66 ८८ SERM." wondrous works?" Doing all this in CHRIST'S CCXXVIII. name, implies that they profess'd to believe in him; but notwithstanding all this, if they be "workers of iniquity," CHRIST will fay to such, "Depart from me, I know you not," If our SAVIOUR make a true and proper representation of the day of judgment, and the proceedings of it, Matt. xxv. men's faith shall then be tried by the real fruits and effects of it; then the enquiry shall be, how men have lived? what good they have done, or omitted and neglected? and accordingly sentence will be passed upon them. Nay, fuch a faith is so far from saving, that it will be an aggravation of our condemnation, and fink us the deeper into hell. "There is one that condemneth you, even JESUs in whom ye trust." : Secondly, a life unfuitable to our belief is the high way to infidelity and atheism, to bring others and our selves to it. 1. To bring others to infidelity and atheism, and to confirm them in it. What can be a more effectual bar to keep heathens, and Jews, and Turks from entertaining the gospel? What can be a greater confirmation of them in their infidelity, than so to mifrepresent christian religion to them, as we do by our unsuitable lives? What can be a stronger prejudice against it, to men who do not look narrowly into it, but only fee it at a distance, than to fee what fruit it produces in the lives of Christians? May they not invert that proverbial speech of our SAVIOUR'S, "Does a vine fend forth thorns?" If chriftianity were such a holy institution, how comes it to pass that Chriftians are so wicked? IF JESUS CHRIST were so excellent a master, we shoud fee it in his scholars; fi Christus fancta docuisset, christiani santè vixiffent, as Salvian speaks. And it is the way to CCXXVI11. bring men to atheism. What more like to takeS ER M. men off from all religion, than to see the religion, which pretends to be the best in the world, represented by the lives of Chriftians at fuch a disadvantage, as if it were a barren and fruitless, and ineffectual thing, and as if they who profess it, did believe it to be a lie, and gave no credit at all to the doc trines of it. 2. It is the way to bring ourselves to infidelity and atheism. As an erroneous judgment and understanding hath usually an evil influence upon men's lives, so much more a vicious and corrupt life hath a bad influence upon men's understandings. It is so uneasy a thing for men to act contrary to their reafon, and against the dictates of their understandings, that men, for their own quiet, and in their own defence, will bend their judgments, and make them comply with the interest of their lusts. Men's affections, which way foever they incline, fet a biass up- on their understandings; and this doth not only proceed from the nature of the thing, but from the juft. judgment of God. 2 Theff. ii. 10, 11, 12. the apostle tells us, that "those who receive not the truth " in the love of it, that they may be faved; GoD " will send them strong delusions, to believe lies; "that they all may be damned, who believe not " the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness." If men once have " pleasure in unrighteousness," it will not be long before they give over believing " the truth," because God by his just judgment will give them over to themselves, to follow the biass of their own corrupt hearts, which inclines them "to " believe lies." Of all persons in the world, a wicked and unholy Christian is most like to turn a fpeculative infidel and atheist; and none so likely to fall ८८ SERM. into this gross darkness, as those who refift and quench so great a light as that of the gospel is, which they profess to believe. SERMON CCXXIX. Of the miracles wrought in confirmation of chriftianity. HEB. ii. 4. GOD also bearing them witness, both with figns and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the holy Ghost, according to his own will. W Hoever impartially confiders the christian religion, cannot but acknowledge the laws and precepts of it to be so reasonable; and the practice of them so evidently to tend, not only to the happiness of particular persons, but to the peace and welfare of the world; and the promises and threatnings of the gospel, which are the great motives to perfuade men to the obedience of those laws, to be fo agreeable to the natural hopes and fears which mankind were always poffefsed withal; that upon this consideration, it might justly be expected, that the doctrine of chriftianity, upon the first publication of it, should have been entertained with a readiness of mind proportionable to the reasonableness of it. Or if the bare reasonableness of it be not thought inducement enough, we may easily imagine, how GOD, if he had pleased, could upon the first appear ance CCXXIX. ance of this religion in the world, have given it such SERM. advantages, as would mightily have contributed to the more easy reception and entertainment of it. He could have ordered things so, that our blessed - SAVIOUR, the author of this doctrine, should have been, as the Jews expected, a great temporal monarch; he could have raised him to that dignity, and have armed him with that authority, as must have given him a mighty power and influence over mankind, and would have gained the great, and the wife, and the learned to have been active instruments in the ☐ propagating of this religion, and in perfuading men to the embracing of it. But he, "whose ways are above our ways, and " whose thoughts are above our thoughts, as the "heavens are above the earth," did not think fit to have it promoted and carried on this way; nay, he feems on purpose to have strip'd it of all secular advantages, that it might be perfectly free from all suspicion of a worldly interest and design, and that it might be evident to all the world, that it was " a plant " which his own right-hand had planted;" and that it did not owe it's establishment to the authority, and wisdom, and contrivance of men, but to the power - of God, and to the immediate favour and contrivance of heaven. And now being thus destitute of all worldly affiftance, though never fo reasonable in itself, it was not likely that it should be able with success to grapple with the lufts and corruptions of men, to which it was so directly opposite; nor with the strong prejudices of their education in a contrary religion, which are always hard to be overcome; nor with the temporal interests of men, which were all at that time to be renounced and quitted for it's fake; |: SERM.fake; unless it had fome other advantages to make men. For having no secular baits and allurements interefts. So that in these circumstances, in order to the full conviction of men, that those, who published this doctrine to them, came from God and were commissioned and sent by him to teach the world, it was very fitting, that God himself should give some remarkable testimony to the first preachers of it and this, the text tells us, he did by " bearing witness to " them with signs and wonders, and with divers mi"racles, and gifts of the holy Ghost." For the better understanding of these words, we shall do well to reflect upon the design of this epiftle, which was to establish the Jews, who had but newly embraced chriftianity, in the stedfast belief and profeffion of it, notwithstanding the troubles and perfecutions which attended it; and to this end the apoftle represents to them, that the gospel was delivered with more authority, and had a greater confirmation given to it, than the law. The law was delivered by angels, but the gospel by the Son of God: and if the contempt of the law was so severely punished, what |