THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 SELECT SERMONS 
 
 ON 
 
 DOCTRINAL AND PRACTICAL SUBJECTS, 
 
 BY THE LATI 
 
 SAMUEL STILLMAN, D. D. 
 
 mi- 1 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 SEVERAL SERMONS NEVER BEFORE TUBLISHED. 
 
 TO WHICH IS PREFIXBO 
 
 A Biographical Sketch of the Author's Life, 
 
 BOSTON : 
 PRINTED BY MANNING &* LORING, 
 
 ANO iOLD AT THEIX BOOKSTORE, NO. 2, CORNIilM., 
 
 JAN. 1808.
 
 STILLMAN, Samuel, clergyman, b. in Phila- 
 delphia, Pa., 10 March, 1738; d. in Boston, Mass., 
 12 March, 1807. His youth was passed in 
 Charleston, S. C, where his parents had removed 
 when he was eleven years old. Plis education, 
 classical and theological, was good, though he at- 
 tended neither college nor seminary. He was or- 
 dained to the ministry in 1759, and soon afterward 
 became pastor of a Baptist church on James island. 
 Impaired health obliged him to leave the south, 
 and, after preaching for congregations in New Jer- 
 sey, he was called in 1765 to the pastoral charge of 
 the 1st Baptist church in Boston, which relation 
 he sustained for more than forty years. Few cler- 
 gymen in Xew England were held in higher es- 
 teem or exerted a wider influence. As a preacher 
 he had no superior. In all the philanthropic 
 movements that distinguished Boston he was an 
 active and honored worker. He was a member for 
 that city of the convention in 1788 that ratified 
 the constitution of the United States. His zeal 
 for education was e^ i.iced especially in the inter- I 
 est that he took in Brown university, in whose act , 
 of incorporation (1704) and first list of trustees * 
 his name appears. In 1788 that college conferred p 
 on him the degree of I). U. Dr. Stillman published !~ 
 a large number of sermons, among which were r* 
 "A Sermon on the Repeal of the Si imp-Act" l 
 (1706); "Thoughts on the French Revolution'" * 
 
 (1794' ); an l "A Sermon occasioned by the H 
 of q eorge Washington " (17W)). 

 
 BY 
 
 '/ ""> r ") 
 o O O 3 
 
 L 
 P 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 As many persons, and more especially the 
 parishioners and friends of the late Dr. Still man, 
 were particularly desirous of possessing his print- 
 ed sermons, which could not conveniently be ob- 
 tained, it was concluded, in order to gratify their 
 wishes, to republish them. But the committee 
 of his church, to whom were referred the sermons 
 for inspection, and who are the editors of this 
 work, were of opinion, that as many of them 
 were merely occasional, and of course had now 
 lost something of their interest, it would be more 
 judicious to select some of the most useful from 
 amongst those already published, and to add a 
 few original ones, which he himself had contem- 
 plated for publication, but left in an unfinished 
 state, to complete the volume ; adding, at the 
 close, a list of those which, though already print- 
 ed, are not included in this volume. 
 
 It was the usual method of Dr. Stillman, to 
 write the principal part of his discourses, but in 
 the application to note only the heads. To some 
 of these have been added a few appropriate scrip- 
 tural and other passages, by the Rev. Dr. Bald- 
 win, in order to fill up the chasm. 
 
 Those persons who have heard the sermons with 
 approbation, will no doubt peruse them with in- 
 terest, and it is devoutly to be hoped with lasting 
 advantage. To them, in a more especial manner, 
 their pastor, though dead, yet spcaketh. He still 
 exhorts them to aspire after perfect holiness ; to 
 
 i" '",' ' j . .(t-^
 
 W PREFACE. 
 
 reflect upon neglected opportunities of religious 
 improvement, now forever past ; to improve the 
 privileges they at present enjoy ; and to continue 
 stedfast in the faith once delivered to the saints. 
 The character of their Author will be immedi- 
 ately recognized in the following discourses, by 
 all who enjoyed the happiness of sitting under 
 his ministry. To their minds they will so forci- 
 bly recall his image, that they can scarcely per- 
 suade themselves that he is not still speaking. 
 Animated, however, as is the strain of feeling 
 which runs through them all, they cannot be as- 
 sociated, in the minds of others, with the impres- 
 sive manner, the persuasive eloquence, and the 
 ardent piety, which greatly increased their value 
 with those who heard and loved the preacher. 
 This consideration, however, it is to be hoped, 
 will not lessen their interest and use with any 
 persons, who are lovers of genuine piety, or dis- 
 posed to profit by the means it affords. Delicacy 
 forbids the editors to say more. They commit 
 the work to the public, and rest their judgment, 
 where it ought to rest with them. 
 
 Sincerely hoping that it may be the means of 
 strengthening the feeble, of encouraging the tim- 
 id, of awakening the secure, and of confirming 
 and edifying the saint, they profess themselves 
 the reader's sincere well-wishers, in the fellowship 
 and faith of our common Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 BOSTON, ) 
 JAN. 1808. J 
 
 .
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF 
 
 THE AUTHOR'S LIFE, 
 
 IVlEMOIRS of persons, who have been eminent 
 for their usefulness, or distinguished for their piety, can 
 scarcely fail to excite an interest. All who feel a so- 
 licitude for their own moral improvement, or an ardent 
 desire to see others attain to equal eminence, will com- 
 monly find in them some new motives and excitements to 
 animation, in running the race that is set before them. 
 
 It is with this ardent wish to stimulate others to strive 
 af er things that are excellent, that the editors of the fol- 
 lowing Discourses republish, with some additions, what 
 on a former occasion has been laid before the public, re- 
 specting the character of their author. To gain celeb- 
 rity to his memory, is the least object of desire. Whilst 
 living he sought most of all the praise of God ; and now 
 that he is dead, the applauses of men, could he be con- 
 scious of them, would to him be a matter of the smallest 
 moment, and less than the shadow of a shade. 
 
 In the biography however of the author, variety should 
 hardly be expected. The incidents of a pastor's life 
 are commonly few, and the sameness of his duties leads to 
 a sameness of employment. Yet to all to whom it is an 
 agreeable exercise to contemplate goodness of heart with 
 sensations of pleasure, and usefulness of life with emotions 
 of approbation, the perusal may ba attended with salutary 
 effects. 
 
 b
 
 VI BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF R. STII.LMAN. 
 
 Samuel Stillman was born in the city of Philadelphia, 
 of parents respectable for their virtues, and of the religious 
 persuasion of Particular Baptists. At the age of eleven 
 years he was removed with them to Charlefton, South Car- 
 olina, and there received the rudiments of his education, at 
 an academy under a Mr Rind. His improvements there 
 were such as presaged his future worth ; and he gave early 
 indications of a mind seriously impressed with a sense of 
 religious truth. In one of his manuscripts we find some 
 account of very early religious impressions being made upon 
 his mind. These, however, he observes, were generally of 
 short continuance, until more effectually awakened by a 
 sermon delivered by the late excellent Mr. Hart, when, to 
 borrow his own language, he says, " My mind was again 
 solemnly impressed with a sense of my awful condition as a 
 sinner. This conviction grew stronger and stronger. My 
 condition alarmed me. I saw myself without Christ and 
 without hope.^ I found that I deserved the wrath to come, 
 and that God would be just to send me to hell. I was now 
 frequently on my knees, pleading for mercy. As a beg- 
 gar I went, having nothing but guilt, and no plea but mer- 
 cy." How long he continued in this distressed condition 
 is not particularly stated, but it appears from several passa- 
 ges of scripture, he obtained a degree of hope and comfort, 
 though not entirely satisfied. Not long after, he heard 
 Mr. Hart discourse from Matt. i. 21. " And she shall 
 bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus ; for he 
 shall save his people from their sins." From this sermon 
 he received consolation, and adds, " Christ then became 
 precious to me, yea, all in all. Then I could say of wis- 
 dom, " Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her 
 paths are peace." That I still think was the day of my 
 espousal. Glory be to God, for the riches of his grace to 
 me. Why me, Lord ? &c." He was soon after baptized, 
 and received into the church under the pastoral care of 
 Mr. Hart. 
 
 After finishing his classical education, he spent one 
 year in the study of divinity with that gentleman. Being 
 called by the church, he preached his first sermon on the
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. STILLMAX. vli 
 
 I7th of February, 1758 ; and on the 26th of February, 
 1759, was ordained in the city of Charleston, South Car- 
 olina, to the work of an evangelist. 
 
 Immediately afterwards, however, he settled at James 
 Island, a most pleasant situation opposite the city. Soon 
 after he visited the place of his nativity, and on the twen- 
 ty-third of May, the same year, married Hannah, the 
 daughter of Evin Morgan, Esq. merchant of that place, 
 by whom he afterwards had fourteen children. He also 
 took his degree at the university there, and returned to 
 his society on James Island. But he had not continued 
 above eighteen months with his affectionate and united 
 people, before a violent attack of a pulmonary com- 
 plaint, forced his removal to another climate. He accord- 
 ingly fixed himself with his family at Bordentown, 
 New Jersey, where he supplied two different congrega- 
 tions for the space of two years. His ill health some- 
 what improved, but by no means restored, determined him 
 at length to visit New England, hoping that the exercise, 
 together with the change of air, might yet further mend 
 his impaired constitution. 
 
 On his arrival here, 1763, at the request of the Second 
 Baptist Church, he removed his family to Boston, and 
 after preaching one year as an assistant to the late Rev. 
 Mr. Bound, accepted an invitation to settle with the First 
 Baptist Church, and was installed over it January 9, 1 765. 
 
 By nature he was endowed with a sprightly genius, a 
 good capacity, and an uncommon vivacity and quickness 
 of apprehension. His feelings were peculiarly strong 
 and lively, which imparted energy to whatever he did, 
 and under the influence and control of religious princi- 
 ples, served to increase and diffuse his eminent piety. 
 To this constitutional ardour both of sentiment and ac- 
 tion, which led him to enter with his whole soul into 
 every subject which engaged his attention, he united a 
 remark.ible delicacy of feeling and sense of propriety, and 
 such sprightliness and affability in conversation, such ease 
 and politeness of manner:, and at the same time such a 
 jjlow of pious zeal and affection, as enabled him to min-
 
 V1U BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. STILtMAK. 
 
 gle with all ranks and classes of people, and to discharge 
 all his duties as a Christian minister and a citizen, with 
 dignity, acceptance, and usefulness. The lively interest 
 he appeared to take, in whatever affected the happiness or 
 increased the pleasures of his friends, the gentleness of 
 his reproofs and the gratification he seemed to feel in 
 commending others, united to his social qualities, endear- 
 ed him to all who knew him. 
 
 The popularity of a preacher commonly declines with 
 his years. Dr. Stillman, however, Was a singular excep- 
 tion to this general remark. He retained it for upwards 
 of forty-two years ; and his congregation, which, upon his 
 first connexion with it, was the smallest in the town, at 
 the age of seventy, the period of his death, he left 
 amongst the most numerous. 
 
 As a minister of Christ, his praise was in all the 
 churches j and wherever his name has been heard, an un- 
 common degree of sanctity has been connected with it. 
 His principles were highly Calvinistic, and all his sermons 
 bore strong marks of his warm attachment to that system. 
 The natural strength and ardour of his feelings, indeed, 
 imparted zeal to whatever opinion he espoused, and 
 activity to whatever duty he performed. Yet with all 
 his quickness of perception, and acutcness of feeling, his 
 temper was under admirable control, and he was always 
 the thorough master both of his words and actions. "Thus 
 embracing what have been denominated the distinguishing 
 doctrines of the gospel, he explained and enforced them 
 with clearness, and with an apostolic zeal and intrepidity. 
 
 On the leading principles of the gospel, he always 
 preached and conversed as a Christian minister, who 
 took a deep and hearty interest in their diffusion and 
 establishment. But he did not depend for success on his 
 zeal and fidelity. He knew that what he was, and what 
 he was enabled to do in the cause of God, were wholly by 
 his gracious influence. Whilst he realized his own entire 
 dependence, and that of others, he was animated in duty, 
 believing that the Lord meeteth all who rejoice and work 
 righteousness, those who remember him in his ways.
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. STILLMAN. ix 
 
 A subject on which he often spoke with grateful ado- 
 ration was, the true and proper Godhead of the Lord Je- 
 sus Christ. His views of sin as an infinite evil necessarily 
 impressed upon his mind this truth. He considered the 
 Saviour as an infinitely worthy object of divine worship, 
 and in consequence of this dignity of character qualified to 
 make atonement for sin. On this foundation rested his 
 hope of salvation ; and if this were not a reality, he des- 
 paired of entering into glory, and believed the salvation of 
 every sinner an impossible event. But having no doubt 
 on this cardinal point, he was enabled to preach the gos- 
 pel with clearness. 
 
 On the subject of the trinity and unity of God, he lit- 
 erally believed the declaration of John, " There are three 
 that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and 
 the Holy Ghost, and these three are one " but as to an 
 explanation of the manner or mode of subsistence of the 
 divine nature, he would say he had nothing to do j for 
 revelation did not explain it. He only declared it as a 
 truth to be believed on the divine testimony. 
 
 The total moral depravity of man was a principle on 
 which he much insisted on all proper occasions. He had 
 no idea that there was any latent spark of holiness in the 
 heart of a natural man, which, as some suppose, can be 
 kindled by the exertions of the sinner, and kept alive 
 by the same means. This opinion he reprobated with 
 all his heart, viewing it as a denial of that grace which is 
 revealed in the gospel, and as having a natural tendency 
 to take the crown <<f glory from the head of Immanuejl. 
 In contradiction of this error, he would often remark on 
 this text as a motto congenial to the feelings of a believ- 
 er, '* Upon himself (Jesus) shall his crown flourish." So 
 far was he removed from such mistake, that he believed 
 the real Christian, though renewed by the Holy Spirit, 
 was constantly dependent on God's immediate agency 
 for the origin and continuance of every gracious exercise. 
 Although he believed the entire sinfulness of the natural 
 heart, he did not erroneously connect with it a license to 
 sin, nor suppose that men are released from moral duties
 
 X BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. STILLMAN. 
 
 because they are indisposed to them. From the fact that 
 man is endowed with reason, will and affections, he argu- 
 ed his moral obligation to believe what God has revealed, 
 and obey what he has commanded. 
 
 As his views of man's depravity were clear and dis- 
 tinct, he of consequence saw the necessity of regenera- 
 tion by the free and sovereign agency of the Holy Ghost. 
 That operation of God by which this change is effected, 
 he did not consider as a mere circumstantial alteration or 
 new modification of the sinful affections, but that a new 
 disposition was given to the soul, well described by Paul 
 as a new creation. In this change he supposed the per- 
 son was brought to have entirely new views of moral 
 subjects. 
 
 Respecting the atonement of Christ, his sentiments were 
 honorary to truth. He considered it as an illustration of the 
 divine perfections not discoverable by any other medium ; 
 exhibiting to all intelligent beings the odious nature of 
 sin, God's lov,e to holiness, and his unspeakable mercy to 
 the guilty. He viewed the merits of Christ in his obedi- 
 ence and death, as having an infinite value, and as possess- 
 ing a sufficiency for the salvation of every individual of the 
 human race, had it been the will of God to make its ap- 
 plication to the conscience so extensive ; but from di- 
 vine revelation he learned that its design was particular, 
 respecting, in its application to the heart, the elect only. 
 He did not, however, connect with this the erroneous 
 idea of some, that all men were not under obligation to 
 repent of their sins and believe the gospel ; but whilst he 
 believed the condemnation of sinners was by the moral 
 law, he supposed that this condemnation would be greatly 
 aggravated by a rejection of the gospel, and that they 
 would be treated as those who despised God's grace. 
 
 His ideas of the faith which accompanies salvation 
 were, that it was a belief of the gospel ; a hearty recep- 
 tion of that plan of grace which is revealed in Christ Je- 
 sus, accompanied with holy love and every gracious ex- 
 ercise. He rejected the error, that the essence of fai'h 
 consists hi a person's believing that Christ died for him
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ST1L1MAN. Xt 
 
 in particular ; no such proposition being contained in the 
 word of God, and no one being warranted to believe this 
 till he has good evidence of his regeneration. From his 
 ideas of faith he naturally inferred that good works would 
 uniformly follow. These he zealously enforced as an 
 evidence of faith, but not as designed to originate it. 
 Practical godliness was a subject on which he often preach- 
 ed, and which he urged on believers from the noblest 
 gospel motives. 
 
 The purpose of God in his eternal election of a certain 
 number of the human race to salvation, was a principle 
 dear to Dr. Stillman, as a truth clearly revealed. Believ- 
 ing the carnal mind, or natural heart, to be enmity against 
 God, he very justly concluded, that if any sinners were 
 saved, their salvation must be effected by an influence 
 extraneous from themselves. To imagine with some, that 
 God had left it with depraved men to meet him in any 
 conditions which they were to perform, he would repre- 
 sent as dishonorary to the Divine Majesty, who will not 
 give his glory to another. Neither could he believe that 
 any of God's designs originated in time ; but that all his 
 purposes were, like himself, eternal. This was his ground 
 of encouragement to preach, knowing that God had de- 
 termined by the foolishness of preaching to save them 
 that believe, and that he had promised to make a willing 
 people in the day of his power. 
 
 From his clear apprehension of eternal personal elec- 
 tion, he was firmly established in the final perseverance 
 to eternal glory of all those who are regenerated by the 
 Spirit of God ; and that the grace given is an incorrupti- 
 ble seed. 
 
 The opinion that religious establishments are contrary 
 to the New Testament, was defended by him. His ideas 
 on this subject are plainly expressed in his sermon before 
 the General Court of Massachusetts, in 1779. The in- 
 terference of rulers, as such, in matters of conscience, he 
 ever considered as an infringement of natural right. In 
 this sermon he shewed that his own ideas on this subject 
 were similar to those of the immortal Locke. He was i
 
 fcil BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. STILLMANi 
 
 cordial friend to religious liberty ; and all his conduct it! 
 life towards Christians from whom he differed, manifested 
 that he was heartily willing that every conscientious citi- 
 zen should worship in the manner which agreed with the 
 dictates of his conscience, after a candid examination of 
 the word of God. 
 
 He preached much to the feelings, and to the heart ; 
 and numbers on whose minds naked reason and simple 
 truth could produce no serious effects, his powerful elo- 
 quence was a happy means both of touching and reclaim- 
 ing. Nor was he only a preacher of righteousness. Few 
 men ever exemplified more than he did, the virtues he 
 recommended to others. Whilst he exhibited to his flock 
 the various trials and comforts of Christians, whilst he 
 guided them in the way to eternal life, he led them also 
 by his own example. 
 
 His sermons were always ftudied, and it was his judi- 
 cious practice principally to write them. Yet from his 
 manner of delivery, a manner peculiar to himself, he al- 
 ways appeared as easy as if speaking extempore. Indeed 
 it was his constant method to add at the moment such 
 thoughts as occurred to his mind whilst speaking. These 
 thoughts were as naturally connected with the subject as 
 though they had been a studied part of it ; and as they 
 were usually delivered with much pathos, they had the 
 happiest effect upon the audience. 
 
 As a public speaker, as a pulpit orator, he was second 
 perhaps to none. Nature had furnished him with a 
 pleasant and most commanding voice, the very tones of 
 which were admirably adapted to awaken the feelings of 
 an audience, and he always managed it with great success. 
 His manner, though grave and serious, was peculiarly 
 graceful, popular, and engaging. His remarkable anima- 
 tion gave additional interest to every subject he handled. 
 Those who heard him might with propriety have said of 
 him what was said of another eminent preacher " This 
 man is in earnest ; he believes what he says, and says 
 what he believes. Verily this is a man of God. Ten 
 such men, and Sodom would have stood."
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. STILLMAtf. it 
 
 His eloquence was of the powerful and impressive, 
 rather than of the insinuating and persuasive kind, and so 
 strikingly interesting, that he never preached to an inat- 
 tentive audience. And even those who dissented from 
 him in some minor theological opinions, were still pleased 
 with hearing him, for they knew his sincerity, they knew 
 him to be a good man. 
 
 Few persons are alike eminent in all the different du- 
 ties of the ministerial office ; but it would perhaps be 
 difficult to say in which of these Dr. Stillman most 
 excelled. 
 
 In prayer he always seemed to his audience as if en- 
 gaged with a present Deity. His addresses to Heaven 
 were generally short, but very comprehensive ; they were 
 solemn and edifying, and usually very feeling and impres- 
 sive ; and thus coming from the heart, they seldom failed 
 to reach the hearts of others. 
 
 In the chamber of sickness and affliction he was always 
 a welcome visitor. So well could he adapt his conversa- 
 tion, as to comfort or to caution, to soothe or to awaken, 
 just as the case seemed to require. And if he administer- 
 ed reproof, it was done in ?o delicate and mild a manner, 
 that it oftener conciliated esteem, than created offence. 
 In his prayers with the sick and afflicted, however intri- 
 cate the occasion, he was always both appropriate and 
 highly devotional. So eminent was his character for pi- 
 ety, and so universally was he beloved, that he was often 
 called to the sick and afflicted of other denominations. 
 And his sympathetic feelings, and his fervent supplications 
 seldom failed to pour the balm of consolation into the 
 wounded bosom. The sick would almost forget their 
 pains, and the mcurner cease to sigh. How many 
 wounded hearts he has bound up, and from how many 
 weeping eyes he has wiped the tears away how many 
 thoughtless sinners he was the means of awakening, and 
 how many saints he has edified and built up unto eternal 
 life how many wavering minds he has settled, and to how 
 many repenting sinners his words have administered 
 peace, can be fully known only at the great day ! 
 (
 
 XIV BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. STILLMAN. 
 
 It having pleased the Author of "Wisdom to visit Dr. 
 Stillman with peculiar trials, and having largely experi- 
 enced the supporting influence of religion under them, he 
 was eminently qualified to administer consolation to oth- 
 ers. Few persons could describe with such accuracy, or 
 enter with such facility into the feelings and exercises of 
 the tempted, tried believer. Like a skilful surgeon, he 
 knew when the wound was sufficiently probed, and when 
 to apply the healing balm of promise. 
 
 In the course of a few years he was called to bury sev- 
 en of his children, all adults, and some of them with ris- 
 ing families, having previously buried five children in in- 
 fancy. But notwithstanding his domestic trials were so 
 great, his Christian patience and submission were equal 
 to them all. Such was his perfect confidence in the wis- 
 dom of God's government, that with all his extreme sen- 
 sibilities, his mind lost nothing of its lively confidence, 
 or of its cheerful hope. 
 
 Dr. Stillman was possessed of great benevolence of 
 heart, and was a sincere lover of persons of every Chris- 
 tian denomination, whom he esteemed pious and good. 
 Though from education and from principle a Baptist him- 
 self, he never believed that the peculiarities of any sect 
 ought to form a separating line, or hinder the union of 
 good men, for the advancement of the common cause of 
 the Redeemer. With many such he long lived in habits 
 of undissembled friendship, and by them his death will 
 not very soon cease to be regretted. 
 
 With a view more especially to assist young men in 
 attaining a suitable education for the ministry, he suc- 
 cessfully employed his talents and zeal in aiding the inter- 
 ests of Brown University, Rhode-Island, which owes much 
 to his exertipns. 
 
 It might be mentioned as a proof of the high estima- 
 tion in which his talents were held as a preacher, that 
 there is scarcely any public occasion on which he has not 
 at one time or another officiated. The university of 
 Cambridge conferred on him the honorary degree of 
 Master of Arts, in 1761. The college in Rhode-Island, 
 of which he was both a Trustee and a Fellow, in 1788
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. STII.LMAN. XV 
 
 gave him a diploma of Doctor in Divinity. He was 
 elected a member of the Federal convention for the town 
 of Boston the same year, anil distinguished himself there 
 by a most eloquent speech in its defence. In 1789 he 
 was appointed to deliver the anniversary oration on inde- 
 pendence to the town of Boston, which he accomplished 
 in a manner both handsome and acceptable. 
 
 The social feelings of the Doctor were strong, and his 
 powers of conversation such as always pleased. In 
 his manners there was an unaffected elegance and ease, 
 which rendered him uncommonly agreeable to every cir- 
 cle. The affability and kindness with which he treated 
 persons of every description were not less the effect of a 
 natural delicacy than of a general knowledge of mankind. 
 Hence to the great he never could appear servile, nor 
 imperious to those in humbler stations. To both he was 
 the gentleman, and in private company as much esteem- 
 ed as he was popular in his public performances. His 
 benevolent heart was feelingly alive to distress of every 
 kind, and in contributing to its alleviation in every shape 
 he was actively useful. We find his name amongst the 
 first members of the Humane Society of this Common- 
 wealth. Of the Massachusetts Charitable Fire Society 
 he was a useful officer, and of the Boston Dispensary a 
 member from its beginning, and President at his death. 
 The Boston Female Asylum is likewise much indebted to 
 his exertions. He was also an almoner of the private 
 charity of many individuals, who confided in his knowl- 
 edge and judgment of suitable objects. 
 
 A particular trait of his character, in which he truly 
 shone as a Christian minister, was the tenderness and 
 promptitude with which he conversed and prayed with 
 several unhappy persons who were condemned and exe- 
 cuted for violations of certain penal laws. Every one 
 who was acquainted with the familiar, yet dignified 
 manner in which he spoke on religious subjects, can 
 form some idea of the solicitude with which he visited 
 those persons in prison, to whom he was called. It 
 pleased God to bless him in these endeavours, by mak- 
 ing him instrumental of leading some of them to the
 
 XVI BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. STILI.MAN'. 
 
 knowledge of the Lord Jesus. It was his custom to im- 
 press on their minds a solemn sense of their accountability 
 to God, to show them from his word their state as sin- 
 ners exposed to his wrath, and then to set before their 
 minds the grace and mercy which could be extended to 
 the most guilty who believe in Christ. It was a truth ia 
 which he gloried as a minister of the New Testament, 
 that he could, according to his commission, freely ex- 
 hibit to the view of a dying sinner, a salvation in Christ 
 Jesus which is complete, and wholly independent of any 
 creature righteousness. On this subject he would say, I 
 have no time to trifle with men's souls by directing them 
 to depend on their own exertions, but I will point them 
 to Jesus, who is the end of the law for righieousness to 
 every one who believeth. 
 
 Such was the faithfulness with which he discharged 
 the various duties incumbent on him as a minister of the 
 gospel j such was his zeal for the glory of God and the 
 good of souls, that it may be truly said of him, he was 
 the happy man. Holy, spiritual religion was not with 
 him a transient, visionary thing, but the element in which 
 he breathed. His soul was often so enlarged in declaring 
 the glorious gospel, and in expatiating on the riches of 
 God's grace as manifested in his word, that he not only 
 seemed himself to enjoy a prelibation of heaven, but to 
 have been enabled by divine influence to communicate 
 this blessedness to others ; so that his friends have often 
 said, after having heard his private conversation or public 
 preaching, truly our fellowship was with the Father, with 
 his Son Christ Jesus, and with one another through the 
 Spirit's influence. 
 
 To his church and people he was strongly attached, and 
 particularly attentive.* Nor did he ever suffer any calls 
 
 * For a long time previous to his death, he was particularly- 
 anxious that a colleague pastor should be settled with him. Know- 
 ing that time with him was short, he ardently wished to see his 
 church and congregation happily united in a person, whose senti- 
 ments and character he should entirely approve, and to who;.e care 
 he could cheerfully confide his charge, when he should he called to 
 put off the earthly hou^e of his tabernacle. To effect this object,
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. STII.LMAN. XVH 
 
 of relaxation or amusement to interfere with the conscien- 
 tious discharge of the smallest professional duty. His 
 duty was indeed always his delight, and nothing in his 
 mind ever stood in any sort of competition with it. 
 
 His congregation always reciprocated his warm attach- 
 ment to them. They ever sat delighted under his preach- 
 ing, and felt a pride in him as an accomplished pulpit 
 orator, no less than a love for him as an excellent preacher ; 
 and neither of them were any ways diminished by the 
 attention of strangers who visited the metropolis, and were 
 commonly desirous of hearing this celebrated minister 
 before they left it. 
 
 In the different walks of social and private life, Dr. 
 Stillman was peculiarly amiable. Those most intimately 
 connected with him, ever found him a pleasant companion, 
 a judicious counsellor, and a faithful friend. The various 
 offices of domestic life were discharged with the same 
 fidelity and tenderness which marked his public conduct. 
 Of husbands, he was one of the most kind and affection- 
 ate ; of parents, the most tender and endearing. Indeed, 
 all who resided under his roof experienced his paternal 
 care and goodness. 
 
 Through life his habit of body had been weakly, and 
 he was not unused to occasional interruptions of his min- 
 isterial labours ; yet he survived all his clerical cotempo- 
 raries, both in Boston and its vicinity. It was his constant 
 prayer that his life and usefulness might run parallel : in 
 this his desires were gratified. He had now attained the 
 age of seventy years, when the time of his departure had 
 
 in his view so important, his labours were incessant ; and Providence 
 seemed to smile on his endeavours. The Rev. Josuph Clay, from 
 Georgia, having visited the town of Boston, appeared, both to the 
 pastor and the flock, to be the very object of their united wishes. 
 Proposals having been accordingly made to him for settlement, 
 which he accepted, necessary arrangements were making for it. 
 The Doctor was delighting himself with the prospect ; but it pleased 
 Heaven that he should not be permitted to realize its accomplish- 
 ment. Mr. Clay had returned to the southward, to settle his affair* 
 there. Two or more months before his return, the period he had 
 fixed for it, the melancholy circumstance of Dr. Stillman's death 
 ou;uiixd. The following August Mr. Cluj '$ jflstallation took pi. :
 
 XV1U BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. STILLMAN'. 
 
 arrived. A slight indisposition detained him at home the 
 two last Lord's days of his life. On the Wednesday fol- 
 lowing the second of them, without any previous symp- 
 toms, he was suddenly attacked at eleven o'clock, A. M. 
 by a paralytic shock. At ten at night he grew insensible, 
 and at twelve his useful life and labours were terminated 
 together. Could he have selected the manner of his 
 death, it had probably been such an one as this, which 
 spared him the pain of separation from a flock he was 
 most ardently attached to, and a family he most tenderly 
 loved ; a scene which, to a person of his feeling mind, 
 notwithstanding all his religion, must have occasioned a 
 shock. 
 
 In one of his sermons, preached after the death of the 
 late Dr. Peter Thacher, of this town, he says, " Though 
 we would not wish to choose, or offer to dictate to Infinite 
 Wisdom, as to the manner of our exit, yet may we be 
 permitted to say, that when good men are suddenly cut 
 down, they avoid the pains and extreme distresses that 
 always accompany a lingering sickness. And though we 
 would not pray, From sudden death, good Lord, deliver 
 us, we would devoutly pray, For sudden death, good Lord, 
 prepare us." 
 
 On the Monday following his death, his remains were 
 attended to his meeting house, where a pathetic and ap- 
 propriate discourse was delivered on the occasion, by the 
 Rev. Dr. Baldwin, pastor of the Second Baptist Church 
 in this town, to an immensely thronged and deeply af- 
 fected assembly, from 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8 ; after which his 
 remains were conveyed to the tomb, amidst the regrets of 
 a numerous concourse of people, who crowded around his 
 bier, anxious to take a last look of the urn which contained 
 the relicks of him, who once to them was so dear, but 
 whose face they should now behold no more. 
 
 The following extracts from Dr. Stillmans manuscripts are expressive 
 examples of those pious feelings which he habitually cherished and 
 indulged. 
 
 "May 1, 1789. This evening I received the melan- 
 choly news of the death of my dear son
 
 BlOGRvVPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. STILLMA.V. XIX 
 
 (the fourth of his adult children, he had within a short 
 time been called to resign.) O that the Lord would gra- 
 ciously support me and mine under this solemn and dis- 
 tressing event, and help us to make a proper improvement 
 of it. I know it is the Lord who hath done it, and am 
 confident he can do no wrong. 
 
 " On the following Lord's day preached in the morning 
 from John xviii. 11. " The cup which my Father hath 
 given me, shall I not drink it ?" In the afternoon from 
 Gen. xlii. 36. " Me have ye bereaved of my children : 
 Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benja- 
 min away. All these things are against me." To me, 
 and to an affectionate congregation, a solemn and affect- 
 ing season." 
 
 Upon the subject of his removal from James Island, 
 South Carolina, to Boston, he writes thus : 
 
 " I left an agreeable settlement, to come to Boston ; 
 but the way of duty was so plainly pointed out to me, that 
 1 do not recollect that I ever had a single doubt about it. 
 God hath made my way prosperous and happy. Th$ 
 people of my own charge, both church and congregation, 
 have been always happily united, and have at all times 
 studied to make me happy. May the Lord reward them 
 for all their labours of love to me, an unworthy creature. 
 
 In Boston I have also enjoyed a pleasing intimacy with 
 Christians of different denominations. Since my resi- 
 dence in it, I have met with some great afflictions, having 
 been deprived of my dear children by death, in melan- 
 choly succession. But the Lord hath never left nor for- 
 saken me : underneath hath been the everlasting arm ; 
 and I have found it good to be afflicted. My friends have 
 pitied me and mine, and the Lord hath helped us. My 
 tri Is have been comparatively few, and my blessings in- 
 numerable." 
 
 " February, 1 806. One year more of my life and min- 
 istry is gone. How wonderfully hath the Lord preserved 
 such an unworthy creature as I am ! O how little have 
 I done for God ! '1 lie Lord forgive me, and help me, 
 the few days that may remain, to live for him alone. 
 Help, Lord \ help me to iiiiish my course with joy, and
 
 XX BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Ot OR. STlLLMAJf. 
 
 the ministry which I have received of thee, so that thou 
 mayest be glorified. I wait till thou call me hence." 
 
 On the 15th of February, the last Lord's day but one 
 of his preaching, he notes, " On Tuesday next I shall 
 finish the forty-ninth year of my ministry. How aston- 
 ishing hath the divine goodness been to me, the chief of 
 sinners, and the least of saints ! I now am near my end. 
 O that I may glorify God to the last moment of my life. 
 In life and death Christ is my refuge : to him I flee, look- 
 ing for salvation through him alone. It is all grace, or I 
 am undone. But, blessed be God, there is redemption 
 through the blood of Christ, the forgiveness of sins, ac- 
 cording to the riches of his grace. If God be for us, 
 who can be against us ? The doctrines I have preached 
 through life are now my own support and consolation ; 
 and had I ten thousand souls, I think I could trust them 
 all with Him who is " mighty to save," without the least 
 hesitancy. Blessed be his name for the prospect of an 
 eternity to love and praise him. Amen and amen." 
 
 The following prayer, written on the close of an anni- 
 versary of his ministry, a few years before his death, evi- 
 dences that the good of the people to whom he preached 
 lay near his heart, and that he realized the importance of 
 a gospel ministry amongst them. 
 
 *' How long have I lived, and to how little purpose ! 
 Yet I trust I can say, through grace, that my poor labours 
 have not been in vain in the Lord. When I shall sleep 
 in the tomb, may the Lord Jesus bless the people of my 
 charge with a plain, able, faithful preacher of his gospel. 
 O that they may not be as sheep without a shepherd. 
 Lord Jesus, send them a pastor after thine own heart ; and 
 may those truths which thou hast enabled thine unworthy 
 servant repeatedly to deliver to them, be attended with a 
 divine blessing, when I am no more on earth ; and thine 
 shall be the glory forever. The short time that yet re- 
 mains to me, help me to devote to thee. O that I could 
 live much in a little time, and stand waiting to be gone 
 whenever thou shalt call me hence. Glorify thyself of 
 me, whether it be by life or by death."
 
 Contents, 
 
 . 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 Mankind universally apt to trust in their own 
 Righteousness. 
 
 PHILIPPIANS, iii. 49. 
 
 Page 1 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 The Sinner's best Righteousness proved to be 
 essentially deficient. 
 
 PHILIPPIANS, iii. 49. 
 
 23 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 Imputed Righteousness one of the Glories of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 ROMANS, iv. 6, 
 
 30 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 Believers exhorted to continue in their Obedience. 
 
 PHILIPPIANS, ii. 12, 13. 
 
 65
 
 jtxii CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON V* 
 
 Young People called upon to consider, that fof 
 their Conduct here they must be accountable 
 hereafter, at the Judgment-Seat of Christ. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES, xl 9. 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 Apostolic Preaching. 
 
 1 CORINTHIANS, i. 21. 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 Apostolic Preaching. 
 
 1 CORINTHIANS, i. 21. 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 Apostolic Preaching. 
 
 1 CORINTHIANS, i. 21. 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 God's Compassion to the miserable. 
 
 TSALM cii. 19, 20. 
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 The Character of a foolish Son# 
 
 PROVERBS, jvii. 25. 
 
 95 
 
 125 
 
 136 
 
 150 
 
 169 
 
 191
 
 CONTENTS. *$ 
 
 SERMON XI. 
 
 Hope the Anchor of the Soul. 
 
 HEBREWS, vi. 1720. 
 
 232 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 God's Designs vainly opposed by Sinners. 
 
 PSALM U. 1 4> 
 
 243 
 
 SERMON XIII. 
 
 The Blessedness of those who die in the Lord. 
 
 REVELATION, xlv. 13. 
 
 359 
 
 SERMON XIV. 
 The Resurrection, and Change of the vile Body. 
 
 1 CORINTHIANS, xv. 5151. 
 
 SERMON XV. 
 
 The Nature and Uses of Prayer. 
 
 PSALM lxv. 2. 
 
 SERMON XVI. 
 
 The Gospel Ministry. 
 
 PROVERBS, xi. 30. 
 
 283 
 
 29Z
 
 xv CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON XVII. 
 
 Tire sinking Soul saved by Grace. 
 
 MATTHEW, xiv. 3i,. 
 
 SERMON XVin. 
 
 The Nature and Design of the Atonement. 
 
 GENESIS, hi. 21. 
 
 SERMON XIX. 
 
 The Water of Life. 
 
 JOHN, iv. 14. 
 
 SERMON XX. 
 
 The last Words of Christ to his Disciples. 
 
 LUKE, xxiv. 4453. 
 
 S27 
 
 33S 
 
 357 
 
 370 
 
 [The Sermons numbered ir, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, and ao, were 
 never before published.]
 
 SERMON I* 
 
 MANKIND UNIVERSALLY APT TO TRUST IN THIIJt 
 OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS. 
 
 PHILIPPIANS, ill 49. 
 
 If any ether man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in 
 the flesh, I more : circumcised the eighth day* of the stock ef 
 Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews ; of 
 touching the law, a Pharisee ; concerning zeal, persecuting the 
 ehurch ; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 
 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for 
 Christ. Tea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the 
 excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom 
 I haw suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, 
 thai I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine 
 own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is 
 through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God 
 by faith. 
 
 1 HE two leading points of St. Paul's 
 ministry were, the fall of man, with its nature 
 and extent, and the gracious recovery by Christ. 
 He was indefatigable in his attempts to convince 
 mankind of these, that so their lofty looks might 
 be brought low, and the Lord alone exalted. 
 These sentiments appeared to him of great im- 
 portance ; hence it was that he embraced every 
 favourable opportunity to propagate them. To 
 this he was greatly excited by his own experi- 
 
 * Published by desire of the hearer*, 1769. 
 A
 
 2 MANKIND UNIVERSALLY APT TO 
 
 ence of a deep-rooted enmity to Christ, and an 
 aptness to trust in the flesh. A temper of mind 
 which he knew to be not only inveterate, but 
 universal ; fallen human nature being the same in 
 every age and nation ; against which the gospel 
 of the grace of God is the only sovereign anti- 
 dote. Sensible of this, when our apostle visited 
 Philippi, a city of Macedonia, he made Christ and 
 him crucified the subject of his ministry ; and had 
 this for his comfort, that many of the Philippians 
 became obedient to the faith. These were incor- 
 porated into the gospel church state ; and were 
 happy for a time in the enjoyment of the special 
 privileges of the church of Christ. But after St. 
 Paul's departure, grievous wolves entered in, not 
 sparing the flock ; men of corrupt minds, who 
 tried to draw away disciples after them. The 
 apostle received the sorrowful tidings, and wrote 
 them this epistle by the hand of Epaphroditus, 
 who was a messenger from the saints at Philippi 
 to him while confined at Rome ; and had minis- 
 tered to his wants. Its contents are various and 
 useful, but come not under our consideration at 
 present, except so far as they are connected with 
 the text. 
 
 In the first verse of this chapter he assures the 
 Philippians that it was far from being grievousto 
 him, and would be safe for them, to repeat the 
 same things in writing, that had been the subjects 
 of his personal ministry among them. And for 
 this there was at that time a special necessity, 
 arising from the endeavours, of false teachers to 
 pervert his gospel ; by leading them to the ob- 
 servance of circumcision, and other Jewish rites, 
 in order to acceptance with God. These men
 
 TRUST IN THEIR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS. 3 
 
 he treats with a degree of just severity. Verse 
 2. Beware of dogs. " St* Paul here very properly 
 calls the false teachers dogs, because as dogs, they 
 did rend and tear the simplicity of the gospel, 
 and divided the glory of man's salvation be- 
 tween faith and works ; because as dogs, they 
 barked out reproaches against the apostles and 
 their doctrine, delivered in its native purity and 
 simplicity."* And as dogs they were without; 
 and as fierce dogs, they laboured to devour. 
 
 Beware of evil workers, A sentence farther de- 
 scriptive of the same persons, who wrought not 
 with St. Paul, but against him ; and endeavoured 
 to pull down what he had carefully built up. 
 Between whom there was this important differ- 
 ence : Paul built on Christ, as the sure foundation 
 which God had laid ; they built on Moses. Paul 
 taught, that if any man was circumcised, he be- 
 came a debtor to do the whole law, and that by 
 the deeds of the law no flesh could be justified ; 
 they taught that it was necessary to be circum- 
 cised and to keep the law, in order to justification. 
 Paul was under the influence of the Spirit of God ; 
 they were led away by a spirit of error and delu- 
 sion. It is added, 
 
 Beware of the concision. A name which the 
 apostle seems here to give to circumcision, by 
 way of disapprobation ; and as expressive of the 
 injury which the church of Christ might receive 
 from these men, who endeavoured to perpetuate 
 that rite, with the whole law of ceremonies ; 
 thereby cutting themselves off\ and those that ad- 
 hered to them, as far as they could, from Christ, 
 and the way of life through him. For Christ is 
 
 * Dr. Smith's Annotations in loo
 
 4 MANKIND UNIVERSALLY AFT TO 
 
 become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justi- 
 fied by the law ; ye are fallen from grace ; i. e. the 
 doctrine of grace. 
 
 Having thus cautioned the Philippians against 
 false teachers, the apostle proceeds to speak of 
 himself and his brethren, in opposition to them. 
 Verse 3. For we are the circumcision ; q. d. Though 
 we lay aside that rite, and have nothing to do 
 with the circumcision of the flesh, we have that 
 " of which it was a shadow," even the circum- 
 cision of the heart. For he is not a Jew which is 
 one outwardly ; neither is that circumcision which is 
 outward in the flesh : but he is a Jew which is one 
 inwardly ; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the 
 spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not ofmen y 
 but of God. 
 
 Which worship God in the spirit ; i. e. with our 
 soul or spirit, and in that spiritual way that God 
 hath appointed ; being assisted by the Holy Spirit, 
 who helpeth our infirmities, &c. 
 
 And rejoice in Christ Jesus. This is said to dis- 
 tinguish them from those who rejoiced in them- 
 selves, and in their submission to legal institutions. 
 
 And have no confidence in the flesh ; q. d. what- 
 ever is our course of obedience, we lay no stress 
 on it ; but view it as a cypher in the great affair 
 of justification. Though, says St. Paul, / might also 
 have confidence in the flesh : meaning upon the 
 principles of these false teachers ; to prove which, 
 he brings in the text, If any other man thinketh that 
 he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more : 
 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the 
 tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews ; as 
 touching the law, a Pharisee ; concerning zeal, perse- 
 cuting the church ; touching the righteousness which is
 
 TRUST IN THEIR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS. 5 
 
 in the law, blameless. But what things were gain t 
 me, those I counted loss for Christ. Tea, doubtless, and 
 I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowl- 
 edge of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suf- 
 fered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, 
 that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having 
 mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that 
 which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness 
 which is of God by faith. 
 
 The former part of the passage is St. Paul's 
 narrative of the privileges of his birth, his strict 
 manner of life, and his confidence in them for 
 justification before God. In the latter part of it, 
 he declares that his apprehension of things was 
 altered, and that he was now sensible of his for- 
 mer ruinous mistake ; and therefore that he did 
 most heartily count all those things which were 
 gain to him before but loss and dung, that he might 
 win Christ, and be found in him. The following 
 particulars are proposed for consideration. 
 
 I. All unregenerate men are apt to trust in 
 rheir own righteousness. 
 
 IL Such righteousness proved to be essentially 
 defective. 
 
 III. The sinner, upon his becoming experimen- 
 tally acquainted with the grace of the gospel, is 
 thereby led to renounce all confidence in the flesh, 
 and to expect acceptance with God only on ac- 
 count of the perfect righteousness of Jesus. 
 
 I. All unregenerate men are apt to trust in 
 their own righteousness. 
 
 Self-approbation and self-confidence are first 
 principles ; they are natural to man, and grow up 
 with him. Nothing is more common than lor
 
 6 MANKIND UNIVERSALLY APT TO 
 
 man to entertain a good opinion of himself, and 
 therefore he is not apprehensive of danger in 
 trusting to himself. Why should he be afraid to 
 put confidence in one whom he views with so 
 much esteem ? 
 
 This spirit is interwoven with man's whole 
 soul, and discovers itself in the common affairs of 
 life. Accordingly we find that men in general 
 give the preference to their own understanding ; 
 and are all attention while others are lavish of 
 their praises. Why, but because they are fond 
 of themselves, and think they deserve to be 
 equally esteemed by others ? On the other hand, 
 with what difficulty do persons under the influ- 
 ence of this fondness for themselves brook an af- 
 front ? They are ready to think, if they do not 
 say so, that men of their importance deserve bet- 
 ter treatment. Is thy servant a dog, said Hazael 
 to Elisha, that he should do this great thing ? No, 
 verily ; Hazael is a better man, as if he had said, 
 than to bring such calamities on Israel ; and thou, 
 Elisha, the man of God, art surely mistaken in 
 his character : yet soon after he did it. 
 
 Could this spirit be confined to temporal things, 
 the hazard that men run would be infinitely less ; 
 though in this case, he that trustcth in his own heart 
 is a fool. But when it is introduced and prevails 
 in those things in which men have to do with 
 Jehovah, they run the dreadful risk of losing 
 their souls ; for a self-righteous Pharisee will be 
 as surely damned as an openly profane sinner. 
 This harsh saying, as some may deem it, is suffi- 
 ciently proved by the text, and by all those pas- 
 sages of scripture which denounce woes against 
 Pharisees. Paul knew that his confidence in the
 
 TRUST IN THEIR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS. j 
 
 flesh would have terminated in his loss of heaven, 
 if the Lord had not brought him to see the insuf- 
 ficiency of his own righteousness, and enabled 
 him to fly for refuge to the hope set before him. 
 Hence he counted all but loss, that he might win 
 Christ, and be found in him. 
 
 But nothing can be more to the purpose, than 
 our Lord's conduct toward the self-righteous Phar- 
 isees, in the days of his flesh. He places them in 
 the same class with scribes and hypocrites ; and 
 eight times in the course of one chapter (Matt, 
 xxiii.) addresses them with, Wo unto you ; which 
 he concludes with these awful words, Ye serpents, 
 ye generation of 'vipers, how can ye escape the damnation 
 of hell? 
 
 But such is human depravity, that mankind 
 universally, considered in unbelief, entertain this 
 fondness for themselves. It is what they soonest 
 discover, and part with latest. We see our chil- 
 dren, as soon as they learn to distinguish good 
 from evil, ready to place great confidence in some 
 supposed goodness. They are not guilty of this 
 evil and the other, and are not so- bad as some 
 who are within the circle of their acquaintance ; 
 and hence are ready to infer the goodness of their 
 state. Neither is this to be confined to the follies 
 of childhood and youth ; verily, it is the folly of 
 men of every age. Under its influence Paul be- 
 came a noted zealot ; for all his religion was 
 founded on this principle. This he frankly con- 
 fesses. 
 
 There are many things that might be mention- 
 ed, to prove the universality of this fatal temper. 
 
 1. The general drift of the holy scriptures. 
 Every man who does not wilfully shut his eyes,
 
 g MANKIND UNIVERSALLY APT TO 
 
 must observe, that one manifest design of the 
 word of God is to lead mankind to form a proper 
 estimate of their own character, and thereby pre- 
 vent their putting confidence in themselves. Ac- 
 cordingly the corruption of the world is repre- 
 sented as extending to every individual of the 
 race of Adam, and to every power and faculty of 
 the human soul. They are all gone aside, they are 
 all together become filthy ; there is none that doeth 
 good, no, not one. Now we know, that what things 
 soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under 
 the law ; that every mouth may be stopped, and all 
 the world may become guilty before God. All have 
 sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Passages 
 of the same import are numerous, all tending to 
 prove that the whole world is become guilty 
 before God. 
 
 Now that corruption which extends to all man- 
 kind, is proved by the same infallible volume to 
 reach to all the faculties of the souls of men. 
 Attend to the following scriptures. And God saw 
 that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and 
 that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was 
 only evil continually. Note, every imagination was 
 evil, and that continually. We also read that the 
 carnal mind is enmity against God ; that the under- 
 standing is darkened, the will obstinate, the affec- 
 tions inordinate. The natural man receiveth not the 
 things of the Spirit of God : for they are foolishness 
 unto him. He is represented dead in sins, alienated 
 from God ; an enemy in his mind by wicked works. 
 St. Paul declares, that they that are injhe flesh can- 
 not please God. And Christ assured Nicodemus, 
 that that which is born of the flesh is flesh. By be- 
 ing in the flesh, nothing less is meant than the
 
 Trust in their own righteousness. 9 
 
 totally corrupt condition of every man before re- 
 generation. In this state he is by nature : for he 
 is born of the flesh, and he is flesh ; yea, he is all 
 flesh, i. e. wholly carnal, depraved in every part. 
 
 The living oracles abound with passages imme 
 diately designed to prove that human nature is in 
 a state of total corruption, of which those above 
 cited are only a specimen. 
 
 From hence I would observe, that the infinitely 
 great God, knowing the propensity that there is 
 in man to think well of and to trust in himself, 
 saw it necessary thus to exhibit his dreadful 
 character in its true light. 
 
 2. That this principle is both general and dan* 
 gerous, may be learned from the whole tenor o 
 the gospel. The gospel of Christ is calculated to 
 bring down the lofty looks of man, that the Lord 
 alone may be exalted. It is good news to sin- 
 ners ; yea, to the chief of sinners. It considers 
 all men on a level ; that is, lost, guilty, and helpless ; 
 as in debt ten thousand talents, and having noth- 
 ing to pay. One cannot plead the privilege* of 
 his birth, as giving him the preference. Another 
 cannot introduce the obedience of his life, as a 
 reason why mercy should first be exercised to- 
 wards him. On the contrary, all who are saved 
 according to the riches of grace, are brought, as 
 with one voice, to plead guilty, saying, God be 
 mercifid to mc a sinner. The salvation that the gos- 
 pel sets before us, is altogether sovereign and un- 
 merited ; consequently one man has no more right 
 to it than another. The Lord will have mercy on 
 whom he will have mercy, and he will have compassion 
 on whom he will have compassion. So then it is not of 
 him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God 
 
 B
 
 10 Mankind universally apt to 
 
 that sheweth mercy. Thus the grace of God, which 
 is most illustriously displayed in the gospel, de- 
 stroys all boasted distinctions among men. 
 
 There was a remarkable distinction, long kept 
 up between Jews and Gentiles. The former treat- 
 ed the latter with contempt ; while they conclud- 
 ed that they alone were God's peculiar people. 
 But this glorious gospel immediately tended to 
 annihilate this distinction ; by teaching the con- 
 verted Jews, That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, 
 and of the same body, and partakers of the promise of 
 God in Christ. 
 
 From the premises I remark, That it is neces- 
 sarily supposed in the doctrines of Christ, that 
 mankind are universally apt to trust in them- 
 selves. For why should the Lord reveal such a 
 gospel to us, which in its very nature tends to 
 debase the sinner, and to destroy self-confidence, 
 if men were not in danger of being led away by 
 this spirit ? 
 
 3. We farther learn this melancholy truth from 
 the ministry of the apostles. Sensible that it was 
 one grand end of the gospel, to eradicate this 
 temper, they invariably pointed all their artillery 
 against it. To prove this observation by quota- 
 tions from the epistles of the several apostles, 
 would lead me unavoidably to trespass on your 
 patience. Neither Is it necessary, seeing they all 
 adopted the same plan of preaching, and were of 
 one mind as to the leading truths of the gospel. 
 Therefore when you hear one of them, in a sense 
 you hear the rest. They all unite in describing 
 the corruption of human nature, and the redemp- 
 tion that we have in Christ : doctrines that are 
 entirely opposite to the carnal mind ; and which,
 
 TRUST IN THEIR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS. 1 1 
 
 according to the rules of human prudence, re- 
 quired much art to introduce them, with the 
 smallest prospect of success. Had they proceeded 
 upon the plan of pleasing men, they might have 
 kept back some of the doctrines ; but half deliver- 
 ed others, passing over in silence such things as 
 tended to irritate the corrupt mind ; and have 
 interspersed through the various parts of their dis- 
 courses, so many extenuations of human depravi- 
 ty, that even sinners themselves would have had 
 no objections. But such a conduct they held in 
 the greatest contempt. And being confident 
 that the success of the gospel did not depend up*. 
 on their artful recommendation of it, but on the 
 supernatural influence of the Spirit of God, they 
 determined in the name of the Lord, that they 
 would preach the truth, the whole truth, and 
 nothing but the truth. And though no part of 
 their ministry would probably expose them more 
 to the popular odium, than a clear and an impar- 
 tial account of the sinner's state, both by nature 
 and practice j they made it a leading point. 
 
 They seem to have been under no fears that 
 they should depreciate human nature, or rob man 
 of his fancied dignity ; knowing that it was im- 
 possible to exaggerate on tliis occasion. In the 
 first sermon that was preached after the descent 
 of the Holy Ghost, the Jews are charged with the 
 murder of Jesus of Nazareth ; and are painted in 
 the blackest colours. The charge is often repeat- 
 ed in the course of the apostle's ministry ; and 
 notwithstanding some are enraged at them, and 
 they cast into prison, thousands are converted to 
 Christianity. In no softer language than the fol- 
 lowing, does Stephen speak to the people, Tc stiff-
 
 12 MANKIND UNIVERSALLY APT TO 
 
 necked, and uncircumched in heart and ears, ye do aU 
 ways resist the Holy Ghost : as your fathers did, so do 
 ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers per- 
 secuted? and they have slain them which shewed before 
 of the coming of the Just One ; of whom ye have been 
 now the betrayers and murderers. This is plain 
 dealing ; calculated to bring down their lofty- 
 looks. Agreeable to which you find through the 
 different epistles, that mankind are represented, 
 dead in trespasses and sins ; enemies in their 
 minds to God ; blinded by the god of this world, 
 &c. &c. But of this we have spoken already. I 
 therefore ask, Why the apostles should unani- 
 mously adopt such a method of preaching, and 
 constantly address sinners in language so fully 
 expressive of their wretched condition, had they 
 not known that self confidence was both a general 
 and a hazardous principle ? 
 
 4. I now beg leave to appeal to your con- 
 sciences as in the sight of God, whether, to be 
 ingenuous, you are not sensible of this as an ha- 
 bitual temper ? Are you not inclined to think 
 well of yourselves ; and to place a degree of con- 
 fidence in some circumstances, which you ima- 
 gine distinguish you from others ? Are you not 
 displeased, when attempts are made to debase 
 man ; and ready to declare with a certain lawyer, 
 Thus saying, thou reproachest us also ? Have you not 
 often thought, and perhaps often said it, that 
 though human nature is depraved, it is not so bad 
 as represented ? Do you not think, that man 
 ought to be treated with more respect ; and that 
 some pains should be taken to convince him of 
 his importance ?
 
 TRUST IN THEIR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS. 13 
 
 The sentiments contained in those queries are 
 popular, and have many advocates, whom you 
 should always look upon as your enemies. They 
 may feed your pride, and confirm your confidence 
 in the flesh ; but the event will be shocking. 
 The period hastens, when the Lord will lay judg- 
 ment to the litie, and righteousness to the plwmiiet, 
 and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lics i and 
 the waters shall overflow the hiding places. 
 
 I doubt not, my brethren, if you act an honest 
 part between God and your own souls, that you 
 are now conscious of such an aptness to trust in 
 yourselves. And whether you will confess it or 
 not, there are many who openly appear to vindi- 
 cate, as they imagine, man's injured honour. 
 They tell us a fine story concerning the dignity 
 of man in his present state ; which would lead 
 us, could we credit it, to think he had never fall- 
 en ; or, that if he has fallen, the injury he re- 
 ceived by it is so small, that he is capable, with 
 a very little assistance, of recovering himself. 
 These are living evidences of this fondness for, 
 and aptness to trust in self. 
 
 I shall now descend to a particular considera- 
 tion of some of those things, that mankind, un- 
 der the notion of righteousness, place as the 
 ground of their confidence. St. Paul has enlarged 
 on, and warmly exploded his own mistake in this 
 point ; having built his expectation of heaven on 
 the following particulars, 
 
 .1. Circujncised the eighth day. Circumcision 
 was a divine institution, to be administered to 
 Abraham's male issue. They who complied with 
 it while the law was in force, obeved a divine 
 precept. Our apostle was not only circumcised,
 
 14 MANKIND UNIVERSALLY APT TO 
 
 but it was. on the eighth day, exactly agreeable to 
 the law of God. Which he particularly men- 
 tions, because the Jews would not allow it to 
 be valid if performed before that day, and look- 
 ed upon it less valuable if administered after it. 
 
 2. He was of the stock of Israel. " This," says 
 one, " is said to distinguish him from an Ishma- 
 elite, or Edomite, who were circumcised, and 
 from the son of a proselyte, who might be circum- 
 cised on the eighth day ; but he was a natural 
 Israelite, to whom the various privileges belong- 
 ed, mentioned Rom. ix. 4, 5. and therefore had 
 as much right to trust in the flesh as any Israelite 
 whatever." 
 
 S. Of the tribe of Benjamin. St. Paul had not 
 forgotten to which of the tribes he belonged j 
 and could boast that he was of one of the most 
 honourable, even Benjamin ; a tribe that main- 
 tained their fidelity to God, and their regard to 
 his worship, when the other tribes revolted. 
 
 4. An Hebrew of the Hebrews. Meaning that he 
 was a Jew both by father's and mother's side ; so 
 that in a strict sense he was of the seed of Abra- 
 ham ; or, " of a family which had not mixed in 
 marriage with the Gentiles," or other nations. 
 
 5. As touching the law, a Pharisee ; therefore 
 one of the strictest sect among the Jews, as to a 
 religious manner of life. 
 
 6. Concerning -zeal, persecuting the church ; i. e. 
 the church of Christ : which he did from a regard 
 to the Jewish religion ; supposing that the Chris- 
 tians were a deluded set of people, and that their 
 sentiments were immediately derogatory to the 
 honour of God. In this his zeal boiled over, and 
 be manifested to his brethren that he was a warm
 
 TRUST IN THEIR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS. 15 
 
 religionist ; which part of his character recom- 
 mended him to those who were zealous of the 
 law. 
 
 7. Touching the righteousness which is in the law, 
 blameless. So very strict had he been in his obe- 
 dience to the law, that neither himself nor his 
 brethren could find fault with him. 
 
 This narrative confirms the observation, viz. 
 That mankind make their own righteousness the 
 ground of their confidence. For the very things 
 which the apostle now rejects, had been gain to 
 him before. The same spirit lives and reigns 
 still. There are crowds of modern Pharisees, who, 
 though they fall far behind Saul, as to the privi- 
 leges of his birth, or the strict manner of his life, 
 are equally self-confident. Among the several 
 things which men are apt to place confidence in, 
 I shall mention the following : 
 
 1. That they are not so bad 2.^ others. All who 
 make this plea, manifest their extreme ignorance 
 of the law of God, and the gospel of Christ. Yet 
 such there are. And if We may believe what 
 they say, this negative righteousness, if you will 
 admit the expression, is esteemed a favourable cir- 
 cumstance, on the account of which they expect 
 some indulgence. What a gross absurdity ! This 
 comparative phrase, not so bad, carries in it a con- 
 fession of guilt, at the same time that the sinner 
 would extenuate it ; and the guilty, whether the 
 degree of guilt be greater or less, are exposed to 
 damnation. The wages of sin is death. 
 
 Suppose you should see two criminals arraign- 
 ed at the bar, the one for highway robbery, the 
 other for murder ; and the former should plead 
 before the court, ab a circumstance entitling him
 
 16 MANKIND UNIVERSALLY APT TO 
 
 to their mercy, that he was a highwayman, and 
 not a murderer : you would look upon such a 
 conduct preposterous j and be ready to assure 
 the criminal, that the very thing he urged in his 
 own favour would be the cause of his condemna- 
 tion. And suppose you should find the same per- 
 son, while under sentence of death, disposed to 
 speak well of his own character, as differing from 
 that of his fellow-criminal ; doubtless you would 
 ask him, what satisfaction could possibly result 
 from a consideration of such difference, seeing 
 he would as surely be executed as the other ? In- 
 finitely more unreasonable do those men act, who 
 hope for mercy because they are not so bad as 
 others. Sinners, as such, must be damned : the 
 law and justice of God call for their execution. 
 What pleasure therefore can it afford the sinner 
 new, or will it afford hereafter, to think, that 
 though he is condemned to lie in hell forever, his 
 character is not so heinous as that of other sinners ? 
 2. There are numbers whose good life is the 
 ground of their confidence before God. Probably 
 they have had a religious education, and have 
 generally conducted with sobriety.. And in their 
 dealings with mankind have carefully adhered 
 to the rules of equity. They have scorned to 
 over-reach, or to keep back the wages of the hire- 
 ling. Honest and punctual in the payment of their 
 debts, they make no man call twice for his money, 
 unless absolutely necessary ; but promise with 
 caution, and perform with punctuality ; choosing 
 rather to empty their purses, than to forfeit their 
 word, or suffer a poor man to be impeded in his 
 business, and distressed in his family. To which 
 we add, in order to finish the character, their
 
 TRUST IN THEIR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS. 17 
 
 extensive liberality. They are men of great human- 
 ity ; soon affected with the calamities of others, 
 and ready to relieve them. 
 
 These men are highly esteemed by others, and 
 useful in the community. We heartily wish an 
 increase of their number. Their general character 
 bears some resemblance to that of Saul the Phar- 
 isee j and if the approbation of men would 
 recommend them to God, they would not fail 
 of acceptance. But after all, it must be said to 
 such, one thing is wanting, and which is indispen- 
 sably necessary, viz. to be brought to count this 
 good life, and all those things which are gain to 
 them, but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge 
 of Christ Jesus the Lord. However strict they 
 may be in their observance of both tables of the 
 law, we may venture to affirm, that they do not 
 exceed Saul, who, as touching the righteousness 
 that is in it, was blameless. He, like his brethren 
 the Pharisees in the present day, made a right- 
 eousness of his good life, and entertained no such 
 notions of the Deity, as to suppose he would con- 
 demn a man that had so much to say for himself. 
 3. There are others, who make a righteousness 
 of their submission to gospel ordinances, and thus 
 run counter to their original design. Should a 
 strict search be made among the' professors of 
 Christianity, we have reason to conclude that many 
 would be found, who have no better foundation 
 for their hope, than their having been church 
 members for a number of years. They can relate 
 the time of their baptism, and of their admission 
 to the Lord's table ; but cannot give any clear 
 account of their having been delivered from the 
 power of darkness, and translated into the k-nz-
 
 1.8 MANKIND UNIVERSALLY APT TO 
 
 dom of God's dear Son ; which is an event in- 
 finitely more important than the former. They 
 seem to be as ignorant of the new birth as Nico- 
 demus, and are ready with him to say, How can 
 a man be born again when he is old? 
 
 The principal difference between their plan of 
 acceptance with God, and that of Saul, consists 
 in this ; Saul was in pursuit of eternal life on 
 mere law : they blend law and gospel together. 
 They have been baptized, statedly partake of the 
 Lord's supper, keep their place in the house of 
 God, pray in their families, do justice between 
 man and man, and sometimes give to the poor ; 
 and are so fixed in their confidence in the flesh, 
 that it is next to impossible to persuade them 
 that they may be mistaken. He who tells them, 
 that they must have a better righteousness than 
 this j and that they may lose heaven after their 
 thirty, forty, or fifty years standing in the 
 church, if they have no better plea, may expect 
 to bring upon himself their displeasure. Surely 
 they have forgotten the awful parable of the ten 
 virgins ; and that it is written, They are not all 
 Israel that are of Israel ; or, which is more likely, 
 they have so closely wrapt themselves up in their 
 own righteousness, and for so many years been 
 persuaded of their good standing, that they ward 
 off the most solemn scriptures ; and now, the 
 only thing that leaves room to hope for their con- 
 version is, that the residue of the Spirit is with 
 God, and when he works, none can let it. He 
 can strip them, as he did Saul, of all that is now 
 gain to them ; and powerfully incline them to cast 
 away all their round of duties, in point of depend- 
 ence, though not in point of performance, and to j 
 glory only in the cross of Christ.
 
 TRUST IN THEIR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS. 19 
 
 These are the very men, who have the form, 
 but deny the power of godliness ; and who are 
 capable of treating with contempt the times of 
 refreshing from the presence of the Lord ; those 
 happy seasons, when God is graciously pleased to 
 pour out his Spirit upon the churches. Neither 
 need we wonder, if they become warm in their 
 opposition, and treat those things as profane, 
 which Christ and his real disciples esteem sacred. 
 For notwithstanding their shew in the flesh, 
 they perceive not the things of the Spirit of God. 
 
 Here permit me to take notice of what, I appre- 
 hend, is an abuse of the Lord's supper, viz. per- 
 sons, their hurrying themselves into the church 
 of Christ, or their being hurried by others, upon 
 some slight convictions of sin, or on account of 
 their sober life. I have met with some, who, upon 
 becoming uneasy in their minds about the state 
 of their souls, have manifested a very great anxiety 
 to be received into the church. But upon being 
 asked the reason of the hope that was in them, 
 appeared greatly ignorant of their own true char- 
 acter, and of the way of life through Christ ; 
 having no more to say for themselves, than that 
 they had lived long in the neglect of their duty, 
 and conclude they ought to join the church ; 
 at the same time were incapable of satisfying, 
 either themselves or others, that they had known 
 the truth as it is in Jesus. 
 
 Query Is it kindness or cruelty to persuade 
 such persons to come up to the ordinances ? Should 
 not their Christian friends inform them, that a 
 submission to ordinances lays no ground for hope ? 
 That they must be born again ; and justified freely 
 through the redemption that there is in Christ ?
 
 20 MANKIND UNIVERSALLY APT TO 
 
 By such an act of friendship, they might be in- 
 strumental of turning their solicitude to a matter 
 of eternal consequence Am I in Christ ? Have I 
 ever been renewed in the spirit of my mind ? This 
 is the grand point that every person, desiring 
 admission to the Lord's table, should previously 
 settle : for it is children's bread, designed for 
 those who have a good hope through grace. The 
 privilege is special, intended for believers only. 
 Hence we read, that the Lord added to the apos- 
 tolic church daily such as should be saved ; i. e. 
 real believers, as appears in the context. Such 
 also were the persons who composed the church 
 in Samaria.* 
 
 Besides, the house of God is spiritual, and said 
 to be built up with lively stones. Now the known 
 character of unbelievers is, that they are dead 
 in trespasses and sins : consequently, are very 
 unfit materials, with which to build this spiritual 
 house. 
 
 The church of Christ is chosen out of, and en- 
 tirely distinct from the world. If therefore all 
 persons of a sober life, or who may appear to be 
 under serious impressions of mind, are to be ad- 
 mitted into it, it will unavoidably tend to con- 
 found the distinction ; unless we take it for grant- 
 ed that all such are real Christians. This, I 
 imagine, will be consented to by but few. If 
 it should, what becomes of the important doctrine 
 of regeneration, or the special work of the Holy 
 Ghost in the conversion of a sinner ? And wherein 
 consists a difference, absolutely necessary to be 
 made, between morality and real Christianity ? For 
 the holy scriptures, and our acquaintance with 
 
 * See Acts ii. 47. with the preceding verses. Chap. viii. 12.
 
 
 TRUST IN THEIR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS. 21 
 
 mankind, unite to convince us, that men may 
 behave with external sobriety, and seem to be 
 under very serious exercises of mind, who, 
 notwithstanding, are ignorant of the power of 
 godliness. A deist, who pours contempt on all 
 revealed religion, may conduct unblameably ; and 
 many who live under the dispensation of the 
 gospel, like Felix, may be made to tremble ; or, 
 with Agrippa, be almost persuaded to be Christians ; 
 or, like the stony-ground hearers, receive the word 
 ivitb joy ; all this may be, and the persons remain 
 in unbelief. If so, regeneration is something more 
 than this : it is that work of the Spirit of God 
 upon the sinner's mind, by which his native en- 
 mity is slain, the stubbornness of his will subdued, 
 and he brought to believe with all his heart, and 
 to rejoice in Christ Jesus, having no confidence 
 in the flesh. The divine influence is certainly 
 felt, of which, the subject of it is capable of giving 
 some account. Strange, my brethren, that a man 
 should pass from death to life, be delivered from 
 the power of darkness, and translated into the 
 kingdom of God's dear Son, and know nothing 
 about it ! At least he will know, that whereas he 
 was blind, he now sees. And I humbly conceive, 
 that every candidate for church membership 
 should be in good measure satisfied that he is 
 the subject of this great change. He that can 
 rush into the church, and rest easy without such 
 satisfaction, is in a condition to be suspected. 
 
 Will you therefore bear with me, while I charge 
 you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 shall judge the quick and the dead, to be more 
 anxious to fly for refuge to the hope set before 
 you, than to fly into his visible church ? for vou
 
 22 MANKIND UNIVERSALLY APT, fife. 
 
 may be members of a church, and at the same 
 time heirs of hell. 
 
 Let none think that I have a design to dis- 
 courage the proper subjects from joining the 
 church of Christ. God forbid ! You yourselves, 
 my hearers, have had repeated opportunities of 
 knowing, that every addition to the church has 
 added to my happiness. Would to God, that 
 converts might come as the clouds, and as doves- 
 to their windows ! All I have in view, is to keep 
 out hypocrites and almost Christians ; and to dis- 
 suade awakened sinners from substituting the or* 
 dinances of the gospel in the room of Christ and 
 his righteousness. And such an attempt is neces- 
 sary j because persons in these circumstances, like 
 a man drowning, will catch at any thing ; and 
 have often been known to fly into the church for 
 safety, like Joab to the horns of the altar.
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 THE SINNER'S BEST RIGHTEOUSNESS PROVED TO 
 BE ESSENTIALLY DEFICIENT. 
 
 PHILIPPIANS, Hi. 49. 
 
 If any other man thinheth that he hath whereof he might trust in 
 the flesh, I more : circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of 
 Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews ; at 
 touching the law, a Pharisee ; concerning zeal, persecuting the 
 church ; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 
 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for 
 Christ. Tea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the 
 excellency of the knowledge of Christ jfesus my Lord : for whom 
 J have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, 
 that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine 
 own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is 
 through the faith ef Christ, the righteousness which is of God 
 by faith. 
 
 I PROCEED to the second thing pro- 
 posed, which is to shew, that a sinner's best right- 
 eousness is essentially defective ; therefore not to 
 be mentioned in point of acceptance with God. 
 
 Righteousness is conformity to a divine rule : 
 this rule is the law of God. If therefore our 
 obedience answers to its requirements, it is ac- 
 cepted : if it fails in one point, it is rejected. 
 
 That the divine law is the rule of righteousness, 
 will be readily granted. It remains then that we 
 inquire into its nature, in order to assist us in 
 bringing our obedience to the trial.
 
 24 THE SINNER'S BEST RIGHTEOUSNESS 
 
 The law of nature, under which man was, in 
 his primitive state, was inscribed on his heart. 
 " That such a law was connate with, and as it 
 were, implanted in the man, appears from the 
 relicks, which, like the remains of some noble 
 building, are still extant in every man ; namely, 
 from these common notions, by which the hea- 
 thens themselves distinguished right from wrong, 
 and by which they were a law to themselves ; 
 which shews the work of the law written in their 
 hearts, their consciences bearing witness." * By 
 this law, man was required to love the Lord his 
 God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with 
 all his mind ; and as his love was to be supreme, so 
 his obedience was to be perfect. That man in his 
 state of innocence was under the most sacred obli- 
 gations to love supremely, and to obey perfectly, none 
 will offer to deny. But alas, he sinned and fell ! 
 The effects of this act of disobedience, at least some 
 of them, became immediately apparent. Guilt, 
 fear, and alienation from God, appeared in the be- 
 haviour of the apostate pair ; of which their pos- 
 terity, by virtue of that federal relation they stood 
 in to them, became partakers ; and as fast as the 
 world was peopled, native corruption was propa- 
 gated : and from this source actual sins proceeded. 
 
 After a number of years had elapsed, and the 
 law of nature was almost obliterated by that flood 
 of iniquity that had taken place, the Lord Jehovah 
 issued an edition of the law from mount Sinai, 
 with the most dreadful circumstances ; the design 
 of which was, to let mankind know, that though 
 they had forgotten their obedience, Jehovah had 
 not forgotten his law ; and to inform them, that 
 
 * Dr. Witsius, in his (Economy of the Covenants.
 
 ESSENTIALLY DEFICIENT. 25 
 
 though they had lost their ability perfectly to obey, 
 the divine Lawgiver had not lost his authority to 
 command. These commands were written on 
 tables of stone, to denote their perpetuity ; and 
 deposited in the ark. And though the ark and 
 the tables of stone are lost, the law remains, and 
 will remain, so far as it is moral, a rule of right- 
 eousness. God forbid that we should once suppose 
 that it has either been abrogated or relaxed ! 
 This would be to reflect upon its adorable Author. 
 Its precepts are transcribed in the New Testament. 
 When a Pharisee asked our divine Lord, Which is 
 the great commandment in the law ? instead of hint- 
 ing that it was either relaxed Or abolished, he 
 readily replied, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
 with all thy heart, &c. and thy neighbour as thyself* 
 On these two commandments hang all the law and the 
 prophets. Compared with the following words of 
 St. Paul ; Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt 
 not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false 
 witness, Thou shalt not covet : And if there be any 
 other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this 
 saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself 
 \f\ these places, together with those referred to in 
 the margin, there are parts of the moral law in- 
 sisted on ; which are a plain proof of its perpe- 
 tuity. To which 1 add that memorable passage in 
 Matt. v. Think not that I am come to destroy the law 
 or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 
 For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, 
 one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, 
 till all be fulfilled. Whosoever, therefore, shall break 
 one of these least co7iimandments, and shall teach men so, 
 he shall be called the least :n the kingdom of heaven.
 
 26 THE SINNER'S BEST RIGHTEOUSNESS 
 
 Here our blessed Lord not only clears himself of 
 a design to supersede the law, by the promulga- 
 tion of his gospel ; but also threatens the persons 
 who shall dare to teach such a sentiment. 
 
 As to the nature of this law, which' we have 
 proved continues, I would observe, 
 
 1. That it is holy. This it must be, as it is the 
 law of an infinitely holy God. 
 
 2. It is just. If it is the law of God, it must 
 be so ; because he, who ever acts agreeably to 
 the strictest rules of righteousness, would never 
 lay down as the rule of moral action, a law that is 
 unjust in its demands. 
 
 3. It is exceedingly broad, reaching even to the 
 thoughts and intents of the heart. Thus Christ 
 explains it ; Te have heard that it was said of old 
 time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unit 
 you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after 
 her, hath committed adultery with her already in his 
 heart. A lustful look is heart adultery. If a man 
 indulges in heart one secret lust, even suppose it 
 is never actually gratified, such is the nature of 
 this law, that he is deemed and treated by it as 
 a transgressor. In this the divine differs from 
 human laws. The latter having nothing to do 
 with thoughts, only condemn for actions : the 
 former condemns for the sins of the heart. And 
 thus it is necessary it should be, because thoughts 
 are as open to the view of Jehovah as actions, 
 and when sinful, are no less abominable. A thor- 
 ough conviction of the extent of the law, would 
 make a man tremble. Suppose your breasts were 
 transparent, and your thoughts visible ; so that . 
 he who sits next to you, could observe all that 
 passes within ; who of you would not shudder ?
 
 ESSENTIALLY DEFICIENT. 27 
 
 And would you fear that man should know your 
 secret imaginations ? Tremble then, O sinner ! for 
 to God, whose eyes are like a flame of fire, all 
 things are naked, and even hell is said to be with- 
 out a covering ! This then is one of the require- 
 ments of the law, even truth in the inward parts ; 
 a conformity of soul to it in every instance without 
 exception. A want of such conformity is a want 
 of righteousness ; on account of which the man 
 is condemned by the law. 
 
 The law requires perfect obedience as the con- 
 dition of life ; that is, obedience that is univer- 
 sal and uninterrupted. Universal : for whosoever 
 shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one pointy 
 he is guilty of all. Uninterrupted : for it is writ- 
 ten, Cursed is every one that continueth Nor in all 
 things which are written in the book of the law to 
 do them. By this rule our obedience is to be tri- 
 ed, in order to determine, whether we shall stand 
 or fall in consequence of doing some good thing. 
 The inquiry rests entirely on these two particu- 
 lars : Are we in heart and in life what the law 
 requires we should be ? Are we satisfied before 
 God, that we have a perfect conformity of soul 
 to the nature and demands of his law ? Have we 
 never violated the law in heart, by indulging un- 
 ruly passions ; such as covetoysness, revenge, pride, 
 &c. ? If we have swerved in heart from this per- 
 fect law, in a single instance, it neither admits re- 
 pentance, nor accepts sincerity, but condemns us. 
 If so, we are all condemned ; for we are all con- 
 scious that naturally we are destitute of this con- 
 formity. 
 
 Again Let the sinner examine the obedience 
 of Iiis life. Ill* : ' been constant, since \w became
 
 28 THE SINNER'S BEST RIGHTEOUSNESS 
 
 capable of distinguishing good from evil ? Has 
 he always delighted in the divine law, and never 
 turned aside from the path of duty ? Has his obe- 
 dience been universal to every precept without 
 exception ? Has he not failed in one instance ? If 
 he has, the living oracles declare he is guilty of all. 
 But it is unnecessary to enlarge, seeing every 
 mouth is stopped, and all the world become guilty 
 before God. Every man knows, that he falls 
 short of the requirements of the law, both in heart 
 and life ; consequently, his righteousness is essen- 
 tially deficient. 
 
 How unreasonable is it then, for men to intro- 
 duce works of righteousness done by them, in 
 order to recommend them to God, when his 
 law requires and will dispense with nothing less 
 than perfect obedience as the condition of his fa- 
 vour, and they themselves acknowledge that 
 their obedience is imperfect ? Should they not 
 rather fear and tremble, seeing they fall so far 
 short of what the law requires ? 
 
 Objection. Perhaps it will be said, in opposition 
 to the preceding sentiments, that it would be 
 unjust in God to require more of us, than in omr 
 present circumstances we are able to perform j 
 that the gospel is a " remedial law," designed 
 to soften the rigour of the former constitution, 
 and to render the terms of acceptance more easy, 
 by substituting sincere in the room of perfect obe- 
 dience ; that Jesus Christ died to atone for the 
 imperfections of our obedience, insomuch that 
 we need not doubt of salvation, if we sincerely 
 do as well as we can. 
 
 Reply. The law was given to man, while in 
 his state of innocence, at which time his abilities
 
 ESSENTIALLY DEFICIENT. 29 
 
 were equal in every respect to its demands. God 
 required no more of him than he had power to 
 perform. His present incapacity is an effect of 
 his sin, and subsequent to the existence of the 
 law ; consequently it cannot be unjust in God 
 to require perfect obedience of him, he being 
 now morally unable to yield it ; unless is can be 
 supposed that with the sinner's loss of ability to 
 perform, the Deity has lost his authority to com- 
 mand. A shocking supposition ! Is not the au- 
 thority of God over his creatures invariably the 
 same, notwithstanding any alterations that may 
 take' place in them ? Doubtless. Whose fault 
 is it that we labour under a moral inability to 
 yield perfect obedience to the divine law ? Our 
 own, surely. Shall we then plead that impotence^ 
 which is an effect of our wickedness, as a reason 
 why God should be less strict in his demands ? 
 Suppose you should lend your friend in good cir- 
 cumstances, a thousand pounds, payable at a cer- 
 tain time ; and he should spend his estate at a 
 gaining table, and thereby become reduced to 
 poverty ; would his inability render it unjust in 
 you to demand your money, or dissolve his obli- 
 gation to pay it ? Verily, whatever might be his 
 condition, your demand would be indisputably 
 just, and his obligation not to be called in ques- 
 tion. 
 
 Many things might be insisted on, in answer 
 to the objection, viz. that the gospel, instead of 
 being designed to abate the rigour of the law, 
 reveals a righteousness for the justification of the 
 sinner, that is in every respect adequate to its re- 
 quirements. If so, there h no necessity of a re-
 
 30 THE SINNER'S BEST RIGHTEOUSNESS 
 
 taxation of it. This will be the subject of the 
 next discourse. 
 
 Again If the law of God in its original state, 
 was perfect, and in every respect consistent with 
 the perfections of the divine nature, such as be- 
 came a God to give, and the creature to obey, how 
 can it be relaxed ? Can it be altered without in- 
 jury ? Is it possible that it should undergo a 
 change, and yet retain its perfection ? 
 
 Farther- If the law admits sincere instead of 
 perfect obedience, in consequence of the intro- 
 duction of the gospel, how comes it to pass, that 
 Christ and his apostles. taught the perpetuity of 
 the law, and assure us that whosoever shall of- 
 fend in one point is guilty of all ? More than this 
 it never required. 
 
 The friends of these opinions " run themselves 
 insensibly," says a late judicious divine, " into the 
 grossest inconsistence. They hold that God in 
 mercy to mankind has abolished that rigorous 
 constitution or law, that they were under origin- 
 ally ; and instead of it, has introduced a more 
 mild constitution, and put us under a new law, 
 which requires no more than imperfect sincere 
 obedience, in compliance with our poor infirm 
 impotent circumstances, since the fall. 
 
 " Now how can these things be made consist- 
 ent ? I would ask, what law these imperfections of 
 our obedience are a breach of? If they are a 
 breach of no law that we were ever under, then 
 they are not sins. And if they be not sins, what 
 need of Christ's dying to satisfy for them ? But 
 if they are sins, and the breach of some law, what 
 law is it ? They cannot be a breach of their new 
 law ; for that requires no other than imperfect
 
 ESSENTIALLY DEFICIENT. 31 
 
 obedience, or obedience with imperfections ; and 
 therefore to have obedience attended with im- 
 perfections, is no breach of it ; for it is as much 
 as it requires. And they cannot be a breach of 
 their old law ; for that, they say, is entirely abol- 
 ished, and we never were under it. They say 
 it would not be just in God to require of us per- 
 fect obedience, because it would not be just in 
 God to require more than we" can perform, or 
 to punish us for failing of it. And therefore, by 
 their own scheme, the imperfections of our obe- 
 dience do not deserve to be punished. What 
 need therefore of Christ's dying to satisfy for 
 them ? What need of his suffering to satisfy for 
 that which is no fault, and in its own nature de- 
 serves no suffering ? What need of Christ's dying 
 to purchase, that our imperfect obedience should 
 be accepted, when, according to their scheme, it 
 would be unjust in itself that any other obedience 
 than imperfect should be required ? What need 
 of Christ's dying to make way for God's accept- 
 ing such an obedience, as it would be unjust in 
 him not to accept ? Is there any need of Christ's 
 dying to prevail with God not to do unright- 
 eously ? If it be said that Christ died to satisfy 
 that old law for us, that so we might not be un- 
 der it, but that there might be room for our be- 
 ing under a more mild law ; still 1 would in- 
 quire, what need of Christ's dying that we might 
 not be under a law, which (by their principles) it 
 would be unjust that we should be under, wheth- 
 er Christ had died or no, because in our present 
 .state we are* not able to keep it :"' '1 Ije glaring 
 
 " President Edwards cm the Freedom of the Will, nire r;3 i -
 
 32 THE SINNER'S BEST RIGHTEOUSNESS 
 
 inconsistencies which this author has judiciously 
 pointed out, I apprehend, can never be reconciled 
 upon these principles. I now proceed, 
 
 III. To shew that the sinner, upon his becom- 
 ing experimentally acquainted with the grace of 
 the gospel, is thereby led to renounce all con- 
 fidence in the flesh ; and to expect acceptance 
 with God, only on account of that righteousness 
 which is through the faith of Christ. 
 
 This observation is contained in, and proved 
 by the text. But what things were gain to me 
 (while a Pharisee) these I counted loss for Christ, 
 (upon my conversion to Christianity.) Tea, doubt- 
 less, and I (do now, as a believer in Jesus and an 
 apostle) count all things (whether birth privileges, 
 legal observances, submission to gospel ordinances, 
 zeal, diligence, and fidelity in the ministry, &c.) 
 but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ 
 Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of all 
 things (of all things as explained above ; and of all 
 temporal good things, such as the good opinion 
 of my countrymen, the way to wealth and prefer- 
 ment, a fixed and quiet habitation ; and instead 
 of these I became exposed to bonds, stripes, 
 and imprisonment": yea, and death itself;) and 
 do count them but dung that I may win Christ, (who 
 is alpha and omega, the sum total of the Chris- 
 tian's treasure) and be found in him (to such there is 
 no condemnation; Rom. viii. 1.) not having mine 
 own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which 
 is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which 
 is of God by faith. 
 
 This passage is plain and striking. In it St. 
 Paul assures us what his views had been, so long
 
 ESSENTIALLY DEFICIENT. S3 
 
 as he remained ignorant of the glorious gospel ; 
 and declares in the most explicit manner, that the 
 high esteem he had long entertained for his own 
 obedience was entirely removed, by an acquaint- 
 ance with the riches of grace. Observe the pains 
 he takes to explode his own, and extol the right- 
 eousness of Jesus. He views them in contrast, 
 tramples on the one, and glories in the other. 
 The eyes of his mind having been opened, he sees 
 that all his attempts to obtain the divine favour, 
 by a course of obedience, were loss ; a loss of time, 
 and a loss of labour ; and that if God had not 
 plucked him as a brand from the burning, he 
 should have lost his immortal soul ! 
 
 It is observable, that he does not only renounce 
 his own righteousness, which he explains as being 
 of the law ; but that he does it in the most positive 
 manner, and with a high degree of contempt. 
 Tea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss He 
 came to this conclusion, upon the clearest convic- 
 tion of its truth. In no principle was he more 
 fully established, than that his own righteousness 
 was loss and dung, or dogs* meat, as some choose 
 to read the latter Greek word, <n.v%xxct (skubala.) 
 But the former translation conveys the apostle's 
 idea in a more emphatic manner, it being what 
 even dogs themselves would reject. 
 
 In language like this we find the church speak- 
 ing, Isaiah Ixiv. 6. But ice are all as an unclean 
 thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. 
 Rags are insufficient to cover the body, and to 
 keep it warm : so t he sinner's best righteousness 
 is absolutely insufficient to clothe his naked soul, 
 and to secure it from the wrath of God, and the 
 curses of his law. Rags arc an evidence of pov-
 
 34 THE SINNER'S BEST RIGHTEOUSNESS 
 
 erty : so man's righteousness, when compared 
 with the law of God, manifest that he is poor, 
 and wretched. Rags render a man slighted : so 
 he who appears in his own righteousness will be 
 set at nought. Except your righteousness exceed the 
 righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, (such a 
 righteousness was Saul's, for he was a Pharisee) 
 ye shall in no case enter into the kingdo?n of heaven. 
 
 But the prophet adds to the phrase, saying, all 
 our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. How loath- 
 some must he be to you who appears in filthy 
 rags ? Infinitely more so must he appear to Jeho- 
 vah, who introduces his own righteousness as the 
 ground of his hope and the reason of his acceptance. 
 
 Here, my brethren, you observe an agreement 
 in sentiment, concerning the sinner's righteous- 
 ness, between a great prophet and a great apostle. 
 The courtly Isaiah does not think it mean, or 
 unbecoming, to use one of the lowest compari- 
 sons, when the nature of the subject requires it ; 
 in which he is followed by one of the most learn- 
 ed of the apostles. 
 
 It is equally obvious in the text, that the same 
 grace which inclined St. Paul to renounce all con- 
 fidence in the flesh, did also . lead him to trust 
 alone for justification before God to the finished 
 righteousness of Christ ; not having mine own right- 
 eousness, which is of the law, but that which is through 
 the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by 
 faith. This righteousness is through the faith of 
 Christ, and of 'God by faith ; expressions of nearly 
 the same import. It is of God, as he appointed it, 
 and will accept it, as the sole reason of the sinner's 
 discharge from condemnation, and admission to 
 eternal glory. And it is of Christ, as he hath
 
 ESSENTIALLY DEFICIENT. 35 
 
 manifested it ; having made an end of sins, and 
 made reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in ever- 
 lasting RIGHTEOUSNESS, 
 
 The phrase by faith, is expressive of the use of 
 faith in the business of justification, viz. that it 
 is by faith in the word of God, that the sinner 
 discovers the glory, suitableness and perfection 
 of the divine righteousness, becomes persuaded 
 that it is an infallible ground of hope, and is 
 thereby influenced to venture his naked soul upon 
 it. This is the righteousness in which the apostle 
 prays to be found, while he peremptorily rejects 
 all other. 
 
 The conversion of St. Paul will readily be al- 
 lowed to be genuine ; and he a pattern to them, 
 who should after him believe in Christ to ever- 
 lasting life. Consequently every true convert will 
 be like minded. Like causes will produce like 
 effects. All who are under the influence of the 
 same grace, will glory only in the cross of Christ. 
 And however they may differ in some things of 
 less importance, they will not differ in the grand 
 points of the gospel. While they meet in differ- 
 ent places for the service of God, worship in differ- 
 ent modes, and are distinguished by different 
 names, they are still one in Christ Jesus. Their 
 supreme wish is to win Christ, and to be found 
 in him ; counting their own righteousness but 
 loss and dung. Such are the discoveries that are 
 made to their minds, by the Spirit of God, ot 
 the extent and spirituality of the law, that they 
 at once find it a ministration of death, and that their 
 best obedience will not sland the trial. On the 
 other hand, they have such clear views, by faith, 
 of the adorable merits of Jesus, in their all-atoning
 
 36 THE SINNER'S BEST RIGHTEOUSNESS 
 
 virtue, that they rejoice in him, having no con- 
 fidence in the flesh. 
 
 I pass now to some practical improvement. 
 
 1. Having proved the universality and danger 
 of this spirit of self-confidence, it seems necessary 
 to caution you against it. Nothing, we find, is 
 more natural to man, neither can any thing be 
 more hazardous, than to trust in himself. This 
 spirit, if permitted to govern, will lead you into 
 inconceivable misery ; because under its influence 
 you trust to something for acceptance with God 
 that is essentially wrong ; a righteousness that will 
 not bear the trial. And at the same time that 
 you run this dreadful risk, you despise the 
 riches of God's goodness in providing a better 
 righteousness than your own ; and contemn the 
 Author of eternal salvation. Such wickedness, 
 depend upon it, will not pass with impunity. 
 
 2. From the preceding discourse it is plain in 
 what sense the apostle renounced all works done 
 by him, whether before or after believing, viz. 
 in point of dependence. He had no intention to 
 teach us that the law was relaxed, or that our 
 obligation to obedience was in any degree weak- 
 ened. Far be it from him to lead men to treat 
 the divine law with indifference. The point he 
 laboured in his several epistles, with the greatest 
 perspicuity, is to beat men oft", not from obedience 
 to the law, considered as duty, but from trusting 
 in it for justification, either in whole or in part. 
 It was no grief to him that he had lived a sober 
 life ; of this he did not repent : but he repented 
 bitterly, that he had made so great a mistake in 
 the matter of acceptance with God, ab to look for
 
 ESSENTIALLY DEFICIENT. 57 
 
 the divine favour on the footing of his own doings. 
 By this conduct he robbed God of his honour, 
 Christ of the glory of his complete righteousness, 
 and entirely set aside the glorious plan of redemp- 
 tion revealed in the gospel. In the same sense 
 should every man absolutely reject his best obedi- 
 ence : and doubtless he will do it, if he is ac- 
 quainted with the nature of the law and the grace 
 of the gospel. As to the law, it condemns for 
 one failure ; consequently, he who is sensible of 
 thousands in the course of his obedience, will not 
 dare to introduce it as the reason of his accept- 
 ance. And as to the gospel, it reveals a right- 
 eousness for the justification of the ungodly, that 
 was wholly finished by Jesus Christ, and to which 
 no sinner has any claim, on account of what he 
 has dor*e or can do. Not of works, lest any man 
 should boast. 
 
 3. From hence I observe, that the real believer 
 will as fully reject all self-confidence as open pro- 
 faneness. A man may turn from swearing, un- 
 cleanness, drunkenness, &c. to the profession and 
 practice of godliness, and remain at the same time 
 warmly attached to his own righteousness. That 
 very alteration of his conduct, of which he is sen- 
 sible, and others observe, is a ground of his con- 
 fidence, lie is pleased with it, and secretly thinks 
 himself better than others. Such were the Phari- 
 sees, in the days of Christ : they looked upon 
 themselves as holy, and despised their neighbours. 
 This self-confidence was their bane. 
 
 I beseech you, suffer the word of exhortation. 
 Examine yourselves, whether you have ever been 
 led to count all but loss, for the excellency of the 
 knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord ? Ye old
 
 38 THE SINNER'S RIGHTEOUSNESS DEFICIENT. 
 
 professors, ye long established Christians, are you 
 built on the foundation of the apostles and proph- 
 ets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cofBer 
 stone ? Do you rest infinitely satisfied with him ? 
 and is he dearer to you than every other object ? 
 Have you been brought to rejoice in the glories 
 of his character, and his spotless righteousness ? 
 and are you anxious to place the crown on his 
 head ? Or have you some secret reserve ? Do 
 your hearts suggest some plea besides Christ ? 
 Paul renounced every thing for him ; he had 
 nothing to desire but to be found in him. May 
 this be your case ; may this be mine ! For should 
 we hold up both hands against the flagrant vices 
 of the day, and bear open testimony against grow- 
 ing profaneness, and at the same time indulge this 
 self-righteous spirit, we shall finally be placed 
 with the workers of iniquity.
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF THE GLORIES 
 OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 ROMANS, iv. 6. 
 
 Even as David also described the blessedness of the man unit 
 'whom God imputeth righteousness without works. 
 
 uT. Paul's design in this chapter, and in 
 a great part of this epistle, is to distinguish be- 
 tween justification by the deeds of the law, and 
 by the righteousness of faith. The former senti- 
 ment he had early imbibed, and warmly promot- 
 ed, till it pleased God to call him by his grace ; 
 after which he, with equal zeal and diligence, 
 preached the very faith he had laboured to de- 
 stroy. The text and context afford us a striking 
 instance of his alteration of mind, and solicitude 
 to propagate his new opinion ; between which, and 
 the principles of his education, there is an evident 
 contrast. The language of one is, Do and live : 
 the other speaketh expressly, Abraham believed 
 God, and it ivas counted unto him fir righteousness. 
 Now to him that ivorketh is the reward not reckoned of 
 grace, but of debt. But to him that ivorfccth net, but 
 believe! h on him that justfeth the ungodly, his faith is 
 counted for right, ousness ; q. d. the labourer is wor- 
 thy of lii s hire. What a man receiveth as a 
 reward for his industry, is not of grace, but of 
 debt. lie wrourht lor it, and may claim ir. b'o.
 
 40 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF 
 
 if any man should insinuate that the sinner is jus- 
 tified before God in consequence of good works 
 done by him, he destroys the doctrine of grace ; 
 and the testimony of David is introduced to con- 
 firm the important truth Even as David also dc- 
 scribeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God 
 imputeth righteousness without works. 
 
 The authority of Abraham and David had great 
 weight with many to whom St. Paul was called 
 to preach and write. Abraham, the father of the 
 faithful, was justified by faith without the deeds 
 of the law ; and David, a man after God's own 
 heart, and an inspired prophet, describes the bless- 
 ed man to whom a righteousness is imputed 
 without works, saying, Blessed is the man whose 
 iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 
 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute 
 sin. This quotation is out of Psalm xxxii. The 
 text is St. Paul's comment on it ; who, as he was 
 inspired by the same Spirit, must be allowed to 
 understand the meaning of the royal prophet in- 
 fallibly. So far then is our apostle from treating 
 the doctrine of imputed righteousness as novel, un- 
 scriptural, or absurd, that he assures us it was an 
 article of David's creed, and taught in the verses 
 he had cited. David speaks of the forgiveness of 
 sin, and of its non-imputation, but does not use 
 the phrase imputed righteousness. St. Paul informs 
 us, in his exposition of the words, that this is 
 their import Blessed is the man to whom the Lord 
 imputeth righteousness without works. Here we have, 
 
 I. A righteousness spoken of, 
 
 II. Which God is said to impute without 
 works ;
 
 THE GLORIES OF THE GOSPEL. 41 
 
 III. And their blessedness declared who are 
 justified by this imputed righteousness, 
 
 I. A righteousness spoken of*. 
 The subject of St. Paul's discourse is justification 
 in the sight of God ; therefore the righteousness 
 he pleads for is such as is calculated to justify in 
 this sense. In the sequel he carefully excludes 
 the sinner's obedience to the law, from having 
 either part or influence in the matter ; and there- 
 by leaves us but little room to wander in pursuit 
 of his meaning, which must be, either that our 
 faith is our righteousness, or the obedience and suf- 
 ferings of Christ. The former was the sentiment 
 of Arminius, and is still embraced by his followers. 
 To prove which, they repeatedly urge those ex- 
 pressions of the apostle, being justified by faith, his 
 faith is counted for righteousness, &c. (Rom. iv.) 
 In which passages, and others of a like import, I 
 humbly conceive, he cannot mean, that a sinner 
 is justified before God by the act of believing, or 
 that he is counted righteous because of his faith : 
 for, 
 
 1 . There is a manifest distinction between faith 
 and that righteousness which is imputed for justifi- 
 cation. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ : 
 for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one 
 that believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 
 For therein (i. e. in the gospel) is the righteousness of 
 God revealed from faith to fail h, Rom. i. 16, 17. 
 That St. Paul here speaks of justifying righteous- 
 ness, I conclude from the connexion of the words 
 with the preceding context. Verse 15, he de- 
 clares his readiness to preach the gospel to those 
 that were at Rome also. Verse 10, he glories in 
 i
 
 42 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF 
 
 it, and gives the reason why he does so. Verse 
 17, he explains the nature of the gospel, viz. 
 that it is a revelation of righteousness from faith 
 to faith. This is one of its glories, that it exhibits 
 a righteousness as an article of faith, by which all 
 who believe are justified from all things from 
 which they could not be justified by the law of 
 Moses. The distinction between righteousness and 
 faith in this verse is obvious. I therefore observe* 
 if a sinner is justified before God by righteousness 
 imputed to him, he cannot be said to be justified 
 in the same sense by faith ; which the apostle so 
 carefully distinguishes from it. 
 
 2. That righteousness by which a sinner is 
 justified before God, is perfect conformity to the di- 
 vine law. The law is the rule of righteousness, 
 by which Jehovah both condemns and acquits the 
 sinner. If his righteousness, be it personal or im- 
 puted, answers the demands of the law, justice 
 is satisfied : if it fails in a single instance, the 
 sinner is condemned. If thou wilt enter into life, 
 i. e. by virtue of thine own obedience, keep the 
 commandments. For it is written, Cursed is every 
 one that continueth not in all things which are 
 written in the book of the law to do them. Who then 
 will say, that, faith is such a conformity ? or that 
 the Lawgiver will depart from his just require- 
 ment of perfect obedience as the condition of life, 
 and instead thereof accept faith ? 
 
 3. The scriptures, when speaking of justifica- 
 tion, pardon, remission, &c. ascribe them to Christ, 
 to His obedience, blood, righteousness, &c. ; but faith is 
 properly the work of the Holy Ghost in the soul. 
 " No internal work of the Holy Ghost, though in 
 this our present state it were most absolutely
 
 THE GLORIES OF THE GOSPEL. 43 
 
 perfect, so as to exclude every thing of sin, could 
 be any part of that righteousness that must jus- 
 tify us before God. To suppose that it could, 
 would be manifestly to confound the offices of 
 the Redeemer, and of the Holy Ghost. It was 
 Christ that was to merit for us ; the Holy Ghost 
 was never to merit for us. It was not the Holy 
 Ghost that died for us, nor can his operations or 
 productions in us have any causative influence to 
 the meriting the justified and accepted state of 
 any person before God. They cannot make us 
 never to have sinned, nor can they atone for our hav- 
 ing done so. Suppose we a person, as soon as he is 
 converted, made perfectly free from sin that very 
 moment, by some extraordinary powerful work 
 of the Holy Ghost on his soul ; how shall that ex- 
 piate for his having been a sinner ?"* Agreeably 
 to this writer, whose words are according to 
 truth, he that says we are counted righteous be- 
 fore God, on account of our faith, ascribes that 
 to faith, or to the Holy Ghost, who is its great 
 efficient, which properly belongs to Christ ; and 
 thereby confounds their offices, which are clearly 
 distinguished in the word of God. 
 
 4. The sacred writings in many places militate 
 against, yea, fully overthrow this notion, " that 
 God accepts us as righteous in his sight, on ac- 
 count of our faith" A cloud of witnesses stand 
 ready to vindicate this truth. We are said to be 
 justified freely by his grace, through the redemption 
 that is in Jesus Christ. If through the redemption 
 that there is in Christ, then not for believing. 
 The same apostle says, the sinner is justified by his 
 blood. If by the blood of Christ, then not by faith. 
 
 * Howe's Carnality of Religious Contention.
 
 44 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF 
 
 Christ is called The Lord our righteousness , and 
 said to be made of God unto believers, righteousness. 
 The reason of which expression is, that Christ 
 is the author of a complete and spotless righteous- 
 ness, by which all who believe are justified. It 
 follows that if Christ is the sinner's righteousness, 
 faith is not. I add but one passage more : For as 
 by one man's disobedience many were made (or consti- 
 tuted) sinners, so by the obedience of one shall ma- 
 ny be made righteous. If a sinner is made right- 
 eous in the sight of God, which is St. Paul's 
 sense here, by the obedience of Christ, then he can- 
 pot be said to be accepted as righteous on account 
 of his faith. Which leads me to observe, 
 
 5. That when the apostle says we are justified 
 by faith, he does not mean the act of believing, as 
 proved above, but probably the object believed in ; 
 even Jesus Christ, who is the end of the law for 
 righteousness to every one that believeth. May not 
 the expression be metonymical ? We find in the 
 sacred writings, that sin is put for the punishment 
 of it ; Christ is put for his own doctrine ; hope is 
 put for the God of hope.* By the same figure faith 
 may be put for its object. Or his meaning may 
 be, that the sinner is justified by faith, as faith ap- 
 prehends that righteousness, which is revealed in 
 the gospel, and is the only matter of justification. 
 By faith he understands that there is an infinitely 
 excellent and suitable righteousness, finished by 
 Jesus Christ, and which God will accept. It 
 consists, 
 
 1. Of obedience to the precepts of the law. 
 That Christ was made under the law, and perfectly 
 obeyed it, is admitted. The present inquiry is, 
 
 * See Lcvit. xxiv. 15. 2 Cor. xi. 4. Pfalm Ixxi. 5,
 
 THE GLORIES OF THE GOSPEL. 45 
 
 whether his obedience to the law is any part of 
 that righteousness which is imputed for justifica- 
 tion ; or whether sin is pardoned, and the sinner 
 accepted by God, on the account of Christ alone, 
 exclusive of his obedience to the precepts of the 
 law ? In answer to which, I would observe, 
 
 (].) That it appears that the obedience of 
 Christ through his life is a part, and a very essen- 
 tial part of the sinner's justifying righteousness j 
 seeing he undertook as a surety or in his behalf, 
 to magnify the law and make it honourable, agreeably 
 to Isaiah's prophecy concerning him. For this 
 purpose he was made under the law, even that he 
 might redeem them that were under it, and that they 
 might receive the adoption of sons. In this passage 
 the apostle first declares his incarnation, then the 
 condition in which he was, viz. under or subject 
 to the law ; and subjoins the reason of this sub- 
 jection to the law, or the end he had in view ; 
 that he might redeem them that were under it. Ev- 
 ery person, while unregenerate, is under the law, 
 both as to the obedience that it requireth, and the 
 punishment that it threateneth. He who appears 
 as a surety for such, or undertakes to deliver 
 them, must fully answer these demands ; that 
 is, he must perfectly obey its precepts, as well 
 as fully endure its penalty. Without such full 
 satisfaction to the law, it cannot be said to be 
 magnified and made honourable ; and upon 
 this it is that the sinner to whom it is imputed 
 is accounted righteous in the sight of God. 
 
 (2.) " The reward of life is promised not to 
 suffering, but to doing. The law says, Do tills 
 and live : it promises life not to him that suffers 
 the penalty, but to him that obeys the precept.
 
 46 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF 
 
 * There never was a law,' as an excellent divine * 
 observes, ' even among men, either promising or 
 declaring a reward due to the criminal, because 
 he had undergone the punishment of his crimes.' 
 Christ's sufferings and death being satisfactory to 
 the comminatory or threatening part of the law, 
 are imputed to us for justification, that so we 
 may be freed and discharged from the curse, and 
 hell, and wrath. But these, as they do not con- 
 stitute us righteous, do not, properly speaking, 
 entitle us to eternal life ; but that active obedi- 
 ence, or righteousness of Christ, being imputed 
 to us, is our justification of life, or what gives us 
 the title to eternal life." f 
 
 The distinction made by this author between 
 Christ's obedience to the precepts of the law and 
 his sufferings and death, with their different influ- 
 ence, is countenanced by the holy scriptures, and 
 that too in several places. Paul, writing to the 
 Galatians, ascribes our redemption from the curse 
 to the death of Christ. (Gal. iii. 13.) Peter cor- 
 roborates the sentiment, by saying that we are 
 redeemed by the blood of Christ. (1 Pet. i. 18, 19.) 
 But when the apostle speaks of our being made 
 righteous, he ascribes it to righteousness imputed, 
 and to obedience ; which is the particular next to 
 be considered. 
 
 (3.) St. Paul assures us, in the plainest terms, 
 that we are made righteous by the obedience of 
 Christ. By the obedience of one shall many be made 
 righteous. (Rom. v. 19.) The apostle speaks, in 
 
 * Dr. Goodwin. 
 
 f Dr. Gill's Doctrine of Justification, p. 25, 26 ; to whom the 
 writer acknowledges himself indebted for two or three hints en- 
 larged on in this part of the subject.
 
 THE GLORIES OF THE GOSPEL. 47 
 
 this chapter, of Adam and Christ, as two public 
 heads. Adam, by actual disobedience , involved 
 himself, and all his posterity, whom he repre- 
 sented, in an awful scene of guilt and wretched- 
 ness. Jesus Christ, who was another public head, 
 has made many righteous by his actual obedience, 
 even all those who were given to him by the 
 Father. The latter sentence is in opposition to 
 the former, and gives us its true meaning : for 
 as Adam's disobedience to the law constituted him 
 and his posterity sinners, so the obedience of Christ 
 to it is that by which many are constituted right- 
 eous. That the apostle in this place does not 
 mean one act, but a course of obedience, may be 
 learned by comparing it with the following words, 
 (Philip, ii. 8.) And being found in fashion as a man, 
 he humbled himself and became obedient unto death ; 
 or, until death : meaning, that he was obedient to 
 the precepts of the law through all his life ; from 
 which he was not diverted until he became a 
 sacrifice for sin. The obedience of Christ is the 
 subject of the apostle's discourse in both places : 
 in one he assures us, that it was the business of 
 his whole life ; in the other, that by that uninter- 
 rupted course of obedience many are made righteous. 
 2. I pass now to obse'rve, that this law, having 
 been violated by man, became a 'ministration of 
 death. He thereby fell under its curse ; from 
 which there was no way of deliverance, but by an 
 adequate satisfaction, offered to the ciivine Law- 
 giver. Hence it came to pass, that a law, which 
 in its original state required obedience only, now 
 called for suffering. He who broke it contracted 
 guilt, for which neither men nor angels could 
 atone. If he could, from this time forward to
 
 48 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF 
 
 the end of life, perfectly keep the law, as it would 
 be no more than mere necessary duty, it could 
 not expiate the guilt of one sin, any more than 
 the punctual payment of debts that shall be con- 
 tracted for the future will satisfy the creditor for 
 those that have been contracted in time past. 
 The guilt of sin is infinite, rising in malignity in 
 proportion to the dignity of him against whom it 
 is committed : consequently the atonement must 
 be infinite. It is so : for God hath laid help on 
 one mighty to save. Through him is preached unto us 
 the forgiveness of sins. We have redemption through 
 his blood that blood that was shed for the priest- 
 hood and for the congregation, and without the 
 shedding of which there could be no remission. 
 That the guilt of sin was to be expiated by 
 blood, is a doctrine of the old testament ; from 
 whence it is no less evident, that Jesus Christ 
 was to be the sacrifice. We are abundantly taught 
 the doctrine of atonement, by the numerous sac- 
 rifices of the law ; some of which were very sig- 
 nificant ; and which St. Paul in his epistle to the 
 Hebrews accommodates to the great Antitype. 
 That qualification of the victim, that it should 
 be without blemish, is typical of the spotless purity 
 of Jesus, the lamb without blemish and without spot. 
 His death with its circumstances and design, are 
 all expressive of Christ our passover who was 
 sacrificed for us. The death was violent : so was 
 the death of Christ. The blood was received into 
 a bason, to denote a value in it, not real but 
 typical. This blood was to be applied either by 
 sprinkling, or a touch to the person to be cleans- 
 ed ; in allusion to the all-atoning efficacy of the 
 blood of Christ, called the blood of sprinkling, and
 
 THE GLORIES OF THE GOSPEL. 49 
 
 said to cleanse from all sin. The imposition of hands 
 on the beast, with large confession of sin, carried 
 in it the doctrine of imputation, or the transferring 
 of guilt to Christ ; agreeably to the words of the 
 prophet Isaiah, The Lord hath laid on him the in- 
 iquity of us all. The design of these sacrifices was 
 to make atonement.* These beasts were substi- 
 tuted in the room of the people, and their blood 
 shed for the expiation of sin. So Jesus Christ 
 put himself in the place of the heirs of promise ; 
 and though he knew no sin, God made him to be 
 sin for them, that they might be made the right- 
 eousness of God in him. 
 
 And now should we turn to the New Testa- 
 ment, we shall imediately observe it written as 
 with capitals, He died the yusrfor the unjust, that 
 be might bring us to God. He is the propitiation 1 
 for our sins. By which we are not only taught 
 that he died, but that he died as a substitute. Guilt 
 was laid upon him. He teas wounded for our trans- 
 gressions : he was bruised for our iniqiuties: the chastise- 
 ment cf our peace was upon him. He bore our sins in 
 ; his own body on the tree. It is evident, from these 
 and many other passages of scripture, that Christ 
 did not only die as a martyr, to confirm the doc- 
 trines he had taught, but as a substitute in the 
 stead of others ; and that his sufferings were pri- 
 marily intended for the expiation of the guilt of sin. 
 
 That he was perfectly innocent, is allowed by 
 all ; yet we behold him dying, as one of the worst 
 of malefactors, the cursed and painful death or. 
 the cross. Suffer on his own account he could 
 not, because he knew no ^in, neither was guile 
 
 * Set. Lxod. xxix. 36. I.Lvit. x\i. 27, See. 
 G
 
 50 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF 
 
 found in his mouth. Nor could he have suffer- 
 ed at all, if he had not been charged with guilt ; 
 it being incompatible with the justice of God, 
 that the perfectly innocent should suffer. It will 
 therefore follow, that guilt was laid upon him, 
 that he was made sin for others : or, as an apostle 
 expresses it in the strongest terms, He was made a 
 curse for us. 
 
 To sum up this head I apprehend we are to 
 understand, by the righteousness which is spoken 
 of in the text, nothing less than the perfect obedi- 
 ence of Christ to the precepts of the law, together 
 with his sufferings and death. With it the Father 
 is well pleased. It is perfect, spotless, and ever- 
 lasting. It has infinite dignity, being the righteous- 
 ness of God. It may be so called, because finished 
 by him who is God as well as man ; who thought 
 it no robbery to be equal with God ; and who, not- 
 withstanding he appeared in the form of a servant, 
 was possessed of infinite glory and perfection. 
 Many striking circumstances proclaimed his glory, 
 when he was crucified, and extorted from an 
 enemy this frank confession, Truly this was the 
 Son of God ; and which was afterward declared, 
 according to the Spirit of holiness, by his resurrec* 
 tion from the dead. By this event his deity was 
 proved, and the- truth of his important doctrines 
 sealed : so that now it appears infinitely safe to 
 make this glorious righteousness the ground of 
 hope. I pass to consider, 
 
 II. That God is said to impute this righteous- 
 ness without works. 
 
 The use of this phrase has given great offence 
 to some, who, it is probable, were desirous of re- 
 jecting the doctrine with it. But why we should
 
 
 THE GLORIES OF THt GOSPEL. 11 
 
 reject the word imputed, rather than the word 
 righteousness , is not easily accounted for ; unless it 
 may be thought that mankind know there must 
 be a righteousness in order to acceptance with God, 
 but are unwilling that it should be an imputed 
 righteousness, because that necessarily cuts off all 
 boasting. Men are fond of personal, and therefore 
 try to obscure imputed righteousness. It is however 
 sufficient to countenance the use of this phrase, 
 that we have it in our text, and find it several 
 times repeated in this chapter and in other pas- 
 sages of holy scripture. We observe, 
 
 1. The person to whom this act of imputation 
 is ascribed, God. On which we may remark, 
 that there is a concurrence of the sacred persons 
 of the Trinity in the work of redemption. The 
 righteousness was finished by the Son of God : 
 it is imputed by the Father ; and a discovery of 
 it to the soul, as the reason of divine acceptance, 
 is made by the Holy Ghost, who takes of the 
 things of Jesus and shews them unto us. The act 
 of justifying is elsewhere ascribed to the Father. 
 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God*s elect ? 
 It is God that justifcth. Who is he that condemneth ? 
 It is Christ that died. (Rom. viii. 33, 34.) Here is 
 a manifest distinction between God that justifietb, 
 and Christ that died. The sinner, by the violation 
 of the law, became obnoxious to divine wrath : 
 Christ undertook for him, and satisfied divine jus- 
 tice. God the Father being well pleased with his 
 righteousness, pronounces the sinner justified : he 
 acquits him from every charge, because Christ died. 
 And at the same time that the sinner is acquitted 
 the Saviour is approved ; because the sinner i-- 
 dischar.red on I he loot of the Saviour's merits.
 
 52 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF 
 
 2. The manner in which the sinner is justified 
 is expressed, viz. By imputation. " God imputeth 
 righteousness." The sense in which we are to 
 understand the phrase may be learnt in the con- 
 text. The apostle assures us, verse 5, that God 
 justifieth the ungodly. This is their character at the 
 very time when God justifies : if so, they have 
 no personal righteousness, and consequently can- 
 not be accepted by him for any thing that is 
 properly their own : it follows that it must be on 
 acount of the righteousness of another. By imputa- 
 tion here, therefore, we are to understand the 
 placing that to one which properly belongs to 
 another ; e. g. Jesus Christ was perfectly inno- 
 cent : he had no sin either of nature, or of prac- 
 tice ; yet guilt was so laid upon him, or imputed 
 to him, that he became responsible to the justice 
 of God ; and it is said that he bore it in his own 
 body on the tree. Though he was the Lamb with- 
 out blemish and without spot, he was crucified 
 on Calvary between two thieves. His sufferings 
 could not be on his own account, because he was 
 innocent, and therefore they must be on the ac- 
 count of others, In the same way is a sinner dis- 
 charged by his righteousness. 
 
 Though no transactions among men can fully 
 illustrate the doctrine before us, the following 
 instance may be admitted as bearing some resem- 
 blance. A bondsman is frequently accepted in 
 the behalf of a debtor. Now the debt that was 
 contracted was not his personal debt ; neverthe- 
 less, it becomes his by voluntarily putting himself 
 in the debtor's place, and the creditor accordingly 
 looks to him for payment. So it is in this case. 
 The sins for which Christ died were not his own
 
 THE GLORIES OF THE GOSPEL. 53 
 
 personal acts ; but became his by a voluntary sub- 
 stitution of himself in the sinner's stead, and by 
 the act of the Father, his laying them on him. 
 On the other hand, the payment made by the 
 bondsman was not the personal act of the debtor ; 
 yet it is so viewed by the creditor that the debtor 
 is released. So the righteousness of Jesus is not 
 the personal obedience and suffering of the sin- 
 ner ; yet it is so accounted his that he is dis- 
 charged from condemnation, and shall be finally 
 admitted to glory. This illustration, which has 
 often been introduced by the lovers of this doc- 
 trine, tends in a degree to explain it ; and seeing 
 Christ is called the surety of a better testament, 
 there appears a propriety in this use of it. A 
 surety is one who appears in the behalf of another. 
 I shall only subjoin, in order to prove the doc- 
 trine of imputation, the following ever memora- 
 ble passage ; For as by one man's disobedience many 
 were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall 
 many be made righteous. It has been quoted before, 
 but not with the same design. Now the sense of 
 the apostle, in these words, is plainly this, that 
 the righteousness of Christ becomes the sinner's, 
 in the same way that Adam's sin becomes charge- 
 able to his posterity ; and that is, by being derived, 
 or reckoned to them. It at lea.^t deserves a serious 
 answer How many could be made righteous by 
 the obedience of one, if that obedience is not placed 
 to them ? or, how Christ's obedience should avail 
 a sinner, especially in so high a sense as that he 
 shall be discharged from guilt, and accepted as 
 righteous in the sight of God, if it is not im- 
 puted to him ?
 
 54 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF 
 
 Objection. It may be said, If Christ both obeyed 
 the law, and suffered its penalty in the behalf of 
 his people, that they have nothing to do with 
 it. For, as by his sufferings and death they are 
 freed from condemnation, so, by his perfect obe- 
 dience they are dismissed from obligation to 
 obey it. 
 
 To which I reply The sinner can be freed 
 from the law only agreeably to the design and 
 engagement of his surety : no farther than he 
 engages for him can he be benefited. Now the 
 scripture expressly declares, that the design of 
 Christ in becoming a substitute, was to procure 
 a deliverance from the law so far as it tended 
 to condemnation. Christ hath redeemed us from the 
 curse of the law. Agreeably to which it is said, 
 he was made under it, that he might redeem them 
 who were under it. This is the current lan- 
 guage of the New Testament. Hence observe, 
 that the intention of Jesus Christ was to deliver 
 his people from the curse. Evil is ever involved 
 in the idea of a deliverance. We do not say, 
 that a man is delivered from that which is good, 
 but only from something that is pernicious. Now 
 as obedience to the law is no evil, or part of the 
 curse, consequently it is what the sinner stood in 
 no need of a salvation from. The language of 
 the law, as has often been observed, is, Do thy- 
 self no harm. The deliverance, therefore, which 
 the justified obtain by Christ from the law, con- 
 sists in these two things ; 
 
 (l.) A freedom from condemnation. The sinner 
 having transgressed the law, was condemned by 
 it to lie under the wrath of Jehovah, in an eternal 
 exclusion from heaven. From this awful calamity
 
 THE GLORIES OF THE GOSPEL. 55 
 
 all the justified are delivered by the interposition 
 of the Divine Redeemer : in accomplishing which, 
 it was indispensably necessary that he should both 
 obey the law and endure its penalty. 
 
 (2.) They are freed from the law as a cove.? 
 nant of works : hence they do not expect eternal 
 life upon the footing of their own obedience. Ac- 
 cordingly the apostle Paul says, Te are become dead 
 to the law by the body of Christ. Again But now 
 we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein 
 we were held ; that we should serve in newness of 
 spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. They 
 were dead to it, so as no longer to seek to be 
 justified by the deeds of it ; or to look upon their 
 obedience as a condition or term of their acceptance 
 with God ; because by the deeds of the law could no 
 flesh living be justified. Hence we observe, that as 
 this was the extent of the design of Christ, even 
 to deliver from the law only as it tended to con- 
 demnation, the justified are not delivered from it as 
 a rule of life, any more than they are delivered 
 from corporal death by his dying. 
 
 Could it once be made to appear that these 
 sentiments are subversive of obedience, it would 
 immediately characterize them, and prove that 
 they ought to be rejected : but so far are they 
 from this, that they establish it. St. Paul having 
 discoursed at large on the doctrine of justificar 
 tion without the deeds of the law, asks the ques- 
 tion, Do we then ??iake void the law through faith ? 
 i. e. the doctrine of faith. And then answers it 
 with an emphatic God forbid : yea, we establish the 
 law. As to the threatening and precepts of the 
 law, what has been said already proves that it i:i 
 established with respect to them ; seeing the
 
 56 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF 
 
 death of Christ was according to the sentence of 
 the law, and his obedience to its precepts perfect* 
 To which we add, that it is established, with re- 
 spect to all who have been brought to believe in 
 the Son of God : they look upon it as the rule 
 of life, to which they are bound to pay a sacred 
 regard, from love to God, whose law it is, and 
 who gave his only begotten Son, that he might 
 become the end of it for righteousness ; from 
 love to Jesus, who both obeyed its precepts, and 
 suffered its penalty, and thus delivered the crim- 
 inal j and from love to the law itself, as it is a 
 transcript of the divine nature. Their obedience 
 is truly evangelical, originating from that faith 
 which is of the operation of God, and accompanied 
 with that love which is a fruit of the Spirit. 
 
 3. There is one thing more to be considered 
 before we proceed to the next head, viz. that 
 this righteousness is imputed without works : i. e. 
 without works in him who is the subject of justi- 
 fication ; or to whom the righteousness spoken 
 of is imputed. The obedience of the sinner is 
 no cause why God justifies him. Neither is it 
 any part of that righteousness by which he is 
 justified. Justification is an act of the pure, 
 sovereign grace of God, exercised toward sinners 
 and the ungodly. The design of this phrase, without 
 works, is to exclude every thing from the matter 
 and cause of justification but the perfect right- 
 eousness of Christ. I proceed, 
 
 III. To consider the blessedness of such, to 
 whom this righteousness is imputed. Blessed arc 
 they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins arc 
 covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will
 
 THE GLORIES OF THE GOSPEL. 57 
 
 not impute sin. The blessedness spoken of may be 
 comprised in these three things, 
 
 1 . A freedom from the wrath to come. If 
 sin be pardoned, there is no condemnation. And 
 this, my brethren, is the immensely rich blessing, 
 which God bestows on all to whom righteousness 
 is imputed. He pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by 
 the transgression of the remnant of his heritage : he re* 
 taineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in 
 mercy. The exceeding greatness of this blessing 
 may be more fully discovered, by a consideration 
 of that misery to which sin has exposed us. Hell, 
 damnation, everlasting torments, are words that con- 
 vey most shocking ideas. And thus saith the 
 Lord, The ivicked shall be turned into hell, with all 
 the nations that forget God. They that have done evil 
 shall come forth to the resurrection of damnation. And 
 these shall go away into everlasting punishmejit. Thus 
 you see that the wages of sin is death, yea, eternal 
 death ; consisting, not in a loss of being, but of 
 happiness. It is nothing less than a banishment 
 from God, and all the glories of his kingdom, 
 into the bottomless pit ; there to be confined with 
 devils and damned spirits, without the least glimpse 
 of hope ! This wretchedness is inconceivable as to 
 its degree ; consequently is inexpressible. How 
 great then must be their blessedness, whose in- 
 iquities are forgiven, seeing they obtain an abso- 
 lute deliverance from all this ; and 
 
 2. Are entitled to the enjoyment of God in 
 heaven. These arc connected in one verse ; That 
 they may receive the forgiveness of sins, and inheritance 
 lamong them that arc sanctified by faith that is in me. 
 God pardons none but such as he intends to admit 
 into his everlasting kingdom. The connexion 
 
 H
 
 ,58 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF 
 
 between the several blessings of the well-ordered 
 covenant is inseparable. Whom he did predestinate, 
 them he also called : and whom he called, them he also 
 justified : and whom he justified, them he also glorified* 
 They are pardoned and sanctified, on purpose that 
 they may be received into the presence of God 
 and of the Lamb, where is fulness of joy. Oh 
 infinite felicity ! There is the absence of all evil, 
 and the fruition of all good. Jesus Christ will 
 there be beheld in all his dazzling glories, while 
 all the hosts of angels bow before him ; and the 
 spirits of just men made perfect unite in one grand 
 ascription of praise to him, who loved them, and 
 washed them from their sins in his blood ! Glory 
 be to God, for this astonishing display of his grace % 
 that these inestimable blessings may be conferred 
 on guilty, hell-deserving men ! 
 
 3. I would add, That God blesses those whom 
 he justifies with a comfortable sense of their own 
 interest in him, which the scriptures call good 
 hope through grace, the full assurance of hope, sV. 
 A privilege for which they are indebted to the 
 Spirit of God, who is said to seal the believer 
 unto the day of redemption ; to witness with his spirit 
 that he is a child of God ; to abide in his heart as 
 the earnest of his inheritance. In which places 
 it is clearly taught us, that believers, at least 
 some of them, are favoured with a sense of the 
 pardon of their sins througli the blood of Christ. 
 The Holy Ghost witnesscth to their spirits that 
 they are the children of God, and thus confirms 
 the wavering, doubtful mind. He is also said to 
 be an earnest of their inheritance. The design of 
 an earnest, which is a part in hand, is to ascertain 
 the whole : so the Spirit of God, at times, enables 
 the believer, as he did St. Paul, to say, I know whom
 
 THE GLORIES OF THE GOSPEL. 5.9 
 
 / have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to 
 keep that which I have committed to him against that 
 day. Thus he rejoices in the prospect of the house 
 not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ; 
 and at times is ready to say, Why tarry the wheels 
 of thy chariot ? Verily, blessed is the man whose 
 iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 
 
 I now proceed to some reflections. 
 
 1. Let us from hence learn to distinguish be- 
 tween faith, and the righteousness of Christ, in the 
 great affair of acceptance with God. That right- 
 eousness which justifies, is altogether the work 
 of Christ : it was finished by himself; and is 
 properly his own. He had no coadjutor. He 
 trod the wine-press alone, and of the people there 
 was none with him. Nevertheless, it becomes 
 ours, by the gracious act of God imputing it to us. 
 
 Faith, according to the beloved disciple John, 
 and the great St. Paul, is the belief of the truth ; the 
 believing that Jesus is the Christ ; or a giving credit 
 to the record that God gave of his Son. These defini- 
 tions are all of the same import, and are all divine ; 
 being dictated by the Spirit of God, they cannot 
 be contradicted by any, however some have 
 glossed upon them, till they have brought in a 
 sense diverse from the inspired writers. This faith, 
 when it is real, as distinguished from that uninflu- 
 ential assent to the gospel, which crowds who 
 hear it profess to have, is an effect of the divine 
 influence in us ; hence said to be of the operation cf 
 God ; and that it is with the heart man believeth 
 unlo righteousness. As the righteousness by 
 which the sinner is justified, is the sole work of 
 Christ for him, so this is (he work of the Holy 
 Ghost i>j '''.''. iiui no less necessary in its pro; i
 
 60 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF 
 
 place ; it being that, without which a sinner can- 
 not apprehend, receive, and rest upon Christ for 
 eternal life. By faith, as before observed, he be- 
 comes acquainted with the glories of the charac- 
 ter of Jesus, the fulness of grace in him, and the 
 suitableness and perfection of his righteousness ; 
 in consequence of this faith, he admires the Sa- 
 viour's personal excellencies, flies to him, ventures 
 all upon him, and rejoices in him. These, to 
 speak plainly, are all so many effects of faith. The 
 sinner must have a view of the Saviour's excellen- 
 cy, before he will admire it. He must be persuad- 
 ed, that Christ is the only safe refuge, before he 
 willy?y to him. He must know that there is in 
 Christ sufficient matter of consolation, before he 
 will rejoice in him. Of all these he is entirely sat- 
 isfied by faith in the testimony of God : subsequent 
 to which is his comings or flying to him, trusting in, 
 or venturing all upon him, rejoicing in him, &c. 
 e# g. Joseph's brethren heard that there was corn 
 enough in Egypt ; they believed the report : this 
 was faith ; upon this they went down for a supply. 
 Doubtless this was an effect of their faith ; for had 
 they not believed the tidings, they would never 
 have gone. So a sinner must belic-ve that Christ 
 is a full and complete Saviour, before he will run 
 or fly to him. Sense of misery, and faith in his 
 sufficiency, are the main stimulus. Or, I am sick, 
 I hear of an able physician, 1 believe him to be so, 
 upon which 1 apply to him : my application to him, 
 and my belief of his character, are as distinct as 
 any two things c;in be : my trusting my life in his 
 hands, is an effect of my bclicvinghim to be an able 
 physician. This distinction is obvious in the sa- 
 cred writings, as well as in the nature of things. 
 lis that c.omeih to God. must believe that he is.
 
 -THE GLORIES OF THE GOSPEL. G 1 
 
 Here is a manifest distinction between coming and 
 believing. 
 
 I apprehend that the same distinction should be 
 observed, between believing in Christ, and receiving 
 him. If so, it will follow, that " to receive Christ 
 in all his offices, as a prophet, a priest, and a king,*' 
 is not properly faith, but an effect of it, and insep- 
 arably connected with it. It is certain that a man 
 must believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that he 
 sustains these offices, before he can or will re- 
 ceive him in this light. Christ came unto his own 
 (meaning the Jews) but his own received him not. 
 This refusing to receive him was not unbelief, but 
 an effect of it. Hence should you be asked, why 
 they did not receive him ? The answer is ready, 
 because they did not believe him to be the Christ. 
 Nothing is more plain, than that unbelief was the 
 grand cause why they rejected him. On the other 
 hand, nothing is more evident, than that receiving 
 Christ, is an effect of believing in him. And should 
 you ask the man who defines faith, " a receiving 
 Christ in all his offices," why he thus receives 
 him ? he himself will be obliged to observe this 
 distinction ; for the only just answer he can give 
 you is, " because I believe he sustains them." 
 
 Thus we see that faith is entirely distinct from 
 the righteousness which justifies ; at the same 
 time it is indispensably necessary, answering great 
 and good purposes. Under its influence the sin- 
 ner flics to Jesus, the hope set before him, and 
 trusts his immortal interest in his hands, being 
 perfectly satisfied with his adorable character. 
 Faith is also the medium of peace and consolation. 
 You may with equal propriety attempt to sepa- 
 rate light and heat from the sun, as peace of con- 
 : ' '- nnd jov in tlv Holy Cihost, fro m the faith
 
 62 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS ONE OF 
 
 of God's elect. The degree of Christian consola- 
 tion may be greater or less, according to the 
 strength and influence of faith. At one time the 
 believer may have an inward peace and tranquil- 
 lity, which is exceedingly agreeable. At another 
 time he may be favoured with what St. Paul calls 
 joy unspeakable and full of glory. At another, guilt 
 may rob him of his comfort, and separate between 
 him and his God. Such are his exercises in the 
 present state of things. But he is far from mak- 
 ing a righteousness of his frames, feelings, or experi- 
 ences. The distinction between these he well un- 
 derstands. The righteousness by which he expects 
 to be justified, is the work of Christ alone ; the 
 faith by which he is enabled to receive it, is of the 
 operation of God; the consolations that he enjoys 
 are from this glorious Christ, in believing, or 
 through faith : all as different as A, B, and C. 
 His dependence for acceptance with God is neither 
 on his faith nor experiences, but on Christ alone. 
 At the same time he cannot conceive it possible, 
 for a poor, wretched, undone sinner to be enabled 
 to believe in Christ for eternal life, and not rejoice. 
 A view of the glories of his person, and the fullness 
 and freeness of his grace, cannot fail of introducing 
 strong consolation. 
 
 Corollary 1 . It follows, that believers may still 
 talk of, and plead for Christian experiences, with- 
 out the least injury to the " finished work of 
 Christ," or without making a righteousness of 
 them, seeing they clearly understand the distinc- 
 tion between them, notwithstanding what has 
 been said to the contrary by some who have 
 lately appeared among us. 
 
 Corel. 2. Those persons that have ever known 
 the truth as it is in Jesus, must fall into an awful
 
 THE GLORIES OF THE GOSPEL. $3 
 
 state of supineness, before they dare affirm, as 
 a term of admission into any religious society, 
 that all their former acquaintance with religion 
 was delusion ; and by so doing, they cannot fail of 
 grieving the Holy Spirit of God. 
 
 Corel. 3* That faith that is without a heart-felt 
 sense of the truth, or unconnected with the con- 
 solation that there is in Christ, is essentially dif- 
 ferent from the faith of the apostles and primitive 
 Christians : believing, they rejoiced with joy unspeak- 
 able and full of glory. 
 
 Corol. 4. They who seem to speak highly of 
 the atonement, or the " finished work of Christ," 
 but say little, and indeed nothing to the purpose, 
 about the Spirit's work in regeneration, while 
 they appear to extol one sacred person of the 
 Trinity, do manifestly slight another. 
 
 2. From the preceding subject we are taught 
 the antiquity of the doctrine of imputation ; 
 which was clearly expressed under the former 
 dispensation, by the laying of hands on the head 
 of the victim, with confession of sin : yea, we are 
 taught that the doctrine of imputed righteousness is 
 not to be confined to the New Testament ; for 
 St. Paul, in his exposition of the words of David, 
 assures us that it is held forth in them. It was a 
 doctrine of the primitive church, and much in- 
 sisted on in the reformation from popery. Lu- 
 ther, that resolute reformer, looked upon it " an 
 article of a standing or a falling; church." It was 
 steadily embraced by the fathers of New-England, 
 and is preserved as precious in many of their writ- 
 ings ; and however it may at any time suffer an 
 eclipse, as a truth of God it shall finally prevail to 
 his glory and the comfort oi many poor sinners. 
 Doubtless it is calculated to do Loth. It gives
 
 64 IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS, &c. 
 
 glory to God : for in this method of saving the 
 guilty, there is an illustrious display of the divine 
 perfections ; such as wisdom, love, grace, sove- 
 reignty, justice, &c. Wisdom shines, in that God 
 has secured the honour of his law and govern- 
 ment, while he justifies the ungodly. Love appears 
 in the manner in which he hath done this, even 
 by giving his only begotten Son to suffer and die. 
 Grace is conspicuous in his pardoning the sinner's 
 guilt, and accepting his person as righteous on 
 account of the obedience of one. Sovereignty is 
 manifested in his having mercy on whom he will 
 have mercy. Justice cannot be hid, seeing rather 
 than sin should be pardoned without satisfaction, 
 the Son of God must die. It brings comfort to 
 the sinner who is brought to believe, in Jesus : for. 
 he sees that he is the author of a perfect, spotless 
 righteousness, such as he finds he must have, or 
 never be admitted to see the Lord ; and while he 
 rejoices in it by faith, he ascribes the whole glory 
 to God. 
 
 3. If only they are blessed whose iniquities are 
 forgiven, it follows, that the wrath of God abid- 
 eth on all the impenitent and unbelieving. This 
 is an alarming consideration to such as have any 
 sense of the nature of the divine displeasure. It 
 will be a fearful thing to fall into the hands of 
 the living God. Who can dwell with everlasting 
 burnings? Who can dwell with devouring jirc ? A 
 state of guilt is awful ; the person in it is desti- 
 tute of the comforts of the gospel here, and is 
 liable every moment to be plunged into the lake 
 that burnetii with fire and brimstone ! and this is 
 the condition of every natural man. It becomes 
 each of us to inquire, in the language of the disci- 
 ples, Lord, is it ]''
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO CONTINUE IN THEIR 
 OBEDIENCE. 
 
 PHILIPPIAMS, i.i. 12, 13. 
 
 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my 
 presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your 
 ewn salvation with fear and trembling : for it is God which 
 worheth in you, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure. 
 
 oT. Paul was a zealous and an accom- 
 plished advocate for all the important doctrines of 
 Christianity : these he inculcated with plainness 
 and frequency, always laying them down as the 
 foundation of obedience, and from them urging 
 a sacred regard to every necessary duty. We 
 have an instance of this sort in the context. The 
 apostle introduces subjects of the highest conse- 
 quence, viz. the divinity of Christ, or his equal- 
 ity with the Father who, being in the for ?n of God*, 
 thought it not robbery to be equal with God ; his as- 
 tonishing condescension but made himself of 719 
 reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, 
 and was made in the likeness of men ; his course of 
 obedience to the will of God, and his submitting 
 to the ignominious and painful death of the cross. 
 These grand, interesting truths, are the premises 
 on which he founds the following exhortation ; 
 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have a /ways obeyed, not 
 m in my presence only, but now much more in my au- 
 i
 
 66 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 sence, work out your own salvation with fear and trem- 
 bling : for it is God which worketh in you, both to will 
 and to do, of his good pleasure : q. d. Dearly beloved, 
 I exhort you to labour to be like your Lord and 
 Master ; let the same mind be in you that was in 
 him ; behave with meekness and humility toward 
 all men, and let it be seen that you delight in 
 copying the most perfect example. And as Jesus 
 became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross ; 
 know ye, that the great design of this stupendous 
 act of his was, that he might redeem you from all 
 iniquity, and purify you to himself, a peculiar people, 
 zealous of good works. Be ye therefore, like 
 him, obedient until death ; stedfast, immoveable, al- 
 ways abounding in the work of the Lord. In farther 
 speaking to the words, I propose, 
 
 I. To shew to whom they were addressed. 
 
 II. Inquire into their meaning. 
 
 III. Consider the necessity of the believer's 
 continuing in his obedience. 
 
 I. It is expedient, in the first place, to know 
 to whom these words were spoken ; this should 
 be a first inquiry in all our investigations of divine 
 truth, in order to find out the sense of the sacred 
 writers. The want of a due attention to this 
 maxim, has led many to mistake their meaning : 
 from hence it is that many scripture exhortations 
 are misapplied, and the text among others, which 
 is manifestly spoken to believers ; this will appear 
 from the following things : 
 
 1. The direction of the epistle, (chap. i. 1.) To 
 {ill the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, 
 with the bishops and deacons. The direction of a 
 letter gives one man a right to open it rather than
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE. 67 
 
 another, and without any regard to its contents, 
 determines whose it is. So in this case. St. Paul 
 carried on a very extensive literary correspond- 
 ence. If any thing in providence prevented his 
 paying a personal visit to the places where he had 
 been successful in preaching the gospel, he gene- 
 rally took care to write to them. This circum- 
 stance more immediately gave rise to his several 
 epistles, which are so many religious letters, writ- 
 ten to the churches or to particular persons, on 
 matters of importance. Each letter is directed 
 with the greatest care, the epistle to the Hebrews 
 excepted, which is generally supposed to have 
 been written by this apostle. Now it is from the 
 direction that we judge for whom the contents 
 are designed ; accordingly, we are led to conclude* 
 that this epistle to the Philippians was intended 
 by the inspired author for believers, because he 
 directs it to all the saints in Christ Jesus. 
 
 2. In confirmation of the above remark, it is 
 necessary to examine the contents of this letter, 
 from the beginning to the text. I might with 
 propriety transcribe the whole preceding part of 
 it, but shall only select a few passages, because 
 they are sufficient for the purpose. Being confident 
 of this very thing, that he vuhich hath begun a good 
 work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus 
 Christ, (chap. i. 6.) Here he expresses his confi- 
 dence that the good work which had been begun 
 in them would be finished by the same divine 
 agent. To whom could such a passage be ad- 
 dressed, but to professed believers ? He al>o speak* 
 of their furtherance and joy of faith. ( vcr. 25.) Sure 
 we ;ire, that such as have no faith can neither ex- 
 pect its furtlh ra y :ce nor experience its joy . He does.
 
 68 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 not hesitate to tell them, that to them it was 
 given to believe in Christ, (ver. 29.) All which 
 exactly agree with the direction of the epistle. 
 To which I will only add the text ; Wherefore, my 
 beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence, 
 only, but now much more in my absence* Observe that 
 the apostle styles the persons to whom he writes 
 beloved, an expression only used by him when 
 addressing believers ; accordingly, after the con- 
 version of Onesimus, he wrote a letter to his 
 master Philemon, in which he exhorts him to 
 receive him, not now as a servant, but above a ser- 
 vant, a brother beloved. He also commends their 
 course of obedience, both while present with them 
 and in his absence from them ; by which it be- 
 came manifest that the gospel had not come to 
 them in word only, but also in -power, and in the Holy 
 Ghost, and in much assurance. I proceed, 
 
 II. To inquire into the meaning of the apostle 
 in this exhortation, work out your own salvation, 
 with fear and trembling. 
 
 1. I apprehend the apostle cannot mean, that 
 salvation from the guilt and fatal effects of sin was 
 to be wrought out by human endeavours, or that 
 the salvation of a sinner from the wrath to come 
 depends on any thing that he can do. Consider 
 the being that is offended, the law that is violated, 
 the guilt that is contracted, the circumstances of 
 the offender, and the whole tenor of the gospel. 
 
 The being whom we have offended is the infi- 
 nite Jehovah, a God of truth, and without iniquity ; 
 just and right is he. To him all our sins are naked, 
 which the eternal holiness of his nature obliges 
 him to view with abhorrence ; while his justice, 
 another essential attribute, calls for condign pun-
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE. 69 
 
 ishment ; and which could never have been im- 
 peached, if he had damned the world of men, as 
 he has the world of apostate angels ; because men 
 have violated a law which is infinitely just and 
 reasonable, the requirements and threatenings of 
 which are perfectly equitable. As a murderer is 
 justly condemned to suffer death, so every trans- 
 gressor of the divine law becomes as justly liable 
 to be punished with everlasting destruction. 
 
 Reflect on the nature of his crime, or the guilt 
 that he hath contracted. We judge, in common, 
 of the nature of an offence, by the dignity of him 
 against whom it is committed. Should we admit 
 this rule here, it will follow, that sin has in it in- 
 finite guilt, because committed against an infinite 
 God. Infinite it must be also, seeing an infinite 
 punishment is assigned to the impenitent and un- 
 believing. As the punishment is, which a most 
 righteous being has determined to inflict, such 
 must be the crime ; otherwise the penalty exceeds 
 the offence, which would be an act of injustice : 
 this no man dare to insinuate of the Judge of all 
 the earth, who ever has done, and ever will do 
 right. That the punishment to be inflicted on 
 sinners will be infinite, is manifest through the 
 whole scriptures. It is said, the worm dieth not, 
 (Mark ix. 44.) the smoke of their torment ascendeth 
 up forever and ever, (Rev. xiv. 11.) the wicked shall 
 
 gO into EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT, (Matt. XXV. 40'.) 
 
 In the same verse St. Matthew declares, that the 
 righteous shall go away into life eternal. It is readily 
 granted, that life eternal in this place intends end- 
 less felicity, or is to be taken in a strict and proper 
 sense. Why everlasting punishment, which is an 
 antithesis to it, should not be taken in a like:
 
 70 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 sense, that is, to import an unlimited duration, 
 no probable reason can be assigned. We find the 
 evangelist makes use of the same word (*,.-) 
 in the original, to express both the duration of 
 the punishment of the wicked and the happiness 
 of the righteous ; thereby informing us, that the 
 eternity of the one is commensurate with the eter- 
 nity of the other ; meaning that it is without end. 
 Seeing, therefore, that a most just God would 
 never inflict a penalty that exceeds the nature of 
 the crime, and has in this case declared that the 
 finally impenitent and unbelieving shall be pun- 
 ished with an infinite punishment, it follows that 
 the guilt of sin is infinite. 
 
 Consider the requirement of the law, even 
 perfect obedience. Nothing less will be accepted 
 as a condition of the divine favour, if we are to 
 enter into life upon this principle. 
 
 Bear in mind the circumstances of the sinner : 
 he is in a state of moral impotence ; destitute of 
 all moral rectitude ; yea, dead in sin. 
 
 Thus you find, that an infinite God is offend- 
 ed by the violation of a law, holy, just and 
 good ; that the sinner has thereby contracted in- 
 finite guilt, and is reduced to a state of absolute 
 poverty and wretchedness ; while the law curses 
 every one that continueth not in all the things 
 that are written in the book of it, to do them. 
 What can this poor creature do, in order to work 
 out a salvation from sucli guilt as this ? Can he 
 mike atonement for one of the offences that he 
 hath committed ? or satisfy divine justice for the 
 violation of the law ? Wherewith can the sinner, 
 in such deplorable circumstances, expiate infinite 
 guilt ? Men and angels arc unequal to the task ;
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE. 71 
 
 and Jesus Christ alone migiitt to safe, able to 
 
 SAFE TO THE UTTERMOST. 
 
 Surely St. Paul better understood that gospel 
 which he received by the revelation of Jesus Christ, 
 than to address a sinner, poor, and blind, and na- 
 ked, in such a manner. First tell him that he can 
 do nothing, and then exhort him to do every thing. 
 Paul was not such a preacher. He assures us 
 that it is by grace we are saved, through faith ; and 
 that not of 'ourselves : it is the gift of God. Who hath 
 saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not ac- 
 cording to our works, (be they of the law or of 
 the gospel) but according to his own purpose and 
 grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the 
 world began. 
 
 2. Neither can the apostle mean by this exhor- 
 tation, that salvation from the guilt of sin is 
 wrought out partly by Christ and partly by the 
 sinner ; or that the sinner is to do what he can, 
 in expectation that Christ will make up the defi- 
 ciency. This sentiment is no less contradictory 
 to the whole gospel, than the preceding ; for it 
 teaches us, that Christ is not a complete Saviour, 
 and that our own arm in part brings salvation. 
 It reflects grossly on the Redeemer, as though he 
 were not every way able to save ; and affords the 
 sinner something to boast of before God. For 
 suppose that part be ever so small, that he can 
 perform, still it is a part ; and for so much as he 
 can do, by way of atonement for his sins, he may 
 take the praise to himself. 
 
 Besides, what sort of a righteousness, suppose 
 ye, must that be, that is wrought out partly by 
 Christ, and partly by the sinner ? The former, an 
 infinitely perfect Being ; the latter, a totally pol-
 
 72 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 luted creature. It would bear resemblance to Neb* 
 uchadnezzar's image, the parts of which it was 
 impossible ever to unite. 
 
 Again The work of salvation was finished by 
 Christ, and he had ascended to the glory of his 
 Father, before these Philippians had heard the gos- 
 pel. Nothing remained, when Paul went to preach 
 to them, but the special application of its inesti- 
 mable blessings. Accordingly, he took the 
 greatest pains to persuade them, that all their 
 own righteousness was loss and dung : and how- 
 ever warm he was in his exhortations to obedi- 
 ence, he would always have them to know that 
 salvation was alone of Christ. 
 
 Farther The persons to whom the words were 
 immediately spoken, were believers ; and at that 
 very time in a state of actual justification. By 
 him all tvho believe are justified from all things. 
 They could not, therefore, with any propriety be 
 exhorted to do something, by which they might be 
 justified before God. 
 
 3. Neither are we to suppose, that St. Paul de- 
 signed by this exhortation to teach these believers, 
 that by virtue of a stock of grace already receiv- 
 ed, they were to persevere till they should ob- 
 tain final salvation. This would contradict all 
 those passages of holy scripture, which declare 
 a believer's weakness in himself, and his depend- 
 ence on Christ, the only head of influence, for 
 constant supplies of grace. His having been en- 
 abled to believe in the Son of God does not ren- 
 der him self-sufficient. Still, if left to himself, 
 he may fall foully, like David and Peter. It is 
 not in consequence of any degree of grace al- 
 ready received, that the believer shall safely per-
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE. 7S 
 
 Severe to eternal glory ; but by virtue of a vital 
 union to the Lord Jesus Christ, out of whose 
 fulness he is said to receive, and grace for grace. 
 This important and comfortable sentiment is 
 beautifully taught us by our divine Lord, in 
 the metaphor of the vine and its branches. 
 (John xv. 4, 5.) As the branch cannot bear fruit of 
 itself except it abide in the 'vine ; no more can ye, ex* 
 cept ye abide in me. I am the mine, ye are the branches. 
 Observe, Christ first introduces the simile, and 
 then accommodates it : q. d. It is thus between me 
 and you : I am the vine, to whom ye as branches 
 are united. The branches are united to, and one 
 with the vine ; so are ye united to me, and one 
 with me. The branches, by a full supply of sap 
 from the vine become fruitful : so ye being con- 
 tinually supplied with grace, out of that fulness, 
 which it hath pleased the Father should dwell 
 in me, bear much fruit. 
 
 This sentiment is confirmed by numerous pas- 
 sages of scripture. Christ assured his disciples 
 in the same chapter, that without him they could do 
 nothing. Without his abiding in them by his Holy 
 Spirit, and their abiding in him by faith, they 
 could do nothing comfortably, successfully, or 
 acceptably. Their consolation is in Christ, and 
 if left by him, they drag on heavily like Pharoah's 
 chariots, when they had lost their wheels. Their 
 successful opposition to the world, the flesh, and 
 the devil, is owing entirely to help from Christ. 
 In ail these things we are ?nore than conquerors, through 
 him who loved us. And the acceptance of their 
 persons, and their obedience, is only through 
 Christ. He is the sole medium of access to Cod, 
 
 K
 
 74 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 and of acceptance with him wherein he hath 
 made us accepted in the beloved. 
 
 But without multiplying quotations, I observe* 
 that the latter part of the text militates against 
 any such exposition of it. Work out your own sal- 
 vation with fear and trembling. For it is God which 
 worketh in you, both to will and to do, of his good pleas- 
 ure. No exhortation could be better guarded. 
 The apostle, with his usual caution, takes care that 
 a false construction might not be put on his 
 words ; and that the people, to whom he writes, 
 might not receive any wrong impressions. In- 
 stead of being self-confident, or of thinking that 
 as believers they were amply furnished already 
 for the duties and trials of the Christian life, he 
 exhorts them to continue in obedience, with fear 
 and trembling. Fear is often brought in by this 
 apostle, as a necessary temper of mind for the 
 Christian, while he abides in the flesh ; because 
 he has many enemies. It was expedient that 
 these and that all other believers should be diffi- 
 dent of their own abilities, and fear to trust in 
 themselves. No persons are in so great danger as 
 they who apprehend none, or who look upon them- 
 selves sufficient to overcome every enemy. This 
 remark is exemplified in Peter's denial of his Mas- 
 ter. Had he entertained this necessary fear, it 
 might have kept him from the place of danger. 
 Being suspicious of himself, he would rather have 
 chosen to stay a little behind, than to go among 
 the servants of the high priest. 
 
 The believers at Philippi had also reason to fear, 
 lest animosities and divisons should take place 
 among them, to the great injury of the cause of 
 Christ ; lest they should be beguiled by false
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE. 75 
 
 teachers, who were then lying in wait to deceive ; 
 lest they should be overtaken by temptation, or 
 led away by their own corruptions, to sin against 
 the Lord ; and lest they should be found to en- 
 tertain a fondness for their own righteousness : 
 all which would tend to hinder or mar their 
 course of obedience. 
 
 The apostle adds, For it is God which worketh in 
 you both to will and to do, of his good pleasure. This 
 sentence is explanatory of the former part of the 
 text, and immediately calculated to unhinge 
 the Philippians from self-confidence : i. e. I do 
 not mean to set you to do something, by which 
 you may be justified, either in whole or in part, 
 before God ; this is the sole work of Jesus : nor 
 yet would I have you to think, that as believers, 
 and justified persons, you are already furnished 
 with grace, sufficient for all the duties and trials 
 that are before you. Rather, you are not sufficient 
 of yourselves, to think any thing as of yourselves ; but 
 your sufficiency is of God, who worketh in you to will 
 and to do, those things, that are spiritually good. 
 The apostle does not say, who hath wrought in 
 you, but who now worketh in you, as the called 
 according to his purpose. 
 
 Here we are plainly taught, that a will to choose, 
 and the ability to perform that which is good, are 
 of God. The sinner, while in unbelief, is an 
 enemy in his mind by wicked works, and con- 
 tinually under the influence of a principle of en- 
 mity against God. He sees no excellency in Christ, 
 no beauty in holiness. The things that suit his 
 depraved ta^te, are infinitely opposite to the Divine 
 Majestv : if he therefore gratifies himself, lie must 
 offend the Deity. In this condition lie acts freely,
 
 76 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 choosing such things as are adapted to his corrupt 
 mind. And in this manner would he continue 
 to act to the end of life, however shocking the 
 event, if God should not stop him in his career, 
 as he did Saul the persecutor, or convert him, 
 as he did the dying thief. For nothing short of 
 the exceeding greatness of that power, that brought 
 again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ,- is 
 sufficient to alter this depraved heart. And even 
 after the sinner is enabled to believe in the Son 
 of God, such is the law in his members ; such 
 the power of indwelling corruption, that the will 
 is frequently embarrassed, and spiritual desires 
 languid. Every Christian knows by experience, 
 that he is too apt to forget his first love, and to 
 drag on heavily from one duty to another. The 
 world and the things thereof tend to divide his 
 heart and affections. At such a time he is sensible 
 what his duty is, and he attends to it ; but he is 
 conscious of a sad alteration in the temper of his 
 mind ; which he bewails in language like that of 
 David, My soul cleaveth to the dust : quicken thou me 
 according to thy word. He finds that he cannot 
 quicken himself, nor remove this stupidity under 
 which he groans : were it in his power, it should 
 soon be done. But he feels that it is God who 
 worketh in him, by his Spirit and grace, to will, 
 and from the same source is his ability to d 
 whatever God calls him to. / have learned, says 
 St. Paul, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be 
 content. I know both how to be abased, and I know 
 how to abound : every where and in all things I ant 
 instructed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound 
 0nd to suffer need. But lest the Philippians should 
 think he contradicted the doctrine lie had before
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE. 77 
 
 taught them, he adds, lean do all things through 
 Christ who strengthened me. That is, by implication , 
 I can do none of these things without help from 
 Jesus. He tells us in another place, to will is pre- 
 sent with me, but how to perform that which is good I 
 find not. From hence we learn, that what St. Paul 
 here writes to the Philippians was a matter of his 
 own experience, as well as a solemn truth. 
 
 It may now be asked, If neither of the preced- 
 ing articles is the sense of the text, what does he 
 mean ? I answer, 
 
 4. That it appears to me that his design is to 
 stir up the believers at Philippi, to a sacred regard 
 to those duties he had been speaking of in the 
 context ; and besides these, to all the duties of 
 the Christian life : or, in other words, as they 
 had always obeyed, not as in his presence only, 
 but much more so in his absence, he exhorts them 
 to continue in their obedience, by studtoubly ob- 
 serving those things that accompany salvation ; 
 q. d. as ye have always obeyed, so continue to 
 obey ; remembering that it is God who worketh in 
 you. While you are careful to attend to the ex- 
 ternal plan of duty that is before you, bear in 
 mind that your sufficiency is of God ; and let this 
 be your encouragement, that he worketh in you, 
 and that his Spirit is given to help your infirmities. 
 
 The immediate reason of this exhortation, and 
 which confirms the above exposition of it, you 
 have in the three verses that follow the text. D 
 all things without murmurings and disputings : mean- 
 ing all the things that he had mentioned in the 
 context, and that arc included in the text ; such 
 us, that they should be like minded, having the same 
 love, being of one accord, of one mind ; that nothing
 
 78 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 should be done through strife or vain glory, but in low- 
 liness of mind each shoidd esteem other better than them- 
 selves ; that they shoidd not look every man on his own 
 things, but every man also on the things of others ; that 
 they shoidd cidtivate a mind like that which was in 
 Christ Jesus, i. e. of humility and condescension. 
 Having particularly mentioned these duties, he 
 sums up the whole of Christian practice in this 
 short exhortation, Work out your own salvation ; 
 and then proceeds to give the reason of it That 
 ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, with- 
 out rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse 
 nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world ." 
 holding forth the word of life ; that I may rejoice in 
 the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither 
 laboured in vain. Here the apostle tells us, in the 
 most plain terms, why he so warmly exhorted the 
 believing Philippians to obedience. Not that they 
 might recommend themselves to God, and obtain 
 the pardon of their sins, this being a thing impos- 
 sible by any human endeavours ; but that they 
 might be blameless and harmless, as became the 
 sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a 
 crooked and perverse nation. They were among 
 a people who were in opposition to the gospel, 
 and watched for their fall ; the apostle therefore 
 exhorts them to behave in such a manner that 
 these their enemies might have nothing to lay to 
 their charge. This he urges by the consideration, 
 that Christians should shine as lights in the world. 
 As God had sinned in their hearts, to give the 
 \vA\t of the knowledge of his own jjlorv in the 
 face of Jesus Christ ; so it became them to be as 
 lights to others, in all holy conversation and god- 
 liness. Holding forth the word of life : meaning,
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE. 79 
 
 that the bishops, or ministers of the gospel, who 
 are mentioned in the direction of the epistle, 
 should preach the doctrines of Christ, which are 
 the words of life, in plainness and purity ; and that 
 both they, and all the saints and faithful in Christ 
 Jesus of a private character, should hold forth, or 
 publickly exhibit, the excellency of these doc- 
 trines, by a holy and exemplary behaviour ; shew- 
 ing out of a good conversation their works with meekness 
 of wisdom. Such a conduct would have given the 
 apostle occasion to rejoice in the day of Christ, and 
 have made manifest that he had not run in vain, 
 neither laboured in vain. 
 
 It being now apparent, from what has been de- 
 livered, that the text is an address to believers, 
 urging them to continue in their obedience, I 
 pass to consider, 
 
 III. That such obedience is indispensably neces- 
 sary. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will 
 that thou ajjirm constantly, that they which have be- 
 lieved in God might be careful to maintain good works : 
 these things are good and prof table unto men. (Tit. iii. 
 S.) And in verse 14th of the same chapter, the 
 apostle adds, And let ours also learn to maintain good 
 works for necessary uses, that they be not un- 
 fruitful. 
 
 Let it be premised, that the plan of a believer's 
 obedience is very extensive, lie is bound to obey 
 every moral precept, to imitate every divine ex- 
 ample, and to submit to all Christ's new com- 
 mandments. This is manifest in the commission 
 Christ gave to his disciples teaching them to observe 
 
 ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HATE COMMANDED YOU. 
 
 This is a part of the gospel ministry, and to be
 
 1 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 frequently insisted on ; yea, as often as the gospel 
 is preached, it should be urged, that they who 
 have believed in God should carefully observe all 
 things whatsoever Christ hath commanded ; which i* 
 necessary, 
 
 1. To evidence their faith in him. Tea, a man 
 may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works : shew me 
 thy faith wit If out thy works, and I will shew thee my 
 faith Br my works. Thou believest that there is 
 one God ; thou doest well : the devils also believe and 
 tremble. But wilt thou know, vain man, that faith 
 without works is dead ? A vain man indeed is 
 he, who pretends to be a believer in Christ, but 
 at the same time has no regard to practical godli- 
 ness. The faith of God's elect is a principle of 
 life and action. And every man who is brought 
 to believe the important doctrines of Christian* 
 ity, will also be influenced to deny ungodliness and 
 worldly lusts, and to live soberly, and righteously, 
 and godly, in this present world. This, says St. Paul, 
 that very grace that bringeth salvation teacheth. It 
 is by their fruit we are to know them : for they 
 shew their faith by their works ; living faith be- 
 ing invariably an influential principle. It may 
 therefore be concluded, with the greatest propri- 
 ety, that all who profess to have faith, and have 
 not works, deceive themselves, and the truth is 
 not in them : in all such instances faith lacks its 
 external evidence. 
 
 2. Obedience is an evidence of love to God. 
 He that hath my commandments, saith Christ, and 
 keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. If any man love 
 me, he will keep my words. He that loveth Christ, 
 will be inquisitive to know and anxious to do his 
 will. There is no incentive so powerful as love ;
 
 Continue in obedIence. 81 
 
 that obedience that springs from it is both cheer* 
 ful and extensive. A servant may be awed by- 
 fear, or induced by the promise of a reward, to 
 obey his master ; but there is a great difference 
 between such obedience and that which springs 
 from love. In the former casej he has no true 
 satisfaction in obeying, but wishes his task was 
 ended ; in the latter, there is real pleasure. The 
 servant loves his master, and therefore he loves 
 to please him : his obedience is no task or drudg- 
 ery, for his heart is in it ; and while he pleases 
 his master, he gratifies himself. It is thus with 
 believers : the love they have to the Lord Jesus 
 Christ makes them willing to do and suffer hi$ 
 will ; and where this evidence is wanting, love 
 should be suspected. 
 
 3. Obedience is necessary on account of the 
 men of the world. Of this the apostle speaks in 
 the context ; and exhortations of the same import 
 are numerous in the word of God ; such is the 
 following : Let your light so shine before men, that 
 they may see your good works, and glorify your Father 
 who is in heaven. These words were immediately 
 spoken to the disciples, of whom all manner of 
 evil was falsely said. Christ exhorts them to free 
 themselves from these unjust reflections, by a 
 holy and unbiarneable conduct ; and so to make 
 it evident, that the doctrines they preached were 
 in no sense unfriendly to luorality : for while 
 they preached the gospel, and were careful to 
 maintain good works, they left no room for any 
 to insinuate that they made void the law ; on the 
 contrary, their good example might have a ten- 
 dency to lead their very enemies to think favour- 
 ably of the sentiments they taught, seeirg that 
 j.
 
 82 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 under their influence their practice was unblame- 
 able. On the same account, modern Christians 
 should be careful to regulate their conduct by the 
 most excellent maxims of Jesus Christ : thus will 
 they adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour ; and 
 they who are of the contrary part will be ashamed, 
 having no evil thing to say of them. 
 
 4. Christ taught his disciples the necessity of 
 obedience, that God might be glorified. Herein 
 is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit ; so shall 
 ye be my disciples. The glory of God should be a 
 leading point with the Christian ; he should keep 
 it in view as the ultimate end of all his actions, 
 and readily do or suffer any thing by which God 
 may be glorified. And seeing this end is answer- 
 ed, by having his fruit unto holiness, how should 
 the consideration of it excite him to give all dili- 
 gence, to add to his faith, virtue ; and to virtue, 
 knowledge ; and to knowledge, temperance ; and to 
 temperance, patience ; and to patience, godliness ; and 
 to godliness, brotherly-kindness ; and to brotherly-kind- 
 ness, charity. And at the same time that God is 
 glorified, by his bearing much fruit, he appears to 
 be a disciple indeed. So shall ye he my disciples, 
 i. e. so shall it be made manifest : for their fruit- 
 fulness does not " constitute them disciples, but 
 makes it appear that they are so ; just as good 
 fruit does not make the tree good (the tree is 
 first good, and therefore it brings forth good 
 fruit) but shews it to be good." So men are 
 known to be the real followers of Jesus Christ, by 
 abounding in the fruits of righteousness. 
 
 5. Though the plan of redemption was so laid, 
 that the sinner should be justified through the 
 blood of Jesus, without the deeds of the law ; the
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE. 83 
 
 Lord had respect unto obedience, and effectually 
 secured it. To this men are chosen, redeemed, and 
 called. 
 
 (1.) They were chosen to holiness here, as much 
 as to happiness hereafter. That very purpose of 
 the Eternal Mind that appointed them to obtain 
 salvation, did also determine that they should be 
 an obedient people. 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. 
 With which agree the following words : Elect, ac- 
 cording to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through 
 sanct'ification of the Spirit unto obedience. In these 
 passages it is evident beyond a reasonable contra- 
 diction, that the heirs of promise are chosen to 
 holiness here, or to a life of obedience to their 
 Divine Master : it is therefore necessary. 
 
 Corollary. How evidently do they misrepresent 
 the doctrine of election, who say, " If we are 
 elected we may live as we please," seeing the elect 
 are appointed to be a holy people. 
 
 (2.) It was one great design of Christ in re- 
 demption, that the redeemed by his blood should 
 be holy. Who gave himself for us, that he might 
 redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a 
 peculiar people, -zealous of good works. 
 
 (3.) For the same purpose they are effectually 
 called by the Spirit of God. For we are his work- 
 manship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which 
 Cod hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 
 And it is the character of those who are openly 
 in Christ by conversion, that they are new crea- 
 tures : old things pass away, and behold, all things 
 'becb?:ij new.
 
 g4 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 Thus we see that God the Father appointed his 
 people to holiness j Jesus Christ redeemed them, 
 that they might be holy ; and they are called unto 
 holiness by the Divine Spirit : they are a peculiar 
 people, zealous of good works. 
 
 6. Let it be farther observed, that the Lord 
 hath wisely connected the Christian's growth in 
 grace, and his consolation, with his obedience. 
 If he desires to enjoy, as doubtless he does, the 
 consolation that there is in Christ, then he must 
 walk in all the commandments and ordinances of 
 the Lord. This is the divinely appointed method 
 of nearness to God, and in which only the be- 
 liever can expect to have fellowship with the 
 Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ ; hence such 
 sacred promises as the following : They that wait 
 upon the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall 
 mount up with wings as eagles : they shall run and not 
 be weary , and they shall walk and not faint. Seek, 
 and ye shall find. And Christ said unto his disci- 
 ples, Where two or three are gathered together in my 
 name, there am I in the midst of them. Here he 
 promises, as in many other passages, that he would 
 be with and bless those who wait upon him, or 
 seek him in the ways which he hath appointed ; 
 and which the faithful in Christ Jesus have often 
 experienced : for the Lord meeteth him that rejoiceth, 
 and w.orketh righteousness ; those that remember him 
 in his ways. Neither hath he ever said to the seed 
 of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. It is therefore neces- 
 sary that the Christian be diligent in his course 
 of obedience, if he would enjoy the comforts of 
 the gospel. 
 
 7. The glory to be revealed is promised only 
 to such as shall persevere to the end. He thai
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE. 8.5 
 
 shall endure to the end shall be saved. This is the 
 grand encouragement to believers, under mani- 
 fold temptations. Their trials shall have an end ; 
 and then such as shall have finally persevered shall 
 receive a crown of life. Not that we are to sup- 
 pose that our perseverance in duty gives a right 
 to eternal life ; no ; this is founded on the Re- 
 deemer's obedience and sufferings : but it charac- 
 terizes those who are the heirs of this inheritance. 
 There are many, who once made a very showy 
 profession, and did run well for a time ; but hav- 
 ing no root in themselves, endured for a while : 
 for when tribulation or persecution arose because 
 of the word, they were offended. Thus their 
 proper character was discovered. Of such it may 
 be said, They went out from us, but they were not of 
 us ; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt 
 have continued with us : but they went out, that they 
 might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 
 On the contrary, such as persevere to the end 
 answer the character given to those who shall 
 forever inherit the promises ; and the word is 
 plain, that none but sucli shall be saved. It there- 
 fore becomes all men professing godliness, to be 
 diligent, that they may be found of Christ in peace, 
 without spot, and blameless. For in the present cir- 
 cumstances, there are many things that unite to 
 excite the Christian's fear. He has a law in his 
 members, a tempting devil, and an alluring world ; 
 three very potent adversaries. It becomes him 
 continually to watch and pray, lest he should fall 
 from his own stedfastness. 
 
 8. In fine, the love of Christ lays the believer 
 under a most agreeable necessity to continue in 
 his obedience. No obligation more binding than
 
 g5 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 this. The believer reflects on that super-eminent 
 expression of the love of God, in giving his own 
 Son to die for sinners. He thinks with wonder 
 and affection of the Saviour's grace and compas- 
 sion, that he should so readily become a sacrifice 
 for sins ; and with an apostle he exclaims, Herein 
 is love ; not that we loved him, but that he loved us. 
 God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we 
 ivere yet sinners Christ died for us ! He saves from 
 hell, from everlasting misery, to the eternal frui- 
 tion of himself in glory ! In this Redeemer, says 
 the Christian, I see a ground of hope for me, and 
 trust that I have been enabled to fly to him as the 
 only refuge. To him I dedicate my all. I have 
 nothing but I would freely give him. O that he 
 would make my duty plain, and help me to dis- 
 charge it ! I would gladly make haste, and delay 
 not to keep his commandments ; seeing this is 
 the only way I have to express my love to him. 
 Thus the love of Christ constraineth him. 
 
 I pass to some suitable improvement. 
 
 1. It appears repugnant to the sense of this 
 text, to insist upon it as an exhortation to unbe- 
 lievers. The same may be said of a long cata- 
 logue of sacred passages, which have been fre- 
 quently crowded into addresses to the unregen- 
 erate, in order to excite them to do their part, 
 with a promise that Christ will make up the defi- 
 ciency : a mistake that might have been prevented 
 by a proper attention to such texts, with their 
 connexion. To whom were they spoken ? and 
 with what design ? are questions necessary to be 
 answered, if we would understand the meaning 
 of the inspired writers ; but detached passages of 
 scripture, without respect to their connexion and
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE -87 
 
 design, are introduced to prove what every man 
 pleaseth. Should you attend to the above maxim, 
 in reading the Bible, I am persuaded you would 
 think differently of many passages in it. St. 
 Paul's words to the Ephesians, Wherefore he saith, 
 Awake, thou that steepest, and arise from the dead, 
 end Christ shall give thee light, are repeatedly urged 
 as an exhortation to unbelievers ; but it is plain 
 that the apostle here writes to believers : to such 
 the epistle is directed, and to such only are its 
 contents in general applicable ; and in the exhor- 
 tation itself he carefully distinguishes between 
 believers and unbelievers. The persons addressed 
 are such as sleep. Real Christians are too apt to 
 sleep, as do others. It is said of the wise, as well 
 as of the foolish virgins, they slumbered and slept. 
 These he calls upon to awake, and arise from the 
 dead ; the dead, as distinguished from those who 
 sleep. By this phrase the condition of unbelievers 
 is expressed : they are dead in trespasses and sins. 
 In many other instances, it would be easy to shew, 
 from their connexion, that they are misapplied ; 
 but this subject is too copious for the improve- 
 ment of a discourse. 
 
 It may now be asked, whether unbelievers 
 are not to be addressed ? Doubtless they are. 
 The gospel is to be preached to every creature, 
 (Mark xvi. 1/7.) for faith comes by hearing. What 
 is it to preach the gospel ? is the grand inquiry. 
 Does it consist in assuring sinners, " that Christ 
 has finished his part of redemption, and that now 
 what remains on their part is lo comply with the 
 terms and conditions of the new covenant?" Here 
 the sinner will be naturally led to inquire, if he 
 has any concern about the matter, what are
 
 gg BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 these conditions? Perhaps it will be said, faith 
 and repentance. He may still ask, in what sense 
 are these conditions ? An Arminian will tell him, 
 that they are so in a proper sense. That his compli- 
 ance with these will give him a right to spiritual 
 blessings. For the conditions of a covenant, are 
 those parts of it, that are to be performed by 
 the party, or parties covenanting, in order that 
 he or they may have a right to the thing cove- 
 nanted for. Does not this representation of the 
 gospel manifestly destroy the grace of it ? For if 
 its blessings are only conferred on such as have a 
 right to them, by virtue of their own compliance 
 with certain conditions, where is grace ? If you 
 employ a labourer, he agrees on his part to work 
 so many hours in a day ; and you on your part 
 agree to give him such a sum of money. Is it 
 an act of grace, or is it not rather an act of justice 
 in you, to fulfil the condition on your part, when 
 he has fulfilled his ? So, if the blessings of the 
 gospel are bestowed conditionally, it follows, that 
 he who has performed the conditions may demand 
 them. How will this correspond with being 
 saved and called, not according to our works ; but 
 according to his own purpose and grace ? It may 
 be said, that it is grace in God to confer such im- 
 mensely rich blessings, on such easy terms as faith 
 and repentance. But according to these senti- 
 ments, the way to heaven by the gospel is as hard 
 to fallen man as by the law, because the terms 
 (as they are called) are equally impossible to him, 
 by means of his universal depravity. Hence said 
 our Lord to the Jews, No man can come to me, except 
 the Father, which hath sent me, draw him. And the 
 apostles teach us that faith is the gift of God : and
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE. 89 
 
 tkat Christ is exalted to give repentance. By these 
 expressions they lead us to understand that faith 
 and repentance are as much blessings of the new 
 covenant as remission of sins, and as freely giv;. 
 en. Surely the blessings of the covenant are dis- 
 tinct from the conditions of it. 
 
 That faith and repentance are indispensably 
 necessary, or that the sinner, agreeably to the 
 economy of redemption, cannot be saved with- 
 out them, is not to be contradicted. This is the 
 divine constitution. Faith and repentance are 
 Connected with eternal life, and make up a great 
 part of the gospel ministry : but their being 
 necessary by no means supposes that they are con- 
 ditions^ in the sense above explained ; for effectu- 
 al calling, pardon of sin, justification, and sanctifi. 
 cation, are all necessary ; therefore, upon the same 
 principle, they are all conditions. 
 
 But however consistent the men of these senti- 
 ments are with themselves, such as profess to be*, 
 friend the pure doctrines of grace appear to be 
 guilty of a glaring contradiction in the use of this 
 mode of expression ; which has often been the 
 subject of severe animadversion, in order to shew 
 that their system of doctrines can never be rec- 
 onciled. At one time, say some, we are told 
 that all men are naturally at enmity with God, and 
 dead in sin ; that they, as such, are morally in- 
 capable of doing any thing toward their own re- 
 covery to the divine favour ; that faith is of the 
 operation of God ; that Christ has finished sal- 
 vation ; that it is altogether of grace ; and that 
 the application of its blessings is made to the soul 
 by the Spirit of God. At another time the same 
 persons tell us, that faith and repentance are the 
 
 M
 
 0O BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 Mditicm of the new covenant , and that in order 
 to have a right to the bless.ngs, we must comply 
 with these. Here is a contrast. Man dead in 
 sin can * nothing toward his own recovery ; yet 
 man dead in sin must comply with term and con- 
 ditions, in order to his being accepted. Faith is 
 the sift of God i at another time, it is something 
 within the power of man. At one time it is said, 
 Christ hath brought in an everlasting righteous- 
 S sfwhich, by a gracious act of God, is imputed 
 to the sinner for justification ; at another time, 
 he must do something to entitle him to the tries. 
 stags, &c Thus do some men catch at every 
 inconsistency, with a design to overthrow the 
 doctrines themselves. 
 
 It may be said that these phrases are some- 
 times used in a good sense, viz. that faith and re- 
 pentance are those things, without which, accord- 
 n- to the gospel constitution, a sinner cannot be 
 saved. This is a truth that must be alowed: 
 but are not the phrases very exceptionable? Do 
 thev not want an immediate explanation, in order 
 to remove or prevent that false notion of the 
 eospel which they are calculated to encourage? 
 Mav not the necessity of faith and repentance be 
 insisted on with as much zeal, and much greater 
 propriety, by the use of other expressions ? The 
 preacher sought to find out acceptable -word*, and that 
 
 which va vrto* u t ri S ht > cvc " rds <f' ruth - 
 The inquiry again returns, how are unbelievers 
 t be addressed ? I answer for myself, that as their 
 conversion is the great point in view every 
 method should be pursued that seems ca cula cd 
 to accomplish it. Now the sinner is alienated 
 from God, in a state of total depravity; and as 
 a transgressor of the law, he is every moment
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE. 91 
 
 exposed to its curse. He who wishes to be in- 
 strumental of the conversion of such an apostate, 
 must first try to convince him of his proper char- 
 acter. The method adopted by the apostles, was, 
 to set before sinners the law of God, in its extent 
 and spirituality, for their conviction ; for by the 
 law is the knowledge of s'm. By the law they be- 
 come sensible that they are in a state of con- 
 demnation ; that their own obedience, when com- 
 pared with that rule of righteousness, is essential- 
 ly deficient ; and under such conviction, are made 
 to cry out like St. Peter's hearers, Men and breth- 
 ren, what shall we do ? Thus the letter killeth ; i. e. 
 the law : it consigns the sinner over to eternal 
 destruction. 
 
 On the other hand, the gospel should be preach- 
 ed to mankind universally. Christ should be ex- 
 hibited in the dignity of his person and char- 
 acters ; in the greatness of his love ; in the in- 
 finite virtue of his atonement, as matters of faith. 
 The following is an epitome of the gospel, given 
 by Jesus Christ himself : For God so loved the world, 
 that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever 
 bclieveth in him, should not perish, bat have ever- 
 lasting life. In the same manner his apostles 
 preached. They tell us, that where sin abounded, 
 grace did much more abound ; that there is redemp- 
 tion through his blood, the forgiveness of sins accord- 
 ing to the riches of his grace ; that God can be just, 
 and the just ificr of him that belicvcth in Jesus. Thus, 
 in a variety of instances, they propose the grand 
 encouragement, and set Christ forth, as the pre- 
 cious object of faith and love. 
 
 But after the clearest exhibitions of the divine 
 law, the most solemn declarations of the gloriuus
 
 92 BELIEVERS EXHORTED TO 
 
 gospel, the most evangelical discourses concern* 
 ing the nature and necessity of faith and repent* 
 ance, and the most proper and pathetic addresses 
 to the consciences of men, which by all means 
 should be made use of, there will be no success 
 attending them, unless the Spirit of the Lord 
 takes of the things of Jesus, and powerfully applies 
 them to the sinner's mind. Paul planted, and ApoU 
 los watered ; but God gave the increase. But as soon 
 as the truth is brought home to the sinner's con- 
 science, he becomes anxious to flee from the wrath 
 to come. His dangerous condition alarms him ; 
 for he now finds that he is condemned by the law 
 of God, and shut up under an awful load of guilt. 
 And while this conviction of his wretched cir- 
 cumstances excites him to search the scriptures, 
 to attend the preaching of the gospel, and to cry, 
 Lord, be merciful to me a sinner, he can find no 
 encouragement, unless he is under a great mistake, 
 from any thing but the gospel, which reveals a 
 fountain open for sin and for uncleanness, a perfect 
 and an everlasting righteousness, which is brought 
 in by Jesus Christ, who is the end of the law 
 for righteousness to every one that believeth. 
 And upon his being enabled to believe in this 
 Divine Redeemer, he sees a ground of hope for 
 him, and rejoices In Christ without confidence 
 in the flesh. Under such a conviction of the 
 truth, and thus inquisitive about the way to Zion, 
 glad should 1 be to see this and every congre- 
 gation in New-England. For if a man is not con- 
 vinced that he is condemned by the law, he will 
 not rejoice that salvation is brought to light by 
 the gospel : if he is not sensible of his want of 
 righteousness, he will not esteem it good news.
 
 CONTINUE IN OBEDIENCE. 93 
 
 that God justifies the ungodly. May the Spirit of 
 God convince the world of sin, of righteousness, 
 and of judgment ! 
 
 2. I shall conclude this discourse by observing, 
 that there are two classes of men, whose general 
 conduct is incompatible with their professed sen- 
 timents. 
 
 (1.) The first of these are such as plead warm- 
 ly for the dignity of man in his present state, his 
 noble powers and capacities, and the influence 
 of his obedience in recommending him to the Dei- 
 ty ; but at the same time are guilty of the most 
 sordid vices. They swear on every trifling occa- 
 sion, by the awful name of God ; indulge them- 
 selves in drunkenness, uncleanness, &c. Thus, 
 while they try to persuade us of the dignity of 
 man, their own conduct, which is much more per- 
 suasive, leads us to conclude, or confirms us in the 
 conclusion, that he is an enemy to God in his 
 mind by wicked works. No person can degrade 
 them, so much as they degrade themselves. 
 
 (2.) The second sort are they, who are very 
 sound in the faith, and very careless in their lives 
 and conversations. You will scarcely be able to 
 discover a single error in their creed ; but you 
 may easily find thousands in their practice. Of 
 this class, there are many professors of Christian- 
 ity, who are enemies to the cross of Christ. 
 They profess that they know God ; but in works deny 
 him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every 
 good work reprobate. Mark these men, ye who are 
 the real- disciples of an ascended Redeemer, and 
 have no fellowship witli them, that they may bo 
 ashamed. And be ever careful to continue in
 
 94 BELIEVERS EXHORTED, &c. 
 
 your obedience : thus will you shew your faith 
 by your works. 
 
 Now 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 
 Christ : to whom be glory forever and ever, Atnen.
 
 SERMON V. * 
 
 YOUNG PEOPLE CALLED UPON TO CONSIDER, THAT 
 FOR THEIR CONDUCT HERE THEY MUST BE AC- 
 COUNTABLE HEREAFTER, AT THE JUDGMENT- 
 SEAT OF CHRIST. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES, xi. 9. 
 
 Rejoice, young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in 
 the days of thy youth ; and walk in the ways of thine heart, and 
 in the sight of thine eyes : but hiow thou, that for all these things 
 Cod will bring thee into judgment. 
 
 1 HE youth make a great part of our 
 stated worshipping assemblies, are the flower of a 
 community, and on them we naturally place our 
 expectations of future supplies in the Church and 
 in the State. If they shew an early regard to re- 
 ligion, and behave with duty and affection to their 
 parents, they become the support and comfort of 
 their age ; and they think themselves amply com- 
 pensated for all that care and cost with which 
 they have conducted them through their state of 
 infancy and childhood to youth. But when they 
 despise reproof, and betake themselves to vicious 
 courses, the parents sink under discouragement, 
 and fear their ruin both of soul and body. The 
 joy of the parents on the one hand, and their 
 grief on the other, can only be fully known to 
 
 * Delivered at an Evening Lecture, May 8, 1 771, at the desire 
 of .1 number of young men, and published by request.
 
 96 young People reminded of 
 
 them, who sustain the affectionate relation. Pa- 
 rental affection is of a most delicate nature ; 
 much of which appears in the conduct of Ja- 
 cob, when he received the pleasing but unex- 
 pected tidings, that Joseph was yet alive. Though 
 enervated with age and infirmity, he said, " It is 
 enough : I will go and see him before I die." And 
 when Joseph presented himself to him, he cried, 
 " Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, be- 
 cause thou art yet alive." 
 
 The same affection influenced David, when the 
 troops marched in pursuit of Absalom, and those 
 who had joined him in the conspiracy. A fear 
 that they would not treat his son with that tender- 
 ness he desired, made him anxious to head the 
 army. And when through much persuasion he 
 was prevailed on to abide at home* " he stood by 
 the gate side, and commanded Joab, and Abishai^ 
 and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the 
 young man, even with Absalom." After they had 
 marched, the king remained in painful solicitude 
 about the event. At length Ahimaaz came in 
 haste from the camp, and as he approached the 
 king, he cried, " All is well." His majesty imme- 
 diately asked, " Is the young man Absalom safe V* 
 Scarce had Ahimaaz delivered his message, before 
 Cushi appeared also witli news from the army, 
 who addressed David with, " Tidings, my lord the 
 king." The king, supremely anxious for the 
 safety of his son, asked as before, " Is the young 
 man Absalom safe ? And Cushi answered, The 
 enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise 
 against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young 
 man is," i. e. dead. Struck with the sorrowful 
 news, he went up iiito his chamber, and wept :
 
 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 97 
 
 " and, as he wept, thus he said, O my son Absa- 
 lom ! my son, my son Absalom ! would God I 
 had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son !" 
 Here we have a striking instance of paternal 
 love ; the warm affection of a fond father. 
 Absalom's rebellion did not make David forget 
 that he was yet his son. He could not but 
 be sorely afflicted by his death ; hoping that 
 had his life been spared, he would have seen 
 his error, and returned. 
 
 Here, ye thoughtless youths, you have a spe- 
 cimen of your parents' warm affection to you. 
 They are interested in all your conduct ; rejoice 
 when you rejoice ; and mourn when you mourn. 
 More especially are they solicitous for your eternal 
 salvation j yea, they travail in birth again till 
 Christ be formed in you, provided they themselves 
 have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Many times 
 have they admonished you, wept over you, and 
 prayed for you, and even now are sending up 
 their silent ejaculations to the throne of grace, that 
 God would speak to your consciences in the fol- 
 lowing awful address of the wise man : " Rejoice, 
 O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart 
 cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in 
 the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine 
 eyes : but know thou, that for all these things 
 God will bring thee into judgment." 
 
 It is thought by some, that Solomon designs, in 
 the former part of the text, to teach young men, 
 that there is a decree of cheerfulness which is law- 
 ful : but knowing how apt they are to run into 
 extremes, he subjoins this solemn sentence > 
 "know thou, that for all these things God will 
 bring thee into judgment." 
 
 N
 
 98 YOUNG PEOPLE REMINDED OF 
 
 But I rather think, as is commonly observed 
 on the passage, that the wise man speaks ironically, 
 and means the reverse of what he says. " Rejoice, 
 O young man, in thy youth," &c. That is, do as 
 thine evil heart will dictate ; indulge thy lusts and 
 inclinations, if thou darest, in the prospect of a 
 judgment to come. 
 
 This figure is not unfrequent in the holy scrip- 
 tures. The Lord says to rebellious Israel, (Judges 
 x. 14.) " Go and cry unto the gods ye have chosen, 
 let them deliver you in the time of your tribula- 
 tion " when it is certain he designed to reprove 
 them for their idolatry, and to show them the 
 absolute impossibility of obtaining help from any 
 but himself. Elijah uses the same mode of ex- 
 pression to the false prophets, (1 Kings, xviii. 27.) 
 " Cry aloud ; for he is a god : either he is talking, 
 or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or perad- 
 venture he sleepeth, and must be awaked." The 
 words, taken in this sense, lead us to reflect, 
 
 I. On the vices young people too commonly 
 fall into ; and 
 
 II. That awful account they are to give here- 
 after to God the judge of all. 
 
 I. The foibles and sins of youth come first un- 
 der consideration. 
 
 1 . Young people arc too apt to give the pref- 
 erence to their own understanding ; or to im- 
 agine that they are better acquainted with men 
 and things than they really are. Hence they 
 are led to treat with indifference, if not witli con- 
 tempt, the advke of their parents, and others 
 who have lived longer in the world than they 
 have. It is an old proverb, that ' young folks
 
 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 99 
 
 think old folks to be fools.' But who should 
 know the dangers that more immediately belong 
 to the several stages of human life, if they do not, 
 who have passed through them, and made obser- 
 vations as they went along ? However, many of 
 both sexes, inattentive to the most seasonable 
 and useful advice of parents and others, seem 
 determined to walk in the ways of their own 
 hearts, and in the sight of their own eyes, what- 
 ever may be the consequences : and it has often 
 happened, that the consequences have been fatal ; 
 for there is no period of life more dangerous than 
 that of youth. Then the passions are strongest, 
 and the temptations to indulge them almost in- 
 numerable ; against which they will not be cau- 
 tioned, if they think they know as well already 
 as any one can inform them. Should the anxious 
 parent embrace a private opportunity of convers- 
 ing with his child, in order to guard him against 
 evil company and practices ; to lay before him 
 the danger of his conduct and connexions, how 
 will his enmity rise, and lie think him his enemy 
 because he tells him the truth. And having caught 
 him once alone, he will be careful not to give 
 him, if he can prevent it, a second opportunity. 
 He will make any excuse to get out of the way, 
 when he imagines the old man his father designs 
 to give him a private lecture. Thus many young 
 people, being reproved, harden their necks ; and 
 by a course of sinning sear their consciences, and 
 become at length ready to comply with every 
 temptation of Satan. 
 
 2. We too often find in youth a prevailing 
 fondness for company ; in the choice of which 
 they are determined by their most predominant
 
 100 YOUNG PEOPLE REMINDED OF 
 
 passion. They prefer those who think as they 
 do, and pursue the same course of gratification 
 with themselves ; and the connexion once form- 
 ed acquires strength by its continuance. Hence 
 young persons linked in with the sons of vice, 
 find it hard to forsake their company. " Can 
 the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard 
 his spots ? Then may ye also do good that are ac- 
 customed to do evil." You may form connex- 
 ions with profane youth much easier than you 
 can break them. I doubt not but there are some 
 in the present assembly, who are ready to testify 
 to the truth of this remark. Alas, the fatal ten- 
 dency of bad company ! " Evil communications 
 corrupt good manners.'* We have seen the prom- 
 ising youth, the father's favourite, the hope of 
 the family, who was naturally sedate, and averse 
 to atrocious vices ; by falling in with a company 
 of young prodigals, led to cast off the restraints 
 of education and conscience, and to commit in, 
 iquity with greediness. At first indeed he might 
 discover a certain fear of complying with the 
 temptation ; but being prevailed on once, his mind 
 was prepared for the commission of that, or of a 
 greater sin ; till at length, getting rid of all ten- 
 derness of conscience, and being hardened by the 
 deceitfulness of sin, he could indulge every vicious 
 appetite without remorse. 
 
 Should I descend to a consideration of the par- 
 ticular evils to which bad company often leads, 
 they would be found to be numerous. Such as, 
 
 (1.) Impatience under restraint, however ne- 
 cessary. If youth who are under age fall in with 
 a set of vicious companions, they are never easy 
 but when they are among them. Hence, should
 
 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 101 
 
 a parent or master attempt to restrain them, they 
 esteem it a very great hardship ; especially if some 
 of their associates are allowed greater liberty than 
 they. The most serious and rational persuasions 
 are insufficient to convince them, that he who 
 restrains them, thereby seeks their advantage. 
 Thus fretting and restless, they wear away the 
 years in which they are obliged to obey. But 
 no sooner are they at an end, than they let loose 
 the reins of lust, and sin without control ; say- 
 ing, " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we 
 die." Now, says the unhappy prodigal, I will go 
 when I please, and come when I please ; and who 
 shall call me to an account ? And thus setting 
 out in the full career of sensual gratification, he 
 seldom stops, till he has by his voluptuousness and 
 debauchery ruined his character and constitution, 
 and become a vagabond in the world. 
 
 Restraint, it must be acknowledged, may be car- 
 ried to an extreme. Great wisdom is requisite in 
 those who have the care of youth in any capacity, 
 to direct when and how far to restrain, as well 
 as to indulge. It may be of singular use in this 
 matter, to consider their tempers and dispositions, 
 the place in which they live, and the company 
 they seem to prefer. As they have different nat- 
 ural tempers, they should be dealt with in differ- 
 ent ways. The maxims that would be good in 
 one case would be bad in another. 
 
 (2.) Disobedience to parents is another of 
 those evils which their own refractory tempers, 
 and the baneful influence of bad company, lead 
 them to commit. This is a vice which reason 
 explodes, and revelation condemns. Under the 
 law of Moses, the disobedient to parents were to
 
 102 YOUNG PEOPLE REMINDED OF 
 
 be stoned to death.* In the New Testament, the 
 inspired writers often inculcate the duty of filial 
 obedience ; from whence we learn the necessity 
 and importance of it. Disobedience may first 
 exert itself by opposition of heart to a parent's 
 just commands. It may then shew itself by looks 
 and gestures, a frown, or some indecent behav- 
 iour, and at length burst forth in the language 
 of contradiction and abuse ; not only deny the 
 parent a most reasonable desire, but treat him 
 with unkindness to his face. More especially 
 have some parents met with such treatment, 
 when through age, infirmity or poverty they have 
 become dependent on their children. Unmind- 
 ful of every favour they have received from them, 
 and the binding obligations they are under to 
 them, their conduct declares that they wish 
 them dead ; murmuring from time to time on 
 account of the trouble they occasion, and the ex- 
 pense of their support. Thus they add affliction 
 to the afflicted. 
 
 Should there be any children present of a char- 
 acter so abandoned, give me leave to say, you act 
 incompatible with the dictates of reason, and the 
 oracles of God. The aged parent, whom Provi- 
 dence hath cast upon you, and you treat unkind- 
 ly, hath been the help and support of your infancy. 
 He provided well and carefully for you, when 
 in the most feeble state : he hath reared you 
 irom infancy to childhood, from childhood to 
 youth, and supplied, as far as he was able, your 
 many wants. He hath nursed you many tedious 
 hours in sickness ; was always at your service, 
 whether by day or by night. He hath done that 
 
 * Sfc Dent. xxi. 18 zz.
 
 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 103 
 
 for you which no one else would have done. 
 When you knew nothing of it, he hath wept over 
 you, and prayed for you ; anxious for your body, 
 but supremely anxious for your soul. And 
 is this all the return he may expect from you ? Is 
 no regard to be paid to his relation to you, his 
 care over you, his love for you, his multiplied 
 kindnesses ? Have you no heart to pity him in 
 his trouble, who has always borne apart of yours ? 
 Is not his affliction great enough already ? Is he 
 not now in the view of death, and loaded with in- 
 firmity and sickness ? Why will you add to his 
 distress ? O base ingratitude ! Think not that 
 God will prosper your undertakings. Rather 
 look for the reward of disobedience ; or that a 
 just God will blast your endeavours. Know thou 
 that for this thing he will bring thee into judg- 
 ment. 
 
 (3.) Profane swearing is another odious vice 
 which young men are too prone to learn from 
 their companions. It is not easy to converse con- 
 tinually with those who scarcely speak a sentence 
 without an oath, and not to learn the shocking 
 language. That this iniquity prevails among us, 
 will not be denied by him who is in the least de- 
 gree observant as he walks the streets of this me- 
 tropolis. Your little ones, who have but just 
 learned to speak plain, are heard to utter blasphe- 
 my against the God who made them. Whether 
 they learn it at home or abroad is not for me to 
 determine : but certain it is they have learned it. 
 Verily we shall find children, young men and fa- 
 thers uniting in this heaven-daring practice. But 
 who will appear to vindicate it ? Who will not 
 condemn it ? What is it but making sport with
 
 104 YOUNG PEOPLE REMINDED OF 
 
 Omnipotence ; a profanation of that name which 
 is exalted above all blessing and praise ? What 
 can you think of that person, who in an apparent 
 fit of good humour can call on God to damn 
 his own soul, or the soul of his companion ? If we 
 judge of him by this part of his conduct only, we 
 must suppose him to be beside himself; conse- 
 quently that he ought to be confined till he can 
 speak and act agreeably to reason. If any of this 
 detestable character have found their way here 
 this evening, they would do well to attend to 
 the solemn declaration of him who cannot lie ; who 
 hath said, that he " will not hold him guiltless 
 that taketh his name in vain." 
 
 (4.) Gaming is to be placed among those vices, 
 by which the youth are liable to be led away 
 through the influence of evil company. Some 
 follow the gaming table as a diversion, others for 
 a livelihood. The former will be convinced sooner 
 or later that it is attended with many evils ; and 
 the latter that it is an uncertain method of sup- 
 porting himself or family. It is a consumption 
 of precious time, and tends to introduce neglect 
 of business, dishonesty and want. If a man has a 
 fondness for gaming, it is not a small matter that 
 will keep him at home. The hurry of business, the 
 importunity of customers, and the prospect of an 
 honest support, will not be sufficient to suppress 
 his favourite passion. It must be indulged, come 
 what may. The consequence therefore must be, 
 neglect of business ; which will soon issue in the 
 want of it. For w r ho will employ a man on 
 whom he can place no dependence ? And if the 
 man is without employ, he must soon come to 
 poverty.
 
 the day of judgment. iO 
 
 1/ he be a youth who has no interest to support 
 his folly and extravagance, but yet determines to 
 maintain his place in the club, what method think 
 ye will he take ? He must either run in debt 
 without a prospect of ever making payment, 
 which is a species of robbery, or he will be tempt- 
 ed to take that as his own, to which he has no 
 right. Vice will be supported ; and one vice is 
 often made the means of maintaining another. In 
 this respect gaming sometimes leads to dishonesty. 
 
 If the gamester be a man of fortune, he ma^ 
 maintain his extravagance for a course of years \ 
 till, alas ! unhappy man, his indolence has grown 
 into a habit, his constitution is destroyed, and his 
 money spent. Then his companions in vice will 
 cast him off. While his money lasted, they could 
 fawn upon him ; but as soon as that is gone, he 
 is no more company for them. Thus the man 
 becomes completely wretched in a temporal sense, 
 being despoiled of character, interest and friends. 
 Men of sobriety will have no connexion with 
 him, looking upon him as the cause of his own 
 wretchedness. His old associates now reject him j 
 and his family, if he has one, attribute their pov- 
 erty to his folly and madness. He lives unbelov- 
 ed, and die when he will, few will mourn his ex- 
 it ; unless it be on account of his immortal spirit : 
 for in his death the world sustains no loss. 
 
 (5.) Those persons who are connected with 
 evil company, are frequently led to excessive 
 drinking ; a vice which depreciates the character 
 of man, and makes him like a beast. Oi this 
 class there are different sorts. Some are private- 
 sot .. In company they are seldom overtaken t 
 but at home they are often muddled. Other,
 
 10& YOUNG PEOPLE REMINDED Of 
 
 commit this iniquity in the face of the sun, and 
 care but little who sees them. On the other hand, 
 there are some who fall into this vice only on 
 certain occasions, but do not make a practice of 
 it. The first has no uneasiness about the crimi- 
 nality of his conduct, it being a secret sin ; the 
 second has a conscience seared as with a hot iron ; 
 and the latter may think themselves excuseable, 
 because they are but seldom guilty of it. But 
 know thou, that for this violation of the divine 
 law, God will bring you into judgment. 
 
 3. Another of the foibles of youth is, they 
 think that they shall live yet many years. They 
 seem to take it for granted that they shall live to 
 settle in the world, and to carry into execution 
 some favourite scheme. The evil day of death 
 they put far off j persuading themselves that God 
 will not cut them off in all their bloom and vig- 
 our. Hence to such, lectures on mortality seem 
 unseasonable. But on what do they found their 
 expectation of long life ? On, it may be, the bare 
 consideration of their age and constitution. But 
 disease and death pay no regard to either. We 
 of this congregation have had recent and repeat- 
 ed proofs of this. Four or five who were the 
 flower of this assembly, have been cut down with- 
 in a few months of one another. They are gone 
 the way whence they shall not return. If youtlr, 
 constitution, or friends could have secured them 
 from sickness and death, they had still been ot 
 your number. But death came inexorable, arid 
 would neither be denied nor delayed. They were 
 obliged to submit to the king of terrors ; and 
 are now confined in the land of darkness, wait- 
 ing the summons of the last trump, the trump
 
 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 107 
 
 of God. If they were not exempt from the fa- 
 tal stroke, what reason have any of you to think 
 that you shall escape it, till old age come upon 
 you ? The expectation is groundless. You stand 
 as ready victims to the destructive hand of death 
 as any person present, or as those whose death 
 we have not yet ceased to mourn. Indeed it of- 
 ten happens, that the finest flower is soonest 
 plucked: and many times the promising youth ? 
 who seemed, according to the course of nature, to 
 have many years to live, falls a sacrifice to the, 
 hand of death, while the man who is obliged to 
 say, the days are come in which I have no 
 pleasure, remains. But however obvious this 
 truth is, we find that youth of both sexes are un- 
 willing to admit it. 
 
 4. Hence they lay schemes for many years to 
 come. Determine, it may be, to attend with un- 
 common diligence and activity to business in the 
 younger part of life, in order to acquire a com- 
 petency j upon which they propose to step aside 
 from noise and hurry, and to enjoy the fruit of 
 their industry. The plan is laid, and they enter 
 on its execution with sanguine prospects. But 
 God's thoughts are not our thoughts, neither ara 
 his ways our ways. We have seen the amiable 
 youth launch forth into trade, with every possible 
 encouragement, and proceed for a time in high 
 spirits, flushed with repeated successes ; but just 
 as his hopes were greatest, death stepped in, and 
 forever stopped the process : as it' on purpose to 
 convince survivors of this too prevalent mistake. 
 Or if life was spared, and he permitted to car- 
 ry on his designs with growing advantage, he 
 iath never known whom lie had a competence
 
 1G8 YOUNG PEOPLE REMINDED OF 
 
 or when he might drop his eager pursuit of earth- 
 ly things, saying, I have enough. For the love of 
 money in common increases as fast as a man's in- 
 terest, let that grow as fast as it will. Hence it is 
 that some old men, who have one foot in the grave 
 already, are as anxious about adding to their estates 
 as ever, though they possess thousands. The 
 truth of the matter is, that there is no created ob- 
 ject calculated to satisfy the vast desires of an im- 
 mortal mind. The poor man thinks he shall be 
 happy, if he may but acquire riches : and many 
 rich men have found themselves less happy upon 
 becoming opulent, than they were when they had 
 but half their present estates. Riches do really 
 spoil some men's felicity. If they keep their in- 
 terest in their own hands, they fear that thieves 
 will break through and steal. And if they think 
 of putting it out to use, they suspect the security ; 
 and conjecture that the man may fail, and they 
 lose all. And verily a man had need to hold fast, 
 whose life consisteth in the abundance of the 
 things that he possesseth ; for riches are extreme* 
 ly slippery : they often make themselves wings and 
 fly away as an eagle towards heaven. But allow- 
 ing that a man retains his estate, death will finally 
 overtake him ; then he must leave it to another, 
 but whether a wise man or a fool he cannot tell. 
 The^e are facts which will not be controverted j 
 yet how many are pleased with the delusive pros- 
 pect of worldly happiness ; but none more so 
 than the youth. Consequently they look upon 
 5 Religion in a disagreeable point of light, as 
 being incompatible with their pursuits and grati- 
 fies ton-. Religion indeed is a sacred thing, which 
 can never have fellowship with the unfruitful
 
 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 109 
 
 works of darkness ; one of its first lessons is, " De- 
 ny thyself, take up thy cross, and follow me." 
 Without which no man can be a disciple of Jesus 
 Christ. This is a hard saying to unregenerate 
 men, who receive not the things of the Spirit of 
 God. They imagine that the life of a Christian 
 is a constant scene of gloominess ; that on earth 
 he is continually obliged to do penance, in or- 
 der that he may finally be admitted to heaven ; 
 therefore that all his happiness is future : so ig^ 
 norant are unbelievers of the consolation that 
 there is in Christ. Hence they say unto God* 
 " Depart from us, for we desire not the knowl- 
 edge of thy ways." Yet it deserves to be observ- 
 ed here, that whn threatening sickness seizes 
 these despisers of things that are good, and death 
 appears nigh, they, like Balaam, cry out, " Let 
 me die the death of the righteous, and let my last 
 end be like his " They who, through the enmity 
 of their carnal hearts, set at nought a crucified 
 Saviour, and trampled on his glorious gospel 
 while in health, no sooner apprehend dissolution 
 at hand, than they wish to be in the condition of 
 that man of God, whom probably they had often 
 ridiculed. It is said, that when godly Ambrose 
 was dying, there happened to be present two 
 abandoned rakes. The good man, knowing in 
 whom he believed, rejoiced in the prospect of 
 death, because he should be with Christ, which 
 to him was infinitely better than to abide in the 
 world. Upon this, one of them turned to his 
 companion, and s:iid, ' () that I could live with 
 you, but that I could die with Mnbro.e !' Whal 
 say ye, young men ; in like r ircumstances would 
 ;. on not choos^ lis lie did ? Has he not spoken the
 
 1 10 * YOUNG PEOPLE REMINDED Q 
 
 language of your hearts ? I doubt not but he has> 
 You would fain live in sin, yet die in the Lord, 
 and go to heaven. But know ye that the wicked 
 shall be turned into hell, witji all the nations that 
 forget God ! 
 
 6. Against this solemn consideration you may 
 probably be hardened by infidelity ; which is dis- 
 honourary to God, destructive of virtue, the pa- 
 rent of vice, and damning to men. Where is the 
 country, where the city, in which may not be 
 found without much inquiry, the men, who, 
 though they profess to credit that prime article 
 of faith, the existence of a Supreme Being, con- 
 temn that glorious revelation, which, in kindness 
 to a world enveloped in sin and blindness, he hath 
 vouchsafed to give them ? Such there are, no 
 doubt, among us, who read the holy scriptures 
 for no other purpose than to collect what they are 
 pleased to call contradictions ; which, together 
 with their mysterious truths, they bring forth from 
 time to time, on purpose to shew the absurdity 
 of the Christian revelation. Upon this account 
 they fain would be called men of sense. But 
 their conduct rather dL-covers the badness of their 
 hearts, and reflects not a little on their under- 
 standing. " He who continues a deist in a land 
 enlightened by the gospel, must be wanting in 
 goodness or reason ; must be either criminal or 
 dull. None therefore can be more mistaken than 
 they that profess deism for the credit of superior 
 understanding, or for the sake of exercising a 
 more pure and perfect virtue."* 
 
 But shocking as the cause of infidelity may 
 ?eem to a sober mind, and subversive of moralitv. 
 
 ^" Pr. TrniT,''' C^. , nt''" , ". r>act r ?T:
 
 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. I l'l 
 
 it meets with great encouragement : it owes its 
 origin to Satan, and receives continual aid from 
 the corrupt hearts of men. None are more 
 liable to be fatally injured by it than our young 
 men ; who, without much difficulty, may be 
 persuaded that the doctrines of Christianity are 
 absurd, and its maxim? for the regulation of life 
 too severe. This persuasion will be the more 
 easily admitted, because it so exactly coincides with 
 the native and,<otal corruption of their hearts. 
 " For the carnal mind is enmity against God ; 
 it is not subject to the law of God." And the 
 more vehement their desires of sensual gratifica- 
 tions are, the more readily will they receive ev- 
 ery thing against revealed religion, that has the 
 least appearance of argument ; because, having 
 arrived so far as to think it a cunningly devised 
 fable, they will have greater liberty to indulge 
 their appetites. But only suppose Christianity 
 sjiould be true then the infidel will be found 
 among them who make God a liar, by not believ- 
 ino; the record he hath given of his Son To such 
 it will be a fearful thing to fall into his hands ! 
 
 Let us for a few minutes suppose, what a 
 Christian will by no means allow, viz. That 
 Christianity is doubtful ; even then his condition 
 is far preferable to that of a deist. For to him 
 who really believes the gospel of Christ, there is 
 a tranquillity of soul, a peace of mind from time 
 to time, which passeth all understanding ; which 
 peace ariseth from Christ alone, the author of his 
 religion. Besides this peace, the doctrines of 
 Christianity are happily calculated to support 
 him, and do actually support him, under the 
 manv trials he meets with in this vale of tear,:
 
 1 12 VOUNG PEOPLE REMINDED Ot 
 
 They have also a powerful influence on his prao 
 tice, not only teaching, but inclining him to do 
 justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. 
 And when the solemn hour of death arrives, and 
 he stands on the threshold of another world, he 
 may rejoice in the glorious prospect which it af- 
 fords him of an immortal happiness. In these 
 respects Christianity is of eminent service, though 
 it should fail him in another state. It carries him 
 through life well, and supports him till he has 
 passed the valley of the shadow of death. Should 
 it be a delusion, it is a very pleasing one. The 
 deist has not these supports in life and death. 
 And when the Christian shall meet him in anoth- 
 er state, he will stand as fair a chance as he, if 
 they are to be happy or miserable there, accord- 
 ing to their behaviour in this life, without regard 
 to the death of Christ ; for faith in the religion 
 of Jesus, makes the Christian virtuous in his con- 
 duct. But shift the scene ; and suppose that 
 Christianity will then be found a reality ; a 
 scheme contrived by Infinite Wisdom, and reveal- 
 ed to men for the salvation of their souls ; where, 
 my hearers, will the deist, where the sons of vice 
 appear, " who have trodden under foot the Son 
 of God, and counted the blood of the covenant 
 an unholy thing ?" An answer to this question 
 is given in the following tremendous sentence, 
 
 II. " But know thou, that for all these things 
 God will bring thee into judgment. " Meaning 
 at that day when he will judge the world in right- 
 eousness. At which period, the secrets of all 
 hearts will be revealed. 
 
 That there will be a future reckoning, or that 
 man is an accountable being, is a doctrine both
 
 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 1 13 
 
 of reason and revelation. Reason gives her testi- 
 mony to the awful truth. For that there is a God 
 we know j " the heavens declare his glory, and 
 the firmament sheweth his handy works." " The 
 invisible things of him, even his eternal power 
 and Godhead, are clearly seen, being understood 
 by the things which he hath made." 
 
 We cannot behold this astonishing universe, 
 vast and complicated, the infinitely various parts 
 of which do so exactly coincide to subserve one 
 grand end, even the good of the whole, without 
 being fully persuaded that there is a God, though 
 no eye hath seen him. And as there is a God, he 
 must be holy, just and good ; a friend to virtue, 
 and an enemy to vice ; who takes cognizance of 
 the actions of men, in order to punish or reward. 
 If so, how shall we reconcile his conduct with this 
 part of his adorable character ? We see that all 
 things come alike to all in the present state ; or 
 that there is an apparent unequal distribution of 
 things in this world. It is no uncommon event 
 for the wicked, who live in sin, and trample on 
 the laws of equity, truth and justice, to have all 
 and abound. Their eyes stand out with fatness ? 
 and they have more than heart can wish. While 
 the man of real virtue, who lives devoted to God, 
 and inoffensive to mankind, suffers hunger, cold 
 and nakedness. This truth is indisputable. How 
 then shall we solve that difficulty which results 
 from it ? In what does God discover his love of 
 virtue, and his hatred of vice, when the wicked 
 live in affluence, and the righteous are reduced to 
 want ? A solution of this difficulty can only be 
 found in the doctrine of a future state ; in which 
 human actions will be fully weighed, and rewardc
 
 114 YOUNG PEOPLE REMINDED OF 
 
 2nd punishments most righteously distributed. 
 Then the happiness of the wicked will come to an 
 end, and his complete misery commence ; but 
 the good man will receive his good things. 
 
 But the Holy Bible, that blessed book of God, 
 by which the deist is often plagued, fearing lest, 
 after all his attempts to invalidate its truth, it 
 should be found divine ; I say, that glorious vol- 
 ume in many places assures us, that God " hath 
 appointed a day in which he will judge the world 
 in righteousness, by that man (Christ Jesus) 
 whom he hath ordained." Both the Old and New 
 Testament declare this. In the text you are sol-, 
 emnly called upon to consider, that for all your 
 conduct here, God will bring you into judg- 
 ment -, a plain and moving account of which 
 solemn scene you have Mat. xxv. " When the 
 Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the 
 holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the' 
 throne of his glory : and before him shall be 
 gathered all nations ; and he shall separate them 
 one from another, as a shepherd divideth his 
 sheep from the goats : and he shall set the sheep 
 on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 
 Then shall the King say unto them on his right 
 hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
 of the world : for I was an hungered, and ye 
 gave me meat : 1 was thirsty, and ye gave me 
 drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in ; 
 naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye 
 visited me : I was in prison, and ye came unto 
 me. Then shall he say also unto them on his 
 left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
 lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels ^
 
 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT, ,1 1.5 
 
 for I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat .: 
 I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink, &c. And 
 these shall go away into everlasting punishment: 
 but the righteous into life eternal." Solemn de*- 
 scription this is indeed, of the last great day ! He 
 who admits the truth of revelation will tremble 
 while he reads it. " It shall come as a thief in the 
 night ; in the which the heavens shall pass away 
 with a great noise, and the elements shall melt 
 with fervent heat ; the earth also, and the works 
 that are therein shall be burnt up." And " the 
 Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a 
 shout, with the voice of the arch-angel, and the 
 trump of God :" then " 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 res- 
 urrection of damnation." 
 
 Thus the scriptures not only assure us that 
 there will be a day of final retribution, but acquaint 
 us with many of its circumstances. That it will 
 come, is certain ; but when, no man knoweth, 
 no, not the angels which are in heaven. It 
 may be in a few days, or hours ; for it shall come 
 like a thief in the night, i. e. suddenly and unex- 
 pectedly. Then Jesus Christ, to whom God the 
 Father hath committed all judgment, will appear 
 enthroned, clothed with glory and honour, sur- 
 rounded with the whole hierarchy of heaven, and 
 all the world of mankind standing before him to 
 receive their decisive sentence. This vast con- 
 gregation will then be divided into two clas>es ; 
 the sheep and the goats, or the righteous and the 
 wicked. The former will lift up their heads 
 with joy, having washed thei* I9b$$ ar *^ made
 
 116 YOUNG PEOPLE REMINDED Ot 
 
 them white in the blood of the Lamb, or in con- 
 sequence of their being clothed upon with the 
 spotless, complete and everlasting righteousness 
 of Christ. The latter, amongst whom are the 
 self-righteous and the profane, shall stand con- 
 demned, with horror in their appearance, and the 
 keenest anguish in their hearts ; wishing that 
 they had never been born, and calling for rocks 
 to fall on them, and for mountains to cover them 
 from the wrath of him who sitteth on the throne. 
 Then, ye sons of vice, the debauchee, the voluptu- 
 ary, the blasphemer of the Lord of hosts, the in- 
 fidel, the disobedient to parents, the night-ram- 
 blers, the spendthrifts, with all those who have 
 the form of godliness, but deny the power there- 
 of, will find it a fearful thing to fall into the hands 
 of the living God. Then will they find no place 
 for repentance, but remain forever under the 
 wrath of an offended Deity, and the gnawings 
 of a guilty conscience, the worm that dieth not, 
 and the fire that never can be quenched ! Who 
 may abide the day of his coming ? who shall stand 
 when he appeareth? or whither shall any flee 
 from his presence ? for his eyes are like a flame 
 of fire 1 
 
 Before I dismiss you, give me leave to take no- 
 tice of some of those reflections which the subject 
 naturally suggests. 
 
 1. The youth of both sexes are reminded in 
 the preceding discourse of the vices they arc 
 prone to fall into ; against which they are cau- 
 tioned in mo>t solemn language. How far you 
 who are present have been described, or what 
 part of the subject more immediately belongs to
 
 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 117 
 
 #ny of you, God and your own consciences know. 
 Far be it from me to charge you indiscriminately 
 with the sins that have been mentioned. I mean 
 only to accuse the guilty, or to commend myself 
 to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 
 If the vices which have been exploded this evening 
 are not applicable to any of you, you will not think 
 that you were pointed at. But should any of 
 you be guilty, the language of conscience will be 
 like that of Nathan to David, " Thou art the 
 man." And happy Boston, if not one prodigal, 
 one voluptuary, one young man or young woman 
 who are breaking a parent's heart, could be found 
 amidst this numerous concourse of blooming 
 youth. But there is reason to fear that there are 
 tnany such present. Who you are, God knows, 
 your own souls know, and when you shall be ar- 
 raigned at the judgment-seat of Christ, the world 
 shall know. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, 
 &c. but know thou that for all thine iniquities 
 God will bring thee into judgment. Solemn con- 
 sideration ! May it have its due weight. When 
 the devil, your corrupt hearts, and your vicious 
 companions tempt you to sin, let that awful sen- 
 tence be at hand God will bring you into judg- 
 ment. And if this event should take place to- 
 night, to-morrow, how will you appear ? What 
 plea will you be able to make in your own vindi- 
 cation ? Are you not dead in tres[ as-cs and sins ; 
 enemies to God in your minds by wicked works ? 
 Have you not hardened your necks, and many 
 times despised reproof? Are you not in a state 
 of unbelief, without God, and without Christ in 
 the world? If so, it had been better for you that 
 you had died in embryo, than in this condition
 
 116 YOUNG PEOPLE &E&INDED OF 
 
 to appear before " God the Judge of all :" thd 
 consequence of which will be everlasting misery. 
 2. To a number of you, these considerations 
 have been so far influential, as to alarm your con- 
 sciences, and lead you to ask, " What shall we do to 
 be saved ?" This inquiry is of the last importance, 
 seeing you have ruined and destroyed yourselves. 
 You came into the world sinners, and have grown 
 up under the influence of a heart of enmity against 
 God ; and had you broken the divine law but 
 once, for that one transgression Jehovah might 
 have condemned you most righteously. " For 
 whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet of- 
 fend in one point, he is guilty of all." What an 
 awful condemnation then, must every sinner be 
 exposed to, whose iniquities have risen to the 
 clouds 1 If you are convinced of this by the Spirit 
 of God, no wonder that you are made to cry out 
 in bitterness of soul, " A wounded spirit who 
 can bear ?" But bear it you must, both here and 
 hereafter, if you are not relieved by the sprink- 
 ling of the blood of Jesus. " Other foundation 
 can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus 
 Christ." His righteousness is complete, his blood 
 infinitely efficacious : he justifies from all things, 
 from which you could never be justified by the 
 law of Moses. This is the grand truth of the 
 word of God, which being really believed, gives 
 peace to sin-burdened souls. They may try many 
 things to heal the wounds of conscience, but all 
 will fail, till they are brought to believe in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, who v ;e blood cleanseth from 
 all sin. Search the scriptures, ye heavy laden sin- 
 ners, the best book in the world for persons in 
 your condition ; and pray God, if perhaps the
 
 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. '1 1$ 
 
 thoughts of your hearts may be forgiven you. 
 To this you may be encouraged by the consicU 
 eration of the fulness and sufficiency of Christ \ 
 the divine character, " gracious and merciful ;** 
 and that Christ " came not to call the righteous, 
 but sinners to repentance." 
 
 3. Though Solomon addresses himself particu* 
 larly to youth, yet the latter part of the text may 
 with equal propriety be applied to you, who are 
 farther advanced in life. God will most surely 
 bring you into judgment. You have lived many 
 years already, which are gone forever. Conse- 
 quently you are not far from death. In what 
 condition are you ? Have you ever been translated 
 out of darkness into marvellous light ? or, do you 
 still remain alienated from the life and love of 
 God ? It is high time to determine this interest- 
 ing question ; for the graves are ready for you, 
 and when a few days, perhaps a few hours are 
 come, you shall go the way, whence you shall not 
 return. Then your condition will be unalterably 
 fixed. For in hell there will be no redemption, no 
 gleam of hope. Look round, ye parents, and be- 
 hold many of your children supremely anxious 
 about their eternal salvation, while you, who ought 
 to go before them in every thing commendable 
 and praise-worthy, are entirely secure in sin, on 
 the very brink of everlasting ruin. 
 
 I shall conclude with an address to the young 
 men, at whose request we now appear in the 
 house of God. 
 
 My dear young friends, whom I view as the 
 fruit of my ministry, my joy and crown, you 
 will not think hard that I have taken up so much 
 of your time in attempting to expose the folly
 
 120 YOUNG PEOPLE REMINDED OF 
 
 and misery of profligate youth. Perhaps a dis- 
 course of this nature may be more generally use- 
 ful, than had it been wholly confined to you ; 
 the bare po>sibility of which, I doubt not, will 
 reconcile you to the manner, in which you have 
 been- addressed this evening. Such were some of 
 you ; but you profess to have been washed, to 
 have been justified, to have been sanctified, in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our 
 God ; and to glory only in the cross of Christ. 
 The single consideration of being early called, or 
 brought to an experimental acquaintance with the 
 gospel in the prime of life, lays you under ad- 
 ditional obligitions to love God, and live to his 
 honour. At the same time you ought to remem- 
 ber, that it is a most dangerous period. Also 
 keep in mind, that a profession of Christianity, 
 without Christ in you the hope of glory, will do 
 you no service. " Not every one that saith unto 
 me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of 
 heaven." Hence the necessity of frequent, solemn 
 self-examination, that ye may know whether you 
 are in the faith, and whether Jesus Christ is 
 in you. 
 
 M.my eyes are upon you ; and some may say 
 that your goodness will be like the morning cloud, 
 and early dew, which soon goeth away : that so 
 many of you have at this time professed religion, 
 in conformity to one another ; that one does it 
 because another does ; and that a little time will 
 discover it. It may be so ; but God forbid it 
 should. The worst will be to yourselves. It is 
 a truth, that in all times of revival of religion, 
 there have been some deceivers ; some who final- 
 ly turned apostates. And though 1 have no sus-
 
 tHE DAY OF JUDGMENT". 121 
 
 picion of any one of you in particular, I fear for 
 you, because you carry about with you a body of 
 sin, have warm passions, and are surrounded with 
 numberless temptations. Yet I hope better things, 
 than that you, who have set your hands to the 
 plough, will ever look back. Great has been, 
 and still is our satisfaction in you. And it will 
 continue, yea, increase, provided you hold out to 
 the end. Guard against self-confidence ; and re- 
 member that your standing is on Christ, out of 
 whose fulness you must receive, and grace for 
 grace. For as the branch cannot bear fruit, ex- 
 cept it abide in the vine ; no more can ye, except 
 ye abide in him. And by virtue of constant sup- 
 plies of grace from Christ, your path will be like 
 that of the just, which shineth more and more 
 unto the perfect day. 
 
 Carefully attend to all the duties of the Christian 
 life. Make much use of the living oracles ; neg- 
 lect not the religion of your closets, neither for- 
 sake the assembling of yourselves together, as the 
 manner of some is. Each of you should studiously 
 endeavour to promote the religious society, in 
 which you are at present happily united. If right- 
 ly conducted, by prayer, reading, and free con. 
 versation on matters of experience, it may prove 
 of special advantage to you. Watch over one 
 another with all diligence, and reprove, if neces- 
 sary, with meekness and love. Opposition you 
 are to expect in your Christian course ; for " he 
 that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer 
 persecution.*' Endeavour to set your faces like 
 a flint ; to be stedfast, immoveable, always a- 
 bounding in the work of the Lord. In due time 
 you bhall reap, if you faint not. Verily, tru rc- 
 9
 
 122 YOUNG PEOPLE REMINDED, &c. 
 
 ligion is accompanied with present peace and con- 
 solation. " Her ways are ways of pleasantness, 
 and all her paths are peace." Thus will you, 
 having believed in the Son of God in a proper 
 sense, rejoice in your youth ; your hearts will 
 cheer you in the days of your youth : for " the 
 kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but 
 righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy 
 Ghost." Go on and prosper, and the Lord be 
 with you. " And now, brethren, I commend 
 you to God, and to the word of his grace, which 
 Is able to build you up, and to give you an in- 
 heritance among them who are sanctified."
 
 SERMON VI.* 
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING, 
 
 1 CORINTHIANS, i. 21. 
 
 For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew 
 not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save 
 them that believe* 
 
 1 HE best method, in my judgment, of 
 determining with accuracy, how far the light of 
 nature is sufficient to lead mankind to the knowl- 
 edge of the true God and their duty to him, is, 
 to attend to the condition of the heathen world : 
 not of the most barbarous and ignorant, but of 
 the inhabitants of Greece and Rome, at the periods 
 when they were most celebrated for learning and 
 refinement. Even then they were gross idola- 
 ters ; and many of their sentiments and practices 
 were shocking to decency and common sense, f 
 
 * This and the two following Sermons were delivered in No- 
 vember, 1790. 
 
 f "The sports of the gladiators, unnatural lusts, the licentious- 
 ness of divorce, the exposing of infants and slaves, the procuring 
 abortions, the public establishment of stews ; all subsisted at 
 Rome, and not one of them was condemned, or hinted at inTulIy's 
 effices. The most indecent revelling, drunkenness, and lewdness 
 were practised at the fea3ts of Bacchus, Ceres, and Cybele ; and 
 their greatest philosophers never remonstrated against it. 
 
 ** The heathen philosophers, though they have advanced fine 
 sayings and sublime precepts, in some points of morality, have 
 grossly failed in others ; such as the toleration or encouragement 0/ 
 ftvenge, slavery, unnatural lust, fornication, suicide, &c. For ex>
 
 124 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 Whence it appears, that with all their wisdom and 
 learning, they quite mistook the nature of God and 
 religion : hence divine revelation became absolute* 
 ly necessary. " For after that, in the wisdom of 
 God, the world by wisdom knew not God.'* 
 The meaning is, that although u the invisible 
 things of him from the creation of the world are 
 clearly seen, being understood by the things that 
 are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, 
 the world knew him not ; but became vain in 
 their imaginations, and their foolibh heart was 
 darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, 
 they became fools, and changed the glory of the 
 incorruptible God into an image made like to 
 corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed 
 beasts, and creeping things." 
 
 It has been the method of the infinite God, both 
 before and since the fall, to leave mankind to act 
 out their own characters, and not to interpose 
 until the necessity of his interposition became 
 evident. Thus it was in the case of our first 
 parents : , he could have prevented their apostasy, 
 but did not. After they had sinned, and were 
 distressed with conscious guilt, he revealed to them 
 
 ample : Plato expressly allowed of excessive drinking at the festivals 
 of Bacchus, Maximus Tyrius forbad to priy, &c. 
 
 " Aristotle and Plato both direct that means should be used to 
 prevent weak children being brought up. Cato commends a 
 young man for frequenting the stews. Cicero expressly speaks of 
 fornication as a thing never found fault with. Plato recommends 
 a community of women, and advises that soldiers should not be 
 restrained from sensual indulgence, even the most unnatural species 
 of it. Xenophon relates, without any marks of reprobation, that 
 unnatural lust was encouraged by the laws of several Grecian states. 
 Solon, their great lawgiver, forbad it only to slaves. Diogenes in- 
 culcated, and openly practised the most brutal lust. Zeno and 
 Cato both killed themselves." 
 
 Bishop of Carlisle's refections on the life and character 
 of Christ, Appendix.
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 125 
 
 Jesus Christ, under the idea of the seed of the 
 woman. And when the world was overspread 
 with sin and ignorance, and by wisdom knew 
 him not, having had the fairest trial, he was pleas- 
 ed, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them 
 that believe. Let us 
 
 I. Account for Paul's use of this expression, 
 " the foolishness of preaching." 
 
 II. Ascertain what kind of preaching he had 
 in view. 
 
 III. Prove that God hath been pleased to put 
 the most distinguished honour on it, by making 
 it the means of saving them that believe, 
 
 I. Our first inquiry is, why does the apostle 
 use the expression, " foolishness of preaching ?" 
 
 We are confident, my brethren, he does not 
 speak in his own, but in borrowed language. He 
 must have been a fool indeed, to have engaged in 
 a service which he knew would reproach his own 
 understanding. Rather he has respect to the 
 common opinion of the Greeks, who are said to 
 " seek after wisdom ;" meaning, the witdom of 
 this world. " We preach Christ crucified," says 
 this apostle, " to the Jews a stumbling-block, and 
 to the, Greeks foolishness ; but unto them who 
 are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the 
 power of God, and the wisdom of God." This 
 single passage accounts for Paul's use of the ex- 
 pression. The preaching of Christ crucified was 
 foolishness to the learned, unrcgenerate Greeks. 
 
 II. We pass to consider what kind of preach- 
 ing it was, the apostle had respect to. 
 
 There are certain sentiments that the world 
 car^ hear with patience and approbation : there
 
 126 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 are others to which the hearts of natural men 
 rise in opposition. 
 
 1 . Few, if any, object to moral subjects, because 
 it is a just and general opinion, that all men 
 ought to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly 
 with God. Neither Jews nor Greeks would take 
 offence at this kind of preaching, nor even men 
 of vicious characters, unless the preacher should 
 happen to fix on the vices of some of his friends, 
 and censure them with severity : in that case re- 
 sentment would naturally be excited, and he might 
 expect to be charged with being too pointed or 
 personal in the pulpit, especially if he had pre- 
 viously known on whom the reproof would fall. 
 
 In such circumstances, what shall a preacher 
 do ? Shall he cease to expose vice, because some 
 of his friends are vicious ? God forbid ! Far bet- 
 ter will it be for him to lose the attachment of 
 the best parishioner he has, and to make a sac- 
 rifice of his whole temporal interest, than to be 
 unfaithful to his God, to his conscience, and to 
 the people of his charge. The way for mankind 
 to secure their feelings from injury on such oc- 
 casions, is for them to be virtuous. But if they 
 will violate the laws of God, and injure society 
 by their wicked examples, they must bear the 
 reproach. 
 
 No prudent man will introduce personal mat- 
 ters into the pulpit ; nor will an honest man be 
 afraid of commending himself to every man's 
 conscience in the sight of God. However, as 
 moral subjects are generally approved, because 
 agreeable to the reason and nature of things, he 
 has but little to fear on this head, except he 
 should be too evangelical in his manner of trcat>
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 12? 
 
 ing them ; for the law may be handled evangeli- 
 cally, and the gospel may be preached legally. 
 
 2. We may also insist freely on the Christian 
 tempers without giving offence ; because, like 
 moral subjects, they command respect from man* 
 kind in general, who readily acknowledge that 
 all men ought to be meek, patient, charitable, 
 ready to forgive, &c. And it is confessed that 
 these are very important subjects, and should 
 frequently be brought into public view, as evi- 
 dences of the truth of personal religion ; for, " if 
 any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none 
 of his." 
 
 3. We may also pass without reproach, perhaps, 
 if we touch lightly on the sinfulness of mankind, 
 and assure them, if they do what they can, God 
 will co-operate with their endeavours, and grant 
 them salvation. Such a representation of things 
 is flattering to the pride of man, because it ex- 
 tenuates human depravity, and divides the glory 
 of salvation between Christ and the sinner. In 
 this case the offence of the cross ceaseth. 
 
 4. It seems to be a very popular opinion, that 
 articles of faith are of no g r eat importance, pro- 
 vided a man's life be good.' If so, it follows, 
 that it was not necessary that Jesus Christ should 
 come into the world to teach and save mankind j 
 because, according to the above proposition, their 
 salvation might have been accomplished without 
 it. For whether we believe in Jesus Christ or 
 Confucius, is of no consequence, provided the life 
 be good. It amounts therefore to a' rejection of 
 divine revelation, particularly of Christianity. 
 
 Some persons, upon pretence of the sufliciency 
 f the light of nature, avowedly reject all revela-
 
 128 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 tion, as in its very notion incredible, and what 
 must be fictitious ; and indeed it is certain no 
 revelation would have been given, had the light of 
 nature been sufficient in such a sense as to render 
 one not wanting and useless. But no man in se- 
 riousness and simplicity of mind can possibly 
 think it so, who considers the state of religion in 
 the heathen world before revelation, and its pres- 
 ent state in those places which have borrowed no 
 light from it. 
 
 " There are other persons, not to be ranked 
 with these, who seem to be getting in a way of 
 neglecting, and as it were overlooking revelation, 
 as of small importance, provided natural religion 
 be kept to." With little regard either to the ev- 
 idence of the former, or to the objections against 
 it, and even upon supposition of its truth, " the 
 only design of it," say they, " must be to establish 
 a belief of the moral system of nature, and to en- 
 force the practice of natural piety and virtue. 
 The belief and practice of these things were per- 
 haps much promoted by the first publication of 
 Christianity. But whether they are believed and 
 practised upon the evidence and motives of na- 
 ture or of revelation, is no great matter."* This 
 way of considering revelation, though it is not 
 the same with the former, yet borders nearly up- 
 on it, and runs up into it,f that is, into deism. 
 This, I apprehend, will appear by comparing the 
 principle we oppose, with our Lord*> commission 
 to his apostles, (Mark xvi. 1 5, 1 6.) " Go ye into 
 all the world, and preach the go pel to every 
 creature. He that bclieveth and is baptized, shall 
 be saved ; but he that believeth not, shall be damn- 
 
 * Au. ia Psalm xxxi. f Bishop Butler's Analogy.
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 129 
 
 ed." To which may be added the following 
 solemn passage of Peter concerning Christ, de- 
 livered by him when filled with the Holy Ghost : 
 ( ^cts iv. 12.) "Neither is there salvation in any 
 other : for there is none other name under heav- 
 en given among men, whereby we must be 
 saved. 
 
 If we deny the truth of these scriptures, the 
 charge of deism is fixed on us : if we admit it, 
 we can no longer treat Christianity with indiffer- 
 ence, but must confess that it is of infinite im- 
 portance to mankind, both in its principles and 
 practices. 
 
 To ascertain what Christianity is, as taught by 
 Christ and his apostles, we must search the New 
 Testament. 
 
 The " foolishness of preaching " mentioned in 
 the text, the apostle explains by saying, " We 
 preach Christ crucified.'* (verse 23.) This gen- 
 eral expression comprehends, I suppose, the vari- 
 ous subjects of the ministry of the apostles ; 
 which I proceed to consider. 
 
 More cannot reasonably be expected under 
 this head, than that the preacher should give a 
 sketch of the plan of apostolic preaching. A full 
 discussion of the subject would fill volumes. d 
 will employ th whole time of the ministers of 
 Christ, provided they are properly attentive to 
 the duties of their profession. 
 
 1. The apostles insisted frequently on the 
 great principles called natural religion ; sucli as 
 the bein ,T and attributes of God, his creation and 
 government of the universe, his love of virtue 
 and hatred of vice, and that he will finally render 
 to everv man according to his works. These
 
 ISO APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 principles are fundamental to all true religion, 
 and are blended with Christianity, which " is a re* 
 publication of them : and, which is very material, 
 it teaches natural religion in its genuine simplici- 
 ty ; free from those superstitions with which it 
 was totally corrupted, and under which it was in 
 a manner lost."* 
 
 If so, natural religion owes much to Christian* 
 ity. Besides, it comprehends all the great prin* 
 ciples of natural religion, and makes us acquainted 
 with the method of our redemption by Christ, 
 concerning which the light of nature leaves us in 
 total darkness. 
 
 Thus viewed, Christianity may be considered 
 as a new edition of natural religion, with addi- 
 tions of the greatest importance to the world. 
 Let mankind determine then, which has the pref* 
 erence, natural religion detached from Christian- 
 ity, or Christianity as comprehending all the 
 great principles of natural religion in their most 
 pure state, and at the same time revealing to us 
 God's eternal purpose of mercy to sinners through 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 2. The universal corruption of the world is 
 another part of apostolic preaching. In Rom. 
 iii. Paul considers this subject in a most explicit 
 and decided manner, where he takes a compara- 
 tive view of Jews and Gentiles. " What then ? 
 -are we better than they ? No, in no wise : for 
 we have before proved both Jew> and Gentiles, 
 that they are all under sin." And after he had 
 quoted several passages from the Old Testament 
 in support of the affecting truth, he add?, " Now 
 we know that what things the law saith, it saith 
 
 * Bishop Butlct's Analogf.
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 131 
 
 to them that are under the law ; that every 
 mouth may be stopped, and all the world may 
 become guilty before God." " For all have sin- 
 ned, and have come short of the glory of God." 
 And so far as our reading and observation extend, 
 we find the melancholy truth exemplified. 
 
 3. The sacred writers assure us that all men, 
 considered in unbelief, are in a condition of total 
 depravity. Gen. vi. 5. we read, " And God saw 
 that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, 
 and that every imagination of the thoughts of his 
 heart was only evil continually." Jesus Christ de- 
 clares, " For out of the heart of man proceed evil 
 thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, 
 false witness, blasphemies." If so, the heart of 
 man is the fountain of iniquity. In John iii. 6. 
 after Christ had spoken of the new birth to Nico- 
 demus, he adds, " That which is born of the flesh 
 is flesh ;" that is, altogether sinful. Thus Paul 
 uses the term flesh repeatedly. " For they that 
 are after the flesh," that is, influenced by a sinful 
 nature, " do mind the things of the flesh." " So 
 then they that are in the flesh cannot please 
 God *," because the " carnal mind is enmity 
 against God." This short sentence is remarka- 
 bly descriptive of the total sinfulness of the hu- 
 man heart. 
 
 By this depravity inspired writers do not mean, 
 that there is any loss of the natural faculties of 
 the soul ; these remain entire amidst the ruins 
 of the fall: man has reason, understanding, will 
 and affections ; but he is destitute of a spirit- 
 ual taste, and under the constant influence of 
 aversion to God. If the hinncr's heart was right 
 in i moral < rive. I can conceive of no remaining
 
 132 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 inability to love God for his own sake, and to 
 live to his glory. The essence of religion is love j 
 and the essence of depravity or wickedness is en- 
 mity of heart to God. And in this awful con- 
 dition the sinner is, as long as he remains in 
 unregeneracy. 
 
 4. In connexion with this representation of 
 human nature, the apostles endeavoured to awak- 
 en the attention of their hearers to the infinite 
 danger in which they were. Often did they 
 thunder in their ears the terrors of the law ; say- 
 ing, " Cursed is every one that continueth not 
 in all things which are written in the book of 
 the law, to do them." " If any man love not 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema ma- 
 ranatha." " When the Lord Jesus shall be re- 
 vealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in 
 flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know 
 not God, and that obey not the gospel of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall be punished with 
 everlasting destruction from the presence of the 
 Lord, and from the glory of his power : when 
 he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and 
 to be admired in all them that believe in 
 that day." 
 
 We see that they considered mankind as con- 
 sisting of two classes, the righteous and the wick- 
 ed ; and addressed them in language adapted to 
 their respective characters. They did not preach 
 to a promiscuous assembly as if they were all 
 saints ; but assured the ungodly that they were 
 in the gall of bitterness and the bonds of iniqui- 
 ty ; and that should they die in that condition, 
 the wrath of God would abide upon them for- 
 ever. But if any of the people were pricked in
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 133 
 
 the heart, and cried out, " Men and brethren, 
 what shall we do ?" 
 
 5. They preached Christ to them as the " end 
 of the law for righteousness to every one that 
 believeth." " For I determined," says Paul to the 
 Corinthians, " not to know any thing among 
 you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified." This 
 was their darling theme, and the only remedy 
 for sin-sick souls. 
 
 Had a sermon been delivered in the apostolic 
 age, to a Christian assembly, that had but little 
 of Christ in it, they would at once have con- 
 cluded the preacher had forgot his errand ; and 
 with the disappointed woman at the sepulchre, 
 have cried out, " They have taken away my 
 Lord out of his place, and I know not where 
 they have laid him." Where should Jesus Christ 
 be as the object of affection, if not in the hearts 
 and conversation of his disciples ? where indeed, 
 if not in the preaching of his ministers ? 
 
 The apostles preached Christ in his true and 
 proper Deity as essential to the Christian scheme. 
 This great truth they had learned from his own 
 mouth. " I and my Father are one. Then the 
 Jews took up stones to stone him. Jesus saith 
 unto them, Many good works have I shewed you 
 from my Father ; for which of these works do 
 ye stone me ? The Jews answered him, saying, 
 For a good work we stone thee not, but for blas- 
 phemy ; and because that thou, being a man, 
 makest thyself God." Here was a most favoura- 
 ble opportunity for Christ to have disclaimed all 
 pretensions to the Godhead, lie had only to 
 inform them, that they had mistaken his mean- 
 ing; that he laid no claim to divinity ; but meaiii
 
 134 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 to assure them, that he was one with God his 
 Father in design and operation, not in nature. 
 Shocked at the idea of blasphemy, would he not 
 at once have acquitted himself of the charge ? 
 Would not any of his apostles, or any good man 
 on earth, who had been so grossly mistaken, have 
 rectified the mistake as soon as possible ? Our 
 Lord's not doing it, when every circumstance 
 called for the frank acknowledgment, is in my 
 judgment no inconsiderable proof that he was a 
 divine person. 
 
 If we consider him in no other light than as a 
 teacher sent from God to instruct and to reform 
 mankind, it seems to have been his duty to re- 
 move the prejudices which the Jews had imbibed 
 against him, that so he might answer the design 
 of his mission. Instead of this, he makes an ap- 
 peal to his miraculous works, as proof that he 
 was in the Father, and the Father in him. The 
 Jews still believed that he made himself God ; 
 therefore " they sought to take him ; but he es- 
 caped out of their hands." He left them, my 
 brethren, under the influence of a very important 
 error, provided he was not really God. " Nor 
 did our Lord give any intimation," says one, 
 " that they had misunderstood him ; nor yet the 
 evangelist, as he does in several other instances of 
 much less importance ; which silence is a strong 
 presumptive proof, that they were not under a 
 mistake about the sense of the words : for such 
 a mistake, on the principles of our opposers, 
 might have been an occasion of idolatry in them ; 
 and a mistake of that kind not remarked by the 
 historian, would be calculated to answer the same 
 pernicious purpose in succeeding generations. But
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 13S 
 
 if he refused to correct so dangerous a mistake 
 on their account, yet was it not necessary that he 
 should have done it on ours ? that when we read 
 his gospel we might not entertain the detestable 
 thought that he equalled himself with the Most 
 High ? If, however, he thought it proper not to 
 explain himself at that time, yet it might have 
 been expected that his disciples should have given 
 us the true sense of the mysterious words, when 
 they reported them. ,,# 
 
 * Dr. Abbadie's Treatise on the Deity of Jesus Christ, &c. in 
 which this important subject is handled in a most masterly man-* 
 ner ; and well merits the attention of both the friends and op- 
 poscrs of the doctrine.
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 1 CORINTHIANS, I 21. 
 
 For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew 
 not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save 
 them that believe. 
 
 THE language and conduct of the dis- 
 ciples of Christ prove, that they received him as 
 a divine person. John tells us, (chap. v. 23.) 
 that it is the will of God, " that all men should 
 honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. 
 He that hoBoureth not the Son, honoureth not 
 the Father, who hath sent him." Compared 
 with Heb. i. 6. " And again, when he bringeth 
 in the first begotten into the world, he saith, 
 And let all the angels of God worship him." The 
 best comment on such passages will probably be 
 found, in the conduct of his immediate followers. 
 If they, who were favoured with divine inspira- 
 tion, actually worshipped him, we may safely 
 believe that they received him as very and eternal 
 God. This then really was the case with Ste- 
 phen. " And they stoned Stephen, calling upon 
 God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 
 Here we see a pious martyr in the hour of dis- 
 solution, addressing himself to Jesus Christ in a 
 solemn act of religious worship : therefore we 
 conclude Jesus Christ is trulv God.
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 137 
 
 In 2 Cor. xii.8, 9. we observe that Paul prays 
 to Christ when there was given to him a thorn 
 in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him : 
 " For this thing, I besought the Lord thrice, 
 that it might depart from me. And he said 
 unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee : for my 
 strength is made perfect in weakness." What 
 follows proves that by the Lord whom he ad- 
 dressed, Christ is intended. " Most gladly there- 
 fore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power 
 of Christ may rest upon me." The Lord had 
 promised him that his grace should be sufficient for 
 him ; this grace he calls the power of Christ ; sig- 
 nifying, that the Lord Christ, to whom he address- 
 ed himself, had given him this gracious answer. 
 
 Though there are many other texts in the 
 writings of the apostles that are of the same im- 
 port,* I shall only mention the following plain, 
 decisive passage : " And I beheld, and I heard 
 the voice of many angels round about the throne, 
 and the beasts, and the elders : and the number 
 of them was ten thousand times ten thousand; sav- 
 ing with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that 
 was slain to receive power, #nd riches, and wis- 
 dom, and strength, and honour, and glory, 
 and blessing. And every creature which is in 
 heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, 
 and such as are in the sea, and all that are in 
 them, heard I, saying, Blessing, and honour, and 
 glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon 
 the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." 
 
 I appeal to every unprejudiced mind, whe- 
 ther there can possibly be a more solemn act 
 
 * John xiv. i. Rom. x. n, ij P.t*m. xv. la. a So;., ix. 1. 
 Act J ix^ 14, &<;.
 
 13# APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 of supreme worship than this, which is ascribed 
 equally to the Lamb that was slain, as to him 
 that sitteth upon the throne ? And will any man, 
 after reading this passage, hesitate a moment, 
 whether he ought to pay the highest honour to 
 the Son of God, who is the brightness of hi# 
 glory, and the express image of his person ? 
 
 What idea would a man of common sense form 
 of the character of Jesus Christ, upon reading 
 Philip, ii. 6. " Who being in the form of God, 
 thought it not robbery to be equal with God V 
 Would he not naturally think, either that Jesus 
 Christ is a divine person, or that he was guilty 
 of the most horrid impiety ? It would have been 
 a robbery of the most blasphemous kind, for 
 a creature, however exalted, to claim equality 
 with Jehovah : and instead of his being celebrated 
 for his humility, he ought to be considered as a 
 monster of pride and wickedness. But if we ad- 
 mit the idea of his true and proper deity, we are 
 at once led to admire his unparalleled condescen- 
 sion. He, " being in the form of God, thought 
 it not robbery to be equal with God ; but made 
 himself of no reputation, and 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." The mo- 
 ment we deny the divinity of Christ, I conceive 
 we destroy the apostle's argument. 
 
 " The following words, as they stand in our 
 translation, go on to describe the excellency of 
 his glory, which was so real and transcendent 
 a glory, that he thought it not robbery to be ,' 
 i. e. he thought himself entitled to be ' equal
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 139 
 
 with God.' But I shall sot insist upon this trans- 
 lation ; for it is more agreeable to the apostle's ar- 
 gument and to the language made use of, to sup- 
 pose him to intend in these words to express 
 the first degree or instance of hi* humility, and 
 that the verse should be rendered by words to 
 this effect : Who being in the form of God, was 
 not fond or tenacious of appearing as God, but 
 made himself of no reputation. I shall not 
 trouble you with the particular reasons of this 
 rendering, which would lead us too far into crit- 
 ical inquiries ; but which way soever the text be 
 understood, the T imu /<r ef will be found to be- 
 long to Jesus Christ. If he thought it not rob- 
 bery to assume this equality with God, (whatever 
 is meant by it) undoubtedly he was equal ; or if 
 it was the effect of his humility that he did not 
 hold or insist upon his equality with God, then 
 certainly he had. such an equality ; for where is 
 the humility of not insisting on, or not retaining 
 an equality, which never did or could belong to 
 him/'* 
 
 It was in the contemplation of this astonishing 
 truth, that our apostle thus exclaims, " And 
 without controversy, great is the mystery of god- 
 liness : God was manifest in the flesh." That it 
 was so, is a truth revealed, but the manner of it 
 is past finding out. 
 
 To what hath been said on this subject I will 
 only add, Col. ii. 9. " For in him," i. e. Christ* 
 " dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bod- 
 ily." It seems that Paul could say no more than 
 this to establish the deity of his Master. What 
 
 54> 15 
 
 Bishop Sherlock's discourses on this passage, Vol. IV. p 4
 
 140 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 a striking gradation is here ; in Christ dwells the. 
 Godhead the fullness of the Godhead yea, all the 
 fullness of the Godhead bodily. Then surely he is 
 very and eternal God. Let us then, my breth- 
 ren, amidst the numerous attempts that are made 
 to rob Christ of his essential glory, without any 
 secret reserve or double meaning, ascribe blessing, 
 and honour, and glory, and power to Jesus- 
 Christ, our Go J and Saviour. 
 
 It would be easy to prove by the sacred scrip- 
 tures, that the same divine names, titles, attri- 
 butes and works are ascribed to Christ, that are 
 ascribed to the Father ; but I hope enough has 
 been said to make it evident, that his true and 
 proper deity was an essential part of apostolic 
 preaching. 
 
 Several of the passages of scripture that we, 
 have been considering prove also the incarnation 
 of the Son of God ; or that the divine and hu- 
 man natures were united in him. For instance, 
 " God was manifest in the flesh." He that was 
 in the form of God was found in fashion as a 
 man. Also lieb. ii. 16. " For verily he took not 
 on him the nature of angels ; but he took on 
 him the seed of Abraham." The person spoken 
 of is Christ, who existed prior to his birth of 
 Mary, in a nature different from that which he 
 assumed. " Verily he took " here we have a 
 personal action : he who was properly divine, 
 " took on him the seed (or nature) of Abra- 
 ham." Thus the word was made flesh ; i. e. be- 
 came united to the nature of man. 
 
 I pass to observe, that the apostles preached 
 Christ as the all-atoning sacrifice for sin. Peter 
 declares that " he bare our sins in his own bodv
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 141 
 
 on the tree." This language he borrowed from 
 Isaiah liii. 4, 5. "Surely he hath borne our 
 griefs and carried our sorrows ; yet we did es- 
 teem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 
 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he 
 was bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement 
 of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we 
 are healed." " He hath redeemed us from the 
 curse of the law, being made a curse for us." 
 " He died the just for the unjust, that he might 
 bring us to God," &c. Such is the current lan- 
 guage of the Bible. 
 
 It is observable that inspired writers lay the 
 principal stress on his death. Paul says, " We 
 have redemption through his blood," that We are 
 redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, that he 
 died for our sins, not for his own, for he had none : 
 *' he was holy, harmless, undefined, and separate 
 from sinners. 
 
 " Christ's satisfaction for sin was not only by 
 his last sufferings, though it was principally by 
 them ; but all his sufferings, and all the humilia- 
 tion that he was subject to from the first mo- 
 ment of his incarnation to his resurrection, were 
 propitiatory or satisfactory."* All that he did 
 and suffered make up that righteousness by which 
 the believing sinner is justified. Through the 
 whole he acted voluntarily ; for he had power to 
 lay down his life, and he had power to take it 
 again ; but he knew that it was necessary that he 
 should suffer these things and enter into his glo- 
 ry ; therefore he became " obedient unto death, 
 even the death of the cross :" not as a martyr 
 only, to seal the truth of his own religion, but 
 
 * Pi I '< ir<<>V lll< t. Rcclcmp.
 
 -X4'2 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 that he might put away sin by the sacrifice f 
 himself : hence he is said to be " the propitiation 
 for our sins j" (Rom. iii. 25) not metaphorically 
 but really. 
 
 6. Jesus Christ having finished his part of the 
 work of our redemption, ascended to the Father,, 
 and sent the Holy Ghost, whose peculiar office it 
 is to take it up where he had left it, and to carry 
 it on until the glorious plan shall be all accom- 
 plished. " It is expedient for you," said Christ 
 to his disciples, " that I go away ; for if I go 
 not away, the Comforter will not come unto 
 you ; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 
 And when he is come, he will reprove the world 
 of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." 
 
 The work of Jesus Christ is for, or in the room 
 and stead of a sinner, that God the Father might 
 justify him consistently with his whole character. 
 The work of the Holy Spirit is carried on in the 
 sinner, in order to reconcile him to God, and fit 
 him for eternal life. Jesus Christ opens the way 
 for his discharge from the curse of the law ; the 
 Spirit of God makes him meet to be a partaker 
 of the inheritance of the saints in light. Both are 
 absolutely necessary ; the latter no less than the 
 former, because " without holiness no man shall 
 see the Lord." 
 
 It hath been proved already in a preceding 
 part of the subject, that mankind are in a condi- 
 tion of total depravity f if so, their final condem- 
 nation is certain, unless the heart be changed ; 
 because a mind at enmity against God cannot 
 be happy in his presence. 
 
 It may, perhaps, be said, that those persons on- 
 ly who are abandoned to wickedness are thus de v
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 14S 
 
 pra*Jed ; but this is not the case with all mankind. 
 It is confessed, that all men do not discover 
 their depravity by open wickedness. Many 
 persons are under the restraint of education, sense 
 of honour, or a fear of wrath to come ; whose 
 hearts at the same time remain disaffected to di- 
 vine things. Let such persons ask themselves, as 
 in the presence of that God who looks through 
 them, and knows every thought afar off, whether 
 they do not restrain prayer before him ? prefer 
 a crowd of fabulous publications to the sacred 
 volume ? whether they are not strangers to the 
 duties of private religion ? Is not God in great 
 measure forgotten by them ? Do they not lie 
 down and rise up, without any proper sense of 
 him who holdeth their souls in life f Are not 
 their hearts wholly attached to the riches, honours 
 and pleasures of the world ? Will not a small 
 difficulty detain them from the place of public 
 worship ? Would the like difficulty prevent their 
 going to an evening's amusement ? Why not ? 
 The reason is obvious ; they hate the one and 
 love the other. If a preacher happens to exceed 
 his usual length in preaching, are they not quite 
 out of patience with him ; though they allow 
 the sermon was good, and his manner not dis- 
 agreeable ? Yet would not these very persons be 
 willing to remain until midnight at some fash- 
 ionable entertainment ? Are they not fatigued 
 with the one, and in raptures with the other ? 1 
 ask these questions, my friends, that you may de- 
 termine what your prevailing taste is. You cer- 
 tainly know what you love most. If the world 
 and the things thereof have the preference, can 
 you believe that you shall be happy in heave:;.
 
 144 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 where all is holy ? Be not deceived ; for how- 
 ever amiable you may appear in the eyes of the 
 world, one thing is wanting : your hearts must 
 be changed by a divine influence, or you are un- 
 done forever. 
 
 It is a clear case with me, that should God 
 leave the sinner to himself, and not inflict on him 
 any positive punishment at all, the depravity of 
 his own heart would make him entirely misera- 
 ble, because the very nature of sin separates the 
 soul from God. It follows then, " Except a man 
 be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of 
 God." (John iii. 3.) In the fifth verse of the 
 same chapter, this change is represented as being 
 born of the Spirit ; because he effects it. Some- 
 times it is called a translation, a passing from 
 death to life : but in 2 Cor. v. 1 7. we have this 
 striking passage; " If any man be in Christ, he 
 is a new creature : old things pass away ; behold, 
 all things become new." His views, his joys, 
 his company, his conduct are all new. His heart 
 is broken for sin, as committed against God ; he 
 loaths himself, and repents in dust and ashes. 
 The divine character appears glorious to him ; 
 Christ is precious ; sins of heart his constant bur- 
 den ; holiness the thing he longs for. He feel- 
 ingly adopts the lauguage of David, " Whom 
 have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none 
 upon earth I desire beside thee." The greatest 
 pleasure he has, is in communion with God. 
 His conduct is changed also : for having be- 
 lieved in God, he is careful to maintain good 
 works. His religion begins in his henrt, and ex- 
 tends its influence over all his behaviour ; so 
 that his acquaintance take knowledge of him. 
 that he hath been with Jesus
 
 Apostolic preaching. 145 
 
 Thus the Holy Ghost accompanies the dispen- 
 sation of the gospel with the exceeding greatness 
 of his power, and enlarges the Redeemer's king- 
 dom. And thus will he continue to do, until 
 all the ransomed of the Lord shall return and 
 come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy 
 upon their heads : then sorrow and sighing 
 shall flee away. 
 
 7. The preceding observations relative to the 
 deity and incarnation of Christ, the doctrine tif 
 the atonement, and the influence of the Spirit of 
 God in the regeneration of the sinner, naturally 
 lead me to remark, that the doctrine of the Trin- 
 ity appears to me to be so interwoven with 
 Christianity in general, and the plan of apostolic 
 preaching in particular, a$ to make an essential 
 part of it. The Father is represented as choosing, 
 the Son as redeeming, and the Holy Ghost as 
 calling and sanctifying. " According as he (the 
 Father) hath chosen us in him." Of the Son 
 it is said, " Who gave himself for us, that he 
 might redeem us from all iniquity." And the 
 apostle assures us that we are "saved by the 
 washing of regeneration, and renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost." Thus different parts of the work 
 of salvation are attributed to different persons in 
 the Godhead. 
 
 Before Jesus Christ left the World, he gave the 
 following commission to his apostles, and to their 
 successors in the ministry : " Go ye therefore, 
 and teach all nations ; baptizing them in the name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost." Here we observe in an act of religious 
 worship, equal honour paid rn each person in the 
 Godhead.
 
 146 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 According to this commission the apostles and 
 primitive preachers acted. They could not do 
 otherwise without being disobedient to the com- 
 mand of Christ ; consequently, wherever they 
 preached the gospel and baptized the converts to 
 Christianity, they maintained the doctrine of the 
 Trinity : nor does it appear that they had any 
 apprehensions that it would prevent the success 
 of their mission. They knew it to be their duty 
 to pay a prompt and implicit obedience to their, 
 master's orders, and to leave all consequences as 
 to themselves and his cause with him, being fully 
 persuaded that he would never command them 
 to believe or propagate any sentiment that was 
 not perfectly reasonable, although they could not 
 fully comprehend it : nor do we find that they 
 ever made a single attempt to explain how it is 
 that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are 
 three persons yet one God ; nor how the divine 
 and human natures were united in Jesus Christ. 
 They mantained this threefold distinction in the 
 Godhead, and assure us that " God was manifest 
 in the flesh ;" but confessed the mystery, and 
 submitted their reason to divine revelation ; in 
 which God's " design is to make known realities 
 and facts, not the manner of them. 
 
 " Almost every thing in the system of nature, 
 notwithstanding the great improvements in mo- 
 dern philosophy, is attended w T ith difficulties. 
 If you look up to the heavens, you stand aston- 
 ished at their greatness, and feel yourself incapa- 
 ble of comprehending that immensity which lies 
 beyond those vast spaces which surround us. 
 If you cast your eyes on the earth, you meet 
 with as many mysteries as there are animals,.
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 147 
 
 plants, and creatures inanimate. You meet with 
 innumerable difficulties in explaining, the sensa- 
 tion of the one, the vegetation of another, and 
 the motion of a third. If you consider mate- 
 rial nature in its wide extremes, of immense 
 greatness, and invisible minuteness, you are 
 struck with amazement, and imagination is non- 
 plussed. If, to the consideration of bodies, you 
 take in that of their duration, time will shew 
 you incomprehensible wonder* ; both in the suc- 
 cession of ages past, and in that which is future. 
 If you turn your thoughts to spiritual essences, 
 every thing surpasses your comprehension. You 
 cannot comprehend, either their manner of exist- 
 ing, or their manner of acting. Even the hu- 
 man soul is so great a paradox to itself, that it 
 long since despaired, not only of comprehending, 
 but of knowing itself. 
 
 " And if so, is there any reason to assert, as 
 ur adversaries do, that there are no mysteries 
 in religion ? Or have they sufficient ground to 
 refuse their assent to our Lord's eternal Divini- 
 ty, so clearly revealed in the Bible, because it is 
 attended with such difficulties as are insuperable 
 to the powers of reason ? Is it any wonder if the 
 difficulties with which we meet in the Christian 
 religion, and especially those that regard the 
 Deity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity, 
 should be found greater, much greater, than 
 those which attend a philosophical inquiry into 
 the system of nature ? It would, indeed be a 
 wonder if it were not so ; because the constitu- 
 tion and capacities of our minds bear some pro- 
 portion to natural objects, which are created and 
 finite ; and are much better qualified to inquin-
 
 J48 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 into their causes and properties, their connexions 
 and uses, than into those of religion, which are 
 of a spiritual kind, and particularly what relates 
 to the infinite Godhead.'** 
 
 This threefold distinction in the Godhead is 
 mentioned by Paul, 2 Cor. xiii. 14. " The grace 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, 
 and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with 
 you all, Amen." This is evidently a prayer of 
 the apostle addressed to the sacred Three, that 
 all spiritual blessings might be granted to his 
 Christian friends at Corinth ; he could bless 
 them in no other sense than by praying for them. 
 
 To what has been said, I shall only add, 1 John 
 v. 7. '* For there are three that bear record in 
 heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy 
 Ghost ; and these three are one."f 
 
 "I freely grant," says an excellent writer, 
 << that had I consulted my own reason only, I 
 could not have discovered some mysteries of the 
 gospel. Nevertheless, when I think on the gran- 
 deur of God ; when I cast my eyes on that vast 
 ocean ; when I consider that immense All, noth- 
 ing astonishes me, nothing stumbles me, nothing 
 seems to be inadmissible, however incomprehensi* 
 ble it may be. When the subject is divine, lam rea- 
 dy to believe all, to admit all, to receive all ; pro- 
 vided I be convinced that it is God himself who 
 speaks to me, or any one on his part. After this, I 
 am no more astonished that there are three distinct 
 persons in one divine essence ; one God, and yet 
 
 * Dr. Abbadie on the Dtity of Christ. 
 
 f Those persons who wish to see the authenticity of this text 
 excellently vindicated, are advised to read Trarm'g Letters to 
 Di", Gibbon-,
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 149 
 
 a Father, a Son, and a Holy Ghost. Either 
 religion must tell us nothing about God, or what 
 it tells us must be beyond our capacities ; and 
 in discovering even the borders of this immense 
 ocean, it must needs exhibit a vast extent in 
 which our feeble eyes are lost. But what sur- 
 prizes me, what stumbles me, what frightens 
 me, is to see a diminutive creature, a con- 
 temptible man, a little ray of light glimmering 
 through a few feeble organs, controvert a point 
 with the Supreme Being ; oppose that Intelli- 
 gence who sitteth at the helm of the world j 
 question what he affirms, dispute what he deter- 
 mines, appeal from his decisions, and, even after 
 God hath given evidence, reject all doctrines 
 that are beyond his capacity ! Enter into thy 
 nothingness, mortal creature ! What madness ani- 
 mates thee ! How durst thou pretend, thou who 
 art but a point, thou whose essence is but an 
 atom, to measure thyself with the Supreme Being ; 
 with him who fills heaven and earth ; with Him, 
 whom heaven, the heaven of heavens cannot con- 
 tain ! Canst thou by searching find out God ? 
 Canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection ? 
 High as heaven, what canst thou do ? deeper 
 than hell, what canst thou know ?*'* 
 
 * Mr. Siuirin's Scr. Vol. I. p. "8, 79, Robinson's translations.
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 1 CORINTHIANS, i. 21. 
 
 Por after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew 
 not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save 
 them that believe. 
 
 I PASS to observe, that the apostles 
 plainly and repeatedly preached the doctrine of 
 divine sovereignty ; or, that God has an absolute 
 right to dispose of all things according to his 
 own pleasure. 
 
 It has often been objected to this truth, that 
 it represents Almighty God partial to his crea- 
 tures, by making a distinction among them. 
 But this ought not to be an objection, because it 
 is a fact known and read of all men, that he hath 
 placed some in a far more eligible situation than 
 others. In creation we observe the most palpable 
 distinction among the creatures of God. 
 
 Angels are first in the order of created intelli- 
 gences ; they are said to excel in strength, con- 
 tinually surrounding the throne of God, and are 
 employed in the most exalted and important ser- 
 vicea : they are dignified in nature and office. 
 
 Men form the next link in the chain of intel- 
 ligent agents, whom Deity hath created with a 
 nature less dignified, endued with inferior men- 
 tal powers, and employed in a manner less noble
 
 APOSTOLIC BREACHING. ll 
 
 and interesting. Among mankind there is also 
 a very obvious distinction. One man is ex- 
 tremely handsome, another extremely homely ; 
 one has all his parts, another is deformed, maim- 
 ed, blind, halt. 
 
 They differ in mind likewise, no less than in 
 body. One person has great sagacity and pene- 
 tration, another is an idiot, or but a small re- 
 move from him. All minds, though formed by 
 the same Almighty hand, are not of the same di- 
 mensions. God himself hath made this dif- 
 ference. 
 
 They differ in place or station in life. They 
 are not fitted for, nor employed with equal dig- 
 nity. All are useful in their place, but not equal- 
 ly so. 
 
 This being the case, I ask, will any man dare 
 to censure Jehovah for making such distinctions 
 among his creatures ? " Hath not the potter 
 power over the clay, of the same lump to make 
 one vessel to honour, and another to dishonour ?" 
 Shall the idiot, or the man of small powers of 
 mind, say to his Creator, why was I not made 
 equal to Sir Isaac Newton ? Or shall that great 
 philosopher say to his Maker, why was not I cre- 
 ated an angel ? We tremble at the idea of thus 
 arraigning the divine conduct. God hath done 
 what he had a right to do, and hath exercised 
 that right under the influence of infinite wisdom 
 and goodness. 
 
 We observe that the like distinction runs 
 through God's whole economy of providence, 
 iome persons have all and abound ; others are 
 depressed with poverty. Two men shall set out 
 in life with equal prospects and advantages ; one 
 t>f them shall bfc Successful in almost every thin:
 
 1& APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 he undertakes j the other shall meet witit 
 repeated losses and become poor. 
 
 Some persons enjoy a constant and confirmed 
 state of health ; others are always sick, knowing 
 scarcely one day in which they are free from pain, 
 though equally virtuous and temperate. One 
 parses through the most imminent dangers, and 
 escapes uninjured ; another loses his life by the 
 most trifling occurrence. One lives to a good 
 old' age ; another is cut down from the birth* 
 One continues till he becomes a burden to himself 
 and friends ; another in the bloom and vigour of 
 his days is arrested by the last enemy. 
 
 The Deity hath made a difference among man- 
 kind with respect to the means of knowledge. 
 Some people remain in the savage state ; while 
 others, favoured with every advantage of infor- 
 mation both divine and human, have arrived at a 
 surprising height of knowledge and refinement. 
 Yet they all belong to the same great family, and 
 are under the government of the same infinite 
 God, who, for wise reasons, makes these distinc- 
 tions among them. He could easily have placed 
 all men in circumstances equally agreeable, had it 
 been his will ; or have made an entire reverse of 
 condition. He might have ordered your soul or 
 mine to have animated the body of a Laplander, 
 a Hottentot, or an American savage ; but he 
 hath been pleased, as a sovereign God, to place 
 us in a more pleasing condition. 
 
 These are some of the distinctions which God 
 hath made in the course of his moral govern- 
 ment *, and who shall say unto him, what doest 
 thou ? 
 
 The sovereignty of God is equally apparent in 
 his- conduct towards sinners. He hath passed by
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. J $3 
 
 the fallen angels ; " and the angels which kept 
 not their first estate, he hath reserved in everlast- 
 ing chains under darkness, unto the judgment of 
 the great day." Their nature the Son of God 
 did not assume, because their salvation was not 
 the end he designed to accomplish : accordingly 
 we are told, that hell is ** prepared for the devil 
 and his angels." Whence it appears that they 
 are passed by. 
 
 God hath made a very important difference 
 among mankind, by sending the gospel to some 
 of them, and withholding it from others. Those 
 persons who are disposed to raise objections ei- 
 ther against the benevolence of the Deity, or the 
 truth of divine revelation on this account, would 
 do well to consider that God himself hath made 
 this distinction, and that he can do no wrong. 
 He is a rock, his way is perfect ; nor doth he 
 give account of his matters to any. 
 
 Besides, it is evident that there is a striking 
 analogy in all his conduct in creation, providence 
 and redemption. He hath not in either case dis- 
 tributed his blessings on all men alike. This 
 hath been proved already in the preceding obser- 
 vations. If it is necessary therefore to vindicate 
 his conduct in this instance, it is no less necessary 
 in the others : " But who art thou, O man, that 
 repliest against God ? Shall the thing formed say 
 to him that formed it, why hast thou made m* 
 thus ?" 
 
 Among those persons who are favoured with 
 the gospel, there is also a difference. He takes 
 one of a city, and two of a family, and brings them 
 to Zion. " For he saith to Moses, I wjll have 
 merer on whom I will have mercy, and \ will
 
 154 APOSTOLIC PREACHING-.' 
 
 have compassion on whom I will have compas- 
 sion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor 
 of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth 
 mercy. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he 
 will have mercy, and whom he will he harden- 
 eth," not by positive influence, but by leaving 
 the sinner to act out his own character, or follow 
 the wickedness of his own heart. And as man- 
 kind universally have by sin subjected themselves 
 to everlasting condemnation, they that are lost 
 will have no just cause of complaint against God, 
 but will be obliged to acknowledge his justice ; 
 and they who are saved will ascribe their salva- 
 tion wholly to his sovereign grace. God con- 
 demns none but the guilty, nor will he save any 
 that had any claim upon him ; otherwise salva- 
 tion would not be by grace. 
 
 In the chapter in which the text is, this dis- 
 tinction is most clearly declared. The same gos- 
 pel that was the wisdom and power of God to 
 some, was a stumbling-block and foolishness to 
 others : hence Paul thus addressed himself to the 
 Corinthians ; " For ye see your calling, brethren, 
 how that not many wise men after the flesh, 
 not many mighty, not many noble are called : 
 but God hath chosen the foolish things of the 
 world to confound the wise ; and God hath 
 chosen the weak things of the world to con- 
 found the things which are mighty ; and base 
 things of the world, and things which are des- 
 pised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which 
 are not, to bring to nought things that are : 
 that no flesh might glory in his presence.' , Re- 
 mark, my brethren, God is here said to choose 
 omc and to leave others. 8omc persons were
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 155 
 
 "brought to receive the gospel, while others were 
 left in their unbelief. 
 
 Paul always ascribes his conversion to the grace 
 of God. " When it pleased God, who separated 
 me from my mother's womb, and called me by 
 his grace." In another place he says, " By the 
 grace of God I am what I am." If so, it follows 
 as an undeniable truth, that God made a differ- 
 ence between him and many of his countrymen, 
 the Jews. He was converted to Christianity by 
 divine power, while crowds of other sinners 
 were passed by. God could as easily have con- 
 verted the whole nation as one man, had it been 
 his sovereign pleasure ; but you all know he did 
 not ; therefore he made a difference. 
 
 We see in our own day, when the Lord re- 
 vives his work among us, that one is taken and 
 another left. The same sermon that is the means 
 of awakening or comforting one person, leaves 
 others in a secure condition. Under the same 
 religious advantages, some are hopefully wrought 
 upon, while others maintain their opposition to 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 That the success of the gospel, or the conver- 
 sion of sinners, is owing to divine influence, is 
 proved by the current language of scripture. 
 They who believe in Christ, are said to be 
 " born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 
 nor of the will of man, but of God." Paul says, 
 " I have planted, Apollos watered, but God 
 gave the increase." We may safely conclude 
 then, that under the dispensation of the gospel, 
 God confers a favour on some, that lie docs not* 
 confer on all.
 
 156' APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 Our blessed Lord teaches us this doctrine of 
 divine sovereignty in the following passage, as 
 well as in others that might be mentioned. " In 
 that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I 
 thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, 
 that thou hast hid these things from the wise 
 and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes % 
 even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy 
 sight." 
 
 9. The nature and necessity of faith and repent- 
 ance were important parts of the preaching of 
 the apostles. They assure us, that " faith is the 
 substance of things hoped for, and the evidence 
 of things not seen ;" " the belief of the truth," 
 or, a giving credit to the record God gave of 
 his Son. And that we may be capable of dis- 
 tinguishing between living and dead faith, they 
 inform us, that the faith of God's elect works 
 by love, purifies the heart, esteems Christ pre- 
 cious, and produces good works. " Faith with- 
 out works is dead, being alone." 
 
 The importance of faith appears from various 
 circumstances, such as, that without it we can- 
 not please God, enjoy the consolations of the 
 gospel, nor enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
 " If ye believe not that I am he," said Christ to 
 the Jewsj " ye shall die in your sins ;" that is, 
 under the curse of the law, and perish forever. 
 The language of the commission needs no com- 
 ment ; " He that believeth shall be saved ; and 
 he that believeth not shall be damned." Ac- 
 cording to this commission, the apostles constantly 
 urged on sinners the necessity of believing in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, whom God had set forth to be 
 a propitiation though faith in his blood.
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 157 
 
 They also insisted, wherever they went, on the 
 nature and necessity of repentance, as implying 
 a change in the disposition of the mind, without 
 which no man can see the Lord. Peter said to 
 the anxious multitude, " Repent, and be baptized 
 every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, 
 for the remission of sins." And Paul assured 
 the Athenians, that " God commanded all men 
 every where to repent, because he had appointed 
 a day in which he would judge the world in 
 righteousness," &c. 
 
 The most likely method of bringing mankind 
 to repentance is to hold up to their view the 
 nature, extent and perpetuity of the divine law, 
 as holy, just and good ; reaching to the thoughts 
 and intents of the heart, requiring truth in the 
 inward parts, and condemning the sinner for a 
 single inordinate desire, or wrong temper ; which 
 law is perpetually and universally binding. Un- 
 til heaven and earth pass away, Christ assures us, 
 one jot or tittle of the law shall not fail. Now 
 by this law is the knowledge of sin j and when 
 it comes home in its true nature on the con- 
 science, sin revives, and the sinner dies, i. e. he 
 stands justly condemned by it as a transgressor, 
 but sees no way of escape. In this condition he 
 remains till Christ is revealed in him ; for the 
 law can do nothing but condemn him. It will 
 not accept repentance as a condition of his par- 
 don ; nor can it discover the atonement. Its 
 language is, " Pay me what thou owest." At 
 length the sinner is brought to look on him 
 whom he hath pierced, and to mourn for him 
 as one mourneth for his only son, and to be in 
 bitterness for him, as one that is in bittcrne.^
 
 T38 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 for his lirst-born. He adopts the language of* 
 the prophet, saying, "Surely after that I was 
 turned, I repented ; and after that I was instruct- 
 ed, I smote upon my thigh ; I was ashamed, yea, 
 even confounded, because I did bear the reproach 
 of my youth." 
 
 10. The apostles dwelt much on the Christian 
 tempers, and the whole circle of moral and evan- 
 gelical obedience ; such as, supreme love to God, 
 benevolence to men, meekness, patience, resig- 
 nation to the divine will, forgiveness of injuries, 
 readiness to relieve the poor, &c. Jesus Christ 
 had taught them these important lessons in his 
 most excellent sermon on the mount,* which 
 contains an immense treasure of most precious 
 truths and exhortations, after which they copied 
 in their own preaching. Hence they thus ad- 
 dress us, " If any man have not the Spirit of 
 Christ, he is none of his/* " They that are 
 Christ's have crucified the flesh, with its affections 
 and lusts." " Let the same mind be in you that 
 was also in Christ Jesus." " If ye live after the 
 flesh, ye shail die j but if ye, through the Spirit, 
 do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." 
 These are mentioned as a specimen of their zeal 
 to promote personal holiness among the disciples 
 of Christ. 
 
 They also persuaded believers to give them- 
 selves up to the Lord and to his church, by a 
 public submission to the two leading institutions 
 ot the New Testament, baptism and the Lord's 
 supper j that they might become witnesses for 
 Christ, and enjoy the special privileges of his 
 house. In a word, they urged with constancy 
 
 * Sec Matt. v. vj. .v'ii.
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 159 
 
 and zeal the great importance of good works, as 
 evidences and fruits of faith ; and that others 
 seeing them, might be excited to glorify their 
 Father who is in heaven. 
 
 1 1 . They often brought into view the resur- 
 rection of the dead, the last judgment, and the 
 final states of men. On the first of these, Paul 
 enlarges with great strength and propriety of 
 reasoning, in 1 Cor. xv. to which I refer you. 
 
 They also assure us, in language calculated to 
 awaken all our attention, that Jesus Christ will 
 descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice 
 of the archangel and the trump of God ; that 
 the heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved ; the 
 elements shall melt with fervent heat ; the earth 
 and all that is therein shall be burnt up. Then 
 they who have done good shall come forth to 
 the resurrection of life, and they who have done 
 evil to the resurrection of damnation. O how 
 solemn will be this concluding scene 1 The last 
 trump will awake the sleeping millions ; the sea 
 give up the dead that are in it ; death and hell 
 give up the dead that are in them ; and all crowd 
 around that throne on which the Judge is seated, 
 from whose sentence there will be no appeal ! 
 Amazement all! 
 
 The different characters of men are marked ; 
 all carry their destination in their countenances. 
 The righteous fly to meet their glorious Judge, 
 their Saviour and their Friend, and bid him wel- 
 come ten thousand times. Their hearts beat 
 high with joy and praise. Each eye beams peace ; 
 and all the innumerable multitude of redeemed 
 inners sincr, " Lo, this is our God, we have wait-
 
 1 60' APOSTOLIC PREACHING: 
 
 ed for him ; we will rejoice and be glad in his 
 salvation." These he shall place on his right 
 hand. 
 
 But the ungodly approach with horror and 
 despair ; for their consciences at this fatal mo- 
 ment more than ever anticipate their doom ; 
 hence they "say to the mountains and rocks, Fall 
 on us, and hide us from the face of him that sit- 
 teth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the 
 Lamb : for the great day of his wrath is come j 
 and who shall be able to stand ?" These the 
 Judge shall place on his left hand. The critical 
 and decisive moment is arrived ; all nations are 
 before him ; they are separated the one from the 
 other, as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the 
 goats. To them on his right hand he will say, 
 " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
 of the world : for I was an hungered, and ye gave 
 me meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; 
 I was a stranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and 
 ye clothed me ; I was sick, and ye visited me j I 
 was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall 
 he say also unto them on his left hand, Depart 
 from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepar- 
 ed for the devil and his angels : for I was an hun- 
 gered, and ye gave me no meat ; I was thirsty, 
 and ye gave me no drink ; I was a stranger, and 
 ye took me not in ; naked, and ye clothed me 
 not ; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 
 And these shall go away into everlasting punish- 
 ment ; but the righteous into life eternal." Thus 
 the solemn scene is closed. " They that were 
 ready went in with him to the marriage, and the 
 door was shut."
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 161 
 
 *' Eternity, the various sentence past, 
 Assigns the sever'd throng distinct abodes, 
 Sulphureous, or ambrosial ! What ensues ? 
 The deed predominant ! the deed of deeds ! 
 Which makes a hell of hell, a heav'n of heav'n. 
 The goddess* witn determin'd aspect, turns 
 Her adamantine key's enormous size 
 Through destiny's inextricable wards, 
 Deep driving ev'ry bolt, on both their fates. 
 Then, from the crystal battlements of heav'n, 
 Down, down she hurls it through the dark profound 
 Ten thousand thousand fathoms ; there to rust, 
 And ne'er unlock her resolution more."* 
 
 III. I pass to shew, that God hath put the 
 most distinguished honour on these doctrines, 
 by making them the means of saving those who 
 believe. 
 
 They were not only remarkably successful du- 
 ring the first age of the church, when thousands 
 were converted to the Christian faith,f but have 
 been so at different periods since, down to the 
 present day. 
 
 " Before the destruction of Jerusalem, the gos- 
 pel was not only preached in the less Asia, and 
 Greece and Italy, the great theatres of action then 
 in the world, but was likewise propagated as far 
 northward as Scythia, as far southward as Ethio- 
 pia, as far eastward as Parthia and India, as far 
 westward as Spain and Britain." 
 
 During the three first centuries, the gospel was 
 preached with great success, notwithstanding the 
 violence of persecution. The more the Christ- 
 ians were oppressed, the more they grew ; hence 
 it became a maxim, that " the blood of the mar- 
 tyrs is the seed of the church." 
 
 1 Dr. Young's Night Thoughts, f See Acts ii. 41. iv. 4, &c 
 \ Bikhp NV-.vinn on the. Piophecif^, V* 1 . II. ',>* 1 ;
 
 1*&2 APOSTOLIC PREACHfNG. 
 
 From the time of the death of Constantine tilt 
 the reformation from popery, the church passed 
 through various dark and trying scenes. Some- 
 times she appeared to be near destruction. " This 
 is the darkest and most dismal day that ever the 
 church saw, and probably the darkest it ever will 
 see." Yet through all that period God raised 
 up some faithful witnesses for his cause ; among 
 whom, by general consent of ecclesiastical writ- 
 ers, we are to place the Waldenses,* who are 
 said by some authors to have preserved and 
 handed down the apostolic doctrines pure, from 
 primitive times to the days of Luther.f 
 
 Reinerus, their violent enemy, tells us, " that 
 of all sects that ever were, none were so pernio 
 cious to the church of Rome as the Leonists or 
 Waldenses ; and that for these reasons : 1. For 
 their antiquity and long continuance, even from 
 the time of pope Sylvester, who was made pope 
 in the year 316; or, as others have affirmed, 
 from the time of the apostles. 2. For the uni- 
 versality of that sect, because there was scarce 
 any country where they were not. 3. When 
 all other heretics, by reason of their blasphemy 
 against God, were abhorred, the Waldenses had 
 a great appearance of piety, because they lived 
 justly before men, believed all things well of 
 God, and had the articles of the creed, only they 
 blasphemed the church and clergy of Rome."]; 
 
 After this long night of error and persecu- 
 tion, during which period the witnesses were 
 
 * Tor a full account of these pious people, see Mooheim's 
 Ecclesiastical History. 
 
 f The confession of their faith shews" their attachment to the' 
 apostolic doctrines. 
 
 f OiPies' S'lrees* of the Gospel, Vol. I. p. re.
 
 APOSTOLie PREAGHING. 163. 
 
 few, and were obliged to prophecy in sackcloth, 
 the reformation took place. Wickliff appeared 
 in England, whose disciples became numerous, 
 Luther and Melancthon in Germany, John Huss 
 and Jerome in Bohemia, Zuinglius and others in 
 Switzerland. It would be almost endless to 
 mention the names of the worthy men in differ- 
 ent parts of the world, whom God raised up to 
 befriend the truths of the gospel, many of whom 
 sealed them with their blood. 
 
 If we consult the history r of the church since 
 the reformation, we shall find that God hath set 
 his seal to the apostolic doctrines in different 
 parts of the world, by making them the means 
 of great reformations among mankind. In Eng- 
 land, Scotland, Ireland, Holland, America, &c 
 there have been remarkable revivals of religion j 
 at which times crowds of sinners have been turn- 
 ed from darkness to light : whole towns and 
 villages have become serious and reformed ; 
 places of public worship, at such seasons, were 
 crowded with anxious inquirers j and converts 
 have come like the clouds and the doves to 
 their windows.* 
 
 It is readily granted, that the great end of the 
 preaching of the gospel is to make mankind 
 wiser and better. When therefore the wicked 
 are reformed ; churches filled with members who 
 adorn their profession ; and the youth especially 
 are made willing to become the followers of the 
 Lamb of God, at a period of life when they are 
 most capable of enjoying the pleasures of sense, 
 we may safely call this the work of God. And 
 blessed be his name, such have been the effects 
 of the faithful ministry among all denominations 
 
 * Christian Hi' tow.
 
 164 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 of Christians, who have maintained the apostolic 
 doctrines. You must be sensible, my brethren, 
 if you have been observant, that those men have 
 been the most successful, who have been most 
 engaged in preaching the humbling doctrines of 
 the cross. God hath put distinguished honour on 
 them, by giving them many seals to their minis- 
 try, as their joy and crown. Whence we infer, 
 1. That the ministers of the gospel have the 
 greatest encouragement to preach the same doc- 
 trines in every age of the world. 
 
 Those persons are quite mistaken who think, 
 that the gospel can be rendered agreeable to 
 natural men, as such : they may be changed into 
 the spirit of it by the power of God, but the 
 gospel remains the same. Or the preachers of it 
 may leave out, or explain away its most excep- 
 tionable parts, and thereby obtain the character 
 of rational and moderate men : but let it be re- 
 membered in that case, it is no longer Paul's 
 gospel, or Christianity as taught by Christ and his 
 apostles, they preach ; rather something quite 
 different from it, by which they may amuse 
 mankind ; but they have no just reason to believe 
 it will be the means of their conversion. 
 
 The nearer we come in preaching to the senti- 
 ments and manner of the apostles, I humbly 
 conceive, the greater reason we have to expect 
 success. The sentiments have been considered ; 
 of the manner I beg leave to say, they preached 
 plainly, that all who heard them might under- 
 stand them ; and faithfully, that God, their own 
 consciences, or the people, might not reproach 
 them. They did not shun to declare the whole 
 counsel of God, nor use ambiguous expressions;, 
 to prevent its being known what their real sent;-
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 163 
 
 ments were ; but took a side like faithful men, nor 
 feared any consequences, while engaged in what 
 they believed to be the cause of God and truth. 
 
 Every man has an undoubted right to think 
 for himself, and to publish his principles to the 
 world j and in this enlightened and liberal age 
 he has nothing to fear as to his person. And 
 though his sentiments may be opposed, his fideli- 
 ty will entitle him to respect from mankind, 
 who continue to revere an honest man. 
 
 The apostles were also diligent in the work of 
 the Lord ; were instant in season, out of season. 
 " I have taught you publickly," says Paul, " and 
 from house to house." Their hearts glowed 
 with love to God, and to the souls of men ; 
 hence they were willing to spend and to be spent 
 in the sacred service. In public and private life 
 they were examples to the flock. 
 
 They preached with a pathos that arose out of 
 the infinite importance of the subjects of their 
 ministry j which had a natural tendency to fix 
 the attention of their hearers, and to convince 
 them that they were in earnest. They felt their 
 subjects, and they made others feel. Felix, a 
 Roman governor, trembled before Paul his pris- 
 oner, while he reasoned of righteousness, tem- 
 perance, and judgment to come. King Agrippa 
 was forced to acknowledge, that Paul had almost 
 persuaded him to be a Christian. 
 
 2. What has been said, suggests to them who 
 have been long in the ministry, and have hat! 
 but little success, the serious inquiry, whether, 
 they have plainly and faithfully preached the 
 apostolic doctrines ? or, whether they have not 
 been ashamed of the gospel of Christ ? If the hit - 
 :cr has been the case, no wonder tlicv have dra<>-
 
 106 APOSTOLIC PREACHING'. 
 
 ged on heavily in the work, and with very few, 
 if any, seals to their ministry ; for God will re- 
 prove such unfaithfulness in his service. 
 
 True indeed, it sometimes happens that the 
 faithful ministers of the gospel are for a season 
 unsuccessful ; yet they ought not to be discour- 
 aged, for in due time they shall reap, if they faint 
 not. They who go forth weeping bearing pre- 
 cious seed, shall finally return rejoicing, bringing 
 their sheaves with them. But suppose they 
 should not see the fruit of their labours in this 
 life, they will have the testimony of conscience, 
 that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with 
 fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, they 
 have had their conversation in the world. Let 
 them who sow, sow in hope ; the word shall not 
 return void, but it shall accomplish that which 
 God pleaseth, and prosper in the thing whereto 
 he sent it. 
 
 3. Should these discourses fall into the handi 
 of any young men who wish to engage in the 
 work of the ministry, they will excuse me if I say, 
 they ought first to ask themselves whether they 
 have ever felt the transforming power of the gos- 
 pel on their hearts. Ministers of Christ ought cer- 
 tainly to know the truth by a happy experience, 
 or they will be blind leaders of the blind. " A 
 preacher's first and supreme quality, that which 
 must give life and vigour to his compositions, 
 and just scope to all his talents, lie-s in his being a 
 good man, 1 mean a lover of God, and a friend 
 of men. A preacher who has not felt the power, 
 and imbibed the spirit of Christianity, is the most 
 unfit person in the world to teach and recom- 
 mend it to others."* 
 
 "* Eordy.cc's Ait of Preacbjfij.
 
 APOSTOLIC PREACHING, 167 
 
 -In such a condition he will find it a very hard 
 service, to be always engaged in praying, study- 
 ing, preaching, answering cases of conscience, 
 visiting the sick and dying, &c. because, whatever 
 he may be in appearance, his heart is unfriendly 
 to the work. If, on the other hand, he has felt 
 the gospel coming with power, the Holy Ghost, 
 and much assurance, he will love it, because it 
 tends to advance the glory of God, and the sal- 
 vation of sinners. Having been made happy by 
 the gospel himself, he longs that others should 
 taste and see that the Lord is gracious. With 
 such a temper, it becomes his meat and drink to 
 be daily engaged in the various parts of ministe- 
 rial duty. He puts on no forbidding airs, is easy 
 of access, and by his benevolence, affability and 
 piety, invites the distressed of every description, 
 to enter into the freest conversation with him ; 
 and enjoys a most sensible pleasure, when he is . 
 the means of lessening the distresses of mankind,, 
 whether of soul or body. 
 
 4. In fine, we infer, that while the ministers 
 of the gospel are obliged to maintain all the parts 
 of the sacred system, so far as they under- 
 stand them, they ought to insist most of all on 
 those that are immediately calculated to promote, 
 the. greatest good of mankind : such, for instance, 
 as tend to awaken the stupid conscience, direct 
 the anxious sinner to Christ, and edify and build 
 up believers in their most holy faith ; 1. e. to cn- 
 Jighten and reform the world. 
 
 The positive institutions of religion are sec- 
 ondary objects ; and though good in their place, 
 ought by no means to be set in 'competition with 
 the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, and th< 
 various Christian tempers.
 
 i8 APOSTOLIC PREACHING. 
 
 A pious man of a liberal mind is anxious most 
 of all that sinners should be converted to Jesus 
 Christ. This end accomplished, he feels happy, 
 and is willing that every man should be fully per- 
 suaded in his own mind, with respect to what 
 are called the circumstantials of religion. He can 
 truly say, " Send, Lord, by whom thou wilt send." 
 If the Redeemer's kingdom is advanced in the 
 world, he rejoiceth, let who will be the instru- 
 ments of it ; or let it be among what denomina- 
 tion of Christians it may. 
 
 It is to be lamented, my brethren, that those 
 Christians who are united in the most essential 
 truths of the gospel, should contend so much as 
 they do about rites and ceremonies. Such con- 
 duct tends to create animosities, separate friends, 
 and is very injurious to the general interests of 
 religion. It looks as if we were more engaged to 
 convert sinners to our party, than to Jesus Christ. 
 Let us walk together as far as we can agree ; and 
 when we are brought to a stop by different opin- 
 ions or practices, let us agree to differ, and by 
 no means fall out by the way. We are embark- 
 ed in a common and glorious cause ; let us then 
 contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to 
 the saints. Iniquity abounds, the love of many 
 waxeth cold, and false doctrines of extraordina- 
 ry magnitude prevail. Let us then stand fast in 
 the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. 
 
 " Now unto him who hath loved us, and wash* 
 ed us from our sins in his blood, and hath made 
 us kings and priests unto God and his Father ; 
 to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. 
 Amen."
 
 SERMON IX.* 
 
 tJOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE, 
 
 PSALM cii. 19, 20. 
 For be hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary : from 
 heaven did the Lord behold the earth ; to hear the groaning 
 of the prisoner t to loose those -who are anointed to death. 
 
 1 HE youth on whose account I have 
 chosen this passage, for the last time appears in 
 this assembly. Before we shall meet here again 
 for public worship, he will be numbered with 
 the dead ! That body, now bound in chains, will 
 be committed to the dust, and his immortal 
 spirit have passed to the throne of God, to re- 
 ceive an irrevocable sentence ! This circumstance 
 cannot fail of promoting an uncommon solemni- 
 ty through this great congregation, and of excit- 
 ing compassion towards the prisoner in every 
 humane breast. A smile on any countenance oil 
 this occasion, will be looked upon as an evidence 
 of a want of humanity. And I take it for grant- 
 ed, that those of you who have believed in Jesus, 
 who know the consolations which his religion 
 affords, and are acquainted with the value of 
 an immortal soul, will assist the preacher by 
 your prayers, that the word may be spoken as 
 becomes the oracle? of God, and prove of infinite 
 
 Preaclitd ;it the <!<; iiv of Lfvi A: 
 -sin. If- ,,-,, | , 
 
 S who attendc! on t! 
 
 a./. d ; .
 
 176 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 
 
 advantage to the multitude, and especially to this 
 poor young man. If ever plainness, zeal, and an 
 artless address were necessary, it is now ; when, 
 amidst a crowd of dying men, there is one, who 
 knows not only the day, but the hour, yea, min- 
 ute of his dissolution. In such a situation, where 
 shall support be found ? Only, my brethren, in 
 the religion of the Bible j which amply declares 
 the grace and condescension of Jehovah, who 
 " looked down from the height of his sanctuary : 
 from heaven did the Lord behold the earth ; to 
 hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose those 
 who are appointed to death." The very title 
 of this psalm discovers its suitableness to the 
 present occasion ; it is said to be " a prayer 
 of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and 
 poureth out his soul before the Lord." We may 
 well suppose, that this unhappy youth never 
 knew before such an affliction as the present j 
 which he hath indeed brought upon himself, by 
 repeated instances of theft and robbery : yet is- 
 he the object of our pity and prayers, and may 
 be the subject of the free forgiveness of God in 
 Christ ; seeing the abounding of sin has been 
 exceeded by the superabundance of divine grace. 
 And admitting that the prisoner has a just sense of 
 his guilty condition before God, he will passion- 
 ately adopt the language of the context, " Hear 
 my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto 
 thee. Hide not thy face from me in the day 
 when I am in trouble ; incline thine ear unto me. 
 My heart is smitten, and withered like grass ; so* 
 that I forget to eat my bread," &c. 
 
 After the psalmist had thus described the case 
 of the afflicted, he brings to mind the following 
 comfortable considerations j such as the eternity
 
 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 171 
 
 and kindness of the Lord, who will " regard the 
 prayer of the destitute, and not despise their 
 prayer. This (says he) shall be written for the 
 generation to come ; and the people who shall 
 be created shall praise the Lord." Meaning 
 that God's readiness to hear the cries of his peo- 
 ple shall be duly remembered ; and that all 
 such as are created in Christ Jesus shall praise 
 him for this instance of his condescension. 
 And in the text he enlarges on the same subject, 
 which he had mentioned in verse 17, in order to 
 shew that the Lord is so far from disregarding 
 the prayer of the destitute, that he listens atten- 
 tively to their cry, and will grant deliverance. 
 The Lord takes a general notice of the earth, 
 and its inhabitants, but is particularly attentive 
 to the mourning of Ephraim ; or to the afflicted 
 state of his people : for the comfort of such, 
 the text is evidently designed. In the follow- 
 ing discourse I shall not strictly confine myself 
 to the primary sense of the passage ; but expect 
 your indulgence, while I introduce such reflec* 
 tions as may be pertinent to this solemn scene. 
 
 I. Let us attend to the instance of complicated 
 affliction described by the strong terms, the 
 groaning of the prisoner, and those appointed to 
 death. 
 
 II. The truths which are here recorded for 
 the support of such. The Lord beholdeth the 
 earth, &c. 
 
 I. The instance of keen distress described by 
 the psalmist. 
 
 David, as orfe observes on the place, has a par 
 ticular respect to the condition of believers under
 
 172 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 
 
 persecuting princes ; by whom many have bcei; 
 imprisoned and put to death, for their attach- 
 ment to the Lord and to the testimony of Jesus ; 
 who, according to sacred and profane history, 
 have been sensibly supported, and have thereby 
 triumphed gloriously, to the confusion of their 
 enemies. But there are different senses, in which 
 it may be said that mankind are prisoners, and 
 appointed to death. 
 
 1. This, O Ames, is your unhappy case in a 
 literal sense. You have been tried by the law of 
 your country, found guilty, received sentence of 
 death, and are now waiting in close imprison- 
 ment, the day of your execution. In this view 
 your condition is gloomy : my soul feels for 
 you ; and the crowd who behold you, evidently 
 discover their sympathy with you. 
 
 2. But there is a more awful sense, in which 
 it may be said, that you and all mankind, as sin- 
 ners, are prisoners, and appointed to death : I 
 mean as transgressors of the law of God, holden 
 by the cords of iniquity, and led captive by the 
 devil at his will. 
 
 When Jehovah created man, lie gave him a 
 law to be the rule of his temper and conduct, 
 the requisition of which was perfect conformity ; 
 which conformity involved the tempers of the 
 heart, and the actions of the life. To this law 
 were annexed rewards and punishments. He 
 who doth the things required shall live by them ; 
 but he who fails in a single instance shall be con- 
 demned. However some may trifle with the 
 extent and spirituality of the divine law, it is as 
 true as God's existence, that he^vho "looketh 
 an a woman to lust after her, hath committed,
 
 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 178 
 
 adultery with her already in his heart." A lust- 
 ful look, observe, is heart adultery. Hence said 
 Paul, " I had not known lust, except the law had 
 said, thou shalt not covet.'* If we admit the 
 truth of revelation, we shall find no method of 
 evading this plain but awful conclusion, that the 
 law of God is exceedingly broad, reaching to 
 and condemning for the irregularities or sins of 
 our hearts ; and that too, not only for many 
 such instances of transgression, but for one. 
 " Cursed is every one' who continueth not in all 
 things, which are written in the book of the 
 law to do them." To which add, " that who- 
 ever keepeth the whole law, and offendeth in 
 one point, is guilty of all ;" i. e. he who hath 
 broke one command, is certainly a transgressor 
 of the law ; though we should suppose that 
 there were other precepts which he had not vio- 
 lated. The apostle explains himself in this man- 
 ner in the verse following the words just read. 
 " For he who said, Do not commit adultery ; 
 said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no 
 adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a 
 transgressor of the law." 
 
 Thus from the current language of the holy 
 scriptures we learn that the law of God reaches 
 to the thoughts and intents of the heart, and that 
 mankind stand condemned by it, for thinking 
 evil, as well as for committing it openly. And 
 this circumstance essentially distinguishes the di- 
 vine from human laws. The latter can never ac- 
 cuse us for wrong tempers, but only for actions ; 
 the former have as much to do with dispositions 
 of the heart as with any external behaviour. 
 And thus it is right it should be ; thus it must 
 bo, If we admit that the l.uv of God i, die trans- 
 
 4
 
 174 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 
 
 cript of his own nature, and that he as surely 
 requires truth in the inward part, as that we 
 should obey him in our lives. This we cannot 
 possibly deny, while we consider that the infinite 
 God is of purer eyes than to behold evil with 
 the least approbation : it is the thing his sou^ 
 hateth. And he is said to " know our thoughts 
 afar off." 
 
 Thus it appears that all mankind are shut up 
 under the law, to the curse of which they are 
 most righteously exposed ; for " all have sinned, 
 and come short of the glory of God.'* 
 
 Besides their unhappy case on the preceding 
 account, they are " holden by the cords of their 
 iniquities.'* Scripture and experience unite to 
 convince us that sin has dominion over the sons 
 of Adam. Hence it is that they go astray as soon 
 as they are born, speaking lies. The power of 
 sin over the fallen race, is most manifest in its 
 universal prevalence. In every age and in every 
 country vice has prevailed, while but a few have 
 appeared to be under the influence of right 
 tempers. 
 
 The sacred oracles repeatedly assure us of this 
 truth ; and it is the plain meaning of the proph- 
 ets words, (Jer. xiii. 23.) " Can the Ethiopian 
 change his skin, or the leopard his spots ? then 
 may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do 
 evil." The former is naturally impossible, and the 
 latter morally so ; because the principle of sin has 
 such power over the minds of men, that they 
 love it, and after it they will go. This shocking 
 truth has been experienced by many, in the fol- 
 lowing respect, viz. when conscience has been 
 alarmed, and the sinner obliged, in order to 
 quiet its clamours, to make the most solemn res-
 
 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 175 
 
 olutions against his former conduct ; he has no 
 sooner met with a temptation to the same ini- 
 quity, than he hath complied with it. Such pow- 
 er has sin had over him, that he hath many times 
 sinned against the light of his own conscience 
 and all his solemn resolutions. 
 
 This powerful principle of indwelling sin is 
 represented by an inspired apostle in the follow- 
 ing terms ; " a law in the members the old man 
 the body of death." And I may safely affirm, 
 that the experience of all real believers has been 
 the same with St. Paul's in this matter ; they 
 feel that sin has the force of a law, and that they 
 are too often led into captivity by it, to their 
 own unspeakable sorrow. 
 
 The existence of this powerful principle in the 
 minds of believers, is the great cause of that 
 spiritual warfare which they are daily carrying 
 on, and of which they abundantly complain. 
 In fact, while the Christian is at home in the 
 body, he is in a state of imprisonment ; he groans 
 earnestly for deliverance, nor will he ever be 
 satisfied till he awakes in the image of his God. 
 
 Now the great difference between the believer 
 and the unbeliever in this matter is, that the 
 former feels and laments his body of sin, and 
 opposes it ; the latter is in love with sin, and 
 complies with its dictates. He yields to its pow- 
 er to his own ruin, unless the arm of the Lord is 
 revealed to slay his enmity and deliver him from 
 the- law in his members. 
 
 To which I add, as that which completes the 
 sinner's sad condition, that he is "led captive by 
 the devil at his will," who is said to * ; walk 
 about like a roarinc lion, seeking whom ; ".- m sa
 
 170 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 
 
 devour \" and to " work in the children of dis- 
 obedience," with this malevolent intention, even 
 to " blind their minds, lest the light of the glo- 
 rious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, 
 should shine unto them." Nor will he ever re- 
 lease the captive, till he who is stronger than the 
 strong man armed shall appear to dispossess him. 
 
 In thus representing mankind, I am fully au- 
 thorized by the oracles of God ; at present it 
 may suffice to mention Isa. lxi. 1. where the 
 prophet describes the office of Christ in the fol- 
 lowing manner ; " The Spirit of the Lord God 
 is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me 
 to preach good tidings to the meek to pro- 
 claim liberty to the captives, and the opening 
 of the prison to them who are bound." In 
 these words, sinners, while in unbelief, are consid- 
 ered as bound in prison. 
 
 The same persons are appointed to death. 
 
 1. To the death of the body. The original 
 threatening was, " In the day thou eatest thereof, 
 thou shalt surely die ;" which has been verified 
 from Adam to Moses, and from Moses to this 
 time, in the dreadful havoc which death has 
 made among the inhabitants of the world. " The 
 fathers, where are they ? and the prophets, do 
 they live forever ?" No, they have seen corrup- 
 tion, and so must we who now appear in this 
 house. That youth is not the only one amongst 
 us appointed to death. We are all to die, though 
 not in the same ignominious way with him. 
 
 But death, simply considered, is of small con- 
 sequence. It is sin t.hat gives death his sting, and 
 makes the guilty tremble, when lie anticipates 
 his appearance before God, the Judge of all. For 
 such are,
 
 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 1 77 
 
 2. Appointed to an eternal death, provided 
 they should abide in a state of unbelief. For aU 
 who are under the law, are under the curse ; and 
 the curse of the law is nothing less than an ever- 
 lasting banishment from the presence of God, 
 and a being shut up forever with infernal spirits ! 
 
 No sooner does the sinner become sensible 
 that he is in this condition, shut up under the 
 law, under the dominion of sin, led captive by- 
 Satan, and morally incapable of delivering himself, 
 than he breathes out his soul before God, with 
 " Wo is me, for I am undone." " O Lord, 
 shouldst thou be strict to mark iniquity, who 
 could stand r" This conviction of guilt will make 
 the prisoner groan ; for a wounded spirit who 
 can bear ? In this respect, the heart knoweth its 
 Own bitterness : bitterness it is, emphatically, for 
 any sinner to feel the law coming home to his 
 conscience in its extent and spirituality, (by which 
 is the knowledge of sin,) and at the same time 
 have no just apprehension of the atonement, or 
 the one glorious and eflicacious sacrifice for sin, 
 Christ Jesus. Distress like this he never knew 
 before, nor could he form any idea of it j for 
 now the commandment comes, sin revives, and 
 he dies. 
 
 We have this conviction of sin exemplified, and 
 the uneasiness of mind which results from it, in 
 the conduct of the three thousand, the jailer, &c. 
 who no sooner saw what they were, than they 
 cried out, " What shall we do ?" Which leads me 
 
 II. To consider the truths which alone are cal- 
 culated to comfort those who arc in this situation. 
 U" " looketh down from the height of hii sauo-
 
 178 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 
 
 tuary : from heaven did the Lord behold the 
 earth ; to hear the groaning of the prisoner, to 
 loose those who are appointed to death." 
 
 The Lord is said to behold the earth. Earth 
 here, by a figure, is put for its inhabitants, whom 
 the Lord continually observes. Though he pos- 
 sesses infinite perfection, and would have been 
 eternally happy in the enjoyment of himself, if 
 there had never been either angels or men, yet 
 he condescends to behold human affairs. The 
 creatures of his power are, and ever will be, the 
 subjects of his laws. These laws men have brok- 
 en, and by so doing, have entirely cut themselves 
 off from any claim on God. Yet has he, moved 
 solely by his own unmerited love, and a supreme 
 regard to the display of his glory, adjusted a way 
 of deliverance for the guilty, consistent with all 
 the perfections of his nature. And in the fulness 
 of time, "he sent forth his Son, made of a wo- 
 man." " God so loved the world, that he gave 
 his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
 in him, might not perish, but have everlasting 
 life." Herein is the love of God manifested ; 
 and by this astonishing act of grace it is apparent 
 that he beholds the earth. 
 
 Jesus Christ, who was in the bosom of the 
 Father before time, upon his incarnation, pro- 
 ceeded with unremitting diligence to make an 
 end of sin, and to bring in everlasting righteous- 
 ness. To accomplish which, he was made under 
 the law, obeyed its precepts, and endured its pen- 
 alty in the behalf of his people. " He died the just 
 for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.'' 1 
 And now " through him, all who believe are 
 justified from all things, from which they could 
 not be justified by the law of Moses."
 
 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 179 
 
 This is the only truth that can give relief to a 
 person under a full view of his guilt and mis- 
 ery ; and by it all real believers are enabled to 
 rejoice, accounting all things but loss, for the ex- 
 cellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the 
 Lord. 
 
 I might observe that the Lord beholds the 
 earth in a way of providence, to hear th groan- 
 ing of the prisoner, &c. Thus in the case of Jo- 
 seph, when his brethren had determined to take 
 his life, the Lord interposed, and delivered him 
 from their cruel designs. Thus it was in the de- 
 liverance of David from the repeated attempts of 
 Saul to kill him. Also in loosing Jeremiah, when 
 cast into a dirty dungeon, for his fidelity in de- 
 livering the Lord's message. And in the remark- 
 able instance of Peter, to whom the doors and 
 gates opened of their own accord. In these in- 
 stances and many others of a like nature, we have 
 the text exemplified, that the Lord heareth the 
 groaning of the prisoner, and loeseth those 
 who are appointed to death. But I shall rather 
 endeavour to accommodate this part of the text 
 to what hath been already said, relative to a sin- 
 ner, his being shut up under the law, sin and 
 Satan ; who, sensible of his condition, or fully 
 convinced that he is justly appointed to eternal 
 death, groans out his soul before God. 
 
 The truth which only can relieve him, as just' 
 suggested, is the completeness of redemption in 
 Christ, who is " the end of the law for righteous- 
 ness to every one who believcth." Here it is of 
 great importance for us to inquire, 
 
 1. How the Lord looseth those who in this 
 respect are appointed to dio.
 
 1 80 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 
 
 2. What are the effects of their being set at 
 liberty. 
 
 1. How doth the Lord loose those who ara 
 appointed to death ? Sensible of their true con- 
 dition, they stand condemned before God, crying 
 guilty, guilty. They have no recommending 
 qualifications, no appendages to their characters, 
 which recommend them as objects of the divine 
 favour. God appears a sovereign, and his grace 
 is free, having mercy on whom he will have 
 mercy ; and the person's sense of his condition 
 makes him cry, Lord, be merciful to me a sinner : 
 but God is just, whether he saves or rejects him. 
 
 The question still returns, how is he deliv- 
 ered from this wretched condition ? I answer, 
 by the truth believed. The inspired writers, by 
 way of emphasis, distinguish the doctrine of 
 atonement by this phrase, the truth. Says the 
 author of the epistle to the Hebrews, chap. x. 26. 
 ic If we sin wilfully, after that we have received 
 the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth 
 no more sacrifice for sin," &c. i. e. if we reject 
 the doctrine on which he reasons in the context, 
 and comprehends in verse J 4, " for by one of- 
 fering he hath perfected forever them who are 
 fanctified," we cannot be saved ; because Christ 
 hath once suffered, and there will be no other 
 sacrifice but his ; no other Christ to die. 
 
 The word truth is often used as a general 
 term, including the whole gospel of salvation, 
 or the complete character of Jesus Christ ; and 
 whenever it is spoken of as connected with eter- 
 nal life, it involves the propitiation of Christ, 
 or his one complete sacrifice for sin. 
 
 As this truth is the ground of the sinner's 
 hope, or cause of rejoicing, it must be observed,
 
 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 181 
 
 that the truth must be believed, or known, in 
 order to present peace and future happiness. 
 Hence says Christ, " Ye shall know the truth, 
 and the truth," thus known, " shall make you 
 free." This sentiment is of great importance, 
 and repeatedly urged by the inspired writers. 
 Accordingly, when Christ gave the commission to 
 his ministers, this was a part of it ; Preach the 
 gospel he who believeth shall be saved. Christ 
 is the end of the law for righteousness only to 
 them who believe. And this is the invariable ten- 
 or of the word of God. The truth is the ground 
 of hope, as it reveals a complete redemption ; and 
 it is by faith that we understand its glory and 
 importance, and derive peace from it. " Believ- 
 ing, ye rejoice, with joy unspeakable, and full 
 of glory." 
 
 In a word then, the sinner is relieved from his 
 painful sense of guilt, by the truth which he is 
 enabled to believe ; by which he is fully con- 
 vinced of the glpry of the person of Jesus, and 
 the fulness of grace in him : and he now sees 
 that God is just, and the justifier of them who 
 believe in Christ ; because he hath brought in 
 everlasting righteousness, which is unto all, and 
 upon all them who believe. 
 
 Here a very interesting inquiry arises, viz. 
 
 2. What follows a real belief of the truth as it 
 is in Jesus ; or the sinner's being loosed from his 
 former unhappy state ? 
 
 (1.) That pleasing view which the person has 
 when brought to believe, of the excellency of 
 Jesus, and the infinite sufficiency of his merits, is 
 attended with the highest approbation of him, 
 and an immediate flight to him. He appears to 
 such a soul to be infinitely de-orving of supremo
 
 182 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 
 
 affection, on account of his essential glory : or as 
 being the brightness of the Father's glory, and 
 the express image of his person. To such 
 an one, he is altogether lovely, and the chiefest 
 among ten thousands. 
 
 At the same time the sinner has such an ap- 
 prehension of his complete redemption, that he 
 flies to him, and trusts his immortal all in his 
 hands. However his sins may rise like moun- 
 tains, or appear to reach to the clouds ; he is 
 made to know, that where sin hath abounded 
 grace hath much more abounded ; and that it 
 is a faithful saying, that Christ Jesus came into 
 the world, to save the chief of sinners. On him 
 with all his guilt, he rests ; fully persuaded, that 
 if God should be strict to mark iniquity, he 
 could not stand ; but that there is forgiveness 
 with him, that he may be feared, 
 
 (2.) He whom the Lord delivers from spirit- 
 ual bondage, immediately upon believing, is set 
 at liberty from that load of guilt which lay upon 
 his conscience ; and he passes at once into a state 
 of joy and peace. This event is not progressive, 
 or brought about gradually ; but takes place at 
 the very time when the soul believes in Jesus. 
 For the truth of this remark, I appeal to be- 
 lievers of every denomination. When you were 
 set at liberty, my brethren, from the distress of 
 a guilty conscience, was it not by a discovery 
 made to your minds, by the Holy Ghost, of the 
 consistency and sufficiency of salvation by Christ ? 
 Did not the belief of that truth at once calm 
 your minds, and lead you to rejoice in the only 
 begotten Son of God ? And have you not always 
 found, in your life of faith, that your comfort
 
 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 1HS 
 
 only can spring from looking to Jesus, by whom 
 the law is magnified and made honourable, and 
 in whom all the heirs or" promise are complete ? 
 
 This sentiment is abundantly taught us in the 
 holy scriptures. Thus, according to the words of 
 Christ, which were mentioned before, " Ye shall 
 know the truth, and the truth/' thus known, 
 yea, and as soon as it is known, " shall make you 
 free." This spiritual freedom takes place in a 
 degree at the instant that the sinner experiment- 
 ally knows the truth. We read, that " being 
 justified by faith, we have peace with God, 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ." As the divine 
 righteousness is the sole matter and cause of jus- 
 tification before God, I conclude that the apostle 
 speaks here of faith as justifying, in no other 
 sense than as it apprehends the righteousness of 
 Christ, and derives peace to the mind from it. 
 Hence an eminent divine supposes that the com- 
 ma in this text should be transposed thus ; " be- 
 ing justified, by faith we have peace with God," 
 &c. In thus reading, peace with God is an effect 
 of faith. But I mean not to insist on this mat- 
 ter, seeing the scriptures continually assure us 
 that peace of conscience stands connected with 
 the belief of the truth ; and this sentiment is 
 plainly taught us in the text above cited, let 
 what will be the apostle's meaning in the sen 
 '.mce, "justified by faith." 
 
 I might run over a number of pa-sages which 
 confirm the above remark > such as "joy and 
 peace in believing ;" it in believing, the person 
 must rejoice on the hpot where God met witii 
 him, and the very minute tiiat he believed tin; 
 
 "h. The anosile IYut renresents the matt-;
 
 184 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 
 
 thus : " Whom having not seen, ye love ; iri 
 whom, though now ye see him not, yet believ- 
 ing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of 
 glory." 
 
 Besides, if this grand truth concerning the per- 
 son and righteousness of Christ, is not sufficient 
 to give peace to a conscience wounded by a sense 
 of sin, w T hy did the apostles always propose it 
 to such, as we find they invariably did ? 
 
 Upon the whole, when any sinner is really 
 brought to believe in Jesus, he will have an ex- 
 perience of that peace which passeth all under- 
 standing ; for " God, who commanded the light 
 to shine out of darkness, shines in his heart, to 
 give him the light of the knowledge of his own 
 glory in the face of Jesus Christ." 
 
 (3.) He who really believes in the Son of 
 God will have extensive views of the malignity 
 of sin, and its opposition to a God of infinite per- 
 fection ; from which will arise absolute hatred of 
 it, and unfeigned sorrow for it. No person can 
 understand the exceeding sinfulness of sin like 
 the believer, nor sorrow for it as he does. He 
 looketh on him whom he hath pierced, and 
 mourns, as one mourneth for an only son ; and is 
 in bitternesss, as one who is in bitterness for a 
 first-born. The very secret corruptions of hi^ 
 heart, which are unnoticed but by God and his 
 own soul, give him keen distress. He mourns 
 his felt unlikeness to the divine character, and 
 many times cries out in the language of St. Paul, 
 " O wretched man that I am : who shall deliver 
 me from the body of this death ?" 
 
 (4.) Connected with which are his fervent- 
 longings after perfect sanctification. He who has 
 obtained this spiritual deliverance is led to dis-
 
 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 186 
 
 Oover the real beauty of holiness as it is an essen*. 
 tial perfection of the Deity ; without which he 
 feels that he must be forever unhappy. That rec- 
 titude in which God first created him, he lost by 
 his connexion with the first Adam, and became 
 vain in his imaginations; his evil heart being 
 darkened. So long as he remains under the ru- 
 ins of the apostasy, he must be unlike to God, 
 therefore miserable in himself, and Unfit for 
 heaven ; into which nothing shall enter that de- 
 fileth, worketh abomination, or that maketh a 
 Ke. The man who believes in Jesus knows this, 
 and can never be contented while he is unholy. 
 Hence he often breathes out his soul before God 
 m the language of the psalmist, " Then shall I 
 be satisfied, when I awake in thy likeness." 
 Welcome heaven, says the believer at certain 
 seasons, because I shall there be near and like 
 my God! 
 
 (5.) Love to the children of God is another 
 evidence of this spiritual deliverance, or of our 
 faith in Jesus. For, says John, " he who loveth 
 him who begat, loveth them also who are begot- 
 ten of him." In another place the same apostle 
 speaks still stronger, " We know that we have 
 passed from death to life, because we love the 
 brethren." Observe, the brethren are the per- 
 sons loved ; and this religious affection is fixed 
 on them, solely because they are so ; or because 
 they appear to be the real disciples of Jesus 
 Christ, who have drank into his spirit, and are 
 studious to be like him in temper and conduct. 
 It matters not whether they be rich or poor- 
 bond or free; jf brethren in the Lord, the real
 
 1 86 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 
 
 believer will love them in their poverty, or 
 meanness of outward condition, for Jesus's sake. 
 And it has always been remarked, that love to 
 the brethren has most prevailed, when religion 
 has flourished most. 
 
 (6.) Every person who knows the truth as it 
 is in Jesus, will be careful to maintain good 
 works. True faith is influential, and leads him 
 who has it to search out the will of God, and to 
 yield obedience to every known part of his duty. 
 " Faith," says James, " without works is dead." 
 
 (7.) Another effect of this spiritual deliverance 
 is, readiness to distribute to the relief of the 
 brethren, when in our power. This we shall 
 surely be ready to do, if we love them for 
 Christ's sake, and see that they are reduced to 
 necessitous circumstances, while we ourselves 
 have all arid abound, or at least have enough 
 for ourselves, and something to spare for a suf- 
 fering brother. " For whoso hath this world's 
 goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shut- 
 teth up his bowels of compassion from him, how 
 dwelleth the love of God in him V 
 
 (8.) In fine All such as are delivered from 
 the power of darkness and translated into the 
 kingdom of God's dear Son, find the truth suffi- 
 cient to support them under the heaviest afflic- 
 tions. . They have, in many instances, overcome 
 the world, and rejoiced in death. The army of 
 martyrs, animated by the gospel of Christ, suffer- 
 ed with patience and greatness of mind, know- 
 ing that the sufferings of this present time were 
 not worthy to be compared with that glory that 
 should be revealed in them. And many believers 
 of later date have resigned to death with peace
 
 COD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 187 
 
 ln d calmness of soul, which the truth of Christ 
 only could inspire, knowing that to die would 
 
 ^Having thus enlarged on those truths which, 
 in my view, are of infinite importance, because 
 thev stand connected with our present peace and 
 fu ure happiness, I shall omit those reflections 
 which arise naturally from the subject, and ad. 
 - dress myself to the prisoner, who must very soon 
 appear at the judgment-seat of Christ.* 
 
 Unhappy Ames, how cutting is your condi- 
 tion " A youth but little more than twenty-one, 
 having filled up the measure of his iniquity, 
 bound with fetters, appointed to death, and on 
 the verge of a vast eternity ! Who can bear the 
 thou K ht? The solemn day is just at hand whe* 
 JT must make your exit. Time, which stays 
 Tno man, is on the wing, and .will speeddy 
 introduce Thursday, the last of days to you , 
 then vou will go whence you shall not return 
 and be unalterably fixed either in bhss or. wo! 
 See what sin has done ! It has brought you, in 
 the Woom of life, to ignominy and death, and 
 hat exposed you to eternal condemnation hereat- 
 AU prospect of living longer than the time 
 appointed is cut off. I hope you will not fiatte 
 aPP" 1 " . , , .;, . Tint which most 
 
 yourself with longer time. that wnic 
 Lncerns you is, how you may escape the wrath 
 o come % Where is there a ground of hope for the 
 1 Ity in answering this question every arcum- 
 ftance demands solemnity, faithfulness and truth, 
 would therefore attempt it, as in the presence 
 LfTat God at whose tribunal I know I shall 
 
 way of o!emn cv;' in 
 
 sr.rmon.
 
 I 88 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 
 
 shortly meet you, with the whole congregation 
 of the living and the dead. May the Spirit of 
 the living God accompany plain truth to your 
 and every man's conscience ! Ames, as a sinner 
 you are lost ; the law of God condemns you, for 
 it curseth every one who continueth not in all 
 things written in the book of it, to do them. 
 You have gone astray from God, even from the 
 womb. From the fountain of corruption in your 
 Jieart have issued all those sins in life, which 
 have been repeated and inconceivably provoking 
 to Jehovah. The law is exceedingly broad, and 
 reaches to the thoughts of your heart. It de- 
 mands perfect obedience, and will accept no less. 
 And as the requirement is just, so will be the 
 punishment which will be finally inflicted on all 
 unbelievers. You are wholly in the hands of a 
 sovereign God, without a single personal circum- 
 stance to plead in your favour. If he condemns 
 you, his justice will remain perfect. Nor do I 
 mean by thus addressing you, to single you out 
 as the only guilty individual : no ; " all have sin- 
 ned, and come short of the glory of God. ,, 
 
 Perhaps you are saying, who then can be sav- 
 ed ? Authorized by this inspired volume, I as- 
 sure you that there is peace on earth, and good 
 will to men. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son 
 of God, hath made an end of sin, and brought in 
 an everlasting righteousness. He, by his obedi- 
 ence to the law in life, and his death upon the 
 cross, hath finished such a righteousness as lays a 
 ground of hope for the chief of sinners. This is 
 the matter and cause of acceptance with God, 
 " By this, all who believe are justified from all 
 things, from which they could not be justified by
 
 GOD'S COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. IgQ 
 
 the law of Moses." We have redemption 
 through the blood of Christ, the forgiveness of 
 sins, according to the riches of his grace." On 
 this glorious foundation I have long rested all 
 my hopes of eternal life ; nor can I act a more 
 faithful, friendly part, than by setting before 
 you, in your present prospect of speedy dissolu- 
 tion, the same ground of hope. 
 
 But what will it avail either you or me, to 
 hear of a complete redemption, or an all-sufficient 
 atonement, if we are not interested in it, or 
 have no part in the matter? Remember what is 
 written, " all who believe are justified :" " He 
 who believeth shall be saved ; but he who bclievetb 
 not shall he damned." No person can derive real 
 peace from the doctrine of atonement, but the be- 
 liever ; nor shall any but such enter into the king- 
 dom of heaven. And no sooner is a sinner brought 
 to see his guilt, and to believe in Jesus., than he 
 will repent and abhor himself in dust and ashes ; 
 for faith and repentance are inseparably connect- 
 ed. Such is the well-ordered plan of salvation, 
 that all who are made partakers of the Redeem- 
 er's benefits, are the subjects of that faith 
 which is the gift of God, and of his operation, 
 and of that repentance which never shall be re- 
 pented of. Of how much consequence is it then, 
 that you inquire how matters stand between' 
 God and your soul? Whether you have ever 
 believed in the Lord Jesus, and iiavc had that 
 repentance which is unto life ? If you have, the 
 truth has come with power, and the Holy Ghost, 
 and much assurance ; you have been convinced 
 of its reality and glory, and entered into the 
 piritofir. Christ has appear?'! the. onlv way.
 
 190 GODS COMPASSION TO THE MISERABLE. 
 
 the truth and the life; and from a full view of 
 vour infinite unworthiness and gu.lt you have 
 been enabled to cast yourself at h.s feet and to 
 trust your all in his hands ; knowing that you 
 can be saved only upon the plan of free forgive- 
 ness And if you are a real believer you are 
 made to hate sin, heart .sin as well as the sins 
 of vour life, because hateful in the sight of God , 
 and to long that God would make you holy as 
 he is holy. Some things like these you have de- 
 clared to me, and' to others in your confident 
 as he exercises of your mind. May God forbid 
 that vou should deceive yourself ! May he man- 
 tft himself unto you, as a God pardoning in- 
 quty, yea, your iniquity; then will you tn- 
 umph over death, the last enemy. Into hi 
 hands I commit you, wishing you an abundan 
 ^trance into the kingdom of glory. And as I 
 expect to address you no more in this public 
 manner, 1 bid you a most affecuonate farewel .
 
 SERMON X.* 
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 PROVERBS, xvil. 25. 
 
 ji foolish fen is a grief to his father, and bitterness to htr 
 who bare him. 
 
 oOLOMON's universal acquaintance with 
 men and things was one of his great accomplish- 
 ments, by which he was fitted to write those 
 maxims, which have been found of unspeakable 
 advantage in life. He had sustained the different 
 relations of son, parent, and prince ; the duties 
 which belonged to each he well understood, and 
 carefully discharged j nor could any man paint 
 vice, with its consequences, so much to the life 
 as he. 
 
 All who read his writings find in them the 
 dangers of a course of sin, and the secret meth- 
 ods by which the thoughtless are ensnared. The 
 hazards which surround the path of youth are 
 pointed out, and they are called upon to avoid 
 them, lest they fall. The tender connexions 
 which we form in this state, and the pleasure 
 and pain which attend them from a diversity of 
 circumstances, he was thoroughly acquainted 
 with. As a son, he knew the feelings of filial 
 affection ; as a father, the yearnings of a parent's 
 
 # Preached the Lord's day after the execution of Levi Amf -.
 
 192 T HE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON\ 
 
 heart. Consequently he was qualified to de- 
 scribe the grief of a parent, when his children 
 justly merit the character mentioned in the text : 
 " A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bit- 
 terness to her who bare him." This declaration 
 implies, 
 
 I. Parental affection. 
 
 II. In consequence of which, parents in a 
 peculiar sense are interested in every part of the 
 conduct of their children ; from whence arises 
 either pleasure or pain : the latter always, when 
 they deserve the character of foolish sons. 
 
 III. The import of which character I shall con- 
 sider, and pass on to some suitable reflections. 
 
 I. Let us animadvert a little on the nature 
 and necessity of parental affection. 
 
 The great Author of all things hath endowed 
 the human mind with the most important and 
 delicate passions, such as love, fear, pity, hope, 
 &c. which, when duly governed by reason and 
 religion, prove not only a private but a public 
 blessing. Excited by these, we seek not only 
 our own good, but the good of others. 
 
 By love and sympathy, which are public affec- 
 tions, we become interested in the sufferings of 
 others, and are strongly urged to fly to their re- 
 lief ; and never fail of receiving a heart-felt pleas- 
 ure, when, by acts of kindness, we have reduced 
 that load of misery, under which a friend, a 
 relative, yea, a stranger groaned. For as we 
 became partakers of his infelicity, so we share 
 in the satisfaction which arises from his relief.- 
 
 Suppose we should meet with a person of an 
 amiable character, who had been reduced by the
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 19-3 
 
 frowns of Providence, from affluent or competent 
 circumstances, to penury ; whose modesty and 
 fear of troubling his friends had inclined him 
 to hide his suffering condition j in this case, 
 every man who possesses the social affections 
 would, the instant he became ascertained of the 
 above object of distress, hasten to relieve him. 
 Nor would I confine these passions in their 
 exercise, to amiable characters ; for it is a mat- 
 ter of experience and of fact, that they who pos- 
 sess them in the greatest degree of delicacy, have 
 the most painful sense of the miseries, which man- 
 kind by imprudence or wickedness bring upon 
 themselves. This remark has been abundantly 
 exemplified, in the late conduct of many serious 
 and respectable characters in this town, towards 
 the unhappy youth who was executed on Thurs- 
 day last ; who, while they detested his horrid 
 and repeated acts of iniquity, which brought 
 him to disgrace and death, heartily pitied him ; 
 and by various methods discovered a strong in- 
 clination to make his few days as easy as possible.* 
 The passions are distinguished by writers on 
 this subject into public and private ; by the 
 former are meant those, which lead us to seek the 
 public good ; by the latter, such as principally 
 respect personal happiness : among these we 
 find the strong affections of a parent's heart. 
 
 * I should lay myself under a disagreeable restraint, were I 
 not to take public notice of the remarkable tenderness, with which 
 the criminal was treated, from the time of hh condemnation to 
 his death, by the gentleman, who, by the nature of his office, was 
 obliged to see the law executed ; together with the many kind- 
 nesses he received from the particular family in whose more im- 
 mediate custody he wa>> of which I wai an eye and ear witness 
 
 l Z A
 
 194 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 " Man is born a weak, helpless, delicate crea* 
 ture, unprovided with food, clothing, and what- 
 ever else is necessary for subsistence, or defence ; 
 and yet, exposed as the infant is to numberless 
 wants and dangers, he is utterly incapable of 
 supplying the former, or of securing himself 
 against the latter. But though thus feeble 
 arid exposed, he finds immediate and sure re- 
 sources in the affection and care of his parents, 
 who refuse no labours, and forego no dangers, 
 to nurse and rear up the tender babe. By 
 these powerful instincts, as by some mighty chain, 
 does nature link the parent to the child, and 
 form the strongest moral connexion on his part, 
 before the child has the least apprehension of it."* 
 
 This affection, like the other passions of the 
 soul, is known by experience better than by 
 description. The parent needs no definition of 
 it ; and those who never sustained that affec- 
 tionate relation, cannot, by the most accurate 
 description, form an adequate idea of it. Its 
 necessity results from the feeble, helpless state 
 of human nature on its first appearance ; and 
 the nature of it may be best learnt by others, 
 from its various and striking expressions. For, 
 
 II. It is in consequence of this affection that 
 parents in a peculiar sense become interested 
 in all the circumstances and conduct of their 
 children. 
 
 1. The first discovery of this tender passion 
 is emphatically described by our blessed Lord, 
 John xvi. 21. " A woman when she is in travail 
 hath sorrow, because her hour is come : but a^ 
 
 * Fordycc's Moral Philosopbv.
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 193, 
 
 soon as she is delivered of the child, she remem-! 
 bereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man 
 is born into the world." The fondness of her 
 affection for the little stranger causeth her to 
 forget all that she feared, and all that she felt. 
 
 Now the parents' hearts begin to glow with 
 this pleasing passion, and they anticipate their fu- 
 ture satisfaction in the life and conduct of the 
 child ; not thinking that the mother has brought 
 forth for the destroyer, or that the object thus 
 beloved may break the parents' hearts, and bring 
 their heads with sorrow to the grave. 
 
 But God hath wisely hidden the future from 
 us, that we may rightly discharge the duties of 
 the present, and leave what snail be to the direc- 
 tion of unerring wisdom. 
 
 Had Adam known that Cain would prove a 
 murderer, or David that Absalom would have 
 rebelled against him, with what grief must they 
 have beheld their advances to manhood, and 
 with what reluctance discharged paternal du- 
 ties. Or had the afflicted mother* of the late un- 
 happy youth been ascertained that the son of her 
 womb was to make his exit on a gallows, with 
 what uneasiness would she have observed his in- 
 creasing years, and how often felt in prospect that 
 complicated affliction which now distresses her ! 
 May the greatness of her present trial effectually 
 secure her from all unkind reflections. 
 
 It is a matter of gratitude, that such awful 
 events are hidden from us ; if they were not, 
 parents, instead of rejoicing, would have reason 
 to mourn and weep on the birth of such a child. 
 But as the matter is now circumstanced, they 
 
 * His father died when he \va two ycarj old
 
 196 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 give a loose to their tender affections ; which be- 
 come apparent, 
 
 2. By a prevailing anxiety for the welfare of 
 their children, who make a great part of domestic 
 happiness. If they are attacked by threatening, 
 sickness, with what inexpressible solicitude do 
 the parents watch every motion, and dread the 
 consequence, willing to bear a part of their afflic- 
 tion, were it possible. With what concern do they 
 attend them by day and by night ; never easy 
 to leave them, lest any thing should be omit- 
 ted that might tend to give them ease or relief. 
 And when death hath appeared inevitable, how 
 have they agonized in mind, and have been ready 
 to cry out in the passionate, though unjustifiable 
 language of David, O Absalom, my son, my son 
 Absalom : would God I had died for thee. 
 
 3. This affection is also discovered by all that 
 cost and care with which they conduct them 
 through the successive stages of life to manhood. 
 It is with the most sensible pleasure, that the in- 
 dulgent parent provides for the support and edu- 
 cation of his children, sparing neither pains nor 
 expense, in order to accomplish them for some 
 useful sphere in life ; who thinks himself amply 
 compensated, when they conduct with propriety 
 at home and abroad. 
 
 Parents indeed should always be upon their 
 guard in this part of their conduct, lest excessive 
 affection should lead them to too great indul- 
 gence, and to exceed their ability in the manner 
 of providing for them. The danger in this re- 
 spect is certainly great. 
 
 4. Children may also be convinced of the 
 truth now before us, by adverting to the readi-
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 197 
 
 ness of their parents to pass by many improprie- 
 ties of behaviour, on which they put the best pos- 
 sible construction, and cover all with a mantle of 
 parental love ; hoping that with advancing years 
 they will see their folly, and do better. It is 
 not one nor two disappointments that can cause 
 a tender parent to deny his children a part in his 
 affections, or his help in distress. Though Absa- 
 lom's crime was greatly aggravated, the heart of 
 David yearned towards him ; and when Ahimaaz 
 approached him with a message from Joab, the 
 first question the king asked was, " Is the young 
 man Absalom safe ?" The safety of a rebellious 
 son was the principal concern of David's heart. 
 
 Parental affection is still the same. Hence, 
 though a son may act the part of the prodigal, leave 
 his father's house, and spend his substance in riot- 
 ous living, he shall no sooner appear sorry for 
 his conduct and ready to return, than the father, 
 while he is yet a great way off, will run and fall 
 upon his neck and kiss him ; saying as he goes, 
 " This my son was dead, and is alive again ; was 
 lost, and is found." Such, my young friends, is 
 the nature of that love which your parents have 
 for you ; and, 
 
 5. Which leads them to watch the connexions 
 you form in life, and to approve or disapprove 
 of them, as they apprehend them calculated to 
 serve or injure you. It is an indisputable max- 
 im, that "evil communications corrupt good 
 manners." Much depends, with respect to moral 
 conduct, upon the company which youth keep. 
 It must therefore be the parents' duty to guard 
 them as much as possible against such as enter- 
 tain bad sentiments, as well as bad practices ; for 
 thore is -i certain ronnexion between the two.
 
 198 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 Actions arise from principles, and when the cause 
 is bad, we may reasonably suppose that the effect 
 -will be so too. As the tree is, such will be the 
 fruit ; we never expect to " gather grapes of 
 thorns, or figs of thistles." Parents therefore 
 cannot be inattentive to the company which their 
 children keep, but will solemnly caution them 
 against those, whose opinions and practices are 
 unreasonable and wicked j and the warmer their 
 affections are, the more abundantly will they use 
 every method of persuasion to inspire their chil- 
 dren with a detestation of bad company, the 
 bane of multitudes. 
 
 6. But I shall dismiss this part of the subject, 
 which has respect to mere natural affection, by 
 observing that it .commonly runs parallel with 
 fife. Hence we see the parents, even when ad- 
 vanced in years, rising up early and sitting up 
 late, and pursuing their business with unremitting 
 diligence, in order to acquire a sufficient fortune 
 to distribute among their children at the close of 
 life : at which solemn period this affection has 
 generally appeared in the most moving terms, in 
 the last wishes and affectionate farewell of the 
 -tender parent. 
 
 7. Under this head I have only to add, that 
 those parents, who know the truth as it is in Je- 
 sus, while they are duly concerned for the tem- 
 poral interest of their children, are supremely 
 anxious about their everlasting salvation. This 
 we cannot expect of those who have never tasted 
 that the Lord is gracious. But such as have been 
 Qiade sensible of their own danger out of Christ, 
 and have been enabled to fly for refuge to the 
 hope set before them, cannot be satisfied though 
 their children enjoy wealth and honour, if at the
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 199 
 
 same time they have reason to believe that they 
 are in the gall of bitterness and bonds of in- 
 iquity. Remaining thus, they know that they 
 must be miserable forever. A thought like this 
 pierces the believing parent to the heart, and an- 
 imates him in the discharge of his duty to his chil- 
 dren, whom he labours to instruct in the great 
 things which belong to their peace. He is al- 
 ways careful to accompany his instructions with 
 solemn prayer to God, that they may be saved 
 in the day of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 From all that has been said, we see that in con- 
 sequence of these strong affections, parents in a 
 peculiar sense become interested in all the con- 
 duct and circumstances of their children. We 
 shall therefore readily admit, that " a foolish son 
 is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who 
 bare him." 
 
 III. The character of a foolish son is now to 
 be considered. 
 
 By whom we are not to understand an idiot, 
 or one who is destitute of common sense. Many 
 a parent would have been much more contented 
 if the child who has occasioned the greatest bit- 
 terness, had been born a fool, rather than to pos- 
 sess a sagacious mind, and abuse it to the pur- 
 poses of sin, by drinking down iniquity like wa- 
 ter, and glorying in his sham?. Such persons 
 justly merit the character of foolish sens, and are 
 evidently designed by the wise man. 
 
 Any one who will take time to examine his 
 writings, will find that lie frequently uses the 
 words 'fools* and ' foolish' in the above sense; that 
 is, as descriptive of a wicked man, who despise.-; 
 God and religion, and gives n Ic>-< to hi- vi; <ou*
 
 200 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 passions. " Fools," says he, " make a mock at 
 sin :" nor can the wicked discover more fla- 
 grant folly, than by making a mock at that which 
 will one day find them out to their eternal con- 
 fusion. In another place he assures us that " the 
 wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the 
 promotion of fools." By the wise, such are in- 
 tended who are wise unto salvation ; they shall 
 inherit that glory which God will ultimately re- 
 veal : and by fools he means those persons who 
 are profane, despisers of them who are strictly 
 religious, and who are determined to gratify their 
 vicious inclinations at all events. Shame shall be 
 their promotion, i. e. their iniquities in this life 
 shall bring them to reproach, and reproach shall 
 lift them up to the public view ; and in the world 
 to come they shall be forever separated from that 
 glory which the wise are to inherit. 
 
 In order, if possible, to bring the matter home 
 to conscience, I shall mention particular instances 
 of the conduct of a foolish son, and point out 
 his egregious folly therein. 
 
 1. The character most surely belongs to him 
 who rejects parental instruction and admonition. 
 Children while young are more easily brought to 
 submit to family government, and to listen to 
 the instruction of parents, than after they are 
 farther advanced in years : consequently, in com- 
 mon, they occasion much less grief and anxiety 
 to their parents at that period of life, than when 
 they begin to extend their acquaintance by form- 
 ing new connexions, and to put on the character 
 of men and women ; which many do too soon, 
 or before they have wisdom andjprudence to sup- 
 port it.
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. SOI 
 
 At this time of life they are in the utmost dan- 
 ger of being captivated by their giddy, thought- 
 less companions, who flutter full of life from 
 thing to thing, in pursuit of various scenes of 
 dissipation. A youth who finds his . associates 
 left to their own discretion, will feel uneasy un- 
 der restraint, and with reluctance listen to the 
 advice of parents. For such an opinion has he of 
 his own understanding, that he believes himself 
 the best judge of his own conduct, and that he 
 is sufficiently qualified to govern himself. His 
 parents he firmly believes are too rigid in 
 their discipline, and too scrupulously nice about 
 the mode of conduct ; that a greater latitude 
 of behaviour can do him no harm, and that he 
 may indulge himself as his companions do, with- 
 out hazard. 
 
 No sooner does he adopt the above sentiments, 
 than he will treat his parents with a degree of 
 neglect. The delicacy of his natural disposition, 
 the fear of incurring their displeasure, and there- 
 by sustaining a loss by his father's last will, or a 
 sense of his obligation to his parents, arising from 
 their indulgence, may prevent his behaving rude 
 to their face. But at the same time he deter- 
 mines to allow himself greater liberties than the\ 
 incline to give him. And the parents must be 
 either very inconsiderate or void of discernment, 
 not to foresee the fatal tendency of such beha- 
 viour, unless the Lord prevent it. For though 
 hij connexions may be of the politer sort, and 
 his gratifications fashionable, his folly is no less 
 evident, and his destruction no less certain. 
 
 There are others who are ruder in their beha 
 vi-jur, and more open and luTror.tive in their d'v- 
 2 a
 
 202 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 obedience to their parents ; who treat them with 
 unkindness to their faces, and resolutely deter- 
 mine to gratify their passions. 
 
 In such cases, the parents are made to endure 
 many hours of dejection. They sit together and 
 mutually bewail their foolish son ; and, in the 
 bitterness of their souls, are almost ready to wish 
 that he had never been born. 
 
 Could the disobedient to parents know the 
 heart-rending expressions which his conduct oc- 
 casions, or the many solitary hours which the 
 afflicted parents pass together on his account, 
 his heart must be like adamant not to relent. 
 
 The folly of such a conduct must become ob- 
 vious to all who duly consider, 
 
 (1.) That the parents have trodden the path of 
 life, and by experience have learned the dangers to 
 which their children are exposed : consequently, 
 like the skilful pilot, are qualified to direct them. 
 That mariner must be deemed a mad man, or at 
 least very rash and imprudent, who, arriving on 
 a dangerous coast, with which he is unacquaint- 
 ed, should refuse the directions of one who 
 knows every place of danger. Greater is the 
 folly of those, who, though young and inexperi- 
 enced, rush on in their own way, regardless of 
 the advice of parents. 
 
 (2.) Nor is their folly less apparent in thus re- 
 jecting parental instruction, when we consider, 
 that the parents are not only qualified by experi- 
 ence to guard them against the hazards of the pres- 
 ent life ; but that all their instructions arise from 
 the warmest and most sincere affection, which 
 has been largely treated of in a former part 
 of this discourse. Hence their advice is the
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 203 
 
 effect both of knowledge and of love. What 
 consummate folly and base ingratitude, then, 
 are those children chargeable with, who turn a 
 deaf ear to all that parents can say unto them ! 
 
 (3.) They also pour contempt on the solemn 
 directions of God himself, who, in both the Old 
 and New Testament, has taught the duty of filial 
 obedience. " Children, obey your parents in 
 the Lord ; for this is right." The same exhor- 
 tation is repeated elsewhere in the inspired writ- 
 ings. He then who despises the word of the 
 Lord, in this respect, not only discovers the 
 badness of his heart, but exposes himself to that 
 curse which shall falKon the heads cjf the dis- 
 obedient. 
 
 (4.) The folly of such must be farther evident, 
 while we consider the ruinous tendency of this 
 vice. It must be taken for granted, from that 
 near and agreeable connexion which subsists 
 between the parent and the child, that he will 
 wholly consult his benefit ; advise him to noth- 
 ing that shall disserve his reputation or interest, 
 nor lay him under any unnecessary restraints. 
 If, therefore, the child rejects the parents instruc- 
 tions, it must be that he may indulge himself in 
 things forbidden and injurious. In consequence 
 of which, he lays himself open to numberless 
 temptations, and there is every reason to fear 
 his ruin. For when necessary restraint is re- 
 moved, he will be likely to be hurried by the 
 impetuosity of his passions into every ex- 
 treme. Several times did I hear the late un- 
 happy youth declare, tiiat had he regarded the 
 advice of a tender mother, he should not have 
 come to such an awful end. Nov was he the
 
 2C4 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SOX. 
 
 first, who reflected on himself for his disobedi- 
 ence to parents. 
 
 2. He certainly is a foolish son, who, aided by 
 his companions, endeavours to persuade himself" 
 that Christianity is a fiction. 
 
 The cause of infidelity has many friends ; 
 some of whom are to be found among persons 
 of different ages, and characters. Their number 
 probably is much greater than it appears to be. 
 For every deist is not willing to be known : he 
 fears a discovery, lest he should suffer in interest 
 or reputation : but when he has a proper op- 
 portunity, he throws of his disguise, and can 
 lampoon revealed religion as fast as any of the 
 company. " And wherever such men fall in 
 with the youth of froward spirits, and more 
 liberal education ; they bend all their arts to cor- 
 rupt their minds, which are often too easy in re- 
 ceiving ill impressions ; especially when the baits 
 are dressed with wanton jollity and good humour, 
 and the plausible pretext of free-thinking." Nor 
 will deism want friends, so long as the human 
 mind remains in its present sinful condition. 
 Yet the folly of this cause is now evident, and 
 will be more fully displayed at a future period. 
 
 (1.) What folly must it be to reject Chris- 
 tianity, without a better religion in its stead ; 
 and who would not reject it, could a better be 
 found ? I mean a religion more honorary to 
 God, and more safe for man ? But amidst all 
 those who have opposed Christianity, and have 
 been nibbling at that glorious system of divino 
 truth, where is the man who has paved the way 
 for the rejection of it, by substituting a better in 
 its place ?
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 205 
 
 The Christians are now made to bear the im- 
 putation of weakness or wickedness, for their 
 attachment to the religion of Jesus Christ ; but 
 should they abandon it, without a better in its 
 stead, they might justly be looked upon as con- 
 summate fools. 
 
 Great swelling words have been used by free- 
 thinkers, concerning the religion of nature and 
 the light of reason, as a sufficient guide to duty 
 and happiness; to judge rightly of which, I 
 know of no more reasonable and concise method 
 than to consult the state of the heathen world. 
 By such conduct, we are soon macle acquainted 
 with the true condition of human nature, un- 
 assisted by revelation. The Greeks, with all 
 their learning, had lords many and gods many, 
 and worshipped for gods the work of men's 
 hands. They had a religion, but it was filled 
 with idolatry and various practices, which evi- 
 dently proved, that the light of nature in fallen 
 man is by no means a sufficient guide to duty 
 and happiness ; and I cannot but think, that the 
 more we look into the condition of the different 
 heathen nations, the more fully will the necessity 
 of a divine revelation appear. 
 
 (2.) What folly must those men be guilty of, 
 who reject Christianity, without being able to 
 disprove a single truth or fact ? 
 
 " Do they not daily hear, from the holy scrip- 
 tures, and the doctrines of Christianity, of an 
 eternity, either of happiness and solacing joys, or 
 of misery or torments, which is to begin when 
 this frail life doth end? Now can these men of 
 jollity give any demonstrative evidence, that hi 
 t!"' "vrit tV'v :: I'l not ivvillv find i: o ' Can
 
 206 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 they prove from their principles of self-evidence, 
 that these are only amusing whims, melancholy 
 dreams, or scare-crows and bug-bears, to frighten 
 them from their sinful pleasures, and disturb 
 their carnal repose ? No : though they are daring 
 enough, yet they have not the confidence to pre- 
 tend to this. 
 
 " And ought not this to awaken that reason 
 wherewith men are endowed, at least to ponder 
 deliberately the weighty arguments of moral evi- 
 dence for the truth of Christianity, with all the 
 impartiality they can ? If there is an hereafter, 
 in which all must be sharers eternally, either of 
 the greatest felicity, or the most dreadful mis- 
 ery ? if this is confidently affirmed, on the one 
 hand, by wise and good men, who profess a 
 full conviction of it ; and on the other hand, 
 there is no pretended evidence that it is not, or 
 cannot be so ; is not the very possibility of this 
 enough to awake their inquiry ?"* 
 
 To deny the truth of Christianity, without 
 proving it to be false, surely is not all that we are 
 to expect from a set of men, who mean to be 
 thought the most profound reasoners. 
 
 Can these men really prove that there never 
 was such a person as Jesus Christ, who made his 
 appearance near eighteen hundred years since ? 
 or, that the characters of Matthew, Mark, Luke, 
 John, Paul, &c were fictitious ? or, that the 
 former was not crucified on mount Calvary, and 
 that the latter never were his dkciples ? or, if 
 they admit that such persons might have been, 
 can they prove that they were a band of deceiv- 
 ers ? and that the writings which bear their re- 
 spective names are fallacious ? 
 
 % Wc6t's Introduct. to the Evidence of the Christian Religipn..
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 207 
 
 Till this is done, it must be the highest folly 
 to reject Christ and his religion : 
 
 (3.) Especially when we consider that he who 
 lets go Christianity, is in danger of falling into 
 absolute scepticism, or of doubting about every 
 thing that does not come within his own notice. 
 For in rejecting the religion of Christ, we reduce 
 our creed to very few articles. If we disbelieve 
 the truth of Christianity, we deny that there 
 ever were such persons as Christ and his apostles ; 
 that there are either good or evil angels, heaven 
 or hell, the resurrection of the dead, and a day 
 of judgment. And many have doubted of the 
 immortality of the soul ; which, if they have 
 been unwilling to let go entirely, they have, how- 
 ever, found their minds at a loss to conceive of 
 it, or to give credit to it. And should such per- 
 sons proceed so far in their infidelity as to doubt 
 whether there is a God, it would not be surpri- 
 sing. We are told that Dr. Tindal died with 
 this awful sentence in his mouth, " If there is a 
 God, I hope he will have mercy on me." This 
 is a doubt unworthy of a heathen. What hap- 
 pened to him may happen to other infidels ; for 
 he who lets go Christianity sinks at once into a 
 horrid abyss ; and finds himself enveloped in 
 clouds and darkness. 
 
 (4.) I shall only add here, that it must be the 
 highest folly in any persons to reject Christianity, 
 seeing it furnishes u^ with the best rules for mor- 
 al conduct, administers sufficient supports under 
 'he heaviest afflictions of the present life, and in 
 the important hour of death. 
 
 'flic practical principles of revealed religion are 
 many: it may inflict to mention the followii!!', 
 viz. "Thou shah love the Lord thy Cod with all
 
 208 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 thy heart, and mind, and soul, and strength ^ 
 and thy neighbour as thyself." Supreme love 
 to God, and a due regard to our neighbour, will 
 always have an important influence on our prac- 
 tice, by leading us to seek to please the former, 
 and to relieve the latter. Our duty in the last 
 respect is taught in the most striking manner by 
 the account Christ has given us (Luke x.) of a 
 good Samaritan, who met with a certain man 
 on his way "from Jerusalem to Jericho, who had 
 fallen among thieves, by whom he had been treat- 
 ed in the most cruel manner, and left half dead. 
 The Samaritan no sooner came were he was, than 
 his humane heart glowed with compassion, and 
 he lent him every help in his power ; upon which 
 Christ thus addressed the person, whose inquiry 
 occasioned the repetition of this sacred story 
 " Go thou, and do likewise." Thus, while the 
 adorable Redeemer severelv censures the Priest 
 and Levite, from whom a kinder conduct might 
 have been expected, he highly commends the 
 friendly behaviour of the Samaritan, and recom- 
 mends him as worthy of imitation. 
 
 We have also a concise, but complete system 
 of ethics in the following short passage ; " As ye 
 would that men should do to you, do ye to thein 
 likewise." We are farther taught to do justly, 
 to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God ; 
 to do good to all men ; to shun every vice, and 
 to practise every virtue ; to feed the hungry, and 
 clothe the naked ; and to obey civil rulers when 
 they arc the ministers of God for good. In a 
 word, such are the rules laid down in the holy 
 scriptures for the government of life, that they 
 will, when dulv observed, lead us to the most re-
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 200 
 
 fined morality ; I must therefore observe, in the 
 words of another, that the Christian religion is 
 of the utmost importance to all orders and de- 
 grees of men ; and that the greatest service that 
 the most zealous patriot can do his country, is to 
 promote the faith, and thereby encourage the 
 practice, of the truly divine virtues recommended 
 by Christ and his apostles. 
 
 Of no less importance is revealed religion to 
 believers in times of great afflictions. The sup- 
 ports which arise from it to such are matters of 
 personal experience, and therefore are a kind of 
 internal evidence in its favour. Yet it may be 
 observed, that the following truths, which are ad- 
 dressed to our understandings, are calculated to 
 give such supports as have been mentioned, viz. 
 that God, by a general and particular providence, 
 governs the world ; that no events are casual ; 
 but that all things are directed by infinite wis- 
 dom, and shall terminate in the glory of God, 
 and the best interests of his people ; that all 
 things now work together for good to them who 
 love God ; that our light afflictions, which are 
 but for a moment, work for us a far more ex- 
 ceeding and eternal weight of glory, &c. If these 
 truths are really believed, they tend in their own 
 nature to support the afflicted, and to reconcile 
 them to the whole of the divine conduct. 
 
 Nor do the truths of Christianity desert believ- 
 ers in the important hour of death, but in many 
 instances have enabled such to exult in their ex- 
 piring moments. Here 1 might call in a cloud 
 of witnesbes ; and in particular, the noble army of 
 martyrs rise into view, to testify the truth of the 
 above remark. They reckoned that the swfft*;
 
 210 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 ings of this present life were not worthy to be 
 compared with the glory which they believed 
 would be revealed in them. Nor did they count 
 their lives dear unto them, that they might finish 
 their course with joy, and lay hold on eternal 
 life j knowing that they had in heaven an endur- 
 ing substance. The firm persuasion that their 
 souls should pass immediately to glory upon their 
 separation from the body, and that the body 
 should rise again in the resurrection at the last day, 
 led them to triumph over the last enemy, saying, 
 " O death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where 
 is thy victory ? Thanks be to God who giveth 
 us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 The manner of the great Addison's death, as 
 related by Dr. Young,* is pertinent here. " After 
 a long and manly, but vain struggle with his dis- 
 temper, he dismissed his physicians, and with 
 them all hopes of life : yet with his hopes of life 
 he dismissed not his concern for the living, but 
 sent for a youth nearly related, and finely accom- 
 plished, yet not above being the better for good 
 impressions from a dying friend. He came j but 
 life now glimmering in the socket, the dying 
 friend was silent. After a decent and proper 
 pause, the youth said, ' Dear sir, you sent for me ; 
 1 believe, and I hope, that you have some com- 
 mands ; I shall hold them most sacred !' May dis- 
 tant ages not only hear, but feel the reply ! For- 
 cibly grasping the youth's hand, he softly said, 
 * See in what peace a Christian can die.' He spoke 
 with difficulty, and soon expired. Through 
 grace divine, how great is man ! Through di- 
 vine mercy, how stingless death ! Who would 
 not thus expire ?" 
 
 * Conjectures on Original Composition.
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 21 1 
 
 I the rather chose to mention the case of Mr. 
 Addison, because his character is so well establish- 
 ed in the learned world, that no deist will have 
 the effrontery to charge him with either weak- 
 ness or ignorance. 
 
 Upon the whole, what folly, my brethren, 
 must they be guilty of, who reject Christianity, 
 seeing it is of infinite importance in life and death. 
 I now pass to observe, 
 
 3. That he is a foolish son, who persists in the 
 gratification of his vicious passions, regardless of 
 the consequences. The passions in their original 
 state were pure and regular ; but by reason of sin 
 they are tumultuous and vicious ; and so far as they 
 have influence, lead to such methods of conduct as 
 are infinitely odious in the sight of God, and de- 
 structive of human happiness. An enumeration of 
 theviceswhichmankind fondly countenance would 
 produce a long and shocking catalogue. These 
 are commonly placed, by the vicious themselves, 
 in two classes j the fashionable and the sordid ; 
 or, the vices of gentlemen, and those of the 
 meaner rank. Men of character, as they are 
 called, disdain the low gratifications of the vul- 
 gar ; but, alas ! pursue methods of indulgence no 
 less criminal than theirs. 
 
 1 am sorry to say it, but it is too notorious to 
 be contradicted, that many persons, whom God 
 has exalted in rank and fortune, are some of the 
 warmest abettors of the cause of infidelity. I 
 would be far from throwing out indiscriminate 
 reflections, knowing that there are not wanting 
 some in the above stations who regard the doc- 
 trines of Christ. But have we not reason to be- 
 lieve that the number of such is small, compared 
 v-vitli those who treat the primitive and self-deny-
 
 '212- THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SOX. 
 
 ing doctrines of the cross with contempt ? Now 
 what sin can rise higher in its malignity than 
 unbelief ? " He that believeth not God hath 
 made him a liar." Besides, the examples of such 
 are more powerful in their influence, by how 
 much the more they are exalted in life. 
 
 The folly of this cause I have endeavoured to 
 expose in some preceding reflections ; to which 
 may be added, that all attempts to invalidate 
 Christianity or to lessen its authority, so far as 
 they prevail, are injurious to society, by remov- 
 ing those restraints which are necessarily laid on 
 the vicious passions of men. We are told in the 
 holy scriptures, that " the wrath of God is re- 
 vealed from heaven against all ungodliness, and 
 unrighteousness of men." And in many places 
 the sins are mentioned, which expose *to the 
 wrath of God. The apostle Paul tells us, that 
 " the law was made for the lawless and dis- 
 obedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for 
 unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers 
 and murderers of mothers, for man-slayers, for 
 whoremongers, for them who defile themselves 
 with mankind ; for men-stealers, for liars, for 
 perjured persons, and if there be any other thing 
 that is contrary to sound doctrine." While 
 these declarations are received as divine, they 
 tend to curb the passions, or make the guilty 
 tremble after their indulgence. But deny their 
 authenticity, and persuade yourselves that they 
 are the mere inventions of men, intended to 
 keep the vulgar in order, and the flesh-pleasing 
 doctrine follows, that God made us with these 
 passions, and meant that we should indulge them, 
 else why did he implant them ? Thus making
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A K>OLlSH SON. 213 
 
 no distinction between the passions in their ori- 
 ginal and in their present state, the restraints 
 of conscience are thrown off, and a door opened 
 to live as a bad heart dictates. 
 
 The profanation of the name of the infinite 
 Jehovah, who is exalted above all blessing and 
 praise, is extenuated into a mere peccadillo, a 
 very small fault ; if not a lawful use of language ; 
 though it is expressly declared, that God "will not 
 hold him guiltless, that taketh his name in vain." 
 So common is this vice, that the name of God is ap- 
 pealed to or made use of on the most trifling occa- 
 sions ; and damnation is often imprecated on a 
 friend or intimate, with ail the air of good humour. 
 
 Gaming, however connected with a train of 
 evils, is abundantly practised ; for which none 
 have a greater thirst than youth. In the first 
 place it may be justly said to be an abuse of 
 time, as a prevailing fondness for it often leads 
 to a neglect of business ; not only so, but in 
 many instances to excessive drinking. For it 
 would be a very dry entertainment indeed for 
 gamesters to have neither bowl nor glass ; and 
 a thousand to one, if these are not used too freely. 
 Nor are we without instances of such as have 
 spent their fortunes at a gaming-table, and there- 
 by brought themselves and families into the 
 most necessitous condition. When this is the 
 case, and poverty comes on like an armed man, 
 is there not the utmost danger, that the methods 
 of dishonesty will be fallen upon to repair a 
 ruined fortune ? You cannot but have heard of 
 persons reputably descended and liberally edu- 
 cated, who, having been ruined by gaming, and 
 other vices, have finally been guilty of forgery, 
 house-br^akim.r. or highway robberv. and ljave
 
 214 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 made their exit in an infamous manner ; or who, 
 through the interest of their friends, have had 
 their lives, upon condition of perpetual banish- 
 ment. However some may sneer at this obser- 
 vation, it is indisputably certain, that vice, as to 
 the present life as well as the future, has undone 
 multitudes. He then must be guilty of the 
 highest folly, who will run every hazard for the 
 sake of vicious indulgence. 
 
 Nor will I forbear to mention on this occasion, 
 that there are many who would have us think 
 that they despise a mean action, or have a mind 
 too great to be guilty of one, who, notwithstand- 
 ing, by every method of intrigue, attack female 
 chastity, and infamously endeavour to prostitute 
 it to their own vile purposes. In what respects 
 are such persons better than he who should 
 present a pistol to your breast, and demand your 
 money ? Both are robbers. The one asks for 
 your cash, and if he obtains it, the loss may be 
 repaired j the other makes an attempt on your 
 honour, my female hearers, and if it is lost, can 
 never be regained. But the nature of the sub- 
 ject forbids me to enlarge, lest I should put that 
 modesty to the blush which is the ornament of 
 both sexes. The works of darkness dare not 
 appear before the sun. 
 
 Common drunkenness, lying, contempt of the 
 day and worship of God, thieving, &c. are of the 
 number of the vices which finish the character 
 of a foolish son, and make him a grief to his 
 father, and bitterness to her who bare him ; the 
 folly of which must become obvious to all who 
 consider their contrariety to God, and destruc- 
 tive tendency with respect to men. By these in-
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 215 
 
 iquities Jehovah is offended, his anger incurred, 
 conscience wounded, poverty, disease, reproach 
 and death brought on. Sin indeed promises pleas- 
 ure, but ends in pain ; for " the wages of sin 
 is death." 
 
 Let us now pass to some reflections on the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 1. Parents, we ought always to bear in mind 
 the important duties which we owe to our chil- 
 dren. They are parts of ourselves, and stand in 
 an intimate and dear relation to us. And from 
 the strong affection which we have for them, we 
 cannot but be interested in all their conduct ; 
 mourn when they mourn, and rejoice when they 
 rejoice. They, with us, are candidates for im- 
 mortality. Hence while we consult their present 
 happiness, we should be supremely desirous of 
 their future felicity. What if they should gain 
 the whole world, and lose their souls, what can 
 they give in exchange for their souls ? Our care 
 for their bodies should always be exceeded by a 
 concern for their future well-being ; and those of 
 us who know what real religion is, will certainly 
 be supremely desirous that they may be saved. 
 Nor ca/t we discover our affection for them in a 
 more ^proper manner than by attending to the 
 sacred exhortations, such as " Train up a child in 
 the way that he should go, and when lie is old 
 he will not depart from it." Or, as St. Paul lias 
 it, " Ye fathers, provoke not your children to 
 wrath ; but bring them up in the nurture and 
 admonition of the Lord." It is our indispensable 
 duty to endeavour to lay before them their ruin 
 by sin, and the only way of salvation through Je- 
 ius Christ; to caution them against the vices or
 
 216 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 the day and place in which they live ; and to la- 
 bour to convince them of the fatal tendency of 
 sinful gratifications. But we should be particu- 
 larly careful in all our instructions, not to feed 
 that principle of self-dependence, which is natural 
 to the proud heart of fallen man. To sap the 
 very foundation of this temper, it is neces- 
 sary to lay before them the spirituality and ex- 
 tent of the divine law, as reaching to the sins of 
 their hearts, and condemning them for a single 
 failure ; and on the other hand to exhibit the 
 divine Jesus in his glory, person, love, fullness, 
 and sufficient redemption ; explaining the nature 
 and necessity of faith and repentance, which are 
 so connected in the plan of salvation, as that no 
 sinner, remaining in unbelief, can enjoy the con- 
 solation that there is in Christ now, or finally en- 
 ter into the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 Let us accompany family instruction with a 
 life and conversation becoming the gospel ; for 
 example has a powerful influence ; and follow all 
 with prayer to God, that they may be translated 
 out of darkness into marvellous light. It is in 
 this case, as in the public dispensation of the gos- 
 pel, that " God givcth the increase." Nor should 
 religious parents be discouraged from a due dis- 
 charge of their duty by the seeming security or 
 inattention of their children ; for God can re- 
 move the most deep-rooted enmity, dispel the 
 grossest ignorance, and reclaim the most aban- 
 doned prodigal. " When he worketh, who shall 
 let it ?" Animated by this consideration, we 
 should diligently attend to family religion, the 
 importance of which cannot be called in question 
 by any who admit the truth and influence oi
 
 fl^E character of a foolish SON. 217 
 
 Christianity as it respects the present life, and as 
 it opens the most glorious prospects to believers 
 beyond the grave. 
 
 It is probable that the preceding remarks flash 
 guilty conviction in the faces of unbelieving pa- 
 rents, who may now be ready to say, As for us, 
 we have only been concerned for our children or 
 ourselves, with respect to the present life. Hav- 
 ing contemned the gospel of Christ, and treated 
 it with entire neglect, we have only been thought- 
 ful, what we should eat, what we should drink, 
 and wherewithal we should be clothed. The sal- 
 vation of our own souls, or of the souls of our chil- 
 dren, has been but seldom thought of. Why so, 
 ye heads of families ? Is the present more impor- 
 tant than the future ? Is a short life on earth of 
 more consequence than an eternity hereafter ? 
 No ; for it is a dictate of reason, that the greater 
 good should always be preferred to the less. 
 Why then this unreasonable and wicked conduct ? 
 Ye unhappy, unbelieving parents, your conduct 
 arises from, and is an evidence of that depravity 
 of heart, which many of you are Unwilling to 
 admit. Nor need we be at any loss to prove the 
 total corruption of the human mind, while we 
 attend to the conduct of men. By their fruit 
 you may know them. For he who pours con- 
 tempt on Christ and his religion, or treats them 
 with indifference, is most certainly an enemy in 
 his mind, by wicked works, to God. Glad shall 
 I be, should the Spirit of truth fasten a just sense 
 of your real condition on your minds, and take 
 of the things of Jesus and show them unto 
 you. An alteration in temper and conduct 
 would inconsequence thereof instantlv take place
 
 1 1 8 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SONV 
 
 Then the world and all its good things would 
 appear to be but vanity, and Christ and his re- 
 ligion become the one thing needful for your- 
 selves and children. 
 
 2. Those parents, whose children behave with 
 duty and affection towards them, and who are 
 in many respects their comfort, will permit me 
 to congratulate them on so great a blessing. If 
 * c a foolish son is a grief to his father, and bit- 
 terness to her who bare him," how great a pleas- 
 ure must result from children of an opposite 
 character ! Such youth there are, who entertain 
 the tenderest regard for their parents ; feel for 
 them in every difficulty, and yield the most 
 cheerful obedience to every just command ; wh# 
 carefully study their parents' ease and interest, 
 and shun those things, which they apprehend 
 will occasion grief. How commendable is the 
 conduct of such, and how happy the parents who 
 are in such a case. But what an unspeakable ad- 
 dition must it be to the godly parents' happiness, 
 to have reason to think that their children are 
 really acquainted with Jesus Christ and his divine 
 religion. This is a blessing inexpressibly great, 
 and when rightly viewed, fills the parents' hearts 
 with humility and gratitude. Now no fears of a 
 future endless separation rack their minds ; but 
 they dwell together as in the fear of God, and 
 rejoice in hope of eternal blessedness. Knit by 
 the ties of nature and religion, they become one 
 in the most intimate sense, and mutually contri- 
 bute to each others' felicity. Happy parents, and 
 happy children, when both can rejoice in God 
 their Saviour. 
 
 Alas ! says some aged father, or almost broken - 
 hearted mother, this is not mv case. Mine is a
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 119 
 
 foolish son, and has been a grief to me all my 
 days. He is a prodigal ; profane, disobedient ; 
 determined to gratify his passions, come what 
 may. Your condition, O afflicted parent, is griev- 
 ous. May the Lord support you under this hea- 
 vy trial, and in his own time make the prodigal 
 return. All things are possible with God. 
 
 3. It may be that some such prodigal is here tp.- 
 day. If so, I hope conscience has been awake, 
 and engaged to point you out, as Nathan did Da- 
 vid, " Thou art the man." You trample on the 
 most delicate and sincere affection ; you violate 
 the most solemn obligations j you are guilty of 
 the basest ingratitude to your parents ; you des- 
 pise the sacred declarations of the God who made 
 you ; you contemn the Lord of life and glory, 
 and are rushing on, in the greatest haste, to final 
 and everlasting destruction. The way in which 
 you are may seem right to your carnal minds, 
 but the end thereof will be the ways of death. 
 Sin has undone many ! A late melancholy in- 
 stance is yet fresh in view. On Thursday last 
 many of you were spectators of the shameful deatli 
 of a youth in all his bloom and vigour. Would 
 to God, that his awful end might prove a useful 
 warning to the sons of vice ! He seldom thought, 
 while pursuing his base conduct, what would be 
 the issue ; and when he did, the devil and hi* 
 Justs prevailed against every remonstrance of con- 
 science. He has descended to the grave with ig- 
 nominy, and was at last obliged to say, " What 
 fruit have I in those things, whereof I am now 
 ashamed r" May others sec and fear, and do no 
 more so wickedly. 
 
 4. Such awful instances, among other impor- 
 tant considerations, mav tend to calm the minds
 
 220 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 of parents, and check their immoderate sorrow, 
 when the Lord is pleased to take away their chil- 
 dren in infancy. Had their lives been spared, 
 who can tell what methods of conduct they would 
 have chosen, or what end they would have made ? 
 They might have acted the part of foolish chil- 
 dren, and have brought their parents to the grave 
 in sorrow. If the Lord has seen it best to re- 
 move them, we may be satisfied that his way is 
 perfect, and that all his conduct is ordered by in- 
 finite wisdom. Besides, they are taken from the 
 evil to come. 
 
 Here I should have finished the discourse ; but 
 having been warmly solicited by a number of my 
 friends, after the execution of the unhappy youth, 
 to satisfy them and others respecting the state of 
 the prisoner's mind as it appeared to me during 
 his confinement, and to give them some account 
 of the conversation which we had together as we 
 walked from the prison to the gallows, I con- 
 sented to add the following account of the mat- 
 ter, in which, as far as I can trust my memory, 
 I have truly represented, and made use of the 
 prisoner's own expressions, which I have distin- 
 guished by single commas. 
 
 After his condemnation, there was a remarka- 
 ble concern for him on the minds of many of 
 the children of God, both ministers and private 
 Christians, who seemed to be favoured with an 
 uncommon spirit of prayer for his salvation. 
 Many supplications ascended to the God and 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ from day to day 
 for poor Ames, that he might be a monument 
 of sovereign mercy, and die in faith. Nor was
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 22 1 
 
 this the only way in which they discovered their 
 real regards for him. He was visited by my fath- 
 ers and brethren in the ministry, of botli town 
 and country, and by many private Christians of 
 different denominations. Kindnesses were shewn 
 him from various quarters ; nor was he insensible 
 of his obligations to his benefactors. 
 
 Having received a message from him, acquaint- 
 ing me that he desired a visit, I went to see him, 
 and found him seemingly stupid, with but little 
 to say ; nor did he appear to me to be so much 
 affected with his condition as a condemned mal- 
 efactor, as one would reasonably have expected. 
 This was the state of his mind the first visits I 
 made him. I endeavoured to lay before him, in 
 as plain a manner as possible, the nature of the 
 divine law, under which he was as a man, and to 
 the curse of which he stood most justly exposed 
 for his transgressions ; knowing, that " by the 
 law is the knowledge of sin." He owned that 
 he was a great sinner, and deserved to be cast 
 off ; but did not appear to have any proper views 
 of his sinful nature and life. 
 
 Some days after, his conscience seemed to be 
 in some measure alarmed. He discovered unusual 
 uneasiness, and assured me, ' that he did not 
 know what to do. I have lived such a life, that 
 I can have no hope from that, that God will have 
 mercy on me. And my time is so short, that 1 
 can do no good works to go to heaven by.' 
 Thus he was perplexed ; nut knowing by what 
 method God could save him. An attempt was 
 made to open the nature of the gospel to him, or 
 the way of salvation through the complete redemp- 
 tion of Christ j and he was directed to the holy
 
 222 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 Scriptures, as containing the whole will of God, 
 respecting both the ruin and recovery, the law 
 and gospel. 
 
 But omitting much that passed, 1 would ob- 
 serve* that at a certain time I found him in keen 
 distress from a sense of his sinful condition ; 
 when he declared that he saw himself, yes, said 
 "he, ' I feci that I am lost ! I sometimes think that 
 I am given over to destruction, and that there is 
 no mercy for me. I am undone in soul and body. 
 If I go to the place of execution as I am now, 
 they must drag me like a bullock to the slaughter. 
 Oh, must I die so ? I am like a man that made a 
 great fire, and then run right into it ! So I have 
 done ; I have run from God, and must be damn- 
 ed, if God won't have mercy on me ! May I 
 not have a little longer time than is now fixed ?* 
 At this time he appeared to have very clear views 
 of the justice of God in condemning him, should 
 that be the case. ' I see/ said he, ' that if God 
 could damn me a thousand times, he would be 
 ]ust ; 1 never did any thing but sin against him.* 
 Thus 1 left him, confident that neither men nor 
 angels could help him ; and that God would 
 have mercy on whom he would have mercy. 
 
 In this distressed state of mind he continued 
 until Friday evening, the 8th of October, when, 
 according to his own account of the matter, he 
 was unexpectedly relieved in good measure from 
 his guilty fears, by Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27. " A new 
 heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I 
 put within you ; and I will take away the stony 
 heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an 
 heart of flesh," kc. Upon hearing that the pris- 
 oner appeared easy in his mind, I called to see 
 him, being desirous tcj know what was the occar-
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 223 
 
 sion of it ; and not without fears, lest he should 
 compass himself with sparks of his own kindling. 
 Upon conversing with him, he said, ' I feel my 
 mind peaceable ; such a peace as I never knew 
 any thing of in my life before. I was turning 
 over a little book which was put into my hands, 
 and cast my eye on these words, " A new heart 
 will I give you," &c. It struck me : it came as 
 if it was a promise to me. I wanted this new 
 heart ; for my heart was bad, bad indeed. This 
 was God's promise. I knew that God could 
 not lie ; and therefore if I would not believe this, 
 I would believe nothing. I was now sure that 
 God could give me a new heart. Oh, that is 
 what I most wanted. And I could not get it, 
 but God hath let me see that he gives it/ He 
 said several things about the grace of God in giv- 
 ing a new heart, a right spirit, &c. and particu- 
 larly discovered the view he had/ of the enmity 
 of his own heart against God, in the following 
 sentence : c I now see that I have sinned against 
 God all my life, with as much envy as ever I 
 killed a snake ; which I always had the greatest 
 hatred to.' He at this time spoke of his former 
 contempt of the gospel with evident sorrow, and 
 expressed his gratitude to all those who had vis- 
 ited him, with a view of making him acquainted 
 with the way of salvation through Christ. ' This,' 
 said he, * I never knew any thing of before., 
 though I have always lived in this land where 
 the gospel is/ From the time mentioned above, 
 till his death, lie had much to say about the 
 words of the apostle John, " The blood of Christ 
 cleanseth from all sin." This seemed to dwell in 
 his mind ; and on this truth, he assured me, he 
 " *" ; 1 all Ills hoix^ or his soul, 'uiltv :u jr v> - ;. .
 
 224 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 The Saturday morning before his death, I was 
 with him. When he was brought into the room, 
 1 observed that his countenance appeared serene ; 
 rather pleasant. I asked him how he did as to 
 the state of his mind ? His answer was, as near as 
 1 can recollect, * Comfortable : I want to be with 
 Christ ; he is glorious, and I am sinful.' 
 
 The afternoon before his execution, I found 
 him much terrified with the prospect of the man- 
 ner of his death. He trembled, and thus express- 
 ed himself ; ' I think I see myself hanging up be- 
 fore the people.' But this fear soon subsided ; 
 and at his own desire, he had three Christian 
 friends to spend the night with him ; by whom 
 I have been informed of his behaviour through 
 the night, and the manner in which they employ- 
 ed, their time. 
 
 When they went into his room, he had the 
 Bible in his hand ; and being asked how he was, 
 he said, c I am easy/ and began to read the 3d 
 chapter of John ; and when he came to the words 
 of Christ concerning the new birth, he stopped, 
 and testified that he had reason to think that 
 God had given him to know by experience what 
 that was ; said several things respecting his view 
 of the excellency of God, and the evil of sin; 
 and thought, as far as he knew his heart, that 
 he did love God for his own worthiness, and hate 
 sin, because contrary to God. He assured the 
 company that he hated his own evil thoughts, 
 and wanted to be freed from all sin ; crying out 
 at times, If I am not right, I hope God will put 
 me right. I see,' said he, ' that if I could be 
 admitted into heaven with this body of sin, .1 
 could not be happy. 1 know I must be like God j
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 225 
 
 I must be holy.' He slept none all night, and at 
 times used the following expressions : ' O what 
 should I do, if it was not for Jesus Christ ; won- 
 derful, wonderful goodness and love of God ! 
 How have we sinned against him I s The company 
 prayed with him alternately ; and he, at their 
 desire, prayed also. In his address to God, he 
 appeared sensible of his unspeakable guilt, and 
 afFetted with the wonderful way of salvation by 
 Christ ; and earnestly begged that the Lord, 
 would be with him in his last hours. Nor did 
 he forget to pray for his friends and his enemies, 
 tn the morning he declared that he had a pleasant 
 night, appeared resigned, and bid his friends 
 farewell with calmness, never expecting to see 
 them on earth again. 
 
 At nine o'clock that morning (which was the 
 day of his execution) at his request, I visited 
 him ; found him solemn and composed, consider- 
 ing the circumstances in which he was, and had 
 much conversation with him, in the presence of 
 four or five persons of serious character. His 
 views of himself, and of redemption by Christ, 
 were the same as are mentioned before ; there- 
 fore it is needless to repeat them. At this time, 
 he more than once said, ' I hope I am right, and 
 shall not deceive myself. On Christ alone I rest ; 
 if I perish, I will perish at his feet/ 
 
 But I come now to the conversation that I had 
 with him, as we proceeded in solemn pace to the 
 place of death. 
 
 About two o'clock he came out of the prison 
 
 yard, attended with all the awful formalities of 
 
 execution ; his arms pinioned, and the halter 
 
 about his neck, following the cart in which wet? 
 
 2 a
 
 226 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 
 
 his coffin and the ladder. Gladly would I have 
 been excused from this painful office ; but the 
 youth's importunity, and a sense of duty, forbid 
 me to decline it. I therefore stepped up to him, 
 and thus addressed him : Ames, how do you feel 
 under your present circumstances ? The answer 
 was not a little surprising. ' I feel composed. 
 I am not afraid. What can make me feel so ? 
 Could it be, if I had not a good hope ?' This nat- 
 urally led me to enter upon a familiar considera- 
 tion of the nature of a good hope ; such as, that 
 hope is the expectation of enjoying a certain 
 good at a future period ; that a good hope of 
 eternal life, or happiness hereafter, is a gift of 
 God ; that it has for its foundation the right- 
 eousness of Christ ; that the man who has a 
 good hope has been made sensible of his guilt 
 and helplessness, and from a view of Christ as 
 the ground of his hope has been enabled to fly 
 to him, and cast himself upon him, expecting the 
 blessing hoped for wholly as a free gift, he be- 
 ing unworthy, and having nothing to bring as 
 a price in his hand ; farther, that where this di- 
 vine hope is, there will be such gracious exercises 
 of mind as these : hatred of sin, sin of heart 
 and life, because of its opposition to God ; a pre- 
 vailing desire to be perfectly free from all sin, 
 and like to God ; with much to the same pur- 
 pose. He listened with a solemn attention j 
 and when I had done, he said * I know that 
 there is no other salvation but Christ ; on him 
 I rest my soul, and think 1 can say, I hate 
 sin because God hates it, and do long to be made 
 holy. I see that if I had sinned but once, and 
 could live a thousand years, and pray and read
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 227 
 
 all that time, I could not make amends for that 
 one sin. I can have no hope but Christ. If ever 
 I enter into heaven, it will be by the free grace 
 of God : it can only be by the mercy of God, 
 because I never did a good thing in all my life. 
 I have done nothing but sin against God/ 
 
 He discovered no anxiety about his body, or 
 the death he was to die, all the way to the gal- 
 lows, except once ; which I think was occasioned 
 by the falling of the end of the halter from un- 
 der his arm. He caught it up, and said, ' Did I 
 ever think that I should have such a thing about 
 my neck ?' To which I replied, Ames, how could 
 you expect any thing else from your manner of 
 life ? Did you not tell me, that you once passed 
 the gallows with stolen goods under your arm, 
 and thought then that you should die there, if you 
 did not leave off stealing ? * O yes, I did. True, 
 true. But is there not yet hope for such a sinner ? 
 Is not the blood of Christ sufficient to cleanse me 
 from all sin ? On that I trust.' Several times by 
 the way, he affectionately usedthe words of David, 
 in a short prayer to the Lord ; " Search me, O 
 God, and know my heart ; try me, and know my 
 thoughts ; and see what wicked way is in me, and 
 lead me in the way everlasting !" I also observed 
 him breathe out his soul to God, as we walked, 
 in these words ' O Lord, make me holy.' 
 
 I asked him how his past life appeared to him ; 
 to which he said, c Bad, bad beyond all account { 
 My sins frighten me, they are so many and 
 great.' But still he rested on that sacred declara- 
 tion, " the blood of Christ clcanseth from all sin." 
 
 He asked several questions about the way ol 
 lecess to God the Father through Christ, and
 
 228 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SOK. 
 
 concerning the distinction between the Father 
 and the Son. Also, whether I thought that the 
 souls of the wicked at death would appear before 
 God, to receive the sentence of condemnation ? 
 or, whether they would immediately pass to hell, 
 and wait their doom at the day of judgment ? 
 To all which I answered him. The questions 
 were asked, and the answers attended to with 
 an astonishing composure. 
 
 He mentioned with astonishment the horrors 
 of conscience he had been under at a certain time 
 while in prison ; expressed his wonder at God's 
 goodness to him, and his gratitude also that he 
 now enjoyed such an agreeable composure of 
 mind ; and would ask, ' How can it be ? I hope I 
 am not deceived !' 
 
 By this time we came in sight of the gallows. 
 I designedly took no notice of it, but watched the 
 prisoner to see how he would behave, expecting 
 that the sight of it would give him a shock. But 
 he looked up, and said, ' There is the gallows ; 
 and I shall soon know, dear Sir, more than you.' 
 I asked him how his mind was, at the near ap- 
 proach of dissolution. ' I feel composed/ said he. 
 
 We were now hindered from conversing, by 
 the pressing of the multitude, who were all de- 
 sirous to be as near the prisoner as possible. 
 Upon coming under the gallows, he was ordered 
 to get into the cart and stand up while the war- 
 rant for his execution was read ; after which he 
 sat down on his coffin, and I asked him, as the 
 solemn period was at hand when he would launch 
 into eternity, how things appeared to him. As 
 for his heart and life, he declared, shaking his 
 head at the same time, that they were ' bad ;
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 229 
 
 dreadful bad ; that he could have no hope if it 
 were not for Jesus Christ j but that he thought 
 there was infinite safety in him.* 
 
 I asked him, whether he was sensible of this 
 truth respecting Christ, and whether he had rea- 
 son to think he could trust his guilty soul on him. 
 He answered, c O, yes, there is no other way ; 
 where else can I hope ? I want no other hope : 
 " the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin." O, 
 that I may be right.' I then prayed with him, 
 and after prayer took an affectionate leave of him. 
 At parting, he assured me that his mind remained 
 in the same state. I then retired a few steps 
 from him, leaving him to the exercise of his own 
 thoughts. He laid his head on his coffin for some 
 time, then kneeled down by it, and prayed softly. 
 But it now being within fifteen minutes of the 
 time fixed for his execution, he was ordered to 
 stand upon his coffin. He obeyed at once. Be- 
 ing now tied up, and waiting the last minute, 
 he addressed the people in a few words : * Look 
 at me, a sight enough to melt a heart of stone ; 
 I am going to die for my wickedness : but the 
 death I am to die, is nothing compared with the 
 death of Jesus Christ on the cross, for they pier- 
 ced his hands and his aide with a spear. O take 
 warning by me. If you were my own brethren, 
 near to me as my own soul, I could only tell you 
 to beware of stealing, swearing, drinking,' &c. 
 
 He asked how long he had to live j and being 
 told, he addressed himself in solemn prayer to 
 God. Among other expressions I recollect the 
 following : ' Lord, have mercy on me, the worst 
 of sinners. 1 can only stand at a distance, and 
 viv, God be merciful to mo a dinner. Lord, it is
 
 230 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON*. 
 
 better to trust in thee, than to put confidence in 
 man. It is better to trust in thee, than to put con- 
 fidence in princes. If I perish, Lord Jesus, I will 
 perish at thy feet ; but the blood of Jesus Christ 
 cleanseth from all sin.' There were many other 
 expressions which he used in this his last address 
 to God, that appeared to me really suitable to 
 his case. He again asked how long he had to 
 live, and was answered five minutes. He desired 
 to know when the time was out ; and looking 
 wishfully at the sun, he said, ' That sun is almost 
 down ; but before it sets, I shall be in eternity, 
 where I never was ;' and pulling the cap over 
 his eyes again, he cried out, ' Lord Jesus, into 
 thy hands I commend my spirit.' As he finished 
 this sentence, he was turned off, and died with 
 great ease. 
 
 I have only now to add, that both before and 
 since the execution of the unhappy youth, I made 
 inquiry respecting his latter conduct j and have 
 been informed more than once, by the family 
 who daily observed him, that they never saw so 
 great an alteration for the better in the temper 
 and conduct of any man, in so short a time, as 
 in this youth. And as far as he had opportunity, 
 he discovered a readiness to forgive, and to do 
 a kindness for his worst enemy. Thus he said 
 he could cheerfully and heartily forgive the per- 
 son, who, he declared, had sworn falsely against 
 him on his trial, relative to his first entering the 
 house of Mr. Bicker. Nor did he only forgive 
 him, but when any of the neighbours sent him 
 victuals, he said, I cannot eat it ; carry it to 
 
 A , he wants it. This was an evidence of a 
 
 Christian temper. Upon the whole, I cannot 
 but think that he died a Penitent Thief.
 
 THE CHARACTER OF A FOOLISH SON. 231 
 
 Thus I have, at the warm solicitations of some 
 of my friends, given an account of the exercise of 
 mind of the late Levi Ames. They who, with the 
 author, think that he died in faith, will admire this 
 display of divine grace ; and carefully ascribe 
 all the glory to. God ; knowing, that it is God 
 who worketh in us to will and to do of his own 
 good pleasure. 
 
 It is probable the author may have subjected 
 himself to some unkind reflections, for taking so 
 much notice of a once profligate youth, who 
 made his exit on a gallows ; but as an evangelist 
 has mentioned one penitent thief, he expects 
 your indulgence in the preceding narrative of 
 another. The most that can be said, perhaps, 
 in this matter is, that the author has made a 
 charitable mistake ; this surely will be no great 
 crime : besides, charity will cover the multitude 
 of faults.
 
 SERMON XI * 
 
 HOPE THE ANCHOR OF THE SOU!, 
 
 HEBREWS, vi. 1720. 
 
 Wherein Gsd, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of 
 promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath : 
 that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for 
 God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have flea 
 for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us : which hope 
 we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, anal 
 which entereth into that within the vail ; whither the forerun' 
 tier is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever, 
 after the order of Melchisedec. 
 
 IN a former discourse from these words, 
 I particularly considered the 1 8th verse, and 
 endeavoured to shew, that the purpose and prom- 
 ise of God are a source of strong consolation to 
 such as have fled for refuge to lay hold on the 
 hope set before them. We shall now consider 
 the two last verses, " which hope we have as 
 an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and 
 which entereth into that within the vail ; whith- 
 er the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, 
 made an high priest forever, after the order of 
 Melchisedec." The language is figurative, and 
 if followed, will lead us to observe, 
 
 I. That the believer in this world is like a 
 vessel at sea, driven by every storm. 
 
 * Never before printed. Delivered November i v >. X79J.
 
 HOPE THE ANCHOR OF f HE SOUL. 233 
 
 II. Hope is Iiis anchor, by which he is pre- 
 served from shipwreck, being sure and stedfast, 
 and entering into that within the vail, whither 
 the forerunner is for him entered, even Je^us, 
 made an high priest forever after the order of 
 Melchisedec. 
 
 I. The Christian in this world is like a vessel 
 on a boisterous sea, exposed to many storms. 
 This remark is founded on Paul's representing 
 hope as an anchor. The mariner cannot do with- 
 out the anchor, nor the Christian without his 
 hope. Let us trace the similitude in the follow- 
 ing instances. 
 
 1. The prudent mariner, when about to sail, 
 prepares for storms, because he cannot expect to 
 have fair weather always. 
 
 So should it be with Christians. In such a 
 world as this, they should expect and be prepared 
 for the worst. " In the world," said Christ to 
 his disciples, " ye shall have tribulation." But 
 it is the too common fault of young Christians, 
 especially, to think their mountain stands strong, 
 and that they shall never be moved ; and though 
 they who have gone before them warn them of 
 their danger, they will not prepare for it : hence 
 are they often overtaken in an unguarded mo- 
 ment ; and thus Satan gets an advantage of them. 
 
 2. The mariner sails with a serene sky and a 
 leading breeze ; his prospects flatter him : but 
 6carcely has he cleared the land, before the clouds 
 gather, the wind heads him, and it becomes tern, 
 pestuous ; so sudden the change. 
 
 So it is with Christians. Happy in a sense 
 of the divine favour, and swallowed up in God, 
 one minute,. the next attacked by their comm^m 
 
 2 j
 
 234 HOPE THE ANCHOR OF THE SOUL. 
 
 enemies, the devil, the world, or the flesh ; 
 they hang their harps on the willows, and 
 refuse to be comforted. In this condition they 
 adopt the language of Job, " Behold, I go for- 
 ward, but he is not there ; and backward, but I 
 cannot perceive him : on the left hand, where he 
 doth work, but I cannot behold him : he hideth 
 himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him." 
 " O that 1 were as in months past I" How sud- 
 den and how melancholy the change, from the 
 height of consolation to the depth of sorrow ! 
 
 3. When the mariner embarks, he leaves be- 
 hind him, perhaps, those who are as dear to him 
 as his life. Gladly would he carry them with 
 him if he could ; but the calls of duty must be 
 heard before those of affection. He looks behind 
 him as he goes, and casts a wistful eye to the 
 place where all that is dear to him on earth re- 
 mains ; wishes them a thousand blessings, and 
 drops the involuntary tear of warmest affection 
 over them. 
 
 So it is with Christians. Often, when called 
 to follow the Lamb, they leave O painful 
 thought ! they leave some of their best earthly 
 friends behind j a wife, a husband, a child, a 
 brother, a sister, yea, all that they value on earth, 
 who are unwilling to accompany them in the way 
 of religion. They often look behind, drop the 
 tear of Christian love, and wish to take them by 
 the hand, and conduct them to him who taketh 
 away the sin of the world. They part with them 
 with the greatest reluctance, and are often whis- 
 pering to themselves, ' And shall we be separated 
 forever ? Shall we, who are connected by the 
 tenderest tics of blood and friendship, be at last
 
 HOPE THE ANCHOR OF THE SOUL. 235 
 
 as wide apart as heaven and hell ? Forbid it, thou 
 God of all compassion ! Unite us to thyself by- 
 love divine, and permit us to meet and worship 
 before thy throne in heaven forever.' 
 
 4. When the mariners have left their native 
 shore, and launched out into the mighty deep, 
 nought appears but sky and water ; the little 
 company seem to be alone in the world. 
 
 So in measure it is with Christians. Having 
 left the crowd of unbelievers, and fled for refuge 
 to Christ, they appear to themselves a little flock. 
 Thus it was in a particular manner in the age of 
 the first Christians. They were few, compared 
 with Jews and Gentiles, who opposed them j for 
 the world was against them j and always will be, 
 while unregenerate, against the true disciples of 
 Christ. " Ye are not of the world, even as I am 
 not of the world," said Christ to his followers. 
 
 The Bible teaches us to believe that real Chris- 
 tians, in all ages, are few, in comparison with 
 those who reject the gospel. Many are called, 
 but few are chosen. " Strait is the gate," said 
 Christ, " and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto 
 life, and few there be that find it : but wide is 
 the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to de- 
 struction, and many there be who go in thereat." 
 " Not many wise men after the flesh, not many 
 mighty, not many noble are called." Thus 
 Paul speaks. But was not Paul mistaken ? Chris- 
 tians believe he was was inspired by the Holy 
 Ghost ; if so, he hath spoken the . truth. It fol- 
 lows, we may receive it as a divine truth, that 
 " not many wise men after the flesh, not many 
 mighty, not many noble are called." 
 
 The same thing is established by observation. 
 Look which way you will, and vou find that the
 
 236 HOPE THE ANCHOR OF THE SOUL. 
 
 majority neglect religion, and live without God 
 and without hope in the world. There are times, 
 indeed, when the godly have much company. 
 This is the case when religion is revived ; then 
 converts come as the clouds, and as the doves to 
 their windows. But in general, they have been 
 much alone in the world. They sometimes think 
 themselves alone as to their exercises of heart ; 
 or that no person was ever troubled as they are, 
 with sins and temptations. 
 
 5. The mariners, always when at sea, keep 
 their port in view, and endeavour to make their 
 passage in the best and safest manner they can. 
 
 So it is with Christians. When they set out 
 in the divine life, they keep heaven in view, and 
 endeavour to " press toward the mark for the 
 prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." 
 
 6. The mariners meet with storms, and some- 
 times seem to be in danger of shipwreck ; are 
 driven back to port, or hover long in sight of 
 their haven, but are not suffered to enter. 
 
 So it is with Christians. Their little bark is 
 beat about by many a wave ; and they are ready 
 to think they shall never reach their haven. The 
 following particulars will illustrate our meaning. 
 
 (1.) Violent temptations, horrid thoughts, and 
 blasphemous suggestions attack them ; insomuch 
 that they shudder at themselves. 
 
 (2.) Risings; of indwelling sin ; which cause 
 them to fear that they have never known the 
 truth as it is in Jesus, and shall surely fall, and 
 be lost at last. ' 
 
 (3.) Reproaches of the world. Those who 
 are strangers to the nature of religion oppose 
 and persecute the saints. There is in man a fear
 
 HOPE THE ANCHOR OF THE SOyL. 237 
 
 of reproach, and a wish to avoid it ; and some- 
 times the Christian acts unworthy his character, 
 and upon reflection becomes unhappy. 
 
 (4.) The false principles of religion, that God 
 permits to take place, often extremely distress 
 him ; because the glory of divine truth is obscur- 
 ed, and weak or unguarded persons are led cap- 
 tive for a time, till the light of truth breaks forth, 
 and destroys the man of sin, with the false prophet. 
 
 It hence appears that he meets with innumer- 
 able afflictions in the present life, and is often 
 ready to faint under them. Such indeed is his sit- 
 uation, beset by a sinful heart within, accompa- 
 nied with languor of affection , doubts and fears, 
 the temptations of an alluring world, and the arts 
 of false religion without, that he would certainly 
 fall, if it were not for hope, which is as an anchor 
 to the soul. His feeble bark is like the ship at sea, 
 tossed with every wave, and exposed to ten thou- 
 sand dangers. We now pass to consider the hope, 
 
 II. Which is said to be as " an anchor of the 
 soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth 
 into that within the vail ; whither the forerunner 
 is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high 
 priest forever, after the order of Melclmedcc." 
 
 By this hope we are to understand either the 
 two immutable things spoken of in ver. 17. i. e. 
 the purpose and promise of Got], which lay the 
 foundation for hope ; or Christ himself is intend- 
 ed, who is called the hope of Israel, Acts xxviii. 
 20. "For the hope of Israel I am bound with 
 this chain," said Paul. Or it may intend the 
 grace of hope, or hope as an act of the mind. 
 1 he last appears to me to be the sense, because such 
 an exercise of heart is encouraged by the two ini-
 
 2^8 HOPE THE ANCHOR OF THE SOUL. 
 
 mutable things mentioned in the preceding verse, 
 and because it is distinguished from Christ him- 
 self in the next verse, who is said to be the fore- 
 runner. Hope is said to enter within the vail, 
 whither the forerunner is for us entered, even 
 Jesus, made an high priest forever, after the or- 
 der of Melchisedec : it therefore is distinct from 
 Christ, who is gone to heaven, and is followed 
 by hope ; which is said to be as " an anchor of 
 the soul, both sure and stedfast." 
 
 Those things that are said of hope now come 
 under consideration. 
 
 1. It is as an anchor to the soul. By the an- 
 chor a vessel is kept from driving ashore, when 
 the wind is high and the current strong. By 
 this little but useful instrument, many vessels 
 have been preserved, and many lives saved. 
 
 So hope keeps the soul in the most trying sea- 
 sons. Hence we are said to be " saved by hope.'* 
 Is the believer tempted ? Hope waits for the ac- 
 complishment of the promise, that God will not 
 suffer him to be tempted more than he is able to 
 bear ; but with every temptation will make a 
 way for his escape. Is he burdened by sin 
 within ? He waits in hope of a final and complete 
 deliverance. Is he afflicted ? He hopes that all 
 will be for his profit ; knowing " that all things 
 work together for good to them that love God, 
 to them who are the called according to his pur- 
 pose." Is he in darkness of mind ? He hopes 
 that the Lord will lift upon him the light of his 
 countenance, and put joy and gladness in his heart. 
 Is he grey with years ? Hope sustains him while 
 he totters ; he expects a blissful immortality. Is 
 he called to die ? Hope sustains him. He looks
 
 HOPE THE ANCHOR OF THE SOUL. 239 
 
 forward to a crown of glory, which he expects to 
 enjoy through grace alone. 
 
 2. The anchor is thus serviceable, though un- 
 seen ; for it sinks to the bottom. 
 
 So hope is of great use to the poor Christian 
 at a time when he can hardly think he has any ; 
 or when the things he hopes for are almost out 
 of sight. In the Christian's worst times he can- 
 not give up his hope. It has fixed on Christ, 
 his fullness, unchangeableness and promise, and 
 will not let go. It is at such times hoping againsit 
 hope. 
 
 3. Sometimes the ship drifts, notwithstanding 
 the anchor ; at length, meeting with better 
 ground, it brings her up, and prevents her going 
 on shore. 
 
 So hope sometimes seems to fail the Christian ; 
 back he goes ; or sinks with discouragement. 
 But at length hope fixes on some sure word of pro- 
 mise, some divine truth, and he stands fast. 
 
 4. You may have seen a number of vessels ri- 
 ding at anchor in fair weather ; all appeared equally 
 safe ; but when a storm hath arisen, many went 
 on shore. 
 
 So it is with professors. There are many who 
 appear as safe as any in fair weather ; but when 
 storms have arisen, when temptation and perse- 
 cution have taken plaoe, hope has failed them, 
 and they have turned back. And thus has it 
 been with many anxious sinners. Remember the 
 hopeful youth who fell at Jesus' feet. 
 
 5. The anchor causes the vessel to keep her 
 head to the wind and tide. 
 
 So hope makes the Christian face his trials. He 
 rejoices in hope, even in the midst of tribulation. 
 "We dory in tribulations also; knowing
 
 240 HOPF. THE ANCHOR OF THE SOUL. 
 
 tribulation worketh patience, and patience ex- 
 perience, and experience hope, and hope mak- 
 eth not ashamed, because the love of God is 
 shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, 
 which is given unto us." 
 
 6. The anchor sinks to the bottom, and lays 
 hold there. 
 
 So hope " entereth into that within the vail ; 
 whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Je- 
 sus, made an high priest forever, after the order 
 of Melchisedec." 
 
 This expression is in allusion to the high priest 
 his entering into the holiest of all. This he did 
 once a year ; and not without blood, which he 
 offered for himself, and for the sins of the people. 
 In this he was a type of Christ ; who hath enter, 
 ed into heaven itself, there to appear in the pre- 
 sence of God for his people. He entered in once 
 into the holy place, having obtained eternal re- 
 demption for the heirs of promise. 
 
 And this he did as a forerunner. The business 
 of a forerunner is to prepare the way for the 
 entrance of others : so Christ went to prepare 
 places for believers. 
 
 Now the hope of the Christian entereth into 
 that within the vail. It follows Christ to heaven, 
 and rests upon his intercession at God's right hand. 
 Hence he expects to persevere unto the end, be- 
 cause he has an advocate with the Father ; and 
 he hopes that he shall at last be with Christ, that 
 be may behold his glory. 
 
 " Hope with a goodly prospect feeds the eye., 
 
 " Shews from a rising ground possession nigh ; 
 
 " Shortens the diftance, or o'erropks it quite : 
 
 " So easy 'tis to travel by the sight." Drydkn.
 
 HOPE THE ANCHOR OF THE SOtJU I 241 
 
 It is sure ; it cannot be lost. When once it 
 enters within the vail, and fastens on Christ, the 
 forerunner of his people, nothing can ever de- 
 stroy it. The waves and billows spend their 
 force in vain ; the believer's heart is fixed, trust- 
 ing in God. 
 
 It is stedfast ; it never changes its object j k 
 is immoveably fixed on Christ for eternal life. 
 Amidst the changing scenes of time, this stedfast 
 hope buoys up the soul when tossed on the bil- 
 lows of adversity* 
 
 " Hope travels through, nor quits us when we die.'-* 
 
 A few reflections shall close the subject. 
 
 1. How great the divine condescension, to 
 give such ground of consolation to them that 
 fly for refuge to the mercy of God ! The eternal 
 purpose and faithful promise of God must afford 
 the strongest consolation to every believing} hum- 
 ble soul. This hope causes him to sing while 
 in the house of his pilgrimage, and cheers with 
 its beams the dark valley of the shadow of death. 
 
 2. How important for us individually to pos- 
 sess that hope that is as an anchor to the soul. 
 In the dying hour, all other refuges will fail : the 
 hope of the hypocrite shall be cut off and perish, 
 and his trust be as the spider's web. Yea, the 
 eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not 
 escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up 
 of the ghost. Job viii. 13, 14 ; and xi. 20. 
 
 3. Let us examine whether we possess this 
 permanent hope. It may be satisfactorily known 
 by its tendency : it always leads to holiness. " He 
 that hath this hope in nim purifieth himself, 
 ev :n as he is pure" who hath called him. The 
 
 uine hope of the gospel never leacki to Ikon- 
 *i a
 
 242 HOPE THE ANCHOR OF THE SOUL. 
 
 tiousness. It constantly keeps the soul sensible 
 of its obligations to him " who gave himself tor 
 Us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, 
 and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of 
 good works." 
 
 4. And lastly. This hope alone animates and 
 cheers our future prospects. The believer, in 
 the hour of despondency, is enabled to adopt the 
 language of David ; " Why art thou cast down, 
 O my soul ? and why art thou disquieted within 
 me ? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise 
 him, who is the health of my countenance, and my . 
 God." When just entering the " valley of the 
 shadow of death," when the guilty mind is filled 
 with horrors indescribable, the believer, under 
 the influence of this hope, is enabled to sing, " Q 
 death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is 
 thy victory ?" While he knows that the sting of 
 death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law ; 
 he can rejoice in God, who giveth him the victo- 
 ry through our Lord Jesus Christ. Until the 
 voyage of life is finished, may the Lord grant to all 
 his believing people the supporting influence of 
 that hope, which is as an anchor to the soul, and 
 which entereth within the vail ; and may his 
 terrors alarm the thoughtless and secure, who 
 live without God and without hope in the world. 
 Apprized of their danger, and quickened by grace, 
 may they fly for refuge to the Lord Jesus, and iay 
 hold on the hope set before them in the gospel. 
 Amen.
 
 SERMON XII.* 
 
 GOD'S DESIGNS VAINLY OPPOSED BY SINNER^ 
 
 PSALM H. 14-. 
 
 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing P. 
 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take tounsel 
 together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let 
 us break their bands asunder, and cast atuay their cords from us. 
 He that sitteth in the hfavcns shall laugh ; the Lord shall have 
 them in derision, 
 
 1 HIS psalm is clearly prophetic of Christ, 
 and of the ill treatment with which he and his 
 followers met from the ungodly in the world. 
 To him the apostle applies it in Acts iv. 25, 26. 
 " Who by the mouth of thy servant David hath 
 said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people 
 imagine a vain thing ? The kings of the earth 
 stood up, and th rulers were gathered together 
 against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a 
 truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou 
 hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, 
 with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were 
 gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy 
 hand and thy counsel determined before to be 
 done." This application of the psalm to Christ 
 is decisive. 
 
 I readily acknowledge that it has respect to 
 David, the type of Christ, in the first instance y 
 but on this occasion, a greater than David is here. 
 
 * Never b' fore printed. Delivered at the quarterly day of prayer, 
 June 4> 1803.
 
 3*4 GOD'S DESIGNS VAINLY 
 
 There is in general, if not always, a degree? 
 of ambiguity attending prediction, which is hap- 
 pily removed by its fulfilment. It is the event 
 that fully explains prophecy. To us this hap- 
 piness is granted ; and this shall be the business 
 of the present opportunity, to compare this pre* 
 diction and the event together. My intention 
 is to impress on my own heart and yours, the 
 sufferings and safety of that blessed cause, in 
 which we are so much interested, and for which 
 we meet this day to pray. 
 
 Let us attend to the passage as it lies before us, 
 and beseech the Father of lights to give us a 
 right understanding of its meaning. 
 
 The sacred writer asks, why do the heathen rage? 
 This prophetic question was fulfilled when Christ 
 made his appearance in {he flesh, and was preach- 
 ed by his apostles. 
 
 There is another branch of the sentence in 
 connexion with the preceding ; which is, "and 
 the people imagine a vain thing.'* The people 
 here spoken of are, I suppose, the Jews. They 
 imagined a vain thing when they thought, 
 
 1. That Messiah would come as a temporal 
 prince, to deliver and exalt their nation. Such 
 a Messiah would have been of no advantage to 
 them as sinners, as persons under the condem- 
 nation of the law. But of this they were not 
 sensible : their eyes were blinded to their true 
 condition and need of a Saviour. 
 
 2. They imagined a vain thing, when Herod 
 ordered all the male children, from two years old 
 and under, to be slain, with an intention of cut- 
 ting off him who was born king of the Jews. 
 He knew not what he did ; or that in doing it^
 
 OPPOSED BY SINNERS. 245 
 
 he was fighting against God, whose purpose shall 
 stand, and who will do all his pleasure. 
 
 In each step of their conduct, you see the text 
 exemplified, or have a display of the rage of the 
 rulers and people of the Jews against Christ. All 
 their opposition made to his preaching and mir- 
 acles was of the same kind, and arose entirely 
 from rage against him. His miracles they ascri- 
 bed to a diabolical influence, and his doctrine they 
 despised. They treated him as a deceiver, and 
 raised a clamour against him. 
 
 3. They imagined a vain thing, when they 
 hired Judas to betray him, and urged Pilate to 
 condemn him, and when they crucified him. 
 Their design was to get rid of him ; but we shall 
 find, before we conclude, that he who sitteth in 
 the heavens did laugh j yea, that he had them in 
 derision. 
 
 4. How vain a thing did they imagine when 
 they placed a guard of Roman soldiers at the 
 sepulchre, to prevent the sacred body from be- 
 ing stolen away. Hence they became the first 
 witnesses of an important fact: for they, affright- 
 ed, ran into the city, and declared that he had 
 risen. Their wicked designs were thus signally 
 frustrated. 
 
 By the heathen are meant all Gentile nations j 
 especially the Greeks and Romans. You recol- 
 lect the manner in which the apostles were treat- 
 ed for preaching the doctrines of Christ. The 
 Jews and Romans, by their influence, were the 
 principal actors in his condemnation and death; 
 but afterward the Greeks took a very decided 
 part against him. They esteemed Christ cruci- 
 fied foolishness. And when Paul preached #
 
 246 GOD'S DESIGNS VAINLY 
 
 Athens against idolatry, they mocked. At an- 
 other time he was stoned, imprisoned and scourg- 
 ed. Such was their rage against him, that they 
 said he ought not to live any longer. 
 
 The next verse opens this matter more fully to 
 our view. " The kings of the earth set them- 
 selves, and the rulers took counsel against the 
 Lord, and against his anointed/' 
 
 The terms kings and rulers signify persons 
 clothed with different degrees of power and au- 
 thority ; the former are supreme, the latter su- 
 bordinate. They united in their opposition to 
 Christ. 
 
 You are desired to bear in mind, that this pre- 
 diction was delivered about one thousand years 
 before the coming of Christ. Its accomplishment 
 hath been exact, so far as the present age of the 
 world. Much yet remains as to the latter part 
 of it. 
 
 The kings of the earth set themselves, i. e. in 
 opposition against the Lord, meaning Jehovah ; 
 and against his anointed, meaning Jesus Christ, 
 who is often spoken of in the word of God by 
 this phrase. 
 
 Let us now compare prophecy and event to- 
 gether in this part of it. 
 
 The first instance of this kind we have in 
 Herod, and in Pilate the Roman governor. You 
 recollect that the former was so much opposed to 
 him that he murdered many infants, that he 
 might be sure to cut off Jesus Christ. Pilate ar- 
 raigned, tried, condemned him, and delivered 
 him over to the Jews and soldiers, to kill him. 
 
 You are sensible that the text was literally ful- 
 filled during the ten persecutions under the Ro-
 
 OPPOSED BY SINNERS. 24*7 
 
 man emperors. The first was under the cruel Ne- 
 ro ; the second by Domitian ; the third by Tra- 
 jan. I might mention all the names of those 
 Roman kings or emperors, who set themselves 
 against the Lord's anointed, or his cause in gene- 
 ral ; but it is not necessary to my present purpose. 
 
 These persecutions lasted about three hundred 
 years ; during which period, thousands of Christ- 
 ians were put to death. This was under Rome 
 Pagan. Afterward the most cruel persecutions 
 were carried on by Rome Christian, so called. 
 
 " The kings of the earth set themselves, and 
 the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, 
 and against his anointed." The following state- 
 ment of facts will farther show the exact accom- 
 plishment of this prophecy. ' There was a strong 
 conspiracy between James II. the king of England, 
 and Louis XIV. of France, who were both papists, 
 to extirpate the northern heresy, as they called 
 the protestant religion, not only out of England, 
 but out of Europe ; and had laid their schemes so 
 as to be almost sure of their purpose. But just 
 as they were about to put them into execution, 
 God in his providence suddenly dashed all their 
 schemes in pieces by the revolution, at the coming 
 in of king William and queen Mary.' 
 
 After this there was a plan laid to accomplish* 
 the same thing by bringing in the popish pretend- 
 er in the latter end of queen Anne's reign > which 
 -also was defeated by Providence, 
 
 The emperor of Germany declared war against 
 the duke of Saxony because lie favoured Luther 
 and his friends. The king of Spain maintained 
 a long war with Holland ahd the Low Countries, 
 cm the same accovnt
 
 248 GOD'S DESIGNS VAINLY 
 
 In Holland, there have been shocking persecu- 
 tions under the Spanish government. In France., 
 at different times ; especially under Louis XIV. 
 who was a most bloody man. In England, in the 
 reign of bloody queen Mary ; and in Scotland, 
 in queen Mary's days. Ireland too has had her 
 share in the persecutions of the church. In the 
 reign of Charles I. of England, above one hun- 
 dred thousand protestants were cruelly put to 
 death. In Italy too the same horrid cruelties have 
 been exercised towards the Lord, and towards 
 his anointed. 
 
 By this short sketch of facts it appears, that 
 the text, delivered many hundreds of years past, 
 has been literally fulfilled, as it respects the com- 
 bination of kings and rulers against the Lord and 
 the cause of Christ. And these cruel persecu- 
 tions have been carried on in those very coun- 
 tries, which are now the seat of wars and desola- 
 tions j the Lord hath given them blood to drink 
 in their turn. 
 
 We may now look back and trace the progress 
 of error, and departure from the faith, from the 
 beginning, and learn how they have been grad- 
 ually preparing for the present state of things in 
 the world. 
 
 The persecutions of the church, and the cor- 
 ruptions of Christianity, have been long foretold 
 with such clearness, that they have always been 
 expected. The issue of these things hath been 
 also foretold. 
 
 We have observed already, that at first Jews and 
 Gentiles opposed the cause of Christ ; him they 
 apprehended, condemned and crucified. His 
 followers were treated in the same manner, in 
 different ages, and in different countries.
 
 OPPOSED BY SINNERS. 2*9 
 
 A departure from the faith began in the apos- 
 tolic age. And after Rome pagan became Chris- 
 tian, which was when Constantine was converted 
 to Christianity, she soon became corrupt. Errors 
 were introduced, and fatal controversies took 
 place among them. A hierarchy was soon estab- 
 lished among the clergy, and primitive Chris- 
 tianity was greatly corrupted. Popery, with all 
 its errors and with all its horrors, sprang up in 
 the world, and spread with a surprising rapid- 
 ity. Many things which did not belong to Chris- 
 tianity, being found among those who were called 
 Christians, brought it into disrepute. The super- 
 stitions and fooleries of the Romish church, and 
 the ignorance in which the common people were 
 held, had an immediate tendency to make deists. 
 This was actually the case, till at length Chris- 
 tianity was viewed as a mere human invention, 
 an engine of state to keep the ignorant world in 
 awe. Deism increased surprisingly, till at length 
 thousands of mankind, in different nations, threw 
 off all regard to religion. 
 
 Thus the abuses of mankind and the corrup- 
 tions of Christianity led to the infidelity which 
 now prevails in the world, and is openly avowed 
 by a great body of men. 
 
 Such have been the causes which in a course of 
 ages have brought the state of religion in the 
 world to what you see it to be. 
 
 The tyrannies exercised over the souls and bod- 
 ies of men, have also tended to awaken their re- 
 sentments, and to produce the convulsions that are 
 now among the nations. A diffusion of political 
 knowledge hath helped on the matter. And when 
 once mankind are let loose, there is no knowing 
 2 h
 
 250 GOD'S DESIGNS VAINLY 
 
 where or when they will stop. They who set 
 out right, have lost sight of their first principles, 
 and overleaped the bounds of reason, and of true 
 rational liberty. 
 
 ' God is now making himself known,' says 
 an ingenious writer, ' by the judgments which 
 he executeth in the earth. He is now, by the 
 works of his providence, giving the ultimate and 
 that which will be the all-convincing evidence of 
 the truth of the scriptures. There is but a little 
 period to come, compared with the past, in which 
 infidelity will dare speak its sentiments. All con- 
 siderate and good people see this already ; and 
 though there be some infidels against growing 
 light, Infinite Wisdom permits them to rise up 
 for two purposes : first, to fulfil more bloody 
 judgments on apostate Christendom than men of 
 good hearts would wish to be instrumental of ex- 
 ecuting, although they know them to be just ; 
 and secondly, that by their avowed principles, 
 practice, and the end to which Providence will 
 bring them, they may be a warning to future 
 ages against infidelity. God teaches by experi- 
 ence. Within the conclusion of a century from 
 this time, it will not be disputed what was meant 
 by prophetic Babylon. Her great wickedness 
 will be illustrated to universal knowledge by her 
 great plagues. It will also appear that infidelity 
 was the instrument prepared by God for her pun- 
 ishment ; that this infidelity naturally sprung 
 out of her own corruption, or rather was the last 
 stage of antichristian apostacy ; and that havir g 
 consumed itself and the parent that gave it birth, 
 the judgments of God are finished. A new era 
 will take place. Through the instruction of past
 
 OPPOSED BY SINNERS, 251 
 
 experience, and the pouring out of the Holy 
 Spirit, righteousne>,s and peace will fill the earth. 
 All the prophecies describe this succession of 
 events. The past and present fulfilment of them 
 mu>t remove from wise minds, all doubts concern- 
 ing the future.'* 
 
 We pass to confider the next verse in the text, 
 which is the language of the combined enemies 
 of Christ and his church. " Let us break their 
 bands, and cast their cords from u?.." 
 
 These words are a daring and impious decla- 
 ration of the enemies of Christ, that they will 
 reject his law and contemn his gospel. It is as if 
 they had said, we will not have this man to reign 
 over us. This they did : " he came to his own, 
 and his own received him not." 
 
 By bands and cords are meant those things 
 that unite them to Christ and to one another ; 
 love to Christ and his cause, which animated 
 them amidst all their sufferings. Their enemies 
 attempted, by threatenings on one hand, and 
 promises on the other, to make them deny their 
 Master j but they chose death rather than such a 
 shameful and wicked conduct. 
 
 The last verse now comes under consideration. 
 " He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : the 
 Lord shall have them in derision." These words 
 are David's, and teach us that Jehovah, who sit- 
 teth in the heavens, observes and controls all 
 the events that take place on earth. He beholds 
 the ra^e of the heathen, the combination of wick- 
 cd kings and rulers against his church, and laughs 
 at them, and will finally have them in derision. 
 They are his instruments to execute his purposes f 
 
 * Mr. S'r'injr'fl Sermon from Rrv xvili. 4.
 
 252 GOD'S DESIGNS' VAINLY" 
 
 and when they have completed the work for 
 which he uses them, he will bring them to their 
 end and none shall help them. This is a blessed 
 truth for such a day as this, in which the world 
 is in convulsions. 
 
 We may illustrate the truth of this part of the 
 text by the following instances. 
 
 1. Herod, in the slaughter of the infants, was 
 disappointed. Christ was preserved. He who 
 sitteth in the heavens defeated the wicked designs 
 of his enemies. 
 
 2. Thus it was with respect to the Jewish ru- 
 lers and people in the crucifixion of Christ. His 
 death was necessary in order that he might save 
 sinners. They brought about, though with wick- 
 ed hands, the event for which he came into the 
 world, and finally they met their punishment in 
 being conquered and dispersed. The Lord now 
 hath them in derision. They are now a reproach, 
 a proverb, a taunt, and a curse, in all places to 
 which they are driven.^ 
 
 3. Persecution hath been overruled for the spread 
 of the gospel, contrary to the design of persecu- 
 tors. They meant to suppress, not promote the 
 cause of Christ. They also sent many good men 
 to heaven, by their cruelties, and the gospel to 
 our America. Here we sit under our own vine and 
 fig-tree, and there are none to make us afraid. 
 
 4. The Lord may be said to laugh at the en- 
 emies of his church, and to hold their weak de- 
 signs in the utmost derision, as appears in the 
 following instances. In the reign of queen Eliza- 
 beth, ' the Spanish armada was sent to invade 
 England, in order to suppress and root out the 
 reformed religion ; and therefore they brought
 
 OPPOSED BY SINNERS. 252 
 
 in their fleet all manner of instruments of cruelty 
 wherewith to torture the Protestants, who would 
 not renounce their religion.' But they were 
 baffled in so extraordinary a manner, that the 
 Spanish admiral blasphemously swore that he 
 feared Jesus Christ was turned Lutheran.' 
 
 In the rage of the papal party against the Prot- 
 estants, Ireland was doomed to drink of the bitter 
 cup of persecution, but was delivered in the fol- 
 lowing remarkable manner. Dr. Cole being sent 
 with a commission for that purpose, called on a 
 friend at Chester, and being pleased with his ap- 
 pointment, informed his friend of his determina- 
 tion to proceed to the utmost extremity when he 
 should arrive at the place of his destination. A 
 Protestant lady being present, and hearing what 
 was said, found means to take his commission 
 from a small box which contained it, and to place 
 in its room a pack of cards. When the Doctor 
 came to Ireland, and was about to produce his 
 commission to the proper persons, (a large col- 
 lection of people being present,) on opening the 
 box, to his extreme mortification he found only a 
 pack of cards, with the knave of clubs uppermost 1* 
 He returned to obtain a new commission, but the 
 queen died before it could be procured. The 
 unhappy people were, in consequence of this, 
 saved from death and ruin. Thus he who sitteth 
 in the heavens doth have them in derision. 
 
 I might proceed to illustrate the prophecy before 
 us, and to encourage the friends of Christ, by his- 
 torical facts in abundance ; but these may suffice. 
 
 * The chief officer observed to him, as things were, he hid 
 only to return and obtain another commission ; and with a de- 
 gree of pleasantry added, " and we wiH shuffle the cards while 
 yon are gone."
 
 254 GOTVS DESIGNS VAINLY 
 
 We must now close the subject with a few 
 reflections. 
 
 1. We are taught the depravity and wicked- 
 ness of mankind in different ages and nations ; 
 which they have manifested in their rage and op- 
 position to the cause of Christ. This wicked 
 disposition hath led to reject or corrupt Chris- 
 tianity, and finally to renounce it, and embrace 
 positive infidelity. ' This,' says the author we 
 have quoted, ' is the last part of the antichrLtian 
 apostacy. They can go no farther ; and when 
 they have spent themselves in destroying one an- 
 other, Christ Jesus will appear to vindicate his 
 insulted, injured cause.' 'We are come,' says 
 one, ' to what the scripture emphatically calls the 
 last day. The last tyrannical form of govern- 
 ment is falling to pieces, viz. the Roman ; for 
 which event there hath long been a growing prep- 
 aration in the state of the nations. It is the dy- 
 ing pangs of this fourth beast that now convulse 
 the world.' " He that sitteth in the heavens will 
 laugh ; the Lord will have them in derision." 
 
 2. We learn this pleasing, animating truth, 
 that the cause of Christ shall be preserved amidst 
 all the convulsions of nations, and at last triumph 
 gloriously. To this end he who sitteth in the 
 heavens will conduct the present distressing scene 
 of things ; Christ will reign until he hath put all 
 enemies under his feet. Remarkable is the fol- 
 lowing part of the psalm, in which the text is. 
 " Then shall he speak unto them, (his enemies,) 
 in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 
 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zi- 
 on. I will declare the decree : the- Lord hath 
 said unto me, thou art my Son ; this day have J
 
 OPPOSED BY SINNERS. 256 
 
 begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee 
 the heathen for thine inheritance, and the utter- 
 most parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou 
 shalt break them with a rod of iron ; thou shalt 
 dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be 
 wise now, therefore, O ye kings ; be instructed, 
 ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with 
 fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, 
 lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, 
 when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed 
 are all they that put their trust in him." 
 
 Thus you see that this psalm is remarkably ap- 
 plicable to the present condition of the church 
 and of the world. God will accomplish all his 
 pleasure as it respect* the downfall of antichrist, 
 the punishment of the enemies of his church, 
 and finally cau-.e her to come forth in triumph. 
 
 3. Let Christians duly consid-r what their 
 duty is in such times as these. They should be 
 much in prayer and supplication in private and 
 in public, keep themselves unspotted by the flesh, 
 and provoke one another to love and good 
 works. Our God is a God who heareth prayer. 
 " Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not 
 silence ; and give him no rest, till he establish, 
 and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." 
 
 4. There are several sources of encouragement 
 for us amidst the distresses of the times ; the 
 principal is the promise and prophecy, and what 
 God hath done in the extraordinary revivals of 
 religion in different parts of the United States. 
 God grant that they may be more universal, and 
 we become a pious, a reformed people. These 
 beginnings give us reason to hope that the Lord 
 will not forsake us, though our iniquities abound.
 
 2J6 CUD'S DESIGNS VAINLY 
 
 Another source of consolation to good inert 
 is, that there is nothing in the cause of religion 
 that can justly procure such a treatment of it, 
 and of its friends. It is a religion of benevolence 
 and love ; it displays the love of God and of 
 Christ, and exhorts its friends to do good to all 
 men ; to live soberly, righteously and godly in 
 this present world ; and as much as lieth in them, 
 to live peaceably with all men. They who suffer 
 in this cause suffer for righteousness* sake. 
 
 The subject affords great encouragement to us 
 who are engaged in the ministry, to preach the 
 word, to be instant in season, out of season. It 
 becomes us to be faithful in our attachments to 
 the apostolic doctrines, and to preach them with 
 fidelity and plainness. If ever we are useful to 
 mankind, it will be by preaching Jesus Christ 
 and free grace. 
 
 To such diligence and fidelity we have many 
 calls : one especially solemn and interesting to us 
 all, in the death of our much beloved friend and 
 brother, the Rev. Dr. Thacher. 
 
 To the societies united in this concert for pray- 
 er, this event is particularly solemn, as he was 
 united with us in it from the beginning, and con- 
 tinued to assist us till his ill health deprived him 
 of the opportunity. We this day miss him : we 
 feel our loss, and sorrow most of all that we shall 
 see his face no more. No more shall we enjoy 
 his company and counsel : no more shall we hear 
 his excellent addresses to the throne of grace : 
 no more shall he return to his house ; and the 
 place which once knew him shall now know him 
 no more. We were deprived of the opportunity 
 of conversing with him in his last moments, br
 
 OPPOSED BY SINNERS. 257 
 
 his absence from home. But on the Saturday 
 evening before he sailed, I was with him. He 
 expressed his confidence that he should not re- 
 cover, but with a peculiar energy, said to me, 
 * the doctrines I have preached are now my only 
 comfort. My hopes are built on the atonement 
 and righteousness of Christ.' But as we are fa- 
 voured with the extract of a letter, from one 
 who attended his last minutes, I shall lay it before 
 you. 4 It would appear,' says the \yriter, that from 
 his first coming among us, he was under the im- 
 pression that here his days would come to a close. 
 I visited him as often as was practicable, and still 
 found him placid and resigned, waiting for the 
 salvation of his God ; particularly on my last vis- 
 it, a few hours before his death, after expressing 
 his unshaken confidence in the obedience and 
 death of the Son of God, the blessed Saviour of 
 men, he requested me to pray for him, that 
 whether he lived, he might live unto the Lord, 
 or whether he died, he might die unto the Lord j 
 that living or dying he might be the Lord's j to 
 pray also for his family, for his congregation, and 
 for his friends in Boston. All which, after kneel- 
 ing by his bed, was attempted in humble depend- 
 ence on divine grace ; and in which this worthy 
 and excellent minister of the altar joined with all 
 the fervour of his soul. With the first Christian 
 martyr, the last words which he was known to 
 articulate were " Jesus Christ my Saviour." 
 
 May this solemn event have a becoming influ- 
 ence on us his brethren in the ministry, and or 
 vou our Christian friend .
 
 258 GOD'S DESIGNS VAINLY, &c. 
 
 To the greatly afflicted family we wish every 
 divine consolation and support ; and to his be- 
 reaved flock, hearts devoutly to improve this 
 mournful visitation. And may we all be follow- 
 ers of them who, through faith and patience, 
 are gone to inherit the promises, through Jesus 
 Christ ; to whom be glory forever. Amen.
 
 SERMON XIII.* 
 
 THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE WHO DIE IN THE LORD.. 
 
 REVELATION, xiv. IS. 
 
 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, IVriU, 
 Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth : 
 yea, saith the Spirit, that they may refi from their labours^ and 
 their ivoris do follow them. 
 
 A MOURNFUL providence hath deter- 
 mined my choice of this passage : a providence in 
 which 1 myself am chiefly concerned. God 
 most wise and righteous hath seen meet to re- 
 move an affectionate and tender mother by 
 death ! % 
 
 The gloomy tidings were received the day past. 
 I feel the stroke. Nature recoils ; but religion 
 teacheth to say, All is well. In such a case, 
 who can help feeling, seeing the connexion was 
 near and mutually binding ? Yet, O my soul, 
 dismiss every murmuring thought, and adore the 
 hand that strikes ! 
 
 The deceased ever acted a tender, a provident, 
 and an indulgent part. While properly thought- 
 ful of the body, and its concerns, she manifested 
 a prevailing solicitude for the immortal soul : 
 making it evident to all that were about her, that 
 she fcC travailed in birth again, till Christ should be 
 
 * Delivered April i;, 1768, occasioned by the deal h of the 
 author's mother, Mrs. Mary Stillmai), who died March 17, 176 '> 
 In Charleston, (S. C.) agod ; -.
 
 260 THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE 
 
 formed in them.** A reflection on such repeated 
 acts of kindness, tends to make the wound the 
 deeper, and to increase the sense of loss in him, 
 who feels that he has the affection of a son. 
 
 Had 1 been on the spot, it would have been 
 expected, that I should make some improvement 
 of the dispensation. It appears no less proper, 
 when so far removed from the place of her 
 death. The parent is no less a parent, for being 
 above a thousand miles distant, neither is the 
 stroke the more tolerable ; rather this circum- 
 stance is an aggravation. We all esteem it a fe- 
 licity to be near to them we love ; and are ready- 
 passionately to wish, when any such die at a dis- 
 tance from us, that we might have seen the last 
 of them, and have been among the number of 
 their friends, who took part in their affliction, 
 and contributed all that was in their power to 
 make their death-bed easy. Had inclination made 
 the disposal, this circumstance would have been 
 prevented : but the Lord iixes the bounds of our 
 habitation. We are not left to choose for our- 
 selves, and it is well we are not ; seeing we should 
 follow our own way, till it would either prove 
 our ruin, or our very great disadvantage. We have 
 a striking instance oi this in the conduct of Jonah, 
 that disobedient prophet. In obeying the dictates 
 of his own mind, he ran from God ; and was soon 
 brought to the sad dilemma, either that the mar- 
 iners with him must suffer shipwreck, or he be cast 
 into the sea. An instance this, that may lead us 
 to reflect on our happiness, in being disposed of 
 by an all wise God ; and at the same time, to jus- 
 tify his dealings with us, even when exercised 
 with heavy trials.
 
 WHO DIE IN THE LORD. 261 
 
 Confident that you, an affectionate people, a- 
 mongst whom I esteem myself happy, will bear 
 with me on the present occasion, and give me a 
 share in your prayers and sympathy, I shall go on 
 to improve this righteous providence of God. 
 
 The passage I have read to you, will naturally- 
 lead us to a variety of suitable reflections ; such as 
 are calculated to give support and comfort, under 
 the death of those relatives, who, we have reason 
 to believe, have slept in Jesus. Therefore I shall 
 not be called to preach altogether to myself \ in- 
 asmuch as what may be suggested from the text, 
 will be no less suitable to you, who have lately lobt 
 near and pious relations : yea, it may be received 
 and treasured up against the time to come. Af- 
 flictions await us, and we know not how soon God 
 may make a breach in our families, or among the 
 number of our bosom friends. 
 
 St. John having spoken of the rise, power and 
 cruelty of antichrist, in the preceding chapter, 
 proceeds to foretel his destruction, and the pun- 
 ishment that would be inflicted on all, such as 
 should worship the beast, and his image, and re- 
 ceive his mark in their forehead and in their hand. 
 But with respect to those, that should endure the 
 great fight of affliction, and maintain their integ- 
 rity, in the midst of temptation and bloody perse- 
 cution, he highly commends their conduct, and 
 pronounces them blessed in death. Ver. 12, 13. 
 " Here is the patience of the saints : Here are they 
 that keep the commandments of God, and the 
 faith of Jesus." q. d. In these distressing tin. 
 of antichristian cruelty, their patience having been 
 severely tried, did shine conspicuously ; I he) 
 chose rather to part with their lives, than to
 
 262 THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE 
 
 deny their Master. And the text seems to be 
 introduced with a design to encourage such pa- 
 tience in tribulation, by setting before the saints 
 a prospect of enjoying immortal blessedness, as 
 soon as they should finish their course : " And I 
 heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, 
 Write, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, 
 from henceforth : yea, saith the Spirit, that they 
 may rest from their labours, and their works 
 do follow them." Let us attend to the following 
 particulars : 
 
 I. An inquiry into the import of the phrase, 
 "dying in the Lord." 
 
 II. A consideration of the blessedness of such ; 
 "Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from 
 their labours, and their works do follow them." 
 
 I, We are to inquire into the import of the 
 phrase, " dying in the Lord :" which is an inquiry 
 of importance, seeing the blessedness here predi- 
 cated is confined to such. 
 
 1. Some die in the comforts of the Lord ; be- 
 ing favoured with the most lively manifestations 
 of the love of God, and clear and soul-reviving 
 discoveries of that glory to be revealed. Many 
 believers have had such realizing views of heav- 
 en and its ineffable felicities, by faith, through the 
 medium of eternal truth, and the Spirit of God 
 so sensibly witnessing with their spirits their 
 adoption, that they have been anxious to be gone. 
 Death and all its terrors have been swallowed up 
 in the divine prospect of the all-surpassing glory ; 
 and from hence they have, upon the verge of 
 eternity, cried out like the mother of Sisera in 
 another case, " Why is his chariot so long in 
 coming ? Why tarry the wheels of his chariots-?"
 
 WHO DTE IN THE LORD. 263 
 
 We have had numerous instances of those trium- 
 phant deaths, which adorn religion and confirm 
 the hope of such of the children of God who have 
 still to submit to the like event. With what 
 pleasure and tranquillity have some waited for 
 their dissolution, under the growing imfirmities 
 of the body, and have often spoke of the period 
 when they should be dissolved with an evident 
 satisfaction ? I have never read the letter of 
 which the following is an extract, written by the 
 devout Mrs. Rowe to the Rev. Dr. Watts, with- 
 out delight. After she had requested that' he 
 would look over, and prepare certain of her pa- 
 pers for the press, she adds, I have now done 
 with mortal things, and all to come is vast 
 eternity. Eternity ! How transporting is the 
 sound! As long as God exists, my being and 
 my happiness is secure. These unbounded de- 
 sires, which the wide creation cannot limit, shall 
 be satisfied forever. I shall drink at the fountain 
 head of pleasure, and be refreshed with the em- 
 anations of original life and joy. 1 shall hear the 
 voice of uncreated harmony speaking peace and 
 ineffable consolation to my soul. 
 
 1 Through the blood of the Lamb, I hope for an 
 entire victory over the last enemy ; and that be- 
 fore this comes to you, I shall have reached the 
 celestial heights ; and while you are reading these 
 lines, 1 shall be adoring before the throne of God, 
 where faith shall be turned to vision, and these 
 languishing desires satisfied with the full fruition 
 of immortal love.'* Thus lived that ingenious, 
 pious Christian in the glorious prospect of im- 
 mortality. 
 
 * Prefixed to Mrs. Rcnvc's Devout Exercises of the Hear*.
 
 264 THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE 
 
 And how full of divine consolation was the ex- 
 cellent Mr. Hervey. On the day of his death, 
 among many other things that he said, which are 
 worthy of being transcribed and repeated, he 
 mentioned 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22, 23. " All things are 
 yours ; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or 
 the world, or life, or death, or things present, or 
 things to come ; all are yours j and ye are 
 Christ's ; and Christ is God's." And went on 
 in the following language, * Here is the treasure 
 of a Christian. Death is reckoned among this 
 inventory ; and a noble treasure it is. How 
 thankful am I for death, as it is the passage 
 through which I pass to the Lord and Giver of 
 eternal life ; and as it frees me from all this mis- 
 ery you now see me endure, and which I am 
 willing to endure, as long as God thinks fit ; 
 for 1 know he will, by and by, in his own good 
 time, dismiss me from the body. These light 
 afflictions are but for a moment, and then comes 
 an eternal weight of glory. O ! welcome, wel- 
 come death ! Thou mayst well be reckoned among 
 the treasures of the Christian. " To live is Christ, 
 but to die is gain."* Thus died that man of God, 
 whose praise is in the churches. Besides whom, 
 we have had a crowd of witnefies. And whoso- 
 ever understands Heb. xi. 1. " Now faith is the 
 substance of things hoped for, and the evidence 
 of things not seen ;" I say, whosoever experimen- 
 tally understands this incomparable definition of 
 faith, may at once account for the Christian's tri- 
 umph over the last enemy. 
 
 But it is necessary to observe, that all the chil- 
 dren of God do not die in the comforts of the 
 
 * Hcrvev'b Life.
 
 WHO DIE IN THE LORD. 265 
 
 Holy Ghost. We have seen some very affecting 
 instances of the exemplary Christian his having 
 the severest conflict in his last illness and death. 
 I hJve read of an eminent divine, who had lived 
 thirty years in the assurance of faith ; notwith- 
 standing which, he died in the dark. And let 
 it be remembered, that there are many things at 
 such times that tend to fill the mind with gloomi- 
 ness. The diseases of the body, of which the 
 Christian complains, often so affect the mind as 
 to hinder the wonted exertion and exercise of 
 its faculties : these two being so nearly connect- 
 ed, that in common their distresses are reciprocal. 
 Besides, we cannot be insensible that it is 
 the devil's last onset ; and the shorter his sea- 
 son of tempting is, the more violent are his 
 efforts. " The devil is come down to you," said 
 St. John to the church, " in great wrath, because 
 he knoweth he hath but a short time." He can- 
 not destroy, but he will as much as possible per- 
 plex the children of God. Add to this that the 
 believer's comfortable living, and surety his com- 
 fortable dying, depends upon the communication 
 of divine love, and the vigorous exercise of 
 faith. Now God may, yea, he sometimes does, 
 for wise reasons, suspend his gracious influences 
 from his own children, even when on a death- 
 bed. The Lord Jesus Christ himself, when he 
 hung on the cross, cried, " My God, my God, 
 why hast thou forsaken me?" It becomes us to 
 be silent, when the reasons of the divine conduct 
 are hid from us. But, alas how apt are we at 
 such times to say, ' Why is it thus ?' This in- 
 stance in which our blessed Redeemer was 
 
 2 K
 
 266 THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE 
 
 forsaken on the cross, should lead us to a mute 
 behaviour under such a dispensation. 
 
 The preceding remarks may correct one mis- 
 take, which seems to be generally fallen into, viz. 
 Christians, their almost taking it for granted, 
 that a believer who has been eminent in life, will 
 be no less, yea, more so in death. Whereas we 
 find that there is a variety of circumstances, ei- 
 ther from the diseases of the body, the fiery darts 
 of the wicked, or the suspension of divine influ- 
 ence, that may fill the mind with darkness, and 
 cause a once shining Christian to set in a cloud. 
 But this should not suggest any suspicion of the 
 safety of his state, seeing it has been the lot of 
 many of the people of God, who in life, and during 
 a course of years, had given their intimate friends 
 the most satisfying evidences of their acquaintance 
 with true religion. Besides, was not Christ him- 
 self forsaken in his last minutes ? Who would 
 dare from hence to infer, that he was not the 
 darling of the Father ? The blessedness, there- 
 fore, that is spoken of in the text, is not limited 
 to such as are so happy as to die in the comforts 
 of the Holy Ghost. But, 
 
 2. They are blessed who die in the Lord, i. e. 
 in his favour ; who have their sins pardoned 
 through the precious blood of Jesus, and their 
 souls justified by his everlasting righteousness ; 
 who are united to him by ties that are indissolu- 
 ble ; insomuch 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 them from the love of God, which is in 
 Christ Jesus their Lord." And this is the case
 
 WHO DIE IN THE LORD. 267 
 
 with all that are called according to his purpose. 
 They all die in faith, and in the divine favour ; 
 though they may not be able to say, Christ loved 
 me, and gave himself for me.' To be in the favour 
 of God is absolutely necessary to our dying safely ; 
 and a persuasion that we are personally in his fa- 
 vour, is necessary to our dying comfortably. And 
 the one may be, where the other is not. The 
 blessedness, therefore, is annexed to those persons 
 who die in union to Jesus, and interested in the fa- 
 vour of God ; though it may be their great af- 
 fliction to struggle hard with death, under the hi* 
 dings of their Father's face. I now proceed,' 
 
 II. To consider the blessedness of departed 
 saints : " Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest 
 from their labours, and their works follow them." 
 
 1. Note by what authority St. John publishes 
 this glorious sentence, " Yea, saith the Spirit," 
 the Holy Ghost, by whom holy men of God 
 at sundry times were moved to speak ; who in- 
 spired the whole of the living oracles. 
 
 2. We observe, that the dead in Christ are 
 blessed from the moment of their departure out of 
 this world. This seems plain from several scrip- 
 tures : Solomon assures us, that at deatli the 
 " dust returns to the earth as it was, and the 
 spirit returns to God who gave it." Our Lord 
 said to the penitent thief, " To-day shalt thou be 
 with me in paradise." And St. Paul, in several 
 places, has satisfied us what views he had of this 
 matter : " For we know that if our earthly house 
 of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a build- 
 ing of God, an house not made with hands, eter- 
 nal in the heavens." He speaks with confidence, 
 it being no matter of conjecture or uncertainty ;
 
 268 THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE 
 
 but what he, with the rest of the disciples, were 
 persuaded of, viz. that when the body should 
 die, the soul should immediately enter into the 
 joy of the Lord. And in his epistle to the Philip- 
 pians, he declares that he was " in a strait betwixt 
 two, having a desire to depart, and to be with 
 Christ, which is far better." If the apostle had- 
 not known, that upon the dissolution of the body 
 he should be present with the Lord, why was 
 he anxious to depart ? Death in itself is shocking : 
 nature shrinks at the prospect of it. St. Paul, as 
 a man, loved his life and enjoyments too well to 
 wish to die, barely for the sake of being dead. 
 And as a believer in Jesus, he loved his privi- 
 leges, especially that communion he had with a 
 God in Christ, too well to be desirous of depart- 
 ing without an assurance that he should instantly 
 pass to glory, where his joy should be full ; or 
 as it is here expressed, rest from his labours, and 
 his works follow him. This is the blessedness 
 that takes place, as soon as the earthly house of 
 this tabernacle is dissolved. In the world, be- 
 lievers shall have tribulation ; but at death, 
 
 1. They rest from all those distresses, that result 
 from the afflictions and death of friends and rela- 
 tives. Besides that natural sympathy, which 
 mankind are generally possessed of, by which 
 they are inclined to pity the afflicted, and as it 
 were to bear a part of their burdens, real believ- 
 ers are justly supposed, in consequence of a true 
 acquaintance with the religion of Je.-us, to pos- 
 sess, if I may use the expression, a more delicate 
 sensibility; inasmuch as his doctrines and ex- 
 ample mutually tend to promote it. This di- 
 vine temper never shone in any one as it did 
 in the adorable Son of God j and it is expected
 
 WHO DIE IN THE LOR&. 260 
 
 of all his followers, that the same mind, the same 
 tempers should be in them, which were also in him. 
 Now in whomsoever this temper prevails, it will 
 interest him in the prosperity or adv r ersity of 
 others. He will mourn with those who mourn, 
 and rejoice with those who do rejoice. He finds 
 himself sensibly afflicted when his brethren suf- 
 fer, and as sensibly relieved when they obtain 
 deliverance. 
 
 But besides this more general sympathy, having 
 formed a variety of agreeable connexions in do- 
 mestic life, he becomes still more attentive to 
 their interests; and consequently is so much more 
 affected with their calamities ; e. g. Does God 
 lay his hand upon the wife of your bosom ? or 
 the provident and tender husband ? Who can de- 
 scribe the distressing anxiety of mind on such 
 occasions ? What fears invade the person, lest 
 cruel death should dissolve the happy ties, break 
 the pleasing connexion, and thus deprive you 
 of the partner of your life ; leaving you to be- 
 moan your state of widowhood, after having 
 bpent many years together in that near relation ! 
 
 Or are the indulgent parents, who have reared 
 you through the several stages of life, from in- 
 fancy to childhood, and front childhood to youth, 
 at vast expense ; who have always dealt with you 
 in the most tender and compassionate manner ; 
 I say, are they afflicted ? You feel for them, and 
 become partakers of their affliction. Are they 
 taken off by death ? You sigh in secret, weep 
 abundantly, and are ready to wish that it had 
 been the will of God to have continued them 
 longer. 
 
 Does the Lord single out one of your tender 
 offspring, and load him with painful sickness ? No
 
 270 THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE 
 
 one can tell the feelings of a parent's heart on 
 such occasions, but he who is himself a parent. 
 How gladly would he bear a part of the affliction, 
 were it possible ? He walks the room, watching 
 every breath, and every, pulse, while his fears 
 suggest the most dangerous symptoms. His anx- 
 ious mind continually trembles, lest death should 
 cut down the flower. And if the event should 
 be according to his apprehensions, we hear him, 
 in language like that of David, bewailing the sad 
 catastrophe : " O my son Absalom, my son, my 
 son Absalom : would God I had died for thee, 
 O Absalom, my son, my son." Thus we see, that 
 the very connexions which make up a great part 
 of what we call happiness in this life, often prove 
 like so many thorns in our sides. From dis- 
 tresses of this nature, all are delivered at death. 
 2. They rest from all pains and sicknesses. 
 The human body is exposed to a great variety of 
 diseases, many of which are attended with the 
 most excruciating pains. With these, some of 
 the saints have been long exercised, while others 
 have been suddenly transmitted from earth to 
 heaven. How glorious is such a transition ! One 
 minute busy in the affairs of the world, and it 
 may be struggling \vith poverty, with distress, 
 &c. the next minute in the presence of God, and 
 of the Lamb ! But God is a sovereign ; he ap- 
 points a sudden death and an easy passage to 
 some, but lingering, painful sickness to others of 
 his own children. We have seen some continue 
 months, under a complication of diseases, and 
 afflicted with the acutest pains, till finally, nature 
 being worn out, submits without a groan to the 
 stroke of death, and thus obtains an eternal deliv- 
 erance from all such distresses. Who would be so
 
 WHO DIE IN THE LORD. 271 
 
 cruel as to have them back again, even if they 
 might have it for a wish, seeing they have en- 
 dured the conflict, and finished their course, and 
 are now admitted to the fruition of eternal life ? 
 
 3. By this event, the saints are freed from all 
 solicitude about the fickle things of time. These 
 they had been anxious to obtain, and were either 
 disappointed in the pursuit or enjoyment. They 
 either never acquired what they had studiously 
 sought after, or, having acquired it, became con- 
 vinced that they were as far from their fancied 
 happiness as ever. 
 
 These sorrows of the world are now at an end. 
 The body lies at rest in the land of darkness, as 
 darkness itself, and the soul exults in the beatific 
 vision. The body waits the summons of the last 
 day, when the trump shall sound, and the dead 
 in Christ rise first. Such cease to say, " What 
 shall we eat, and what shall we drink, and where- 
 withal shall we be clothed ?" being amply, yea, 
 eternally provided for in an infinitely better state. 
 
 4. The saints rest from all persecutions for the 
 sake of Christ and his divine religion ; from all 
 unkindness from those of whom they expected 
 better treatment j they have done forever with all 
 disputing about religious sentiments, and have 
 arrived in that world, the glorious inhabitants of 
 which see eye to eye, and with perfect harmony 
 unite to magnify the exceeding riches of grace. 
 
 5. Departed saints have obtained that deliver- 
 ance, they had long desired, from all sin. Sin 
 now has no more being in, or power over them. 
 Often did they on this account groan, being bur- 
 dened ; and in the pathetic language of St. Paul 
 say, " O wretched man that 1 am, who shall de- 
 liver me from the body of this death ?" That
 
 272 THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE 
 
 cursed thing is entirely done away, and they 
 have no more to do in a way of opposition to it. 
 The combat ceaseth forever, and they are enabled 
 to say, " Thanks be to God, who hath given us 
 the victory !" It was a fiery conflict, and cost the 
 saints many a sorrowful hour. Often did they 
 complain, " When we would do good, evil is pres- 
 ent with us." Many times did they enter their 
 closets to weep over their indwelling corruptions^ 
 to bewail their want of conformity to the divine 
 character, and to wrestle with God for greater 
 spirituality ; but now " their warfare is accom- 
 plished, and they have received of the Lord's 
 hand double for all their sins." O happy con- 
 quest ! blessed deliverance ! What, sin no more ? 
 Never be interrupted more by that monster which 
 hath made all the days of their pilgrimage sor- 
 rowful ? Blessed be God, ' he hath so ordered it, 
 that the promised rest shall come ! 
 
 6. They now bid defiance to the powers of 
 darkness. Satan can tempt them no more. 
 Though he cannot destroy, he will make the 
 journey of God's people as thorny and distressing 
 as possible. " He walketh about as a roaring 
 Hon, seeking whom he may devour ;" and his 
 temptations are compared to fiery darts : with 
 what propriety every believer knows, seeing he 
 is not ignorant of his devices. But having pass- 
 ed through death, he has arrived where the 
 wicked one, the devil, ceaseth from troubling, 
 and the weary are at rest. 
 
 7. Departed saints rest from all unbelief, from 
 all fears of death, and from all doubts about 
 their interest in Christ. These things while 
 they were in the body, were a constant -ource of 
 discouragement. They were often led, through
 
 WHO DIE IN THE LORD. 27.'3 
 
 the weakness of faith, to stagger at the promises, 
 to dread the last enemy, and to fear that after 
 all they should be deceived : ever ready to write 
 the most bitter things against themselves. It is 
 not uncommon for those that fear the Lord, to 
 w ilk in darkness, being deprived of the light of 
 his countenance ; which is the greatest trial they 
 can meet with in the world. And having lost siirht 
 for a time of Jesus' most glorious character, his 
 personal worth and beauty, through the prevalence 
 of unbelief and their indwelling corruptions, they 
 lament, in the bitter language of Job, " Behold, I 
 go forward, but he is not there ; and backward, 
 but I cannot perceive him : on the left hand, 
 where he doth work, but I cannot behold him : 
 he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot 
 see him." At such times nothing can satisfy a 
 real believer, but renewed discoveries of a glori- 
 ous Christ ; who is to him altogether lovely, and 
 the chief among ten thousand. ' Come, Lord Je- 
 sus, come quickly,' is his prayer ; ' let me see thy 
 countenance, let me hear thy voice ; for sweet is 
 thy voice, and thy countenance is comely ! In 
 these expressions we observe not only warm love 
 to an absent Redeemer, but distressing anxiety 
 for his return. 
 
 But the case is altered with all those who have 
 died in the Lord; they rest from these difficul- 
 ties, and all those evils that attend the present 
 state. And we are led to ob-crve, as an essen- 
 tial part of their blessedness, that they are in the 
 actual enjoyment of all good. " And their works 
 do follow them." By this sentence we are taught 
 to trace them to some other slate of being. They 
 have bid adieu forever to the present scene ; bur 
 2 L
 
 274 THt BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE 
 
 have not lost their existence, nor yet sunk into 
 a state of sleep or inactivity. They have only 
 changed place, earth for heaven ; a vale of tears, 
 for the presence of God. They have been conduct- 
 ed by their guardian angels to the blissful society 
 of heaven, and are seated in yonder glory, among 
 the spirits of just men made perfect ; among all 
 the redeemed with the blood of Jesus. There 
 they enjoy the company of patriarch.-, prophets, 
 evangelists, and the noble army of martyrs. 
 There old friends meet together ; and having 
 taken a retrospective view of the way, in which 
 the Lord led them in this wilderness ; the various 
 deliverances he had wrought for them, and that 
 abundant mercy displayed in their being made 
 heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, they 
 unite with all the illustrious company of saints* 
 to adore the Lamb. Now they are without sin 
 and sorrow j , they no more complain, ' I sought 
 him, but I found him not ;' for they are in the 
 immediate presence of the Lord Jesus, who is to 
 them a real object of sight. They behold his 
 glory, and are satisfied with appearing in his like- 
 ness. To them an abundant entrance has been 
 ministered into the kingdom Of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and their works have followed them. It 
 is an old, but a just remark, that their works 
 did not go before, to give them a title to the 
 kingdom of heaven, or to plead their admission 
 into it : no, this unspeakable favour they re- 
 ceive purely on account of the merits of Christ, 
 through whom they obtain remission of sins, 
 .and inheritance among them that are sanctified. 
 They were accepted in the Beloved, in whom 
 all the elect of God are complete. And upoa 

 
 
 WHO DIE IN THE LORD. 273 
 
 their arrival in that world of glory, they had 
 nothing to plead as a reason of acceptance but 
 the perfect righteousness of Jesus. " Their 
 works followed them when admitted," says one; 
 " as the robe which, on a king's coronation-day, 
 flows from his shoulders, cannot but accompany 
 him wheresoever he goes. It may be pertinent, 
 on the mention of this illustration, just to hint, 
 that as it is not the robe of state that makes the 
 king, so neither is it the practice of holiness that 
 makes the Christian. An union with Christ, an 
 interest in his merits, and the indwelling pre- 
 sence of his Spirit ; these, and nothing short of 
 these, constitute the true Christian. Yet, as the 
 royal robe is an attendant on majesty, and dis- 
 tinguishes the monarch ; so practical godliness 
 is inseparable from faith, and adorns the believer. ,, 
 But after all that can be said of their happiness, 
 it will readily be acknowledged, that we fall far 
 short of an adequate description. We can better 
 describe their miseries in this life, than their feli- 
 cities in heaven. Verily " we see through a 
 glass, darkly; but then face to face" "We 
 know but in part, and we prophesy but in part ; 
 but when that which is perfect is come, then that 
 which is in part shall be done away." Yet this 
 we are assured of, that the dead are blessed who 
 die in the Lord ; and we are in a degree made 
 acquainted with the nature of that blessedness : 
 but fully to investigate it, is impossible in our 
 present state of sin and ignorance. Nevertheless, 
 in this we rejoice, that what we know not now, 
 we shall know hereafter. 
 
 As an improvement of the subject, 1 .would 
 bserve,
 
 76 THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE 
 
 1. That these instances of mortality should re- 
 mind us of our own end. Their silent, but per- 
 suasive language, is, " Be ye aiso ready, for in 
 such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man 
 cometh." It is appointed for all once to die : this 
 event is inevitable, but the time when it shall take 
 place, uncertain. Man's days on the earth are as a 
 shadow, and there is none abiding. This is a truth 
 none can deny. The fathers, where are they ? and 
 the prophets, do they live forever ? No : death visits, 
 without distinction, the palaces of kings, and the 
 cottages of the poor ; men of eminence, and such 
 as are less distinguished ; the aged and the youth. 
 Where are all the inhabitants of the first ages of 
 the world ? Alas, they have long since submitted 
 to the stroke of death. What numbers have 
 walked these streets, filled our public places, bust- 
 led through the world under a weight of cares,, 
 carried on great business, been serviceable in 
 their day, who are now no more in time ? Kow 
 many that have statedly worshipped in this place, 
 that sat on yonder seats, all attention, while the 
 glories of the gospel were declared, are now con- 
 fined in the land of darkness ? Some that from this 
 de<-k have preached unto you Jesus and the resur- 
 rection, and were once warmly engaged for God's 
 glory and your salvation, are now returning to 
 dust. Death indeed hath slain his ten thousands ! 
 What means the passing bell? Why go the 
 mourners about the streets ? These are all loud 
 call> to us to consider our latter end. It hastens : 
 before tomorrow's rising sun, some of us may be 
 called to the judgment-seat of Christ 1 WhicK 
 leads us to observe, 
 
 2. That it is a necessary inquiry, Are we in the 
 Lord. ? Have we ever heen called out of darkness
 
 WHO DIE IN THE LORD. 27? 
 
 into marvellous light ? Ever brought to believe 
 in the Lord Jesus Christ ? Important questions ! 
 Death is on his way : we stand exposed every 
 moment to an arrest ; and should we be over- 
 taken in a state of unbelief, we are gone for- 
 ever. Mankind need not hesitate a moment 
 about their natural condition ; they are dead in 
 trespasses and sins. Having violated the divine 
 law, they v.re under its curse ; and dying in that 
 state must be damned. If such, and such only, 
 are blessed who die in the Lord, then all those 
 who go out of the world in a state of impeni- 
 tence, being without God and without Christ, 
 must perish under the amazing load of their own 
 guilt. Row awful is the consideration! Yet awful 
 as it is, we have had a long experience, that in it- 
 self it is utterly insufficient to quicken dead sin- 
 ners. They will not believe, though one should 
 rise from the dead ; being under the powerful in- 
 fluence of enmity against God, and his glorious 
 method of salvation. May the Holy Ghost ac- 
 company the solemn truth to the sinner's con- 
 science, and slay that native principle, which will 
 be his everlasting ruin, if unsubdued. 
 
 3. What has been delivered may tend loth to 
 support believers under their manifold afflictions, 
 and to remove their fears of death. The pres- 
 ent is a checquered state ; these are their days of 
 mourning. Neither have they any intimation 
 from their divine Lord, that they shall be deliver- 
 ed from afflictions, until they put off the body. 
 While in the world they are ne^er secure. It oft- 
 en happens, that when they have emerged from 
 under a heavy trial, and begin to think the worst 
 is past, that an affliction still more grievous takes
 
 27$ THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE 
 
 place. To-day applauded ; to-morrow condemn- 
 ed : one hour in affluence, the next reduced to 
 want : one day in health, prosperous in business, 
 and happy in the blessings of domestic life ; the 
 next, attacked with inveterate disease, frowned 
 upon by Divine Providence in trade ; or despoil- 
 ed of those very things, which in their nature 
 were calculated to render the calamities of life 
 more supportable. But in the midst of all these 
 distresses, believers may thus reflect ; ' This is not 
 our rest : we have our eye fixed on the recom- 
 pense of reward ; and desire that these light af- 
 flictions, which are but for a moment, may work 
 for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight 
 of glory. Verily we know, that if we suffer, we 
 shall also reign with him. And who can think 
 hard of the sufferings of this present time, when 
 he looks to that glory which shall be revealed in 
 him ? They are not worthy to be compared with 
 it/ 
 
 As these glorious truths tend to support believ- 
 ers under present afflictions, so they remove the 
 fears of death. Why should they fear, who are 
 united to Jesus, and whose sins are pardoned 
 through the blood of sprinkling ? The sting of 
 death is sin. If sin be pardoned, what harm can 
 death do to the Christian ? He may dissolve the 
 union that has long subsisted between the soul and 
 body ; but, glory be to God in the highest, that 
 neither death, nor any other creature, shall ever 
 be able to separate the soul from Christ. " They 
 shall never perish," said he, speaking of his peo- 
 ple under the character of sheep, " neither shall 
 any pluck them out of my hands. " Die they 
 must ; but their very bodies shall be kept in safe-
 
 WHO DIE IN THE LORD. 279 
 
 ty, until the resurrection of the just. Then Christ 
 will change those vile bodies, and fashion them 
 like unto his glorious body. " There is," says an 
 apostle, " one glory of the sun, and another glory 
 of the moon, and another glory of the stars ; for 
 one star differeth from another star in glory. So 
 also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown 
 in corruption, it is raised in incorruption : it is 
 sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory : it is sown 
 in weakness, it is raised in power : it is sown a nat- 
 ural body, it is raised a spiritual body." This is 
 one of the very comfortable articles of the Chris- 
 tian faith ; and greatly conducive to reconcile the 
 mind to death. Why should the believer be 
 afraid to commit his sickly, infirm, and perhaps 
 emaciated body to the tomb, when he can do it 
 in sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrec- 
 tion? 
 
 And as to his immortal spirit, it does, as already 
 observed, instantly pass to glory. The partition 
 between earth and heaven is thin ; " absent from 
 the body, and present with theLord." Thus writes 
 an inspired apostle. Whereas we too commonly 
 speak asthough the spirit, upon its separation from 
 the body, travels through immeasurable tracts of 
 space, before it arrives at the celestial mansions. 
 But did we strictly attend to the holy scriptures, 
 methinks we should readily conclude, that the 
 soul, upon the dissolution of the body, finds it- 
 self at once surrounded by myriads of perfect 
 spirits, and in the transporting view of the ascend- 
 ed Saviour. Why then should the Christian feat 
 to die ? Rather, why is he not, with the apostle, 
 desirous to depart, that lie might be with Christ ? 
 Austin wished to die, that he might see that bless*
 
 280 THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE 
 
 ed head that was once crowned with thorns. If 
 believers are not allowed to wish for death, yet 
 they may, and it is right they should, wait with 
 pleasing expectation for their great change, as it will 
 dismiss them from the flesh, and its numerous in- 
 cumbrances, and introduce them irto the pres- 
 ence of God, where is fullness of joy, and pleasures 
 for evermore ! There they shall behold that com- 
 passionate Jesus, who once agonized in the gar- 
 den, until his sweat was as it were great drops 
 of blood ; who was betrayed by Judas, arraigned 
 at the bar of Pilate ; and though declared to be in^ 
 nocent, went forth bearing his cross, and died 
 the just for the unjust ! And they shall forever 
 sing the new 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." 
 
 4. In fine, what has been said is calculated 
 to give support and comfort, under the death 
 of pious relations. Have we reason to think 
 that they died in the Lord ? The Holy Ghost 
 hath pronounced them blessed. Permit me to 
 say, that this is the case in the present afflictive 
 visitation. Has the Lord removed one so nearly 
 related, and so high in affection, to the world of 
 spirits ? Blessed be his name, that the survivors 
 have every satisf ing evidence that she died in 
 the Lord ; therefore they do not sorrow as 
 those who have no hope. 
 
 Had I not been so nearly concerned, here I 
 might have been permitted to say something of 
 her character. But should it be attempted, some 
 might judge it an impropriety ; and perhaps in 
 the warmth of filial affection, too much might be-
 
 WHO DIE IN THE LORJfc &&1 
 
 said. Yet how would it look to be silent? 
 Tell me, what forbids a child to speak well, of a 
 venerable parent, when it may be done with the 
 strictest regard to truth ? Bear with me, I had 
 rather be censured, than slight the memory o 
 one of the best of mothers. After all, it is an 
 agreeable circumstance, that I can do it in thfc 
 words of the worthy minister* of the diurch, of 
 which she lived and died a member y as delivered 
 by him on the solemn occasion. " Much might 
 be said in her favour with the greatest justice .; 
 many things in her, worthy of praise and imitation, 
 came under my own notice. I had the pleasure 
 of an intimate acquaintance with, her for, mor^ 
 t-har twenty years ; during which time her con 
 ver-ation was such as became the gospel of 
 Christ : and prior to the commencement of our 
 acquaintance, she had several years been a. warm* 
 zealous, and exemplary professor of religion. S& 
 thai, although she often lamented her having 
 lived too many years in vanity, she was converted 
 to God in the very prime of life ; and which sha 
 spent to good purposes. She had naturally a 
 great flow of spirits, and much vivacity of tem> 
 per : which being by grace properly regulated, 
 and kept under due restraint, made her appoar 
 with a brighter lu i tre in the Christian life. Mop 
 behaviour was lively, but not light-; cheerful, but 
 not vain. She maintained a close communion 
 with God ; was often engaged in her clo>et, and 
 constant in her attendance on the word and ordi* 
 nances of the gospel. Out of the abundance of 
 her heart, her mouth frequently spake of divine 
 
 * Reverend Oliver Unit, of Charleston, South- Carolina. 
 2 M
 
 282 THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE, &c 
 
 things ; and which she did in a way suitable to 
 the cases of those with whom she conversed. 
 The poor and distressed, by various methods, she 
 would help and relieve ; and ever manifested a 
 singular regard for ministers of the gospel. 
 
 " In social and domestic life, she was an affec- 
 tionate wife, a tender parent, a kind mistress, 
 and a sincere friend : an Israelite indeed, in 
 whom was no guile. Her last and fatal illness 
 was both tedious and painful ; which she supported 
 with much patience, and resignation ; until na- 
 ture, being entirely exhausted, sunk under the 
 weight ; and she sweetly slept in Jesus." And 
 give me leave to subjoin, that she always admir- 
 ed the astonishing riches of grace ; and that love 
 of God which passeth knowledge. And did invari- 
 ably, from her real acquaintance with the gospel, 
 adopt the language of St. Paul to the Philippians ; 
 46 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss, for 
 the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus 
 my Lord ; and do count them but dung, that 
 I may win Christ, and be found in him, not hav- 
 ing mine own righteousness, which is of the law, 
 but that which is through the faith of Christ, 
 the righteousness which is of God by faith." 
 
 In such a case, my brethren, how great must 
 be the loss of surviving relatives ? But infinitely 
 greater the gain of them, who have thus walked 
 with God, and died in faith. May all of us be fol- 
 lowers of them, who through faith and patience 
 inherit the promises. Even so, Lord Jesus! 
 Amen.
 
 SERMON XIV.* 
 
 THE RESURRECTION, AND CHANGE OF THE VILE BODY, 
 
 i CORINTHIANS, xv. 5154. 
 Behold I shew you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, hut we shall 
 be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last 
 trump : for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised 
 incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must 
 put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 
 So when this corruption shall have put on incorruption.. and this 
 portal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass 
 the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 
 
 1 HE general resurrection of the dead is 
 the subject on which Paul treats in this chapter ; 
 for which we are entirely indebted to divine 
 revelation. Yet there are some things which are 
 analogous to it in the natural world. For exam- 
 ple : the seed that is cast into the earth, when 
 sown, appears to us to be dead, springs up first 
 the blade, then the ear, and finally the full corn in 
 the ear : nor is the seed quickened except it die. 
 This is a resurrection. 
 
 This is the case with some of the class of insects, 
 The silk-worm, after having fed for a few weeks, 
 winds himself up in a small case j there remains 
 in a dead, or torpid state ; at length he perforates 
 his inclosure, and comes forth a moth or butter- 
 fly. Does not this instance represent a resurrec- 
 tion ? 
 
 * Never before printed. Delivered November 30, i&ofc
 
 284 THE RESURRECTION, AND 
 
 I mention one thing more, in which there is a 
 most striking analogy to the resurrection ; I mean 
 the returning seasons of the year. In the fall or 
 autumn, the trees are stripped of their verdant 
 honours ; plants and flowers lose all their beau- 
 ties ; the verdure of the fields is destroyed by 
 frosts, or covered with snow ; and the feathered 
 company, that sung among the branches, become 
 Silent, or, taught by instinct, leave us, and seek 
 9 retreat in some more hospitable clime. 
 
 Thus nature i^ clad with the habiliment- of 
 death. From such an appearance, who couid ever 
 expect that she would revive and live again, unless 
 taught to believe it from what has so often taken 
 place ? Yet this has been the case ever since cre- 
 ation. When the spring approaches, the trees 
 gradually resume their foliage, and present us 
 with their fruit ; the fields with their verdure ; 
 the flowers appear on the earth, and the time of 
 the singing of birds comes on. All nature looks 
 fresh and gay. What is this but a general resur- 
 rection ? Does it not bear a great analogy to the 
 resurrection of the dead at the last day, when all 
 that steep in the dust of the earth shall come 
 forth ? He who effects the one can accomplish the 
 other : nor should it be thought a thing incredi- 
 ble, that God should raise the dead. This very 
 important truth Paul proves in this chapter. " For 
 as by man came death, by man came also the 
 resurrection of the dead." 
 
 After all that he had said in proof of this sub- 
 ject, he anticipates an objection some might be 
 ready to make, viz. How shall they be disposed 
 of, who shall remain alive at the second coming 
 of Christ. As they die not, they cannot be 
 raised. To answer which, he introduces the pas*
 
 CHANGE OF THE VILE BODY. 283 
 
 sage first read to you : " Behold, I shew you a 
 mystery : we shall not all sleep, but we shall be 
 changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an, 
 eye, at the sound of the last trump." 
 
 Let. us consider the passage before us in its nat- 
 ural order. 
 
 I. " Behold, I shew you a mystery." 
 
 There are few words in divinity that are more 
 exceptionable to natural men than this. It lias 
 often been a stumbling-block to infidels ; not be- 
 cause it is peculiar to revelation, but because they 
 have a fixed aversion to Christianity. 
 
 That there are mysteries in creation and prov- 
 idence, all mu^t confess. Why then should any 
 man be unwilling to admit, that there may also 
 be mysteries in revelation ? Or why should ob- 
 jections be raised against the truth of Christianity 
 on this account ? The objections of this kind will 
 apply with equal force against the creation of all 
 things, and the plan of providence. 
 
 It may be useful here to shew in what senses 
 the word ' mystery' is used in the sacred scripture. 
 
 1. It is used to denote a truth, which is 
 above the comprehension of the finite mind. 
 This is the case of the first principle of all religion 
 and morality ; the eternity and ne< effary .>eif- 
 existence of Jehovah. We believe that this is a 
 truth, but we never pretend to comprehend it. 
 What do we know of an eternal, self-existent 
 Being ? We use terms which neither angels nor 
 men can comprehend. 
 
 The nature of Jehovah will forever remain a 
 mystery or an incomprehensible truth, because it 
 is above all minds to comprehend, except the in. 
 finite mind itself. It will remain a mystery for-
 
 286 THE RESURRECTION, AND 
 
 ever, from the nature of things. Till finite shall 
 be able to understand infinite, the divine nature 
 will continue to be a mystery. And shall we dare 
 to say, that there is no such glorious Being, be- 
 cause we cannot comprehend eternity and infin- 
 ity? This is both unreasonable and wicked. 
 " Who by searching can find out God, or the Al- 
 mighty to perfection ?" Could any of his crea- 
 tures comprehend him, he would cease to be 
 God ; and consequently he would be no longer an 
 object of supreme love and adoration. 
 
 The belief of the existence of a supreme Intelli- 
 gence, who created and who governs the world, 
 forces itself upon the mind. The Christian who 
 receives the sacred scriptures as the ground of his 
 faith and practice, will also admit the doctrine of 
 a Trinity in Unity. That there are three who 
 bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and 
 the holy Ghost, and that these three are one, 
 he readily admits ; although he does not attempt 
 to explain this mysterious union, even to him- 
 self. He feels no greater embarrassment in admit- 
 ting this truth than he does in admitting the be- 
 lief of an eternal, self-existent First Cause. All 
 that relates to the modus of the divine exist- 
 ence, must, by reason of our limited capacities, 
 be mystery to us. 
 
 The same may be said with regard to the in- 
 carnation of Christ. The sacred scriptures de- 
 clare, that " the Word was made flesh, and dwelt 
 among us ;" that in the man Jesus dwelt " all the 
 fullness of the Godhead bodily." But this union 
 between the divine and human natures of Christ, 
 or what St. Paul calls "God manifest in the 
 flesh," is, without controversy, a great mystery.
 
 CHANGE OF THE VILE BODY- 287 
 
 <2. The same thing may be asserted as to the 
 work of creation. What idea have we of God's 
 Creating all things out of nothing ? or, can we 
 conceive of that act of Deity that gave existence 
 to matter, and reduced it to its various forms ? 
 It was so j but how it was, we know not. He 
 spake, and it was done ; he commanded, and it 
 stood fast j he said, Let there be light, and there 
 was light. 
 
 3. Mystery attends the providence of God. 
 Clouds and darkness are round about him. His 
 way is in the sea, and his judgments are a great 
 deep. I need not take up your time by enume- 
 rating the many unaccountable things that take 
 place in the divine government, which Jehovah, 
 had he seen fit, could have prevented, but hath 
 not. 
 
 4. This is the case with the gospel, or with 
 divine revelation : 
 
 Here 1 would remark, 
 (1.) That it is no reasonable objection to Chris- 
 tianity, that there are mysteries in it, any more 
 than it is to creation and providence. The ob- 
 jection may with equal force be applied to the 
 latter as to the former. 
 
 (2.) I remark, that a mystery is not contrary 
 to reason, but above it. It may be perfectly con- 
 sistent with reason, though reason may not be 
 able to comprehend or explain it. 1 may illus- 
 trate this observation in the following manner : 
 The minds of mankind arc not equal as to pow- 
 ers or information. Hence it follow--, that what 
 may be a mystery to one, may be well understood 
 by another. To a very ignorant man, of small 
 powers of mind, many things are uninti '.iigiblc.
 
 288 THE RESURRECTION, AND 
 
 Ascend from him to a person of a greater mind 
 and better information, and he correctly under- 
 stands what perplexed the other. Thus we may 
 ascend, from men of common capacities, to the 
 astonishing genius of a Newton ; and we shall 
 find that the things which were mysteries to 
 many persons of less penetration than he, were 
 well understood by his great and penetrating 
 mind. Pass from a Newton to the holy angels, 
 and they comprehend what he could not. Pass 
 from angels to the Infinite Mind, and no mystery- 
 remains. All things lie naked and open to his 
 view. These observations show, that what may 
 be a mystery to some, is plainly understood by 
 others. It follows, that a matter may be above 
 our reason that is not contrary to it ; if contrary 
 to it, the matter could not be comprehended by 
 any mind. 
 
 (3.) I pass naturally to observe, from what has 
 been said, that the increase of religious knowledge 
 will naturally remove much pei'plexity from the 
 mind. This is the case in this life. Hence Paul 
 says, " When I was a child, I thought as a child ; 
 I understood as a child ; but when I became a 
 man, I put away childish things." Christians have 
 many childish things, which they will put away 
 upon their increase of divine knowledge. But 
 when they shall arrive in glory, they shall know 
 even as they are known. " Now they see 
 through a glass darkly, then face to face." This 
 thought may afford the Christian some consola- 
 tion under present ignorance and perplexity. In- 
 crease of knowledge will, undoubtedly, be a 
 great part of the happiness of heaven*
 
 CHANGE OF THE VILE BODY. 289 
 
 2. I now pass to mention, that the term 
 mystery is used in the holy scriptures to signify 
 a truth that the disciples understood, but which 
 the people at large did not understand. " To 
 you it is given," said Christ to his disciples, " to 
 know the mysteries of the kingdom ; but to 
 them that are without, these things are done in 
 parables." Matt. xiii. 11. The disciples under- 
 stood what Christ calls the mystery of the king- 
 dom, but the world did not. 
 
 3. It is used to signify a truth that had been 
 long hid, but which was at length revealed. 
 Thus Paul speaks of the calling of the Gentiles : 
 The mystery which had been hid from ages and 
 from generations ; but which is now made man- 
 ifest to the saints ; that the Gentiles should be 
 fellow-heirs, and partakers of the same blessings 
 with the Jews. Colos. i. 26. 
 
 Thus we learn, that the term mystery, in the 
 holy scriptures, is used in three senses ; for a 
 truth that is in its own nature incomprehensible, 
 as the eternal, self-existent Jehovah ; the doctrine 
 of the Trinity ; the incarnation of Christ, &c. 
 Also for a truth that was known to the disciples, 
 but not to the people at large. And for a truth 
 that had been long hid, but was at length reveal- 
 ed ; as the calling of the Gentiles to the fellow- 
 ship of the gospel. The latter appears to be the 
 sense of the term in the text. 
 
 II. " Behold I shew you a mystery : we shall 
 not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a mo- 
 ment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last 
 trump ; for the trumpet shall sound, and the 
 dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall 
 be changed." 
 
 2 N
 
 290 THE RESURRECTION, AND 
 
 This change that will pass on the saints at the 
 last day he calls a mystery, because, 
 
 1. It had been a hidden truth or fact till now- 
 revealed. "Behold I shew you a mystery :" that 
 is, I reveal to you what you never knew before. 
 As soon as revealed, it was no more a mystery. 
 
 2. He calls this change a mystery, because it 
 will be produced in a mysterious manner. The 
 same divine power that created the universe, will 
 be exerted to produce this wonderful and instanta- 
 neous change on the bodies of living saints. How 
 striking is Paul's account of this change " In a 
 moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last 
 trump : for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead 
 shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be 
 changed." We are here taught the suddenness 
 of this change " in a moment." Perhaps too, 
 in a moment unlooked for. Solemn thought ! 
 
 We are also taught that the resurrection of the 
 dead will be alike sudden, and that the same pow- 
 er that will raise the dead will change the living 
 saints. " The dead," says he, " shall be raised, 
 and we shall be changed :" both will take place 
 in the same moment. What an august scene will 
 open to an astonished universe ! 
 
 The apostle says, " We shall not all sleep." 
 He uses the term we, not to intimate that he 
 should remain till Christ's second coming ; but as 
 one of the great family of man. We, mankind 
 at large, shall not all sleep, i. e. die. He himself 
 hath been dead many centuries, and will be 
 among the number who shall be raised at the last 
 day. But some of the human race, both saints 
 and sinners, will remain alive at that period, who 
 will be changed.
 
 CHANGE OF THE VILE BODY. 291 
 
 " We shall not all sleep." This soft and pleas- 
 ing term is repeatedly used in the sacred oracles, 
 to denote death. Christ says, " Our friend Laz- 
 arus sleepeth ; but I go that I may awake him 
 out of sleep." " Then they also that sleep in Je- 
 sus will God bring with him," The analogy be- 
 tween sleep and death, though natural, is very 
 striking. 
 
 In sleep there is rest ; so in death. " Blessed 
 are the dead that die in the Lord : from hence- 
 forth, saith the Spirit, for they rest from their 
 labours, and their works do follow them." 
 
 They who sleep are insensible of the events 
 that take place around them : so it is with the 
 dead ; for in the grave there is no work, wis- 
 dom, device, or knowledge. But I believe the 
 principal idea of the apostle, when he compared 
 death to sleep, was, he who sleeps expects to 
 rise again ; so it is with the saints who die. 
 They believe that they shall rise again at the 
 last day, to die no more. Hence they submit to 
 death in sure and certain hope of a resurrection 
 to eternal life. 
 
 III. Our apostle proceeds to shew in what the 
 change will consist, that is to take place on the 
 bodies of the saints who shall be found alive at 
 the second coming of Christ. The bodies of the 
 dead that are raised, and of the living saints who 
 will be changed, will be alike. This the apostle 
 teacheth us by applying what follows in the text 
 to both. " For this corruptible must put on in- 
 corruption." 
 
 The body in its present state is subject to cor- 
 ruption. Of this we have melancholy proof in 
 the many instances of gangrene, cancer, and par-
 
 292 THE RESURRECTION, AND 
 
 tial mortification in some persons while alive, to 
 such a degree as to render them disagreeable to 
 themselves and to those who attend them. 
 
 But if mankind escape this most distressing 
 condition while living, how soon after they have 
 died, do they become a mass of putrefaction, in- 
 somuch that their friends are obliged to hurry 
 them to the grave for the sake of the living. 
 However much beloved before, they now say 
 with Abraham, " Bury my dead out of my 
 sight." The apostle therefore styles it this vile 
 body. " Who shall change this vile body, and 
 fashion it like unto his glorious body." But 
 *' this corruptible must put on incorruption." 
 After this change, it shall be spiritual and glori- 
 ous, and thus fit to be re-united to the soul, and 
 in a complete person enter into the joy of the 
 Lord. 
 
 " And this mortal must put on immortality." 
 That body which was subject to disease and death 
 must put on immortality. It will become as im- 
 mortal as the mind or soul itself. " Then shall be 
 brought to pass the saying that is written (Isaiah 
 xxv. 8.) Death is swallowed up in victory." The 
 resurrection or change of the body will be the 
 destruction of death, because the grave shall de- 
 liver up the dead that are in it, and the sea shall 
 give up the dead that are in it, and there shall 
 be no more pain, no more death ; for the for- 
 mer things shall all be passed away. 
 
 Let us now close the subject with a few reflect 
 tions : 
 
 1. How sublime and interesting is this doc- 
 trine of divine revelation ! What a cheering 
 prospect it opens to the believer, when contem-
 
 CHANGE OF THE VILE BODY. 293 
 
 plating the dissolution of the body. Though now 
 vile, and subject to disease and death, it shall 
 finally be changed, and fashioned like to Christ's 
 glorious body. What inconceivable joys await 
 the real Christian, in this perfect resurrection 
 state. " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
 have entered into the heart of man, the things 
 which God hath prepared for them that love 
 him." 
 
 The last trump will sound with sufficient ener- 
 gy to raise the dead. He who has all power in 
 heaven and earth in his hands can easily call the 
 dead from the grave. Of this we have decisive 
 proof in the resurrection of Lazarus. How in- 
 teresting is this truth to the dying Christian. 
 Supported by its influence, he is enabled to say, 
 " Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ." It is interesting 
 also to the living Christian. When he follows 
 his pious, beloved friend to the grave, he rejoices 
 that he shall live again. " Not lost, but gone 
 before," is his motto, when such are removed 
 from him. 
 
 2. For this blessing we are indebted to Christ : 
 " for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again ; 
 even so them also that sleep in Jesus will God 
 bring with him." 
 
 The resurrection of Christ is a sure pledge of 
 the resurrection of his people. He rose as their 
 Head, and for their justification. Often beset 
 with difficulties and dangers, the believer is ready 
 to say, If in this life only we have hope in Christ, 
 we are of all men most miserable. " But now 
 Che can add) is Christ risen from the dead, and 
 become the first fruits of them that slept. Christ
 
 294 THE RESURRECTION, &<s 
 
 the first fruits ; afterward they that are Christ's 
 at his coming." 
 
 3. How glorious to the saints will be the res- 
 urrection day ? This to them will be a morning 
 without clouds. It will be the beginning of a 
 glorious scene, that will never close. They will 
 now enter upon the felicities of that state, and be 
 introduced into that kingdom, prepared for them 
 from the foundation of the world. The Lamb 
 that is in the midst of the throne shall lead them 
 to living fountains of water ; and God himself 
 shall dwell with them, and be their God ; and all 
 tears shall be wiped away. 
 
 4. And lastly, how awful will that day be to 
 unbelievers. They must also rise, but " to the 
 resurrection of damnation." How unspeakably 
 distressing the condition of those, who shall then 
 be driven to cry to the rocks and mountains, say- 
 ing, " Fall on us, and hide us from Him that 
 sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of 
 the Lamb : for the great day of his wrath is 
 come, and who shall be able to stand." 
 
 May the Lord enable such of you as are in a 
 Christless state, to bow to the sceptre of mercy, 
 before it is too late ; before the pit shut its 
 mouth upon you, and repentance be finally hid- 
 den from your eyes. The Lord grant that ye 
 may find mercy in that day, for Christ's sake. 
 Amen.
 
 SERMON XV.* 
 
 THE NATURE AND USES OF PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM lxv. 2. 
 thou that heartst prayer, unto thee shall all jlesh come. 
 
 1 HE being and perfections of God are 
 the foundation of all religion and morality. This 
 principal truth is established by every thing 
 around us, and by the common consent of man- 
 kind ; and is inseparably connected with many 
 other important principles : such as, the creation 
 of all things ; upholding, preserving and govern- 
 ing all things. That Deity had a certain and 
 very important end in view in bringing into ex- 
 istence such a great variety of beings, cannot be 
 doubted. That that end shall infallibly be accom- 
 plished ; in order to which, he governs all things, 
 great and small ; the fall of a sparrow, as certain- 
 ly as the rise and fall of empires. If he did not 
 govern all, his plan might be disappointed. That 
 he hath established in his own mind the means by 
 which his purposes shall be brought to pass. 
 Hence follow other truths : such as, that we are 
 accountable to him ; and that there will come a 
 period, when all mankind shall appear before him, 
 to give an account of the things done in the 
 body. To which .1 add, that the duties of prayer 
 and thanksgiving also result from this first prin- 
 ciple : for if God created and governs all things, 
 
 + Delivered April 7, 1S0T, beirii; the quarterly day of prayer.
 
 *96 THE NATURE AND USES OF PRAYER. 
 
 it follows, that we are to ask of him the blessings 
 we need, and to praise him for all those that sur- 
 round us. In this view of things, we learn the 
 dependence that all creation hath on God. 
 To this great source we trace our duties and ob- 
 ligations. The duties in which we are now en- 
 gaged, arise from it. This David well under- 
 stood ; hence he begins the psalm with these 
 words : " Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zi- 
 on ; and unto thee shall the vow be performed." 
 He then adds, " O thou that nearest prayer, unto 
 thee shall all flesh come." The text naturally in- 
 troduces various considerations, that are suitable 
 to the occasion. David, instead of using any of 
 the common names by which Deity is known in 
 the holy scriptures, addresses him in this endear- 
 ing language : " O thou that hearest prayer," 
 and adds, " to thee shall all flesh come ;" that is, 
 in prayer. Let us, on the present occasion, con- 
 sider, 
 
 I. The nature, design, and uses of prayer. 
 
 II. The circumstances that urge us to this du- 
 ty, and our encouragements to engage in it. 
 
 I. The nature, design and uses of prayer. 
 
 Prayer is, properly speaking, the language of 
 the heart. Hence Paul speaks of praying with 
 the spirit. And we read of some persons who 
 are said to worship God with their lips, but their 
 hearts are far from him. No prayer can be ac- 
 ceptable to God, unless the heart is engaged in 
 it. The most excellent expressions, accompanied 
 with the greatest apparent fervour, are nothing 
 but solemn mockery, unless the heart be duly 
 exercised. For Jehovah looks at the heart, and
 
 THE NATURE AND USES OF PRAYER. 297 
 
 we are accepted by him only when that is right in 
 his sight. If so, it follows that those are the best 
 prayers which flow from a heart deeply affected 
 with the holiness of God's character, with a sense 
 of sin, of its own wants, and of Christ's fullness 
 of grace for sinners. Such a heart will naturally 
 dictate the most simple and expressive language. 
 The persons we here describe are, in common, 
 well acquainted with the sacred scriptures ; which 
 furnish us with the most proper expressions for 
 prayer. Hence it is, I believe, that very pious 
 people are generally more able in this duty than 
 others ; because they pray often, pray feelingly, 
 and are well acquainted with the Bible. It may 
 be truly said, in this case, that " out of the abun- 
 dance of the heart, the mouth speaketh." 
 
 But though prayer is properly the language of 
 the heart, it is not confined there ; for this duty is 
 performed by expressions solemnly addressed to 
 the infinite God. Even in the closet, many 
 Christians, perhaps most of them, choose to ex- 
 press the feelings of the heart in words. There 
 is this advantage in it, that it tends to keep up 
 the attention of the mind to its duty ; and to im- 
 press the heart with the subject with which it is 
 conversant. God knows the secret wishes of the 
 mind ; but the good man finds an advantage in 
 expressing these wishes, even when alone. That 
 he may do this without being heard by any one, 
 he chooses places of retirement. 
 
 In considering the nature of prayer, it is proper 
 to observe, that it is also asocial duty ; to be per- 
 formed in the family with a few, and in the pub- 
 lic congregation, with the many. It is a duty of 
 the family. Meads of families, who are really re- 
 V o
 
 298 THE NATURE AND USES OF PRAYER. 
 
 ligious, attend to it with seriousness and punctu- 
 ality. " Let others do as they will," said Joshua, 
 " as for me and my house, we will serve the 
 Lord." 
 
 Every man ought, in some sense, to be a priest 
 in his own house. It must be confessed to be fit, 
 reasonable, and useful, to observe a strict religious 
 order in our families. This part of the subject 
 will come more immediately under consideration 
 in the sequel. I will only say now, that praying 
 families are generally well governed. To worship 
 God in the morning and evening, becomes a hab- 
 it, and is as much expected by your domestics as 
 their regular meals, or their different daily occu- 
 pations. And I appeal to the whole assembly, 
 even to the most gay and thoughtless, whether it 
 is not proper, that the God who made us, and 
 who every moment preserves us, should be wor- 
 shipped ? Is it not improper and criminal to for- 
 get him, and to pass each day without becoming 
 thoughts of God, and gratitude to him for his 
 goodness to us ? Yet many such families there 
 are, who call not upon the Lord ; in which there 
 is no appearance of religion, or of reverence of 
 the infinite God. Let such families remember 
 the following awful passage : " Pour out thy fury 
 upon the heathen, and upon the families that call 
 not upon thy name." 
 
 In better days, when our ancestors came to this 
 country, and long after they had dwelt here, 
 they were very attentive to family religion. In 
 almost every house, prayer was wont to be made. 
 But many of us, their degenerate descendants, 
 not only think we know better than they, but are 
 at times disposed to ridicule their strict attention
 
 THE NATURE AND USES OF PRAYER. 299 
 
 to religion, and brand it with the name of super- 
 stition. In this we discover our degeneracy, and 
 that we have too far forsrotten the God of our 
 fathers ; and society at large is most evidently 
 injured by this part of our conduct. Vice and 
 immorality uncommonly abound ; and children 
 and youth show that their religious education has 
 been neglected. Our progress in vice has been 
 rapid and alarming. Should we proceed in this 
 manner, the next generation will be in a melan- 
 choly condition as to sentiments and morals. 
 
 There are indeed, and will be in every age, 
 some persons of uniform serious character, who 
 set their faces like a flint against corruptions of 
 Christianity in the church, and against the preva- 
 lence of wickedness in the world. They will be 
 useful. But it requires great love of the truth, 
 as well as resolution, to maintain the purity of 
 the gospel, and the self-denial of the cross, in 
 times like the present. We bless God, at the 
 same time, that he never leaves himself without 
 witnesses. There always will be praying persons 
 in the world, who will seriously walk before their 
 families, in the fear of the Lord, or who will 
 make their houses the places where he shall be 
 worshipped and adored. 
 
 In considering the nature of prayer, we are to 
 observe, that it makes a great and an important 
 part of public worship. The primitive Christians 
 employed their time, when together for religious 
 purposes, " in breaking of bread and in prayers." 
 To this duty Christ gave the following important 
 encouragement : " If two of you shall agree as 
 touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be 
 done for them of my Father who is in heaven."
 
 $00 THE NATURE AND USES OF PRAYER, 
 
 All religious societies, I believe, make it a part 
 of their public or social worship. Time imme- 
 morial, they have begun and ended the sacred 
 service with a solemn address to God. How 
 proper it is, that we should ask divine assistance 
 in the beginning, and solicit the blessing of God 
 on the attempts that are made by public instruc- 
 tion, to make mankind wiser and better. We 
 are taught, by an inspired writer, in every thing 
 by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, to 
 let our requests be made known to God. 
 
 The design and uses of prayer are to be also 
 considered, as useful parts of the subject. 
 
 The design of prayer is not to inform Deity of 
 our situation, because he knows what things we 
 have need of before we ask him, he being om- 
 niscient. K All things are naked and opened to 
 the eyes of him with whom we have to do." 
 Nor is prayer designed to prevail on God to 
 alter his mind, or to do any thing he had not 
 before determined to do. For " he is of one 
 mind, and who can turn him ?" With him is no 
 variableness nor shadow of turning. 
 
 But, to come to the point, prayer, like all 
 the other institutions of religion, is designed to 
 promote our spiritual advantage. Considering 
 the depravity of our hearts, and the many temp- 
 tations that await us in the present life, we need 
 continued helps in the way of duty. We want 
 line upon line, and precept upon precept. Prayer 
 is one of those means designed to keep up in our 
 minds a sense of God, of our dependence on 
 him, and gratitude to him for all the blessings that 
 surround us. It is one of God's appointed means 
 of carrying on the divine life in the soul. It is
 
 THE NATURE AND USES OF PRAYER. 301 
 
 the very breath of a new creature, nor can he 
 live without it. Hence, though the Lord hath 
 determined to bestow particular blessings on his 
 people, he will be sought unto for these very- 
 blessings, because this is the only method in 
 which he will bestow them. It is a duty calcu- 
 lated to affect the heart by bringing into view- 
 many of the most solemn and interesting objects, 
 such as God himself, who is always the immedi- 
 ate object of prayer. A mind properly engaged 
 in this duty, takes a comprehensive and affecting 
 view of God in his being and perfections ; in his 
 glory, goodness, purity, justice, faithfulness ; in 
 his omniscience and omnipresence. Such a view 
 of God is calculated to affect the heart, and 
 cause the suppliant to take his own place. He 
 views Christ as the medium of prayer. " For 
 by him," says Paul, " we have access by one 
 Spirit unto the Father." In this new and living 
 way he draws near to God, and humbly hopes 
 for audience and acceptance. Through faith, his 
 prayers are offered upon that golden altar which 
 sanctifieth both the gift and the giver, and niak- 
 eth the comers thereunto perfect. When rightly 
 engaged in this duty, he has solemn and affecting 
 views of himself, his sins, guilt, dingers, weak- 
 nesses and wants ; all which tend to make him 
 importunate, and to humble him. 
 
 The good man has a great concern for the 
 church when in her low state. " If 1 forget 
 thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her 
 cunning ; if I do not remember thee, let my 
 tongue cleave to the roof my mouth ; if I prefer 
 not Jerusalem above my chief joy."
 
 502 THE NATURE AND USES OF PRAYER. 
 
 Nor is the pious heart less affected with the 
 value of the souls of men. He is impressed with 
 the thought that they are immortal, and must 
 consequently be happy or miserable to all eternity. 
 If Christians duly realized this truth, they would 
 pray much for the outpouring of the Spirit of 
 God upon a guilty world. If ministers realized 
 the exposed situation of many of their hearers, 
 and that themselves have shortly to give an ac- 
 count of their stewardship, would they not 
 preach and pray as for eternity ? 
 
 Many are the advantages resulting from prayer. 
 
 1 . The good man feels it to be a solemn thing 
 when in his closet, to be alone with his God. 
 He enters this retired apartment and shuts his 
 door, and then pours the desires of his inmost 
 soul into the bosom of his Father, who seeth in 
 secret, and who in his own time rewardeth him 
 openly. 
 
 Here he is free from all restraint with respect 
 to the manner and matter of his prayers, which 
 he feels too much of when any persons are pres- 
 ent. He can unbosom himself in this retired 
 moment without reserve. Nor has he the same 
 temptation to vanity and pride as when attempt- 
 ing to pray before his fellow worms, whose good 
 opinion he is likely to overvalue. 
 
 2. Public prayer gives opportunity for those 
 who are engaged in a common cause to suppli- 
 cate the throne of grace at the same time, and 
 with one heart. Such seasons serve to impress 
 the mind with a solemn sense of dependence on 
 God, of his all-wise and universal providence, 
 and to raise and strengthen our confidence in him. 
 Prayer, as well as all other institutions of reli-
 
 THE NATURE AND USES OF PRAYER. 303 
 
 gion, is calculated to promote the public good, as 
 well as to increase the happiness of individuals. 
 The union of so many Christians in the same 
 duty, at the same time, must be a pleasing 
 thought to the pious mind. The God who hear- 
 eth prayer has never encouraged the seed of Ja- 
 cob to seek him in vain. 
 
 II. I pass to consider the circumstances that 
 urge us to the duty, and our encouragements to 
 engage in it. 
 
 1. A sense of personal weakness, wants and 
 dangers urges us often to engage in this duty. At 
 some times, our sense of these things is much 
 more lively than it is at other times ; but always 
 it presses us to ask of God those things we need. 
 
 2. A sense of sin, of guilt, and of danger of 
 everlasting ruin urges us to pray for pardon and 
 cleansing ; for sanctifying and preserving grace ; 
 for comfort and joy. 
 
 3. Gloomy and threatening prospects of evil 
 drive us to God, that he would save us from 
 what we fear, or sustain us when it shall have 
 come upon us. 
 
 4. Afflictions in our persons or families have 
 the same tendency. " In their affliction," said 
 God by the prophet Hosea, " they will seek me 
 early." 
 
 As a people, we have many public incentives 
 to this duty. The whole prosperity of nations, 
 as of individuals, is of God ; lier.ee the propriety 
 of days of annual prayer, and of thanksgiving. 
 How proper that we should open the season with 
 prayer for the divine blessing, on our husbandry, 
 fishery, navigation, &e. Our depcnder.ee on 
 God is absolute, therefore we should acknov. 1-
 
 304 THE NATURE AND USES OF PRAYER. 
 
 edge him in all our ways, and he has promised 
 to direct our steps. 
 
 It remains that we consider what encourage- 
 ments we have to engage in this duty. These 
 arise, 
 
 1. From the very nature of God, who is dis- 
 posed, by his benevolence, to do good to his crea- 
 tures. He is said to make the grass to grow for 
 the cattle, and herb for the service of man. He 
 sends his rain on the evil and on the good, and 
 causeth his sun to shine on the just and unjust. 
 He is good to all, and his tender mercies are over 
 all his works. 
 
 2. We derive very great encouragement, in 
 our addresses to God, from the many declara- 
 tions of scripture. His language to us, necessi- 
 tous creatures, is, " Seek ye the Lord while he 
 may be found ; call upon him while he is near." 
 " Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye 
 shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto 
 you : for every one that asketh, receiveth ; and 
 he that seeketh, findeth ; and to him that knock- 
 eth, it shall be opened." 
 
 Not to multiply passages like these, which hold 
 up to our view the same encouragement, I shall 
 only add the text ; " O thou who nearest prayer." 
 This expression not only teacheth us that God 
 hears prayer, but that he answers it. Thus Jacob 
 had power with God, and prevailed. Elijah's 
 prayer was also heard and answered. David says, 
 " This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him' 
 and delivered him out of all his troubles." Dan- 
 iel was heard from the den of lions ; the three 
 Jewish believers from the fiery furnace ; Jonah 
 from the whale's belly. Peter was delivered from
 
 THE NATURE AND USES OF PRAYER. 30 
 
 his prison through the strength of prayer. The 
 history of the church and of the world furnishes 
 us with many striking answers of prayer. 
 
 In your own private lives, Christians, you have 
 had a rich experience of this pleasing truth, that 
 God heareth prayer. When ready to sink under 
 trouble, you have sought the Lord, and he hath 
 answered you. Let us remember the years of 
 the right hand of the Most High. 
 
 A few reflections must close the subject. 
 
 1 . We learn, that prayer is one of the most 
 important duties of the Christian life. As it is 
 founded in the relation we stand in to God, as 
 his dependent creatures, our obligation can never 
 cease, so long as we have a want to deplore, or he 
 a favour to bestow. 
 
 2. What a blessed privilege we enjoy in dis- 
 charging this important duty. Our heavenly Fa- 
 ther permits us, in this solemn act, to draw near 
 to him ; and graciously invites us to come, with 
 the humble boldness of children to a father. In 
 this way we converse and enjoy communion with 
 God. We leave our wants with him, and in due 
 time receive gracious answers of peace ; or, if de- 
 nied the things we ask, we rest satisfied that a God 
 of infinite goodness has done right. Christians, 
 you know the preciousness of this privilege : for 
 often have you gone to a throne of grace burden- 
 ed with sorrows and afflictions, and ready to sink 
 in despondency ; but found yourselves comforted 
 in leaving your cause with God, and casting your 
 cares upon him. 
 
 We add, in concluding the subject, that the 
 want of a disposition to pray, is a bad omen of a 
 2 v
 
 306 THE NATURE AND USES OF PRAYER. 
 
 bad heart. A Christian, in the lively exercise of 
 grace, cannot live without prayer. Daniel could 
 not be denied the privilege even for thirty days. 
 Let such then as cast off fear and restrain prayer 
 before God, consider their awful situation. How- 
 ever secure they may now feel, let them remem- 
 ber, that the time may come, yea, may not be far 
 distant, when they may attempt to pray, but all 
 in vain. They will be constrained to use the 
 emphatic language of Job, " O that I knew where 
 I might find him, that I might come even to his 
 seat ! Behold, I go forward, but he is not there ; 
 and backward, but I cannot perceive him ; on 
 the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot 
 behold him : he hideth himself on the right hand, 
 that I cannot see him." To increase their per- 
 plexity, they may have to complain with the 
 prophet, " Also when I cry and shout, he shut- 
 eth out my prayer." 
 
 Let such be exhorted to seek the Lord while 
 he may be found, and call upon him while he is 
 near ; lest his fury break forth upon them like 
 fire, and burn, that none can quench it. 
 
 The Lord grant that we may all be prepared 
 for the great final day, by being adorned in the 
 perfect righteousness of the Saviour, that so 
 an abundant entrance may be ministered unto us 
 into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Amen.
 
 SERMON XVI.* 
 
 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 PROVERBS, xi. SO. 
 
 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life ; and he that ivinneth 
 souls is wise. 
 
 JdY " the righteous " is meant the real 
 believer, who is made " righteous by the obedi- 
 ence of One ;" and who, having been renewed 
 in the spirit of his mind, acts agreeably to the 
 strictest rules of uprightness, under the influence 
 of evangelic principles. 
 
 By his fruit we understand his Christian tem- 
 pers, his holy .life, and his godly conversation. 
 On these accounts he is a tree of life, deep rooted, 
 and laden with those fruits which are to the praise 
 and glory of God. He hath his fruit unto holi- 
 ness, and the end will be everlasting life : whom 
 David beautifully describes, Psalm i. S. " And he 
 shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, 
 that bringcth forth his fruit in his season : his 
 leaf also shall not wither ; and whatsoever lie do- 
 eth shall prosper." 
 
 The text is descriptive of all good men, but 
 especially of the faithful ministers of the gospel ; 
 who are said to watch for souls as they who must 
 give an account. 
 
 * Delivered in Salem, at the ordination of thr Rev Jucius 
 Bo'lci, January 9, i'd -5 .
 
 S08 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 I. Let us consider the nature and great im- 
 portance of the object of their ministry, with the 
 means best calculated to accomplish it. 
 
 IT. Shew in what respects he who winneth 
 souls is wise. 
 
 I. The nature and great importance of the 
 object of the gospel ministry, to win souls, with 
 the means best calculated to accomplish it. 
 
 Solomon uses the term souls to signify the 
 whole person. In this sense it is used in the sa- 
 cred scriptures, and in common conversation. In 
 Acts xxvii. 37. Paul says, " We were all in the 
 ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls/* 
 We say in common, when we describe a ship- 
 wreck, in which all the people were lost, ' every 
 soul perished.* 
 
 He might also intend to convey to us the idea, 
 that the soul is the man, or his most important 
 part. The body is mere matter, mysteriously 
 united to the mind, and under its direction and 
 influence. Hence it is, that by an act of the will, 
 we can extend an arm, and bring it again to the 
 body ; we can walk, run, and perform the vari- 
 ous functions of animal nature, unless prevented 
 by some natural cause : and, as it has no con- 
 sciousness, it cannot be accountable. It follows, 
 that the soul is the man, or his most important 
 part ; and being a conscious, intelligent agent, 
 will ultimately be called to give an account of 
 every thing done in the body. 
 
 u How complicate, how wonderful is man ! 
 How passing wonder He who made him so ! 
 Who center'd in our make such strange extremes !" 
 
 YouNr,,
 
 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 30$ 
 
 There are two sources, whence we may derive 
 the most correct ideas of the human soul ; the 
 sacred scriptures, and our own consciousness of 
 what passes within us. Moses informs us, that 
 " the Lord God formed man of the dust of the 
 ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath 
 of life ; and man became a living soul." Here 
 we are taught that the soul was immediately in- 
 spired by God, and is quite different in its nature 
 or substance from the body ; the one is matter, 
 the other is spirit. 
 
 Solomon uses an expression of like import with 
 that of Moses. <c> Then shall the dust return to 
 the earth as it was ; and the spirit shall return 
 unto God who gave it." 
 
 Our blessed Lord maintains the same distinc- 
 tion between the soul and body. " And fear not 
 them which kill the body, but are not able to kill 
 the soul." Remark, the body may be killed, but 
 the soul cannot j the reason is obvious, because 
 it is spirit. If we admit that the soul is material, 
 it will follow, that it may be killed ; it may be 
 pierced with a sword : but the Son of God, who 
 created all things, and is most intimately ac- 
 quainted with the nature of the human soul, as- 
 sures us that it is entirely different from the body, 
 and will survive its dissolution. 
 
 The sacred volume abounds with information 
 concerning this interesting subject ; to which we 
 shall frequently appeal, while we attend to the 
 second source of knowledge of the soul of man j 
 I mean our own consciousness of what passes 
 within us. 
 
 I ask, in the words of another, " Why may wc 
 not frame the complex idea of a soul, or spirit,
 
 310 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 from the operations of thinking, understanding, 
 willing, &c. which are experiments in ourselves ? 
 This idea of an immaterial substance is as clear as 
 that we have of a material one : for though this 
 notion of immaterial substances may be attended 
 with difficulties, we have fio more reason to deny 
 or doubt of its truth, than we have to deny or 
 doubt of the existence of the body." 
 
 To you, my brethren, I now make the appeal, 
 whether you are not conscious of the following 
 things : 
 
 1 . That you think. Of this you can no more 
 doubt than that you see. You know you think 
 with greatest ease. Thought is a spontaneous 
 operation of the soul ; yet you cannot see the 
 thinking principle within you. And should con- 
 sciousness be suspended by sleep, the moment the 
 person awakes, he finds all the powers of his mind 
 ready for their wonted exercise. 
 
 It is also a matter of consciousness, that God 
 hath given to you the important powers of rea- 
 son, understanding, will, and affections, 
 
 2. The nature and excellence of the soul may 
 be ascertained by this circumstance, that it is ca- 
 pable of constant progression in knowledge. This 
 we see continually exemplified in our children 
 and youth. They begin their pursuit of knowl- 
 edge with few ideas ; but in many instances sur- 
 prize as well as delight us with their progress ; 
 and promise fair to be extensive blessings to so- 
 ciety. To which I add, that the greatest men 
 who have ever appeared in the world, began their 
 career to Hterary eminence by learning the first 
 rudiments of science. Even sir Isaac Newton 
 was once seen with his spelling-book in his hand.
 
 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 31 1 
 
 Such being the nature of the soul, may we not 
 reasonably conclude, that in a future life it will 
 continue to increase in knowledge in infinite pro- 
 gression ? Freed, as it will then be, from its con- 
 nexion with the body ; which, by its cares, its 
 diseases, and its wants, often prevents mental im- 
 provement, it will more easily and rapidly ad- 
 vance. And, as many of the objects of knowl- 
 edge are infinite, they never can be fully compre- 
 hended by a finite mind ; but by their transcend- 
 ent excellence, will keep the holy soul forever 
 pressing forward, toward a more intimate ac- 
 quaintance with them. And as he advances, his 
 happiness will increase ; because he will have 
 more clear and comprehensive ideas than ever of 
 the glory of the divine character, the excellency 
 of Christ, the fullness of his redemption, and the 
 wonders of his moral government. These are 
 subjects that are infinitely delightful, and can 
 never be exhausted. 
 
 3. The soul is also capable of great attainments 
 in holiness in the present life. For proof of this 
 I refer you to the many instances of remarkably 
 holy men, who have appeared in the world at 
 different periods of time. Such were Abraham, 
 Moses, Elijah, with the apostles and first Chris- 
 tians. And in modern times we see some persons 
 of eminent piety, who shine the brighter, the more 
 they are known. They walk with God as did 
 Enoch. If their breasts were transparent, and 
 you could read what passes there, you would find 
 the most absolute hatred of sin, because contrar) 
 to a holy God ; the most ardent desires after ho- 
 liness, as that perfection of Deity in which is 
 comprehended all moral beauty. tfen<.e thcji
 
 312 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 language is, " My soul thirsteth for God, for the 
 living God." In them you would perceive the 
 various Christian tempers, such as love, joy, 
 peace, long-suffering, gentleness, and deep humil- 
 ity. They live on the very threshold of heaven, 
 and often anticipate the happy moment when 
 they shall drop their body of sin, as Elijah did his 
 mantle in his ascension, and enter into the rest 
 that remains for the people of God. 
 
 But the pious soul is not always thus happy in 
 the present state. He groans, being burdened 
 with sin within ; and sometimes is ready to con- 
 clude he never has known the truth as it is in 
 Jesus. If I am a Christian, why am I thus ? why 
 so much sin, so many wrong tempers ? Permit 
 me to say, that through a long life, I have had 
 opportunities of learning, from Christians of dif- 
 ferent denominations, that this is their common 
 language at certain seasons. They all feel and 
 speak the same things. But did you complain 
 of a body of sin when you were in unbelief? You 
 did not. This is the exercise of a soul renewed 
 by grace, and brought to long for holiness. Re- 
 member it was not Saul the Pharisee, but Paul 
 the Christian, who cried out, " O wretched man 
 that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body 
 of this death ?" 
 
 4. The soul, in many instances, suffers extreme 
 pain in the present life. We have seen some per- 
 sons in an agony of distress, on account of un- 
 common losses in business. What pain of mind 
 do some persons endure in the anticipation of a 
 distressing event ! How great their anguish when 
 their Isaac is cut down ! With David they cry in 
 bitterness of heart, " O Absalom, my son, my
 
 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 313 
 
 son ! would God I had died for thee, O Absa- 
 lom, my son, my son !" 
 
 What agony of soul do sinners feel, when 
 labouring under a guilty conscience. " While I 
 suffer thy terrors," say they, " I am distracted." 
 " A wounded spirit, who can bear ?" This is 
 the case especially with despairing sinners. Such 
 was Judas, to whom life became a burden j hence 
 he went and hanged himself. 
 
 Such was the awful condition of a young gen- 
 tleman who had forsaken the principles of Chris- 
 tianity, and embraced the cause of infidelity. 
 " When taken ill he found he had not shook off 
 the expectations of another life. This made him 
 throw himself upon a bed, and breakout in these 
 expressions : ' Whence this war in my breast ? 
 What argument now to assist me against matter 
 of fact ? Do I assert there is no hell, while I feel 
 one in my own bosom ? Am I certain there is no 
 after-retribution when I feel a present judgment ? 
 Do I affirm my soul to be as mortal as my body, 
 when this languishes, and that is vigorous as ever ? 
 O that any one could restore me to my ancient 
 guard of piety and innocence : wretch that I 
 am ! whither shall I fly from this breast ? what 
 will become of me ?"* 
 
 Such extreme anguish does the soul endure, in 
 some instances, in the present life. What then 
 may we suppose the finally impenitent will suf- 
 fer in the future state, where hope can never 
 come ? 
 
 5. Permit me to observe farther, as a matter 
 of consciousness, that the soul can pass in an in- 
 stant, in thought or idea, to the most distant 
 
 * Rjrland's Cause of Infidelity ruined forcvor. 
 2 ft
 
 314 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 parts of the globe. The traveller can be present 
 in a moment in any country he hath ever visited, 
 and recollect the buildings, the inhabitants, their 
 dress, their manners, &c. ; yea more, by virtue of 
 this power of the mind, the good man can ascend 
 to heaven in thought and affection, and unite 
 with saints and angels in the delightful service 
 of praise and adoration. Such foretastes of the 
 happiness of heaven, some eminent Christians 
 are favoured with at times, that they feel a 
 strong desire to depart and to be with Christ. 
 "Why," say they, "are his chariot-wheels so 
 long in coming ?" 
 
 6. It follows from the preceding observations, 
 that the soul cannot be confined by walls or bars. 
 You may imprison the body, but the soul will 
 enjoy its liberty : it bids defiance to its enemies, 
 and will roam at large. Paul and Silas were con- 
 fined in prison, with their feet fast in the stocks, 
 but their holy souls ascended to the throne of 
 God in praise and prayer. Place makes no dif- 
 ference with the heaven-born mind. 
 
 M The mind is its own place ; 
 
 Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven : 
 No matter where, if I be still the same." 
 
 Milton. 
 
 7. To sum up this part of the subject concern- 
 ing the nature of the soul, I have only to add, 
 that it is immortal. It shall survive the body, 
 outlive time ; yea, live forever. What dignity, 
 what unspeakable value does immortality stamp 
 on the soul of man ! and how perfectly agreeable 
 is it to the wishes of all mankind ! 
 
 I cannot, on this occasion, enter largely on the 
 tonsideration of this blessed truth j yet beg leave
 
 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 315 
 
 to suggest, that the unequal distribution of things 
 in this life, renders it necessary that there should 
 be a future state of rewards and punishments. 
 We often observe, that wicked men prosper in 
 the world, have all that heart can wish ; their 
 eyes stand out with fatness, they have no bands 
 in their death, they are not in trouble as other 
 men. On the other hand, we repeatedly see men 
 of great piety oppressed with complicated sor- 
 rows. This circumstance perplexed the psalmist 
 extremely : hence he said, " I was envious at the 
 foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 
 When I thought to know this, it was too pain- 
 ful for me ; until I went into the sanctuary of 
 God ; then understood I their end. Surely thou 
 didst set them in slippery places ; thou castedst 
 them down into destruction." 
 
 If the present were our final state, it would be 
 impossible for us to justify the ways of God to 
 man. But the difficulty is removed by the doc- 
 trine of a future life, when he will render to 
 every man according to his works : " to them 
 who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek 
 for glory, honour, immortality, eternal life ; but 
 unto them that are contentious, and do not obey 
 the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation 
 and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every 
 soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and 
 also of the Gentile ; for there is no respect of 
 persons with God." 
 
 But, my brethren, it is to the sacred volume 
 that we are indebted for the clear discovery of 
 this most important truth. Jesus Christ hath 
 brought life and immortality to light by the gos- 
 pel. He hath taught us in places too numerous
 
 S16 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 to be quoted, that we are made for immortality. 
 " I give," said he, " to my sheep eternal life." 
 " He that belie veth in me hath everlasting life, 
 and shall never come into condemnation." And 
 in Matt. xxv. in which is represented the last 
 judgment, he closes the solemn scene with these 
 striking, words : " These (meaning the ungodly) 
 shall go away into everlasting punishment ; but 
 the righteous into life eternal." 
 
 " So unmoveable is that truth, delivered by the 
 Spirit of truth, that though the light of nature 
 gave some obscure glimmering, some uncertain 
 hopes of a future state ; yet human reason could 
 attain to no clearness, no certainty about it, but 
 that it was Jesus Christ alone who had brought 
 life and immortality to light through the gos- 
 pel."* " I gratefully receive and rejoice in the 
 light of revelation," says the same writer, " which 
 sets me at rest in many things ; the manner 
 whereof my poor reason can by no means make 
 out to me. Omnipotency, I know, can do any 
 thing that contains in it no contradiction ; so 
 that I readily believe whatever God has declared, 
 though my reason find difficulties in it which it 
 cannot master." 
 
 All that hath been already said concerning the 
 surprising powers of the human soul, tends not 
 only to. display its excellence, but to prove that it 
 is a very important object. Our blessed Lord as- 
 sures us that it is worth more than the whole 
 world. " For what is a man profited, if he shall 
 gain the whole world and lose his own soul ? or, 
 what shall he give ir exchange for his soul ?" 
 
 * Locke's Second Reply to the Bishop of Worcester.
 
 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 31 7 
 
 In this light it was viewed by the first preachers 
 of the gospel ; who counted not their lives dear 
 unto them, so they might finish their course with 
 joy, and the ministry they had received of the 
 Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of 
 God. Paul declared that he could wish himself 
 accursed from Christ, for his brethren, his kins- 
 men according to the flesh. Why all this zeal, 
 but because they considered the souls of men of 
 great importance ? 
 
 One consideration more I mention, as full proof 
 of the value of the souls of men, and that is, the 
 price that was paid for their redemption. " For 
 ye are not redeemed," said Peter, " with silver 
 and gold ; but with the precious blood of Christ, 
 as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 
 Without the shedding of this blood there could 
 be no remission. Its value is infinite, therefore 
 can never be fully described. Angels desire to 
 look into it. Let us, my fellow Christians, dwell 
 in contemplation on this glorious subject, till the 
 happy period shall arrive, when we shall be re- 
 ceived, through grace alone, into the presence of 
 God and of the Lamb ; and have nothing to do, 
 through vast eternity, but explore and admire 
 the wonders of redeeming love, and unite with 
 ransomed millions, in ascribing blessing and hon- 
 our to him who loved us and washed us from 
 our sins in his blood. 
 
 From the preceding article a very interesting 
 question ariseth, What is the condition of the soul 
 that renders this redemption necessary ? I answer, 
 It is a condition of total depravity, guilt, and con- 
 demnation. 
 
 By total depravity, to which objections are oft- 
 en made, we do not mean, that man has lost any
 
 SIS THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 of the powers of the soul. These remain amidst 
 the ruins of the apostasy. For my own part, I 
 believe, that mankind possess the same natural 
 powers of mind that Adam did before he fell ; 
 but that the disposition of the heart is now wholly 
 sinful. " God saw that every imagination of the 
 thoughts of the heart was evil, only evil, and that 
 continually." 
 
 This verse is explicit. The depravity is in the 
 heart, and is total : every imagination of the 
 thoughts of the heart is evil, only evil, and that 
 continually. 
 
 Isaiah declares that " the whole head is sick, 
 and the whole heart is faint." Jesus Christ, who 
 could not mistake the human heart, describes it 
 as the fountain of moral evil. " For out of the 
 heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, 
 fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." 
 And Paul assures us that " the carnal mind is en- 
 mity against God :" to which he adds, " for I 
 know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no 
 good thing ;" that is, in him as a natural man, or 
 in his corrupt part. 
 
 Sinners are also in a state of guilt and condem- 
 nation, as transgressors of the law of God. For 
 it is written, " Cursed is every one that contin- 
 ueth not in all things written in the book of the 
 law to do them." This is the melancholy condi- 
 tion of all men naturally, because " all have sin- 
 ned, and have come short of the glory of God." 
 
 These things being true, we are called to weep 
 over dignity in ruins. " Man being in honour 
 did not abide." He possesses the most surprising 
 powers of mind, yet has a heart disaffected to that 
 God who gave him all !
 
 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. J 19 
 
 From all that hath been said, it appears that 
 the conversion of sinners is a very important and 
 desirable object ; that they may escape the wrath 
 to come, and enjoy that happiness which the 
 world can neither give nor take away. " Believ- 
 ing," says Peter, " we rejoice with joy unspeak- 
 able and full of glory." It is very important to 
 families, and to society at large, on account of 
 their piety, their example, and their prayers. 
 How amiable and happy was the family of Laza- 
 rus, Martha, and Mary. How happy would your 
 families be, if you and yours were under the in- 
 fluence of real religion ! All would be love and 
 peace. Yet there are some heads of families, 
 who in times of revival of religion speak evil of 
 the things they know not, and throw stumbling- 
 blocks in the way of those under their care, who 
 anxiously inquire what they shall do to be saved. 
 Be not offended, if I caution you in the most sol- 
 emn manner, not to discourage those persons who 
 are anxious to become Christians, or to know 
 what experimental religion is. If you will not 
 enter heaven yourselves, throw no difficulties in 
 the way of your children or domestics. Remem- 
 ber for all these things God will bring you into 
 judgment. Should you not rather rejoice to see 
 them inquiring the way to eternal life ? " One 
 thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good 
 part, that shall not be taken away from her," 
 
 The conversion of sinners is one great object 
 of the gospel ministry, and much to be desired, 
 because the Redeemer's kingdom is thereby en- 
 larged ; than which nothing is more pleasing to 
 all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. 
 It is their daily prayer that his kingdom may 
 come in all its glory and extent.
 
 320 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 I add once more, that the conversion of sinners 
 is a very desirable object, because God is thereby- 
 glorified. 
 
 It is taken for granted, that Jehovah, in all his 
 works and ways, had in view the greatest possi- 
 ble good ; and that the greatest possible good is 
 the manifestation of his own glory. " He hath 
 made all things for himself." The salvation of 
 sinners, except so far as it tends to glorify God, 
 is a subordinate object in the view of all holy 
 beings ; whose supreme desire is, that God in all 
 things may be glorified. 
 
 This is emphatically the case in the plan of sal- 
 vation, which was so adjusted by the infinite God 
 in eternity, that he will have all the glory forever. 
 
 Here mercy and truth are met together, right- 
 eousness and peace have kissed each other. The 
 ministration of death was glorious, but the minis- 
 tration of the Spirit is rather glorious. Every 
 perfection of the divine nature shines in this way 
 far superior to every other method, in which God 
 reveals himself to men. Paul therefore observes, 
 that he who commanded the light to shine out of 
 darkness, hath shined in our heart, to give us the 
 light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of 
 Jesus Christ. His glory or perfections shine in 
 the face or person of Christ, who acted out his 
 character, and was himself the brightness of his 
 glory and the express image of his person. Hence 
 it was that he said to his Father, " I have mani- 
 fested thy name to the men thou gavest me out of 
 the world." Name is used here as a general term 
 for the nature or perfections of God. To display 
 these was the great end Christ had in view, in his 
 appearance in the flesh.
 
 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 521 
 
 I have no idea how certain perfections of the 
 Deity could be displayed in any other way : such 
 as mercy, which always respects misery ; long- 
 suffering, the patience of God ; forgiveness or 
 pardon, his justice. To which may be added, 
 that in the method of salvation, the love of God 
 to man shines, and will forever shine, with the 
 most distinguished glory. " God so loved the 
 world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
 whosoever believeth in him might not perish, 
 but have everlasting life." 
 
 One of the glories of this plan of salvation is* 
 that all sinners who are saved by grace, experience 
 in heart an entire moral change, and unite to give 
 all the glory to God. 
 
 What means, it may be asked, are best calculat- 
 ed to accomplish this important object ? I answer* 
 those that Christ hath appointed in his word. 
 When he gave the commission to his apostles, he 
 commanded them to " preach the gospel to every 
 creature f* because ** it pleased God, by the fool- 
 ishness of preaching, to save them that believe." 
 
 We have several excellent specimens of apostolic 
 preaching in the New Testament. Let us preach 
 as the apostles did. Their sentiments are divine, 
 and the language of the holy scriptures inimitably 
 excellent. It is pure and plain j with which our 
 hearers are well acquainted, in consequence of 
 their constant perusal of the sacred volume. 
 
 If we, as ministers of the gospel, wish to win 
 souls, we must exhibit the divine law in its extent 
 and spirituality ; for by the law is the knowledge 
 of sin. We must endeavour to convince the sinner 
 of his entire depravity and guilt, and the alarming 
 condition he is in every moment, as a transgres- 
 2 .
 
 322 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 sor of the law of God. We must urge, in a plain, 
 convincing and impressive manner, the absolute 
 necessity of personal holiness, without which no 
 man can see the Lord. We must enforce the ne- 
 cessity of good works as fruits of faith, and the 
 best evidence to the world that we have passed 
 from death to life ; and lead the people, as much 
 as possible, to realize a judgment to come, and the 
 final states of men. 
 
 In a word, let us not shun to declare the whole 
 counsel of God ; always remembering, that Paul 
 may plant, and Apollos water, but that God alone 
 can give the increase. And for our encourage- 
 ment, let us always keep in mind that excellent 
 promise, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
 end of the world. Amen." 
 
 II. It remains that we consider, in what respects 
 " he that winneth souls is wise." 
 
 The term ' wise * is often used in the scriptures 
 to denote a man of real religion. In this sense it 
 must be taken here, as suggested before, from its 
 connexion with the first sentence, which describes 
 the righteous ; compared with Dan. xii. 3. " And 
 they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of 
 the firmament ; and they that turn many to righte- 
 ousness as the stars forever and ever." That the 
 ministers of the gospel ought to be good men, I 
 believe is universally allowed. 
 
 The men we describe, may be said to be wise 
 in the choice of their profession. " If any man 
 dcsireth the office of a bishop, he desireth a good 
 work." 
 
 It is a good work, because it is connected with 
 the display of divine glory, and the salvation of 
 souls. These are two of the most sublime and
 
 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. S23 
 
 interesting subjects that can employ the minds 
 of angels and men. He then who hath made 
 this choice, acts from the wisest and the best of 
 motives, and has the most pleasing prospect of 
 being useful to mankind. 
 
 With the talents and education which, in com- 
 mon, fall to the lot of this class of men,, they 
 might have made choice of a profession far more 
 lucrative, and probably have ranked with men 
 of fortune. But from a love to God and to the 
 souls of men, they choose rather to forego these 
 prospects and advantages. 
 
 I may also remark It is a good, that is, a 
 pleasant work. To a pious, a benevolent man, 
 what can be so desirable as to preach the everlast- 
 ing gospel ; which opens to the view of the mind 
 such wonderful subjects for holy love and con- 
 templation, and tends to exalt and purify the 
 heart, and to make all happy here and hereafter 
 who believe it. With these views and with 
 these feelings, he is willing to spend and to be 
 spent in the sacred service ; especially when he 
 sees that the Lord crowns his ministry with 
 success. 
 
 He is wise in the management of the various 
 parts of ministerial duty. Here much might be 
 said with propriety ; but I can only suggest in a 
 few words, that he is wise in the choice of his 
 subjects, the manner of treating them, consider- 
 ing always the state of his flock ; in going from 
 his knees to the pulpit, and returning from the 
 pulpit to his knees, to plead with God that suc- 
 cess may attend his feeble efforts. If wise, he 
 will address the people in a plain, affectionate and 
 persuasive manner ; and make it: evident, thai
 
 324 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 he travails in birth again till Christ be formed in 
 them. He will labour to inform their under- 
 standings, and to impress their hearts ; and thus 
 to secure their attention, and to captivate their 
 affections to divine truth. This is the import of 
 the original expression.* 
 
 He will be easy of access, affable and attentive 
 to mankind at large ; especially to anxious sinners, 
 who come to converse with him concerning their 
 salvation. He will become all things to all men, 
 that he may by all means gain some. He will 
 reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering 
 and doctrine, and study to approve himself unto 
 God a workman that needeth not to be asham- 
 ed, rightly dividing the word of truth ; giving 
 to every one his portion of meat in due season. 
 
 If he should labour long with but little appar- 
 ent success, he will continue to be faithful in his 
 ministry, and leave the issue with God. If suc- 
 cess attend his ministry, he will give him all the 
 glory. 
 
 From the subject I take occasion to ask you 
 who are parents and heads of families, whether 
 you ever realized the importance of your situa- 
 tion ? Consider that every soul committed to 
 your care is immortal. Have you discharged 
 your duty to them ? Or have you hitherto neg- 
 lected your own souls and theirs ? I pray you to 
 think on these things before it be too late. 
 
 If the souls of men are of such importance as 
 hath been proved, you will not, my friends, 
 blame the ministers of the gospel, for their plain- 
 ness and zeal. If they feel right, they must lift 
 up their voice like a trumpet ; cry aloud and 
 
 * Peel's Synopsis, in loc.
 
 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 323 
 
 spare not, though the more abundantly they love 
 you, the less they be loved. Their heart's desire 
 and prayer to God is, that you may be saved. 
 Should you think their zeal excessive, you must 
 confess it is benevolent. Will you blame them 
 for being too anxious for your happiness ? Assur- 
 edly you cannot. 
 
 But while some of our friends censure us for 
 being zealous overmuch, we blame ourselves that 
 we are not more engaged to win souls. Breth- 
 ren, pray for us, that we may be willing to spend 
 and be spent in so good a cause. 
 
 I must ask your patience a few minutes long- 
 er, while I address myself to the candidate for 
 ordination. 
 
 My dear young friend Full three years have 
 you been of my family ; a great part of which 
 time you have laboured with me as a son in the 
 gospel : nor were your first efforts unsuccessful. 
 There are in Boston those who were ready to 
 perish, who rise up and call you blessed. Your 
 continuance with us was the wish of my heart, 
 and of the hearts of your friends ; but the Head 
 of the church hath directed your way to this place 
 by very unexpected events. We are therefore 
 obliged to acquiesce in his disposals. It is with 
 great pleasure we behold the union and affection 
 that subsist between you, and the church and so- 
 ciety, over whom the Lord is about to make you 
 an overseer. Your prospect, of usefulness is 
 pleasing ; and we, your brethren in the ministry, 
 most sincerely pray, that the Lord Jesus may 
 hold you as a star in his right hand ; furnish you 
 with every gift and grace for the sacred office, 
 and make you wise to win souls ; and finalh
 
 326 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 receive you to his heavenly kingdom, where is 
 fullness of joy, and pleasures forever. 
 
 In fine Brethren of the Church and Society 
 on whose account we are now together, give me 
 leave to congratulate you on this auspicious day. 
 Your union among yourselves, and unremitted 
 and liberal exertions, have enabled you to take 
 your place among the several societies of Chris- 
 tians in this town. Without going to Boston, 
 to Dan vers, or to Beverly, as usual, to enjoy your 
 religious privileges, they are brought to your 
 doors. The Lord hath raised up for you a pas- 
 tor, we believe, after his own heart ; whom we 
 do cheerfully commend to your affection and es- 
 teem. Let no man despise his youth. Pray for 
 him, that he may prove a lasting blessing to you 
 and to your children. Study to make him as 
 happy as you can. The providence that hath 
 brought him among you is plain and striking. 
 Live in love, and the God of love and peace will 
 be with you. 
 
 Entertain a liberal mind towards your fellow 
 Christians, who differ from you in some things. 
 Wise and good men do not yet see eye to eye. 
 While you enjoy your own privileges, leave 
 others to the enjoyment of theirs, and fall not 
 out by the way. This mutual candour becomes 
 the disciples of the same Divine Master, and is 
 not incompatible with fidelity to your own prin- 
 ciples and practices. 
 
 May grace, mercy and peace rest upon you and 
 your pastor elect, through Jesus Christ our Lord ; 
 to whom be glory forever. Amen.
 
 SERMON XVII.* 
 
 THE SINKING SOUL SAVED BY GRACE. 
 
 MATTHEW, xiv. 31. 
 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him* 
 
 IT may, perhaps, be said with truth, 
 that in the life of every man there has been a 
 critical moment, when nothing saved him but a 
 divine interposition : for in a world like this, in 
 which we are ever surrounded with dangers, we 
 can only be safe when God keeps us. Many of 
 these dangers, seen and unseen, we have escaped, 
 through the goodness of God. Such things 
 should never be forgotten by us : yet how apt 
 are we, like Israel of old, to sing his praise at the 
 moment, and then to forget his works ! This is 
 one affecting evidence of human depravity. 
 
 In how many instances has the mariner experi- 
 enced the most threatening dangers. Most of us 
 can recollect such seasons, when with strict pro- 
 priety we might adopt the language of the text 
 He stretched forth his hand, and caught me. 
 
 The words are part of a very interesting piece 
 of history in the life of Jesus. Having wrought 
 a miracle, in feeding live thousand men, besides 
 women and children, he ordered his disciples to 
 depart by water to the other side of the lake, 
 
 * Never before printed. Preached on a Lord's day tvtninf 
 
 lecture, March i!i, li. i.
 
 328 THE SINKING SOUL SAVED BY GRACE. 
 
 while he sent the multitudes away* On their 
 passage there arose a violent storm, which evi- 
 dently endangered the ship and company. About 
 the fourth watch of the night, while the ship was 
 in the midst of the sea, tossed with the waves, 
 Jesus came, walking on the sea. When their 
 fears on seeing him were removed, (for they 
 were affrighted to see a man walking on the 
 stormy billows, and concluded it was a spirit ; 
 but he soon convinced them of their mistake ;) 
 Peter said unto him, " Lord, if it be thou, bid 
 me come unto thee on the water. And he said, 
 Come. He made the attempt j but on " seeing 
 the wind boisterous he was afraid, and beginning 
 to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And 
 immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and 
 caught him." 
 
 I have chosen to address you from this single 
 sentence, because there is something beautiful in 
 the expression, and important in the idea, which 
 may lead us to a variety of useful observations. 
 
 I. The first is, that Peter's previous condition 
 was that of a mind agitated with various passions. 
 He had been in fear, on account of the storm ; 
 the horrors of which were increased by the dark- 
 ness of the night. There was every appearance 
 that they would be shipwrecked. 
 
 Peter was also agitated, when Jesus appeared, 
 by a fear that he was a spirit ; hence we are told, 
 " they cried out for fear j M considering it omi- 
 nous of their approaching fate. But he said unto 
 them, " Be of good cheer : it is I ; be not afraid." 
 
 His fears were succeeded by a joyful surprise, 
 when he beheld Jesus coming to them, walking 
 n the water. Joy indeed to them all, to see
 
 THE SINKING SOUL SAVED BY GRACE. 329 
 
 their Master ; which was increased by their dis- 
 tressed condition. Joy at any time ; but doubly 
 joyful to have a visit from their best friend, at 
 the moment when they were tossed about with 
 the waves, and threatened with immediate death. 
 Joy to be delivered from their danger, and to 
 have Christ with them. 
 
 This was followed by a display of Peter's love 
 to Christ, and his confidence in him. Love, in 
 his desire to go to him ; and confidence, that he 
 could support him even on the boisterous deep. 
 There seems to have been a mixture of igno- 
 rance and self-confidence in his conduct. He 
 ought to have known, that there are some things 
 in which the disciples are not called to imitate 
 Christ ; this of walking on the water is one. 
 Though Peter failed in this attempt, there 
 have been some deluded persons, who have 
 made the like attempt. To what extremes, my 
 brethren, may the minds of good men sometimes 
 be carried, under peculiar circumstances. None 
 of us, if left to ourselves, are secure from such 
 delusions. 
 
 It deserves to be mentioned on this occasion, 
 that Peter did not attempt to walk on the water, 
 till he had asked and obtained leave of Christ. 
 " Bid me come to thee," said he. Hence learn, 
 that good men sometimes ask amiss. They 
 know not what to pray for as they ought. Do 
 ye not think that he was to blame on this occa- 
 sion ? Why not wait till Christ had reached the 
 ship ? I am apprehensive there was no small de- 
 gree of pride in the heart of Peter, when he 
 made this request. It seems as though he wish- 
 2 s
 
 330 THE SINKING SOUL SAVED BY GRACE. 
 
 ed to do as Christ did, and thus be the foremost 
 of the disciples. His pride would have been fed 
 extremely, had he succeeded. It would have 
 been a flattering circumstance in his character, to 
 have it said, Peter had walked on the water. 
 
 We have, my Christian friends, more pride 
 and selfishness mixed with our acts of religion, 
 than we are aware of. Hence the necessity of 
 great caution in every thing we do. How often 
 have we found ourselves influenced by these mo- 
 tives. We have reason to be ashamed before 
 God, who knoweth our hearts, on the account 
 thereof. We may be constant and warm in the 
 affairs of religion, when our motives are entirely 
 wrong. Sometimes, indeed, it is difficult for the 
 godly man to determine what are his motives. 
 Hence he condemns himself when they are right ; 
 and at other times approves them when wrong. 
 It requires great acquaintance with ourselves, 
 and a constant attention to our own hearts, to 
 distinguish when we do all to the glory of God. 
 
 It may be asked, why did our Lord grant Pe- 
 ter's request, if he asked amiss ? I answer, to 
 try him. We read of the Israelites, that " they 
 lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempt- 
 ed God in the desert. And he gave them their 
 request, but sent leanness into their souls." 
 (Psalm cvi.) At another time they asked a king, 
 and he gave them one in his anger, and took 
 him away in his wrath. Hosea, xiii. 11. 
 
 In this case, I believe Peter asked amiss, and 
 the Lord granted his request as a trial to him j 
 a.i id so it proved: for instead of its exalting, it 
 degraded his character. For you are all sensible 
 that this part of the history of Peter does not re-
 
 THE SINKING SOUL SAVED BY GRACE. S31 
 
 dound to his honour ; and that Christ himself re- 
 proved him for his want of faith in him. This 
 will appear as we examine the sacred account. 
 When Peter " had come down out of the ship, he 
 walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when 
 he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid ; and 
 beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save 
 me." No doubt the other disciples, more pru- 
 dent than Peter, looked on with great anxiety to 
 observe what would be the issue. The affair 
 was soon decided ; for seeing the wind boister- 
 ous, he was afraid. He forgot at the moment 
 the power of his Master, thought of nothing but 
 his danger, and " beginning to sink, he cried, 
 saying, Lord, save me." 
 
 This part of the history teacheth us several 
 useful lessons ; such as, that we ought not to run 
 to meet troubles ; they will come fast enough. 
 Peter ought to have remained in the ship, as his 
 fellow disciples did. When we leave our station, 
 or the place allotted us, we always rush into dan- 
 ger. This same Peter, when his Master was on 
 his trial, went imprudently among the servants 
 of the high priest, who knew him, and instantly 
 accused him ; this led on to that dark part of his 
 history, in which he denied his Lord, and swore 
 he did not know him. So here, this very for- 
 ward man must needs leave the ship, and throw 
 himself into danger, without any proper call of 
 duty ; and by doing so, has taught us to keep in 
 our own place, till the Master call us to any haz- 
 ardous enterprize. 
 
 Peter hath also taught us this important lesson, 
 that whenever we are in trouble we should look 
 to Jesus, who is " mighty to ; ave."
 
 332 THE SINKING SOUL SAVED BY GRACE. 
 
 We also learn, that a mind in trouble can pray 
 without book. " Lord, save me." Poor Peter 
 had not much time to compose this prayer ; he 
 was sinking : nor did he want it. Experience 
 taught him to pray ; nor could he possibly have 
 expressed himself more to the purpose by any 
 previous meditation. It is short, comprehensive, 
 and was delivered with all the warmth and im- 
 portunity of a distressed man. Prayer maintains 
 a sense of dependence. 
 
 We also learn that Jesus Christ will be sought 
 unto" by his followers, to do even those things 
 for them which he had determined to do. We 
 must, however, give Peter credit for his faith in 
 Christ, which he now manifested. It was a time 
 that tried what manner of spirit he was of. Re- 
 mark, he did not call to the disciples in the ship, 
 to come and take him in ; no : but he forgot 
 every method of help but one, and that was 
 Christ. " Lord, save me. And immediately 
 he stretched forth his hand, and caught him." 
 We proceed to notice, 
 
 II. Mankind, like Peter, in many instances, feel 
 themselves sinking, and are indebted to Christ 
 for their preservation. He hath, in various in- 
 stances, stretched out his hand and caught them. 
 
 In many instances mankind feel themselves 
 sinking. 
 
 1, This is the case with sinners, under clear 
 views of their guilt and condemnation. These 
 views are in some instances greater than they are 
 in others ; but in all cases they produce the same 
 fears, though not in an equal degree : for when a 
 sinner has a just view of his guilt, as under the 
 law j when he is convinced of his sin as against
 
 THE SINKING SOUL SAVED BY GRACE. 333 
 
 God, and the punishment due to him for it ; 
 when he realizes the wrath of God against him 
 for sin, he feels himself sinking, and cries with 
 David, " While I suffer thy terrors, I am distract- 
 ed." To the borders of despair have some per- 
 sons been driven by these discoveries, and have 
 thought that God could not be just in saving 
 them. But behold the mercy and goodness of 
 Jesus Christ ! Then, in the critical moment, when 
 no created arm could help ; then, when the de- 
 struction of these unhappy creatures appeared 
 unavoidable, the Lord Jesus stretched forth his 
 hand, and caught them ; I mean, he then sent 
 relief to their sin-burdened souls, by granting a 
 view in the gospel of his complete atonement. 
 To you who have been delivered I appeal, for the 
 truth of this observation. 
 
 2. This has been the case with the believer 
 also under clouds and darkness of a spiritual na- 
 ture. It is a common thing for those who have 
 lately been brought to the knowledge of the 
 truth, to think that their " mountain stands 
 strong," that they shall always be as happy as 
 they now are. This mistake prepares the way 
 for extreme distress, when they shall afterward 
 lose their first love, or meet with the loss of their 
 consolations. And such is the common lot of 
 real Christians : yet when it happens, they are 
 ready to give up all hope that they ever knew the 
 truth. Their distresses are unspeakably great at 
 $ such times. The reason why they are so, is this : 
 they have known their danger and escape, their 
 misery and remedy ; they have known the joys 
 of faith, therefore cannot bear the loss of them. 
 An idea of deception, or of separation from Jesus
 
 334 THE SINKING SOUL SAVED BY GRACE. 
 
 Christ, whom they really love, though they hard- 
 ly dare to own it, creates all this distress. They 
 feel as though they must sink into perdition. 
 But, behold he cometh, walking as it were on the 
 sea, and stretcheth forth his hand of mercy and 
 saves them. Again the dejected soul is brought 
 to sing, " He brought me up out of the horrible 
 pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a 
 rock, and established my goings ; and he hath put 
 a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our 
 God." Though sorrow endureth for a night, joy 
 cometh in the morning. 
 
 3. Sometimes they have such a sense of in- 
 dwelling sin, of unlikeness to Christ, of coldness 
 of affection, of barrenness, and of hardness of heart, 
 that they begin, like Peter, to sink. They doubt 
 all that has passed in their minds, conclude that 
 they are deceived, and that they have deceived 
 others. But in the darkest moments Jesus ap- 
 pears for their relief, by stretching out his hand 
 to support them ; that is, he speaks peace to them 
 by renewed discoveries of his love ; he reveals 
 himself to them, and they, like Thomas, cry, 
 " My Lord, and my God !" 
 
 4. Sometimes they feel ready to sink under 
 the number and weight of their afflictions ; which 
 seldom come alone. As it was with Job, so hath 
 it been with others ; they have overtaken them 
 in clusters. Numerous and extremely distressing 
 they have been ; hence they have been ready to 
 sink under them. But at the moment of their 
 greatest discouragement, behold relief ! " He 
 stretched forth his hand, and caught him," say- 
 ing, " Fear thou not ; for I am with thee : be not 
 dismayed ; for I am thy God : I will strengthen
 
 THE SINKING SOUL SAVED BY GRACE. SS5 
 
 thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold 
 thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 
 When thou passest through the waters, I will be 
 with thee ; and through the rivers, tfiey shall not 
 overflow thee : when thou walkest through the 
 fire, thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the 
 flame kindle upon thee." The Lord will either 
 deliver from, or support his people under, the 
 heaviest afflictions. 
 
 Our guilty first parents (now in heaven) can 
 adopt this language, and say, When sinking un- 
 der the guilt of our first offence, he stretched 
 forth his hand and caught us. 
 
 Abraham can recollect that this was his case, 
 when Isaac lay bound on the pile prepared to 
 consume him. In this distressing moment, when 
 the patriarch's faith was tried, Heaven interposed, 
 and saved the heir of promise. 
 
 Isaac can sing this song, when he recollects his 
 critical situation, when the arm of his father was 
 uplifted to strike the fatal blow. Had not the 
 arm of mercy been stretched out for his deliver- 
 ance, he would have inevitably sunk in death. 
 
 The Israelites ought never to forget how alarm- 
 ing was their condition at the Red Sea. Had not 
 the arm of the great Jehovah sustained them, they 
 would have perished with their enemies in the 
 mighty waters. 
 
 David too, when pursued by Saul ; Shadrach, 
 Meshach, and Abednego, in the fiery furnace; 
 and Daniel in the lion's den, all experienced, in 
 a remarkable manner, the delivering hand of the 
 great Redeemer. When to human view they 
 were ready to sink in death, he stretched forth 
 his hand, and caught them.
 
 336 THE SINKING SOUL SAVED BY GRACE. 
 
 The prodigal son, who had left his father's 
 house, and spent all his substance in rioting and 
 debauchery, as soon as he came to himself, began 
 thus to reason : " How many hired servants of 
 my father have bread enough, and to spare, and 
 I perish with hunger !" While he was yet a great 
 way off, and still liable to perish, the father ran 
 to meet him, and received him again to his favour. 
 
 How many such disobedient children, how 
 many such prodigals, that had gone from home, 
 from virtue and goodness, and had run nearly 
 their course of vice to destruction, yet have been 
 stopped ! When in the last stages of vicious grati- 
 fication ; when given up as lost forever ; I say, 
 how many such have been stopped ! Jesus hath 
 stretched forth his hand, and caught them. And 
 such were some of you. 
 
 The subject thus explained, naturally suggests 
 the following reflections. 
 
 1. We are led to look back on life, and recount 
 our dangers and escapes. Few of us but have 
 experienced special interpositions of Divine Prov- 
 idence, in preserving our lives and limbs. To 
 God we owe all our escapes from death. Not 
 only from death temporal, but from everlasting 
 destruction. When rushing forward in our mad 
 career, just as we were approaching the precipice 
 of ruin, Jesus stretched forth his hand of mercy, 
 and caught us; 
 
 2. Learn hence, that we ought not to be dis- 
 couraged, though things may appear dark as 
 midnight. Our compassionate Redeemer often 
 suffers us to be brought into straits, that in our 
 deliverance his holy arm may be more visibly
 
 THE SINKING SOUL SAVED BY GRACE. 337 
 
 seen. We sometimes feel as if we had the sen- 
 tence of death in ourselves, that we should not 
 trust in ourselves, but in the living God. When 
 deep calleth to deep at the noise of his water- 
 spouts, and all his waves and billows go over our 
 heads ; yet may we hope that the Lord will com- 
 mand his loving kindness in the day time, and in 
 the night shall his song be with us, and our 
 prayer be unto the God of our life. 
 
 3. We see from this instance of divine inter- 
 position, what encouragement is given for prayer 
 and supplication in times of greatest distress. 
 God is nigh to all that call upon him, to all that 
 call upon him in truth. 
 
 Let all that love the Lord, be encouraged to 
 repair to the mercy seat ; especially when dan- 
 gers thicken around them, and they feel them- 
 selves beginning to sink. No sooner did Peter 
 cry, " Lord, save me," than he found the compas- 
 sionate arm of the Saviour stretched out to re- 
 lieve him. How many martyrs, how many dy- 
 ing Christians have had this sweet experience of 
 the divine condescension and goodness ! Their 
 last hours have been cheered by the supporting 
 influence of divine grace. Then let us, brethren, 
 wait all our appointed time, until our change 
 comes ; and when Jesus bids us come to him, let 
 us cheerfully venture upon the untried ocean of 
 eternity. Though our flesh must sink down in 
 death, yet the gracious arm of him that has con- 
 quered death will raise our spirits to his throne 
 above, to join the ransomed millions in praising 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost forever and ever. 
 Amen.
 
 SERMON XVIII.* 
 
 THE NATURE AND DESIGN OF THE ATONEMENT. 
 
 GENESIS, iii. 21. 
 
 Unto Adam also, and to his wife, did the Lord God make coats of 
 skins, and clothed them. 
 
 IT was observed this day week in this 
 place, that the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic 
 economy cannot be properly explained, without 
 we admit the doctrine of the atonement. I had 
 not time then to pursue this important subject : 
 this, shall be the business of the present opportu- 
 nity. Let us then, my brethren, attend to the 
 origin, the nature, and the design of the sacrifices 
 of the Jewish dispensation, as referring to the 
 atonement of Christ. In prosecuting the subject, 
 it will appear how sacrifices were viewed by the 
 people under the law, and by the apostles and 
 primitive Christians under the gospel dispensa- 
 tion ; and that no consistent meaning can be 
 given to them, unless we allow that they pointed 
 to Christ, and were fulfilled in him as a sacrifice 
 for sin. 
 
 It is further to be observed, that we never read 
 of an atonement or sacrifice till after man had 
 sinned. The reason is obvious ; there was no 
 need of a sacrifice, because there was no offence 
 to expiate ; there was no crime for which to 
 
 * Preached Lord's day, February i, iSc;.
 
 OF THE ATONEMENT. 339 
 
 make atonement. Sin, therefore, rendered it ne- 
 cessary. If so, it must have had some connexion 
 with the pardon of sin. 
 
 Offerings among the Jews were very nume- 
 rous. Of these, at large, it is not my intention 
 to treat. But particularly of their shedding the 
 blood of some chosen victim, with very solemn 
 circumstances, as a typical expiation for sin. 
 
 By atonement is meant a satisfaction offered 
 for an offence that had been committed. The 
 import is the same as the term ransom. Christ 
 is said to give his life a ransom for many : i. e. 
 for the redemption of many. The sacrifice is the 
 offering, and the atonement the effect of that of- 
 fering or sacrifice. For it was by sacrifice the 
 priests made atonement. We proceed then to 
 inquire, 
 
 I. For the origin of offerings, sacrifices, or 
 shedding the blood of animals as a religious rite ; 
 and here we must search the Jewish scriptures, 
 because they are the most ancient in the world, 
 and of divine authority. 
 
 The text gives us the first hint of this religious 
 and expressive rite. " Unto Adam also, and to 
 his wife, did the Lord God make coats of skins, 
 and clothed them.'* This took place after the 
 fall, and after the Lord had denounced the sen- 
 tence of punishment against them. 
 
 These skins, it is generally believed, were taken 
 from beasts that had been slain in sacrifice ; which 
 the Lord had taught them to offer as types of 
 Christ, who was to appear in the end of the 
 world, to put away sins by the sacrifice of him- 
 .elf.
 
 540 THE NATURE AND DESIGN 
 
 They could not be slain for food, because they 
 were not allowed to eat animal food till after the 
 flood. Their food before the fall was the fruit of 
 the trees of the garden of Eden. Gen. iii. 18. 
 " And thou shalt eat Of the herb of the field." The 
 first grant to man to eat flesh, says one, as his 
 common food, was after the flood. Gen. xi. 3. 
 " Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat 
 for you : even as the green herbs have I given 
 you all things." 
 
 If not slain for food, then we may conclude 
 that these beasts were offered in sacrifice. If so, 
 God himself is the author of this practice. And 
 as it is not a natural idea, that the Deity would 
 be pleased with the slaying of beasts, we must 
 look for its origin in God. 
 
 This practice has prevailed among all nations. 
 No doubt the whole was derived from the same 
 source. The first sinners received it from Jeho- 
 vah, and all others from them, until it was in- 
 corporated with the Jewish ritual, from which 
 it is probable many other nations derived the 
 practice. 
 
 The first time we find the word atonement in 
 the sacred scriptures, is in Exod. xxix, when the 
 priests were consecrated. On this occasion a bul- 
 lock and two rams were offered. The victims 
 were brought before the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation. Aaron and his sons put their hands 
 on their heads, before they were killed. By 
 which we are taught that they were to be viewed 
 as a substitute, and as typically bearing sin. 
 Through the whole of the Old Testament we find 
 that the victims were considered as bearing sin, 
 and thus satisfying the affronted Deity.
 
 OF THE ATONEMENT. 341 
 
 The heathen had some idea of atonement ; for 
 in the horrid act of offering up their children and 
 other human victims, they meant to appease an 
 offended Deity. 
 
 I think, my brethren, we are authorized to be- 
 lieve that these skins with which Jehovah clothed 
 Adam and Eve, as was said before, were taken 
 from beasts thus offered in sacrifice. The text 
 leads us to remark, 
 
 1. That our first parents were, at this time, 
 in a guilty and naked condition. Sin had dis- 
 robed them of their original righteousness, and 
 robbed them of their innocence. 
 
 2. That the Lord Jehovah condescended to 
 provide a covering for them, though they deserv- 
 ed to be banished forever from his presence. 
 This part of the divine conduct leads us to ad- 
 mire his patience and mercy to sinners. 
 
 3. That man could not provide for him- 
 self. He was as helpless as he was guilty. His 
 naked soul must have been sent down to regions 
 of dark despair, had not mercy interposed. 
 
 4. We are here taught also that this covering 
 was the price of blood. The beasts were slain in 
 sacrifice ; and pointed to Christ, who once suffered 
 the just for the unjust, to bring us to God. 
 
 5. We may also remark, that this covering 
 for our fallen parents may with propriety pre- 
 figure the perfect righteousness of Christ, which 
 is unto all, and upon all them who believe. The 
 father of the returning prodigal commanded to 
 put the best robe upon him. 
 
 (i. We remark once more, that these first of- 
 fenders were reduced to a very debased condi- 
 tion, being indebted to the beasts that were sac-
 
 342 THE NATURE AND DESIGN 
 
 rificed for clothing. When they viewed them- 
 selves thus clothed in the skins of slaughtered 
 animals, how must they have felt the state of 
 degradation into which sin had plunged them ! 
 So it is with all sinners, when brought to the 
 knowledge of the truth ; they see that the whole 
 plan of salvation is calculated to bring down the 
 lofty looks of man. " The lofty looks of man 
 shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men 
 shall be bowed down ; and the Lord alone shall 
 be exalted in that day." Because it is such a 
 plan, it was " to the Jews a stumbling-block, and 
 to the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them who 
 are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the 
 power of God, and the wisdom of God." 
 
 In the preceding remarks we reason from cir- 
 cumstances, that these skins were taken from 
 beasts offered in sacrifice ; but the instance of 
 Abel, to which we pass, is plain ; nothing is left 
 to reasoning or conjecture. It is said, Gen. iv. 4. 
 " And Abel offered the firstlings of his flock, and 
 of the fat thereof;" compared with Heb. xi. 4. 
 " By faith Abel offered unto God a more excel- 
 lent sacrifice than Cain." 
 
 This is the first explicit account of offering 
 sacrifice. I may ask with propriety, how came 
 Abel to think that God would be pleased with 
 the offering of an animal ? It is confessed that it is 
 not a natural idea. Whence then did Abel ob- 
 tain a knowledge that it was his duty to offer 
 such a sacrifice ? I hesitate not to say, that he was 
 taught it by God himself. And this remark is 
 confirmed by the issue. Jehovah accepted his of- 
 fering, which he certainly would not have done, 
 if it had not been agreeable to his will.
 
 OF THE ATONEMENT. S43 
 
 Paul says, he offered it by faith. By faith of 
 what ? I answer, by faith that to offer sacrifice 
 would be acceptable to Jehovah ; and by faith 
 that such sacrifice pointed to another and a great- 
 er one, to be offered in due time. For though 
 Abel did not in his day understand the doctrine 
 of sacrifices as we do in this, he no doubt did be- 
 lieve that there was an important meaning in 
 these offerings, which would be better under- 
 stood at a future period. Paul says that the an- 
 cient believers received not the promise, but 
 were persuaded of it and embraced it. They re- 
 joiced to see Christ's day, though afar off; and 
 they saw it and were glad ; but they saw through 
 a glass darkly. 
 
 After this, offering of sacrifice became a gen- 
 eral religious rite throughout the Jewish nation. 
 
 II. The nature and design of these sacrifices 
 are now to be considered, because it hath been 
 snicl that they pointed to the atonement, or the 
 one glorious sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Out of the 
 many sacrifices of the Jews, I shall confine myself 
 to two, that we mav not be tedious. These two 
 are the paschal lamb, and the scape-goat. 
 
 The paschal lamb. My present intention is to 
 show that this sacrifice was typical, not only of 
 Christ, but of his atonement, or the pardon of sin 
 by his blood. This wijl appear from an atten- 
 tion to the passover ; so called, because the de- 
 stroying angel passed by the houses of the Israel- 
 ites without injury, while the houses of the Egyp- 
 tians were visited with the death of the first-born. 
 The particulars of which you have in Exod. xii. 
 They were to take ev< n man a lamb, according
 
 344 1HE NATURE AND DESIGN 
 
 to the house of their fathers ; a lamb without 
 blemish, a male of the first year. The whole 
 congregation of Israel were to kill it, in the even- 
 ing ; and with the blood they were commanded 
 to strike or sprinkle the two side-posts and the 
 upper door-post of the houses wherein they were 
 to eat it. The flesh of it was to be roasted with 
 fire, and they were to eat the whole of it ; noth- 
 ing was to remain until the morning ; but if any 
 did remain, it was to be burned with fire. Here 
 remark, 
 
 1 . It was a lamb without blemish. This was 
 strikingly typical of Christ ; hence Peter thus 
 speaks of Christ " For ye are not redeemed 
 with silver and gold, but with the precious blood 
 of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and with- 
 out spot." Here is reference to this paschal 
 lamb, which, in order to its being acceptable, 
 must be without blemish. 
 
 2. The lamb was a male. So Christ is the 
 only begotten Son of God. 
 
 3. The blood of the lamb was sprinkled on 
 the door posts of the houses of the Israelites, and 
 secured them from the hand of the destroying 
 angel. All were safe, in those houses that were 
 thus marked with blood. So every soul is safe 
 that is washed in the blood of Christ. But if 
 Christ hath not made atonement, his blood can- 
 not secure the sinner. 
 
 Can any man explain this sacrifice in any other 
 way, or so as to deny that it has respect to the 
 atonement of Christ ? Does not Peter assert that 
 we are redeemed by the blood of Christ ? to 
 which sacrifice he refers.
 
 OF THE ATONEMENT. 34.5 
 
 In another place it is said, " Christ our pass- 
 over is sacrificed for us." The apostle in these 
 words points to the paschal lamb, and to the 
 benefits that result from his sacrifice. Deny the 
 atonement of Christ, and I ask, what consistent 
 sense can be given to the passover ? 
 
 The scape-goat is also another very striking 
 type of Christ, bearing the sins of his people. 
 The circumstances of this type are, two goats were 
 to be chosen, lots were to be cast to determine 
 which should die. The one that was to die, was 
 brought to the door of the tabernacle, and there 
 he was to be slain ; but the other goat was also 
 to be brought, and Aaron was to lay his hands 
 on his head, and confess all the sins of the people ; 
 and then he was to be led away into the wilder- 
 ness. The one that was put to death, represent- 
 ed Christ dying for the sins of his people : the 
 live goat led away into the wilderness typified 
 Christ rising again from the dead, and ascending 
 to heaven for their justification. What else can 
 be meant by the confessing of sins with hands laid 
 upon his head ? If this be not its meaning, we 
 know of no other that can be given to it. 
 
 But I will leave the doctrine of offering sacri- 
 fice, after having m^de one observation more j 
 and that is, that all the victims were first brought 
 to the door of the tabernacle, and that the priest 
 with hands imposed on their heads, confessed all 
 the bins of the people j after which they were 
 slain. Is not the plain meaning of this conduct, 
 that the victim was a substitute for the people, 
 and by his death made a typical atonement ? In 
 proof of this I add, that it is repeatedly said that 
 atonement was made by these offerings. And it 
 2 u
 
 346 THE NATURE AND DESIGN 
 
 was the opinion of the people that atonement 
 was thus made for their sins. 
 
 I will now lay before you the language of pro- 
 phecy, in perfect agreement with what has been 
 said in support of the doctrine of atonement. 
 
 Isaiah stands in the front of the prophets re- 
 specting Christ. Please to read chapter liii. in 
 particular, begin at the 4th verse. " Surely he 
 hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. 
 
 He was wounded for our transgressions, he 
 
 was bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement 
 of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes 
 we are healed." " And the Lord hath laid on 
 him the iniquity of us all." "For the trans- 
 gression of my people was he stricken." Can 
 language be plainer in describing Christ as bear- 
 ing sin, or its punishment as a vicarious sacrifice ? 
 But if he died only as a martyr, he died as Paul 
 died, as Peter, and as many others died. But of 
 them it was never said that they bare the sins of 
 the people, made atonement for them, redeemed 
 them. 
 
 Daniel assures us, that Messiah should be cut 
 off, but he adds, not for himself. That he should 
 finish the transgression and make an end of sins, 
 make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in ev- 
 erlasting righteousness. Does not this language 
 clearly foretel that he would make atonement for 
 sin ? In what other sense can it be said that he 
 hath made an end of sin, and finished transgres- 
 sion ? 
 
 If we now pass to the New Testament, we shall 
 find that the doctrine of the atonement is writ- 
 ten as with the point of a diamond, on almost 
 every page.
 
 OF THE ATONEMENT. S47 
 
 In Matt. i. where the evangelist speaks of the 
 nativity of Christ, he says, " His name shall be 
 called Jesus j for he shall save his people from 
 their sins." How was he to save his people ? I 
 answer, in the words of the apostles, by suffering 
 " the just for unjust j" by being " made a curse " 
 for his people, he was to redeem them from the 
 curse ; by " bearing their sins in his own body 
 on the tree." He " who knew no sin was made 
 sin for us," said Paul, " that we might be made 
 the righteousness of God in him." " While we 
 were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 
 
 The whole epistle to the Hebrews explains the 
 rites and ceremonies of the legal economy ; and 
 every where speaks of the sacrifice of Christ as 
 vicarious. He was once offered to bear the sin 
 of many. " How much more shall the blood of 
 Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered 
 himself without spot to God, purge your con- 
 science from dead works, to serve the living 
 God." 
 
 In the book of Revelation, the saints are repre- 
 sented as singing, to all eternity, this song : " To 
 him who loved us, and washed us from our sins 
 in his blood." It follows then, that his blood is 
 infinitely efficacious. It remains, 
 
 III. That we consider the extent, the applica- 
 tion, and the efficacy of the atonement ; also 
 attend to the consequences of denying it, and 
 show why we are exhorted to look to Christ for 
 salvation rather than to any other object. 
 
 Some general observations are necessary here. 
 
 1. That the entrance of sin into the world 
 rendered the atonement absolutely necessary.
 
 348 THE NATURE AND DESIGN 
 
 2. We remark, that all mankind have sinned, 
 therefore need the atonement. Because without 
 the shedding of blood, there is, and can be no 
 remission. 
 
 It may be asked, why divine mercy or good- 
 ness could not pardon the sinner without shed- 
 ding of blood, or the death of Christ ? I answer, 
 It is not for us to say what God can do, but to 
 determine by his revealed will, what he will do. 
 
 We have in the preceding part of this discourse 
 proved by the sacrifices of the law, by the plain 
 language of the prophets, by the whole New 
 Testament, and by the event itself, that it was 
 necessary that one should die for the people, 
 and that the whole nation perish not. But as 
 a more direct answer to the question, whether 
 God from mere mercy could not pardon the sin- 
 ner without the death of Christ ? I beg leave 
 to observe, that it is confessed that the mercy of 
 God would have been displayed in the forgiveness 
 of the sinner, but he has other attributes besides 
 mercy, that are equally dear to him ; such as 
 holiness, faithfulness, justice. Sin is the trans- 
 gression of the law : the law condemns the trans- 
 gressor to suffer the penalty that was made 
 known when the law was given. I ask, if God 
 had pardoned sin from mere mercy, what display 
 would there have been of his faithfulness to his 
 threatenings ? Where would have been the man- 
 ifestation of his justice ? But in the forgiveness 
 of sins through the shedding of blood, holiness, 
 faithfulness, justice, and mercy, as well as love 
 unparalleled, are made manifest. In the sacrifice 
 of every victim that was slain, the evil of sin 
 was exhibited, and mankind were taught that
 
 OF THE ATONEMENT. S49 
 
 they deserved to die as the beast that was slain. 
 Because death is the wages of sin. If this were 
 the language of the sacrifices of the law, how 
 much more is this the language of the agonizing 
 and awful death of Christ, who bore the sins of 
 his people in his own body on the tree. Go to 
 Calvary, and behold a dying Saviour extended 
 on the cross, and bleeding for the sins of men ; 
 and say whether this is not an affecting way to 
 display the evil nature of sin, its opposition to 
 God, and its fatal consequences to men. In this 
 sacrifice we behold a just God and a Saviour. 
 
 But it may be asked, would not the sinner's 
 repentance and reformation have been a just rea- 
 son of forgiveness, without shedding of blood ? I 
 answer the question by asking another. Suppose 
 a man had committed murder, and when arraign- 
 ed before a court of judicature, should plead re- 
 pentance for his crime, and promise never to do 
 the like again ; would it be safe for society, or 
 proper in itself, that the court should pardon 
 him ? This would be mercy, but it would not be 
 any satisfaction to law or justice. If not in this 
 case, much less would it be so in sins committed 
 against a holy and just God. No, my brethren, 
 the soul that sinncth shall die ; unless the law 
 can be magnified, justice maintained, and the 
 moral government of God supported. 
 
 S. Another general observation is this ; that 
 as all mankind have sinned, all deserved to be 
 condemned, and all would have been actually con- 
 demned as transgressors, had it not been for the 
 atonement or the sacrifice of Christ. The threat- 
 ening dendunced against our first parents, woul ! 
 have been executed as soon as they had sinned,
 
 350 THE NATURE AND DESIGN 
 
 had it not been for the divine purpose, that 
 Christ should, in the fullness of time, become a 
 sacrifice for sin. Had they perished as soon as 
 they had sinned, the people that have descended 
 from them would never have existed. Hence it 
 follows that the continuance of temporal life, and 
 all the common blessings of providence, are be- 
 stowed upon us for the sake of Christ. In this 
 sense he is the Saviour of all men, but especially 
 of them that believe. 
 
 4. We remark again, that there is an infinite 
 value in the atonement of Christ. Or, we say, 
 that if there had been but one sinner saved, it 
 was necessary that Christ should magnify the law 
 and make it honourable. But what he hath done 
 and suffered is sufficient for the salvation of all 
 men, if it had been the divine purpose to extend 
 it to all. Which introduces what was proposed, 
 viz. 
 
 IV. To consider the extent of the atonement. 
 In considering this part of the subject, we will 
 follow the sacred oracles as closely is we can* 
 They give the characters of all such as are saved 
 by Christ. 
 
 David in Psalm ex. describes them as the peo- 
 ple of God, and as made willing in the day of his 
 power. Isaiah calls them the ransomed of the 
 Lord. " The ransomed of the Lord shall return 
 and come to Sion with songs and everlasting joy 
 upon their heads." Christ repeatedly describes 
 them by their being given to him by his Father. 
 " All that the Father giveth me shall come to me ; 
 and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise 
 cast out." " Father, I will, that they also whom 
 thou hast given me, be with me where I am."
 
 << 
 
 OF THE ATONEMENT. 351 
 
 The apostles speak of them as a chosen people. 
 
 According as he hath chosen us in him, (Christ) 
 before the foundation of the world, that we 
 should be holy, and without blame before him in 
 love ; having predestinated us to the adoption of 
 children by Jesus Christ, according to the good 
 pleasure of his will : to the praise of the glory of 
 his grace ; wherein he hath made us accepted in 
 the Beloved. In Romans viii. Paul has these re- 
 markable words ; " For whom he did foreknow, 
 he also did predestinate, to be conformed to the 
 image of his Son. Whom he did predestinate, 
 them he also called ; and whom he called, them 
 he also justified ; and whom he justified, them 
 he also glorified." 
 
 The only way we discover who these chosen, 
 redeemed people are, who share in the atonement 
 of Christ, is by their being called by grace, out 
 of darkness into marvellous light. While in un- 
 belief, God alone knows whom he hath chosen ; 
 but when brought to believe, they are marked for 
 him. Hence we read, that Jesus Christ " gave 
 himself for us, that he might redeem us from all 
 iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar peo- 
 ple, zealous of good works." Thus we learn, 
 that the benefits of redemption extend to all 
 those who are given to Christ and who are cho- 
 sen in him. 
 
 They are farther marked by faith. " He that 
 believeth in him hath everlasting life." None 
 but such will share in the atonement of Christ. 
 " Light is come into the world, and men loved 
 darkness rather than light, because their deeds 
 were evil." This is their condemnation ; i. e. 
 this is the aggravation of condemnation. All
 
 352 THE NATURE AND DESIGN 
 
 condemnation turns on law ; it is altogether a 
 judicial act. But he who is condemned by the 
 law of God, will find an aggravated condemna- 
 tion, if he reject the gospel. 
 
 Upon the whole, let the number of the saved 
 be greater or smaller, this is a plain truth of di- 
 vine revelation, that all who believe shall be sav- 
 ed, and all who believe not shall be lost. 
 
 V. We now pass to consider the application 
 of the atonement to sinners. 
 
 It is a known fact, that many persons hear the 
 gospel for years successively, without any applica- 
 tion of its truths to them. Application of it is 
 indispensably necessary. If a hungry man hear 
 of an uncommon plenty of excellent provision, 
 it will be of no benefit to him, unless he partake 
 of it. If a sick man hear of an infallible remedy 
 for his disease, it will be of no advantage to him, 
 if it be not applied. So it is in this case. There 
 are multitudes of people who hear the gospel, 
 with as much indifference as if they had not sin- 
 ned, or had no need of Christ. This is undenia- 
 ble. They are secure in sin at the moment they 
 are suspended over everlasting destruction. In 
 this condition they remain for years ; yea, in 
 some instances, all their days. But there is an 
 application that takes place in certain instances, 
 that creates a peace that passeth all understand- 
 ing. 
 
 This application is made, not by men, not by 
 angels, but by the Spirit of the living God ; of 
 whom Christ said to his disciples, " It is expedi- 
 ent for you that I go away : for if I go not away, 
 the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I
 
 OF THE ATONEMENT. 353 
 
 depart, I will send him unto you. And when he 
 is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of 
 righteousness, and of judgment. He shall re- 
 ceive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." 
 
 The following is the common method the Spi- 
 rit of God takes in applying the benefits of re- 
 demption to sinners. 
 
 1. He convinces the sinner of his condition of 
 depravity and guilt. " He shall convince the 
 world of sin," said Christ. Sometimes, he con- 
 vinces a solitary individual ; at other times, he 
 works on a multitude of sinners. Not only one, 
 but many cry, " What shall we do ?" 
 
 In this case there is an application of the law of 
 God to the conscience, and the sinner falls before 
 it. His former ease and security are exchanged 
 for extreme anxiety of mind. In this condition 
 he remains a longer or a shorter time, as the Holy 
 Spirit please. 
 
 2. At length he " reveals Christ in him," as 
 Paul speaks. This is application of the atone- 
 ment emphatically. The character of Christ, his 
 fullness of merit, his excellency, his love, grace, 
 justice, holiness, now appear to his enlightened, 
 his believing heart. And what is the effect ? His 
 distress is removed, though as sensible, if not 
 more so than ever, of his guilt and unworthi- 
 ness ; and peace and joy follow. Believing he 
 rejoices, with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
 All things become new to him. The creation ap- 
 pears new, Christ precious, God glorious, Chris- 
 tians amiable and beloved. He hath his fruit unto 
 holiness, and 1 lis end will be everlasting life. 
 
 In this manner the Spirit of God through all 
 the Christian's lire, applies promises and vaiious 
 
 '1 v
 
 354 THE NATURE AND DESIGN 
 
 truths to him. Sometimes when he hath been 
 ready to sink under sin, temptation, or affliction, 
 the Spirit of God hath brought him unexpected 
 and sufficient support. Often had the believer 
 read the same truths and promises, but without 
 that consolation from them that he now enjoys. 
 Thus the Holy Spirit takes of the things of Je- 
 sus, and shews them unto his people ; and he is 
 convinced, beyond the admission of a doubt, of the 
 unspeakable importance of that promise of Christ 
 relative to the Holy Spirit, " He shall abide with 
 you forever." Without him we are nothing. 
 
 VI. The efficacy of the atonement is now to 
 be considered. I mean to confine myself to two 
 sources of proof on this occasion. 
 
 1. The declarations of scripture. But where 
 shall I begin, and when shall I end ? Isaiah liii. 
 " He was wounded for our transgressions and 
 with his stripes we are healed." Zechariah xiii. 
 1 . "In that day there shall be a fountain opened 
 to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of 
 Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness." Hebrews 
 i. 3. " When he had by himself purged our sins." 
 ix. 28. " Christ was once offered to bear the sins 
 of many." x. 14. " By one offering he hath per- 
 fected forever all them that are sanctified." With 
 1 John i. 7. I may finish this part of the subject. 
 "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth 
 from all sin." I need not remark on these pas- 
 sages ; they are so plain that he who runs may 
 read. By one offering Then what efficacy is 
 there in that offering ? From all sin Then how 
 efficacious is that blood that was shed for sinners ? 
 
 2. But I pass to the experience of believers, 
 who have all happily found that there is a divine
 
 OF THE ATONEMENT. 355 
 
 efficacy in the atonement made by Christ. I 
 appeal to you, my Christian friends, whether, in 
 the moment when you believed in Jesus, you 
 did not behold and rejoice in the efficacy of 
 what Christ had done and suffered for ruined 
 man ? Just before, you were without hope, or 
 nearly so, sinking under your load of guilt ; now 
 brought by the Spirit of God to look to Jesus, 
 and to realize his fullness of merit, you find peace, 
 you can trust your immortal all with him. You 
 believe the truth, and you feel its efficacy. Christ 
 is precious, and mighty to save. David, Peter, 
 Magdalene, Saul, and millions of others, have 
 found the sufficiency of the atonement. 
 
 VII. We pass to consider the consequences of 
 denying the atonement of Christ. 
 
 1. Such denial renders the sacrifices of the law 
 unintelligible. We cannot explain them on any 
 other principle, as having a rational meaning. 
 
 2. The only foundation on which sinners may 
 expect salvation, is destroyed. Because " there 
 is no other name under heaven, given amongst 
 men, whereby they can be saved. " " Without 
 the shedding of blood, there is no remission of 
 sins." 
 
 3. It follows, that they who reject the atone- 
 ment can have no just hope of salvation. " For 
 if we sin wilfully after that we have received 
 the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no 
 more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful look- 
 ing for of judgment and fiery indignation, which 
 shall devour the adversaries." 
 
 4. Permit me now to ask, why we are ex- 
 horted to look to Christ rather than to any other 
 object ? Why not to Peter, to Paul, or to soi
 
 356 OF THE ATONEMENT. 
 
 other saint ? I answer, because Christ alone is 
 the Redeemer of sinners ; he, and he only, is 
 able to save to the uttermost, all that come unto 
 God by him. 
 
 Two reflections shall close the subject. 
 
 1. What infinite obligations are those under 
 to the Saviour, who are conscious that they have 
 been redeemed by his most precious blood. As- 
 tonished at the displays of mercy to guilty men, 
 angels swell their loud hosannas to the Lamb ; 
 while the four and twenty elders cry, " Thou 
 art worthy to take the book, and to open the 
 seals thereof : for thou wast slain, and hast re- 
 deemed us to God by thy blood, out of every 
 kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; 
 and hast made us unto our God kings and priests : 
 and we shall reign on the earth." 
 
 What manner of persons ought we to be, in all 
 holy conversation and godliness. We are not 
 our own, but bought with a price. Forasmuch 
 then as ye know that ye were not redeemed 
 with gold and silver and such corruptible things ; 
 but with the precious blood of the Son of God, 
 as of a lamb without blemish ; glorify him with 
 your body and spirit which are his. 
 
 2. Let such as have hitherto despised the Sa- 
 viour, and trifled with the blood of atonement, 
 realize that it is through this precious blood 
 alone that they can ever hope for pardon and ac- 
 ceptance with God. May the Spirit of the living 
 God arrest their attention, shew them their guilt, 
 and bring them to a humble reliance upon the 
 great atonement. Amen.
 
 SERMON XIX.* 
 
 THE WATER OF LIFE. 
 
 JOHN, iv. 14. 
 
 But whosoever drinleth of the -water that I shall give him, shall 
 never thirst ; but the water that I shall give him shall he in 
 him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 
 
 1 HE conversation of which the text is 
 a part, Christ had with a woman of Samaria, at 
 the well of Jacob ; to which he went with a de- 
 sign of converting her and a number of her coun- 
 trymen to the faith of the gospel. The place 
 was w r ell chosen by our Lord, because crowds of 
 the people resorted thither for water. Among 
 the many, he addressed himself to this woman, 
 saying, " Give me to drink." She pertly replied, 
 " How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink 
 of me, who am a woman of Samaria ? for the 
 Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. To 
 which he replied, " If thou knewest the gift of 
 God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me 
 to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and 
 he would have given thee living water." 
 
 By " the gift of God," Christ himself is meant. 
 "God so loved the world, that he gave his only 
 begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
 should not perish, but have everlasting life." lie 
 is said by Paul to have Ci delivered him up for us 
 all." lie is " the unspeakable gift." 
 
 ' ['read' tl Lo-.d 1 i! .
 
 358 THE WATER OF LIFE. 
 
 Had this woman known Christ's real character, 
 she would have bowed before him with sacred 
 reverence, and have asked of him the things that 
 she wanted, as a lost sinner j and he would have 
 given her living water, i. e. a principle of spirit- 
 ual life, with all its satisfying pleasures. Like all 
 other persons in a natural condition, she was ig- 
 norant of his meaning ; hence she answered him, 
 " Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the 
 well is deep : from whence then hast thou that 
 living water ? Art thou greater than our father 
 Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof 
 himself, and his children, and his cattle ?" This 
 question discovered her entire ignorance of Christ : 
 for he was far greater than Jacob, than Abraham, 
 than angels, yea, than all the hierarchy of angels, 
 cherubim and seraphim ; he was very and eternal 
 God. Had she known this divine, this adorable 
 personage, she would have been overcome with 
 the appearance of God in human nature. In this 
 ignorance, however, he did not leave her, but 
 said to her, " Whosoever drinketh of this water 
 shall thirst again : but whosoever drinketh of the 
 water that I shall give him shall never thirst." 
 
 In what sense may it be said that he shall never 
 thirst ? is a question often asked by the lovers of 
 the sacred scriptures ; to which I reply, 
 
 1. That they who are made acquainted with 
 the grace of the gospel, and feel its influence, will 
 never thirst with that vehement desire as hereto- 
 fore after earthly things. The power of religion 
 in the heart, will cure them of their once supreme 
 attachment to the things of the world. Or, 
 
 2. And which I esteem the real sense of our 
 Lord in this sentence, " they shall never thirst,"
 
 THE WATER OF LIFE. $5$ 
 
 is this ; that they who drink of this water that 
 Christ gives them, shall find such an infinite and 
 inexhaustible fullness in him, that they shall 
 never find the least deficiency or want. If there 
 is always enough in him, they never shall feel the 
 pain of thirsting, because the water that he gives 
 them shall be in them a well of water : if so, the 
 soul who receives it will never know any want ; 
 he shall drink enough for time and eternity. 
 
 On the last Lord's day, I mentioned the un- 
 common excellency of this passage. My design 
 in the choice of it is, to consider a number of 
 very important ideas with which it is crowded ; 
 such as, 
 
 I. A certain communication made to the mind, 
 compared to water. 
 
 II. That this water is given by Christ. 
 
 III. It is an abiding principle " it shall be in 
 him." 
 
 IV. It is a vigorous and active principle, and 
 of heavenly tendency " springing up." 
 
 V. Its issue " everlasting life." 
 
 I. There is a certain communication made to 
 the mind, compared to water. " The water that 
 I shall give him." 
 
 I wish this idea to be attended to, viz. that 
 there is something communicated at the time of 
 regeneration, that the sinner was destitute of be- 
 fore. It is something totally distinct from what 
 such person before had. This certain some- 
 thing has been called grace, a new heart, a right 
 spirit, a being created in Christ Jesus unto good 
 works. The most common term used by Chris- 
 tians, to describe it, has been the term principle ;
 
 360 THE WATER OF LIFE. 
 
 thus we say, a principle of spiritual life, a princi- 
 ple of holiness. 
 
 Upon strict examination of the term principle, 
 I confess myself much in favour of it, because it 
 is derived from a word that signifies the begin- 
 ning of a thing : and certainly the principle of 
 grace is the beginning of the divine life in the 
 soul. When this water is given, it abides in the 
 mind, and hence springs up to everlasting life. 
 It is from the moment that this principle is com- 
 municated to the heart, that the conflict with sin 
 commences ; which is carried on till the believer 
 obtains a complete victory. 
 
 I now proceed to examine why it is compared 
 to water. " The water," saith Christ, " that I 
 shall give him." 
 
 1. It is compared to water because of its free- 
 ness. What more free than water ? This term 
 then is fitly chosen to represent the freeness of 
 divine grace. " Ho, every one that thirsteth," 
 says Isaiah, " come ye to the waters, and he that 
 hath no money : come ye, buy and eat ; yea, 
 come, buy wine and milk without money, and 
 without price." A beautiful description of this 
 water : it is to be had without money and with- 
 out price. The whole plan of salvation, from 
 eternity to eternity, is of grace. " By grace are 
 ye saved, through faith ; and that not of your- 
 selves : it is the gift of God." 
 
 2. We always connect the idea of cleansing 
 with that of water. So it is with this water that 
 Christ gives : it is in its nature holy, and always 
 tends to holiness. The text is itself full proof of 
 this, for it springeth up into everlasting life ; this 
 could not be the case if it did not tend to holiness,
 
 THE WATER OF LIFE. 361 
 
 because without holiness no man can see the 
 Lord. We are told that " he that hath this hope 
 in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure ?" 
 
 3. Water is perfectly simple, or unmixed. So 
 is the water of life, or the grace that is communi- 
 cated to the heart at the time of regeneration. 
 As a principle, it is pure, and cannot be mixed 
 with any other thing. Sin and grace dwell to- 
 gether in the same heart ; whence ariseth the 
 conflict we have repeatedly mentioned ; but they 
 cannot be blended together. Sin will be sin for- 
 ever, and grace will be grace. If there were a 
 possibility of their being mixed, or blended to- 
 gether, they would be totally changed, and lose 
 their specific nature : but this can never be the 
 case ; they are,*and ever will be, infinitely differ- 
 ent in their nature and influence. 
 
 In the dispensation of the gospel by men, we 
 often find a sad mixture of grace and works ; but 
 the principle of the divine life itself will always 
 maintain its own nature, however some persons 
 corrupt the truth of salvation by grace alone. 
 They may corrupt the doctrine of grace, but they 
 have no power to corrupt the water which Christ 
 gives, or grace itself. I remark, 
 
 4. That water is absolutely necessary to sustain 
 life ; without it, all animal life would become ex- 
 tinct. So it is w ith the grace that Christ bestows. 
 It is so exactly suited to the sinner's condition, 
 that without it he must be lost forever. The 
 doctrine of grace is the only foundation of the 
 sinner's hope ; and the principle of grace, that 
 alone by which the heart is changed, and the sin- 
 ner in;tde meet for heaven. Christ's work for 
 his people, and h'n work in them, is all grace. 
 
 2 x
 
 362 THE WATER OF LIFE. 
 
 5. Water is a common blessing, hence but lit- 
 tle esteemed. So the water of life, or salvation 
 by grace alone, is much neglected. Mankind are 
 ready to say, as the servant said to Naaman, " If 
 he had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest 
 thou not have done it ?" Mankind, in unbelief, 
 would rather be saved by works than by grace ; 
 at least, by both together ; grace making up 
 whatever deficiency they might imagine in their 
 works. We observe, 
 
 6. That under certain circumstances, this com- 
 mon blessing, water, rises into unspeakable im- 
 portance, and appears, as to the body, the one 
 thing needful. For instance, when the mariners 
 at sea have exhausted their stock, and can pro- 
 cure no supply. Death stares them in the face. 
 Then they learn the value of this common bless- 
 ing, and would readily give all they possess for a 
 cup of cold water. So it is with the thirsty trav- 
 eller. The riches of the Indies, the best wines 
 are nothing compared with water : this only can 
 save life ; this only can satisfy thirst. 
 
 So it is with the grace of the gospel. When 
 the sinner becomes sensible of his lost condition, 
 this grace rises in its value, in his esteem : noth- 
 ing else will do ; nothing else will calm the mind, 
 and give it hope of pardon and acceptance with 
 God. This is the case too with the believer, 
 whose soul thirsts for the living God, for the en- 
 joyment of his love. Without his gracious pres- 
 ence he never can feel satisfied. Every thing else 
 fails of satisfying the pious soul. His language is, 
 " Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is 
 none upon earth that I desire besides thee ?"
 
 THE WATER OF LIFE. 363 
 
 II. A second idea in the text is, that this water 
 is given by Christ. " The water," said he, " that 
 I shall give him." Such is the current language 
 of the sacred scriptures. " My sheep," said he, 
 *' hear my voice and 1 give unto them eternal 
 life." In another place it is said, " that I should 
 give eternal life to as many as thou hast given 
 me." He is exalted as a Prince and a Saviour, 
 " to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of 
 sins." I need not ardd to these passages j they all 
 unite in establishing this truth, that Jesus Christ 
 is the giver of this grace that begins the divine 
 life in the soul. There is no other who ought to 
 be considered as the source of spiritual life. Let 
 Christ then have all the glory. It is given, not 
 purchased ; it is bestowed without money and 
 without price. No merit in the creature ; no 
 consideration of goodness ; no recommending 
 qualifications. 
 
 III. We pass to the next idea in the text, " it 
 shall be in him a well of water," an unfailing and 
 abiding principle. 
 
 ] . "A well of water." By this expression we 
 are taught its plenitude or abundance. Christ 
 himself is the fountain. " It hath pleased the 
 Father, that in him should all fullness dwell ;" 
 and out of that fullness his people receive, and 
 grace for grace. Remark, this well of watei is 
 said to be in the believer ; but it is derived from 
 Christ, as its source. 
 
 Out of the well of Jacob thousands were daily 
 supplied : but that well would have been ex- 
 hausted, had it not been supplied by various 
 springs. "All my springs," said David, " are in 
 thee." So the enrace that is in ih<' believer would
 
 THE WATER OF LIFE. 
 
 fail, if it were not replenished by Christ. He 
 keeps alive this heavenly principle ; he supplies 
 his people with all needful grace : hence they are 
 supported under every temptation and affliction, 
 and hold out to the end. " My grace," said he 
 to Paul, " is sufficient for thee.'* " The Lord 
 will give grace and glory : no good thing will 
 he withhold from them that walk uprightly.'* 
 
 2. It is an abiding principle ; " it shall be in 
 him." The lively exercise of grace may be lost, 
 but the principle itself cannot ; because it is from 
 Christ at first, and is maintained by him till it 
 shall issue in glory. Our Lord assures us, John 
 x. 28. that he gives to his sheep eternal life, and 
 they shall never perish. He hath not committed 
 their safe keeping into their own hands ; but he 
 himself is engaged to keep them by his power, 
 through faith unto salvation. 
 
 There are seasons when the divine life seems to 
 be almost extinct ; when holy exercises of love, 
 hope, joy, &c. are languid. Then doubts arise, 
 and the person is ready to cast away his confi- 
 dence. Such a condition is, in common, the ef- 
 fect of backsliding, or an unbecoming conduct ; 
 against which Christians ought to watch and 
 pray. Such was the sad state of David, Peter, 
 and others : but how melancholy their situation, 
 on such occasions ! They wound the cause of 
 Christ ; and when they are brought back, it is 
 with brokenness of heart : still the Lord will heal 
 their backslidings. " We are confident of this 
 very thing," says Paul, " that I:e who hath begun 
 a good work in you, will perform it until the 
 day of Jesus Christ." 
 
 I remark here, that when Christians fall into 
 this state of backsliding, they neither have cvi-
 
 THE WATER OF LIFE. ;j(J5 
 
 dence themselves, nor give evidence to others, 
 that they are real Christians j and we cannot 
 judge but according to evidence. " By their 
 fruit," said Christ, "ye shall know them." It 
 follows, then, that such persons, though they 
 may be real Christians, do not enjoy the comforts 
 of religion, but are in a state of uncertainty as to 
 themselves, and are unfruitful in the Christian 
 course. 
 
 The perseverance of the saints is secured by the 
 promises of Christ ; by the ample provision he 
 hath made in the plan of salvation ; by all the 
 perfections of God his love, power, and wisdom. 
 " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose 
 mind is stayed on thee." 
 
 IV. I shall now attend to the next idea in the 
 text, which is, that the water that Christ gives, is 
 a vigorous and active principle, and always tends 
 to heaven : " springing up into everlasting life." 
 
 The activity of this principle is seen and felt in 
 the following particulars : 
 
 1. In flying to Christ, in the first act of believ- 
 ing. The sinner leaves every thing behind, and 
 ilies to Christ ; and finds it to be the happiest 
 moment he ever knew. He looks to the Lamb 
 of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. 
 
 *2. It springs up in supreme love to God and 
 Christ. The mind is impressed with the beauty 
 of the divine character, and loves it. lie views 
 Christ as the brightness of the Father's glory, and 
 the express image of his person ; hence he ap- 
 pears altogether lovely, and the chief among ten 
 thousand^. 
 
 3. Hope too is of this kind : it rises, and en- 
 ters into that within the vail. Hope looks up iu
 
 366 THE WATER OF LIFE. 
 
 every hour of trial. It is as an anchor to the 
 soul, both sure and stedfast, 
 
 4. This principle may be said to spring up in 
 prayer, in every time of need ; whether the be- 
 liever be in the closet, the family, the church, or 
 in the common walks of life. Is he in any trial ? 
 In a moment does he look up to God to direct 
 and keep him. In all times of affliction and dis- 
 tress he thinks of the Lord, and seeks help from 
 him only. Is he in darkness of mind ? He flies 
 to the oracles of God, and to the throne of grace. 
 Is he burdened with the body of sin ? He looks 
 to Jesus, as the fountain opened to wash in for 
 sin and uncleanness. Is he longing for holiness ? 
 He flies to Jesus, that he may be made unto him 
 wisdom* righteousness, sanctification and redemp- 
 tion. The believer's life of faith is described in a 
 beautiful manner by Paul, in his epistle to the 
 Hebrews, by " looking to Jesus." 
 
 5. This divine principle springs up in desires 
 after the glory of God, the salvation of sinners, 
 and in love to the brethren, or to all who love 
 our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth ; in 
 love to all the ordinances and institutions of 
 Christ, and in general to the whole of the divine 
 law. 
 
 In a word There is a tendency of heart to 
 God, in all to whom Christ gives this water of 
 life. It came from him, and it tends to him. It 
 is divine in its nature, and heavenly in its ten- 
 dency. It is, as a principle in the heart, glory 
 begun here, to be consummated in heaven. Even 
 in the hours of darkness and lukewarmness it 
 springs up, because it can find nothing in the 
 universe to satisfv the soul, but God. It ascends
 
 THE WATER OF LIFE. 567 
 
 in groans, and cries, and tears, when God is ab- 
 sent, or hath hid his face from the Christian. 
 Return, says he, return, O God of love, and grant 
 to me thy life-giving presence. 
 
 In the hour of death, on the dying pillow, the 
 believer looks up to God, saying, To whom can 
 I flee for succour, but to thee ? Like the proto- 
 martyr, looking up stedfastly into heaven, he 
 cries, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 
 
 V. We come now to our last particular, which 
 was, to show the final issue of this heavenly prin- 
 ciple, which is " everlasting life." 
 
 Everlasting life, my brethren ! What an ex- 
 pression ! How full of meaning ! how full of 
 comfort ! It comprehends all the happiness that 
 the godly shall enjoy forever, in the immediate 
 presence of God and of the Lamb. " In thy 
 presence," says David, " is fullness of joy ; at 
 thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." 
 Compare the text with the following words of 
 the psalmist, and you will find they perfectly 
 agree " The Lord will give grace and glory : no 
 crood thin^r will he withhold from them that walk 
 
 O O 
 
 uprightly." 
 
 REFLECTIONS. 
 
 1. How invaluable is this living water, which 
 Christ gives ? What an astonishing change is ef- 
 fected by it, in the depraved heart ? There is 
 something communicated at the time of regene- 
 ration, that is entirely new : hence Paul says, " II 
 any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." 
 The soul thirsts no more for the pleasures of sin, 
 but is all swallowed up in God.
 
 368 THE WATER OF LIFE. 
 
 2. Let us examine ourselves, whether we have 
 any evidence that we have received this water of 
 life. This may be principally determined by the 
 effects which it is said to produce. " Whosoever 
 drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall 
 never thirst." Do we thirst after the riches, 
 honours, or pleasures of this world, as we once 
 did ? Do we feel a keener and more ardent relish 
 for the empty enjoyments of time, than for the 
 substantial enjoyments of religion ? Do we look 
 more for our happiness to things which are tem- 
 poral and seen, than to those which are unseen 
 and eternal ? Can any thing satisfy us, while God 
 withholds his love ? If our hearts at once put a 
 negative upon these questions, we have reason to 
 hope that Christ has given us of this living water. 
 
 3. If this principle springs up to everlasting 
 life, it follows, that all the unregenerate are under 
 the influence of a principle entirely distinct from 
 this, even disaffection to things of a divine nature. 
 Instead of having holy desires springing up to 
 God, they do not like to retain him in their 
 thoughts. They are of the earth, earthy. In- 
 stead of having their affections placed on the 
 things that are above, where Christ sitteth at the 
 right hand of God, they are all placed on things 
 on the earth. They are, of course, strangers to 
 that sweet peace there is in believing, to that hap- 
 piness and contentment which results from drink- 
 ing freely of the water of life. 
 
 4. How awful is your condition, sinners, who 
 remain in unbelief. You who remain secure, are 
 to this moment hardening your hearts against the 
 Saviour. You now hear of the water of life with 
 the utmost indifference : but remember, sinner?.
 
 THE WATER OF LIFE. S69 
 
 the time will come, when you will find yourselves 
 miserable without it. It can be had no where 
 else but in Christ ; he gives it, and gives it freely, 
 to every thirsty soul. 
 
 Are there any here present who thirst for the 
 waters of life ? then hear the gracious voice of 
 the Saviour. " In the last day, that great day of 
 the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any 
 man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." 
 To the same import are those precious words on 
 the last page of your Bible, with which I close* 
 " And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And 
 let him that heareth say, Come. And let him 
 that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let 
 him take the water of life freely." Amen. 
 
 2 Y
 
 
 SERMON XX.* 
 
 THE LAST WORDS OF CHRIST TO HIS DISCIPLES. 
 
 LUKE, xxiv. 4453. 
 
 And he said unto them, These are the ivords which I spake unto you*, 
 while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which 
 were written in the law of Moses., and in the prophets, and in 
 the Psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understandings, 
 that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, 
 Thus it is 'written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to 
 rise from the dead the third day : and that repentance and remis- 
 sion of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, be- 
 ginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. 
 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you : but 
 tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power 
 from on high. And he led them out as far as to Bethany ; and 
 he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, 
 while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up 
 into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jeru- 
 salem with great joy ; and were continually in the temple, prais- 
 ing and blessing God. Amen. 
 
 WlTH the passage now read to you, I 
 concluded the discourse the last Lord's day. But 
 we had not time then to introduce those obser- 
 vations that it naturally suggests. It is too im- 
 portant not to engage the pleasing attention of 
 this assembly. 
 
 You observe, that the text contains our Lord's 
 last address to his disciples after his resurrection. 
 He had first appeared to the women, then to the 
 
 * Delivered Lord's day, February %%, 1807, being the last 
 strmon which Dr. Stillman preached.
 
 THE LAST WORDS OF CHRIST. 37 1 
 
 two disciples, and on the present occasion they 
 were all together. To them he gave the fullest 
 evidence that he was their Lord who had been 
 crucified. " These are the words," said he, 
 " which I spake unto you while I was yet with 
 you, that all things must be fulfilled which were 
 written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, 
 and in the Psalms concerning me." He here stamps 
 divine authority on the writings. of Moses, the 
 prophets, and the Psalms. The things they had 
 said concerning him, he had particularly ex- 
 pounded to the two disciples on their way to Em- 
 mans. 
 
 As he had just referred them to the testimony 
 of Moses, and the prophets, and the Psalms, it is 
 added, " Then opened he their understandings, 
 that they might understand the scriptures." Their 
 minds had been much perplexed after their Lord's 
 crucifixion ; and they knew not what judgment 
 to form of these dark and painful events. But 
 now he opened their understandings, removed 
 their doubts and ignorance, and fully satisfied 
 them that it "behoved him to suffer, and to rise 
 again from the dead. And that repentance 
 and remission of sins should be preached in his 
 name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusa- 
 lem." 
 
 These words are the commission Christ gave 
 to his first preachers, a little before he left the 
 world. Another of the evangelists expresseth 
 himself thus : " All power in heaven and in earth 
 is given unto me ; go ye therefore," because I 
 have all power to send you, to support you, and 
 to make you successful. It follows, "into all the 
 world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
 
 372 THE LAST WORDS OF 
 
 In these last words of Christ, we observe the fol- 
 lowing particulars. 
 
 1. That Jesus Christ, as the Head of the 
 church, had unlimited authority to send forth 
 these men to preach the gospel. This observa- 
 tion will be readily admitted. 
 
 2. We have in the commission, the subject 
 matter of their ministry. "Preach the gos- 
 pel," says one evangelist, *' Preach repentance 
 and remission of sins in the name of Christ,*' 
 says another. We hence learn, that by the gospel 
 we are to understand repentance and remission 
 of sins in the name of Christ. 
 
 These men had no right to go, till he sent 
 them ; nor were they at liberty to preach any 
 thing to the people but what they had received 
 in charge from Christ. They were to deliver 
 the truths that Christ had taught them, and not 
 the inventions of men. The sum of their mini- 
 stry, we see, was repentance and remission of sins 
 in the name of Christ, Which comprehends the 
 following particulars, 
 
 (1.) Repentance. This implies guilt on the 
 part of the sinner. That he is a transgressor of 
 the law, and under its curse ; that he is incapable 
 of obtaining the pardon of his sins by any exer- 
 tions of his own ; that it is his incumbent duty 
 to repent and to abhor himself in dust and ashes. 
 For God commands all men every where to re- 
 pent. It is also his duty from the nature of 
 things. 
 
 It implies, that sorrow for sin as against God 
 is connected with remission of sins. Such sor- 
 row only constitutes true repentance ; or that 
 repentance that shall not be repented of. This is
 
 CHRIST TO HIS DISCIPLES. 373 
 
 quite distinct from that sorrow for sin that aris- 
 eth from a fear of misery. The former is an 
 evangelical, the latter merely a natural exercise of 
 heart. 
 
 It hath been said, there is a connexion between 
 repentance and remission of sins. There is a con- 
 nexion of purpose. When the plan of redemp- 
 tion was devised, this connexion was established. 
 Hence it hath been plainly and repeatedly declar- 
 ed in the sacred scriptures. " Except ye repent,'* 
 said Christ to the Jews, " ye shall all likewise 
 perish." He assures us, that he " came not to 
 call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." 
 The apostles continually preached the doctrine of 
 repentance to sinner?, as connected with forgive- 
 ness. 
 
 There is a connexion of fitness. It is lit that 
 the sinner should realize his sinful and guilty 
 condition, before he have a sense of remission of 
 sins. It is highly fit, that he should realize his 
 misery, before he will either wish for, or receive 
 the remedy. "The whole need not a physician, 
 but they who are sick," 
 
 We are also taught by our Lord, that repent- 
 ance ought to be preached to mankind before re- 
 mission of sins. Paul's manner of preaching he 
 hath taught us in his written epistles. " Know- 
 ing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." 
 That is, knowing that all men have sinned and 
 arc exposed to the wrath to come, we persuade 
 men that such is their awful condition. When 
 they are brought to realize this as their condition, 
 they will cry out for pardon. " We persuade 
 men," says Paul, that there is remi^ion of sins, 
 but not for any impenitent sinner as such. 1 <>
 
 S74 THE LAST WORDS OF 
 
 such, the language of the Spirit of God is, " Ex- 
 cept ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." " He 
 that confesseth and forsaketh his sins, shall find 
 mercy," and none but such. There are many 
 persons who content themselves with confessing 
 sin, who return to their former conduct as soon 
 as a temptation offers. Such make it evident that 
 they have no true repentance, but are in the gall 
 of bitterness, and bond of iniquity. 
 
 (2.) The doctrine of remission of sins, natur- 
 ally implies not only the guilt of the sinner, but 
 his sense of it. To such a convinced sinner, it 
 will be good news, that there is redemption 
 through the blood of Christ, even the forgiveness 
 of sins. It was so with Peter's hearers, when 
 they cried, " What shall we do to be saved ?" 
 Such, Christ assured us would be the office of the 
 Holy Ghost. " And when he is come, he shall 
 reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of 
 judgment." 
 
 Repentance and remission of sins, are the two 
 main parts of the apostolic ministry. These two, 
 with the various truths connected with them, 
 comprehend all the other parts. Under the arti- 
 cle of repentance is comprehended every thing 
 that belongs to depravity ; under remission, every 
 thing that belongs to the sinner's acceptance with 
 God. 
 
 You observe, that Christ taught his apostles to 
 begin their ministry at Jerusalem. Notwith- 
 standing the inhabitants of that city had been re- 
 markably wicked, had abused his person, contemn- 
 ed his doctrines and miracles, and had put him 
 to death ; yet he commanded his ministers to go 
 Jirst to that people with the good news of remis-
 
 CHRIST TO HIS DISCIPLES. 375 
 
 sion of sins for penitent sinners : even those 
 very persons who had imbrued their hands in his 
 blood. Such was his mercy and condescension 
 to guilty men. In this his conduct, he hath 
 taught us to return good for evil, and to forgive 
 our worst enemies. 
 
 But these were not the only reasons why he 
 commanded them to begin their ministry at Je- 
 rusalem, that he might teach them to return 
 good for evil, and to forgive their enemies ; but 
 he had some in that city, whom he designed to 
 call by his grace. This appeared to be the case 
 by the instances of conversion that took place 
 under their preaching. In that city was the mi- 
 raculous effusion of the Holy Ghost, the conver- 
 sion of the three thousand on the day of Pente- 
 cost, and the gathering of the first Christain 
 church after Christ's resurrection, the mother of 
 all churches that were gathered in following ages 
 at different places. 
 
 Christ adds in the next verse, " For ye are wit- 
 nesses of these things ;" meaning of his life and 
 death, and especially of his resurrection. 
 
 He had given them the fullest evidence of this 
 fact by appearing to the women at the sepulchre ; 
 to Simon ; to the two disciples when on their way 
 to Emmaus ; after that, the same evening to the 
 whole company of his disciples, to whom lie 
 shewed his hands and his feet, and before whom 
 he did eat. 
 
 Here remark, lie gave them all the proofs they 
 could desire, for this reason, that they were to 
 be witnesses of these things. A witness oughl 
 to be satisfied himself of the truth of the f..ci he 
 is to testify to others, especially in a case ui : uch
 
 376 THE LAST* WORDS OF 
 
 extraordinary nature as that of a person's being 
 alive, who was crucified a short time before. A 
 case too on which every thing depended with re- 
 spect to themselves, as well as others. All their 
 faith, and hope of pardon and eternal life, depended 
 on it. No event that had taken place while they 
 had been in the world, was of such vast impor- 
 tance to them as this, nor of such infinite mo- 
 ment to the children of men. This we know to 
 be true from what hath taken place at different 
 times and in various places. 
 
 It was necessary that the disciples or first 
 Christians should have the most satisfactory evi- 
 dence of our Lord's resurrection, because man- 
 kind are naturally opposed to Christianity, and 
 slow of heart to believe. 
 
 It might have been expected that the story of 
 his resurrection would be ridiculed by unbeliev- 
 ers in general. This was the case. But the 
 apostles were qualified in every respect for their 
 work, let the opposition be ever so great, that 
 mankind could make against them. Their extra- 
 ordinary qualifications for the work are mention- 
 ed in the 44th verse. " And behold, I send the 
 promise of my Father upon you ; but tarry ye in 
 the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with 
 power from on high." I shall return to the con- 
 sideration of this promise of the Father, after we 
 have remarked on the following verses. " And 
 he led them out as far as to Bethany," a village at 
 the foot of Mount Olivet, almost two miles from 
 Jerusalem. When there, " he lifted up his hands 
 and blessed them ; and it came to pass, while he 
 blessed them," in the very act, " he was parted 
 from them, and carried up into heaven."
 
 CHRIST TO HIS DISCIPLES. S?7 
 
 Here we have another very important event 
 in the history of Jesus ; his ascension to heaven. 
 He was carried up in their sight, in the very act 
 of blessing them. The disciples were at no loss 
 to determine whither he was gone, for they saw 
 him go up, and a cloud received him out of their 
 sight. In this case there was nothing left for 
 conjecture. His ascension was a matter of noto- 
 riety. All his disciples then with him at Bethany 
 beheld him in his ascension ; and might recollect 
 that he had said on a certain occasion, " I ascend 
 to my Father, and to your Father ; to my God, 
 and to your God." It is added, " And they wor- 
 shipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with ex- 
 ceeding great joy ; and were continually in the 
 temple, praising and blessing God." 
 
 They worshipped him as very God. As him 
 who had left the Father and come into the world, 
 and having now finished his work, he again left 
 the world and went to the Father. From this 
 solemn scene, they " returned to Jerusalem with 
 exceeding great joy." 
 
 The natural and important question that aris- 
 eth from the last sentence, is, why were they fill- 
 ed with exceeding great joy ? I answer, because 
 he had blessed them in the moment of his leaving 
 them. This blessing consisted, 
 
 1. In full proof, that he was the Christ who 
 had been crucified. They were delivered from 
 all doubt or uncertainty ; they were blessed with 
 unwavering confidence in him for time and eter- 
 nity ; they were therefore happy ; and the more 
 so at this time, because a Utile before they had 
 been greatly depressed. Oh, how happy the soul 
 when doubts are banUhed ! " Hope thou in God," 
 '1 -l
 
 378 THE LAST WORDS Or 
 
 ^ said David, " for I shall yet praise him for the 
 
 help of his countenance." 
 
 2. This blessing consisted farther, in being 
 eye-witnesses of his ascension. The pain we feel 
 in parting with a friend, is greatly assuaged by 
 the prospect of his being happy. Christ had told 
 his disciples that it was expedient for them, 
 that he should go away. " But," said he, " be- 
 cause I have said these things unto you, sorrow 
 hath filled your hearts." They had witnessed 
 his unparalleled sufferings on Calvary; and al- 
 though he had triumphed over death and the 
 grave, and cheered their hopes by his resurrec- 
 tion, it does not appear that they indulged the 
 expectation of his continuance with them. If he 
 must leave them, what greater satisfaction could 
 they possibly have, than to be with him to the 
 last, to receive his benediction, and to see him 
 ascend ? 
 
 3. It also consisted in the clear and enlarged 
 views he had given them of the writings of Mo- 
 ses, the prophets, and the Psalms. He opened 
 their understandings, that they might understand 
 the scriptures. What increase of knowledge, and 
 what increase of joy were they blessed with on 
 this occasion. You know, Christians, that your 
 hearts have often burned within you whilst Christ 
 by his Spirit has opened to you the scriptures, 
 and talked to you by the way. " Ye shall know 
 the truth," said Christ, "and the truth shall 
 make you free." Happy disciples ! to have a di- 
 vine teacher. How great the blessing! How 
 great the joy ! 
 
 4. They were blessed with his gracious assur- 
 ance that he would send the promise of his Fa-
 
 CHRIST TO HIS DISCIPLES. S79 
 
 ther upon them, and that they should be endued 
 with power from on high. 
 
 The promise of his Father, designs the promise 
 of the Holy Ghost, mentioned in the Old Testa- 
 ment repeatedly. Isa. lix. 2 1 . The Lord Jeho- 
 vah here promises Christ as Mediator, in these 
 words : " My Spirit that 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." See John xiv. 16, 17. "And I will pray 
 the Father, and he shall give you another Com- 
 forter, that he may abide with you forever ; even 
 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot re- 
 ceive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth 
 him ; but ye know him, for he dwelleth with 
 you, and shall be in you." 
 
 On the day of pentecost this promise was ful- 
 filled. Acts ii. " And when the day of pente- 
 cost was fully come, they were all with one accord 
 in one place. And suddenly there came a sound 
 from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it 
 filled all the house where they were sitting. And 
 there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as 
 of fire, and it sat upon eacli of them. And they 
 were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began 
 to speak with tongues, as the Spirit gave them 
 utterance." The efiects were astonishing. Won- 
 drous things were done by the ministry or the 
 apostles, and great indeed was the success of the 
 gospel. They were now endued with power 
 from on high, that is, from heaven ; and hence 
 their enemies could not resist the wisdom and 
 power by which they spake.
 
 SSO THE LAST WORDS OF 
 
 From that day to this, the Holy Ghost has at 
 different times wrought wonders by the gospel, 
 in the hands of those whom the Lord hath sent 
 forth to preach it to the world. 
 
 In the first age the apostles had a power to 
 work miracles, and by them to confirm their own 
 authority to preach, and the doctrines they deliv- 
 ered. With this power they went forth, in the 
 name of Jesus. 
 
 In the words of an animated French preacher, 
 I will close this part of the subject. 
 
 " Imagine these venerable men addressing their 
 adversaries on the day of the Christian pentecost 
 in this language : c Ye refuse to believe us on 
 our depositions ; five hundred of us ye think are 
 enthusiasts ; or perhaps ye think us impostors, or 
 take us for madmen. But bring out your sick, 
 present your demoniacs, fetch hither your dead ; 
 let all nations send us some of their inhabitants : 
 we will restore hearing to the deaf, arid sight to 
 the blind ; we will make the lame to walk ; we 
 will cast out devils, and raise the dead. We pub- 
 licans, we illiterate men, we tent-makers, we fish- 
 ermen, we will discourse with all the people of 
 the world in their own languages. We will ex- 
 plain prophecies, develop the most sublime mys- 
 teries, teach you notions of God, precepts for the 
 conduct of life, plans of morality and religion, 
 more extensive, more sublime and advantage- 
 ous, than those of your priests and philosophers* 
 yea, than those of Moses himself . We will do 
 more still ; we will communicate those gifts to 
 you."* 
 
 * Saurin's Sermons, Vol. II. Ser. \>u.
 
 CHRIST TO HIS DISCIPLES. 881 
 
 All these things they were enabled to do, after 
 they were endued with power from on high, i. e. 
 after the descent of the Holy Ghost. Even their 
 enemies confessed it, though they could not ac- 
 count for their extraordinary and miraculous 
 power. 
 
 The following reflections must close the subject. 
 
 1. Christ's resurrection from the dead, and 
 ascension to glory, has explained many of the 
 types and prophecies of the Old Testament, which 
 before were enveloped in great darkness. The 
 doctrine of the resurrection, which but glimmered 
 in the writings of Moses and the prophets, now 
 shone with an irresistible effulgence. Christ had 
 risen, and become the first fruits of them that 
 slept. The gates of death were henceforth un- 
 barred to the believer. 
 
 Christ's visible ascension to heaven, was also z 
 most consoling proof to the disciples, that he was 
 gone to appear in the presence of God for them : 
 that he would never abandon his cause, nor his 
 faithful followers ; but that he would employ his 
 all-prevalent advocacy for them, when seated at 
 his Father's right hand. 
 
 2. The success of the gospel, at every period, 
 is the effect of what Christ promised should take 
 place after his ascension, i. e. the gift of the Holy 
 Ghost. This promise was remarkably fulfilled 
 on the day of pentecost. What incontestable 
 proof was here exhibited, that Jesus had entered 
 into "heaven itself;" and, "being by the right 
 hand of God exalted, and having received of the 
 Father the gift of the Holy Ghost, he shed forth 
 that which thev then saw and heard." The same
 
 SS2 THE LAST WORDS OF CHRIST. 
 
 divine influence succeeds the preaching of the 
 gospel, and makes it effectual to the conversion 
 of sinners, in the day in which we live. This 
 influence will be continued, till the plan of grace 
 is accomplished, and all Christ's ransomed people 
 are gathered in. 
 
 3. We hence learn, that when our understand- 
 ings are opened to understand the scriptures ; to 
 see the exact agreement between type and anti- 
 type, between prophecies and events ; to see them 
 all pointing to Jesus, and centering in him ; our 
 hearts grow warm, and glow with sacred love. 
 When he condescends to talk with us by the way, 
 or to meet us in his ordinances, like the disciples 
 of old, we worship him, and return with great 
 joy. He is now gone to prepare a place for us, 
 and has said, " I will come again and receive you 
 to myself; that where I am there ye may be also, 
 to behold my glory." Then shall we meet in his 
 temple above, and be continually employed in 
 praising and blessing God, forever and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 r i n i s,
 

 
 The following is the List of otfier Sermons, tsfc. published by 
 the Author , but not included in this Volume. 
 
 A SERMON on the repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766. 
 
 A Sermon on the character of a good soldier : delivered before the 
 Ancient and Honourable Artillery Company in Boston, June 4, 
 1770. 
 
 Substance of a Sermon, delivered at the ordination of Rev. Sam- 
 uel Shepard, in Stratham, New Hampshire, Sept. 25, 1771. 
 
 A Sermon on the death of Hon. Samuel Ward, Esq. member" of 
 the Continental Congress, from Rhode Island, and delivered be- 
 fore that body in Philadelphia, March 26, 1776. 
 
 A Sermon on the General Election in Massachusetts, May 26, 1779. 
 
 A Sermon on Charity, preached before the most Ancient and Hon- 
 ourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons in Charlestown, 
 June 24, 1785- 
 
 An Oration delivered to the inhabitants of the town of Boston, 
 July 4, 1789. 
 
 A Sermon onthe death of Nicholas Brown, Esq. of Providence, 
 (R.I.) May 31, 1791. 
 
 A Sermon on the French Revolution, preached on the annual State 
 Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 20, 179-1. 
 
 A Sermon on the ordination of the Rev. Stephen Smith Nel- 
 son, preached in Boston, Sept. 15, 1797. 
 
 A Sermon on the National Fast Day, April, 1799. 
 
 A Sermon on the death of George Washington, late President 
 of the United States of America, 1800. 
 
 A Sermon on the opening of the New Baptist Meeting House in 
 Charlestown, May 12, 1801. 
 
 A Sermon on the first anniversary of the Boston Female Asylum, 
 Sept. 5, 1802. 
 
 A Sermon on the ordination of Rev. Thomas Waterman, 
 Charlestown, October 7, 1801. 
 
 A Sermon on the first anniversary of the Massachusetts Baptist 
 Missionary Society, May 25, 1803. 
 
 A Sermon on the death, and preached at the funeral, of Rev. Hez- 
 ekiah Smith, D. D. of Haverhill, January 31, 1805.
 
 o-
 
 The peaceful Reflections and glorious Pros- 
 pects of the departing Saint. 
 
 A 
 
 DISCOURSE, 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE MEETING-HOUSE OF 
 
 The First Baptist Church in Boston, 
 
 March 16, 1807, 
 
 AT THE 
 
 3Jntenuent 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REV. SAMUEL STILLMAN, D. D. 
 
 JLATE PASTOR OF SAID CIIURCII. 
 
 BY THOMAS BALDWIN, D. D. 
 
 PASTOR OF THE SECOND BAPTIST CIIURCH IN BOSTON. 
 
 "I am distressed for tlicr, my brother ; very pleasant hast 
 
 thou been unto inc." 
 
 Boston : 
 
 J'i'lNTI.D AY.U SOLD 11 Y MANNING AND I. OR INC, NO. 2, 
 C O K N II I 1. 1..
 
 At a Meeting of the First Baptist Church and Society 
 in Boston, March 22, 1807, 
 
 VOTED, That Deacon John Wait, Messrs. Wil- 
 liam Porter, Samuel Lord, Daniel Wild, Prince 
 Snow, Edenezer L. Boyd, and James Loring be a Com- 
 mittee to wait on Dr. Baldwin, to present him their 
 thanks for his affectionate and sympathetic Discourse de- 
 livered on Monday last, at the Funeral of our revered and 
 much-beloved Pastor, the late Dr. SriLLMAN ; and to 
 request of him a copy for the press. 
 
 MIHIIIIIII
 
 TO THE 
 
 BEREAVED FAMILY, 
 
 AND TO THE 
 
 MOURNING CHURCH AND CONGREGATION, 
 
 THE FOLLOWING DISCOURSE 
 
 IS, WITH CORDIAL SENTIMENTS OF SYMPATHY AND 
 
 ESTEEM, 
 
 Iwmblp fngcrifceD, 
 
 The AUTHOR.
 
 iiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuimTUT 
 
 DISCOURSE. 
 
 2 TIMOTHY, iv. 7, 8. 
 
 / HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT, I HAVE FINISHED 
 MY COURSE, I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH : HENCE- 
 FORTH THERE IS LAID UP FOR ME A CROWN OF 
 RIGHTEOUSNESS, WHICH THE LORD, THE RIGHT- 
 EOUS JUDGE, SHALL GIVE ME AT THAT DAT. 
 
 I^VERY moment of life has some im- 
 portance attached to its improvement. But no 
 portion of our time appears more interesting, to 
 ourselves and others, than that which closes the 
 present scene of things, and which must launch 
 us upon the boundless ocean of untried existence. 
 At this solemn period, reflection will rccal from 
 oblivion the various transactions of our past lives, 
 and examine them with the scrutinizing eye of 
 a judge. This review will either afford consola- 
 tion and pleasure, or sting the soul with insup- 
 portable anguish. Nothing will be able to endure 
 the test of calm reflection, but what bears the 
 stamp of virtue and religion. 
 
 Our anticipations of the future will be in exact 
 unison with our reflections on the past. If our 
 lives have been spent in abusing the divine good- 
 ness, and in treasuring up wrath against the dav 
 of wrath and revelation of the righteous ji 
 ment of God ; then there will of necessiiv be x
 
 fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indig- 
 nation, to devour the adversaries of truth and 
 righteousness. On the other hand, if by a pa- 
 tient continuance in well doing, we have been 
 perseveringly seeking for glory, honour, and im- 
 mortality, then the most delightful prospects will 
 arise to the soul, of eternal life in the paradise of 
 God. 
 
 With this hope full in view, in what a dignified 
 attitude does the great apostle of the Gentiles 
 appear before us, in the text and context. He 
 was now addressing his affectionate and probably 
 his last advice to Timothy, his son in the gospel. 
 After charging him, in the most solemn manner, 
 before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to preach the 
 word, to be instant in season and out of season, he 
 goes on to foretel that there would be an apos- 
 tasy from the truth. The time will come, saith he, 
 when they (meaning, no doubt, such as should call 
 themselves Christians) will not endure sound doc- 
 trine ; but they shall turn away their cars from the 
 truth, and be turned unto fables. But watch thou in 
 all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evan- 
 gelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 
 
 In order to encourage Timothy to the faithful 
 discharge of his duty, he invites his attention to 
 his peculiar situation, as connected with his past 
 experience and future prospects. ' / am now, saith 
 he, ready to be offered, and the time of my departure 
 is at hand. When it was foretold that I should 
 suffer for the cause of Christ, I felt and expressed 
 a willingness, not only to be bound, but to die for the 
 name of the Lord Jesus. I have long been in 
 bonds ; and if it be the will of God, that I should 
 fall a victim for the cause of truth, and be immo-
 
 lated on the altar of persecution, / am now ready 
 to be offered. I am fully persuaded that the time 
 of my departure is at hand.' But, far from repin- 
 ing at this, he seems to have viewed it like the 
 departure of the ancient tribes from a dreary 
 wilderness, to enter into the promised land ; or 
 like the traveller, who embraces the inn for a 
 night, but in the morning departs for his own 
 home. 
 
 With what calmness and serenity did this holy 
 man look to the end of his race ! Neither diffi- 
 culties nor dangers could appal him ; nor could 
 any thing terrestrial shake his confidence in God. 
 / have fought a good fight ', / have finished my course, 
 I have kept the faith : henceforth there is a crown of 
 righteousness laid up for me. 
 
 In further discoursing upon the words, we 
 shall briefly consider the peaceful reflections and 
 glorious prospects enjoyed by the servants of Christ, 
 at the time of their departure. 
 
 Looking back upon the scenes through which the 
 apostle had passed, we may suppose the following 
 to be his reflections. 4 1 have, indeed, been called 
 to contend earnestly for the faith which was once 
 delivered to the saints. I have had to contend 
 with principalities and powers, with the rulers of 
 the darkness of this world, with spiritual wicked- 
 ness in high places : but I have fought a good 
 fight. The path of duty which I have been called 
 to tread, has exposed ine to innumerable and 
 imminent dangers. I have been in perils of rob- 
 bers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils 
 in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils 
 in the sea, in perils among false brethren. 13ut 
 
 B
 
 notwithstanding the difficulties I have had. to 
 encounter, it has been my constant aim cheerfully 
 to do my duty, and to war a good warfare. As t 
 have never been engaged in an unlawful contest, 
 so neither have I made any degrading concessions 
 to the enemies of the cross. The weapons of my 
 warfare, though not carnal, have been mighty, 
 through God, to the pulling down the strong 
 holds of sin/ 
 
 This holy apostle knew what it was to conflict 
 with the opposition of an ungodly world, in all 
 its various forms. He despised its allurements, 
 and suffered its persecutions. Nor was he a 
 stranger to the fiery darts of the wicked one ; for 
 he had experienced the buffetings of a messenger 
 of Satan. Besides all these, he had much to do 
 in order to overcome the corruptions of his own 
 heart. He often complained of what he called 
 the old man, the law in his members, which warred 
 against the law of his mind. In this conflict, 
 however, he did not fight as though beating the 
 air, but kept his body under. Its lusts, appetites, 
 and passions, were all subjected to the govern- 
 ment of grace. And at times, he exulted that 
 the old man was crucified, and that finally the body 
 of sin would be destroyed. 
 
 This Christian hero had often unfurled the 
 banner of the cross, where Christ had never 
 before been named ; feeling equally concerned to 
 extend the knowledge of salvation to the rude 
 Barbarian and to the polished Greek. This, to 
 his benevolent soul, must have been a most de- 
 lightful employment. His fatigues and sufferings 
 must have been great indeed, but his labours 
 were rewarded with unexampled success. To
 
 .11. 
 
 
 
 an almighty arm he attributed all the success 
 which attended his preaching, and all his deliv- 
 erances from death. Thanks be unto God, who 
 always causeth us to triumph in Christ. It was in 
 the strength of Christ that he set up his banner> 
 and it was through this alone that he gained the 
 victory. 
 
 / have fought a good fght. Do you not dis- 
 cover, in this language, an elevation of soul, 
 which placed the apostle above the reach of 
 danger ? As from a lofty eminence, he could 
 now survey the whole scene of his conflicts. 
 * I have fought a good fight ; I have been en- 
 abled honourably to sustain the action, and to 
 keep the field. The conflict is now no longer 
 doubtful. I have not, at this late period, to gird 
 on the harness ; but having gained the victory, 
 am preparing to put it off.' * 
 
 He had, indeed, one more enemy with which 
 to conflict, but he considered him as a van- 
 quished foe. He saw the King of Terrors^ ar- 
 rayed in his most dreadful form, advancing to- 
 wards him ; but, armed in the complete panoply 
 of God, he exultingly exclaims, O death ! where 
 is thy sting ? O grave ! where is thy victory ? 
 He well knew that the sting of death was sin, 
 and that the strength of sin was the law, but 
 could thank God for giving him the victory 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 livery good minister is engaged in the same 
 warfare, and if faithful to his Lord and Master, 
 is lighting the same good fight, and like him, 
 will ere long obtain the victory. Hence we arc 
 called to endure hardness, as good soldiers of 
 
 i Kirm xx. 1 1,
 
 Jesus Christ ; to be valiant for the truth ; and to 
 play the men for our people, and for the cities of our 
 God ; to fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold 
 on eternal life. 
 
 At this solemn period, when the apostle was 
 expecting soon to take his departure from a 
 world of sin, and to render up an account -to his 
 final Judge, in the language of holy triumph he 
 could add, / have finished my course. 
 
 As in the preceding article, the apostle had 
 compared the Christian profession to a warfare ; 
 so, here he compares it to a race : probably in 
 allusion to the Grecian games. Our life may be 
 compared to a race, which all are running ; and 
 whether we run in the highway of holiness, or in 
 the broad way of sin, we shall soon reach our 
 goal. Too many run, as we have reason to fear, 
 according to the course of this world, according to the 
 prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now 
 worketh in the children of disobedience. 
 
 By course, the apostle however, more probably 
 intended his ministry. We find the same ex- 
 pression in his address to the elders at Ephesus. 
 The Holy Ghost testified in every place, that 
 bonds and imprisonment awaited him ; but, said 
 he, none of these things move me : neither count J my 
 life dear unto myself, so that I may finish my course 
 with joy, the ministry which I have received of the 
 Lord Jesus. 
 
 Here, my brethren, the apostle gives us his 
 estimate of this important work. His life, how- 
 ever dear to him in other respects, when put in 
 competition with the ministry, he did not count 
 dear, as a sacrifice in so good a cause.
 
 But when may a minister be said to finish his 
 course with joy ? We answer When he has 
 faithfully employed his time and talents in his 
 Lord's service : when he can say in sincerity, 
 / am pure from the blood of all men ; for I have 
 not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God : 
 I have kept back nothing that might have been 
 profitable to those who heard me ; but have 
 taught them publickly, and from house to house : 
 when his labours have been succeeded, for the 
 building up of the cause of God : when he can 
 rejoice over many, and say with the apostle, For 
 what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? Arc 
 not even ye, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 at his coming ? For ye arc our glory and joy. That 
 minister, whose usefulness continues unabated to 
 the close of life, and who to the last moment 
 enjoys the undiminished affection of his people, 
 may in a peculiar sense be said to finish his 
 course with joy. Though conscious of many 
 imperfections in himself, he will be enabled to 
 rejoice in Christ Jesus, confiding in his finished 
 righteousness, having no confidence in the flesh. 
 But whatever our course may be, we shall soon 
 finish it, and our reward will be according to 
 bur works. 
 
 In order to finish well, we must also keep the 
 faith : this completes the climax. I have fought 
 the good fight, I have finished my course, I have 
 kept the faith. Happy apostle ! how enviable is 
 thy condition ! How limited arc all the prospects 
 of wealth and ambition, compared witli thine ! 
 Theirs terminate with this present world ; thine 
 embrace the realities of eternity. Contemplate 
 this holy man, standing on the margin of time,
 
 and with the telescope of faith, exploring those 
 distant regions, where the Godhead resides and 
 shines. But these joys are reserved only for 
 those, who overcome by the blood of the Lamb, 
 and by the word of their testimony ; who keep 
 the faith, without wavering. 
 
 By the faith here mentioned, we are undoubt- 
 edly to understand the doctrine of faith, or that 
 system of doctrines revealed by the Spirit of 
 God in his word. Every faithful minister will 
 be concerned to keep this system pure. Nothing 
 can be added to it, or taken from it, without 
 endangering our part in the Lamb's book of life. 
 
 If a departure from the faith was at hand, when 
 many, though professing the Christian religion, 
 ivould not endure sound doctrine, but should turn 
 away their cars from the truth, or should so cor- 
 rupt it as to render it pleasing to the unhumbled 
 heart ; then to be able to say, / have kept the 
 faith, must appear peculiarly important. 
 
 Desirous as the apostle was, not to give offence 
 either to Jew or Gentile, or the church of God ; 
 yet he never sought to please men at the expense 
 of truth. With all his condescension, here was 
 a boundary which he could not pass. Happy 
 had it been for the church of God, had all her 
 teachers thus adhered to the faith : but, alas ! 
 how many, not holding it in a good conscience, 
 concerning faith have made shipwreck ! It discovers 
 a mind awfully insensible to the authority of 
 truth, to suppose it to be of little consequence 
 what men preach or believe. 
 
 The author of our text was far from sucli an 
 accommodating system. Charge some, said he to 
 Timothy, that they preach no other doctrine ; that
 
 is, than sound doctrine, as he calls it in another 
 place, or good doctrine. He further charged Tim- 
 othy, to take heed to himself and to his doctrine ; 
 to continue in them : for in doing this, saith he, 
 thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear 
 thee. 
 
 If keeping the faith, and holding the doctrine 
 which is according to godliness, have a tendency 
 to save the soujs of men ; then it may be fairly 
 concluded, that doctrines which differ essentially 
 in principle, will have a contrary tendency. 
 
 The passage we have been considering, is, in 
 some of the oriental versions, rendered, ' I have 
 kept my faith ;' that is, I have been faithful to 
 my trust, as a good steward of the mysteries of 
 God. I have endeavoured to act up to my pro- 
 fession, both as a Christian and as a minister. 
 I have the testimony cf my own conscience, that 
 I have not walked in guile, nor handled the word 
 of God deceitfully ; but by manifestation of the 
 truth to every man's conscience in the sight ot 
 God. 
 
 Having taken this solemn retrospect of what 
 he had done and suffered in the cause of his 
 Divine Redeemer, he could now look forward 
 with joyful expectation to that day, when he 
 should meet the final plaudit of his Judge, and 
 receive from his impartial hand some lasting 
 token of his love and favour. 
 
 With an assurance which death itself could 
 not appal, he thus expresses his views of future 
 happiness : Henceforth there is laid up for ?ne .; 
 crown of righteousness. 
 
 The future happiness of ;aint ; in glory is firly 
 represented by a crown. It well agrees
 
 I () 
 
 character which is given them, of being made kings 
 and priests unto God and the Lamb. Though taken 
 from the dunghill, they are raised to sit among 
 princes, and to inherit the throne of glory. They 
 are prepared in time, for that kingdom, which 
 was prepared for them from the foundation of 
 the world. 
 
 It may be observed, that the apostle calls it a 
 crown of righteousness. It is so in every sense. 
 It is decreed to all who receive it, by a righteous 
 Judge, whom neither flattery nor bribes can in- 
 fluence. Besides, it comes to the believer only 
 through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. It also denotes the person righteous who 
 receives it, and entitles him to all the felicities 
 and glories of the heavenly state. 
 
 What exalted honours does the God of grace 
 confer on worms ! He takes sinners of Adam's 
 race, and often too the vilest of the vile, and 
 washes them in redeeming blood, and makes 
 them kings and priests unto God and the Lamb. 
 With such prospects as these, well might the 
 apostle exclaim, / am in a strait betwixt two, having 
 a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which, as 
 it respects me, would be far better ; but it seems 
 needful for the church that I should continue 
 here a little longer. But let my heavenly Father 
 dispose of me as he may see fit, one thing I am 
 assured of, For me to live is Christ, and to die will 
 be gain. 
 
 Every minister of Jesus Christ, as he is called 
 to participate in the same kind of trials which 
 tliis apostle endured, will also be supported by 
 the same glorious promises and prospects. Hap- 
 py indeed shall we be, if when we come to finish
 
 1 7 aa * 
 
 life, we are enabled to say, / have fought a good 
 fight, I have finished my course, and kept the faith. 
 Death will then appear like an enemy disarmed, 
 aad the grave will only open its bosom to rest 
 the weary traveller. 
 
 But however resigned and joyful the good 
 man may be at the hour of death, his departure 
 must be attended with many affecting circum- 
 stances. To leave those who are allied to us by 
 the tenderest ties of nature and friendship, must 
 be truly distressing. The thought is sometimes 
 overwhelming, to the holiest and best of men. 
 What mean ye to weep, and to break mine heart ? was 
 the language of an apostle, when oppressed with 
 the grief of his friends. How deeply affecting 
 to the good man, when called to struggle with 
 the last enemy, to see the dear partner of his 
 bosom stand weeping over him, and trying to 
 sustain his fainting head, while with a trembling 
 hand she gently wipes from his face the cold 
 sweat of death ! To swell the tide of grief still 
 higher, the dear children whom God has given 
 him, stand agonizing round him ; and while 
 bedewing his hands and his cheeks witli their 
 tears, they are heard softly to exclaim, in the 
 language of the young prophet, My father ! my 
 father ! 
 
 The dear minister of Christ has not only to 
 struggle witli these tender feelings, which are 
 common to others ; but he lias another connex- 
 ion, of a nature somewhat different, but nearly 
 as tender, to be dissolved : we mean the connex- 
 ion between him and his dear people. Many or 
 these are probably the seals of his apostleship, lor
 
 18 
 
 whose souls he had travailed in birth until Christ 
 was formed in them. Others, for whose eternal 
 welfare he had felt a most tender concern, but 
 for whom he could entertain no well grounded 
 hopes. These various connexions cause a thou- 
 sand tender solicitudes, which at this solemn 
 hour rush like a torrent upon the departing soul. 
 But, feeling the earthly house of his tabernacle 
 dissolving, and knowing that he has a building of 
 God, a house not made with hands, eternal in 
 the heavens, he bids his weeping friends adieu, 
 softly saying, 
 
 " Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife, 
 ' " And let me languish into life." 
 
 These brief observations naturally conduct our 
 thoughts to a more particular consideration of 
 the very solemn and deeply affecting dispensation 
 of Divine Providence, which has now called us 
 together, in this mournful house of prayer. 
 
 Our highly esteemed friend and brother, hav- 
 ing fought a good fight, and kept the faith, has 
 now finished his course ; and not a doubt re- 
 mains, but a crown of righteousness was prepared 
 for him, by the Lord the righteous Judge. And 
 while we are this day weeping over his dear 
 remains, sorrowing most of all that we shall see his 
 face no more, his immortal part has united the 
 innumerable company of angels, and the spirits 
 of just men made perfect, where tears are forever 
 wiped away. 
 
 Some account of the deceased will probably be 
 expected ; but it is with trembling diffidence, 
 that I attempt a delineation of the character of 
 this great and good man. Conscious of my ina- 
 bility, 1 should have declined the undertaking.
 
 1 
 
 had not propriety imperiously called me to make 
 the attempt. 
 
 Dr. Stillman was born in the city of Phila- 
 delphia, February 27, 1737, (O. S.) of pious and 
 reputable parents, who made it their great con- 
 cern to train up their children in the nurture and 
 admonition of the Lord, and to enforce their 
 instructions by a correspondent example. While 
 Mr. Stillman was young, the family removed 
 to Charleston, South Carolina. 
 
 Although our deceased friend mentions some 
 serious impressions on his mind when quite 
 young, yet they were generally of short continu- 
 ance. He pursued the vanities of the world, like 
 other young people, and lived in a state of sinful 
 security, until awakened by a sermon, delivered 
 by the late excellent Mr. Hart ; when he says, to 
 borrow his own language,* " My mind was again 
 solemnly impressed with a sense of my awful 
 condition as a sinner. This conviction grew 
 stronger and stronger. My condition alarmed 
 me. I saw myself without Christ, and without 
 hope. 1 found that I deserved the wrath to 
 come, and that God would be just to send me to 
 hell. I was now frequently on my knees, plead- 
 ing for mercy. As a beggar I went, having 
 nothing but guilt, and no plea but mercy." 
 How long he continued in tills distressed condi- 
 tion, I do not find particularly stated ; but it 
 appears, that from several passages of scripture 
 lie obtained a degree of hope and comfort, though 
 not entirely satisfied. Not long after, lie heard 
 Mr. Hart discourse from Malt. i. 21. And 
 
 11 br'in^ forth a so:i, and th'Ai shall i\i!I his kjikc 
 
 * \ ' .
 
 
 Ktfa20a 
 
 Jesus ; for he shall save his people from their sins. 
 Under this sermon, " Christ (saith he) became 
 precious to me ; yea, all in all. Then I could say 
 of wisdom, Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and 
 all her paths are peace. That I still think was the 
 day of my espousal. Glory to God for the riches 
 of his grace to me. Why me, Lord ? &c." He 
 was soon after baptized, and received into the 
 church under the pastoral care of Mr. Hart. 
 
 Feeling an ardent desire for the salvation of 
 his fellow sinners, he was led to contemplate, 
 with much seriousness, the work of the ministry. 
 With a view to this, he was placed at an acad- 
 emy in that city, under the tuition of Mr. Rind, 
 a very celebrated master. 
 
 After finishing his classical education, he spent 
 one year in the study of divinity, under the di- 
 rection of Mr. Hart. Being called by the church, 
 he preached his first sermon on the 1 7th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1758 ; and on the 26th of February, 1759, 
 he was ordained in the city of Charleston, to the 
 work of an evangelist, to settle where God in his 
 providence should call him. 
 
 Not long after, he embarked for Philadelphia, 
 to visit his native city.* While in that place, he 
 received from the university of Pennsylvania a 
 master's degree. The same was conferred on 
 him by the university of Cambridge, in 1761. 
 
 * On the 22d of May, 1759, he was married to Miss Hannah Morgan, 
 daughter of Even Morgan, Efq. merchant, of that city; by whom he has 
 had fourteen children, five of which died in infancy. Seven of those 
 who lived to adult years, they have been called to follow to the grave ; 
 three of whom were settled, and have left young families to mourn their 
 loss. Two daughters (Mrs. Newman, wife of Mr. William Newman, 
 of Brighton ; and Mis. Gray, wife of Rev. Thomas Gray, of Roxbury) 
 only remain, to comfort their afflicted mother, and soothe her declining 
 years.
 
 2 I'M 
 
 After preaching two or three years in different 
 places, in the southern and middle States, he was 
 induced, from his ill state of health, to visit New 
 England ; hoping that the exercise, together with 
 the change of air, might prove beneficial to him. 
 
 In 176i5, at the request of the Second Baptist 
 Church, he removed to Boston ; and after preach- 
 ing one year, as an assistant to Mr. Bound, he 
 accepted an invitation to settle with the First 
 Baptist Church, and was installed in the pastoral 
 office on the 9th day of January, 1765: which 
 office he has continued to discharge, with uncom- 
 mon acceptance and success, until removed to the 
 church triumphant. 
 
 With a view more especially to assist young 
 men in obtaining a suitable education for the 
 ministry, he employed his talents and zeal in aid- 
 ing the interests of Brown University, which 
 was then in its infant state. We find his name 
 in the Act of Incorporation, 1764, in the first list 
 of Trustees. He was some time after elected into 
 the Fellowship, in which branch he continued 
 until his decease. In 1788, the university con- 
 ferred on him the degree of Doctor in Divinity. 
 His exertions in assisting pious young men in 
 obtaining an education, are too well known, and 
 too numerous, to be here recapitulated. 
 
 Few men are alike eminent in all the ciifTerent 
 duties of the ministerial office ; but it would, 
 perhaps, be difficult to say in which of these our 
 deceased friend most excelled. 
 
 In prayer, he always seemed to his audience as 
 if engaged with a present Deity. I lis addresses 
 to Heaven were generally short, but very com- 
 prehensive ; jhey were solemn and edifying, and
 
 -22- 
 
 usually very feeling and impressive. With what 
 fervency of spirit, with what propriety and flu- 
 ency of language, has he led your devotions, 
 while pouring forth his soul for blessings on Zion 
 and on a world of sinners. 
 
 The sick chamber and the house of mourning, 
 furnished occasions for which his talents and 
 sympathetic feelings were remarkably adapted. 
 While listening to his fervent and pious supplica- 
 tions, the sick have almost forgotten their pains ; 
 and in the midst of overwhelming grief, the 
 moxlrners have felt the balm of consolation pour- 
 ed Jnto their wouNided bosoms. Nor was his 
 tender, sympathizing conversation, at these sea- 
 sons, less interesting than his prayers. 
 
 As a preacher, whether we consider the matter 
 or manner of his preaching, he was of the first 
 eminence. His discourses were not mere skele- 
 tons of dry morality, but rich repositories of 
 evangelic truth. Christ formed the grand sub- 
 ject of his preaching : he gloried in the doctrine 
 of the cross. The various branches of Christian 
 theology, were all discussed at proper seasons : 
 but there were some particular subjects, which to 
 him appeared all-important to the salvation of his 
 hearers ; to these their attention was more- fre- 
 quently invited. The supreme Deity of God our 
 Saviour ; his personal and mediatorial fulness ; 
 his complete and finished righteousness, as the 
 only foundation of hope for guilty men ; the 
 total moral depravity of man ; the efficacious 
 work of the Holy Spirit, in quickening such as 
 were dead in trespasses and sins ; the sovereignty 
 of God, in bestowing grace on sinners, who de- 
 served his everlasting displeasure ; the happy c-
 
 2Sm 
 
 fects of this grace on the feelings, tempers, and 
 lives of such as are the subjects of it ; were 
 some of his favourite topics. But whether any 
 of these, or some other subject, formed the theme 
 of his discourse, it was always handled in such a 
 manner as to interest the feelings of the heart, 
 and to correspond with the experience of the 
 believer. 
 
 Having himself, under repeated afflictions, ex- 
 perienced largely of the supporting influence of 
 religion/he was eminently qualified to administer 
 consolation to others. Few persons could de- 
 scribe with such accuracy, and enter with such 
 facility, into all the feelings and exercises of the 
 tempted, t/ied believer. Like a skilful surgeon, 
 he knew when the*vound was sufliciently probed, 
 and when to apply the balm of promise. 
 
 In fine in the choice of his subjects, in his 
 arrangement, in amplifying and in applying them, 
 he appeared like a wise master builder, like a 
 workman that needed not to be ashamed. He 
 knew how to give a portion to six, and also to 
 seven ; and so to divide the word of truth, that 
 each might receive his portion of meat in due 
 season. 
 
 His sermons were always studied, and princi- 
 pally written ; yet, from his manner ot delivery, 
 (a manner peculiar to himself) he always appear- 
 ed as easy as it speaking extempore. Indeed, it 
 was his constant method, to add at the moment 
 such thoughts as occurred to his mind while 
 speaking. These thoughts were as naturally 
 connected with the subject, as though they had 
 been a studied part of it ; and as they were usu-
 
 24 
 
 ally delivered with much pathos, they had the 
 happiest effect upon the audience. 
 
 As a public speaker, as a pulpit orator, he was 
 perhaps second to none. His voice was uncom- 
 monly majestic, harmonious, and pleasant ; and 
 his manner, though grave and serious, was pecu- 
 liarly graceful and engaging. His remarkable 
 animation seemed to give additional interest to 
 every subject which he handled. Those who 
 heard him, might with propriety have said of 
 him, what was said of another eminent preach- 
 er :* " This man is in earnest ; he believes what 
 he says, and says what he believes : verily, this 
 is a man of God ! Ten such men, and Sodom 
 would have stood ! " 
 
 As the Father of Mercies had designed Dr. 
 Stillman for eminent usefulness in his church, 
 he furnished him with gifts and talents suited to 
 the station he was to fill. To a good natural 
 genius, enlivened by a fine imagination, and a 
 heart richly replenished with grace, were added 
 the advantages of a polite and liberal education. 
 In his manners, there was an unaffected elegancy 
 and ease, which rendered him uncommonly agree- 
 able to every circle. The affability and kindness 
 with which he treated persons of every descrip- 
 tion, were not less the effect of a natural delicacy, 
 than of a general knowledge of mankind ; hence, 
 to the great he could never appear servile, nor to 
 those in humbler stations imperious. 
 
 As an enlightened, judicious, evangelic divine^ 
 Dr. Stillman ranked high in the religious world. 
 His discourses on imputed righteousness, and his 
 sermons on apostolic preaching, may be taken as 
 
 * The la'.c Rev. Abraham Booth.
 
 a general specimen of his sentiments. A candid 
 perusal of these would afford a rich repast to a 
 pious mind. It may in truth be said of him, 
 that his praise was in all the churches : hence re- 
 ligious strangers of all denominations, who have 
 visited this capital, have generally made their 
 calculations to hear him ; and often have they 
 gone away, saying, " we have heard a man who 
 has told us all our heart." 
 
 The numerous public occasions on which he has 
 been called to officiate, fully evince the high esti- 
 mation in which he was held by his enlightened 
 fellow-citizens.* 
 
 From early life, Dr. Stillman was from prin- 
 ciple a Baptist, and conscientiously practised what 
 is called particular communion. Yet he was a sin- 
 cere lover of the pious and good of every denom- 
 ination. He never believed that the peculiarities 
 of a sect ought to form a separating line, or hin- 
 der the union of good men for the advancement 
 of the common cause of our Divine Redeemer. 
 With many such, lie had long lived in habits of 
 undissembled friendship. 
 
 Nor was he less amiable in the different Walks 
 of social and private life. His happiness seemed to 
 consist in making all around him happy. Those 
 most intimately connected with him, ever found 
 him a pleasant companion, a judicious counsellor, 
 and a faithful friend. The various oflices of do- 
 mestic life were discharged with the same fidelity 
 and tenderness which marked his public conduct. 
 In the endearing relation of husband, he was faith- 
 
 * Sec a list of hs print! worK on ,!l ! ' \ '. ' ' ' ''' ; ' : ''-t 
 He had also Ijcch Clui'lam i'veial year, to one 01 b-".h Ljuct. : .1 :: 
 
 Genual CJ rt 
 
 n
 
 26 
 
 ful, condescending, and sincerely affectionate. 
 As a parent, he was tenderly compassionate, and 
 assiduously kind and indulgent. Indeed, all who 
 resided under his roof experienced his paternal 
 care and goodness. But, alas ! he is gone ! 
 
 To the family, the loss is irreparable ! May the 
 God of infinite compassion support the dear af- 
 flicted widow, and afford her in this day of sor- 
 rowful visitation an unusual degree of Christian 
 fortitude and resignation. We mingle our sym- 
 pathetic tears with her's, and fervently pray that 
 she may daily experience more and more of the 
 supporting influence of religion, until she shall 
 have filled her span of life, and be called to shake 
 off " dull mortality," and follow her departed 
 friend to that happy world, where God is all in all. 
 
 To the dear bereaved children, grand-children, 
 and other relatives, we wish the richest consola- 
 tions of the gospel ; that you may all know and 
 serve the God of your father, with a perfect heart 
 and willing mind. You have long been indulged 
 with one of the most pious and best of fathers. 
 May you not only remember and profit by his 
 instructions, but may you imbibe his excellent 
 spirit, imitate his example, and follow his steps, 
 as he followed Christ. And when the mortal 
 hour shall come, which shall separate you from 
 every thing terrestrial, may you then be found 
 adorned with the perfect righteousness of the Sa- 
 viour, and admitted to the full fruition of God. 
 
 We tenderly sympathize with this deeply af- 
 flicted Church, and Congregation. God is calling 
 you, my respected friends, to mourn the sudden 
 removal of your much-loved Pastor. Painful 
 event ! But the voice of Heaven is, Be still, and
 
 27"" 
 
 know that I am God. His work was done : lie was 
 ripe for heaven, and earth could detain him no 
 longer. The time or' his departure was come : 
 he had fought a good fight, he had kept the faith, 
 and has now finished his course ; and we doubt 
 not but ere this has received his crown. 
 
 Have you not with the voice of mourning, rea- 
 son to mingle adoring gratitude,, that God has 
 spared him to you so long ? His slender habit and 
 often infirmities, little presaged a life of seventy 
 years. Forty-two years, the ninth of January 
 last, since he took the pastoral charge of this 
 flock. He has out-lived all his colemporaries : 
 not a single minister survives him, who was in 
 the town at the time of his settlement. 
 
 Great indeed have been the blessings which 
 you have enjoyed under his ministry. You have 
 been favoured with several seasons of refreshing 
 from the presence of the Lord, in which large 
 additions have been made to this church. And 
 are there not many here to-day, who are the seals 
 of his ministry ? Will you not have occasion to 
 bless God to all eternity, for his unwearied la- 
 bours of love for your salvation ? How often 
 have you been to him, as children to a father, 
 under your doubts, fears, and temptations ! And 
 did you not constantly find him patient and kind ? 
 yea, even as a nurse cherisbeth her children ? Have 
 not your hearts often melted under his aiiection- 
 ate exhortations ? and did you not come away 
 resolved to live more devoted to God than ever ? 
 
 Are not some softly saying, ' O, I loved the 
 dear man, but 1 fear 1 have never profited a; { 
 ought to have done by his pr. a< Iiing: it 1 die in 
 my sins, my conscience will i Tcver acquit him,
 
 12S- 
 
 for he has faithfully warned me to flee from the 
 wrath to come.* May God grant you repentance 
 unto life, lest he appear as a swift witness against 
 you at the last day. Little did you think, when 
 you heard him last in this house, that you were 
 hearing him for the last time. Ah ! you ought 
 always to hear as if it were the last time ! But 
 can it be ? Is that heart now cold, which has 
 so often^jlowed with love to God and to immor- 
 tal souls? Are those lips, which imparted such 
 words of grace, sealed up in silence ? Yes ! You 
 will hear his voice no more I You will see his 
 face no more ! No more will he bring to you the 
 messages of salvation ! His course is finished, and 
 finished with joy. He had just filled the span of 
 life allotted to man, and has come to his grave as a 
 shock of corn cometh in in its season fully ripe.* It 
 was his constant prayer, that his life and useful- 
 ness might run parallel. God has granted his 
 desire. 
 
 He had evidently been setting his house in or- 
 der, for some time past, and gradually taking his 
 leave of you. Have you not observed that his 
 public preaching bore this aspect ? Have you not 
 repeatedly heard him say, within a little time 
 past, " I am an old man ; I am just winding up 
 my ministry ?" But ah 1 you hoped it would not 
 be so, and therefore did not realize it. Impressed 
 with the solemn thought, that he was shortly to 
 put oft his earthly tabernacle, he was anxiously 
 concerned, that after his decease you might be able to 
 have the things which he had taught you always in 
 remembrance. 
 
 '" He was sever:'}' years oli! t'n d:iy before he ilitd.
 
 29. 
 
 You know how much his heart was set upon 
 finding an acceptable assistant, with a view to his 
 becoming his successor ; one who could take you 
 by the hand and lead you, when he should be 
 here no more. You also know how peculiarly 
 happy and satisfied he has been, in the pleasing 
 prospect of your being supplied with such an one. 
 Could he have lived to have seen it accomplished, 
 it seems he would have said with good old Sim- 
 eon, Lord, now latest thou thy servant depart in 
 peace. But although this has not been granted, 
 yet like Moses he has been permitted to ascend 
 to the top of Pisgah, and behold the pleasing 
 prospect opening before his dear people, and then 
 like Moses to be taken to heaven. May the mantle 
 of our ascended Elijah fall on his successor, with 
 a double portion of his spirit ; then indeed shall 
 this mourning vine be comforted, when God shall 
 give them another pastor after, his own heart. 
 
 But the mournful event we are now solemniz- 
 ing, is not limited to this congregation alone. 
 The ministers of the gospel, the churches of Christ, 
 and the interests of religion in general, will most 
 sensibly feel the loss. Know ye nut, my brethren 
 in the ministry, that a great man is fallen in our 
 Israel ? Yes, you know, and you lament the fall 
 of a brother so eminently useful, and one who 
 was endeared to many of you by habits of inti- 
 macy and friendship. But perhaps none of you 
 will more sensibly feel this loss, than the person 
 who now addresses you. Sixteen years ol the 
 most intimate and increasing friendship, had pc< 
 culhrly endeared him to me. Often did 1 go to 
 him as .y friend, my father, my guide; and 
 often did we tu \ . w J .. inscl together, and walk in
 
 ...30..- 
 
 company to the house of God. But my friend is 
 gone ! Shrouded in that coffin, lies all that earth 
 could claim of this good man. The immortal 
 soul has flown to the bosom of its God, and is 
 now, we doubt not, mingling with the spirits of 
 the just made perfect. While watching the pro- 
 gress of death in taking down his earthly taber- 
 nacle, and finding my fond heart unwilling to 
 resign him, as if to give me this last lesson on 
 submission, he gently raised his head and said, 
 " I desire to have no will of my own." Before 
 he wholly lost the power of speech, I catched 
 part of another broken sentence ; it was to this 
 import, " God's government is perfect."* Thus, 
 without scarcely feeling a pain, he finished his 
 mortal course, and fell asleep in Jesus. 
 
 May we, who profess to be stewards of the 
 mysteries of God, be concerned to be found faith- 
 ful unto the death, so that we may finish our 
 course with joy, the ministry that we have re- 
 ceived of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 May the Spirit of the living God sanctify this 
 mournful event to this numerous weeping assem- 
 bly. Never more will you see that animated 
 form, nor hear that voice which poured the me- 
 lodious sound of salvation upon your delighted 
 ears. Fatigued with the toils of the day behold, 
 
 * Dr. Stillman had, by a slight indisposition, been detained from 
 preaching for two Lord's days ; but no alarming apprehensions were en- 
 tertained, until about 1 1 o'clock, the eleventh instant, when he experi- 
 enced a paralytic stroke : which at first seemed only to affect the left side 
 of the mouth ; but in a lirtle time it pervaded the whole system. 
 An emetic was ordered by his physician, which operated kindly. But 
 notwithstanding this, he became momently more insensible, until he sunk 
 into a sound sleep. In this situation he continued, with very little appear- 
 ance of distress, until he closed the scene of life, ?.t ;:bout 40 minutes jajt 
 12 o'clock at nigh'.
 
 3 1" 
 
 our friend sleepetb ! Mark the perfect man, and behold 
 the upright ; for the end of that man is peace. 
 
 Are not many now saying in their hearts, Let 
 me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end 
 be peace like his ? Then obey that gospel, which 
 has so often been set before you in the clearest 
 manner, by our deceased friend : live as he taught 
 you, both by his doctrine and example, and then 
 you may hope to die well, and meet your Judge 
 in peace. 
 
 While we to-day are embalming with our tears 
 the remains of our departed friend, were his gen- 
 tle spirit permitted to address us from his man- 
 sion in the skies, would he not, with all his 
 wonted tenderness, endeavour to allay our sor- 
 rows, and soothe the anguish of our throbbing 
 hearts ? Could his voice reach us, with rapture 
 we might hear him say, 
 
 Weep not for me : I've quit my house of clay, 
 To live in realms of everlasting day. 
 
 May God prepare us all to meet him in that 
 happy world, for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 .!i.ii/,/, 
 
 Jlfc
 
 List of Dr. S Tillman s Publications. 
 
 A SERMON on the repeal of the Stamp Act, 1760. 
 
 A Sermon on the death of his mother, Mrs. Ma r y St i i. LMA N', 1768. 
 
 Four Discourses, on the propensity of mankind to make their own right- 
 eousness the ground of confidence ; the deficiency of such righteousness ; 
 imputed righteousness one of the glories of the gospel ; St. Paul's mean- 
 ing in Philip, ii. 12, 13. 1769 
 
 A Sermon on the character of a good soldier ; delivered before the Ancient 
 and Honourable Artillery Company, in Boston, June 4, 1770. 
 
 A Sermon on the vices and dangers of youth; preached at the desire of a 
 number of young men in Boston, Wednesday evening, May 8, 1771. 
 
 Substance of a Sermon, delivered at the ordination of Rev. Samuel 
 
 . She hard, in Stratham, New Hampshire, Sept. 25, 1771. 
 
 Two Sermons, on Psalm cii. 19, 20, and on Prov. xvii. 25. preached on 
 the Lord's days preceding and following the execution of Le v i Ames, 
 October, 1773. Two editions. 
 
 A Sermon on the death of Hon. Samu f l War d, Esq. member of the 
 Continental Congress, from Rhode Island, and delivered before that 
 body in Philadelphia, March 26, 1776. 
 
 A Sermon on the General Election in Massachusetts, May 26, 1779. 
 
 A Sermon on Charity, preached before the mnit Ancient and Honourable 
 Society of Free and Accepted Masons in Charlesiown, June 24, 1785. 
 
 Art Oration, delivered to the inhabitants of the town of Boston, July 4, 
 
 Three Sermons on Apostolic Preaching, 1790. 
 
 A Sermon on the death of Nicholas Brown, Esq. of Providence, 
 (R.I.) May 31, 1791. e 
 
 A Sermon on the French Revolution, preached on the annual Slate 
 Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 20, 1794. 
 
 A Sermon on the ordination of Rev. Stephen Smith Nelson, 
 preached in Boston, Sept. 15, 1797. 
 
 A Sermon on National Fast Day, April, 1799. 
 
 A Sermon on the death of George Washington, late President 
 of the United States of America, 1800. 
 
 A Sermon on the opening of the New Baptist Meeting-House in Charles- 
 town, May 12, 1801. 
 
 A Sermon on the first Anniversary of the Boston Female Asylum, Sept. 
 5, 1801. 
 
 A Sermon on the ordination of Rev. Thomas Waterman, Charles- 
 town, October 7, 1802. 
 
 A Sermon on the first Anniversary of the Massachusetts Baptist Missionary 
 Society, May 25, 1803. 
 
 A Sermon on the ordination of Rev. Lucius Bolles, preached at 
 Salem, January 9, 1805. 
 
 A Sermon on the death, and preached at the funeral, of Rev. Hezekiah 
 Smith, D. D. of Haverhill, Jan. 31, i8oj. 
 
 tfj" Subscription Papers are issued for publishing a volume of 
 Dr. Stillman's Select Sermons, several of which have never been 
 printed. 
 
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 Select sermons 
 on doctrinal 
 and practical 
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 3 11 58 01080 1982 
 
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