SERM.'Tis true, men's confcioufnefs of their own V. fincerity naturally infpires them with courage;

the righteous is bold as a lion: but that is principally with refpect to events, not in their own power; and the foundation of it is the fupremacy, the wisdom, the equity and goodness of divine providence, controuling the power of all creatures; with respect to their establishment in virtue, and fupport against temptations, it becomes christians, well instructed concerning their own weakness, and the fufficiency of divine grace, always to be jealous of themselves, and to truft in the Lord with all their might. And,

Lastly, Confider the exhortation of the apoftle, Gal. vi. 1. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye that are Spiritual reftore fuch a one to the spirit of meekness, confidering thyfelf left thou also be tempted. You see the best men are not out of danger; and though indignation against evil is a virtuous instinct planted in our nature, charity which fuffereth long, and is kind, is as truly a virtuous principle, and the exercise of the latter is as much our duty, as the former ;

indeed

indeed a continuanee in any finful courfe pre-SER M. cludes the judgment of charity itself, in fa- V. vour of the finner's present state; but if he repent, we should confirm our love to him, as if he had not offended. The beft and most upright minds are the most compaffionate towards others.

SE R.

SERMON VI.

Of JUSTIFICATION by FAITH.

SERM.
VI.

Rom. iv. 16.

Therefore it is of Faith, that it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be fure to all the feed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that alfo which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us

all.

E

VERY one knows, that among profefs'd chriftians there has been, and continues to be, a great diversity of opinions in fome points of christianity, which the several abettors of them judge to be of confiderable importance. This must be acknowledged a pretty strange appearance, confidering that God gave his word to his people for a rule, not only of what every one should believe for himself, but of their union and joint profeffion. Not to enter

into

VI.

into a large difcuffion of this fubject, which SER M. my prefent defign would not admit, one reason why chriftians have run into such a difference of fentiments, and many of them into mistakes, is, that they form their judgments, not by confidering the general intention and the principal aim of the scriptures, but upon particular paffages in fome of the facred books, without attending to the connexion, and the occafion, and defign upon which they were written; which certainly is an unfair way of treating any writings whatsoever. And the errors arifing from it in this cafe, are not to be charged on the want of perfpicuity in the fcriptures, but the want of candor, or mature confideration in those who read them.

There is no one article about which there have been greater divifions and contradictory opinions, than that of juftification, or the way and the terms of finners obtaining the forgiveness of fins and acceptance with God; which, being the profefs'd defign of the gofpel, one would think, fhould be above all things clearly taught in it; and indeed fo it is. But here may be directly applied, what I hinted before as the cause that fome have fallen into mistakes. There arofe vio

VOL. I.

K

lent

SERM.lent controverfies between the Jews and the VI. Gentiles, who embrac'd the christian reli

gion, about the neceffity of obferving the Mofaical law and inftitutions, which the former zealously contended for.. To decide this debate, and to show the abfurdity of the Judaizing scheme, St. Paul wrote his epiftles to the Romans and Galatians, containing fe veral paffages concerning juftification by grace and faith, as in oppofition to the law, and to works which fome entirely found their opinions upon, without confidering the occafion and the fcope which are the true key of them.

Now, if we carefully attend to the doctrines of our Saviour delivered in the four gofpels, which, as it is reafonable to believe it should be, being given for a standard to christians in every age, is exceeding plain; if, I fay, we carefully attend to it, there will be no difficulty in forming an idea of the conditions of obtaining the pardon of fin and acceptance with God, which it contains. Our bleffed lord bringing a new revelation from heaven into a degenerate, ignorant, and corrupt world, it was neceffary first of all, that his character fhould be establish'd, as a divine meffenger, or the Meffias; who, upon the credit of ancient prophecies,

was

expected

1