from the bofom of his Father, to reveal his will to all mankind? Who fo proper as he, who made the world, and upholds and preferves it, to be fent upon fo great an errand, as the recovery and falvation of the whole world? And on the contrary, who fo unfit, as this great and glorious perfon, to be employed in any lefs and lower defign, than that which was of general concernment to the benefit and happiness of all mankind? So great an Ambaffador was not fit to be fent to treat of any thing less than an universal peace, and the reconciliation of the whole world.

And then if we confider him, as affuming human nature, and thereby equally related to all mankind, it was fit he should be concerned for that whole race of creatures to whom he had fo nearly allied himself, and whofe nature he had vouchfafed to affume. It became him, who became man, to fhew himself a lover of mankind, to reveal the will of God, and the way to happiness, to all men, to be an univerfal teacher and law-giver; that by the direction of his doctrine, and the obedience of his laws, all men might come to the knowledge of the truth, and be faved.

2. If we confider the nature of this revelation, it will appear to be defigned for the general use and benefit of mankind. The matters revealed, whether concerning God or ourfelves, this world or the o ther, are of univerfal concernment. The laws of this religion are not calculated for any particular place or nation, one more than another; and the arguments and encouragements to the obedience of thefe laws, are equally fitted to work upon all ca pacities and conditions, and apt to affect them alike, because they equally touch the interefts and concernments of all men: For fince all men are equal in the immortal duration of their fouls, and equally obnoxious to the judgment of God in another world, it concerns all men alike to understand their duty, and the way to gain the favour of God, and thereby to efcape the endless and intolerable miferies, and to obtain the unspeakable and everlafting happiness of another world: and to direct, and excite men here to, the whole revelation of the gofpel, all the do arines

arines, and all the laws of it, do plainly tend. There is nothing in the Chriftian religion, but what is fit for all men to know and practife, in order to their prefent peace and comfort, and their future and eternal happiness; and these things furely are of univerfal and equal concernment to mankind.

3. The predictions and prophecies concerning the Meffias, and the doctrine which fhould be delivered to the world, do plainly fhew, that this revelation. fhould be univerfal.. In the firft promife to Abraham, it is plainly foretold, that in his feed, that is, as the Jews always understood it, in the Meffias, all the nations of the earth fhould be bleffed. And there are innumerable predictions in the Prophets of the Old Teftament to this purpofe. I fhall mention but a few of many, Pfal. ii. 8. Ask of me, (faith God to his Son) and I fhall give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy poffeffion. Pfal. Ixxii. 17. fpeaking of the Meffias, Men hall be bleffed in him, all nations fhall call him bleed. Ifa. xlix. 6. I will give thee (fays God there concerning him) for a light to the Gentiles; that thou mayeft be my falvation to the ends of the earth.

4. And laftly, This revelation was actually published to the world, God giving remarkable coun tenance and affiftance from heaven to the first preachers and publishers of it,

The Apoftles of our Lord and Saviour, in virtue of his commiffion, and by his exprefs command just before his afcenfion, went forth and published his doctrine to the world. Having upon the day of Pentecoft, according to his promife which he made to them before his death, and renewed to them after his refurrection, when he was going to his Father, I fay, having according to his exprefs promife, received the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghoft, they began to publifh the gospel first to the Jews; and being rejected by the greateft part of them, they preached it to the Gentiles; and as a confirmation of the doctrine which they preached, they witneffed the refurrection of Chrift from the dead, as the great evidence of the truth of his doctrine; and to give

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confirmation to this teftimony, God enabled them to work miracles, and, particularly to traife the dead to life, which was a confirmation of their teftimony, beyond all exception: and in order to the more fpeedy and effectual propagation of this doctrine, God was pleased to work a ftrange miracle never wrought upon any occafion before or fince; he endowed the Apoftles and first preachers of Chriftianity with a power of speaking all languages, which they had oc cafion in their travels to make ufe of, without ever having studied or learned them; and this miraculous gift was common to all the Apostles, and continued till the gospel was published by them in moft parts of the then known world; greater evidence than which God cannot be imagined to give of his defign to communicate the knowledge of this doctrine univerfally, and to all nations: and if it was rejected in fome places, and the progrefs of it obftructed in others, this doth not hinder but that God defigned it to be univerfally known, and that it is in its own nature fit to be a law to all mankind; and God, who in his fecret council hath not thought fit as yet to grant the knowledge of this doctrine of falvation to fome parts of the world, may in his due time fend this light into thofe dark places of the earth, which are full of the habitations of barbaroufness and cruelty, and grant the knowledge of falvation to them. In the mean time, what caufe have we to blefs God, to whom this light came fo foon, and who have enjoyed it fo long! Let us walk in the light, while we have it; left darkness overtake.us.

And thus much may fuffice to have spoken of the fecond particular which I obferved in the text, namely, the universal influence of this light; light is come

into the world.

I proceed to fpeak briefly to the third particular I mentioned, viz. the excellency and advantages of this doctrine of the Christian religion, above any other doctrine or inftitution, even that of the Jewish religion, which was likewife immediately from God. They are all but darkness in comparison of it. Light is come into the world. But in this I have in a great measure

measure prevented myfelf, in what I have already difcourfed upon the two former heads, and therefore I fhall fay the lefs upon it: for by what I have already faid, it will in a good measure appear how obfcure and imperfect the difcoveries both of natural light, and of the Jewish religion were, in comparison of the clear and bright revelation of the gofpel; and that both concerning the nature of God, and the worship which is moft fuitable and acceptable to him and likewife concerning the rule of our duty, and the rewards and punishments of another life, which are the great motives and arguments to obedience; and which, as to the greatest part of mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, had but a very weak and faint influence before. And how could it well be otherwife, fince the apprehenfions of mankind concerning these things were dark and doubtful?

What grofs and imperfect notions the Heathen had concerning God, we may judge by their univerfal and abominable idolatry. How uncertain their morality was (which yet was much the best part of Heathenifm) we may fee by their endless differences and difputes concerning moral duties. How wavering they were concerning the immortality of fouls, and the rewards of another world, we may judge by the different and contrary opinions of the greatest Philofophers about thefe points. So that Heathenifm was plainly defective, both in the knowledge of God, which is the great foundation of all religion; and the precepts of a good life, which are the rule of it; and the affurance of immortality, which is the great motive to religion, and the only folid comfort and fupport of the mind of man under the evils and afflictions of life, and against the fears of death.

And the Jewish religion likewife, though it had manifold advantages of Paganifm, yet was it very fhort and imperfect in many of thefe refpects which I have mentioned: befides that it gave no clear and well grounded affurance of the pardon and forgivenefs of fins; and the rewards of another world were very obfcurely revealed under that difpenfation.

So

105 So that well might the Apoftle, upon comparifon of the law and the gofpel, fay, The law made nothing perfect: but the bringing in of a better hope

did.

And as for the evidence which thofe religions had, Paganifm pretended to no other authority for their idolatrous worship, but the long cuftom and practice of the world. This Symmachus the Heathen infifts upon, instead of all other arguments, Sequimur majores noftros, qui feliciter fecuti funt fuos: We follow our forefathers, who happily followed theirs.

The Jewish religion indeed produced good evidence that it was from God: but it is very deftitute of arguments to prove, that it was either an univerfal, or perfect, or final revelation of God's will to mankind; nay, it was exprefly faid in their law, that God would raise up another Prophet among them, to whom they were to hearken, and to be obedient in all things. The Meffias was plainly foretold, and fpoken of both in the Law and the Prophets, as one that was to be the author of a more perfect law and infti. tution, which in due time was to be revealed to the whole world, to be a light to lighten the Gentiles as well as to be the glory of the people of Ifrael: and accordingly, in the fulness of time he came, and by a greater confirmation of miracles, than the Jewish religion had, he put a period to that weak and imperfect inftitution and to fhew the law of Mofes was at an end, God hath now for above 1600 years taken away their place and nation, deftroyed their temple, and laid waste their country, and difperfed them over the world; fo that they are not capable of obferving a great part of their religion. By all which it appears, that whatever was in the world before, was but darkness, in comparison of the glorious light of the gofpel; fo that well might our Evangelift fay, This light was the true light, which coming into the world, enlightens every man: The true light by way of excellency and eminency, as our Saviour calls himfelf, The true bread which came down from heaven; fo the doctrine of the gofpel is called the true light, in oppofition to thofe falfe or imperfect lights which

were