To know, therefore, what is that will of His Father, which our Saviour here speaks of, we must consult the Scriptures, wherein alone it can be found. But if we search them, they tell us in general, that "this is the will of God, even your 1 Thess.4.3. sanctification;" where, by sanctification, we are to understand the devotion or dedication of ourselves wholly unto the service of the living God, so as to be really and truly holy; so that universal holiness is a thing indispensably required in order to our entering into the kingdom of Heaven. Where, by holiness, we are to understand the rectitude of all the faculties of the soul, and members of the body, or the right temperament of the whole man, whereby all the faculties of the soul, and members of the body keep themselves within those bounds and limits, and perform those several acts and duties which He that made them hath prescribed them, so as to live as those who are none of our own, but wholly God's. "For we are bought with a price, and 1 Cor. 6. 20. therefore should glorify God both in our body and spirit, which are His."

Neither hath it pleased the Most High God to acquaint us only in general, that it is His will we should be holy, but He hath shewed us moreover, in a particular manner, the several acts of holiness which it is His will and pleasure we should perform, both as to Himself, and also to one another. First, As to Himself: it is the will of God, that you know and acknowledge Him the only Creator, Preserver, Governor, Possessor, and Disposer of the world; "glorious in holiness, fear- Exod. 15. ful in praises, ever doing wonders;" that it is in Him that you Acts 17. 28. "live and move, and have your being;" and whosoever doth Isa. 1. 2, 3, not thus know Him, He looks upon as rebels against Him.

11.

4.

It is the will of God, moreover, that you really love and prefer Him before all things in the world besides, so as to love nothing above Him, nothing beyond Him, nothing equal to Him, nothing at all in comparison of Him. For thus hath He commanded you, saying, "Thou shalt love the Lord Deut. 6. 5. thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

It is the will of God also, that all the desires of your hearts be fixed upon Him as their proper object, and all the inclinations of your souls concur and meet in Him as their only

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SERM. centre, so as not to stoop so low as to lick up the serpent's food, nor debase yourselves so much as to make the fading riches, the carnal pleasures, or the deceitful honours of this transient world, the object of your souls' desires: but that your desires be carried so far above whatsoever is here below, as to rest nowhere but in the chiefest good. That this is His will and pleasure He hath told you by His Son, saying, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and the righteousness thereof;" and by His Apostle, saying, "Set your affection on things above, not on things which are upon the earth."

Matt. 6. 33.
Col. 3. 2.

Furthermore, it is the will of God, that you fear and dread nothing in the world but Him; that your hearts be possessed with such awful and reverential apprehensions of His Greatness, Wisdom, Justice, Power, and Sovereignty in and over the world, as not to dare to do any thing that is offensive or Isa. 8. 13. displeasing unto Him; but still you must "sanctify the Lord of Hosts Himself, and let Him be your fear and your dread." Moreover, it is the will of God, that you trust and confide on nothing in the world but Him; that in all your fears and dangers, in all the occurrences and conditions whatsoever, you still support yourselves, and keep up your spirits with the serious consideration of the benignity of the Divine nature in itself, and with an humble confidence on the promises which God hath made unto us in Jesus Christ, without depending at all upon created helps, or expecting any thing from second causes; according to the rule laid down by the Prov. 3. 5. wise man, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."

It is the will of God likewise, that you submit your wills to His, and patiently acquiesce in all His dealings towards you, so as not to murmur against them, or be troubled at them, but still rest fully satisfied with them, as knowing them to proceed from infinite Wisdom, and Power, and Goodness; Hab. 3. 18. yea, so as still to "rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of our Salvation."

In a word it is the will of the most High God, that you humble yourselves under His mighty hand, confess your sins [Job 42. 6.] unto Him, and "abhor yourselves, and repent in dust and ashes" before Him; that you implore His mercy in the pardon of your sins, and His grace for the assistance of your souls in

the performance of what He is pleased to require of you; that you delight yourselves in drawing nigh unto Him, and esteem it your happiness to enjoy communion with Him; that you admire His power, adore His goodness, praise and magnify His great and all-glorious Name; that whether you "eat 1 Cor.10.31. or drink, or whatsoever ye do, ye do it to His glory;" that you "know the God of your fathers, and serve Him with a 1 Chron. 28. perfect heart and a willing mind," yea, that "your light so Matt. 5. 16. shine before men, that others may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven."

And then, as to your behaviour towards one another, it is

9.

the will of God that "you do unto others as you would have Matt. 7. 12. others do to you;" that you "do not go beyond or defraud 1 Thess.4.6. each other;" that it is the will of God, that "you love one John 15. 12. another as Christ hath loved you." It is the will of God, that "ye walk with all lowliness and meekness, with long- Eph. 4. 2, 3. suffering forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." It is the will of God, that you be loyal to your sovereign, obedient to your governors, peaceable with your neighbours, faithful to your friends, loving to your enemies, liberal to the poor, helpful to the weak, just and equitable towards all.

In a word, That will of God is, that you "deny ungodli- Tit. 2. 12. ness and worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world."

Thus, therefore, you have seen the sum and substance of that will of God, which your Saviour Himself here tells you you must observe, or never come to Heaven. But some, perhaps, may wonder why I have made no mention of faith in Christ, which the Scriptures make absolutely necessary to our Salvation. To that I answer, that I have already mentioned it, though perhaps you took no notice of it; and that was in speaking of those acts of piety which God wills us to perform immediately to Himself, whereof I told you trusting on God was one. And certainly to trust and rely upon the promises which God hath made unto us of pardon and Salvation in Jesus Christ, and, by consequence, to trust in Christ for the accomplishment of those promises, is not only one of the highest acts of piety which we can exert, but it is that very grace of faith on which our everlasting happi

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SERM. ness doth so much depend. And therefore it is ridiculous to assert, or fancy, that our Saviour's saying here, that "he which doth the will of God shall enter into Heaven," implies, that moral virtues or good works are sufficient to bring us thither without faith in Christ, whereas faith itself is questionless one of the highest acts of obedience that it is possible for us to perform; so that whosoever doth not believe in Christ, doth not fulfil the moral law, but is deficient in one of the principal parts of it; for he doth not trust in God, but 1 John 5.10. rather makes Him a liar, as the Apostle tells us. He, therefore, that would do the will of God, must of necessity believe in Christ, because it is God's will we should do so. And whosoever believes in Christ shall most certainly be saved; not by virtue of his faith as it is an act of grace in general, or part of our moral obedience, but because whosoever believes and trusteth on Jesus Christ, and on the promises made in Him for pardon and acceptance, God is pleased both to pardon and accept him by virtue of His merits and mediation on Whom he trusteth. So that it is not by our believing in Christ, but by Christ in Whom we believe, that we can ever come to Heaven. And it is very observable, that our blessed Saviour Himself, Who here tells, that he that doth the will of His Father shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven, elseJohn 6. 40. where saith," and this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life." From whence it is plain, that though he that doth the will of God shall have everlasting life, yet it is not because he doth the will of God, but because it is God's good will and pleasure, that "whosoever believeth in His Son should have everlasting life," in, and through Him on Whom he doth believe.

Thus, therefore, I have shewn what that will of God is which we must do, if we desire to come to Heaven, even that we obey the precepts of the law, and believe in the promises of the Gospel. Hence it was that our Saviour made this the Mark 1. 15. subject of the first sermon He preached, "Repent and believe the Gospel." Which two commands do most certainly contain the whole will of God, which men are bound to observe in order to their everlasting happiness: repentance there implying, not only our mourning for sin, but also our turning

from it; neither our eschewing of evil only, but likewise our doing good and believing the Gospel is the same with believing in Christ, on which the pardon of our sins, the acceptance of our persons, and the eternal Salvation of our souls, depend.

By this time, therefore, I hope you will understand what is that will of His Father, of which our Saviour here saith, that he who doeth it shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven. But it is not enough that you know what is the will of God which you ought to do, unless you know likewise how you ought to do it; which therefore is the next thing to be considered. And to prepare you the better for the right understanding of it, give me leave to premise unto you, that it is an harder matter to do the will of God, and there is a great deal more required to it, than men commonly think of. For the mere doing the thing that God wills, is not always doing the will of God: for His will and commands extend to the manner as well as to the matter of our actions, having prescribed not only what we should do, but how we should do it too: and, therefore, he that fails either way, either by not doing what God wills, or by not doing it as He wills it should be done, cannot be said to do the will of God.

Now, we must know that God's will is to be observed by all His creatures, in the highest manner that they are capable of observing it. The sun, moon, and stars, and all other inanimate, yea, and mere sensitive creatures too, not being endowed with any inward principle, whereby to reflect upon the commands which He that made them hath laid upon them, they do the will of God sufficiently by observing the motions, and keeping the stations which He hath set them but man being a rational creature, endowed with an understanding to know, and with a will to choose, as well as with power to do what God commands him, it is not sufficient that he doth it, unless his understanding and will too be exercised in the doing of it.

First, therefore, to our doing the will of God, it is necessary that our understandings be employed in considering that it is His will, and commending it to us under that notion, that so we may not only do it, but may therefore