SERMON IV.

PART I.

ACTS IV. 12.

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

IT may be admitted, without any disservice to the doctrine I am going to assert, that these words were occasioned by, and have some relation to the fact, of which we have an account in the preceding chapter. A person, lame from his mother's womb, was miraculously healed by the apostles Peter and John; who took the opportunity which the attention of the people now gave them, to preach to them some subjects of the greatest importance. But as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captains of the temple, and the Sadducees laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day; when they were brought before the high priest and the rulers, and asked, by what power, or by what name, they had done this thing. Whereupon Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, very plainly told them, that this miracle was performed by the name of that Jesus Christ whom they had crucified, and whom God had raised from the dead. And that you may not be surprised (continues he to this effect) that the bodily infirmity of a single person should be removed

by this name, I think myself obliged to declare to you, that evils of a higher nature, the spiritual evils of all mankind, are to be rectified by this name, and that men cannot be saved from them by any other means: neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

One would think that this doctrine might be received among Christians merely upon the authority that delivers it: but forasmuch as there are some who dispute the authority itself; forasmuch as there are some who call themselves Christians, and seem desirous of the Christian salvation, who yet have scarce wisdom and humility enough to expect it upon the terms on which it is offered by Almighty God, but have found out for themselves many inventions; it shall be my endeavour to prove and establish the doctrine of the text, by shewing the vanity of the several schemes and pretences which are or may be set up in opposition to it.

I would not be guilty of an imperfect enumeration; but, as far as I am able to judge, men must be saved (if they be saved at all) either,

First, By their own personal merits, by their own good works, or repentance, deserving salvation: or, Secondly, By the works of supererogation, wrought by some eminent saints, and applied to others, who want them or,

Thirdly, By some vicarious satisfaction, such as sacrifice, or substitution of some sort or other: or,

Fourthly, By the free gracious mercy of God, pardoning sin without any view either to atonement or repentance: or,

or all of these methods together: or, (supposing them all insufficient and ineffectual,)

Sixthly, and lastly, By the name, i. e. for the sake and through the merits, of Jesus Christ.

I. It must therefore be evinced, in the first place, that men can lay no claim to salvation upon the account of their own personal merits: which point may easily be proved against the papists from the clear testimonies of the scripture; yet since others, who deny this authority, seem to risk their salvation upon something of the same kind, it will be necessary to see how this matter will be determined by the light of reason and nature. It is acknowledged by sober persons of every denomination, that we are the creatures of God, and indebted to him for every privilege and every advantage we enjoy. It will be owned too, though not upon the authority, yet in the words of St. Paul, that they who have not the written law, are yet a law to themselves; that virtue is the law of our being; and that, as we are rational and free creatures, we are concerned, we are indeed strictly obliged, to observe the rules of reason in the exercise of our liberty. That our nature is depraved, and that we are in a corrupt state, is a concession, which as it will not be granted, so at present needs not be asked. We will suppose then, what however is utterly false in fact, that men are all uniformly wise, and virtuous, and good; that they punctually comply with this law of their being, and observe all those rules, which God has manifested, by the very condition and circumstances of their nature, to be their duty. It is evident, at first sight, that men will find their immediate account in a Rom. ii. 14.

this practice; this natural law will have its natural sanctions, and happiness and rewards, of some kind or other, will necessarily attend it. A virtuous temper is a foundation for happiness, and is itself a considerable part of it; and in a well ordered state of things, where the natural tendencies of virtue are not obstructed, and good men suffer not by the wickedness of others, external felicity would be the sure consequence of a steady practice of virtue. Virtue, therefore, will not be in vain; but neither, on the other hand, will it be meritorious. For what do these good men do more than provide for their own immediate interests, by the practice of what they perceive to be their duty? They act according to their nature, and use their reason and liberty in such a manner as becomes creatures who enjoy them. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. This conduct is most profitable to themselves, but cannot be profitable to their Maker; to whom they are indebted for whatever excellencies they possess. Their present being, and the distinguished advantages of it, are the free effects of his bounty: if they employ these in the manner he designed they should, they most effectually provide for their own welfare in the present state, and (should there be any other) in the next. But they merit nothing at God's hands; they confer no benefit, and lay no obligation upon him, either to continue their present happiness for ever, or much less to give them supreme everlasting felicity in a better world. What God may be moved to do from the perfections of his own nature, or by considerations to us unknown, is a question we have no concern in; we are

speaking only of what men deserve, and what they have a right to demand. And it is plain, that no behaviour of theirs can give them a title to a happy immortality, and an eternal weight of glory. They have received great favours already; favours which they cannot return; and which therefore give them no right to insist upon more. If they made the best and most proper use of these, it was their wisdom and their duty. It was through the goodness of God that they were at first created men; they acted, we suppose, agreeably to their nature; and does this give them any claim to be made equal to the angels? All that they did, and all that they could do, was to make a proper use of their reason and liberty, the gifts which God had freely bestowed upon them; they found their advantage in this behaviour, that their interest and happiness resulted from it: should their whole existence therefore terminate with their lives, it does not at all appear that they would be injured, or God unjust. The happiness they enjoyed in life was surely better than no happiness, and no being at all; and, whatever it was, it was entirely owing to the unmerited favour of God: for they could not merit before they were. He may increase it to what degree, and extend it to what duration he pleases: but since they have no claim of right to any further favours, every subsequent reward must be reckoned not of debt, but of grace; and should none at all be conferred, every mouth would be stopped with that just expostulation, Friend, I do thee no wrong; Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? It may however be said, that the

c Matt. xx. 13.

d Ibid. xx. 15.