Bible, this one place is sufficient of itself to demonstrate, that no man ever was or can be saved without Christ, how devout or pious soever he may seem to be.

But is it not a sad thing, say they, that so many millions of people, who never heard of Christ, should be damned, notwithstanding they live according to the law and light they have? I answer: was it not a sadder thing, that the whole world should be destroyed, men, women, and children too, that never committed any actual sin, that all should be swept away with the flood, but only eight persons that were saved in the Ark, the type of the Church of Christ? Is it not a much sadder thing, that the innumerable company of Angels that kept not their first estate, should be all "re- [Jude 6.] served in everlasting chains for the judgment of the Great Day," and not so much as any one saved? Is it not the saddest thing of all, that men should talk at this rate against their Saviour, that He might have spared all His pains, for they could have been saved well enough without Him, or ever hearing of Him? Is this the recompence we give Him for all His love and kindness to us? 66 Nay but, O man, Rom. 9. 20, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, why hast Thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" May not God do what He will with His own? Is it not enough for us, that He hath made known the way of Salvation unto us; but we must needs be quarrelling, that others may not be saved as well as we? If He hath a mind to save any man, He can bring him, as He did Cornelius, to the knowledge of our Saviour, when He pleaseth; yea, He can send the light of the Gospel into all the corners of the earth, whensoever He sees good, and we have good ground to hope that He will ere long.

21.

In the mean while, let us therefore all take heed lest we "neglect so great Salvation," which is revealed and offered [Heb. 2.3.] to us by Jesus Christ. Let us look upon Him as our only Saviour, and believe and trust in Him only for all things necessary to our Salvation; not only for the pardon of our sins, and to bring us to Heaven when we die, but to lead us in the way thither all the while we live: "To open our

SERM.
XXVII.

eyes, and to turn us from darkness to light, and from the Acts 26. 18. power of Satan unto God, that we may receive forgiveness

17.]

of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified, by faith that is in Him." For which purpose we must be constant, hearty and sincere in the use of all the means which He hath appointed for our obtaining grace and Sal[1 Thes. 5. vation by Him. We must We must "pray without ceasing," both in public and private. We must read and hear His most Holy Word, that we may know what He would have us to believe and do; and strive all we can, by His assistance, to believe and do accordingly. We must let slip no opportunities we can get of receiving that blessed Sacrament, which He ordained in memory of that great sacrifice, which He offered for the sins of the world, and for ours among the rest. And in the use of all these means we must keep our faith always fixed upon Him, to make them effectual, 2 Pet. 3. 18. “That we may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Phil. 3. 14. Him our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." "Still pressing toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Him."

ch. 9. 16.

These things all must do, that design in good earnest to be saved by Christ. But as for those whom He sends to administer His Word and Sacraments, for the Salvation of other men, they must likewise do all they can to make Him known in the world; and especially to those whom He hath for that purpose committed to their care. His great Apostle determined to know nothing among the Corinthians, but 1 Cor. 2. 2. "Jesus Christ and Him crucified." And "the same necessity is laid upon us too, and woe to us if we preach not the Gospel!" If we preach not the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that people may know Him, the divinity of His person, the mystery of His incarnation, the perfect innocency and holiness of His life, the infinite merits of His death, the power of His resurrection, His glorious ascension and exaltation at the right hand of God, and the continual intercession which He there makes for us. For unless people know these and the like fundamental articles of our faith, as they are revealed to us in the Gospel of Christ, they can never apply themselves to Him, nor believe as they ought in Him for their Salvation: and so will perish everlastingly through

our default, for which we must answer severely another day. For when we have preached, and they have done all they can, it is only by Jesus Christ they can be ever saved.

But by Him, blessed be God for it, we may be all saved: as we have no other, we need no other Saviour besides Him; "For He is able to save them to the uttermost that come Heb. 7. 25. unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them." He saves none but those who come to God by Him; but He is able to save them to the uttermost, so as to do every thing for them, and in them, that can be any way requisite to His saving them, all of them, how many soever they be, and how much soever is to be done for them, that they may be saved; for He is almighty to save. And therefore if any be not saved, it is not for want of power in Him, but the fault is wholly in themselves; they will not come to God by Him, they will not mind their Salvation at all, or they will look for it some other way, or else they will not trust wholly unto Him for it, and then it is no wonder they go without it.

Ps. 118. 14.

But let others do what they will, and save themselves if they can; let us adore and praise the most High God our Maker, that He Himself hath been pleased to become our Saviour too; yea, our very Salvation. So the Prophet calls Luke 2. 30. Him, "Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold thy Salva- Isa. 62. 11. tion cometh, behold His reward is with Him, and His work before Him." And again, “Behold, God is my Salvation, Isa. 12. 2. I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my Salvation." Moses and David had both sung the same thing before in Exod. 15.2; the same words. And they all agree in saying, “He is become my Salvation," or for Salvation unto me; to shew that He is not our Salvation, as He is strength and perfection in His own nature, but in ours, which He took upon Him, and so became Salvation to us. Which is such an unspeakable, such an inestimable expression of His Divine love and goodness, that we can never sufficiently extol and admire it as we ought; and therefore should be always doing it as well as we can, by ascribing the glory of our Salvation entirely unto God, rejoicing in Him, trusting on Him, and giving thanks continually unto Him, and unto Him alone

E

XXVII. Luke 1. 46, 47.

Ps. 35. 9.

SERM. for it; singing with the blessed Virgin, " My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoiceth in God Saviour." my And with the Psalmist, "My soul shall be joyful in the Ps. 27. 1. Lord, it shall rejoice in my Salvation." "The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom then shall I be afraid?" "O come, let us sing unto the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our Salvation." "O sing unto the Lord, bless His name, shew forth His Salvation from day to day."

Ps. 95. 1.

Ps. 96. 2.

Ps. 3. 8.

35;

Thus we find David and the Prophets all along acknowJon. 2.9; ledging, that "Salvation is of the Lord." "That He is the Ps.24.5, &c. God of our Salvation." "That we are saved only by the Hos. 1. 7. Lord our God." And therefore unto Him only they always 1 Chron. 16. prayed for Salvation, saying, in, "Save us, O God of Ps. 106. 47. Our Salvation," and win, "Save us now, we beseech Ps. 118. 25. Thee, O Lord." Hence it was, that when the Jews would give the greatest glory they could to God, as they some[Matt. 21. times sung Hallelujah, at other times they cried out, "Ho9.] sannah, save us we beseech Thee;" as reckoning, that when they attributed their Salvation wholly unto God, and prayed to Him only for it, they praised Him as effectually as when they did it in express terms; especially in the feast of Tabernacles, this was done so often, that the feast itself was from hence called yw, the great Hosannah.' And it is very observable, that when our blessed Saviour was coming to Hierusalem, a little before the Passover, the people cut down branches from the trees, as they did at the feast of Tabernacles, and used the same acclamations also unto Him, Matt. 21. 9. saying, "Hosannah to the Son of David: blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosannah in the highest." As if they had said, say ye, "Hosannah, save us now," to the Son of David; which I cannot but look upon as done by the special providence of God. For though but few, if any of them designed it, yet they hereby applied their Hosannahs to their proper object, to God our Saviour, who was then in the midst of them, crying, "Hosannah, save us now," unto Him who alone could do it; and so ascribing unto Him all the praise and glory of that Salvation, which they so earnestly expect and desire from God.

But we certainly have as much reason as they had, to sing "Hosannah to the Son of David," to laud and magnify the Eternal God our Saviour, by ascribing our Salvation wholly unto Him. For this is the way, as we find in the Revelations, which the Church triumphant in Heaven also useth in praising of Him; and therefore we of the Church militant here on earth, may well join with them, in singing,

Hallelujah, Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power Rev. 19. 1. unto the Lord our God." And again, "Salvation to our ch. 7. 10. God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb" for ever and ever.