(faid the Saviour) will obferve and do whatsoever I have commanded you, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. They may in this way er-pect, even in this life, all the neceffary fupplies of the Spirit of Chrift Jefus: therefore it was obferved, that when the church walked in the fear of the Lord they had the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and were multiplied. While Paul planted, and Apollos watered, God. gave increafe. Churches founded on this rock—a credible profeffion, fupported by a godly life, and a pru dent difcipline-fhall rife fuperior to every oppofition; for the gates of hell fhall not prevail against them; but they fhall grow as the corn, they fhall flourish as the vine, and spread forth their branches as the cedars of Lebanon, till they fhall fill the whole earth, and become beautiful as Tirzah, comely as Jerufalem, and terrible. as an army with banners...

2. In the next life they may expect the crown. For, having fought the good fight, and kept the faith, they fhall inherit all things.. Being crowned, and clothed with the white robe, with the palm of victory in her hand, the church fhall be prefented to God by Christ, her head and husband, as a chafte virgin, without spot or blemish, and fhall receive a crown of glory which fhall never fade away; and then the fhall be led to fountains of liv ing waters, and God fhall wipe away all tears from her eyes.A few inferences and practical remarks muft clofe the fubject..

1. We infer, that there always has been, now is, and always will be, a church in the world, till the end of all things fhall come; and this felect and incorporate body of profeffing christians will unite in general in fentiment, faith and practice; not perfectly fo, for that is not to be expected; but in general they will be united in the most effential doctrines and rules of practice. And it is evi

dent

dent that the church has ever been diftinguished from the world of mankind. Our Saviour kept up this diftinction, in that last and most fervent prayer which he made just before he entered the last and most extreme fcene of his fuffering, recorded in the 17th of John. I. have (faid he, addreffing himself to his Heavenly Father), manifefted thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me; thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. I pray for them; I pray not for the world. And I pray not for them alone, but for all those who fhall believe on me through their word, that they may all be one in fentiment, faith and praçtice, uniting in me, their head, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee.

2. It is a high honour, and a diftinguishing privilege, to belong to the chriftian church. They who fincerely profefs their faith in Chrift, and fupport that profeffion by a chriftian life, are interefted in all the privileges of the fons of God, and in the petition of that divine prayer which our Saviour addreffed to his Father a little before he yielded up the ghoft; and every petition in that prayer will be completely anfwered in their favour.; which is worth infinitely more than all the world.

3. It is the duty of all who enjoy the gofpel, and are fo fully convinced of the truth and importance of the christian religion as to influence their temper and conduct, and conform them to the temper and conduct of the christian, to join with the church where they live, and publicly profefs their faith in Chrift, and their obedience to him. It is an honour they owe to him, and a duty they owe to themselves and families: a duty they owe to their God and country; and their neglect cannot be excused on the principles of reason or revelation.

4. We infer, that thofe who do belong to the church e under the most endearing obligations to adorn the christian

christian profession by a godly life and a holy converfation-to walk worthy of God to all well-pleafing. The eyes of God and the world are upon them, and their conduct will either have a good or a bad effect upon others. They fhould be very careful that they encou rage ferious and confcientious perfons to come up alfo to their duty, and give no occafion to any to excufe their neglect, or to raise the objection against the christian rereligion, because its profeffors are no better than others.

Again-We fhould be careful that we do not require of candidates for admiflion more than what the Spirit in the infpired writings requires. We must not be wife above what is written. When perfons of fober lives and converfations, and who in their general deportment exhibit a chriftian condt, and appear willing to make a public profeffion of their faith in Chrift, and their obedience to him, offer themfelves to our communion, we cannot, in my opinion, reject them, but we ought to invite them to come with us, and to walk in all the statutes and ordinances of the Lord blamelefs. The practice of exhibiting a public relation of chriftian experiences, may on fome fpecial occafions be for edification; yet it must be acknowledged that it is of human invention: we have not learnt it of Chrift, nor of the Spirit-we must not make it a term of communion, or neceffary to a regular admiffion into the church.

And may we not hope, that if we, with candour, and in the Spirit of meeknefs, watch over one another in love, and keep up the true fpirit of chriftian difcipline in our churches agreeably to the rule we have been explain. ing, that our churches, and all fpecial ordinances and institutions, would acquire a greater refpe&tability, and that the table of the Lord would not be, as it is with to many, contemptible? for, notwithstanding the prefent fal len and degenerate ftate of religion, and that few feet difpofed to join with the church, yet her foundation ftand

edh

eth ftrong; the gates of hell fhall not prevail; fhe will arise and shine, and will acquire a much greater state of purity, fimplicity and glory. Glorious things are spoken of her, and will be accomplished in their feason. Things are maturing faft: obftacles are removing; there is a fpirit of inquiry gone out; a thirst for knowledge increafing; a high relish for liberty, both civil and religious. The rights of man, the jurifdiction of confcience, and the principles of true liberty, are better understood and defined than they have ever been before; and these may be neceffary steps to prepare the public mind to receive the more plentiful outpouring of the Spirit of God than there ever yet has been. And we must not be impatient: God must do his own work in his own way and time. He who believeth does not make haste. Let us all, by our prayers, counsel and examples, be workers together with God, and be steadfast, forafmuch as we know that our labour shall pot be in vain.

R

DISCOURSE

Difcourfe VII.

The Superexcellency of Religion in general.

PRO V. xii. 26.

The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour.

HONOU

ONOUR and dignity are objects for which the mind of man has naturally a very strong paffion: but, having loft by the original lapfe the true excellency of our nature, every one is pursuing, in different ways, the fame object, and placing true excellency in different attainments, till divine grace, that fovereign restorative, corrects the errors of the human heart, directs the judgment, and exhibits religion as the capital point in which the true dignity and real excellency of reafonable and immortal creatures centre.

Some place human excellency in riches, others in power; fome in honorary titles, and external pomp and gran deur; fome in fenfuality, or in living above the restraints of reafon and confcience. But Solomon, made wife by infpiration, experience and grace, placed it in religion, and faid-The righteous is more excellent than his neigh bour: that is, Our true excellency confifts in our being truly religious; or, the truly religious man excels his irreligious neighbour in the most amiable and noble endowments of the mind; and therefore, upon an impartial view of his whole character, claims the preference :