November, one thousand seven hundred and three, thirty-three years ago: On the account of which, a day of humiliation was appointed by public authority, January the nineteenth following. It is not eafy to fay, what difafters and calamities it brought with it here, and in other parts of Europe; how many edifices, of a larger and leffer fize, were thrown down, in cities, towns and villages; what devastations were made, in parks, gardens and inclosures; how much shipping, of greater and smaller bulk, were deftroyed; and, what is of all moft awful, what multitudes of fouls, at once, launched into an endless eternity. To give a detail of the feveral particulars of thefe things would be long and tedious, and in a great measure needlefs, after fo many narratives have been printed, and so many difcourfes published; among the most valuable of which number, must be allowed to stand a difcourfe, preached in this place, and on this occafion, fince made public by my predeceffor, Mr Benjamin Stinton'. It is remarkable, that on this very day, Seven years ago, a confiderable ftorm of wind arofe; which blew much about the fame time this did, in its greatest fury, we now commemorate. I have reafon to believe, that there is one * here present, who was caft away in it, and remarkably delivered, after having been exposed to the moft imminent danger. I doubt not, but fuch an one retains a sense of the mercy, and thankfully acknowledges the goodness of God, and the kind interposure of divine providence, in his favour. I fhall clofe all with ́ a word of exhortation. Let us adore the perfections, and obferve the operations of Father, Son, and Spirit, in the government and management of the winds and feas. The concern, that the Father of Chrift has herein, is not contested; nor need there be any hesitation about the Son, when the inftance, now attended to, is carefully considered; nor fhould there be any about the holy Ghoft, when it is obferved, that the heavens were, at firft, garnished by him, and he moved upon the face of the waters, and brought the prefent earth into the form and order, in which it has fince appeared: Befides, his extraordinary gifts bestowed upon the apostles, on the day of pentecoft, came down upon them with a rushing, mighty wind': And the common, or ordinary operations of his grace, in the fouls of men, are compared to the wind: The wind bloweth where it lifteth, and thou beareft the found thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; fo is every one that is born of the Spirit". Let us alfo take notice of the Preached November 27, 1773. :1 ཀ! pro vidences * Mr Robert Inger, a member of the church of Christ, at Horflydown, under my care, who was caft away on the Goodwin Sands, November 27, 1729, in the Endeavour, homeward bound from Virginia; who, with the whole fhip's crew, in all feventeen, together with one paffenger, and a pilot, were saved in a small pinnace, after they had been fome hours exposed to the wind and fea,, being taken up by a Deal veffel, John iii. 8. Acts ii. 1. vidences of God, and not let them lie neglected by us, or buried in oblivion; we fhould make every proper ufe of them ourselves, and tranfmit them to pofterity: Whofo is wife, and will obferve these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord". Doubtlefs, with fuch a view, Mr Taylor, who, whilst he lived, was a member of the church which meets in this place, laid a foundation for the annual obfervation of this day. Again, in a view of the awful dif penfations of providence, let us humble ourselves before God, fince these fhew the mighty hand of the Lord; let us ftand in awe of his righteous judgments. How foon, and how easy, can he make this large and populous city, and the whole kingdom, an heap of rubbish? Sanctify the Lord of Hofts, make him your fear, and your dread. To conclude, in a view of all our fins and tranfgreffions, and of all that wrath and ruin they expofe us to, let us take fanctuary in Chrift; who is a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the form, a fhadow from the beat, when the blast of the terrible ones, fin, law, and justice, is as a storm against the wall. The Law established by the Gospel. Preached March 22, 1739, at a Monthly Exercise of Prayer, at the ROMANS III. 31. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law. THAT HAT vice and immorality, difobedience to the laws of God and men, prevail among us; and that practical religion, and powerful godliness greatly decline, will be acknowledged by every ferious, thoughtful, and confidering chriftian; but what are the fprings and fources of this fad fcene of things, or or to what all this is to be afcribed, is not fo generally agreed; in this men differ. The opposers of the doctrines of grace attribute it, at least, in part, to that scheme of truths which we justly esteem the gospel of Chrift; nor can they think there is any reafon to expect, that moral virtue and practical religion will rife and gain ground among us, fo long as this is the fubject of our miniftrations. They fpare not to charge the whole with a tendency to licentiousness, to open "the door to libertinism, and give men a loose to live at pleasure, in all man"ner of impiety. Particularly the doctrine of juftification by the righteouf"nefs of Chrift, imputed by God the Father, and received by faith, is branded "with this infamous character. It is fuggested, that if this doctrine is true, "the law is made void, obedience to it becomes unneceffary, and good works "are infignificant things; and that it can be of no other use than to difcourage good men in the performance of duty, and to encourage bad men in a course. "of wickedness." To remove this charge and imputation is my view in reading these words unto you. God The design of the apostle, in this epiftle, is to fet in a full and clear light, the doctrine of juftification; in which he first proves that all mankind, Jews and Gentiles, are finners, are under fin, the pollution, guilt and power of it; and fo are arraigned, accused and convicted by the law, as tranfgreffors; which law pronounces the whole world guilty before God, ftops the mouth of every man, and puts all to filence; fo that they have nothing to fay in vindication of themselves, or why judgment fhould not be given against them, and be executed on them: whence it muft moft clearly follow, That no man can be justified in the fight of God by the law, by the deeds of it, or by any obedience of finful man unto it. The apoftle goes on to fhew, that the matter of juftification, or that by which a finner is juftified, is the righteousness of God; a righteousness in which Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit, are concerned. the Father sent his Son to work it out, and bring it in; he has approved and accepted of it, and graciously imputes it to all the elect.. The Son of God is the author of it; who is our Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature, God and man in one Perfon, God over all, blessed for ever. Hence it has that fulness, fufficiency, and virtue to justify all to whofe account it is placed; which the righteousness of a mere creature could never do. The holy Spirit of God discovers this righteoufnefs to a poor, fenfible finner, brings it near to him; fets it before him; works faith in him to lay hold upon it, and receive it, and pronounces him juftified by it in the court of confcience. This righteoufnefs, the apoftle fays, is manifefted without the law, that is, in the gospel; in which it is revealed from faith to faith; though it is witnessed, a teftimony VOL. I. Dd is is bore to it, both by the law and the prophets; and that it is unto all, applied unto all, and upon all, put upon all as a robe of righteousness, even upon all that believe; for there is no difference; that is among men, among Jews or Gentiles; no diftinction made between righteous men and finners, or between fome, being greater, others leffer finners; for all have finned, and come short of the glory of God; are through fin depraved, and are destitute of the glorious image of God, that rectitude and uprightness of nature, in which man was created; and therefore stand in need of the justifying righteousness of Christ, by which they must be justified, if at all. The fame infpired writer proceeds to observe, that the impulfive and moving cause of justification, is the free grace of God, being justified freely by his grace. Grace moved Jehovah, the Father, to refolve upon the juftification of his elect. Grace fet his thoughts at work; employed his infinite wifdom to find out a way whereby thefe, though they fhould fall into fin, might be just with God. Grace put him upon ordaining, calling, engaging, and fending his Son to fulfil all righteoufnefs in their room and stead; and it was grace in him to accept of it, for and on the behalf of them; and to impute it to them, who, in themselves, were finners and ungodly. The grace and love of the Son greatly appear in his voluntary engagement to be the furety and fubftitute of his people, in his readiness to do the will of God, in his chearful coming down from heaven about this work, and in the gracious manner in which he wrought out and brought in an everlasting righteousness. The grace of the Spirit is abundantly manifeft in the revelation and application of the juftifying righteousness of Chrift to a poor, finful, unworthy creature, and in beftowing faith as a free gift upon him, to apprehend and embrace it as his The meritorious or procuring caufe of juftification, is placed in the redemption which is in Chrift Jefus, whom God, in his infinite wifdom, and of his free rich grace, bath fet forth or fore-ordained, to be a propitiation, to fatisfy divine juftice, by being an expiatory facrifice for fin, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remiffion of fins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I fay, adds the apostle, at this time his righteousness, that he might be just; that is, appear to be juft, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jefus. So that by this wife and happy fcheme, both the grace and justice of God wonderfully agree in the juftification of a poor finner, and are thereby greatly glorified. From the whole, the apostle deduces feveral inferences and conclufions; as that upon this scheme, there is no room nor reafon for boasting in the creature; and afks", Where is boasting then? it is excluded; by what law? of works? nay, but by the law of faith; that is, the doctrine of faith, and particularly the doctrine of juftification by faith in Chrift's righteousness; as own. d Rom. iii.22. • Ibid. ver.23. Ibid. ver.24. & Ver. 25, 26... alfo Ver. 27. also that a man is juftified, or whoever is juftified, is juftified by faith, without the deeds of the law; that God is the God both of Jews and Gentiles; and that there is but one way and method he makes use of in justifying of either, and that is, by faith and through faith; phrafes which are fynonymous, and expreffive of one and the fame thing; and then, in the words of our text, removes an objection which he eafily faw would be raised against the doctrine he had advanced, Do we then make void the law through faith? There were some who thought they did make void the law by the doctrine of faith: This was an objection common in the mouths of the Jews, and had been often leveled against the miniftry of Chrift and his apostles; and therefore the apostle Paul could be no stranger to it. Our Lord himself was traduced by the ignorant and ill-natured men of that generation in which he lived, as an Antinomian, both in doctrine and practice; as one in doctrine, which is evident, from those words of his in his own defence; Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil'. Whence it is clear, that fome had entertained fuch thoughts of him, that he came to destroy the law, and imagined that he did make it null and void by his doctrine and ministry; and that they charged him with being one in practice, is certain from the account he gives of their calumny and detraction, when he fays, The Son of man came eating and drinking; and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and finners; but wisdom is justified of her children. Now if they called the Mafter of the houfhold fo, it is no wonder that they of his houshold, his disciples and followers, fhould be treated in the fame opprobrious manner. Accordingly, when Stephen, being filled with the holy Ghost, difputed with the Jews concerning the Meffiah and the gospel-state, and they were not able to refift the wisdom and spirit by which he spake; they fuborned, and up false witneffes, who faid and fwore, that he ceafed not to speak blafphemous words against this holy place, and the law'. When the apostle Paul returned unto Jerufalem, after he had travelled over a large part of the Gentile world, preaching the gospel of the grace of God with great fuccefs; James, a fellow-apostle, observed to him how many thousands of the Jews there were which believed in Jefus, and yet were all zealous of the law, and ftrenuous advocates for it; who had been informed that he had faid many things among the Gentiles, contrary to Mofes and his law, which were highly displeasing to them; and therefore he put him upon a method to conciliate himself to their affections; which method did not fucceed according to defire and expectation: for the Jews having obferved one Trophimus, an Ephefian, with him, whom they supposed Dd 2 fet hé |