We have confidered thus briefly why they are called the children of God; it concerns us next in a word or two to enquire the tonsequence of this, or what benefit they have by being owned as the children of God, and in this lies the substance of the bleffing. St. Paul has done it to our hands in that one text to the Romans, † If children then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Chrift that we may be glorified together. They shall be partakers of the heavenly inheritance, be received into everlasting life, and reign with Chrift in glory. And he who thinks there can be a more defirable blessing than this, is at once insensible and unworthy of any thing which may be called a bleffing; 'tis the utmost of a Christian's hopes, and a more than sufficient reward for all his labours. Yet this is still to be understood, as in the two preceding Beatitudes, fuppofing a principle of love to God, and obedience to him, as the ground of all our endeavours for making or observing peace, and including the reft of our chriftian duty required of us in the Gospel, as the terms of our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

* Rom. viii. 17.

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CHAP.

MATTH. V. 10, 11, 12.

Blessed are they which are perfecuted for righteousness fake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly for my fake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so perfecuted they the prophets which were before you.

UR blessed Saviour, knowing that the adherence of his followers to him in the faith and practice of the Gofpel would certainly raise them abundance

of enemies; that the prince of darkness, who is also stiled * the prince of this world, from his numerous and prevailing party in it, † the Spirit that still works in the children of disobedience, would muster all his forces against them, and ha

John xii. 31.

† Eph. ii. 2.

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rafs them at least (if he can do no more) by daily detachments of the violence or malice of wicked men, in fome degree or other to infult and ruffle them in the profeffion of truth and holiness, so that * through much tribulation it is that we must enter into the kingdom of God, thought fit to encourage with a particular blessing those who were to be exposed to so many particular hardships; and not only to entail a reward upon their virtue, but upon their fuffering for it too. And this he does in a much larger compass of expreffion than any of the foregoing Beatitudes took up; he is copious in defcribing the perfecution, emphatical in pronouncing the reward, repeats the bleffing twice, and throws in an exhortation and an additional comfort to the fufferer; and all this because he knew 'twas eafier by much to do well than to fuffer well: For notwithstanding all the corruption of our nature, the most elaborate and exalted virtue is not so much against the grain with us, so difficult or uneasy, as it is to suffer persecution. Our Saviour therefore was pleas'd to apply himself with more than ordinary pains (as we find in many other dif courses of his as well as this) to fortify his Difciples against the terrible shock which he forefaw the rage of hell and human wickedness would give them. In the verses now before us we have,

I. THE persons blessed, those which are perfecuted for righteousness fake.

II. THE blessedness or reward of fuch perfons.

III. THEIR duty, or an exhortation to them to - rejoice and be exceeding glad.

To begin with the First,

I. THE persons blessed, such as are perfecuted for righteousness fake. And here it concerns us to enquire, what is meant by righteousness; and confider what that persecution is, which may be expected on the account of righteousness.

FIRST, What is here meant by righteousness; a point which had need be well understood, and carefully diftinguished; for if this be not the cause for which we fuffer, or if we mistake that for righteousness which is not really so, the title to the reward is loft.

By righteousness therefore is meant, (1.) The profeffion of the chriftian faith, or the adherence to some eminent fundamental article thereof. The moft material articles of this are comprised in what we commonly call the Apostles Creed; but more at large in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. The Apostle tells us, that * all fcripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works, i. e. in one word, 'tis a compleat and perfect rule of faith and manners. Whatsoever therefore is exprefly taught us in the holy Scriptures as an article of faith, we are to believe; these being that + form of found words delivered to us, which we must hold faft, and earnestly contend for: Whatever is contrary to the holy Scriptures, let the authority be what it will that shall attempt to force it upon us for a truth, is to be resolutely and boldly rejected: And whatsoever is not exprefly there laid down as matter of faith and doctrine in religion, or by necessary confequence clearly to be inferred from that which is, we are not only under no obligation to receive; but when it shall be imposed as a truth essential to the faith and

communion of Christians, we are under an obligation to protest against it. And if we be called to suffer upon any of these accounts, either for main taining the one, or rejecting, or oppofing the other, it may with assurance be concluded that we fuffer for righteousness fake. * St. Paul declares to the Galatians, that if he, or any other man, or even an angel from heaven should preach any other gospel to them than that which they had received, he should be accursed. Let those consider this who † make the commandment of God of no effect by their traditions, and will needs be altering, adding to, or amending the Gospel which our Saviour left us. And fince we cannot acknowledge that as an article of faith, which the Author of our faith Chrift Jesus and his holy Apostles have not declared to be so, without owning another Law-giver and Author of our faith befides him, and another Gospel; to fuffer perfecution for refusing to do this, is properly and literally to suffer for Christ. But since there have been many differences about the interpretation of feveral texts of Scripture containing matters of faith and doctrine; and the Church has all along been divided into parties upon some or other of these, maintaining diverse and contrary expofitions, and either fide appears so zealous in their own sense of them, as to be ready to expose their lives and all their advantages for the maintaining of it; and fince it has often happen'd, that not only in different places and countries, where different opinions are countenanced; but in the same state or body, according to the sway of government on one fide or the other; men have fuffered the lofs of their eftates, their liberty, and their lives, for maintaining a contrary sense of the same thing: It concerns us to be very careful in judging of the cause of such fuffering, and to be very fure of the ground * Gal. i. 8, 9.

† Matth. xv. 6.

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