fideration to any man that can think and confider: SER M.
"for who knows the power of GoD's anger, who CCVII.
"can dwell with everlasting burnings?" and yet to
this horrible danger, to this intolerable mifery, do all
the workers of iniquity, every one that lives in the
wilful contempt and disobedience of the laws of the
gofpel, expose themselves; and this as exprefly re-
vealed and declared to us, as it is poffible for words
to declare any thing, Matth. xiii. 40, 41, 42.
"So
"fhall it be in the end of the world. The Son of
"man fhall fend forth his angels, and they fhall ga-
"ther out of his kingdom all things that offend,
" and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them
"into a furnace of fire; there fhall be wailing and
"gnashing of teeth." Matth. xxv. 41. there you
have the very sentence recorded, which shall be pro-
nounced upon finners at the great day; "then shall
"the king fay to them on his left hand," that is, to
the wicked, " depart ye curfed into everlasting fire,
"prepared for the devil and his angels." And
ver. 46. "Thefe fhall go into everlasting punish-
"ment." And this is that which St. Paul tells us,
renders the doctrine of the gofpel fo powerful for
the converfion and falvation of finners, Rom. i. 16.
"I am not ashamed of the gospel of CHRIST,
"because it is the power of GOD to falvation, to
every one that believeth." And ver. 18.
"For.

"the wrath of GOD is revealed from heaven, against
"all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." And
chap. ii. 8, 9. "To them that obey not the truth,
"but obey unrighteoufnefs, indignation and wrath,
"tribulation and anguifh, upon every foul of man
"that doth evil." Ephef. v. 6. "Let no man de-
"ceive you with vain words, for because of these
VOL. X.
"things,"

Ꮋ h

CCVII.

SERM." things," viz. the fins he had mentioned before, "cometh the wrath of GoD upon the children of "difobedience." 2 Theff. i. 7, 8, 9. "When the "LORD JESUs," fpeaking of the judgment of the great day, "fhall be revealed from heaven with "his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking ven

geance on them that know not GOD, and that "obey not the gofpel of our LORD JESUS "CHRIST, who fhall be punished with everlast

ing deftruction from the prefence of the LORD, "and from the glory of his power." So that the gofpel gives all imaginable difcouragement to the tranfgreffion and difobedience of God's laws, by denunciation of the greateft dread and terror that can be prefented to humane nature, enough to make any fenfible and confiderate man willing to do or forbear any thing, to efcape fo horrible danger, "to "cut off a foot or hand, or to pluck out an eye," not only to restrain nature in any thing, but even to offer violence to it," rather than to be caft into "hell-fire, where the worm dies not, and the fire is "not quenched," as our SAVIOUR expreffeth it, Mark ix. 48. This is the firft argument from the threatenings. The

(2.) Is from the promises of the gospel, which are full encouragement to obedience; and there are three great promises made in the gospel to repentance, and the obedience of GoD's laws.

1. The promise of pardon and forgiveness.
2. Of grace and affistance.

3. Of eternal life and happiness. And these certainly contain all the encouragement we can defire; that GOD will pardon what is paft, affift us in well. doing for the future, and reward our perfeverance in it to

the

the end with eternal life; and all this is exprefly pro- SERM. mised to us in the gospel.

1. The pardon and forgiveness of fins past, Acts xiii. 38, 39. "Be it known unto you therefore, men "and brethren, that through this man is preached "unto you the forgiveness of fins and by him all "that believe are justified from all things, from "which ye could not be juftified by the law of Mofes." And this is a great encouragement to amendment, to be fully indemnified from all past fins and tranfgreffions; and this promise is made to believing, which includes in it repentance and a better course.

2. The promise of grace and affiftance to enable us to all the purposes of holiness and obedience. And this our SAVIOUR hath most exprefly and emphatically promised to all that are fincerely refolved to make use of it; and that upon the easiest condition that can be, if we do but earnestly pray to God for it, telling us that we may with the fame confidence and affurance of fuccefs, (nay with much greater) ask this of GoD, as we can any thing that is good, of the kindest father upon earth, Luke xi. 9. And furely here is a mighty encouragement to well-doing, to be affured that GOD is most ready to afford his grace and affistance to us to this purpose, if we heartily beg it of him. So that neither the confideration of our own weakness, nor of the power of our fpiritual enemies, can be any discouragement or juft excufe to us from doing our duty, fince GoD offers us fo freely all the ftrength that we need, and to endow us with an inward principle of well-doing, more powerful and effectual to all the purposes of holiness and virtue, than any oppofition that can be raised against it. So St. John affures us, that we have GOD on our fide, and the powerful Hh 2 affiftance

CCVII.

SERM. affiftance of his HOLY SPIRIT, and therefore are fure CCVII. of victory in this conflict; 1 John iv. 4. "Ye are of

"GOD, little children, and have overcome; because

66 greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the "world." If the SPIRIT of GOD be more powerful than the devil, we are of the ftronger fide; and we have no juft caufe to complain of our inability and weakness to do the will of GoD, fince that ftrength and affiftance, which we may have for afking, is to all effects and purposes of our own power. And therefore St. Paul made no fcruple to call it fo, and to fay, he was able to do all things, "I am able to do all things "through CHRIST which ftrengtheneth 'me."

3. The promife of eternal life: and this is the great promife of the gospel, and the crown of all the reft, 1 John ii. 25. "This is the promise that he hath "promised us, even eternal life." And this is a reward fo great and glorious, and fo infinitely beyond the portion of our fervice and obedience, that nothing can be more encouraging. What fhould not men do" in hopes of eternal life, which God that "cannot lye, hath promised to us?" The expectation of fuch a reward, so well affured to us, is fufficient to encourage us to do our utmoft, and to ftrain all our powers for the fecuring and attaining of it, which we cannot do without holinefs and obedience of life; for " without holiness no man fhall fee the LORD." So that all the promises of the gospel are to encourage and strengthen us in well-doing," to make us

'

partakers of the divine nature," that we should "cleanse ourselves from all filthinefs, and perfect ho"linefs in the fear of GOD."

Thus you fee that the whole difpenfation of the gofpel, and the doctrines of it, and every part of them,

are

are all calculated to reform the minds and manners of SER M. men. This is the great defign of the christian re- CCVII. ligion, and all the parts and powers of it, to clear and confirm and perfect the natural law, to reinforce the obligation of moral duties by feverer threatnings, and greater promises, and to offer men more powerful grace and affiftance to the practice of all goodness and virtue; and they do not understand the chriftian religion, who imagine any other end and defign of it. There is nothing that our SAVIOUR and his apostles do every where more vehemently declare, than that hearing and believing the doctrine of CHRIST fignifies nothing, without the real virtues of a good life. "Know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead," faith St. James. For men to think that the mere belief of the gofpel, without the fruits and effects of a good life, will fave them, is a very fond and vain imagination. And thus much may fuffice to have spoken concerning the firft point.

A Table