in the fields of Zoan, the lawgiver of Ifrael, who led them through the red-fea and wilderness, to the border of Canaan's land: there we shall fee the man after God's own heart, the sweet Pfalmift of Ifrael, ftriking his harp to a higher note, to a better tune, and to better purpose than when here on earth: there we shall fee the evangelic prophet Isaiah, with the rest of his brethren the prophets, who prophesied beforehand of the fufferings of Chrift, and the glory that should follow there we fhall fee the forerunner and harbinger of Chrift, who prepared his way by preaching and baptizing, and who fo clearly pointed him out as "the Lamb of God that taketh away the fins of the world:" there we fhall fee the apostles of Chrift, the companions of our dear Redeemer, who heard his doctrines, faw his miracles, and were witnesses of his sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven; and were the inftruments of spreading the Gospel. through the several parts of the world, and fealed it with their blood: there we shall see the wondrous man that was caught up into the third heaven, who heard words unspeakable, not lawful for a man to utter; who preached the gospel from Jerufalem round about to Illyricum, and was the means of converting so many thousands of fouls, and of planting fo many churches in the Gentile world: There we fhall fee all the confeffors and martyrs of Jefus, that have been in all ages; yea, "the general affembly and church of the first-born, whose names are writ"ten in heaven;" the bride, the Lamb's wife, with the glory of God upon her; even the whole innumerable company of the chofen, redeemed, and called ones, cloathed in white robes, and palms in their hands.

2. As in this state there will be an enjoyment of all that is good, fo a freedom from all that is evil. There will be an entire deliverance from fin; the faints will no more groan, being burdened with it; the Canaanite will be no more in the land; or fuch fins and corruptions in the heart, which are now thorns in the flesh, and pricks in the eyes and fides of good men; there will. be no more a pricking briar, or grieving thorn, through the heavenly land; or any temptations of Satan to difturb and moleft; the people of God will be out of the reach of his fiery darts: he found ways and means to get into the earthly. paradife to feduce our first parents, but he will never be able to get into the heavenly paradise; he is caft out and fallen from thence, and will never reaffume his place any more there: nor will wicked men any more oppress them, there the wicked ceafe from troubling"; nor will their ears be offended any more: with their oaths and blafphemies, or grieved with their filthy conversation; they will then be shut up in the pit of deftruction, and a vaft chafm, a great gulph fixed between them, fo that there will be no paffing from one to the other: nor will there be any afflictions attending the faints in this ftate; they will now be come out of great tribulations, and fhall hunger and thirst no more, nor be an-noyed:

• Job iii. 17.

noyed and diftreffed with any outward calamity whatever; there will be no more pain or forrow, diseases and death; nor will there be any inward diftreffes; no more fightings without, the warfare will be accomplished, nor fears within', about their state and condition; no more doubts nor questioning, nor misgivings of heart, nor unbelief; no more darkness and desertion, but "everlasting joy shall "be upon them, and forrow and fighing fhall flee away;" and there will be nothing but perfect reft, ease, and peace.

3. The employment of the faints in this state deserves notice, and will be no fmall part of their happiness: as their bodies will be raised and united to their fouls, they will spend the happy hours and days of eternity in converfing with each other, in fitting, walking, and talking together about divine, spiritual, and heavenly things, and that in an audible manner: what language they will speak is not for us to fay; it is highly probable, fince tongues will cease", that the jargon of speech introduced at Babel will be no more; but that one language will be spoken by all, but what that will be, cannot be determined; perhaps a language more pure, more perfect, more elegant, more refined than ever was spoken by man on earth: the faints will now be employed in ferving the Lord continually, not by preaching, or hearing, or reading, or praying, or attending on ordinances as now, which will be no more, but in praising the Lord for all the benefits of his grace and goodness; they will fing the fong of Mofes and the Lamb; the fongs of electing, redeeming, justifying, adopting, calling, fanctifying, and perfevering grace; and this will be their work throughout an endless eternity. But I haften,

III. To point out unto you in a few words the perfons that fhall enjoy this glory.

And these are the objects and subjects of the grace of God, on whom it is bestowed, and in whom it is wrought. God first gives grace, and then gives glory; and to whomsoever he gives the one, he gives the other. They are the elect of God, fuch as are ordained unto eternal life, that are interested in predeftinating grace; for whom he did predeftinate to the adoption of children, them he glorifies ". They are the redeemed of the Lamb, the church and people he has purchased with his blood; nor will he lose his purchase, which he would, should they not be brought to glory; were it fo, his death would be in vain, nor would he fee "the travail of his foul, and be satisfied;" but he will have them all with him on mount Zion. These are the harpers that will be continually harping with their harps, finging the new fong, which none but the redeemed can fing, they themselves being redeemed from among men *. They are fuch as are called by the grace of God with an high, holy, and heavenly

t 2 Cor. vii. 5.

u 1 Cor. xiii. 8.

w Rom. viii, 30.

× Rev. xiv. 1-4.

venly calling; and as they are called to a state of glory and happiness, they fhall certainly enjoy it. These are regenerated by the Spirit of God, and shall both fee and enter into the kingdom of heaven; they are born heirs apparent to the heavenly inheritance; they are openly and manifeftatively the children of God by faith in Chrift Jefus, and fo "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with "Chrift." They are fuch who are justified by the righteousnefs of Christ; no unrighteous ones fhall inherit the kingdom of heaven, nor any enter into it that have not a better righteousness than their own; only the righteousness of Chrift is the juftification of life, or what entitles to eternal life; and fuch who are juftified by it become heirs of that life, and fhall poffefs it; for whom he justified, them he also glorified in a word, all that truly and spiritually know Christ, whom to know is life eternal, or that really believe in him, fhall partake of this glory; yea, he that believes on him bath everlasting life already; he has the beginning, earnest, and pledge of it, and shall enjoy the whole; nothing is more true than this, be that believeth and is baptized, shall be faved. I clofe all with a word or two.

Every one that has been hearing this difcourfe, I doubt not, will be defirous. of this glory that has been spoken of, and wish to be admitted after death into this ftate of happiness; but the first question fuch should ask their own fouls is, whether they are partakers of the grace of God? for no graceless perfons shall inherit glory. God gives glory to none but to whom he first gives grace; grace is his first gift, and glory is his laft; and none have the latter, but those who share in the former: therefore the first concern fhould be about the grace of God, whether there is any reafon to hope and believe that you are interested in electing and redeeming grace, by being called, regenerated, and fanctified; have you feen your loft ftate by nature, and been brought to believe in Chrift, and truft in him for life and falvation; then you may affure yourselves of this happy ftate. And let all truly gracious fouls be seeking the things above, where Jefus is, and fet their affections on them, and not on things on earth; let them be looking for the bleffed hope and glorious appearance of Chrift, and be rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. And let them ascribe both their grace and glory to the fovereign good will and pleafure of God; for they are both the gifts of his grace, from whom every good and perfect gift comes. Grace is freely given, and fo is glory: Eternal life is the gift of God, through Jefus Christ our Lord; and neither of them to be attributed to the works or deferts of men wherefore we that are partakers of the one, and hope for the other, fhould look upon ourselves under the highest obligations VOL. I.

R

to

to glorify God for fuch undeserved grace and goodness; should be careful to walk worthy of the grace by which we are called, and of the glory we are called unto; and fince we look for fuch great and glorious things to come, what manner of perfons ought we to be in all holy converfation and godliness, and to be diligent that we may be found of Christ in peace, without spot and blameless".

The Agreement of the Old and the New Teftament.

Preached at a Wednesday's Evening Lecture in Great Eaftcheap, March 24, 1756.

ACTS XXVI. 22, 23.

Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to fmall and great; faying none other things than those which the prophets and Mofes did fay should come: that Chrift should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rife from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.

THI

up

in

HIS Lecture, which I am now about to take my leave of, was fet in the year 1729, between fix and feven and twenty years ago. I opened it with a difcourfe or two on the words of the Pfalmift, in Pfalm lxxi. 16. I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only: My view in the choice of those words was, partly to observe that I undertook the fervice of the Lecture, and engaged in this work, not in my own ftrength, but in the strength of Chrift, hoping for and expecting the aid and affiftance of his Spirit and grace; and partly to fhew that my intentions and refolutions were to preach that great and glorious doctrine of a finner's free justification before God, by the righteousness of Chrift imputed to him, with all others that are analogous to it, or in connection with it; which Luther rightly called articulus ftantis vel cadentis ecclefia," the article of the church standing or

"falling,

"falling, or that by which it ftands or falls;" for as that doctrine is received or rejected, the church of Chrift in all ages and periods of time flourishes or declines. And through the grace of God I have been enabled to abide by thefe refolutions throughout my concern in this Lecture; and now I close it with a difcourfe on the words read, Having therefore obtained help of God, &c. which are part of an apology or defence, which the apostle Paul made for himself in a very numerous affembly; at the head of which were very great perfonages, as Agrippa king of the Jews, Bernice his fifter, Feftus the Roman governor, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city of Cefarea, and all in open court; which verified what our Lord had foretold to his difciples, faying, ye fhall be brought before kings and governors fo, my fake. The apoftle being permitted to speak for himself, addreffed the king in a very polite manner, and gave an account of himself from his youth upwards; "how that he was brought up in "the ftricteft fect of the Jewish religion, a Pharifee; trained up in the belief "and hope of the promised Meffiah, and of the refurrection of the dead; and "poffeffed with prejudices against Jefus of Nazareth and his followers, against "whom he was exceeding mad, and perfecuted them to ftrange cities; and "how that in the midft of his career of rage and fury against them, it pleased "the Lord to meet with him, and convert him." And then he relates the manner of his converfion; "how an amazing light furrounded him and struck him, and those that were with him, to the ground; that he heard a voice fpeaking to him by name, and what anfwer he returned to it; when he was "not only effectually called by grace, but the Lord Jefus Christ personally "appeared to him, and made him a minifter of the everlasting gospel; pro"mised him protection and deliverance from all people, Jews and Gentiles, to "whom he should fend him; and pointed out the ends and usefulness of his "ministration; to open the eyes of men, to turn them from darkness to light, and "from the power of Satan unto God; that they may receive forgiveness of fins, and "an inheritance among them which are fanctified by faith that is in Chrift: upon which he observes to Agrippa, that he was not disobedient to the heavenly vifion; but immediately preached the doctrines of faith, repentance and good works at Damafcus, the place where he then was, and at Jerufalem, and through all the land of Judea, and then among the Gentiles; and these were the only causes and reasons of the rage of the Jews against him, and which moved them to seek to take away his life time after time: but notwithstanding, the Lord preserved. him for much and long usefulness in the miniftry of the gofpel; which he takes notice of in the words before us, having therefore obtained help of God, &c. In which may be observed,