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1

VII.

little The little that thou giveft will fanc- SERMON
tify the little that is left, and, truft in the
Lord, thou shalt have no lack...

I

This Application to you all of every Degree, on the Subject before us, comes backed with a Motive of undeniable Force, viz. that our Bleffed Lord has declared his Acceptance of that Relief, which you afford to your afflicted Chriftian Brethren from a -Spirit of Charity, as done to Himself; for fuch has He appointed his Substitutes for the Receipt of it: I call upon you then, for Chrift's Sake, that you be ready to diftribute, Tim.vi. willing to communicate: Or if this Argument 18. fails, there remains at least one, which, if rightly laid to Heart, I am fure, must prevail, which is, that we all stand in Need of Mercy, and therefore ought to fhew it: I call upon you, therefore, for your own Sakes, by the Love you bear to your immortal Souls, that you come not fhort of the Promife of Him who hath faid, Bleffed are the Matth. v, Merciful, for they shall obtain Mercy.

And now having pointed out that most

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Excellent Way of CHARITY, or Love to
God and our Neighbour, that Gospel Way
of Pleasantnefs, that fure Path of Peace
leading on to Glory, what remains but that

we

7.

VII.

wei

SERMON we walk therein? We are called Chriftians, profeffing one Faith, one Lord, one Baptifm Let us this Day fhew ourselves to be fuch, not in Word only, but in Deed, and in Truth; whilft our Faith worketh by Love, and our Love by thewing Mercy to the Poor.

It is a joyful Thing for Brethren to meet together in the House of God as Friends: May this Joy be now fulfilled in the Hearts of us all, both High and Low, Rich and Poor, one with another! and, as we join in one common Labour of Love towards the Needy and Afflicted, may the fame good Difpofition, improved, bring us together in the Unity of the Spirit, and in the Bond of 2Pet. i. 7. Peace: Thus fhall we add to Brotherly-kindnefs Charity: Thus fhall the happy Effect of our affembling together caufe Joy in Heaven, and make glad the City of God, whilft Saints and Angels tune their Harps to louder Strains of Praife, as they fing "GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND "ON EARTH PEACE, GOOD-WILL TO"WARDS MEN,"

SER

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True Liberty the Gift of the Son of God.

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JOHN viii. 36:

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye
Shall be free indeed.

SERMON

HEN many of the Jews believed VIII.

W on Chrift upon hearing the Words

which He spake, our Lord took

Occafion to encourage them to persevere în believing: If, fays He, ye continue in my Word, then are ye my Difciples indeed, and ye fhall know the Truth, and the Truth fhall make you free. As thefe Words feemed to reflect fome Difgrace upon that People, according to their carnalApprehenfion of them (for there is a Belief to the faving of the Soul, and a Belief which carnal Men may have) they immediately took Fire, and in a Fit of angry Refentment replied: We be Abraham's Seed, and were never in Bondage

to

SERMON to any Man: How fayeft Thou, ye shall be

VIII.

made free? However this Answer might evince their Zeal for the Honour of their Lineage and Nation, yet it was far from being a Proof of their Regard to Truth; for tho' the former Part of it was true, viz. that they were Abraham's Seed, according to the Flesh; yet the latter was not so, their Forefathers having been Bond-Slaves in Egypt and Captives in Babylon, and they themselves at that very time were, tho' not in Bondage, yet, under Subjection, and tributary to the Romans. However, our Saviour reproached them not with that; He meddled not with their Civil Liberties or Civil Matters-Bond and Free were alike to Him in that respect, his Business on Earth being of a Spiritual Nature, and fuch the Meaning of his Words, as his Answer fhews: Verily, Verily I fay unto you, Whosoever committeth Sin is the Servant of Sin. Wherever Sin reigns in the Heart and is obeyed in the outward Life, that Perfon is in the moft miferable Thraldom and a Slave to the worst of Tyrants-His Servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of Sin untoDeath, or of Obedience unto Righteousness. Now, fays our Lord in the next Verfe, The Servant abid

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VIII

eth not in the House for ever, but the Son abi- SERMON. deth ever. Which Words in their primary Senfe refer to Mofes, who was only a Servant in the Houshold of God, whereas Chrift was the Son and Heir and Lord of all Things. -The Difpenfation of the former was only temporary and to lead thofe that were under it to Chrift, whereas that of the latter was to be an everlasting Covenant, even the fure Mercies of David. The firft was a Miniftration of Bondage, Condemnation, and Death; the second of Liberty, Grace, and Life. But in a fecondary Sense these Words of our Lord may be paraphrafed thus:-As among Men, according to the Laws of Society, the Servant, tho' at present one in the Family, has no Inheritance or Right of Property in his Master's Goods, but these descend to the Son or Heir: So in the outward Church on Earth, however the Servants of Sin are mixed with the Servants of God, like Tares among the Wheat, yet when the Inheritance comes to be divided at the Great Day of Distribution, the latter only shall partake in it; for then it shall be said,-Caft out the Bond-woman and her Son, for the Son of the Bond-woman shall not be Heir with the Son of the Free-woman.

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