1. It was no small encouragement to the people of Ifrael in their paffage over Jordan, to see the priests of the Lord go before them, and their feet ftand firms and fure on dry ground in the midst of it. So when private chriftians behold their faithful guides and minifters ftand faft in the faith, both in life and at death; whole faith they follow, and the end of whofe converfation they confider; it greatly animates and encourages them to look to and truft in the Lord and Saviour, they do; who is the fame to-day, yesterday, and for ever when they obferve that they abide ftedfaftly by the doctrines of the gospel they preach throughout the whole of their lives; and when they come to die, these are the support of their fouls, and by means of which their feet stand firm in Jordan's river, and they stagger not in the view of death and eternity; this gives a lift to weaker faints, and is a means to encourage them to follow them chearfully, who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Befides, minifters of the gofpel, as they are useful in their public miniftrations to speak comfortably to the people of God, which is a principal branch of their work, even to affure those that believe in Chrift of the pardon of their fins through his blood, and of their juftification by his righteousness, and of eternal life as the free gift of God through him; fo they are often serviceable to the faints in their last moments, by speaking a word in season to them; which tends to encourage their faith and hope, and to increase their joy and peace in believing, and to direct their views to that glory they are haftening to, in the hope of which they rejoice and are glad. 2. Another thing which ferved greatly to encourage the people of Ifrael to follow the priests through Jordan's river, was the ark of the covenant which they bore before them as they paffed through; and which ark was a type of Chrift, and of the law being fulfilled in him, and of the covenant of grace made with him. And a fight of Christ, as the Lord our righteousness, and as the fulfilling end of the law for righteousness, and of an interest in the covenant of grace, and the bleffings and promises of it, and of an interest in God, as a covenantGod, and in Chrift as the mediator of it, will fet a foul above the fears of death, and cause it to pass chearfully and comfortably through it; as it did David, fome of whofe laft words, a little before his death, were thefe; Although my house be not fo with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and fure; for this is all my falvation, and all my defire, although he make it not to grow. 3. Not only the priests of the Lord, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth, went before the Ifraelites when they paffed over Jordan, but the living God himself was among them; and which was manifeft from that wonderful display of his power in parting the waters, and causing them to ftand up VOL. I. U u on on an heap, for them to pass through as on dry ground; which must be a great inducement to go on chearfully into the midft of it, fearing nothing: nor can any thing be a greater encouragement to faints in their laft moments, and when upon the brink of eternity, than to have fome plain manifeftations of the prefence of God with them, and the difplays of his love and grace to them: hence fays David, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me'. And this God, who is the God of his people, and their guide in life, will be their God for ever and ever, and will never leave them nor forfake them; and he will be their guide unto death; until they come to it, and will then be their guide through it; fo that it must be safe and comfortable walking through Jordan's river, when God is with his people as their God and guide; and which he has promised to be, and they may depend upon. 4. A fight of the waters of Jordan divided; thofe that came down from above rifing up and standing on an heap; and those that came from the fea of the plain failing, being cut off, and the midft of the river appearing to be dry ground, muft needs give the people of Ifrael courage to venture into it, and follow the priests in it. And fo when the believer has a view of all difficulties. in his paffage removed, which before presented to him, and all his doubts and fears fcattered, and his objections answered, death is no more formidable to him; he meets it with pleasure, and paffes through it with boldness and chearfulness; having no fearful apprehenfions of danger in it, or hurt from it, of being overwhelmed with the floods of it, or of perishing in his paffage through it. But, 5. The stillness of the enemies of Christ's purchased people, while they pass. over, is attributed to Jehovah's arm; who has such an arm as no creature has; kaft thou an arm like God? no, none has: kings are faid to have long arms, because their power is large and extensive, they can come at perfons and things out of the reach of others; but their arm is not to be compared with the arm of the Lord, of whom it is faid, thou hast a mighty arm, ftrong is thy hand, and bigb is thy right hand': fo mighty, as not to be refifted by any; fo ftrong, as to crush his moft potent enemies; and fo high, as not to be reached by any of them, or hindered from striking a fatal blow; and which, the higher the hand is, or is lifted up, comes with the greater force. On this mighty arm the purchafed people of Chrift lean, whilft they are paffing through the wilderness of this world, and are coming up out of it; and fo go on fafely, chearfully, and comfortably it is on this they are borne, and carried all their days, even to old age and hoary hairs; by the mighty power of this arm they are preserved from their enemies; they are kept through faith unto falvation, and they are & Pfalm xlviii. 1 4. Job xl. 9. Pfalm lxxxix. 13. f Pfalm xxiii. 4. con conducted fafely through the dark valley of death, and over this river Jordan into the land of uprightnefs. And it is owing to this that their enemies are as ftill as a stone, while they pass over; the arm of the Lord is greater than theirs; his power is infinitely fuperior to what is in them; their hands are held, their mouths are stopped, their clamours are filenced; they are not fuffered to move their lips, to bring any charge against the faints, and much lefs exert any power over them. Jehovah fubdues their iniquities, removes all the objections, doubts and fears of an unbelieving heart; rebukes the tempter, and fills the enemy, and the avenger; and so a safe, easy and quiet enterance is ministered abundantly, richly, plenteously into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jejus Christ". But I fhall now clofe this difcourfe, by obferving the use that may be made of it. 1. This may serve to put us in mind of death, and to expect it; it lies in our way to the heavenly Canaan; there is no entrance into the one, without paffing through the other: if therefore we are looking for the bleffed hope laid up for us in heaven, or are waiting for the hope of righteousness by faith; we should live in a continual expectation of death, and fhould frequently meditate upon it, and endeavour to make it familiar to us; that when we come to the brink of this river, we may not be furprised and intimidated with its fwelling floods. 2. This may have a tendency to take off the fears of death, which often attend the people of God, when their thoughts are led to dwell upon it; they are fearful what frame of foul they fhall then be in; they are afraid their graces will be weak, and their enemies ftrong; their fins will stare them in the face; their hearts will fail through unbelief; Satan will be bufy with his temptations, noisy and clamorous with his charges; and the terrors of death will fet themselves in array against them. But when they obferve, that God has promifed his prefence with his people; that he will never leave them in life nor in death; will be their God and guide to it, and through it will filence all their enemies, and make them as ftill as a ftone; they have then nothing to fear, but may fay as David did in the view of death, and with refpect unto it, I will fear no evil". 3. This may encourage the weakest believer, and affure him, that he shall go fafely and even quietly through this dark valley, and over this fwelling river; who is sometimes ready to argue after this manner, that if he has run with the footmen, and they have wearied him; either striving to keep pace with fellowfaints of the fame clafs with him, or to get before them, but through the weakness and wearinefs of the flesh has not been able'; or ftriving with the corruptions of his nature, and endeavouring to overcome them, is wearied by them; then how can he think to contend with borfes, or horfemen; to enter the lifts. with those that are above his match, with Satan and his principalities and powers? U u 2 a Pfalm xxiii. 4. ers? and if in the land of peace wherein he trusted, he has been wearied and diftreffed in a time of health and outward profperity, which he promised himself a continuance of; then how fhall he do in the fwelling of Jordan! or in the hour of death, when that shall appear formidable and terrible to him? but God can abate this fwelling, and bring down its rifing waves and floods, and make it fmooth and quiet; yea, divide its waters, and form a path of dry land between them to pass through, easily and safely; or, in other words, remove the seeming difficulties in the paffage, and make it a comfortable and pleasant one. 4. This may instruct us to look beyond death and the grave to the heavenly glory. As on the other fide of Jordan's river lay a moft delightful and fruitful country, the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey; fo on the other fide of death, and the grave, lies a land of promise, a land of reft, a land of uprightness; a better country than this earthly one, abounding with heavenly fruits, and rivers of pleasure; and where there is fulness of joy; and which the Elyfian fields can give us no idea of; but faith gives us a glimpse of them, being the evidence of those unfeen glories and invifible realities; wherefore let us look by faith, not at things which are feen, which are temporal, but at things which are not feen, which are eternal; and let us gird up the loins of our minds, and be in a waiting posture, expecting to enjoy thofe everlasting things; and hope unto the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jefus Chrift. 5. This may affure the Lord's purchased people, such who have any reason to believe that they are purchased with the blood of Chrift, that as they shall fafely and quietly pafs over Jordan's river, fo they fhall most certainly poffefs the promised land, and inherit everlasting life; for Chrift will furely fee the travail of his foul; he will never lofe his purchase; the price of his blood can never be paid in vain, as it so far would be, if any of those he has purchased fhould come short of eternal glory and happiness. Befide, fuch have not only Christ's purchase to trust unto, and depend upon for their fecurity; but they have the Spirit, and his grace, as the earnest of their enjoyment of the inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased poffeffion: wherefore it may with the greatest affurance be concluded, that the ranfomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with fongs and everlasting joy upon their beads; and they fhall obtain joy and gladness, and forrow and fighing shall flee away'. FUNERAL SERMON S. SERMON XXI. The Glory of God's Grace difplayed, in its abounding over the aboundings of Sin. Occafioned by the Death of Mr JOHN SMITH, Preached at the Time of his Interment, April 15, 1724. ROMANS V. 20, 21. Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might abound: but where fin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as fin hath reigned unto death, even fo might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jefus Christ our Lord. T is the manifeft defign of this Epiftle to explain and vindicate the great IT doctrine of a finner's free juftification before God by the imputed righte oufness of Chrift: And in order to fet this doctrine in its proper light, our apoftle takes this following method; he first proves that all mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, are involved in the guilt, and are under the power of fin; that they are all destitute of a righteousness, and not capable of attaining one by the deeds of the law and then proceeds to tell us, that that righteousness, by which a finner is justified before God, is manifefted without the law, though both the law and the prophets bear teftimony to it; that it is the righteousness of God, wrought out by one who is God, as well as man; that our juftification by it fprings from pure, free, and rich grace, through the redemption that is in Chrift; and that the way by which it is conveyed and applied to us, is by an act of God the |