SERMON

endure unto the End. And of thefe we have an illuftrious Lift upon Record of undoubted Authority, as the venerable Line of the Patriarchs, the goodly Fellowship of the Prophets, the glorious Company of the Apostles, and the noble Army of Martyrs and Confeffors, befides numberless other now glorified Saints in all Ages of the Church, who are fo many burning and fhining Lights to kindle us into Zeal, and Guide our Feet in the Way to Heaven. Take then for your Patterns these Hearts of Gold purified Seven Times, thefe Sons of the Morning, thefe glittering Stars of Light, and, fired by their Examples, prefs on to Victory and Glory. Say not within yourselves, their Virtues are inimitable by us, fuch Perfection is too high for us, we cannot attain unto it; for they were Flesh and Blood as we are, Men of like Paffions with ourselves; and both their Failings and Falls are recorded, not only for our Caution, but alfo for our Encouragement not to defpair, and fhew us how weak they were by Nature, tho' so strong by Grace, that the Excellency of the Power may appear to be, not of Man, but of God. We praise God in our Prayer for

F 4

the

III.

SERMON the Church militant, for all his Saints and Servants departed this Life in his Faith and Fear; but let us not mock God by praifing Him for that which we defign to be no better for, feeing their Lives and their Deaths were written for our Imitation, that we together with them might be made Partakers of the Promifes. Having then fo great and bright a Cloud of Witneffes, let us enter upon our Warfare with Alacrity and Emulation, and that the rather, forafmuch as no one Encouragement that our Hearts can wish for is wanting to an mate us in it; we have Men and Angels for our Spectators, Saints for our Examples Chrift for our Captain, and, in cafe of Victory, Heaven for our Inheritance.

But as we are directed to follow thofe who now inherit the Promifes, fo muft we follow them in the fame way they went, viz. thro' Faith and Patience.

What great and glorious Things do we read of Faith in the Scriptures as exempli fied in the Lives of the ancient Worthies, for which in particular I refer you to the xith Chapter of this Epiftle; whence we may learn, that Faith in Chrift is not a Grace peculiar to the Gofpel Difpenfation,

for

for He always was, is, and will be the SERMON Light of the World manifefting itself to all that are receptive of Him, tho' in different Degrees, and according to different Miniftrations. Enoch and Noah before the Flood knew Chrift, and preached from his Spirit; Abraham faw his Day and was glad the whole Law was a figurative Exhibition of Him; the Prophets reprefented Him more distinctly; but we have feen Him in aftill clearer Difplay of our Salvation as the only Begotten of the Father full of Grace and Truth. It is Faith in this Saviour that diftinguifhes us from those that fit in Darkness and the Shadow of Death 'tis thro' Faith in his Redeeming Blood that our Juftification is evidenced to us; by the Power of this Faith all the Chriftian Heroes of old Time were enabled to contend for the Truth fo valiantly; and by the fame we and all that follow us may go and do likewise. Courage then, O Christian! and let not thy Heart faint within thee Art thou toffed in a troubled and tempef tuous Ocean where the Billows of Adverfity and Affliction dafh against thee, and the Floods of Ungodliness make thee afraid? Have Faith, and like Noah's Ark thou

fhalt

SERMON fhalt ride fecurely on the Top of the Wa

III.

ters. Do Difficulties and Difcouragements, like Lions in the Way, oppofe thy Paffage to the City of God, or does the Flame of Perfecution threaten thee? Take Heart, and follow those who by Faith stopped the Mouths of Lions, and quenched the Violence of the Fire. Nothing is too hard for Christian Faith; "all things, fays our Lord, "are poffible to him that believeth :" Nay, if thou haft a right Faith Chrift is thine, and in Him all Things, Life and Death, Things prefent andThings to come; behold, they will all work together for thy good, and thou shalt at last affuredly receive the End of thy Faith, even the Salvation of thy Soul.

But then, in the next Place, remember that to Faith thou add Patience, for tho Faith, in a vigorous Exertion of its full Power, be a kind of Chriftian Omnipotence, yet, that thou mayeft know it to be a Gift and not a Child of thine own, the Lord is pleased at times to with-hold the precious Fruits and Comforts of it, tho' the Root remaineth in thee: at fuch Seafons thou mayst go forth like Sampfon to shake thyself and roufe up thy Powers, but thou wilt find thy Strength departed, and

III.

that thou art to all Appearance weak as SERMON another Man; but be not difmayed, for the Lord has not left thee; He has only withdrawn the Evidence of one Grace to afford occafion for the Exercife of another; He fuffers thy Faith to disappear, that Patience may have her perfect Work in thee.

The Chriftian Life is not a State of uninterrupted Comfort, as fome describe it, herein speaking from their Syftem, and not from any Experience of their own. It is not the Way of God's Dealings with us, nor is it meet for us, that we should always walk on our High Places, and feed on the Mountains of Exaltation, but defcend at Times into the Valley beneath for our Tryal and Humiliation: It was here that the Son of God walked when He sweat as it were great Drops of Blood: Here it was that He drank off the Bitter Cup of his Paffion And here we muft follow Him thro' Death to Life eternal; "For it became Him for whom are all Things, and by whom are all Things, in bringr ing many Sons unto Glory, to make the "Captain of their Salvation perfect thro "Sufferings: For both He that fanctifieth. ff and they who are fanctified are all of

'