'

However the Lord approves of the faithfulness of his people, commends, and will greatly reward their good works and labours of love which have been done for his name's fake; however he praises fuch of his churches and children, whofe laft works have. been more than the first, and blames fuch whofe works were faulty; yet that righteoufnefs which faves the foul, and that which he calls fo, and is the only proper righteousness, is the obedience, fufferings, and merits of our crucified God and Lord Jefus Chrift; and this is imputed to us by believing in him. This was the way in which the Father of the faithful found righteousness, and was justified in the fight of God, and in this only a foul can be cloathed at the great day. Venture who will to try any other, it shall be dearly repented, and coft them dearly. They fhall only once be forry for their rafhnefs and prefumption, and that will be for evermore. O do not let it be a light matter with you, whether or no this doctrine be true; neither be content to fay Amen to it, but put on the Lamb and his righteoufnefs, fly into his wounds, and cover your felves up in his merits; make fure of his pardon and forgiveness, and obtain of him that raiment of which he fpeaks to the angel of the Laodiceans, that ye may be cloathed, and that the fhame of your nakednefs may not appear. Have you never made any fhew of religion, but have lived altogether without feeking righteoufnefs hitherto? Now let it be fo no more; come now to Jefus, the Friend of publicans and finners, and he who hanged naked on the cross will hide your fhame. He was ftripped to cloathe you and drefs you for his Father's houfe. Come to him with all your heart, fincere and willing indeed to be faved, and you fhall find, notwithstanding all what men can fay, your own false heart fancy, and

Satan

Satan fuggeft to the contrary, a God nigh, and not afar off, and who is a covering to his people.

Or, are you devout and religious? have you attempted by the law, and ftrove by works to become righteous, and when ye failed, patched up your rags with Chrift's merits, God's mercy and the like? Have ye, to quiet your confcience, mingled the woollen and linen together? Now, then, throw away the linfey-woolfey cloth, the forbidden garment, the unclean and illegal drefs, and approach naked to him who cloathes the lilies of the field, and he will be your covering; the Lord God and the Lamb will be your fhield; and in as much as you have obeyed him, and trufted his blood and merits alone, you fhall fee, for his honour's fake, for his word fake, and according to his eternal purpofe, he will fave you, and you fhall appear at his wedding in linen. clean and white.

You fhall here, in this life, reft well perfuaded and confident of his love, of your being pardoned, and cloathed, and blessed; and die when you will, nothing fhall part you from his love, ye fhall go to him, ye thall follow him with that company which no man can number, who are in white raiment, with crowns on their heads, before the throne. With whom may you and I have our eternal part. Amen.

DISCOURSE XXXVIII.

THE REPROACH OF THE CROSS.

HEB. Xiii. 13.

Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp,' bearing his reproach.

IT

T is in vain to hope to become true chriftians, and escape the fhame of the crofs of Jefus.

The whole doctrine of the Son of God's incarnation and death, when fet forth in fimplicity and plainnefs, and not preached with wifdom of words, has been always efteemed foolishness, and the believers of the gofpel, and fincere profeffors of truet christianity, have continually been accounted fools; and the more zealoufly they have confeffed Jefus Chrift for their God, and the more firmly they have been attached to his merits alone, the more the world have condemned and defpifed them, the more they have been made, as it were, gazing-stocks to men and angels, perfecuted, reviled, rejected and reproached; and if pitied by any, it has been becaufe (as they think) "much religion has made

them mad."

Whoever therefore unfeignedly defires to be a christian indeed, muft fet his face as a flint against all oppofition, and refolve to deny himfelf, leave all he has, and take up his crofs daily, and follow Jefus through a gainfaying and perverfe generation.

There

There is no palliating the matter, or feeking to reconcile men of the world to our religion, without danger, as long as they are unenlightened from above, and stay in the courfe of flesh and blood, judging and weighing things according to rules of common fenfe and reafon alone, and not according to the fcriptures; they cannot be pleased with our manner of acting, our lives must seem madness to them, and our principles foolishness. Our faith. must be exploded by all, and our practice condemned by all.

The many attempts made by great and learned men to make the religion of Chrift coincide with the measures and minds of men, have been fruitless, it cannot be effected. The world, with all its cuftoms, pomp, glory and pleasures, are at enmity with the King of faints; the fpirit of the world is the enemy of him and our happiness; therefore it is fo often repeated in the gofpel, that whofo will be a lover of the world, or the things of the world, is an enemy of God, and therefore Jefus, when he makes men his difciples, calls them out of the world, teaches them, that neither himself nor his doctrine were of the world, wherefore the world hated them. He warns every where his people to leave all and follow him; to come out from among them, i. e. the world, and be separate, and not partake with their fins, that they might not partake of their plagues.

Thofe are minifters of Laodicea who have a fhew of piety and keep in with the world; and as long as they can please men they cannot be the fervants of Chrift.

How ftupid are fuch who profefs to believe in the Son of man, and who conform to the world? Or who would endeavour fo to drefs up the doctrine of our Lord and Mafter, or to fpeak of his

perfon

perfon as to fhun the infamy of being his difciples ?

The world cannot love the doctrine of the Lord Chrift. Senfual and carnal men cannot value the redemption: Lovers of pleasure, and covetous perfons, cannot like the life of a chriftian; nor can wife men, and fuch as will be governed by philofophical principles, ever approve of our way. They will conftantly find fault with us, blame us as weak and inconfiderate men. They will wonder why we act and believe fo unreafonably; while the careless will condemn us altogether. The bigotted in every feet deem us heretics; our friends wonder why we rifque thus our honour, name, character, and fortune; and all forts will pour on us, from every fide, calumnies, revilings, and charges innumerable; nor can we, by any means, fatisfy them, or reconcile them to us, unless we even refolve to ftay in the world with them, and fuffer religion to lead us no farther than to put on the form of chriftianity, be fober, moral and moderate people, without being Chrift's difciples indeed.

Since then it is thus, fince our Lord and Master has affured us it would be fo, and fince experience teacheth us daily the truth of his words, what shall fincere fouls do? Why, for Jefus Chrift's fake, that they may please him, and for their own fakes, that they may be faved, let them take his advice who is the Counfellor; let them efcape for their lives, rife up, and at the lofs of all things follow him. Let them go out of the camp after him, bearing his reproach;" and remember, that whofo loves father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, or eftates, or any thing elfe, more than him, is not worthy of him.

"

Wherever we find honeft men, or women, of children, who unfeignedly feek falvation, it will not be hard to perfuade them to leave all for his name's VOL. II.

P

fake,