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LVII.

SERM. entirely useless. The words ordained to eternal life having been understood to mean, that such as did not believe the Gospel to saving purposes, it was not their own faults; they were not ordained to it, nor to that eternal life to which a true faith in Jesus Christ entitles His servants; that they were never effectually called to believe the Gospel, and to obey its laws; that men are born to unfortunate ends, and to the ways that lead to them.

This has been an old complaint and refuge of sinners: [Prov. 19. "The foolishness of man" (saith Solomon) "perverteth his 3.] way, and his heart fretteth against the Lord." As if God could take pleasure in the destruction or misery of His creatures: an opinion so absurd, that I should not spend one moment of your time in confuting it, but that it is absolutely necessary, that such as are candidates for eternity, of whom so great a number are now present, as well as they that have the care of their education, should see the mischievous consequences of falling into an error, which would make God the author of sin; His commands unjust; the Holy Scriptures inconsistent with themselves; and render all the worthy endeavours of parents, of masters, and of the societies for educating of children, useless, and even ridiculous.

[1 Tim. 2. 4: Ezek. 18. 32.]

We need go no farther than two verses back, to see this error confuted by the Apostle himself. He there tells the Jews, that it was necessary (that is, God had so appointed it), that the Gospel should first be preached to them; but that they, by putting the Word of God from them, did, by that act, render themselves unworthy of everlasting life.

If to this we add the declarations which God Himself has made: that He would have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth; that He desireth not the death of a sinner, but that he should turn from his sin, and be saved; we shall see plainly, that it is in the power of every soul, by the grace of God, to be happy, provided they put on firm resolutions of working out their own salvation with fear and trembling; that is, with a concern answerable to the loss they will otherwise sustain.

We may indeed, as many of the Jews did, reject the counsel of God for our good; but then our destruction will be from ourselves, and not from any decree of God.

The truth is, the word here translated ordained, signifies no more than prepared, or disposed for eternal life; and so it is translated in the margin of our Bibles: that is, they that were well disposed; they that feared God, and were afraid for themselves; they that did not resist the counsel and grace of God; these, when the Gospel was preached to them, very readily embraced it: while they that lived at all adventures, and feared no evil, who hated knowledge, and would not choose the fear of the Lord, such as these would not, could not believe, and consequently could not be saved.

This premised, we now come to consider the great truth intimated in the text:

I. That there are certain dispositions necessary to fit men for receiving the Gospel to any saving purposes.

Thus it was prophesied of the Messiah, before He appeared in the flesh, and foretold who would, and who would not receive Him: The Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings Isa. 61. 1. unto the meek, for they would receive His message; to bind up the broken-hearted, for they would be glad of help and comfort; to proclaim liberty to the captives, for they and they only who should be sensible of their bondage, would be glad to be set at liberty.

28.]

Accordingly, when our Lord did come, He invited such to be His hearers, to whom He knew His doctrine would be acceptable. "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are [Matt. 11. heavy laden, and I will refresh you." And when He was reproached for conversing with sinners, He only gave this answer, "They that are whole need not a physician, but they [Luke 5. 31.] that are sick I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

:

Why, were not they all sinners? Yes. But that which is intimated in this answer is this, that there are sinners who are not at all sensible of their bad condition and their condition, for that very reason, is the more deplorable, because they would not look out for help; while such as feared God, and were in fear for themselves, were exceedingly pleased to hear our Lord declare, that "He came from God, to seek Luke 19. and to save that which was lost." These, and these only, heard Him with patience; considered the tendency of His doctrine; examined His miracles without prejudice; and

10.

SERM. LVII. [John 3. 2; 6. 68.]

were at last convinced, that He was indeed a teacher come from God; that He had the words of eternal life; that He made known things of the greatest concern to them. They therefore embraced His doctrine, and resolved to obey His laws.

The Apostles followed their Master in this exactly, and proposed the Gospel to such as were previously disposed to Acts 13. 26. receive it: "Whoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent ;" and such, and such only, did receive it. The Centurion, amongst others, was an instance of this, and of God's purpose and goodness to all such as improve that light and grace which He vouchsafes them. He [Acts 10.2.] was a devout man, feared God, gave much alms, and prayed to God continually; and, being thus prepared for greater mercies, God, by a providence extraordinary, brought him to a knowledge of the Gospel.

[ver. 16. 18.]

On the other hand, we find too many of the Jews so prejudiced against Christ and His doctrine, that nothing could convince them, no not miracles themselves. A remarkable instance of this we have in the fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles; the Apostles having cured a man that was lame from his mother's womb; and this only by saying the word, and it was done: a sure proof that God was with them, because this was the very way by which He had created the heavens and the earth. The Scribes and the Pharisees saw this: We cannot, say they, deny it; neither could they say, that the doctrine the Apostles preached was unworthy of God. And what was the consequence of this? Why, indeed, a very strange one. They ordered them not to speak any more in the Name of Christ (that very Name by which the man had been made whole); and threatened them severely, if they should do so.

Which history will be an eternal testimony against those who are ever calling for more evidence, and making objections against received truths; when it is plainly their own obstinacy, their prejudice, or their wickedness, which hinders [1 Tim. 1. them from perceiving the truth,-that truth which is worthy 15.] of all men to be received; the interest of all men to embrace it; and which having been so clearly revealed, and abundantly confirmed, leaves all men without excuse, who shall reject it.

For after all, reject it men will, if their minds are not prepared to receive it. "If our Gospel," saith the Apostle, "be 2 Cor. 4. 3.

hid," if it will not be received, "it is hid to them that are

lost; whom the god of this world has blinded."

So that it can never be an objection against the Christian Religion, that all men, so soon as the Gospel is preached to them, do not see the truth, and close with its most gracious offers of pardon and happiness: for if men are not disposed to be serious; if they are engaged in sinful courses; if they shun that light which would shew them to themselves; and despise those means which God has ordained for their conversion; it is no wonder they do not, nay it is impossible they should, believe the Gospel.

And this comes to pass, not by any fatal decree of God, but from an utter indisposition to hearken to the truth, and to see their interest in it. And it is also occasioned by a custom of acting against reason and conscience; by leading a life contrary to holiness; by grieving the Holy Spirit of God, by which they had been sanctified; and making it their choice not to see the consequence of a life spent in ignorance and sin.

For this reason it is, that children are the most proper subjects of an education which regards another life, before they have been suffered to grow wild; before their souls shall have been polluted, their senses depraved, their minds and memories corrupted, by evil principles, and evil examples; for when it is thus with them, we shall find it the hardest thing in the world to persuade them even to hear what we have to say on the part of religion.

Whereas, they that have the happiness of being restrained betimes, and trained up in the fear of God, these will hear and receive with meekness the ingrafted Word, which is able to save their souls.

And it is for this reason, that the great enemy of souls has of late been most indefatigably industrious, and has set all his agents at work, to vilify and decry this method of instruction, and the Charity Schools, which are designed to give the children of the poor an early knowledge of God and of their duty, before sin and hell have got dominion over them. But this should not discourage those who are engaged in

LVII.

SERM. this good work, a work which, if it had not been of God, would have come to nought long ere this, considering the malice of Satan, and the restless endeavours of his instruments, to bring an evil report upon it: which, instead of making us uneasy, or weary in well-doing, will only oblige us to consider with attention, what has been, or can be, objected against these schools of piety; and to resolve to use our utmost endeavours to make them effectually answer all the ends of charity proposed by those that manage, and by those that shall contribute towards supporting them.

[Prov. 9. io.]

Now, as we are sincere advocates for this charity, so must we be faithful monitors, and always put you in mind, that the first and great design of these schools is to make children Christians in deed as well as in name; lest not knowing, or not feeling, the power of religion in their souls, they fall into the vices of the age, and become a scandal to their education, and a real grief and offence to all that have contributed towards carrying it on.

My meaning is this: children may be, and often have been, taught the general truths and duties of Christianity, without any great good following, for want of such previous knowledge and dispositions as we have been speaking of, such as are necessary to fit them for receiving the truth in the love of it. II. What this knowledge, and these dispositions are, we now come to consider.

And first; as "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom;" so are the fear of God, and the knowledge of ourselves, Mal. 4. 2. the foundation of saving faith in Jesus Christ. "To you that fear God (saith the Prophet) He will arise with healing in His wings." He may indeed be seen by others, but He comes with healing in His wings to those only who fear God.

Jesus cried, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink;" plainly intimating, that people must have a sense of their wants, they must have an appetite, before they can so much as think of going to the living waters to quench Rev. 3. 17. their thirst. "Thou sayest, (saith the Spirit,) that I am rich;

and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:" a sad condition indeed, to be miserable without knowing it, and consequently without any inclination to look out for help!

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