But feeing there is no great reafon to fear that the forefaid excellent act concerning preaching, is but little noticed and obferved by many, and that there is in this church and land very much of a legal or moral way of preaching, exclufive of Chrift, and to the neglect of the peculiar doctrines of Chriftianity; and feeing the church of God, and the fouls of men, appear to be in the greatest danger from this airth: we judge it our duty to give plain and open teftimony againft this fort of preaching, and to declare for the true gofpel way of preaching Chrift and him crucified, which ought to be the great ftudy of every gofpel-minifter, as it was of the apostle Paul, 1 Cor. ii. 2. We grant that morality, or obedience to the moral law, is an excellent thing, and abfolutely neceffary to be ftudied by every true Chriftian, feeing God requires it, and without morality and "true holinefs no man can fee the Lord;" but then it must be preached otherwife by a gofpel-minifter than by a moral philofopher : Why? It must flow from gofpel-principles, be performed in a gospel manner, and be preffed mainly by gofpelmotives and arguments. But it must be fad indeed, when there is almoft as little of Chrift or an evangelical ftrain to be found in the fermons of Chriftian preachers, as in the difcourfes of Seneca, Plato, Socrates, or other Heathen moralists. This Chriftless way of preaching morality, is an inlet to Deism and Infidelity: for, when men are accustomed to hear moral fermons with little of Chrift in them, they are apt to think there is but little difference between them and the difcourfes of moral Heathens; and therefore they may be good enough, and win to heaven by their morality, without Chrift or his righteousness. O how natural it is for men to go about to establish a righteousness of their own, with a view to be faved by it, and to neglect that new righteoufnefs which the eter nal wifdom of God hath eítablifhed as alone fufficient for it! And therefore they need often to be called, after their utmoft lengths in moral attainments (which are but poor and wretched at belt) to renounce them all, and go to the imputed righteoufnels of Chrift, viz. the the obedience of his holy life, and his fufferings unto death, for juftification and falvation. Morality is a defirable thing, when kept in its due place; but, when allowed to poffefs the place of Chrift's righteoufnefs imputed to us, it is a foul-ruining thing, and the greatest hindrance of the foul's coming to Chrift, and of its entering into heaven. God will have us come entirely off from the old bottom of a covenant of works, and from refting upon any thing done by us, or wrought in us, for acceptance with God; and look only for attaining to it by believing on whom God hath fent, and refting upon his righteoufnefs only: nothing of ours must be added to it, otherwife we mar it. Though faith be required of us as the mean or inftrument whereby we receive and apply Chrift and his righteousness, and alfo true repentance and fincere obedience are required as evidences and fruits of our faith; yet neither faith, repentance, or obedience, nor all of them together, are any part of our justifying righteoufnefs in the fight of God, nor are they the foundation of our acceptance, or of our title to eternal life: Chrift must be all our righteousness, or nothing. So that none must think to be faved partly by his own obedience, and partly by Chrift's in order to make up his defects; but we must be faved wholly by the complete morality and obedience of Chrift imputed to us. Our proud natures must be humbled and changed, and must be brought to fubmit to accept of an entire new clothing, inftead of our own righteoufnefs; for the glory of God will not allow the leaft place to this in our juftification, he will have all boafting excluded for ever. Queft. "Seeing morality and the duties of the moral law are to be preached and preffed, in what manner then must we do it ?". Anf. If we would do it in an evangelical ftrain, and with fuccefs, we muft, 1. Prefs duty as the natural and neceffary fruit of faith in a crucified Chrift, and love to him, who fuffered thus to fatisfy for our fins, to purchase to us the image of God and holiness which we had loft; and therefore let us reprefent the love and and fufferings of Chrift in a lively manner to our people, in order to lead them to abhor all known fin, and to love Christ that first loved us, and live to him that died for us; and pray earnestly for the Spirit of regeneration and fanctification which he hath purchased for us: and this is the most effectual way to promote morality and holinefs among them. 2. We must set before the eyes of our people the attractive charms and beauties of a crucified Jefus in all his offices, that they may get a view of his glory, as the "chief among ten thoufand, and altogether lovely," and as the "pearl of great price;" that fo the defire of all nations may come to be the defire of their hearts, and they may" count all things but dung and lofs" in comparison of a crucified Chrift. And as we must recommend to them to close with him as their prieft, and facrifice to atone for their fins, fo alfo to fubject themselves to him as the lovely King of Zion, whofe government is eafy, his fervice pleasant, his commandments not grievous, and his rewards to obedient fubjects unfpeakably great. The whole precepts of the moral law are the laws of this King; but, to all his willing fubjects, he makes his "yoke eafy and his burden light." 3. We must enforce duties from a principle of love, and of gratitude to Chrift for his love. It fhould not be fo much authority, as grateful love to Chrift, that should conftrain us to live to his glory, to ftudy holiness and conftant obedience to his commands: and this we should do, as we fhould approve ourselves to be Chrift's difciples, and as we would enjoy communion with him here, and be accepted of him at his appearance to judgment. 4. We fhould direct our people to perform duties by the grace and ftrength of the Lord Jefus Christ our Head, Surety, and Treasurer. We must be united to him by faith, as our Head of Influences, and derive all our life and strength for duty out of his fulness. Alas! this direction is little minded by many of our moral preachers, whofe difcourfes generally feem to proceed upon the fuppofition of the ftrength of our natural powers, as if we had no natural impotence or enmity to what is good, nor been at all difabled by the fall. VOL. IV. 3 K 5. We 5. We muft perfuade men to leave fin, and perform duty, by the terrors of Chrift's coming to judgment, and the wrath of the Lamb, that will then be intoler able to all who flight his grace and difobey his laws. 6. When we prefs duties, let us put our hearers in mind, that all our duties and good works have no worth or merit before God; they are not our juftifying. righteousness, nor can they come in any way to fhare in this matter with Chrift's righteoufnefs; they are only accepted of God through the merits and mediation of Jefus Chrift and that, after we have done all, we muft fay, we are but unprofitable fervants; and our main defire is to be found in Chrift, not having our own righteoufnefs, which is but as filthy rags, and cannot be any fkreen or covert to us before God. 7. Let us inftruct our people, that though Chriftianity doth enforce morality by the ftrongeft arguments, yet unregenerate morality will never please God. Till the heart be renewed, and the foul grafted in Chrift the true Vine, the fruit will be always four and unpleasant to God. A moral man, though he profess himself a Christian, is not really fo, unlefs he be united to Chrift, and look for daily influences from him to perform duties, and to the righteoufnefs of Chrift to cover him and all his duties; and be ftill faying,. Though I could perform never fo many duties, I fhould be loft and undone for ever, if it were not for the righteousness and mediation of Chrift my Surety and Saviour, in whom is all my hope and truft. For all true holinefs and acceptable morality is the proper refult of the foul's union with the holy Jefus our living Head, who is the first and immediate receptacle of the holy Spirit and of all fanctifying influences for the ufe of his members; and out of Chrift's fulness, we muft by faith receive them for our fanctification. Let us make every fubject we infift on point to Chrift: If we difcourfe upon the attributes of God, let us confider them as they fhine forth in Chrift and his glorious undertaking; If upon the bleffings and promifes of the gospel, let us confider them as the purchafe of Chrift's blood: If on the providence of God let let us mind that the adminiftration is put in Chrift's. hands, and he is Head over all things for the church; If we exhort to repentance and mourning for fin, let us direct our hearers to look to him they have pierced; If to prayer, let us direct them to look to Chrift, by whom only they can have accefs and fuccefs in this duty. Ó how happy were it both for us and our hearers, if we did thus reduce every thing to Chrift, and make him the main fubject of all our fermons; and if the fcope of them all were to perfuade finners to come to Chrift, and all that profefs him to live by faith on him, and make daily ufe of him! To this glorious perfon did all the prophets of the Old Teftament give witness, and much more fhould all the minifters of the New. Now, this way of preaching is furely the moft ex. cellent, and preferable to any other way; Why?!. The preaching of Chrift crucified is the mean which God hath appointed for gathering in elect finners to himfelf, and to which he promises his bleffing. Hence it is that Paul faith, God makes the preaching of the crofs and of Chrift crucified the POWER OF GOD to them that are called: and though natural men count this way of paeaching foolishness, yet it pleafes God by this way" to fave them that believe," i Cor. i. 18, 21, 24. 2. It was by this way of preaching among the Corinthians, that the apoftle Paul had fuch wonderful fuccefs in bringing them to Chrift, 1 Cor. ii. 2. it was when Peter preached a crucified Jefus and the peculiar doctrines of Chriftianity to the people, that the Holy Ghost fell on them, and converted multitudes of them; as Luke obferves feveral times, Acts ii. 36, 37. Acts X. 43, 44 It was not when he was preaching morality that the Spirit defcended and gave fuccefs to the word. Alfo he obferves, when thefe preachers from Cyprus preached the Lord Jefus to the people of Antioch, the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed, and turned to the Lord," Acts xi. 20, 21. 3 K 2 3. It |