III.

SERM. obliged, upon the very Sacrament itself, faithfully to perform what they have now promised, and may receive further supplies of grace and assistance from our Blessed Saviour to do it, by partaking of His most precious body and blood.

Thus I have laid before you, the method and design of the offices which our Church hath appointed for the Ordination of Priests and Deacons; that so ye may understand the excellency of them, and be the better prepared, not to be idle spectators, much less disturbers of so great a work, but devoutly and heartily to join in the prayers that are made for those who are ordained. Now, from all that hath been said upon this subject, I shall speak a few, and but a few words; first, to those who come to receive Holy Orders, and then to all those who are present at it.

As for you, who are come hither to take upon you the office, either of Deacon or Priest, in the Church of Christ; ye have heard, and, I hope, considered, before now, the greatness of the office ye undertake, and the promise ye must make before ye are admitted into it. Let me now beseech you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose servants ye are now to be, that from this day forward ye look upon Him as your great Master, and lay out yourselves wholly in the service He calls you to. And whatsoever difficulties ye meet with in it, follow the Apostle's example, "faint not," nor be discouraged, but go on with cheerfulness and alacrity, as remembering ye serve the best Master in the world; one who will not only stand by and assist you, but reward you at last with a crown of righteousness.

As for the rest, I shall only say, that from what ye have heard, ye may easily see what cause ye have to thank God, that they who administer the means of grace and salvation to you, are so regularly, so solemnly, so Apostolically ordained; and how great an esteem and reverence ye ought to have for all who are thus ordained, though not for their own sakes, yet for His sake whose ministers they are, and whose work they do, even our dear and ever-blessed Saviour Jesus Christ to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

:

SERMON IV.

SALVATION IN THE CHURCH ONLY, UNDER SUCH A MINISTRY.

ACTS ii. 47.

And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved.

THE Eternal Son of God having taken our nature upon Him, and in it, by His " one oblation of Himself once offered," made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world; "He is Heb. 7. 25. now able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him." But forasmuch as "He took not on Him the nature Heb. 2. 16. of angels, but the seed of Abraham," "the angels which kept Jude 6. not their first estate, but left their own habitation, are all still reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." And as for those who partake of that nature which He assumed, and in which He suffered, and so are capable of pardon and salvation by Him, it is much to be feared, that a great, if not the greatest, part of them, also will, notwithstanding what He hath done and suffered for them, perish everlastingly: not by reason of any defect or insufficiency in His merits and power to save them, but by reason of their own obstinacy or negligence, in not performing those easy conditions which He requires of them, in order to their being actually vested in that salvation which He hath purchased for them. But whosoever among the sons of men will come up to His most gracious terms, and submit themselves wholly to be governed and saved by Him, He will take care that they shall be certainly saved, and advanced to eternal glory in Heaven. And for that purpose He always so orders it in His Providence, that all such are first admitted into, and made members of that

IV.

SERM. Church which He hath established upon earth; as the Holy Ghost here witnesseth, saying, " And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved."

For the better understanding of which words, we shall briefly consider,

First, What is here meant by the Church.

Secondly, Who, by such as should be saved.

Thirdly, What by the Lord's adding to the Church daily such as should be saved.

As for the first, we must remember, that when our Lord was upon earth, He said He would build Himself a Church, Matt.16.18. and that upon such a rock, "that the gates of hell should not prevail against it." In order whereunto, He first chose twelve persons, called His Apostles, to whom He revealed the design He came into the world about, and the great mysteries of the Gospel; and then sent them out to acquaint others with what He had taught them, and to work miracles for the confirmation of it; and to admit all such as would receive it into their society, by baptizing of them. By which means He soon had a considerable number of Disciples; out of which He selected Seventy others, to whom He gave Luke 10. 1. power also "to preach the Gospel," and "to work miracles." And having thus laid the foundation, He soon after purchased to Himself an Universal Church with His own most precious blood. And rising again the third day, He presently took care to settle the perpetual government of it, by granting to His Apostles the like Power and Commission which He had received from His Father, for that purpose. And then He gave them orders "to go and preach the Gospel to all nations," and make them His disciples, by "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," and to teach them all things that He had commanded them; assuring them withal, that He Himself, by His Holy Spirit, "would be with them," and their Successors, "to the end of the world.”

Matt. 28. 19, 20.

Our Lord having thus done all things which were necessary for the establishment of His Church upon earth, He ascended up into Heaven, there also to take the supreme care of it. And ten days after, upon the day of Pentecost, He, according to His promise, sent down the Holy Ghost in

a miraculous manner upon His Apostles, to assist them in speaking the languages of all nations, in order to their conversion, and to set home what they preached, upon the hearts of those who heard it; which wrought so effectually with them, that by one short sermon preached the same day by St. Peter," about three thousand souls received the Word Acts 2. 41. gladly, and were baptized." And from that day forward, many others did so; who, therefore, in my text are said to be "added to the Church," that is, to the society or congregation of the faithful people before described; consisting of the Apostles, as the governors of it, and of such as were joined to them, and held communion with them in the Word and Sacraments, which our Lord had instituted.

And when the said society was dispersed, as it soon was, over the whole world, it was still the same, and retained the same name, being still called the Church. And not only the whole, but wheresoever any part of it was settled in any city, and the territories belonging to it, that also was called the Church of that city; as the Church of Hierusalem, the Church of Corinth, &c. And wheresoever there were several such cities and Churches in them belonging to any province or country, they are called the Churches of that country; as the Churches of Asia, Macedonia, &c. But as every private Christian is a member of some particular Church, so is every particular Church a member of the Catholic or Universal, which is always meant, when we read in Scripture of the Church in general, without the addition of place or country. As where it is said, that "Christ also loved the Church," and Eph. 5. 25. "Christ is the Head of the Church." So here," And the Lord ver. 23. added to the Church daily such as should be saved," wovous, or such as are saved, as the word may be rendered; but the sense is much the same: for our salvation plainly begins in this life, although it be perfected only in the other.

commenceth from our repentance and conversion; from our being saved from our sins, or "from this untoward genera- Acts 2. 40. tion," as the Apostle in this chapter words it. And they, and only they, who are thus saved from their sins upon earth, can ever attain to the salvation of their souls in Heaven. By such therefore as are, or should be saved, we are to understand such as being pricked in their hearts, and

IV.

SERM. convinced of their former errors in opinion and practice, do heartily repent them, and gladly receive the Word, and embrace the terms propounded in the Gospel for the pardon of their sins, and for the assistance of God's grace and Spirit, that they may so serve Him here, as to enjoy Him for ever. Such as these, which shall certainly be saved, "the Lord daily added to the Church."

What we are to understand by that phrase, even the Lord's "adding them to the Church," may be easily and clearly gathered from the context; for these doubtless were added to the Church after the same manner as the three thousand were upon the day of Pentecost. Now of those it Acts 2. 41. is here said, that "they were baptized," which was the way that our Lord had instituted for the admission of any into His Church. And then it follows in the next verse, that

Acts 2. 42. "they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine, and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers," that is, they constantly professed to believe the doctrine delivered by the Apostles; they held constant communion or fellowship with them, as became members of that society, whereof the Apostles and their Successors were deputed governors by Christ Himself; they frequented the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and the public prayers of the Church. By which means they were so added to the Church, as to continue in it, and neglect no duty which was enjoined or performed by it. And thus questionless it was, that "the Lord" afterwards also "added to the Church daily such as should be saved."

A thing much to be observed; especially, when the Church of Christ is so slighted and undervalued, as it is in our days; for it is plain from these words, that our Lord did not only thus" add to His Church daily such as should be saved;" but He hath left it upon record, that all generations might know that He did so, and by consequence, that all which shall be saved, must be added to the Church as they were. Forasmuch as this being the way and method that he hath settled in the world for the saving of souls, or for the applying that salvation to them which He hath purchased for them; we have no ground to expect that He should ever recede from it, especially considering how strictly He Himself hath observed it, even to a miracle; as