dignity of law and government, and confult the pub. lic good; not the good of this man and that, nor even of the whole race of men, but of men through all their generations; of angels through all their various ranks and orders, and in short, of the whole universe of reafonable creatures; and the intereft of individuals muft be subservient to the more general good of the whole. An error in fuch an extenfive government, through an exceflive lenity towards offenders, would have a moft extenfive ill influence, and injure more worlds than we know of. If the magiftrate in one particular government be lax in the execution of the laws, he may injure a whole nation; and if he fhould fuppofe all the nations of the earth united in one univerfal monarchy, under one head; if that univerfal monarch fhould be remifs in the execution of juftice, the confequence would be ftill more extensively mischievous. But what would be the confequence, if the univerfal Ruler of heaven and earth and the whole creation, fhould relax his law, and fuffer fin to go unpunished, upon fo cheap a retaliation as repentance? No human government could be fupported upon this principle, much less the divine. Further It fhould be confidered, that, in order to encourage offenders to repent, it is neceffary it should be made a fixed conftitution, and openly published, that whofoever in all time coming fhould be guilty of any offence against the laws of God, he fhall be forgiven if he does but repent. Now what encouragement would fuch a declaration give to fin! It would alfo be unprecedented in human governments. It is true, civil rulers do forgive fome offenders; but then they do not declare beforehand that they will do fo, or who the objects of their clemency fhall be. To make a previous declaration of this, would be to give licence to men to break the law. Let it be alfo confidered, that when civil rulers forgive criminals, there is no neceffity they fhould receive them into fpecial favour; but in the divine government thefe two things VOL. III. Oo are are infeperable: there is no medium between high fayour and mifery. When God forgives, he receives the finner into complete happiness and intimacy with himself, as well as refcues him from punishment. And is it fit he fhould do this, merely upon his repentance? How would fuch a conduct look in human governments! Finally, The pardon of a crime is a matter of fovereignty, and only has place in fuch governments where the royal prerogative is above law, and has a power to difpenfe with it. Whether fuch a prerogative belongs to the divine government (that is, whether it would be a perfection upon the whole in fuch a government) I shall not now difpute: but fuppofe it be, ftill it is a matter of fovereignty; that is, it lies entirely in the breaft of the Supreme Ruler whether he will pardon penitents or not; and they can know his pleasure no other way but by his declaring it. This confideration therefore fhews the neceffity of a revelation from God to give a finner affurance that he will pardon him upon any terms. The light of nature leaves a finner entirely at mercy, and awfully uncertain whether ever he can re-obtain the favour of his offended Sovereign. Now this revelation we have in the gofpel, with the additional discovery of the way in which forgiveness and acceptance can be obtained. And it appears, from this fhort furvey, that it is in the gofpel alone we can find this discovery. I fhall now conclude with two reflections. I. Let this fubject lead us to a strict examination of the ground of our hopes, whether they be founded on the righteousness of God alone, or partly at least upon our own. To fpeak freely, I am afraid that fome of you, my dear people, have built upon this fandy foundation: this may be the cafe of fome of you who have very fair characters; for it is fuch fort of perfons, and not those who make little or no pretenfions to good works, that are moft in danger of the extreme of felfrighteousness. I therefore beg you would inquire af ter ter this fly, lurking delufion; a delufion which perverts the best things into the worft, and makes your good works the occafion of your deftruction, instead of means of falvation. I beg you would inquire, whether ever you have been deeply fenfible of the aggravated evil of fin, the perfection of God's law, the ftrictness of his juftice, and the guilty imperfections of your own beft works: whether ever you have feen the glory of God in the gofpel, and the excellency and fufficiency of the righteoufnefs of Chrift? Have you cheerfully embraced it with your whole fouls? and do you lay the whole dependance of your falvation upon it? My brethren, how are your hearts affected towards the gospel in this age of infidelity, when it is treated with fneer and ridicule, and browbeaten with contempt and infult? Do you glory in it, and venture your all upon it? it? Do Do you find it is the only relief for your wounded confciences, the only cordial for your finking hearts? Do your whole fouls embrace it with the tendereft endearment, and tenaciously cling to it as the only (tabula poft naufragium) plank to keep you from finking, after the general wreck of human nature? Do you relish its doctrines, even thofe that are the most mortifying to your pride and vanity, and love to hear them honeftly preached? Are the humble, despised doctrines of the crofs fweet to you, and the very life of your fouls? If you can give a comfortable anfwer to thefe inquiries, then, II. This fubject affords you abundant encouragement, and ftrong confolation. It is true, you can never think too humbly of yourselves. You are as finful as you can poffibly fuppofe yourselves to be: your righteousness is as infufficient and imperfect, and you are as undeferving of the favour of God as you can poffibly imagine. But it is not to yourselves that you look for a righteousness, which will bear you out at the bar of your Judge: you have been obliged to give up that point for ever: you tried to ftand upon your own footing as long as you could, but you found it would would not do. And now your only refuge is the righteousness of Chrift by faith; here you reft, and you look for falvation in no other way. My brethren, I would fain do honour to this righteoufnefs; but alas! the highest thing I can fay of it is quite too low. It is indeed a righteoufnefs fufficient for all the purposes for which you want it; it is a fure, a tried foundation. Thoufands have built their hopes upon it, and it has never failed one of them yet: you may make the experiment with the fame fafety. There is not a charge which the law or juftice, your own confcience, or Satan the accufer of the brethren, can bring againft you, but what it can fully anfwer. Here then is fafe footing, and let nothing drive you from it: and O give glory to God for fo great a bleffing! SERMON LVII. THE SUCCESS OF THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL, OWING TO A DIVINE INFLUENCE. * COR. iii. 7. So then neither is he that plants any thing, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase. TH HE defign of God in all his works of creation, providence, and grace, is to advance and secure the glory of his own name; and therefore, though he makes ufe of fecondary caufes as the inftruments of his operations, yet their efficacy depends upon his fuperintending influence. It is his hand that fuftains the great chain of caufes and effects, and his agency pervades and animates the worlds of nature and of grace. *Dated Hanover, November 19, 1752. In In the natural world, he makes ufe of the inftrumentality of the hufbandman to till the ground, to fow the feed, and water it. But it is he that commands the clouds to drop down fatness upon it, and the fun to diffufe its vital influence. It is he that continues to the earth, and the other principles of vegetation, their refpective virtues; and without this influence of his the husbandman's planting and watering would be in vain; and, after all his labour, he muft acknowledge, that it is God that giveth the increase. So in the world of grace, God ufes a variety of fuitable means to form degenerate finners into his image, and fit them for a happy eternity. All the institutions of the gospel are intended for this purpose, and particularly the miniftry of it. Minifters are fowers fent out into the wild field of the world, with the precious feed of the word. It is the grand bufinefs of their life to cultivate this barren foil, to plant trees of righteoufnefs, and water them that they may bring forth the fruits of holinefs. It is by the ufe of painful industry that they can expect to improve this wilderness into a fruitful field; and the Lord is pleased to pour out his fpirit from on high at times to render their labours fuccefsful; fo that they who went forth bearing precious feed with forrow and tears, return bringing their fheaves with joy. But alas! they meet with difappointments enough to convince them that all their labours will be in vain, if a fovereign God deny the influences of his grace. The agency of his holy fpirit is as neceffary to fructify the word, and make it the feed of converfion, as the influences of heaven are to fructify the earth, and promote vegetation. A zealous Paul may plant the word, and an cloquent Apol-los may water it; one may attempt to convert finners to chriftianity, and the other to build them up in faith, but they are both nothing as to the fuccefs of their labours, unless God gives the increafe; that is, unless he affords the influence of his grace to ren der ther attempts fuccefsful in begetting and cherish |