the moral law cleared and perfected) is not necessary to our acceptance with God, and the obtaining of eternal life; but on the contrary, it is our Saviour's express direction to the young man, who asked, what good things he should do, that he might obtain eternal life? If thou wilt (says he) enter into life, keep the commandments: And that he might understand what commandments he meant, he instanceth in the precepts of the moral law. And indeed, the whole tenor of our Saviour's fermons, and the precepts and writings of the Apostles, are full and express to this purpose. Not every one that faith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, (that is, these precepts which I have delivered) and doth them not, I will liken him to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. If ye know these things, happy are ye, if ye do them. In every nation, he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him. In Jesus Christ, neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith, that is acted and inspired by charity. And that the Apostle here means, that charity or love, which is the fulfilling of the law, is evident from what he says elsewhere, that neither circumcifion availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but the keeping of the commandments of God. In which text it is plain, that the Apostle speaks of the terms of our justification, and what is available with God to that purpose. And St. James to the fame purpose, tells us, that by the works of obedience our faith is made perfect; and that faith without works is dead: and surely a dead faith will neither justify nor fave any man. St. John likewise very earnestly cautions us to take heed of any such doctrine, as would take away the necessity of righteousness and obedience; Little children (says he) let no man deceive you; he that doth righteousness, is righteous, as he is righteous. To all which I shall only add the plain words of my text, that Christ became the author of eternal salvation to them that obey him. So that no man hath reason to fear, that this dotrine of the necessity of obedience to our acceptance with God, and the obtaining of eternal life, should be any ways prejudicial to the law of faith, and the law of grace. For, so long as these three things are but asserted and secured; Ift, That faith is the root and principle of obedience and a holy life, and that without it, it is impossible to please God. 2dly, That we stand continually in need of the divine grace and assistance to enable us to perform that obedience which the gospel requires of us, and is pleased to accept in order to eternal life. And, 3dly, That the forgiveness of our fins, and the reward of eternal life, are founded in the free grace and mercy of God, conferring these blessings upon us, not for the merit of our obedience, but only for the merit and fatisfaction of the obedience and fufferings of our bleffed Saviour and Redeemer: I say, fo long as we affert these three things, we give all that the gospel any where ascribes to faith, and to the grace of God revealed in the gospel. I have been careful to express these things more fully and distinctly, that no man may imagine, that. whilst we affert the necessity of obedience and a holy life, we have any design to derogate in the least from the faith and the grace of God; but only to engage and encourage men to holiness and a good life, by convincing them of the absolute and indispensable neceffity of it, in order to eternal salvation. For all that I have said, is in plain English no more but this, that it is necessary for a man to be a good man, that he may get to heaven; and whoever finds fault with this doctrine, finds fault with the gospel itself, and the main end and design of the grace of God therein revealed to mankind, which offers falvation: to men upon no other terms than these which I have mentioned: And to preach and press this doctrine, is certainly, if any thing in the world can be so, to pursue the great end and design of the Christian re : ligion, so plainly and exprefly declared by St. Paul, Tit. ii. 11, 12. The grace of God that bringeth salva tion, hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live foberly, righteously and godly in this present world. And if the grace of God declared in the gospel have this effect upon us, then we may with confidence wait for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearance of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works; and then he adds, These things teach and exhort, and rebuke with all authority; that is, declare and inculcate this doctrine, and rebuke severely those who teach or practise contrary to it. And he repeats it again with a more vehement charge to Titus, to press upon men the neceffity of obedience and good works, chap. iii. 8. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they who have believed in God, be careful to maintain good works. All that now remains, is to make some useful inferences from what hath been faid upon this argument, and so to conclude this discourse. First of all, To convince us that an empty profeffion of the Christian religion, how specious and glorious soever it be, if it be destitute of the fruits of obedience and a holy life, will by no means avail to bring us to heaven. No profession of faith in Christ, no subjection to him, though we be baptized in his name, and list ourselves in the number of his difciples and followers, though we have made a constant profession of all the articles of the Christian faith, and have performed all the external parts and duties of religion, have gone constantly to church, and frequented the service of God, and have joined in publick prayers to God with great appearance of devotion, and have heard his word with great reverence and attention, and received the blessed sacrament with all imaginable expressions of love and gratitude to our blessed Redeemer; nay, though we had heard our blessed Saviour himself teach in our streets, and had had eaten and drunken in his presence; yet if all this while we have not done the will of God, and obeyed his laws, none of all these things will fignify any thing to bring us to heaven, and make us partakers of that salvation, which he hath purchased for mankind. But we cannot plead so much for ourselves, as those did, of whom our Saviour speaks. None of us shall be able to alledge for ourselves at the great day, that we had prophesied in his name, and in his name bad cast out devils, and in his name had done many wonderful works; and yet if we could alledge all this, it would do us no good. All that fuch can fay for themselves is, that they have called him Lord, Lord: that is, they have made profession of his religion, and been called by his name; that they have paid an outward honour and respect to him, and declared a mighty love and affection for him: but they have not done his will, but have hated to be reformed, and have caft his commandments behind their backs; they have only born the leaves of an outward profession, but have brought forth no fruit unto holiness, and therefore can have no reasonable expectation, that their end should be everlasting life. So that when these men shall appear before the great and terrible Judge of the world, they shall have nothing to say but those vain words, Lord, Lord: To which our Saviour will answer in that day, why call ye me Lord, Lord, when ye would not do the things which I said? Notwithstanding all your profession of faith in me, and subjection to me, ye have been workers of iniquity, therefore depart from me, I know you not whence ye are. Secondly, The confideration of what hath been faid, should stir us up to a thankful acknowledgment of what the author of our salvation hath done for us. And there is great reason for thankfulness, whether we consider the greatness of the benefit conferred upon us, or the way and manner in which it was purchased, or the easy and reasonable terms upon which it may be obtained. 1st, If we confider the greatness of the benefit conferred upon us, and that is falvation, eternal fal vation, vation, which comprehends in it all the blessings and benefits of the gospel, both the means and the end, our happiness, and the way to it, by saving us from our fins; from the guilt of them, by our justification in the blood of Christ; and from the power and dominion of them, by the sanctifying grace and virtue of the Holy Ghost. And it comprehends the end, our deliverance from hell and the wrath to come, and the bestowing of happiness upon us, a great and lasting happiness, great as our wishes, and immortal as our fouls; all this is comprehended in eternal salvation. adly, If we consider the way and manner in which this great benefit was purchased and procured for us, in a way of infinite kindness and condescension, in the lowest humiliation, and the unparalleled sufferings of the Son of God; for never was there any forrow like unto his forrow, wherewith the Lord afflicted him, in the day of his fierce anger; in his taking upon him the form of a servant, and the person of a finner, and his becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross, which was the punishment of the vilest slaves, and the most heinous malefactors. The Son of God came down from heaven, from the highest pitch of glory and happiness, into this lower world, this vale of tears, and sink of fin and forrow; and was contented himself to suffer, to save us from eternal ruin ; to be the most despicable, and the most miferable man that ever was, that he might raise us to glory and honour, and advance us to a state of the greatest happiness that human nature is capable of. 3dly, If we consider the easy and reasonable terms upon which we may be made partakers of this unspeakable benefit, and that is by a constant and fincere and universal obedience to the laws of God, which supposeth repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, as the root and principle of all the virtues of a good life; that is, by doing that which best becomes us, and which is most agreeable to the original frame of our nature, and to the di&ates of our reason, and which, setting aside the confideration of our reward, is really best for our pre |