cepts he had given them in this excellent Sermon, namely, that there is a Day a coming, in which he will beftow Rewards on his true Servants, and reject the reft; for that he will own no others for fuch but those that submit to these his Laws, and lead their Life accordingly.

Now by a Parity of Reason, this Doctrine will ferve to caution us against divers other counterfeit Sorts of Faith; nay indeed against all Faith whatfoever, that doth not include in it Obedience to the Laws of Chrift. Some People's Faith is nothing but an implicit embracing the Religion of their Fathers, perhaps without fo much as understanding it, far lefs living up to the Precepts of it. Some think it enough that they join themselves to any of those Parties among Christians that are most in Vogue and Reputation. Some think if they contend earnestly for the Faith against the most noted Herefies and Hereticks in their Time, this is enough to recommend them to Christ's Favour; but it is plain from this Doctrine in my Text, that no Faith separate from Obedience, no not the Faith of Miracles, will be accepted.

2. Another of the falfe Hopes defcribed in my Text, is a great Profeffion. To look at this Part of their Behaviour, one would think Chrift had no forwarder Servants than these are who are here described; they have Chrift much in their Mouth, Lord, Lord. They are employed in the highest Services, even those of inftructing others, and doing notable Miracles in Christ's Name; and in being very inftrumental in promoting his Gofpel. It is probable, in this Description our Sa

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[SERM. viour had an Eye to the Pharifees, who were very great Profeffors of Godliness, and as to the Exterior, made great Shews of it; but most of their Services were full of Formality, and did not proceed from the true Love and Fear of God, but were chiefly calculated for the Eyes of Men.

Now it would be too tedious to offer to describe in how many Shapes a great Profeffion will fhew itself; or what Hopes Men are apt to build upon it; it is plain from the Text, that the Perfons here defcribed reckoned themselves not only among Chrift's Servants, I mean his true and genuine Servants, but thought themselves Chriftians of the first Rank, endowed with extraordinary Gifts, and entrusted with extraordi nary Talents, and laying all out, as they thought, faithfully in Chrift's Service. This high Profeffion is a very dangerous Thing, chiefly on this Account, that it procures an high Degree of Admiration from Men; and their Flattery and favourable Judgments of us, meeting with our own Self-love and Self-conceit, feed our fecret Pride, and fill us with Hopes, that Chrift will have as good an Opinion of us, as we have of ourselves; till our fatal Error appears at laft in the great Day.

3. The Words, Lord, Lord, imply that the Person who uses them, thought he had a great Intereft in Chrift, and was a particular Favourite of Heaven. We are all too apt to entertain these favourable Thoughts of ourfelves, and to fancy that God thinks as favourably of us, as we do of ourselves; and as if our own Pride and Vanity did not drive us far enough in this Way of Self

conceit,

conceit, there has been great additional Strength brought to it from that wrong Description of Faith, which requires us to believe that, abftractedly from the Confideration of the goodnefs or badness of our Lives, we are the Elect of God from all Eternity, and so have a particular Interest in him, fuch as that is which Favourites and Minions have with their Princes. It is a most dangerous Thing to meddle at all, with God's fecret Decrees; not thefe, but his Precepts, being the Rules -both of our Actions, and of the Judgments we fhould make of ourfelves upon those Actions. Particularly, it is a moft dangerous Thing to feed ourselves with fpiritual Pride and Self-conceit upon fuch groundless Fanfies, when God has given us his revealed Will to direct us. Had the Perfons here described, entertained humble Thoughts of themselves, fearching and trying their Ways, and exciting an holy Fear, it is probable they would have made fome more vigorous Attempts towards Amendment of their Lives than they did, fancying that all was well. Of fo great Importance it is to take the Characters of ourselves from our Obedience or Difobedience to Chrift's Precepts, and from nothing else.

4. Another falfe Ground of Hope they had, was their Knowledge, Skill, and Dexterity in teaching others. There was a famous Herefy in the antient Church, that of the Gnofticks, who pretended to vast Degrees of Knowledge and Infpiration, but they were very infamous for great Lewdness of Life. And there are a great many of that fame Spirit in all Ages, who strive more after Knowledge, than Practice of their Duty.

Have

Have we not prophefied in thy Name? fay they; What if they have? So did Balaam; so did Judas. But this, I think, was fo far from being a good Plea in their Favour, that it was very much against them; for it might well be retorted upon them; as St. Paul fmartly argues with the Jews, Rom. ii. 17. Behold thou art called a few, and refteft in the Law, and makeft thy Boaft of God; and knoweft his Will, and approveft the Things that are more excellent, being inftructed out of the Law; and art confident that thou thyself art a Guide of the Blind, a Light of them which are in Darkness, an Inftructor of the Foolish, a Teacher of Babes, which haft the Form of Knowledge and of Truth in the Law. Thou therefore which teacheft another, teacheft thou not thyself? Thou that preacheft a Man fhould not fteal, doft thou Steal? Thou that fayeft a Man fhould not commit Adultery, doft thou commit Adultery? Thou that abborreft Idols, doft thou commit Sacrilege? Thou that makeft thy Boaft of the Law, through breaking the Law, dishonoureft thou God? Knowledge then and Gifts may well be further Obligations and Helps to the doing of our Duty, but must never of themselves be fet up in the Room of it, or fuffered to fupplant it.

5. A fifth falfe Hope they built up for themfelves was, from the high Station and Dignity to which they were advanced in the Church, together with the eminent Gifts bestowed upon them in that Station, and their laying them out in Christ's Service, perhaps with fome Success. All this appears from the Text; that they were Teachers, appears from their prophefying in Christ's Name; that they were endowed with eminent

Gifts, by their Power of cafting out Devils, and of doing many other wonderful Works; and that they employed thefe Gifts in Chrift's Service, appears by their exerting all thefe Powers in the Name of Chrift; that is, not only in his Service, but as his Apoftles and Minifters, and against his Enemies. Yet one would wonder what there is in all this for any understanding Man to build his Hopes upon; for all these, at beft, are but Talents, which will enflame a Man's Account, but cannot be conftrued to be the Discharge of the Truft, unless they produce the Fruits of Obedience in our Lives and Converfations. But after all, there is nothing more common than to fee high Stations, with an ordinary Measure of Gifts, and any tolerable Difcharge of our Truft, puff us up to that Degree, that we have at leaft a good Conceit of ourselves, and expect that we stand as well in God's Favour, as we do in our own. That great Day our Saviour speaks of, will discover to us this great Truth, which it would be well for us if we could believe it in Time, that Faith, and Profeffion, and Knowledge, and Gifts, and Preferments, are but fo many fair Leaves and Bloffoms; fo many Abilities and Opportunities for well doing; but that it is only the Fruits of Obedience, that will be accepted as clear Proofs of the Goodness of the Tree; and not barely Obedience, in fo far as it may prove beneficial to others; for it is probable thefe Persons might edify others by their Preaching and Miracles in Chrift's Name; but it must be fuch an Obedience as fanctifies our own Hearts, and reforms our own Lives; or elfe we may be Inftruments VOL. IV.

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