shew that they have always flourished and SERM. fallen together.

This liberty, laft mentioned, is not intended in the text, nor is to be accounted any part of that liberty wherewith Chrift hath made his followers free. The gofpel was not defigned to deftroy, or in the leaft to abridge any valuable privilege of mankind; on the contrary, to reftore and promote that which is the nobleft and moft important deliverance from the fervitude of fin, that they may freely follow the direction of reason and confcience; but it doth not meddle with their liberty, as they are rational and focial creatures in this world, leaving that to ftand, as it always ftood, on the foot of plain reason, only placing the measures of our conduct with respect to it, as it doth our whole converfation, under the influence of the nobleft religious principles, which are the best improvements of reason, whereby it is not impaired, but rendered more fafe and more ufeful to all the good purposes it is capable of ferving. It is true, the apostles, amongst other relative duties of human life, teach chriftians that they, as well as other men, ought to be in fubjection to the higher civil powers, and that not only for wrath but for confcience fake; which VOL. IV.

G

was

HI.

SER M. was the more neceffary, because some proIII. feffed chriftians, especially the Jews, ftill

deeply poffeffed with their national prejudices, and elated with the high privileges anciently granted to their fathers, imagined themselves free from the authority of any foreign rulers, whereby they were prompted to raise unfeasonable and causeless rebellions to the dishonour of their religious profeffions, and to their own destruction. But those apoftolical declarations, fuch as Rom. xiii. from the beginning to the 7th verfe; Titus iii. 1. 1 Peter ii. 15, &c. are not to be understood without any restriction, as if christians were univerfally bound to yield an unlimited fubmiffion to their governors, even in the most arbitrary, cruel, and tyrannical exercise of their power, as hath been fully proved by fome learned Proteftant writers. Let us therefore never imagine that our holy religion, fo beneficial to the nature and condition of mankind in all other refpects, hath made it fervile in the impor tant article of civil fociety; and that having laid a noble foundation for the best improvement of our powers, and raising them to their highest perfection in the next world, it has reduced us to a state of flavery in this world. But be affured we fatisfy all the obligations

obligations christianity hath laid us under SER M. to men, if we fulfil the royal law, thou II. fbalt love thy neighbour as thyself; and if we render to all their due, all which is due by confent, in things which depend on consent, as civil government certainly doth, or ought to do, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour, within the just limits fixed by agreement; for in the points of political authority and fubjection, if Chrift hath not made his disciples free, he has furely left them as free as they were by the laws of nature and reafon, and by their own voluntary compacts.

SERM.

IV.

GAL. V. I.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Chrift hath made us free.

IN

N a former difcourfe from this text, I confidered liberty as an important part of the human conftitution, whereby we are rendered capable, as rational creatures, of pursuing the true end of our being, especially of practising virtue, and attaining to the highest perfection and happinefs of our nature; and I fhewed that christianity, as a gracious divine revelation to finful degenerate mankind, was intended to recover them to true moral liberty, or to deliver them from the fervitude of fin, from the power of corrupt affections, irregular paffions, and evil habits, thereby to perfect their nature; at the fame time that it doth not encroach upon any freedom which belongeth to them as rational and focial creatures in this world,

or

or which is neceffary to the ends of the SERM, prefent life. IV.

But there is a liberty belonging to the christian religion itself, relative to its particular ends, as it is a pofitive inftitution and law of God, published to the world, to be received, obeyed, and profeffed by men; and by this is meant a certain privilege and right allowed and established to every man to whom the gospel is declared, and who embraceth it, abfolutely neceffary to its having its proper effect, and that the defign of it may be fully obtained; or, there is a particular perfonal liberty, wherewith Christ, as the author of christianity, and for its purpofes, hath made the hearers and profeffors of it free.

This liberty is the fubject of our present inquiry, and we must take our notion of it from the nature and defign of the institution itself. The gofpel is the kingdom of God, fo our Saviour representeth it, or it is the inftrument of the divine government exercifed by Jefus Chrift, over as many of mankind as willingly fubject themselves to his authority for bringing them to the practice of true religion and virtue, out of a pure heart, and a good confcience, and faith unfeigned; in other words, from a fincerely