Mercurii, 18° Die Decembris, 1745.

Ordered,

TH

HAT the Thanks of this House be given to the Reverend Dr. Newton, for the Sermon by him this Day preached before this Houfe, at St. Margaret's Westminster; and that he be defired to print the fame; and that the Lord Carpenter and Mr. Frankland do acquaint him therewith.

N. HARDING E,

Cl. Dom' Com'

113.5.1912

REV. ii. 5.

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

I

N the leffer Afia there were formerly feven famous and florifh

ing churches; but they began very early to degenerate, and feveral corruptions were grown up among them even in the days of the Apoftles. St. John is therefore commanded to write unto them, and accordingly addreffes the Revelation to them all in general, and a feparate epiftle to each in particular, and first to the church of Ephefus, as that was the principal,

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principal, and the metropolis of the leffer Afia. It is no ordinary mesfage that he delivers, but he writes by the authority and in the name of Jefus, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or elfe I will come unto thee quickly, will yifit thee fpeedily in judgment, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, will take away from thee the light of the gofpel which thou haft hitherto enjoy'd, except thou repent. It may reasonably be prefumed, that these admonitions had for fome time at leaft the defired effect, in reforming the manners of men, and confequently in retarding the judgments of God: but after five or fix centuries, when the Chriftians of the Eaft walked no longer worthy of their holy profeffion, and inftead of growing at all better waxed daily worse and worse, it pleased God to deliver

them

them into the hands of their enemies, the Saracens firft and the Turks afterwards, who turned their churches into mofques, their worship into horrid fuperftition, and instead of the pure religion of Jefus which they had thus abufed, forced Mahometism upon them by arms and violence; and in this miferable condition they have continued ever fince, fad monuments of God's juftice, and terrible examples to all fucceeding generations!

Such was the fate of the most glorious churches in the Eaft, and let us beware left fuch alfo be not the fate of the best and pureft churches in the Weft. For thefe admonitions of the Apostle were intended for us as well as for them, and he repeats it again and again, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit faith unto the churches; and leaves it to us to make the proper applicaE 3

tion

tion to ourselves. Now certainly we have enjoy'd the light of the gofpel as well as they, in its trueft fplendor and purity; and like them have fallen from our former piety and virtue. Like them too we are threaten'd with the heavieft of God's judgments, the lofs of our pure religion and liberty, and this speedily too, unless we take the fame courfe that was prescribed to them, to prevent it. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or elfe I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. Here are then two things propofed to our confideration, firft the evils with which we are threaten'd, I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place; and fecondly the most effectual method to prevent these evils, namely to remember