them; and to thew how vain and infufficient SERM. they are. Secondly, to illuftrate that only II. folid ground of hope and foundation of our title to the future happiness, doing the will of God.

First, to explain the falfe pretences to the favour of God and the kingdom of heaven mentioned by our Saviour, with others parallel to them, and fhew how vain and infuffi

cient they are. The first pretence is faying to Chrift, Lord, Lord: the plain meaning of which is, making profeffion of chriftianity. What else can naturally be understood by calling him Lord, than acknowledging the character given of him in his word as a lawgiver fent from God to erect a kingdom upon earth whereof he himself is the king; to inftruct, to reform, and to fave as many of mankind as will believe in him and obey him; and at laft, to judge the world in righteousness according to their works. The apoftle gives us this account of the religion of the Gentiles *. They had gods many, and lords many; fuperior and inferior gods, celeftial deities and terreftrial, lord agents, Baalim as they were called by the the Hebrews, who had the management of affairs in this lower world, and

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were

1. Cor. viii. 5.

II.

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SERM. were mediators between the higher gods and men: but to us chriftians, there is one God the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jefus Chrift, by whom are all things, and we by him: that is, by whom there is a com munication of the divine favours to us, and we have access to God. To acknowledge this, is indeed to acknowledge the truth of chritianity, which only reveals it to us for in the 12th chapter of the fame epiftle, and the 3d verse, the apostle afferts, no man can fay, that Jefus is the Lord, but by the holy Ghost. Whereas among the Jews there were pretenders. to infpiration, revelation, and miraculous powers; these gifts were now appropriated to christianity; and no one would believe in Christ as his Lord, without being convinced of the divine atteftation of the religion which he taught.

The true meaning therefore of faying unto Chrift, Lord, Lord, is embracing the gospel, profefling to receive its doctrines, to obey its laws, and found our hopes of acceptance upon it, in whatever forms, by whatever words or acts that is done; and of those there may be a great variety. For, to answer the purposes of the gospel difpenfation, and obtaining its proper effect in the world, there must be a

visible

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vifible fociety of chriftians, who call upon the SERM. name of the Lord; and every one of them who II. compose this society must avouch Jesus Christ as their Saviour and their Lord. St. Paul joins together believing in the heart, and confeffing with the mouth, as neceffary to falvation*, If thou shalt confefs with thy mouth, the Lord Jefus, and believe in thine heart, that God has raifed him from the dead, thou shalt be faved. For, with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confeffion is made unto falvation. Our bleffed Saviour himfelf required of all his followers the fame open profeffion of his religion. For this end he instituted baptifm, to be a public declaration of men's receiving the gospel, and fubjecting themselves to its laws; therefore he fays +, He that believeth and is baptifed fhall be faved. There are other folemn external acts of religion, as well as baptifm, by which a profeffion of chriftianity is made, even all those which in the nature and design of them import our being christians; or the avowed difciples of Chrift. Now our Saviour forbids his followers to ftrefs on this claim, or build upon it their hopes of the favour of God and the king

lay any

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Romans x. 9, 10.

+ Mark xvi. 16.

dom

SERM. dom of heaven, if it be feparated from the II. practice of true holiness and virtue in their lives, or doing the will of his heavenly Father, which is the fuppofition in the text. One would indeed think it ftrange, that any fhould delude themselves in that manner, confider ing how obvious the obligation and neceffity is upon all men to keep God's command-· ments as the condition of pleafing him; and especially how exprefs the declarations of his word are as to that point, and yet in fact we find it is the way of hypocrites. How often do the prophets reprove the antient Jews for trusting to a zealous profeffion, and to external acts of worship, fuch as facrifices, keeping the new-moons and fabbaths, and an out ward refpect to the temple of the Lord, whilft they neglected the moral precepts of the law, and indulg'd themselves in wicked courses? And in our Saviour's time, the pharifees went on in the fame track; they were the strictest fect of the Jews, but their ftrictness confifted all in external observances; in tithing mint, annife, and cummin; making long prayers, and nicely performing all the ceremonies, which were either enjoined by the law of Mofes, or recommended by the tradition of the elders; yet they neglecte judgment, faith,

mercy,

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mercy, and the love of God, the weightier SERM. matters of the law. Seeing, therefore, this II. has been fo ufual among men profeffing religion, our Saviour had reafon to warn his difciples against fuch a fatal error, which many of them in all ages have run into, as experience fhews, fome even in his own days and those of the apostles, trufted to a form of godliness, denying the power of it; and named the name of Chrift, without departing from iniquity. But, afterwards, the degeneracy of christians was more remarkable; and departing from that fimplicity of worship and fubftantial holiness which the gofpel enjoins, religion was turn'd, among them, into empty form. Scarcely can any thing be more notorious, than that many chriftians, almost whole fects of them, even the most numerous, and fome of every fect, have nothing better to fupport their pretenfions to the chriftian character and hopes, than a loud cry for the honour of Chrift, a vehement zeal for the truth of christianity, or what they imagine to be fo; and an exact regularity in the outward forms of devotion, whilst the fruits of temperance, righteoufnefs, and charity do not appear in their lives fome have even got into opinions which favour this deceit ; fuch

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