God's fentence concludes all under fin and guilt, and unable to stand before him by the law of original innocence and integrity.

Upon this fuppofition now, comes the Chriftian inftitution and edict and calls mankind to a better mind; calls him to God, to his brother (of the fame race) and to himself. To God, from whom he is fallen; to his brother with whom he is fallen out, or whom he little loves; and to himself, whose welfare he should more value. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God (as indeed he deserves) with all thy heart and foul; thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy felf (as thy felf ought to be loved). When he came to himself, he faid, I will arife now and go to my father. grace of God, that brings falvation (both in it felf, and in the revelation of it) teaches us, That denying all Ungodliness and worldly Lufts, we fhould live foberly (prudentially, in reference to our felves) and righteoufly, (in reference to our neighbours) and godlily (with strict religion towards God) in this prefent world.

a

b

The

The foundation and beginning of this return to God and Religion, is Repentance. To this, the Chriftian Religion fummons us. With this fummons, the Saviour's miniftry began. Jefus began to preach and to fay, Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. By fuch fummons, was the Harbinger to prepare a people for him. preaching, Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. becomes the Saviour of the World. He that would recover fuch a world as this to Heaven and to God, must call and gain it to repentance towards God.

C

He came
Such call

This Repentance is not a fudden fright, or hafty pang of fear, regret or grief, or shame. It is a lafting impreffion or mutation made upon the mind or spirit of Man. It is a thorough change of will and heart, of confcience and inclination from what they were before. It is join'd with a word that imports a turning or return. Repent ye and be converted (or return'd). d Repent and turn to God. Where it should feem, that the one intimates the Terminus a quo, what we fhould turn from, Sin and Difobedience; the other, the Terminus ad quem, what we fhould turn to, God and the things of God. Or both may fometimes be included in the word, Repent. Every motion muft leave one

D 2

term,

Tit. 2 xi. 12. Mat. iii, 17.

Ats. iii. 19. d Acts. xxvi. 20.

term, and proceed to another. The moral motion of the foul, that quits fin, must tend to that that is oppofite thereto; the divine law, and the legislator himself. This Repentance is in effect, the heart's return to God. In this return from fin, the heart is deeply filled with fhame for the folly of it, with abhorrence of the filth and pollution of it, with grief for the injury done to itself, for the wrong, difhonour and indignity done to the bleffed God. And from that cardinal paffion (fo fanctified) it seems to derive its name, and is called Repentance.

In this Repentance must the life and work of Religion begin in a finful world and a finful heart, 'Tis this Repentance that muft, 1. Make fin bitter, frightful and odious to the wounded Soul. Thereupon, 2. Muft break the force and power of it where it reign'd before. 3. Must humble the proud, rebellious fpirit, and make it stoop to God, and all the demands of his law. Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do. 4. Muft prepare the Soul for the reception of mercy, for a mediator, and a pardon through his atonement. And 5. It will repair (as well as it can) the Divine glory that has been injured. It will acknowledge the dignity and dominion of the divine Majesty, the equity of his law, the righteousness and honour of his government, the unreasonableness and difingenuity of fin and rebellion against him, the justice of his condemnation and judgment.

How little do we read of this facred Repentance in the volumes of Pagan morality, or in a Mahometan Alcoran ! How little do they open and enforce the various motives to this Repentance! It must be an eminent congruity and commendation of the Chriftian Religion, that it digs deep, ploughs up the fallow ground,awakens and convicts the mind and confcience, and lays the foundation of found Religion, that must be planted in a finful world, and in a finful Soul, in a deep and thorough Repentance towards God. This is Prefcription, fuitable to our cafe, and God's glory, that is to be repaired.

SECT.

SECT. V.

'Tis the Chriftian Inftitution that is the great difcovery and demonftration of the Divine Philanthropy, or the tranfcendent love that the great God bears to us, and this world of ours.

'T's

IS fad, as well as ftrange, that we are not only averse to the law of God, but to the love of God too. If any miracle of divine incomparable love will recommend a Religion to us, here it is. But indeed it is here fo great, we can scarce believe it. Our fin here abounds, because grace has fo ftrangely abounded. Our great offence to the divine Majesty (as it may juftly be) now lies here, that we flight his love, and refuse to be beloved. The old ferpentine Deceiver had infinuated, that God did not love us, as he pretended; or withheld an excellent Bleffing from us. The good God will confute the malicious Slander; and will fhow, that he did not only love us when innocent, but when fallen into unloveliness, into fin and guilt. He will give us unconteftable evidence of his love. He will fet his most excellent Minifters above, a wondring at his love. As he calls us to Repentance, he will give us fuch a motive thereto, as may well melt and break our Hearts, that ever we should fo offend, abufe and wrong fo gracious and loving a God. He has not only built this World for Man, and made the luminaries to light us to himself, the father of lights: The Ocean is made for our wonder, our food, refreshment and treasure: The Earth is spread a footstool beneath us, whose surface nourishes us, and whose bowels are our wealth and armour : Diverfe orders of animals there, are our affiftants, our aliment and cloathing: (What free and generous bounty is here conferr'd on Man! Thou haft fet him over the works of thy hands, and provided richly for his accommodation in paffing through this itinerary World.)

But

But this is not all; there are many more inftances of divine Philanthropy; fome of which are discovered in this inftitution; others of them, if apparent in themselves, yet in their defign and tendency, are more fully manifefted there. If fome of thefe gracious inflances do not, in the event, reach to all the individuals of the human race, yet being designed for, and conferr'd upon, fome or other of the race (it may be, in diftinction from the Inhabitants of other Worlds) they may justly enough be reputed Instances of divine Philanthropy, and fignatures of the wonderful love of God to mankind. Let us then fee and admire these things.

I. There is a wondrous patience of God towards a profligate world. It may be, it would be hard to prove (à priori) by any previous confideration, that it is proper or congruous, that the great God fhould bear fo long (fo many thousand years as he does) with fuch an impious World. His Being, and Perfections, and Government are continually flighted and blasphemed. His patience and forbearance is an offence and ftumbling-block to mortals themselves. Such daring criminals are spared, that others are tempted to furmize, that there is no God, no Nemefis, no divine vindictive juftice. Solicitor nullos effe putare Deos. Because fentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the Sons of Men is fully fet in them to do Evil. And the heart of the religi ous themselves is fometimes difcouraged. God fpared not the Angels, but caft them out of their habitation, and laid them in inviolable chains, 'till the final judgment. He bore long with the old world; and tho' he wash'd it away at laft, he fecured a feed for the rife of another world. And still he bears with the prodigious lufts and corruptions of the fcattered nations. He gives long space to repent. By long trains of mercy, he invites us to himself. By his various providences, he leads us to inquire after him, and the way to his favour and grace. He continually treats us, as if he were willing that we fhould come to repentance, and the knowledge of the truth concerning him and his falvation.

II. He has ordain'd a most glorious Salvation for mankind; a Salvati. on that is to ifjue into an eternal Glory in the Heavens. There must be a full deliverance from fin and death and hell and all the adverfaries of our

Felicity

Felicity. There must be an advancement of (now) finful mortals (beyond the reach of fin and mifery) to an unconceivable happiness with the blefled God. The parts and progrefs, the means and methods of this falvation were all most freely and graciously laid down in the council of God, before time began. We speak the Wisdom of God, in a Mystery (in a deep Secret) even hidden Wifdom (repofited in the archives of the eternal mind) which God ordain'd, before the World was, unto (or for) our Glory. (c)

tion.

III. God has been pleased to commit the work and business of this great falvation to his own most Bleffed Son. God has one eternal, connatural and confimilar Son. The shining brightness of his own glory,and the exprefs image of his own perfon. So One with Him, as to be One and the fame God with him,or not separated from him in God-head; fo distinct from him, as that among Chriftian Divines, he is ufually faid to be another perfon. Before the making of the world, he was fo related to God, that he is faid to be the Word of God, even that Word, by which all things were made, and which alfo it felf, was God, had its existence and order in the God-head. This Word being an intelligent, active power, is capable of accomplishing the great affair of our falvaThe FATHER is willing that he fhould accomplish it; and he confents. This falvation must be atchiev'd by way of redemption, We must be redeemed out of the hand of Divine Justice, and all those oppofers of our falvation, to which Divine Juftice had deliver'd us, which, by reason of the curfe of God for our fin, had dominion over us. Juftice must be content to refign us. The curfe and threatning of God must be honour'd and gratified. The Saviour therefore must be the Redeemer. The Redeemer must be the ranfom. The ransom muft be of the fame nature and natural quality, with the nature that finn'd and fuffer'd, and is to be redeemed. Here then is love, that the FATHER was pleas'd to ordain, and give up his own dear SON to be, and do, and bear all this for us. Give him to put on our nature, to affume into perfonal union with himself, fuch an human effence as we have, fuch an human fpirit, united with fuch an organized body, and therein become a member of our world, be born under our (c) 1 Cor. ii. 7.

or

Laws,