Ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them, Mal. iii, 7 135 SERMON XVII.-The Circumcision of the Heart. Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, Romans SERMON XIX.-The Great Privilege of those that are Born of God. Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin, 1 John iii, 9 Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward from your Father which is in heaven, &c, Matthew vi, Moreover when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward, &c, Matthew vi, 16-18 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, &c, Matthew vi, 19-23 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat, &c, Matthew Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven, &c, Mat- SERMON XXXIV.—The Original, Nature, Properties, and Use of the Law. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good, SERMON XXXVII.-The Nature of Enthusiasm. And Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself, Acts xxvi, 24 329 SERMON XXXVIII-A Caution against Bigotry. And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, Genesis And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother, &c, Mat- I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteous- ness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations, SERMON LIII. On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield. Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his, Numbers He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Romans viii, 32 SERMON LV.-On Laying the Foundation of the New Chapel, near the City According to this time it shall be said,-What hath God wrought? Numbers SERMON LVI.-Some Account of the late work of God in North America. The appearance was, as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel, Ezekiel SERMON LVII.--The Cause and Cure of Earthquakes. Oh come hither, and behold the works of the Lord: what destruction he hath SERMON LVIII.-National Sins and Miseries. Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they SERMON *LVIII.-Preached on occasion of the Death of Mr. Fletcher, Vicar of Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace, SERMONS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. SERMON I.-Salvation by Faith. Preached at St. Mary's, Oxford, before the University, June 18 1738. "By grace are ye saved, through faith," Eph. ii, 18. 1. ALL the blessings which God hath bestowed upon man, are of his mere grace, bounty, or favour; his free, undeserved favour; favour altogether undeserved; man having no claim to the least of his mercies. It was free grace that "formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into him a living soul," and stamped on that soul the image of God, and "put all things under his feet." The same free grace continues to us, at this day, life and breath, and all things. For there is nothing we are, or have, or do, which can deserve the least thing at God's hand. "All our works, thou, oh God! hast wrought in us. These, therefore, are so many more instances of free mercy: and, whatever righteousness may be found in man, this is also the gift of God. 2. Wherewithal then shall a sinful man atone for any, the least of his sins? With his own works? No. Were they ever so many or holy, they are not his own, but God's. But indeed they are all unholy and sinful themselves, so that every one of them needs a fresh atonement. Only corrupt fruit grows on a corrupt tree. And his heart is altogether corrupt and abominable; being "come short of the glory of God," the glorious righteousness at first impressed on his soul, after the image of his great Creator. Therefore having nothing, neither righteousness nor works to plead, his mouth is utterly stopped before God. 3. If then sinful men find favour with God, it is "grace upon grace!" If God vouchsafe still to pour fresh blessings upon us, yea, the greatest of all blessings, salvation; what can we say to these things, but, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!" And thus it is. Herein "God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died" to save us. By grace, then, are ye saved, through faith." Grace is the source, faith the condition, of salvation. Now, that we fall not short of the grace of God, it concerns us carefully to inquire, 66 I. What Faith it is through which we are saved? 1. What faith it is through which we are saved? 1. And first. It is not barely the faith of a heathen. Now God requireth of a heathen to believe, "That God is; that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him ;" and that he is to be sought by glorifying him as God, by giving him thanks for all things, and by a careful practice of moral virtue, of justice, mercy and truth towards their fellow creatures. A Greek or Roman, therefore, yea, a Scythian or Indian, was without excuse if he did not believe thus much: The being and attributes of God, a future state of reward and punishment, and the obligatory nature of moral virtue. For this is barely the faith of a heathen. 2. Nor, secondly. Is it the faith of a devil, though he goes much farther than that of a heathen. For the devil believes, not only that there is a wise and powerful God, gracious to reward, and just to punish; but also that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, the Saviour of the world. So we find him declaring in express terms, Luke iv, 34, “I know thee, who thou art; the Holy One of God." Nor can we doubt but that unhappy spirit believes all those words which came out of the mouth of the Holy One; yea, and whatsoever else was written by those holy men of old, of two of whom he was compelled to give that glorious testimony, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who show unto you the way of salvation." Thus much, then, the great enemy of God and man believes, and trembles in believing, that God was made manifest in the flesh; that he will "tread all enemies under his feet;" and that "all Scripture was given by in spiration of God." Thus far goeth the faith of a devil. 3. Thirdly. The faith through which we are saved, in that sense of the word which will hereafter be explained, is not barely that which the apostles themselves had while Christ was yet upon earth; though they so believed on him as to "leave all and follow him;" although they had then power to work miracles, to "heal all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease;" yea, they had then "power and authority over all devils ;" and, which is beyond all this, were sent by their Master to "preach the kingdom of God.” 4. What faith is it then through which we are saved? It may be answered, first, in general, it is a faith in Christ; Christ, and God through Christ, are the proper objects of it. Herein, therefore, it is sufficiently, absolutely distinguished from the faith, either of ancient or modern heathens. And from the faith of a devil, it is fully distinguished by this, it is not barely a speculative, rational thing, a cold, lifeless assent, a train of ideas in the head; but also a disposition of the heart. For thus saith the Scripture, “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." And, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe with thy heart, that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." 5. And herein does it differ from that faith which the apostles themselves had while our Lord was on earth, that it acknowledges the necessity and merit of his death, and the power of his resurrection. It acknowledges his death as the only sufficient means of redeeming man from death eternal, and his resurrection as the restoration of us all to life and immortality; inasmuch as he "was delivered for our sins, and rose again for our justification." Christian faith is then, not only an assent to the whole Gospel of Christ, but also a full reliance on the blood of Christ; a trust in the merits of his life, death, and resurrection; a recumbency upon him as our atonement and our life, as given for us, and living in us. It is a sure confidence which a man hath in God, that through the merits of Christ, his sins are forgiven, and he reconciled to the favour of God and, in consequence hereof, |