mous offence against the infinite bounty and mercy and SERM. condefcenfion of our Saviour; a most heinous abufing the XXI. Son of God, who came down into this homely and hum

Rom.vi.22.

ble state on purpose to bless us, in turning every one of us A&ts iii. 26. from our iniquities; to free us from the grievous dominion and from the woful effects of fin; we thereby fruftrate the most gracious intentions of God, and defeat the most admirable project that could be for our benefit and falvation: we thereby trample upon the Son of God, recrucify him, and Heb. vi. 6. put him to an open fhame: fo the Apostle to the Hebrews telleth us, implying the heinous guilt and fad confequence

of doing fo; He, faith the Apostle, that defpifed Mofes's law Heb. x. 28. died without mercy;-Of how much forer punishment, fuppofe ye, fhall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was fanctified, an unholy thing?

13.

8. Laftly, This confideration may ferve to beget in us a high esteem of the difpenfation evangelical, and hearty fubmiffion thereto. Almighty God, (as is fignified in the parable,) after several provifions for the good of mankind, Luke xx. and several meffages from heaven to the world here, did at laft fend his Son, with this expectation; Surely they will reverence my Son: and furely much reafon he had to expect the greatest reverence to be yielded to his person; the readiest credence and obedience to his word. For if any declaration of God concerning his will, or our duty, however proceeding from him, (either by dictate of natural reason, or by the inftruction of prophets, or by the ministry of angels,) ought to be entertained with great respect and obfervance; much more should the overtures of greatest mercy and favour exhibited by his own Son (on purpose sent unto us to discover them) be embraced with highest regard, and humblest reverence, and most hearty compliance. It is the Apoftle to the Hebrews his difcourfe and inference; Therefore, (faith he, therefore, Heb. i. 2. because God hath in thefe last times Spoken unto us by his ii. 1, 3. Son,) we ought EpicσOTÉρws @goσéxav, to give more (abundant, or more) earnest heed to the things which we have heard; for, subjoins he, how shall we escape, if we neglect

SERM. fo great falvation; which at first began to be spoken by (our) XXI. Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him? Ταῦτ ̓ ἂν διηνεκῶς ςρέφοντες, καὶ ἀναλογιζόμενοι ἐκκαθάρωμεν ἡμῶν τὸν βίον, καὶ λαμπρὸν ποιήσωμεν. Continually therefore revolving and recounting these things, let us cleanfe our life, and make it bright: fo we conclude with good St. Vide Chryf. Chryfoftom.

tom. vi. p. 623, &c.

Almighty God, who haft given us thy only begotten Son to take our nature upon him; grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit, through the fame our Lord Jefus Chrift, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the fame Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Dur Lord.

SERMON XXII.

EPH. iv. 5.

One Lord.

As the name of God (truly common to all three Persons SERM.

of the Bleffed Trinity) is (not in way of exclufion, but) ac- XXII. cording to a mysterious peculiarity (xar' oixovouíav, in way Luke ii. 11. of difpenfation, accommodated to our inftruction, as the Os is Xστὸς, Κύριος. Greek Fathers exprefs it) attributed to God the Father, who is the Fountain of the Deity, and firft in order among the divine Perfons; fo likewife is the name Lord, truly common to the other Perfons, peculiarly (though also not exclufively) afcribed and appropriated unto God the Son; who therefore in the ftyle of the New Teftament, which more fully hath revealed him, is called fometimes abfolutely Lord, fometimes the Lord Jefus, fometimes our Lord; to acknowledge and call him fo, being the especial duty, and the distinctive mark or character of a Christian : for, to us, as there is one God and Father of all, and one Holy Spirit, fo there is, as St. Paul here in my text doth fay, one Lord. And otherwhere; There be (faith he, there 1 Cor. viii. be, according to popular eftimation and worldly ufe) gods 5, 6. many, and lords many; but to us there is one God the Father, and one Lord Jefus Chrift. Hence to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (that is, by confeffion and practice to acknowledge him our Lord) gives a periphrafis, or description of a Chriftian, (To the church of God that is 1 Cor. i. 2.

Acts ix. 14.

3.

XXII.

SERM. in Corinth, fanctified in Chrift Jefus, called to be faints, together with all that call upon the name of the Lord Jefus Chrift in every place; that is, together with all Christians everywhere; fo doth St. Paul inscribe his first Epistle to the 1 Cor. xii. Corinthians ;) whence, No man, faith he in the fame Epistle, can call Jefus Lord, but by the Holy Ghof; that is, no man can heartily embrace Chriftianity without the gracious affiftance of God's Holy Spirit. The reafon of which appellation being fo peculiarly attributed unto Chrift, may be, for that, befide the natural right unto dominion over us, neceffarily appertaining to him as our God, who hath made us, and doth preserve us, there are divers other refpects and grounds fupervenient, and accruing to him from what he hath undertaken, performed, and undergone for us, in fpontaneous obedience to the will of God his Father, upon which alfo the title of Lord is due unto him the which to declare first, then to apply them unto our practice, shall be the subject and scope of our present difcourfe.

In whatsoever notion we take the word Lord, either as a prince over fubjects, or as a mafter over fervants, or as an owner of goods, or as a preceptor and prefident over difciples, or as a leader and captain to followers, or as a perfon fingularly eminent above inferiors, he is according to all fuch notions truly our Lord.

According to whatever capacity we diftinctly or abstractively confider him, either as the Son of God, or as the Son of man, or as deάvpwños, (jointly God and man, united in one perfon,) as Jefus our Saviour, as the Chrift of God, he is our Lord.

If we examine all imaginable foundations of juft dominion, eminence in nature and power, the collation of being or prefervation thereof, donation, conqueft, purchase, merit, voluntary compact; upon all these he hath a right of lordship over us duly grounded.

I. He is, I fay, firft, our Lord according to every notion and acception of the word Lord.

He is our Prince and Governor, we are his fubjects and Heb. i. 8. vaffals; for to him it was faid, Thy throne, O God, is for

ever and ever; the fceptre of thy kingdom is a right fceptre. SERM. Of him it was prophefied, that the government should be XXII. upon his fhoulder, and that of the increafe of his govern- I. ix. 6, 7. ment and peace there should be no end; he is the King of Ifrael, or of the Church, who, as the angel told the blessed Virgin, shall reign over the houfe of Jacob for ever and ever. God hath given him head over all things to the Church. So is he a Prince most abfolute, endued with fovereign Luke i. 33. right and power, crowned with glorious majesty, enjoying 1 Cor. xv. all preeminences, and exercifing all acts fuitable to regal 27. dignity, in respect to all things, and particularly in regard

to us.

Eph. i. 22.

15.

He also is our Mafter, and we are his fervants; the 1 Tim. iii, Church is a house and family, whereof he is the oixodeo- Matt. xxiv. Tóns, or householder; If, faith he, they have called the 45. x. 25. Mafter of the houfe Beelzebub how much more those of his household? (res oixiaxes avτe, famulos ejus, his domeftics, or menial fervants.) All the family in heaven and earth are Eph. iii. 15. named of him, faith St. Paul; that is, the whole Church (both triumphant above in heaven, and militant here on earth) is his family, or called the family of him, as of its Lord. Chrift, faith the Apostle to the Hebrews, is as a Heb. iii. 6. fon over his houfe, whofe houfe are we: He that is called 1 Cor. vii. free is a fervant of Chrift: and, We ferve the Lord Chri: Col. iii. 24. and, We have a Mafter in heaven, faith St. Paul: Blessed, Eph. vi. 9. faith our Lord himself, is that fervant, whom his Lord Matt. xxiv. coming fhall find fo doing; that is, whom Chrift, our Lord, 46. coming to judgment, shall find discharging his duty faithfully. He indeed as a good Master governeth, ordereth, and maintaineth his family well; furnisheth and feedeth it with all neceffary provifions; protecteth it from all want and all mischief; appointeth to every one therein 1 Cor. iii. 8. his due work and fervice, and payeth to each his due Rev. xxii. wages and recompence.

22.

Col. iv. 1.

Luke vi. 35.

12.

He is also our Owner, or the Poffeffor and Proprietary of us; The Lord that bought us, as St. Peter calls him ; 2 Pet. ii. 1. and consequently, who poffeffeth and enjoyeth us. We are 1 Cor. vi. not our own, faith St. Paul; for we were bought with a price: whence we are become entirely fubject to his difpofal.

19, 20. vii.

23.