quence to the fouls of men, to imagine that the gofpel is all promises on God's part, and that our part is only to believe them, and to rely upon God for the performance of them, and to be very confident that he will make them good, though we do nothing elfe but only believe that he will do fo. That the Christian religion is only a declaration of God's good will to us, without any expectation of duty from us; this is an error which one could hardly think could ever enter into any who have the liberty to read the Bible, and do attend to what they read and find there.

The three great promises of the gospel, are all very exprefly contained in our Saviour's firft fermon upon the mount. There we find the promife of bleffedness often repeated; but never abfolutely made, but upon certain conditions, and plainly required on our parts; as repentance, humility, righte oufnefs, mercy, peaceablenefs, meeknefs, patience. Forgiveness of fins is likewife promifed; but only to thofe that make a penitent acknowledgment of them, and ask forgiveness for them, and are ready to grant that forgiveness to others, which they beg of God for themselves. The gift of God's Holy Spirit is likewife there promised; but it is upon condition of our earnest and importunate prayer to God. The gofpel· is every where full of precepts, enjoining duty and obedience on our part, as well as of promifes on God's part, affuring bleffings to us; nay of terriblethreatnings alfo, if we difobey the precepts of the gofpel. St. Paul gives us the fum of the gofpel in very few and plain words, declaring upon what terms we may expect that falvation which the gospel offers to all men, Tit. ii. 11, 12, 13, 14. The grace of God, which bringeth falvation hath appeared to all men; teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lufts, we should live foberly, and righteously, and godly in this prefent world, looking for that bleffed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jefus Chrift; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good

works.

works. And then he adds, thefe things fpeak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority; intimating, that though men were very averfe to this doctrine, it ought to be inculcated with great authority and earneftnefs, and thofe who oppofed and despised it, to be feverely rebuked; and with great reafon, becaufe the contrary doctrine does moft effectually undermine and defeat the whole defign of the Chriftian religion. Secondly, from hence we learn, that if the promifes of the gospel have not this effect upon us, to make us partakers of a divine nature, it is our own fault, and because we are wanting to ourselves. God is, always ready to do his part, if we do not fail in ours. There is a divine power and efficacy goes along with the gofpel, to make way for the entertainment of it in the hearts of men, where they put no bar and obftacle to it. But if men will refift the motions of God's bleffed Spirit, and quench the light of it, and obftinately hold out against the force of truth; God will withdraw his grace and Holy Spirit from them. The gofpel would raife us to the perfection of all virtue and goodnefs, and the promises of it are admirably fitted to relieve the infirmities and weakness of human nature, and to renew us after the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness; to take us off from fin and vice, and to allure us to goodness, and to affift and encourage us in the pratice of it: But if we will not comply with the gracious defign of God in the gofpel, and fuffer these promises to have their due influence and efficacy upon us; we wilfully deprive ourselves of all the bleffings and benefits of it, we reject the counsel of God against ourselves, and receive the grace of God in vain ; and by rejecting and defpifing his promises, we provoke him to execute his threatnings upon us.

Thirdly and laftly, If the promises of the Christian religion are apt in their own nature to work this great effect upon us, to make us like to God, and to bring us to fo near a resemblance of the divine perfections, to make us good, and juft, and merciful, and patient, and holy in all manner of converfation, to purge us from our iniquities, and to make us

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a peculiar and excellent people, zealous of good works; I fay, if this be the proper tendency of the gospel, and the promises of it, how doth this upbraid the degenerate ftate of the Chriftian world at this day, which does fo abound in all kind of wickedness and impiety! fo that we may cry out as he did, upon reading the gofpel; profectò aut hoc non eft evangelium; aut nos non fumus evangelici ; "Either this is not the gofpel which we read, and the Chriftian religion which we profefs; or we are no Chriftians.' We are fo far from that pitch of goodness and virtue which the Chriftian religion is apt to raife men to, and which the Apostle here calls the divine nature, that a great part of us are degenerated into beafts and devils, wallowing in abominable and filthy lufts, indulging ourselves in thofe devilifh paffions of malice and hatred, of ftrife and difcord, of revenge and cruelty, of fedition and disturbance of the publick peace to that degree, as if the grace of God had never appeared to us to teach us the contrary. And therefore it concerns all thofe who have the face to call themselves Chriftians, to demean themselves at another rate, and for the honour of their religion, and the falvation of their own fouls, to have their converfation as becometh the gospel of Chrift; and by departing from the vicious practices of this present evil world, to do what in them lies to prevent the judgments of God which hang over us; or if they cannot do that, to save themselves from this untoward generation.

SERMON

SERMON XCIX,

The fupport of good men, under the faf ferings for religion.

I PETER IV. 19.

Wherefore let them that fuffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their fouls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

T

The first fermon on this text.

HIS epiftle was written by St. Peter, who was the Apostle of the circumcifion, to the difperfed Jews, who were newly converted to Chriftianity; and the defign of it is to confirm and establish them in the profeffion of it; and to inftruct them how they ought to demean themselves toward the Heathen or Gentiles among whom they lived; and more particularly to arm and prepare them for thofe fufferings and perfecutions, which he foretells would fhortly overtake them for the profeffion of Christianity, that when they fhould happen, they might not be furprised and ftartled at them, as if fome ftrange and unexpected thing were come upon them; at the 12th verfe of this chapter, beloved, think it not ftrange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you; that is, do not wonder, and be not aftonished at it; as if fome strange thing happened

unto you.

And then he inftructs them more particularly, how they ought to behave themselves under thofe trials and fufferings, when they fhould happen; not only with patience, which men ought to exercife under all kinds of fufferings, upon what account and caufe foever; but with joy and chearfulness; confidering the glorious example and reward of them, ver. 13.

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But

:

any

But rejoice, in as much as ye are partakers of Chrift's Sufferings that when his glory fhall be revealed, ye may be glad alfo with exceeding joy: And at the 14th verfe he tells them, that befides the encouragement of fo great an example, and fo glorious a reward, they fhould be fupported and affifted in a very extraordinary manner by the Spirit of God refting upon them in a glorious manner, as a teftimony of the divine power and prefence with them: ver. 14. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God refteth upon you; or as it is in the best copies, for the Spirit of glory and of power, even the Spirit of God refteth upon you; that is, the glorious power of the divine Spirit is prefent with you, to comfort and bear up your fpirits under thefe fufferings. But then he cautions them to take great care, that their fufferings be for a good caufe, and a good confcience; ver. 15. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil-doer (that is, as an offender in kind against human laws, made to preferve the peace and good order of the world) or as a busy body in other mens matters; that is, as a pragmatical perfon, that meddles out of his own fphere, to the difquiet and difturbance of human fociety: for to fuffer upon any of thefe accounts, would be matter of fhame and trouble, but not of joy and comfort; but if they fuffered upon account of the profeffion of Chriftianity, this would be no caufe of fhame and reproach to them; but they ought rather to give God thanks for calling them to fuffer in fo good a caufe, and upon fo glorious an account, ver. 16. Yet if any man suffer as a Chriftian (if that be his only crime) let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf; for the time is come, that judgment must begin at the house of God; that is, the wife and juft providence of God hath fo ordered it at this time, for very good reafons and ends, that the first calamities and fufferings fhould fall upon Chriftians, the peculiar people and church of God, for their trial, and a teftimony of the truth of that religion, which God was now planting in the world: And if it first begin at us (that

is,