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nal life upon the account of it; imagining there is none the King of kings will delight to honour in the other world as himself, who enjoys fo large a portion. of this; this is a bad hope. There is the hope of the man that is only upon principles in which he has been brought up; who hopes upon the faith of others, his natural defcent, or being born of fuch and fuch parents, and his religious education; this is a bad hope. There is the hope of the moralift and legalist; who hopes he fhall inherit eternal life because of the good things he has done; because of his moral life and actions, and his works of righteousness in obedience 'to the law; whereas by these no man can be juftified, and fo not faved, or ever enter into the kingdom of heaven; this is a bad hope. There is the hope of the hypocrite, who hopes for heaven becaufe of his profeffion of religion and fubjection to ordinances, and going through a round of duties in a formal manner, and with a mere outward fhow; this is a bad hope; it is like the fpider's web, and will be as the giving up of the Ghoft, and be of no avail; even though fuch may have gained a name among men to be holy and good, when God takes away their fouls. And there is the hope of the profane finner, for fuch have their hope; and they hope for falvation through the abfolute mercy of God; they fancy if they have but time to fay at laft, "Lord have mercy on us," all will be well; this is a bad hope; for there is no mercy for finners, but through the blood, righteousness, and facrifice of Chrift. But the hope we have been treating of is a good one, and may be fo called,

ift, Because it is laid upon a good foundation; not upon the abfolute mercy of God; not upon the merit of the creature; not upon any outward acts of righteousness; not upon civility, morality, or an external profeffion of religion; all which are fandy foundations to build an hope of eternal happiness upon but upon the perfon, blood, righteoufnefs, and facrifice of Chrift; upon the perfon of Christ, who is God over all bleffed for ever, and is able to fave to the uttermoft, who is the hope of Ifrael, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble, and Christ our hope, and in us the hope of glory; upon his blood, which cleanses from all fin, and was shed for the remiffion of it; upon his righteoufnefs, which juftifies from all fin, and gives a right and title to eternal life; and upon his facrifice, by which fin is finished and made an end of, and reconciliation is made for it.

2dly, Because not only the author of it is good, who from it is called the God of hope, but because the objects of it are good things; it is of good things to come, and the best things are reserved till laft; now the faints have their evil things, their forrows and afflictions, but hereafter they fhall have their good things. Chrift is come an high priest of good things to come unto his people; and these good things are laid up for them, and shall be enjoyed by them; and hope

f Rom. xv. 13.

hope is waiting for them: And the hoping chriftian knows them to be good by the foretastes and pledges he has had of them; fuch as a fight of God in Chrift; communion with Father, Son, and Spirit; fellowship with angels and glorified faints; perfect knowledge, holiness, and pleasure.

3dly, Because it is in its nature and effects good: It is called a lively hope, or a living one; because it has not only for its fubject a living man in a spiritual fense; and for its foundation, not dead works, but a living Chrift; and for its object, eternal life; but because it is of a quickening, exhilarating, and chearing nature; and because it is attended with living works of righteousness; for as faith without works is dead, fo is hope likewife; and because it always continues, and is sometimes in lively exercife, when other graces are not fo lively: It is also said to be of a purifying nature; every man that hath thi hope in him, purifieth himself even as he is pure"; and which it no other ways does than as it deals with the pure and spotless righteousness of Chrift, and with his precious blood, which purges the confcience from dead works..

4thly, Becaufe of its great ufefulness: It is that to the foul an anchor is to a fhip when becalmed, or in danger through rocks and fholes; it preserves and keeps it steady; and is therefore faid to be as an anchor of the foul, fure and ftedfast: And it ferves the fame use and purpose as an helmet does to the head; and therefore the hope of falvation is faid to be for an helmet; this grace preferves the head and heart of a chriftian from bad principles in perilous times; for he can give into none that ftrike at the foundation of his hope; it is an erecter of his head, and keeps it above water in times of trouble, inward and outward; and it covers his head in the day of battle, between him and his fpiritual enemies; this he will never give up. This grace is of fingular ufe under afflictive difpenfations of providence; the believer rejoices in hope of the glory of God, even in tribulations; knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is fhed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghoft, which is given unto us': And it is of eminent fervice in the hour of death; for when the wicked is driven away. in bis wickedness, like a beaft to hell, the righteous bath hope in his death"; of rifing again at the last day, and in the mean while of being in the arms of Jefus, and of being happy with him; and therefore can look upon death and eternity with pleasure. Yea, this grace is of fo much importance and usefulness, that even falvation is afcribed unto it, we are faved by hope"; not by it, as the efficient cause of falvation, for there is no other author or efficient cause of falvation but Christ; but by it as a means of coming to, and enjoying the falvation Chrift has wrought out: As we are faved by Grace through faith, in like manner we are

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faved through hope; being begotten unto it, we are kept through it, till we receive the end of it, the falvation of our fouls; wherefore upon the whole, it must be good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the falvation of the Lord.

There is a fort of people rifen up among us of late, who fneer at this phrafe, a good hope through grace, not confidering that it is a fcriptural one; and reprefent fuch who have attained to nothing higher, as in the lower form and class of chriftians, if they deferve that name; and fuggeft, that perfons may have this and everlastingly perish: but let us not regard what thefe flighty people fay; let us attend to what the fcriptures fay, to what our text fays concerning it; which fpeaks of it as of God, as a gift of his; afcribes it to his grace; reprefents it as a fruit of the love of God and Chrift; joins it with everlafting confolation; and mentions it as a bleffing of grace, which the apoftles themfelves, whom God had fet in the first place in the church, in the higheft office in it, were poffeffed of, and were thankful for: Let us attend to what a folid faint on a dying bed fays of a good hope through grace; what his fentiments, his notions of it are; and fuch an one, I mean a folid faint, was our deceased friend, whofe death is the occafion of this difcourfe; as must be allowed by all that knew him, who are capable of judging of a fpiritual man.

At my first visit to him after he had took to his bed, upon inquiring into the fpiritual estate and frame of his foul, he told me, he had a good hope through grace; and added, if I may but go out of the world with a good hope through grace, it will be more to me than all the exultations and joys fome perfons speak of; that is enough, I am content, or words to this purpose; and fubjoined, that if any thing should be faid of him after his deceafe, meaning in this public way, he defired it might be from this paffage of fcripture, we have been confidering. It pleafed God to favour him with a religious education, to blefs him with an early converfion, and to caft him betimes under a gospel miniftry; by which means his judgment was formed, fixed, and established in gospel principles, in the doctrines of grace, of which he had a clear difcerning: And as he had a retentive memory, he treasured up in it the quinteffence and flower of gofpel difcourfes, and the pithy fayings and fententious expreffions he had heard or read in them; which, together with that large stock and fund of gracious experience of the love of God to his own foul, abundantly furnished him with rich materials for fpiritual difcourfe; and which made his converfation very pleafant, profitable, and inftructive; he being able to speak of divine things in very apt words, with great freedom, propriety, and pertinence. The frame of his foul was generally fpiritual and heavenly, and fo habituated he was to fpiritual things, and fo much given to the contemplation of them, and meditation upon them, that in the midst of worldly bufinefs, and even upon the Exchange, when

• Lam. ii. 16.

when he met with a proper person, would at once enter into a christian converfation about fuch things, which lay warm upon his heart, he had been lately hearing or meditating upon; which fhews the bias and bent of his mind. And as he was indulged with a large measure of grace, fo he had great afflictions to try and exercise that grace; which afflictions he bore with uncommon patience, feldom making mention of them, especially in a way of complaint; and never murmuring at the difpenfations of God; but taking all kindly at his hand, as coming from a loving Father, and designed and overruled for his spiritual good, profit, and advantage. He was remarkable for his humility, he was clothed with it, that ornament of a meek and quiet fpirit, which is in the fight of God of great price. His outward converfation in the world was exemplary, and as became the gospel of Chrift, and was ornamental to it. He was many years a worshipper with us in this affembly; but became a member of this church but of late: We promised ourselves a great deal of usefulness from him in our church-ftate; but God has took him away, and he is joined to better company, and is employed in higher fervice: he was very comfortable in his foul, throughout his last illness; his faith was kept steady, ever looking to Jesus, in whom he knew all his salvation lay. He has left to you, his dear children, a shining example both in civil and religious life; may you tread in his fteps; let it be your great concern to know your father's God, to worship, fear, and follow him; fo he who has been his God, will fhew himself to be yours, and be your God and guide even unto death. May we all learn fomething from this providence, and from this discourse occafioned by it; and it becomes us,

1. To inquire whether we have any hope of good things to come, and what that hope is; whether it be a good one or a bad one. If it is founded on any thing short of Christ, it is a bad one; if it is upon the creature and creature-acts, it will be of no avail; if it is through works, and not through grace, we hope for heaven and happiness, it will prove a vain hope: But if it is founded upon what Chrift is unto us; what he has done for us; and what he is in us; it is a good one, and will anfwer fome good purposes in life and death: And then if we are satisfied we have such an hope, it becomes us,

2. To blefs God for it; fince he is the donor and author of it: It is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; and we should ascribe it not to nature, not to the reasonings of our minds, the power and freedom of our wills, but to the grace of God: We might have been left to black despair, and to fink into hell under the weight of guilt; there might have been nothing but a fearful looking for of wrath and fiery indignation, which our fins deferved; but God has dealt graciously with us, he has given us a good hope through grace. Wherefore it becomes us,

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3. To continue in the ufe of this grace; to pray for the holy Spirit of God to cause us to abound in it; and to enable us to hold fast the rejoicing of it firm unto the end; to gird up the loins of our minds, and hope for future grace and eternal glory; and to go on hoping, believing, loving, until hope is exchanged for fruition, faith for vision, and love is in its highest exercise.

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Occafioned by the Death of the Rev. Mr AARON SPURRIER, late Paftor of a Church of CHRIST at Limehoufe. Preached Sept. 17, 1749.

A

PHILIPPIANS I. 23.

-Having a defire to depart, and to be with Chrift; which is far better.

BOUT two years ago I ftood in this place, and delivered a difcourfe at

the ordination of your late pastor, and now I am here at his dying request to preach his funeral fermon; a sudden change, a quick alteration this! He has foon done his work, run out his race, and finished his courfe, and is entered into. the joy of his Lord; and what remains for you to do, is to take notice of the providence, and make a right use of it; and now to attend to the words read, the fubject of the following difcourfe; which are part of an epistle sent to the church at Philippi by the apostle Paul, when he was a prifoner at Rome..

And after the infcription of it; and defcription of the church, its officers and members, and various expreffions of respect unto them and petitions for them, the apostle gives an account of his bonds, and the usefulness of them. for the fpread of the gospel, and the encouragement of gofpel-minifters: and though fome did not preach Chrift from right ends, and with right views, as others did, it was a pleasure to the apostle that he was however preached; and he was perfuaded, that the ill defigned him in their ministry would be for his good, and Christ would be magnified in him in life and death: that continuance in life would be for the glory of Chrift, and the good of his intereft, and his death alfo would be gain both to Chrift and himself:

And this made it difficult with him which to chufe, life or death, fince he could not well fay in which way Chrift would be most magnified in him, whether by

his

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