"Every one that heareth thefe fayings of mine, and SE RM. "doth them not (here is a form of godliness without ccv. "the power of it) fhall be likened to a foolish man, "which built his houfe upon the fand; and the rain "defcended, and the floods came, and the winds.

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blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and

great was the fall of it." But real and fubftantial religion is like "a house built upon a rock," which no tempeft can overthrow. "Righteousness, faith Solo"mon, Prov. x. 25. is an everlasting foundation;" it is a continual fpring of joy and peace. There is a certain unfpeakable contentment and delight arifing from a good confcience, and from the fincere difcharge of our duty, which a hypocrite is a stranger to, and is never admitted to the tafte of. Now what an uncomfortable thing is this, for a man to take the pains to feem to be religious, and yet to lose the real pleafure of religion!

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III. The great end of all, of being religious, is the faving of our fouls. And this end a mere form of religion will certainly mifs of. No external garb of religion will gain a man admiffion into heaven; there is no getting in there in mafquerade, no prayers will then avail, though never fo fervent and importunate. Many fhall fay in that day, LORD, LORD, ' open unto us; and yet he will bid them depart from "him." Though we had heard CHRIST himfelf preach, and had received the bleffed facrament with him, yet this will not avail. So our SAVIOUR tells us, Luke xiii. 26. "Then fhall they begin to say, we "have eaten and drunken in thy prefence, and thou "haft taught in our streets; and yet he will fay unto "them, I know not whence you are." 'Tis not a pretence to inspiration, no, though it were juftified by

miraculous

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SERM. miraculous gifts, that will then ftand us in ftead. Many shall say in that day; LORD, LORD, have "we not prophefied in thy name, and in thy name "have cast out devils, and in thy name have done many wondrous works?" and yet these fhall be rejected. Why, what fhould be the reafon of all this feverity? our SAVIOUR gives us a plain account, of it; because they were "workers of iniquity." Under all these several mafks of religion, they were wicked in their lives.

'Tis not an orthodox faith, and the belief of all the articles of chriftianity, that will fave a man, without the works of a good life, Jam. ii. 14. "What doth "it profit a man, my brethren, though a man fay "that he hath faith, and hath not works? can faith "fave him? Thou believeft there is one God; thou

doft well; the devils believe" this too, but they are not fo vain as to hope to be faved by this faith; no, they know the contrary, and that makes them fear. and tremble." Know then, O vain man, that faith "without works is dead. Thou believest" in one "LORD JESUS CHRIST, that come down from "heaven to fave us, that was conceived by the HOLY "GHOST, born of the virgin Mary, and became "man, that he might bring us to GOD; that fuf"fered and died for our fins, and rofe again for our

juftification, and is afcended into heaven, and fit"teth at the right hand of God, the FATHER al"mighty, and from thence he fhall come again at the "end of the world, to judge the quick and the dead;" thou doft well to believe this: but if thou do not live accordingly, what will become of thee, when the SON of GOD fhall come to judge the world? Then the great enquiry will be, how we have lived? what

good

good we have done? So our SAVIOUR reprefents SERM. the proceedings of that great day.. " I was hungry, "and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye

"I

gave me no drink; naked, and ye clothed me not; "fick and in prifon, and ye vifited me not:" therefore"depart ye curfed into everlafting fire." So that it seems here the bufinefs will stick, upon the good and bad actions of mens lives, and accordingly fentence shall be pronounced upon them. For "GOD will ren"der to every man according to his works; to them "that by patient continuance in well-doing feek for glory, and honour, and immortality; eternal life: "but to thofe that obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness; indignation and wrath, tribulation "and anguish upon every foul of man that doth evil, "of the Jew first, and alfo of the Gentile: but glory "and honour, and peace to every man that worketh "good, to the Jew firft, and alfo to the Gentile:" for "not the hearers of the law are just before God, "but the doers of the law fhall be juftified." Still you fee that 'tis" to the patient continuance in welldoing, to the obeying of the truth, to the working "of righteoufnefs," that eternal life is promifed: " and the wrath of GoD is threaten'd to them, that

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obey unrighteoufnefs, to every foul of man that "doth evil. To the Jew firft," why fo? because he had great advantage of coming to the knowledge of the truth, which is fo much the greater aggravation of his wicked life, and makes his fentence fo much the heavier.

Indeed it shall be to men at the day of judgment likewife according to their faith, in a certain fenfe, that is, according to the doctrine of the gofpel which they profefs to believe, according to what our SA

CCV.

SERM. VIOUR and his apoftles have taught, that "the CCV. "workers of iniquity fhall depart from him; that

"without holiness no man fhall fee the LORD;" and if we live after the flesh we fhall die;" that "no whoremonger, nor adulterer, nor covetous, "nor unrighteous person, shall have any inheritance "in the kingdom of GoD, and of CHRIST." This we profefs to believe, and according to thefe declarations GOD will proceed with men at the great day. And he that believes this, and yet goes on in an impiety and wickedness of life, though his faith will not justify him, yet God will justify his faith, and make it good, when "he fhall judge the "world in righteoufnefs."

وو

Thus you fee plainly, that " a form of godlinefs "without the power,' is infignificant to all the great ends and purposes of religion; nay, he that takes up in a form, does not only lofe the advantages of religion; but he hath two great disadvantages by it.

I. He hath the trouble of making a fhew of religion, without the real benefit of it.

II. He incurs a heavier fentence upon this very

account.

But these with the application I fhall refer to the next opportunity.

SER

SERMON CCVI.

Of the form, and the power of godliness.

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2 TIM. iii. 5.

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.

I

Come now to fhew, that he that take upon him S ERM. a form of religion, without the power of it, cCVI. doth not only lofe all the confiderable advantages The third of religion, but he hath two great difadvantages fermon on by it.

I. He hath the trouble of making a fhew and appearance of religion, without the real benefit of it.

II. He incurs a heavier fentence upon this account, that he hath a form of religion, and yet is deftitute of the power of it.

I. He hath the trouble of making a fhew and appearance of religion, without the real benefits of it. And 'tis no small trouble to perfonate and act a part well, it requires great art and attention, great guard and caution. That which men are prompted to by an inward principle, is natural and eafy, it is done with pleasure and delight; but whatever is artificial and counterfeit, is ftiff and forc'd. Nemo filam perfonam diu fuftinere poteft, "no man can diffemble always," one time or other he will be furprised and forget himfelf and let his mask fall. A form of religion is a dry unpleasant thing, and a continual burden to him that affumes it, and the more outwardly strict and holy he is, he is the more inwardly guilty; his confcience never ftings and galls him more, than when he is playing

the

this text.