which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given affurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. The refurrection of Chrift from the dead is a fenfible demonftration to all mankind of another life after this, and confequently of a future judgment.

I might proceed to fhew in the fecond place, That as the gofpel is a light, in refpect of its clear difcovery of other things to us, fo likewife of itself, and its own divine authority.

It is a holy and reasonable doctrine, fuitable to the highest and beft improved reafon of mankind, and plainly tending to our perfection and happiness; both for the fublimity of its myfteries, and the fimplicity and excellency of its precepts, every way worthy to have God for its Author, and moft likely to proceed from him and from none elfe: In a word, it is a doctrine in all refpects fo excellent and perfect, that it is beyond the compafs of human understanding to imagine any thing better; and impoffible, that any religion, materially differing from this, fhould be fo good. No religion that ever was, or which the wit of man can devife, can give us jufter notions of God, a truer account of ourselves, better rules of a good life, and arguments more powerful to perfuade us to goodness, than the Chriftian religion hath done. And the intrinfick goodness and excellency of any religion, goes half way in the proof of its divinity; to which, if God be pleafed to add the external confirmation of plain and unquestionable miracles, it amounts to a full demonftration, and hath all the evidence that it is poffible for any religion to have, that it is from God.

But this is a very large argument, which I have handled in fome other difcourfes ‡. All therefore that I fhall at prefent add, is an inference or two from what I have been difcourfing upon this argument, fuited to the folemnity of this feafon t.

I. We See Serm. 229, 230, 231. and the preceeding fermons în this volume.

+ Preached on Christmas-day.

I. We should welcome this light which is come into the world, with all poffible expreffions of joy and thankfulness. The doctrine of the gospel is the most glorious light that ever fhone upon the world, the best news that ever arrived to mankind. Light is a chearful thing; The light of the eyes (fays Solomon) rejoiceth the heart, and good news maketh the bones fat. When the Angel brought the news of our Saviour's birth to the shepherds, with what joy does he relate it to them? Luke ii. 10, 11. Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Chrift the Lord. And Matth. ii. 10. when the wife men faw the ftar, which pointed at the place of his birth, and conducted them to it, it is faid, they rejoiced with great joy.

And whenever we commemorate the breaking in of this glorious light upon the world, I mean the birth of our bleffed Saviour, how fhould our hearts be filled with joy, and our mouths with praises! We should every one of us break out into that hymn of the bleffed mother of our Lord, My foul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour: for he hath regarded me and all mankind in our low eftate. He was pleased to come down from heaven to fave us from hell; and to be come man, that he might bring us to God; and was contented to be miferable, that he might make us happy; and he did declare this mighty affection to us, when we were not only unworthy of his love, but even beneath the confideration and regard of his pity; for, what is man, that God should be thus mindful of him? or the son of man, that the Son of God fhould vifit him? that he fhould condefcend to inhabit our nature, and to dwell among us? All mankind may with equal or greater reafon fay, as the centurion once did to him, Lord, we are not worthy that thou shouldeft come under our roof. What means this amazing condefcenfion that thou fhouldst leave thy glory to be thus obfcured, and come from God, to be defpifed and rejected of men; and quit the regions of bliss and happiness, to become a man of forrows,

forrows, and acquainted with grief! Was it for us that thou didst all this? Yea, for our fakes, who never had done any thing for thine, who may be afhamed to remember, that we were grievous finners and bitter enemies to thee, when all this was done for us. Thus we should celebrate the memory of this blef fed season, and as often as the year returns, with great joy and thankfulness commemorate the great bleffings which this day brought to the world, and fay with David, This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will be glad and rejoice therein. Abraham and David faw this day but far off; and yet they rejoiced how fhould we then be tranfported with joy to whom this day is come, and upon whom the Sun of righteousness is long fince rifen, with healing and falvation under his wings!

II. Let us walk in this light. This expreffion the fcripture ufeth to fignify what ufe we should make of the advantages and opportunities which by the glorious light of the gospel are afforded to us, John xii. 35. Walk while ye have the light, left darkness come upon you. Ephef. v. 8. For ye were fometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk therefore as children of the light. Rom. xiii. 11, 12, 13, 14. It is now high time to awake out of fleep for now is our falvation nearer than when we believed. night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore caft off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honeftly as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonnefs, not in ftrife and envying: But put ye on the Lord Jefus Chrift, and make not provifion for the flesh, to fulfil the lufts thereof.

The

This counfel is proper for Chriftians at all times, who live under the light of the gospel: but more efpecially at this time, when we commemorate the coming of this light into the world. Nothing can be more unfuitable and contrary to it, than works of darkness, I mean fin and wickedness, and thofe abominable vices, which too many are apt to indulge themselves in at this time, more efpecially fuch as the Apostle names in the text juft now mention

ed,

ed, rioting and drunkenness, chambering and wantonness, contention and quarrelling. We fhould at this time more especially put off those vices, and put on the Lord Jefus Chrift; that is, be clothed with all thofe graces and virtues, which in the precepts of his religion, and the example of his life, he hath recommended to us. This is the time when the word was made flesh, and put on our nature: and what return can be more proper for us at this feafon, than to put on the Lord Jefus; and to make no provifion for the flesh, to fulfil the lufts thereof.

Nay at this time we fhould retrench more than ufual from our excefs and fuperfluity, both because of the crying neceffities of the poor, who are very numerous; and likewife for the relief of our diftref fed and perfecuted brethren, who are fled to us for fhelter from the barbarous rage of their perfecutors. What we would have done for the honour of Chrift at another time, let us now do for the relief of his members; and whatever kindness we fhew to them, he will take it as done to himself. We have great caufe to be chearful at this time, and we may teftify our joy by feafting, or any other lawful expreffions of it; but we must not so feast, as to forget the affliction of Jofeph, and not to remember that we also are in the body, and liable to the fame fufferings. We must therefore take heed, that our table do not become a fnare to us; and that our mirth do not degenerate into fenfuality and fin.

Every Chriftian hath fo many arguments against fin, that we should abftain from it at all times: but of all other times we fhould be moft afhamed to be guilty of any lewdness and wickedness, when we are remembering the appearance of the Son of God, to bring falvation to us, and to teach us to deny ungodlinefs and worldly lufts, and to live foberly, righte oufly and godly in this prefent world.

To conclude, let us by all that hath been faid be perfuaded fo to celebrate the memory of Christ's first coming to take away fin by the facrifice of himself, that we may with comfort and joy wait for the bleffed hope, and the glorious appearance of the great God

and

and our Saviour Jefus Chrift, when he shall appear a. fecond time without fin unto falvation.

SERMON CCXLIV.

The excellency and univerfality of the Chriftian revelation, with the fin and danger of rejecting it.

JOHN iii. 19.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come in. to the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

I

The fecond fermon on this text.

N difcourfing on thefe words, I have already confidered the first thing obfervable in them, viz. The defcription which is here given of our Saviour and his doctrine; they are called a light. Light is come; that is, the Son of God bringing the doftrine and knowledge of falvation to the world; it being one of the first and most obvious properties of light, to difcover, and make visible itself and other things. That which makes all things manifeft, is light; and accordingly I have obferved, that the Chriftian religion hath made a clear difcovery to us of many great and important things, of which the world was either ignorant or doubtful before: and likewise that it brought great evidence along with it of its own divinity, and that it was from God.

I proceed now to the fecond thing obfervable in the text, viz, The univerfal influence of this light. Light is come into the world. The doctrine of the gofpel was defigned for the illumination and inftru