availed 
 himself in the pulpit. The consequence was, that his ser- 
 mons had much the air, peculiarities, and advantages of 
 written compositions. They were lucid in their order, rich 
 with doctrinal sentiment, close to the point, correct in rea- 
 soning, sentiment, and diction. The qualities of his writings, 
 or, if I may be indulged in the'term, their excellency consists, 
 in their being plain, nervous, practical, and illustrative 
 
THE AUTHOR. Ixi 
 
 The first praise of good writing is certainly due to plainness 
 and perspicuity. There were no author in the English 
 language whose writings, I believe, Mr. M'Lean had read 
 with more satisfaction than those of Dr Owen. Yet his 
 style bears no resemblance to that of Owen, who is re- 
 markable for his tediousness and prolixity; Mr. M'Lean is 
 distinguished by simplicity in the structure of his sentences, 
 and plainness in his diction. 
 
 Nor is the style less characterized by its nervousness and 
 compression. It is never feeble ; rarely diluted by expletives ; 
 and for ordinary readers may occasionally be rather thought 
 to err on the contrary side. I have often reflected on a re- 
 proof which I am persuaded he with great kindness dealt 
 out to myself at a very early part of my literary life ; and I 
 mention it because it is so characteristic of my friend's faith- 
 ful way of giving useful advice. I had written a paragraph 
 of about ten lines for the press, which I submitted to his in- 
 spection — " Yes," said he, " this may do ; but I would have 
 expressed in five lines the whole of what you have said 
 there." I instantly began to consider what superfluous words 
 he would have lopped off; and if I have since attained to any 
 little portion of talent in composition, I owe it to that hint. 
 
 I have mentioned as another excellence of his writings 
 their practical tendency. All of them, indeed, are full of 
 evangelical doctrine ; but then he never discusses a doctrine 
 without deducing from it strict practical conclusions, and 
 closely applying them to the conscience. If he found fault 
 with the systems of theology that are current in our day, 
 the system of ethics which is founded upon them, appeared to 
 him still more defective, and of course reprehensible. A pro- 
 fession of Christianity which accommodates itself to the decent 
 course of this world ; which allows its abettors to pursue the 
 world as their portion ; to be conformed to it in its lusts and 
 maxims ; and, in short, to shrink from the cross, he considered 
 to be altogether hypocritical and vain. Though a belief of 
 the doctrines of the everlasting gospel is absolutely essential 
 to change the heart, and to prepare men for the active duties 
 of the Christian life, yet all our author's writings are directed 
 to form the Christian character upon the holy and self-denied 
 precepts of the Gospel, and to expose the vanity and danger 
 of all pretensions to be the followers of Christ, that are not 
 justified by obedience to his revealed will. 
 
 /2 
 
Ixii MEMOIR OP 
 
 The crowning excellence of his writings arises from the 
 successful manner in which they illustrate the various doc- 
 trines and duties of the Christian life. Without the formality 
 of system, they may be almost pronounced to embrace the 
 whole compass of divine truth, both doctrinal and practical ; 
 an encyclopaedia of Christian knowledge, in which its doc- 
 trines are clearly stated and unfolded ; disentangled from the 
 corrupt glosses that had obscured their native lustre, and 
 placed in their beautiful order and connection with each 
 other. It would be difficult to mention a subject connected 
 with the gospel of salvation, which has been left untouched 
 by his pen, or one that, having touched, he has failed to place 
 in the noon-day light of the New Testament. The distin- 
 guishing qualities of his mind were vigour, comprelicnsion, sa- 
 gaciii'j judgnu tit, firmness, promptitude, and order. 
 
 Whatever the subject might be that presented itself to his 
 attention, he always grasped it with a firm and vigorous hold, 
 and the strength of his mind enabled him to retain possession 
 of it, until he had surveyed, it on every side. His doctrinal 
 sentiments — his practical principles — his conversation, spirit, 
 and walk — all indicated a manly and powerful mind. 
 
 His view of every subject was comprehensive. He took his 
 station on elevated ground, and from thence he contemplated 
 the point before him in all its multifarious bearings. He 
 would survey it on all sides, as it were by intuition, and form 
 an harmonious whole out of many complex parts. Nor could 
 he rest satisfied with what may be termed a clear perception 
 of the positive side of a question ; I have heard him say that 
 it has often cost him more time and pains to find out what 
 objections could be plausibly urged against any particular 
 sentiment or doctrine, and to furnish himself with suitable 
 answers to them, than to draw up an illustration of the doc- 
 trine or sentiment itself. A mind like his, which must ex- 
 plore the foundation of every superstructure, could not rest 
 contented with the superficial way of thinking that satisfies 
 ordinary persons. 
 
 He possessed an extraordinary degree of penetration and 
 /. His sagacity enabled him to dive below the sur- 
 face, and to explore the deep things of God — to unravel, in 
 happy measure, mysteries in providence and grace ; 
 hu to adapt his discourse, his project, or hisplan, to the 
 occasion ; and make them suit the circumstances of the per- 
 
THE AUTHOR. lxiii 
 
 sons interested in them. His conceptions were so luminous 
 that he could with the greatest ease disentangle the mazes of 
 sophistry, and render familiar to common minds what ap- 
 peared to them involved in intricacy and darkness. 
 
 The qualities already mentioned were accompanied in him 
 by great soundness of judgment. Plain good sense, candour, 
 and calmness were apparent in all his decisions. The view 
 which he took of any subject was not so much that of a phi- 
 losopher as of a man of plain common sense ; it was not the 
 dictate of passion, but of a calm and enlightened reason 
 which guided his determination and his step in the uniform 
 tenor of his life. 
 
 There was no indecision in his character ; he was firm in 
 holding whatever he received for truth. Possessing a manly 
 confidence in his own decisions, he avowed them with intre- 
 pidity, and maintained them without wavering. Having exa- 
 mined dispassionately, and deliberated coolly, his opinions 
 and practices were the result of conviction ; and though the 
 waves might be noisy and the elements tempestuous, he felt 
 his standing to be upon a rock, and it inspired him with a 
 corresponding confidence. I know not whether the late Mr. 
 Pirie of Xew burgh, designed it as a compliment to our au- 
 thor or not ; but I am persuaded that there was much pro- 
 priety in the remark which is to be found in one of his 
 pamphlets on Baptism, namely, " that he never knew a man 
 who, in all respects, was so well qualified to stand at the 
 head of a denomination as Mr. M'Lean." It has been justly 
 remarked that decision inspires confidence, while a vacillating 
 state of mind always weakens it. 
 
 Having made up his mind, he was also prompt in acting 
 upon it, and this conduct he strongly urged upon his brethren, 
 When he had carefully surveyed the subject and came to a 
 point, it was no question with him what was the right course 
 to pursue. He never halted between two opinions, nor 
 wasted his moments in balancing accounts between conflict- 
 ing consequences. Indeed, few things could affect him more 
 than a shuffling conduct in the affairs of religion. As he 
 made little account of that profession, which is not the effect 
 of a deep conviction of truth, he justly thought that it was a 
 matter of extreme importance for persons to be prompt in 
 obeying the dictates of conscience, whether they followed 
 with bun or not; and as he uniformly exemplified this in 
 
lxiv MEMOIR OP 
 
 every part of his own conduct, so be strongly inculcated it 
 upon others. 
 
 The valuable faculty of order, which enabled him to metho- 
 dize and arrange his thoughts was, as I have already re- 
 marked, a striking feature in the properties of his mind. In 
 preaching, this enabled him to break down his general heads 
 of discourse into particulars, and to allot each its proper 
 place ; so that there was no perplexity, no confusion, but the 
 mind of the hearer was carried forward in a uniform tenor to 
 the conclusion. His knowledge and learning; were a kind of 
 twin-sisters to the powers of his mind. He never appeared 
 to want either; for whether in the pulpit or in the social 
 circle, he betrayed no ignorance on any subject on which he 
 could be expected to possess knowledge. The latter part of 
 his life was so much occupied in preaching and writing, that 
 it precluded the possibility of much reading, though it was a 
 thing of which he was extremely fond ; but when, as for seve- 
 ral years was his practice, he paid his annual visit to the 
 churches in England, and took up his residence in a family 
 where he had access to a good library, he would devour any 
 new publication with great avidity. It may, however, be 
 confidently affirmed of him, that there are few writers in the 
 English language who have borrowed so little from others, 
 and at the same time have contributed so amply of their own 
 mental riches. His conceptions were bold, and there was a 
 novelty and originality in his cast of thought. He would 
 frequently give an ingenious form to his materials, and pre- 
 sent them before you with a force which impressed you at 
 the moment with the conviction that they were his own 
 and fresh from the mint. I may add, too, that he could 
 reason with extraordinary cogency, and deduce legitimate 
 conclusions from his premises with singular precision, so as to 
 make an ample use of every subject he undertook to discuss. 
 
 There was much affection in his natural temper ; and though 
 in his preaching he never attempted to soar to heights of subli- 
 mity, he often displav ed an eloquence which reached the 
 heart — a pathos which powerfully excited the pleasing sensi- 
 bilities of the soul. He knew how to present to his hearers 
 the'motives of the gospel, so as to excite their best affections 
 — the sovereign mercy of God towards a rebellious world — the 
 love of Christ in giving himself for them, to redeem them from 
 the curse of a broken law — the joys of heaven and the pains 
 
THE AUTHOR. Ixv 
 
 of hell. With these infinitely important subjects his own 
 heart was deeply affected, and he could not speak of them to 
 others in a cold and unfeeling manner. I have seen him, 
 while descanting on the tender and compassionate heart 
 of our ' ' great High Priest/' who can be yet " touched with 
 a feeling of our infirmities," (Heb. iv. 15) have his feelings so 
 acutely excited that the tears would trickle down his furrowed 
 cheeks, the lips would quiver, and he would be obliged to 
 pause in the midst of his discourse that he might recover his 
 firmness. 
 
 Such is the feeble sketch which I am enabled to give of my 
 departed friend. I may be thought by some to have been 
 too minute in description, by others too prolix in detail, and 
 by many profusely lavish in my commendations. I have only 
 to say in my own defence, that I have spoken of him accord- 
 ing to the convictions of my own mind, as well as the best of 
 my judgment ; and that / could not conscientiously say less of 
 the man who first taught me how to think. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 The death of Mr. Archibald M'Lean, on the 21st Decem- 
 ber, 1812, was communicated by Mr. Beaidwood, one of 
 his colleagues, in the following letter to one of the pastors 
 of the church at Glasgow, copies of which were sent to all 
 the churches in the connection. 
 
 Edinburgh, 2\st Dec. 1812. 
 My Dear Brother, — With the deepest regret I now inform you, 
 that it has pleased God to remove from us our highly esteemed and 
 beloved pastor, Mr. M'Lean. He died this morning at one o'clock, 
 in his eightieth year, having been confined only twelve days, and 
 never, as I thought, completely sensible of the state in which he was, 
 though always collected when at any time he spoke a few words. The 
 nature of his disease during its whole progress nearly precluded all 
 conversation with him. A very few words now and then shewed 
 that he was calm and resigned, and also that he had death in view, 
 though he could not dwell long upon any subject. I am, however, 
 
lxvi APPENDIX. 
 
 as much satisfied that he fell asleep in Jesus as if he had spoken at 
 full length, and expressed the most lively hope of obtaining the ever- 
 lasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour. I saw him last night 
 about half-past nine, and had also seen him in the middle of the day 
 The apparent struggle was not great, and the physicians thought 
 that he was then sunk into a state of insensibility. He spoke 
 none all yesterday. Till Friday last there were symptoms of re- 
 covery; and when appearances became less favourable, it was some 
 time before they were thought seriously alarming. This, with the 
 confusion into which we have been thrown, is the reason why I have 
 not written you sooner, and I have no doubt that you will excuse me. 
 "What shall I say ? It has has been the will of God to deprive us 
 of a most eminent teacher. That to depart and to be with Christ 
 is to him unspeakable gain, and that it is our duty to submit to the 
 will of God cannot be doubted. But surely I may be permitted to 
 bewail the loss of a servant of Christ, whose talents were so remark- 
 ably distinguished, and employed for many years in the service of 
 his Master with unremitting constancy and perseverance, and whose 
 conduct uniformly justified and adorned his profession. The stroke 
 would not have been so severe had he been disabled and laid aside 
 for a considerable time, which usually happens at an advanced period 
 of life. But his faculties were entire, and his bodily strength not 
 much impaired, till the deadly disease came suddenly upon him. 
 Three days before that he delivered a lecture with all his usual 
 acuteness and accuracy, and nearly with as much spirit as he ever 
 displayed in preaching the truth of God. I am now deprived of his 
 friendship, his experience, his counsels, and the opportunities of in- 
 struction which I have long enjoyed, and have not suitably improved. 
 "What shall I say ? The Lord liveth, and he is able to qualify and 
 send forth other labourers, though at present I can see no reason to 
 expect any one equally qualified to edify and establish the Church of 
 God. Pray for me and the church here, who are all deeply afflicted. 
 Give my love to the brethren with you, and believe me to be always, 
 Your very affectionate Friend and Brother, 
 
 (Signed) Wh. Braidwood. 
 
 No. II. 
 
 Extract from Mr. Peddie's Sermon on Heb. xiii. 7, 8. — 
 Preached on the morning of the Lord's Day, Dec. 27, 
 1812. 
 
 . . . I should now apply the exhortation. It comes home to 
 our present situation, as mourning the loss of a beloved and highly 
 respected pastor, who has spoken unto us the word of God. Brethren, 
 
APPENDIX. Ixvii 
 
 Deed I say, remember him? lam fully persuaded he will continue 
 to live in the affectionate and grateful remembrance of many of you ; 
 both in regard to the doctrine he taught and the eminent example he 
 set, until having closed your conversation, by sleeping in Jesus, you 
 also enter into the joy of your Lord, and meet to part no more. 
 
 As an individual, I owe much to his memory. It is 18 years this 
 day since he administered to me the ordinance of Christian baptism ; 
 and from tbat period to the period of his dissolution, I have lived in 
 the closest intimacy with him without a single interruption. Many 
 opportunities have I enjoyed during this period of instruction in 
 divine things, and would I could say, my profiting has been in propor- 
 tion to these. 
 
 Any attempt of mine to delineate the character of him whose loss 
 we deplore, would be feeble indeed ; to do the subject justice would 
 require abilities to which, without any dread of the imputation of 
 false modesty, I hesitate not to say, I have no pretensions. 
 
 By the great Head of the Church he was endowed with singular 
 talents — talents which rarely fall to the lot of man. These he culti- 
 vated with care, and diligently employed for the great ends for which 
 they had been conferred — the glory of God in the advancement of 
 his cause in the world, and the edification of the flock of which he 
 was an overseer. 
 
 His abilities as a writer are extensively known. In his writings' 
 though dead, he will continue to speak to future ages, and in propor- 
 tion to the increase of primitive Christianity will be their circulation, 
 and the estimation in which they will be held. 
 
 As a preacher his talents were of the first order. He possessed an 
 eloquence peculiar to himself — an eloquence that spake to the heart. 
 His conception of his subject was clear and distinct, discovering the 
 greatest depth of judgment, and the most acute penetration. In the 
 delivery of his discourses his ideas were clothed in plain and simple 
 language ; he, as it were, held up his subject to view, and the atten- 
 tive hearer was never at a loss to discover his meaning ; nor, having 
 discovered it, was his attention fatigued by a multiplicity of words in 
 a repetition of the same ideas. 
 
 In the choice of his subject he was guided by a careful attention 
 to the circumstances of the flock. Never did he entertain us with 
 idle speculations, which gender strife and minister questions ; but 
 with the wholesome words of sound doctrine, suited to promote godly 
 edifying. In the spirit of the beloved disciple, having no greater joy 
 than to see his brethren walking in the truth, he kept back nothing 
 that was profitable to us, nor did he even shun to declare unto us the 
 whole counsel of God. Having renounced the hidden things of dis- 
 honesty, and not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God 
 deceitfully, he by manifestation of the truth to the conscience, proved 
 
2 CHRIST S COMMISSION 
 
 was then going to take possession of. The saints who 
 have died in the faith since the beginning of the world,, 
 and who are now in heaven, are all his subjects ; for he is 
 Lord both of the dead and living : a he reigns before his 
 ancients gloriously, whilst they cast down their crowns 
 before him, and worship the Lamb that was slain. b Nay, 
 the highest created beings, angels, authorities and powers, 
 are made subject unto him, c and commanded to worship 
 him. d They are all servants of the Son of man to fulfil 
 his pleasure, and minister at his command to the heirs of 
 salvation. 6 
 
 All power in earth is given unto him. For though 
 his kingdom is not of this world, nor promoted and sup- 
 ported like earthly kingdoms, yet the heathen is given him 
 for an inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for 
 a possession/ that all people, nations, and languages, 
 should serve him :* for he is the governor among the na- 
 tions' 1 , and takes out of them a people for his name ;' hav- 
 ing power given him over all flesh, that he should give 
 eternal life to as many as the Father hath given him. k 
 His power also extends over all the adversaries of his king- 
 dom in the world, whether men or devils. He rides in 
 the midst of his enemies ; l and makes all their determina- 
 tions and measures, however wickedly intended, subservi- 
 en f to his own glory and the real good of his subjects ; 
 and all w T ho will not have him to reign over them, he shall 
 break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces 
 like a potter's vessel. m And though we see not yet all 
 things actually reduced under him, according to the full 
 extent of the Father's promise ; yet being crowned with 
 glory and honour at the right hand of God, and vested 
 with all power and effective might to subdue all things 
 unto himself, he is from henceforth expecting till his ene- 
 
 ■ Rom. xiv. 9. b Rev. iv. 10. 11. and v. 9. c 1 Pet. iii. 22. 
 
 d Psal. xcvii. 7.— Ueb. i. (5. e Heb. i. 14. { Psal. ii. 8. 
 
 s Dan. vii. 14. h Psal. xxii. 28. ; Acts xv. 14. k John xvii 2. 
 1 Psal. ex. 2. m Psal. ii. 9. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 6 
 
 mies be made his footstool, and must reign till that be 
 fully accomplished 11 . 
 
 This includes a power to judge the world. Accordingly, 
 he is ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead ;° 
 he hath given him authority to execute judgment also, 
 because he is the Son of man. p On the appointed day, q 
 therefore, he will summons before his awful and equitable 
 tribunal the living and the dead of all nations, judge them 
 according to their works,' and pronounce upon them the 
 irrevocable sentence of everlasting happiness or misery.- 8 
 
 What an amazing power is this ! He terms it all power. 
 It is immense in its degree, and unlimited in its extent. 
 None are exempted from it but he who put all things 
 under him.* It extends over heaven, earth, and hell — 
 angels, men, and devils — the Avorld which now is, and that 
 which is to come. It is various in its manner of exercise, 
 according to its different objects in nature, providence, and 
 grace ; but with unity of design, which is to display the 
 Divine perfections in rectifying the disorders introduced 
 by sin amongst the w r orks of God. 
 
 This power, he says, was given unto him, viz. by his 
 Father ; so he elsewhere declares. " All things are de- 
 livered to me of my Father."" " The Father (says John ) 
 loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand."* 
 It is in the economy of redemption, and as connected with 
 human nature, that God hath constituted him heir of all 
 things/ He was fore-ordained to this power and dominion 
 before the foundation of the world ; he manifested his title 
 to it, and was animated by the prospect of it in the days 
 of his flesh, when he appeared in the form of a servant ; z 
 but he did not obtain the full and actual possession and 
 exercise of this power, nor of the glory, honour, and dignity 
 
 » Heb. ii. 8, 9. Phil. ill. 21. Hob. x. 12, 13. 1 Cor. x. 25. 
 
 ° Acts x. 42. p John v. '11 . i Acts xvii. 31. 
 
 r Mat. xxv 31, 32. 2 Cor. v. 10. llev. xx. 12, 13. 
 
 6 Matt. xxv. 34, 41. 
 
 » 1 Cor. xv. 27. Heb. ii. 8 u Mat. xi. 27. x John iii. 35. 
 
 y Heb. i. 2. and v. 5, 0'. ■ Mat. xi. 27. Heb. xii. 2. 
 
4 CHRIST S COMMISSION 
 
 connected with itj till after his death and resurrection from 
 the dead.* 
 
 HIS POWER AND DOMINION THE GROUND AND REASON OF 
 THE COMMISSION. 
 
 When Jesus declares his power, and adds, " Go ye 
 therefore," &c. he evidently, by the word {pun) therefore, 
 refers to his power as the ground or reason of the com- 
 mission. And an obvious reason it is : For if Jesus has 
 all power in heaven and in earth ; if all judgment is com- 
 mitted to him, that all men should honour the Son even as 
 they honour the Father ; b if every man is accountable to 
 him, and so under his administration, that he that be- 
 lieveth on him shall be saved, and he that believeth not 
 shall be damned, — then it highly concerns every one to 
 know this, that they may believe and call on him as the 
 almighty Saviour, and honour and obey him as their sove- 
 reign Lord and King : But " how shall they call on" and 
 obey " him in whom they have not believed ? and how 
 shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? 
 and how shall they hear without a preacher ? and how 
 shall they preach except they be sent" or commissioned ? d 
 Here, therefore, he sends forth his apostles as heralds, to 
 proclaim to all the world the dignity of his person and 
 character, to publish his salvation, and to make known to 
 the sons of men the nature and extent of his power, and 
 the glorious majesty of his kingdom. 
 
 PLAIN INFERENCES FROM CHRIST'S POWER. 
 
 If Christ is possessed of all power and authority, he 
 must have an undoubted right to the obedience of his ser- 
 
 * Philip, ii. 8, 9, 10. Luke xxiv. 26. Compare Psal. exxxii. 11. with 
 
 Acts ii. 30, 31, and Psal. ex. 1. with Acts ii. 34 — 37. and Psal. ii. 7. 
 
 with Acts xiii. 33. 
 
 * John v. 22. 23. e Mark xvi. 16. John iii. 35, 36. 
 
 d Rom. x. 14, 15. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 5 
 
 vants ; and when he gives them a commission, they must 
 be under an indispensable obligation to perform it, what- 
 ever difficulties they may have to encounter. " Though I 
 preach the gospel (says Paul), I have nothing to glory of; 
 for necessity is laid upon me ; yea, wo is unto me, if I 
 preach not the gospel. ' e 
 
 If his authority is supreme, and extends to heaven and 
 earth, it must necessarily set aside all adverse authority, 
 either of men or angels, that would oppose the execution 
 of this commission. Accordingly, when the Jewish conn- 
 cil prohibited the apostles from speaking or teaching in 
 the name of Jesus (which was a principal branch of their 
 commission), they boldly rejected and disclaimed their au- 
 thority, saying, " Whether it be right in the sight of God 
 to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye/' f 
 And again, " We ought to obey God rather than men." g 
 
 If all power and authority be vested in Christ himself, 
 this excludes not only all rival but also all conjunct autho- 
 rity. It admits of no arbitrary power in his ministers over 
 their fellow-subjects in managing the affairs of his king- 
 dom. None are allowed to be lords over the heritage in 
 conjunction with him, h for he alone is king. Even the 
 apostles, in executing his commission, had no authority to 
 teach the nations any other doctrine than what they had 
 received from him ; l nor to baptize any in their own name, 
 but in his ; k neither were they to teach the disciples their own 
 laws, but " to observe all things " whatsoever he had com- 
 manded them." 1 Nor were they to enforce even these by 
 their own authority : " We preach not ourselves (says 
 Paul), " but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your 
 servants for Jesus' sake."™ And lest any should think the 
 exercise of the instituted discipline upon offenders a stretch 
 of human authority, the apostle on that subject saith, 
 " Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are 
 
 e I Cor. ix. 16. f Acts iv. 17, 18. k Acts v. 29. 
 
 Mat. xx. 25—28. 1 Pet. v 3 . j Gal. i. 8, 0. k 1 Cor. i. 1.3, 14, 15. 
 1 Mat. xxviii. 20. m 2 Cor. iv. 5. 
 
 b2 
 
D CHRIST S COMMISSION 
 
 helpers of your joy ; n it being a power which the Lord 
 had given them to edification, and not to destruction. 
 
 Again, if Christ has all power and authority as the great 
 Prophet and Lawgiver of his church, this excludes all dis- 
 cretionary power in his servants to make the least altera- 
 tion either in his doctrine or ordinances. The apostles 
 did not, under pretence of decency, order, or conveniency, 
 elude their Lord's authority, and model the commission 
 agreeably to the corrupt inclinations of men ; nor, by cri- 
 tically (or rather profanely) torturing his words, did they 
 seek to explain them in a manner most conducive to their 
 own worldly ease, honour,' or advantage. They adhered 
 as scrupulously to the form and order, as to the matter and 
 scope of the commission. They kept nothing back as be- 
 ing redundant, superfluous, or of little moment ; nor did 
 they add any thing to it of their own invention, from a 
 notion that it was in any respect defective ; it being every 
 way contrary to their commission to teach for doctrines 
 the commandments of men, which, in matters of religion, 
 must ever make the commandments of God of no effect. p 
 In short, every deviation from, alteration of, or addition 
 to, this commission, upon the foot of human authority or 
 discretionary power, is in effect to deny that all power and 
 authority is given unto Christ. It is to say upon the 
 matter, that his laws are improper or imperfect, and may be 
 amended by erring mortals, as if they were wiser than he. 
 
 OF THE APOSTOLIC OFFICE, AND WHAT WAS PECULIAR TO IT. 
 
 Before we enter upon the commission itself, we shall 
 consider the office and qualifications of those to whom it 
 was at first delivered. It is plain, both from this and the 
 parallel place in Mark's gospel, q that Jesus is here addres- 
 sing his apostles whom he had selected from the other dis- 
 ciples/ Apostle (Apostolos) is a Greek word, and lite- 
 
 n 2 Cor. i. 24. <> 2 Cor. x. 8. and xiii. 10. 
 
 p Mat. xv. 4, 5, 6. i Mat. xxviii. 1G. Mark xvi. 14. 
 1 Mark iii. 14. Luke vi. 13. 
 
70 HIS APOSTLES. 7 
 
 rally signifies one who is sent.* The term will apply as well 
 to civil as religious missionaries, and even in the New 
 Testament it is given to others besides the twelve, and 
 rendered messenger :* yet the first select ministers of Christ 
 were called Apostles by way of eminence, and in distinc- 
 tion from evangelists, pastors, and teachers. u It was es- 
 sential to their office, 
 
 1. That they should have seen the Lord, and been eye 
 and ear witnesses of what they testified to the world/ 
 This is laid down as an essential requisite in the choice of 
 one to succeed Judas. y All of them could say, " That 
 which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you."' 
 Paul is no exception here ; for speaking of those who saw 
 Christ after his resurrection, he adds, " And last of all he 
 was seen of me." a And this he elsewhere mentions as one 
 of his apostolic qualifications : " Am I not an apostle ? 
 have I not seen the Lord ?" b so that his seeing that Just 
 One, and hearing the voice of his mouth, was necessary to 
 his being a witness of what he thus saw and heard. 
 
 2. They must have been immediately called and chosen 
 to that office by Christ himself. This was the case with 
 every one of them, d Matthias not excepted ; for as he had 
 been a chosen disciple of Christ before, so the Lord, by 
 determining the lot, declared his choice, and immediately 
 called him to the office of apostle. 6 
 
 3. Infallible inspiration was also essentially necessary to 
 that office/ They had not only to explain the true sense 
 and spirit of the Old Testament, 5 which was hid from the 
 Jewish doctors ; but also to give forth the New Testament 
 revelation to the world, which was to be the unalterable 
 standard of faith and practice in all succeeding genera- 
 
 8 John xiii. 16. * 2 Cor. viii. 23 Philip ii. 25. 
 
 n 1 Cor. xii. 28, 29. Eph. iv. 11. 
 
 ■ John xv. 27 i Acts i. 21, 22. ■ 1 John i. 3. a 1 Cor. xv. 8. 
 
 b 1 Cor. ix. 1. • Acts xxii. 14, 15. d Luke vi. 13. — Gal. i. 1. 
 
 Acts i. 24—26. 
 
 f John xvi. 13. 1 Cor. ii. 10. Gal. i. 11, 12. 
 
 e Luke xxiv. 27. Acts xxvi. 22, 23, and xxviii. 23. 
 
8 Christ's commission 
 
 tions. h It was therefore absolutely necessary that they 
 should be secured against all error and mistake by the 
 unerring dictates of the Spirit of truth. Accordingly 
 Christ promised, and actually bestowed upon them, the 
 Spirit — to teach them all things — to bring all things to 
 their remembrance whatsoever he had said unto them' — to 
 guide them into all truth, and to show them things to 
 come. k Their word therefore must be received, not as the 
 word of men, but (as it is in truth) the word of God, 1 and 
 as that whereby we are to distinguish the Spirit of truth 
 from the spirit of error.™ 
 
 4. Another apostolic qualification was the power of work- 
 ing miracles ; n such as speaking with divers tongues, curing 
 the lame, healing the sick, raising the dead, discerning of 
 spirits, conferring these gifts upon others, &c.° These 
 were credentials of their apostolic mission : " Truly (says 
 Paul) the signs of an apostle were wrought among you 
 in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty 
 deeds." p Miracles were necessary to confirm their doc- 
 trine at its first publication, and to gain credit to it in the 
 world as a revelation from God, and by these God bare 
 them witness. q 
 
 5. To these qualifications may be added the universality 
 of their mission. Their charge was not confined to any 
 particular visible church, like that of ordinary pastors ; 
 but, being the oracles of God to men, they had the care of 
 all the churches. 1 " They had a power to settle their faith 
 and order as models to future ages — to determine all con- 
 troversies 8 — and to exercise the rod of discipline upon all 
 offenders, whether pastors or flock.' 
 
 h 1 Pet. i. 25. John iv. 6. i John xiv. 26. 
 
 k John xvi. 13. » 1 Thess. ii. 13. m 1 John iv. 6. 
 
 ■ Mark xvi. 20. Acts ii. 43. ° 1 Cor. xii. 8—11. p 2 Cor xii. 12. 
 
 i Heb. ii. 4. r 2 Cor xi. 28. 8 Acts xvi. 4. 
 
 1 1 Cor v. 3—6. 2 Cor. x. 8. and xiii. 10. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 
 
 THE COMMISSION NOT CONFINED TO THE APOSTLES. 
 
 Though this commission was at first delivered to the 
 apostles, who have no successors in their office, yet the 
 execution of it was not restricted to their personal minis- 
 try, nor to persons so qualified. — Not to their personal 
 ministry ; for they had many fellow-labourers in perform- 
 ing the different branches of this commission 11 — Nor to 
 persons so qualified ; for though many of their assistants 
 were possessed of extraordinary gifts, such as evangelists, 
 prophets, &c. yet none of them had the distiguished and 
 peculiar qualifications of apostles, who had the power of 
 conferring these gifts, and of directing the exercise of 
 them. 1 And besides these, there were pastors and teach- 
 ers appointed for the work of the ministry/ among whose 
 essential qualifications none of the extraordinary gifts are 
 mentioned/ 
 
 Inspiration was at first necessary to reveal the gospel, 
 and miracles to confirm it. The apostles were eminently 
 qualified in both these respects. But when the gospel- 
 revelation with all its evidence was completed by their 
 ministry, and committed to writing, there was no further 
 use for these extraordinary gifts, because the Scriptures 
 of the New Testament answer all the ends for which such 
 gifts were originally bestowed ; and accordingly they have 
 ceased as was foretold*. The work enjoined in this com- 
 mission, however, was not to cease with the gifts of inspi- 
 ration and miracles, but to devolve upon a succession of 
 faithful men who should be able to teach others\ These 
 are the standing* and ordinary pastors and teachers whom 
 Christ hath appointed as stewards over his house , and who 
 are to be engaged in executing this commission until his 
 
 • Acts viii. 1, 4, and xi. 19, 20. 2 Cor. viii. 23. Philip, ii. 25, and 
 
 iv. 3. 1 Thess. iii. 2. Philem. 1, 2, 24. 
 
 x Acts viii. 17. and xix. 6. 1 Cor. xii. and xiv. 
 
 J Eph. iv. 11, 12. 1 Cor. xii. 28. • 1 Tim. iii. 1—8. Tit. i. 5— 10. 
 
 a 1 Cor. xiii. 8—11. b 2 Tim. ii. 2. ■ Tit. i. 7. 
 
10 Christ's commission 
 
 second coming d . That this is a work intended for ordi- 
 nary teachers, and competent for them to perform, is 
 plain from the commission itself, and the promise annexed 
 to it. 
 
 There is no part of the commission itself which men 
 possessed of ordinary gifts cannot now perform. They can 
 preach the gospel contained in the Scirptures to every crea- 
 ture, and produce the evidence by which it was at first 
 confirmed : they can baptize disciples upon a profession of 
 their faith ; and they can form them into churches in sepa- 
 ration from the world, teaching them to observe all things 
 whatsoever Christ hath commanded in his word. 
 
 The promise annexed is, " Lo, I am with you alway 
 even unto the end of the world." This promise cannot 
 be restricted to the apostles personally ; for these were 
 not to remain on earth to the end of the world : Nor can 
 it be confined to a succession of men endowed with mira- 
 culous gifts ; for Christ knew that such gifts were soon to 
 cease ; Neither can it respect merely the apostolic writ- 
 ings ; for though these will continue to the end of the 
 world, as a complete and unalterable rule of faith and 
 practice, and have Christ's blessing attending them to 
 the latest posterity, yet it cannot be said that Jesus is here 
 addressing himself to writings, commanding them to 
 preach and baptize, and promising only to be with them. 
 This promise evidently respects persons who should be ac- 
 tively employed in his service, and was made to the 
 apostles in the first place, and in them to all succeeding 
 teachers who shall faithfully prosecute the same work 
 to the end of the world, according to the rules laid down 
 in the apostolic writings. 
 
 But it ought to be noticed, that this commission is given 
 only to teachers. All Christ's disciples are not teachers 6 ; 
 all have not the scriptural character and qualifications 
 necessary to that office/ Though men should think them- 
 
 d Luke xii. 41—45. • 1 Cor. xii. 29. 
 
 { 1 Tim. hi. 1—8. Tit. i. G— 10. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 11 
 
 themselves qualified, nay, though they should actually be 
 so ; yet, if they are not called and ordained according 1 to 
 the scripture rule, they cannot regularly execute this com- 
 mission : for " how shall they preach, except they be sent g ," 
 either immediately by Christ himself, as the apostles 
 were, to which none can now reasonably pretend, or 
 mediately by such as he hath appointed to judge of their 
 qualifications, and to set them apart to that work h ? 
 
 * Hum. x. 15. h Acts xiv. 23. Tit. i. 5. 1 Tim. iv 14. 
 
12 Christ's commission 
 
 P A E T I. 
 
 THE SENSE AND EXTENT OF THIS PART OF THE COMMIS- 
 SION, HOW THE APOSTLES EXECUTED IT, AND WHAT IT 
 WAS THEY TAUGHT THE NATIONS. 
 
 " Go ye therefore and teach all nations." 
 
 We are indeed expressly forbidden to strive about words ; 
 but this prohibition respects only such strife as tends to no 
 profit, but to the subverting of the hearers'. Every word 
 of God is pure ; and as the whole counsel of God is com- 
 municated to us by words, so our faith and practice must be 
 regulated by the sense in which we understand them. We 
 cannot therefore contend for the faith once delivered to 
 the saints, without contending at the same time for the 
 sense of the form of sound words wherein that faith was 
 delivered. 
 
 Jesus here commands his apostles to " teach all na- 
 tions." The original word (matheteusate) is rightly ren- 
 dered teach, and is never used in a sense which excludes 
 it. We have the same word in Acts xiv. 21. " And 
 when they had preached the gospel to that city, and (raa- 
 theteusate) had taught many." Here the means used de- 
 termine the sense. They taught many : — how ? the text 
 informs us it was by preaching the gospel. We find this 
 word also in Matth. xiii. 52. " Therefore every scribe 
 (matheteutheis) ivho is instructed "unto the kingdom of 
 heaven, is like unto a man that is an householder, who 
 bringeth forth out of his treasures things new and old." 
 Here the sense is clear from the effect. The scribe by 
 being instructed acquires a treasure of knowledge, from 
 which he bringeth forth instruction to others. It no doubt 
 
 1 2 Tim. ii. 14. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 13 
 
 imports to make disciples ;* but (mathetes) disciple is not 
 an arbitrary designation : it signifies a learner, or one 
 who is taught, which is expressive of teaching as the cause ; 
 so that a person can no more be a disciple without being 
 taught, than he can be a convert without being converted. 
 To make disciples is neither less nor more than to teach 
 with effect. It is plain therefore that matheteuo properly 
 signifies to teach, and it only imports to make disciples as 
 the effect of teaching. 
 
 And what demonstrates this beyond all possibility of 
 doubt, is the parallel place in Mark's gospel, k where, in- 
 stead of the words teach all nations, the expression is 
 preach the gospel to every creature. Indeed if matheteusate 
 were not a command to preach the gospel, the commission, 
 as recorded by Matthew, would be deficient as to the prin- 
 cipal part of the apostolic mission : for the teaching after- 
 wards mentioned, verse 20, does not so much respect the 
 doctrines to be believed, as the commands and ordinances to 
 be observed by those who are already made disciples, as 
 shall be shown in its proper place. 
 
 Further, the word in this place cannot so properly be 
 rendered disciple as teach, because it respects all nations, 
 and our Lord well knew, that all the nations of this world, 
 would not actually be made disciples according to his own 
 description of such. 1 He can therefore only mean, that 
 they thould teach or preach the gospel to all nations, and 
 by this means make disciples among them. 
 
 THE EXTENT OF THIS PART OF THE COMMISSION ALL 
 
 NATIONS. 
 
 When Jesus formerly sent forth his disciples to heal 
 diseases, and preach that the kingdom of God was at hand, 
 
 * Matheteuo, of manthano, to teach or learn, whence comes mathetes, 
 disciple, i. e. a learner, scholar, or oue taught ; even as the English 
 word disciple comes of the Latin verb discere, to learn. 
 
 k Mark xvi. 15. 
 1 John viii. 31 ; x. 27 ; xiii. 35 ; xv. 18 ; and xviii. 37 — Luke xiv. 27. 
 
 C 
 
U Christ's commission 
 
 lie restricted their commission to the lost sheep of the 
 house of Israel, and forbade them to go into the way of 
 the Gentiles. 1 " To old Israel, in distinction from the na- 
 tions, belonged the adoption, and the glory, and the cove- 
 nants, and the giving of the law, and the service, and the 
 promises ; and of them, as concerning the flesh, Christ 
 came. n Therefore the promises which God had made 
 unto their fathers were to be accomplished to them in the 
 first place ;° and so Christ was a minister of the circum- 
 cision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made 
 unto the fathers. 11 Hence, in reference to his personal 
 ministry upon earth, he says to the woman of Canaan, 
 " I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of 
 Israel. " q Though the gospel had been preached before 
 to Abraham respecting the nations, 1 " and though the Jew- 
 ish prophets had foretold that God would call them to 
 partake of the blessings of the Messiah's kingdom ; 8 yet 
 this could not take place until Christ by his death had 
 abolished the old peculiar covenant with Israel, and estab- 
 lished the new covenant in his blood with his people of 
 all nations, 1 and until he had ascended on high, and taken 
 possession of his kingdom, which came in place of the 
 Jewish theocracy, and included the heathen for an inheri- 
 tance.' 1 Till then the Gentiles were without Christ, hav- 
 ing no hope, and without God in the world. v But Christ 
 having made peace by the blood of his cross, and broken 
 down the middle wall of partition between. Jews and Gen- 
 tiles, 1 sent forth his apostles with a more extensive com- 
 mission, preaching peace to them that were afar off, as 
 well as to them that were nigh. y He commanded them 
 to go into all the icorld, and not to Judea only ; to preach 
 the gospel to every creature, and not to the Jews only ; to 
 teach all nations, or to preach repentance and remission of 
 sins in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." 
 
 m Mat. x. 5, 6. D Rom. ix. 4, 5. ° Acts iii. 25. and xiii. 32, 33. 
 
 p Rom. xv. 8. i Mat. xv. 24. r Gal. iii. 8. s tea. xlix. 6. 
 
 " Rom ix. 8, 24. 25, 2G. u Psal ii. 8 T Eph. ii. 12. * Eph. ii. 14, 15. 
 
 .' Eph. ii. 17. • Mark xvi. 15; Luke xxiv. 47. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 15 
 
 But though their commission to preach the gospel ex- 
 tended to all nations without exception, yet we must not 
 hence infer, that Christ intended to take all the nations 
 of this world, or any one of them, as such, for his church 
 and kingdom ; for he hath expressly declared, that his 
 kingdom is not of this world, 0, as earthly nations certainly 
 are, whatever shape they may assume. He distinguishes 
 his people from the world as not of it, but chosen out of 
 it, b and foretels they shall be hated of all nations for his 
 name's sake. c The promise made to Abraham of blessing 
 all nations in his seed (Christ), does not respect such po- 
 litical bodies of men as constitute earthly nations, but 
 only the nations of them that are saved ; d a great multi- 
 tude, which no man can number, of all nations, and kin- 
 dreds, and people, and tongues. 6 Old Israel were indeed 
 the church and kingdom of God, though a nation of this 
 world ; but, as a nation, they were only a figure of his 
 true church and kingdom ; and the old temporal covenant 
 whereby they were related to God, was but a type of the 
 new covenant in Christ's blood. The nations of this world 
 are neither typically nor spiritually related to God as his 
 church and kingdom. Not typically ; for that relation 
 was peculiar to the fleshly seed of Abraham by the old 
 covenant, which is now done away f : — Nor spiritually : 
 for that is peculiar to the subjects of the new covenant ; 
 who are described as all knowing the Lord from the least 
 to the greatest, as having his law in their hearts, and 
 their iniquities forgiven. ff When our Lord foretels that 
 the kingdom of God should be taken from the Jews, he 
 does not say it should be given to any other earthly na- 
 tion such as they, but " to a nation bringing forth the 
 fruits thereof." 11 The chosen generation, royal priesthood, 
 holy nation, and peculiar people which come in place of 
 old Israel, 1 are described as " elect according to the fore- 
 
 * John xviii. 3G. b John xv. 19. c Mat. xxiv. 9. d Kev. xxi 24 
 
 8 Rev. vii. 9. f Heb. viii. 9, 13. Gal. iv. 30. 
 
 * Jer. xxxi. 33, 34. — Heb. viii. 10, 11, 12. h Mat, xxi. 43. 
 
 • Compare Exod. xix. 5, 6, with 1 Pet. ii. 9. 
 
16 Christ's commission 
 
 knowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of 
 the spirit unto obedience, and sprinkling of " the blood of 
 Jesus Christ. " k They are indeed termed a holy nation as 
 being the antitype of the nation of Israel, but they had 
 no earthly national form or establishment ; on the con- 
 trary, the apostle calls them " strangers scattered abroad 1 , 
 — strangers and " pilgrims," and exhorts them, as such, to 
 have their conversation honest among (etlmesin) the nations, 
 and to imitate Christ in patiently suffering their hatred. m 
 Tie words of the prophets respecting the nations began 
 to be accomplished when God did visit them, not to take 
 them in gross, or by nations, but, (labein ex eihnon 
 laon) " to take out of the nations a people for his name." n 
 Christ therefore has his nation of redeemed ones amonar 
 all nations of the earth. For them he prays, and not for 
 the world ; and describes them as believing on him through 
 the word of his apostles . — For their sakes he commands 
 the gospel to be preached to every creature ; and to them 
 he expressly restricts the saving benefit of it : " He that 
 believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved : but he that be- 
 lieveih not, shall be damned." p 
 
 From these hints we may learn what to think of national 
 or political establishments of Christianity : and judge how 
 far they consist with the nature of Christ's kingdom, which 
 is not of this world, or with that visible separation from 
 the world in religious fellowship to which he calls his dis- 
 ciples. 01 
 
 Though the heathen is given to Christ for an inheri- 
 tance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession ; 
 yet he will not actually inherit all nations till Satan is 
 bound, and all opposing rule, authority, and power is put 
 down/ Then indeed " the kingdoms of the world will 
 become our Lord's and his Christ's ; and the kingdom and 
 
 k 1 Pet. i 2. '1 Pet i. 1. m 1 Pet. ii. 11—25. n Acts xv. 14, 15. 
 
 ° John xvii. 9, 20. p Mark xvi. 16. 
 
 i Acts xix. 9. 2 Cor. vi. 14—18. Heb. xiii. 13, 14. 
 
 r Rev. xx. 1—5. Chap. xix. 10, 20. 1 Cor. xv. 24, 25. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 17 
 
 dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the 
 whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of 
 the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 
 and all dominions shall serve and obey him." 8 But this 
 kingdom in its most extensive and prosperous state will 
 not change its nature, but will still be spiritual and 
 heavenly as at its first erection, and so essentially different 
 from worldly kingdoms, and the direct opposite of that 
 kind of spiritual domination which claims the sanction, 
 support, and enforcement of civil power. 
 
 HOW THE APOSTLES EXECUTED THIS PART OF THE 
 COMMISSION. 
 
 It will be allowed by all Christians, that the apostles, 
 (at least after they were fully instructed by the unerring 
 Spirit) both understood and executed their Lord's com- 
 mission according to its true intent and meaning ; and if 
 so, their practice will furnish us with the best comment 
 upon it. 
 
 On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit was poured out 
 upon them from the risen and glorified Jesus, as he had 
 promised. Immediately they began to speak with tongues 
 as the Spirit gave them utterance ; so that the vast mul- 
 titude from all nations, then at Jerusalem, were amazed 
 when they heard the illiterate Galileans speak to each of 
 them the grand things of God in his own tongue wherein 
 he was born. 1 This miraculous gift of tongues was a qua- 
 lification answerable to the nature and extent of their mis- 
 sion ; for they could not teach all nations without speak- 
 ing their different languages. 
 
 Being now qualified for their work, they began their 
 ministry at Jerusalem as they had been commanded ; u 
 and Peter's first discourse was attended with the conversion 
 of three thousand. 1 Soon after Peter and John preached 
 
 •Rev. xi. 15. Dan vii. 27. * Acts ii. 3 — 12. tt Lukexxiv. 47. 
 
 * Acts ii. 29—42. 
 
 C2. 
 
18 Christ's commission 
 
 in the temple to a numerous audience with still greater 
 success ; y and being apprehended and brought before the 
 Jewish council, because they taught the people, and 
 preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead, 
 they still went on with their work even in the presence of 
 the council, and refused to desist, notwithstanding all 
 their threatenings. 2 Again they were apprehended and 
 imprisoned ; but they were set at liberty by an angel, who 
 commanded them to speak in the temple to the people all 
 the words of this life. a While thus engaged, they were 
 brought a second time before the sanhedrim, and charged 
 with having filled Jerusalem with their doctrine ; but in- 
 stead of being intimidated, they boldly disclaimed the au- 
 thority of their judges in that matter, and openly avowed 
 their steady resolution to persevere. Though beaten, they 
 rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame 
 for Christ's name. Though strictly prohibited from speak- 
 ing any more in the name of Jesus, yet daily in the temple 
 and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach 
 Jesus Christ . b Stephen the deacon taught with such evi- 
 dence and energy, that none were able to resist the spirit 
 with which he spoke ; c which so exasperated his adversaries, 
 that they soon brought him to seal his testimony with his 
 blood. d This was the commencement of a great persecu- 
 tion against the church at Jerusalem, by which many of 
 them were scattered abroad throughout the regions of 
 Judea and Samaria, and went everywhere publishing the 
 gospel. 6 Of those teachers some travelled as far as 
 Phenice, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word unto 
 none but unto the Jews only ; f for as yet they did not fully 
 understand the extent of the commission, till God directed 
 Peter to preach the gospel to Cornelius and his house, 
 and testified his acceptance of them by giving them 
 the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit.* 5 This convinced 
 
 y Acts iii. 12—26. * Chap. iv. 1—23. » Chap. v. 17— 2G. 
 
 b Acts v. 27—42. • Chap. vi. 8-12. d Chap. vii. 59, GO. 
 
 • Chap. viii. 1, 4. * Chap. xi. 19. b Chap. x. 20—48. and x\\ 7—10. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 19 
 
 the apostles and Jewish converts that God had also to the 
 Gentiles granted repentance unto life ; h and though they 
 continued afterwards to make their first addresses to their 
 countrymen, 1 yet they no longer confined the gospel to 
 them, out published it to every creature, to the Jew first 
 and also to the Greek. k 
 
 We have a particular account of the travels of Paul 
 and his fellow-labourers in teaching the nations. Paul 
 was in an especial manner chosen to that work. 1 He 
 preached the gospel first at Damascus ; m afterwards in 
 Arabia," Jerusalem, Syria, and Cilicia ; p then at Antioch 
 in Pisidia, q Iconium, 1 ' Lystra, Derbe, s Perga, 1 Philippi," 
 Thessalonica, x Berea/ Athens, 2 and Corinth ; a at which 
 last place he and his companions continued a year and six 
 months teaching the word of God. b After this he preached 
 at Ephesus near three years ; so that all they who dwelt 
 in Asia heard the word of the Lord both Jews and Greeks . 
 Reciting his own travels and labours, he says, " From 
 Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully 
 preached the gospel of Christ. " d He had not then been 
 at Rome ; but being afterwards sent there a prisoner, he 
 continued two whole years in that city preaching the king- 
 dom of God, and teaching those things which concern the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 6 
 
 Sacred history does not furnish us with so full an ac- 
 count of the labours and travels of the other apostles and 
 their assistants ; but we may be sure they prosecuted their 
 mission with unwearied diligence and fidelity in different 
 parts of the w r orld.* Peter writes his first epistle from 
 
 h Chap. xi. IS. 
 
 'Chap. xiii. 5 — 14 ; xiv 1 ; xvii. 1, 2, 10, 17 ; xviii. 4, 5, 19 ; andxix. 8. 
 
 k Rom. i. 16. 1 Acts ix. 15. ; xxii. 21 ; and xxvi. 17, 18. Rom. xi. 13. 
 
 » Acts ix. 20—23. n Gal. i. 17. ° Acts ix. 29. p Gal. i. 21. 
 
 « Acts xiii. 14— 49. r Chap. xiv. i. 3. s Chap. xiv. 6, 7, 21. 
 
 1 Cap. xiv. 25. u Chap. xvi. 9, 13, 32. * Chap. xvii. 2, 3, 4. 
 
 J Chap. xvii. 10, 11, 12. ■ Ver. 17, &c. a Chap, xviii. 4, 5. 
 
 b Ver. 11. c Chap xix. 8, 10 ; and xx. 31. d Rom. xv. 19. 
 
 e Acts xxviii. 30, 31. 
 * It appears from the most credible records, that the gospel was 
 preached in Idumea, Syria, and Mesopotamia, by Jude ; in Egypt, 
 
20 Christ's commission 
 
 Babylon ; f and the gospel was received at Rome before 
 Paul went there, and so must have been published by some 
 others." Our Lord foretold, that the gospel of the king- 
 dom should be preached in all the world, for a witness 
 unto all nations, before the destruction of Jerusalem, 11 i. e. 
 within forty years ; and about nine years before that 
 dreadful event, Paul tells the Colossians that this had ac- 
 tually been accomplished. 1 So rapid and universal was 
 the spread of the gospel, that the same apostle applies 
 what is said of the heavenly luminaries to the publishers 
 of it : " Their sound went unto all the earth, and their 
 words unto the ends of the world. " k Thus we see how 
 the apostles and their assistants executed the first part of 
 the commission in teaching all nations. 
 
 THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF THE APOSTOLIC DOCTRINE, OR 
 WHAT IT WAS THEY TAUG-HT THE NATIONS. 
 
 They were commissioned to go into all the world, and 
 preach the gospel (i. e. to publish the glad tidings of sal- 
 vation) to every creature 1 — to preach repentance and re- 
 mission of sins in Christ's name among all nations." 1 As 
 pardon has no meaning but in relation to guilt, nor sal- 
 vation but as it respects danger or misery, it will be need- 
 ful here to premise a few things. 
 
 Mamorica, Mauritania, and other parts of Africa, by Mark, Simeon, 
 and Jude ; in Ethiopia by the Eunuch and Matthias; in Pontic, 
 Galatia, and the neighbouring parts of Asia, by Peter ; in the terri- 
 tories of the seven Asiatic churches by John ; in Parthia by Mat- 
 thew ; in Scythia by Philip and Andrew ; in the northern and wes- 
 tern parts of Asia by Bartholomew ; in Persia by Simeon and Jude ; 
 in Media, Carmania, and several eastern parts, by Thomas ; from 
 Jerusalem to lllyricum by Paul, as also in. Italy, and probably in 
 Spain, Gaul, and Britain. In most of which places Christian 
 churches were planted in less than thirty years after Christ, and ten 
 before the destruction of Jerusalem — Ar. Young on Idolatry, vol. ii. 
 p. 216—234. 
 
 f 1 Pet. v. 13. e Rom. i. 10—14. h Mat. xxiv. 14. 
 
 ' Col. i. f, 23. k Psal. xix. 4. Rom. x. 18. ' Mark xvi. \b. 
 
 m Luke xxiv. 47. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 21 
 
 That man was originally created upright and happy, 
 the word of God clearly testifies ; n that his present state 
 is the sad reverse, experience as well as scripture sufficiently 
 evinces. But how this change took place can only be 
 learnt from revelation. This informs us, That by the one 
 offence, or disobedience of the first man, sin entered into 
 the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed (eis) 
 unto all men (eph ho) in whom all have sinned : — That 
 hereby the whole of Adam's posterity are become naturally 
 sinful as well as mortal, being shapen in iniquity and con- 
 ceived in sin p ; alienated from the life of God through the 
 ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their 
 hearts ; q enemies to God in their minds by wicked 
 works ; r walking according to the instigations of the prince 
 of the power of the air, the spirit that worketh in the 
 children of disobedience, 8 by whom they are blinded and 
 taken captive at his will :* And being thus dead in tres- 
 passes and sins, u and wholly corrupted in their sentiments, 
 dispositions, and practices, they are not only deprived of 
 a sense of the Divine favour, subjected to the toils and 
 miseries of this life, and doomed to return to the dust, ac- 
 cording to the sentence pronounced upon Adam's one of- 
 fence* but are also liable to the curse of God's violated 
 law/ and to be punished with everlasting destruction from 
 the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power 
 in the world to come, for their own many offences* 
 
 All mankind without exception are by nature in this 
 guilty, helpless, and miserable state. The Gentiles by 
 sinning against the manifestation of God in his visible 
 works, and the natural notices of his law in their con- 
 sciences, were worthy of death a . — The Jews, though more 
 highly favoured than the former, in having the written 
 law of God, were in no respect better than they ; for by 
 transgressing that law, they dishonoured God, and so 
 
 r - Gen. i. 26, 27. Eccl. vii. 29. ° Rom. v. 12. p Psal li. 5. 
 
 i Eph. iv. 18. r Col. i 21. 8 Eph.ii. 2. l 2 Cor. iv. 4. 2 Tim. ii. 16. 
 
 n Eph. ii. 1. * Gen. iii. 16. - v Gal. iii- 10. 
 ' Eph. v. 6. 2 Thess. i. 9. Matt. sxv. 41, 46. a Rom. i. 18—32 
 
22 Christ's commission 
 
 were equally obnoxious to his just displeasure. b The law, 
 which demanded perfect love to God and their neighbour, 
 manifested at the same time their guilt and the curse due 
 to every, the least failure ; c so that, instead of justifying 
 them, it gave the knowledge of sin, made the offence 
 abound, and ministered death and condemnation. d Thus 
 the scripture concludes all the world, both Jews and Gen- 
 tiles, under sin, and unable either to atone for their past 
 offences, or to obey perfectly in time to come ; and so are 
 condemned by the law, and obnoxious to the everlasting 
 wrath and righteous judgment of God. 
 
 The design, however, of this melancholy but just re- 
 presentation, is to make men duly sensible of their guilt 
 and wretchedness, and by this means to recommend to 
 them the righteousness of God in justifying the ungodly 
 freely by his grace through the redemption that is in 
 Jesus Christ. 6 Were there no revelation of mercy, the 
 knowledge of our lost condition could serve no other pur- 
 pose than to increase our misery. Hence those who be- 
 lieve not the gospel are averse to admit the scripture ac- 
 count of sin and its consequences, because it lands them 
 in absolute despair. None can have a just view or esti- 
 mation of the gospel-salvation, but such as have a proper 
 conviction of sin and its demerit ; for these are relative, 
 and answer to each other like disease and remedy. Every 
 attempt, therefore, to extenuate the guilt and wretchedness 
 of our natural state, must in proportion derogate from the 
 great salvation, and betray our ignorance of, or disaffection 
 to it. None will really believe or love the gospel but such 
 as absolutely despair of relief from any other quarter, and 
 are shut up to it alone as exhibiting the sole and all-suffi- 
 cient remedy. Such only can discern the wisdom, neces- 
 sity, and suitableness of that glorious plan of Divine 
 mercy and grace, and find all their salvation and desire 
 in it. 
 
 b Rom. ii. 17—25 ; and iii. 9—20. " Gal. iii. 10. 
 « Rom. iii. 20 ; and v, 20. 2 Cor. iii. 7, 9. e Rom. iii. 21, 24. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 23 
 
 Having premised these things, let us now see what the 
 apostles taught the nations. 
 
 THE GOSPEL. 
 
 The subject of their message has several epithets given 
 to it in Scripture, which are all expressive of its general 
 nature. It is called (euaggelion) the evangel or gospel ; 
 which signifies a good message or glad tidings, as the same 
 word is sometimes rendered/ — The gospel of peace f be- 
 cause it proclaims peace with God to guilty rebels through 
 Jesus Christ. — The word of reconciliation 11 ; because it 
 shows how God is reconciled to sinners, and contains the 
 great motive or argument for reconciling their minds to 
 him'. — The gospel of salvation ; k because it holds forth 
 salvation or deliverance to the lost or miserable. — The 
 gospel of the grace of God ; ! as being a declaration of God's 
 free favour and unmerited love and good-will to the utterly 
 worthless and undeserving. — The gospel of the kingdom ; m 
 because it proclaims the power and dominion of the Mes- 
 siah, and the nature and privileges of his kingdom, which 
 is not of this world. — It is termed the truth, 11 not only as 
 being the most important of all truths, and the testimony 
 of God who cannot lie ;° but also because it is the accom- 
 plishment of Old Testament prophecies ; p and the sub- 
 stance, spirit, and truth of all the shadows and types of 
 the former economy. q 
 
 A general idea of the gospel may also be formed from 
 the short summaries given of it in various parts of the 
 New Testament. Jesus sums up the gospel to Nicodemus 
 thus : " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 
 even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever 
 believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. 
 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only be- 
 
 ' Luke ii. 10. Acts xiii. 32. s Rom. x. 5. h 2 Cor. v. 19. 
 
 i Ver. 20, 21. k Eph. i. 13. 1 Actsxx. 24. » Mat. xxiv. 14. 
 
 » John xviii. 37. 2 Thess. ii. 13. 1 John ii. 21. ° 1 John v. 9. 
 
 p Rev. six. 10. «J John i. 17. Col, ii. 17. 
 
24 Christ's commission 
 
 gotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him might not 
 perish, but have everlasting life." r Paul gives several 
 brief compends of the gospel, from which we shall select 
 the following : " Moreover, brethren, I declare unto vou 
 the gospel which I preached unto you — by the which also 
 ye are saved — how that Christ died for our sins, according 
 to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose 
 again the third day, according to the scriptures .'" s — " God 
 hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit, that 
 God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not 
 imputing their trespasses unto them. For he hath made 
 him (arnartian) a sin-offering* for us, who knew no sin, 
 that we might be made the righteousness of Godj in 
 him*." — " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all ac- 
 ceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
 sinners ; of whom I am chiefV — John gives the substance 
 of the gospel-testimony in these words : " This is the re- 
 cord (marturia, witness or testimony), That God hath 
 given to us eternal life ; and this life is in his Son. He 
 that hath the Son hath life."* 
 
 In the history of the Acts, we have three remarkable 
 sermons of the apostles, which may serve as a specimen 
 both of their doctrine and of the beautiful and artless 
 simplicity with which they delivered it. As every one 
 has a Bible, I shall not here transcribe them ; but the 
 reader is desired to peruse them with attention at his 
 leisure. The first is Peter's discourse to the Jews at Jeru- 
 salem on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured 
 
 * To make a beast a sin-offering is, in the sacrifical style of the 
 law, (poiein arnartian) to make it sin, see LXX. Lev. iv. 20. Num. 
 vi. 11. and viii. 12, which is the very expression here used by the 
 Apostle, and must therefore signify that Christ was made a sacrifice 
 for our sins. 
 
 f To be made the righteousness of God in him, is to be pardoned, 
 justified, or accepted through his sacrifice or blood-shedding; so it 
 is said, " By the obedience of one shall many be (hatesabesontai) 
 " constituted righteous.'' Eom. v. 19. 
 
 ' John iii. 11— 1G. 6 1 Cor. xv. 1—5. » 2 Cor. v. 19, 21. 
 ■ 1 Tirn. i. 15. * 1 John v. 11, 12. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 2;> 
 
 down from the glorified Messiah. Chap. ii. 22 — 40. — 
 The next is Peter's discourse to Cornelius, his house, and 
 kinsmen, when God at the first did visit the Gentiles to 
 take out of them a people for his name, and made choice 
 among the Apostles, that by Peter's mouth they should 
 hear the word of the gospel, and believe. Chap x. 34 — 
 44. — The last is Paul's sermon, first to the Jews, and then 
 to the Gentiles at Antioch in Pisidia. Chap. xiii. 23 — 
 42. These discourses contain a few plain facts respecting 
 Jesus ; such as, that he sprung from David according to 
 the flesh, and was the royal seed promised to him y : — 
 That he was approved of God as the Messiah by the 
 miracles, wonders, and signs which God did by him 2 — That 
 he suffered the death of the cross 3 , — was buried b , — was 
 raised again from the dead on the third day c , — and ex- 
 alted at the right hand of God, being made both Lord 
 and Christ d : — That he was ordained of God to be the 
 judge of quick and dead ; e and that whosoever believeth 
 on him shall receive the remission of sins and eternal life 1 : 
 — All which particulars are shown to be the exact accom- 
 plishment of the predictions of the Old Testament/ 
 
 As these apostolic sermons were dictated by the uner- 
 ring Spirit of truth sent down from heaven, and were at- 
 tended with remarkable success in the conversion of mul- 
 titudes ordained to eternal life, we may reasonably con- 
 clude, that they contain every essential article of the one 
 faith, and all that is absolutely necessary to be believed 
 unto salvation. And here we might close this branch of 
 our subject : But as there is still much room for true be- 
 lievers to go on to perfection, and to grow in grace, and 
 in the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 1 ' 
 
 J Acts ii. 30. and xiii. 23. ■ Chap ii. 22. and x. 38. 
 
 » Acts ii. 23; x. 39 ; and xiii 27, 28. b Chap. xiii. 29- 
 
 c Chap. ii. 24—33; x. 40, 41 ; and xiii. 30. 31. 
 
 d Chap. ii. 33—37 ; and x. 36. * Chap. x. 42. 
 
 f Chap. ii. 38—41 ; x. 43 ; and xiii. 38, 39, 46, 47. 
 
 s Chap. ii. 25— 3f ; x. 43 ; and xiii. 32—38. 
 
 h Heh. vi. 1.— 2 Pet. iii. 18.— Eph. iv. 12—16. 
 
 D 
 
Christ's commission 
 
 we shall consider the import and connection of these first 
 principles as more fully opened and explained in the rest 
 of the apostolic writings. 
 
 The whole gospel may be comprised under the two fol- 
 lowing" heads : 
 
 i. A Testimony respecting the person, mission, and 
 work of Jesus Christ. 
 
 II. A Promise of the remission of sins and everlasting 
 life to all who believe on him. 
 
 I. The Testimony concerning the person and mission of 
 Jesus is frequently contained in one short proposition ; 
 such as, " That Jesus is the Christ the Son of God." This 
 is the grand foundation truth of the gospel which supports 
 all the rest, and in the confirmation of which all the lines 
 of evidence unite. To this truth gave all the prophets 
 witness ; l for as the descriptions they gave beforehand of 
 the Messiah exactly apply to Jesus, and to him only, they 
 clearly prove him to be the Christ the Son of God. When 
 he actually came in the flesh, John the Baptist (the mes- 
 senger who went before his face to prepare his way) pro- 
 claimed this truth as the substance of his testimony : 
 " And I saw and bare record, that this is the Son of 
 God." k It was also the principal subject of the apostles' 
 testimony. John, giving the scope of his gospel, says, 
 u These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is 
 the Christ the Son of God." 1 Peter sums up his discourse 
 to the Jews thus : " Therefore let all the house of Israel 
 know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus whom 
 ye have crucified both Lord and Christ. " m The scope of 
 Paul's preaching was to prove, " That Jesus was very 
 Christ — the Son of God.'* n This is the truth testified by 
 the Divine Three. The Father proclaimed from the ex- 
 cellent glory that Jesus was his beloved Son, and deter- 
 
 ; Acts x. 43. k John i. 34. l Chap. xx. 31. m Acts ii. 36. 
 
 ■ Chap. ix. 20, 22: and xviii. 5. • 1 John v. 5 — 10. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 27 
 
 mined him to be so by raising him from the dead. p Jesus 
 himself witnessed the same confession, 41 proved it by his 
 miracles, 1 " and sealed it with his blood. 3 The Holy Spirit 
 also concurred in this testimony, by descending 1 and abid- 
 ing on Jesus,* revealing this truth to the apostles," and 
 confirming the declaration of it with his miraculous gifts. x 
 — This truth is that rock upon which Christ promises to 
 build his church/ which his disciples confessed as their 
 faith, and with the belief of which salvation is connected/ 
 
 We shall now consider its import. 
 
 1. The declaration that Jesus is the Christ evidently 
 points out that particular person whose name is Jesus, 
 even Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Mary, as the promised 
 and expected Messiah, in distinction from every other 
 man. The Jews believed that the Messiah was to come, 
 and were looking for him about the time in which he 
 peared ; a but they did not believe that this Jesus was the 
 person, and so their faith was of no avail; for he tells 
 them, "if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in 
 your sins/' b It was not enough to believe that Christ was 
 to come, or even that he had already come, unless they 
 also believed that Jesus was he. Without this they might 
 still be looking for another, or embrace an impostor, in- 
 stead of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into 
 the world. The apostles therefore testified and proved to 
 the Jews, that Jesus was the very Christ whom they were 
 expecting, in whom all the prophecies were fulfilled; 
 that that very individual Jesus whom they had crucified 
 was he : d and, to cut off all their expectations from any- 
 other, Peter says, " Neither is there salvation in any other : 
 
 p Mat. iii. 17 ; and xvii. 5. Rom. i. 4. 
 
 * John iv. 26. ix. 35, 37 ; and x. 36. r John x. 25. 
 
 'Mat. xxvi. 63 — 67. Luke xxli. 66 — 71. John xviii 37; with xix. 7. 
 
 1 John i. 32, 33. Acts x. 38. n John xvi. 13. 
 
 * John xv. 26, Acts v. 32. Heb. ii. 4. > Mat. xvi. 8. 
 
 1 Mat. xvi. 16. John vi. 69. Acts viii. 37. 
 
 » Luke iii. 15. John iv. 25, 29 ; and vii. 41, 42. Acts xxvi. 7. 
 
 b John viii. 24. c Acts ix. 22. 
 
 * Chap. ii. 36. 
 
28 Christ's commission 
 
 for there is no other name under heaven given among men 
 whereby ye must be saved.'" 6 
 
 2. When of this Jesus it is affirmed, that he is the 
 Christ, or Anointed, it imports his mediatorial character 
 and offices. Under the law men were consecrated to, and 
 invested with offices by pouring upon their heads the holy 
 oil, which was prepared by Divine appointment, and kept 
 sacred to that use : f hence they were called the Lord's 
 Messiahs or Christs, i. e. annointed ones ; g in which cha- 
 racter they typified God's true Christ, Jesus of Na- 
 zareth, whom he hath anointed with the Holy Spirit and 
 with power, h with the oil of gladness above his fellows, 1 
 as head over all things to his church. 
 
 He is the anointed Prophet or Teacher sent from God 
 by whom he has spoken unto us in these last days. k So 
 when he opens his prophetic mission, he says, " the Spirit 
 of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to 
 preach the gospel to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal the 
 broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and 
 recovering of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty them 
 that are bruised ; to preach the acceptable year of the 
 Lord." 1 This is that prophet whom the Lord promised 
 to raise up like unto Moses, and whom we are commanded 
 to hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto us. m 
 
 He is the anointed High-Priest over the house of God ;" 
 who having laid down his life once as a sacrifice for the 
 sins of his people, hath risen from the dead, and entered 
 into the heavenly holy place with his own blood, p being, 
 by the word of the oath which was since the law, conse- 
 crated for evermore an immortal High-priest in the 
 heavens after the order of Melchisedec ; where he con- 
 tinues to officiate as a minister of the sanctuary and of 
 
 e Acts v. 12. 
 
 f Exod. xxix. 7 ; and xxviii. 41. 1 Sam. x. 1 ; and xvi 13. 
 
 el Sam.xxiv. 10; and xxiii. 1. Psal. cv. 15. h Acts x. 38. 
 
 ; Heb. i. 9. k Heb. i. 2. J Isa Ixi. 1. Luke iv. 18, 19. 
 
 » Deut. xviii. lu 20. Acts iii. 22. n Heb. x. 21. ° 1 Pet. iii. 18. 
 
 p Heb. ix. 12, 24. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 29 
 
 the true tabernacle ; and is able to save them to the 
 uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever 
 liveth to make intercession for them. q 
 
 He is the anointed King whom God hath set upon his 
 holy hill of Zion, r and to whom he hath given all power 
 and dominion in heaven and in earth. 3 Indeed it is to his 
 kingly character that the title Christ or Messiah more es- 
 pecially applies. It comes originally from the covenant 
 of royalty which God made with David, wherein he sware 
 unto him with an oath, that of the fruit of his loins accord- 
 ing to the flesh he would raise up Christ to sit for ever on 
 his throne ;* and so David gives him that title, when 
 foretelling his sufferings and his following glory and domi- 
 nion. 11 All the succeeding prophecies of the Messiah, as 
 a king, have a retrospect to this promise made unto 
 David ; and are just so many renewals, enlargements, 
 and illustrations of it\ The gospel applies the whole 
 directly to Jesus, testifying that he is the Christ or royal 
 seed promised unto David, in whom the prophecies have 
 their accomplishments The Jews did not believe this 
 testimony ; they understood not the prophecies concerning 
 the humiliation and sufferings of the Messiah, 2 and so 
 were prejudiced at the mean appearance of Jesus. a Those 
 which foretold his exaltation, kingdom, and government, 
 they applied to a kingdom of this world ; and finding no- 
 thing in Jesus answerable to their carnal expectations, 
 but everything the reverse, they rejected him, as was also 
 foretold. 15 But in the New Testament account of Jesus, 
 the most lofty and sublime predictions of the Messiah are, 
 
 i Heb. vii. 20—28 ; and viii. 1.2. r Psal. ii. 6. s Mat. xxviii. 18. 
 • 2 Sam. vii. 11—17. 1 Chron. xvii. 9—15. u Psal. ii. 2. Acts iv. 26. 27. 
 1 Psal. lxxxix. 3, 4, 35, 36. Psal. cxxxii. 11. Isa. ix. 6, 7 ; xi. 1—10 ; 
 and lv. 1 — 5. Jer. xxiii. 5, 6 ; and xxxiii. 14 — 26. 
 Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24 ; and xxxvii. 24, 2.5. Hos. iii. 5. 
 J Luke i. 31, 32, 33, 68, 69, 70. Acts ii. 30—37 ; and xiii 23, 33, 34. 
 
 35. Heb. i. 5—10. 
 ■ Psal. xxii. Psal lxix. Isa. Iii. 14, and liii. Dan. ix. 26. Zech. xiii. 7. 
 
 • Psal. lxix. 8. Isa. liii. 2. 
 
 b Chap. viii. 14, 15; and liii. 3. John i. 10, 11. Rom. ix. 32, 33. 
 
 Acts iv. 11. Psal. cxviii. 22. 
 
 D 2 
 
30 Christ's commission 
 
 without any hyperbole, realized in their fullest sense ; the 
 consistency and connection of his lowest abasement with 
 his highest glory are clearly unfolded, as well as the im- 
 portant ends of both : Ends, the most worthy of God, 
 honourable to Jesus, and beneficial to men, and such as 
 infinitely transcend all the natural conceptions of the hu- 
 man mind. " For it became him for whom are all things, 
 and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto 
 glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect 
 through sufferings."* And in pursuance of this gracious 
 design, the Divine Word (eauton ekenose) " emptied him- 
 self" of the form of God wherein he originally existed, 
 " took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in 
 the likeness of men ; and being found in fashion as a man, 
 he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, 
 even the death of the cross. For this cause God also 
 hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is 
 above every name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee 
 should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and 
 things under the earth ; and that every tongue should con- 
 fess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the 
 Father." Thus he " who was made (brachu ti) a little 
 while lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, 
 was crowned with glory and honour, d angels, authorities 
 and powers being made subject unto him ;" e and thus the 
 promise to David was fulfilled when God raised up Jesus 
 from the dead to sit for ever on his heavenly throne/ and 
 said unto him, " Sit thou at my right hand, until I make 
 thine enemies thy footstool." 8 In this exalted state he 
 is invested with sovereign power over all flesh, that he 
 should give eternal life to as many as the Father hath 
 given him ; h and must reign till he hath put all enemies 
 under his feet, 1 and judged the quick and the dead accord- 
 
 * Heb. ii. 10. e Philip, ii. 6—12. d Heb. ii. 9. e 1 Pet. iii. 22. 
 
 f Acts ii. 24 — 37 ; and xiii. 32—38. 
 
 sPsal. ex 1. Acts ii. 34, 35. Heb. i. 13. b John xvii. 2. 
 
 " ' l 1 Cor. xv. 25. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 31 
 
 ing to their works. k His kingdom is not of this world, 
 like the ancient kingdom of David, which was only its 
 type ; nor is it defended or promoted by the sword, but 
 by bearing witness unto the truth ; and his true subjects 
 are only such as are of the truth and hear his voice. 1 
 
 3. When Jesus the Christ is declared to be the Son of 
 God, it imports, 
 
 That he is truly God. The Jews who saw him a man, 
 but did not believe him to be God, charged him with blas- 
 phemy in calling himself the Son of God ; which they 
 rightly understood to be making himself equal with God, 
 or, being a man, to be making himself God. m As they 
 called themselves the sons of God, n and their rulers were 
 termed gods in their law, they could not charge him with 
 blasphemy for saying that he was the Son of God either 
 in a federal or official sense ; but when they heard him 
 affirming that he and his Father were one, p that he did the 
 works peculiar to God, q and so claiming the same di- 
 vine honour with his Father, 1- they concluded, that he 
 called God his Father in such a sense as would be blas- 
 phemy in any mere creature ; and so condemned him to 
 die by their law against blasphemy, " because he made 
 himself the Son of God." 8 His disciples also, in confess- 
 ing their faith, express their highest notions of his per- 
 son by calling him the Son of God,* and worshipped him 
 as such." Every thing whereby the true God is made 
 known or distinguished from his creatures is ascribed unto 
 the Son. — 1. Every divine name is given unto him, except- 
 ing such as serve to mark the other two personal distinc- 
 tions. He is expressly called God : " Make straight in 
 the desert a way for our God\ — " Say unto the cities of 
 Judah, Behold your God*," — " In the beginning was the 
 Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was 
 
 k Acts x. 42. Rev. xx. 13. " John xviii. 36, 37. 
 
 m Chap. v. 18; and x. 33. n Chap. viii. 41. ° Exod. xxii.|28. 
 
 p John x. 30. i Chap. x. 37. ' Chap. x. 23. s John xix. 7. 
 
 * Mat. xvi. 1G. John vi. 09. Acts viii. 37. n John ix. 35 — 39. 
 
 * Isa. xl. 3. ? Ver. 9, 10. 
 
32 Christ's commission 
 
 God z ." — " Feed the church of God which he hath pur- 
 chased with his own blood a ." — " God was manifest in the 
 flesh b ." — " Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever c ." 
 And that he is God in the strictest sense, is evident from 
 his being called the Mighty God d , — the great God e , — over 
 all God blessed for ever/ The incommunicable name 
 Jehovah is given unto him. " Prepare ye the way of 
 Jehovah g ." — " Jehovah of hosts h ." — " Jehovah our Righ- 
 teousness." 1 By what names or titles shall we know the 
 true God, if these distinguish him not ? 2. Every essen- 
 tial and incommunicable divine perfection is ascribed to 
 to him; such as eternity k , — immutability 1 , — omnipre- 
 sence 111 , — omnipotence", — omniscience , — knowing the 
 thoughts 1 ", — and searching the reigns and heart. q 3. Every 
 divine work is attributed to him ; such as, creation 1 , — up- 
 holding all things s , — raising the dead 1 , — judging the 
 world." Now creation is the exclusive and immediate 
 work of God, x and by this the eternal power and Godhead 
 of the First Cause are clearly seen. y It is God who 
 quickeneth the dead ; z it is God himself that is judge. a 
 4. Religious honour and divine ivorship belong unto him : 
 this he claims even as the Father. b Christians are deno- 
 minated callers upon his name ; c and they actually did so. d 
 Stephen and the thief on the cross commended their de- 
 parting spirits unto him. e The highest order of created 
 
 1 John i. 1. a Acts xx. 28. b 1 Tim. iii. 16. c Heb. i. 8. 
 
 d Isa. ix. 6. e Tit. ii 13. { Rom. ix. 5. s Isa. xl. 3, with Luke iii. 4. 
 
 h Isa. vi. 3, 5, with John xii. 41. ' Jer. xxiii. G. 
 
 k Isaiah, xliv. G, with Rev. i. 8, and xxii. 13 ; Micah. v. 2 ; 
 
 Col. i. 17 ; 1 Tim. i. 17. 
 
 1 Heb. i. 12, and xiii. 8. " Mat. xviii. 20, and xxviii. 20. 
 
 n Rev. i. 8. ° John xxi 17. 
 
 p Mat. ix. 34; Mark ii. 6, 8. John ii. 24, 25. i Rev. ii. 24. 
 
 ' John i. 1—4 ; Eph. iii. 9 ; Col. i. 1G ; Heb. i. 2, 10 ; Rev. iv. 11. 
 
 * Heb. i. 3. * John v. 21, 28. u 2 Tim. iv. 1. 
 
 1 Isa. xliv. 24. 
 
 J Rom. i. 19—21. ■ Rom. iv. 17. a Psal. 1. 6. b Jobn v. 2.:'. 
 
 c Acts ix. 14, 21 ; 1 Cor. i. 2. 
 
 d Mat. viii. 23, xiv. 33, and xv. 25, 28 ; Luke xvii. 5 ; John ix. 38 ; 
 
 Rom. i. 7 ; 1 Cor. i. 3 ; 2 Thess. ii. 16. 17. 
 
 e Luke xxiii. 42; Acts vii. 59. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 33 
 
 beings are commanded to worship him ; f accordingly he 
 is worshipped in heaven in conjunction with the Father. 3 
 Yet divine worship and honour belong only to God. h 
 Whatever else, therefore, is imported in the name Son of 
 God, it implies in the first place that he is really a divine 
 person. 
 
 It also imports that he is truly man as well as God. 
 The scripture clearly holds forth the eternal pre-existence 
 and Godhead of his person, as has been shown ; but it 
 does not seem to give us a view of his sonship altogether 
 abstract from his humanity. He is expressly called the 
 Son of God on account of his incarnation. The angel, 
 foretelling the birth of him who was to be called the Son of 
 the Highest, thus explains to the Virgin his divine genera- 
 tion : " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the 
 power of the Highest shall overshadow thee (dio kai) and 
 therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee 
 shall be called the Son op God." 1 Here is a plain 
 reason given for his being called the Son of God. That 
 holy thing conceived and brought forth by the Virgin was 
 not a human person, but Emmanuel, *. e, God with us. k 
 The child born and son given was the Mighty God 1 , — the 
 Saviour Christ the Lord, m — the Word made flesh 11 , — God 
 manifested in the flesh. If such was the person born, 
 then this passage gives the reason, not why his human na- 
 ture alone, but why his whole person, now constituted of 
 both natures, is denominated the Son of God. We per- 
 ceive not the chief glory of this great mystery of godli- 
 ness, if we view it only as a miraculous conception of his 
 human nature. The Holy Ghost came upon the Virgin, 
 and so she was with child of the Holy Ghost p ; — that 
 which was (gennethen) begotten in her was of the Holy 
 Ghost q . — The power of the Highest overshadowed her. 
 
 f Psal. xcvii. 7, with Heb. i. 6. ; Isa. xlv. 22—25, with Rom. xiv. 10, 11. 
 
 Philip, ii. 9—11. 
 
 s Rev. v. 8, &c. h Mat. iv. 10. i Luke i. 31, 32, 35. 
 
 k Mat. i. 23, with Isa vii. 14. « Isa. ix. G. m Luke ii. 11. 
 
 ■ John i. 14. • 1 Tim. hi. 16. p Mat. i. 18. -J Ver.20. 
 
34 Christ's commission 
 
 By the Highest is meant the Father : for a little above, it 
 is said, that Christ should be called the Son of the High- 
 est ; r and, addressing the Father, he says, " A body hast 
 tiiou prepared me s ." — Lastly, the eternal Word (epilam 
 banetai) took upon him, or took hold of, the human nature 
 thus prepared for him of the seed of Abraham, in such a 
 manner as to make it his own.* Thus he took part of 
 the same flesh and blood with the children which God had 
 given him ; u and the result is, that his person thus consti- 
 tuted is the Son of God. x Though the eternal and un- 
 changeable Word did not hereby cease to be what he was 
 before, yet he was made Jlesh, and in this respect is the 
 only, begotten of the Father in a sense peculiar to himself ; y 
 for never was a person so begotten or constituted before, 
 nor ever will be, whereby two distinct natures so in- 
 finitely distant as the divine and human are united in one 
 individual self. From this reason of his sonship given 
 by the angel, it would appear that it lies neither in his 
 divine nor human nature separately considered, but in the 
 union of both in his one person. 
 
 He is also the son of God in respect of his being be- 
 gotten from the dead, and of the consequent glory and 
 dominion conferred upon him. As in the first creation he 
 was before all things, and the First-born or supreme 
 Lord,* of every creature, since by him were all things 
 created as their cause, and for him as their end ; z so in the 
 new creation he is the beginning,! the First-born or First- 
 
 * Christ is styled (prototokos pases htiseos) the First-born of every 
 creature, Col. i. 15. not because he was the first created of all the 
 creatures, but the reason given is, because by him were all things 
 created, ver. 16. therefore it must respect his dominion as Lord over 
 all, which was the right and prerogative of the first-born ; and so 
 to give one the dominion is to make him first-born, Psal. lxxxix. 27, 
 although he was not so by birth, Gen. xxvii. 37. 
 
 f The titles of Christ which are prefixed to the epistles to the 
 seven churches of Asia in the Revelations are all taken from chap i. 
 though the language is sometimes a little varied ; so that, " the Amen, 
 
 » Luke i. 32. s Heb. x. 5. l Chap. ii. 16. • Ver. 14. 
 x Luke i. 33. y John i. 14. * Col. i. 15—17. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 35 
 
 begotten from the dead : a and that not only as being 
 the First-begotten of all the children of God, considered 
 as the children of the resurrection, 1 ' and who are also 
 waiting for this adoption or sonship, to wit, the redemp- 
 tion of their bodies ; c but also in respect of his sovereignty 
 and dominion as Lord and Heir of all things/ being 
 God's First-born, to whom, by right of primogeniture, 
 belongs the excellency of dignity and the excellency of 
 power :' " For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and 
 revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and liv- 
 ing. " s It was when God raised him from the dead, and 
 conferred upon him the kingdom and priesthood, that he 
 said unto him, " Thou art my Son, this day have I be- 
 gotten thee." 1 ' It was then that the promise made to 
 David concerning him was fully accomplished : " I will 
 be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son. 1 This 
 last view of his sonship supposes the divine dignity of his 
 person, as before set forth, and is founded upon it ; for 
 who but the mighty God could sustain such a government 
 upon his shoulder," or manage the key of David, 1 the keys 
 of the invisible world and of death ? m Who but he was 
 worthy to receive all power in heaven and in earth as the 
 Father's heir, and to be the object of all that divine 
 homage, honour, and worship, both from men and angels, 
 which is connected with it ?" These are some of the 
 leading senses in which Jesus is declared to be the 
 Christ the Son of God ; but I pretend not to have given 
 the whole import of that gospel proposition. 
 
 the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God" 
 hap. iii. 14. answers to "the faithful Witness, the First-begotten of 
 flu- dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth,"' chap. i. ■'>. 
 
 " Col. i. 18; Rev. i. 5, and iii. 14. 
 ■ Luke x\. 36 ; Usts xx\i. 28; L Cor. sv. 20. 23. 
 
 ' Hom. viii. 23. 
 
 •' Heb. i. 2. e Psah Ixxxix. 27 ; Heb. i. < : . < Gen. xlix. ;:. 
 
 g Rom. xiv. [f. h Tsal. ii. 7, with Acts xiii. 33 : Heb. i. 4, .'>, and ^ . .">. 
 
 i 2 Sam. \ii. 14 ; Psal. Ixxxix. 'JO, 27, with Heb. i. o. k Isa. ix. G. 
 
 1 Rev. iii. 7. m Chap. i. 18. 
 
 - John \. 22, L'.i: Philip, ii. 0—12: Heb. i. G; Rev. v. D— 14. 
 
36 Christ's commission 
 
 We shall now proceed to consider more particularly 
 what the gospel testifies concerning his work as the Sa- 
 viour of lost sinners. 
 
 During his personal ministry upon earth he preached 
 the glad tidings of salvation as the great Prophet of his 
 church ;° and for this he was commissioned of the Father 
 and inspired by the Holy Spirit/ according to the promise, 
 " I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak 
 unto them all that I shall command him." q This Jesus 
 applies to himself when he says, " I do nothing of myself; 
 but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things : 
 — The word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's 
 who sent me : — I have not spoken of myself, but the Father 
 who sent me ; he gave me a commandment what I should 
 say and what I should speak." r " The law," which both 
 condemned the sinner and typified the gospel, " was given 
 by Moses ; but grace," instead of condemnation, " and 
 truth" in place of shadows, " came by Jesus Christ. No 
 man," no, not even Moses, "hath," like him, " seen God 
 at any time : " the only begotten son who is in the 
 bosom," and so privy to the whole counsels and will " of 
 the Father, he," as the true prophet, hath " declared 
 him." s 
 
 To confirm his mission and doctrine, he, by the same 
 Spirit, 1 performed miracles, wonders, and signs ;u such as 
 instantaneously healing all manner of diseases, ejecting 
 demons, controuling the elements, raising the dead, &c. ; v 
 by all which he was approved of God the Father as the 
 Messiah his Son. To this proof he refers the Jews : 
 " I have greater witness than that of John ; for the works 
 which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works 
 that I do bear witness of me that the Father hath sent 
 me," — " The works that I do in my Father's name, they 
 
 o Heb. ii. 3. p Luke iv. 18. n Deut. xviii. 18. 
 
 John viii. 28, xii. 49, and xiv. 24. s John i. 17, 18, and xvii. G, 8, 26. 
 
 1 Mat. xii. 28. u Acts ii. S3. * Chap. x. 38, 3D. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 37 
 
 bear witness of me." — " Say ye of him whom the Father 
 hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphem- 
 est ; because I said, I am the Son of God ? If I do not the 
 works of my Father believe me not. But if I do, though 
 you believe not me, believe the works ; that ye may know 
 and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him/' y 
 
 He hath also exhibited in his life a pattern of the most 
 perfect holiness, patience, humility, and self-denied obedi- 
 ence, even unto death ; and he hath left his disciples this 
 example for their imitation, that they, having the same spirit 
 of faith, might follow his steps, 2 and walk as he walked. a 
 
 But the gospel chiefly insists upon what Christ hath 
 done as the substitute and representative of the guilty ; 
 such as, that " he died for our sins, according to the 
 scriptures ; — that he was buried, and that he rose again 
 the third day, according to the scriptures ; b that he as- 
 cended up far above all heavens,'* and " sat down on the 
 right hand of the Majesty on high," d where he continues 
 to make intercession for his people.® We shall briefly 
 touch at each of these particulars, and show their import. 
 
 1. The Death of Christ is such an important article 
 of the gospel which the apostles preached, that their whole 
 doctrine is denominated " preaching Christ crucified* — 
 the preaching of the cross of Christ." g Paul " determined 
 not to know anything," either as the foundation of his 
 own hope and glorying, or as the subject of his preaching 
 to others, " save Jesus Christ and him crucified/' 11 And 
 no wonder, if we only consider the import of this fact. 
 
 (1.) Christ's death is that obedience which stands op- 
 posed to the disobedience of the first man.' Adam is ex- 
 pressly called the type of him that was to come. k He 
 being the public representative of his posterity, even as 
 
 j John v. 30, and x. 25, 3G, 37, 38. 
 
 ■ 2 Cor. iv. 31. 1 Pet. ii. 21. Mat. xi. 29, and xvi. 24. John xiii. 15, 
 
 and xv. 12. 
 
 ■ 1 John ii. G. b 1 Cor. xv. 3. 4. e Eph. iv. 10. d Heh. i. 3. 
 • Rom. viii. 34. Hcb. vii. 25. f 1 Cor. i. 23. ? Chap. i. 18. 
 
 h 1 Cor. ii. 2. Gal. vi. 14. ; Rom. v. 19. k Ver. 14, 
 
 E 
 
38 Christ's commission 
 
 Christ the second Adam is of those whom the Father hath 
 given him; 1 and the obedience of Christ is contrasted 
 with the disobedience of Adam in these words : " For 
 as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners ; so 
 by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."' 11 
 By obedience here is principally meant his laying down 
 his life, for that is the subject upon which the comparison 
 of Adam with Christ is introduced." Christ's death was 
 a voluntary act of obedience to the commandment of his 
 Father ; so he says, " Therefore doth my Father love me, 
 because I lay down my life that I might take it again. 
 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. 
 I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it 
 
 !* in. This commandment have I received of my Father."" 
 The will of God which he came to do, and by which his 
 people are sanctified, was the offering up of his body 
 >-.'•' By this act of obedience he at once fulfilled the 
 law to the utmost, exercising the perfection of love to 
 God and man, and satisfying all its penal demands upon 
 his guilty people. q The spotless holinessof his heart and life 
 qualified him for this obedience, and the divine dignity of 
 his person gave it infinite worth and efficacy/ This is 
 that (>» dikaioma) one righteousness, which is not only an 
 adequate opposite to the (en paraptoma) one offence,* but 
 (polio mall on) much more abundant in its merits and effects ; 
 for it justifies not only from that one offence, but also from 
 our own many offences ; — redeems not merely from the 
 death which came by Adam, but also saves from the wrath 
 to come, or the second death, — and entitles to a life far 
 more excellent than that which was forfeited, — a heavenly 
 life from the dead, such as Jesus now enjoys. 1 
 
 (2.) The gospel exhibits Christ's death as a true and 
 proper sacrifice for sin. A sacrifice is a victim substituted 
 
 1 1 Or. xv. 4o. Hel>. ii. 13. m Rom. v. 19. 
 
 n See the connection of ver. 9 — 12. °,Tolm x. 17, l - 
 
 p Heb. x. 9, 10. iGal. iii.2y. 
 
 " 1 Pet. i. 19; ii. 22; and iii. 18. Heb. ix. 14. Acts xx. 28. 
 
 ■ Rom. v. IS. ' Chap. v. 15, 16, 17. 20, 21. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 
 
 in the place of the guilty, slain for their sins, and presente I 
 unto God as an atonement for them, with a view to satisfy 
 his justice and procure his favour. u Sacrifices have in 
 all ages, and by almost all nations of the world, been 
 looked upon as indispensably necessary to render the Deity 
 propitious. The heathens, though they had lost the 
 knowledge of the true God, still retained such a sense of 
 this, that some of them sacrificed their own children for 
 that purpose. Whether this universal notion, that the 
 Deity was to be appeased by sacrifice, took its rise froni 
 an original revelation, or was suggested by conscious guilt. 
 and a dread of the Divine displeasure, is not perhaps very 
 material to know. It probably originated from the former, 
 and was continued under the influence of the latter. What- 
 ever be in this, it served to make the doctrine of Christ's 
 sacrifice easier understood when it came to be preached 
 among the nations. Sacrifices were instituted by Divine 
 appointment immediately after the entrance of sin, to pre- 
 figure the sacrifice of Christ; accordingly we find Abel. 
 Noah, Abraham, &c. offering sacrifices in the faith of this. 
 Under the law, the Lord appointed divers kinds of sacri- 
 fices for the children of Israel : The paschal lamb ; x — the 
 holocaust, or whole burnt-offering ; y — the sin-offering, or 
 sacrifice of expiation ; z — and the peace-offering, or sacrifice 
 of thanksgiving ; a all which emblematically set forth the 
 sacrifice of Christ, being the instituted types and shadows 
 of it. b Accordingly Christ set them all aside when he of- 
 fered his sacrifice : " Above" when he said, " Sacrifice 
 and offering, and burnt-offerings, and offering for sin. 
 thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein (which 
 are offered by the law) : Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy 
 will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may estab- 
 lish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through 
 the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."*' 
 
 ■ Lev. i. 3, 4 ; and iv. 32—35. * Exod. xii. 3. i Lev. vii. 8. 
 
 1 Chap. iv. 3, 4, &c. a Chap. vii. 11, 12, &c. 
 
 B Heb. ix. 9—15; and x. 1. l Cor. v. 7. - Hob. x. 8, U. H<. 
 
4© CHRISTS COMMISSION 
 
 As in the comparison with Adam, so on this subject the 
 Apostle sets forth the excellency of Christ's sacrifice above 
 those of the law. The legal sacrifices were only brute 
 animals ; such as bullocks, heifers, goats, lambs, &c. ; d but 
 the sacrifice of Christ was himself, 6 a person of infinite 
 dignity and worth. The former though they sanctified to 
 the purifying of the flesh from ceremonial uncleanness, 
 yet it was not possible for them to expiate sin, or purge 
 the conscience of the worshipper from the guilt of it, and 
 so it is said that God was not well pleased in them ; f but 
 Christ hath effectually and for ever put away sin by the 
 sacrifice of himself, having made an adequate atonement 
 unto God for it, s and thereby also purges the conscience 
 from dead works to serve the living God. h The first were 
 offered year by year continually, which showed their insuf- 
 ficiency, and that God was still calling sins to remem- 
 brance : l but the last needs not to be repeated, because it 
 hath fully and at once answered all the ends of sacrifice ; 
 upon which account God hath declared that he will re- 
 member the sins and iniquities of his people no more. 
 " Now, where remission of these is, there is no more of- 
 fering for sin." k 
 
 (3.) By the death of Christ the old covenant was set 
 aside, and the new covenant made,, dedicated, and con- 
 firmed. 
 
 The old or first covenant is that which God made with 
 the nation of Israel at Sinai by the mediation of Moses, 1 
 in pursuance of his promise to Abraham respecting his 
 fleshly seed. m This covenant was but a temporal- earthly 
 shadow of the new and better covenant which was to be 
 made after those days. 
 
 The new or second covenant is that which God made 
 by the mediation of Christ with the true Israel, the spiri- 
 
 d Heb. ix. 12, 13. e Heb. i. 3 ; ix. 14, 26 ; and x. 10. 
 
 { Chap. x. 4, 5, 8, 11. s Chap. ix. 20. Eph. v. 2. 
 
 h Heb. ix. 14, and x. 22. i Chap. x. 3. 
 
 k Heb. vii. 27, and x. 14 — 19. > See Exod. chap. xix. to xxiv_ 
 
 m Deut. xxix. 12, 13. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 41 
 
 tual seed of Abraham, consisting of Jews and Gentiles, 
 according to the promise he had made him of blessing all 
 nations in his Seed, which is Christ. 11 
 
 These two covenants* were allegorically represented in 
 Abraham's family ; the first by Hagar the bond-woman, 
 the last by Sarah the free- woman ; and the people of 
 these covenants were represented by their respective sons 
 Ishmael and Isaac. 
 
 The old covenant and the new could not be both in 
 force at the same time, because the former was the type 
 of the latter. They w r ere also incompatible with each 
 other in this respect, that the first included only the na- 
 tion of Israel, and shut out the Gentiles as aliens and fo- 
 reigners ; p whereas the last comprehends believers of all 
 nations, whether Jews or Gentiles. - It is evident, there- 
 
 n Heb. viii. and ix. 15, and xii. 24. Rom. iii. 29, 30, and ix. 6 — 9. 
 
 Gal. iii. 7—19. ° Gal. iv. 22, 31. 
 
 p Eph. ii. 12. i Chap. ii. 13—17. Col. ii. 14. 
 
 * Many view these two covenants as only different dispensations 
 of one and the same covenant, though the Apostle expressly calls 
 them tico, Gal. iv. 24. Had they been one covenant, then it behoved 
 the mediator, people, priest, sacrifice, sanctuary, and inheritance, to 
 be the same also, or at least of the same kind ; but in all these the 
 Scripture makes such a difference as is between flesh and spirit, earth 
 and heaven, shadow and substance, things temporal and things eter- 
 nal. This mistake leads them also to contrast the new covenant with 
 a covenant supposed to have been made with Adam; whereas the 
 Scripture always speaks of it with reference to, and in distinction 
 from, the old covenant made at Sinai, which was its type. The law 
 given to Adam is not held forth under the notion of a covenant, that 
 being applied in Scripture to God's entering into a friendly relation 
 with sinful men, which could not take place but by shedding the blood 
 of sacrifice : hence the original expression for making a covenant, 
 signifies to cut off a purifying victim, as explained Jer. xxxiv. 18, and 
 exemplified, Gen. xv. 17, 18; Exod. xxxiv. 5, 11; but for this there 
 was no occasion while Adam stood naturally in friendship with his 
 Maker. Yet the law given to Israel in the Sinai covenant, repre- 
 sented and called to mind, in several respects, the original law given 
 to Adam ; and in this view it was the ministration of death and con- 
 demnation to sinners, and is opposed to the promise, Gal. iii. 18 — to 
 grace, Rom. xi. 6 — to faith, Gal. iii. 12 — to the righteousness of faith, 
 Rom. iv. 13, and x. 5, 6. It was given to that people with a view to 
 make them sensible of their sin and danger, and of their need of sal- 
 vation by the promised seed, and so was subservient to the promise. 
 See Rom. v. 20, and vii. 13; Gal. iii. 18—25. 
 
 E 2 
 
42 Christ's commission 
 
 fore, that the new covenant could not take place till the 
 first was made old and ready to vanish away/ The Lord 
 had promised of old to make this new covenant ; s but it 
 was not actually made till Christ by his one offering had 
 set aside the legal sacrifices, and perfected for ever them 
 that are sanctified ; for this is what the Apostle gives us 
 as the accomplishment of that promise ;* so that it was 
 made upon Christ's sacrifice. The first covenant was not 
 dedicated without blood : " For when Moses had spoken 
 every precept to all the people according to the law, he 
 took the blood of calves and of goats, with water and scarlet- 
 wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the 
 people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant which 
 God hath enjoined unto you/" u Jesus shows what answers to 
 this in the second, when he says, " This is the new cove- 
 nant in my blood ;" x or, " This is my blood of the new cove- 
 nant, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins ?** 
 plainly intimating, that the new covenant was made in or 
 by his blood ; and hence his blood is called " the blood of 
 sprinkling,"* " the blood of. the everlasting covenant/'* It 
 is through Christ's blood that all the promises of the new 
 covenant take effect. By it he redeemed or purchased the 
 people of this covenant out of every kindred, and tongue, 
 and people, and nation, b and sanctified or consecrated them 
 unto God, as a royal priesthood, an holy nation, and pecu- 
 liar people. Thus the covenant relation took place, as 
 expressed in the promise, " I will be their God, and they 
 shall be my people." — By this he also made a complete 
 and everlasting atonement for their sins, d and upon this 
 ground the promise is fulfilled, " I will forgive their ini- 
 quity, and I will remember their sins no more." e — It is 
 only in the atonement that the true character of God is 
 
 r Heb. viii. 13. 8 Jer. xxxi. 31— 35.. tReb. x. 5— 19. 
 
 « Heb. ix. 18 — 20. x Luke xxii. 20. > Mat. xxvi. 38. 
 
 -Heb. xii. 24. • Chap. xiii. 20. b 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. Rev. v. 9, 10. 
 
 e Heb. xiii. 12. 1 Pet. ii. 9. 
 
 * Mat. xxvi. 28. Heb. ii. 17. 1 John ii. 2. 
 
 <Heb. x. 14, 17. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 43 
 
 manifested as the just God and the Saviour : f and hereby 
 all the people of this covenant " know the Lord from the 
 least of them unto the greatest of them." — It is through 
 the application of this blood by the Spirit, that the con- 
 science is purged from dead works to serve the living 
 God ; s and the faith of it working by love, h is the accom- 
 plishment of that promise, " I will put my law in their in- 
 ward parts, and write it in their hearts." Thus they are 
 "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, 
 through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience, and 
 sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." 1 It was the 
 blood of Christ which confirmed the covenant, and ratified 
 all the exceeding great and precious promises upon 
 which it is established. It is the ratification of promises 
 that gives them a covenant form : in this respect the new 
 covenant is compared to a testament,* which is of force by 
 the death of the testator, but of no strength at all whilst 
 he liveth. k When God made promise to Abraham he con- 
 firmed it by an oath ; not as if his word had been insuffi- 
 cient, but that he might more abundantly show unto the 
 heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, and give 
 them strong consolation. 1 This was the highest confir- 
 mation that words could give, for he could swear by none 
 greater than himself. But the new covenant is confirmed 
 in a still more striking and wonderful manner, even by the 
 precious blood of his own Son ; which, as it is the merito- 
 
 f Rom. iii. 25, 26. Isa. xlv. 21. sHeb.ix.14. 
 
 h Gal. v. 6, and vi. 15. ! 1 Pet. i. 2. k Hob. far. 1G, 17. 
 
 •Chap. vi. 13— 19. 
 
 * Diatheke signifies either a covenant or testament ; but when that 
 word is expressive of the old or new economy, it ought always, in my 
 opinion, to be rendered covenant. Even in Heb. ix. 1G, 17, it may be 
 so translated, if, instead of testator, diathemenos be understood to sig- 
 nify the appointed sacrifice by which covenants were ratified, and 
 epi nekrois be rendered, not after men are dead, but literally, upon 
 the dead, viz. sacrifice or animals ; for the Apostle is evidently spaak- 
 ing of Christ under the character of mediator and high priest, and of 
 the blood of his sacrifice ; which do not properly belong to the idea 
 of a testament or latter-will, but to that of a covenant betwixt God 
 and sinful men. 
 
V 
 
 44 Christ's commission 
 
 rious ground of the promises, and the highest demonstra- 
 tion of the Divine love and good-will to men, is suited to 
 remove every ground of suspicion from the human heart, 
 and to give the strongest assurance of all stipulated 
 blessings ; such as the remission of sins, the adoption of 
 children, and the eternal inheritance : m for if " God spared 
 not his own Son" (a person of infinite dignity and worth, 
 and the object of his supreme love), " but delivered him 
 up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us 
 all things ?" n and especially when we consider that he was 
 delivered up for this very end. Thus we see how the new 
 covenant was made and ratified in Christ's blood, or upon 
 his sacrifice, 
 
 2. Another fact recorded in the gospel is the burial of 
 Christ. It was predicted that he should make his grave 
 with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, p and also 
 typified by Jonah in the whale's belly. q It is an article 
 of the gospel which the apostles preached unto the na- 
 tions. Paul preaching at Antioch, says, " When they had 
 fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down 
 from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre ;" r and he men- 
 tions it among other particulars which he delivered to the 
 Corinthians first of all. 5 The burial of Christ was, 
 
 (1.) A strong evidence of the reality of his death. His 
 enemies indeed had made sure work of him by piercing 
 his side with a spear, after they saw that he was dead al- 
 ready ;* but his being wrapped up in linen clothes, with 
 his mouth and nostrils filled with spices, as the manner 
 of the Jews was to bury, 11 and in this situation lying three 
 incomplete days in a cold sepulchre, is a farther demon- 
 stration to all the world that he was really dead, and that 
 there was no latent principle of life remaining in him. 
 
 (2.) It affords a strong proof of his resurrection ; for the 
 
 ■ Rom. viii. 33, 34. Gal. iv. 4, 5. Heb. ix. 15. » Rom. viii. 32. 
 
 • Mat. xxvii. 57 — 61. Mark xv. 43 — 47. Luke xxiii. 50 — 54. John 
 
 xix. 38 — 42. p Isa. liii. 9. * Mat. xii. 40. 
 
 r Acts xiii. 29. 6 1 Cor. xv. 4. * John xix. 33. 34. 
 
 u John xix. 40. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 45 
 
 precautions taken by his enemies to secure the sepulchre, 
 by sealing the stone and setting a watch, cut off every 
 possibility of deceit in that matter.* 
 
 (3.) It was the last and lowest step of his humiliation. 
 The last part of the curse denounced against Adam was, 
 that he should return unto the ground from whence he 
 was taken ; y and so the grave is the house appointed for 
 all living. 2 To redeem from this curse, the prince of life 
 submitted to be brought into the dust of death, a and to 
 be retained for a while in the gloomy mansions of the 
 dead. " Death and the grave (as one beautifully observes) 
 might be proud of such a tenant as this.'' But he stoops 
 thus low that his victory over both might be the more 
 conspicuous and complete ; for hereby he became the 
 plagues of death, despoiling it of its sting and power, 
 and the destruction of the grave, by bursting asun- 
 der its gates, and opening a passage through it to ever- 
 lasting life. b 
 
 3. The resurrection of Christ from the dead is an- 
 other article of the gospel. This fact holds such #n im- 
 portant place in the gospel system, that the truth of the 
 whole stands or falls with it. d The chief end of the apos- 
 tolic office was to bear witness to it ; e salvation is con- 
 nected with the belief of it, f and by it believers are begot- 
 ten again to the lively hope of the heavenly inheritance. " 
 
 (1.) By his resurrection he was determined to be the Son 
 of God with power, 11 according to what was foretold of 
 him in ancient prophecy. 1 Jesus himself refers his ene- 
 mies to his resurrection as the decisive proof of his cha- 
 racter and mission ; k and so gave them the fairest oppor- 
 tunity to satisfy themselves as to the truth of that fact, 
 
 1 Mat. xxvii. 62 — 66. J Gen. iii. 19. • Job xxx. 23. 
 
 •Psal. xxii. 15. b Hos. xiii. 14. 1 Cor. xv. 54, 55. 
 
 c Acts ii. 24, 32 ; x. 40, 41 ; and xiii. 30, 31. 
 
 d 1 Cor. xv. 14—19. ■ Acts i. 22 ; iv. 33 ; and x. 40, 41. 
 
 f Rom, x. 9. g 1 Pet. i. 3, 4. h Roin. i. 4. 
 
 'Psal. xvi. 10, with Acts ii. 24—29. Psal. ii. 7, with Acts xiii. 33, 
 
 k Mat. xii. 38—40. John ii. 18—22. 
 
46 Christ's commission 
 
 and to guard against every imposition. 1 Had his body 
 remained in the grave, all his pretensions would have been 
 refuted ; but his resurrection from the dead on the ap- 
 pointed day, justified all his claims, and demonstrated 
 that he was the true Messiah, the Son of God, the Saviour 
 and Judge of the world,™ who had thus received power 
 from his Father, not only to lay down his life, but to take 
 it again." 
 
 (2.) His resurrection proves the perfection of the atone- 
 ment which he made by his death for the sins of his people, 
 and that God is fully and for ever well pleased in it. Had 
 he continued under the power of that death wmich he suf- 
 fered for our sins we could have no evidence that he had 
 made full satisfaction : On the contrary, his remaining in 
 the prison of the grave would have shown him unable to 
 pay our debt and obtain remission. " If Christ be not 
 raised (says the Apostle), your faith is vain ; ye are yet in 
 your sins."° But in his resurrection we see him obtaining 
 a full discharge in the name of all for whom he died, and 
 justice acquitting him from all further demands ; for the 
 God of peace, in bringing him again from the dead by the 
 blood of the everlasting covenant which was shed for the 
 remission of sins, p raised him again for our justification,* 1 
 and removed the curse. Thus he was justified by the 
 Spirit 1 " quickening him from death, the wages of our sins : s 
 so that none can lay anything to the charge of God's 
 elect, seeing " it is Christ that died, yea rather, that is 
 risen again."' 
 
 (3.) It is the evidence, earnest, and example of the re- 
 surrection of the saints at the last day. The connection 
 which believers have with Christ in his resurrection is 
 compared to that which they have with Adam in the death 
 which came by his sin. " For since by man came 
 death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 
 
 'Mat. xxvii. 62—66. m Acts xvii. 31. "John x. 18. 
 
 1 Cor. xv. 17. pHeb. xiii. 20. *) Rom. iv. 25. 
 
 r 1 Tim. iii. 16. * 1 Pet. iii. 18. l liom. viii. 33, 34 f 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 47 
 
 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made 
 alive." u Christ in his resurrection is compared to the 
 first-fruits under the law, which being offered to the Lord, 
 consecrated the whole harvest, and was a sample as well 
 as certain pledge and earnest of it : x " But now is Christ 
 risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them 
 that slept — Christ the first-fruits, afterwards they that are 
 Christ's at his coming." 5 ' He is also in this respect called 
 the First-born, the First -begotten from the dead ; z which 
 imports his connection with many brethren who shall in 
 their order succeed him in that birth, and be the children 
 of God by being the children of the resurrection.* This 
 is that adoption or sonship which the Spirit leads them to 
 wait for. to wit, the redemption of their bodies. 5 Christ 
 was raised from the dead as the vital head of his body the 
 church, and the Spirit which quickened him is communi- 
 cated to all his members ; c so that those who partake of 
 the Spirit of the risen Jesus, and are thereby quickened 
 from death in trespasses and sins, to a new life of confor- 
 mity to him in this world,* 1 have the very quickening prin- 
 ciple already dwelling in them which raised Christ, and 
 which shall also raise up their mortal bodies at last : for, 
 says the Apostle, " If the Spirit of him that raised up 
 Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ 
 from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his 
 Spirit that dwelleth in you." 6 In short, such is the con- 
 nection between the resurrection of Christ and that of his 
 people, that to deny the latter amounts to a denial of the 
 former : " Now if Christ be preached that he rose from 
 the dead, how say some among you that there is no resur- 
 rection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of 
 the dead, then is Christ not risen."'" Thus we see that 
 they stand or fall together, so that we cannot be more 
 
 u l Cor. xv. 21, 22, "Lev. six. 24. Deut. xxvi. 2. 
 
 1 1 Cot. xx. 20, 23. 'CoLi, 18. Rev. i. 5. a Lnke .\x. ;;«-. a 
 
 b Rotu. viii. -■>. 'Chap. viii. 9. 
 
 d Chap. v1. 4. Col. ii. 12, 18, and iii. 1. • Rom. \iii. ] I . 
 
 f .1 C> r. xv. 12, 13. 
 
4$ Christ's commission 
 
 certain of Christ's resurrection from the dead than we are 
 of the resurrection of those that sleep in him. g With re- 
 gard to the nature of the resurrection body, we are as- 
 sured that Christ's risen and glorified body is the original 
 and pattern of it. As in this life the saints bear the 
 image of Adam in their earthly mortal bodies, they shall 
 then bear the image of Christ in having their vile bodies 
 changed and fashioned like unto his glorious body. h The 
 body, as derived from Adam, is sown, not only into the 
 grave, but also into this world, (psuchikon) an animal, 
 corruptible, dishonourable, and weak body ; but in the re- 
 surrection it shall be raised, like Christ's, a spiritual, in- 
 corruptible, glorious, and powerful body 1 . — Thus they 
 shall not only see him as he is, but be like him. k 
 
 4. Another article of the gospel-testimony is Christ's 
 ascension into heaven and glorification at the Father's 
 right-hand. 1 Of this fact the apostles were witnesses. 111 
 They could not indeed with their bodily eyes see him enter 
 into the highest heavens (though some of them had after- 
 wards visions of him in his glorified state n ;) but this was 
 fully proved by his pouring down the Spirit according to 
 his promise, which could not take place till he was glori- 
 fied. p This was such an evidence as fell under the 
 examination of men's senses ; for (says the Apostle) " he 
 hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear. Vq 
 
 (1.) His ascension into heaven imports his victory over 
 all his and our enemies. Having in his own person over- 
 come the world/ expiated sin, s spoiled principalities and 
 powers, 1 and abolished death, u he ascended on high amidst 
 thousands of attending angels, making an open show of 
 his enemies, and leading captivity captive, x like a mighty 
 conqueror returning from battle, and gracing his triumph 
 
 ? 1 Thess. iv. 13, 14. '■ 1 Cor. xv. 45— 50 ; Phil. iii. 21. 
 
 i 1 Cor. xv. 42—40. k 1 John iii. 2. > Mark xvi. 19. 
 
 " Acts i. 10. n Acts vii. 56 ; 1 Cor xv. 8 ; Rev. i. 13—16. 
 
 • John xvi. 7. p John vii. 39. ' Acts ii. 33. r John xvi. 33. 
 
 ■ Heb ix. 26. * Col. ii. 15. n 2 Tim. i. 10. 
 
 Psal. Ixviii. 17, 18 ; Eph. iv. 8. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 49 
 
 with spoils of war and captives in chains. Well might 
 the gates of the celestial temple be addressed on this tri- 
 umphant occasion : " Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and 
 be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory 
 shall come in. Who is this King of glory ? The Lord 
 strong and mighty, the Lord Mighty in battle. " y 
 
 (2.) He ascended that he might bestow the Spirit upon 
 his church. While he was on earth the Holy Spirit was 
 not yet given in that manner and degree that was suited 
 to his New Testament kingdom, " because he was not yet 
 glorified :" z And so he tells his apostles, " It is expedient 
 for you that I go away ; for if I go not away, the Com- 
 forter will not come unto you ; but if I depart, I will send 
 him unto you." a This promise began to be accomplished 
 when, " being by the right hand of God exalted, and 
 having received of the Father the promise of the Spirit," 
 he shed him forth upon his disciples. b Thus " he as- 
 cended on high, and gave gifts unto men," like a victori- 
 ous prince, who, upon his triumphant entry into his capital, 
 scatters liberal donations among the people. As head of 
 influence to his body, he gave to some the extraordinary 
 gifts of apostles, prophets, and evangelists ; to others, the 
 ordinary gifts of pastors and teachers ; and all for the pur- 
 pose of (katartismon) bringing into joint the saints, for the 
 work of the ministry, for the edifying of his body the 
 church. d This spirit, which acts as the Spirit of the truth, 
 and the animating soul of the whole body, he communi- 
 cates also to every individual member ; for, " if any man 
 have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his." 6 Hereby 
 they are enlightened/ regenerated/ sanctified, 11 and com- 
 forted ; s have the knowledge of their adoption/ the earnest 
 of the inheritance, 1 and are sealed unto the day of redemp- 
 tion." 1 
 
 y Psal. xxiv. 7, 8. • John vii. 38, 30. ■ Chap. xvi. 7. b Acts ii. 33. 
 
 c Eph. iv. 8. * Chap. iv. 11, 12. » Rom. viii. 9. 
 
 f Eph. i. 17, 18. 
 
 g John iii. 5. h *2 Thess. ii. 13; 1 Pet. i. 2. -Rom. v. 5. 
 
 k Chap viii. 15. 16; Gal. iv. 6. » Eph i. 14. « Chap. iv. 20. 
 
 F 
 
50 Christ's commission 
 
 (3.) He ascended to take possession of his throne and 
 kingdom. This kingdom was promised under the Old 
 Testament," typified by the Jewish theocracy, and pro- 
 claimed at hand in the days of his flesh ; p but he did not 
 actually take possession of it till he ascended far above all 
 heavens, and sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on 
 high. It was then that God, his God, anointed him with the 
 oil of gladness above his fellows ; q crowned him with glory 
 and honour ;* set him as king upon his holy hill of Zion, s 
 saying unto him, " Sit thou at my right hand until I make 
 thine enemies thy footstool ;"* and commanded all the an- 
 gelic hosts to worship him. u It was in consequence, and 
 as the reward of his voluntary humiliation and obedience 
 unto death, that God thus highly exalted him, and vested 
 him with supreme dominion over all things in heaven, and 
 earth, and under the earth,* and also bestowed upon him 
 the highest joy and blessedness. Hence we find his 
 royal enthronement and happiness connected : " Thou pre- 
 ventest him with the blessing of goodness ; thou settest a 
 crown of pure gold upon his head. He asked life of thee, 
 and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and 
 ever. His glory is great in thy salvation : honour and 
 majesty hast thou set upon him. For thou hast made him 
 most blessed for ever : thou hast made him exceeding glad 
 with thy countenance."-^ This is that joy which was set 
 before him, and for which he endured the cross, despising 
 the shame. A 
 
 (4.) He ascended to officiate as high priest in the 
 heavenly sanctuary. We are expressly told, that " if he 
 were on earth, he should not be a priest," i. e. he could 
 not on earth complete the service ans*werable to his ap- 
 pointment as high priest ; and the reason is given, seeing 
 that there are priests that offer gifts " according to the 
 
 » Psal. cxxxii. 11 ; Isa. ix. G, 7 ; Dan. vii. 14. ° Luke i. 32, 33. 
 
 p Mat. iii. 2 ; Luke x. 9. * Heb. i. 8 9. r Heb. ii. 9. 
 
 ' Psal. ii. 6. * Psal. ex. 1 ; Acts ii. 34, 35. 
 
 • Psal. xcvii. 7 : Heb. i. 6. ' Phil. ii. 9—12. J Psal. xxi. 3—6. 
 
 1 Heb. xii. 2. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 51 
 
 law, who serve unto the example and shadow* of heavenly 
 things. " a The law appointed no earthly priesthood but 
 one, which was restricted entirely to the tribe of Levi and 
 order of Aaron ; b but Christ having sprung of the tribe of 
 Judah, had no appointment to the service of the earthly 
 sanctuary, and so could not be an high priest on earth. 
 He indeed suffered on earth as a sacrifice for sin ; but the 
 mere slaying of the sacrifice did not complete the atone- 
 ment even under the law. In order to this it was neces- 
 sary that its blood should be brought within the vail into 
 the holiest of all, and there sprinkled upon the mercy seat, 
 after having offered the incense ; d and this was a service 
 peculiar to the high priest. Jesus could not thus officiate 
 on earth, there being no holy place appointed for him 
 there in which he might offer his gift and sacrifice. He 
 was constituted a high priest by the word of the oath 
 which was since the law, 6 when the Lord sware unto him, 
 " Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchise- 
 dec :" f but this oath does not make him a priest on earth, 
 but in heaven ; for it connects with these words, " Sit 
 thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy 
 footstool ;" g which did not take place till having risen 
 from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and sat down at 
 the right hand of God. h And so the Apostle sums up his 
 explication of that oath thus : " We have such an high 
 priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the 
 Majesty in the heavens ; a minister of the sanctuary, and of 
 the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man." 1 
 
 * " The (upodeigma) exemplar and shadow of the heavenlies," is 
 the tabernacle and all that pertained to it, where the high priest per- 
 formed the service, and which is afterwards called the upodeigmaia, 
 patterns or exemplars of things in the heavens, chap. be. 20, 23 ; the 
 holy places made with hands, the figures of the true, ver. 24. For it 
 was concerning the tabernacle and its utensils that the Lord said to 
 Moses, " See that thou make all things according to the pattern 
 showed thee in the mount," Exod. xxv. 40, with Acts vii. 44; Heb. 
 viii. 5. 
 
 • Heb. viii. 4, 5. b Exod. xl. 15. c Heb. vii. 14. d Lev. xvi. 
 
 * Heb. vii. 28. f Psal. ex. 4. e Psal ex. 1. h Acts ii. 34, 35. 
 
 ! Heb. viii. 1, 2. 
 
52 Christ's commission 
 
 His ascension into heaven, therefore, corresponds with the 
 entry of the high priest into the most holy place on the 
 great day of atonement ; and thus the Apostle expressly 
 declares : " But Christ being come, an high priest of good 
 things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle., 
 not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building : 
 neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own 
 blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having ob- 
 tained eternal redemption for us : — For Christ is not en- 
 tered into the holy places made with hands, which are the 
 figures of the true ; but into heaven itself, now to appear 
 in the presence of God for us."* In this exalted state, the 
 oath declares him a priest for ever) not subject to morta- 
 lity, as in the days of his flesh, nor dying out of his office 
 like the mortal sons of Aaron, but made a priest after the 
 power of an endless life ; and as he ever liveth to make 
 intercession, he is able to save them to the uttermost that 
 approach unto God by him. 1 
 
 (5.) Lastly, He ascended into heaven as the forerunner 
 of his brethren. 111 Agreeably to this he says to his dis- 
 ciples, " I go to prepare a place for you ; and if I go and 
 prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you 
 to myself, that where I am there ye may be also." n This 
 hope he gives to all his followers : " If any man serve me, 
 let him follow me ; and where I am, there shall also my 
 servant be."° For this he prays to his Father : " Father, 
 I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me 
 where I am ; that they may behold my glory which thou 
 hast given me." 1 ' As soon as they are absent from the 
 body they shall be present with the Lord ; q and when 
 their bodies shall be ransomed from the grave, they shall 
 in their complete persons be caught up in the clouds to 
 meet the Lord in the air, and so they shall be ever with 
 the Lord/ 
 
 * Heb. ix. 11, 12, ,24. ' Heb. vii. 21— 26. m Heb. vi. 20. 
 
 ■ John xiv. 2, 3. • Chap xii. 26. * Chap. xvii. 24. 
 
 'f 2 Cor. v. 8. *1 Thess. iv. 16, 17. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 53 
 
 5. Christ's second coming to raise the dead and 
 judge the world at the last day, is another most impor- 
 tant branch of the gospel revelation, and is ranked among 
 the foundation principles of it. s Indeed the whole media- 
 torial economy refers to this, and without it the justice of 
 the Divine administration could not fully appear, for there 
 is no proper retribution in this life. As there cannot be 
 a general judgment without a resurrection of the dead, so 
 the power of both is vested in Jesus. " As the Father 
 hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have 
 life in himself ;" and " as the Father raiseth up the dead, 
 and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom 
 he will."* With this stands connected his power to judge 
 the world : " For the Father judgeth no man," i. e. imme- 
 diately by himself ; " but hath committed all judgment to 
 the Son — and hath given him authority to execute judg- 
 ment also," i. e. to dispense rewards and punishments, 
 " because he is the Son of man.*" u Therefore he com- 
 manded his apostles " to preach unto the people, and to tes- 
 tify, that it is he who was ordained of God to be the judge 
 of quick and dead." x Accordingly they declared, that 
 God now " commandeth all men every where to repent, 
 because he hath appointed a day in the which he will 
 judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he 
 hath ordained : whereof he hath given assurance unto all 
 men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." y On 
 that appointed day, " the Son of man shall come in his 
 glory, and all the holy angels with him, and shall sit upon 
 the throne of his glory. Before him shall be gathered all 
 nations ;" z " for we must all appear before the judgment- 
 
 * Not merely because he is a man, for that is no proper reason ; 
 but because he is that very person spoken of in Dan. vii. 13, 14, 
 under the designation of the Son of man, who was to come with the 
 clouds of heaven, and to whom the dominion, glory, and kingdom is 
 given, that all people^ nations, and languages, should serve him. See 
 Matt. xxvi. 64 ; Rev. i. 7. 
 
 • Heb. vi. 2. • John v. 21, 26. » Ver. 22, 27. * Acts x. 42. 
 
 J Acts xvii. 30, 31. ' Mat. xxv. 32. 
 
 F 2 
 
54 Christ's commission 
 
 seat of Christ." 14 The quick who are alive and remain at 
 his coming, b and the dead small and great of all genera- 
 tions, even all that are in their graves, shall hear his 
 voice, andshall come forth. d Then will he judge the world in 
 righteousness, 6 i. e, by the most just and equitable rule of 
 procedure ; not reaping where he hath not sowed, nor 
 gathering where he hath not strawed/ but according to 
 the advantages and talents bestowed upon every one re- 
 spectively, so will he demand an account in the judgment. 8 
 The heathens will be judged by the natural law written in 
 their conscience, whereby they knew the judgment of 
 God ; h the Jews by the law of Moses ;* and those who en- 
 joy the light of the gospel will be judged according to 
 their superior privileges ; " for to whom much is given, of 
 him shall be much required. " k During the accepted time 
 and day of salvation, enemies are reconciled, and ungodly 
 sinners pardoned and received into favour, through faith 
 in Christ's blood, without works ; l but then he will judge 
 every man according to his works. m To display distribu- 
 tive justice in rewards and punishments, it seems neces- 
 sary that a foundation for both should appear in the cha- 
 racters of those who are judged. And though none can 
 be acquitted in the judgment by that law which requires 
 perfect personal obedience as the condition of life," and 
 denounceth a curse upon every failure ;° yet Christ, having 
 redeemed his people from the law in this respect, p and 
 given it to them as a law of love and liberty suited to the 
 new constitution of grace established in his blood, he will 
 judge them by this law according to their work of faith 
 and labour of love to his name, q and approve of them as 
 
 » 2 Cor. v. 10. b 1 Thess. iv. 17. c Rev. xx. 12. 
 
 d John v. 28, 29. e Acts xvii. 31. f Mat. xxv. 24, 26. 
 
 g Ver. 14—31. h Rom. i. 32, and ii. 12, 15. 
 
 i Chap. ii. 12 ; John v. 45. k Luke xii. 48. 
 
 'Rom. iii. 28, and v. 10. 
 
 rc Mat. xvi. 27 ; Rom. ii. 6 ; 2 Cor. v. 10 ; 1 Pet. i. 17 ; 
 
 Rev. ii. 23, and xx. 12. 
 
 E Rom. iii. 20, and x. 5. ° Gal. iii. 10. p Rom. vii. 4 ; Gal. iii. 13. 
 
 ■J James i. 25; Mat. xxv. 35 — 41 : Heb. vi. 10. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. DO 
 
 good and faithful servants who have well done/ Lastly, 
 He will pass the final and irrevocable sentence upon men 
 according to their works ; and then shall the wicked go 
 away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into 
 life eternal. 3 
 
 This doctrine contains the strongest motives not only 
 to induce all men every where to repent, 1 but also to sti- 
 mulate believers to " labour, that, whether present or ab- 
 sent they may be accepted of him ;" u and " seeing they 
 look for such things, to be diligent, that they may be 
 found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless ;" x that 
 they may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him 
 at his coming/' 7 
 
 The judgment of the world is the finishing work of 
 Christ's mediatorial reign ; for " then cometh the end, 
 when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, 
 even the Father ; when he shall have put down all rule, 
 and all authority, and power. For he must reign, till he 
 hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that 
 shall be destroyed is death. — And when all things shall be 
 subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be sub- 
 ject unto him that put all things under him, that God may 
 be all in all." z 
 
 Thus we have considered the gospel testimony with its 
 import ; which is all summed up in this, That Jesus is the 
 Christ the Son of God ; and that he was delivered for the 
 offences, and raised again for the justification of sinners. a 
 
 II. The gospel also contains a promise, That whosoever 
 believeth this testimony shall be saved. 
 
 This promise is an essential branch of the gospel, and 
 so we find it included in the commission to preach it : 
 " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." b I 
 
 r Mat. xxv. 21, 23. s Chap. xxv. 34, 41, 46 ; Rev. xx. 12—15. 
 1 Acts xvii. 30. u 2 Cor. v. 9. * 2 Pet. iii. 14. 
 i 1 John ii. 28. * 1 Cor. xv. 24—29. 
 
 » John xx. 31 ; Rom. iv. 25 ; 1 Cor. xv. 1—5. b Mark xvi. 1G. 
 
56 Christ's commission 
 
 shall just add a few other passages to the same purpose. 
 " He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting' life." 6 
 " This is the will of him that sent me, that every one that 
 seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting 
 life ; and I will raise him up at the last day. Verily, 
 verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath ever- 
 lasting life." d " To him gave all the prophets witness, that 
 through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive 
 the remission of sins." 6 " Be it known unto you, there- 
 fore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached 
 unto you the forgiveness of sins ; and by him all that be- 
 lieve are justified from all things, from which ye could not 
 be justified by the law of Moses." f " Believe on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." 8 
 " But what saith it ?" (viz. the gospel declaration of the 
 righteousness which is of faith), " The word is nigh thee, 
 even in thy mouth and in thy heart ; that is, the word of 
 faith which we preach ; that if thou shalt confess with thy 
 mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God 
 raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved : For with 
 che heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the 
 mouth confession is made unto salvation ; for the scrip- 
 ture saith, " Whosoever believeth on him shall not be 
 ashamed." h 
 
 These and such like passages clearly show, that the 
 same faithful God who testifieth that Jesus is the Christ 
 his beloved Son, promiseth with equal certainty, that who- 
 soever believeth this shall be saved ; for " this is the pro- 
 mise that he hath promised us (viz. who believe), even 
 eternal life." 1 If men believe not this promise, they can 
 have no true faith in Jesus as the Christ the Son of God. 
 The revelation of his Godhead is to show him mighty to 
 save. He is called Jesus, because he saves his people from 
 their sins k ; — the Christ, because he is anointed to and in- 
 
 • John iii. 36. & Chap. vi. 40, 47. e Acts x. 43. 
 
 { Chap. xiii. 38, 39. k Acts xvi. 31. h Rom. x. 8—12. 
 
 * 1 John ii. 25. k Mat. i. 21. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 57 
 
 vested with all saving offices. To believe that he is the 
 Christ, is to believe not only that he is able to save, (which 
 is a truth though he should never save any ;) but also, that 
 whosoever believeth on him shall certainly be saved by him. 
 Salvation is the end of his incarnation, death, and resur- 
 rection from the dead. 1 The design of declaring him the 
 Christ the Son of God is, that men might believe it ; and 
 why believe it ? " that believing they might have life 
 through his name." m Without this, their believing could 
 answer no end. " We have believed in Jesus (says the 
 Apostle), that we may be justified by the faith of him." n 
 Our Lord declares the gospel thus : " God so loved the 
 world, that he gave his only begotten Son," — for what 
 end ? — " that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, 
 but have everlasting life." Without this, where would 
 be the love ? or how could the gift of his Son be such 
 an amazing expression of it ? In short, salvation is both 
 the import and end of all that the gospel testifies concern- 
 ing the person, mission, and work of Christ ; and there- 
 fore there is no believing the gospel testimony without ad- 
 mitting the promise, that whosoever believeth it shall 
 be saved : for God hath declared the one as well as the 
 other ; nay, hath declared the latter as the end and import 
 of the former. 
 
 The salvation held forth in this promise is a deliverance 
 from the guilt, power, and consequences of sin ; and con- 
 sists in the free remission of sins and acceptance into fa- 
 vour, 11 the adoption of sons, q the sanctification of the 
 Spirit, victory over death/ and eternal life with Jesus 
 Christ in the heavenly state. s 
 
 The gospel testimony and promise cannot be separated 
 without destroying both. Take away the testimony, and 
 you remove the foundation of the promise ; for if Jesus is 
 not the Christ the Son of God, who hath finished the work 
 
 1 Heb. ii. 14—18; Rom. iv. 25. ra John xx. 31. » Gal. ii. 16. 
 
 John iii. 16. p Eph. i. 6, 7. * Gal. iv. 5. 
 
 r 1 Pet 1. 2 ; 1 Cor. xv. 57. * 1 John ii. 25. 
 
58 Christ's commission 
 
 of redemption, there can be no salvation to the believer in 
 him. Take away the promise, and the testimony will be 
 no longer glad tidings ; for unless he that belie veth shall 
 be saved, it is of little consequence to the guilty whether 
 Jesus be the Christ or not. 
 
 OF FAITH. 
 
 Much has been said and written on the nature of that 
 faith to which the promise of salvation is made, and va- 
 rious have been the definitions given of it, many of which 
 have served no other end than to perplex the subject. 
 
 Every body knows that faith or belief, in the ordinary 
 sense of the word, is that credit which we give to the 
 truth of anything which is made known to us by report or 
 testimony, and is grounded either on the veracity of the 
 speaker, or on the evidence by which his words are con- 
 firmed. 
 
 But many are of opinion, that justifying faith must be 
 something more than this.* They do not think that mere 
 
 * Some profess to admit, that " faith is credence and nothing else," 
 yet at the same time affirm, that " there are some truths which can- 
 not be known or believed without a corresponding temper of heart." 
 By a corresponding temper of heart cannot be meant some good dis- 
 position previous to faith ; for as the question relates to faith itself, 
 that would be foreign to the point ; and it is certain that true faith 
 does not exist previous to the knowledge of the truth, for it cometh 
 by hearing the word of God, Rom. x. 17. Nor can it be meant that 
 this temper of heart is the immediate and inseparable effect of faith ; 
 for that is freely granted, and it is not the effect, but nature or essence 
 of faith that is the point in question. The meaning therefore must 
 be this, that faith in its very nature is a temper or disposition of heart 
 corresponding to the truth believed; which is to maintain that it is 
 something else than credence, and so to retract Avhat was before 
 granted. 
 
 That this is the sense is clear, for it is argued in support of it, 
 " that if faith was a mere exercise of the understanding, it would con- 
 tain no virtue, and if faith contained no virtue, unbelief could contain 
 no sin." By a mere exercise of the understanding must be meant a 
 believing exercise of it, otherwise it is not to the point. To affirm 
 that this " contains no virtue," when it has God or his word for its 
 object, is rather too bold, considering how highly the scripture speaks 
 of it, representing it as the root or principle of all Christian virtues, 
 Gal. v. 6 ; 1 Tim. i. 5 ; as that which gives glory to God, Rom. iv. 20; 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 59 
 
 belief, be its objeet what it may, contains in it any real 
 virtue or moral excellence, that may rationally account for 
 a sinner's being justified, and therefore include in its very 
 nature the exercise of love and other holy dispositions of 
 heart. Yet they would not be understood to mean that 
 
 and without -which it is impossible to please him, Heb. xi. 6. Surely 
 it is rigid to believe all that God says. 
 
 But though we should grant the unfounded assertion, that mere 
 belief contains no virtue, it would not follow that " unbelief could 
 contain no sin," for such an argument proceeds upon this principle : 
 That if there is no virtue in a thing, there can be no sin in its oppo- 
 site ; but this does not hold true in innumerable instances. There is 
 no positive virtue in abstaining from many crimes that might be men- 
 tioned ; yet the commission of them, or even the neglect of the op- 
 posite duties would be very sinful. There is no moral virtue in tak- 
 ing food when hungry; but wilfully to starve one's self to death 
 would be suicide. And, to come nearer the point, there is no moral 
 virtue in believing the testimony of a friend, when I have every rea- 
 son to do so ; yet, in these circumstances, were I to discredit his 
 word, he would feel the injury very sensibly. Now, supposing there 
 was no more virtue contained in believing the witness of God than in 
 believing the witness of men, to which it is compared, it does not 
 follow that there would be no sin in unbelief, which is to make God a 
 liar, 1 John v. 10. To deny that faith is the exercise of a virtuous 
 temper of heart, is to refuse some praise to the creature ; but to 
 denv that unbelief is a sin, is to impeach the moral character 
 of God. 
 
 But why so solicitous to find virtue or moral excellence in faith ? 
 Is it with a view to account for the efficacy ascribed to it in justifica- 
 tion ? This design is disavowed, for we are told, " That though 
 faith be a moral excellency, yet it is not on account of that excellency 
 that justification is ascribed to it ; for if we were justified by faith as 
 a virtue, we might as well be justified by love, &c. either would be 
 justification by our ozcn righteousiiess." The question then returns, 
 Of what use is it to contend for the moral excellence of faith in point 
 of justification ? The answer given to this is, "That if faith includes 
 the acquiescence of the heart," i. e. of the will and affections, " and 
 so be a moral excellency, then there is a fitness in God's justifying 
 those persons who thus acquiesce." But as this fitness in God's jus- 
 tifying is placed upon faith's being a vioral excellency, it must be such 
 a fitness as is between virtue and its reward, and so this is only a 
 round-about way of saying, that we are justified by faith as a virtue, 
 which is above acknowledged to be justification by our own righteous- 
 ness 
 
 It is argued, that " hope implies desire, and desire includes love,"' 
 and that believing the loveliness of an object, and loving it are " the 
 s:unc." If so, then to be justified by faith, is the same as to be justi- 
 fied by hope and love, which is also admitted to be justification by 
 our own righteousness. To avoid this obvious conclusion, it is al- 
 leged, that "though hope and love be moral excellencies as well as 
 faith, yet none of them have that relation to Christ which faith has." 
 
60 Christ's commission 
 
 sinners are justified by the exercise of holy dispositions, or 
 (as they speak) by faith considered as a work. A caution 
 which intimates an apprehension that their idea of faith is 
 very liable to such a misconstruction ; and indeed if faith 
 be a work at all, it is not easy to conceive how sinners are 
 justified by faith ivithout works. The apostle Paul, how- 
 ever, never gave any such caution, because he did not look 
 uponfaithasa work,* but, on the contrary, opposeth it, both 
 in its own nature and in point of justification, to all works 
 of every kind, and makes it to correspond with pure grace.' 
 
 The word pistis, faith or belief, is evidently used by the 
 inspired writers in the same sense in which it is commonly 
 used and understood among 1 men in ordinary cases. They 
 never gave the least hint that they had any uncommon 
 idea annexed to that term, nor did they give any directions 
 how to believe or act faith, though they insist much upon 
 what men are to believe, and upon the divine evidence of 
 its truth. It is also remarkable, that we do not find 
 any of the first converts inquiring what faith is, or in 
 what manner they were to believe. Hence we may 
 reasonably infer, that the apostles used the word faith in 
 its ordinary sense, which required no explanation, and that 
 their hearers did in fact so understand them. 
 
 The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews defines faith 
 in this manner, " Now faith is the (upostasis) " confi- 
 dence* of things hoped for, the (elevnchos) convic- 
 
 But if faith, hope, and love, be all one, or included in each other, as 
 is alleged, then they must all have the same relation to Christ, conse- 
 quently the same place in justification. Indeed, it is simply impossible 
 to point out any distinction in the relatio?i which faith, hope, and love 
 have to Christ, without admitting that they are distinct in themselves, 
 which is to give up the argument. 
 
 * Though the word substance comes nearer the etymology of 
 upostasis, yet its use in scripture ought chiefly to be consulted. The 
 LXX. frequently use it to express confidence, or confidence of expecta- 
 tion. Ruth i. 12 : Psal. xxxix. 7 ; Ezek. xix. 5. It occurs five times 
 in the New Testament, in three of which it is translated confidence, 
 viz. 2. Cor. ix. 4, chap. xi. 17 ; Heb. iii. 14, and even in this place 
 the translators have so rendered it in the margin. 
 
 * Rom. iii. 28 ; Chap iv. 5, 16 ; Eph. ii. 8, 0. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 61 
 
 tion* of things not seen." Chap. xi. 1. Faith is here express- 
 ed by the two words confidence and conviction, and its objects 
 are things hoped for, things not seen. Things hoped for 
 must be future good things revealed and promised ; and 
 confidence in relation to such things must be a confidence 
 of persuasion, founded on God's faithfulness and power, 
 that what he hath promised he will undoubtedly perform ; 
 for it is explained thus, — a being persuaded of the pro- 
 mises" — a judging him faithful who hath promised 3 " — a 
 being fully persuaded, that what God hath promised, he 
 is able also to perform/ This confidence of faith in divine 
 promises is inseparable from, hope; for it is the confidence 
 of things hoped for, and so is said to be a believing in 
 hope, 7, viz. of obtaining the good things promised. Again, 
 faith is here defined more generally, the conviction of 
 things not seen. Things not seen include not only things 
 promised, but things testified ; a not only good things to 
 be hoped for, but evil things to be dreaded ; b not merely 
 things future, but things past and present : c All of them, 
 however, so far as they are the objects of faith, must be 
 things not seen ; for faith is opposed to sight, d it being a 
 conviction of the truth and reality of things made known 
 by revelation, and is grounded on the authority of that 
 revelation, considered as the word of God. e To illustrate 
 and confirm this simple notion of faith a little farther we 
 may observe, 
 
 * The substantive elegchos, translated evidence, occurs only in one 
 other place in the New Testament, viz. 2 Tim. iii. 16; where it is 
 translated reproof, but without any necessity. Many render it con- 
 viction, both there and in this place, and this best agrees with the 
 sense of the verb elegcho, which is generally translated convince, as in 
 John viii. 9 ; Acts xviii. 28 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 24 ; Tit. i. 9 ; James ii. 9 ; 
 Jude ver. 15 ; as it should also be in John xvi. 8 ; 2 Tim. iv. 2, 
 Though elegchos sometimes signifies the evidence, proof , or demonstra- 
 tion, which produceth conviction, yet when expressive of faith, ifcmust 
 necessarily mean conviction itself, which is the effect of evidence upon 
 the mind. 
 
 • Heb. xi. 13. x Ver. 11. ?Rom. iv. 21. ■ Ver. 18. 
 
 * John iii. 33 ; 2 Thess. i. 10. b Heb. xi. 7. c Ver. 3, 6. 
 
 * 2 Cor. v. 7. '1 Thess. ii. 13. 
 
 G 
 
62 Christ's commission 
 
 1. That the gospel is held forth as a (marturia) icit?iess< 
 record, or testimony concerning this great truth, That 
 Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that God hath 
 given eternal life in him to all who believe/ Those who 
 were sent to testify the gospel of the grace of God are 
 termed witnesses : John Baptist " came for a witness to 
 bear witness of the Light :" s The Apostles were " chosen 
 witnesses" to testify this truth unto the world ; h Not only so, 
 but the Father, the Word, and the holy Spirit are repre- 
 sented as three concurring witnesses to the same important 
 truth ;' and hence it is termed the witness or testimony of 
 God* 
 
 2. The immediate design of all testimony or witness- 
 bearing is to produce a belief of the truth of what is tes- 
 tified. This is the declared design of testifying the gospel. 
 John " came to bear witness of the Light, that all men 
 through him might believe. 1 " — " He that saw it bare re- 
 cord — that ye might believe." m This is also the design 
 of the miraculous works by which the gospel testimony 
 was confirmed : — " Say ye of him whom the Father hath 
 sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, be- 
 cause I said I am the Son of God ? If I do not the works 
 of my father, believe me not : But if I do, though you 
 believe not me, believe the works, that ye may know and 
 believe that the Father is in me, and I in him 11 ." — " The 
 same works that I do bear witness of me, that the Father 
 hath sent me ." — These signs are written, that ye might 
 believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God." p Agree- 
 ably to these observations, 
 
 3. Faith is described to be a belief corresponding to that 
 
 which is spoken, testified, or preached. Abraham, whose 
 
 faith is set before us as an example, " believed according 
 
 to that which was spoken. " q Such also was the faith of the 
 
 Thessalonians, "our testimony among you was believed;'" 
 
 f 1 John v. 5—13. « John i. 7. h John xv. 27 ; Acts x. 39, 41. 
 1 1 John v. 7. k Ver. 9 ; 1 Cor. ii. 1 ' John i. 7. 
 " John xix. 35. ■ Chap. x. 3G — 38. ° Chap. v. 36. 
 
 p Chap. xx. 31. <* Rom. iv. 18. r 2 Thess. i. 10. 
 
TO. HIS APOSTLES. 63 
 
 and of the Corinthians, " so we preached, and so ye be- 
 lieved." 3 We all know what it is to receive or believe the 
 witness of men in the most important affairs of human 
 life, and by this the Apostle John gives us an idea of that 
 faith which the gospel requires, without making any dif- 
 ference whatever in the nature of believing, but only sub- 
 stituting the testimony of God in place of men's ; " If we 
 receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. 1 " 
 We receive men's testimony by believing that they are 
 true in what they declare ; so " He that receiveth his 
 testimony, hath set to his seal that God is true." u In the 
 former case we believe men, in the latter, God ; but this 
 difference respects only the object, the nature of belief 
 being the same in both cases. The witness of God is 
 greater than that of men ; but this does not alter the na- 
 ture of belief, but only increaseth the degree of it, by giv- 
 ing us greater assurance ; for men are fallible and may be 
 deceived themselves, or wish to deceive us ; but neither 
 of these is possible with God, to whom omniscience and 
 faithfulness are absolutely essential. That by receiving 
 the witness of God, the apostle means nothing more than 
 simply believing it, is clear, for he expresseth its opposite 
 thus, " He that believeth not God hath made him a 
 liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave 
 of his Son." x From the whole, therefore, it is evident, 
 that faith is neither more nor less than belief, and that 
 saving faith is a belief of the gospel, or of God's testimony 
 concerning his Son. 
 
 This knowledge and belief of the truth as it is in Jesus, 
 though a duty incumbent on all who hear the gospel, is 
 nevertheless the special gift of God/ being the effect of 
 divine teaching by means of the \rord, z and peculiar to 
 the elect : a So that whatever appearances there may be 
 of it in false professors, they have not at bottom the same 
 
 ' 1 Cor. xv. 11. » 1 John v. 9. n John iii. 33. x 1 John v. 10. 
 J Eph. ii. 8 ; Philip i. 29. ■ John vi. 45 ; Rom. x. 17. 
 ■ 1 John v. 1. 
 
f)± Christ's commission 
 
 perception of the truth, nor that persuasion of it upon its 
 proper evidence which real believers have. But as we 
 cannot discern the difference by the confession of the 
 mouth, when that confession accords with the form of 
 sound words, it is therefore necessary that true faith should 
 be distinguished by its genuine effects upon the heart and 
 life. 
 
 As to its effects upon the heart, such is the important, 
 interesting, and salutary nature of the saving truth testi- 
 fied in the gospel, with its suitableness and freeness for the 
 chief of sinners, that it is no sooner perceived and believed 
 than it takes possession of the will and affections, and be- 
 comes in the soul the ground of its hope, trust, and reli- 
 ance ; the object of its desire, acceptance, esteem, and joy ; 
 and the principle of every holy, active, and gracious dis- 
 position of heart. 
 
 But these effects of faith, or, which is the same, of the 
 truth believed, ought not to be confounded with faith it- 
 self, as is commonly done. Though faith . is the confi- 
 dence of things hoped for, and also worketh by love ; yet it 
 is neither hope nor love, for the Apostle distinguisheth it 
 from both,* " And now abideth faith, hope, love, these 
 three. " b The same may be said of all its other effects upon 
 the heart ; for whatever is more than belief is more than 
 faith, and ought to go by another name. 
 
 Some affirm, that " faith, hope, and love, are three considered 
 only in respect of their objects ; the object of faith being revealed 
 truth — of hope, future good — and of love the holy amiableness of God, 
 and of whatever bears his image." But the Apostle is not speaking 
 of the objects of faith, hope, and love, bat of themselves ; and if they 
 are not three as distinguished from each other, their objects can 
 never make them three. The Apostle says, " the greatest of these is 
 love; but love is not greater than faith and hope in respect of its 
 object, but in its own nature, which shows that faith, hope, and love, 
 are different from each other, and properly termed three. Mr Sande- 
 man accurately distinguishes them thus : " The gospel presents a 
 faithful testimony to be believed, exhibiting an amiable object to be 
 loved, and good things to come to be hoped for. Faith then respects 
 the truth of the testimony, love what is amiable in it, and hope the 
 good things in prospect." 
 
 b 1 Cor. xiii. 13. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 65 
 
 It will perhaps be asked, Why so nice in distinguishing 
 here ? What harm can arise from including in the nature of 
 faith such holy dispositions, affections, and exercises of 
 heart, as are confessedly inseparable from it ? In answer 
 to this let it be considered, 
 
 1. That unless we carefully distinguish faith from its 
 effects, particularly on the point of a sinner's acceptance 
 with God, the important doctrine of free justification by 
 faith alone will be materially affected. The scriptures 
 pointedly declare, that God justifies sinners "freely by 
 his grace, " through the redemption that is in Jesus 
 Christ," and that this justification is received " through 
 faith in Christ's blood. " d Faith in this case is always dis- 
 tinguished from, and opposed to, the works of the law ; e 
 not merely of the ceremonial law which was peculiar to 
 the Jews ; but of that law by which is the knowledge of 
 sin, f which says, " Thou shalt not covet," g and which re- 
 quires not only outward good actions, but love and every 
 good disposition of heart both towards God and our neigh- 
 bour ; h so that the works of this law respect the heart as 
 well as life. The distinction therefore between faith and 
 tvorks, on this subject, is not that which is between inward 
 and outward conformity to the law : for if faith is not in 
 this case distinguished from, and opposed to, our confor- 
 mity to the law both outwardly and inwardly, it cannot be 
 said that we are "justified by faith without the deeds of 
 the law," 1 or that God "justifieth the ungodly. " k Faith 
 indeed, as a principle of action, " worketh by love ;" but 
 it is not as thus working that it is imputed for righteous- 
 ness ; for it is expressly declared, that righteousness is 
 imputed " to him that worketh not, but believeth on 
 him that justifieth the ungodly 1 ." — " It is of FAITH that 
 it might be by GRACE, m " and grace and works are re- 
 
 c Rom. iii. 24. d Ver. 25. 
 • Rom iii. 20, 27. 28 ; Chap. ix. 32 ; Gal. ii. 1G ; Chap. iii. 9—15. 
 
 '"Rom. iii. 20. e Chap. vii. 7. h Matt. xxii. 37 — 41. 
 i Rom. iii. 28. k Chap, iv. 5. ' Ibid. m Chap. iv. 16. 
 
 g2 
 
Q6 Christ's commission 
 
 presented as incompatible with each other : n for " to him 
 that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of 
 debt." Now, when men include in the very nature of 
 justifying faith such good dispositions, holy affections and 
 pious exercises of heart as the moral law requires, and so 
 make them necessary (no matter under what consideration) 
 to a sinner's acceptance with God, it perverts the Apostle'3 
 doctrine upon this important subject, and makes justifica- 
 tion to be at least " as it were by the works of the law." 
 
 2. The effect of such doctrine upon the mind of an 
 awakened sinner is obvious. He who conceives that, in 
 order to his pardon and acceptance with God, he must 
 first be possessed of such good dispositions and holy affec- 
 tions as are commonly included in the nature of faith, will 
 find no immediate relief from the gospel, nor anything in 
 it which fully reaches his case, while he views himself 
 merely as a guilty sinner. Instead of believing on him 
 that justifieth the ungodly, he believes on the contrary; 
 that he cannot be justified till he sustains -an opposite 
 character. Though Christ died for sinners — for the un- 
 godly : yet he does not believe that Christ's death will be 
 of any benefit to him as a mere sinner, but as possessed of 
 holy dispositions ; nor does he expect relief to his con- 
 science purely and directly from the atonement, but through 
 the medium of a better opinion of his own heart or cha- 
 racter. This sentiment, if he is really concerned about 
 the salvation of his soul, must set him upon attempts to 
 reform his heart, and to do something, under the notion 
 of acting faith, that he may be justified ; and all his en- 
 deavours, prayers, and religious exercises, will be directed 
 to that end. 
 
 The religion of thousands consists in a train of suc- 
 cessive attempts of this kind throughout the whole course 
 of their lives, while they are agitated by alternate hopes 
 and fears, according as they apprehend they have been 
 successful or not in such self-justifying labours. And as. 
 n Horn. xi. 6. ° Chap. iv. 4. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 67 
 
 upon this plan, they can receive no relief from the atone- 
 ment till they perceive some favourable symptoms about 
 themselves, those whose consciences are the most tender, 
 and who have the quickest sense of their guilt and de- 
 pravity, will be the most uneasy and distressed ; in which 
 case it has been thought necessary to extract comfort to 
 them from their very convictions, doubts, and perplexities, 
 to keep them from absolute despair. But should others, 
 less pinched upon the score of guilt, work themselves up 
 to some degree of hope and peace by exertions of this 
 kind, such hope does not "arise from the work finished by 
 the Son of God, as alone sufficient to justify the ungodly, 
 but from some supposed change wrought upon their own 
 hearts entitling them to trust in him. So that the effect 
 of this principle is either tormenting fear, or self-righteous 
 confidence, and therefore it is equally inimical to true 
 peace, and real gospel holiness. 
 
 THE DECLARATION AND CALL OF THE GOSPEL IS UNTO ALL. 
 
 Jesus commissioned his apostles to go into all the world 
 and preach the gospel to every creature. p They were to 
 except none on account of their country or descent ; " For 
 there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek ; 
 for the same Lord is rich unto all that call upon him." q 
 Nor were they to make any distinction of condition or sex ; 
 but proclaim it equally to poor and rich, bond and free, 
 male and female/ Neither were they to pay any regard 
 to the difference of characters among men. The whole 
 world are declared guilty before God ; s and they were to 
 proclaim salvation to the chief of sinners, as well as to 
 the more decent and strict. Christ came not to call the 
 righteous, but sinners to repentance j* for he supposed 
 none righteous before God, but in their own conceit ; hence 
 he carried a more benign and inviting aspect to self-con- 
 
 p Mark xvi. 1G. i Rom. x. 12. * Gal. Hi. 28. 
 
 $ Rom. Hi. 19. l Mat. ix. 13. 
 
68 Christ's commission 
 
 demned publicans and harlots, than to self-righteous Pha- 
 risees." While the gospel sets aside every claim to the 
 Divine favour founded on a man's own righteousness, it 
 also removes effectually every reason of despair from the 
 most guilty and awakened conscience, by presenting an all- 
 sufficient remedy. There are instances on record of the most 
 notorious sinners obtaining mercy, such as Mary Magda- 
 lene, 1 the thief on the cross/ some of the very betrayers 
 and murderers of the Lord of glory. 2 Several of the Co- 
 rinthian converts had been fornicators, idolaters, effemi- 
 nate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, cove- 
 tous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners, &c. ; a and Paul 
 confesseth that he was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and in- 
 jurious, yet he obtained mercy . b These instances are. re- 
 corded, not to encourage men to continue in sin, that 
 grace may abound, nor yet as extraordinary stretches of 
 divine grace, which none have now any ground to expect ; 
 but that in them " Jesus Christ might show forth all long- 
 suffering, for a pattern to them who should hereafter be- 
 lieve on him to life everlasting." The gospel declaration, 
 therefore, is to all of every nation, condition, and charac- 
 ter, without any limitation or restriction whatever. 
 
 The gospel holds forth a free salvation, without any 
 consideration of men's good works or qualifications, either 
 to merit it, or prepare and fit themselves for it. Salvation 
 in general, and in all its parts, is every where ascribed to 
 the sovereign free grace of God. " By grace are ye saved. " d 
 " Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but 
 according to his mercy he saved us." e Election, justifica- 
 tion, adoption, and the heavenly inheritance, are all de- 
 clared to be of grace : f and grace and works are stated 
 in direct opposition to each other in this matter. 5 Salva- 
 tion is indeed by faith ; but faith is also opposed to works,' 1 
 
 u Mat. xxi. 31 ; Luke xviii. 9 — 15. * Luke vii. 37 — 50. 
 
 J Chap, xxiii. 43. « Acts ii. 37—40. " 1 Cor. vi. 9—12. 
 
 b 1 Tim. i. 13. c Ver 16. d Eph. ii. 5. ■ Tit. iii. 5. 
 
 f Row. xi. 5, and iii. 24; Eph. i. 5, G ; Rom. iv. 10. 
 
 b Rom. xi. 6. b Chap. iv. 5. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 69 
 
 and corresponds with grace ; for " it is of faith that it 
 might be by grace." 1 We are saved by grace through 
 faith ; and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. k 
 
 The gospel also calls all men every where to faith and 
 repentance, and invites them in the most earnest manner 
 to partake of a full and free salvation. 1 Jesus himself calls 
 sinners to come unto him ; m and represents the preaching 
 of the gospel under the notion of inviting guests to a mar- 
 riage supper, where all things were ready prepared, and 
 free for their use. All sorts of guests are commanded to 
 be invited, and particularly those who might be apt to 
 suppose themselves excluded ; such as the poor, the maimed, 
 the halt, and the blind ; and that from every place that 
 could be supposed the haunts of the miserable and the 
 destitute ; such as the streets and lanes of the city, the 
 hedges and highways of the field ; nay, the master en- 
 joins his servants to " compel them to come in, that his 
 house may be filled with guests." n This surely means 
 more than a mere declaration of the gospel-testimony ; it 
 imports also the most earnest calls and pressing invitations 
 to believe the gospel and partake of its blessings. Ac- 
 cordingly the apostles, in executing their commission, not 
 only declared " That God was in Christ reconciling the 
 world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ;" 
 but also urged it home with the most earnest calls and 
 entreaties ; " Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ, 
 as though God did beseech* by us ; we pray* in Christ's 
 stead, Be ye reconciled unto God."° They declared, that 
 God " now commandeth all men every where to repent ;' :p 
 
 * The pronoun you is not in the Greek. The Apostle is not here 
 urging the believing Corinthians to be reconciled unto God, for he 
 considered them as already reconciled ; but he is setting before them 
 the apostolic message to the world at large, as appears from the fore- 
 going verse ; and therefore the supplement ought to be men, or the 
 world. 
 
 '' Rom. iv. 16. k Eph. i. 8. ' Isa lv. 1—8. 
 
 m Mat. xi. 28 ; John vii. 37, 38. n Luke xiv. 16—24. 
 
 2 Cor. v. 18—21. p Acts xvii. 30, 31. 
 
70 Christ's commission 
 
 and testified " both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, 
 repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. q " So that they not only declared the gospel tes- 
 timony, but called every one to believe it unto their salva- 
 tion : and urged this call by every motive and argument 
 which the gospel furnished them with, and which are the 
 strongest that possibly can be proposed to the human 
 mind. 
 
 THE PROMISE OF SALVATION IS RESTRICTED TO HIM THAT 
 
 BELIEVETH. 
 
 Though the gospel declaration and call be universal 
 to every creature, yet the promise of salvation is only to 
 him that believeth : " He that believeth, and is baptized 
 shall be saved/' — " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth 
 the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that 
 God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved." 1 ' 
 The gospel does not declare that all shall be saved, nor 
 indeed that any shall be saved who do not believe ; on the 
 contrary, Jesus says, " He that believeth not shall be 
 damned :" — " If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die 
 in your sins." 8 Neither does it reveal who in particular 
 shall believe and be saved ; but it declares the testimony 
 of God concerning his Son, and the salvation that is in 
 him, calls upon all mankind to believe that testimony, and 
 promises salvation to every one that believeth it, but to 
 none else. The gospel promise of salvation, therefore, is 
 not universal, but restricted to him that believeth. Hence 
 it is plain, 
 
 That the gospel does not hold forth an "universal grant 
 or gift of Christ made to all mankind ;" nor does it con- 
 tain " a promise of eternal life to sinners of mankind as 
 such." Consequently, the faith which it requires of all its 
 hearers at first hand is not " my being verily persuaded 
 
 <s Acts iii. 19, xx. 21, and xxvi. 20. r Mark xvi. 1G; Kom. x. 9. 
 ■ Mark xvi. 1G ; John viii. 24. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 71 
 
 that Christ is " mine, upon the grant and offer of him in 
 the word to me in particular, believing that he loved me, 
 and gave himself for me ; — that / shall have life and sal- 
 vation by him; and that whatever he did for the re- 
 demption of sinners he did it for me."* For the gospel 
 not does declare to every man that he shall have life and 
 salvation by Christ, nor is it a truth with respect to a 
 great part of mankind ; and therefore cannot be that which 
 all mankind are called to believe unto their salvation. 
 That which men are called to believe is a truth in itself 
 independent of their belief, and will always continue a truth 
 though they should never believe it ; for their unbelief 
 cannot make the faith of God without effect. It is a truth 
 openly testified to all, that Jesus is the Christ the Son 
 of God, that he hath finished the work of redemption, and 
 that whosoever believeth this shall be saved : but it is not 
 true u that Christ is mine,'' or " that / shall have life and 
 salvation by him," unless I believe the former ; for the 
 promise is only to him that believeth. Further, 
 
 As the gospel does not promise salvation to any but 
 believers, nor tell any particular person, expressly and di- 
 
 * This and the foregoing quotation is from the Associate Synod's 
 Catechism, Part II. On faith in Jesus Christ. But it is not easy to 
 conceive, how God should make a gift to all, which conveys nothing 
 but to some ; and promise eternal life to mankind sinners as such, yet 
 never bestow it on any who do not believe. As to their definition of 
 justifying faith, I would observe, That if all mankind are called to 
 believe that Christ is theirs, that he loved them and gave himself for 
 them, and that they shall have life and salvation by him, then it must 
 either be true or false. If true, then all mankind must be saved; if 
 false, with respect to a great part of mankind, then the gospel can 
 never propose it as a truth to be believed by all. Falsehood can 
 never be converted into truth by believing it ; nor can men be rea- 
 sonably called to believe any thing without evidence, and which is 
 not equally true whether they believe it or not. They endeavour to 
 qualify this by saying, "That faith is not a persuasion that Christ is 
 mine in possession, or that I am already in a state of grace; but a 
 persuasion that he is mine in the gift of God, and offer of the gospel." 
 But this distinction only serves to form another contradiction : for 
 how is it possible for me to believe " that Christ loved mc, and gave 
 himself for me ; that I shall have life and salvation by him ; and that 
 whatever he did for the redemption of sinners, he did it for me f* and 
 yet " not be persuaded that he is mine in possession, or that I am al- 
 rendy in a state of grace?" 
 
72 Christ's commission 
 
 rectly, that he himself is a believer ; so the assurance of a 
 man's own justification is not founded merely upon the 
 direct testimony of God,* but also upon the testimony of 
 his own conscience, bearing him witness in the Holy Spirit, 
 that he believes the gospel-testimony concerning Christ, 
 and so is justifie d according to the tenor of the gospel- 
 promise. 
 
 * Mr. John Barclay (the author of a new appropriating scheme) 
 asserts, " That the assurance of faith 5 ' (by which he means the assur- 
 ance of a man's own justification) " is established, along with the re- 
 surrection of Jesus from the dead, upon the direct testimony of God, 
 believed in the heart." Assurance of Faith Vindicated, title-page. 
 
 A direct testimony is that which absolutely affirms, in so many ex- 
 press words, the truth of the particular thing testified. He must 
 therefore mean, that God hath absolutely, positively, and expressly 
 testified in the gospel, " that John Barclay in particular is justified;" 
 for such is the nature of the testimony given to the resurrection of 
 Jesus from the dead, and he affirms it to be precisely the same with 
 that. " Thus verily before God (says he) by whatever evidence I 
 hold the resurrection of Jesus for a truth, by the same precise evi- 
 dence I must hold it for a truth that I am justified, else I do verily 
 hold God for a liar ; for God himself hath equally asserted both the 
 one and the other in words of inseparable connection." Assurance of 
 Faith Vindicated, p. 66. And, in A Letter on the Assurance of Faith, 
 vol. iii. p. 208, he says, " I see the same evidence precisely, that the 
 law is fulfilled for me, even for me myself, by Jesus, as that there is 
 a law at all ; the same evidence that I am passed from death unto 
 life, as that ever I was under a death, and needed a life ; the same. 
 evidence precisely, that Christ is made tome of God, wisdom, righte- 
 ousness, sanctification, and redemption, as that there is a God at all." 
 — As therefore the truth of his particular justification stands upon 
 the same precise evidence with the resurrection of Jesus, and the ex- 
 istence of God, the additional words, " believed in the heart," are al- 
 together redundant ; for as Christ's resurrection, and the being of God 
 are truths in themselves, whether he believe or not ; so must his jus- 
 tification be, if, according to him, it stand precisely upon the same 
 ground. 
 
 This, is so absurd that it scarce needs any refutation. The resur- 
 rection of Jesus is a foundation principle; a truth which stands inde- 
 pendent of my believing, and is the subject of direct testimony, which 
 I am called to believe absolutely. But my particular justification is 
 not declared to be a truth until I believe the former; "if thou shalt 
 believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou 
 shalt be saved," Rom. x. 9. I cannot therefore know, that I in parti- 
 cular am justified by any thing openly and directly testified, till I 
 know that I believe ; for it is only those who believe that are declared 
 to be justified, Acts. xiii. 39. 
 
 But after all that this author has advanced in order to establish 
 the assurance of his own particular justification upon the direct tes- 
 timony of God, he is obliged at last to depart entirely from that prin- 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 73 
 
 ALL WHO REALLY BELIEVE THE GOSPEL HAVE EVIDENCE 
 OP THEIR OWN PARTICULAR SALVATION. 
 
 There are two important and interesting questions, 
 which all who are truly concerned about their salvation, 
 will be anxious to have solved. The first is, How may I, 
 a guilty and condemned sinner, be justified or find pardon 
 and acceptance with God ? The Gospel answers this di- 
 rectly, declaring, That God justifies sinners " freely by 
 his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ ; 
 whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through 
 faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the re- 
 mission of sins.'* As this exhibits the foundation of hope, 
 so all who believe it must necessarily have hope from it. 
 
 The other question is, How shall I know that I am al- 
 ready justified, and in a state of salvation ? To this the 
 gospel answers in general, " If thou believest with all 
 thine heart" — " By him all that believe are justified from 
 all things." It assures him that believeth of justification • 
 but it leaves it with every man's conscience to say whether 
 he really believes or not. But then, 
 
 All who really believe the gospel must be instantly more 
 or less conscious of it. We are so constituted, that we 
 cannot hear, feel, or see objects, without knowing it. The 
 impressions which objects make upon our senses, and our 
 consciousness of these impressions are inseparable. Our 
 minds are also so framed, that we cannot believe the truth 
 of any report without being immediately conscious that 
 we do so. Whatever produces belief, excites at the same 
 
 eiple, and draw his justification as an inference from his believing, 
 thus : " All who believe the record are justified. I believe the re- 
 cord ; therefore I believe I am justified." Assurance of Faith Vin- 
 dicated, p. 38. Here the assurance of his justification turns out 
 to be the conclusion of what logicians call a syllogism ; in which the 
 second proposition ( viz. / believe the record) is not the direct testi- 
 mony of God, but that of his own conscience. 
 
 * Rom. iii. 24, 25. 
 
74 Christ's commission 
 
 instant an inward consciousness of it ; and, in all ordinary 
 cases, we cannot be more sure that a thing is true, than 
 that we ourselves perceive it to be so. This every man 
 knows by experience. When, therefore, the light of the 
 glorious gospel shines into the heart of a sinner with di- 
 vine evidence, so as to produce conviction that it is the 
 truth and testimony of God, it must necessarily be accom- 
 panied with a present consciousness in his mind that he 
 believes it, and is affected by it. 
 
 The Scripture supposes, that a believer is immediately 
 conscious of his faith ; for it calls him at the very first to 
 confess it with his mouth unto salvation. u Jesus asks the 
 man whom he had cured of blindness, " Dost THOU believe 
 on the Son of God ?" x He also asks his disciples, " But 
 whom say TE that I am ?" y And Philip says to the eunuch, 
 ". If thou believest with all thine heart." 2 The confes- 
 sion demanded is that of a man's oion belief, which no man 
 could make in sincerity and truth without knowing that 
 he believes. Accordingly, the scripture confessions run in 
 this manner ; " We believe, and are sure that thou art 
 that Christ the Son of the living God a ." — " By this we 
 believe that thou earnest forth from GodV — " Lord, I 
 believe ." — " I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of 
 God d ." — These confessions express not only their belief, 
 but also their consciousness of it ; and, if we allow them 
 to be sincere, and not spoken in ignorance or hypocrisy, 
 they clearly prove, that those who believe the gospel, 
 know immediately that they do so, and can say, / believe. 
 The most of these confessions were made upon their first 
 believing, and before their faith had been evidenced by 
 their works. This was evidently the case with the man 
 whose sight was restored, and with the eunuch ; while as 
 yet they had done no good works, they declared without 
 hesitation, that they believed. Indeed, none were then 
 
 » Rom. x. 9. x John ix. 35. J Mat. xvi. 15. 
 
 * Acts viii. 37. a John vi. G9. b Chap. xvi. 30. 
 
 e Chap. ix. 38. d Acts viii. 37. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 75 
 
 admitted to baptism (the very first ordinance of the gospel) 
 without making the same declaration. They could not, 
 perhaps, answer all the metaphysical questions that men 
 have since agitated about the nature and different kinds of 
 faith ; its various acts ; the distinction between believing 
 with the head and with the heart ; the different manner 
 in which devils and men believe the same truth ; what fa- 
 culties of the soul are engaged in it ; how, or by what 
 manner of operation the Spirit works it in the heart, &c. 
 any more than the blind man could philosophize upon the 
 nature of light and vision, or tell how Jesus opened his 
 eyes ; yet like him they could say, and with the like con- 
 sciousness, " One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, 
 now I see." e The power of Jesus in giving sight to the 
 blind man, made him instantly sensible that he saw, and 
 left no room for reasoning upon the subject ; even so 
 when the import and evidence of the truth shines into the 
 heart by the enlightening Spirit, it has at once the double 
 effect of producing belief and the consciousness of it. This 
 consciousness of faith is the first and radical evidence to a 
 man that he is justified according to the gospel promise, 
 and upon this must all additional and succeeding proofs of 
 it ultimately rest ; for good works cannot prove to him 
 that he is justified, unless he is at the same time conscious 
 that they are the fruits of faith and love. 
 
 It is recorded as matter of fact, that the first converts 
 to Christianity were filled with peace and joy as soon as 
 they believed the gospel. f Peace with God, and rejoicing 
 in the hope of his glory, are immediately connected with 
 being justified by faith. 2 The " belief that they may be 
 justified/' or " the hope of being made just,"* though a 
 
 * Mr Glas admits, that " the word of God" not, only " testifies 
 abundantly the sufficiency of Christ's righteousness to justify the un- 
 godly," but also assures him that believeth of justification ;" yet he 
 denies " that he who is certain of the sufficiency of Christ's righte- 
 
 e John ix. 25. 
 'Actsii. 24; viii. 39; x. 43,46; xiii.48, andxvi. 31— 35; 1 Thess. i. 5, 6. 
 
 ?Rom. v. 1,2. 
 
76 christs commission 
 
 relief from despair, will not fully account for this peace 
 and jo j. Believers enjoy peace with God in proportion 
 to the evidence they have that their sins are forgiven them ; 
 and their joy is described to be a joy in God through the 
 
 ousness to make hirn just" (which is justifying faith), " is yet as- 
 sured that this righteousness is imputed to him, and that he is made 
 just by it ;" and the reason he gives why a believer is not assured of 
 what the word of God assures him, is, that " it does not assure him 
 that believeth not of justification, but the contrary." — He makes the 
 believer to consider his justification merely as a thing possible and 
 future : " When we believe (says he) on him that raised up Christ for 
 the justification of the ungodly, we believe that we may be justified by 
 this ;" and he describes the hope arising from this faith to be " the 
 hope of being made just or of becoming just by the imputation of this 
 righteousness ;" whereas the word of God assures him that believeth, 
 not only that he may be, but that he actually is justified, John iii. 36 ; 
 Acts xiii. 39. He admits that the knowledge of a man's own justifi- 
 cation is attainable ; but he says it cannot appear any other way that 
 God imputes this "righteousness to us, but by our faith working 
 with our ivorks, as Abraham's faith did with his works, when he was 
 declared to be just." Glas's Works, vol. ii. p. 73. Edin. edit. 
 
 It is freely granted that good works are an evidence to a man of 
 his own justification, additional to what he had when he first be- 
 lieved ; but they are neither the only nor first evidence of this. A 
 man must be conscious that he believes before his faith work with his 
 works ; and in proportion to the degree of this consciousness must be 
 the assurance of his justification from the promise. Abraham was 
 justified when he believed God's promise, Gen. xv. 6, and it cannot 
 be supposed that he had not the least intimation or enjoyment of 
 this until about forty years after, when his faith wrought with his 
 works in offering up Isaac, (James ii. 21, 22.) ; for long before this 
 God assured him of his blessing, Gen. xii. 2, 3, — declared himself to 
 be his shield and exceeding great reward, chap. xv. 1, and gave him 
 the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which 
 he had while he was yet uncircumcised, Rom. iv. 11. 
 
 Mr. Sandeman admits, that " the first effect of faith is joy and 
 peace with God ;" but then he says, " if the nature and ground of 
 this joy be inquired into, it will appear that it does not proceed on 
 any persuasion that I am a justified person, or that righteousness is 
 imputed to me." Epist. Corresp. Let. iv. The whole ground of this 
 peace and joy, according to him, amounts to this, That there is & pos- 
 sibility of salvation, or that God is able to save the most guilty, if he 
 pleases. Accordingly, he terms the gospel, " The Divine truth, af- 
 fording hope to the vilest, that he may be justified, that he may escape 
 
 the curse, and find favour with God. The revealed possibility of 
 
 deliverance," &c. Let. on Theron, &c. vol. ii. p. 76. All who 
 are not satisfied with the bare possibility of their salvation, he charges 
 with ignorance of the Divine justice, and contempt of the Divine so- 
 vereignty. Ignorance of the Divine Justice, as " imagining that some- 
 thing besides this bare truth may contribute more or less to their 
 escape.' Contempt of the Divine Sovereignty, "because this truth 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 77 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom they have now received the 
 atonement. 11 The conscience is said to be purged, or made 
 perfect by the blood of Christ. 1 The sense of guilt in the 
 conscience is a sure and personal thing, and the pain occa- 
 sioned by it is the fear of Divine wrath upon the individual. 
 The atonement alone, or without more, is sufficient to re- 
 move this fear, perfect the conscience, and give peace 
 with God ; but it does not produce this effect upon the 
 conscience while, the sinner views it only as a possible re- 
 lief, or that by which he may be justified, and remains en- 
 leaves a man, even in the full assurance of faith, — entirely at the 
 mercy of God for his salvation, — without having any claim upon God 
 whatsoever, or finding any reason why God should regard him more 
 than those who perish." Id. p. 76, 83. Indeed, if the gospel re- 
 vealed only a possibility of salvation, without any promise of it to him 
 that believeth, no believer of this bare truth, even in the fullest as- 
 surance of faith, could have any knowledge of his own salvation in 
 this life. But if God has passed his word, that "he that believeth 
 shall be saved," is it any contempt of his sovereignty to believe him, 
 or to say, that his faithfulness is pledged to make it good ? His so- 
 vereignty, justice, and faithfulness, perfectly harmonize in their fullest 
 exercise ; so that a believer, having the clearest view of the Divine 
 justice, and the greatest reverence for, and submission to the Divine 
 sovereignty, may, at the same time, have the most joyful hope of his 
 own salvation from the Divine promise. But this author maintains, 
 " that the Divine promise leaves it as much a secret who shall be 
 saved, as the Divine purpose or election does." Id. p. 87. The pro- 
 mise, indeed, leaves it a secret who shall believe ; this is unknown till 
 it actually takes place. But when once a man believes, it leaves it 
 no secret that he shall be saved, for this it expressly declares ; so- 
 that he has as much evidence from the promise of his own salvation^ 
 as he has that he really believes the saving truth. To show that a 
 believer, even in the full assurance of faith, has no evidence that 
 God is willing to save him, both he and Mr Glas produce the faith of 
 those who applied for bodily cures, which appears to be only a per- 
 suasion of Christ's ability^ Id. p. 90, 91. Glas's Works, vol. ii. p. 74. 
 But the answer is easy. There was no universal declaration made 
 that Christ would heal all the diseased who believed his power. Such 
 a declaration would have removed all doubts of his willingness from 
 those who believed his ability, and have left no room for saying, " If 
 thou wilt thou canst make me clean." But the gospel openly de- 
 clares it to be the will of God, " That every one that seeth the Son, 
 and believeth on him, should have everlasting life." John vi. 40. 
 And Jesus says, " Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast 
 out," ver. 37. This gives the believer a claim upon his faithfulness, 
 and leaves him no room to suspect his willingness. 
 
 b Rom. v. 11. ' Heb. ix. 14, x. 2. 
 
 h2 
 
78 Christ's commission 
 
 tirely uncertain whether he is, or ever shall be justified by 
 it or not. A concealed pardon cannot fully relieve or cleanse 
 the conscience. A purged conscience, and the conscious 
 sense of being purged, are one and the same thing. This 
 is stated as a pre-requisite to our serving the living God 
 with freedom and acceptance, 15 and supposes that we both 
 believe the truth, and are conscious that we do so. 
 
 The Spirit of adoption is also represented as the 
 common privilege of all believers ; for as they are " all 
 the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus," 1 so " because 
 they are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son 
 into their hearts." m By this Spirit they know their filial 
 relation to God ; for it witnesseth with their spirits, that 
 they are the children of God, and emboldens them to cry, 
 Abba, Father. 11 Agreeably to which, Christ hath taught 
 his disciples to pray, " Our Father, &c.° ■ 
 
 Another immediate effect of believing the gospel is love 
 to God, which supposes the knowledge of his love to us. 
 It is indeed admitted, that when we perceive his good- 
 will towards sinners in general, as manifested in the gos- 
 pel, and know that there is forgiveness with him so as to 
 hope in his mercy, it will reconcile us to his character, lead 
 us to esteem and reverence him, and desire his favour 
 above every thing, though we should not yet be assured 
 of his love to ourselves in particular ; and this, no doubt, 
 is love. But that love which is of the nature of gratitude, 
 cannot take place without some degree of persuasion that 
 we ourselves are beloved or benefited by the object of it. 
 Accordingly, the Apostle says, " We love him, because he 
 first loved us ;" p i. e. because we know this ; for he had 
 said before, " We have known, and believed the love 
 that God hath to us." q 
 
 Obedience is another effect of the belief of the truth. 
 But believers are exhorted to obedience from the con- 
 sideration of their being redeemed, and already in a jus- 
 
 k Heb. ix. 14. > Gal. iii. 26. m Chap. iv. 6. n Rom. viii. 15, 16. 
 • Mat. vi. 9. p1 John iv. .19. « Ver. 16. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 79 
 
 tified state. They are commanded to love one another, 
 and to walk in love, because God hath loved them, and 
 even as Christ loved them, and gave himself for them r ; — 
 to forgive one another, because God for Christ's sake hath 
 forgiven them 8 ; — to liberality in alms-giving, because they 
 know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that though he 
 was rich, yet for their sakes he became poor, that they 
 through his poverty might be rich 4 ; — to abstain horn for- 
 nication, because their bodies are the members of Christ, 
 and the temple of the Holy Ghost u ; — to glorify God in 
 their body and spirit which are God's, because they are 
 not their own, but bought with a price ; x and to be holy 
 in all manner of conversation, passing the time of their 
 sojourning here in fear ; forasmuch as they know that 
 they were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as 
 of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 5 " These mo- 
 tives evidently suppose that believers know they are in a 
 state of salvation ; and that not as a consequence of their 
 obedience, but as a ground or reason of it ; for motives, 
 in the order of nature, must be known and believed pre- 
 vious to the conduct which is influenced by them. The 
 knowledge of their salvation, therefore, must originate in, 
 and be constantly supported by, the gospel itself standing 
 true in their minds, and so drawing forth the testimony of 
 their conscience that they believe it. 
 
 This testimony of conscience will be more or less ex- 
 plicit, according to the degree of faith which is the sub- 
 ject of it ; even as faith itself is weak or strong in propor- 
 tion to the degree of light and evidence with which the 
 gospel by the Spirit shines into the mind, which is the 
 foundation of both. 
 
 ' John xiii. 34 ; 1 John iv. 11 ; Eph. v. 2. • Eph. iv. 32 ; Col. iii. 13. 
 
 1 2 Cor. viii. 9. "1 Cor. vi. 15, 19. x Verse 20. 
 
 J 1 Pet. i. 15—20. 
 
80 Christ's commission 
 
 THE FRUITS OF FAITH ARE AN ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE TO 
 A MAN'S CONSCIENCE OF HIS OWN SALVATION. 
 
 But this first and radical evidence which a man has of 
 his own salvation in believing the gospel, does not super- 
 sede every other proof of it to his own conscience. It still 
 leaves room for additional evidence, not that God is true, 
 but that he himself is a true believer ;* and for this the 
 scripture refers him to the genuine effects of the gospel 
 on his heart and life. The word of God supposes that 
 men may deceive themselves in this important matter;" 
 
 * No doubt the truth of God is more and more confirmed to a be- 
 liever as he experiences the effect of his word, and the accomplish- 
 ment of his promises : but the point in hand is the evidence of a 
 man's own salvation ; and it is one thing to know that God is true, and 
 another to know that I am a true believer. Mr Barclay always con- 
 founds this distinction, and makes the least doubt of my own justifi- 
 cation to be my holding God for a liar. He also absolutely denies 
 that the fruits of faith are any evidence to a man's own conscience 
 that he is justified : and though the word of God plainly and re- 
 peatedly declares, that by these ice know that we are of the truth — 
 that he abideth in us — that we dwell in him — that we have passed 
 from death unto life, &c. 1 John iii. 14, 19, 24, and iv. 13 ; yet he 
 boldly wrests these passages, and imposes upon the ignorant, by 
 turning the words (oidamen and ginoskomen) we know, into we acknow- 
 ledge, contrary to the sense of the original, the plain scope of the 
 passages, and all propriety of language. He thinks believers are ex- 
 horted to the fruits of faith merely to make their justification mani- 
 fest to others, i. e. to gain the good opinion of their fellow-men. But 
 Paul thought man's judgment a small thing to him in this matter, 1 Cor. 
 iv. 3. His rejoicing was the testimony of his conscience, not merely to the 
 soundness of his belief, but also to the simplicty and godly sincerity of 
 his conversation in the world, 2 Cor. i. 12. He supposes that a man 
 may deceive himself by thinking himself to be something when he is 
 nothing; and therefore exhorts every believer to prove his own 
 work, that he may have rejoicing (in men's good opinion of him ? nay, 
 but) in himself alone, and not in another, Gal. vi. 3, 4. Peter exhorts 
 believers to give all diligence to make their calling and election sure, 
 by adding to their faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, god- 
 liness, brotherly kindness, and charity; and adds, "For if ye do 
 these things, ye shall never fall ; for so an entrance shall be minis- 
 tered uuto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ," 2 Pet. i. 5 — 12. But it does not follow, 
 that because others may think our calling and election sure, therefore 
 
 1 Gal. vi. 3 ; James i. 22, 26. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 81 
 
 and repels the vain pretensions of such as say they be- 
 lieve, know God, and have fellowship with him, whilst 
 they walk in darkness and keep not his commandments :* 
 Nay, it supposes that men may be enlightened, receive the 
 word with joy, for a while believe, know the way of righte- 
 ousness, and even escape the pollutions of the world through 
 the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour ; and yet after all 
 fall away irrecoverably. 1 * These things are set before be- 
 lievers with a view to guard them against presumption, and 
 to awaken in them a cautious fear lest they should grow 
 barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ, and de- 
 part from the living God through unbelief . — On the 
 other hdnd, Jesus said to those who believed on him, " If 
 ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." 
 — " If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my 
 love." d His beloved disciple writes in the same strain : 
 " But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of 
 God perfected : hereby know we that we are in him. — 
 We know that we have passed from death unto life, be- 
 cause we love the brethren. — Hereby we know that we 
 are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. — 
 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, 
 and he in him : and hereby we know that he abideth in 
 us, by the Spirit which he hath given us." e These and 
 such passages clearly show, that believers know their con- 
 nection with Christ, not merely by conscious belief, but 
 also by faith working by love, and influencing them to 
 
 we shall never fall, but obtain the heavenly kingdom: he must there- 
 fore mean, that we should make our calling and election sure to our- 
 selves, to our own consciences in the sight of God. The Apostle John 
 opposes this assurance to our heart condemning us as destitute of 
 the fruits of faith, particularly love to the brethren ; and makes it to 
 consist in confidence towards God, the assurance of our hearts before 
 him, knowing that we are of the truth from its genuine effects upon 
 us, 1 John iii. 18—22. 
 
 * 1 John i. 6, and ii. 4, 5 ; James ii. 20. 
 
 b Luke viii. 13 ; Heb. vi. 4, 5, 6, and x. 26 ; 2 Pet. ii. 20, 21. 
 
 « John xv. 2, 6 ; Rom. xi. 19—28 ; 1 Cor. x. 11, 12 ; Heb. iii. 12 ; 
 
 2 Pet. iii. 19 ; 2 John ver. 8. d John viii. 31, and xv. 19. 
 
 e 1 John ii. 5, and iii. 14, 19, 2i. 
 
82 Christ's commission 
 
 keep his commandments. Accordingly they are exhorted 
 to give diligence to make their calling and election sure, 
 by adding to their faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, 
 patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity ; f and 
 to show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope 
 unto the end. g 
 
 When the gospel first shines into a man's mind with di- 
 vine light and evidence, making itself manifest in his con- 
 science as the word of the living God, it does not leave 
 him in painful uncertainty either as to his faith or state,* 
 though he be not as yet conscious of all those effects by 
 which he must afterwards try his faith. But when his 
 faith works with his works, brings forth the fruits of the 
 gospel, and purifies his soul unto the unfeigned love of the 
 brethren, he sees it distinguished from that faith which is 
 
 * It is affirmed by some, that when we believe the gospel, and even 
 " rejoice in hope of the glory of God — it will yet admit of a jealousy 
 lest we have deceived ourselves, mistaken the truth, or believed in 
 vain." Letters on Theron and Aspasio, vol. ii. p. 305. It indeed not 
 only admits, but promotes self-diffidence, and a cautious fear of sin 
 and its consequences ; for rejoicing in Christ Jesus, implies our hav- 
 ing no confidence in our own righteousness or strength ; and rejoicing 
 in hope of the glory of God consists well with the constant persuasion, 
 that without holiness no man shall see the Lord, and that if we draw 
 back from the faith, or live after the flesh, his soul shall have no pleasure 
 in us ; we shall die. This cautious fear, which is not tormenting, but 
 holds that place in the spiritual life which the principle of self-pre- 
 servation does in the natural, is one of the very means of our sta- 
 bility and perseverance. But then, if I suspect that I am deceived 
 or mistaken as to the truth itself, which is the foundation of faith and 
 hope, it is evident, that, while this suspicion remains, 1 am not be- 
 lieving the gospel. I may, indeed, have some general persuasion that 
 the gospel contains the saving truth ; but what that is, I cannot 
 with certainty say ; for any thing I know, all I perceive of it may be 
 a deception. This, in the very nature of it, is inconsistent with be- 
 lieving ; for no man can believe any thing with certainty, while he 
 suspects it to be a mistake, far less can he have joy or hope from it 
 till that suspicion is removed. It is a perfect contradiction to affirm, 
 that a man is believing the gospel, while he is suspecting he has be- 
 lieved in vain ; for, according to the Apostle, believing in vain, is to 
 believe a falsehood, which cannot profit, as the gospel would have 
 been, had not Christ risen from the dead, 1 Cor. xv. 1, 2, 14. If the 
 gospel is true, no man can believe it in vain ; and if he suspects he 
 may, he is not believing it, nor rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. 
 
 f 2 Pet. i. 5—12. e Heb. vi. 11. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 83 
 
 dead, being alone. h When it overcomes the world, and 
 raises him above the prevailing influence of the cares, 
 riches, and pleasures of this life, his conscience bears him 
 witness that he does not class with the thorny-ground 
 professors. 1 When it supports him under tribulations and 
 trials, so that he does not faint nor give way, this trial of 
 his faith working patience, and being attended with Di- 
 vine support and consolation, k gives him experience that 
 God is with him, and that he is distinguished from those 
 who receive the word with joy, and for a while believe, 
 but in time of temptation fall away. 1 By this his hope is 
 confirmed that he shall endure unto the end, and 
 that his faith will be found unto praise and honour and 
 glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. m So that as he 
 continues in Christ's word, and grows in conformity to 
 him, his experience of the love of God is enlarged, and the 
 testimony of his conscience strengthened, by the Holy 
 Spirit the Comforter giving him additional manifestations, 
 and more abundant fellowship with Christ in his joy, as 
 the earnest of the heavenly inheritance. 11 
 
 h James ii. 17, 20, 26. ; Luke viii. 14. k James i. 3, 4 ; Rom. v. 3, 4. 
 
 1 Luke viii. 13. m 1 Pet. i. 5, 7. 
 
 ■ Rom. v. 5 ; John xiv. 21, 23, and xv. 9—12 ; Eph. i. 13, 14. 
 
84 Christ's commission 
 
 PART II. 
 
 THE FORM, SUBJECTS, AND IMPORT OF CHRISTIAN 
 BAPTISM. 
 
 — " Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holv Ghost." 
 
 The next branch of the commission which, follows in order, 
 is a command to baptize: " Baptizing them." Here I 
 shall inquire a little into the outward form, the subjects, 
 and import of this institution. 
 
 WHAT BAPTIZING IS. 
 
 The action enjoined is baptizing; but the question is, 
 What kind of action is that ? Is it washing, pouring, 
 sprinkling, or dipping ? Many will tells us, that it is any 
 of them we please ; which indicates no great reverence 
 for Christ's authority. He surely must have meant one 
 kind of action, and have used a word sufficiently determi- 
 nate to express the manner of it, and to distinguish it from 
 every other. It is of importance to know what particular 
 kind of action he intends by baptizing. No less depends 
 upon it than obedience to his command ; for any other 
 action is not his ordinance at all. 
 
 Baptize (baptizo) is a Greek word which our translators 
 have only anglicised, but never translated, when expres- 
 sive of this ordinance. It signifies properly to dip, plunge, 
 or immerse ; and that in distinction from every other mode 
 of washing, as well as from sprinkling or pouring, which 
 are expressed in the original by other words. This sense 
 of the word is admitted by all the Pedobaptists of any 
 note ; and no instance has yet been produced either from 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 85 
 
 scripture or any ancient Greek writer, where it must ne- 
 cessarily bear another sense. 
 
 Neither the words pour nor spi'inkle make sense when 
 substituted in the place of baptize ; for the original ex- 
 pression is always baptizing in or into a thing. For in- 
 stance, — en or eis, in or into Jordan ; — en, in water, in 
 the Holy Ghost p : — eis into the name, q into Moses, 1 " into 
 Christ 3 , into his death.* Eis cannot be translated unto or 
 towards in the case of baptism ; because it would be non- 
 sense to say that John baptized unto or towards Jordan. 
 Nor can EN be rendered by in this case, for it would be 
 awkward to say, John baptized by Jordan. Neither can 
 it be rendered with, for the reason just now mentioned, 
 and also because Eis, which is used indifferently with it on 
 this subject, cannot be so rendered. As, therefore, bap- 
 tism is always represented as being performed in or into 
 a thing, it must be immersion, and not sprinkling or 
 pouring ; for persons cannot be sprinkled or poured into 
 water, though they may be dipped or immersed into it. 
 
 The English reader may be fully satisfied from other 
 circumstances, that baptism is immersion. Jesus, having 
 been baptized in Jordan ivent up out of the water, which 
 shows he had been down into it. u After Philip and the 
 eunuch had already come unto a certain water, we are 
 told, they went both down into the water that he might 
 baptize him ; and when this was performed, they came up 
 out of the water?'* John required a large quantity of 
 water to baptize in, and so we find him using the river 
 Jordan for that purpose/ He also baptized in Enon near 
 to Salim, for this very reason, because there was much water 
 there. 1 Now there was no need for much water, or for 
 going doivn into it, in order to pour or sprinkle a little of 
 it on the face ; but these circumstances were absolutely 
 necessary in order to dip or immerse the whole body, 
 
 • Mat. Hi. 6 ; Mark i. 9. p Mat. iii. 11. i Chap, xxviii. 19. 
 
 r 1 Cor. x. 2. 'Gal. iii. 27. ■ Rom. vi. 3. 
 
 • Mat. iii. 16 : Mark i. 10. ■ Acts viii. 36, 38, 39. > Mark i. 5. 
 
 ■ John iii. 23. 
 
 I 
 
86 Christ's commission - 
 
 which, therefore, must have been the action originally 
 performed, as all the judicious and candid Pedobaptist* 
 have acknowledged. 
 
 The allusions made to baptism as the sign of a burial 
 and resurrection, clearly point out the manner of adminis- 
 tering it. Believers are said to be baptized into the death 
 of Christ, to be buried with him by baptism, and therein 
 also to be risen with him. a Now, in whatever sense Chris- 
 tians are buried and risen with Christ, it cannot be in 
 baptism, if there is no exhibition of a burial and resurrec- 
 tion in that ordinance ; but if baptism is a burial in, and 
 resurrection from water, then the sign strikingly corres- 
 ponds with the thing signified, and the allusion to it is 
 pertinent and just. Upon the whole, therefore, it is clear 
 that the action enjoined is immersion ; and that any other 
 action is not merely a different mode of baptism, but a 
 different thing altogether. It is not baptizing, and so not 
 Christ's institution. 
 
 THE ELEMENT. 
 
 The body is to be buried or immersed in Water. This 
 admits of no dispute. John says, " I baptize you in 
 ?vater." h He baptized in the river of Jordan, and at 
 Enon, because there was much water there. c The Apostles 
 understood their commission as a command to baptize in 
 water ; lor when the Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius and 
 his kinsmen, Peter says, M Can any man forbid water that 
 these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy 
 Ghost as well as we ? And he commanded them to be 
 baptized/'* 1 &c. And here I cannot but notice how widely 
 the Apostle differs from some modern professors, who 
 maintain, that if they have what they call the baptism of 
 the Spirit, it is of little consequence whether they are 
 baptized in water or not. Cornelius and his friends had 
 
 • Rom. vi. 3, 4 ; Co!, ii. 12. b Mat. iii. 11. 
 
 c John iii. 23. d Acts x 47, 48 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 87 
 
 really obtained what our Lord calls baptism in the 
 Spirit ; e yet Peter was so far from considering this as su- 
 perseding baptism in water, or rendering it needless, that 
 he on the contrary, makes the former an argument for 
 the latter, and looks upon it as withstanding God to forbid 
 water to such as had received the Holy Spirit.' 
 
 THE NAME INTO WHICH BELIEVERS ARE TO BE BAPTIZED. 
 
 Our Lord here commands his apostles to baptize the 
 disciples (eis) " into the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The phrase in the name, 
 sometimes signifies for the sake of, in the strength of, by 
 the authority of, invoking the name of, &c. and doubtless 
 baptism ought to be administered with a view to God's 
 authority, depending on his assistance and blessing, and 
 calling upon his name for that purpose. But here, I ap- 
 prehend, the expression into the name, chiefly signifies into 
 the faith of the gospel. Old Israel are said to have been 
 " baptized into Moses, in the cloud, and in the sea ;" g that 
 is, into the religion established by the ministry of Moses. 
 So Christians are said to be baptized into Christ ; h that is, 
 into the faith or religion of Christ : And this is frequently 
 called his name. Philip preached the things concerning 
 the name of Jesus Christ ;* the apostles rejoiced that they 
 were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name ; k Paul 
 thought he ought to do many things contrary to the name 
 of Jesus ;' he was a chosen vessel to bear his name before 
 the Gentiles, m &c. In these passages it evidently means 
 the faith or the doctrine of Christ. So he himself explains 
 it : " Thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my 
 faith n :" — " Thou hast kept my word, and hast not denied 
 my name." Here his name signifies the same thing with 
 his faith or word; which may very properly be called his 
 
 • Acts i. 5, with chap. xi. 15, 16. f Chap. xi. 17. ? 1 Cor x. 2. 
 
 b Gal. iii. 27. • Acts viii. 12. k Chap. v. 41. ' Chap. xxvi. 9. 
 
 m Chap. ix. 15. D Rev. ii. 13. ° Chap. iii. 8. 
 
88 Christ's commission 
 
 name, as it makes him known, or reveals his true cha- 
 racter. Agreeably to this, he addresses his Father say- 
 ing, " I have manifested thy name unto the men whom 
 thou gavest me out of the world." — And he shows how he 
 did so ; " For I have given unto them the words which thou 
 gavest me." p To baptize, therefore, " into the name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,'' is to 
 baptize into the faith or doctrine of the gospel, which is 
 testified by the Divine Three, who are one ; q which reveals 
 them in their distinct and relative characters, and mani- 
 fests their glory as acting their respective parts in the 
 economy of redemption ; the gospel being a revelation of 
 the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ. " r 
 
 Christians are to be baptized " into the name of the 
 Father and of the Son," in distinction from idolatrous 
 heathens, who do not acknowledge the one true God, but 
 have many false gods and lords : " For (says the Apostle) 
 though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven 
 or in earth (as there be gods many, and lords many) ; but 
 to us there is but one God, the Father of whom are all 
 things, and we in him ; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by 
 whom are all things, and we by him/' 8 And also in dis- 
 tinction from unbelieving Jews, and Deists ; who, though 
 they acknowledge one God, yet deny the Son, and conse- 
 quently the Father, who is revealed only by, and in rela- 
 tion to, him ; for, " whosoever denieth the Son, the same 
 hath not the Father ;" and, whosoever transgresseth, and 
 abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God." 
 But the true believer " acknowledged the Son" in the 
 dignity of his person, mission, and supreme authority, as 
 the one Lord, and so " hath the Father also ;" as he 
 " abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the 
 Father and the Son."* The faith of the Father and Son 
 must therefore be professed in baptism, for it is a baptism 
 into that faith ; and so the Apostle connects with the one 
 
 p John xvii. 6, 8. U John v. 7. r Col. ii. 2. 
 * 1 Cor. viii. 5, 6. * 1 John ii. 23 ; 2 John ver. 9. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 89 
 
 baptism, the one faith which respects one Lord, and one 
 God and Father of all. u They must also be baptized into 
 the name of the Holy Ghost, who is the Spirit of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and whose office it is to testify of 
 Christ, and apply his salvation to men, by enlightening, 
 convincing, comforting, sanctifying, and sealing them 
 unto the day of redemption. 1 The Holy Spirit was not 
 given in a way peculiar to the gospel-dispensation during 
 John's baptism/ nor till Christ was glorified ; z but when 
 Jesus ascended on high, and received of the Father the 
 promise of the Holy Ghost, he poured him forth upon his 
 church, both in his gifts (some of which were extraordinary 
 and miraculous, for revealing and confirming the gospel 
 at first), and also in his saving influences, which are com- 
 mon to all the saints.* And as the soul in the natural 
 body is the principle of life, action, and unity ; so the 
 Holy Spirit, communicated from Christ, the risen and liv- 
 ing head, is as the common soul of his mystical body the 
 church, which animates and actuates every particular 
 member, diffuses a mutual sympathy through all the parts, 
 and unites the whole as it were into one living system. 6 
 Thus by one Spirit they are all baptized into one body, 
 and are all made to drink into one Spirit. Now as this 
 is signified to them in baptism, so they are baptized into 
 the name of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, holiness, 
 and consolation. Accordingly we find the Apostle con- 
 necting the one Spirit with the one baptism. d 
 
 THE SUBJECTS OF THIS ORDINANCE. 
 
 The Subjects of baptism are signified in the commis- 
 sion by the word them : — " Baptizing them." Not every 
 individual in the nations ; but only such as they should 
 
 n Eph. iv. 5, 6. 
 
 ^Johnxvi. 7 — 16; Horn. v. 5 ; 2Thess. ii. 13; Eph. i. 13, 14: audi v. 30. 
 
 J Mat. iii. 11 ; Acts xix. 2, 3. ' John \ii. 38, 39. 
 
 • Acts ii. 33; Eph. iv. 7—14 ; Gal. v. 22—25; Rom. viii. 9. 
 
 b 1 Cor. xii; Eph. iv. 16. c i Cor. vi. 13. * Eph. iv. -1. ;». 
 
 I '2 
 
90 Christ's commission 
 
 previously teach with effect, or make disciples by teaching-. 
 The word (autous) them in the original is masculine, and 
 does no agree with (panta ta ETHNe) all nations, which 
 is neuter ; but refers to (mathetas) disciples, which is in- 
 cluded in the verb (matheteuein) to teach or disciple. So 
 the sense is, Teach all nations, baptizing them that are 
 taught, or made disciples. This is clear from the parallel 
 place in Mark, which restricts baptism to him that be- 
 lieveth : " He that believeth and is baptized." It is plain, 
 therefore, that none are commanded to be baptized, but 
 such as are first taught or made disciples, and profess to 
 believe the gospel. 
 
 But what puts this beyond all possibility of doubt, is 
 the uniform practice of the inspired apostles in executing 
 this commission, who never baptized any till once they 
 had made them disciples by teaching. Peter on the day 
 of Pentecost began with preaching the gospel to the Jews, 
 and none but " they who gladly received his word were 
 baptized.'" 6 He first taught Cornelius and his house, but 
 he baptized none of them till the Holy Ghost fell upon 
 them, and they magnified God, having their hearts puri- 
 fied by faith. f Philip in the first place preached the 
 gospel to the Samaritans ; but it was not till " they be- 
 lieved Philip, preaching the " things concerning the king- 
 dom of God, and the name of Jesus," that " they were 
 baptized, both men and women. " g He also preached Jesus 
 to the Ethiopian eunuch, but did not baptize him till he 
 made an explicit profession of ms faith. h Paul and Silas 
 spoke the word of the Lord at Philippi to Lydia and 
 others; but they did not baptize her till the Lord opened 
 her heart to attend unto the things which were spoken. 
 Her household also were baptized in consequence of their 
 believing, for they are called brethren, and were cmnfort- 
 ed by the Apostle and his company at their departure. 1 
 They also " spake the word of the Lord unto the Jailer 
 
 ' Acts ii. 41. ( Chap. x. 44—48, and sev. 9. e Chap. via. 12. 
 h Ver. 35, 37, 38. » Chap. xvi. 13, 14, 15, 40. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 91 
 
 and to all that were in his house," but they baptized none 
 of them till they believed ; for we are told, that he " re- 
 joiced, believing in God with all his house."* k Many of 
 the Corinthians were baptized ; but we are expressly told 
 that it was in consequence of their hearing the gospel and 
 believing it. 1 We read also of two households being bap- 
 tized at Corinth ; one of them was that of Crispus the 
 chief ruler of the synagogue, of whom it is said, that he 
 " believed on the Lord with all his house : m the other was 
 the house of Stephanas ; n and that these were believers is 
 evident from the Apostle's account of them a little while 
 after : " I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Ste- 
 phanas, that it is the first fruits of Achaia, and that they 
 have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints), that ye 
 submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth 
 with us and laboureth. " I might also mention the bap- 
 tism of Paul himself, p and of the beloved Gaius his host ; q 
 but I suppose none will question that they were believers 
 previous to their baptism. 
 
 These are all the instances of baptism, in consequence 
 of our Lord's commission, which are expressly recorded in 
 the scriptures ; and we see it was administered to none but 
 professed disciples. I had almost forgot the baptism of 
 Simon Magus ; but this is no exception ; for, previous to 
 his baptism, it is said, " Then Simon himself believed also ; r 
 
 * The adverb panoihi (of pas, all — and oikos, house) is rightly render- 
 ed with all his house ; for in this sense the LXX. use that word in 
 Exod. i. 1. "Now these are the names of the children of Israel, 
 which came into Egypt, every man (webaxtho, panoiki) and his house, 
 of with all his house." Josephus also, speaking of the law respecting 
 the offerings allotted for the priests' maintenance, says, it was 
 appointed " that they (panoihi) icith their ichole families, might 
 c-at them in the holy city." Antiq. b. iv. eh. iv. § 4. The law he 
 refers to runs thus : " In the most holy place shalt thou eat it. — I 
 have given them unto thee, and to thy sons, and to thy daughters 
 with thee, by a statute for ever ; every one that is clean in thy house 
 shall eat of it." Numb, xviii. 10 — 20. 
 
 k Acts ii. 32, 33, 34. " Chap, xviii. 8. ■ Chap, xviii. 8. ; 1 Cor. i. 14. 
 ■ 1 Cor. i. 16. ° 1 Cor. xvi. 15, 10'. p Acts ix. 18. 
 i 1 Cor. i. 14 ; Rom. xvi. 23; 3 John ver. 1 — 7. 
 r Acts viii. 13. 
 
92 CHRIST S COMMISSION" 
 
 which imports, at least, that he professed to believe ; and 
 this was a sufficient warrant for Philip, who could not 
 know his heart, to administer baptism to him. Whether, 
 therefore, we consider the plain words of the commission 
 itself, or the uniform practice of the inspired apostles in 
 executing it, it is evident to a demonstration, that bap- 
 tism does not belong to professed infidels, ignorant per- 
 sons, or mere infants, but only to professed believers of the 
 gospel. 
 
 What has been said may satisfy any simple unprejudiced 
 person as to the subjects of this divine ordinance ; but as 
 many sophistical arguments have been invented in sup- 
 port of infant sprinkling, it may be proper to take no- 
 tice of those of them upon which the chief stress is laid. 
 
 The Pedobaptists in general confess, that there is neither 
 express precept nor indisputable example in the word of 
 God for the baptism of infants ; yet they think it may be 
 established by analogy and inference, But it should be 
 carefully remembered, that baptism is not like natural or 
 moral duties, which are founded in, and may be inferred 
 from, the nature and relation of things. It is a poslticv 
 institution, which depends entirely upon the will of the 
 Institutor, both as to its nature and all its circumstances ; 
 and it becomes our duty, merely by the revelation of that 
 will, either in express precept, or in such clear and ap- 
 proved precedents as necessarily infer that such a precept 
 was originally given. If neither of these can be produced 
 for the baptism of infants, all argumentation on the sub- 
 ject is vain ; for a positive institution can never be made 
 out by mere reasoning. Further, if the commission re- 
 stricts baptism to professed believers, and if it was admin- 
 istered only to such, as has been shown, then every argu- 
 ment for the baptism of infants must be false, because in- 
 fants fall not under that description ; and this as clearly 
 forbids their baptism, as their inability to examine them- 
 selves, or discern the Lord's body, prohibits their admis- 
 
 er. 
 
TO HIS ArOSTLES. 93 
 
 I. It is argued, that as the infants of Old Israel were 
 circumcised, therefore the infants of believers should be 
 baptized. 
 
 But circumcision and baptism materially differ in manj 
 things, and therefore we cannot infer the latter from the 
 former. Circumcision was annexed to the peculiar cove- 
 nant of promise made with Abraham, which respected two 
 future covenants ; the old, made at Sinai with his fleshly 
 seed ; 8 and the new, made in Christ's blood with his spiri- 
 tual seed of all nations ;* but it was appropriated to the 
 first of these covenants, which was temporal and typical, 
 and accordingly was set aside along with it ; whereas 
 baptism pertains only to the new covenant, which is the 
 antitype of the former. Circumcision belonged to the 
 natural seed of Abraham as such, without any distinction, 
 or regard to the spiritual birth, u and accordingly Ishmael 
 was circumcised ; x but baptism belongs only to such as ap- 
 pear to be the spiritual seed of Abraham by faith in Christ 
 Jesus, and heirs according to the promise/ And so we 
 find John the Baptist setting aside the Jewish claims 
 founded upon their descent from Abraham : z for though 
 this was a valid plea for circumcision, it could not avail 
 for baptism, which belongs only to those who appear to 
 be regenerated or born again. a Circumcision was re- 
 stricted to males, whilst it was extended to a man's ser- 
 vants and slaves ; b but baptism extends to females as well 
 as males, to Jew and Greek, bond and free, without differ- 
 ence, whilst it is restricted to such of these as believe.' 
 The circumcision made by hands in the flesh of Abraham's 
 natural seed, prefigured the circumcision of the heart of his 
 spiritual seed, the circumcision made without hands in put- 
 ing off the body of the sins of the flesh ; d but baptism 
 presupposes the subjects of it already circumcised in heart, 
 
 ' Deut. xxix. 13. • Gal. iii. and iv. ; Heb. viii. 7 — 13. 
 
 • Gen. xvii. 9 — 15. ■ Ver. 25. 
 
 J Mark xvi. 16; Acts viii. 37 : Gal. iii. 26—29, and iv. 28. 
 
 ■ Mat. iii. 9. ■ John i. 12, 13, and iii. 3, 5. b Gen. xvii. 10—15. 
 
 • Acts viii. 12; Gal. iii. 27, 28, 29. *lioxn. ii. 29; Col. ii. 11. 
 
94 Christ's commission 
 
 and signifies their communion with, and conformity to, 
 Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. 6 Much stress 
 has been laid upon circumcision being termed a seal of the 
 righteousness of the faith/ as if it had been such a seal to 
 the infant seed of Abraham. But the whole weight of 
 this argument rests upon the sound of words taken out of 
 their connection. The Apostle is showing that faith was 
 reckoned to Abraham for righteousness in uneircumcision, 5 
 and that " he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of 
 the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being un- 
 circumcised ;" i. e. Abraham himself was justified by faith, 
 before he was circumcised, 11 and he received circumcision 
 afterwards as a seal that he was thus justified, and that 
 the Gentiles should in like manner be justified in uncir- 
 cumcision.* But he did not receive it in this sense, as 
 the father or representative of his natural seed as such, 
 but only as the father of all who like him should believe, 
 whether they are Jews or Gentiles ; for the Apostle ex- 
 pressly tells us, that Abraham was justified by faith, and 
 then received circumcision as the seal of it, for this end, 
 " that he might be the father of all them that believe, though 
 they be not circumcised (i. e. of believing Gentiles), that 
 righteousness might be imputed unto them also ; and the 
 father of circumcision unto them (viz. believing Jews), 
 who are not of the circumcision only, but also walk in the 
 steps of that faith of our father Abraham which he had being 
 yet uncircumcised." 1 If, therefore, circumcision was not 
 a seal of the righteousness of faith to Abraham, in rela- 
 tion to his natural seed as such, no argument can be 
 drawn from it for the baptism of the natural infant seed 
 of believers. If we admit the scripture doctrine concern- 
 
 * The original is, sphragida tes dihaiosunes tes piseos ei teahrobusias. 
 " a seal of the righteousness of that faith which is in the uncircum- 
 cision," i. e. of God's justifying the heathen through faith without 
 circumcision, as he did Abraham. 
 
 e Rom. vi. 3—8; Col. ii. 12, 13. 
 f Rom. iv. 11, 12. .e Ver. 9, 10. h Gen. xv. 6. ■ Rom. iv. 11, 12. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 95 
 
 ing the different state of things under the two covenants, 
 and the distinction of Abraham's twofold seed, k the argu- 
 ment from analogy must stand thus : That as under the 
 hrst covenant circumcision belonged to all the natural 
 seed of Abraham, who were known to be such in infancy 
 by their fleshly birth ; so, under the new covenant, bap- 
 tism belongs to all the spiritual seed of Abraham by faith 
 in Christ Jesus, who are known to be such only by their 
 profession of that faith. So that it does not conclude 
 lor the baptism of infants, but the contrary. 
 
 2. Jesus says, " Suffer the little children to come unto 
 me and forbid them not ; for of such is the kingdom of 
 God.'' 1 From this it is argued, that since the infants of 
 believers belong to the kingdom of God, they must have 
 a right to baptism. 
 
 But this passage does not distinguish the infants of be- 
 lievers from those of infidels, nor conclude for the baptism 
 of the former more than for that of the latter. The king- 
 dom of God, to which little children are declared to be- 
 long, is his real invisible kingdom, which will not truly ap- 
 pear until Christ's second coming ; m for it is that kingdom 
 which none can enter but such as receive it as a little 
 child," and are really converted and born again. But 
 baptism belongs to the present visible appearance of that 
 kingdom in this world, which includes many false profes- 
 sors, because men are unable to distinguish them ; p and as 
 this appearance is only to be seen in the outward profes- 
 sion of the faith, so infants being incapable of that pro- 
 fession, are not visible subjects of his kingdom, and so 
 have no right to baptism, which belongs only to his king- 
 dom as it is visible to men. But there is no room for 
 much reasoning on this passage. Either these infants 
 ?i ere baptized or they were not. If they were, the con- 
 
 fc Kom. ix. 6 — 8; Gal. iii, and iv ; Heb. viii. ! Mark x. 14. 
 
 m !i Pet. i. 11 ; 2 Tim. iv. 1. " Mark x. 15. 
 
 ° Mat. xviii. 3 ; John iii. 3. 
 
 p Mat. xiii. 4.7 . 48, and xxv. 2 ; Acts viii. 13. 
 
96 Christ's commission 
 
 troversy is at an end ; if they were not, then they ought 
 not. That they were not then baptized is evident : They 
 were not brought for that purpose, " but that he should 
 put his hands on them and pray." q Jesus himself did not 
 baptize them, for he baptized none ; r nor did he order his 
 disciples to do it ; nor would they have forbidden infants 
 to be brought unto him, if they had known anything 
 about infant baptism. If, therefore, while Jesus was re- 
 buking his disciples for forbidding infants to come unto 
 him ; if while he was declaring infants to be of his king- 
 dom ; taking them up in his arms and blessing them ; if 
 while he had such a fair opportunity of being explicit as 
 to their baptism, and of setting an example of it, that 
 might have prevented all the disputes which he foresaw 
 would arise on that subject; I say, if on such an occasion, 
 he neither baptized them himself, nor commanded them 
 to be baptized, nor so much as gave the least hint of his 
 will that such should be baptized in future ; what can we 
 reasonably infer from all this, but that infant-baptism is 
 no institution of his, nor was ever intended by him ? We 
 may also learn from this passage what some do not seem 
 to understand, viz. that infants may be acknowledged of 
 Christ's kingdom, brought unto him, and obtain his bless- 
 ing, without being baptized. 
 
 3. Peter, addressing the convicted Jews, says, " Repent 
 and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus 
 Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the 
 gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and 
 to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many 
 as the Lord our God shall call.'' 3 Hence it is pleaded, 
 That since the promise of salvation is made unto the in- 
 fant children of believers as well as to themselves, there- 
 fore they ought to be baptized. 
 
 But this argument is grounded upon a complication of 
 mistakes. The promise here referred to is not the promise 
 of salvation in general, but the promise of the Spirit in 
 
 <> Mat. xix. 13. r John iv. 2. • Acts ii. 88, tiQ. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 97 
 
 particular, which he had before cited from Joel ii. 28 — 
 32/ and which includes the extraordinary gifts which 
 were peculiar to the first age of the gospel. This promise 
 began to be accomplished on the day of Pentecost, as the 
 Apostle shows, verses 16, 33, and was made in the first 
 place to the Jews and their children, to whom he directly 
 applies it as an encouragement to repentance : for he did 
 not properly understand till afterwards that the Gentiles 
 were to partake with them in these extraordinary gifts. u 
 The children to whom this promise is made must of neces- 
 sity be the very same that are mentioned in the promise it- 
 self, and who are there termed your sons and your daugh- 
 ters ; x and therefore cannot signify infant children, for 
 they are such as should prophesy upon receiving the Spirit, 
 as we see was actually the case/ When our Lord says, 
 " If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your chil- 
 dren cast them out ?'' H By your children, he neither means 
 infants nor the particular offspring of those he is imme- 
 diately addressing. Nor is this promise restricted to the 
 children of believers, for many of the children of unbeliev- 
 ing Jews received the Spirit. Neither does it extend to 
 the whole Jewish nation, but only to whosover shall call 
 on the name of the Lord and be delivered, whether in mount 
 /Aon, or in Jerusalem, or in the remnant whom the Lord 
 shall call, 3, as the apostle Paul also observes. b If this, 
 therefore, is the sense in which Peter understood and ap- 
 plied the promise of the Spirit in Joel, as it evidently is, 
 then it can furnish no argument for infant-baptism, be- 
 cause infants are not intended in this passage. But though 
 we should, for argument's sake, take the promise in the 
 most extensive view, as signifying the ordinary influences 
 of the Spirit which are common to all Christians to the 
 end of time, 6 and as extending both to Jews and Gentiles 
 
 1 See Acts ii. 16—22. ■ Acts x. 24—48, and xi. If— 17. 
 * Acts ii. 17 ; Joel ii. 28. 
 » Acts ii. 4, x. 4G, xix. 6, and xxi. 9 ; 1 Cor. xii. 8 — 12. 
 * Mat. xii. 27. • Joel ii. 32 ; Acts ii. 21, 39. 
 b Rom. ix. 27, and xi. 5. ° Rom. viii. 9. 
 
 K 
 
98 Christ's commission 
 
 with their offspring ; yet unless we also expunge the limit- 
 ing clause, it will never conclude for their baptism while 
 infants. The original promise is restricted to the "rem- 
 nant whom the Lord shall " call ;" d or, as Peter quotes it, 
 " even to as many as the Lord our God shall call ;" e but 
 mere infants, while such, cannot manifest that they are 
 actually called of the Lord or partakers of his Spirit ; and 
 therefore have no right to baptism upon that ground. 
 Had this promise respected infant children, and been un- 
 derstood as a warrant for their baptism, then they must 
 have been immediately baptized with their parents : but 
 we read of none receiving baptism on this occasion, but 
 such as gladly received Peter's word, were the same day 
 added to the church, and continued steadfastly in the 
 apostles' doctrine and felloivship, and in breaking of bread, 
 and in prayers 1 ', even as the multitude baptized in Sa- 
 maria are expressly declared to be believing men and 
 women." It is the extremity of folly and perverseness to 
 argue against plain facts. 
 
 4. The Apostle says, " For the unbelieving husband is 
 sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanc- 
 tified by the husband : else were your children unclean ; 
 but now are they holy." h The argument from this is, 
 That as the children even of one believing parent are 
 holy, as being in covenant with God ; therefore they 
 ought to have the seal of that covenant in baptism. 
 
 But the Apostle had no such thing in his eye ; nor 
 would this sense of the passage have suited his purpose, 
 or have satisfied the scruples of the believing Corinthians. 
 Their question was not, Are our children possessed of 
 new-covenant holiness, and so entitled to baptism ? but 
 (as appears from the answer) it was this, May we law- 
 fully retain our unbelieving wives, or must we put them 
 away as Old Israel were obliged to do by the law of 
 Moses ? ! To this he answers, " If any brother hath a 
 
 d Joel ii. 32. e Acts ii. 39. l Chap. ii. 41, 42. s Chap. viii. 12. 
 h 1 Cor. vii, 14. ' Deut. vii, 3 ; Ezra x. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 99 
 
 wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with 
 him, let him not put her away," &c. And he gives this 
 reason for it, " For the unbelieving wife is sanctified by 
 the husband," — This sanctijication of the unbelieving wife 
 to the believer, being opposed to the legal uncleanness of 
 an alien to a Jew, must relate purely to the marriage re- 
 lation, and signify that she was a lawful wife to him, even 
 as the meats formerly held unclean by the law of Moses 
 were now sanctified to him, or made lawful for his use. k 
 And what other sanctification or holiness can we suppose 
 an unbeliever, while such, capable of? He farther ob- 
 serves, that unless their unbelieving wives were thus 
 sanctified, their children would also be unclean : " Else 
 were your children unclean." — The 'uncleanness of the chil- 
 dren being stated as a consequence of the supposed unlaw- 
 fulness of the unbelieving party, must necessarily signify 
 illegitimacy ; for though they were begotten in marriage, 
 yet upon supposition that the marriage itself were unlaw- 
 ful, they must of consequence have been an unlaivful issue. — 
 " But now are they holy." This holiness of the children 
 can signify nothing more than legitimacy ; because it is 
 opposed to their uncleanness, as above explained ; and be- 
 cause it is stated as an effect of the sanctification of the 
 unbelieving parent, without which, the Apostle affirms, 
 they would be unclean ; it must therefore be a holiness of 
 the same kind ; for spiritual holiness can never depend 
 upon, or flow from, the sanctification of an unbeliever. 
 As the unbelieving party is sanctified, or made holy, only 
 in respect of her being a lawful wife to the believer, so 
 the children can have no holiness in consequence of this, 
 but that of being a lawful issue, which affords no argu- 
 ment for their baptism. 
 
 5. We read that Lydia was baptized and her house- 
 hold 1 ;" — that the Jailer " was baptized, he and all his, 
 straightway m ;" and that Paul " baptized also the house- 
 hold of Stephanas.''" These passages are urged as exhibit- 
 
 k 1 Tim. iv. 3—5. » Acts xvi. 5. m Yer. 33. n 1 Cor. i. 1G. 
 
100 Christ's commission 
 
 ing examples of baptizing infants, taking it for granted 
 that those houses contained infants who were baptized 
 upon the faith of their parents. 
 
 But this is only begging the question in debate. It 
 must first be proved that there were infants in the houses 
 mentioned, for there are many houses without them : and 
 though this were done, which it never can, it still remains 
 to ba proved that they were baptized ; for the universal 
 expression of all the house, sometimes signifies only the 
 adult part of it.° But the scripture account of these bap- 
 tized houses demonstrates that they were not infants. All 
 the house of Cornelius feared God, and received the Holy 
 Ghost? Lydia's household were comforted as brethren.* 
 The word of the Lord was spoken to all in the Jailer's 
 house ; r and they all rejoiced, believing in God as well as 
 himself. 8 All the house of Crispus believed on the Lord, 1 
 and the house of Stephanas addicted thmiselves to the min- 
 istry of the saints."* Now, if these things, which are af- 
 firmed of all the baptized, will not apply unto infants, 
 then it is plain there were no infants baptized in those 
 houses. Let us now consider, 
 
 THE IMPORT AND DESIGN OF BAPTISM. 
 
 This is a branch of the subject which has been too little 
 attended to by many. The universal practice of sprink- 
 ling infants, with the principles adopted and arguments 
 used in support of that human invention, have not only 
 set aside the subjects and form of Christ's institution, but 
 in a great measure obscured and perverted its significa- 
 tion ; so that it is amazing to observe the ignorance which 
 prevails among professors on this head, though they have 
 the New Testament among their hands. Some look upon 
 it as little more than the ceremony of giving a name to 
 their child. Many consider it a christening, or making 
 
 ° Juchr. ix. 0. p Acts x. 2, 44, 47. « Acts xvi. 40. 
 ■ Acts xvi. 32. s Chap. xvi. 34. l Chap, xviii. 8. ° 1 Cor. xvi. 15. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 101 
 
 them Christians ; hence their anxiety to have them 
 sprinkled betimes, lest they should die Pagans. Others, 
 who pretend to more knowledge, view it as a sign whereby 
 their infants are initiated into the visible church, though 
 they are neither agreed as to what that church is, nor ad- 
 mit them into the full communion of any visible church. 
 They also look upon it as the seal of some covenant, which, 
 they say, is made with a believer, and his natural seed ; 
 yet they are not agreed as to the nature of that imaginary 
 covenant, or whether it entails salvation, or only a right to 
 some outward privileges. Many view it as the parent's 
 dedication of his child to God, accompanied with a vow or 
 engagement to bring it up in the nurture and admonition 
 of the Lord ; while others, disclaiming dedications, vows, 
 and engagements, make it to be a sign to the parent that 
 Christ is as able to save his child as himself, and that he 
 must enter the kingdom of God as destitute of any good 
 qualification as his infant is. Thus, every one annexes a 
 significaton to baptism agreeable to his own favourite hy- 
 pothesis, whilst all of them have been accommodated to 
 the baptism of infants. But as the scripture contains 
 no such institution, so neither does it give us any of the 
 above views as the design of baptism. If we consult the 
 word of God, we shall find that this divine ordinance is 
 intended, 
 
 1. To be a sign of regeneration, or that the person bap- 
 tized is born of the Spirit. Jesus says to Nicodemus, 
 " Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can- 
 not enter into the kingdom of God." x Water here un- 
 doubtedly means the water of baptism,* for it is distin- 
 
 * So this passage and Tit. iii. 5, were universally understood until 
 the days of Calvin ; since which time some modern writers, with a view 
 to set aside the necessity of baptism to solvation, and the horrid doc- 
 trine of the Romish church concerning the state of unbaptized in- 
 fants, have explained the expressions born of xcater and the taver of 
 regeneration, of the purifying operations of the Spirit, which are in- 
 deed sometimes spoken of under the metaphor of water, Isa. xliv. 3 ; 
 Ezek. xxxvi. 25; John vii. : '~. -. Bui gl 
 
 1 John iii. -j. 
 
 K 2 
 
302 Christ's commission 
 
 guished from the Spirit ; so that to be bom of water, is 
 to be baptized, even as to be bom of the Spirit, is to be 
 regenerated ; and as the former is connected with the 
 latter, and termed a birth in reference to it, it must be the 
 visible sign or representation of the spiritual birth. This 
 is farther evident from Tit. iii. 5. " According to his 
 mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost." Two things are here 
 pointed at : One is baptism, called the washing, or rather 
 (loutron) laver of regeneration, because it is the sign of it. 
 The other is regeneration itself, or the renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost, which is the thing signified in baptism. Our 
 Lord makes this ordinance necessary to our entering into 
 the kingdom of God ; which imports at least, that as none 
 can really enter that kingdom without being born of 
 
 passages into the most unmeaning repetitions. Surely our Lord 
 could never mean to say, " Except a man be born of the Spirit, and 
 of the Spirit ;" or his inspired Apostle to affirm, that "he saved us 
 by the renewing of the Holy Ghost, and the renewing of the Holy 
 Ghost." They produce Mat. iii. 11. as a tautology of the same kind. 
 " Baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." But the cloven 
 tongues like as of fire, to which this refers, (Acts ii. 2, 3.) were only 
 the visible symbol in which the Spirit, who is invisible, descended upon 
 the Apostles; and so is no tautology, because distinguishable. As 
 to the necessity of baptism to salvation, it is not stronger expressed 
 in these passages than in some others, concerning which there is no 
 dispute ; such as, " He that beHeveth, and is baptized, shall be 
 saved," Mark xvi. 16. " The like figure whereunto baptism doth also 
 now save us," &c. 1 Pet. iii. 21. — " Be baptized and wash away thy 
 sins," Acts xxii. 16. If it be said that the chief stress is here to be laid 
 upon believing, and the thing signified in baptism, the same may be 
 said of the passages under consideration, without excluding baptism 
 itself, which is evidently intended in them. Baptism cannot be ne- 
 cessary to infants, for whom it was never intended, who can neither 
 observe nor reject it, any more than they can believe or disbelieve 
 the gospel, and so are entirely out of the question. Nor is it abso- 
 lutely necessary to such as never heard of it or who cannot possibly 
 obtain it. Christ requiries no impossibilites. It is not the mere 
 want, but wilful contempt or neglect of it, which condemns men ; for 
 it is the thing signified which saves. But should they make light of 
 baptism, knowing it to be a standing institution of Christ, and ne- 
 glect it when it is in their power, however high their pretensions 
 may be in other respects, we are warranted from our Lord's words to 
 tell them, they cannot enter his kingdom without repentance ; and 
 this is no more than what may be said of the like treatment of his 
 other commandments. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 103 
 
 the Spirit ; so none can visibly enter it without being born 
 of water, nor indeed have they ground to think that they 
 shall enter it in any sense, if they wilfully despise this or- 
 dinance, and throw contempt upon the authority of its In- 
 stitutor, which is expressly declared to be no less than 
 " rejecting the counsel of God against themselves." 7 
 
 2. It represents to the repenting believer the remission 
 or ivashing away of his sins in the blood of Christ. Ac- 
 cordingly, Peter exhorts the convicted Jews, " Repent, and 
 be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, 
 for the remission of sins." 2 Ananias, in his address to 
 Paul, expresses this still stronger : " And now, why tarriest 
 thou ? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, 
 calling on the name of the Lord." a This manner of speak- 
 ing will appear very extravagant to many now-a-days, 
 who look upon baptism as a mere empty right or arbitrary 
 precept. To be baptized for the remission or ivashing away 
 of sins, plainly imports, that in baptism the remission of 
 sins is represented as really conferred upon the believer. 
 The gospel promises in general, " that through Christ's 
 name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission 
 of sins." b " Baptism applies this promise, and represents 
 its actual accomplishment to an individual believer ; assur- 
 ing him, that all his past sins are now as really washed 
 away in the blood of Christ, as his body is washed in 
 water. Baptism represents the atoning blood of Christ, 
 not merely as shed upon the cross when he bore the curse 
 for us ; c but as obtaining deliverance from that curse, and 
 the reward of eternal life from the God of peace in his 
 resurrection,* 1 (he being raised again for our justification) 6 , 
 and also as carried with him into the heavenly sanctuary, 
 and presented unto God, where, as our High-priest 
 and Advocate, he appears with acceptance in the Divine 
 presence for us. f It is this manifested and applied to the 
 
 j Luke vii. 29, 30. ■ Acts ii. 38. » Chap. xxii. 16. 
 b Acts x. 43. c Gal. iii. 13. d Keb. xiii. 20. 
 " Rom. iv. 25. f Heb. be. 12, 24. 
 
104 Christ's commission 
 
 conscience that perfects or purges it from dead works to 
 serve the living God, which the legal purifications could not 
 do ; s and as baptism is the visible representation and ap- 
 plication of this, Peter calls it (antitupon) the antitype of 
 the salvation of Noah and his family from water by the 
 lifting up of the ark, while he also contrasts it with the 
 ceremonial cleansings which sanctified only to purifying 
 of the flesh. His words are : " The antitype of which, 
 baptism, doth also now save us, (not the putting away the 
 filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience to- 
 wards God), by the resurrection of Jesus Christ ; who 
 is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of 
 God," h &c. 
 
 Baptism also represents the washing away of the filth 
 or pollution of sin both from the heart and future life of a 
 Christian. Hence the Apostle connects with it the "put- 
 ting off the body of the sins " of the flesh ;' n the destruction 
 of the body of sin, that henceforth we should not serve it. k 
 Considered therefore as a ivashing or cleansing, it repre- 
 sents both our justification from the guilt of sin by the 
 blood of Christ, and our sanctification from its inherent 
 pollution and power by his word and Spirit. That bap- 
 tism imports this twofold cleansing is clear from Eph. v. 
 25, 26, " Christ also loved the church, and gave himself 
 for it, that he might sanctify it {katharisas to loutro tei 
 udatos en remati), having cleansed in the laver of water 
 by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious 
 church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, 
 but that it should be holy and without blemish." 
 
 Three things are here mentioned in sanctifying and 
 cleansing the church. 1. Christ's giving himself for her, 
 that he might sanctify or cleanse her from the guilt of sin, 
 and dedicate or consecrate her unto God by his own blood. 
 Thus, " we are sanctified through the offering of the body 
 of Jesus Christ once for all ; >n and thus " Jesus, that he 
 
 b Heb. ix. 13, 14. h 1 Pet. iii. 21, 2 '. L Col. U. 11. 
 
 " iioiri. \ :. ij. . . ■ . .10. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 105 
 
 might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered 
 without the gate."" 1 He also gave himself for her to 
 cleanse her from the pollution of sin, and free her from its 
 dominion and servitude, that so she may be without spot 
 or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. Both which ends 
 of Christ's death are also mentioned in Tit. ii. 14. " Who 
 gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all ini- 
 quity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous 
 of good works." — 2. This twofold cleansing is here said to 
 be (to loutro tei udatos) in the laver of water, i. e. in bap- 
 tism ; because it is the outward sign of it, whereby it is 
 visibly represented as actually taking place upon the be- 
 liever. This is that one baptism which Christ has insti- 
 tuted to be as it were the nuptial washing of his one bride 
 the church, for which he gave himself, and which he hath 
 appointed to continue until his second coming n , — 3. Lastly, 
 this sanctification or cleansing of the church is also (en 
 remati) by the word, i. e. the word of the truth of the gos- 
 pel ; without which we cannot know anything of Christ, 
 and of the ends of his death and resurrection, or be bene- 
 fited thereby. It is in understanding and believing this 
 word by the Spirit, as it testifies of Christ, that we are 
 actually connected with him, regenerated, receive the re- 
 mission of sins, and have our hearts purified. p It is this 
 word which gives a meaning to baptism, which pronounces 
 the believer clean by what is therein signified, and which 
 furnishes him with every motive to holiness in heart and 
 life. Thus we may see the import of Christ's declara- 
 tion, " Now ye are clean, through the word which I have 
 spoken unto you ;" q and of his prayer, " Sanctify them 
 through thy truth ; thy word is truth/' 1 " To be sanc- 
 tified by the word or through the truth, is the same as to be 
 sanctified by the Spirit ; for the Holy Spirit is the Spirit 
 of the truth,* and exerts his enlightening and sanctifying 
 
 m Hcb. xiii. 12. n Mat. xxviii. 19, 20. • Rom. x. 14, 15, 16. 
 
 p Rom. x. 8, 9 ; 1 Pet. i. 23 ; Acts xv. 7, 8, 9. 
 « John xv. 3. r Chap. xvii. 17. • Chap xv. 26, and xvi. 13. 
 
106 Christ's commission 
 
 influence, not separate from, but by means of, the truth. 
 Hence the same effects are ascribed sometimes to the 
 word, and at other times to the Spirit, though both must 
 always be understood. 
 
 Thus I have considered baptism as it represents & wash- 
 ing or cleansing ; but that is not the only, nor indeed the 
 principal view of this ordinance. It holds forth the be- 
 liever's connection with Christ in a manner still more close, 
 striking, and complete, than anything included in that 
 idea. For, 
 
 3. It exhibits the death, burial, and resurrection of 
 Christ, whereby he fulfilled all righteousness, together 
 with the Christian's communion with, and conformity to 
 him therein. This the Apostle expressly declares, and 
 chiefly insists upon : " Know ye not that so many of 
 us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into 
 his death ? " Therefore we are buried with him by bap- 
 tism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from 
 the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also 
 should walk in newness of life,"* &c. He gives the same 
 view of it in Col. ii. 12, 13. " Buried with him in bap- 
 tism, wherein also you are risen with him, through the 
 faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from 
 the dead. And you being dead in your sins, and the un- 
 circumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with 
 Christ, having forgiven you all trespasses." — From these 
 passages we learn, 
 
 (1.) That baptism represents Christ's death burial, and 
 resurrection ; and so exhibits in a figure what the gospel 
 declares by way of testimony, viz. That he " was delivered 
 for our offences, and was raised again for our justifica- 
 tion." 11 This is what was represented by his own baptism, 
 as appears from the reason he assigns for it to John ; 
 " Suffer it to be so now ; for (ato) THUS it becometh us to 
 fulfil all righteousness :" x q. d. " Permit me to be bap- 
 tized ; for my baptism is a figure of the work which I have 
 
 1 Rom. vi. 3, 4. u Rom. iv. 25 ; 1 Cor. xv. 3, 4. ■ Mat iii. 15. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 107 
 
 undertaken to finish ; for in like manner, as I am buried 
 under, and raised again out of the water, even so it be- 
 cometh me to fulfil all righteousness by dying and rising 
 again from the dead." Accordingly, this being transacted 
 in a figure, the whole exhibition was completed when 
 (anebe) he ascended up from the water, and the Holy 
 Ghost descended upon him, accompanied with the Father's 
 voice from heaven announcing him his beloved Son, and 
 declaring his good pleasure in him •/ which was fully veri- 
 fied at his resurrection from the dead, 2 and ascension to 
 the right hand of God. a The mystery of Christ's bap- 
 tism, therefore, appears to be this : The water, which is 
 the emblem of distress, and an instrument of suffocation 
 and death, denoted the vindictive justice of God, or the 
 indispensable punishment due to sin, according to the 
 sanction of the divine law b . — His immersion, under the 
 water, signified his taking this punishment upon himself, 
 and bearing it in his own sufferings and death, whereby 
 he made a complete atonement, and so removed the 
 curse c . — His emersion, or rising again out of the water, 
 represented his resurrection from the dead, wherein he 
 was justified or acquitted, as having fully satisfied all de- 
 mands, and also obtained eternal life, dominion, and glory, 
 as the reward of his obedience unto death. d Thus he 
 came by water and blood ; e and this is the mystery of his 
 baptism, concerning which he says, " I have a baptism to 
 be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be ac- 
 complished !'"' From the forecited passages we also 
 learn, 
 
 | 2.) That the baptism of believers represents their union 
 and communion with Christ in his death, burial, and resur- 
 rection. The expressions "baptized into his death — 
 buried with him in baptism — wherein also are ye risen 
 
 j Mat. iii. 10, 17. ■ Rom.i. 4. » Acts ii. 33. 
 
 b Psal. lxix. 1, 2: Gal. iii. 10. 
 
 tea. l-.ii. 5, G, 8; 1 Pet. iii. 18 ; Gal iii. 13. 
 
 J Phil. ii. 9— 11 ; 2 Tim. iii. 16; Heb. i. 3; 1 Pet. iii. 21, 22. 
 
 * 1 John v. 6. ' Luke xii. -30. 
 
108 Christ's commission 
 
 with him," &c* evidently imply, That by a gracious di- 
 vine constitution, Christ sustained the persons of all the 
 elect in his dying and rising again ; that they were so 
 comprehended in, and accounted one with him, as to have 
 died in his death, been buried in his burial, and raised 
 again in his resurrection ; and that now, upon their be- 
 lieving the gospel, this is signified to them by their bap- 
 tism, wherein Christ's death, burial, and resurrection are 
 reacted in a figure upon their own persons. The scripture 
 abounds with this delightful doctrine. 
 
 As to communion with Christ in his death, the Apostle 
 says, " We are dead to sin — dead with Christ ; 8 " viz. as 
 having been comprehended in him when he died. In the 
 same sense he affirms, " that our old man (sunesaurothe) 
 was crucified with him." h For understanding which it may 
 be proper to notice, That by our old man is meant not 
 merely our sinful inclinations and actions, for these are its 
 lusts and deeds ;* but it signifies the whole of our natural 
 state which we derive from Adam, with all that pertains 
 to it ; such as — sin, both in its guilt whereby we are liable 
 to condemnation, and in its indwelling power by which it 
 has infected our whole constitution, and subjected us to its 
 serviced — Our connection with the law as the killing 
 letter, which demands of us perfect obedience for life, 
 gives the knowledge of sin, and denounces the curse upon 
 every failure ; l the effect of which upon the carnal mind 
 is to irritate the (pathemata) passions of sins, excite the 
 fear of wrath, and so increase our natural alienation from 
 God m . — Death also belongs to this state, it being the curse 
 threatened in the law, and the wages of sin ; for the end 
 of these things is death n . This is that state which is called 
 
 * The original compounds are exceedingly expressive on this sub- 
 ject ; suntaphentes auto, contombed with him ; so also susauroomas, 
 sunegeiromai suzgoopoieo, &c. 
 
 i Rom. vi. 2, 8. h Ver. 6. i Eph. iv. 22 ; Col. iii. 9. 
 
 k Rom. iii. 19, and vi. 20 ; Eph. ii. 2, 3. 
 
 ' Rom. vii. 1, x. 5, and iii. 20 ; Gal. iii. 10. 
 
 m Rom. vii. 5, 8, iv. 15, and viii. 7. 
 ■Rom. vi. 21, 23, vii. 5, and viii. 6, 13. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 109 
 
 the old man, or the flesh ; a state under the dominion 
 of the condemning law, sin and death ; for " the sting of 
 death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law ." When, 
 therefore, it is said " that our old man was crucified with 
 him," it imports that Christ by his death hath freed us 
 from the law as the condition of life, by satisfying all its 
 claims upon us in this respect ; that he hath expiated our 
 sins by bearing the punishment due to them in our stead, 
 with a view to free us also from the indwelling power and 
 service of sin, and consequently hath delivered us from that 
 death which is the wages of sin and the curse of the law. 
 The same doctrine is taught, 2 Cor. v. 14, " The love of 
 Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one 
 died for all (ara oipantes apethanon), then all have died," 
 viz. in Christ's dying. Accordingly, the Apostle says of 
 himself, p " I through the law am dead to the law/' i. e. 
 through the law by which Christ died, or through the body 
 of Christ slain for his sins, q he was dead to the law, so that 
 it had no farther claim upon him for satisfaction, or in 
 point of justification, (for " he that is dead is " freed from 
 sin," r ) he having already suffered its utmost penalty in the 
 person of his Substitute when he bore the curse for him, 
 which he terms his being crucified with Christ. 
 
 As to communion with Christ in his resurrection, the 
 same Apostle says, " God, who is rich in mercy, for the 
 great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead 
 in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by 
 grace ye are saved), and hath raised us up together, and 
 made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 8 " 
 For when Christ was discharged from the guilt of his 
 people for whom he died, and was raised up from the 
 dead to the enjoyment of eternal life and glory, then they 
 also were quickened and raised up together tvith him, being 
 included in him as their head. Accordingly believers are 
 exhorted to reckon themselves thus connected with Christ, 
 
 J 1 Cor. xv. 56. p Gal. ii. 19, 20. i Rom. vii. 4. 
 1 Rom. vi. 7. 5 Eph. ii. 4 — 7. 
 
 L 
 
110 Christ's commission 
 
 both in his dying and living : " For in that he died, he 
 died unto sin once ; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto 
 God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead in- 
 deed unto sin ; but alive unto God (en) in Jesus Christ 
 our Lord."* And this reckoning answers to what was 
 just a little before declared to be the import of their bap- 
 tism ; u for their burial in, and rising again out of the 
 water, exhibited what Christ underwent, not singly, but 
 as involving them in it, nay, as passing upon themselves, 
 even as if they had undergone it in their own persons. 
 Such is the intimate connection between Christ and his 
 members in his dying and rising, and such is the reckon- 
 ing which believers are called to make of their baptism ; 
 the faith which answers to the mystery of it according to 
 the word of God. As the effect of this, 
 
 (3.) Baptism also imports the believer's spiritual con- 
 formity to Christ in his death and resurrection, by dying 
 unto sin, and rising again to a new life of holiness. This 
 is a necessary consequence of the former, an essential 
 and important branch of the salvation by Christ, and pro- 
 duced by a communication of his Spirit, whereby they are 
 made to perceive, believe, and love the truth, and so to fall 
 under its habitual and prevailing influence. It consists 
 of two things ; the mortification of sin, or putting off the 
 old man with his lusts and deeds ; and a resurrection to a 
 new spiritual life, or putting on the new man, which after 
 God is created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. 
 
 That immersion represents the death or mortification 
 of sin, is clear from the passages already mentioned. The 
 chief scope of the Apostle in Rom. vi. is to show, that be- 
 lievers must not " continue in sin that grace may abound;" 
 for, says he, " how shall we that are dead to sin," viz. by 
 Christ's death, " live any longer therein," namely, in our 
 own persons, as was the case before we knew the grace of 
 God in truth ? x He reminds us that our death unto sin by 
 the death of Chirist was signified by our baptism ; wherein 
 * Rora. vi. 10, 11. u Chap. vi. 3, 4. * Chap. vi. 1, 2. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. Ill 
 
 we were immersed into his death — buried with him," or 
 " planted together in the likeness of his death ;" y by which 
 we were given to " know this, that our old man was cru- 
 cified with him, (ina) to the end that the body of sin might 
 be destroyed (viz. in us), that henceforth we should not 
 serve sin." 2 Agreeably to these principles, he, in the first 
 place, directs Christians to reckon themselves to be dead 
 indeed unto sin in Christ Jesus, or by his dying for sin 
 once, a and then urges them from that consideration to 
 throw off the service of sin ; " Let not sin therefore reisrn 
 in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts 
 thereof ; neither yield ye your members as instruments 
 of unrighteousness unto sin." b And he encourages them 
 in this by the advantage which their new state in Christ 
 gave them over sin, being freed from the condemning law 
 which gave strength to it : " For (says he) sin shall not 
 have dominion over you ; for ye are not under the law, 
 but under grace." The mortification of sin is also held 
 forth as the import of baptism in Col. ii. 11, 12. " In 
 whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made 
 without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the 
 flesh, by the circumcision of Christ ; buried with him in 
 baptism," &c. The "body of the sins of the flesh" is 
 the whole frame of indwelling sin, which is both influ- 
 enced by the fleshly body, and also exerts itself by means 
 of it, using the members thereof as its instruments in ful- 
 filling its various desires and lusts, which are wholly 
 earthly, sensual and devilish. To be governed by this 
 body of sin is to be in the flesh, to mind the things of the 
 flesh, and to live after the flesh ; d and such are termed 
 (psuchikoi) soulish, animal, or sensual, in opposition to their 
 being spiritual, or having the Spirit. 6 Now our burial in 
 baptism represents the destruction of this body of sin, or 
 our putting it off, as the body is put off by death ; for 
 " they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the 
 
 > Rom. vi. 3—5. ■ Ver. C. a Ver. 10, 11. b Ver. 12, 13. c Ver. 14. 
 d Chap. viii. 5, 8, 13. • 1 Cor. ii. 14 ; Jude, ver. 10. 
 
112 Christ's commission 
 
 affections and lusts," f and " through the Spirit do mortify 
 the deeds of the body." 8 Peter also considers this as sig- 
 nified in baptism, and an effect of Christ's death and re- 
 surrection. He says, " Christ also hath once suffered for 
 sins, the just for the unjust (that he might bring us to 
 God), being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by 
 the Spirit." 11 And having observed that baptism doth now 
 save us by this,' he shows that the influence of Christ's 
 death upon us must be mortification of sin, and conformity 
 to him in his sufferings : " Forasmuch then as Christ 
 hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise 
 with the same mind ; for he that hath suffered in the flesh 
 hath ceased from sin ; that he no longer should live the 
 rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the 
 will of God." k But as Christ's death will not have this 
 effect unless it be published and made known, he adds, 
 " For, for this cause also was the gospel preached to the 
 dead," viz. in trespasses and sins, " that they might be 
 judged according to men in the flesh," i. e, mortified as to 
 their former lusts, though thsy should be judged and con- 
 demned bv carnal men, "but live according to God in the 
 Spirit." 1 So Paul, speaking of the effect of Christ's cross 
 upon himself, says, " by which the world is crucified to 
 me, and I unto to the world." m In short, baptism repre- 
 sents the old man to be slain, put off, and buried in such 
 • a manner as that he shall neither ever rise in judgment 
 to our condemnation, nor any longer exercise dominion in 
 our bodies that we should obey his lusts. 
 
 Our reviviscence, or resurrection to a new life of holiness, 
 in conformity to Christ's resurrection from the dead, and 
 by virtue derived from it, is also represented in baptism 
 by our rising again out of the water. This view of it is 
 likewise held forth in the forecited texts : " We are buried 
 with him by baptism into death, (ina) to the end that like 
 as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the 
 
 f Gal. v. 24. sRom. viii. 13. h 1 Pet. iii. 18. ! Ver. 20—22. 
 k 1 Pet. iv. 1, 2. ' Ver. 6. m Gal. vi. 14. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 113 
 
 Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." n 
 Christ was raised up from the death which he suffered 
 for our sins by the glory, i. e. by the Spirit of the Father, 
 called also the power of God, p his mighty power ; q and it 
 is the energy of that same Spirit which quickened Jesus, 
 and dwells in him as the risen head, that begets us to the 
 faith of him by the word, unites us to him as living mem- 
 bers of his body, and so quickens and raises us up to a new 
 life of conformity to him in holiness. Thus by participat- 
 ing of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, we are " married 
 to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring 
 forth fruit unto God." r Answerable to this import of 
 baptism, the Apostle exhorts believers to "yield them- 
 selves unto God as those that are alive from the dead ; 
 and their members as instruments of righteousness unto 
 God." s In his epistle to the Colossians, having shown 
 that they were " buried with Christ in baptism," he adds, 
 " wherein also you are risen with him through the faith of 
 the operation of God who hath raised him from the dead. 
 And you being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision 
 of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having 
 forgiven you all trespasses." 4 This explains the nature of 
 our spiritual resurrection with Christ in baptism ; it is 
 " through faith," or believing on God as having raised up 
 Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our 
 offences, and was raised again for our justification ; 11 and 
 this faith is not of ourselves, but " of the operation of 
 God," being produced by the same divine power " which 
 raised Christ from the dead."* When, therefore, the Holy 
 
 * " The operation of God" is here mentioned either as the produc- 
 tive cause of faith itself, according to Eph. ii. 8, or of Christ's resur- 
 rection, as in chap. i. 19, 20, which is the object of faith, Kom. x. 9. 
 I have taken in both senses ; and in either view it proves to a de- 
 monstration, that none are benefited by baptism, or raised with Christ 
 therein, but such as have the faith of the operation of God which 
 raised Christ ; nor can they have any visible right to that ordinance 
 till they profess this faith. 
 
 n Rom. vi. 4. ° 1 Pet. iii. 18. p 2 Cor. xiii. 4. 
 
 i Eph. i. 19, 20. r Rom. vii. 4. " Chap. vi. 13. 
 
 1 Col. ii. 12, 13. u Rom. iv. 24, 25. 
 
 L2 
 
114 Christ's commission 
 
 Spirit which quickened Christ, by his almighty and inexpli- 
 cable energy, makes men perceive the import and evidence 
 of the gospel-testimony respecting Christ's death and re- 
 surrection, so as to believe it in their heart as the testimony 
 of God, whose glory shines forth therein ; then they who 
 were dead in their sins, by a legal sentence of condemna- 
 tion, and also in the uncircumcision of their flesh by the 
 dominion of the body of sin, are quickened together with 
 him ; being not only forgiven all their former trespasses, but 
 also furnished with the principles of a new life of holiness. 
 For such is the nature of the gospel-testimony, that if we 
 believe it, it must produce in our minds peace with God, 
 joy in him, and the hope of his glory ; x and this must be 
 attended with love to him for his great love therein com- 
 mended towards sinners/ And as the life which we now 
 begin to live in the flesh is not by our own righteousness, 
 but by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us and gave 
 himself for us ; z so this love of Christ will constrain us to 
 live unto him, "because we thus judge, that if one died 
 for all, then all have died, and that he died for all, that 
 they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, 
 but unto him who died for them and rose again. " v Such 
 motives prevailing in our minds through the power of the 
 Holy Spirit, and exciting our supreme affection and joyful 
 hope, must necessarily influence us to live no longer the 
 rest of our time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the 
 will of God ; a whilst, at the same time, we will often find 
 it needful, in this imperfect state, to attend to the cautions 
 of the same Spirit, not to be " high-minded but fear ;" b 
 and that " if we live after the flesh we shall die." c The 
 Apostle says to the believing Galatians, " For as many of 
 you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on 
 Christ." d Baptism represented their putting on Christ as 
 their righteousness, in whom they have acceptance, the 
 
 « Rom. v. 1, 2, 11. s Ver. 8 ; 1 John iv. 19. ■ Gal. ii. 20. 
 
 ' 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. » 1 Pet. iv. 2. b Kom. xi. 20, 21. 
 
 « Kom. viii. 13. ^Gal. iii. 27. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 115 
 
 adoption of children, and a title to the inheritance, and, 
 in consequence of this, their putting on conformity to him 
 in his holy character and life : and so the phrase "putting 
 on the Lord Jesus Christ" is opposed to " making provi- 
 sion for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof ; e and it is equi- 
 valent to our putting on the new man, which is renewed in 
 knowledge after the image of him that created him.'' 
 This is that spiritual resurrection which is represented in 
 baptism, wherein believers are risen with Christ through 
 the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him 
 from the dead, that like as he was raised up by the glory 
 of the Father, even so they also should walk in newness 
 of life. And in reference to this, the Apostle exhorts the 
 believing Colossians, " If ye then be risen with Christ, 
 seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on 
 the right hand of God. Set your affections on things 
 above, not on things on the earth." This he enforces by 
 motives drawn both from their present state and future 
 glory : " For ye are dead," viz. to the law, sin, and the 
 world, by communion with Christ in his death ; and " your 
 life," to which ye are risen with Christ, and enjoy at pre- 
 sent by faith and hope, " is hid with Christ in God." 
 But " when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall 
 ye also appear with him in glory/" 
 
 (4.) Lastly, Baptism ultimately signifies the death of 
 this mortal body, and our resurrection from the dead to 
 inherit eternal life ; which is our complete conformity to 
 Christ, who was " put to death in the flesh, but quickened 
 by the Spirit. "* 
 
 As to the death of the body ; it has been already ob- 
 served, that immersion represents a death and burial, 
 which imports an entire extinction of life, and so signifies, 
 not a partial, but total destruction of the body of sin ; h and 
 that not merely as to its reigning power over us, but as 
 to its very being and existence in us. It represents our 
 putting it off, as we put off this earthly tabernacle by 
 
 • Koui. xiii. 14. f Co.1. iii. 1—5. i 1 Pet. iii. 18. k Rom. vi. C. 
 
116 Christ's commission 
 
 death. 1 Now, this will never be fully accomplished until 
 we actually put off the body itself, in which it remains as 
 a law in the members warring against the law of the 
 mind : k for while believers are in this life, " the flesh 
 lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ; 
 and these are contrary the one to the other ; so that they 
 cannot do the things that they would.'' 1 Though our old 
 man was crucified with Christ in his death, as to his power 
 to condemn ; m and though believers, through the Spirit 
 of Christ dwelling in them, have already put him off in 
 respect of his dominion and rule;" yet the remains of him 
 still lurks and stirs in their flesh ; so that while they are in 
 the body they have always need to be exhorted to "put 
 off, concerning the former conversation, the old man which 
 is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts." Paul, during 
 the whole course of his Christian race and warfare, had 
 to keep under his body, and bring it into subjection/ and 
 did not expect a complete freedom from the law in his 
 members till he should be delivered from the body itself; 
 and therefore exclaims, " O wretched man that I am, who 
 shall deliver me from this body of death ?" i. e. from this 
 mortal body. q He considered sin so inveterately rooted in 
 his flesh, that, like the fretting leprosy under the law, r it 
 could never be entirely eradicated till the earthly house of 
 this tabernacle was pulled down ; and for this, as for other 
 reasons, he groans, being burdened to be absent from the 
 body. 8 As, therefore, immersion signifies the entire de- 
 struction of indwelling sin, it must refer ultimately to the 
 death of the mortal body, when the following words shall 
 be verified not only in their spiritual, but full and literal 
 sense, " He that is dead is freed from sin," 1 " he that hath 
 suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin." u Christ's im- 
 mersion in Jordan was a figure of his being put to death 
 in the flesh, as well as of his being quickened by the Spirit, 
 
 '' Col. ii. 11, with 2 Pet. i. 14. k Rom. vii. 21—23. > Gal. v. 17. 
 
 ra Rom. vi. 6. n Col. Hi. 9, 10. ° Eph. iv. 22. 
 
 p 1 Cor. ix. 27. i Rom. vii. 24. r Lev. xiv. 44, 45 8 2 Cor. v. 1 — 9. 
 
 * Rom. vi. 7. u 1 Pet. iv. 1. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 117 
 
 in allusion to which he terms his death a baptism ; x and 
 as he informs Nicodemus, that a man must be born of 
 water in order to his entering the kingdom of God/ so he 
 also intimates to his disciples, that they must undergo the 
 baptism of death before they can enjoy the honours and 
 happiness of his heavenly kingdom ; z for flesh and blood 
 cannot inherit it. a Though believers are already justified 
 through faith in the blood of Christ, and quickened to a 
 new spiritual life by his Spirit dwelling in them ; yet still 
 " the body is dead because of sin," b it being under the 
 sentence of death, denounced upon the transgression of 
 Adam. c The redemption by Christ does not prevent the 
 execution of this original sentence upon the body, but 
 converts it into a benefit ; d for hereby they are entirely 
 freed from all their remaining connection with, and con- 
 formity to, the first man, in order to their being completely 
 conformed to the second, 8 
 
 That baptism also signifies the resurrection of the 
 saints from the dead to inherit eternal life with Christ, is 
 plain from 1 Cor. xv. 29, " Else what shall they do who 
 are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all ? 
 why are they then baptized for the dead ?" Some among 
 the Corinthians denied the resurrection of the dead/ This 
 error, the Apostle shows, subverted the whole gospel 
 which he had preached unto them f implied that Christ 
 himself was not risen, consequently, that they were yet in 
 their sins ; and that they who are fallen asleep in Christ 
 are perished. 11 In the words above quoted, he intimates, 
 that by denying the resurrection they set aside the crown- 
 ing design of their baptism, and rendered it of no conse- 
 quence, making it merely a baptism for the dead ; i. e. for, 
 or in the name of Christ, considered only as in the state 
 of the dead, without any reference to his having risen 
 as the first fruits of them that slept, or to their own re- 
 
 1 Luke xii. 50. J John iii. 5. ' Mat. xx. 22, 23. 
 »1 Cor. xv. 50. b Kom. viii. 11. ■ Gen. iii. 19; Rom. v. 12. 
 ■' 1 Cor. iii. 22 ; Rev. xiv. 13. e 1 Cor. xv. 47—50. 
 
 f 1 Cor. xv. 12. s Ver. 1—12. h Ver. 13—19. 
 
118 Christ's commission 
 
 surrection in consequence thereof ;* whereas baptism re- 
 presents not only Christ's death and burial, but also his 
 rising* again from the dead, and our resurrection by him. 
 It has been already, observed, that baptism is the sign of 
 regeneration, as that word is commonly taken for conver- 
 sion, or the new birth, according to John iii. 3, 5. But 
 the scripture sense of the word (paliggenesia) regenera- 
 tion is more comprehensive. It occurs but in two places 
 of the New Testament ; in one of which it evidently sig- 
 nigfies the resurrection of the just, or the restitution of 
 all things. Thus, when Peter said to Christ, " Behold, 
 we have forsaken all and followed thee, what shall we 
 have therefore ? Jesus said unto them, Verily, I say unto 
 you, that ye who have followed me,| in the regeneration 
 when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of his 
 glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the 
 twelve tribes of Israel. 5 ' 1 q. d. Ye who have forsaken all 
 and followed me in this world, shall, in the regeneration, 
 or at the resurrection, sit upon twelve thrones, &c. for 
 that is the time when they shall be recompensed. 1 " The 
 resurrection is a regeneration in the most proper sense, 
 and is that to which our baptism and spiritual regenera- 
 tion ultimately refer ; for " he saves us by the laver of re- 
 generation and renewing of the Holy Ghost — (ina) to the 
 end that we should be made heirs according to the hope 
 of eternal life." 1 Though believers are now the adopted 
 sons of God, m and regenerated of the incorruptible seed of 
 
 * This seems to be the meaning of baptized " (uper ton nekrori) for 
 the dead." But whatever be the precise sense of that expression, the 
 scope of the passage, and the questions, " What shall they do who 
 are baptized, if the dead rise not at all ? why are they then baptized ?" 
 evidently show, that the Apostle considered baptism as a pledge of 
 the resurrection, and was at a loss to assign any meaning or end to 
 it upon supposition that the dead rise not at all. 
 
 f By inserting a comma after the words followed me, as is done in 
 a great many Greek and other copies, regeneration will refer to the 
 time " when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of his glory," 
 and the sense appear at once. 
 
 'Mat. xix. 27, 28. k Luke xiv. 14. > Tit. iii. 5—7. m 1 John iii. 2. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 119 
 
 the word by the Spirit," yet still they are " waiting for the 
 adoption, to wit, the redemption of their body," when 
 they shall be regenerated from death, in conformity to 
 Christ the first-begotten of the dead, p and be the children 
 of God as the children of the resurrection, q having the 
 body of their humiliation changed and fashioned like unto 
 Christ's glorious body r . — The Apostle, distinguishing the 
 present from the resurrection body, says, s " There is an 
 animal* (or soulish) body, and there is a spiritual body," 
 i. e. a body refined from every gross and corruptible 
 quality, and quickened by the Holy Spirit : and he gives 
 Adam as the pattern and original of the former, and 
 Christ of the latter : " And so it is written,* The first man 
 Adam was made (egeneto, became) a living soul ;"f his body, 
 formed of the dust, being quickened by the breath of God 
 (eis) into an animal sensitive frame, fitted for the func- 
 tions, and enjoyments of the earthly life. This was the 
 quickening of all his posterity in their root, the original 
 of that life which animates them for a season, but is now 
 loaded with much trouble, and forfeited by his transgres- 
 sion. 11 But " the last Adam was made (or became^) a 
 quickening Spirit ;" being not only quickened by the Spi- 
 rit* to a heavenly and immortal life from the dead/ but 
 
 * Not ])husikon, natural, but psuchikon, soulish, animal, or sensitive; 
 hence the mere sons of Adam, -with their highest endowments, 
 whether natural or acquired, are termed (psuchihoi) sensual or animal; 
 as not having the Spirit of Christ, Jude ver. 9, and so the same word 
 should also be rendered in 1 Cor. ii. 14, and in ver. 44, 46, of this 
 chapter. 
 
 f Psuche, soul, here, is his proof for the {soma psuchikon) soulish or 
 animal body mentioned above; and is opposed to the (pneuma) Spirit 
 which is the quickening principle of the {soma pneumatihon) spiritual 
 body. 
 
 \ This supplement agrees better with egeneto in the former clause. 
 Adam, by the breath of life breathed into him, became a living soul, 
 and the source of natural life to his posterity : Christ being- 
 quickened from death by the Spirit, became the source of a spiritual, 
 heavenly, and eternal life to as many as the Father hath given him, 
 John xiv. 19, and xvii. 2. 
 
 n 1 Pet. i. 23; John iii. 5. ° Rom. viii. 23. p Rev. i. 5. 
 Luke xx. 3G. r Philip, iii. 21. '1 Cor. xv. 44, 45. * Gen. ii. 7. 
 u Gen. iii. 17—20. x 1 Pet. iii. 18. ?Rom. vi. 9. 
 
120 Christ's commission 
 
 also possessing this life in himself to quicken whom he 
 will. 2 Thus he is the beginning of the new creation of 
 God, a the source of a life infinitely transcending that 
 which was forfeited even in its best estate. This Spirit of 
 life which is in Jesus the risen head, he communicates to 
 all his members to quicken them to a spiritual life of con- 
 formity to him in this world, and it is in them a well of 
 water springing up into everlasting life ; b being not only 
 the first fruits and earnest of it, c but the very living prin- 
 ciple that shall quicken their mortal bodies at the last day, 
 and fully conform them to the image of the heavenly 
 man. d With this agrees what the Apostle says to the 
 Romans in chap. viii. 9, 10, 11. " But ye are not in the 
 flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the F: pirit oi God 
 dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of 
 Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the 
 body is dead because of sin ; but the Spirit is life, because 
 of righteousness. And (de) if the Spirit of him that 
 raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised 
 up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal 
 bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." Christ is re- 
 presented as the Bridegroom of his Church, which he Icved 
 and purchased by giving himself for it, having cleansed in 
 the laver of water by the word. It has already been 
 shown that baptism is here referred to, and it is considered 
 under the notion of a nuptial washing or purification," in 
 the view of her being presented to her husband, or, " that 
 he may present her to himself, a glorious church not hav- 
 ing spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should 
 be holy and without blemish." f This must ultimately refer 
 to the time of Christ's second coming, when the whole 
 chosen company whom he hath washed in his blood, and 
 sanctified by his Spirit, shall be delivered from the bond- 
 age of corruption, redeemed from the grave, and presented 
 
 * John v. 21, 26 ; 2 Cor. iv. 14. a Rev. i. 5, with iii. 14. 
 
 b John iv. 14. c Rom. viii. 23 ; Eph. i. 14. d 1 Cor. xv. 49. 
 
 • See Esth. ii. 3 5 9. f Eph. v. 25—27. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 121 
 
 faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding 
 joy. s For then, in the fullest sense, shall the marriage of 
 the Lamb be come, when his espoused wife, having made 
 herself ready, shall be presented unto him prepared as 
 a bride adorned for her husband, h a glorious church, not 
 having spot or wrinkle, but perfectly free from all sin, 
 blemish, or deformity of every kind. Then shall the 
 royal nuptials be celebrated with never-ending gladness, 
 and the blessedness of the saints be complete in being ever 
 with the Lord, beholding his glory, in being made like 
 unto him, and in partaking with him in the fulness of joy 
 and pleasures for evermore. 1 
 
 Thus I have endeavoured to set forth the import or sig- 
 nification of baptism ; and from the various passages of 
 scripture where it is mentioned, we have seen, That it is 
 the sign of spiritual regeneration, or the new birth, with- 
 out which we cannot enter into the kingdom of God ; — of 
 the washing away of sin, both as to its guilt and pollution, 
 or of justification and sanctification ; and especially that 
 it represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ 
 as the ground of hope — the believer's union and commu- 
 nion with him therein — his spiritual conformity to him, in 
 dying unto sin and rising to a new life of holiness — and 
 his full and complete conformity to him in the death of his 
 mortal body, and in his resurrection to a heavenly and im- 
 mortal life from the dead. So that this divine ordinance 
 is pregnant with the richest meaning, and is wisely 
 and graciously appointed as a means for strengthening 
 the faith, confirming the hopes, exciting the love, and pro- 
 moting the holiness and consolation of believers, for whom 
 only it is intended, and who alone can reap any benefit 
 from it. 
 
 I have dwelt rather too long upon this head ; but I ima- 
 gine the importance of the subject, and the general inat- 
 tention paid to it, will plead my excuse. 
 
 b Jude ver. 24. h Rev. xix. 7 — 9, and xxi. 2. 
 
 » John xvii. 24 ; 1 Johniii. 2 ; Psal. xvi. 11. 
 
 M 
 
122 Christ's commission 
 
 PART III. 
 
 THE COMMANDMENTS AND INSTITUTIONS OF CHRIST WHICH 
 THE APOSTLES TAUGHT BELIEVERS TO OBSERVE. 
 
 " Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded 
 
 you." 
 
 The teaching here enjoined differs from that mentioned in 
 the preceding verse, and so is no tautology. It is not only 
 expressed in the original by another word (didaskontes), 
 but is distinguished from it in several other respects. 
 
 The first teaching has for its object all nations ; but the 
 object of this is baptized disciples gathered out of the na- 
 tions. — The subject of the former is the gospel,^ or glad 
 tidings of salvation ; but the subject of the latter is all 
 things whatsoever Christ hath commanded, i.e. his laws and 
 institutions. — The design of the first is to make disciples, 
 or proselyte unbelievers to the faith of Christ ; but the 
 design of the last is to instruct disciples (terein) to observe, 
 keep, or obey, his commandments. — By the former, men 
 are to be taught what to believe ; by the latter, what to 
 practise in consequence of believing. 
 
 The apostles strictly followed the order in which the 
 different parts of the commission are arranged ; for that 
 order is not arbitrary or accidental, but founded in the 
 very nature of things. Though they called all men every- 
 where to faith and repentance ; l yet they never imagined 
 that any could truly obey the sayings of Christ till once 
 they believed the gospel, and had their minds furnished 
 with proper principles. As they made no account of that 
 obedience which does not spring from love, a pure heart, 
 a good conscience and faith unfeigned ; m so all their 
 
 k Mark xvi. 15. 1 Acts xx. 21, and xxvi. 20. 
 m l Tim. i. 5; Heb.xi. 6. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 123 
 
 practical instructions are addressed to professed disciples, 
 and enforced by arguments and motives drawn from the 
 principles of the gospel which such are supposed already 
 to believe. They did not urge the peculiar precepts of 
 the gospel even upon disciples till they were baptized ; for 
 baptism itself was the very first ordinance which they 
 called believers to observe, whereby they initiated them 
 into the obedience of the rest, and from which they drew 
 arguments for their walking in newness of life. 11 
 
 The words, " Teaching them to observe all things 
 whatsoever I have commanded you," import, 1. That the 
 apostles were to make no addition to his commands. They 
 were not to make laws of their own, and impose them 
 upon the disciples, nor to teach them the doctrines and 
 commandments of men ;° but only to teach what Christ 
 had commanded them, or should afterwards reveal unto 
 them by his Spirit, which last are also to be acknowledged 
 as the commandments of the Lord. p 2. The words also 
 clearly import, That they were to keep back nothing 
 which he had commissioned them to teach ; but to in- 
 struct the disciples to observe all things whatsover he had 
 commanded, without exception ; not holding any of his 
 precepts as a matter of indifference, or dispensing with the 
 least of them. q 
 
 I do not here propose to give a full detail of all things 
 whatsoever Christ hath commanded ; but only to mention 
 some leading particulars, which include others, and notice 
 the general spirit of the whole. 
 
 OF THE LAW OF CREATION, OR ETERNAL RULE OF RIGHTE- 
 OUSNESS, COMMONLY CALLED THE MORAL LAW. 
 
 Christ hath adopted the eternal rule of righteousness, 
 or moral law, as the law of his kingdom ; and delivered it 
 to his disciples to be the rule of their obedience and con- 
 
 n Rom. vi ; Col. ii. 11 — 14, and iii. 1, &e. 
 
 Mat. xv. 9 ; Col. ii. 8, 20—22. p 1 Cor. xiv. 37. 
 
 i Mat. v. 19; James ii. 10, 11. 
 
124 Christ's commission 
 
 fortuity to him, and that in a suitableness to the more p 
 feet state of things under the new covenant. 
 
 This law is not like positive or temporary institutions, 
 which depend entirely upon the will of the Institutor ; but 
 is founded on the moral perfections of God, being a 
 transcript of his holiness, justice, and goodness ; — on our 
 relation to him as his creatures, and the subjects of his 
 moral government ; — and on our relation to one another, 
 as possessed of the same common nature, and connected 
 by various ties. It stands upon the immutable and essen- 
 tial distinction between moral good and evil, right and 
 wrong ; and so, for substance, must remain the same 
 under every dispensation. 
 
 The principle or spirit of this law is perfect love to God 
 and our neighbour. Our Lord sums it up thus, " Thou 
 shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with 
 all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and 
 great commandment. And the second is like unto it, 
 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two 
 commandments hang all the law and the prophets."" As 
 God is possessed of every perfection and excellency in 
 himself, and is the author and end of our being, and the 
 source of all our happiness, so the first and great com- 
 mandment of the law requires, that we should love him in 
 the first place, with a supreme, perfect, and undivided af- 
 fection, possessing our whole heart, soul, and mind ; and 
 therefore this love is not compared with that which we 
 owe to ourselves or to fellow-creatures. But the second 
 command of the law, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as 
 thyself," makes the love of ourselves the rule and mea- 
 sure of our love to others. Upon this principle our Lord 
 establishes a plain and comprehensive rule to direct us in 
 the practical exercise of love to our neighbour : "All 
 things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, 
 do ye even so to them ; for this is the law and the pro- 
 phets. 1 " Love is the end of the commandment, 4 the ful- 
 
 r Mat. xxii. 37—41. s Chap. vii. 12. » 1 Tim. i. 5. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 125 
 
 filling of the law ; and the different precepts are just so 
 many directions to the proper and practical exercise of 
 love ; u so that " whosoever shall keep the whole law, and 
 yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all ;" x for, in that 
 instance, he violates the common principle which pervades 
 the whole, namely, love. 
 
 As Adam was originally made upright/ and created 
 after the image of God, 2 he must have had this law writ- 
 ten on his heart as the law of creation, answerable to the 
 manifestation he had of God in the paradisaical state. 
 
 Notwithstanding the fall, there are still traces of this 
 law remaining in the conscience of every man sufficient 
 to constitute him a sinner, render him inexcusable, and 
 condemn him ; and from these natural notices of God and 
 his law, the Apostle convinceth the heathen of sin. a 
 
 When God separated the fleshly seed of Abraham from 
 the nations, redeemed them out of Egypt, and entered into 
 a covenant with them at Sinai, he delivered them this law 
 as the very words of that covenant, b and wrote it with his 
 own finger in ten commandments upon two tables of 
 stone. c But here the Apostle distinguishes the law into 
 flesh or letter, and spirit. — 1. As it stood in that peculiar 
 covenant, it was suited to the manifestation which God 
 made of himself to that earthly nation as their God who 
 had redeemed them out of Egypt. d It bound them to ob- 
 serve all the statutes and judgments, ceremonial and judi- 
 cial, contained in the book of the Mosaic law; for these 
 were the explication at large of the ten precepts of the 
 covenant, as applied and adapted to the peculiar state 
 of that people ; so that in breaking any of these, they 
 transgressed the law written on the tables. Thus it was 
 the rule of their national righteousness, according to 
 which they enjoyed the good things of the earthly inheri- 
 
 ■ Rom. xiii. 8 — 11 ; Gal. v. 14; James ii. 8, 9. 
 * James ii. 10, 11. jEccI. vii. 29. * Gen. i. 26, 27. 
 
 Rom. i. 20, 32, and ii. 14, 15. m b Exod. xx. c Chap. xxx. 18. 
 
 d Exod. xx. 2. 
 
 M 2 
 
126 Christ's commission 
 
 tance ; e and it was sanctioned by temporal rewards and 
 punishments, suited to that worldly establishment/ wherein 
 God stood related to them as their political Sovereign. 
 This was the letter of the law ; and touching the righte- 
 ousness which is in it, the Apostle says he was blameless.^ 
 — 2. But when we consider this law as requiring perfect 
 love to God and our neighbour, 11 forbidding every lust 
 and irregular motion of the heart,' promising eternal life 
 upon condition of perfect obedience 11 and denouncing the 
 curse of God upon every the least failure ; ! it is evident 
 that neither Old Israel, nor any of the sinful race of 
 Adam, could ever personally stand in covenant with God, 
 or obtain eternal life upon such terms. m And so the 
 Apostle, who had been blameless as to the outward righte- 
 ousness of the letter, found himself condemned by the pre- 
 cept against covetousness, which led him to see the spiri- 
 tual extent of the rest. 11 The law in this sense, therefore, 
 was given to convince of sin and its demerit, and with a 
 view to the promised Seed, who was to come of that 
 people, to be made under this law, fulfil it, and bear its 
 curse for his guilty people of all nations, 5 and thus obtain 
 for them the remission of sins, and the eternal inheri- 
 tance^ This, with the law written on the hearts of the 
 true Israel, 1- is the spirit of that law which was delivered 
 to Israel according to the flesh, in the peculiar covenant 
 made with them at Sinai. 
 
 Accordingly, when Jesus began his public ministry as 
 the great Prophet and Lawgiver of his church, he said to 
 his disciples, " Think not that I am come to destroy the 
 law or the prophets : I am not come to destroy but to ful- 
 fil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, 
 
 e Deut. v. 31—33. f Chap, xxviii. 
 
 b Philip, iii. 6. h Deut. vi. 5 ; Lev. xix. 18. ; Exod. xx. 17. 
 
 k Rom. ii. 13, and x. o; Mat. xix. 16—22; Luke x. 28. 
 
 1 Gal. iii. 10. m Psal. cxxx. 3 ; Eccl. vii. 20 ; Rom. iii. 9—23, 
 
 a Rom. vii. 7 — 14. ° Rom. iii, 20, and v. 20 ; Gal. iii. 19. 
 
 p Psal. xl. 6—9 ; Gal. iv. 4, 5, and iii. 13, 14. 
 
 i Pom. v. 19; Gal. iii. 16—24; Heb. ix. 15. 
 
 * 2 Cor. iii. 3; Heb. viii. 10 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 127 
 
 one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all 
 be fulfilled. 5 " He came to fulfil all the types of the cere- 
 monial law, and to accomplish all the predictions in the 
 writings of Moses and the prophets respecting himself, 
 so that not the least iota or tittle of them was to pass 
 away till all was completely accomplished in him. He 
 also came to satisfy all the demands of the moral law upon 
 his guilty people by his own most perfect obedience unto 
 death,* whereby he hath freed them from that law in re- 
 spect of its curse, and as it is the condition of their accept- 
 ance to life ; not by abolishing it in these respects, but by 
 fulfilling it in their stead, u and so becoming the end of 
 the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. 1 
 At his baptism he professed his undertaking to fulfil all 
 righteousness, and that ordinance was a figure of the 
 manner in which he was to do so, namely by his death and 
 resurrection from the dead/ Thus the law stands eter- 
 nally honoured and magnified by the obedience of the Son 
 of God, in which Jehovah declares himself well-pleased. z 
 
 But as the holy law of God is the unalterable standard 
 of righteousness and true holiness ; as without holiness no 
 man shall see the Lord, or, in the very nature of things, 
 be capable of enjoying him ; ft as sin is the transgression of 
 the law, and as Christ was manifested to take away our 
 sins, and to save us from the power as well as guilt and 
 punishment of them b — so our Lord's words may probably 
 import, that he came not (katalusai) to dissolve the moral 
 law as a rule of life, or to relax the standard of holiness, 
 as the Jewish doctors did by their corrupt glosses and 
 traditions ; but (plerosai) to Jill up, or explain it fully* in 
 
 * The word pleroo is frequently translated to fill, or fill up, as in 
 Mat. xxiii. 32; Eph. iv. 10; 1 Thess. ii. 1G ; John xvi. ; Acts ii. 2, 
 and sometimes to preach fully, Horn. xv. 19 ; Col. i. 25, marg. In 
 this passage it refers both to the law and the prophets. As it re- 
 
 *Mat v. 17. e Gal. iv. 4, 5 ; Heb. x, 5—7. 
 
 » Gal. iii. 13 ; Rom. v. 19. 
 
 1 Rom. x. 4. y Mat iii. 15 ; Rom vi. 3, 4. 
 
 • Isa. xlii. 21. a Hcb. xii. 14. »> 1 John iii. 4, 5 ; Tit. ii. 12—15. 
 
128 Christ's commission 
 
 its highest sense, and deliver it to his followers as the rule 
 of their obedience and conformity to him : At least this 
 sense agrees well with the design of that admirable dis- 
 course, and affords a clear reason for what he says, ver. 19, 
 " Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least 
 commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called the 
 least in the kingdom of heaven ; but whosoever shall do 
 and teach them, the same shall be called great in the king- 
 dom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your 
 righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes 
 and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom 
 of heaven." Here the moral law is established by the 
 authority of the Lord Redeemer as the law of his kingdom, 
 and none of the least of its precepts is permitted to be 
 broken ; and so we find his apostles, through the whole 
 of their writings, teaching the disciples to observe this 
 law, both in its general principle and particular precepts. d 
 James terms it the royal law, the "perfect law of liberty, and 
 exhorts Christians so to speak and do, as they that shall 
 be judged by it. e 
 
 In the new covenant, this law is given in a more excel- 
 lent manner than ever it was before, either to Adam in 
 Paradise or to Israel at Sinai; being delivered by Christ 
 to his redeemed people under the covert of his own blood, 
 as was prefigured by sprinkling the book of the law in the 
 first covenant with the blood of the sacrifices f : — written 
 not on tables of stone, but by the Spirit of the living God 
 
 lates to prophecies, types, or promises, it signifies to fulfil or accom- 
 plish them ; but so far as it refers to the moral law, which is the 
 main subject of this discourse, it must signify either to do it fully, or 
 to teach it fully. Our Lord mentions both doing and teaching, ver. 
 19, and it is certain he himself did both ; but as he taught as one 
 having authority, chap. vii. 29, or as the great Prophet and Lawgiver 
 of his church, it is natural to understand plerosai in this place as 
 more immediately expressive of his work in the capacity of a teacher 
 or legislator ; for it is opposed to his authoritatively dissolving or 
 abrogating the law. 
 
 c Mat. v. 19, 20. 
 
 * Rom. xiii. 8—11 ; 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10 ; Gal. v. 14 ; 1 Tim. i. 5—12. 
 
 e James i. 25, and ii. 8—13. ' Heb. ix. 19, 20, 23. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 129 
 
 on the hearts of his subjects 5 ; — recommended by the endear- 
 ing example of Christ himself 11 ; — enforced by his redeem- 
 ing love, and the rewards and punishments of a future 
 state. 1 In this covenant it is a, a law of liberty, no more 
 binding them under the curse, k keeping them in bondage 
 through fear of death, 1 or irritating the passions of 
 sin ; m but suited to their state of liberty, as the children 
 of God made free by the Son, n and influenced by the free- 
 moving principle of love to keep his commandments. 
 
 Under the gospel, the rule of duty is carried to a higher 
 degree of spirituality and perfection than in any former reve- 
 lation of the mind of God. It is accommodated to the king- 
 dom of Christ, which is not of this world ; and so contains 
 a perfect system of non-conformity to the world, enjoining 
 mortification, self-denial, and crucfixion to it in all its lusts 
 and favourite pursuits. p It is suited to the subjects of the 
 kingdom of heaven, considered in the situation of strangers 
 and pilgrims on the earth as Christ was, and like him, 
 sustaining the opposition and hatred of the world ; an- 
 swerable to which, it enjoins poorness of spirit, humility, 
 meekness, patience, non-resistance of evil, forgiveness of 
 injuries, love of enemies, &c. its great and leading design 
 being their conformity to Christ in this world, that they 
 may share with him in his glory when he appears. q Our 
 Lord says to his disciples, " Except your righteousness 
 shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, 
 ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." r 
 The Scribes and Pharisees were the strictest sect among 
 the Jews ; yet their righteousness at best was but the 
 righteousness of the outward letter of the law, as adapted 
 to that earthly nation ; but the righteousness which Christ 
 requires of his disciples is conformity to the spirit of it, as 
 
 c 2 Cor. iii. 3 ; Heb. viii. 10. 
 
 h Mat. xi. 29 ; 1 Pet. ii. 21 ; 1 John ii. 6. 
 
 i John xv. 9, 10 ; Mat. v. 3, 10, 12, 29, 30 ; Rom. vi. 10, 22, 23. 
 
 k Rom. viii. 1 ; » Chap. viii. 15 ; Heb. ii. 15. 
 
 - Rom. vii. 5, 6. n Gal. v. 1 ; John viii. 31—37. 
 
 • 2 Cor. v. 14 ; 1 John v. 2, 3. p 1 John ii. 15, 16. 
 
 i John xii. 25, 26 ; Rom. viii. 17, 18 ; 1 Pet. iv. 12, 13. r Mat. v. 20. 
 
130 Christ's commission 
 
 explained by his sayings and exemplified in his life. To 
 illustrate this, we shall collect some of his sayings from 
 his discourse to his disciples on the mount and elsewhere, 
 which are but too little attended to by many of those who 
 profess his name. 
 
 1. "Ye have heard that it was said (tois archaiois) to 
 the people of old, Thou shalt not kill : and whosoever 
 shall kill, shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say 
 unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother with- 
 out a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment ;* and 
 whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in 
 danger of the council :* but whosoever shall say, Thou 
 fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire." 8 
 
 The law prohibited actual murder, or taking away life, 
 under pain of death, to be inflicted by the judges :* But 
 here our Lord shows, that all causeless anger, and words 
 expressive of contempt and hatred of a brother, make a 
 man liable to the judgment of God as a murderer. The 
 Apostle John teacheth the same doctrine, " Whosoever 
 hateth his brother is a murderer ; and ye know that no 
 murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." u Jesus sup- 
 poseth that his disciples may find themselves coming short 
 of the perfection of this precept ; and therefore adds, 
 " Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, "j" and there 
 rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee ; 
 leave there thy gift before the altar ; first be reconciled 
 to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."* Hereby 
 he teacheth his disciples, that if they harbour any ill-will 
 against their brother, or have given him any just cause of 
 offence, they can have no access to God ; he will not ac- 
 cept their services nor hear their prayers, until they re- 
 pent and give satisfaction to their injured brother. This 
 
 * By the judgment and council he alludes to the courts of judicature 
 among the Jews as a figure of eternal judgment. 
 
 f By the gift and the altar he alludes to the Jewish manner of 
 worship. 
 
 8 Mat. v. 21—23. 4 Exod. xx. 13, and xxi. 12—15. 
 » 1 John iii. 15. * Mat. v. 23, 24. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 131 
 
 he urges as the first thing to be done, and that without 
 delay, lest divine justice should take hold of them/ 
 
 2. Ye have heard that it was said to the people of old, 
 " Thou shalt not commit adultery : But I say unto you, 
 That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, 
 hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." 2 
 
 The letter of this precept forbids all outward acts of 
 uncleanness ; a but here our Lord shows, that every impure 
 thought, or unchaste desire, is the commission of adultery 
 in the sight of God. And as he knew that this and other 
 fleshly lusts would still war in the members of his people 
 he urges them to subdue and mortify them, whatever 
 uneasiness it might occasion, and that as they would 
 avoid the fire of hell. " And if thy right eye offend thee,* 
 pluck it out, and cast it from thee ; for it is profitable 
 for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not 
 that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy 
 right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee ; 
 for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members perish, 
 and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." b 
 The same thing is inculcated by his apostles : " Mortify 
 therefore your members which are upon the earth ; forni- 
 cation, uncleanness, inordinate affections, evil concupis- 
 cence, &c. for which things sake the wrath of Godcometh 
 upon the children of disobedience." 6 "Dearly beloved, I 
 beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly 
 lusts, which war against the soul." d Upon this head our 
 Lord forbids all divorces among his disciples, except for 
 the cause of fornication,! as being the occasion of adul- 
 tery. 
 
 * Gr. Scandalize thee, i. e. cause thee to sin, stumble, or fall. See 
 Chap, xviii. 6—10. 
 
 f It is my opinion, that our Lord here, and in chap. xix. 9, speaks 
 of equal marriages. Paul refers the Corinthians to our Lord's words 
 when treating of the same subject, 1 Cor. vli. 10, 11, but in the case 
 
 . at. v. 25, 26. ■ Chap. v. 27, 28. • Exod. xx. 14. 
 h Mat. v. 29, 30. c Col. iii. 5, 6. d 1 Pet. ii. 11. 
 e Mat. v. 31, 32. 
 
132 Christ's commission 
 
 3. " Again, ye have heard that it hath been said to the 
 people of old, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt 
 perform unto the Lord thine oaths : But I say unto you, 
 Swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God's 
 throne ; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool ; neither 
 by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King ; neither 
 shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make 
 one hair white or black. But let your communication be 
 Yea, yea, Nay, nay ; for whatsoever is more than these 
 cometh of evil." f 
 
 The law given to Israel forbade the taking of God's name 
 in vain by swearing or vowing falsely. 5 The Scribes and 
 Pharisees taught, that men did not break this command- 
 ment if they only swore by heaven, the earth, Jerusalem, 
 the temple, the altar, their head, &c. h But Jesus prohi- 
 bits all manner of swearing, whether true or false, by any 
 kind of oath whatever, in common conversation, as a tak- 
 ing the name of God in vain; and enjoins that the com- 
 munication of his disciples should be only by simple affir- 
 mations or denials, because whatever exceeds these is of 
 evil, or {eh ton ponerou) of the evil one. The Apostle 
 James strongly inculcates this saying of Christ : " But 
 above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, 
 neither by the earth, neither by any other oath ; but let 
 your yea be yea, and your nay, nay ; lest ye fall into con- 
 demnation." 1 
 
 4. " Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for 
 an eye, and a tooth for a tooth : But I say unto you, That 
 ye resist not evil ; but whosoever shall smite thee on the 
 right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man 
 will sue thee at the law, and take way thy coat, let him 
 
 of unequal marriages, i. e. believers •with unbelievers, (of which our 
 Lord had said nothing, ver. 12), the Apostle shows, that not only for- 
 nication, but also the obstinate and irreclaimable desertion of the un- 
 believing party, sets the believer at liberty, ver. 15. 
 
 Mat. v. 33—38. s Exod. xx. 7 ; Lev. xix. 12 ; Deut. xxiii. 21—24. 
 k Mat. xxiii. 16 — 23. 'James v. 12. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 133 
 
 have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to 
 go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh of 
 thee ; and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not 
 thou away." k 
 
 By the law of Moses injuries were to be punished in kind 
 by the judges, in case the injured party insisted for it :* 
 so that if a man, for instance, lost an eye or tooth by 
 a blow, he might demand the eye or tooth of the offender.* 
 This law was suited to a nation of this world, and intended 
 to deter lawless men from the commission of such injuries, 
 and also to prevent the more dreadful effects of private 
 revenge. But Christ admits of no such law in his king- 
 dom, it being entirely incompatible with the genius of his 
 religion ; and therefore he absolutely forbids his subjects 
 to resist evil, or retaliate injuries in any manner of way 
 whatever. 
 
 The heart of man naturally rebels against this prohibi- 
 tion ; and various have been the attempts to explain it 
 away by a number of distinctions and exceptions, all tend- 
 ing to make way for the keenest resentments in what is 
 called a lawful way. Many strict professors would reckon 
 it perfectly ridiculous to understand our Lord as he speaks, 
 and are readv to demonstrate, that the conduct here en- 
 joined would be productive of the worst consequences to 
 society. Yet the history of all ages will testify, that 
 mankind have never suffered so much by patience, meek- 
 ness, and non-resistance, as by their opposites. The pe- 
 culiar laws of Christ, however, were not made for worldly 
 societies, but for his disciples as distinguished from the 
 world, and bearing its hatred ; nor can they be interpreted 
 by their conduciveness to worldly ease, honour, or advan- 
 tage, for these are not their objects. Our Lord's words 
 here are best explained by his own example, which is set 
 
 * The Hebrew canons admitted of a compensation in money or 
 goods for hurts, blemishes, or loss of members. See Ainsworth on 
 Lev. xxiv. 19, 20. 
 
 k Mat. v. 38—43. 
 •Exod. xxi. 24, 25. Lev. xxiv. 20. Deut. xix. 21. 
 
 N 
 
134 Christ's commission 
 
 before his disciples for their imitation : " But if when ye 
 do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently ; this is ac- 
 ceptable with God : For even hereunto were ye called ; 
 because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, 
 that we should follow his steps : who did no sin, neither 
 was guile found in his mouth ; who when he was reviled, 
 reviled not again ; when he suffered, he threatened not ; 
 but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously/'" 1 
 As this is so contrary to corrupt nature, it is repeatedly 
 pressed upon the disciples : " Recompense to no man evil 
 for evil."" — " See that none render evil for evil unto any 
 man ; but ever follow that which is good, both among 
 vourselves, and to all men." — " Not rendering evil for 
 evil, or railing for railing ; but contrariwise, blessing ; 
 knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should in- 
 herit a blessing." p — " Dearly beloved, avenge not your- 
 selves, but rather give place unto wrath ; for it is written, 
 Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord." q 
 
 This prohibition respects not only private revenge taken 
 at our own hand, but also avenging ourselves at law, under 
 colour of public justice ; for such was the demand of an 
 eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tootji. If a disciple, for 
 instance, is tricked of his coat at law, though he may re- 
 present the injury, yet he is forbidden to retaliate it in 
 that or in any other way, or even to enter into a contentious 
 law-suit for the recovery of his property ; but rather be 
 disposed to yield his cloak also. Paul blames the believ- 
 ing Corinthians for going to law one with another, in- 
 stead of referring their differences to their brethren, and 
 asks, " Why do ye not rather take wrong ? Why do ye 
 not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded ?" r As to 
 himself, when falsely accused, and treated injuriously in 
 his person, under colour of law, though he made his de- 
 fence, and pleaded his privilege as a Roman citizen ;* yet 
 
 - 1 Pet. ii. 20—24. n Eom. xii. 17. °1 Thess. v. 15. 
 
 p1 Pet. iii. 9. iRom. xii. 19. r 1 Cor. vi. 7. 
 
 » Acts xvi. 37 ; Chap. xxii. xxiii. xxiv. xxv. xxvi. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 135 
 
 in no instance did he seek to avenge himself by suing 1 for 
 retribution. Like his Master he committed his cause to 
 him that judgeth righteously, to whom alone vengeance 
 belongs, and who hath promised to redress the wrongs of 
 his people. 
 
 This precept also requires, that Christians should be of 
 a yielding disposition in things indifferent ; and rather 
 comply even with the unreasonable demands of others, 
 when they can do it without sin, than quarrel with them, 
 or resist by force, ver. 41. 
 
 5. " And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have 
 ought against any, that your father also who is in heaven 
 may forgive you your trespasses : But if ye do not forgive, 
 neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your 
 trespasses."* Again, " For if ye forgive men their tres- 
 passes, your heavenly Father will also forgive you : But 
 if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your 
 Father forgive your trespasses." 11 
 
 In Mark's gospel, this precept of forgiveness comes in 
 upon an exhortation to faith in prayer : " Therefore I say 
 unto'you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, be- 
 lieve that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." And 
 in this connection it imports, that we cannot exercise this 
 faith, or expect the answer of our prayers, if we do not 
 forgive those who trespass against us. In Matthew it 
 stands connected with the form of prayer which he taught 
 his disciples, and refers particularly to the fifth petition 
 of it, viz. " And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our 
 debtors." He had before forbidden them to offer their 
 gift unto God, while they remembered that their brother 
 had ought against them, for which they had not given 
 him satisfaction ; x and here, if, on the other hand, they 
 have ought against any which they do not heartily for- 
 give, he assures them that God will not grant their pe- 
 tition for pardon to themselves. Indeed, he hath so 
 framed that petition, as to cut out any expectation of Di- 
 *Mark xi. 25, 26. » Mat. vi. 14, 15. * Chap. v. 23, 24. 
 
13b' Christ's commission 
 
 vine forgiveness from the person who uses it, while he is 
 conscious that he is not disposed to forgive others. In the 
 mouth of such a person it turns into a request that he may 
 not be forgiven ; for it is a prayer that God may forgive 
 us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 
 
 Though men are justified freely by God's grace through 
 the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, whenever they 
 believe the gospel, having the remission of sins that are 
 past, 7 or being purged from their old sins ; z yet they are 
 daily sinning and coming short of the perfect rule. a Our 
 Lord supposes this, and therefore directs them to pray 
 daily for forgiveness, even as for their daily bread. For 
 this continued pardon, there is abundant provision made 
 in the new covenant. Jesus is the propitiation, whose 
 blood cleanseth from all sin ; b he is also the High-priest 
 and Advocate with the Father, making continual inter- 
 cession for his people ; c and a throne of grace is esta- 
 blished in heaven, to which they have free access through 
 him, that they may obtain mercy, and find grace to help 
 in time of need ; d so that if they confess their sins, God is 
 faithful and just to forgive them their sins, and to cleanse 
 them from all unrighteousness. 6 But as they do not ob- 
 tain this forgiveness without confession and repentance ; 
 so neither have they ground to expect it, unless they for- 
 give those who trespass against them. Our Lord illus- 
 trates this subject by a parable of a certain king who 
 freelv forgave his insolvent servant the enormous debt of 
 ten thousand talents ; but that servant, instead of being 
 moved by his lords compassion towards himself, takes 
 his fellow-servant by the throat, who owed him the small 
 sum of an hundred pence, and regardless of all his en- 
 treaties, cast him into prison till he should pay the debt. 
 When his lord was informed of this, he called him and 
 said, " O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, 
 
 'Rom. iii. 24. 25. '2 Pet. i. 9. * James iii. 2. 1 John i. 8, 
 
 b 1 John i. 7 : and ii. 2. c Heb. vii. 25. 1 John ii. 1. 
 
 * Heb. it. 16. • 1 John i. 9. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 137 
 
 because thou desiredst me ; shouldst not thou also have 
 had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity 
 on thee ? And his Lord was wroth, and delivered him to 
 the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto 
 him." The application is this, " So shall my heavenly 
 Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive 
 not every one his brother their trespasses." f 
 
 But there is a difference between our forgiving an un- 
 believer and a Christian brother. Though the first 
 should not repent, or make any acknowledgement of his 
 offence, we must forgive him, i. e. we must harbour no re- 
 sentment against him ; but, on the contrary, bear him sin- 
 cere good-will, do him all the good that lies in our power, 
 and wish him repentance and forgiveness of God. But 
 this is not all that is incumbent upon us in forgiving a 
 brother : we must also restore to him our complacential 
 love or charity for the truth's sake which dwelleth in him, 
 which cannot take place till he confess his fault ; and so 
 our Lord makes this forgiveness to proceed upon the of- 
 fender's profession of repentance. 8 
 
 6. " Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt 
 love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy. But I say 
 unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, 
 do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who 
 despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be thj 
 children of your Father who is in heaven : for he maketh 
 his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth 
 rain on the just and on the unjust. " h 
 
 The sum of the second table of the law is, " Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." 1 The Scribes and 
 Pharisees seem to have explained the word neighbour, by 
 the phrase the children of thy people* restricting it to those 
 of their own country, kindred, or religion, and considered 
 it as implying a command to hate their enemies ; and by 
 this partial and limited view of the law they endeavoured 
 
 1 Mat. xviii. 23—35. s Chap, xviii. 15—18. Luke xvii. 3, 4. 
 
 h Mat. v. 43—46. iRom. xiii. 8, 9. k Lev. xviii. 19. 
 
 N 2 
 
138 Christ's commission 
 
 to justify themselves. But our Lord, in the parable of the 
 good Samaritan shows, that the word neighbour must be 
 understood in an universal sense ; ! and, in this place, he 
 not only forbids his disciples to hate any one, but positively 
 commands them to love even their most malicious ene- 
 mies. Not indeed with a love of complacency or delight 
 in their character or conduct, for this would be to approve 
 of their wickedness, and is inconsistent either with the 
 love of God or of ourselves ; but with a love of benevo- 
 lence, or good-will to their persons, as appears from the 
 various expressions of it condescended on : — " Bless them 
 that curse you." This is sincerely to wish them all true 
 happiness : so the Apostle exhorts, " Bless them who per- 
 secute you : bless, and curse not m ." — " Do good to them 
 that hate you.'' We are not to rest satisfied in mere good 
 wishes, however sincere; but also to exert ourselves in 
 acts of beneficence and kindness towards them, according to 
 their need and our ability : " Therefore," says the Apostle, 
 " if thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him 
 drink"." — " And pray for them who despitefully use you 
 and persecute you." We are not only to return them 
 blessing for cursing, and good offices for evil ; but to have 
 such a real concern for the salvation of their souls, as will 
 lead us to put up our sincere and fervent requests for 
 them at the throne of grace : and that whilst they are in- 
 sulting, maltreating, and persecuting us. This is not a 
 strained interpretation of our Lord's words ; but is 
 confirmed by his own example, who prayed for his enemies 
 when they had nailed him to the cross : " Father, forgive 
 them ; for they know not what they do." Stephen imi- 
 tated the example of his divine Master ; and while his 
 murderers were stoning him to death, he kneeled down and 
 cried with a loud voice, " Lord, lay not this sin to their 
 charge.' p The same spirit breathed in the apostles under 
 all the despiteful usage they met with. q 
 
 1 Luke x. 25—38. m Rom. xii. 14. » Ver. 20. 
 °Luke xxiii. .'34. f Acts vii. GO. i 1 Cor. iv. 12, 13. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 139 
 
 Few of those who bear the Christian name will admit 
 this and the two foregoing precepts even so much as in 
 principle, and fewer still make any conscience of obeying 
 them, though essential to the character of disciples. The 
 greater part would ascribe the conduct here recommended 
 to a mean, cowardly, pusillanimous disposition, or, in the 
 modern phrase, to want of spirit ; because they love not 
 the character of Jesus, nor savour the things that be of 
 God; whereas patiently bearing insults, forgiving injuries, 
 and loving enemies, discovers the most exalted generosity, 
 greatness, and fortitude of soul, that can possibly be ex- 
 hibited in human nature. When the wrongs received 
 from our enemies kindle our resentment, extinguish our 
 benevolence, or induce us to retaliate, they have conquered 
 us, we are then overcome of evil : but if we freely and 
 heartily forgive them, and return them blessing for cursing, 
 good for evil, and love for hatred, this is to overcome evil 
 with good ; r which is a conquest infinitely more noble, 
 honourable, and glorious, than all the victories of Alex- 
 ander and Caesar, those scourges of mankind, who were 
 themselves overcome of evil. Our Lord says, " If ye love 
 them who love you, what reward have ye ? do not even 
 the publicans the same ? And if ye salute your brethren 
 only, what do ye more than others ? do not even the pub- 
 licans so ?" 8 Gratitude and natural affection, however 
 commendable, do not distinguish Christ's disciples from 
 the world ; but the love of enemies shows them to be par- 
 takers of the divine nature, the children of their Father 
 who is in heaven ; for hereby they imitate his mercy 
 and undeserved goodness, who " is kind unto the unthank- 
 ful and to the evil ;*" and " maketh his sun to rise on the 
 the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and 
 on the unjust . u " 
 
 7. "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with whab 
 judgment ye judge ye shall be judged ; and with what 
 
 » Rom. xii. 21. ■ Mat. v. 46, 47. ' Luke vi. 85, 36. 
 
 • Mat. v. 4o—48. 
 
140 Christ's commission 
 
 measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again. And 
 why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, 
 but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye ? 
 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the 
 mote out of thine eye ; and behold, a beam is in thine 
 own eye ? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out 
 of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast 
 out the mote out of thy brother's eye." 1 
 
 Our Lord does not forbid his disciples to form a just 
 and candid judgment of men, according to their avowed 
 principles and outward conduct ; for a little after he says, 
 " Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's 
 clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye 
 shall know them by their fruits :" y by these they were to 
 detect and judge of them. He also enjoins them to hold 
 an offending impenitent brother as an heathen man and a 
 publican, 2 which imports their judging and censuring him :* 
 But the judging here prohibited is rash, unjust, and evil judg- 
 ing, upon groundless suspicions, or from a censorious, male- 
 volent, unmerciful disposition, which is gratified in detect- 
 ing, magnifying, exposing, and condemning the faults and 
 infirmities of others, without any view to their good. This 
 is not only opposite to charity, but to common benevolence, 
 and is frequently masked under a cloak of zeal for the truth. b 
 The apostle James also forbids this evil judging : " Speak 
 not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil 
 of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of 
 the law, and judgeth the law : but if thou judge the law, 
 thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one 
 Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy : who art thou 
 that judgest another?" To speak evil of, and judge a 
 brother unjustly, is practically to do the same to the law 
 itself, in as far as it allows what he condemns in others, 
 or forbids what he allows in himself. By this he sets him- 
 
 «Mat. vii. 1—6. Luke vi. 37. J Mat. vii. 15, 16. 
 
 2 Mat. xviii. 17. a l Cor. v. 3, 12, 13. 2 Cor. ii. 6. 
 
 b James iii. 14 — 17. " Chap. iv. 11, 12. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 141 
 
 self up in place of the one Lawgiver, and assumes the office 
 of a judge and censor, instead of being a humble subject, 
 or doer of the law. d 
 
 Christ's words also intimate, that he who is invidiously 
 intent upon spying out the faults of others, is quite inatten- 
 tive to his own ; and whilst he severely judges and con- 
 demns his brother for the smallest failing, indulges himself 
 in much greater. Therefore he terms him a hypocrite, 
 and directs him to begin at home, and first cast the beam 
 out of his own eye, and then he should see clearly to cast 
 the mote out of his brother's eye : for till then he is inca- 
 pable of dealing with his brother with judgment, conscience, 
 and affection, or to any good end ; but, on the contrary, 
 exposes himself to judgment and condemnation. This 
 saying of our Lord can never be too much attended to by 
 his disciples. 
 
 8. " Take heed that ye do not your alms before men to 
 be seen of them : otherwise ye have no reward of your Fa- 
 ther who is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine 
 alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites 
 do, in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may 
 have glory of men. Verily, I say unto you, they have 
 their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left 
 hand know what thy right hand doeth ; that thine alms 
 may be in secret ; and thy Father who seeth in secret, 
 himself shall reward thee openly." 6 The same directions 
 he gives as to prayer* and fasting.^ 
 
 Almsgiving, prayer, and fasting, are here supposed to be 
 duties incumbent upon Christ's disciples. The two first 
 are much insisted on both by our Lord and his apostles. h 
 The last, he intimates, would also be observed by his dis- 
 ciples, when he, the Bridegroom, should be taken from 
 them. 1 But here he chiefly insists upon the right manner 
 
 d See also Rom. xiv. 4, 10 — 13. 1 Cor. iv. 5. James iii. 1. 
 
 • Mat. vi. 1—5. f Ver. 5—7. « Ver. 1G— 19. 
 
 k Mat. xix. 21. Luke xi. 41; and xii. 33. Rom. xii. 13. Heb. xiii. 1G. 
 
 1 John iii. 17. Luke xviii. 1 ; and xxi. 36. Rom. xii. 12. Eph. vi. 18. 
 
 Col. iv. 2. 1 Thess. v. 17. ; Luke v. 33—30. 
 
142 Christ's commission 
 
 of performing these duties ; and particularly cautions them 
 against ostentation, vain-glory, and hypocrisy. Acts of 
 liberality and devotion are both public church-ordinances k 
 and private duties of individuals. Our Lord here speaks 
 of them chiefly in the latter sense : and though ostentation 
 is equally criminal in either : yet when that which ought 
 to be done in secret, is industriously exposed to view, it 
 strongly indicates hypocrisy and vain-glory. The Phari- 
 sees did their alms in such an open ostentatious manner, 
 as if they had summoned people by sound of trumpet to 
 witness their liberality. Their prayers were put up in the 
 most public places, where there was the greatest concourse 
 of people to observe them. And when they kept a fast, 
 they took care to let it be known by a slovenly, dirty ap- 
 pearance, and a rueful dejected countenance. Thus they 
 did all their works to be seen of men, that they might be 
 applauded, admired, and revered for their liberality, devo- 
 tion, and mortification. This was their highest aim, and 
 it was all their reward. Jesus also tells his disciples, that 
 if they performed their alms and devotions with such views, 
 they should have no reward of their Father who is in 
 heaven ; and therefore directs them to perform them in 
 secret, without the least wish of being observed or ap- 
 plauded by men, but in singleness of heart, purely as in 
 the sight of their heavenly Father, being fully satisfied 
 with this, that he alone sees them, approves and accepts 
 of these fruits of their faith and love, and will at last 
 openly acknowledge, and amply reward them before men 
 and angels. 1 All this is perfectly consistent with that 
 other direction, " Let your light so shine before men, that 
 they may see your good works, and glorify your Father 
 who is in heaven." m 
 
 9. " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, 
 where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break 
 through and steal ; but lay up for yourselves treasures in 
 
 k Acts ii. 42 ; xiii. 2. 1 Cor. xvi. 1. ' Mat. xxv. 34—38. 
 
 ffi Mat. v. 16. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 143 
 
 heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and 
 where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where 
 your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light 
 of the body is the eye ; if therefore thine eye be single, thy 
 whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, 
 thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the 
 light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness ! 
 No man can serve two masters ! for either he will hate the 
 one, and love the other ; or else he will hold to the one, and 
 despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."" 
 
 By treasure here our Lord does not mean the heart and 
 affections, as many explain it (a sense in which it is never 
 used) : for he speaks of this treasure as one thing, and of 
 the heart which loves it as another, in these words — " For 
 where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." This 
 treasure consists of such things as may be laid up, stolen 
 by the thief, or corrupted by the moth and rust ; and there- 
 fore can mean nothing else than worldly riches or sub- 
 stance, which he afterwards calls mammon. — To lay up this 
 treasure is to accumulate, hoard, or (thesaurizo) treasure it 
 up in store ; and it is plain, that our Lord here absolutely 
 forbids his disciples thus to lay it up for themselves upon 
 earth, where they were in danger of being deprived of it 
 by the thief, the moth, or the rust, and where their enjoy- 
 ment of it at any rate was but uncertain and momentarv. 
 
 But though they are forbidden to accumulate riches, be- 
 laying them up for themselves upon earth ; yet they must 
 neither be slothful in the means of attaining them, nor 
 consume them upon their lusts ; for he commands them to 
 lay them up in heaven, where they will be secure against 
 all accidents, unfailing or inexhaustible, and preserved as 
 in bags that wax not old.° He elsewhere explains the 
 manner in which they are to lay them up in heaven — 
 " Sell that ye have, and give alms ; provide for yourselves 
 bags that wax not old, a treasure in the heavens which 
 faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth cor- 
 n Mat. vi. 19—25. • Luke xii. 33. 
 
144 Christ's commission 
 
 rupteth." p u Sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, 
 and thou shalt have treasure in heaven." q So that the wav 
 to lay them up for ourselves in heaven, is to give them in 
 alms to the needy on earth. It is by being rich in good 
 works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, that 
 we lay up in store for ourselves a good foundation against 
 the time to come, and lay hold on eternal life/ It is thus 
 we " make to ourselves friends of the mammon of unright- 
 eousness :" who, when we fail, receive us into everlasting 
 habitations. 8 So that this giving, instead of impoverish- 
 ing, is the way to make " rich towards God/'* 
 
 He shows that all attempts to lay up treasures for our- 
 selves both on earth and in heaven, are vain, impossible, 
 and delusive, and that these two ways of treasuring are 
 incompatible with each other. The man who " lays up 
 treasures for himself" on earth, he describes as " not rich 
 towards God." u — Many imagine they may accumulate trea- 
 sures on earth, while their hearts are set on things above ; 
 but he affirms that the heart and treasure will always go 
 together ; " for where your treasure is, there will your 
 heart be also.'' — They may say, that they do not make their 
 wealth their treasure ; but the change of the name does 
 not alter the thing. Our Lord calls that a man's treasure, 
 which he industriously " lays up for himself," and carefully 
 retains as his own. — The greater part understand this pre- 
 cept not in an absolute but comparative sense : as if he 
 had said, " Lay not up for yourselves treasures only upon 
 earth ; but lay them up also, and chiefly, in heaven." But 
 as the heart and treasure always go together, this gloss 
 would make it lawful for us to divide our hearts between 
 earth and heaven ; whereas he forbids us to have our hearts 
 on earth at all. If the heart is thus divided, the eye can- 
 not be single* nor the whole body full of light. However 
 
 * The single eye is the bountiful or liberal eye or heart, Prov. xxii. 9. 
 The original word, rendered bountifulness or liberality, is (aplotes), 
 
 r Luke xii. 33. iMat. xix. 21. . r l Tim. vi. 18, 19. 
 
 3 Luke xvi. 9. l Prov. xix. 7. 2 Cor. ix. 6. u Luke xii. 21. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 145 
 
 we may pretend to prefer the true riches, yet our eye to 
 what we lay up on earth will be evil, or opposite to that 
 bounty in almsgiving which is connected with the heavenly 
 treasure, and so make us sow sparingly, or give grudging- 
 ly ; and he intimates, that, in this case, the evil eye will 
 prevail, filling our whole body with darkness, ver. 22, 23. 
 But this appears still clearer from what he says in ver. 24. 
 " No man can serve two masters ; for either he will hate 
 the one, and love the other ; or else he will hold to the 
 one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and 
 mammon."* Here God and mammon are represented as 
 two masters, having opposite demands and interests. 
 Mammon requires we should lay up for ourselves treasures 
 on earth ; God commands us to lay them up in heaven, by 
 giving to the poor. To serve both, therefore, is impossi- 
 ble ; for in proportion as we love and hold to the one, we 
 must of necessity hate and despise the other. 
 
 He enjoins his disciples to make to themselves friends 
 of the mammon of unrighteousness, namely, by giving to 
 the poor ; and urges it in point of faithfulness and justice : 
 " He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also 
 in much ; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also 
 in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the 
 unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the 
 true riches ? And if ye have not been faithful in that 
 which is (allotrios) another's, who will give you that 
 which is your own ? " x Here he leads us to 1 look upon our 
 riches as not our own, but another's (i. e. God's,) and that 
 we are only intrusted with them as stewards. To use 
 
 singleness or simplicity, Rom. xii. 8. 2; Cor. viii. 2, and ix. 11, 13. 
 The LXX. have (aple), single soul for liberal soul, Prov. xi. 25, and 
 God is said to give to all men (aplos) singly, i. e. liberally, James i. 5. 
 
 The evil eye is the opposite of this ; see Deut. xv. 9 ; Prov. xxiii. 
 
 6, 7, and xxviii. 22 ; Mat. xx. 15. 
 
 * Mammon is a Syriac word, and, according to the heathen my- 
 thology, was the God of plenty; hence it signifies riches, gains, or 
 treasures. To lay up, is to serve this god ; and so the principle, 
 covetousness, is called idolatry. Col. iii. 5. 
 
 * Luke xvi. 10—13. 
 
146 Christ's commission 
 
 them therefore as our own, by hoarding them up on earth 
 for ourselves, or consuming them upon our lusts, and so ■ 
 withholding them from the needy, especially those of the 
 household, is to be unfaithful in that which is another's, 
 and, like the unjust steward, to betray our trust, and waste 
 our master's goods. He asks such unfaithful stewards, 
 " Who will commit to your trust the true riches ? — Who 
 will give you that which is your own ? " The true riches 
 is the better and enduring substance in heaven ; and is 
 called our oion, because not given in trust for others, but 
 for our own enjoyment ; nor for a season, but for ever, it 
 being that good part which shall never be taken away 
 from us. This true riches we have no ground to expect, 
 if we are unfaithful in the unrighteous mammon. 
 
 This precept will never be admitted, even in principle, 
 by any national profession of religion in this world ; ac- 
 cordingly the compilers of the national standards have in 
 a great measure made it void in their explication of the 
 eighth commandment against stealing, which they say, 
 " requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth 
 and outward estate of ourselves and others." * Surely 
 this procuring and furthering our wealth, is to make rich 
 if we can. By lawful means, no doubt ; but what more 
 lawful means can we use than the man who obtained it by 
 the culture of his ground ? and what better ends can we 
 propose in laying it up for ourselves upon earth than his, 
 namely, that his soul might take ease, and that he might 
 eat, drink, and be merry ? Yet he stands condemned as a 
 fool for so doing, and all who follow his example : " So is 
 he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich to- 
 wards God." y 
 
 It is indeed possible that a man may bestow all his goods 
 to feed the poor without love z ; but in vain would he pre- 
 tend either to faith or love, if he make no conscience of 
 
 * Assembly's Shorter Catechism, Quest. 74. 
 y Luke xii. 16, 19, 20, 21. ■ 1 Cor. xiii. 3. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 147 
 
 laying up treasures in heaven by works of mercy to the 
 poor. a There has been a great deal of talk and empty 
 speculation among men about religion ; but this is pure 
 religion and un defiled before God and the Father. " b Much 
 has also been said about what is called the great work of 
 believing, and its various acts, in order to distinguish it 
 from the belief of the truth ; but clothing the naked, and 
 feeding the hungry brother or sister, is an important 
 branch of what the scripture terms the ivork of faith, and 
 by which it is distinguished from a dead faith, or the faith 
 of devils. It is that ministering labour of love to Christ's 
 name which is preferred to illumination and tasting of the 
 good word of God, d and which he hath promised to re- 
 ward in the judgment. 6 But whether the generality of 
 professors are any better reconciled to such acts of faith 
 as would hinder their laying up treasures upon earth, than 
 they are to the simple belief of the truth, as opposed to 
 every idea of working in order to be justified, is a question 
 which concerns every one to solve in his own case. One 
 thing is certain, that the strictest professors in our Lord's 
 time derided his doctrine on this head f ; for, in connection 
 with their attempts to establish their own righteousness, 
 they esteemed it their indispensable duty to " procure and 
 further their wealth and outward estate." 
 
 10. " Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for 
 your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink ; nor 
 yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life 
 more than meat, and the body than raiment ? " g &c. 
 
 Our Lord does not here forbid his disciples to be dili- 
 gent in business, both for their own support, and that 
 they may have to give to him that needeth, which is a 
 duty frequently enjoined elsewhere ; h but he forbids all 
 
 ■ 1 John iii. 17 — 19. b James i. 27. 
 
 c James ii. 14 — 21. 
 
 d Heb. vi. 4, 5, 9, 10. e Mat. xxv. 34—41. { Luke xvi. 14. 
 
 e Mat. vi. 25—34. 
 
 k Acts xx. 33—35; Rom xii. 11 ; Eph. iv. 28; 1 Thes. iv. 11, 12. 
 
 2 Thes. iii. 11, 12. 
 
14:8 Christ's commission 
 
 anxious solicitude or distracting cares,* even as to the ne- 
 cessaries of this life, which arise from covetousness, or a 
 distrust of divine Providence. f 
 
 This prohibition is nearly allied to the former ; for the 
 anxious fear of future want is one reason why many are 
 so industrious to scrape together wealth, and so loth to 
 part with it. 
 
 He sums up the things which are absolutely necessary 
 to the body in food and raiment. A moderate competency 
 of these is all that is needful for our present subsistence ; 
 and if we are truly in the spirit of pilgrims and strangers 
 in this world, having our affections set on things above, 
 we will not be anxious for more ; " for a man's life con- 
 sisteth not in the abundance of the things which he pos- 
 sesseth." 1 Accordingly the Apostle exhorts Christians, 
 " Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content ; " 
 and he intimates, that all who are not satisfied with these, 
 are under the influence of avarice and other lusts which 
 threaten their destruction and perdition : " But they that 
 will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into 
 many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in de- 
 struction and perdition. For the love of money is the 
 root of all evil ; which while some coveted after, they have 
 erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with 
 many sorrows." k Men's greatest anxiety as to the things 
 of this life proceeds, for the most part, from imaginary 
 and artificial wants occasioned by their covetousness, love, 
 of pleasure, ambition, and distrust. When the Apostle 
 says " Let your conversation be without covetousness, and 
 be content with such things as ye have ; for he hath said, 
 I will never leave thee nor forsake thee ; n ! he plainly sup- 
 poseth, that discontent with such things as we have arises 
 
 * The original (merimnao) imports such anxious care as divides or 
 rends the heart. 
 
 f In Luke xii. 29, we have also me meteorizesthe, which signifies to 
 be in anxious suspense, or of a fluctuating doubtful mind, in oppo- 
 sition to its being staid upon God. 
 
 1 Luke xii. 15. k 1 Tim. vi. 8—10. ' Heb. xiii. 5. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 149 
 
 from covetousness and want of trust in God. Were we 
 content with necessary food and raiment ; were our desires 
 bounded by the petition, " Give us this day our daily 
 bread ;" and did we, instead of anticipating future evils, 
 put our trust in the living- God, our minds would be freed 
 from anxious care, and our wants would be few and easily 
 supplied. Moderation and temperance in the use of 
 worldly things are also necessary to our being without 
 carefulness : Accordingly the Apostle joins them together; 
 " Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord 
 is at hand. Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing by 
 prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your re- 
 quests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, 
 which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts 
 and minds through Christ Jesus." m 
 
 Jesus does not remove the anxious fears of his disciples 
 by promising them worldly riches as a security against 
 future want, for these he forbids them to accumulate : but 
 he gives them infinitely better security, namely, the pa- 
 ternal affection, care and constant attention of their 
 heavenly Father ; assuring them that he well knows 
 their wants, and will certainly supply them in every thing- 
 necessary to their present subsistence. He condescends to 
 reason with them on this subject in a manner inimitably 
 simple, striking, and convincing. " Is not the life (says 
 he) more than meat, and the body than raiment ? Behold 
 the fowls of the air ; for they sow not, neither do they 
 reap, nor gather into barns : yet your heavenly Father 
 feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they ? Which 
 of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his sta- 
 ture ? And why take ye thought for raiment ; consider 
 the lilies of the field how they grow ; they toil not, neither 
 do they spin ; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, 
 in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Where- 
 fore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day 
 is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much 
 
 ■ Philip, iv. 5—8. 
 
 o 2 
 
150 Christ's commission 
 
 more clothe you, O ye of little faith ? Therefore take 
 no thought, saying-, What shall we eat, or what shall we 
 drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed ? (for after all 
 these things do the Gentiles seek :) for your heavenly Fa- 
 ther knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But 
 seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, 
 and all these things shall be added unto you. Take 
 therefore no thought for the morrow ; for the morrow 
 shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto 
 the day is the evil thereof." 11 In Luke it is added, "Fear 
 not, little flock ; for it is your Father's good pleasure to 
 give you the kingdom." It is not easy to conceive how 
 men can be seeking the kingdom of God in the first place, 
 if they are in anxious perplexity as to the things of this 
 life ; or how they can really believe that it is their Fa- 
 ther's good pleasure to give them the kingdom, if they 
 cannot even trust him for daily bread. Christ would 
 have Lis disciples, in the unsuspecting simplicity of little 
 children, to depend entirely upon their heavenly Father 
 for every thing they really need, casting all their care 
 upon him, believing that he careth for them ; p and that 
 without anticipating the evils of to-morrow, which either 
 may never happen, or be attended with suitable support, 
 and over-ruled for their good. 
 
 11. "If any man will come after me, let him deny 
 himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For who- 
 soever shall save his life, shall lose it : and whosoever will 
 lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what is a man 
 profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his 
 own soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for his 
 soul ? " « 
 
 Self-denial and bearing the cross after the example of 
 Christ, are two very comprehensive and essential precepts 
 of the Christian religion, whereby it stands distinguished 
 
 B Mat. vi. 25—34. °Luke xii. 32. p 1 Pet. v. 7. 
 i Mat. xvi. 24—26 ; Mark viii. 34, 38. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 151 
 
 from all others as well as from every accommodation of it 
 to the nations of this world. 
 
 (1.) To deny ourselves, is to give up not only with the 
 sinful gratifications of corrupt nature, but also with the 
 most innocent and lawful enjoyments of this life, when in 
 any case they interfere or stand in competition with our 
 allegiance to Christ. 
 
 As to sinful gratifications, there are three principal lusts 
 in the world, which are inconsistent with the love of the 
 Father, namely, " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, 
 and the pride of life." r — 1. We must deny ourselves as to 
 the lust of the flesh, or the love of sensual pleasure, taking- 
 heed lest at any time our hearts be overcharged with sur- 
 feiting and drunkenness, 8 and fornication and all unclean- 
 ness must not be once named among us, as beeometh 
 saints. 1 We must also avoid every temptation and incen- 
 tive to these fleshly lusts, such as chambering, reveliings, 
 and banquetings, u among which may be reckoned plays, 
 masquerades, balls, and other fashionable entertainments, 
 with all the delicate and refined arts of luxury, softness, 
 and dissipation, which are only so many ways of making 
 provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof. 1 In op- 
 position to all these, we must be temperate in all things, 
 keep under our body and bring it into subjection/ pluck 
 out a right eye, and cut off aright hand 2 ; and thus 
 through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, and 
 crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts. a — 2. We 
 must deny ourselves the lust of the eyes, which is covetous- 
 ness, or the love of riches.* I have already spoken of this 
 under the head of laying up treasures, and shall only ob- 
 serve, that Paul affirms the love of money to be the root 
 
 * Covetousness is called the evil eye, as has been observed, and 
 here it is called the lust of the eyes ; accordingly, Solomon describing 
 a miser, says, " There is no end of his labour, neither is his eye sa- 
 tisfied with riches.'' Eccl. iv. 8. 
 
 r 1 John ii. 15, 16. 'Luke xxi. 34. * Eph. v. 3. 
 
 u Rom. xiii. 13 ; 1 Pet. iv. 3, 4; Rev. xviii. 7, 9. x Rom. xiii. 14. 
 
 J 1 Cor. ix. 2d, 27. " Mat. v. 28—31. ' Rom. viii. 13; Gal. v. 24. 
 
152 Christ's commission 
 
 of all evil. b This maxim will hold good, whether we con- 
 sider it in relation to God, ourselves, or others. — It is the 
 root of all evil as opposed to our duty to God. Covetous- 
 ness is expressly called idolatry, because riches occupy 
 the chief place in the covetous heart, and become the 
 ground of trust and confidence in place of the living God.' 1 
 — In relation to ourselves, it becomes the occasion of pride 
 and high mindedness ; e and is a source of many compli- 
 cated evils ; " for they that will be rich, fall into tempta- 
 tion and a snare, and many foolish and hurtful lusts, which 
 drown men in destruction and perdition;" and while 
 some have coveted after money, "they have erred from 
 the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sor- 
 rows/^ And as to the life to come, the covetous have not 
 u any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." s 
 — The love of money is also the root of all evil in regard 
 of our conduct towards others. It supplants natural affec- 
 tion ; makes us envy the rich ; shuts up our bowels of 
 compassion from the needy ; is a source of oppression, 
 falsehood, fraud, and injustice in our dealings, and some- 
 times breaks out in the more atrocious acts of theft, rob- 
 bery and murder. h — 3. We must deny ourselves the pride 
 of life, or the love of worldly honours, fame, grandeur, 
 dignities, pre-eminence, &c. with all their supports and 
 appendages, such as riches, power, titles, pomp and splen- 
 dour in houses, furniture, table, equipage, and dress. As 
 many place their life and happiness in such empty vani- 
 ties, and as they are all calculated to feed the pride and 
 gratify the ambition of the human heart, so they are called 
 the pride of life* and the love of them is opposed to the 
 
 * The word bios, rendered life, frequently signifies that upon which 
 a man lives, such as money, food, raiment, possessions, &c. and so is 
 translated living, Luke viii. 43, ch. xv. 12, 30, ch. xxi. 4, and good, 
 1 John iii. 17. It also signifies a man's course of life, in relation to 
 his use of these things, Luke viii. 14 ; 1 Tim. ii. 2 ; 2 Tim. ii. 4, both 
 these ideas appear to be included in the text. 
 
 b 1 Tim. vi. 10. • Eph. v. 5; Col. iii. 5. d 1 Tim. vi. 17. e Ibid. 
 { 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10. s Eph. v. 5. h James v. 4 ; Prov. i. 11— 20. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 153 
 
 love of the Father. Nothing is more diametrically op- 
 posite to the whole spirit of the Christian religion than 
 pride and vain ambition, Our Lord frequently cautions 
 his disciples against it, when striving among themselves 
 who should be accounted the greatest ; * and he corrects 
 them by setting a little child in the midst of them, saying, 
 " Except ye be converted, and become as little children, 
 ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whoso- 
 ever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the 
 same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." 1 The rule of 
 preferment which he hath established in his kingdom is 
 this, " Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased ; and 
 he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." k In oppo- 
 sition, therefore, to that desire of worldly distinction, lord- 
 ship, and pre-eminence, which takes place among the men 
 of this world, he says, " But it shall not be so among you ; 
 but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your 
 minister ; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him 
 be your servant ;" and this he urges by his own example, 
 " Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, 
 but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.' n 
 Accordingly they are exhorted not to mind high things, 
 but (tois tapeinois sunapagomenoi) be contented with low 
 things ; " m the brother of low degree is called to " rejoice 
 in that he is exalted, but the rich in that he is made low ;" n 
 and all of them, without exception of station or circum- 
 stances, are enjoined to " be subject one to another, to be 
 clothed with humility/' and to "be kindly affectioned one 
 to another, with brotherly love, in honour preferring (not 
 themselves but) one another." p 
 
 But this is not all ; we must deny ourselves even the 
 most innocent and lawful enjoyments of life, when either 
 
 * Some confine this to spiritual pride and ambition ; but as the 
 disciples had worldly notions of Christ's kingdom, secular preferment 
 must at least have been one object of their ambition. 
 
 ; Mat. xviii. 1—5. k Chap, xxiii. 12. 
 
 'Mat. xx. 25—29 ; Luke xxii. 24—28. m Rom. xii. 16. 
 
 » James i. 9. 10. • 1 Pet. v. 5. p Rom. xii. 10. 
 
154 Christ's commission 
 
 the wants of our brethren, or our allegiance to Christ re- 
 quire it. Jesus directs his disciples to count the cost, and 
 bids them lay their account with parting with houses and 
 lands, and even with all that they have, for his sake ; q nay, 
 that they must often forego the favour and sustain the 
 hatred of their nearest and dearest relations ; and adds, 
 
 ■ He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not 
 worthy of me, and he that loveth son or daughter more 
 than me, is not worthy of me." r It is by things which 
 are in themselves lawful, that we are most apt to be de- 
 ceived and entangled, because a certain degree of attention 
 is due unto them, and they only become sinful when they 
 stand in competition with our duty to Christ, and are pre- 
 ferred. It is the duty of a man to love his parents and 
 children, to marry a wife, to see the ground and prove 
 the oxen he hath purchased, and to pay attention to his 
 farm or merchandise ; yet our Lord specifies such lawful 
 things, to show, that if they are preferred to the great 
 salvation, they will effectually ruin the soul, and exclude 
 from the kingdom of heaven. 8 
 
 (2.) To take up our cross and follow Christ, is to sus- 
 tain the hatred and maltreatment of the world for righte- 
 ousness' sake, even to the loss of life itself, after the ex- 
 ample of Christ. Our Lord here points to the instru- 
 ment of his death, which was the cross ; and thereby inti- 
 mates, that his followers must have fellowship with him in 
 his sufferings, and be conformed to him in his death. He 
 forewarns them that they shall be hated of all nations for 
 his sake f and gives the following reason for it : " If the 
 world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated 
 you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his 
 own ; but because ye are not of the world, but I have 
 chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth 
 you. — All these things will they do unto you for my 
 name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.'' u 
 
 •> Mat. xix. 29 ; Luke xiv. 33. r Mat. x. 34—38. 
 
 ■ Mat. xxii. 5 ; Luke xiv. 18 — 25. * Luke xxiv. 9. u John xv. 18 — 22. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 155 
 
 He pronounceth them blessed who are persecuted for 
 righteousness' sake ; and when men shall revile, persecute, 
 and say all manner of evil against them falsely for his 
 sake ; assuring them that their reward is great in heaven. 1 
 This bearing of the cross was not to be confined to the 
 apostles and first Christians : for the apostle Paul says, 
 " Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall 
 suffer persecution ;" y it being part of their conformity to, 
 and fellowship with, Christ in this world, 2 and occasioned 
 by the irreconcileable enmity of the world towards him 
 and his real followers. 3. Nor must it be considered as a 
 strange and singular thing, b " Whosoever, (says Christ) 
 doth not bear his cross and come after me, cannot be my 
 disciple. " c A great part of the New Testament was writ- 
 ten for Christians in a suffering state, and can neither be 
 properly understood nor relished but in circumstances 
 somewhat similar. The cross is a needful course of dis- 
 cipline, suited to this imperfect state, which both exer- 
 cises and improves every Christian virtue, such as faith, 
 hope, patience, humility, meekness, passive courage or for- 
 titude, forgiveness of enemies, &c. and so is subservient to 
 the leading design of the Christian religion, which is to 
 make us meet for the heavenly state. To enforce the duty 
 of taking up the cross, our Lord adds, " For whosoever 
 will save his life, shall lose it ; and whosoever will lose his 
 life for my sake, shall find it." i. e. If he seeks to save his 
 present life, or what pertains to it, by sinful compliances, 
 he shall lose eternal life ; but if he suffer the loss of his 
 earthly life for Christ's sake, he shall obtain the heavenly 
 life, which is infinitely better. He farther shows, that 
 this vain and transitory life, though it had all the plea- 
 sures, riches, and honours of the whole world annexed to it, 
 would be a poor and unprofitable exchange for the ever- 
 lasting happiness of the immortal soul. 
 
 * Mat. v. 10—13. j 2 Tim. iii. 11, 12. » Phil. iii. 10 ; 1 Pet. ii. 21. 
 
 • John xvii. 14. * 1 Pet. iv. 12—15 ; 1 John iii. 12, 13. 
 
 • Luke jdv. 27. 
 
156 Christ's commission 
 
 12. "When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call 
 not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor 
 thy rich neighbours ; lest they also bid thee again, and a 
 recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, 
 call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind ; and thou 
 shalt be blessed ; for they cannot recompence thee : for 
 thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." d 
 
 This precept does not absolutely prohibit a Christian 
 from occasionally entertaining any of his rich relations or 
 neighbours, who may be able to treat him in their turn ; 
 but it evidently forbids the frequent costly entertainments 
 wherewith the wealthy mutually treat one another, to the 
 exclusion of the poor, the wasting of their substance, and 
 the hindering of their liberality where it may be really 
 needed ; in which they are only feeding their own luxury, 
 pride, and selfishness. Such have their honour and re- 
 ward from one another, and it is all they shall receive for 
 the ostentatious elegance and liberal expense of their 
 table. But in opposition to this, our Lord directs us, when 
 we make a feast, to call or invite the poor, the maimed, 
 the lame, and the blind, not merely to partake of the 
 crumbs and offals in common with the dogs, but to share 
 of the entertainment as guests. And as we can expect no 
 returns of worldly honour or reward from such, he assures 
 us that we shall be blessed, and fully recompensed at the 
 resurrection of the just. How few pay any regard to this 
 saying of Jesus, or whose feasts have any connection with 
 the future reward ! 
 
 13. " My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 
 For if there come into your assembly a man with a gold 
 ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man 
 in vile raiment ; and ye have respect unto him that weareth 
 the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a 
 good place ; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit 
 here under my footstool : are ye not then partial in your- 
 
 d Luke xir. 12—14. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 157 
 
 selves, and are become judges of evil thoughts ? Hearken, 
 my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of 
 this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which 
 he hath promised to them that love him ? But ye have 
 despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and 
 draw you before the judgment seats ? Do not they blas- 
 pheme that worthy name by which ye are called ? If ye 
 fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt 
 love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do AvelL But if ye have 
 respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of 
 the law as transgressors/' 6 
 
 That which the apostle here forbids, is respect of per- 
 aons, or partiality ; making a difference among men on 
 account of their outward circumstances and appearance, 
 or respecting the rich more than the poor. To illus- 
 trate his purpose, he supposes two persons coming 
 in to their assembly ; one with a gold ring, in lampra, 
 splendid apparel ; the other a poor man in vile raiment. 
 The instance of partiality he condescends upon is, their 
 furnishing the first with a seat in a good place, whilst 
 they ordered the last to stand there, or sit here under their 
 footstool. This is only a specimen of what he condemns in 
 general ; it is one of the least and most common instances 
 of partiality, and includes a prohibition of every higher 
 degree of it ; yet such an instance as this he thought suf- 
 ficient to convict them, and puts the question upon it. 
 " Are ye not partial in yourselves ?" He shows that this 
 respect of persons is inconsistent with the faith of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory f — that it proceeds 
 from a judgment influenced and biassed by evil {dialogis- 
 mon) reasonings 5 — runs counter to God's thoughts and 
 ways in the dispensation of his grace to men, he having 
 chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs 
 of the kingdom ; whereas they had despised the poor 
 whom God had chosen, and honoured the rich, whom he 
 had for the most part rejected as oppressors of the saints, 
 
 c James ii. A— 10. '■ James ii. 1. s Ver.. 4, 
 
 P 
 
158 Christ's commission 
 
 and blasphemers of the name of his Son h — and that it is a 
 most flagrant transgression of that royal law, which enjoins 
 us to love our neighbour as ourselves. 1 
 
 Every religion in the world but that of Jesus admits 
 this respect of persons. Even national Christianity adopts 
 it as a sacred article of its creed. In every worldly nation 
 pride and ambition must ever have scope, and wealth will 
 always be attended with power and influence, and be held 
 as a foundation of distinguished honour in itself, whatever 
 be the character of its possessors. Even such professors 
 as condemn respect of persons in the gross, admit it in de- 
 tail, and think it their bounden duty to make such a differ- 
 ence between the rich and the poor as the Apostle here 
 condemns, They figure to themselves what an appear- 
 ance impartiality carried this length would have in the 
 world ; and by this rule of judging they reject it at once 
 as altogether ridiculous, rude, and absurd. Commenta- 
 tors have also endeavoured to explain away the sense of 
 this passage. They tell us, the (sunagoge) assembly here 
 spoken of, is the Jewish synagogue which was used for 
 civil and ecclesiastical judicature, as well as for religious 
 worship ; and that as the footstool, judges, and judgment- 
 seats, are also mentioned, so the respect of persons for- 
 bidden must be a partial decision in favour of the rich in 
 judicial proceedings, which is also forbidden in the law. k 
 But it is evident that the Apostle addresses his Christian 
 brethren, who had the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ ;' 
 and calls this assembly your synagogue, which must there- 
 fore be a Christian assembly. 111 The scripture never men- 
 tions a footstool with any reference to a court of judica- 
 ture. The Apostle speaks not of judges by office, but of 
 any of the brethren who might be guilty of partiality ; 
 such, he says, were become judges of evil thoughts or 
 reasonings. 11 As to the judgment seats, these did not be- 
 long to Christians ; for they had then no civil authority. 
 
 b James ii. ver. 5 — 8. ' Ver. 8 — 12. k Lev. xix. 15. 
 1 James ii. 1. m Yer. 2. » James ii. 4. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 159 
 
 It was before the Jewish and heathen tribunals that the 
 rich oppressors of the saints, and blasphemers of the name 
 of Jesus, dragged the Christians, and not before their 
 brethren. The rich and the poor men are not here sup- 
 posed impleading one another, or demanding judgment 
 upon any cause between them ; but simply coming in to 
 their assembly, without the least hint of their having any 
 concern with each other. Nor is it supposed that any ju- 
 dicial sentence or determination was given upon that occa- 
 sion, but only a piece of respect paid to the rich man in 
 preference to the poor with regard to a seat. In short, 
 there is nothing in the whole passage that has the least ap- 
 pearance of a judicial proceeding. 
 
 But it will be objected, that we are exhorted to give 
 honour to whom honour is due. p This is freely granted ; 
 but the question is, To whom, and on what account, is 
 honour due ? All the honour due to men, according to 
 the scripture, is on account of some faint resemblance which 
 they bear to God, who is the perfect standard and sum of 
 all excellence, and to whom every just honour given to the 
 creature ultimately refers. Were this principle admitted 
 and properly understood, it might serve to adjust all our 
 ideas as to the foundation of honour, and enable us to 
 judge of the justice of men's various claims and pretensions 
 to it. Let us see if we can trace this principle in all the 
 scripture injunctions to honour men. 
 
 We are commanded to honour kings, governors, and ma- 
 gistrates,' 1 because they are ordained of God as his minis- 
 ters for the punishment of evil-doers, and the praise of 
 them that do well. In their office they exhibit a faint 
 image of God's dominion and rule, and ought to be sub- 
 jected to, and honoured, not for wrath but conscience sake. 
 — Servants are to " count their oxen masters worthy of all 
 honour ; r because masters, in their power and authority over 
 their servants, bear some resemblance of God, who says, 
 
 James ii. ver. 6. 7. p Rom. xiii. 7. 
 i Rom. xiii. 1—8 ; 1 Pet. ii. 13—18. r 1 Tim. vi. 1, 2. 
 
160 Christ's commission 
 
 " If I be a master, where is my fear?" 8 Christ is the 
 master of Christians ; therefore the honour and obedience 
 which they give to their masters according to the flesh, 
 ought to have a reference to him 4 . — Honour is due to 
 parents from their children ; u for, as parents, they are a 
 lively image of God, who is the father of his people, and 
 claims the honour due to that relation : " If I then be a 
 father, where is mine honour" ?" — Wives are to be subject 
 to and reverence their own husbands* ; because their husbands, 
 in relation to them, are a representation of Christ as head of 
 his church. — Pastors are to be held (entimous) in honour, 
 and esteemed very highly in love for their work's sake. 2 The 
 ground of this is the resemblance they bear in their work 
 and office to Jesus Christ the chief Shepherd and Bishop 
 of souls. a — Benefactors, or men eminently useful in the 
 good works of liberality and mercy, are worthy of honour, 
 which is accordingly promised them ; b because in these 
 they imitate God, who is good to all, and his tender mer- 
 cies are over all his works . — Christians are exhorted with 
 brotherly love and honour to prefer one another, and " in 
 lowliness of mind to esteem others better than themselves." d 
 This mutual honour is due from the rich as well as 
 poor ; is the effect of humility and love ; and the founda- 
 tion of it is their honourable relation to God and confor- 
 mity to his Son. Lastly, we are commanded to honour all 
 men."* If this means anything more than what has been 
 already mentioned, it must have a respect to human na- 
 ture, wherein all are upon a level ; and the foundation of 
 this honour must be, that " men are made after the si- 
 militude of God." f This calls for a benevolent, humble, 
 and respectful carriage towards mankind in general ; as 
 they are possessed of a nature capable of immortal honour. 
 
 8 Mai. i. 6. l Eph. vi. 5 ; Col. iii. 22—25. ■ Eph. vi. 1 . 2; 
 
 * Mai. i. 6. J Eph. v. 22, 23, 24, 33. 
 
 * Philip, ii. 29 ; 1 Thess. v. 12, 13. 
 
 »Heb. xiii. 20 ;1 Pet. ii. 25, and v. 4. b Psal. exii. 9; Prov. xxi. 21, 
 
 c Psal. cxlv. 9. d Rom. xii. 10 ; Philip, ii. 3. 
 
 e 1 Pet. ii. 17. f James iii. 9. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 161 
 
 and as God hath regarded men to such a degree as to give 
 his Son to die for the lowest and vilest of them. 
 
 It appears, therefore, from scripture, that there is a 
 special honour due to rulers, relations, benefactors, and 
 Christian brethren, and also a common honour due to all 
 men ; and that the foundation of this honour is some simi- 
 litude or resemblance which they bear to God. Now, if 
 these comprise all the classes of men to which distin- 
 guished honour is due by the law of Christ, and if the 
 only just foundation of it be some imitation or resemblance 
 of God ; then every pretension to distinguished honour 
 upon other grounds must be the claim of vanity and ambi- 
 tion, which Christians ought not to gratify either in them- 
 selves or others. 
 
 The scripture calls us to honour no man on account of 
 his wealth. The New Testament treats riches with con- 
 tempt : calls them the unrighteous mammon and filthy 
 lucre ; forbids Christians to lay them up ; shows at large 
 their evil and dangerous influence, and how hard it is for 
 those who possess them to enter into the kingdom of 
 heaven. They cannot therefore be a foundation of honour 
 among Christians. True, indeed, the man who does not 
 trust in them, or value himself upon them, who enjoys 
 them with temperance, moderation, and a humble mind, 
 and distributes them liberally to the needy, is truly 
 honourable ; but the ground of honour in this rare case is 
 not the possession, but proper use of riches, or the character 
 of the possessor. 
 
 Nor are we commanded to honour any on account of 
 their gay clothing or splendid apparel, which is one of the 
 ingredients of the pride of life. The Lord ascribes the 
 gaudy ornaments of the daughters of Zion to their pride 
 and wantonness ;" and the apostles absolutely forbid Chris- 
 tian women, of whatever station, to wear broidered or 
 plaited hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array ; under 
 which particulars all other costly and gaudy fineries are 
 £ Lsa. iii. 16—24. 
 
 p 2 
 
162 Christ's commission 
 
 prohibited. In opposition to which, they not only recom- 
 mend the inward adorning of the hidden man of the 
 heart, but also another kind of outward dress answerable 
 to it, viz. modest apparel. u It would therefore be very in- 
 consistent in Christians to respect others on account of 
 that which they are prohibited themselves, and which is 
 the undoubted effect of pride and vanity. So that from 
 the whole it is evident, that no particular honour was due 
 to the rich man mentioned by James ; and that the pre- 
 ference they gave him to the poor man on account of his 
 riches, gold ring, and splendid apparel, was a criminal re- 
 spect of persons, unbecoming their holy profession, and 
 which showed that their own minds were too much under 
 the influence of worldly things. 
 
 Thus I have given a specimen of some of Christ's re- 
 markable sayings, which clearly demonstrate that his king- 
 dom is not of this world ; for the peculiar laws of this 
 kingdom contain a perfect system of non-conformity to the 
 world in the most of its sage and approved maxims, and 
 in all its favourite lusts and pursuits. The New Testa- 
 ment every where opposes the religion of Jesus Christ to 
 this present evil world, even in its most decent and credit- 
 able appearances. It declares, that a that which is highly 
 esteemed among men, is an abomination in the sight of 
 God ;"* that " if any man love the world, or the things that 
 are in the world, the love of the Father is not in him ; k " 
 that " the friendship of the world is enmity with God," so 
 that " whosoever will be a friend of the world is the ene- 
 my of God.'" 1 Therefore Christians are exhorted not to 
 be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the 
 renewing cf their mind, that they may prove what is that 
 good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. m The dis- 
 tinguishing precepts of Christ are not intended for the 
 world, but for his own peculiar people, who are not of the 
 world, but strangers and pilgrims in it, chosen out of it, 
 
 h 1 Tim. ii. 9, 10 ; 1 Pet. iii. 3, 4. • Luke xvi. 15. 
 
 k 1 John ii. 15. ' James iv. 4. m Horn. xii. 2. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 163 
 
 and redeemed from it ; and therefore they cannot be ac- 
 commodated to national establishments, interpreted by 
 the rules of human prudence, or reconciled with the pur- 
 suit of worldly pleasures, honours, or interest, without 
 being either explained away, or greatly corrupted. Their 
 most simple and obvious sense best agrees with their lead- 
 ing design, which is to direct Christians in their confor- 
 mity to Christ in this world, that they may partake of his 
 glory when he appears. The character of Jesus Christ, 
 which is drawn by the four Evangelists, and so often re- 
 ferred to in the apostolic writings, is the best comment 
 upon his sayings. In his life he set an example of what he 
 taught his disciples, leaving it for their imitation ; and 
 therefore every gloss upon his words, which does not ac- 
 cord with his example, must undoubtedly be false. 
 
 To sum up and conclude this part of the subject, I shall 
 add a few observations upon that short but comprehensive 
 summary of Christian duty given by the apostle Paul in 
 his epistle to Titus : " For the grace of God that bringeth 
 salvation hath appeared to all men ; teaching us, that 
 denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we shohld live 
 soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world ; 
 looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing 
 of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ : Who gave 
 himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, 
 and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
 works. " n 
 
 " The grace of God that bringeth salvation," is his free 
 favour and sovereign mercy in saving guilty sinners 
 through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and 
 which is published to all sorts of men by the gospel. This 
 is mentioned first as the foundation of all that follows ; 
 for till a man believes the grace of God, as revealed in the 
 gospel, he is destitute of the proper principles of gospel- 
 obedience ; and Christ's sayings will appear to him unrea- 
 sonable, grievous, and many of them utterly impracticable. 
 » Tit. ii. 11— 15. 
 
164 Christ's commission 
 
 But when once he is made to know and believe the grace of 
 God which bringeth salvation, it furnishes him with new 
 principles and motives which excite to obedience, give 
 strength for it, make it delightful, and in a manner un- 
 avoidable, nay, constrain to it. This grace of God teach- 
 eth us, 
 
 1. To deny ungodliness ; i. e. to renounce and utterly 
 forsake all infidelity, idolatry, impiety, profanity, and su- 
 perstition, either in principle, disposition, or practice, and 
 everything which is opposite to the belief, acknowledge- 
 ment, love, fear, and service of the one true God, or to 
 the purity of his institutions and worship. It teacheth, 
 
 2. To deny ivordly lusts ; i. e. to subdue and mortify all 
 inordinate affections and irregular desires after the enjoy- 
 ments of this world ; such as — " the lust of the flesh," or 
 the love of sensual pleasures — " the lust of the eyes," or 
 the love of riches — and " the pride of life," or ambition 
 for worldly honour, fame, pomp, and pre-eminence ; to- 
 gether with all those impious and malignant dispositions 
 and passions which arise from disappointments and inter- 
 ferences in the gratification of these lusts : such as discon- 
 tent and murmuring against God, and envy, hatred, wrath, 
 strife, resentment, &c. against men, with all their practical 
 effects. 
 
 But this grace of God teacheth not only the negative 
 part of duty, or what we are to avoid, but also what we 
 are to practise ; not merely to " abhor that which is evil," 
 but to " cleave to that which is good." It teacheth us, 
 
 1. To live soberly, in the due government of our appe- 
 tites, passions, and affections respecting the things of this 
 world. Not only to subdue every sinful inclination and 
 disposition, but also to moderate such as are in a certain 
 degree lawfid ; that so our desires and aversions, our joys 
 and griefs, our hopes and fears, may never be dispropor- 
 tioned to the nature, importance, and end of their objects, 
 or become sinful through excess. And as the effect of this, 
 
 • Rom. xii. 9. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 165 
 
 to be moderate in the use of lawful enjoyments ; that so 
 we may not by them be unfitted for the Christian race 
 and warfare, but be sober and vigilant, and like those who 
 strive for the mastery, to be temperate in all things, keep- 
 ing under our body, and bringing it into subjection ; p let- 
 ting our moderation be so conspicuous as to be known unto 
 all men, under the constant conviction that the Lord is at 
 hand. q This sobriety is described by the Apostle in the 
 most emphatic language : " But this I say, brethren, 
 the time is short : It remaineth that both they that 
 have wives, be as though they had none ; and they that 
 weep, as though they wept not ; and they that rejoice as 
 though they rejoiced not ; and they that buy, as though 
 they possessed not ; and they that use this world, as not 
 a busing it : for the fashion of this world passeth away." 1 
 Again, the grace of God teacheth us, 
 
 2. To live righteously in all our transactions with, or 
 conduct towards men : To do no manner of injury, by 
 word or deed, to any person, either in his character, per- 
 son, or property, much less in his spiritual concerns ; but, 
 on the contrary, to be true in our words, exact in perform- 
 ing coir promises, just and honest in all our dealings, and 
 faithful to our trust. 
 
 The word (dikaios) rendered righteously, sometimes 
 >ignifies also benevolently, which sense it likewise requires 
 in this place, where it is expressive of the whole of our 
 duty to our neighbour ; for the law enjoins us to love our 
 neighbour as ourselves. Upon which principle our Lord 
 establishes the following rule of conduct : " Therefore all 
 things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do 
 ye even so to them ; for this is the law and the prophets.''' 
 13y this rule we are as it were to exchange conditions with 
 our neighbour, then consult our own breast what we would 
 have him to do to us in that situation ; and, having formed 
 a reasonable wish for ourselves, to make that the rule of 
 our conduct towards him. This is a short, plain, compre- 
 
 p 1 Cor. ix. 25—27. 'J Phil. iv. 5. r 1 Cor. vii. 29—31. ' Mat. vii. 12. 
 
166 Christ's commission 
 
 hensive rule, full of reason, self- evidence, and conviction ; 
 and it is a rule not merely of strict justice, but also of good- 
 will, kindness, and beneficence ; for in this manner we wish 
 others to act towards ourselves. To live righteously, there- 
 fore, imports that we should abound in all the offices of 
 justice and humanity towards men, bearing them an un- 
 feigned good-will, and having a sincere concern for their 
 good, so as to rejoice in their prosperity, and be ready to 
 promote it ; to sympathize withr4hem in adversity and af- 
 fliction, and, according to our ability, to supply their 
 wants, relieve their distresses, and contribute to their ease 
 and comfort, both with regard to body and mind ; to exer- 
 cise patience and long-suffering toward them, bearing 
 with their infirmities, and even putting up with injuries 
 from them, without retaliation or resentment, &c. &c. 
 
 To live righteously includes also the faithful and conscien- 
 tious performance of all relative duties ; a few of which I 
 shall just mention in scripture-language. 
 
 (1.) The duties of Christian subjects to their civil riders. 
 " Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers ; for 
 there is no power but of God : the powers that be are or- 
 dained of God — for the punishment of evil doers, and for 
 the praise of them that do well. — Wherefore ye must needs 
 be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 
 For, for this cause pay you tribute also ; for they are God's 
 ministers attending continually upon this very thing. 
 Render therefore to all their dues ; tribute, to whom tri- 
 bute is due ; custom, to whom custom : fear, to whom fear ; 
 honour, to whom honour. — I exhort, therefore, that first 
 of all, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be 
 made — for kings, and for all that are in authority, that 
 we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and 
 honesty."* 4 
 
 * The New Testament was not written to direct the political affairs 
 of the nations of this world. It gives no instructions how to model 
 their constitution, nor determine which is the best form of govern- 
 
 1 Rom. xiii. 1, 5—7 ; 1 Pet. ii. 13, 14 ; 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 167 
 
 (2.) The mutual duties of husbands and wives. "Wives, 
 submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 
 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is 
 the head of the church : and he is the saviour of the body. 
 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so 
 let the wives be to their own husbands in every 
 thing. — Teach the young women to be sober, to love their 
 husbands, to love their children : to be discreet, chaste, 
 keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, 
 that the word of God be not blasphemed. — Whose adorn- 
 ing — let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is 
 not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet 
 spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For 
 after this manner in the old time, the holy women also, 
 who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjec- 
 tion unto their own husbands ; even as Sarah obeyed 
 Abraham, calling him Lord. — Let not the wife depart from 
 her husband ; but, and if she depart, let her remain unmar- 
 ried, or be reconciled to her husband.' 11 On the other 
 hand, it is enjoined, " Husbands, love your w r ives, even as 
 Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. — So 
 oujrht men to love their wives as their own bodies : he 
 that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet 
 hated his own flesh ; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, 
 even as the Lord the church. — Let every one of you in 
 particular so love his wife even as himself. — Be not bitter 
 against them — dwell with them according to knowledge, 
 giving honour unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel, 
 
 i 
 
 incut. It stands clear of all discussions about the rights of princes 
 and subjects, and leaves such things to be decided by the principles 
 of natural equity, or the opinion of communities as to what is most 
 conducive to the general good. IS" or does it prescribe to kings the 
 duties which they owe their subjects, though these are clearly dedu- 
 cible from the description it gives of the nature and ends of their 
 office. But it enjoins Christians everywhere to be subject to the ex- 
 isting powers in all civil matters consistent with their duty to God, 
 and rather to suffer patiently for a good conscience, than in any case 
 to resist them by force. 
 
 * Eph. v. 22—24, 33; Tit. ii. 4, 5; 1 Pet. iii. 1—7 ; 1 Cor. vii. 10, 11. 
 
168 Christ's commission* 
 
 and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your 
 prayers be not hindered — and let not the husband put 
 away his wife.* 
 
 (3.) The duties of parents and children. " Children obey 
 your parents in the Lord ; for this is right — well-pleasing 
 unto the Lord. Honour thy father and mother (which is 
 the first commandment with promise), that it may be well 
 with thee, and that thou mayest live long on the earth. — 
 Let them learn to show piety at home, and to requite their 
 parents ; for that is good and acceptable before God." y 
 And to parents it is said, " And ye fathers, provoke not 
 your children to wrath, lest they be discouraged : but 
 bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the 
 Lord."" 
 
 (4.) The mutual duties of masters and servants. " Ser- 
 vants be obedient to them that are your masters accord- 
 ing to the flesh — not only to the good and gentle, but also 
 to the fro ward — with fear and trembling, in singleness of 
 your heart, as unto Christ ; not with eye-service ; as men- 
 pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of 
 God from the heart ; with good-will doing service as to 
 the Lord, and not to men : knowing that of the Lord ye 
 shall receive the reward of the inheritance ; for ye serve 
 the Lord Christ. — Let as many servants as are under the 
 yoke, count their own masters worthy of all honour — 
 please them well in all things ; not answering again ; not 
 purloining, but showing all good fidelity ; that they may 
 adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. And 
 they tha,t have believing masters, let them not despise them 
 because they are brethren ; but rather do them service, 
 because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the 
 benefit."* The exhortation to masters is, " And ye masters, 
 do the same things unto them ; — give unto your servants 
 that which is just and equal — forbearing threatening; 
 
 1 Eph. v. 25, 28, 29, 33; Col. iii. 19 ; 1 Pet. iii. 7 ; 1 Cor. vii. 11. 
 
 > Eph vi. l, 2, 3 ; Col. iii. 20. « Eph. vi. 4 ; Col. iii. 21. 
 
 * Eph. vi. 5—9; Col. iii. 22—25; 1 Pet. ii. 18: 1 Tien. vi. 1,2; 
 
 Tit. ii. 9, 10. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 169 
 
 knowing that your Master also is in heaven ; neither is 
 there respect of persons with him." b 
 
 3. Lastly, The grace of God teacheth us to live godly. 
 This includes the whole of the duty we owe more imme- 
 diately to God, and supposeth — (1.) A firm belief of his 
 being and perfections as manifested in creation and provi- 
 dence, but especially in the work of redemption by Jesus 
 Christ ; for it is a life influenced by the grace of God 
 that bringeth salvation, and so must be a life of faith in 
 the Son of God, in whom that grace is displayed, and 
 through whose mediation it issues forth to the guilty c . — 
 (2.) It imports a supreme love to God as manifested in 
 Christ ; reverencing and admiring, confiding and rejoicing 
 in his wisdom, power, justice, holiness, faithfulness, amaz- 
 ing love, and sovereign rich grace ; esteeming him as our 
 chief and all sufficient good, and the only proper object of 
 our happiness ; preferring the enjoyment of his favour to 
 all the pleasures, riches, and honours of this world, and 
 even to life itself ; d and consequently, dreading his displea- 
 sure, and hating sin the cause of it, above all temporal 
 evils 6 . — (3.) A cheerful, constant, and sincere obedience to 
 all his commandments, esteeming them concerning all 
 things to be right*. — Delighting in the public and private 
 exercises of his worship ; g such as attending his word and 
 ordinances ; addressing him in praise and adoration of his 
 excellencies, in humble acknowledgments of our guilt and 
 unworthiness, in earnest petitions for his mercy, and the 
 supply of our manifold wants, in grateful returns of 
 thanksgiving for all his benefits, and all in ' the name of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, confiding in his merits and media- 
 tion for acceptance 1 '. — Performing all the duties of sobriety 
 and righteousness after a godly sort, under the influence 
 
 k Eph. vi. 9 ; Col. iv. 1. • Heb. xi. 6 ; Gal. ii. 20. 
 
 d Mat. xxii. 57; Psal. ix. 10, Ixxiii. 26,26, and lxiii. 3. 
 e Mat. x. 28; 1 Pet. iii. 14, 15. 
 1 Psal. cxix. 6, 127, 128 ; 1 John ii. 4, and v. 3. 
 e Psal. Ixxxiv. 1 — 5 ; Acts ii. 42. 
 h Heb. x. 19—23, and xiii. 15, 16; 1 John v. 14, 15; Col. iii. 17. 
 
 <4 
 
170 Christ's commission 
 
 of his fear, authority, and grace ; and even every the most 
 common and natural action of life, whether we eat or drink, 
 or whatsoever we do, doing- all to the glory of God'. — (4.) 
 A hearty acquiescence in all the dispensations of his pro- 
 vidence, whether prosperous or affliciting ; fully persuaded 
 that our most minute concerns are under his holy, wise, 
 and gracious management. Content with the situation in 
 which he hath placed us, and the portion he hath allotted 
 us of the things of this life. k Patient, humble, and sub- 
 missive under his chastisements, neither despising them, 
 nor fainting when rebuked of him. 1 Casting all our care 
 upon him, and, resigning ourselves and all our con- 
 cernments to his disposal ; m knowing that under his di- 
 rection all things shall work together for, and finally issue 
 in, our good." 
 
 The Apostle next takes notice of the gospel principles 
 or motives which influence the Christian obedience* — 1. 
 The first he mentions is, " that blessed hope ;" i. e. the 
 hope of the heavenly inheritance, the hope which is laid 
 up for them in heaven, the hope of glory. p This is the 
 grace which is to be brought unto them at the revelation 
 of Jesus Christ ; q and so is connected here with his "glo- 
 rious appearing ;" for he hath promised to come again, 
 and receive his people to himself, that where he is there 
 they may be also/ True Christians, therefore, are de- 
 scribed as waiting for the Son of God from heaven, looking- 
 for him, and loving his appearing. 8 Now it is in " looking 
 for," or earnestly desiring and expecting, " that blessed 
 hope," that they are influenced to give up with everything 
 that comes in competition with it ; " to deny ungodliness 
 and worldly lusts" — " not fashioning themselves according 
 to the former lusts in their ignorance"' — " that they may 
 have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his 
 
 ; 1 Cor. x. 31. k Philip, iv. 11 ; Heb. xiii. 5. 
 
 1 1 Pet. v. 6 ; Heb. xii. 5—12. - 1 Pet. v. 7 ; Philip, iv. 6, 7 ; 1 Pet.iv. 19- 
 
 n Rom. viii. 28. ° 1 Pet. i. 3—6. p Col. i. 5, 27. 
 
 i 1 Pet. i. 13. r John xiv. 3. 
 
 • 1 Thess. i. 10 ; Heb. ix. 28 ; 2 Tim. iv. 8. • 1 Pet. i. 14. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 171 
 
 coming ;" u but " be found of him in peace, without spot, 
 and blameless." 1 It is the joyful expectation of this blessed 
 hope that supports them under the various trials and af- 
 flictions of this life ; y and it is this which powerfully en- 
 gages them to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this 
 present world" — to be holy in all manner of conversation, 
 as he who hath called them is holy" 2 — " to be stedfast, 
 unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, 
 forasmuch as they know that their labour is not in vain in 
 the Lord." a Thus they walk by faith, and not by sight, 
 while they look not at the things which are seen and tem- 
 poral, but at the things which are not seen and eternal. b 
 — 2. Another influencing principle of the Christian life is, 
 that " the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ gave 
 himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity." 
 Christ's giving himself for us is the highest expression of 
 divine love and condescension that possibly can be con- 
 ceived, and indeed it passeth knowledge ; d it must there- 
 fore have the strongest influence upon those who believe 
 it to produce love and obedience. The Apostle felt its in- 
 fluence in this respect to be in a manner irresistible. He 
 spoke from experience when he said, " The love of Christ 
 constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died 
 for all, then all have died ; and that he died for all, that 
 they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, 
 but unto him who died for them, and rose again." e It 
 made him renounce his own righteousness, with the plea- 
 sures, riches, and honours of this life, and cheerfully sus- 
 tain the hatred of the world for Christ's sake : "God for- 
 bid (says he) that I should glory, save in the cross of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto 
 me, and I unto the world." f Again, Christ's giving him- 
 self for us, is the procuring cause of all spiritual and eter- 
 nal blessings/ and also the highest evidence that they 
 
 »Uohnii. 28. *2Pet. iii. 14. r Rom. viii. 17, 18 ; 1 Pet. i. 6, 7. 
 
 ■ 1 Pet. i. 15, 16. » 1 Cor. xv. 58. b 2 Cor. iv. 18, and v. 7. 
 
 c Rom. v. 8 ; 1 John iii. 1G, and iv. 9. d Eph. iii. 19. 
 
 • 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. { Gal. vi. 14. e Eph. i. 7 ; Gal. iv. 5 ; Heb. ix. 15. 
 
172 Christ's commission 
 
 shall be conferred upon all for whom he died ; for if God 
 " spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all, 
 how shall he not with him also freely give us all things ?" h 
 Therefore, all the motives to love and obedience arising 
 from these blessings, must refer immediately to the death 
 of Christ, and derive their power from it. In this con- 
 nection they appear in the most convincing, important, 
 and affecting point of view, and so must have the strongest 
 influence upon the heart and life. — 3. Lastly, believers 
 are also influenced to live soberly, righteously, and godly 
 in this present world, from the consideration that such a 
 life is one of the great ends of Christ's death ; for " he 
 gave himself for us," not only " that he might redeem us 
 from all iniquity," in respect of the guilt and punishment 
 of sin, but that he might also free us from its pollution 
 and servitude, " and purify unto himself a peculiar people, 
 zealous of good works." Christians look upon themselves 
 as not their own, but bought with the price of Christ's pre- 
 cious blood, and bought for this end, that they may be his 
 peculiar property, and consecrated to his service ; and 
 therefore find themselves under the strongest obligations 
 both from gratitude and justice to live unto him that died 
 for them; and to glorify God in their body, and in their 
 spirit, which are God's. 1 In point of interest, too, they 
 see the necessity of holiness and good works, as they know 
 that without them no man shall see the Lord, k or stand 
 with acceptance before the judgment-seat of Christ. 1 
 
 These principles of the Christian obedience distinguish 
 it from mere morality, which proceeds from motives of 
 worldly ease and conveniency — from Deism, which ac- 
 knowledges only the God of nature as discovered by reason 
 or inward feelings — from Judaism which was laid in the 
 constitution of a nation of this world, and was a service in 
 the oldness of the letter — and from every corruption of 
 
 h Rom. viii. 32. ! 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. k Heb. xii. 14, 
 1 2 Cor. v. 9, 10 ; Mat. xxv. 31—46. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 173 
 
 Christianity, whereby it is accommodated either to the re- 
 ligious pride or worldly lusts of men. 
 
 Having- taken a view of some of Christ's commandments 
 to his disciples as individuals, and in relation to their con- 
 versation in the world at large, I shall now proceed to 
 mention some others which they are to observe in their 
 united capacity, and in a state of separation from the 
 world. But it will be proper, in the first place, to explain 
 a little the nature and ends of that separation. 
 
 of the visible separation of christians from the 
 
 world! 
 
 By separation from the world, I do not mean that they 
 should withdraw from human society, or shut themselves 
 up like monks or hermits, which would be to render them- 
 selves useless in the world. Our Lord and his apostles 
 kept up a free and open converse with mankind ; and Paul 
 admits that believers cannot altogether avoid keeping 
 company with the fornicators, the covetous, the extortion- 
 ers, and idolaters of this world, without going out of the 
 world.™ Christians are members of civil society, and 
 ought to be useful and exemplary in the discharge of the 
 duties which belong to their different stations and rela- 
 tions therein ; shining as lights in the world, and adorn- 
 ing the doctrine of their Lord and Saviour in all things. 
 But the separation from the world which the word of God 
 enjoins Christians, is to break off all religious connection 
 and fellowship with such as do not appear to be real be- 
 lievers in Christ, and subject to his authority. 
 
 When God chose ancient Israel to be a peculiar people 
 to himself, he separated them from all other people in the 
 world," and strictly prohibited them from intermarrying, 
 or having any intercommunity of worship with the na- 
 
 a 1 Cor. v. 9, 10. n Deut. xiv. 2 ; 1 Kings, viii. 53. 
 
 Q 2 
 
174 Christ's commission* 
 
 tions. It was only in this separated situation that they 
 could observe his ordinances, or enjoy his special presence 
 and promised residence among them in his tabernacle 
 and sanctuary. 5 " And as all their defections tended 
 to throw down this distinction and mix them with the 
 heathen ; so in all their reformations they were called to 
 come out from among them, and to separate themselves from 
 all strangers unto the law of God. q But this separation was 
 only a temporary partition-wall between Jews and Gen- 
 tiles/ and a figure of the true separation of Christ's people 
 from the world which was to take place under the gospel ; 
 for to this the apostle Paul applies it in the following 
 words, " Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbe- 
 lievers ; for what fellowship hath righteousness with 
 unrighteousness ? and what communion hath light with 
 darkness ? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or 
 what part hath he that believeth with an infidel ? and 
 what agreement hath the temple of God with idols ? for 
 ye are the temple of the living God ; as God hath said, I 
 will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I will be their 
 God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out 
 from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and 
 touch not the unclean thing : and I will receive you, and 
 will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and 
 daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." s Here Christians 
 are absolutely forbidden to be unequally yoked together 
 in religious fellowship with unbelievers ;* alluding to the 
 
 * Many explain this prohibition of the yoke of marriage with unbe- 
 lievers, though they pay no regard to it even in that view. But the 
 Apostle had written to the Corinthians before. "If any brother hath 
 a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let 
 him not put her away," 1 Cor. vii. 12, 13, and therefore cannot in 
 this place be calling them to come out from, or separate themselves 
 from their unbelieving wives. Nor is he forbidding all civil intercourse 
 with unbelievers ; " for then (says he) must ye needs go out of the 
 world," 1 Cor. v. 10. This prohibition therefore must respect church - 
 communion, wherein he that believeth hath no part with an infidel, 
 
 Deut vii. 1 — 7. p Lev. xxvi. 11, 12; Ezek. xxxvii. 26 — 28. 
 
 ' Isa. lii. 11 ; Ezra ix. and x. 11 ; Neh. ix. 2, x. 28, and xiii. 3. 
 
 ■ Eph. ii. 13, 14. '2 Cor. vi. 14—18. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 175 
 
 prohibition in the law of joking an ox and an ass together/ 
 The monstrous incongruity and unsuitableness of such pro- 
 miscuous fellowship is set forth by a variety of striking 
 contrasts ; such as that of righteousness with unrighteous- 
 ness, light with darkness, Christ with Belial, and the 
 temple of God with idols. Believers are here declared to 
 be the temple of the living God, wherein, he says, he will 
 
 nor the temple of God any agreement with idols. It is such a yok- 
 ing together as straitened the Corinthians in their own bowels, and 
 which they are directed to give up that they may be enlarged in 
 Christian affection, and so must be an exhortation of the same im- 
 port with that in 1 Cor. v. 7. 
 
 Yet they err on the other hand who affirm, that the Christian se- 
 paration has nothing to do with marriage ; for ever since God sepa- 
 rated a people to himself, there appears to have been a restriction 
 in that matter. — Before the flood, the church of God seems to have 
 been confined to the posterity of Seth, who are said to " call upon 
 the name of the Lord," Gen. iv. 26, and are termed " the sons of 
 God," chap. vi. 2. 4. These highly transgressed by taking them 
 wives of " the daughters of men," or of the ungodly race of Cain ; 
 and the universal corruption introduced by this sinful connection, 
 seems to have been the principal cause of the flood, chap. vi. 2 — 8. 
 When God separated Israel to be a holy people to himself, he strictly 
 forbade them to intermarry with the idolatrous Gentiles, lest they 
 should turn them aside from the Lord, Deut. vii. 3, 4, and those who 
 transgressed this law were obliged to put aAvay their heathen wives, 
 together with their issue, Ezra ix. — Under the gospel this law of se- 
 paration is in part altered. Converts to Christianity already mar- 
 ried to unbelievers, are not to put them away if they are pleased to 
 dwell with them, neither are the children illegitimate as by the law 
 of Moses, 1 Cor. vii. 12 — 15. But then, believers who are yet to 
 marry are laid under this restriction, that they marry " only in the 
 Lord," ver. 39, i. e. only such as appear to be in the Lord, or Chris- 
 tians ; even as to receive or salute persons in the Lord, is to receive 
 or salute them as Christian brethren or sisters, Rom. xvi. 2. 11, 22 ; 
 Philem. ver. 16. Paul asserts his power to lead about a wife, but he 
 mentions only a sister, 1 Cor. ix. 5. The New Testament exhorta- 
 tions to the mutual duties of husbands and wives, suppose both par- 
 ties to be believers ; for they are enforced by the example of Christ 
 and his church, Eph. v. 22 — 33, and by their state, " as being heirs 
 together of the grace of life," and " that their prayers be not hinder- 
 ed," 1 Pet. hi. 7. Without this they cannot be supposed to concur in 
 " bringing up their children in the nurture and admonition of the 
 Lord," as directed, Eph. vi. 4. I shall only observe farther, that such 
 a near connection with unbelievers must be attended with snares to 
 a Christian, tending to turn him aside from his profession ; the word 
 of God supposes this, and even Solomon the Wise was unable to re- 
 sist them, 1 Kings xi. 1 — 9. 
 
 1 Deut. xxii. ]/). 
 
176 Christ's commission 
 
 dwell and walk, and be their God, and they his people. 
 From these considerations, the Lord most solemnly calls 
 them to give up all religious communion with unbelievers ; 
 to come out from among them, and be separated, and not 
 to touch the unclean thing, or meddle in the least degree 
 with any of the defiling abominations of infidels. And he 
 encourages them to this separation by great and precious 
 promises, which are more than sufficient to counterbalance 
 all the worldly disadvantages which attend it, even though 
 they should be cast off and disowned by their nearest re- 
 lations ; for, " saith the Lord Almighty, I will receive 
 you, and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my 
 sons and daughters." 
 
 Christians are called to separate themselves not only 
 from heathen idolaters, but from all unbelievers of every 
 denomination. The Jewish church was of divine institu- 
 tion, and the members of it God's peculiar people ; but 
 when they rejected the Messiah, Peter calls the convicted 
 Jews to " save themselves from that untoward generation;" 
 this they immediately obeyed by gladly receiving his 
 word, separating from the Jewish communion, and joining 
 themselves unto the disciples. u In the Jewish synagogue 
 at Ephesus, when Paul saw that " divers were hardened, 
 and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the 
 multitude, he departed from them, and separated the dis- 
 ciples/' 1 
 
 But this is not all ; they are called to separate not 
 merely from professed unbelievers, but also from all false 
 professors of Christianity ; from all who do not appear to 
 be really of the truth, hearing Christ's voice. Paul fore- 
 warning Timothy of the perilous times that should come 
 by a corruption of Christianity under the profession of it, 
 cautions him against the begun appearance of this in those 
 whom he describes as " having a form of godliness, but 
 denying the power thereof: and exhorts him from such 
 to turn away." y If in the days of the apostles, when 
 u Acts ii. 40, 41. • Chap. xix. 9. - v 2 Tim. iii. 5. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 177 
 
 Christianity laboured under every worldly discouragement, 
 the mystery of iniquity began to work, 2 and many took up 
 with a form of godliness, denying the power of it, how 
 much more must this be the case now, when it has been 
 so far corrupted as to become national, and when worldly 
 honour and interest are connected with a kind of profession 
 of it ? The scriptures of the New Testament foretel and 
 clearly describe a general apostacy from the most holy 
 faith by a corruption of that faith, and a monstrous power 
 that should arise in opposition to Christianity under the 
 profession of it, and which, by means of the kings of the 
 earth, should draw a form of godliness over the nations, 
 denying the power thereof. 3. This is remarkably verified 
 in the Romish church, mystically called Babylon the Great, 
 the Mother of Harlots ; which is the destined object of di- 
 vine vengeance, and in relation to which this solemn call 
 is given to the people of God, " Come out of her, my 
 people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye 
 receive not of her plagues. " b The generality of Protes- 
 tants imagine they have sufficiently obeyed this call in se- 
 parating from the communion of that false church ; but 
 however important that separation was, it was not a sepa- 
 ration of God's people from the world, as in the days of 
 the apostles. The Reformation has indeed brought the 
 scriptures to light, and broken the antichristian unifor- 
 mity ; yet, like the great harlot-mother, it hath formed an 
 alliance with the state, committed fornication with the 
 kings of the earth, accommodated itself unto the course of 
 this world, arid drawn the nations, as such, into its com- 
 munion. Are not the nations called Protestant (whatever 
 may be said of the comparative soundness of their specu- 
 lative creed) as really of this world, and as fully conformed 
 to it in all its lusts, as those from which they have sepa- 
 rated? Are not the generality as glaringly destitute of 
 
 * 2 Thess. ii. 7 . 
 
 *2 Thess. ii. 3--13 ; 1 Tim. iv. 1—4 ; 2 Tim. iii. 1-10 ; 2 Pet, ii ; 
 
 Jude ver. 4 — 20 ; Rev. xiii. xvi. xvii, xviii. 
 
 b Rev. xviii. 4. 
 
178 Christ's commission 
 
 the real power of godliness under the Protestant as Popish 
 form of it ? If this is the case (and who that knows any- 
 thing of true Christianity can deny it ?) then the people of 
 God, who are in such a connection, must be still dwelling 
 with the daughter of Babylon, and as effectually mixed 
 with the world in religious fellowship as ever. By such 
 the divine call, " Come out of her, my people," still re- 
 mains uncomplied with ; and they would do well to con- 
 sider seriously the danger of such a connection, and not be 
 deceived with national forms of godliness, whether Popish 
 or Protestant, which, however they may differ in other 
 respects, must always agree in dispensing with the power 
 of true godliness, and in connecting the disciples in reli- 
 gious fellowship with those who deny that power, in direct 
 opposition to the word of God, which commands them to 
 turn away from such. 
 
 This separation is not only a duty in itself, but a situa- 
 tion necessary to our keeping many other commandments 
 of Christ, which cannot be observed in mixed communion 
 with the world, but only among disciples in a state of se- 
 paration from it ; such as, his new commandment of 
 brotherly love in its various branches, the ordinances of 
 his house, the faithful and impartial exercise of its disci- 
 pline, &c. 
 
 OF THEIR UNION AMONG THEMSELVES IN VISIBLE CHURCH - 
 FELLOWSHIP, AND THE SCRIPTURE IDEA OF A CHURCH. 
 
 Christians must not only be separated from the world, 
 but united together in a visible church state, in order to 
 their observing all things whatsoever Christ hath com- 
 manded. The word (ekklesia) rendered church, signifies 
 any kind of assembly or congregation, whether lawful or 
 unlawful ; c but when used in a religious sense, it has two 
 different significations in the New Testament. 
 
 1. It signifies the whole body of the redeemed, whether 
 
 e Acts xix. 32, 39, 41. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 179 
 
 in heaven or on earth, who are called the general assem- 
 bly and church of the first-born. d This is that church 
 which Christ loved as his spouse, and for which he gave 
 himself. 6 It is termed the whole family in heaven and in 
 earth ; f all the building fitly framed together, and growing 
 into an holy temple in the Lord, who is both its founda- 
 tion and chief corner stone. g This church is not many, 
 but one ; it is the same with Christ's one body, which is 
 animated by one Spirit ; h it has but one tabernacle or seat 
 of worship, one holy place, viz. heaven itself, one altar, 
 priest, and sacrifice ;' and was typified by the ancient 
 church of Israel, which was but one congregation. At pre- 
 sent this church is invisible to us, and will not appear until 
 Christ's second coming, when all the elect shall be gathered 
 in, raised from the dead, and appear with him in glory. 
 This is the only true catholic or universal church, there 
 being no such thing mentioned in scripture as a catholic 
 visible church in this world, as some affirm ; and it is to 
 the visible members of this church that baptism belongs. 
 
 2. The word also signifies a particular congregation of 
 visible believers, with its bishops (i. e. elders) and deacons, 
 regularly assembling in one place, for the performance of 
 religious worship, and the observation of Christ's insti- 
 tutions. — It signifies a single congregation ; such was the 
 church at Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Philippi, Corinth, 
 &c. — Each of these societies were composed of visible be- 
 lievers, or such as by their profession and walk appeared 
 to be saints and faithful* . — It had a plurality of elders or 
 bishops to rule and labour in the word and doctrine ; l 
 and also of deacons to take care of the poor and serve 
 tables 111 . — It regularly assembled in one place* there being 
 no such thing in the apostolic age as a church made up 
 
 i Heb. xii. 23. • Eph. v. 25, 26. f Chap. iii. 15. 
 
 e Eph. ii. 20, 21. h Chap. iv. 4. 
 
 1 Heb. ix. 11, 12, 24, xiii. 10, and x. 12, 19, 21. 
 
 k 1 Cor. i. 2 ; Eph. i. 1 ; Phil. i. 1 ; Col. i. 2. 
 
 » Acts xiv. 23, xx. 17 ; Phil. i. 1 ; Tit. i. 5; 1 Tim. v. 17. 
 
 - Acts vi. 1--7 ; Phil. i. 1 ; 1 Tim. iii. 8--14. 
 
 ■ Acts ii. 1, 46, iv. 31, and v. 12; 1 Cor. xi. IS, 20. 
 
180 Christ's commission 
 
 of different congregations meeting in different places. — 
 The end of its assembling was to perform social worship 
 and observe Christ's institutions ; of which afterwards. 
 
 These are the outlines of a visible church of Christ, 
 such as the apostles planted in every place where there 
 was a sufficient number of disciples to compose it. Such 
 a church, with its office-bearers, is an organized body, 
 complete in all its parts, and has the full power of govern- 
 ment and discipline within itself; being subject to no other 
 authority or jurisdiction but Christ's, who walks in the 
 midst of the golden candlesticks, and holds the stars in his 
 right hand. p It is a visible representation of Christ's true 
 catholic church, which is at present invisible, and therefore 
 is designed by the same epithets, such as God's building, 
 habitation, temple, house, Christ's body, spouse, &c. q To 
 such a church were the ordinances delivered, 1- as also the 
 instituted discipline ; s and it is only in such a society, se- 
 parated from the world, that they can be observed accord- 
 ing to their primitive institution. Now to such a church 
 as has been described were the baptized disciples added, 
 that they might pe edified in the faith, and be in a situ- 
 ation to observe all things whatsoever Christ hath com- 
 manded.* 
 
 OF THE NATURE AND GROUNDS OF THE CHRISTIAN UNION. 
 
 Before we proceed to the duties of church-members, it 
 will be necessary first to take a view of the nature and 
 grounds of their union upon which these duties are 
 founded. 
 
 The apostle Paul frequently illustrates this by the 
 union which subsists among the members of a living hu- 
 man body : " For as we have many members in one body, 
 and all members have not the same office ; so we being 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 27. p Rev. ii. 1. 
 i 1 Cor. iii. 9, 16, 17 ; Eph. ii. 22 ; 1 Tim. iii. 15 ; 1 Cor. xii. 27 ; 
 
 2 Cor. xi. 2. 
 T 1 Cor. xi. 2. s Mat. xviii. 15-21 ; 1 Cor. v. * Acts ii. 41, 47. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 181 
 
 many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one 
 of another"." — " For as the bodv is one, and hath raanv 
 members, and all the members of that one body, being 
 many, are one body ; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit 
 we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews 
 or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free ; and have 
 have been all made to drink into one Spirit." 1 By this 
 figure he intends not only the catholic church, but also 
 a particular visible church, like that at Corinth, to which 
 he directly applies it : " Now ye are the body of Christ. 
 and members in particular :' ,y For the one body of Christ 
 is not to be seen in this world, but as represented by a 
 particular society of the saints, and among them only does 
 its unity appear. The same Apostle, exhorting the Ephe- 
 sian church to keep this unity, sets before them the 
 grounds of it : " There is (says he) one body and one 
 Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling ; 
 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of 
 all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." z 
 
 Here we see that the body of Christ is one. — 1. Bv 
 having one Spirit, viz. the Holy Spirit, communicated to 
 it from Christ the living Head. This, like the soul in the 
 natural body, is the principle of life and motion ; without 
 which it would be only a dead unanimated mass. It is 
 also the principle of unity among all the parts. Were 
 there different spirits of contrary minds, dispositions, and 
 qualities in one body, it would create a strange and unna- 
 tural discord among the members ; but in the body of 
 Christ there is but one Spirit, which animates every part, 
 diffuses a common feeling and sympathy throughout the 
 whole, and unites it into one living system, having one 
 mind, interest, and affection. This is the unity of the 
 Spirit : and if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he 
 is none of his. In consequence of this — 2. They have 
 one hope of their calling, i. e. one object of hope, viz. the 
 
 « Rom. xii. 4, 5. x 1 Cor. xii. 12, 13. Jl Cor. xii. 27. 
 * Eph. iv. 4 — 7. 
 
 R 
 
182 Christ's commission 
 
 glorious heavenly inheritance, which is " the hope laid up 
 for them in heaven, " a termed the " hope of their calling," 
 because " God hath called them unto his eternal glory by 
 Christ Jesus." b They are begotten again to this lively 
 hope of the inheritance by the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
 from the dead, c and have the Spirit as the earnest of it in 
 their hearts. d This unity of hope gives them all one in- 
 terest, pursuit, and aim e . — 3. They have one Lord, even 
 Jesus Christ, the alone Saviour, Lord, and head of his 
 church, by whom are all things, and they by him/ This 
 one Lord they confess to the glory of God the Father as 
 the Lord their Righteousness, and as their sole king, law- 
 giver, and judge, exclusive of all other lords, and masters ; 
 esteeming all his laws of indispensable obligation, and so 
 studying to observe all things whatsoever he hath com- 
 manded them. — 4. They have one faith, i. e. one doctrine of 
 faith, which is emphatically styled the truth. The testi- 
 mony of God concerning his Son is this one faith. This 
 is the faith of God's elect g ," — " the faith once delivered to 
 the saints," for which they must contend earnestly 11 , — "the 
 faith of the gospel," for which they must jointly strive, 
 standing fast in one spirit, with one mind. 1 All the saints 
 have obtained the like precious faith with the apostles in 
 the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, k 
 and so have an unity of the faith and knowledge of the 
 Son of God 1 . — 5. They have one baptism, which is con- 
 nected with the confession of the one faith ; and which, 
 as it is here distinguished from the one Spirit, must be 
 baptism in water. This is the only baptism which Christ 
 hath instituted, and commanded to be administered to 
 those who are made disciples in all nations unto the end of 
 the world ; m and therefore must be the one baptism of his 
 church, and an indispensable prerequisite to church-fellow- 
 ship, he having placed it in the very entry to his king- 
 
 a Col. i. 5. b 1 Pet. v. 10; 2 Thess. ii. 14. c 1 Pet. i. 3, 4. 
 
 d Eph. i. 13, 14. e Philip, iii. 12—18. f 1 Cor. viii. 6. 
 
 8 Tit. i. 1. h Jude ver. 3. i Philip, i. 27. k 2 Pet. i. 1. 
 
 1 Eph. iv. 13. ■ Mat. xxviii. 19, 20. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 183 
 
 dom ; n accordingly none were admitted into the visible 
 unity of Christ's body without it, — 6. They have one God 
 and Father of all, who is above all, being the God and 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in him the God and 
 Father of the whole family in heaven and on earth ;° he 
 is also " through all, and in them all" by his Spirit, ac- 
 cording to Christ's prayer, '' That they all may be one, 
 as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee ; that they also 
 may be one in us — I in them, and thou in me, that they 
 may be made perfect, in one, and that the world may know 
 that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast 
 loved me." p 
 
 These are the catholic unities of the body of Christ, 
 and no particular society can visibly represent that one 
 body which does not appear to be one in these particulars. 
 This union can only become visible in their joint and 
 explicit confession of the one faith and hope of the 
 gospel, and declared purpose of heart to cleave unto 
 the Lord and to one another in observing all things what- 
 soever he hath commanded them. By this they discern 
 one another to be of the truth and hearing Christ's voice, 
 and upon this ground they are " knit together in love" 
 for the truth's sake, which completes their union ; for 
 " charity is the bond of perfectness." q 
 
 It is evident from the nature and grounds of this union, 
 that they must be all of one mind in the faith and obedi- 
 ence of the gospel. For how can they have fellowship in 
 the truth, or love one another for its sake, if they differ 
 about the truth itself, and are not one as to the founda- 
 tion of their hope ? and how can they walk together as a 
 body in observing the commandments of the one Lord, if 
 they are not agreed as to what he hath commanded them, 
 and do not hold all his laws of indispensable obligation ? 
 Therefore the Apostle most solemnly exhorts the Corinthian 
 church, " Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and 
 
 » John iii. 5. ° Eph. iii. 14, 15. p John xvii. 21, 23. <J Col. iii. 14. 
 
184 Christ's commission 
 
 that there be no divisions among you ; but that ye be per- 
 fectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same 
 judgment." 1 " Without this unanimity they cannot " with 
 one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ ;'' a nor can they have a conversation 
 becoming the gospel, which consists in "standing fast in 
 one spirit, with one mind, jointly striving for the faith of 
 the gospel," 1 The Lord hath promised, in relation to New 
 Testament times, to give his people one heart, and one way, 
 that they may fear him for ever ; u and Christ hath prayed 
 that his disciples may be one, and that as an evidence to 
 the world that the Father hath sent him. x This was ac- 
 tually exemplified in the church at Jerusalem, where " the 
 multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of 
 one soul ;" y and this is what every church of Christ must 
 aim at, and will attain, in so far as the truth is the bond 
 of their union and hinge of mutual love. 
 
 Societies that are not united upon the truth are not much 
 affected with differences about it. They speak of being 
 one in the essentials of religion, as if the religion of 
 Jesus contained non-essentials which they may avowedly 
 dispense with at pleasure. But if we come to particulars, 
 it will be found, that their union does not stand upon any 
 determinate view or explicit agreement even in what they 
 Call essentials, but upon one another's supposed sincerity or 
 conscientiousness in their different opinions. This is the 
 hinge of modern charity, which, instead of rejoicing with 
 the truth, makes light of Christ's authority, and pays its 
 devotion to human pride. 
 
 THE DUTIES OF CHURCH-MEMBERS IN RELATION TO EACH 
 
 OTHER. 
 
 These duties are all comprehended in love, and are just 
 the practical exercise of it, answerable to the nature of 
 
 r 1 Cor. i. 10. 'Rom. xv. 6. * Philip, i. 27. 
 » Jer. xxxii. 39. ■ John xvii. 21 — 23. * Acts iv. 32, 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 18-5 
 
 their connection, and the various circumstances and con- 
 ditions of each other. We shall therefore, 
 
 1. Consider the principle which must influence and per- 
 vade all these duties, viz. brotherly love : " A new com- 
 mandment (says Christ) I give unto you, That ye love 
 one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my 
 disciples, if ye have love one to another." 2 
 
 Our Lord terms this a new commandment, and that 
 most properly. The love enjoined in it is quite different 
 from that universal benevolence which, both by the law of 
 nature and of Christ, we are bound to have to our brethren 
 of mankind in general, and from that love and affection 
 we owe to our natural relations and connections in parti- 
 cular. It is also very different from that peculiar love 
 which by the law of Moses was enjoined old Israel as 
 brethren of the stock of Abraham, and members of the 
 Jewish church. This will appear, if we consider, 
 
 (1.) That he gives this commandment only to his dis- 
 ciples ; " A new commandment I give unto you/' The 
 Apostle connects it with the command to believe on him; a 
 and indeed none but they who really believe on the name 
 of the Son of God are capable of obeying it. 
 
 (2.) The objects of it are not the world at large, nor 
 any particular earthly nation like the Jews, but one an- 
 other ; " A new commandment I give unto you, That ye 
 love one another ; that is, all of every nation whom they 
 can discern to be saints and faithful brethren in Christ, 
 judging by the visible character whereby he points them 
 out to them in his word. Every one who appears to be of 
 the truth, hearing Christ's voice, is the object of this love, 
 and none but such ; for it is the love of those who know 
 the truth, to one another, and that for the truth's sake 
 which dwelleth in them, and shall be with them for ever. b 
 
 (3.) The motive or reason enforcing it is the example 
 of his own love to them; "as I have loved you, that 
 ye also love one another/' This he afterwards repeats, 
 ' John xiii. 34, 35. a 1 John iii. 23. b 2 John, ver. 1, 2. 
 
 r2 
 
18G Christ's coMx\iission 
 
 " This is my commandment, that ye love one another, AS 
 I have loved you ;" and he intimates how he loved them 
 in the very next words : c " Greater love hath no man than 
 this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.''* Yet 
 in this manner he manifested the greatness of his love 
 towards them ; for, says the Apostle, " Hereby perceive 
 we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us ;" 
 and he makes the same use of it, " Beloved, if God so 
 loved us, we ought also to love one another — we ought to 
 lay down our lives for the brethren." d This is a new mo- 
 tive to brotherly love, peculiar to the gospel, and which 
 respects only Christ's friends, whom he so loved as to lay 
 down his life for them ; and it supposes them believing 
 this, and on that account loving one another as brethren 
 for whom he died. 
 
 (4.) He makes their obedience to this commandment 
 the great evidence of their being his disciples : " By this 
 shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have 
 love one to another." From this it is plain, that the love 
 he requires is not a mere latent inactive principle in the 
 heart, for no man could know them by that ; but a fervent, 
 active, beneficial love ; aloveindeed and in truth, appearing 
 by its most genuine fruits and effects in the whole of their 
 conduct towards each other, so as strikingly to distinguish 
 them from all the world besides, and mark them out to all 
 men as his disciples. This love is not only an evidence 
 to others, but also to their own consciences, that they are 
 Christ's disciples : " We know (says the Apostle) that we 
 have passed from death unto life, because we love the 
 brethren : he that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 
 — My little children, let us not love in word, neither in 
 tongue, but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know 
 
 * Christ did more, he laid down his life for enemies, Rom. v. 10, 
 but as he is not here speaking of love to enemies, as in Mat. v. 41, 
 bat to one another as friends and brethren, he enforces it by this in- 
 stance of his love towards them considered as his friends. 
 
 • John xv. 12, 13. d 1 John iii. 16, and iv. 10, 11. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 187 
 
 that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts be- 
 fore hiin. For, if our heart condemn us, God is greater 
 than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our 
 heart condemn us not" (viz. as void of this love), " then 
 have we confidence towards God." e Lastly, by this love 
 to the saints, as arising from love to his name, will Christ 
 distinguish his people at last from all false professors, 
 when he comes to judge the world ; f and then the world shall 
 know, that the Father hath loved them as he hath loved him. s 
 
 Thus it appears that Christ's commandment of brotherly 
 love is a new commandment, and peculiar to the 
 New Testament. It was not indeed new among Chris- 
 tians when John wrote his first epistle ; and therefore 
 he says, " Brethren, I write no new commandment unto 
 you, but an old commandment which ye had from the be- 
 ginning : the old commandment is the word which ye 
 have heard from the beginning ;" h viz. of the gospel :' 
 " For this is the message that ye heard from the begin- 
 ning, that we should love one another. "* k Yet, in respect 
 of the former state of things, he again terms this com- 
 mandment new : " Again, a new commandment I write 
 unto you, which thing is true in him and in you ; because 
 the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He 
 that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in 
 darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother 
 abideth in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling 
 in him." 1 
 
 It is chiefly in relation to this law of brotherly love that 
 believers are termed righteous, and are said not to sin, m 
 and that in distinction from the children of the devil, who 
 commit sin and transgress this law, by hating the truth 
 and those who are of it," according to the original enmity 
 put between the seed of the serpent, and the seed of the 
 woman. When this enmity appeared in the Jews against 
 
 « 1 John iii. 14, 18—21. f Mat. xxv. 34—41. B John xvii. 23. 
 
 h 1 John ii. 7. ' Philip, iv. \o ; 2 John ver. 5, G. 
 
 k 1 John iii. 11. 2 Chap. ii. 8—10 ■ Chap. iii. G. 7. 
 
 ■ Ver. 4, 10, 12. • Gen. iii. 15. 
 
188 Christ's commission 
 
 Christ, he tells them, " If ye were Abraham's children, ye 
 would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill 
 me, a man that hath told you the truth which I have heard 
 of God — Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of 
 your Father ye will do : he was a murderer from the be- 
 ginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no 
 truth in him," &c. p Agreeably to this the Apostle says, 
 " He that committeth sin is of the devil : for the devil 
 sinneth from the beginning." q By sin here is evidently 
 meant hatred to the saving truth, and to the children of 
 God for its sake ; for it is the sin of the devil, who was a 
 liar and a murderer from the beginning. Now the chil- 
 dren of God cannot commit this sin of the devil and his 
 children. They may be weak in faith, imperfect in love, 
 and have differences on other accounts ; but they can 
 never hate the truth, nor one another on that account, like 
 " Cain who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother, 
 because his own works were evil, and his brother's righte- 
 ous ;" r for " whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer ; 
 and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in 
 him." s In this sense, " whosoever abideth in him sinneth 
 not : whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known 
 him. — Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin ; 
 for his seed remaineth in him ; and he cannot sin, because 
 he is born of God :' ,fc Accordingly Peter says, " Ye have 
 purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, 
 unto unfeigned love of the brethren — being born again, 
 not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word 
 of God which liveth and abideth for ever." u This there- 
 fore is the great differencing law, by which Christ's dis- 
 ciples are distinguished from the world as not sinning, 
 and as doers of righteousness ; for " in this the children 
 of God are manifest, and the children of the devil : who- 
 soever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he 
 that loveth not his brother,"* and Christ in the judgment 
 
 p John viii. 37—46. •> 1 John iii. 8. r Ver. 12. 
 • 1 John iii. 15. 4 Ver. 6, 9. "1 Pet. i. 22, 23. ■ John iii. 10. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 189 
 
 will denominate them righteous, from their labour of love 
 to his name, in feeding, clothing, entertaining, and visit- 
 ing him in his needy members. 7 
 
 From the whole it is evident, that obedience to this new 
 commandment holds an important place in the religion of 
 Jesus, and that there is no true Christianity without it. 
 It is not only the visible distinction betwixt Christ's dis- 
 ciples and the world ; but the great evidence of our being 
 born of God, and of our knowing him 2 — of his dwelling 
 in us and we in him. a It is the main proof of our loving 
 him, and of his love being perfected in us : b so that in 
 vain would we pretend to love God, or to enjoy his love, 
 while we hate our brother : " for he that loveth not his 
 brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom 
 he hath not seen c ?" — It is the principal thing wherein we 
 resemble God and bear his image, "for God is love ;" d 
 and wherein we imitate Jesus in that most endearing part 
 of his character, his love to his people 6 . — He repeatedly 
 mentions it as the special fruit we are to bring forth by 
 abiding in him the true vine f . — It is everywhere preferred 
 to the most useful and extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, 
 and even to those illuminations whereby men may taste of 
 the good word of God, and receive it with joy ; s and as, 
 on the one hand, it is in vain to pretend to this love with- 
 out shewing it in deed and in truth by its proper fruits, h 
 so, on the other, though we should bestow all our goods to 
 feed the poor, and give our body to be burned, and have 
 not love, it will profit us nothing : J nay, love is preferred 
 even to faith and hope, k both for the excellency of its na- 
 ture, as being more like unto God who is love, 1 and also 
 for its duration ; for when faith and hope, which respect 
 unseen objects, 111 shall have given place to the sight and 
 
 i Mat. xxv. 35, 36, 46. ■ 1 John iv. 7. » Ver 16. 
 
 b 1 John, iv. 12, v. 1. • Chap. iv. 20. d Ver 7, 8. 
 
 • 1 John iii. 16 ; Eph. v. 2. < John xv. 4, 5, 12, 17. 
 
 e 1 Cor. viii. 1, and xiii. 1, 2 ; Heb. vi. 4, 5, 9, 10. 
 
 h 1 John iii. 17, 18. s 1 Cor. xiii. 3. k Ver. 13. 
 
 1 1 John iv. 7, 8 m Rom. viii. 24, 25 ; 2 Cor. v. 7 ; Heb. xi 1. 
 
190 Christ's commission 
 
 enjoyment of them, then love shall be perfected, and con- 
 tinue for ever in the heavenly state. 
 
 I shall conclude these remarks with the apostolic de- 
 scription of it. " Love (agape) suffereth long, and is kind ; 
 love envieth not ; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 
 doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is 
 not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in ini- 
 quity, but (sugchairei) rejoiceth with the truth ; beareth 
 all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth 
 all things. Love never faileth. — And now abideth faith, 
 hope, love, these three ; but the greatest of these is love."* 
 Here we see it is opposed to pride, self-seeking, envy, evil- 
 surmising, and every malignant passion and disposition. 
 — It is kind and beneficent, engaging us in all respects to 
 serve one another . — In this imperfect state it is attended 
 with much self-denial, and requires the exercise of humi- 
 lity, patience, meekness, and long-suffering in bearing one 
 another's burdens. But then it is not blind and indiscri- 
 minating ; it " rejoiceth not in iniquity," so as to soothe 
 or bear with a brother in any error or practice contrary 
 to the gospel, but is painfully anxious to correct and re- 
 cover him. It " rejoiceth with the truth," viz. the saving 
 truth of the gospel, which manifests the love of God. This 
 is the first object of its delight ; and its complacency and 
 joy in the brethren is just in proportion as it perceives 
 this truth dwelling in them ; for it is love to them for the 
 truth's sake. p 
 
 This command of brotherly love must have a special re- 
 spect to the visible churches of Christ ; for though all the 
 saints every where are the objects of it, q yet it is but few 
 of them we have access to know ; and there are some even 
 of these to whom we cannot perform the various offices of 
 love but occasionally. But in a visible church of Christ, 
 the disciples have access to know and distinguish one an- 
 
 n 1 Cor. xiii. 4—8, 13, 
 
 • Gal. v. 13. p 1 Thess. iii. 7, 8, 9 ; 2 John, ver. 4 ; 3 John ver. 3, 4. 
 
 «» John xvii. 20, 21 ; 1 Cor i. 2 ; Col. i. 4. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 191 
 
 other as the objects of this love ; for here all the members 
 are united together upon the open and explicit confession 
 of the one faith, which is the foundation of their joint 
 hope, and for the sake of which they love one another. 
 Here also they are placed in a proper situation for the 
 constant and regular exercise of the duties of this love to- 
 wards their brethren whom they have seen, and by which 
 their profession of love to God and to the saints in gene- 
 ral whom they have not seen, is brought to a clear and de- 
 cisive test. 1- The greater part of the exhortations in the 
 New Testament to the duties of brotherly love, are ad- 
 dressed to Christians, not as detached individuals, but as 
 members of churches, and in relation to each other in that 
 connection. 
 
 This love is absolutely necessary to the union and edi- 
 fication of a church. It is the " bond of perfectness ;" and 
 unless the members are " knit together in love" to the 
 truth, and to one another for its sake, they have no 
 real union of heart and soul ; in which case, their agree- 
 ment in mere speculations and outward forms will prove 
 but as a rope of sand. The most useful gifts will not 
 edify the body without love ; for " knowledge puffeth 
 up, but charity edifieth." 8 The church at Corinth were 
 enriched by Christ in all utterance and in all knowledge, 
 so that they came behind in no gift ;* yet being deficient 
 in love, instead of being " perfectly joined together in the 
 same mind and in the same judgment," they perverted 
 these very gifts of the Spirit to the purposes of pride and 
 faction ; and there were among them such " envying, 
 strife, and divisions," that they could neither purge out 
 the old leaven, nor eat the Lords supper in a proper man- 
 ner.* To rectify these disorders, the Apostle describes and 
 recommends unto them the more excellent way of charity. 1 
 Let us now briefly consider, 
 
 2. The practical exercise of this love in a church of 
 
 r 1 John iv. 20. ■ 1 Cor. viii. 1. x 1 Cor. i.5, 7. 
 
 • 1 Cor. iii. 3, v. 1, 2, 6, and xi. 17—21. ■ 1 Cor. xii. 31, and xiii. 
 
192 Christ's commission 
 
 Christ. This in general consists in performing the va- 
 rious duties which result from the nature of their connec- 
 tion, answerable to their several gifts and abilities, and 
 according as the different circumstances and conditions of 
 each other may require. 
 
 (1.) It has already been noticed, that the union of mem- 
 bers in a church of Christ is compared to that which sub- 
 sists among the members of the natural body. The Holy 
 Spirit is the vital principle in the body of Christ answer- 
 able to the soul in the body of a man ; for " he that is 
 joined to the Lord is one Spirit." 7 Love to the truth, and 
 to one another for its sake, is like the animal fluid in the 
 natural body, which circulates through all the members. 
 It follows, therefore, that as their faith groweth, so their 
 mutual joy in the truth, and the charity of every one of 
 them towards each other, must abound and circulate freely/ 
 On the other hand, divisions about the truth, and opposi- 
 tion to it, must necessarily obstruct this circulation.* 
 This obstruction will occasion grief, and excite the mem- 
 bers to use the appointed means for removing it, b unless 
 the Spirit is departed, and the body become dead and in- 
 sensible. From the nature of such a connection it is 
 evident, that all the members are deeply interested in one 
 another's sentiments, conduct, and circumstances ; and 
 that the duties arising from it chiefly consist in edifying 
 one another in the faith, cultivating mutual love, abound- 
 ing in the self-denied labour of it, and in removing every 
 thing that tends to obstruct its free circulation, either in 
 the body at large, or among any of the members. To 
 perform these duties aright, it is absolutely necessary that 
 every one should, in the first place, diligently attend to 
 the dispositions and motives of his own heart, and take 
 heed to his way according to the word of God. 
 
 (2.) Christ hath bestowed a variety of gifts upon his 
 church, and from hence arise a number of correspondent 
 
 J 1 Cor. vi. 17. ' 2 Thess. i. 3. » 2 Cor. vi. 12. 
 b 2 Cor. vii. 7— la. c liev. iii. 1, 2. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 193 
 
 duties. The Apostle observes, " that the body is not one 
 member, but many. — If the whole body were an eye, where 
 were the hearing ? if the whole were hearing, where were 
 the smelling ? and if they were all one member, where 
 were the body ?" d It is not the number, but diversity of 
 members with their different offices, that is here intended, 
 without which the natural body would be imperfect. In 
 like manner, the church of Christ would not be a complete 
 organized body without a diversity of gifts and offices. If 
 the whole had but one kind of gift, however excellent, it 
 could no more answer all the needful purposes of a 
 church, than an eye or an ear those of the natural body. 
 But Christ by his Spirit hath conferred a variety of gifts 
 upon his church,* dividing to every man, severally as he 
 will ; e and as the manifestation of the Spirit is given to 
 every man, not for his own private advantage, or to gra- 
 tify his pride, but to profit the body withal ; f so every one 
 according to the nature and measure of his gift, should 
 act his part in the body for the good of the whole. " Hav- 
 ing therefore gifts differing (says the Apostle) according 
 to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy let us 
 prophecy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, 
 let us wait on our ministering ; or he that teacheth, on 
 
 * Among these the Apostle enumerates several miraculous gifts 
 and also extraordinary offices ; such as apostles, prophets, evange- 
 lists, &c. 1 Cor. xii. 9, 10, 28; Eph. iv. 11, which were necessary at 
 first to give forth the gospel revelation and confirm it ; and this 
 being done, they have ceased, 1 Cor. xiii. 8. Yet the churches still 
 enjoy the benefit of these gifts in the writings of the New Testament, 
 even as the Jews had Moses and the prophets in the writings of the 
 Old, Luke xvi. 29, 31. But the ordinary standing office-bearers ap- 
 pointed in the churches are bishops (or elders) and deacons, Acts xiv. 
 23; Philip, i. 1, among whose essential qualifications none of the ex- 
 traordinary gifts are mentioned, 1 Tim. iii. 1 — 14; Tit. i. 5 — 10. Gifts 
 for ruling, teaching, exhorting, ministering, &c. are still to be found 
 in the churches of the saints ; and these, with other gifts useful to 
 the body, are also in various degrees conferred upon the members, 
 and ought to be exercised by them in their proper place, in orderly 
 subordination, and subjected, when necessary, to the correction of 
 their overseers. 
 
 d 1 Cor. xii. 14, 17, 19. • Ver. 11. ( Ver. 7. 
 
 S 
 
194 Christ's commission 
 
 teaching" ; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation ; he that 
 giveth, let him do it with simplicity (or liberality); he that 
 ruleth, with diligence ; he that sheweth mercy, with cheer- 
 fulness." 2 "As every man hath received the gift, even 
 so minister the same one to another as good stewards of 
 the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him 
 speak as the oracles of God ; if any man minister (deacon- 
 ize), let him do it as of the ability which God giveth, 
 that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus 
 Christ." 11 
 
 These exhortations are no doubt addressed in the first 
 place to office-bearers, who are enjoined to take heed unto 
 themselves and to all the flock over which they are made 
 overseers ; to feed the church of God which he hath pur- 
 chased with his own blood ; { to preach the word ; to be 
 instant in season, out of season ; to " reprove, rebuke, ex- 
 hort with all long-suffering and doctrine.'"'' 1 * These are 
 pastoral duties which they owe the flock committed to 
 their charge. On the other hand, the flock in relation 
 to them are exhorted, " Obey them that have the rule 
 over you, and submit yourselves ; for they watch for your 
 .souls as they that must give account, that they may do it 
 with joy and not with grief ; for that is unprofitable for 
 you 1 . — And we beseech you, brethren, to know them who 
 labour among you, and are over you, in the Lord, and ad- 
 monish you ; and to esteem them very highly in love for 
 their works sake m ." — " Let the elders that rule well be 
 counted worthy of double honour, especially they who la- 
 bour in the word and doctrine.* For the scripture saith, 
 
 * The Apostle is not here speaking of ruling and teaching as two 
 distinct offices in the church, but as different branches of one and the 
 same office ; for he elsewhere lays it down as the essential qualifica- 
 tions of every elder, that he be " apt to teach," and also that he should 
 know how to rule, or "take care of the church of God," 1 Tim. iii. 
 •J — 5. Every elder is alike authorised by office both to rule and 
 teach ; but every one is not equally gifted for both, nor alike diligent 
 
 k Rom. xii. 6—9. h 1 Pet. iv. 10, 11. j Acts xx. 28. 
 k 2 Tim. iv. 2. » Heb. xiii. 17. ■ 1 Thess. v. 12, 13. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 195 
 
 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn ; 
 and, The labourer is worthy of his reward 11 ." — " Let him 
 that is taught in the word communicate to him that 
 teacheth in all good things." 
 
 But whilst we give all that place which the word of 
 God requires to the gifts and office of pastors, we must not 
 imagine that all the gifts needful for edifying the body 
 are confined to them. Christ hath distributed a variety 
 of gifts in different measures among all the members, 
 and all of them are useful in their place ; " so that 
 " the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of 
 thee ; nor again, the head to the feet, I have no need of 
 you." p AH, indeed, are not rulers, yet all have their part 
 in the discipline of the church, and nothing can be con- 
 cluded without their unanimous concurrence." 1 All are 
 not teachers by office, yet all are enjoined to "teach, ex- 
 hort, warn, and admonish one another, 1 * that speaking the 
 truth in love, they may grow up into him in all things 
 who is the head, even Christ ; from whom the whole body 
 fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint 
 supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure 
 of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying- 
 of itself in love." 8 All are not overseers by office,yet all are 
 commanded to " look diligently, lest any man fail of the 
 grace of God ; lest any root of bitterness springing up 
 trouble them, and thereby many be defiled ; lest there be 
 any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau," 4 &c. It is 
 evident, therefore, that all the members have a mutual 
 charge one of another, and that the body edifies itself 
 in love when every one in his proper place acts his part 
 
 in the exercise of his gifts. The elders that "rule well," (or with di- 
 ligence), Horn. xii. 8, are to be counted worthy of double honour or 
 maintenance, especially they Avho not only rule well, but also labour 
 in the word and doctrine, and so fulfil every branch of their office 
 with diligence and faithfulness. 
 
 n 1 Tim. v. 17, 18. ° Gal. vi. 6. p 1 Cor. xii. 21. 
 
 <> Mat. xviii. 17 ; 1 Cor. v. 4, 7, 12 ; 2 Cor. ii. G, 7. 
 Col. iii. 16; 1 Thess. v. 11, 14; Heb. Hi. 13; Rom. xv. 14. 
 • Eph. iv. 15, 16. * Heb. xii. 15, 16. 
 
196 CHRISTS' COMMISSION 
 
 according to the measure of the gift bestowed. In order 
 to this, they have much need to attend to the exhortations, 
 " Let all things be done to edifying."" " Let nothing be 
 done through strife or vain glory x ." — " I say to every man 
 that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than 
 he ought to think ; but to think soberly, according as God 
 hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. " y Such as 
 are possessed of superior gifts must not value themselves 
 on that account, nor despise their brethren whose talents 
 are inferior ; nor must the latter envy the former, or as- 
 pire after places or functions in the body for which they 
 are no way fitted ; but every one ought to keep his 
 place, and exercise his particular gift, with humility and 
 love, for the good of the whole.* 
 
 (3.) In considering the duties of church-members, we 
 must also take into our view the different cases, conditions, 
 and circumstances of the brethren to which these duties re- 
 late. These furnish the occasions for drawing forth their 
 love into action in all the various forms into which it is 
 commanded to be exercised. To instance in a few : 
 
 Some are weak in the faith, and as children in under- 
 standing in comparison of others. Such must not be des- 
 pised or treated with neglect, nor must a stumbling-block 
 or an occasion to fall be put in their way. " Whoso (says 
 Jesus) shall offend one of these little ones who believe in 
 me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged 
 about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of 
 the sea. — Take heed that ye despise not one of these little 
 ones ; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do 
 always behold the face of my father who is in heaven. 
 
 * In the New Testament, spiritual gifts (charismata) generally sig- 
 nify something miraculous, either in the nature of the gifts themselves, 
 or in the way of bestowing them, so as to supersede human industry. 
 But by gifts here, I mean only those natural talents and endowments, 
 which, when improved by the study of the scriptures, and sanctified 
 by Divine grace, are necessary for the purpose of edification, exhort- 
 ation, and comfort. 
 
 " 1 Cor. xiv. 26. x Philip, ii. 3. * Rom. xii. 3. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 197 
 
 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."* 
 On the contrary, they must be received and treated with 
 much tenderness and forbearance : " Him that is weak in 
 the faith receive you, but not to doubtful disputations."* 
 " We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of 
 the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of 
 us please his neighbour for his good to edification." 15 And 
 though we must not yield to them any of the truths or 
 laws of Christ, but instruct them with meekness and 
 patience ; yet if they scruple at some things which are 
 purely indifferent, we ought to pay a tender regard to 
 their consciences, and rather humour their weakness than 
 offend or stumble them. c 
 
 Some may be distressed in their consciences by a sense 
 of guilt, while their minds are clouded as to the ground 
 of hope ; or they may be discouraged and dejected in their 
 minds by various trials, and so ready to faint and give 
 way under their fears and afflictions. In such cases we 
 are called to " comfort the feeble minded, and support the 
 weak ;" d to lift up the hands which hang down, and the 
 feeble knees, and make straight paths for their feet, lest 
 that which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it 
 rather be healed ;" e to " remember them that are in bonds 
 as bound with them ; and them who suffer adversity, as 
 being ourselves also in the body." f — Others may be poor 
 and needy in their circumstances, and unable to procure 
 the necessaries of life. To such we must show our love, 
 not in word or in tongue only, but in deed and in truth ; g 
 by ''distributing to the necessity of saints," and being 
 " given to hospitality.'' 11 Nor is this duty confined to the 
 rich, who are to be " rich in good works, ready to distri- 
 bute, willing to " communicate ; >n for the poor widow is 
 commended for casting in two mites, which was all that 
 she had ; k and so are the Macedonians, because that, " in 
 
 ■ Mat. xviii. 6, 10, 11. » Rom. xiv. 1. b Chap. xv. 1, 2. 
 « 1 Cor. viii. 9—13. d 1 Thess. v. 14. ° Heb. xii. 12, 13. 
 f Heb. xiii. 12, 13. s 1 John iii. 17, 18. h Rom. xii. 13. 
 j 1 Tim. vi. 18. k Luke xxi. 2—5. 
 
 s2 
 
198 Christ's commission 
 
 a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and 
 their deep poverty, abounded unto the riches of their 
 liberality." 1 In short, all the members must tenderly 
 sympathize with one another in all their weaknesses, trials, 
 and afflictions, whether in mind, body, or circumstances, 
 and contribute to each other's comfort and relief to the ut- 
 most of their power. Thus in the natural body, " those 
 members which seem to be more feeble, are necessary. 
 And those members of the body, which we think to be less 
 honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour, 
 and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 
 For our comely parts have no need ; but God hath tem- 
 pered the body together, having given more abundant 
 honour to that part which lacked ; that there should be 
 no schism in the body ; but that the members should have 
 the same care one for another. And whether one mem- 
 ber suffer, all the members suffer with it ; or one member 
 be honoured, all the members rejoice with it." m Agreeably 
 to this, they are exhorted, " Look not every man on his 
 own things, but every man also on the things of others. 11 
 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them 
 that weep.° Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil 
 the law of Christ." p 
 
 There are snares and temptations which arise from 
 situation, age, constitution, and other circumstances ; and 
 as all the members have the same care one for another, 
 these ought to be particularly attended unto. — The rich 
 will frequently need the caution not to be high-minded, 
 nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, to 
 condescend to men of low estate,* and to rejoice in being 
 
 * The rich are not exempted more than the poor from performing 
 the humblest offices of love and condescension to the meanest brother 
 when he stands in need of it. I cannot here omit taking notice of the 
 striking lesson which our Lord gave his disciples on this head, and 
 which is so characteristical of the genius of his religion ; I mean his 
 washing his disciples' feet as an example for their imitation. The ac- 
 
 2 Cor. viii. 2. m 1 Cor. xii. 22—27. n Philp. ii. 4. 
 Eom. xii. 15. p Gal. vi. 2. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 199 
 
 made low. q — The poor will need to be exhorted to let their 
 conversation be without covetousness, and to be content 
 with such things as they have, since God hath said, that 
 he will never leave nor forsake them. r The afflicted must 
 be cautioned, not to despise the chastening of the Lord, 
 nor faint when they are rebuked of him ; as he chastiseth 
 them in love and for their profit, that they may be par- 
 takers of his holiness. 3 — The aged men may need the ex- 
 count of it is as follows : " Jesus knowing that the Father had given 
 all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to 
 God, he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments, and took a 
 towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, 
 and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel 
 wherewith he was girded. So after he had washed their feet, and had 
 taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know 
 ye what 1 have done unto you ? Ye call me Master and Lord ; and 
 ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have 
 washed your feet, ye ought also to wash one another's feet ; for I have 
 given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 
 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his 
 Lord ; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye 
 know these things, happy are ye if ye do them," John xiii. 3 — 18. It 
 is evident that our Lord, by this amazing instance of condescension, 
 teacheth in general, that all his disciples without exception, should 
 stoop to the lowest and most servile offices of love to each other as 
 occasion may require. But it cannot well be imagined that any are 
 practically complying with this in general, who avowedly neglect, or 
 perhaps ridicule and despise the particular duty here exemplified and 
 enjoined, namely, the washing of one another's feet. Yet it is not more 
 amazing than true, that the most of those who would be thought real 
 Christians, pay no regard to the example and authority of Christ in 
 this particular ; on the contrary, many of them reckon it far beneath 
 their station to stoop so low as to imitate him whom they call their 
 Lord and Master, which is upon the matter to say, that the servant is 
 greater than his Lord. All the petty acquired distinctions whereby 
 one worm of the dust is raised above another, naturally his equal, sink 
 into nothing, when compared with the native dignity of him, " who 
 being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with 
 God;" and every the most humble act of condescension which the 
 highest monarch can possibly perform towards the meanest slave, is 
 not once worthy to be named, when we think of his condescension, 
 " who emptied himself, and took upon him the form of a servant — 
 humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of 
 the cross," and that for the sake of his guilty creatures; yet this is 
 the example set before Christians, Philip, ii. 4 — 9; and it must be 
 much out of view before they can be either proud of their condescen- 
 sion, or think any office of love to a disciple below them. 
 
 * 1 Tim. vi. 17 : Eom. xii. 16 ; James i. 10. 
 r Heb. xiii. 5,6.' ' Chap. xii. 5—12. 
 
200 Christ's commission 
 
 hortation to be sober, grave, temperate, sound in " faith, 
 in charity, in patience,"* as becometh their profession, 
 years, and experience. — " The aged women likewise, that 
 they be in " behaviour," whether in word, dress, or deport- 
 ment, " as becometh holiness ; not false accusers, not 
 given to much wine/' under pretence of supporting decay- 
 ing nature ; and, instead of amusing themselves or others 
 with slander, idle chat, or old wives' fables, that they"" be 
 teachers of good things ;" and particularly, " that they 
 may teach the young women to be sober, to love their 
 husbands, to love their children ; to be discreet, chaste, 
 keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, 
 that the word of God be not blasphemed."" — " Young 
 men likewise must be exhorted to be sober-minded ;" x to 
 be prudent, considerate, adviseable, meek, and chaste, 
 guarding against pride, wilfulness, intemperate passions, 
 and youthful lusts. y — Some may happen to be too much 
 entangled with the affairs of this life, or intent upon 
 schemes and projects to get gain ;■ such must be remind- 
 ed, that one thing is needful, and that the cares of this 
 world and the deceitfulness of riches will choke the word, 
 and make them become unfruitful. a — Others may have 
 got into an indolent idle habit, walking disorderly, work- 
 ing not at all, but are busy bodies, sauntering about and 
 prying into other people's affairs, and perhaps stirring up 
 jealousies and animosities among the brethren. 15 Now 
 them that are such must be solemnly commanded and ex- 
 horted, "that with quietness they work, and eat their 
 own bread." c 
 
 Many other cases might be mentioned which require 
 cautions, advice, and exhortations ; and these ought to be 
 administered with humility, faithfulness, and affection ; 
 " Not rebuking an elder, but entreating him as a father, 
 and the younger men as brethren ; the elder women as 
 
 4 Tit. ii. 2. « Chap. ii. 3, 4, 5. * Ver 6. ? 2 Tim. ii. 22. 
 
 * 2 Tim. ii. 4 ; James iv. 13. * Luke x. 41, 42 ; Mat. xiii. 22. 
 
 b 1 Tim. v. 13. c 2 Thess. iii. 11, 12. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 201 
 
 mothers, and the younger women as sisters, with all 
 purity." d In watching over one another, they must be- 
 ware of indulging groundless jealousies, or of acting the 
 part of busy-bodies in other men's matters ; e curiously pry- 
 ing into, and meddling with things wherein they can have 
 no conscientious concern. Likewise in all their reproofs 
 and admonitions, they must take heed lest they indulge a 
 spirit of cavilling, or be angry with their brother without 
 a cause; all which is opposite to that charity which "is 
 not easily provoked, and thinketh no evil." On the other 
 hand, this mutual oversight requires mutual subjection, 
 without which it could answer no good end. The apostle 
 Paul exhorts to this mutual subjection : " Submitting 
 yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Vf And 
 Peter, having exhorted the younger to submit themselves 
 unto the elder, adds, " Yea all of you be subject one to 
 another, and be clothed with humility ; for God resisteth 
 the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." 8 Every one 
 therefore ought to suffer the word of exhortation or ad- 
 monition, even from the very meanest or weakest of his 
 brethren, and in humility and godly fear to pay all due 
 attention to it. 
 
 THE RULES OF DISCIPLINE IN DEALING WITH OFFENDERS. 
 
 Let us now briefly consider the rules of discipline where- 
 by they are to conduct themselves in dealing with offend- 
 ers. As all the members are indispensably bound to love one 
 another for the truth's sake, so, to make this duty possible, 
 none must be received into, or retained in their communion, 
 but such as appear to be the proper objects of this love, 
 or to have the truth dwelling in them. Every opposite 
 appearance in any member must necessarily occasion pain 
 to the rest, and obstruct the exercise of their complacen- 
 tial affection towards him until it be removed. Christ, 
 
 d 1 Tim. v. 1, 2. « Chap v. 13 ; 1 Pet. iv. 15. 
 f Eph. v. 21. e 1 Pet. v. 5. 
 
202 Christ's commission 
 
 therefore, hath appointed discipline in his churches for 
 reclaiming- offenders and recovering- backsliders, and also 
 for expelling incorrigible transgressors and manifested 
 hypocrites. This discipline is essential to the very being 
 of a Christian church, and wherever the faithful and im- 
 partial exercise of it is neglected, they cannot long pre- 
 serve their separation from the world, the purity of their 
 communion, or the fervent exercise of mutual love for the 
 truth's sake. 
 
 Offences are either private or public, and consist either 
 of error in sentiment or immorality in practice ; and these 
 as^ain mav be distinguished into such as admit of gradual 
 dealing, and those which require immediate exclusion. 
 
 A private offence is a trespass committed against a 
 brother, or some irregularity falling under his notice, 
 whereby he is grieved, or his charity weakened, and which 
 is not publicly known to the church. In this case, the 
 rule prescribed by our Lord (Mat. xviii. 15 — 21.) must be 
 strictly adhered to in the whole of the procedure : " More- 
 over, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell 
 him his fault between thee and him alone." In this first 
 step two things must be carefully attended to ; 1. That 
 the party offended do not smother the offence in his breast, 
 or harbour secret resentment or grudges against his offend- 
 ing brother, which is inconsistent with love, or a due con- 
 cern for his soul. He must without fail " go and tell him 
 his fault," or, " rebuke him'' h with faithfulness and affec- 
 tion. So the law also enjoins, " Thou shalt not hate thy 
 brother in thy heart ; thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy 
 neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him," 1 or, that thou 
 bear not sin for him. 2. This must be done privately, 
 •'between thee and him alone," without exposing him, or 
 communicating his fault to others under any pretence 
 whatever; which is no more than what genuine love and 
 friendship will dictate, and what Solomon also recommends : 
 " Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself, and dis- 
 
 h Luke xvii. 3. 'Lev. xix. 17. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 203 
 
 cover not the secret to another.' 5k — " If he shall hear thee, 
 thou hast gained thy brother ;" i. e. if he shall accept the 
 reproof, acknowledge his sin, and profess repentance, he 
 is won and recovered from the error of his way ; and 
 therefore he must be heartily forgiven, and the matter 
 buried as if it had never happened. So our Lord com- 
 mands, " If he repent forgive him : and if he trespass 
 against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a 
 day turn again unto thee, saying, I repent,* thou shalt 
 forgive him :" 1 And to this case the exhortation applies 
 — " forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel 
 against any ; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." 8 * 
 — " But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee 
 one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three wit- 
 nesses every word may be established," Should the private 
 rebuke fail of success, he must not be discouraged or drop 
 the affair, nor must he make it known to many, or bring 
 it immediately to the church ; but he must take along with 
 him only one or two more of the brethren to hear and 
 judge of the case, to concur with him in admonishing the 
 
 * This command to forgive a brother as often as he repents, agrees 
 with his answer to Peter's question, " Lord, how oft shall my brother 
 sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saithunto 
 him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times ; but until seventy times 
 seven," Mat. xviii. 21, 22. But this will not apply to such sins as are 
 mentioned in 1 Cor. v. 11, for seventy times seven instances of drun- 
 kenness, fornication, extortion, &c. would be more than sufficient to 
 denominate a man a drunkard, fornicator, or extortioner, with whom 
 we are forbidden to eat ; and if we must retain such characters in the 
 communion upon mere verbal professions of repentance, we could 
 never obey the command to put away the evil from among us, ver. 13. 
 This frequent forgiveness, therefore, must respect only such offences, 
 and provocations among brethren as arise from the imperfection of 
 their love, and the remainder of pride and ambition which still cleaves 
 to them, as appears from the connection of this command with the 
 preceding context; see Mat. xviii. 1 — 14. Though a brother should 
 often commit trespasses of this kind, he cannot be put away while he 
 hears admonition, humbles himself, and confesses his fault with peni- 
 tence. So that cutting off, according to the rule, Mat. xviii. proceeds 
 upon the evidence which the offender gives of reigning pride or en- 
 mity, in refusing to hear his offended brother, then the one or two 
 more, and last of all the church. 
 
 k Prov. xxv. 9. ] Luke xvii. 3, 4. - Col. Hi. 13 ; Eph. iv. 32. 
 
204 Christ's commission 
 
 offender, and, if need be, to bear witness of tbe matter to 
 the church ; as the law also directs, " at the mouth of two 
 witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter 
 be established." 11 If this second step succeed in bringing 
 him to repentance, the procedure must stop here ; he must 
 be forgiven. 
 
 — " And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto 
 the church."* If he also resist the admonition of the one 
 or two more, and still continue impenitent, then his of- 
 fence must be represented to the church, i. e. to the whole 
 assembly or congregation whereof he is a member. This 
 is the last resort, beyond which there is no appeal under 
 heaven. If he hear the church, and with penitence ac- 
 knowledge his guilt, they, as well as the person originally 
 offended, must forgive him, and confirm their love towards 
 him. — " But if he neglect to hear the church, let him be 
 unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." The ad- 
 monition of the church is the last and most solemn means 
 of conviction which Christ has appointed in this world ; 
 and if that has no effect in bringing him to repentance, 
 he must no longer be regarded as a Christian brother, 
 or a member of the body, but excluded from the commu- 
 nion, and held as an heathen man and a publican, with 
 whom it was esteemed unlawful for a Jew to keep com- 
 pany, or so much as to eat.° So that a single congrega- 
 tion of saints with its presbytery, when gathered together 
 in the name, and by the authority of the Lord Jesus, are 
 commanded (exareite ton poneron ex union auton) to put 
 away the evil from among them, 9 answerable to the law di- 
 
 * The word church is no where used for an assembly of bishops or 
 elders in distinction from the people ; but it is frequently used to dis- 
 tinguish the body of the people from their office-bearers, Acts xi. 26 ; 
 xiv. 22, 23; xv. 4, 22; and xx. 17, 28. Here it includes both elders 
 and people. The elders are to preside in conducting discipline ; and 
 the people are to concur both in binding and loosing, not by a majo- 
 rity of voices, but by unanimous agreement ; so that it is the deed of 
 the whole church, or the punishment inflicted of many, 2 Cor. ii. 6. 
 
 " Deut. xix. 15. ° Acts x. 28, and xi. 3 ; 1 Cor. v. 11. 
 p 1 Cor. v. 13. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 205 
 
 recting the supreme judgment in the church of Israel.' 1 
 As the whole of this matter ought to be conducted with 
 solemnity, and accompanied with prayer for the Divine 
 blessing ; so Christ hath promised to countenance and 
 ratify every step of it, whether public or private, wherein 
 they act or petition agreeable to his will. " Verily, I say 
 unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be 
 bound in heaven ; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, 
 shall be loosed in heaven. Again, I say unto you, That if 
 two of you shall agree on earth, as touching any thing 
 that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my 
 Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are 
 gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of 
 them." r 
 
 A public offence is such as is committed openly in the 
 world, or is known to the church ; in which case, the two 
 first steps of the foregoing rule will not apply. Whatever 
 private admonitions may be given, no private satisfaction 
 can be admitted ; for as all are supposed to be offended, 
 so all require to be satisfied ; and as no private confession 
 can answer that end, the affair must at all events come be- 
 fore the church, and the offender be dealt with according 
 to the third step of our Lord's rule, agreeably to the apo- 
 stolic direction, " Them that sin rebuke before all, that 
 others also may fear ;" s where we may also see, that the 
 end of public discipline is not merely to reclaim or expel 
 the offender, but also to move others with fear lest they 
 should offend in like manner. 
 
 If the offence consist of an error in sentiment which af- 
 fects the faith or obedience of the gospel, all due pains 
 must be taken for the instruction and recovery of the of- 
 fender. " Brethren, (says James) if any of you do err 
 from the truth, and one convert him ; let him know, that he 
 who converteth the sinner from the error of his way, shall 
 save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of 
 
 i Deut. xiii. 5, xvii. 7, and xxi. 21. r Mat. xviii. 18 — 21. 
 • 1 Tim. v. 20. 
 
206 Christ's commission 
 
 sins." fc And this more especially belongs to the elders, 
 who must " be able by sound doctrine, both to exhort and 
 convince gainsayers.'' u Tn doing which, "the servant of 
 the Lord must not strive ; but be gentle unto all men ; 
 in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves ; if 
 God peradventure will give them repentance to the ac- 
 knowledging of the truth. " s But if, after all, he " consent 
 not to wholesome words, " even the words of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to 
 godliness," he clearly discovers himself to be " proud, 
 knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes 
 of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil sur- 
 misings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and 
 destitute of the truth :" y and the command is, " From 
 such withdraw thyself." 2 The Apostle beseeches the 
 brethren, " Mark them which cause divisions and offences 
 contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid 
 them. " For they that are such, serve not our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, but their own belly ; and by good words and fair 
 speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. " a With regard 
 to the false teachers among the Galatians, he says, " I 
 would they were even cut off who trouble you." b Men of 
 this stamp are denominated heretics : and the rule with 
 respect to such is, " A man that is an heretic, after the 
 first and second admonition, reject ; knowing that he that 
 is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of 
 himself.' No church can long maintain the purity of 
 Christian doctrine unless they are attentive to these di- 
 rections. 
 
 If the offence be immorality in practice, we must distin- 
 guish the case of one who through temptation, seduction, 
 or surprise, has fallen into such sins, from the case of him 
 who lives and walks in them. With respect to the first, 
 the Apostle says, " Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a 
 
 • James v. 19, 20. n Tit. i. 9. * 2 Tim. ii. 24, 25. 
 
 M Tim. vi. 3, 4, 0. « Ver. 5. » Kom. xvi. 17, 18. b Gal. v. 12. 
 « Tit. iii. 10. 11. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 207 
 
 fault, ye that are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of 
 meekness ; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted,''* 
 So that he is not to be immediately cut off like a hopeless, 
 mortified member, but (Jcatartizo) set to rights, or into 
 joint again, like a broken or dislocated bone. Some of the 
 Corinthians were guilty of uncleanness, fornication, and 
 lasciviousness : yet the apostle does not direct the church 
 to cut them off at any rate, but expresses himself in such 
 a manner as clearly implies, that their repentance would 
 prevent his bewailing them, and using the rod of discipline 
 when he came. 6 The procedure in this case must be di- 
 rected by the rules already mentioned. 
 
 But if a member has repeatedly fallen into sins of this 
 nature, or is living in the practice of any one of them, so 
 that his character may be denominated by it ; whenever 
 this appears, he must be immediately expelled the commu- 
 nion as a wicked person, whatever repentance he may 
 profess in words. Accordingly, the apostle does not at 
 first direct the Corinthian church to proceed against the 
 incestuous person according to the foregoing rules, or to 
 accept of a profession of repentance in case he should ap- 
 pear penitent ; but simply, " To deliver such an one unto 
 Satan for the destruction of the flesh,'' and " to put away 
 the evil from among them." f The characters that fall 
 under this rule are such as these : " But now I have written 
 unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a 
 brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a 
 railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner ; with such an one 
 no not to eat." g Paul warning Timothy, gives another 
 catalogue of them : " This know, that in the last days 
 perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of 
 their ownselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, 
 disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natu- 
 ral affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, 
 fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, 
 
 d Gal. vi. 1. e 2 Cor. xii. 21, and xiii. 2. f 1 Cor. v. 3, 4, 5, 13. 
 s 1 Cor. v. 11. 
 
208 Christ's commission 
 
 high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God ; 
 having a form of godliness, but denying the power there- 
 of ; from such turn away.' h Yet should persons of such 
 characters afterwards give striking evidence of their re- 
 pentance, and that they are converted from the error of 
 their ways, they must be received again into the commu- 
 nion of the church ; for so the Apostle directs the church 
 at Corinth with respect to the incestuous person : " Suffi- 
 cient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted 
 of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive 
 him and comfort him, lest perhaps such an one should be 
 swallowed up with over much sorrow. Wherefore I be- 
 seech you, that ye would confirm your love towards him. 
 For to this end also did I write, that I might know the 
 proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things." 1 
 
 As the discipline of Christ's house is intended to pre- 
 serve the pure and unfeigned exercise of brotherly love 
 among the members, so the whole of it ought to be con- 
 ducted in love to the offender. All the admonitions and 
 reproofs ought to be administered in love ; and when he 
 can no longer be loved as a brother, but must be cut off 
 as a wicked person, even that deed must be done with a 
 view to the salvation of his soul, or " that his spirit may 
 be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus ;" and should it be 
 blessed for his conviction and repentance, the church must 
 be ready to imitate the Divine mercy, in forgiving, com- 
 forting, and confirming their love towards him.* 
 
 * Some deny that a person after he has been twice cast out ought 
 ever to be received again, let his repentance be what it may. " If a 
 person (say they) should incur the censure of the church after his 
 second reception, we dare not receive him again ; because we have 
 no scriptural instance of a third reception of the same person." — To 
 this I answer, Neither have we a scriptural instance of a second ex- 
 communication of the same person; and is this a sufficient reason 
 why none should be cast out a second time ? If it be said, that the 
 law of Christian separation from the world, and the rule of discipline 
 require that a person should be cast out as often as he appears an im- 
 penitent offender; then, by parity of reason, it must also be admitted, 
 that the command to forgive, restore, and confirm love to a repenting 
 
 b 2 Tim. iii. 1—6. ! 2 Cor. ii. 6—10. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 209 
 
 I shall conclude this subject with observing, that this 
 discipline was never intended for the nations of this world 
 assuming the name of Christian churches, nor even for 
 any district of a nation called a parish. I may likewise 
 add, that societies neglecting this discipline, or whose con- 
 stitution renders the exercise of it simply impossible, can 
 with no propriety be called churches of Christ, though 
 there may be Christians among them. 
 
 brother (Mat. xviii. 21, 22 ; 2 Cor. ii 6 — 9.) obliges us to receive him 
 as often as he appears truly to repent. Peter asks if he might limit 
 his forgiveness of his brother to seven times, but "Jesus saith unto 
 him, 1 say not unto thee, Until seven times, but until seventy times 
 seven," (Mat xviii. 21, 22 ; Luke xvii. 4.) though any one of the of- 
 fences supposed, if unrepented of, would be a sufficient ground for 
 excision, according to Mat. xviii. 15 — 18. 
 
 They further argue, " That it is impossible we should obtain a fuller 
 evidence of his repentance than that which he hath given before, and 
 which has in fact been proved to be hypocritical." Christian Prac- 
 tices of the Church in St. Martin's le Grand, London, p. 23. Glas's 
 Works, vol. ii. p. 243. Edin. edit. 
 
 This reasoning makes Christ's law of repeated forgiveness of no 
 effect. Peter with more reason might have told his Master, that he 
 dursl; not forgive his brother even seven times, because it was im- 
 possible to obtain a fuller evidence of his repentance than that which 
 he had six times given before, and which had as often been proved 
 to be hypocritical. But this argument is altogether inconclusive ; 
 for a brother's present offence does not prove that his repentance for 
 a former one was hypocritical. David sincerely repented of his guiit 
 in the matter of Uriah, though he afterwards numbered the people. 
 Peter truly repented his having denied his Lord, though he afterwards 
 dissembled at Antioch. And though it should appear that a former 
 profession of repentance was hypocritical, it does not follow that the 
 present must be so likewise. 
 
 Some ground this implacable tenet upon Tit. iii. 10. "A man 
 that is an heretic, after the first or second admonition, reject." But 
 the first and second admonition does not mean the first and second 
 excommunication ; neither does reject here mean such a final rejection 
 as admits of no absolution in case of repentance, so that this text is 
 nothing to the purpose. 
 
 It is admitted, however, that when a person has been oftener than 
 once cut off for a repetition of the same offence, something more 
 than a verbal confession is necessary to evidence the sincerity of his 
 repentance, such as a change of conduct in that particular manifested 
 for some time ; but to lay it down as a rule never to receive him 
 again after he has been twice cast out, appears to me a practical de- 
 nial of the grace of God, and looks as if men had forgotten that they 
 themselves have constant need of divine mercy to pardon their re- 
 peated daily offences. 
 
 T 2 
 
210 Christ's commission 
 
 THE PUBLIC ORDINANCES OF DIVINE SERVICE. 
 
 Before we mention the ordinances themselves, it maj 
 be proper to take notice of the day on which the apostolic 
 churches assembled to observe them. 
 
 God at first blessed the seventh day, and set it apart 
 in commemoration of his resting from the work of crea- 
 tion ; k and he gave it to Israel in their law to be observed 
 both in commemoration of that, 1 and also of his redeeming 
 them from Egyptian servitude, and making them enter 
 into his rest in the earthly inheritance. 111 But long after 
 Israel had entered into that rest, " he again limiteth a 
 certain day, saying in David, To-day if ye will hear his 
 voice, harden not your hearts ; n from which the apostle 
 shews, that there is another rest besides the former two, 
 into which men are still called to enter, viz. the heavenly. 
 There is also a limited day, another day than the seventh 
 spoken of, answerable to the heavenly rest, and which 
 some understand as referring to the first day of the week, 
 which also remains for a (sabbatismos) Sabbatism to the 
 people of God ; and the reason the apostle gives for 
 keeping of a Sabbath on this other day is, " For he (viz. 
 Christ) that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased 
 from his own works as God did from his."° So that it 
 is to be kept in commemoration of Christ's having finished 
 the work of redemption, and entered into his heavenly 
 rest. It is thought that the day appointed for the Chris- 
 tian Sabbath, seems also to be pointed at in Psal. cxviii. 
 25. " This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will 
 joy and be glad in it ;" and there are some prophecies of 
 Christ in that psalm, which makes it probable that it re- 
 fers to the day on which Christ triumphantly ascended to 
 Jerusalem 1 * ; — on which he was " made the head of the 
 corner," q which Peter explains of his resurrection and ex- 
 
 k Gen. ii. 2. > Exod. xx. 8—12. m Deut. v. 12—16. 
 ■ Psal. xcv. 7. • Heb. iv. 3—11 r Mat. xxi. 8—17. i Psal. cxviii. 22. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 211 
 
 altation r ; — and on which he shed forth the Holy Spirit 
 on his apostles ; s all which events took place on the first 
 DAY OP the week. At any rate, it is recorded as matter 
 of fact, that the apostolic churches kept the first day of 
 the week as a day of sacred rest, and came together on 
 that day to observe the ordinances of divine worship ;* and 
 as they did this under the direction of the inspired 
 apostles, we must necessarily conclude, that the practice 
 originated in divine institution. When John wrote the 
 Revelation, this day was universally known among the 
 churches by the name of the Lord's day u ; which intimates, 
 that it was instituted by the Lord Jesus, sacred to his 
 honour, and commemorative of his work, even as the 
 breaking of bread is for these reasons called the Lord's 
 Supper.* We may also observe, that as the earthly rest 
 has come to an end, so the Jewish Sabbath is set aside 
 with all the other types and shadows, as the Apostle shews, 
 " Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or 
 in respect of an holy-day, or of the new moon, or of the 
 Sabbath-days ; which are a shadow of things to come ; 
 but the body is of Christ." 7 
 
 The ordinances which the Apostolic churches observed 
 when they came together on the first day of the week, may 
 be gathered from the practice of the church at Jerusalem, 
 which set the example to the rest. Having gladly re- 
 ceived the word, and been baptized and added to the 
 church, it is said, " They continued stedfastly in the 
 apostles' doctrine, and in the fellowship, and in breaking 
 of bread, and in prayers — praising God," 1 &c. 
 
 1. They continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine. 
 They not only held fast what the apostles had already 
 taught them, but constantly attended their public ministry 
 in the church, that they might be further confirmed and 
 edified in the faith, and instructed to observe all things 
 
 ■ Acts iv. 10, 11. s Acts ii. 32, 33. 
 
 * Acts xx. 7 ; 1 Cor. xi. 18, 20, with xvi. 2. » Rev. i. 10. 
 
 * 1 Cor. xi. 20. > Col. ii. 16, 17. l Acts ii. 41*42, 47. 
 
212 Christ's commission 
 
 whatsoever Christ had commanded them. All who are 
 born again of the incorruptible seed of the word, will na- 
 turally as new born babes desire the sincere milk of the 
 same word, that they may grow thereby. a For this end 
 Christ hath appointed the ministry of the word as a public 
 standing ordinance in his church ; b and the first and chief 
 gift he bestowed for this purpose was that of apostles. 
 Here it may be necessary to notice, 
 
 (1.) That though the apostles do not now personally 
 teach in the churches, yet their doctrine is contained in 
 the writings of the New Testament ; and therefore if the 
 churches would continue stedfastly in the apostles' doc- 
 trine, they must carefully attend unto the reading of these 
 inspired writings, together with the other scriptures, in 
 their public assemblies. They must not believe every 
 spirit, or implicitly follow uninspired teachers, but try the 
 spirits whether they are of God ; and the standard to try 
 them by is the doctrine of the apostles ; for John says, 
 " We (the apostles) are of God : he that knoweth God 
 heareth us ; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby 
 know we the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error. " d 
 Peter declares that the design of writing his epistles was, 
 that Christians might be able after his decease to have 
 these things always in remembrance 6 ; — that they might 
 be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the 
 holy prophets, and of the commandments of the apostles 
 of the Lord and Saviour : f and he also recommends all the 
 epistles of his beloved brother Paul, with the other scrip- 
 tures, as the only antidote against their being led away 
 with the error of the wicked, and falling from their own 
 stedfastness. g The writings of Moses were read in the 
 Jewish synagogue every Sabbath-day. The like end is 
 proposed in writing the New Testament* revelation, 11 
 
 * The apostolic decrees were the first part of the New Testament 
 revelation that was committed to writing ; and one end for writing 
 
 ■ 1 Pet. ii. 2, 3. b Eph. iv. 12. c 1 Cor. xii. 28 ; Eph. iv. 11. 
 
 d 1 John iv. 1,6. • 2 Pet. i. 15. f Chap iii. 1, 2. 
 
 « 2 Pet. iii. 15—17. h Acts xv. 20, 21. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 213 
 
 which was also commanded to be read in the churches as 
 it was given forth ; l accordingly, Timothy is exhorted to 
 give attendance to reading, as well as to exhortation and 
 doctrine. k The reading of the scriptures, therefore, is a 
 public ordinance in the churches of Christ ; and this is 
 what they have in place of the personal ministry of the 
 apostles and prophets. 
 
 (2.) Preaching and expounding the word is another pub- 
 lic institution for edifying the church. This is the proper 
 work of elders or pastors. Moses was of old time not 
 only read but preached in the synagogues ;* and Christ 
 hath not only given apostles, prophets, and evangelists, but 
 also pastors and teachers for the work of the ministry, for 
 
 them was, that they might be read in the churches even as Moses was 
 in the synagogues. This appears from the connection of the 20th 
 and 21st verses of Acts xv. "But that we write unto them, that 
 they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from 
 things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in 
 every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every 
 Sabbath-day." 
 
 Now that I have mentioned the aposotlic decrees, it may be proper 
 to take notice of the prohibition as to things strangled and blood. It 
 is evident that this prohibition was none of the peculiarities of Moses' 
 law ; for long before the giving of that law, when God at first made 
 the grant of animal food to Noah and his posterity, he made it with 
 this reserve, " Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you ; 
 even as the green herb have I given you all things : but flesh with 
 the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall you not eat," Gen. 
 ix. 3, 4. By the law of Moses, both the Israelite and the stranger 
 were forbidden to eat any manner of blood under the severest 
 penalty, Lev. xvii. 10 — 15. Under the gospel, the apostolic decrees 
 which ascertained the freedom of the Gentile converts from circum- 
 cision and the peculiarities of Moses' law, at the same time most so- 
 lemnly commanded them to abstain from things strangled and blood, 
 as well as from pollutions of idols and fornication ; and that as ne- 
 cessary things, which were not to be held indifferent. These decrees 
 were delivered to the Gentile churches to keep, Acts xvi. 4, they are 
 mentioned by James several years after as still in force, chap xxi. 25, 
 are referred to by our Lord in the epistle to the church of Thyatira, 
 and commanded to be held fast till he come, Rev. ii. 24, 25. It is 
 therefore clear, that blood, either mixed with the flesh of things 
 strangled, or by itself, has been absolutely prohibited in all ages, and 
 still continues to be so under the gospel. Yet men under a strict 
 profession of Christianity have made void this Divine law, and can 
 plead for blood-eating as part of their Christian liberty. 
 
 '' Col. iv. 1G ; 1 Thess. v. 27. k 1 Tim. iv. 13. > Acts xv. 21. 
 
214 Christ's commission 
 
 the edifying* of his body. m Their office is to feed the flock, 
 and to labour among" them in the word and doctrine ; n in 
 doing' this they must preach the word ; be instant in sea- 
 son, out of season ; reprove, rebuke, exhort, &c. For 
 this work the written word of God abundantly furnishes 
 them ; for " all scripture is given by inspiration of God, 
 and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
 for instruction in righteousness ; that the man of God (or 
 teacher) may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all 
 good works ;" p so that they have no occasion for any other 
 source of instruction, And while teachers take heed unto 
 themselves and unto their doctrine, showing themselves 
 approved unto God, workmen that need not to be ashamed, 
 rightly dividing the word of truth contained in the scrip- 
 tures,* 1 the flock must attend unto their ministry as the 
 ordinance of God, and as a special means of their continu- 
 ing stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine. Another means 
 of this is, 
 
 (3.) The mutual exhortations of the brethren. This is 
 a duty expressly and repeatedly enjoined ; r and that not 
 merely in private or occasional meetings, but in the public 
 and stated assemblies of the church : " Let us con- 
 sider one another, to provoke unto love, and to good 
 works ; not, forsaking the assembling of ourselves to- 
 gether ; but exhorting one another ; and so much the more 
 as ye see the day approaching.' 8 None of the members 
 who have any gifts are exempted from this duty, except 
 women; who are enjoined to " keep silence in the churches ; 
 for it is not permitted unto them to speak ; but they are 
 commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. 
 And if they will learn anything, let them ask their hus- 
 bands at home ; for it is a shame for a woman to speak in 
 the church." 1 Yet in private teaching they have their 
 
 m Eph. iv. ll, 12. n 1 Pet. v. 2 ; 1 Tim. v. 17. ° 2 Tim. iv. 2. 
 
 p 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. * 1 Tim. iv. 15, 16 ; 2 Tim. ii. 15. 
 
 r R©m. xv. 14 ; Col. iii. 16 ; 1 Thess. iv. 18 ; Heb. iii. 13. 
 
 ' Heb. x. 24, 25. l 1 Cor. xiv. 34, 35; 1 Tim. ii. 11, 12. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 215 
 
 sphere of usefulness, particularly among their own sex. w 
 Thus the various gfifts of the members have room for ex- 
 ercise, that " speaking the truth in love, they may grow 
 up into him in all things, who is the Head, even Christ." 1 
 And here strict attention must be paid to the general rule, 
 " Let all things be done decently and in order." y 
 
 2. They continued stedfastly (te koinonia) in i/ie fellow- 
 ship. This does not mean fellowship in the gospel ; for 
 they enjoyed that continuing in the apostles' doctrine, 
 whereas this is added as something distinct ; nor does it 
 mean fellowship in breaking of bread, or in prayers ; for 
 the intervening word (Icai) and, plainly distinguishes these 
 as additional articles : nor can it signify church-fellowship 
 in a general view ; for it is enumerated among the parti- 
 cular duties of such fellowship. It must therefore mean 
 (e koinonia) " the fellowship of the ministering to the 
 saints." 2 The same word is elsewhere rendered contribu- 
 tion, distribution, communication* &c. where it evidently 
 signifies the collection for the support of the poor and 
 other necessary uses. This is a duty appointed for the 
 first day of the week, when they come together into one 
 place ; b and the disciples must continue stedfastly in it 
 according to their several abilities, for the poor they have 
 always with them ; so the Apostle exhorts, " Of the 
 well-doing and the fellowship be not forgetful ; for 
 with such sacrifices God is well pleased/' Some may 
 be apt to look upon this as a carnal ordinance, but the 
 Apostle speaks of it here in very high terms ; and he 
 elsewhere calls this communicating of our substance " an 
 odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing 
 to God."* 
 
 3. They continued stedfastly in the breaking of bread. 
 
 This expression is sometimes used to signify a common 
 
 meal ; but as the breaking of bread here mentioned is 
 
 distinguished from their " breaking bread from house to 
 
 » Tit. ii. 3— G. * Eph. iv. 15. » 1 Cor. xiv. 40. 
 
 • 2 Cor. viii. 4. "Rom. xv. 26 ; 2 Cor. ix. 13 ; Heb. xiii. 1G. 
 
 b 1 Cor. xvi. 1,2. « Heb. xiii. 1G. d Philip, iv. 14—19. 
 
216 Christ's commission 
 
 house,"* or " eating their meat," e and classed with the 
 other church-ordinances, it must signify the Lord's Supper, 
 which is afterwards called the breaking of bread by this 
 same historian : f and it is so called, because the action of 
 breaking the bread is a most significant part of this insti- 
 tution ; for Jesus " took bread and brake it, and said, 
 This is my body which is broken for you ;" g and the 
 Apostle says, " The bread which we break, is it not the 
 communion of the body of Christ ?" h 
 
 The form, nature, and design of this ordinance are 
 best learned from the words of its institution, which we 
 shall collect from the different passages. " The Lord 
 Jesus, the night in which he was betrayed, as they were 
 eating the passover, " took bread and blessed," or " gave 
 thanks, and gave it to the disciples, saying, Take, eat ; 
 this is my body which is given or broken for you : this do 
 in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he 
 took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it 
 to them, saying Drink ye all of it ; for this cup is my 
 blood of the new testament (or covenant) ; w r hich is shed 
 for you — for many, for the remission of sins : this do ye, as 
 oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." To which the 
 Apostle adds, " For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink 
 this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come.'' 1 
 From these words we may observe, 
 
 * Their breaking bread from house to house, and eating their meat 
 with gladness and singleness (or liberality) of heart, Acts ii. 46, seems 
 to be their agapce or feasts of charity, which are afterwards mentioned 
 in 2 Pet. ii. 13; Jude ver. 12. Paul, writing to the church at Co- 
 rinth, distinguishes these feasts from the Lord's supper by calling 
 them their own supper ; and directs them to eat them in their houses 
 along with their poor brethren, whom it seems the more wealthy had 
 neglected or despised, 1 Cor. xi. 20 — 22. As these love-feasts were 
 evidently kept by the Apostolic churches ; as they were calculated to 
 promote love, intimacy, and edification among brethren ; as they 
 are no where set aside by revelation, but on the contrary enjoined by 
 the Apostle to be conducted in a right manner ; so they ought still 
 to be observed by the churches of Christ. 
 
 • Acts ii. 46. f Chap. xx. 7. el Cor. xi. 24. h 1 Cor. x. 16. 
 
 ; Compare Mat. xxvi. 21 — 29, withMark xiv. 22 — 25, and Luke xxii. 
 19—21, and 1 Cor. xi. 24—27. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 217 
 
 (1.) That the instituted signs in this ordinance are the 
 bread and the cup, or the wine in the cup ; for it was the 
 fruit of the vine that our Lord gave to his disciples. k 
 
 (2.) The actions — 1. Of the administrator are exem- 
 plified by our Lord. He " took bread, and blessed it," or 
 " gave thanks" — Then he " brake it ;" which is a signifi- 
 cant action, without which the ordinance would not be 
 complete — and " gave it to the disciples" thus broken. — 
 After this "he took the cup — and gave thanks.'' Paul 
 calls it the cup of " blessing which we bless ;' n from which 
 it appears that both blessing and thanksgiving* were used 
 at the taking of the cup, as well as before at taking the 
 bread. — Lastly, he "gave it to them," namely the cup, 
 even as he had done the bread before. — 2. The actions of 
 the partakers are implied in those of the administrator, 
 and the words accompanying them, viz. their taking the 
 broken bread, and eating it, and afterwards the cup and 
 drinking it, according to the manner prescribed ; for it is 
 expressly said, " they all drank of it." m But this eating 
 and drinking was not to satisfy the bodily appetite, for it 
 was immediately after a full meal ; and the Apostle says, 
 " If any man hunger let him eat at home.'' n 
 
 (3.) The signification or mystery of these outward signs 
 and actions must be chiefly learned from our Lord's words. 
 — 1. Of the bread he says, " This is my body." Not his 
 real body, as the Papists affirm, but the sign, representa- 
 tion, or memorial of his body ; for it is usual in scripture 
 to call the sign the thing signified. Thus the paschal 
 lamb is the Lord's passover ;° the rock in the wilderness 
 is Christ ; p the seven stars are the angels of the seven 
 churches ; and the seven candlesticks are the seven 
 
 * Some think that (eugolea) to bless and (euchariseo) to give thanks , 
 signify the same thing in this place ; but I apprehend that the for- 
 mer signifies to pray for a blessing, and the latter to express grati- 
 tude, and that both were done in each address. 
 
 k Luke xiii. 28. > 1 Cor. x. 16. ■ Mark xiv. 23. 
 ° 1 Cor. xi. 34. » Exod. xli. 11, p 1 Cor. x. 4. 
 
 U 
 
218 Christ's commission 
 
 churches' 1 . — It represents his body as broken, for he brake 
 the bread before he gave it ; and then says, " This is my 
 body broken," i. e. crucified or slain. — It represents it thus 
 broken for his people ; for he adds, " broken (uper umon) 
 for you — given for you :'' i. e. in their stead, on their ac- 
 count, and for their advantage. This points out the vica- 
 rious and substitutional nature of his death ; and in this 
 view it is everywhere represented/ This broken bread 
 holds him forth as the truth of all the sacrifices and sin- 
 offerings under the law, 8 and in keeping this feast we must 
 view him as our passover sacrificed for us*. — 2. Of the cup 
 he says, " This cup is the new testament in my blood, which 
 is shed for you ;" or " This is my blood of the new testa- 
 ment, which is shed for many for the remission of sins/' 
 By the cup he means the wine in the cup, even as the altar 
 is put for the sacrifice offered upon it. u This he calls his 
 blood by the same figure of speech by which he had called 
 the bread his body, namely, as being the sign or memorial 
 of it. — The cup particularly represents that part of the sa- 
 crifice which made the atonement, as explained in the law, 
 " For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given 
 it to you upon the altar, to make an atonement for your 
 souls ; for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for 
 the soul." x So Christ's blood was his life, that by which 
 he made the true atonement ; the ransom price by which 
 he redeemed the souls of his peopled — It represents his 
 blood shed or (elcchunomenon) poured out, in order to make 
 an atonement ; which imports his giving his life : for 
 taking away the life is called " shedding of blood ;" and 
 it is said of Christ, that he poured out his soul unto 
 death 2 ." — He says, " that his blood was thus shed for 
 you ; i. e. for the believing partakers — " for many," not 
 only of the Jews, but also for a great multitude out of every 
 
 i Rev. i. 10. r Isa. liii. 4—7 ; Rom. v. G, 8 ; 2 Cor. v. 21 ; 
 
 Gal. iii. 13 ; Tit. ii. 14; 1 Pet. iii. 18. 
 • Heb. x. 1—19. l 1 Cor. v. 7. u Heb. xiii. 10. 
 * Lev. xvii. 11. y 1 Pet. i. 18. 19. * Isa. liii. 12. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 219 
 
 kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, even the 
 whole church of the redeemed a . — He also declares the end 
 for which it was shed for them, viz. " for the remission of 
 sins." The law gave the knowledge of sin, whilst it mani- 
 fested that " without shedding of blood there is no remis- 
 sion." 13 This it did by the continual shedding of the 
 blood of animals, which served the double purpose of call- 
 ing sins to remembrance, and prefiguring the true aton- 
 ing sacrifice, but could never take away sin. But here 
 the cup imports that the blood of Christ shed for his guilty 
 people hath obtained a full and everlasting remission of 
 sins. This farther appears from these words, " This is my 
 blood of the new testament ;" which answer to the words 
 of Moses when he dedicated the old covenant by the 
 sprinkling of blood, " This is the blood of the testament 
 which God hath enjoined unto you." c That old covenant 
 was a figure of the new covenant, and the blood whereby 
 it was dedicated a type of Christ's blood. When the Lord 
 promises to make the new covenant, he contrasts it with 
 the old covenant made at Sinai, and sets forth its excel- 
 lency by the better promises upon which it is established : 
 " Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a 
 new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house 
 of Judah : not according to the covenant that I made with 
 their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand, 
 to lead them out of the land of Egypt. — But this shall be 
 the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, 
 after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their 
 inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their 
 God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach 
 no more every man his neighbour, saying, Know the Lord; 
 for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the 
 greatest of them, saith the Lord ; for I will forgive their 
 iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." d All 
 these promises were ratified upon Christ's blood or sacri- 
 
 ■ Rev. v. 9. b Heb. ix. 22. c Exod. xxiv. 8; Heb. ix. 20. 
 d Jer xxxi. 32—35 : Heb. viii. 10—12. 
 
220 Christ's commission 
 
 fice ; but the apostle takes particular notice of the last, 
 viz. the remission of sins ; shews that it took place when 
 Christ had by one offering- perfected for ever them that 
 are sanctified ; and observes, that where remission of these 
 is there is no more offering for sin. e Now the cup repre- 
 sents Christ's blood as the blood of this new covenant shed 
 for the remission of sins, and on account of which God 
 remembers them no more. And as it was through the blood 
 of this everlasting covenant that Jesus Christ himself was 
 brought again from the dead to inherit eternal life/ so he 
 gives his disciples this cup as a pledge of their participa- 
 tion of that eternal life that is in him. g 
 
 (4.) The end or design of this institution is, in general, 
 — 1. To keep up the remembrance of Christ. So he en- 
 joins them in eating the bread, " This do in remem- 
 brance of me ;" and in drinking the cup, " This do ye, as 
 oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." This implies 
 that we are apt to forget him, which, however strange it 
 may seem, is notwithstanding a truth. He knew this, and 
 graciously instituted this ordinance to keep him in our 
 most grateful and affectionate remembrance. — In this 
 ordinance we must remember ivho Tie is, viz. the Word 
 made flesh, God manifest in the flesh. It is the divine 
 dignity of his person that gives value and efficacy to all 
 that he hath done for the salvation of men ; and if we re- 
 member not this, we do not remember him. — We must re- 
 member what he hath done for the redemption of sinners, 
 particularly his amazing love in laying down his life for 
 them. In the bread and cup we are to discern his body 
 broken, and his blood shed, with the great ends of both ; 
 and in eating this bread and drinking this cup we " shew 
 the Lord's death," i. e. exhibit, declare, and profess it as 
 the foundation of all our hope towards God, making our 
 boast of a crucified Saviour whom the world despise. — We 
 must thus remember and " shew forth the Lord's death 
 till he come." This implies, that as to his bodily presence 
 
 e Heb. x. 14—19. f Heb. xiii. 20. s John vi, 54, 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 221 
 
 he is now absent from us, having gone to the Father ; 
 that he will come again to receive his people to himself, 
 that where he is there they may be also ; that this ordi- 
 nance must be observed during his absence, not only in 
 commemoration of his death, but in the prospect and joy- 
 ful hope of his coming ; and that when he comes there will 
 be no farther occasion for this memorial of him. — 2. It is 
 intended as a means to assure his disciples of their interest 
 in his death, and of his appearing the second time without 
 a sin-offering unto their salvation. Our Lord did not 
 merely present the bread and cup, assuring them that 
 these were sufficient to feed them ; but he actually gate 
 them to his disciples, bidding them eat the one and drink 
 the other. Nothing can be more closely applied to our 
 bodies, or more appropriated to our own particular use 
 than what we eat and drink ; and therefore our spiritually 
 eating Christ's flesh and drinking his blood in this ordi- 
 nance is more than a general persuasion that Christ's 
 death is sufficient to save whom he will ; it can be 
 no less than a belief of our own particular interest in his 
 death, and a joying in God through him, by whom we have 
 now received the atonement. But we are not left to argue 
 this from analogy; for Christ expressly tells his disciples 
 when he gives them the bread to eat and the cup to drink, 
 " This is my body broken for YOU — This is the "new 
 covenant in my blood which is shed for YOU." These 
 words are addressed to the believing partakers; and if their 
 faith answers to that which is spoken, they must know 
 that his body was broken and his blood shed, not only for 
 the elect in general, but for themselves in particular. 
 When they perceive and believe the sufficiency of Christ's 
 death to reconcile them to God, it frees them from every 
 perplexing question as to the ground of hope, and excites 
 their supreme desire to be found in Christ, having the 
 righteousness which is of God by faith ; but this hunger 
 and thirst after righteousness is never fully satisfied till 
 they believe Christ's words, that his body was broken, and 
 
 u 2 
 
222 Christ's commission 
 
 his blood shed for them. In the belief of this the meek 
 eat and are satisfied ; they feast with God on the sacrifice 
 of his beloved Son as sacrificed for them, and have fellow- 
 ship with Christ by the Spirit in the enjoyment of the 
 Father's love, drinking the fruit of the vine new with him 
 in his Father's kingdom. h This excites their love to God 
 and to one another ; and makes them look forward with 
 joyful hope and earnest desire for the second coming of 
 Christ, knowing that he will appear for their salvation. 
 And thus they shew the Lord's death till he come. 
 
 In order to partake of this ordinance aright, and enjoy 
 the comfort intended by it, the Apostle directs the Co- 
 rinthians to self-examination : " But let a man examine 
 himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that 
 cup." 1 He must examine himself whether he be in the 
 faiihf without which he has no right to that ordinance, 
 cannot discern the Lord's body, or feast upon his sacrifice. 1 
 — He must examine himself as to his love to the breth- 
 ren. If a church come together in divisions or schisms, 
 " This is not to eat the Lord's supper/'™ They cannot 
 really feast upon Christ as their passover sacrificed for 
 them, unless they " purge out the old leaven," and " keep 
 the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of 
 malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of 
 sincerity and truth." 11 And this is true of every individual 
 as well as of the church in general. — He must examine 
 himself as to the fruits of love, how he bears his brethren's 
 burdens, and so fulfils the law of Christ, which is the law 
 of brotherly love ; concerning which the Apostle exhorts, 
 " Let every man prove his own works, and then shall he 
 have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another." But 
 this duty of self-examination as to brotherly love cannot 
 take place but among those who appear to one another to 
 be of the truth. If there be any among them who have 
 
 h Mat. xxvi. 29. ! 1 Cor. xi. 28. k 2 Cor. xiii. 5. 
 1 Cor. xi. 29 ; John vi. 35, 36. m 1 Cor. xi. 18, 20. 
 
 - 1 Cor. v. 7, 8. • Gal. vi. 2—5. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 223 
 
 not this appearance, they cannot love them for the truth's 
 sake, consequently cannot examine themselves as to their 
 love to such, and so eat of that bread and drink of that 
 cup with them which is the symbol of love and union. 
 The only remedy in this case is, what the Apostle pre- 
 scribes to the church in that of the incestuous person, 
 viz. to purge out the old leaven by discipline, that they 
 may be a new lump, and so keep the feast with the un- 
 leavened bread of sincerity and truth ; p which they cannot 
 do while they either eat in divisions among themselves, or 
 in connection with impenitent offenders and visible un- 
 believers. 
 
 When the Apostle says, " as often as ye eat this bread 
 and drink this cup," &c. he intimates, that this ordinance 
 must be often celebrated ; and the expressions, " when ye 
 come together in the church," and " when ye come together 
 into one place — to eat the Lord's Supper/' q plainly import, 
 that one main end of their coming together was to observe 
 this ordinance. And if it be asked how often they as- 
 sembled for that purpose ; the example of the church at 
 Troas will solve this question : " Upon the first day OF 
 the week, when the disciples came together to break 
 bread." 1 " If this passage proves that the first churches 
 statedly assembled for worship every first day of the week, 
 as is generally admitted, it proves still clearer that it was 
 for the purpose of breaking bread. Accordingly, we find 
 that the church at Jerusalem continued as stedfastly in 
 the breaking of bread as in the other social ordinances of 
 divine worship. 3 And if we only consider the nature and 
 ends of this comfortable institution, it cannot well be con- 
 ceived how any real Christian should object to its fre- 
 quency, or think it either burdensome or improper to ob- 
 serve it every Lord's day. 
 
 The Lord's Supper does not, like baptism, belong to 
 single individuals by themselves ; for it is an ordinance of 
 
 p 1 Cor. v. 5—9. i I Cor. xi. 18, 20, 33. r Acts xx. 7. 
 • Acts ii. 42. 
 
224 Christ's commission 
 
 risible communion. Nor does it belong to a number of 
 disciples occasionally meeting, and not properly united or 
 set in order ; nor to parts of a church meeting in different 
 places ; but only to a church regularly constituted as a 
 risible body, with its proper pastors, and coming statedly 
 together into one place to eat it. The bread and cup are 
 the communion, or joint participation, of the body and 
 blood of Christ ; and as the bread is one, so the many who 
 all partake of that one bread must be one visible body.* 
 And this body is described as organized like the complete 
 body of a man, and furnished with all the necessary parts 
 for performing the various offices. 11 
 
 4. They continued stedfastly in the prayers. Prayer is 
 an address presented unto God in the name of Christ, the 
 great High-priest and Advocate, through whose mediation 
 alone there is access unto the throne of grace with accept- 
 ance. It consists of adoration and praise of his matchless 
 excellencies, confession of our guilt and unworthiness be- 
 fore him, petitions for every needful blessing agreeable to 
 his will, and thanksgiving for all his benefits. This is the 
 duty of Christians every where and in every situation,* 
 who are enjoined to continue instant in prayer and to 
 watch thereunto with all perseverance ; y and to this per- 
 severing importunity our Lord gives the highest encourage- 
 ment. 2 As there can be no vital Christianity without the 
 Spirit of grace and supplication ; so the liveliness or languor 
 of a man's soul in the spiritual life may be measured by 
 the degree of his delight in, or aversion from this duty. 
 Prayer is not only a secret and private duty, but a most 
 important branch of public worship, as appears from the 
 passage under consideration. And as prayers are men- 
 tioned in the plural, there must have been a number of 
 them put up at every meeting of the church ; and it is 
 probable they were distributed or interspersed among the 
 other parts of divine service. The pastors are distin- 
 
 * 1 Cor. x. 1G, 17. » Chap. xii. * 1 Tim. 2, 8; Philip, iv. 6. 
 i Rom. xii. 12 ; Eph. vi. 18. ■ Luke xi. 1—14, and xviii. 1—9. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 225 
 
 guislied from the deacons by their giving themselves to 
 prayer as well as to the ministry of the word ; a and no 
 doubt there were particular public prayers peculiar to 
 them, such as the eucharistical prayers, at the Lord's sup- 
 per, the binding and loosing prayers in discipline, &c. 
 But it does not appear that all the prayers in the public 
 assembly were put up by the pastors only. The hundred 
 and twenty disciples continued with one accord in prayer 
 and supplication when met together ; b the three thousand 
 who were added to them also continued stedfastly in the 
 same divine exercise ; c and the apostles often gave direc- 
 tions to the members of the churches, as well with respect 
 to their public and social as private prayers. d We cannot 
 suppose that nothing more is meant by all this, than their 
 saying Amen to the prayers of their teachers, 6 or their re- 
 peating prayers after them.* It plainly intimates, that 
 the prayers of the brethren had a place in the public wor- 
 ship of the church. The particular manner of conducting 
 this part of divine service is indeed not recorded in scrip- 
 ture ; but as they could not all pray audibly at once with- 
 out confusion, unless they had common forms of prayer, 
 which the scriptures do not countenance jf so it seems 
 most agreeable to the general rule of decency and order 
 
 * The practice of repeating prayers after the presbyter, did not 
 take place in the apostolic age, though it seems to have been intro- 
 duced very early. See Justin Martyr, apolog. 2. p. 98. Yet in Cy- 
 prian's time the brethren prayed audibly in the church ; for he 
 admonishes them as follows : " When therefore we come together 
 with our brethren into the assembly, to celebrate the divine sacrifices 
 with the minister of God, we ought to be mindful of order and a reve- 
 rend regard ; and not to throw about our prayers with a wild and con- 
 fused voice, or with a disorderly prating, to cast forth these petitions 
 which ought with the greatest modesty to be put up to God." Cy- 
 prian de Orat. Bom. p. 188. 
 
 f It cannot be shown that the churches used any set forms of 
 prayer during the first three centuries, except the Lord's prayer. 
 See King's Enquiry into the constitution, discipline, unity, and worship 
 of the primitive church, p. 33 — 43. 
 
 • Acts vi. 4. b Chap. i. 14. ° Chap. ii. 42. 
 
 d Rom. xii. 12; 1 Cor. xi. 4, and xiv. 14; Eph. vi. 18; 1 Tim. ii. 1, 
 
 2, 3, 8; James v. 1G ; Jude ver. 20. 
 
 e 1 Cor. xiv. 16. 
 
226 Christ's commission 
 
 to suppose, that the president called forth such a number 
 of the brethren to pray in succession as the time allotted 
 for that branch of worship would permit. 
 
 5. Lastly, Singing praise to God in psalms, hymns, and 
 spiritual songs, is another branch of public worship. When 
 our Lord instituted the Supper as the standing memorial 
 of his sacrifice, he sung an hymn with his disciples on that 
 occasion/ Paul gives directions to the church at Corinth 
 as well with regard to their social singing as other parts 
 of divine service ; g and in his epistles to the Ephesians and 
 Colossians, he expressly inculcates this duty : " Let the 
 word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom ; teaching 
 and admonishing one another, in psalms and hymns, and 
 spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the 
 LordV — " Be ye filled with the Spirit ; speaking to your- 
 selves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing 
 and making melody in your heart to the Lord ; giving 
 thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in 
 the name of our Lord Jesus Christ/' 1 We cannot sing 
 with grace in our hearts unless " the word of Christ dwell 
 in us richly,'' and we be " filled with the Spirit." Those 
 who through the Spirit believe the gospel of the grace of 
 God, are furnished with the most solid grounds of thank- 
 fulness, gratitude, and joy ; and singing is not only the 
 natural expression of these happy and devout affections, 
 but also the appointed means of exciting and strengthen- 
 ing them. This delightful duty is to be performed " unto 
 God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," 
 who hath approached unto God in the name of all his 
 brethren with acceptance, and officiates as the minister of 
 the heavenly sanctuary ; where he leads the worship of the 
 whole general assembly and church of the first-born, de- 
 claring his Father's name unto his brethren, and in the 
 midst of the church singing praise unto him. k It is only 
 through his merits and mediation that our prayers and 
 
 f Mat. xxvi. 30; Mark xiv. 26. s 1 Cor. xiv 15, 26. 
 h Col. iii. 16. ! Eph. v. 18—20. k Heb. ii. 12. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 227 
 
 praises come up before God with acceptance ; and it is " by 
 him" we are to " offer the sacrifice of praise to God con- 
 tinually, that is, the fruit of our lips, (homologountcs) con- 
 fessing- to his name." 1 The whole redeemed company are 
 also represented as celebrating in songs of praise the 
 worthiness of the Lamb that was slain, and has redeemed 
 them unto God by his blood, out of every kindred, and 
 tongue, and people, and nation ; m and it well becomes the 
 churches of the saints upon earth, who represent this 
 grand worshipping assembly, to join in the song, saying, 
 " Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in 
 his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto 
 God and his Father ; to him be glory and dominion for 
 ever and ever. Amen." n 
 
 Thus I have endeavoured to point out some of the prin- 
 cipal things which the apostles, according to their com- 
 mission, taught the disciples to observe ; and " blessed are 
 they that do his commandments, that they may have right 
 to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates 
 into the city." 
 
 1 Heb. xiii. 15. m Rev. v. 9, 14. » Chap. i. 5, 6. • Chap. xxii. 14. 
 
228 Christ's commission 
 
 THE PROMISE. 
 
 — " And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." 
 
 1. This encouraging 1 promise was no doubt made in the 
 first place to his apostles, and has a particular respect to 
 the commission he had just given them, which was the 
 most important and arduous work that ever was assigned 
 to any of the human race. When the Lord commissioned 
 Moses to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt, he en- 
 couraged him by this promise, " Certainly I will be 
 be with thee." p The same promise he repeatedly made 
 to Joshua, when he commissioned him to subdue the 
 Canaanites, and lead Israel into the promised pos- 
 session ; "As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee : 
 I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee — Have not I com- 
 manded thee ? Be strong, and of a good courage, neither 
 be thou dismayed ; for the Lord thy God is with thee 
 whithersoever thou goest." q This promise imports that his 
 special presence would attend them ; and that he would 
 give them effectual direction, protection, assistance, and 
 success in the discharge of their mission. 
 
 The redemption of Israel from Egyptian bondage, and 
 putting them in possession of the promised inheritance, 
 was a great and important work ; nothing but the out- 
 stretched arm of Jehovah could accomplish it, and accord- 
 ingly it is every where ascribed to him ; r but the redemp- 
 tion by Jesus Christ is infinitely more important and 
 glorious. The commission given to Moses and his suc- 
 cessor respected only one particular nation ; but that given 
 to the apostles respected all nations. The former had for 
 its object an earthly temporal deliverance : the latter a 
 spiritual and eternal : they being sent to " open the eyes" 
 
 p Exod. iii. 12. i Josh. i. 5, 9. 
 r Exod. xx. 2 ; Deut. vii. 19 ; Psal. xliv. 3. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 229 
 
 of men in every nation, " to turn them from darkness to 
 light, and from the power of Satan unto God ; that they 
 might receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among 
 them who are sanctified by faith that is in Christ." 8 This 
 was a work infinitely transcending all created power : but 
 the promise of Jesus, " Lo, I am with you alway," &c. was 
 sufficient to answer every objection arising from the con- 
 sciousness of their own inability; for they could do all 
 things through the strength of him who has all power in 
 heaven and in earth. 
 
 His bodily presence indeed was not to continue with 
 them ; for he was then just about to enter into his glory, 
 and the heavens must receive him until the times of resti- 
 tution of all things.* He had told them before that he 
 would soon leave them and go to the Father, 11 where he 
 would still be mindful of their interest, as he was going to 
 prepare a place for them in his Father's house ; and that 
 he would after a certain period return in person and re- 
 ceive them to himself, when he and they should never 
 more part.* In the mean time, he assures them, that he 
 would not leave them* (orphanous) orphans, but would send 
 them another Comforter, even the Spirit of truth, who 
 should abide with them for ever ; y and this is what he 
 principally intends in the promise annexed to the commis- 
 sion. This promise was most remarkably accomplished to 
 the apostles and first preachers of the word ; for, 
 
 (1.) By his Spirit he enlightened their minds in the 
 subject-matter of their mission, and fully instructed them 
 in the mysteries of the kingdom. While he was with them 
 in the world, he was continually teaching them ; but they 
 were slow of heart to receive his instructions. They 
 neither properly understood the ends of his death and re- 
 surrection, nor the nature of his kingdom. 2 Just before 
 he suffered, he tells them, " I have yet many things to say 
 
 » Acts xxvi. 17, 18. ' Chap. iii. 21. 
 
 "John xiv. 28, and xvi. 5. G, 16, 18. 
 
 1 John xiv. 1—4. > Ver. 1G— 19. 
 
 •Mat, xvi. 12 ; Mark is. 10 ; Acts i. G. 
 
 X 
 
230 Christ's commission 
 
 unto you, but ye cannot bear them now ;" and then refers 
 them to the time when they should be fully taught by the 
 Spirit : " Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, 
 he will guide you into all truth ; for he shall not speak of 
 himself,* but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak ; 
 and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify 
 me ; for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto 
 you\" — " He shall teach you all things, and bring all things 
 to your remembrance whatsoever 1 have said unto you." b 
 Accordingly when the Holy Spirit was poured down upon 
 them from their glorified Master, their remaining igno- 
 rance and prejudices were dispelled, and the light of the 
 glorious gospel broke in upon their minds like a flood of 
 day. The things which eye had not seen, nor ear heard, 
 nor had entered into the heart of man, were now revealed 
 unto them by the Spirit, which searcheth all things, yea, 
 the deep things of God ; so that they had the mind of 
 Christ, d and were fully qualified to declare unto the world 
 the whole counsel of God. e This change was so exceed- 
 ingly remarkable and striking, that it astonished all who 
 heard them/ Their doctrine was so unlike anything that 
 had ever entered into the human mind ; — so opposite not 
 only to all the lusts, wickedness, and impiety of the profane 
 world, but even to what was most highly esteemed among 
 men ; — so worthy of God, manifestative of his true cha- 
 racter, and conducive to his honour ; — so well adapted to 
 the ruinous state of man, and suited to give relief to his 
 mind in the fullest view of his own guilt and wretchedness ; 
 as clearly evidenced it to be a revelation from heaven, and 
 equally surpassing the wisdom of the most learned to con- 
 trive it, as it was to that of the poor illiterate mechanics 
 who published it. 
 
 * This does not mean that the Spirit should not speak any thing of 
 his own work, as some explain it ; but only that he should not speak 
 uncommissioned ; even as Christ says, " I have not spoken of my- 
 self," John xii. 49. — " The words that I speak unto you, I speak not 
 of myself," chap. xiv. 10. 
 
 » John xvi. 12—14. b Chap. xiv. 26. c 2 Cor. iv. 6. 
 
 d 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10, 16. e Acts xx. 27. f Chap ii. 5—18. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 231 
 
 (2.) He was with them in giving testimony to the word 
 of his grace, and granting signs and wonders to be done 
 by their hands for the confirmation of their doctrine to 
 the worlds This he had formerly promised : " He that 
 believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and 
 greater works than these ; because I go to the Father," 
 viz. to send the Spirit for that purpose. " And what- 
 soever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the 
 Father may be glorified in the Son." h The apostles accord- 
 ingly performed the most astonishing miracles in proof 
 of their testimony, the least of which was as much above 
 their own ability as the creation of the world. And in- 
 deed they disclaimed all their own power and holiness in 
 performing these works, and ascribed them solely to the 
 name of the risen Jesus, and the power of the Spirit of God 
 which he had given them.' 
 
 (3.) He was with them in strengthening, supporting, 
 and encouraging them to speak the word with all boldness 
 and freedom in the face of every danger. He had fre- 
 quently forewarned them of the opposition and persecution 
 which they should meet with from the world on his 
 account. k " They shall lay their hands on you (says he), 
 and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, 
 and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers 
 for my name's sake — and some of you shall they cause to 
 be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my 
 name's sake." 1 The disciples were no way remarkable for 
 natural firmness or courage. When their Master was ap- 
 prehended, they all forsook him, and fled like timorous 
 sheep, and were scattered every man to his own ; m even 
 Peter, the most forward and intrepid of them, through fear 
 denied him with imprecations and oaths." It is evident, 
 therefore, that their natural fortitude was not equal to the 
 dangers and sufferings to which their commission exposed 
 
 g Acts xiv. 8. h John xiv. 12, 13 ; Mark xvi. 17, 18. 
 
 ; Acts iii. 12—17, and ix. 34 ; Rom. xv. 18, 19 ; Heb. ii. 4. 
 
 k John xv. 18—22, and xvi. 2, 3. > Luke xxi. 12, 1G, 17. 
 
 m Mat. xxvi. 56 ; John xvi. 32. » Mat. xxvi. 74. 
 
232 Christ's commission 
 
 them. But no sooner were they endued with power from 
 on high, than they became bold as lions. When they were 
 brought before kings and rulers, the Lord stood with 
 them and strengthened them ;° and, as he had promised, 
 gave them a mouth and wisdom, which all their adversa- 
 ries were not able to gainsay or resist : p it was given them 
 in that same hour what they should speak ; for it was not 
 they who spake, but the Spirit of their Father that spake 
 in them. q And as they were furnished with matter, so 
 they declared it with boldness and freedom in the face of 
 their greatest enemies. Neither threats, nor stripes, nor 
 imprisonment, nor even the prospect of death itself, couldin- 
 timidate them, nor cause them to desist ; r for they were now 
 superior to the fear of them who can only kill the body. 
 " None of these things (says Paul) move me, neither count 
 I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my 
 course with joy, and the ministry which I have received 
 of the Lord, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." s 
 They not only bore their sufferings with patience and 
 fortitude, but even with joy and triumph, " rejoicing 
 that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his 
 name,"' and the more they suffered for Christ, the more 
 abundantly did they receive of the consolations of his 
 Spirit : " For (says the Apostle) as the sufferings of 
 Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by 
 Christ."" 
 
 (4.) He was with them in giving success and effect to 
 their ministry. It has already been shewn,* that, during 
 the days of the apostles, the gospel was published through- 
 out the greater part of the known world, and, what is more 
 remarkable, was crowned with amazing success. This 
 success was not owing to the natural abilities or human 
 advantages of its publishers. They were not the wise 
 men, scribes, and disputers of this world, nor the mighty 
 
 * See page 19, of this book. 
 
 ° 2 Tim. iv. 17. p Luke xxi. 15. » Mat. x. 19, 20. 
 r Acts iv. and v. » Chap. xx. 24. * Acts v. 41. u 2 Cor. i. 5, 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 233 
 
 and noble, whose eloquence, power, or dignity might be 
 supposed to have influence. On the contrary, they were, 
 in a worldly view, the foolish, weak, base, and despised,* 
 and were held and treated as the filth of the world, the 
 off-scouring of all things/ Nor was it owing to the 
 agreement of their doctrine with the sentiments, disposi- 
 tions, or practices of mankind ; for they neither humoured 
 their prejudices, flattered their pride, nor hung out the 
 worldly baits of riches, pleasures, or honours to allure 
 them. The doctrine of Christ crucified cut off the earthly 
 expectations of the Jews, and set at nought all their 
 boasted distinction in point of righteousness ; while it con- 
 demned the idolatry and vain philosophy of the Gentiles, 
 and was in all respects opposite to the course of this evil 
 world, whether religious or profane ; so that it was " unto 
 the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks fool- 
 ishness." 2 The consequence was such as might be 
 expected ; it was every where spoken against . a The 
 apostles, in publishing it, had to encounter all the moral 
 depravity of the human heart, its gross ignorance, invete- 
 rate prejudices, corrupt reasonings, malignant passions, 
 and worldly lusts ; they had to sustain the outward oppo- 
 sition arising from the influence of priests and false teach- 
 ers, the wisdom of philosophers, the power of princes, and 
 the intrigues of states ; and all these instigated and set on 
 by the god of this world ; b for they w T restled not merely 
 " against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against 
 powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, 
 against spiritual wickedness in high places." Now, can 
 it be rationally supposed, that a few weak illiterate, mean 
 men, and by means of a doctrine so obnoxious, should, 
 without any supernatural assistance, be able to baffle 
 every opposition, and be a match for the whole world with 
 Satan at its head ? Surely no. Their success must be 
 resolved entirely into the power of Christ, who had pro- 
 
 * 1 Cor. i. 26—28. 
 
 y Chap. iv. 13. 
 
 * 1 Cor. i. 23. 
 
 8 Acts xxviii. 22. 
 
 b 2Cor. iv. 4. 
 
 e Eph. vi. 12. 
 
 x 2 
 
234 Christ's commission 
 
 mised to be with them. And to this the apostles them- 
 selves always ascribed it, w r hilst they gloried in their own 
 weakness, that the power of Christ might rest upon them, 
 and be the more conspicuously magnified in them. d " We 
 have this treasure, (says Paul) in earthen vessels ;" and 
 the reason he gives is, " that the excellency of the power 
 may be of God, and not of us." 9 The like reason he gives 
 for their manner of preaching it : " My speech and my 
 preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom — 
 that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but 
 in the power of God. ?;f He shews that it was only through 
 divine power they overcame all the opposition of the 
 hearts of men : " For the weapons of our warfare are not 
 carnal, but mighty THROUGH God to the pulling down of 
 strong holds ; casting down imaginations (or reasonings), 
 and every high thing that exalteth itself against the 
 knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every 
 thought to the obedience of Christ." 3 This we have seen 
 how Christ was with his apostles. But, 
 
 2. This promise must not be restricted to the apostles, 
 or to men so qualified, as I have already shewn ;* for he 
 says, " Lo, I am with you alway/' or (pasas tas emeras) 
 all the days, " even unto the end op the world." 
 The apostles were not to continue their personal ministry 
 all the days from Christ's ascension to his second coming 
 at the end of the world : nor was the work of making 
 disciples, baptizing, and teaching to cease at their death. 
 Christ hath instituted the standing ministry of pastors 
 and teachers in his church unto the end of time, and they 
 are supposed to be acting as stewards over his house when 
 he comes. h This promise therefore extends to all succeed- 
 ing ordinary teachers whom he calls to that work, and 
 who in their sphere shall faithfully execute this commission, 
 
 * See page 10. 
 
 J 2 Cor. xii. 9, 10. e 2 Cor. iv. 7. ' 1 Cor. ii. 1— G. 
 s 2 Cor. x. 1, 5. h Luke xii. 11—45. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 235 
 
 according to the doctrine and example of the apostles, even 
 unto the end of the world. And it imports, that he will 
 be with them to qualify them for that important office, and 
 to protect, counsel, assist, and give success to them in 
 the discharge of it ; and so he is represented as holding 
 the stars, or angels of the churches, in his right hand. 1 
 This promise is well calculated to support the minds of 
 Christ's ministers under every discouragement which may 
 arise from the weight and importance of their charge, the 
 sense of their own weakness and insufficiency, and the op- 
 position which they must necessarily encounter in the faith- 
 ful discharge of their office, not only from the world, but 
 also from the remainder of corruption in their own breth- 
 ren. For if Christ be with them, no work he calls them 
 to perform can be too hard for them ; no opposition can 
 be successful against them. The belief of this must lift 
 them above themselves, and lead them to act in his strength, 
 and to depend upon him alone for success. But it ought 
 to be carefully noticed, that as this promise is annexed to 
 the commission, and made to the apostles in the first in- 
 stance, so no succeeding teachers have any ground to ex- 
 pect that Christ will be with them, but in so far as they 
 preach the ancient gospel, and teach the disciples to observe 
 all things whatsoever he hath commanded, according to 
 the doctrine and example of the apostles, as recorded in 
 the writings of the New Testament. 
 
 3. Lastly, This promise is made not only to his faithful 
 ministers, but also to the whole body of his redeemed 
 church in this world. The end of the commission, as well 
 as of all the gifts necessary for executing it, was to gather 
 and edify his church. His giving " some, apostles ; and 
 some, prophets : and some, evangelists ; and some, pastors 
 and teachers ;" was, " for the perfecting of the saints, for 
 the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of 
 Christ/' 1 ' He commanded his apostles, as they loved him, 
 
 ; Rev. i. 1G, 20. k Eph. iv. 8, 11, 12. 
 
236 Christ's commission 
 
 to feed his sheep and lambs j 1 and elders are enjoined " to 
 feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his 
 own blood." m All gifts and ministries were conferred 
 upon his church ; " for all things are yours (says the 
 Apostle), whether Paul or Apollos, or Cephas — all are 
 yours ; and ye are Christ's ; and Christ is God's." 11 As 
 therefore it was entirely for the benefit of his church 
 that he appointed teachers, conferred gifts upon them, 
 and assigned them their work, so his promise of being with 
 these teachers is in effect a promise of being with his 
 church. 
 
 Many are the promises in the word of God to this ef- 
 fect. Speaking of his church under the notion of a vine- 
 yard, he says, " I the Lord do keep it, I will water it 
 every moment ; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and 
 day."° All the labourers he hath put into his vineyard 
 would have no effect without this ; for " neither is he that 
 planteth any thing, neither he that watereth ; but God 
 that giveth the increase 5 ." — His church is his building or 
 temple, with respect to which he hath promised, " Upon 
 this rock (viz. which Peter confessed) I will build my 
 church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it;" 
 for it is " built upon the foundation of the apostles and 
 prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner 
 stone ; in whom all the building, fitly framed together, 
 groweth into an holy temple in the Lord." q In this temple 
 he takes up his residence ; for he hath said, " I will dwell in 
 them, and walk in them ; and I will be their God, and they 
 shall be my people ;'' r and so he is represented as walking 
 in the midst of the golden candlesticks, and holding the 
 stars in his right hand. 8 He is among them to guide, 
 refresh, and protect them ; for the Lord hath promised 
 to " create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and 
 upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the 
 
 1 John xxi. 15 — 18. m Acts xx. 28. n 1 Cor. iii. 21 — 23. 
 
 Isa. xxvii. 3. p 1 Cor. iii. 7. i Mat. xvi. 18; Eph. ii. 20, 21. 
 
 * 1 Cor. vi. 16. • Rev. ii. 1. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 237 
 
 shining of a flaming fire by night ; for upon all the glory 
 shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a 
 shadow in the day-time from the heat, and for a place of 
 refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain 1 ." — 
 When his church is compared to a flock of sheep, the pro- 
 mise is, " He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; he shall 
 gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his 
 bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." u 
 Agreeably to this he says, " I am the door ; by me if any 
 man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, 
 and find pasture. — I am the good shepherd : the good 
 shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. — My sheep hear 
 my voice, and I know them, and they follow me ; and I 
 give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, 
 neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father 
 who gave them me is greater than all ; and none is able 
 to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father 
 are oneV — His church is his kingdom ; and it is promised 
 that he whose name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, 
 The Mighty God, The everlasting Father (or Father of 
 the age to come), The Prince of Peace," shall have the 
 government of it upon his shoulder ; and that " of the in- 
 crease of his government and peace there shall be no end, 
 upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order 
 it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from 
 henceforth even for ever." y This promise is repeated by 
 the angel Gabriel to the Virgin, and applied to Jesus her 
 son ; " Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring 
 forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be 
 great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest ; and the 
 Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father 
 David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for 
 ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.'' 2 
 
 * Isa. iv. 5, 6, and xxxii. 2. » Isa. xl. 11. » John x. 9, 11, 27—30. 
 y Isa. ix. 0, 7. * Luke i. 31 — 33. 
 
238 Christ's commission 
 
 CHRIST S PROMISE IMPORTS THE FULFILMENT OF ALL THE 
 PROPHECIES AND PROMISES RELATING TO HIS KINGDOM, 
 EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD. 
 
 Christ's promise of being with his church was not ex- 
 hausted in the first ages of Christianity, but extends 
 through all succeeding ages, even unto the end of the 
 world. To this it will perhaps be objected, that there 
 is scarcely any appearance of the fulfilment of this promise 
 in the succeeding history of what is called the church, it 
 being mostly taken up with an account of the growth and 
 prevalence of a system of universal corruption, replete 
 with deceit, superstition, idolatry, and tyranny, and in all 
 respects the reverse of the holy, merciful, and heavenly re- 
 ligion of Christ which is taught in the New Testament. 
 
 In answer to this, let it be observed, that whatever were 
 the wise and holy ends of divine Providence in permitting 
 such evils to spring up under a profession of Christianity, 
 yet the worst of them which history can relate was clearly 
 foretold in the word of God. They were all foreseen by 
 Christ when he gave this promise, and he has actually re- 
 vealed them in opening the sealed book ; so that the his- 
 tory of these corruptions is just an account of the fulfil- 
 ment of prophecy, which, instead of staggering, ought to 
 confirm our faith. It should farther be observed, that 
 amid all these sad and disordered scenes held forth in pro- 
 phecy, and now realized in history, so far as it goes, 
 Christ is always represented as with his church, (i. e. those 
 who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of 
 Jesus) preserving them from the universal corruption, and 
 supporting them under all their conflicts and sufferings ; 
 and, which fully obviates the objection, the united voice 
 of prophecy assures us, that his kingdom shall at last univer- 
 sally prevail and triumph over all opposition. But these 
 things require a more particular consideration. 
 
 In the book of Daniel there are two prophetic repre- 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 239 
 
 sentations of four successive monarchies or universal king- 
 doms, viz. the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Grecian, 
 and the Roman. a During the last of these monarchies 
 the kingdom of the Messiah was to be set up :* " And in 
 the days of these kings (or kingdoms) shall the God of 
 heaven set up a kingdom which never shall be destroyed ; 
 and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it 
 shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and 
 it shall stand for ever." b 
 
 This kingdom of God in its beginning was to be small 
 and despised. It is represented as a stone cut out of the 
 mountain without hands. Christ himself compares it to 
 a grain of mustard seed, and to a little leaven/ and says, 
 " The kingdom of God cometh not with observation," 6 i. e. 
 with worldly pomp or outward show. And though it was 
 gradually to increase, and at last to prevail and fill the 
 whole earth ; f yet its sufferings and conflicts were to con- 
 tinue for a long period of time. Throughout the greater 
 part of the apocalyptic visions, the kingdom of Christ is 
 represented as in a state of depression and tribulation. 
 While he rules in the midst of his enemies, his king- 
 dom and patience will still be connected together : s His 
 subjects must therefore lay their account with confor- 
 mity to him in his humbled, despised, and suffering condi- 
 tion in this world, until Satan is bound, and all opposing 
 powers subdued. 11 Yet in this situation they have sufficient 
 encouragement from his promise that he will be with them 
 always to preserve and support them amidst all the as- 
 saults of Satan and his instruments ; making his grace 
 
 * This kingdom commenced when reconciliation was made for ini- 
 quity and the most holy anointed, and this was to be at the end of 
 seventy prophetic weeks, or 490 years, reckoning from the seventh 
 year of Artaxerxes Longimanus (B. C. 457.) when he gave forth the 
 commandment to Ezra for restoring the church and state of the 
 Jews, Dan. ix. 24 — 2G; Ezra vii. 
 
 a Dan. ii. vii. b Chap. ii. 44. • Chap. ii. 45. 
 
 * Mat. xiii. 31—33. c Luke xvii. 20. f Dan. ii. 34, 35. 
 
 b Rev. i. 9. b Chap. xix. 19—21 ; chap. xx. 2, 3. 
 
240 Christ's commission 
 
 sufficient for them, and his strength perfect in weakness.' 
 They may indeed be " troubled on every side, but not dis- 
 tressed (i. e. straitened or shut up without resource) ; per- 
 plexed, but not in despair ; persecuted, but not forsaken ; 
 cast down, but not destroyed" 1 " — " because greater is he 
 that is in them than he that is in the world." 1 
 
 Satan's first attack upon the kingdom of Christ was by 
 means of the Jewish church, and its rulers, who both killed 
 the Lord Jesus himself, and persecuted his followers. 111 
 Their design was to have stifled the cause in its very 
 birth ; but he that sitteth in the heavens laughed at their 
 vain attempts, and so overruled their rage as to make it 
 subservient to the redemption of mankind, 11 and the spread 
 of the gospel ;° and in less than forty years after, he exe- 
 cuted the most signal vengeance upon that people by 
 means of the Roman armies, who destroyed those mur- 
 derers, and burned up their city, as he had clearly fore- 
 told, 1 " and as their own historian minutely relates.* 
 This was the entire abolition of the Jewish church and 
 state ; the most awful revolution in all the religious dis- 
 pensations of God, and which in various ways contributed 
 much to the success of the gospel. Their posterity have 
 ever since been dispersed among the nations, and continue 
 unto this day distinct from all other people as a standing 
 monument of the divine displeasure, as well as of the truth 
 of the Christian faith. 
 
 The next power which opposed the kingdom of Christ 
 was the pagan Roman empire, which is represented as a 
 great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and 
 seven crowns upon his heads,* and is called the devil and 
 
 * This monstrous dragon is a fit emblem of the Roman empire. 
 Its red colour fitly represents the imperial purple and the bloody 
 cruelty of those who wore it. Its seven heads are explained to be the 
 seven mountains upon which Rome the imperial city stood, Rev. xvii. 
 9, and also seven kings, ver. 10, or seven kinds of supreme magis- 
 
 i 2 Cor. xii. 9. k 2 Cor. iv. 8, 9. 1 John iv. 4. 
 
 m Luke xxi. 12, 1G : Acts viii. 1 — 5; 1 Thess. ii. 14. 
 
 n Acts ii. 23 • Rom. iv. 23. ° Acts viii. 4, chap. xi. 19 — 22. 
 
 p Mat. xxii. 7 chap. xxiv. q Joseph de bell. Jud. lib. v. vi. vh. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 241 
 
 Satan/ because Satan acted in and by that power even as 
 he did in the serpent which beguiled Eve. This opposi- 
 tion was carried on for near three centuries in a series of 
 bloody persecutions, and the chief accusation against the 
 Christians was their non-conformity or opposition to the 
 established idolatry. Yet all that power and policy which 
 had conquered the world could not subdue the faithful and 
 patient followers of the Lamb. On the contrary, they over- 
 came their accusers, not with carnal weapons, " but by 
 the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony ; 
 and they loved not their lives unto the death." 3 This 
 conflict issued in the overthrow and punishment of the 
 heathen persecuting powers, and in the downfal of the 
 pagan religion in the empire, which is described at the 
 opening of the sixth seal in such strong figures as if it 
 were the dissolution of the wrorld, and the arrival of the 
 great day of judgment.* The same thing is represented 
 by a war in heaven between Michael and his angels, and 
 the dragon and his angels, in which the latter prevailed 
 not, but was cast down from that high station in which 
 he persecuted the church. u This was accomplished when 
 the ruling powers and their adherents, who supported 
 idolatry, were routed and overcome by Constantine, and 
 when he suppressed Paganism, and established in the em- 
 pire a form of Christianity in its stead, about the year 
 325. 
 
 trates which successively prevailed there, viz. kings, consuls, decem- 
 virs, military tribunes, dictators, emperors, &c. — Its ten horns are ten 
 kings , ver. 12, or ten independent kingdoms into which the em- 
 pire was at last broken and divided ; yet they became united in their 
 implicit subjection to the Roman hierarchy, to which they gave their 
 power and strength, ver. 12, 13. — The heads of the dragon were suc- 
 cessive, ver. 10, but its horns contemporary, ver. 12. — While the 
 empire continued united, the crowns were upon its heads, chap. xii. 3, 
 but when it was broken into ten independent kingdoms, the crowns 
 were transferred to its horns, chap. xiii. 1. Let it be observed., that 
 though in prophetic pictures the whole piece may be exhibited at 
 once, yet it frequently happens that many of the parts succeed each 
 other in a chronological series, as is the case with the image, Ban. ii. 
 
 r Rev. xii. 9. 8 Chap. xii. 10, 11. ■ Chap. vi. 12, ad ult. 
 • Chap. xii. 7 — 9. 
 
 Y 
 
242 Christ's commission 
 
 Under the reigns of Constantine and his successors, the 
 professors of Christianity enjoyed outward peace for about 
 seventy years. 3 But during- this period Satan exerted 
 himself in another and more effectual way for the ruin of 
 genuine Christianity ; for when the heathen emperors 
 were taken out of the way, when paganism was suppressed, 
 a form of Christianity established in its place, and its 
 teachers exalted to power and opulence, then the mystery 
 of iniquity which began to work in the churches, even in 
 the apostolic age/ and had been gradually increasing ever 
 since, came now to a great height. The primitive purity 
 and simplicity of the Christian faith and worship were 
 greatly corrupted by vain philosophy, heresies and super- 
 stition, and the heathen worship of demons was only ex- 
 changed for that of departed saints. 2 The constitution, 
 discipline, union, and order of the apostolic churches were 
 now entirely subverted by the union of church and state, 
 and by bringing the nations, through worldly power and 
 influence, under a corrupted form of Christianity, and sub- 
 jecting them to a covetous and ambitious clergy, who ex- 
 ercised authority over this motley mass like lords of the 
 Gentiles, and contended among themselves who should be 
 the greatest. Yet while the Christian emperors held the 
 supreme power in the empire, this growing evil did not 
 arrive at its full height. 
 
 During this state of things Christ was not unmindful of 
 his promise : The true servants of God who mourned over 
 these abominations, were distinguished by him from the 
 false professors with whom they were mixed ; and to se- 
 cure and preserve them from the strong delusions, as well 
 as awful judgments, that were coming upon the outward 
 state of Christianity and its carnal professors who received 
 not the love of the truth, a they are represented as sealed 
 with the seal of God in their foreheads, b alluding to what 
 is said in the prophecy of Ezekiel on a similar occasion. 
 
 x Rev. viii. 1. ? 2 Thess. ii. 7. 2 1 Tim. iv. 1. 
 
 • 2 Thess. ii. 9—12. b Rev. vii. 2—13. c Ezek. ix. 4—8. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 243 
 
 The true servants of God being thus secured, the power 
 which patronized and accelerated the corruption of Chris- 
 tianity soon began to be visited by dreadful calamities. 
 The barbarous nations broke in upon the empire like an 
 overflowing flood, and by successive devastations, slaughter, 
 and conquest, wasted and tore it in pieces, and at last 
 overturned its imperial form of government in the West, 
 A. D. 476.* These severe judgments are represented 
 under strong prophetic figures at the sounding of the first 
 four trumpets.* 1 
 
 It might have been expected that the barbarous heathen 
 nations which were the instruments of these awful judg- 
 ments, would have subverted the religious as well as civil 
 government of the empire : but the case was far other- 
 wise. The conquerors submitted to the religion of the 
 conquered, which by this time differed little from heathen 
 superstition and idolatry, except in names ; and however 
 much these invading powers differed among themselves in 
 other respects, yet all of them at length, partly through de- 
 lusion, and partly from political views, agreed in one mind 
 to give " their power and strength unto the beast,' ,e i. e. 
 
 * Immediately after the death of the emperor Theodosius, A. D. 
 395, the Goths under Alaric began their irruptions : they ravaged 
 Greece and Italy, took and plundered Home, and also burnt part of 
 it, A. D. 410. After this the Hunns under Attila wasted Thrace, 
 Macedon, Greece, Italy, &c. by slaughter, burning and pillage for 
 the space of fourteen years, ending about A. D. 452. Next the Van- 
 dals, under the command of Genseric, took and plundered Rome for 
 fourteen days together, A. D. 455, and reduced the state to such a 
 weak condition as to become an easy prey to the next invader. Ac- 
 cordingly, about twenty years after, Odoacer king of the Heruli came 
 to Rome with an army, deposed the emperor Momyllus (called Agus- 
 tulus) divested him of the imperial robes, and, causing himself to be 
 proclaimed kin of Italy, put an end to the very name of the western 
 empire, A. D. 476. Theodoric about seventeen years after overthrew 
 Odoacer, and established the kingdom of the Ostrogoths in Italy, 
 which continued about sixty years. Justinian extirpated the Gothic 
 kingdom, and Italy became for sometime a province of the eastern 
 empire, when Rome was reduced to a poor dukedom, and made sub- 
 ject to the Exarch of Ravenna, A. D. 566. 
 
 d Rev. viii. 7—13. e Chap. xvii. 12, 13. 
 
244 Christ's commission 
 
 unto the hierarchy of Rome headed by the Pope,* whose 
 supremacy, tyranny, idolatry, and superstition they sup- 
 ported and defended with their riches, arms, and authority. 
 By this means the Roman Pontiff gradually rose to the 
 summit of power, and the empire, now divided into ten 
 kingdoms, came in a sort to be reunited under him, as its 
 supreme head, both in matters civil and ecclesiastical. 
 
 * To what other power can we possibly apply the various prophetic 
 emblems and characters by which this dreadful monster is represented 
 and described ? Not to heathen Rome, though it might possess some 
 of the characters ; for this is a pretended religious poiver, being that 
 man of sin who " as God sitteth in the temple (or church) of God, 
 shewing himself that he is God," and who was to be revealed when 
 the imperial head of the empire should be taken out of the way, 2 
 Thess. ii. 4, 6, 7. — It is that little horn in Daniel which sprung up 
 among the ten horns or kingdoms into which the fourth or Roman 
 monarchy was at last divided, which had eyes like the eyes of a man, 
 and a mouth speaking great things, Dan. vii. 7, 8. Rev. xiii. 5. — It is 
 that great whore who rides the scarlet-coloured beast with the seven 
 fallen heads and ten horns ; or who governs and directs the Roman 
 empire in its last state when divided into ten kingdoms, Rev. xvii. 3, 
 10, 12, which give their power and strength to her, ver. 13. — It is a 
 conjunction of usurped spiritual and secular power, and so is repre- 
 sented as a beast having two horns like a lamb, pretending to have his 
 spiritual authority from Christ the Lamb of God, as his vicar upon 
 earth : but speaks as a dragon, assuming the highest tone of civil 
 authority, and acting in the spirit of a secular tyrant, as the genuine 
 successor of the heathen Caesars, Rev. xiii. 11 — Its seat of government 
 is that great city which is seated on seven mountains, and which in 
 John's time reigned over the kings of the earth, Rev. xvii. 9, 18, 
 which is well known to be the seven-hilled imperial city of Rome. It 
 must therefore be a Roman power, but not in its pagan state, nor 
 while the empire was united under the Csesarean government ; for 
 this beast which now represents the Roman empire, has its ten horns 
 crowned, Rev. xiii. 1. being divided into ten independent kingdoms, 
 yet still united as one beast though under another form. And this 
 beast is not the dragon, but his successor ; for " the dragon gave him 
 his power, and his throne, and great authority," ver. 2. But no power 
 has ever had the throne and authority of the dragon in Rome since 
 
 the empire was divided, except the Romish papacy "Power was 
 
 given him to continue," or rather (poiesai) to practise or prosper 
 " forty and two months," Rev. xiii. 5. which is 1260 years ; but the 
 heathen Roman empire did not subsist 300 years after the date of 
 this prophecy. — Deceit or the arts of strong delusions is another cha- 
 racteristic of this power by which it stands distinguished from heathen 
 Rome, 2 Thes.ii. 9, 10; Rev. xiii. 13, 14; chap, xviii. 23; and in those 
 characters wherein there is a resemblance it greatly exceeds, such as 
 its pride and luxury, blasphemy, superstition, idolatry, tyranny, in- 
 tolerance and cruelty. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. * 245 
 
 This is that man of sin whose coming 1 was foretold to 
 be " after the working of Satan, with all power and signs, 
 and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrigh- 
 teousness/^ And though the elect were secured from his 
 deceptions, yet the carnal multitudes, nations, and tongues 
 going under the Christian name, were, in the righteous 
 judgment of God, given up to the influence of his strong 
 delusions that they should believe a lie, because they re- 
 ceived not the love of the truth that they might be saved. B 
 The satanic pride, tyranny, and blasphemous pretensions 
 of this power are also foretold ; " he opposeth and ex- 
 alteth himself above all that is called God, or that is wor- 
 shipped ;" h claiming dominion not only over kings and 
 emperors in civil matters, 1 but also over the consciences of 
 men in matters of faith and worship ; opposing his au- 
 thority to, and even exalting it above that of God him- 
 self over his house, by making void his truths and laws, 
 and with an high hand imposing his own decrees, super- 
 stition, and idolatry in their place ; k " so that he, as God, 
 sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is 
 God." 1 This power was the most subtle, dangerous, and 
 cruel adversary to the church of Christ that had ever yet 
 appeared. It is the mystery of all the ancient enemies of 
 God's people, and the sink of all the abominations of the 
 earth, m which, under a corrupted profession of Christianity, 
 and by all manner of deceit and violence, supported by the 
 kings of the earth, made war with the Lamb, and they 
 that were with him, the called, and chosen, and fatiliful." 
 
 As to the duration of this power we are told, that 
 " authority was given unto him (poiesia) to " practise forty 
 and two months, which in prophetic language signifies 
 1260 years, reckoning each month 30 days, and taking 
 
 f 2 Thess. ii. 3, 9 ; Rev. xiii. 13, 14. 
 
 k 2 Thess. ii. 10, 11 ; Rev. xiii. 3, 4, 8. 
 
 h 2 Thess. ii. 4 ; Dan. vii. 2o; Rev. xiii. 5, 6. 
 
 1 Rev. xvii. 18. k Rev. xiii. 12, 16, 17. l 2 Thess. ii. 4. 
 
 m Rev. xi. 8, chap. xvii. 1 — 7. n Rev. xiii. 7, chap. xvii. 14. 
 
 Rev. xiii. 5. 
 
 y2 
 
2±Q Christ's commission 
 
 each day for a year.* This is not the whole time of his 
 existence, but of his reign, when he should with authority 
 practise, prosper, or prevail . p 
 
 During this long- and dismal period, the woman or true 
 church retires into the wilderness from the face of the 
 serpent,| and continues in that obscure retreat 1260 days, 
 i. e. years, q making no open appearance in her proper 
 form and order as she did formerly in the churches of the 
 saints : for this is the time when the court without the 
 temple, or outward profession of Christianity is not to be 
 measured by the rule of God's word, but given to the 
 nations falsely assuming the Christian name, who profane 
 it with their heathenish superstition and idolatry, and 
 tread the holy city under foot forty and two months/ It 
 
 * In Daniel it is expressed, "until a time and times, and the divid- 
 ing of time," chap. vii. 25, or "for a time, times and an half," chap, 
 xii. 7. as also in Rev. xii. 14. A time is a year, times two years, and 
 an half, or the dividing of time, is half a year, making in whole three 
 years and an half, which is 42 months, as here, and in chap. xi. 2 ; and 
 42 months of 30 days each make 1260 days, as in chap. xi. 3, and 
 chap. xii. 6. So that taking each day for a year, according to Num. 
 xiv. 34, Ezek. iv. 6, it is 1260 years, or 1242 Julian years. As the 
 man of sin rose to his throne by different steps, it is not easy to fix 
 precisely the commencement of this period. His reign could not be- 
 gin before the Csesarean head of the Roman empire was wounded to 
 death, Rev. xiii. 3, and he who was the obstacle was taken out of the 
 way, 2 Thes. ii. 6, 7. It must have begun in the last state of Daniel's 
 fourth monarchy when divided into ten kingdoms ; for this power 
 was to spring up as a little horn among the. ten kings, Dan. vii. 8, 24, 
 who receive power as kings one hour, (or at one time) with the beast, 
 Rev. xvii. 12. The imperial head of Rome was wounded to death 
 when Agustulus was deposed A. D. 476 : after this the bishop of 
 Rome gradually rose to the summit of power. The emperor Justinian 
 declared him to be the judge of all, but himself to be judged by none, 
 about A. D. 529. The tyrant Phocas engaged him in his party by 
 giving him the title of universal bishop, A. D. 606. But he did not 
 become a horn or secular prince till Pepin king of France vested him 
 in a great part of Italy, A. D. 756 ; which was confirmed to him by 
 Charles the Great, with additional donations and powers, A. D. 774. 
 
 f The woman's flight is mentioned twice in Rev. xii., first in ver. 6, 
 where it is placed before the casting out of the great dragon, then in 
 ver. 14. after the dragon is cast out, and a profession of Christianity 
 is established in the empire. Some consider the first period to be the 
 beginning, and the last the completion of her flight, and reckon the 
 1260 days of her wilderness state from both. 
 
 p Dan. viii. 11 — 15. * Rev. xii. G, 14. r Rev. xi. 2. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 247 
 
 is the time when God's two witnesses* prophesy 1260 days 
 clothed in sackcloth, who are at last overcome and killed 
 by the beast, and whose dead bodies are exposed for a 
 time in the street of the great city, or Antichristian church, 
 which for filthiness is compared to Sodom, for tyranny and 
 oppression to Egypt, and for persecution, cruelty, and 
 bloodshed to Jerusalem, which killed the prophets, and 
 crucified our Lord himself. 3 
 
 This was a most trying period for those who kept the 
 commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. But Christ, 
 ever faithful to his promise, was with them always. He 
 prepared a place of retreat for his true church in the wil- 
 derness, where, during the time of her obscurity and dis- 
 tress, she was fed and nourished like Elijah when he fled 
 from the face of wicked Ahab and Jezebel, while idolatry 
 and famine prevailed in Israel.* And though his followers 
 did not in that desolate situation enjoy the public ordi- 
 nances of the gospel according to their primitive institu- 
 
 * Some by the two witnesses understand the Old Testament and 
 the New. Christ appeals to the Old Testament Scriptures as testify- 
 ing- of him, John v. 39 — 42, and Christians are directed to attend to 
 the scriptures both of the Old and New Testaments as the great pre- 
 servative against the corruptions of Christianity that were to take 
 place, 2 Thes. ii. 15; 2 Tim. iii. ; 2 Pet. iii. 2. Still, however, it must 
 be owned, that these two witnesses prophesied by means of a succes- 
 sion of men who were raised up from time to time to bring forth 
 the doctrine of the scriptures in opposition to the corruptions of 
 Antichrist. These witnesses prophesy in sackcloth, in a mourning 
 dejected state ; and in the account given of them there are allusions 
 to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, to Elijah during the apostacy of the 
 ten tribes, and to Zerubbabel and Joshua about the end of the cap- 
 tivity, and as they denounced divine judgments on the apostate 
 church, they are said to smite the earth with all plagues, Rev. xi. 4 — 7. 
 They were at last overcome and killed by the beast for a time, when 
 the divine authority of scripture was entirely subjected to that of 
 the false church, and when those who contended for that authority 
 in opposition to the doctrines and commandments of men, were 
 almost exterminated, or at least silenced; which seems to have been 
 about the middle of the fifteenth century, when the Bohemians and 
 Moravians agreed to reunite with the church of Rome, and comply 
 with her superstitions, and joined in exterminating the Taborites or 
 Vaudois, who stood firm for the authority of the scriptnres in oppo- 
 sition to that of the Romish church. 
 
 'Rev. xi. 3, 7, 8. 
 * Rev. xii. 6, 14; 1 Kings xvii. 3 — 7, ver. 16, chap. xix. 6 — 9. 
 
248 Christ's commission 
 
 tion, yet they worshipped in the inner temple in spirit and 
 in truth, drawing near to God in the heavenly sanctuary, 
 through the veil of Christ's flesh, and so were owned by 
 him, and included in the measurement of his house, while 
 the outer court and its worshippers were rejected. 11 He 
 also from time to time raised up a succession of men, who 
 brought forth the testimony of his two witnesses, the Old 
 and New Testaments, for their edification and comfort, 
 and to guard them against the reigning corruptions of the 
 time, x So that notwithstanding all the delusions and cruel 
 persecutions of the man of sin, they obtained the victory, 
 through faith and patience, over the beast, and over his 
 image, and over his mark, and over the number of his 
 name/ 
 
 Nor was he less faithful and just in executing the judg- 
 ments written in his word upon the corrupters of Chris- 
 tianity. We have already seen the downfal of the Roman 
 empire in the West, and the rise of the man of sin upon 
 its ruins, whose strong delusions were by divine permission 
 sent as a judgment upon all who received not the love of 
 the truth. z And now three woes are denounced upon the 
 inhabiters of the earth, which were to take place under 
 the three last trumpets. a The first two chiefly relate to 
 the eastern empire, though they also greatly affected the 
 western parts, and were sent as a punishment upon false 
 and idolatrous professors, who had not the seal of God on 
 their foreheads. b The first woe c appears to have been the 
 impostor Mohammed, whose false religion is compared to 
 thick smoke, bursting from the bottomless pit, and darken- 
 ing the sun and air. The swarms of locusts issuing from 
 that smoke, were his followers the Arabians or Saracens, 
 for to them the whole description fitly applies. These had 
 power to hurt men five prophetic months, or 150 years 9 
 during which time they extended their conquests, and pro- 
 
 u Rev. xi. 1, 2. * Ver. 3—7. y Chap. xv. 2. 
 
 ■ 2 Thess. ii. 9—13. a Rev. viii. 13. b Chap. ix. 4, 20. 
 
 Rev. ix. 1—12. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 249 
 
 pagated their religion over a great part of the world which 
 had formerly professed Christianity.* The second woe d 
 seems to have been the Turks and Othmans, whose four 
 leaders had been restrained from extending their conquests, 
 farther than the territories adjoining the Euphrates by 
 the Persians on one hand, and the Croisades on the other; 
 but uniting under Ortogrul and his successors, they began 
 their conquests about the year 1281, took Constantinople 
 A. D. 1453, and conquered all the eastern branch of the 
 Roman empire. f Towards the end of this woe there is an 
 account of the death and resurrection of the witnesses. 6 
 They had prophesied in sackcloth from the time of the 
 woman's flight into the wilderness, and the beast had 
 made war against them,! Du ^ cou ld not overcome and kill 
 
 * Mohammed began his pretences to inspiration about A. D. 606» 
 the year that Pope Boniface III. obtained the title of universal 
 bishop. He began publicly to propagate his imposture A. D. 612, 
 and so opened the bottomless pit. The Saracens made their greatest 
 conquests from that time to A. D. 762. They subdued Palestine, 
 Syria, both Armenias, Asia Minor, Persia, India, Egypt, Numidia, 
 Barbary, Portugal, Spain, a great part of Italy, Sicily, Candia, 
 Cyprus, &c. 
 
 f The time allotted for their conquests was " an hour, and a day, 
 and a month, and a year," Rev. ix. 15, which, by reckoning a 
 year for a day, is 391 years, 15 days. But it must be remembered 
 that the prophetic year is 5 days 6 hours shorter than the Julian 
 year. The instruments of this woe are described as horsemen; a fit 
 representation of the Othman forces which were chiefly composed of 
 cavalry. 
 
 I It is shocking to relate the cruelties exercised upon the Waldenses 
 in the thirteenth century. In France alone about a million of them 
 were slain ; yet still their public testimony was not silenced. With 
 regard to the origin and character of the Vaudois or Waldenses, we 
 shall take the testimony of two of their enemies. Sesselius arch- 
 bishop of Turin, in a book which he wrote against them, says, " The 
 sect of the Waldenses took its rise from a most religious person, 
 called Leo, who lived in the time of Constantine the great, and who, 
 detesting the covetousness of Pope Sylvester, and the immoderate 
 bounty of Constantine, chose rather to embrace poverty with the 
 simplicity of the Christian faith, than with Sylvester to be defiled 
 with a fat and rich benefice ; and all they that were seriously religious 
 joined themselves to him." Reinerius the famous Inquisitor general, 
 who flourished about the year 1254, says, " Among all the sects which 
 still are or have been, there is none that hath been so pernicious to 
 
 d Rev. ix. 13—20. e Chap. xi. 3—14. 
 
250 Christ's commission 
 
 them till their testimony in that mournful condition was 
 about to be finished. The council of Constance condemned 
 Wickliff's doctrine, and sentenced John Huss and Jerome 
 of Prague to the flames, A. D. 1416 ; this with the severe 
 decrees of that council against the Hussites and Vaudois, 
 excited great ferments in Bohemia which broke out into 
 a most bloody civil war. In 1434 matters were compro- 
 mised with the greater part of the Hussites, who, upon 
 being allowed the use of the cup in the sacrament, sub- 
 mitted in all other things to the papal hierarchy, and joined 
 in exterminating the Taborites or Vaudois, who stood firm 
 to their principles, and contended for the authority of the 
 word of God against the authority and errors of the 
 church of Rome, so that their public testimony was si- 
 lenced for a time, and their enemies everywhere triumphed 
 over them. This looks very like the killing of the witnesses ; 
 for by the year 1467 all their public teachers were cut 
 off, and scarcely seventy of them could be collected to- 
 gether to chuse others. But in a short time the scatterd 
 remains of them formed themselves into a new sect which 
 went by the name of the Brethren of Bohemia ; and hav- 
 ing with great prudence and impartiality reviewed and 
 reformed their religious tenets and ecclesiastical discipline 
 by the word of God, and excommunicated all those whose 
 
 the church as that of the Leonists; and that for three reasons ; 1. 
 Because it is the most ancient ; for some affirm that it began in the 
 time of Pope Sylvester, and others in the time of the apostles. 2. 
 Because it hath spread itself farthest ; for there is scarce any coun- 
 try wherein this sect is not. 3. Because they who are of it have a 
 great shew of piety, live virtuously before men, believe rightly of the 
 Deity, and all the articles which are contained in the creed ; only 
 they blaspheme the church of Rome and the clergy; whom the 
 multitude of the laity is easy to believe." Reiner, contra Haret. cap. 4. 
 They were most numerous in the vallies of Piedmont, and hence are 
 called Valdenses or Vaudois, and not from Peter Valdo ; and also Pied- 
 montois, likewise Leonists probably from Leo their ancient leader, 
 and not from Lyons as some suppose. They were afterwards va- 
 riously named. Their creeds, confessions, and other writings which 
 have been preserved are most agreeable to scripture. The reader 
 who desires further information respecting the VValdenses, and the 
 persecutions they endured, may find it in Mr W. Jones' History of 
 the Christian Church, 2 vols. 8vo„ 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 251 
 
 erroneous sentiments or licentious manners might expose 
 them to reproach, they openly professed their principles, 
 and held forth the testimony of the scriptures against all 
 the corruptions and abominations of the church of Rome. 
 This seems to have been the beginning of the resurrection 
 of the witnesses, when " the Spirit of life from God en- 
 tered into them, and they stood upon their feet/ ,f For 
 after this period the beast, with all his efforts, could not 
 prevail against them so as to silence their testimony ; on 
 the contrary, various events in divine providence soon 
 concurred to exalt them above his reach, to the terror and 
 amazement of the whole antichristian community. g This 
 completes the second woe. 
 
 The third woe cometh quickly after it, and begins with 
 the sounding of the seventh trumpet. 11 It brings the ruin 
 and downfal of the antichristian kingdom by successive 
 steps, and so makes way for, and introduceth a glorious 
 period when the kingdoms of this world shall become our 
 Lord's and his Christ's, and when he shall judge the dead 
 and give reward unto his servants the prophets, and to the 
 saints, and them that fear his name small and great, and 
 shall destroy them that destroy (or corrupt) the earth. 1 
 This is a summary anticipation of all that shall take place 
 under the seventh trumpet unto the end of time, the par- 
 ticulars of which are enlarged upon afterwards, but the 
 woe part of it includes particularly the seven successive 
 vials of divine wrath, k which gradually consume the man 
 oi sin, and shall at last totally destroy him and all other 
 powers which shall be found opposing the kingdom of 
 Christ ; l for they are the seven last plagues, and in them 
 is (etelesthe) completed the wrath of God. m 
 
 I will not presume to attempt an explanation of the par- 
 ticular judgments marked out by the seven vials, or to fix 
 the dates at which each of them begins and ends, especially 
 as some of them have not yet been poured out ; and as it is 
 
 f Rev. xi. 11. s Ver. 12, 13. h Ter. 14, 15. ! Ver. 15—19. 
 fc Chap. xvi. > Dan. vii. 2G; 2 Thess. ii. 8. m Rev. xv. 1. 
 
252 Christ's commission 
 
 most likely that the vials which are first in order are not 
 always exhausted when the succeeding" ones begin. But 
 we may observe, 
 
 1. That the chief object of these plagues is the king- 
 dom of Antichrist and its supporters ; for they affect them 
 that have the mark of the beast and worship his image, 
 who have shed the blood of the saints ; and also the seat 
 of the beast, the great city Babylon, with the cities of 
 the nations. 11 
 
 2. The sera of the vials did not commence till the 
 seventh trumpet was sounded. This is clear from the 
 whole frame and admirable arrangement of the book of 
 the Revelation, for as the seven trumpets are all included 
 under the seventh seal, so are the seven vials under the 
 seventh trumpet : but the seventh trumpet was not sounded 
 till the second woe was past, after the death and resurrec- 
 tion of the witnesses, and the fall of the tenth part of the 
 city ;* and if these events took place between the middle 
 of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century, 
 the aera of the vials, which constitute the third woe must 
 have commenced about the time of the Reformation, which 
 began A. D. 1516. At this period we may date the 
 pouring out of the first vial, which was a most grievous 
 plague upon the kingdom of antichrist ; for now the ever- 
 lasting gospel began to be preached more openly and uni- 
 versally to them that dwell on the earth, and to every na- 
 tion, and kindred, and tongue, and people ;° the scriptures 
 
 * The kingdom of the Greeks seems to have been one of the ten 
 kingdoms into which the Roman empire was divided when the impe- 
 rial head fell in the West. Its religion was antichristian as well as 
 that of Rome : one of its emperors greatly advanced the power of 
 the Pope, and another of them granted him the title of universal 
 bishop, A. D. G06 ; and in the year 1439 a kind of union took place 
 between the Latin and Greek churches. It is therefore probable 
 that the fall of the tenth part of the city was the taking of Constan- 
 tinople by the Turks, AD. 1450, which put an end to the Greek 
 empire. Those who fled from Constantinople into the West brought 
 with them the knowledge of the language wherein the New Testa- 
 ment was 'written, which contributed much to the Reformation. 
 
 » Rev. xvi. 2, G, 10, 19. • Chap. xiv. 6, 7. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 253 
 
 were translated into the living languages, and by means 
 of the art of printing, which had but lately been invented, 
 were published and dispersed among the nations : the ar- 
 rogance, avarice, deceit, idolatry, and superstition of the 
 papal hierarchy were now exposed in all their hatefulness, 
 while some of the powers of the earth, minding their 
 worldly interest, withdrew their allegiance from the Pope, 
 and opposed the persecution which he raised against those 
 who published the word of God. Thus the unity of the 
 antichristian kingdom was broken so as never more to be 
 healed ; for we find the great city in a divided state at 
 the pouring out of the last vial : p but this great division 
 did not in general produce a separation of Christ's people 
 from the world, nor such a restoration of the primitive 
 order of his house as could be measured by the rule of 
 God's word. The outer court still remained in posses- 
 sion of the profane Gentiles. 
 
 3, As the first four trumpets represent so many steps of 
 the ruin of the Roman empire, and of its Cesarean go- 
 vernment, so the four first vials represent so many de- 
 grees of the ruin of the Roman hierarchy and papal go- 
 vernment ; and as the Roman empire is represented by the 
 system of the world, having its earth, sea, rivers, and sun, 
 which were affected by the trumpets ; q so the kingdom of 
 antichrist is also represented as having its earth, sea, 
 rivers, and sun, which are affected in the same order by 
 the vials : r further, as Rome papal is compared to Egypt 
 and Babylon ; 8 so her plagues are represented as similar 
 to theirs.* 
 
 4. It was the fourth trumpet that put an end to the im- 
 perial government of Rome, u and as it appears that the 
 man of sin came to his throne about the beginning of the 
 fifth trumpet and first woe ; so it is likely that his reign shall 
 end at the pouring out of the fifth vial upon his seat or 
 
 p Rev. xvi. 19. * Chap. viii. 7—13. r Chap. xvi. 2 — 10. 
 
 8 Chap xi. 8. l Chap xvi. 2, 4, 10; chap, xviii. 
 
 ° Chap. viii. 12. 
 
 Z 
 
254 Christ's commission 
 
 throne, since it extinguishes his sun and fills his kingdom 
 with darkness ; x though he will not be finally destroyed till 
 the seventh vial is poured out. 
 
 5. There are two remarkable periods of the ruin of 
 antichrist represented by a harvest and vintage/ which 
 are figures expressive of very dreadful judgments : z but 
 as the vials contain the seven last plagues in which the 
 wrath of God is filled up, it is likely that the harvest an- 
 swers to the fifth vial, and the vintage to the seventh. 
 
 6. The sixth vial is only a preparatory one to the 
 seventh. Th* drying up of the waters of the great river 
 Euphrates, that the way of the kings of the East might 
 be prepared, 3, alludes to the stratagem of Cyrus in drain- 
 ing the channel of the Euphrates to make way for his 
 taking ancient Babylon, and so must import some notable 
 step towards the ruin of its antitype. On the other hand, 
 the dragon, i. e. the devil, and antichrist, in his double 
 capacity of a beast and false prophet, make preparations 
 for the most vigorous attack upon the kingdom of Christ, 
 by collecting all their forces ; and for this purpose send 
 forth their wicked and deceitful emissaries, termed the 
 spirits of devils, unto the kings of the earth, and of all the 
 world, to stir them 4 up to unite in the common cause of 
 tyranny and false religion, and to oppose all reformation 
 and the spread of the gospel : Accordingly these impure 
 spirits, through the influence of delusion, gather them to- 
 gether into a place called Armageddon (i. e. the moun- 
 tain of destruction,) alluding to Meggido where Sisera 
 and the host of Jabin were overthrown. 1 * Thus all things 
 are prepared for the battle of the great day of God Al- 
 mighty. As Christ will now come suddenly and unex- 
 pectedly to destroy his enemies, he gives his people warn- 
 ing, that they may watch and be prepared for his coming; 
 " Behold I come* as a thief : blessed is he that watcheth 
 
 * There are but two personal comings of Christ; the first when he 
 came in the flesh ; the second when he comes in his glory to raise the 
 
 1 Rev. xvi. 10. y Chap. xiv. 15, ad. ult. 'Joel iii. 13 ; Jer. li. 33. 
 •Rev. xvi. 12. b Judg. v. 19. c Rev. xvi. 13 — 17. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 200 
 
 and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they 
 see his shame." d 
 
 7. The seventh and last vial is poured out into the air, 
 the seat of Satan's residence, who is termed " the prince of 
 the power of the air," e and therefore will not only com- 
 plete the destruction of antichrist, but shake the kingdom 
 of Satan every where. Upon the pouring out of this vial, 
 a voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, pro- 
 claims, " It is done ;" according as it was before declared, 
 that in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when 
 he shall sound, the mystery of God shall be finished." £ It 
 is accompanied with voices, and thunders, and lightnings, 
 a terrible earthquake, and great hail, which imports great 
 revolutions and awful judgments. We are particularly 
 informed that " the great city was divided into three 
 parts,* and the cities of the nations fell : and great 
 
 dead and judge the world at the last day : yet he is also said to come 
 when he interposes by any signal act of his administration. Thus he 
 came when he shed forth the Spirit upon his disciples, John xiv. 18, 
 and when he punished the Jewish nation for their infidelity, Mat. 
 xxiv. 27, 39, 42. So the destruction of the man of sin is said to be 
 by the brightness of his coming, 2 Thess. ii. 8. 
 
 * Some are of opinion that the division of the great city into three 
 parts is not the effect of the seventh vial, but descriptive of the state 
 wherein that vial finds the great city ; and that this division took 
 place at the time of the Reformation, when the kings or powers of 
 the earth began to differ about the form of Christianity they were 
 to establish, support, and defend in their respective dominions. Be 
 this as it may, I think it must be admitted, that the divisions which 
 then took place came at last to settle into three distinct stated com- 
 munions, viz. the Popish, the Lutheran, and the Zuinglian or Calvin- 
 istic ; and though there are other smaller divisions in the great city, 
 yet these three are the only national forms of religious communion, 
 which the kingdoms of Europe have adopted, established, and incor- 
 porated into their political constitutions : and as they are all worldly 
 establishments comprehending the profane people of the nations, and 
 in this respect opposed to the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom, 
 and the purity of Christian communion, they may be considered as 
 homogenial parts of the great city, though divided. And as the 
 unparalleled earthquake of the last vial affects all the divided parts of 
 the great city, causing the cities of the nations to fall, the islands to 
 flee away, and the mountains to disappear, it seems to point out the 
 
 d Rev. xvi. 15. «Eph. ii. 2. f Rev. x. 6, 7. 
 
256 Christ's commission 
 
 Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto 
 her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 
 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not 
 found.** 8 But the particulars of this vial are more largely 
 set forth in the succeeding chapters. After an account 
 of the great whore, 11 the fall of Babylon the great is pro- 
 claimed, the people of God are called to come out of her, 1 
 her adherents, whose worldly interests were promoted by 
 her traffic, are represented as lamenting her fall, k whilst 
 the whole church of the redeemed are set forth as rejoic- 
 ing over her, and uniting in praises and thanksgivings to 
 God for his truth and righteousness in judging her. 1 The 
 battle of the great day of God Almighty, which had been 
 before announced,™ now takes place : Heaven is opened, 
 and Christ, who is called The Word of God, and whose 
 title is King of kings and Lord of lords, comes forth 
 seated upon a white horse, having many crowns upon his 
 head, and arrayed in warlike apparel ; the armies of 
 heaven follow him riding also upon white horses, and 
 clothed in fine linen, white -and clean, as emblems of vic- 
 tory and sanctity. On the other side, the beast, with the 
 kings of the earth and their armies, are represented as 
 gathered together to make war against him that sits on 
 the horse, and against his army ; but they meet with a 
 total and final overthrow ; for the beast is taken, and with 
 him the false prophet, and both are cast alive into a lake 
 of fire burning with brimstone ; and the remnant are slain 
 with the sword of him that sits upon the horse, and all 
 the fowls are filled with their flesh. 11 Then the dragon, 
 i. e. Satan himself, is bound a thousand years, and shut up 
 in the bottomlesss pit, that he should deceive the nations 
 no more, till the thousand years shall be fulfilled, which 
 
 ruin of all national churches, as well as the putting down of all that 
 worldly rule, authority, and power by which they are supported. Com- 
 pare ltev. xvi. 19, 20,' with Dan. ii. 34, 35 ; 1 Cor. xv. 24. 
 
 * Rev. xvi. 17. ad ult. h Chap. xvii. ' Chap, xviii. 2 — 5. 
 
 k Ver. 9—20. ' Chap. xix. 1 — 8. m Chap. xvi. 14 ; chap. xvii. 14. 
 
 n Chap. xix. 11. ad ult. ° Chap. xx. 1 — 4. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 257 
 
 must import an effectual restraint of his power and influ- 
 ence during that time. 
 
 The events of the two last vials have not yet taken 
 place ; but the greater part of the apocalyptic prophecies 
 respecting the suffering and depressed state of the church 
 has been already fulfilled ; and Christ has been with his 
 people always, supporting them under all their conflicts 
 and trials, and making them overcome by faith and pa- 
 tience. He has also by his providence destroyed the suc- 
 cessive powers which formerly opposed his kingdom, and 
 now towards the end of the eighteenth century, we see 
 the man of sin, once so formidable, in a state of deep con- 
 sumption by the Spirit of the Lord's mouth, and the vials 
 of his wrath. It seems that multiform monster will yet 
 try to regain his tyrannical power, and make a desperate 
 attempt against the kingdom of Christ ; but this is repre- 
 sented as his last effort, his dying struggle ; for then he, 
 and all the powers which compose the body of the beast, 
 shall be totally destroyed and given to the burning flame, p 
 and Satan the grand deceiver shall be shut up in the 
 bottomless pit. q Here the depressed and afflicted state of 
 the church ends, and the happy period begins when the 
 kingdoms of this world become our Lord's and his Christ's, 
 and when the saints of the Most High shall take the king- 
 dom, and shall possess it for ever, even for ever and ever/ 
 
 Let us now take a cursory view of the prosperous state 
 of Christ's kingdom which is to succeed the final ruin of 
 antichrist, and of all opposing powers, and which is so 
 much insisted upon in scripture prophecy. 
 
 1. This happy period commences with what is termed 
 in prophetic style, the first resurrection. " And I saw 
 thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given 
 unto them ;* and I saw the souls of them that were be- 
 
 * This imports that the saints shall obtain the dominion, and that 
 the administration of justice and judgment shall be given them, 1 
 Cor. vi. 2. It is the same with what is mentioned in Dan. vii. 22, 
 
 p Dan. vii. 11. iRev. xx. 3. r Rev. xi. 15; Dan. vii. 18. 
 
JOO CHRIST S COMMISSION 
 
 headed for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, 
 and who had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, 
 neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in 
 their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a 
 thousand years. And the rest of the dead lived not again 
 until the thousand years were finished. This is the first 
 resurrection." 8 Many understand this first resurrection 
 literally of a proper resurrection of the body from the 
 grave, though they are not agreed as to whether it shall 
 be a resurrection of all the saints, or only of the martyrs 
 who suffered during the heathen and antichristian perse- 
 cutions ; but as there are many weighty objections to the 
 literal view,* I am inclined to think that it should be 
 
 " I beheld — until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given 
 to the saints of the Most High ; and the time came that the saints 
 possessed the kingdom." 
 
 * Take for a specimen — 1. This passage does not mention the re- 
 surrection of the bodies, but only of the souls of the martyrs. The 
 word rendered souls here, occurs six times in this book, and signifies 
 the life or living principle in the body, chap. viii. 9, chap. xii. 11, it 
 is distinguished from the body, chap, xviii. 13, and represented as 
 existing in a state of separation from it, chap. vi. 9, but is never put 
 for the body itself, far less for the dead body, which alone is the sub- 
 ject of a proper resurrection, or of living again. — 2. A literal resur- 
 rection of the righteous a thousand years before that of the wicked, 
 seems to contradict the plain account given of that matter in their 
 gospels and epistles : for instance, Christ says, " The hour is coming 
 in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come 
 forth ; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and 
 they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation," John 
 v. 28, 29. The hour here cannot signify two different periods at 1000 
 years distance from each other ; yet in that hour all that are in their 
 graves shall hear his voice and come forth : not the righteous dead 
 only, for these are not all that are in the graves ; not the wicked dead 
 only, for these have not done good ; but in that hour both they that 
 have done good, and they that have done evil, even all that are in 
 their graves shall come forth, the one unto the resurrection of life, and 
 the other to the resuiTection of damnation. — 3. Our Lord repeatedly 
 declares that he will raise up believers at the last day, John vi. 39, 40, 
 44, 45, and he makes this last day to be the day at which men shall 
 be. judged, chap. xii. 48, and describes the judgment both of the righ- 
 teous and wicked as taking place at the same period, Mat. xxv. 31, 
 ad ult. Now to affirm, that there will be a day 1000 years after the 
 last day for the resurrection and judgment of the wicked, not only 
 contradicts this, but is a manifest impropriety of speech. — 4. The book 
 
 ■ Rev. xx. 4—6. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 259 
 
 taken in a metaphorical sense. A resurrection is a well 
 known prophetic figure for a restoration, revival, or ad- 
 vancement of the cause or interest of a people who have 
 been borne down, depressed, and, as it were, buried 
 by opposition. The Lord, promising deliverance to the 
 Jews, says, " Thy dead men shall live, together with my 
 dead body shall they arise : awake and sing, ye that dwell 
 in dust ; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth 
 shall cast out the dead.''* Ephraim in distress is encouraged 
 to repentance by this promise, " After two days will he 
 revive us, in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall 
 live in his sig-ht.'" u The restoration of Israel from their 
 captivity is described under the figure of a resurrection of 
 dry bones : God promiseth to open their graves, and cause 
 them to come out of their graves, and they are represent- 
 ed as living and standing up upon their feet. s The same me- 
 taphor is used in the book of the Revelation ; antichrist is said 
 to have power to give life to the image of the beast, when he 
 revived and united the idolatry and tyranny of the Roman 
 empire in his own administration ; y and of the two witnesses 
 it is said, that " after three days and an half the spirit of 
 life from God entered into them ; and they stood on their 
 feet.'' 2 Agreeably to this prophetic use of the figure, the 
 
 of the Revelation itself places the proper and general resurrection 
 and judgment, both of the righteous and wicked, after the thousand 
 years' reign of the saints, and the destruction of the armies of Gog 
 and Magog, Rev. xx. 11, ad ult. But to suppose that the saints, 
 after having reigned with Christ 1000 years in their spiritual, im- 
 mortal, and glorified bodies, shall be surrounded with enemies in gross 
 earthly bodies, or even appear in judgment to receive their final sen- 
 tence after they had been so long glorified, seems altogether unna- 
 tural as well as unscriptural. — 5. SVe are expressly told, that " The 
 last enemy that shall be destroyed is " death," 1 Cor. xv. 26, and the 
 Revelation declares the same, chap. xx. 14. But if the first resur- 
 rection be the destruction of death to the saints, then death is not 
 the last enemy that shall be destroyed; for Gog and Magog are ene- 
 mies which will be destroyed 1000 years after the first resurrection. 
 These considerations convince me that the first resurrection is to be 
 taken in a metaphorical sense. 
 
 * Isa. xxvi. 19. " Hos. vi. 2. ■ Ezek. xxxvii. 1 — 15. 
 ? Rev. xiii. 15. z Chap. xi. 11. 
 
260 Christ's commission 
 
 first resurrection imports, a revival of true and primitive 
 Christianity in the world ; a raising up of the church of 
 Christ from its depressed, captive, and afflicted state ; and 
 the advancement, extension, and prevalence of his spiritual 
 kingdom among all nations. It is represented as a resur- 
 rection of the souls of martyrs, and of such as had kept 
 themselves pure from the abominations of antichrist, and 
 signifies a revival in their successors of that spirit of faith, 
 zeal, fortitude, and purity which possessed them ; a resur- 
 rection of that cause for which the martyrs and true fol- 
 lowers of the Lamb had contended and suffered in all the 
 foregoing ages of the church. They are declared blessed 
 and holy that have part in the first resurrection : they are 
 holy as being sanctified by the Spirit, and consecrated as 
 priests of God and of Christ ; and they are blessed in the 
 enjoyment of the spiritual privileges, honours, and dig- 
 nities of Christ's kingdom ; for they shall reign with him, 
 and on such the second death, or punishment of a future 
 state, shall have no power. a From all which it is evident, 
 that none but the saints can really have any part in this 
 resurrection, though others may enjoy some of the out- 
 ward and temporal blessings which shall attend it. The 
 duration of this period is repeatedly said to be a thousand 
 years, hence it is commonly called the Millennium. Some 
 think that each day in this period should be taken for a 
 year, which will amount to 300,000 years .; but it seems 
 most natural to understand it literally. 
 
 2. There is ground to expect a remarkable down-pouring 
 of the Spirit about the commencement of this happy period, 
 even as there was at the first setting up of Christ's king- 
 dom in the world. Besides the promises of the Spirit 
 which were accomplished in the apostolic age, there are 
 others which from the connection appear to refer to the 
 time we are now speaking of. Thus Isaiah, after having 
 described Christ's kingdom which was set up at his first 
 coming, and then the succeeding desolate state of the 
 
 a Rev. xx. 6. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 261 
 
 Jews, represents this as continuing, " Until the Spirit be 
 poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a 
 fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a 
 forest. " b The apostle Paul, speaking of the conversion of 
 the Jews at this period, refers to a passage in Isaiah where 
 a promise of the Spirit is made to them, " As for me, this 
 is my covenant with them, saith the Lord, my Spirit 
 which is upon thee, and my words which I have put in 
 thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of 
 the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's 
 seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever/' c The 
 Lord, having mentioned the forlorn, dispersed state of 
 Israel throughout the nations, among whom they had pro- 
 faned his name, promises to gather them, cleanse them, 
 and give them a new heart and spirit, and adds, " And I 
 will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in 
 my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do 
 them." d The promise of pouring upon them the spirit of 
 grace and supplication has also a view to this period. e 
 Though we are not to expect the miraculous gifts of the 
 apostolic age, yet the work of the Spirit will abundantly 
 appear in qualifying men for propagating the gospel 
 throughout the world, filling them with light, zeal, courage, 
 and activity in that work — in giving success and effect to 
 the gospel by converting multitudes to the faith, quicken- 
 ing the dead in trespasses and sins, and translating them 
 into the kingdom of Christ ; and enlightening, quicken- 
 ing, purifying, and comforting the children of God, stir- 
 ring them up to greater liveliness, love, zeal, activity, and 
 fruitfulness in his service. This copious effusion of the 
 Spirit, producing these effects by means of the word, will, 
 I apprehend, be the great quickening principle in the first 
 resurrection. The consequence of this will be, 
 
 3. An universal spread of the gospel, diffusing the 
 
 b Isa. xxxii. 15 — 19. 
 
 c Compare Rom. xi. 26, 27, with Isa. lix. 20, 21. 
 
 d Ezek. xxxvi. 27, see also chap, xxxix. 28, 29. e Zech. xii. 10. 
 
262 Christ's commission 
 
 knowledge of the Lord throughout the world in a more 
 extensive and effectual manner than ever it was before. 
 This is repeatedly promised, " The earth shall be full of 
 the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea ;" 
 and this shall take place in that day when the Gentiles 
 shall seek to the branch of the root of Jesse, whose rest 
 shall be glorious, and when " the Lord shall set his hand 
 again the second time to recover the remnant of his 
 people," — and shall set up an " ensign for the nations, and 
 shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together 
 the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the 
 earth. " f The same promise of the universal knowledge 
 of the glory of the Lord is repeated in the prophecy of 
 Habakkuk. g This will be attended with corresponding 
 effects; "All the ends of the world shall remember and 
 turn unto the Lord ; and all the kindreds of the nations 
 shall worship before himV — Yea, all kings shall fall 
 down before him, all nations shall serve him." 1 And 
 though we are not to imagine, that all the inhabitants of 
 of the globe will have the true and saving knowledge of 
 the Lord : yet we may expect such an universal spread of 
 light and religious knowledge as shall root up Pagan, Mo- 
 hammedan and Antichristian delusions, and produce many 
 good effects upon those who are not really regenerated, 
 by awing their minds, taming their ferocity, improving 
 their morals, and making them peaceable and humane. 
 
 4. The Jews will then be converted to the faith of the 
 Messiah, and partake with the Gentiles of the blessings 
 of his kingdom. The apostle Paul in the eleventh chap- 
 ter of his epistle to the Romans treats of this at large, 
 and confirms it from the prophecies of the Old Testament. 
 He is speaking of Israel in a literal sense, the natural 
 posterity of Abraham ; for he distinguishes them both 
 from the believing Gentiles and the Jewish converts of his 
 time, and describes them as the rest who were blinded, had 
 
 f Isa. xi. 9—12. e Hab. ii. 14. h Psal. xxii. 27. 
 ! Psal. lxxii. 11. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 263 
 
 stumbled and fallen, and so had not obtained, but were 
 broken off and cast away. k Yet he denies that they have 
 stumbled that they should fall, i. e. irrecoverably, so as in 
 no future period to be restored, but shews that God's de- 
 sign in permitting this was, that through their fall salva- 
 tion might come unto the Gentiles, and that this again 
 might provoke them to jealousy or emulation. 1 He argues, 
 that if their fall and diminishing was the riches of the 
 Gentiles, and the casting away of them was the reconcil- 
 ing of the world, their fulness will be much more so, and 
 the receiving of them be life from the dead. m He further 
 argues, that if the Gentiles " were grafted contrary to na- 
 ture into a good olive tree, how much more shall these 
 which be the natural branches be grafted into their own 
 olive tree." n Nor did he consider this event as merely 
 probable, but as absolutely certain ; for he shews that the 
 present blindness and future conversion of that people is 
 the mystery or hidden sense of prophecies concern- 
 ing them ; and he cites two of these prophecies where 
 the context foretels both their rejection and recovery :° 
 " For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant 
 of this mystery (lest ye should be wise in your own con- 
 ceits) that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the 
 fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel 
 shall be saved ; as it is written, There shall come out of Zion 
 the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. 
 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take 
 away their sins." p He affirms positively, that Israel who 
 have not now believed, shall as certainly obtain mercy as 
 the Gentiles have obtained mercy through the occasion 
 of their unbelief : " For as ye in times past have not be- 
 lieved God, yet have now obtained mercy through their 
 unbelief; even so have these also not now believed, that 
 through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For 
 
 k Rom. xi. 7, 11, 12, 15, 17. >Ver. 11. » Ver. 12, 15. 
 
 n Rom. xi. 24. ° Isa. lix. 20, 21, chap, xxvii. 9. 
 
 p Rom. xi. 25—27. 
 
264 Christ's commission 
 
 God hath concluded all in unbelief, that he might have 
 mercy upon all.' q Then he concludes with expressing his 
 admiration of the depth of the riches both of the wisdom 
 and knowledge of God, and of his unsearchable judgments 
 and ways in this whole matter/ 
 
 As to the time when this shall take place, the same 
 Apostle says, " that blindness in part is happened to Is- 
 rael, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in ; and so 
 all Israel shall be saved. 8 " The fulness of the Gentiles 
 must be understood in the same sense with the fulness of 
 the Jews,* and as the fulness of the Jews signifies the great 
 body of that people as distinguished from the small remnant 
 of them who were converted in the apostles' time, u so the 
 fulness of the Gentiles must import a more full and universal 
 conversion of the Gentiles throughout all nations of the 
 world than has ever yet taken place ; for at present not 
 above a sixth part of the habitable world so much as pro- 
 fess Christianity . But when antichrist, that great stumb- 
 ling-block shall be removed out of the way, when the gos- 
 pel shall be preached among all nations in its primitive 
 purity, and the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, then 
 shall the vail be taken off from the heart of the Jews, and 
 it shall turn to the Lord.* They shall then acknowledge 
 their own Messiah whom their forefathers rejected and 
 crucified, and shall say, " Blessed is he that cometh in the 
 name of the Lord." y " They shall look upon him whom 
 they have pierced," not with contempt and derision as 
 their progenitors did when he hung on the cross, but 
 under the influence of the spirit of grace and supplication, 
 " they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only 
 son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in 
 bitterness for his first-born . z " Then the children of Israel 
 shall return, and seek the Lord their God, and David 
 their king ; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness 
 
 q Rom. xi. 30—32. * Ver. 33—36. • Ver. 25, 26. 
 'Ver. 12. "Ver. 5. *2 Cor.iii. 15, 16. 
 
 y Mat. xxiii. 39. * Zech. xii. 10. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 265 
 
 in the latter days." a The Lord shall then set his hand 
 again the second time to recover the remnant of his people 
 from their long captivity and outcast state ; b and when 
 they shall be received again, and obtain mercy upon the 
 same footing with the Gentiles, it will be " life from the 
 dead," not only to them but to the world, as it will be a 
 notable means in the hand of God of awakening men's at- 
 tention to the gospel, and convincing them of its truth, as 
 well as of confirming, quickening, and gladdening the 
 children of God who have been long waiting and praying 
 for that happy event. Nay, there is ground to believe 
 that the Jews will be distinguished for their zeal, activity, 
 and success in spreading the knowledge of the Lord among 
 the nations ; for the Gentiles are represented as instructed 
 by them, honouring them, and flowing in unto them . 
 
 5. The purity of visible church communion, worship, 
 and discipline will then be restored according to the 
 primitive apostolic pattern. During the reign of anti- 
 christ a corrupted form of Christianity was drawn over 
 the nations, and established in the political constitutions 
 of the kingdoms which were subject to that monstrous 
 power. By this means the children of God were either 
 mixed in visible religious communion with the profane 
 world, in direct opposition to the word of God, or perse- 
 cuted for their nonconformity. In reference to this state 
 of things, the angel commands John to leave out the 
 court which is without the temple, and not to measure it, 
 for this reason, because " it is given to the Gentiles ; and 
 the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two 
 months,""* i. e. they shall pollute and profane the worship 
 and communion of the church during the 1260 years of 
 antichrist's reign, so that it cannot be measured by the 
 rule of God's word. But when the period we are speaking 
 
 a Hos. iii. 5. 
 b Isa. xi. 11, 12; Ezek. xxxix. 25, 28, 29 ; Amos. ix. 14, 15. 
 * Isa. lvi. 8 ; chap. Ix. 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12 ; chap. lxi. 6 — 10; chap, 
 lxii. 2 — 4 ; chap. lxvi. 10 — 15. 
 d Rev, xi. 2. 
 
 A A 
 
266 Christ's commission 
 
 of shall arrive, the sanctuary shall be cleansed ; e the visible 
 communion, worship, order, and discipline of the house of 
 God will then be restored to their primitive purity, and 
 accord with the rule of the New Testament. So it is 
 promised to Zion, " henceforth there shall no more come 
 into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean'" — " Thy 
 people shall be all righteous ; they shall inherit the land 
 for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, 
 that I may be glorified 2 ." — " and in that day there shall 
 be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of 
 hosts 11 ." And though disguised hypocrites may still find 
 access into the churches of the saints, as it does not ap- 
 pear that there will be a complete and final separation until 
 the day of judgment, when Christ the omniscient judge 
 shall separate the sheep from the goats ;* yet we may 
 venture to afiirm, that such will be the strictness of disci- 
 pline and purity of communion that no visible hypocrite or 
 false professor will be permitted to have fellowship with 
 the saints. For when the holy city, new Jerusalem comes 
 down from God out of heaven, then, in this qualified sense, 
 " there shall in nowise enter into it anything that defileth, 
 neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie ; 
 but they who are written in the Lamb's book of life." k 
 
 6. The Lord's special presence and residence will then 
 be in the midst of his people. Christ hath promised to be 
 with his people in every period of the church, even unto 
 the end of the world, 1 and that he will be in the midst 
 even of two or three of them when gathered together in his 
 name ; m he also calls them to purity of communion and 
 personal holiness, and promiseth to dwell in them and 
 walk in them ; n but this will be fulfilled in an eminent and 
 remarkable manner during the millennial period. The 
 Lord, having promised to raise Israel out of their graves, 
 to gather them from among the heathen, and bring them 
 
 e Dan. viii. 14. { Isa. Hi. 1. e Chap. lx. 21. 
 h Zech. xiv. 21. ; Mat. xxv. 32. k Rev. xxi. 2, 27. 
 1 Mat. xxviii. 20. m Chap, xviii. 20. n 2 Cor. vi. 16, 17. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 267 
 
 into the church and kingdom of Christ, as one fold, having 
 one Shepherd, adds, "and I will set my sanctuary in the 
 midst of them for evermore : my tabernacle also shall be 
 with them ; yea, I will be their God, and they shall be 
 my people. " p This alludes to his dwelling among Israel 
 in the tabernacle and sanctuary of old, q and imports his 
 manifesting himself unto them, admitting them into the 
 most intimate correspondence and communion with him- 
 self in his ordinances, communicating light, life, and con- 
 solation to them by his Spirit ; and also his protection and 
 care of them as his peculiar people. It is intimated that 
 there will be such visible tokens of the divine presence and 
 residence among them as will fall under the notice of the 
 world and produce conviction and awe (as was in some 
 measure the case in the first chinches), 1- for it is added, 
 " And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify 
 Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them 
 for evermore." 8 Indeed this is that very promise which is 
 represented to John as accomplished : " And I heard a 
 great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle 
 of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and 
 they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with 
 them, and be their God."* 
 
 7. This will be a time of universal peace, tranquillity, 
 and safety. Persons naturally of the most savage, fero- 
 cious and cruel dispositions wilHhen be tame and harmless ; 
 so it is promised, " The wolf also shall dwell with the 
 lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and 
 the calf and the young lion, and the fatling together, and 
 a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear 
 shall feed ; their young ones shall lie down together : 
 and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suck- 
 ing child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the 
 weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den. 
 
 ° Ezek. xxxvii. 11— 2G. p Yer. 2G, 27. * Lev. xxvi. 11, 12. 
 
 r Acts ii. 47, chap. v. 11, 13 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25. 
 
 •Ezek. xxxvii. 28. * Rev. xxi. 3. 
 
268 Christ's commission 
 
 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain/ 
 And the reason given is, " for the earth shall be full of 
 the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. u " 
 The same promise is afterwards repeated, and connected 
 with the promise of new heavens and a new earth.* 
 Whether we consider the persons represented by these 
 hurtful animals to be converted or not, it is certain they 
 will then be effectually restrained from doing harm, or 
 persecuting the saints. There shall be no war nor blood- 
 shed among the nations during this happy period ; for we 
 are told, that, in the last days, when the mountain of the 
 Lord's house shall be established in the top of the moun- 
 tains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations 
 shall flow unto it — the Lord " shall judge among the na- 
 tions, and shall rebuke many people ; and they shall beat 
 their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into prun- 
 ing-hooks ; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 
 neither shall they learn war any more/" The same pro- 
 mise is repeated word for word in the prophecies of 
 Micah. z Much to the same purpose is that promise in 
 Hosea. a " In that day will I make a covenant for them 
 with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, 
 and with the creeping things of the ground ; and I will 
 break the bow and the sword, and the battle out of the 
 earth, and will make them to lie down safely." Though 
 war has hitherto deluged the world with human blood, and 
 been a source of complicated calamities to mankind ; yet 
 when Satan is bound, his influence upon wicked men re- 
 strained, and the saints bear rule, it must necessarily 
 cease. 
 
 8. The civil rulers and judges shall then be all main- 
 tained of peace and righteousness. Though Christ will 
 put down all that rule, power, and authority which op- 
 poseth the peace and prosperity of his kingdom ; yet as 
 rulers are the ordinance of God, and his ministers for 
 
 » Isa. xi. C— 10. * Chap. lxv. 17, 25. ? Isa ii. 4. 
 'Micahiv. 3. "Hos.ii. 18. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 269 
 
 good, as some form of government seems absolutely ne- 
 cessary to the order and happiness of society in this world, 
 I apprehend that, when the kingdoms of this world are 
 become our Lord's and his Christ's the promise will be ac- 
 complished, " I will also make thy officers peace, and 
 thine exactors righteousness ;" and in consequenee of this, 
 " violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting 
 nor destruction within thy borders ; but thou shalt call 
 thy walls salvation, and thy gates praise. " b Peace and 
 righteousness are the two great ends of government : 
 Christ himself is King of righteousness, and King of peace, 
 and the civil rulers during that happy period will resemble 
 him in their character and administration ; for then shall 
 that promise be fulfilled, " In righteousness shalt thou be 
 established : thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou 
 shalt not fear, and from terror for it shall not come near 
 thee." c 
 
 9. The saints shall then have the dominion, and the 
 wicked shall be in subjection. This is clear from the 
 united voice of prophecy. " The kingdom and dominion, 
 and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, 
 shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most 
 HighV — " The saints of the Most High shall take the 
 kingdom, and possess the kingdom for everV — " The 
 meek shall inherit the earth f ;" — " shall reign on the 
 earth 5 ;'' — " shall reign with Christ a thousand years h ;'* — 
 " they shall be priests of God, and of Christ, and shall 
 reign with him a thousand years." 1 The saints are at 
 present made kings and priests unto God — a kingly priest- 
 hood ; k but then they shall be more eminently so, when by 
 the holiness of their lives, the purity of their faith and wor- 
 ship, and their diligence in promoting pure and undefiled 
 religion, the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of 
 the Lord. Then shall that promise be fully accomplished, 
 
 b Isa. lx. 17, 18. ° Chap. liv. 14. d Dan. vii. 27. 
 
 e Chap. vii. 18. ' Mat. v. 5. e Rev. v. 10. 
 
 h Chap. xx. 4. ; Ver. 6. k 1 Pet. ii. 9 ; Rev. i. 6. 
 
 A A 9 
 
270 Christ's commission 
 
 " Ye shall be named the priests of the Lord ; men shall 
 call you the ministers of our God/'i With regard to the 
 nature of their reign, it will undoubtedly correspond in 
 all respects with the spiritual and heavenly nature of 
 Christ's kingdom, to the promotion of which all their 
 power will be subservient. Those who cannot conceive 
 of any reign on earth, but such as consists in lordly and 
 oppressive dominion, maintained by policy and force, and 
 made subservient to the purposes of pride, ambition, ava- 
 rice, and other worldly lusts, can have no idea at all of 
 this reign of the saints with Christ, which is a reign of 
 peace on earth and good will to men ; a reign of truth 
 and righteousness, of true godliness and universal humility. 
 In short, it is the prevalence and triumph of the cause of 
 Christ in this world over that of Satan and all his instru- 
 ments. 
 
 " But " when the thousand years are expired, Satan 
 shall be loosed out of his prison a little season.'' 111 The 
 restraint which was laid upon that restless and malignant 
 spirit will be taken off for a sliort time. He shall imme- 
 diately avail himself of this liberty, and " shall go out to 
 deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the 
 earth, Gog and Magog', to gather them together to battle ; 
 the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.' n This 
 vast multitude seem to be the rest or remnant of those who 
 were slain with the sword of him that sat on the horse, 
 and who live not again until the thousand years are 
 finished, 11 but continue during the time of Satan's imprison- 
 ment in a state of political death : but when Satan is 
 loosed he raiseth them up from that death, by exciting in 
 them a spirit of pride, envy, and enmity against Christ and 
 his saints : and this he does by deceiving them or repre- 
 senting things to them in a false light. They are termed 
 Gog and Magog in allusion to what is said of these power- 
 ful enemies of God's people in the prophecy of Ezekiel, q 
 
 1 lsa. Ixi. 6. m Rev. xx. 3, 7. ■ Chap. xx. 8. 
 Chap. xix. 21. t Chap. xx. 5. i Ezek. xxxviii. xxxix. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 271 
 
 there being a similarity between them in several particu- 
 lars. " And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and 
 compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved 
 city." The saints are represented as encamped, but not 
 in a hostile manner. The allusion is to the encampment 
 of Israel round the tabernacle in the wilderness. 1- The 
 beloved city alludes to Jerusalem where God had placed 
 his name, and where the whole church of Israel assembled 
 to worship, and which is also figuratively put for the true 
 church in its full order and beauty. When this vast army, 
 led on by Satan, has compassed the camp of the saints 
 about, and the beloved city new Jerusalem, they are not 
 able to hurt the church of God ; but are only permitted to 
 proceed this far, that the church's deliverance and their 
 own destruction might be the more conspicuous ; " for fire 
 came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 
 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake 
 of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false pro- 
 phet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever 
 and ever." s 
 
 After this we have an account of Christ's glorious ap- 
 pearing ; the literal resurrection of all the dead both righ- 
 teous and wicked, and the judgment of the world, when 
 the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, 
 being cast into the lake of fire which is the second death ; 
 but the righteous into life eternal. 1 Then " the heavens 
 shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall 
 melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the work sthat 
 are therein shall be burnt up ;" u for the apostle Peter con- 
 nects this awful event with the day of judgment and per- 
 dition of ungodly men. 1 
 
 In the two last chapters of the Revelation there is a 
 vision of a new heaven and a new earth, and a description 
 of the holy city new Jerusalem, with the river of the water 
 
 'Num. ii. 2. 8 Ilev. xx. 7 — 11. 
 
 *Ver 11, adult, compared with Mat. x.w. 3l,ad nit; 1 TLes. iv.15— 17. 
 " 2 Pet. iii. 10. J Ver. 7. 
 
272 Christ's commission 
 
 of life, and the tree of life : and though there is no doubt 
 a great deal of figure in these descriptions, yet they set 
 forth such a happy and glorious state of things as far ex- 
 ceeds all our present conceptions. But men are divided 
 in their opinions as to whether these two chapters are an 
 enlargement upon the Millennium, which had only been 
 briefly mentioned before, or relate to the ultimate glory 
 and happiness of the church in the heavenly state. As 
 these visions are placed after an account of the destruction 
 of Gog and Magog, the resurrection of the dead and judg- 
 ment of the world, it is natural to think, that they succeed 
 these events, and are descriptive of the final happiness of 
 the saints in heaven. But the order in which the visions 
 are placed does not always mark the order of time, for the 
 same things are represented under different forms in suc- 
 cessive visions, and the history sometimes goes back and 
 comes over the same ground again with additional cir- 
 cumstances.* 
 
 The heavens and the earth are often used in & figurative 
 sense in prophecy, and particularly in this book, and, in 
 this sense, John's vision of the new heavens and new earth y 
 may apply to the Millennium. It appears to be the same 
 with what is promised in Isa. lxv. 17. " Behold I create 
 new heavens and a new earth ; and the former shall not 
 be remembered, nor come into mind." And the happiness 
 that shall be enjoyed in this new state of things is des- 
 cribed to the end of that chapter in terms suited to the 
 Millennium, but not to the ultimate blessedness of the 
 saints in heaven. Yet the apostle Peter, referring to the 
 
 * The Apocalypse is divided into two parts. The first contains a 
 regular succession of events from the apostolic age down to the con- 
 summation of all things, the prophecy beginning \uth the opening of 
 the first seal, chap. vi. 1, and ending with a summary of the events of 
 the seventh trumpet, chap. xi. 15 — 19. The second part, which fills 
 up the remainder of the book, falls within the same period, and is only 
 an enlargement and illustration of the things contained in the former 
 part, particularly such as relate to the church and its enemies. It is 
 to this part of the book that the above observation refers. 
 
 y Rev. xxi. 1. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 273 
 
 same promise, applies it to that state of things which shall 
 succeed the literal dissolution of the present heavens and 
 earth by fire, 2 which must be the state of heavenly happi- 
 ness. It is plain therefore that this promise has a two- 
 fold application ; and as there are several prophecies of 
 the Old Testament which have a first and secondary sense, 
 involving in the same prediction the affairs both of the 
 Jewish theocracy and of the kingdom of Christ, two con- 
 nected though successive dispensations ; so, in the present 
 case, the prophetic spirit in dilating on the happiness of 
 the Millennium, runs beyond it, and anticipates the suc- 
 ceeding glories of the heavenly state, to which it is so 
 nearly allied. 
 
 Indeed, upon any other hypothesis, it is not easy to ex- 
 plain and reconcile the different things contained in the 
 two last chapters of the Apocalypse. Some of them do 
 not come up to the account which the Scripture gives of 
 the complete glory and happiness of the heavenly state. 
 The new Jerusalem is repeatedly represented as " coming 
 down from God out of heaven :" a not that John might 
 get a view of it, as some conceive ; for he had visions of 
 things in heaven, and our Lord, in his promise to the 
 church of Philadelphia, describes new Jerusalem as that 
 " which cometh down out of heaven from God." b It must 
 therefore be a happy state of the church on earth, when 
 the tabernacle of God is with men, though of heavenly 
 origin. But the scripture always represents the place of 
 the saints' final happiness to be heaven itself where Christ 
 now is : their great reward is in heaven, and the inheri- 
 tance is reserved for them there c . — It is said, " the kings 
 of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it — And 
 they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into 
 it." d It requires some explanation to shew how this ap- 
 plies even to the church on earth, but seems altogether in- 
 applicable to the heavenly glorified state. — Again, it is 
 
 » 2 Pet. Hi. 13. a Rev. xxi. 2, 10. b Chap. iii. 12. 
 e John xiv. 3, chap. xvii. 24 ; Mat. v. 12 ; 1 Pet. i. 4. d Rev. xxi. 24, 26, 
 
274 Christ's commission 
 
 said, " And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day ; 
 for there shall be no night there." 6 i. e. its gates shall be 
 open continually ; they shall not be shut day nor night," f 
 which imports the free and ready access which converts 
 from all nations shall have into it, and who are called w the 
 glory and honour of the nations" in the next verse, and 
 " in Isaiah the forces of the Gentiles." g But there is no 
 continued admission of converts into heaven after the ac- 
 cepted time and day of salvation is past. — Further, it is 
 said of the tree of life which bare twelve manner of fruits, 
 and yielded her fruit every month," that " the leaves of 
 the tree were for the healing of the nations." 11 We cannot 
 apply this to the heavenly state, unless we suppose that 
 the nations of them that are saved will need this healing 
 after they are raised from the dead and glorified. These 
 particulars seem to be applicable only to the state of the 
 church during the Millennium. 
 
 But there are some parts of the description, which, if 
 taken in their strict and full sense, seem too high for the 
 Millennium, or any state of the church short of heaven. 
 It is promised that " God shall wipe away all tears from 
 their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sor- 
 row, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain ; for 
 the former things are passed away." 1 There are indeed 
 expressions similar to these in Old Testament prophecies 
 which seem to relate to a prosperous state of the church in 
 this world, k and in this view must not be taken in an ab- 
 solute but comparative sense, i. e. considered with relation 
 to the foregoing afflicted and persecuted state of the church. 
 But these expressions have also a higher sense, and are un- 
 doubtedly descriptive of the heavenly state ; for this pro- 
 mise is the very same with that in the prophecies of 
 Isaiah, " He will swallow up death in victory ; and the 
 Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces i" 1 which 
 
 « Rev. xxi. 25. f Isa. lx. 11. b Rev. xxi. 26 ; Isa. lx. 11. 
 
 h Rev. xxii. 2, with Ezek. xlvii. 12. '' Chap. xxi. 4. 
 k Isa. xxxv. 10 ; Hos. xiii. 14; Zech. xiv. 11. ' Isa. xxv. 8. 
 
TO HIS APOSTLES. 275 
 
 the Apostle explains of the resurrection of the dead, when 
 mortality shall be swallowed up of life m . — It is also said 
 that " the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it ; 
 and his servants shall serve him : and they shall see his 
 face : and his name shall be in their foreheads."" This 
 certainly must ultimately intend heaven itself where the 
 Divine Majesty peculiarly resides and has placed his throne, 
 where his glorious presence is most immediately and emi- 
 nently manifested, and where the redeemed shall for ever 
 enjoy the beatific vision of his blissful countenance. 
 
 " He who testifieth these things, saith, Surely I come 
 quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.'* 
 
 ■ 1 Cor. xv. 54. n Rev. xxii. 3, 4. 
 
 THE END OF THE COMMISSION. 
 
SEE M N. 
 
SER M N. 
 
 ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 
 
 2 Pet. i. 10, 11. 
 
 " Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your call- 
 ing and election sure, for if ye do these things ye shall never fall ; 
 for so an entrance shall be administered unto you abundantly into 
 the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 
 
 It is among the innumerable weaknesses of our nature, and 
 a sad proof of human degeneracy, that we are so apt to 
 run into extremes upon almost every subject, however plain 
 or however important. When the matter respects the 
 affairs of this mortal life only, it is the less to be deplored, 
 because the mistake may be rectified by time and experi- 
 ence ; or, if persisted in, the effects are not of vital in- 
 terest. But when the subject is religion, and stands con- 
 nected with the first principles of the oracles of God, the 
 error becomes fundamental, and its results of eternal 
 moment. 
 
 There are two obvious extremes into which the profes- 
 sors of Christianity are prone to slide in regard to the 
 assurance of hope, or a well-grounded persuasion of per- 
 sonal interest in Christ. Multitudes of professors, from 
 a mistaken view of the nature of that faith to which the 
 promise of salvation is made, have wrought themselves up 
 into a persuasion that they are the elect and called of 
 God, solely on the ground of a supposed work of grace 
 wrought in them, or their having appropriated Christ to 
 
1*80 OX THE ASSURANCE OP HOPE. 
 
 themselves ; and so their confidence of interest in him 
 stands entirely independent of the fruits of faith, or any 
 effects of the gospel upon them. This is a most danger- 
 ous mistake, because it tends to foster spiritual pride and 
 presumption, fortifies the mind against the scriptural 
 motives to watchfulness and cautious fear, too often lulls 
 men into a state of fatal security, and slackens their dili- 
 gence in, if it do not entirely supersede, the work of faith, 
 and labour of love, and patience of hope, by which the 
 first Christians made their calling and election sure to 
 themselves and others. 
 
 But there are others who wholly discard the doctrine of 
 the assurance of hope, as unattainable by the children of 
 God, and would even account it self-righteous, or an in- 
 fringement on the sovereignty of divine grace, in any one 
 to press after the possession of that high privilege. This 
 is the other extreme ; and though not attended with equal 
 danger, it is no less repugnant to the word of God, which 
 clearly holds forth the blessing as attainable, describes it 
 as the possession of many of those who first believed in 
 Christ, and states with abundant plainness how it is to be 
 enjoyed and maintained. The words of our text are well 
 suited to correct both these mistaken views of the subject, 
 and as it is a matter of the last importance to the pro- 
 fessed disciples of Christ, I shall endeavour, 
 
 I. To explain the terms contained in the text and make 
 some general remarks on it. 
 
 II. Enquire why so few attain to any certainty in their 
 own minds of their calling and election. 
 
 III. I shall show how this assurance may be attained 
 and preserved. 
 
 IV. Evince the great benefit of it. 
 
 First, then, I am briefly to explain the leading terms 
 contained in the text, and offer a few general remarks 
 upon the words. 
 
ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 281 
 
 The calling here spoken of does not signify the univer- 
 sal call of the gospel, which is not inseparably connected 
 with election; for Christ says that in this sense "many 
 are called, but few chosen," or elected, Matt. xxii. 14. 
 Nor does it mean such outward effects of that call in a 
 profession as may entitle us to the charitable regards of 
 one another ; for so was the man called who had not on 
 the wedding garment, Matt. xxii. 12. Neither does it 
 signify merely such inward effects of the word as consist in 
 illuminations, believing for a while, and receiving it with 
 joy ; for some may attain these who afterwards fall away. 
 " They on the rock are they, which when they hear receive 
 the word with joy ; and these have no root, which for a 
 while believe, and in time of temptation fall away," Luke, 
 viii. 13. — " For it is impossible for those who were once 
 enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and 
 were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted 
 the good word of God, and the powers of the world to 
 come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto 
 repentance ; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son 
 of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the 
 earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, 
 and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is 
 dressed, receiveth blessing from God," Heb. vi. 4 — 7. 
 But it means effectual calling, or true conversion, such as 
 is connected with election and final glorification. In this 
 sense the word is used — " Moreover whom he did predes- 
 tinate, them he also called ; and whom he called, them he 
 also justified ; and whom he justified, them he also glori- 
 fied," Rom. viii. 30 — " Even us, whom he hath called, not 
 of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles ?" ch. ix. 24. — 
 " That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called 
 you unto his kingdom and glory," 1 Thess. ii. 12. — " But 
 we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you brethren, 
 beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning 
 chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit, 
 and belief of the truth : whereunto he called you by our 
 
 bb2 
 
2S2 OX THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 
 
 Gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ," 2 Thess. ii. 13, 14. — " Who hath saved us and 
 called us with an holy calling ; not according to our works, 
 but according to his own purpose and grace, which was 
 given us in Christ Jesus before the world began," 2 Tim. 
 i. 9. Again, 
 
 Election here does not mean an election to be God's 
 church and people hi respect of outward profession and 
 privileges ; for those to whom Peter wrote were sure of 
 these already. Nor does it signify a particular election 
 to some special work or office ; for few of them had any 
 such election. Neither does it mean God's future choice 
 of them unto salvation in consequence of their diligence 
 or works ; for they are exhorted to diligence, not to pro- 
 cure their election, but to make it sure ; and Paul shews 
 that this election is purely of grace, which he makes to be 
 altogether incompatible with works — " Even so then at 
 this present time also, there is a remnant according to 
 the election of grace : and if by grace, then is it no more 
 of works ; otherwise grace is no more grace : but if it be 
 of works, then is it no more grace ; otherwise work is no 
 more work," Rom. xi. 5, 6. This election is expressly de- 
 clared to be God's choice of them in Christ Jesus before 
 the foundation of the world — " According as he hath 
 chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that 
 we should be holy and without blame before him in love," 
 Eph. i. 4. In this sense the word is used also in Rom. 
 ix. 11. " For the children being not yet born, neither 
 having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God 
 according to election might stand, not of works, but of him 
 that calleth," Rom. ix. 11. — " But we are bound to give 
 thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the 
 Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you 
 to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief 
 of the truth/' 2 Thess. ii. 13. It is much the same with 
 being predestinated, " For whom he did foreknow, he also 
 did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, 
 
ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 283 
 
 that he might be the firstborn among many brethren," 
 Rom. viii. 29. But further, 
 
 To make our calling and election sure or firm, does not 
 mean that we should do something to move God to elect 
 and call us ; for the purpose of God according to election 
 was previous to our existence, consequently to our having 
 done either good or evil : " For the children being not vet 
 born, neither having done good or evil, that the purpose 
 of God according to election might stand, not of works, 
 but of him that calleth," Rom. ix. 11 ; and he effectually 
 calls us in time, not according to our works, but accord- 
 ing to his own purpose and grace given us in Christ 
 Jesus before the world began, 2 Tim. i. 9. But it means 
 that we should make it sure or evident beyond all doubt 
 that we have been already really elected and called : not 
 to God, for he perfectly knows all whom he hath chosen 
 and called — " Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth 
 sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are 
 his : and let every one that nametli the name of Christ 
 depart from iniquity," 2 Tim. ii. 19 ; nor to our fellow men ; 
 for the highest evidence we can give to others of this, as 
 they do not know our heart, will not prove that we shall 
 never fall, as is here affirmed, ver. 10, 11. It must, there- 
 fore, signify that we should make our calling and election 
 sure to ourselves, to our own conscience in the sight of 
 God. Again, 
 
 Calling is here put before election, not to point out the 
 order of time in which they take place ; for election was 
 before the world began, whereas calling takes place at the 
 time of our conversion. But they are so arranged to 
 point out the order of evidence, or the way in which we 
 come to the certainty of them. We cannot know our 
 election at first hand ; we must begin with our calling, 
 and when we have sufficient evidence of that from its 
 genuine concomitants and effects, which are matters of 
 experience, then we may safely infer our election of God. 
 Once more, 
 
284 ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 
 
 When the Apostle speaks of " an abundant entrance 
 being administered into the everlasting kingdom of the 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," and connects it, as he evi- 
 dently does, with believers giving " diligence to make their 
 calling and election sure," there is an allusion in the words to 
 the case of a ship or vessel returning from her voyage, 
 with all her sails set, and majestically riding into port, 
 having the winds full in her favour, so that nothing im- 
 pedes or obstructs her entrance. Now when we transfer 
 this striking metaphor to the case of believers in Christ, 
 it implies their actual possession of the full assurance of 
 the hope of a blessed immortality, in opposition to the 
 case of some who are said to be saved, " yet so as by fire," 
 or as brands snatched from the burning. And when we 
 think of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, as the 
 haven of eternal rest, where all is peace, and harmony, and 
 joy eternal, we may see a great beauty and propriety in 
 the Apostle's allusion. 
 
 Secondly, Upon the words thus explained, I observe, 
 1. That every believer is not perfectly sure of his own 
 calling and election. This exhortation is not given to un- 
 believers, but to those who had obtained like precious 
 faith with the apostles, ver. 1. and who were established in 
 the present truth, ver. 12, whom, in his first epistle, he 
 calls, " elect according to the foreknowledge of God the 
 father, ch. i. 2, and whose faith, joy, hope, and love, he 
 commends so much — " Blessed be the God and Father of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant 
 mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the re- 
 surrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance 
 incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, 
 reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of 
 God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in 
 the last time ; wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for 
 a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold 
 temptations ; that the trial of your faith, being much more 
 precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried 
 
ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 285 
 
 with fire, might be found unto praise, and honour, and 
 glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ ; whom having not 
 seen ye love ; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet 
 believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of 
 glory ; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation 
 of your souls : of which salvation the prophets have en- 
 quired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the 
 grace that should come unto you," ver. 3 — 10. He, there- 
 fore, supposes them to have the real faith of the gospel, 
 and yet not to be perfectly certain of their own calling 
 and election, otherwise there would be no room for this 
 exhortation. True, indeed, whenever they believed the 
 gospel they must have had personal joy and hope from 
 the very nature of its testimony ; and they must also have 
 a present consciousness in their own minds that they do 
 believe it, and so must have all that evidence of their call- 
 ing and election which that inward consciousness can pro- 
 duce, unless they are mistaken as to the nature of faith, or 
 inattentive to the connection stated between faith and sal- 
 vation in the gospel promise. But this inward conscious- 
 ness does not finish the proof of their calling and election, 
 even though it should be attended with joy in the truth ; 
 for it remains yet to be proved that their faith and joy are 
 not those of the stony ground hearers, but of a predomi- 
 nant, abiding, and fruitful nature. Hence we may see 
 what room there is for this exhortation, and with what 
 propriety it is addressed to those who are supposed to be 
 real believers. Hence also we may learn that every de- 
 gree of self-jealousy, cautious fear, and doubt of our own 
 state, is not what the scripture calls unbelief, but may 
 consist with the firmest persuasion of the gospel ground 
 of hope, and of every thing that God hath revealed. 
 .John's first epistle clearly supposes all this. 
 
 2. The exhortation supposes that a believer may attain 
 the assured knowledge of his own particular calling and 
 election ; for we can never imagine that the inspired 
 Apostle would exhort them to give diligence to attain 
 
286 ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 
 
 what is absolutely unattainable. Paul exhorts the 
 Hebrews to the same thing — " And we desire that every 
 one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assur- 
 ance of hope unto the end,'' ch. vi. 11 ; and many of the 
 first Christians actually attained it, and frequently de- 
 clare it — " For I am persuaded that neither death, nor 
 life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things 
 present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor 
 any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the 
 love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord," Rom. viii. 
 38, 39, — " I am crucified with Christ ; nevertheless I live, 
 yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; and the life which I 
 now r live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, 
 who loved me, and gave himself for me," Gal. ii. 20. — " I 
 have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I 
 have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a 
 crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
 Judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but 
 unto all them also that love his appearing," 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8, 
 — " The elders which are among you I exhort, who am 
 also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, 
 and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed," 
 1 Pet. v. 1. 
 
 3. It also imports that diligence is necessary in order 
 to attain this assurance. We must not, indeed, limit the 
 sovereign Lord as to the manner, time, or degree in 
 which he bestows this attainment on different persons, or 
 upon the same person at different times. But it is only 
 in the way of giving diligence that he hath given us 
 ground to expect it, or that he ordinarily communicates 
 it. We are, however, certain that it is not bestowed upon 
 the presumptuous solifidian who boasts of his faith without 
 works. Nor can it be enjoyed by the slothful lukewarm 
 professor. Nor does it attend the self-righteous diligence 
 of the Pharisee, establishing his own righteousness. But 
 it is to be attained by diligence in the work of faith and 
 labour of love, and patience of hope in the Lord Jesus 
 
ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 287 
 
 Christ; for by these the Apostle knew the election of the 
 believing saints of Thessalonica — " Remembering without 
 ceasing your work of faith and labour of love, and pa- 
 tience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of 
 God and our Father ; knowing, brethren beloved, your 
 election of God," 1 Thess. i. 3, 4, and to this diligence he 
 exhorts the Hebrews, that they might attain the full assur- 
 ance of hope — " And we desire that every one of you do 
 shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto 
 the end," ch. vi. 11. But 1 come now to enquire, Why so 
 few professors have the assurance of their calling and 
 election ? And here we may notice, 
 
 1. As acommon cause, their ignorance of, or inattention 
 to, some very important truths, such as 
 
 That the salvation of guilty man is owing solely to the 
 sovereign mercy and grace of God, and not to any thing 
 naturally in themselves. While men are seeking to find a 
 reason or cause in themselves why God should elect or call 
 them more than those who perish, they cannot have worthy 
 and exalted views of the sovereignty and freedom of di- 
 vine grace, which is the fountain and first-spring of all 
 our salvation ; and in this situation they can never be cer- 
 tain of their calling and election, because they can never 
 find a just reason or ground for it in themselves. 
 
 Another thing they overlook, is, that this sovereign free 
 grace of God Has an ; : ■nourablevent to the guilty through 
 the finished work and mediation of the Son of God. If 
 men imagine tha < \ have any part of that work to do 
 which was proper to Christ in order to make their peace 
 with God, or procure his favour and acceptance, it is im- 
 possible that by all 'heir diligence upon this plan they 
 should make their •?.! ling and election sure; for all that 
 diligence which • ss in it any evidence of their calling 
 
 and election mus eed from this principle, that the work 
 
 which justifies ; igodly is already completely finished 
 
 by Christ in his and resurrection. It must be the 
 
 work of the faith of this truth and the labour of love to it. 
 
288 ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 
 
 They forget that men are interested in Christ, and jus- 
 tified not working, but simply believing what the gospel 
 testifies concerning him. If men are thinking to obtain 
 some qualifications in order to prepare them for Christ, or if 
 they are engaged in some laborious exercise, under the 
 notion of faith, in order to be justified, or obtain an inte- 
 rest in him, such labour, call it by what name they will, 
 can never produce any scriptural evidence of their calling 
 and election. 
 
 I add, That after having believed in Christ they must 
 continue to live hy the faith of him, and not by their own 
 righteousness or strength. Many admit the necessity of 
 Christ and his finished work as the ground of their peace 
 and acceptance with God at first, but they think they must 
 do the rest themselves. Hence they lose the comfort they 
 had at first in him, by turning aside to a scheme of self- 
 righteousness and self-dependence, as did the Galatians, 
 and so leave their first love like the Ephesians, even while 
 outwardly engaged in Christian duties. But all their dili- 
 gence in this way, however strict, zealous, and active they 
 may be, will never make their calling and election sure ; 
 because the life, spirit, and principle of Christian obedi- 
 ence is gone. Paul lived by the faith of Christ, by 
 Christ's living in him, and so could say he loved him, and 
 gave himself for him, Gal. ii. 20. Jesus tells us, we must 
 abide in him if we would bring forth fruit, for separate 
 from him we can do nothing, John xv. 4, 5. But I pro- 
 ceed to notice as another reason why so few professors 
 have this assurance, 
 
 2. Their indulging something wherein their heart con- 
 demns them, as not sincere and honest towards God. This 
 mars their confidence towards him — " For if our heart 
 condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth 
 all things,'' 1 John, iii. 20, and it prevents the testimony 
 of their conscience — " For our rejoicing is this, the testi- 
 mony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sin- 
 cerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, 
 
ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 289 
 
 we have had our conversation in the world, and more 
 abundantly to you-ward," 2 Cor. i. 12. There is a great 
 difference between this and the sense of indwelling sin, 
 which is the believer's burden — " O wretched man that I 
 am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?'' 
 Rom. vii. 24, and which well consists with the assurance 
 of our calling and election. 
 
 3. Their sloth and carelessness in the way of attain- 
 ing this assurance. The text itself shews that we must 
 give diligence to make our calling and election sure ; and in 
 order to this, we must not only believe the gospel, and 
 hold fast the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the 
 end of our Christian course ; but we must add to our 
 faith, virtue — that is, courage, or fortitude, in the open 
 profession of it, (as the original term here imports) and 
 that in opposition to our being ashamed of Christ, his 
 name, institutions, or laws ; but going forth to him with- 
 out the camp, bearing his reproach, confessing his name 
 before a scoffing world : and to boldness in our good pro- 
 fession must be added, an increase of knowledge, as in 
 ver.2 of this chapter — "the knowledge of God and of Jesus 
 our Lord " — a growing up to all riches of the full assur- 
 ance of understanding to the acknowledgment of the mys- 
 tery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ, in whom 
 are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, Col. 
 ii. 2, 3. To these things must also be added, temperance, 
 or the discreet regulation of our bodily appetites and pas- 
 sions, " keeping under the body and bringing it into sub- 
 jection," 1 Cor. ix. 27, mortifying all its irregular propen- 
 sities, Col. iii. 5, Eph. iii. 5. To temperance must be 
 added patience, a " patient continuance in well doing," 
 Rom. ii. 7, in opposition to fainting or growing weary in 
 our minds, Gal. vi. 9, and after the example of the Cap- 
 tain of our salvation, " running with patience the race 
 that is set before us," Heb. xii. 1 — 3. And to this patient 
 state of mind we must join the continual exercise of god- 
 liness, adoring, loving, and confiding in the Most High, 
 
 C C 
 
290 ON THE ASSURANCE OP HOPE. 
 
 delighting in his worship, and imitating all his imitahle 
 perfections, 1 Tim. vi. 11. Titus, ii. 12. — " and to godli- 
 ness brotherly kindness and charity" things on which an 
 important stress is always laid in the New Testament. 
 For not only has Christ given his new commandment of 
 brotherly love to be obeyed by all his disciples, and laid it 
 down as the rule or standard whereby they are to be dis- 
 tinguished as belonging to him ; but the Apostle John ex- 
 pressly says, " We know that we have passed from death 
 unto life, because we love the brethren," 1 John, iii. 14, 
 thus fixing our attention on it as one of the leading proofs 
 or evidences of the truth of our faith. These then are the 
 things about which our diligence must be continually ex- 
 ercised, and without which we never can attain to the 
 scriptural assurance of hope. It is a blessing that is not 
 dropped into the mouth of the yawning sluggard, but is 
 only to be attained by those who are zealous in their Chris- 
 tian profession, and who are giving diligence to obtain it. 
 But I remark, further, that another reason why so few 
 possess this privilege, is, 
 
 4. Their judging of themselves by uncertain evidences 
 of their calling and election. Things which hypocrites 
 may attain, and which the children of God may often 
 want in a great measure, and which, therefore, do not de- 
 termine their state with any certainty, however desirable 
 in themselves : such as lively, joyful, and warm frames 
 and feelings, and meltings of soul in devotional exercises. 
 These things are often very fluctuating, frequently arise 
 from constitutional and mechanical causes, and are only 
 to be judged of by their objects and effects : and we may 
 add in connection with this, that another reason is, 
 
 5. Their looking for some immediate and direct revela- 
 tion of their calling and election by the Spirit, distinct 
 from his witnessing with their spirits to the characters of 
 the children of God openly and plainly laid down in the 
 word, and by which we may know that we have passed 
 from death unto life. Hence many pretend to be sure of 
 
ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 291 
 
 their calling and election by some immediate voice, whisper, 
 or suggestion, or by some passage of Scripture impressed 
 upon their mind which tells them so. And hence others 
 who look for such immediate intimations, and have not 
 got them, remain in great uncertainty as to their calling 
 and election. I now proceed to show, 
 
 Thirdly ; How this assurance of our calling and elec- 
 tion may be attained and preserved according to the 
 Scripture. 
 
 Upon this head I lay down the following general posi- 
 tion ; viz. That our calling and election are only to be 
 made sure by their genuine and inseparable effects on our 
 hearts and lives. These effects are the scriptural evi- 
 dences or proofs by which the Spirit witnesseth with our 
 consciences that we are the chosen and called children of 
 God. The Spirit of God by means of the word is the pro- 
 ductive cause of these effects, and in his regenerating 
 work whereby he begets us to the faith we may be said to 
 be passive ; but his consequent influences upon believers 
 do not supersede the exercise of their own faculties, nor 
 their activity and diligence in these effects, but are of such 
 a nature as to excite these. Hence we find so many ex- 
 hortations in Scripture to do these things which the Lord 
 himself promiseth to do. Upon these principles Paul ex- 
 horts Christians, " Work out your own salvation with fear 
 and trembling," using this encouraging argument, " for it 
 is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his 
 good pleasure/' Phil. ii. 12, 13, where we see that the 
 working of the Spirit of God in believers so far from set- 
 ting aside their activity, is of such a nature as to produce 
 in them both willing and doing. In like manner though 
 the proof of our calling and election are the fruits of the 
 Spirit, yet we are exhorted to give diligence to make our 
 calling and election sure by bringing forth these fruits, or 
 by doing these things. But to be more explicit : 
 
 1. In order to make sure our calling and election we 
 must hold fast the faith of the Son of God and his finished 
 
292 ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 
 
 Avork as the ground of our acceptance with God, of 
 our standing in his favour, and of our everlasting en- 
 joyment of him. Faith itself is the first and radi- 
 cal evidence of our calling and election, for we are 
 chosen unto salvation through the belief of the truth, 
 2 Thess. ii. 13. It has also the promise of salva- 
 tion — " He that believeth shall be saved/' Mark, xvi. 16. 
 Further, it is the root and principle of all other evidences 
 of our calling and election, which can be proofs only as 
 they are the fruits of faith. He, therefore, who can say 
 in sincerity and with an honest heart that he believes in 
 his heart the testimony of God concerning his Son, and 
 the way of salvation by him ; that he counts it a faithful 
 saying and worthy of all acceptation ; and that all his 
 hope for life and salvation hinges upon it ; such a person 
 has the witness in himself of his calling and election, and 
 he is warranted to take the comfort of it ; " for the Scrip- 
 ture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall never be 
 ashamed," Rom. x. 11. But it should be observed, that 
 as there are degrees of faith, so this evidence will be 
 weaker or stronger according to these degrees of belief ; 
 and therefore Christians should give all diligence in the 
 use of every appointed means for strengthening and in- 
 creasing their faith — " Let that, therefore, abide in you, 
 which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which 
 ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye 
 also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And 
 this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal 
 life," 1 John ii. 24, 25. 
 
 2. Love to Christ is another solid evidence of our 
 calling and election. He keepeth mercy for thousands of 
 them that love him — " If any man love God the same is 
 known of him," 1 Cor. viii. 4. " All things work together 
 for good to them that love God, to them who are the 
 called according to his purpose," Rom. viii. 28, where we 
 see, them that love God are called, and that according to 
 his purpose wherein he foreknew, elected and predestinated 
 
ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 293 
 
 them. This love is a principal part of sanctification, and 
 they are " from the beginning chosen to salvation through 
 sanctification of the Spirit," 2 Thess. ii. 13. It is an im- 
 mediate fruit of faith and proves it genuine ; for faith 
 worketh by love, Gal. v. 6. Faith apprehends the motives 
 of love, and so excites it. This love manifests itself in 
 the first instance in the way of a supreme esteem of the 
 divine character as displayed in the work of salvation, and 
 in earnest desire after the divine favour as their chief hap- 
 piness : but when they attain the assurance of interest in 
 God's love, then it partakes of the nature of lively grati- 
 tude and delight. Now, he who can honestly say that he 
 esteems the character of God and his salvation above 
 every thing ; that he desires the enjoyment of his favour 
 and conformity to his image as his chief happiness, and 
 so counts all things but loss and dung for the excellent 
 knowledge of Christ, that he may win him, and be found 
 in him ; then he may conclude according to the Scripture 
 that he is called according to God's purpose. But still he 
 should give diligence to attain higher discoveries of the 
 love of God, that his love may be increased, and this proof 
 strengthened. So of every other fruit of the Spirit. 
 
 3. Obedience to his commands, as the fruit of faith and 
 love, is another solid evidence of our calling and election 
 — " Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they 
 may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through 
 the gates into the city," Rev. xxii. 14. Faith without 
 works is dead, James ii., for by works is faith made per- 
 fect. Love is also manifested in this way — " He that 
 hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that 
 loveth me," John xiv. 21. " This is the love of God that 
 we keep his commandments," 1 John v. 3. " But whoso 
 keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God per- 
 fected ; hereby know we that we are in him. If ye know 
 that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth 
 righteousness is born of him," 1 John ii. 5, 29. " We 
 know that we have passed from death unto life because 
 
 c c 2 
 
294 ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 
 
 we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother 
 abideth in death. My little children, let us not love in 
 word, neither in tongue ; but in deed and in truth. And 
 hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure 
 our hearts before him. And he that keepeth his com- 
 mandments dwelleth in him, and he in him : and hereby 
 we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he 
 hath given us," ch. iii. 14, 18, 19, 24. " Hereby know 
 we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath 
 given us of his Spirit. And we have known and believed 
 the love that God hath to us : God is love ; and he that 
 dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him," ch. 
 iv. 13, 16. " Remembering without ceasing your work 
 of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father," 
 1 Thess. i. 3. And in this way the Apostle directs to 
 make our calling and election sure — " Whereby are given 
 unto us exceeding great and precious promises : that by 
 these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having 
 escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 
 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith 
 virtue ; and to virtue knowledge ; and to knowledge tem- 
 perance ; and to temperance patience ; and to patience 
 godliness ; and to godliness brotherly kindness ; and to 
 brotherly kindness charity," 1 Pet. i. 4 — 7. Every act 
 of obedience arising from faith and love carries its own 
 evidence along with it of our calling and election, our 
 conscience bears witness to it, and is corroborated by the 
 witness of the Spirit. 
 
 I shall merely remark further on this head, that the as- 
 surance of hope can only be retained in the way of our 
 continuing in the faith, love, and obedience of the gospel. 
 The same divine truth which first relieved us, when sitting 
 in darkness and the shadow of death — which gave hope 
 to the dying thief and the murderers of the Lord of glory, 
 must be held fast by us unto the end, if we would enjoy 
 the comfortable assurance of hope, Heb. iii. 14, for no 
 
ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 29*5 
 
 sooner do we quit our hold of that which first gave us 
 confidence, and became the spring of good hope, namely, 
 the truth testified concerning Christ as delivered for our 
 offences and raised again for our justification, than our 
 minds become darkened and we lose the comfortable sense 
 of the divine favour. And as we must live daily by the 
 faith of the Son of God, so he must have the first place 
 in our affections ; love to Him must be the sweet and con- 
 straining motive to our obedience, for in no other way 
 can we enjoy the manifestations of his love. " If ye love 
 me keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father, 
 and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may 
 abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth. He that 
 hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that 
 loveth me ; and he that loveth me, shall be loved of my 
 Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to 
 him," John xiv. 15 — 21. Thus we may see how this as- 
 surance of hope is founded on the enjoyment of the love 
 of God, and not only keeps pace with that obedience 
 Avhich is the effect of that love, but is strengthened, en- 
 couraged, and promoted by our adding to our faith every 
 Christian virtue. I remark, 
 
 Fourthly ; That this assurance is a high state of pri- 
 vilege and benefit on several accounts. 
 
 1. With respect to our liveliness in the Christian life. 
 If our conscience be properly awake to the state in which 
 we stand as transgressors of the divine law — the conse- 
 quences of sin — the terrors of the Lord — and the misery 
 whieh awaits the wicked in a future state, it cannot be a 
 matter of small concern or indifference to us, to know 
 whether we are of the number of Christ's sheep to whom 
 he has promised to give eternal life or not. A mere per- 
 adventure will not satisfy us in this case. Nothing less 
 than " a good hope through grace" will set our hearts at 
 rest, and make us happy, zealous, and persevering in the 
 path of obedience. " I will run in the ways of thy com- 
 mandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart," Ps. cxix. 32. 
 
296 ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 
 
 2. This assurance of an interest in the divine favour 
 is of great importance as a motive of gratitude and thank- 
 fulness to God, and of our joy and happiness in him. 
 Christians are commanded to rejoice evermore, and in 
 every thing to give thanks, for this is the will of God in 
 Christ Jesus concerning them, 1 Thess. v. 18. And this 
 was a remarkable feature in the primitive disciples ; but 
 then they could say, " we have known and believed the 
 love that God hath to us. God is love ; and he that 
 dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein 
 is our love made perfect," 1 John, iv. 16, 17. " We know 
 that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved 
 we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens," 2 Cor. v. 1. " When Christ who 
 is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with him 
 in glory/' Col. iii. 4. 
 
 3. It is of much importance in regard to our support 
 under afflictions and the troubles of life. These things, 
 indeed, are the common lot of man ; but then how widely 
 different are they as dispensed out to the wicked and the 
 righteous. To the former they are effects of the divine 
 displeasure on account of their sins — to the latter they are 
 tokens of their heavenly Father's paternal regard — ap- 
 pointed by him — under his special direction and manage- 
 ment, and among the " all things that work together for 
 their good," Rom. viii. 28. It is hence the first Christians 
 were led to say, " we rejoice in hope of the glory of God ; 
 and not only so but we glory in tribulation also, knowing 
 that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience 
 (or proof of the sincerity of our faith) and experience hope : 
 and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is 
 shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost which is 
 given unto us — And not only so, but we also joy in God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have received 
 the atonement," Rom. v. 2 — 5, 11. Such is the privilege 
 of the people of God ; but while it remains a matter of 
 doubt and uncertainty to any, whether they themselves 
 
ON THE ASSURANCE OF HOPE. 297 
 
 are of that number, how is it possible they should take the 
 consolation that belongs to it ? I add lastly, that 
 
 4. The comfortable assurance of hope is absolutely 
 necessary to our loving Christ's second appearance. For 
 while we are at. an uncertainty whether w r e are his or 
 not, it is impossible we should be "looking for" that 
 solemn and interesting event, when he shall come to be 
 glorified in his saints and admired in all them that be- 
 lieved We shall rather deprecate the approach of that 
 day, and be disposed to adopt the language of one of old 
 — " Oh, spare me, that I may recover strength before I 
 go hence and be no more !" Psalm xxxix. 13. The be- 
 lievers to whom Peter wrote are described by him as " re- 
 joicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory,' 1 Pet i. 
 8. And under all their sufferings they were called upon 
 to exult that " when Christ should be revealed in his 
 glory they also should be glad with exceeding joy/' ch. iv. 
 13. And ye, beloved, " building up yourselves in your 
 most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep your- 
 selves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life," Jude, ver. 20, 21, 
 To conclude ; And now, little children, abide in him ; 
 that when he shall appear we may have confidence, and 
 not be ashamed before him at his coming. Amen, 
 
 finis. 
 
 TR1NTED AT THE COURIER OFFICE, ELGIN, 
 BY JEANS AND M'CIILLIVARY. 
 
 /