Imatges de pàgina
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mouth, What is a man proffited, if he gain the whole world, and lofe his own foul? or what fball a man give in exchange for his foul? Mat. xvi. 26. And how he faid by his prophet, As I live, faith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked may turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die? Ezek. xxxiii. 11. Why will ye die? why will ye ruin and deftroy yourselves, when ye need not? I know ye all defire life, and ye may all have it, if ye will. Chrift hath purchased it for all; he hath given it to many already; and he is ready to give it to you, if ye will but come unto him for it. And he hath fent me, at this time, to call upon you all to come. Come to him therefore, without any more ado, that your fouls may live; that he may wash you from your fins in his own blood; that he may fanctify and cleanfe you by his Holy Spirit; that he may prefent you holy, and without blemish, to God and the Father ; that when Chrift, who is our life, fhall appear, then ye alfo may appear with him in glory, and live eternally with him, who liveth with the Father and Holy Ghoft, one God bleffed for ever

SERMON

SERMON

The

TWELVT H.

Faith the Principle of Love and Joy.

I PET. i 8.

Whom having not feen, ye love, in whom, though now ye fee him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

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HERE is nothing that we know more certain in this world, than that we know nothing certain in the other, but

what we are taught by God himself; for that not being the object of our fenfes we can receive no information about it; and as for our reason, we all experience the truth of what we read in the book of wisdom, that we hard`ly guess aright at things that are upon earth, and with labour find the things that are before us or at hand, Wifd. ix. 16. But then, as it there follows, The things that are in heaven, who hath fearched out? None certainly but they who looked for them in the holy fcriptures,

where

where God himself hath revealed them to us, and thereby hath given us a more certain knowledge of them than we can have of any thing elfe; for all our other knowledge comes either by our fenies, or reafon, or by the teftimony of other men; all which ways are fallible, we find them to be fo by our own experience, but fo is not the word of God; what he faith we are fure is true, as being fpoken by him who cannot lie: and this feems to be the great reason why he himfelf was gracioufly pleas'd to acquaint us with all things belonging to our peace, that we might not be left at fuch uncertainties about them as we are about other things, but might have all the affurance that could be given us of them, and accordingly believe them upon his word, fo as to be fully perfuaded of them in our own minds to the glory of his veracity and truth.

AND verily as we have all the reafon that can be, to believe what God faith upon that very account, because he faith it; fo if we accordingly do it, we fhall not only be certain of all things neceffary for us to know, but this our faith will be the evidence of things not feen, reprefenting them fo clear to us, that our fouls will be touch'd with an inward fenfe and feeling of them, as much or rather more than we are by fuch things that affect our outward senses; as when Mofes by faith faw him that is invisible to the eye, it drowned all his fenfe of Pharaoh's anger, and of all the outward troubles that could

befall

befall him; for it is written, By faith he forfook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the King; for he endured as feeing him that is invifible, Heb. xi. 27. So he that really believes that the Almighty Governour of the world is infinitely above all things in it and yet is always prefent with him wherefoever he is, according to his word, though he cannot fee him with his eyes, yet he could not but fear and dread him, more than all the monarchs of this, and powers of the other world although he faw them altogether, and was in the midft of them. He that really believes God to be better than all things elfe, as we are affured in his holy word; though he cannot fee him, yet he cannot but defire him above all things elfe. He that really believes fin, or the tranfgreffion of God's law to be the greatest of evils, and the caufe of all the miferies that men fuffer, though he doth not fee it, he muft needs hate, abhor and grieve for it, more than for those which he fees or feels. He that believeth that all impenitent finners fhall be eternally tormented in hell fire, as God hath faid: though he never yet faw it, yet he will ftrive all he can to avoid and fhun it, as much as if he did. He that really believes the promiles that God hath made of advancing his faithful 1ervants to the kingdom of heaven; though he doth not yet fee it, he will do all he can to fee it.

Now as these several paffions, fear, defire, hared, grief, deteftation, hope, and the like, are moved

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moved in us by a quick and lively faith, as well as by our fenfe, the fame may be faid by our love and joy, as the apoftle here obferves; for Speaking of our Saviour Jefus Chrift to all his true difciples, he faith, Whom having not seen ye love, &c.

WHERE the words, yet believing, though exprefs'd only in the latter, they are implyed allo in the former part of the fentence; as if he had faid, Whom having not feen, yet believing, ye love him, in whom though now ye fee him not, yet believing ye rejoice with joy unfpeakable and full of glory; whence we may obferve that these paffions or affections of love and joy, are raised by believing as well as feeing the object, as if the object be Chrift our Saviour, they are raifed, not in an ordinary manner, as by our fenfes, but in a manner that is unspeakable and full of glory.

FIRST as for our love, or that affection or motion of the will, whereby it is inclined to a perfon by reafon of fome excellence, agreeablenefs, or goodness, which we think or apprehend to be in him; fuch thoughts, or apprehentions being ufually produc'd in us only by fight, we do not ufe to love one whom we never faw; though we may value him, and honour him, and admire him, yet we cannot have that complaicency in him, which is properly called love; but this holds good only as to the things of this world; for no man hath feen God at any

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