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from their Ruin; and in the most endearing manner strive to draw and win them over to their true Intereft and Happiness; and raise their Minds above the little Interests of this World. Little Children, yet a little while I am with you, but let not your Hearts be troubled; I go to prepare a Place for you. Ye are not of the World, even as I am not of the World. In the World ye shall have Tribulation; but be of good Cheer, I have overcome the World.

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Having deny'd himself the Comforts and Enjoyments of this World, in the fame Caufe for which he left the Glories of the other, and at length laid down his Life in executing of that Scheme for which he first affumed it; he does not even here quit the fame merciful Design, but raises himself to revive the Hopes of his defponding Followers, to comfort and confirm them in the Faith, and give them full Affurance, that he now had all Power in Heaven and Earth. And great Occafion was there for fuch Ground of Comfort to them, who thought they had loft him, for whofe fake they had parted with all Things befide; greater yet to reform and rectify their Notions of,

h For a Specimen of that inimitable Tenderness and intense Devotion, which made fo diftinguishing a Part of our B. Saviour's Character, and which contributed fo greatly to the Comfort and Support of his Difciples under all their Trials; I refer to thofe admirable Chapters of St. John's Gospel, part of the 13th and the 4 following; and appeal to the Experience of even the coldest and most careless Reader, whether he can help being in fome measure ftill affected by them; particularly the laft. That thefe bear the plaineft marks of being genuine, and therefore furnish a ftrong prefumptive Argument for the Truth of our Religion, fee Duchal's excellent Difcourfes, S. 4.

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and Expectations from him, which were still fix'd on prefent Profpects of Advancement, notwithstanding whatsoever he had taught them to the contrary: nor could they help concluding that he would at this time certainly make ufe of all his Power, in the entire Destruction of his and their Enemies; and the Erecting of the fo long looked for Kingdom, to which every other Kingdom of the Earth fhould bow. But he foon fhews them how far this was from being any Part of his Office, as defcribed by the Prophets; how utterly inconfiftent with his whole Behaviour in difcharging it that on his very first Entrance on it he had rejected and despised the Offer of these Kingdoms, and their Glory; and that for the future they must think of renouncing all their narrow national prejudices of a Peculium fraught with all temporal Privileges, and full of nothing but Conquest, Wealth, and Power: that inftead of coming a Meffiah to blefs his People in their Senfe [which would have been a Curfe to every other People,] by diftinguishing them from the reft of Mankind in things to which they had no better Title, and of which they were not like to make any better Ufe; by not only delivering them

i That the true Scope of his whole Sermon on the Mount was to correct the carnal Notions they had of the Meffiah's Kingdom, and the bad Difpofitions they were under in confequence thereof; and that this is the right Key for opening the proper Meaning and Connection of that Sermon, is de monitrated at large by Blair, in his moft excellent Paraphrafe on the 5, 6, and 7 Chapters of St. Matt. and throughout his Difcourfes on that Subject. — That it contains all Things, that were then wanting and neceffary to the Salvation of thofe Hearers, to whom our Saviour at that time addreffed himfelf. Ib. V.4. S. 20. p.301.

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from their Subjection to all other Nations, but reducing every Nation into an abfolute Subjection to them: that he was to bring them Bleffings and Deliverances, and raise them to a Dominion of quite another kind; to blefs them by turning every one of them from their Iniquities, and fo restoring them to the Divine Favour; to deliver them from their fpiritual Chains of Darknefs, Death, and Mifery; and bring them to the Light of Life, and Happiness immortal in his heavenly Kingdom: the way whereunto they were to be the Means of opening to all the rest of the World, inviting Mankind in general to enter with them into it; as their Forefathers had been the great Inftruments of leading Men to the Knowledge of that one true God, who is the Giver of it. That as thefe his Followers had all along feen ample Proofs of his Divine Legation to this Purpose, and were now to be let into the Nature and Design of his Undertaking, so far

* I find fome Perfons often complaining, that they want to know diftinctly what this Undertaking of our Saviour's was, what it was that Chrift really did and taught; and what is his Religion. The former has in part been touch'd upon above, Note f. To the latter, I think, an Anfwer may be drawn from p. 100, &c. of Confiderations, to this purpose.

He came with full Credentials from the Father, to tranfact our Peace and Union with him; to proclaim an entire Amnefty for past Offences, and procure an effectual Remedy against the Dominion of any future ones; to publish new Terms of Salvation, [a new Doctrine, fays Grotius, Ep. 33. requiring fincere Repentance, and promifing Remiffion of Sins, and everlasting Life,] and put us into a Condition of acting up to them; to reftore a Communication between God and us, [by Prayer and the Sacraments;] to lay down fufficient Rules for our Behaviour towards God, ourselves, and one another; to offer the cleareft and moft cogent Arguments for our compliance with thefe, [in the feveral Articles of our

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as they were able to bear a Part in it themselves; fo they should shortly be invefted with fufficient Powers to carry it on without him, and enabled to proclaim and propagate it to the Ends of the Earth. Having thus fpent forty Days in training and preparing his Difciples for their future Trials in this great Work of eftablishing a Kingdom of fo very different a Sort, and to be established by Ways fo different from what they had hitherto

Belief;] and thereby afford us the moft ample Means and Motives to refemble the Divine Nature, grow in Grace, and qualify ourselves for unlimited Degrees of Happiness and Perfection. By his own Example pointing out the Way to this; and by his Doctrine, in the firft place, reforming the wrong Judgements and perverfe Difpofitions of Mankind in Matters of Religion, [of thofe more efpecially among whom he lived; Vid. Note i.] removing the falfe Principles on which they grounded it; the foolish Practises which they had incorporated with it; and in their ftead fubftituting fuch important Duties, and directing to the Acquirement of fuch intrinfically good, virtuous Habits, as would in their own Natures neceffarily lead to that State of Perfection, and become each an effential part thereof: founding the whole upon its proper Bafis, the true LOVE of GOD; and joining all together in that Bond of Peace and of all Virtues, CHARITY to Man. The Subftance therefore, or Material Part of Chrift's Religion contains all that can poffibly be comprehended under the Notion of pure Religion; whatfoever is really excellent and useful in every Station or Relation of Life, with all fuch Helps as tend to encourage and support us in pursuing this, and are in general neceffary to the Attainment of it: it admits and includes every thing, which either may conduce to the Welfare of Men in the prefent State, or duely fit and difpofe them for everlafting Happiness in another; and in fhort, can be defcribed no otherwife, than is done by the two Apoftles Phil. 4. 8. 2 Pet. 1.4, 5, &c. v. Confiderations, p. 33, or Bp. of Killmore's Effay on the Priesthood, p. 68, &c. or Jeffery's Tracts, who feems to have had as pure and perfect Notions of the Chriftian Inftitution, as any Writer in his Time.

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imagin'd'; he meets them all together; leads them out to fome Distance from Jerusalem; takes Leave of them with his laft Benediction; and having promised to give them yet farther Proof of his Care and Love by fending them another Comforter, afcends vifibly before them into Heaven.

Having taken a fhort View of our Saviour's Conduct, more particularly in private Life, and run over fome of the Steps of his Humiliation; let us stop to reflect a little on the Ufe and Excellence of fuch a Character, and observe some of the Benefits which we receive from this Part of his Conduct.

Whenever we turn our Thoughts upon the infinite Perfections of the most high God, and try to form fome suitable Apprehenfions of them; though they appear well worthy of all Adoration, yet is our View of them but faint and dim, on account of their Sublimity and Distance from us; and what Views we have of them are apt rather to excite Astonishment and Awe, than move the fofter, more endearing Paffions: and therefore the Ideas of loving and delighting in God were fuch, as the most elevated Heathen Writer could not reach.

But here the Deity lets himself down, as it were, to our Capacities, and is on a Level with our tenderest Affections; difcovers himself under the near Relations of a Friend, a Father; difplays fuch an affecting Scene of the most merciful, mild Condefcenfion, as muft ftrike even the dulleft, warm the coldeft Heart.

The Lord, who knows our Frame, fees that we are not capable of beholding him in his full Glory;

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