Chapter XIV: Part 14

2. Here sinners appear like the saints of God in disguise; but there as sinners, openly guilty, and exposed to light: Here not separated from the saints in the place of worship, there sufficiently distinguished and divided from all who love God, and that worship him in spirit: For when a sinful soul goes out of the body to appear before God, every angel in heaven knows him; he is naked without a covering of disguise, as well as without the covering of a justifying righteousness; and upon this account he appears all guilty, not only before the searching eye of God, and the terror of his anger, but also before the blessed spirits who are near the throne. Here those who are in the same assembly, know not whether we are the children of God, or _the children of the devil_; but in the world of spirits, all the children of Satan are as much distinguished from the children of God as an angel of light is from a spirit of darkness.

This flesh is a disguise to the soul, a thick cloud to cover a thousand hypocrisies; but at the great day the naked soul must be known; _All nations shall be gathered before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats_; Mat. xxv. 32. Jesus shall separate the one from the other; and what will the sinner say at that day? “I have on earth appeared before God among the saints, but now I must for ever dwell with my companions in iniquity, with my partners in _everlasting burnings_; I am so like to the spirits of hell, now I am undressed, and divested of all disguise, that I see myself justly divided for ever from the saints, and a fit companion for none but devils.” O who can tell the torment that is contained in such a self-condemning reflection as this?

3. Sinners appear now, and take no notice of God as Creator, or Christ as Mediator and Saviour; but at the appearance in judgment it will be impossible to stand before God, and not take notice of him. He appears there as a God of terrible and incensed majesty, and they must see him; and Jesus Christ sits there, and must be seen, not as the Saviour to secure them, but the judge ready to condemn them to everlasting punishment; Rev. i. 7. assures of this day, and speaks of it as already come: _Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. I shall behold him_, says the wretched Balaam, _but not nigh_; Num. xviv. 17. not as my God, near me, but as my enemy, afar from me. “Now God speaks with the voice of mercy in the church, and I turn a deaf ear to him, may the sinner say, but then it is the language of justice and vengeance: O that my ears and my eyes were sealed up for ever: for his looks, his words, his actions, smite my soul through with a thousand torments.”

It is impossible for the wicked to turn their eyes from God in that day, whereas now for a whole hour or two, in his worship, their hearts are not once fixed upon him. A God of holiness will be seen on his seat of judgment; and the sinner who _will not see, shall see_, and be confounded at the sight. Think of this, O my soul! and when thou findest thy thoughts wandering from God in the next duty of worship, take this awful hint to recal them again.

4. Now the sinner appears before God as on a throne of grace; there on a throne of justice: now in a state of trial: there for a final sentence. He comes now to hear the general language of God to men; there to hear his own particular judgment from the same God; now the sinner stands in the church, in a general assembly: and he stands within the reach of a general promise: _He that believes shall be saved; he that confesses, and forsakes his sin shall find mercy_: But then the book of all the promises is for ever shut, and it is declared by the Judge, that not one of them belongs to him: He hath refused all the offers of grace, and the day of grace is gone for ever.

Now he stands, and hears the general threatening of the word: _The soul that sinneth shall die; the wages of sin is death: he that believeth not shall be damned; he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption_: Yet he may escape all these threatenings. But in the great and last day he hears his own name, as it were, read together with each of these threatenings, and united to them all: “Thou art the impenitent sinner, and thou must die for ever? thou hast not believed in Christ: and thou art the person who shall be for ever damned.”

Now he appears before God, and though he is, as to his state; at a distance from him, yet he may be converted and brought near; he hears these blessed words; Mat. xi. 28. _Come all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest._ Is. xlv. 22. _Look unto me, ye that are at the ends of the earth_, and in immediate danger of hell, _and be ye saved_. But there the only word is, _depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire_; for I have not one word of promise, of encouragement, or of comfort for you.

Because he appears now in a state of trial, it is with some hope of obtaining pardon; but there he stands only waiting for the sentence of death, and therefore with everlasting despair: He appears there guilty in open light, and his condemnation is certain and unchangeable.

Believe this, sinner, now in this life; the wrath of God lies heavy upon you; John iii. 36. but this wrath may be removed; the condemnation that is now upon you from the law, may be reversed: the gospel is ready to take it off, if you receive this gospel: But there, before the judgment seat, every soul who is found in his sins, falls under an eternal curse, and without repeal: that condemnation shall never be removed; for immediate execution follows upon the sentence. Now the sinner appears before God, and hears such words of compassion as these are: “I delight not _in the death of a sinner_, I would have him _turn and live_; I propose the method of reconciliation and life;” But then the Lord sits upon a throne of judgment, and he shall laugh at the calamity of the wicked, and the obstinate sinner’s distress; for pity and compassion are for ever hid from his eyes. Now, who is there among us able to bear the sight of a provoked God, who is infinite in power, terrible in majesty, and has abandoned all compassion.

5. The sinner now appears often before God; there but once, and is for ever driven from his presence: Here, if you meet with no comfort from God in one ordinance, you may find it in the next; but then you shall be _punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power_; 2 Thess. i. 9. How will you long for such seasons again, when you are for ever shut out from them? “O that I had but one Lord’s-day more to spend in the service of God! how would I labour and wrestle with God in prayer, that I might become a new creature!” But in hell the days are all alike, they are all dark and stormy; there is not one day of sunshine, not one sabbath, not one hour of rest. “How did I mock God on earth, must the sinner say, when I appeared before him! and after I had mocked him once, I trifled again and again; but now I find he is a God who will not be mocked; I see he is a terrible majesty, and I am driven for ever from all his grace and compassion, and shall see his face no more.”

Use. All the use I shall make of this head, is only to urge upon your minds a practical belief, and a lively sense of this appearance before God at judgment. Must we all stand _before the judgment seat of Christ_? Do we think we are ready? What answer do our own consciences give, when we make that enquiry? Am I prepared to appear before God the Judge? Have I but little hope, and yet can I satisfy myself to lie down at night, and arise in the morning, and have this hope not increased? Have I so little expectation of my appearing well there, and yet rest contented under it?

Do I worship now with that sincerity and devotion, as those who must hereafter come to be judged? Could we, dare we, indulge ourselves in the neglect of any duty, or commission of any sin, or careless performance of the religious services we owe to God, at the rate we now do, had this great appearance before God at judgment been often upon our thoughts? Alas! these things vanish from our minds, many times, together with the breath and air that forms the words: Business, or cares, or the diversions of this life, turn away the soul from God and judgment, We dwell in flesh, we see not God, and we are ready, foolishly, to imagine that we shall never see him: We thrust this hour at such a distance, as though it would never come; we put it afar off as an evil day.

But let us stand still here, and consider a little: This evening we are come to appear before God in worship; we see ourselves here, and see each other; we are sure it is a reality, and not a dream; yet seven years ago, this evening was at so vast a distance from us, that we scarce knew how to realize it to our thoughts, and make it, as it were, present: but now all that long distance is vanished, and this evening is come; those days are all passed, and this hour is upon us. Thus it is in the case of death and judgment. Seven years hence, it is most likely, some one or more of us, and perhaps every one of us, shall appear before the bar of God our Judge; that appointed hour will come however it seem afar off now; and then it will be as real an appearance as this present hour is, but a much more solemn one: we shall see and feel ourselves there, and know it is not a dream, but an awful reality.

Consider further, that it can be but a few seven years more, before every one of us must certainly appear at the judgment-seat of God; and as long as these years seem now, yet they will quickly fly away, and the last hour will be upon us.—Think how many of your acquaintance, in seven years past, have made their appearance before God, have past their final trial, and received their everlasting sentence: And each of us may say, “Why should not I be the next? What is there in my nature, or in my circumstances that can secure me against the summons of death and judgment?” It may be but a few days before we are called; and is every one of us here ready? This is a question of infinite importance, and let us not give rest to our souls, till we can answer it to our satisfaction.

O how should we live! how should we act! how should we speak! how should we worship! if this were always upon our hearts? O that we could but realize these awful things to our minds, and make them more familiar to our thoughts daily! Could sinners then be one day contented without converting grace, and without a justifying righteousness? Could they any longer refuse the mercy of the gospel, and Jesus the Saviour? Could they be satisfied to appear all guilty before God, and no friend there to speak for them? no intercessor to plead for them? none to undertake their cause? Could they go on to sin with a negligent mind, if they thought the judgment-door just opening upon them, and Jesus Christ at hand? Could it be possible we should have such cold and lazy desires after a Saviour and his salvation, if we thought our everlasting happiness or misery depended upon the next day, the next hour, or the next moment? For we know not how soon the summons may come, and state us before his tribunal.

II. The _second_ part of my discourse leads me to consider the blessed difference that there shall be between a christian’s appearing before God in heaven, and his appearance here in divine ordinances before God on earth? and by a comparison of these two, may the Spirit of God awaken our faith, our hope, our love, and our joy, and all join to promote our sanctification! The differences then between our standing before God in worship now, and our worshipping before God in heaven, are such as these:

1. Now the true christian appears in a mixed assembly of saints and sinners: there the assembly is all holy, and not one sinner amongst them. Here sincere souls and hypocrites meet together in worship; there the hypocrite is for ever banished. In the houses of God on earth, the wicked Canaanites will mingle with the children of Israel; but in his temple in heaven, every one is an Israelite indeed; _There shall no more be found a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts_; Zech. xiv. 21.

The children of God here, are under a veil of infirm and sinful flesh, and in the likeness of sinners; there they are unveiled and acknowledged to be _the sons and daughters of the Almighty_; 1 John iii. 1, 2. _Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God! But the world knows us not_; nay, we are not at many times known to ourselves; but when he comes whom we have trusted, then we shall be known and distinguished from the world, as God’s only begotten Son; and we shall be known and distinguished as the children of God, all related and a-kin to him:—_When he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is_; 1 John iii. 2. and shall sufficiently be distinguished from all who belong not to Christ.

Here a child of God, in the sanctuary, is deeply humbled at the mention of the name of God; but his humility is not seen. Here his zeal kindles at the proposal of a duty, but it burns with a hidden flame: Here his love is at work, his hope is arising, his joy is getting up to heaven, when he is engaged in the meditation of a comfortable promise, or some of the blessed privileges of the children of God; while those who are around him, even his next neighbour who sits close to him, knows nothing of the holy workings of his heart, and the breathings of his soul towards God: But there the whole assembly shall worship with one heart, and one soul, and not one wandering worshipper, or one wandering thought in worship.

We are ready to complain here, that we ourselves know not whether we shall be accepted or no; through the weakness of faith, want of holiness, decay of zeal in our spirits, and that degeneracy we sometimes find and feel in ourselves, we are often ready to doubt, and almost upon the borders of despair. This is the case of many a poor, trembling christian; but there every one shall worship with strength of joy, liveliest delight, and warmest zeal and affections: and be assured his graces are all true, for he shall see them all in the light of glory.

This suspicion or jealousy of ourselves, flattens our devotion many a time here, and takes away the pleasurable sensations of religion, because we ourselves know not whether God accepts us or no: There a full assurance of our being beloved of God, and being for ever accepted of him, shall make every exercise of devotion a most agreeable and perfect pleasure. O my soul, how should it quicken thy race, and exalt thy joy, to think how fast thou art removing from this world of sinners, and from all thy own doubts and fears, to a glorious assembly of holy souls, where not one doubt, or fear shall remain in their consciences, nor in thine!

2. In this world the saint appears among a few to worship his God, but then among millions. Now many times we have worshipped in a secret corner, for fear of men; but then it is all in public glory: for there all the worship that is paid, is the established worship of the whole country; and honours, and kingdoms, and wealth, are all on that side: All the inhabitants are made rich for ever, with the riches of heaven; and all the children of God are the sons and daughters of a king, and all heirs and possessors of glory, and reign together with the Lord Jesus: Rom. viii. 17. 2 Tim. ii. 12. Here many times the children of God are forced to be separatists from their neighbours and fellow-citizens, they are divided from the multitudes and crowds of mankind, they are but a _little flock_; but there they shall shine in the midst of the _general assembly of the first-born, and a great multitude which no man can number_; Rev. vii. 9. that with victories and songs are for ever addressing the throne of God and the Lamb. O when shall I hear the voice from heaven say, _Come up hither_?

3. Now we worship in a way of preparation; there for enjoyment and full delight. Ordinances here are but slight shadows, and very faint and imperfect resemblances of what the worship in heaven shall be. Now the word of God is spoken by a man, and it loses much of the divinity and power, by the means of conveyance; there it will be spoken by God himself to our spirits, or by our Lord Jesus Christ, to the ears of our bodies, raised, sanctified, and immortal; and our souls shall receive as much of the express ideas, as God designs to convey by all his conversation with that sanctified number: nor shall they miss of any of the beauty, or spirit, or perfection, of those thoughts which God himself would impress upon us.

Now in the letters of the bible we read the good-will and mercy of God to sinners; but there, in a far brighter manner of conveyance, _in thy light shall we see light_; Ps. xxxvi. 9. Here we seek the Father and the Son; the one as our happiness, the other as the way to the enjoyment of that happiness, as they are usually represented in the word of God: There we shall say, We have _found him whom our souls desire_ and love, and shall be for ever happy in his presence. Our business now in this world is to get a right temper and frame: there to practise and indulge the joy. Happy souls, who are thus prepared in the outer courts to draw nigh and worship _within the veil_!

Now we appear with imperfect services, and poor improvements, there with glorious and complete worship: For here _we see God but as in a glass darkly_; there _face to face_; 1 Cor. xiii. 12. Now we can have his glory, or his grace represented to us but in part, in a small measure, and according to our poor capacities of receiving; there _we shall see him as he is, and know as we are known_.

What are our prayers, what are our praises here? our praises when offered up in a song, or in plainer language, in comparison with those that are paid to God above? Now we speak of him _whom we have not seen_, therefore we speak in so imperfect a manner: There we shall hear and speak of him whom we see or know more intimately: Now we appear before God, and bring too much of the world with us; there we _leave the world and go to the Father_, God and Christ are too much forgotten, or they are too often thrust out of our minds by vain thoughts, even when we ourselves are never so desirous to spend an hour or two with God; what interruptions do we find? What long blanks divide the several petitions of our prayer, and break off the meditation while we stand before God to worship him? We have many enemies within and without, who stand ready to seize away our souls from God, and to rob him of our devotion: Vain fancies call us aside, and our senses turn off our minds from heaven. There shall be everlasting worship above, without one impertinence interposing; no trifles there to divert us, and separate one part of our worship from the other: there all the powers and faculties of nature shall perpetually be engaged in the business and blessedness of that state. Glorious worship, and blessed worshippers! fit for the presence of the Majesty of heaven.

5. I might say, We come with very little comfort, and many discouragements, to appear before God on earth; but there with everlasting consolation. We come now to the word, and we go away again, hardly hearing the voice of God in his word or seeing his countenance, but there we shall be for ever near him; no wall of flesh, or of sin to divide us.

Now we are defiled with guilt, and ashamed to lift up our faces towards heaven, and blush even when our hearts are never so sincere; but there we shall come near to God, even to God in glory, and not be afraid of him; there we shall see a God undefiled, ourselves also being undefiled; a God of spotless purity, and ourselves without blemish _before the throne_; our _garments washed_ white _in the blood of the Lamb_, and never, never to be defiled again; that is the glory and pleasure of a christian. Then we shall appear _without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing_; without guile in our mouths, or vanity in our hearts; _without fault before God_, and therefore without pain; without sorrow, and without fear for ever, even though we stand before God in all his majesty; for we are assured of his mercy. Now we worship with prayers and tears, because of many and heavy burdens, sorrows and sins; but _then with everlasting songs and joy on our heads_; Is. xxxv. 10. If we had a painful and living sense of these things, of the wanderings, temptations, burdens, and defilements, that mingle with our worship here, we should cry aloud, and say, _How long, O Lord, how long?_

6. _Lastly_, Now we appear and depart again, but then we shall abide with God for ever. Now we go down from the mount of converse with God, into the world of temptation, and sin, and business, and care: We appear upon mount Horeb, or Pisgah, and we take a little view of the promised land: but we go down again as the children of Israel did, to fight with the Canaanites, the giants that are in the valley, our mighty sins, our strong corruptions. In this valley of tears we must have a conflict before we get to the promised land; there every worshipper has in his hand a palm of complete victory; Rev. vii. 9. and he is for ever discharged from fighting: _Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God; and he shall go no more out_; Rev. iii. 12. So necessary is the presence of the saints in heaven, that our Lord Jesus Christ has represented them as pillars of that building. God dwelling in the midst of his saints, counts himself dwelling in one of his glorious heavens: and every saint there is, as it were, a pillar, and a support of it: We are _lively stones_ in that building in which God will for ever inhabit. Now we come to the house of God as visitants; but there as inhabitants, as the _children_ of God, who _abide for ever in the house_: There every saint obtains what holy David wished for, and that in the literal perfection of it, that he might _dwell in the house of the Lord for ever_; Ps. xxvii. 4. and xxiii. 6.

Use. The only reflection I shall make on the second part of my discourse, is this, that we should raise our hope, our consolation, and our joy, by a meditation of such future worship in heaven as this is, when we lie under many weaknesses, restraints, and defilements, in our best worship on earth. O! how would this hope rejoice our hearts, if we could but live upon it! What secret comfort would it be to a poor humble soul, who is hindered from drawing near to God in worship now, because his affections are perpetually ready to wander, to think that he shall come and appear before God hereafter, and see him without ceasing, and his thoughts shall never wander from his God. When he complains under the temptations of Satan, and absence of God from his ordinances, what a pleasure to think he is going above to worship at the _general assembly_, where Satan never enters, and where God never conceals himself; but appears universally gracious, and without a frown; where the God of glory and mercy appears unchangeably, and for ever the same.

Those of us who have been long restrained from all the pleasure and profit of public ordinances, what a blessed release will it be to our souls, when we shall be dismissed from the bonds of flesh, into that great and holy society of spirits, and shall feel no more restraints for ever? We who have been detained from the house of God, by the uncharitable laws of men, or the painful providence of God, with what a divine relish shall we embrace our liberty in that day, and be eternally free from all forbidding laws, and all imprisoning providences?

O how heartily should it engage our affections to one another, and increase the pleasure of our worship, when we come to wait on God together here below, to think that we shall worship God together in the upper world? How should it unite the hearts of our congregations one to another in divine love and make christians for ever forbear wrath and anger here, since they must be everlasting fellow-worshippers above?

What a glorious joy will it be to you who are the heads and rulers of this family, who have so often joined in sweet devotion here on earth, when you shall meet each other there, and worship together before the throne in heaven? What a mutual endearment, and mutual delight does such a prospect raise between the nearest relations? How doth it exalt the sweetest passion, heighten and refine the warmest love? What a blessed transport will it be to the parents, to find their children there engaged in the same work? And what a joyful meeting will it be to you, the children, the hopeful offspring of this house, to find each other in that company, and to see your pious parents with you? With what a glorious and unspeakable joy shall parents render up their accounts to God in this language, “_Lord here am I, and the children that thou hast given me_;” imitating the words of the Lord Jesus, giving up his account to his Father; Heb. ii. 13.

How will our gladness increase, and our souls enlarge themselves in holy joy, to behold our christian friends, and our dear relatives, standing in the same assembly, as fellow-worshippers at the throne? How will the heads of this family rejoice, if their whole household should be found there, whom they have endeavoured to encourage in their way to heaven, by a religious care to maintain household worship? how will the joy of faithful ministers be advanced by every one of their hearers, whom they shall find in that blessed church above? _Ye are our crown, and our glory, and our rejoicing in that day_; 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20.

Now should not each of us maintain a holy jealousy within ourselves, and say, “Which of us shall be missing?” May not every one of us so far suspect ourselves, as to say, ‘_Lord is it I?_’ Shall I be wanting there, when all the rest of this little assembly shall be worshipping with the saints in heaven? Shall I be separated from them with whom I have so often appeared before God, and bowed the knee together on earth? O dreadful thought of overwhelming sorrow! Which of us all has so much stupidity, or such impious courage, as to bear the terrible apprehension? To be divided for ever from the family of God, and shut out of his upper sanctuary! O may these words make a proper impression on every heart, to keep our jealousy awake, and spur us onward in our christian course of duty and devotion! May such thoughts as these excite us to _give all diligence, to make our calling and election sure_, and in every act of worship here in this world, to get some clearer evidence of an interest in the favour of God, some further meetness for glory; that when the great assembly shall join together in that heavenly worship, we may assist with our praises, and mingle our joy with theirs. _Amen._

HYMN FOR SERMONS XIII. and XIV.
_Appearance before God here and hereafter._

While I am banish’d from thy house,
I mourn in secret, Lord:
“When shall I come, and pay my vows,
And hear thy holy word?”

So while I dwell in bonds of clay,
Methinks my soul shall groan,
“When shall I wing my heavenly way,
And stand before thy throne?”

I love to see my Lord below,
His church displays his grace;
But upper worlds his glory know,
And view him face to face.

I love to worship at his feet,
Though sin attack me there;
But saints exalted near his seat,
Have no assaults to fear.

I’m pleas’d to meet him in his court,
And taste his heavenly love;
But still I think his visits short,
Or I too soon remove.

He shines, and I am all delight,
He hides, and all is pain:
When will he fix me in his sight,
And ne’er depart again?

SERMON XV.
_A Rational Defence of the Gospel: Or, Courage in professing
Christianity._
ROM. i. 16.——I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.
THE FIRST PART.

Shame is a very discouraging passion of the mind; it sinks the spirits low, it enfeebles all the active powers, and forbids the vigorous execution of any thing whereof we are ashamed. It was necessary therefore, that St. Paul should be endued with sacred courage, and raised above the power of shame, when he was sent to preach the gospel of Christ among the Jews or the heathens, to face an infidel world, and to break through all the reproaches and terrors of it. _I am a debtor_, saith he, _verse 14_, _to the Greeks and to the Barbarians_; that is, to the learned and the unlearned nations; _to the wise and to the unwise_: I have a commission from Christ to publish his gospel among all the nations of men, and I esteem myself their debtor, till I have delivered my message: And though Rome be the seat of worldly power and policy, the mistress of the nations, and sovereign of the earth, where I shall meet with opposition and contempt in abundance, yet I have courage enough to preach this doctrine at Rome also, _for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ_.

My friends, this is an age wherein the gospel of our Redeemer meets with much contempt and opposition. There are many in a baptized nation, and who have been brought up in the christian belief and worship, that begin to be weary of Christ and his religion; they are endeavouring to find blemishes and defects in this sacred gospel, and in that blessed word of God that reveals this grace to us. The divine truths, that belong to this gospel, meet with mockery and profane reproach from deists and unbelievers. I may call it therefore a day of rebuke and blasphemy. God grant we may never become a land of heathens again! Those of us that believe this gospel from the heart, have need of courage to maintain our profession of it, especially in some companies and conversations. We should prepare ourselves to encounter the false reasonings of unbelievers, as well as harden our faces against their ridicule. Let us therefore meditate this sacred text, that each of us may pronounce boldly the words of this great apostle, _I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ_.

Now, that our meditations may proceed regularly on the present theme of discourse, let us consider,

I. What the gospel of Christ is, that we may not mistake it.—II. What is included in this expression, I am not ashamed of it.—III. What there is in this gospel that might be supposed any way to expose a man to shame; and I shall take occasion under this head to give particular answers to some of the most important objections that might be made against the gospel, and shew that there is no just reason to be ashamed of it.—IV. I shall consider what is that general answer to all objections; that universal guard against sinful shame which is contained in my text, and which will bear out every christian in his faith and profession of the gospel of Christ, _viz._ that it is the power of God to the salvation of every one who believes.—And, V. I shall draw some proper inferences.

_First_, What is the gospel of Christ?

I answer in general, It is a revelation of the grace of God to fallen man through a Mediator. Or, It is a gracious constitution of God for the recovery of sinful and miserable man, from that deplorable state into which sin had brought him, by the meditation of Christ: Or, in the words of my text, it is the power of God, or his powerful appointment, for the salvation of every one who believes. The word gospel, in the original, εὐαγγέλιον signifies good news, or glad tidings. And surely, when a sinner who is exposed to the wrath of God, is sensible of his guilt and danger, it must needs be glad tidings to him to hear of a way of salvation, and an all-sufficient Saviour. This constitution of God for our salvation has had various editions, if I may so express it, or gradual discoveries of it made to mankind, ever since Adam first sinned, and God visited him with the first promise of grace before he turned him out of paradise. But the last and most complete revelation of this gospel was made by the personal ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, and more especially by his apostles, when his own death, resurrection, and exaltation had laid the complete foundation for it. From the books of the New Testament therefore we may derive this larger description of the gospel of Christ.

It is a wise, a holy, and gracious constitution of God for the recovery of sinful man, by sending his own Son Jesus Christ into the flesh, to obey his laws which man had broken, to make a proper atonement for sin by his death, and thus to procure the favour of God, and eternal happiness for all that believe and repent, and receive the offered salvation; together with a promise of the Holy Spirit to work this faith and repentance in their hearts, to renew their sinful natures into holiness, to form them on earth fit for this happiness, and to bring them to the full possession of it in heaven.

It might be proved that this is the sense and substance of the gospel of Christ from many of the prophecies of the Old Testament, and the ceremonies and figures of the Jewish church, as well as from a variety of citations from the writings of the evangelists and apostles: Yet there have risen some persons, I mean the Socinians and their disciples, in the last age and in this also, who call themselves christians, but they also curtail and diminish the gospel of Christ, as to make it signify very little more than the dictates and hopes of the light of nature, _viz._ “That if we repent of our sins past, and obey the commands of God as well as we can for the future, Christ as a great prophet, has made a full declaration that there is pardon for such sinners, and they shall be accepted unto eternal life:” and all this without any dependance on his death as a proper sacrifice, and with little regard to the operations of his Holy Spirit.

Now I need use no other argument to refute this mistaken notion of the gospel, than what may be derived from the words of my text, _viz._ that St. Paul expresses it with a sort of emphasis, and as a matter of importance, that he was _not ashamed of the gospel of Christ_: Whereas if this had been all the substance of the gospel, he had no reason to be ashamed of it either among the Jews or the heathens. The Jews had a knowledge of forgiveness upon repentance, and a belief of it long before Christ came: And the heathen philosophers would have readily received it, as a thing very little different from what their natural reason might lead them to hope for: though it could not fully assure them of it: They would never have sought to expose and ridicule the preaching of St. Paul as mere babbling, and called him _a setter forth of strange gods_.

But on the other hand, if we suppose him publishing the glorious doctrine which I have described, there was something in this so strange to the ears of the heathens, as well as of the blinded Jews, that might well be supposed to awaken their opposition and rage; and therefore it was a great point gained with him, when he had courage enough to maintain such a gospel, and to say, I am not ashamed of it.

This leads me to the second thing proposed.

_Secondly_, What is included in these words, I am not ashamed of the gospel? To this I answer under these five heads:

1. I am not ashamed to believe it as a man.—2. I am not ashamed to profess it as a christian.—3. I am not ashamed to preach it to others as a minister.—4. I am not ashamed to defend it, and contend for it as a good soldier of Christ.—5. I am not ashamed to suffer and die for it as a martyr.

1. I am not ashamed to believe this gospel as a man. My rational powers give me no secret reproaches. My understanding and judgment do not reprove and check my faith. I feel no inward blush upon the face of my soul, while I give the fullest assent to all these truths, to this scheme of doctrine, to this heavenly contrivance and system of grace. A rational man, especially who has been bred up in learning, should be ashamed to believe fables and follies, but I believe all this gospel and am not ashamed. My own reason approves it, and justifies me in the persuasion and belief of such a gospel as this is. I believe it with so firm and unshaken a faith, that I venture all my own eternal concerns upon it. I lay all the stress of my hopes of a blessed immortality on it. My soul rests here, and I am not ashamed of my resting-place: I am not ashamed of my Saviour, and the method of his salvation. I am persuaded my hopes shall never disappoint me. Surely, if the gospel had been so very irrational a thing, as some men pretend it to be, St. Paul, being so rational and wise a man, would have been ashamed to believe it. But I believe it, says he, and am not ashamed. I do not think it casts any just reflection upon my rational capacities, or my learned education at the feet of Gamaliel, for me to give a full assent to this gospel.

2. I am not ashamed to profess it as a christian. I am ready to tell the world that I believe it, and I take all occasions to let the world know it. I am coming to profess this gospel at Rome, and am not ashamed: I have owned it before my own countrymen the Jews already, where it has been most reproached. I have been telling the Gentiles what the gospel of salvation is, and I long to see you at Rome, that I may tell you what my belief is in the gospel, and may hear how far you have believed, and may be _comforted by the mutual faith both of you and me_; Rom. i. 12. I shall be glad to tell you what doctrines I venture my own soul upon, and shall be willing to hear from you whether you venture your souls upon the same doctrine, or no; and shall rejoice to find we are both interested in one salvation.

3. I am not ashamed to preach it to others as a minister, that is, to invite others to believe it. It is a communicable good, and I am sent to diffuse it, nor am I ashamed of my commission. See 2 Tim. i. 12, 13. _Our Lord Jesus Christ has abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light by the gospel_, and has appointed me a preacher, and an apostle to the gentiles: I preach the gospel, and _am not ashamed_, though I have suffered for it. I venture my soul upon it unto the last great day, and I bid thee, Timothy, as a preacher unto others, _to hold fast the same form of sound words which thou hast learned of me_. I long to teach the whole world this faith and this doctrine, therefore _I am a debtor to the Greeks and barbarians_; I would make others partakers of the same hope. _Would to God, that not only thou, Agrippa, but all those that hear me, were not only almost, but altogether such as I am, except only these bonds, these sufferings_ which I endure for Christ’s sake; Acts xxvi. 22.

4. I am not ashamed to contend for it as _a good soldier of Christ_; to defend it when it is attacked, and to vindicate the cause of my Lord and Master. Where it is assaulted I endeavour to secure it, though with many reproaches from the carnal prejudices of mankind. I oppose them all; for they oppose my Saviour and his cross, and I build my everlasting hopes there. _I am set for the defence of the gospel of Christ_; Phil. i. 17. and I will _contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints_; Jude ver. 3. And he gave us an instance of it, that when Peter, who was an apostle, seemed to diminish some of the glory and the liberty of the gospel, he _withstood him to the face_; Gal. ii. 11. “There shall no man silence me, or stop my mouth, when I am preaching a crucified Saviour, and when I express my faith in the liberty and latitude of the gospel of Christ. For if I durst withstand an apostle under his criminal concealments, and in his diminution of the honour of this doctrine, surely I dare oppose all the world besides.”

5. _Lastly_, I am not ashamed to suffer and die for it as a martyr. Load me with reproaches, ye Jews, my countrymen, and load me with chains, ye magistrates of Rome; of none of these am I ashamed or afraid, but with all boldness I am always ready that Christ should be magnified in my life, or my death; Phil. i. 14, 20. And as for my friends that are full of sorrow lest Paul should be sacrificed for the faith of Christ. What mourn ye, and break my heart for? _I am not only ready to be bound, but to die for the sake of Christ. I count nothing dear to me, no nor my life precious to myself, that I may finish with joy the course of my ministry of this gospel, that I may testify the grace of my God_; Acts xx. 24. and xxi. 13.

I might add also, that St. Paul intends and means more than he expresses by a very usual figure of speech: I am not ashamed of it, that is, I glory in it, I make my boast of it. If there be any doctrine worth boasting of, it is the gospel of Christ. If I have any profession to glory in, it is that I am a christian. Once I was a pharisee, and I counted it my gain and my honour; Phil. iii. 7, 8. _But what things were gain to me, these I counted loss for Christ; yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord._ I glory in being a minister of the gospel; it is the highest honour God could have put upon me, who am less than the least of all saints. _To me is this grace given to preach among the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ_; Eph. iii. 8. I glory in it to that degree, that I am dead to all things else. _God forbid I should glory in any thing save in the cross of our Lord Jesus, whereby the world is crucified to me, and I to the world_; Gal. vi. 14. I glory in my sufferings: and, my friends, if ye understood the value of these things, they are your glory too. _If I am offered up a sacrifice for the service of your faith; I joy and rejoice together with all_; Phill. ii. 17. O! that you would but rejoice together with me in it. Thus I have shewed you that all these things are implied in St. Paul’s not being ashamed of the gospel of Christ, and I have proved it to you from other parts of his epistles.

The third general head I proposed to speak to, was this; What is there in this gospel that may be supposed to expose any man to shame! And this question is very needful; for if there were nothing in it that men might take occasion to throw their scandals and reproaches at, it had been no great matter for St. Paul to have cried out, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

To this I answer in general, this was a gospel that contradicted the rooted prejudices of the Jews, and was severely reproached by those that professed great knowledge in their law; it was also a new and strange thing to the Gentiles. _A crucified Christ was a stumbling-block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Greeks_; 1 Cor. i. 23. There was something in the faith, and practice, and worship of the gospel so contrary to the course of their education in the world, so opposite to their carnal inclinations, and to the customs and fashions of their country, that a man might well be afraid and ashamed to profess it, when they lift their tongues, and their hands, and their swords against it, and the chief of them _crucified the Lord of glory_, and put the preachers of it to death.

Thus in general. But while I descend to particulars, I shall confine myself only to those occasions of shame, which the same gospel meets with in our day, that so the discourse may be more useful, to the present audience; and as I mention each objection or supposed occasion of shame, I shall endeavour to take off the force of it, and shew that it is unreasonable.

Now the things that might any ways be supposed to expose this gospel to shame, may be ranked under these two heads:—

I. Those which arise from the doctrines of the gospel: And, II.—Those which arise from the professors of the gospel.

_First_, The occasions of shame that arise from the doctrines of the gospel, are these five that follow:

I. That there are mysteries in it which are above the powers of our reason to comprehend, and I will never believe a gospel that I cannot comprehend. This is the language of Socinians, men that have pretended so much to reason in our day.

But to relieve this occasion of shame, let us consider that mysteries are of two sorts.

_First_, Such as we should never have known but by divine revelation; but being once revealed, they may be fairly explained and understood. Such is the doctrine of the satisfaction of Christ, of the resurrection of the dead, of the forgiveness of sins for the sake of Christ’s sufferings, and of eternal life in a future world. I say, these are all mysteries that were hid from ages, that is, they are such truths which nature or reason could not have found out of itself, but being once revealed to us of God, may be fairly explained and well understood. Other sort of mysteries are those, which when revealed unto us, we know merely the existence, or reality and certainty of them, but cannot comprehend the mode and manner how they are. And of this kind there are but two that I know of which are peculiar to our religion, and which are the chief objects of offence to some men. These are the mysteries of the blessed Trinity, and the mystery of the incarnation of Christ. The mystery of Three, whom the scripture describes as persons, who have some glorious communion in one godhead! and the mystery of two natures united in one person.

Now, though the way and manner how the three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, should be one God, and how two natures, human and divine, should be one person in Christ Jesus; I say, though the way and manner how these things are, is not so easy to be explained and unfolded by us, and above our own present capacity to comprehend and fully to explain, yet I could never find these things proved impossible to be. If I must refuse to believe a thing that I know not the manner and nature of, there are many things in the world of nature, and in natural religion, that I must disbelieve. Let them explain to me in natural religion what is the eternity of God, what ideas they can have of a being that never began to be; and then perhaps I may be able to explain to them how three persons can have communion in one godhead, and how two natures can be one in person. I am well assured, there are some doctrines in natural religion as difficult to be explained, and hard to be understood, and the manner of them is as mysterious, as these doctrines of revealed religion, which are also rendered more offensive to the thinking mind, by some men’s attempts to explain them in an unhappy manner.

But we may go a step lower to meet this objection, and confound it. In the world of nature there are mysteries of this kind, which are as unaccountable and as hard to be unfolded as the mysteries of grace. It is the doctrine of union both in the trinity and the incarnation, which renders them so mysterious. Now this doctrine of unions in natural philosophy hath been hitherto insolvable. We know that spirit and body are united to make a man: But the manner how they are united, remains still a most difficult question. We know that some bodies are hard, and some are soft; but what it is that ties or unites hard bodies so closely together, and makes them so difficult to be separated, is a riddle to the best philosophers, which they cannot solve; or what it is that renders the parts of soft bodies so easily separable. And many other things there are in nature as mysterious as this.