glorious majefty: or vain and fuperftitious, answerable to the idol of their own imagination: And fuch will be the actions of their lives; for all men make their God their example, and esteem it an effential piece of religion, to endeavour to be like him. Now the gofpel gives us the most true and perfect character of the divine nature, most agreeable to reafon, and the wifeft and best apprehenfions of mankind, fuch a character as is apt to beget in us the highest love and reverence towards him, and to engage us to the imitation of him, by the conftant pratice of holiness and virtue; reprefenting him to us as most amiable for his goodness, and most dreadful for his power and juftice, defcribing him to be a pure Spirit, which the Heathen did not generally believe; and consequently to be worshipped in fuch a manner, as is moft fuitable to his fpiritual nature, concerning which the Jews were infinitely mistaken: For God did not command facrifices to the Jews, and all thofe external and troublefome obfervances, because they were most agreeable to his own nature: but becaufe of the groffness of their apprehenLions, and the carnality and hardness of their hearts. God did not prefcribe this way of worship to them, because it was beft; but because the temper of that people, which was fo very prone to idolatry, would admit of no other.

The gofpel likewife difcovers to us more clearly the goodness of God, and his great love to mankind, one of the best and strongest motives in the world to the love of God. The Heathen did generally dread God, and look upon him as fierce and revengeful, and therefore they ftudied by all means to appease him, even by human facrifices, and offering up their own children to him; and all along in the Old Teftament, though there be plain and exprefs declarations of the goodness of God, yet he is generally defcribed as very terrible and fevere; but the gofpel is full of gracious declarations of God's love and mercy to mankind. In the Old Tefta ment he is ufually ftiled the Lord of Hofts, the great and terrible God; but in the New Teftament, he re

い

presents

prefents himself in a milder ftyle, the God of love and peace, the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and in him the Father of mercies, and the God of all patience and confolation. And this difference between the ftyle of the Old and New Teftament was fo remarkable, that one of the greatest fects in the primitive church (I mean that of the Gnofticks, which was fubdivided into many other fects) did upon this found their herefy of two principles or gods; the one evil and fierce and cruel, whom they called the God of the Old Testament; the other kind and loving and merciful, whom they called the God of the New.

2. The gospel hath likewife more clearly difcovered to us our own finful and wretched ftate; that being made upright, and originally defigned by God to live in an holy and happy condition, and endued with fufficient power for that purpofe, we by our wilful tranfgreffion and difobedience of an eafy law given to our firft parents, are funk into a wretched ftate of ignorance and weakness, of fin and forrow, and thereby are become eftranged from God, and obnoxious to his wrath and difpleafure, and utterly unable to help and recover ourselves out of this fad and miferable ftate. And this is a great advantage to us, to understand the truth of our condition, and the worst of our cafe; because a juft sense of it will prompt us to feek out for a remedy, and make us ready to embrace it when it is offered to us. therefore in the

And

3. Place, the gofpel hath plainly discovered to us the way and means of our recovery out of this wretched condition: Namely, that in tender commiferation of our miferable and helpless condition, God was pleased to fend his Son, his only Son, into the world, to affume our nature, and to be made in all things like unto us, fin only excepted, to dwell among us, to converse with us, that he might inftruct us in the way to happiness, and lead us therein by the example of his holy life; and that by his death he might be a propitiaton for our fins, and purchase the forgiveness of them, and obtain eternal redemption for

H 2

us. So that here is an adequate and perfect remedy discovered in the gofpel, every way answerable to the weakness and impotency, the degeneracy and guilt of mankind, God having laid help upon one that is mighty and able to fave to the uttermoft all those that come to God by him. He took our nature upon him, and became man, that he might bring us to God, and by restoring us to his image and likenefs, might repair thofe woful ruins which fin had made in us; and to obtain the pardon and forgiveness of our fins, God fpared not his own Son, but freely gave him to death for us all; and having raised him from the dead, hath sent him to bless us, in turning us away every one from our iniquity. So that by this means the great doubts and fears of mankind, concerning the way of appeafing the offended juftice of God, are removed and fatisfied. The gospel having given us full affurance, not only that God is reconciled to us, and willing, after all our offences and provocations, to become our friend; but that he hath eftablished the way and means of it; fo that if any man fin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jefus Chrift the righteous, who is the propitiation for our fins, and not for ours only, but also for the fins of the whole world. And this is a peculiar advantage of the Chriftian religion, to affure us of the forgiveness of fins, of the manner how it is procured, and the certain terms upon which it is granted, which neither by the light of nature, nor by any revelation from God, was clearly difcovered before."

4. The gofpel hath likewife revealed to us a more certain and perfect law and rule of life. It hath fixed our duty, and made it more plain and certain in all the inftances of it, than either the light of nature, or the utmost improvement of that light by philofophy, or than the Jewish religion had done before. It hath cleared our duty in fome inftances, which the light of nature had left doubtful, or which the fubtle dif putes of men had made fo. It hath heightened our duty in feveral inftances; and thofe things which had not the clear force of law before, but were only the counfels of wifer men; it hath turned into

Arict precepts, and made them neceffary parts of our duty. It commands univerfal love and kindness, and good will among men, and perfect forgiveness of the greatest injuries and offences: and inculcates thefe precepts more vehemently, and forbids all malice and revenge more ftrictly and peremptori ly, than any religion or philofophy had done before; as will fully appear to any one who will but attentively read and confider our Saviour's fermon upon the

mount.

I cannot now enlarge in giving a particular account of the excellent laws and precepts of our religion, relating to God, our neighbour, and ourselves; I fhall only fay of them, that they all tend to the perfection of our nature, and the raifing of it to the highest pitch of virtue and goodness that we are capable of in this life, and to qualify and difpofe us for the felicity of the next; that they every way conduce to the benefit and advantage of particular perfons, fingly confidered, and to the peace and welfare of human fociety; in a word, they all confpire in the glory of God, and the comfort and happiness of man: And no religion that ever was in the world, nor no philofophy, can fhew fuch a fyftem of moral precepts, in which, as there is nothing vain and faulty, fo neither is there any thing defective and wanting; fo that St. James doth with great reafon call it a perfect law.

5. The gofpel doth alfo difcover and offer to us a moft powerful affiftance for the aid and encourage ment of our obedience, abundant help and ftrength to enable us to the performance of all that which God requires of us. It offers us wifdom to enlighten our dark minds, and to direct us in doubtful and difficult cafes, James i. 5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. Our Saviour hath promifed to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask it, to help our weakness, and to raise our courage, to strengthen us against the power and force of strong and violent temptations, and to aflift us in all our conflicts with our fpiritual enemies, and to

comfort and support us in all our afflictions and fuf ́ ferings.

And without this, all the other advantages which our religion affords us would fignify little. For what would the knowledge of our finful and miferable ftate avail us, without power to refcue ourselves out of it? What is the pardon of our fins paft, without ftrength against them for the future? What would fignify the most complete rule of life, and the most perfect pattern of holiness and virtue, without ability in fome measure to obferve it, and live up to it? Without this neceffary aid and fupport, we might defpair of refifting the temptations, and maftering the difficulties of a Chriftian courfe, of fubduing the power of bad inclinations, and breaking the force of vicious habits, and bearing up against the violence of extreme fuffering and perfecution for righteoufnefs fake; without this gracious affistance we can do nothing of all this; and by the help of this, we may become, as St. Paul expreffes it, more than conque

vors.

6. And lastly, The gofpel hath clearly discovered to us the eternal rewards and punishments of another world, which are the great incentives and arguments to obedience, and a patient and conftant continuance in well-doing. The gofpel (as the Apoftle to the Hebrews tells us) is in this refpect a better covenant than the law, being established upon better promifes, and having the fanétion of more fevere and terrible threatenings. Thefe great and powerful arguments to keep mankind within the bounds of their duty, which the wifeft of the Heathen had fome doubt of, and which were but very imperfectly revealed to the Jews, are clearly made manifeft by the gofpel. So the Apostle tells us, that life and immortality are brought to light by the gofpel; and that therein the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and unrighteousnefs of men. And this gives the gofpel a mighty power and influence over the minds of men. Now God commands all men every where to repent, and obey his laws; because he hath appointed a day in