der the weight of their greatclt fufferings. So St. Paul tells us, 2 Cor. iv. 14. 16. Knowing, that he which raised up the Lord Jefus, jhall raife up us alfo by Jefus. For which caufe we faint not; but though our outward man pes rish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. The fufferings of their bodies did but help to raife and fortify their fpirits. Nay, fo far were they from fainting under thofe afflictions, that they rejoiced and gloried in them. So the fame Apoftle tells us, Rom. v. 2. 3. that, in the midft of their fufferings, they rejoiced in hope of the glory of God; and that they gloried in tribulations, as being the way to be made partakers of that glory: and Heb. x. 34. that they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing in themselves that they had in heaven a better and an enduring fubftance. And for this reafon, St. James, chap. i. 2. exhorts Christians to account it all joy when they fall into divers temptations, that is, various kinds of fufferings, becaufe of the manifold advantages which from thence would redound to them.

Now, what was it that infpired them to all this courage and chearfulness, but the belief of a mighty reward, far beyond the proportion of all their fufferings, and a firm perfuafion that they fhould be vaft gainers by them at the laft? This confideration St. Paul urgeth with great force, 2 Cor. iv. 17. 18. Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory: while we look not at the things which are feen, but at the things which are not feen: for the things which are seen, are temporal; but the things which are not feen, are eternal. If we could compare things juftly, and attentively regard and confider the invifible glories of another world, as well as the things which are feen; we should eafily perceive, that he who fuffers for God and religion, does not renounce happinefs; but puts it out to intereft, upon terms of the greateft advantage.

I fhall now fpeak briefly to the

Second part of this remarkable faying in the text: If we deny him, he alfo will deny us. To which is fubjoined in the words following, If we believe not; eldsuw, if we deal unfaithfully with him; yet he abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself; that is, he will be conftant to his

word,

word, and make good that folemn threatening which he hath denounced against those who, for fear of fuffering, fhall deny him and his truth before men: Matth. x. 33. Whosoever (faith our Lord there) hall deny me before men, him will I alfo deny before my Father which is in heaven. Mark viii. 38. Whofoever therefore fhall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and finful generation, of him alfo fhall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels. This is a terrible threatening, to be difowned by Chrift at the day of judgment, in the prefence of God and his holy angels; and this threatening will certainly be made good: and though we may renounce him, and break our faith with him, yet he remains faithful who hath threatened, and cannot deny himself.

This is matter of great terror, and seriously to be thought upon by thofe who are tempted to deny Christ and his truth, either by the hope of worldly advantage, or the fear of temporal fufferings. What worldly advantage can we propofe to ourselves, by quitting our religi on, which can be thought an equal price, for the lofs of our immortal fouls, and of the happiness of all eternity? Suppose the whole world were offered us in confideration; yet what is a man profited, if he should gain the whole world, and lofe his own foul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his foul? as our Saviour reafons, Matth. xvi. 26.

And, on the other hand, if the fear of temporal fuffering be fuch a terror to men, as to shake their conftancy in religion, and to tempt them to renounce it; the fear of eternal torments ought to be much more powerful to keep them ftedfaft to their religion, and to deter them from the denial of it. If fear will move us, then, in all reason, that which is most terrible ought to prevail most with us, and the greatest danger fhould be most dreaded by us; according to our Saviour's most friendly and reafonable advice, Luke xii. 4. 5. I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye fhall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed, hath power to caft into hell; yea, I fay unto you, Fear him. If there can be no doubt which of them is moft to be VOL. IV.

Ff

dreaded,

dreaded, there can be no doubt what we are to do in cafe of fuch a temptation.

I fhall now draw fome inferences from this difcourfe by way of application.

1. If this be a faithful faying, that if we be dead with Chrift, we shall alfo live with him; if we fuffer, we shall alfo reign with him; but if we deny him, he will alfo deny us the belief of it ought to have a mighty influence upon us, to make us stedfast and unmoveable in the profeffion and practice of our holy religion. This inference the Apostle makes from the doctrine of a bleffed refurrection, 1 Cor. xv. 58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye fedfaft, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; forafmuch as ye know, that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. If any thing will fix men in the profeflion of their religion, and make them serious in the practice of it; the belief of a glorious refurrection, and of the reward which God will then give to his faithful fervants, muft needs have a very powerful influence upon them to this purpose. Upon the fame ground the Apostle to the Hebrews exhorts them to hold fast the profeffion of their faith without wavering; because he is faithful that hath promifed. If we be conftant in the profeffion and practice of our holy religion, God will be faithful to the promife which he hath made, of eternal life to thofe who, by patient continuance in well-doing, feek for glo ry, and honour, and immortality.

If, under the dark and imperfect difpenfation of the law, good men fhewed fo much courage and conftancy for God and religion, as we read in that long catalogue of heroes, Heb. xi.; how much more fhould Chriftians, whofe faith is fupported much more ftrongly than theirs was, by a much clearer evidence of another life, and a bleffed immortality, than they had; by more exprefs promifes of divine comfort and affiftance under fufferings, than were made to them; and by the most divine and encouraging example of the greatest patience under the greatest fufferings that the world ever had, in the death and paffion of the Son of God, who for the joy that was fet before him, endured the cross, and defpifed the fhame, and is fet down at the right hand of the throne of God? When we confider this glorious example of fuffering,

and

and the glorious reward of it, how can we be weary and faint in our minds? If the faints and apoftles of the Old Teftament did fuch great things, by virtue of a faith which relied chiefly upon the attributes and providence of God; what fhould not we do, who have the fecurity of God's exprefs promife for our comfort and encouragement! We certainly have much greater reason to take up our crofs more chearfully, and to bear it more patiently, than they did.

2. We fhould always be prepared in the refolutions of our minds, to fuffer for the teftimony of God's truth and a good confcience, if it fhould pleafe God at any time to call us to it. This our Saviour hath made a neceffary condition of his religion, and a qualification of a true difciple: If any man will be my difciple, let him take up his cross, and follow me. So that we are to reckon upon it, and to prepare for it; that if it comes, we may not be furprised, as if fome ftrange thing had happened to us; and may not be unrefolved what to do in fuch a cafe. And God knows when we may be called to it: however, it is wife to forecast it in our minds, and to be always in a preparation and readiness to entertain the worst that may happen; that if it come, we may be able to stand out in an evil day. And if it does not come, God will accept the refolution of our minds, and reward it according to the fincerity of it: he that knows what we would have done, will confider it as if we had done it.

3. The lefs we are called to fuffer for God, the more we should think ourfelves obliged to do for him; the less God is pleafed to exercise our patience, we should abound fo much the more in the active virtues of a good life, and our obedience to God fhould be fo much the more chearful, and we more fruitful in every good work. If there be no need of fealing the truth with our blood, we fhould be fure to adorn and recommend it by our lives.

4. and laftly, If the hopes of immortality will bear men up under the extremity of fuffering and torments, and give men courage and refolution against all the terrors of the world; they ought much more to make us victorious over the temptations and allurements of it. For certainly it is in reafon much eafier to forego pleafure, than to endure pain; to refufe or lay down a good Ff2

place

place for the teftimony of a good confcience, than to lay down our lives upon that account. And in vain does any man pretend that he will be a martyr for his religion, when he will not rule an appetite, nor reftrain a luft, nor fubdue a paffion, nor cross his covetousness and ambition, for the fake of it, and in hope of that eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, hath promifed. He that refufeth to do the lefs, is not like to do the greater. It is very improbable, that a man will die for his religion, when he cannot be perfuaded to live according to it. So that by this we may try the fincerity of our refolution concerning martyrdom. For what profeffion foever men make, he that will not deny himself the pleafures of fin, and the advantages of this world, for Christ ; when it comes to the pufh, will never have the heart to take up his cross, and follow him. He that cannot take up a refolution to live a faint, hath a demonstration within himself, that he is never like to die a martyr.

SERMON

LXXIX.

The bleffedness of good men after death.

Preached on All-Saints day.

RE V. xiv. 13.

And I heard a voice from heaven, faying unto me, Write, Bleed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth: Yea, faith the Spirit, that they may reft from their labours; and their works do follow them.

The first fermon on this text.

Will not trouble you with any nice difpute about the author of this book of the Revelation, or the authority of it, though both these were fometimes controverted; because it is now many ages fince this book was received into the canon of the fcriptures, as of divine authority, and as written by St. John. Nor fhall I at this