though, "as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be "made alive ;" and all men fhall return to life again at the last day; yet all men having finned, and thereby "come short of the glory of God," as St. Paul affures us, Rom. iii. 23, i. e. not attaining to the heavenly kingdom of the Meffiah, which is often called the glory of God; (as may be feen, Rom. v. 2. and xv. 7. and ii. 7. Matt. xvi. 27. Mark viii. 38. For no one who is unrighteous, i. e. comes fhort of perfect righteousness, fhall be admitted into the eternal life of that kingdom; as is declared, I Cor. vi. 9. "The unrighteous fhall not " inherit the kingdom of God;") and death, the wages of fin, being the portion of all those who had tranfgreffed the righteous law of God; the fon of God would in vain have come into the world, to lay the foundations of a kingdom, and gather together a select people out of the world, if, (they being found guilty at their appearance before the judgment-feat of the righteous Judge of all men at the last day) inftead of entrance Into eternal life in the kingdom he had prepared for them, they should receive death, the juft reward of fin which every one of them was guilty of: this fecond death would have left him no fubjects; and instead of thofe ten thousand times ten thoufand, and thousands of thousands, there would not have been one left him to fing praises unto his name, faying, "Bleffing, and ho"nour, and glory, and power, be unto him that fitteth "on the throne, and unto the lamb for ever and ever." God therefore, out of his mercy to mankind, and for the erecting of the kingdom of his Son, and furnishing it with fubjects out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; propofed to the children of men, that as many of them as would believe Jefus his Son (whom he fent into the world) to be the Meffiah, the promised Deliverer; and would receive him for their King and Ruler; fhould have all their past fins, disobedience, and rebellion forgiven them: and if for the future they lived in a fincere obedience to his law, to the utmost of their power; the fins of human frailty for the time to come, as well as all thofe of their past lives; fhould, for his Son's fake, because they gave themfelves

themselves up to him, to be his fubjects, be forgiven them and fo their faith, which made them be baptized into his name, (i. e. enrol themselves in the kingdom of Jefus the Meffiah, and profess themselves his fubjects, and confequently live by the laws of his kingdom) fhould be accounted to them for righteousness; i. e. fhould fupply the defects of a scanty obedience in the fight of God; who, counting faith to them for righteousness, or complete obedience, did thus juftify, or make them juft, and thereby capable of eternal life.

Now, that this is the faith for which God of his free grace juftifies finful man, (for "it is God alone that justifieth," Rom. viii. 33. Rom. iii. 26.) we have already fhowed, by obferving through all the hiftory of our Saviour and the apoftles, recorded in the evangelists, and in the Acts, what he and his apostles preached, and proposed to be believed. We shall show now, that befides believing him to be the Messiah, their King, it was farther required, that those who would have the privilege, advantage, and deliverance of his kingdom, fhould enter themselves into it; and by baptifm being made denizens, and folemnly incorporated into that kingdom, live as became fubjects obedient to the laws of it. For if they believed him to be the Meffiah, their King, but would not obey his laws, and would not have him to reign over them; they were but the greater rebels; and God would not justify them for a faith that did but increase their guilt, and oppofe diametrically the kingdom and design of the Meffiah; "Who gave himself "for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, " and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works," Titus ii. 14. And therefore St. Paul tells the galatians, That that which availeth is faith; but "faith working by love." And that faith without works, i. e. the works of fincere obedience to the law and will of Chrift, is not fufficient for our justification, St. James fhows at large, chap. ii.

Neither, indeed, could it be otherwise; for life, eterpal life, being the reward of juftice or righteousness only, appointed by the righteous God (who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity) to those who only had no

taint or infection of fin upon them, it is impoffible that he should justify those who had no regard to juftice at all, whatever they believed. This would have been to encourage iniquity, contrary to the purity of his nature; and to have condemned that eternal law of right, which is holy, juft, and good; of which no one precept or rule is abrogated or repealed; nor indeed can be, whilst God is an holy, juft, and righteous God, and man a rational creature. The duties of that law, arifing from the constitution of his very nature, are of eternal obligation; nor can it be taken away or difpenfed with, without changing the nature of things, overturning the measures of right and wrong, and thereby introducing and authorizing irregularity, confufion, and disorder in the world. Chrift's coming into the world was not for fuch an end as that; but, on the contrary, to reform the corrupt ftate of degenerate man; and out of those who would mend their lives, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, erect a new kingdom.

This is the law of that kingdom, as well as of all mankind; and that law, by which all men shall be judged at the last day. Only those who have believed. Jefus to be the Meffiah, and have taken him to be their King, with a fincere endeavour after righteousness, in obeying his law; fhall have their past fins not imputed to them; and fhall have that faith taken instead of obedience, where frailty and weakness made them tranfgrefs, and fin prevailed after converfion; in those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, (or perfect obedience) and do not allow themselves in acts of disobedience and rebellion, against the laws of that kingdom they are entered into.

He did not expect, it is true, a perfect obedience, void of flips and falls: he knew our make, and the weakness of our conftitution too well, and was fent with a fupply for that defect. Befides, perfect obedience was the righteousness of the law of works; and then the reward would be of debt, and not of grace; and to fuch there was no need of faith to be imputed to them for righteoufnefs. They ftood upon their own legs, were juft already, and needed no allowance to be made them for

believing

believing Jefus to be the Meffiah, taking him for their king, and becoming his fubjects. But that Chrift does require obedience, fincere obedience, is evident from the law he himself delivers, (unless he can be fuppofed to give and inculcate laws, only to have them disobeyed) and from the fentence he will pafs when he comes to judge.

The faith required was, to believe Jefus to be the Meffiah, the Anointed; who had been promised by God to the world. Among the jews (to whom the promises and prophecies of the Meffiah were more immediately delivered) anointing was used to three forts of perfons, at their inauguration; whereby they were fet apart to three great offices, viz. of priests, prophets, and kings. Though these three offices be in holy writ attributed to our Saviour, yet I do not remember that he any where affumes to himself the title of a priest, or mentions any thing relating to his priesthood; nor does he speak of his being a prophet but very fparingly, and only once or twice, as it were by the bye: but the gofpel, or the good news of the kingdom of the Messiah, is what he preaches every where, and makes it his great bufinefs to publish to the world. This he did, not only as most agreeable to the expectation of the jews, who looked for their Meffiah, chiefly as coming in power to be their king and deliverer; but as it beft answered the chief end of his coming, which was to be a king, and, as fuch, to be received by those who would be his fubjects in the kingdom which he came to erect. And though he took not directly on himself the title of King, until he was in cuftody, and in the hands of Pilate; yet it is plain, "King" and "King of Ifrael" were the familiar and received titles of the Meffiah. See John i. 50. Luke xix. 38. compared with Matt. xxi. 9. and Mark xi. 9. John xii. 13. Matth. xxi. 5. Luke xxiii. 2. compared with Matt. xxvii. 11. and John xviii. 33—37• Mark xv. 12. compared with Matth. xxvii. 22, 42.

What those were to do, who believed him to be the Meffiah, and received him for their king, that they might be admitted to be partakers with him of his kingdom in glory, we fhall beft know by the laws he VOL. VI.

I

gives

gives them, and requires them to obcy; and by the fentence which he himself will give, when, fitting on his throne, they shall all appear at his tribunal, to receive every one his doom from the mouth of this righteous judge of all men.

What he proposed to his followers to be believed, we have already feen, by examining his and his apostles preaching, ftep by step, all through the hiftory of the four evangelifts, and the Acts of the Apoftles. The fame method will beft and plainest show us, whether he required of thofe who believed him to be the Meffiah, any thing befides that faith, and what it was. For, he being a king, we fall fee by his commands what he expects from his fubjects: for, if he did not expect obedience to them, his commands would be but mere mockery; and if there were no punishment for the tranfgreffors of them, his laws would not be the laws of a king, and that authority to command, and power to chatlife the disobedient, but empty talk, without force, and without influence.

We shall therefore from his injunctions (if any fuch there be) fee what he has made neceffary to be performed, by all those who shall be received into eternal life, in his kingdom prepared in the heavens. And in this we cannot be deceived. What we have from his own mouth, especially if repeated over and over again, in different places and expreffions, will be paft doubt and controversy. I fhall pass by all that is faid by St. John Baptift, or any other before our Saviour's entry upon his ministry, and public promulgation of the laws of his kingdom.

.

He began his preaching with a command to repent, as St. Matthew tells us, iv. 17, "From that time Jefus "began to preach, faying, Repent; for the kingdom "of heaven is at hand." And Luke v. 32, he tells the fcribes and pharifees, "I come not to call the righteous;" (thofe who were truly fo, needed no help, they had a right to the tree of life,) "but finners to repen

In his fermon, as it is called, in the mount, Luke vi. and Matth. v, &c. he commands they should be exem

plary