LVII. which it presents to us, are far greater, and more SER M. confiderable, than any thing that this world can tempt or terrify us withal. Would we but by faith make present to our minds, the invifible things of another world, the happiness of heaven, and the terrors of hell; and were we as verily perfuaded of them, as if they, were in our view; how fhould we despise all the pleasures and terrors of this world; and with what ease should we resist and repel all those temptations, which would feduce us from our duty, or draw us into fin! A firm and unshaken belief of these things, would effectually remove all thofe mountains of difficulty and difcouragement, which men fancy to themselves in the ways of religion. "To him that believeth, all things are poffible," and most things would be easy. 2. Another reason of this wrong choice is want of confideration; for this would ftrengthen our faith, and make it more vigorous and powerful: and indeed a faith which is well rooted and eftablished doth fuppofe a wife and deep confideration of things; and the want of this is a great cause of the fatal miscarriage of men; that they do not fit down and confider with themselves seriously, how much religion is their intereft, and how much it will cost them to be true to it, and to persevere in it to the end. We fuffer our felves to be governed by fenfe, and to be tranfported with prefent things; but do not confider our future and lafting intereft, and the VOL. IV. 8 D whole SERM whole duration of an immortal foul. And this is LVII. the reason, why fo man many are hurried away by the present and sensible delights of this world, because they will not take time to think of what will be hereafter. For it is not to be imagined, but that the man who hath seriously confidered what fin is, the fhortness of its pleasure, and the eternity of its punishment, fhould refolve to forfake fin, and to live a holy and virtuous life. To conclude this whole difcourfe. If men did but seriously believe the great principles of religion; the being and the providence of God; the immortality of their fouls; the glorious rewards, and the dreadful punishments of another world, they could not poffibly make fo imprudent a choice, as we see a great part of mankind to do, they could not be induced to forfake God and religion for any temporal interest and advantage; to renounce the favour of heaven, and all their hopes of happiness in another world, for any thing that this world can afford; nay not for the whole world, if it were offered to them. For as our SAVIOUR reafons in this very cafe, of forfaking our religion for any temporal intereft, or confideration; "what is a man profited if he "gain the whole world, and lofe his own foul? "or what fhall a man give in exchange for his "foul? Whenever any of us are tempted in this kind let that folemn declaration of our SAVIOUR and our judge be continually in our minds; "he that con"feffeth me before men, him will I confefs also before LVII. "before my father which is in heaven: but who- SERM. "foever fhall be afhamed of me and of my words "in this adulterous and finful generation, of him "fhall the fon of man be afhamed, when he shall "come in the glory of his father, with his holy. "angels." And we have great caufe to thank God, to fee fo many in this day of trial, and hour of temptation, to adhere with fo much refolution and conftancy to their holy religion, and to prefer "the keeping "of faith, and a good confcience," to all earthly confiderations and advantages. And this very thing, that fo many hold their religion fo fast, and are fo loth to part with it, gives great hopes that they intend to make good ufe of it, and to frame their lives according to the holy rules and precepts of it; which alone can give us peace, whilft we live, and comfort when we come to die; and after death fecure to us the poffeffion of a happiness large as our wishes, and lafting as our fouls. "To which, GOD of his infinite goodness bring us all, for his mercy's fake, in JESUS CHRIST: "to whom, with the FATHER, and the HOLY "GHOST, be all honour and glory, world without "end. Amen." 1 SERMON LVIII. Of conftancy in the profeffion of the true religion. SERM. HE B. x, 23. Let us hold fast the profeffion of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised. T HE main fcope and defign of this epistle to the Hebrews is to perfuade the Jews, who were newly converted to christianity, fermon on to continue ftedfaft in the profeffion of that holy The first this text. and excellent religion which they had embraced; and not to be removed from it, either by the fubtile infinuations of their brethren the Jews, who pretended that they were in poffeffion of the true ancient religion, and the only true church of GoD upon earth; or by the terror of the heathen perfefecution, which was fo hot against them at that time. And to this end the author of this epiftle doth by great variety of arguments demonftrate the excellency of the chriftian religion above the jewish difpenfation; and fhews at large, that in all those respects upon which the Jews valued themselves and their religion (as namely upon the account of their lawgiver, their high-priefts, and their facrifices) the chriftian religion had every way the advantage of them. And And having made this clear, he concludes with an SER M earneft exhortation to them to continue ftedfaft in 66 the profeffion of this excellent religion, which was revealed to them by the Son of God, the true propitiatory facrifice, and the great high-priest of their profeffion, and into which they had folemnly been initiated and admitted by baptifm; ver. 19, 20, 21, 22. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter "into the holieft, by the blood of JESUS, by a new "and living way, which he hath confecrated for us "through the vail,that is to fay, his flesh; and hav"ing an high-priest over the house of GOD; let us "draw near with a true heart, in full affurance of "faith," that is, let us fincerely ferve God with a firm perfuafion of the truth and excellency of thisholy religion, into the profeffion whereof we were folemnly admitted by baptifm; for that is undoubtedly the meaning of the following words; "having "our hearts sprinkled from an evil confcience, and "our bodies washed with pure water;" the water, with which our bodies are washed in baptifm, fignifying our fpiritual regeneration, "and the purging "our confciences from dead works, to ferve the liv"ing GOD." From all which he concludes, "let 66 us hold faft the profeffion of our faith without wa"vering:" This refers to that folemn profeffion of faith, which was made by all christians at their baptifm, and which is contained in the ancient creed of the christian church, called by the ancient fathers, "the rule of faith." Let us hold fast, xarixwμev, let us firmly retain; the fame with κρατῶμεν τῆς ὁμολογίας, chap. iv. 14. Seeing then we have a great high-prieft which is ་་ 1 LVIII. |