1 JOHN v. 10.-He that believeth on the Son of God, hath the Witness in himself.

THE SECOND PART.

WHEN such a text as this is named for the foundation of discourse, some nicer hearers begin to grow jealous, that the preacher is entering into mystery and inward light, and they expect to hear no clear and solid reasoning, nor any justness of thought. Thus blinded by their own prejudices, they prevent their improvement by the ministry of the word; and because they have heard the experiences of christians wittily ridiculed, they resolve to believe that nothing of experimental religion can be justified to strict reason, or have any thing to do with argument.

But how impious, and how unreasonable a fancy this is, will sufficiently appear, if it can be proved that every true christian has a most rational and incontestible evidence of the truth of his religion, drawn from the change that is hereby made in his own heart. If it can once be made evident, that eternal life is begun in every soul that believes in Jesus Christ, this will confirm christianity with a high hand, and confute the wicked scandal for ever.

I have begun this attempt in the first discourse, and have shewn that eternal life is composed of two parts, viz. holiness and happiness.

The happiness of it consists in a just and comfortable sense of the forgiveness of sin, and a lively hope and persuasion of the special love of God, and the delightful harmony of all the natural powers, viz. reason, conscience, the will and the passions. Where these are found, heaven is begun; eternal life has taken possession of the soul; and this evidently proves the doctrine that effected it to be divine.

Now, if an atheist, a heathen, or a Jew, should cavil and say, "Are not all your hopes mere presumption? Are not your sense and persuasion of the love of God mere delusions of fancy, and raptures of warm imagination, without any ground, or solid foundation of reason?" The christian may boldly refute such suspicions. These are no vain transports, no foolish visions of hope and joy, because as high and glorious as my comforts and

my expectations are, they are built on a due apprehension of the justice of God, as well as his mercy; I have no hopes of pardon by Jesus Christ, but what are supposed by the righteousness and truth of God, as well as his goodness; for in this way of salvation, offended justice is satisfied to the full, and mercy can exert itself in full glory, without the least dishonour or reflection on the strict righteousness of God. God is just in the justification of a sinner this way; He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness; 1 John ì. 9.

Besides, says the christian, the change wrought in me is real, and not imaginary; I am quite another creature than once I was the several powers of my nature, that were wont to be in perpetual war, now enjoy a peaceful harmony, and my soul feels the pleasure, and the divine peace. My strictest and severest reason approves the change, and owns it to be divine.

And thus I am led onward to speak of the other part of eternal life, and that is holiness. This also is found in believing souls, and becomes an evidence of the truth of the gospel.

Holiness may be described by these five necessary ingredients of it.

1. An aversion to and hatred of all sin.-2. A contempt of the present world, in comparison of the future.-3. A delight in the worship and society of God.-4. Zeal and activity in his service.-5. A hearty love to fellow-creatures, and more especially to fellow-saints.

I shall discourse of each of these particularly, and shew that eternal life consists in them, and this eternal life is found in believers.

Holiness consists in an aversion to, and hatred of all sin. This is complete in heaven, and without this, heaven cannot be complete. Into heaven there entereth nothing that defileth; Rev. xxi. 27. Every inhabitant there is completely averse to all iniquity, and hates every thing that displeases God; for nothing but perfect obedience is found there; the spirits of the just are there made perfect; Heb. xii. 23. Now this in a measure and degree is found in believers here, for he that abideth in Christ sinneth not; 1 John iii. 6. He cannot sin with a full purpose of heart; he that is born of God cannot sin with constancy and greediness, as others do that are only born of flesh and blood; he cannot sin without an inward sincere reluctancy, without the combat of the spirit against the flesh; he doth not make a trade of sin, sinning is not his business, his delight and pleasure. This is a blessed testimony of the truth of the gospel, that faith in the Son of God purifies the heart; Acts xv. 9.

Every christian has an aversion to all sin: If he chuses some sins, to continue in them, and hates other iniquities, he can never

be said to be a true believer in Christ, and to have the work of faith in sincerity wrought in his heart.

Other religions have professed an aversion to some sins, but indulged others. Some make cruelty a part of their duty, and require the sacrificing of mankind to appease the anger of their gods; a bloody and impious practice, as well as a vain and fruitless one! Some forbid murder, but allow and encourage variety of uncleanness, and make that a part of their worship. Other professions have forbid wanton practices, and commended chastity; but they indulge resentment and revenge, as a necessary part of the character of a warrior, or a great man. Carnal and sensual lusts have been opposed and hated by some of the old philosophers, but spiritual iniquities have hereby been promoted. Pride has hereby been wonderfully increased, and none of them can excuse themselves from those sins which make men very like Satan, although they are freed from the brutality of sensual lusts. But the business of the gospel of Christ is to keep men from committing any kind of sins whatsoever.

Other religions have changed one lust for another; but the religion of Christ forbids all manner of iniquity, and changes the whole nature into holiness. Christianity refines the soul in all the powers of it, and inclines us to the duties both of the first and second table; it writes the law of God in the heart, and brings the soul to a sweet compliance therewith. All the affections are renewed; all old things are done away, and all things are become new; he that is in Christ is a new creature; he has crucified the flesh, with its affections and lusts; 2 Cor. v. 17. Gal. v. 24.

The

Surely there is a spirit and power that accompanies the religion of our Lord Jesus, such as other religions know not; and this was manifest abundantly in the primitive christians, when those wretches were converted, whose names were once written in that black catalogue that the apostle speaks of; 1 Cor. vi. 9. when they by the light of the gospel, were purified, were purged from their defilements, and were made new creatures. apostle could appeal to the Corinthian church, and say, so vile and filthy were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God; 1 Cor. vi. 11. Not in the names of other Gods, and other religions, but in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. Philosophy was raised to a great height in the city of Corinth; it was almost enough for a man to be accounted learned, to have been in that city, and to have known a little of the customs of it; yet all their learning was not sufficient to reform them, for they were a profligate and lewd people still. But the religion of our Lord Jesus Christ

breaking in upon their souls, purified, refined them, and made such an alteration in them, that the world beheld, and were amazed at the surprising change. They thought it strange that the christians would not run to the same excess of riot; 1 Pet. iv. 4. They were astonished to see a drunkard at once turn sober and temperate; a lewd unclean wretch, by hearing the gospel, become a professor and an example of chastity; a cruel and passionate temper made calm, and kind, and forgiving; a swine forsake the mire, and put on the nature of a cleanly animal; a dog or a lion changed into a lamb. This wrought conviction with power: This was miracle and demonstration; this witnessed the truth and divinity of the gospel of Christ beyond all contradictions or doubts.

II. A contempt of this world, is another part of holiness, and of heaven; a sacred disregard of temporal things raised by the sight of things eternal.

If we look upwards to heaven, we shall behold there all the inhabitants looking down with a sacred contempt upon the trifles, ámusements, businesses, and cares of this present life, that engross our affections, awaken our desires, fill our hearts with pleasure or pain, and our flesh with constant labour. With what holy scorn do you think those souls, who are dismissed from flesh, look down upon the hurries and bustles of this present state, in which we are engaged? They dwell in the full sight of those glories which they hoped for here on earth, and their intimate acquaintance with the pleasures of that upper world, and the divine sensations that are raised in them there, make them contemn all the pleasures of this state, and every thing below heaven. This is a part of eternal life, this belongs in some degree to every believer; for he is not a believer that is not got above this world in a good measure; he is not a christian, who is not weaned, in some degree, from this world: For this is our victory, whereby we overcome the world, even our faith. He that is born of God overcomes the world; he that believes in Jesus, is born of God; 1 John v. 1, 4. Whence the argument is plain, he (that believes in Jesus the Son of God, overcomes this present world. And where christianity is raised to a good degree of life and power in the soul, there we see the christian got near to heaven: he is, as it were, a fellow for angels, a fit companion for the spirits of the just made perfect. The affairs of this life are beneath his best desires and his hopes; he engages his hand in them so far, as God his Father appoints his duty; but he longs for the upper world, where his hopes are gone before: "When shall I be entirely dismissed from this labour and toil? The gaudy pleasures this world entertains me with, are no entertainments to me; I am weaned from them, I am born from above." This is the language of that faith that overcomes the world: And faith, where it is wrought in truth

in the soul, hath, in some measure, this effect; and where it shines in its brightness, it hath, in a great degree, this sublime grace accompanying it; or rather, (shall I say?) this piece of heavenly glory.

Pain and sickness, poverty and reproach, sorrow and death itself, have been contemned by those that have believed in Christ Jesus, with much more honour to christianity, than ever was brought to other religions by the same profession, and the same practice.

Other religions have in some degree, promised a contempt of the world, a contempt of sickness, and pain, and death; but then it hath been only here and there a person of a hardier mould of body; here and there one in an age, or one in a nation, who by a firmness of natural spirits, an obstinate resolution, attained by much labour of meditation, and toil of thought, hath got above the world, and above death. But our religion boasts of its hundreds and thousands, and that not only those who had firmer natural spirits, or have been skilled in thought and meditation, and absent from sensual things by philosophy, and intellectual exercises; but the feeblest of mankind, the weak things of this world, the foolish and the young, the infant (as it were) in years, and the feeble sex, have been made to contemn this world, and the pleasures of it, the hopes, and the sorrows, pain and death. They have learnt to live above all the enticing joys and affrighting terrors of this present state, that is, to live near to heaven: So that whatsoever religion pretends to a competition with ours, it falls vastly short in this respect, in raising the affections above the world, above the joys and ears of the present life.

Again if we consider what motives have argued the minds of men to the contempt of the world, we shall find the religion of Christ Jesus is far superior to all in this respect.

Other religions have taught men to despise the good things of this world and to be unconcerned about the evils of it, in a mere romantic way: Such was the Stoical doctrine, denying health and wealth, sleep and safety, to have any goodness in them; and professing that pain, poverty, sickness, want, hunger, and shame, were no evils; and upon this account they taught their disciples to be unsolicitous about the one or the other, because they were neither good nor evil. Thus, while they change the use of words they would make stocks and stones of us, rather than intelligent and holy despisers of sensible things; but the christian doctrine teaches us to contemn both the good and evil things of sense and time, by the expectation and prospect of the invisible and eternal world, where both the good and evil things are of infinitely greater importance: So our Saviour preaches, Mat. vi. 19, 20. Lay not VOL. I. C