present benefit and advantage, our comfort and happiness, even in this world; for God, in giving laws to us, hath imposed nothing upon us, but what in all reason ought to have been our choice, if he had not imposed it; nothing but what is for our good, and is in its own nature necessary to make us capable of that happiness which he hath promised to us. And what can be more gracious than to make one benefit the condition of a greater? than to promise to make us happy for ever, if we will but do that which upon all accounts is really best, and most for our advantage in this present life ?

Thirdly, Here is abundant encouragement given to our obedience; we have the divine assistance promised to us, to enable us to the performance of the most difficult parts of our duty : We have the holy Spirit of God to help our infirmities, to excite us to that which is good, and to help and strengthen us in the doing of it.

For our further encouragement, we are affured of the divine acceptance in cafe of our fincere obedience, notwithstanding the manifold failings and imperfections of it, for the sake of the perfect righte. ousness and obedience, and the meritorious fuffer. ings of our blessed Saviour : And though when we have done all we can do, we are unprofitable servants, and have done nothing but what was our duty, yet God is pleased to accept what we can do, because it is fincere, and to forgive the defects and imperfections of our obedience, for his fake, who fulfilled all righteousness.

And befides all this, we have the encouragement of a great and everlasting reward, infinitely beyond all proportion of any service and obedience that we can perform. And if God be ready to assist and strengthen us in the doing of our duty, and be willing so graciously to accept and to reward at such a rate the fincerity of our endeavours to please him, notwithstanding all the failings and imperfections of our best service and obedience, what can we possibly defire more for our encouragement to patient continuance in well-doing, and to be stedfast and unmoveable, and abundant in the work of the Lord?

Fourthly, and lastly, The confideration of what hath been said upon this argument may serve severely to rebuke the groundless presumption of those who rely with so much confidence upon Christ for eternal falvation, without any confcience or care to keep his commandments; as if salvation lay upon his hands, and he knew not how to dispose of it, and were glad of any one that would come and take it off upon any terms. No, he came to save us from our sins, to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.

So that the salvation which he hath purchased for us, doth necessarily imply our forsaking of our fins, and returning to God and our duty, and his death and fufferings are not more an argument of his great love to mankind, than they are a demonstration of his perfect hatred of fin. So that if we continue in the love and practice of fin, we defeat the whole design of his coming into the world, and of all that he hath done and suffered for us; and the redemption which Chrift hath wrought for us will not avail us in the least. Salvation is far from the wicked, (fays David, Pfal. cxix. 155.) If we have been workers of iniquity, the Saviour of the world when he comes to judge it, will bid us to depart from him.

From all that, hath been faid, it is evident, that it is the greatest presumption in the world for any man to hope to obtain eternal salvation by any device whatsoever, or in the communion of any church whatsoever, without obedience and a holy life. For though our obedience cannot merit; yet it is neceffary to qualify and dispose us for it: Though it does not make us strictly worthy; yet it makes us meet to be made partakers of the inheritance of the faints in light.

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SERMON CXXIV.

133

The authority of Jesus Christ, with the commission and promise which he gave to his Apostles.

MATTH. xxviii. 18, 19, 20.

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth : Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

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HESE words are the last that our blessed Saviour spake to his Apostles, immediately before his afcenfion into heaven; and there are these three things contained in them :

I. A declaration of his own authority; All power is given unto me both in heaven and in earth.

II. A Commission to his disciples, grounded upon that authority; Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

III. A promise to encourage them in this work; And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

I. Here is our Saviour's declaration of his own authority; All power is given unto me in heaven and in carth. Here is an unlimited power and authority given him over all creatures in heaven and earth. This the scripture tells us, was conferred upon him, as a reward of his sufferings; Phil. ii. 8, 9, 10.

He

humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even VOL. VI.

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the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name, which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; that is, that all creatures, angels and men, and devils, should do homage, and acknowledge subjection to him.

II. Here is the commission he gave to his Apostles by virtue of this authority; Go ye therefore and teach all nations. The commiffion which he here gives, is founded in the authority he had before received. Having all power committed to him, he constitutes and appoints the Apostles and their successors to manage the affairs of this his spiritual kingdom upon earth. And this feems to be the fame commission, which St. John mentions in other words, John xx. 21. As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you; that is, as my Father commiffioned me before, so now having received full authority from him, I commiffion you.

Now in this commission, which our Saviour gave to his disciples, I shall take notice,

First, Of the general import and design of it. Secondly, A more particular declaration how they were to manage this design.

First, The general import and design of this commiffion, Go ye and teach all nations. The word which we translate teach, is μαθητεύσατε, disciple all nations; endeavour to make all the world Christians. One would think here was a power plainly enough given them, to preach the gospel to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. Which will more fully appear, if we compare this passage in St. Matthew with the other Evangelists. St. Mark, chap. xvi. 15. hath it; Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. From which text I suppose St. Francis thought himself bound to preach to beasts and birds, and accordingly did it very often. and with wonderful fuccess, as they tell us in the legend of his life. But to extend our Saviour's commission so far, is want of common sense; in which St. Francis (though they tell tell us he had other gifts and graces to an eminent degree) was plainly defective.

But to proceed, St. Luke, chap. xxiv. 47. tells us, our Saviour commanded, That repentance and remission of fins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Ferusalem. So that their commission did plainly extend to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews; only they were to begin with the Jews, and to preach the gospel first to them, and when they had gone over Judea and Samaria, then to pass to other nations, as St. Luke doth most exprefly declare, Acts i. 8. Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Ferusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

But fee the strange power of prejudice, to blind the eyes even of good men, in the plainest matters. The difciples of our Saviour, for all they had entertained a new religion, yet they retained the old pride and prejudice of their nation against the rest of the world; as if none but themselves had any share in the favour of God, or were to have any part in the falvation of the Meffias.

Our Saviour did so far consider this prejudice of theirs, that he never in his lifetime acquainted them with this matter, so as to make them fully to understand it, because they were not able to bear it. And it is very probable, that this is one of those things which our Saviour meant, John xvi. 12, 13. I have yet many things to say unto you; but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth. That is, he should lead them into the knowledge of those truths of which they were not then capable. And though our Saviour, after his refurrection, seems to have declared this fufficiently to them; yet by their practice after his afcenfion, it appears that they understood all this only of the Jews, namely, that they were to preach the gospel first to the Jews that were at Jerufalem, and in Judea, and then to those that were dispersed in other nations: for it is clear from the history

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