q6 A SERMON on are cornpleat; nothing can be added to the knowledge of him, ill whom arr hid the Ttrea(uro of'wi{dom and k11owledge. Job" 1. I 5."Wbatjoever 1 have heard of my Father,f~c. You have now the Original Copy; the Prophets were but Tran:cripts out of Clui!t, now a leaf and then a leaf; but faith he, r am the Original Copy, and whatever I havr heard of mJ Father, nccellary to falva– tion, 1 h,;ve deltvtred ttntoyo"11. Vf' I . Ador~ t_hcn and admire the Dochine of tl~e Gofpel, and the perfed:i– on thereof,, for lt ts del!ver~d but once, .not as Jt IS With the Papifts; this Truth difcovercd m one Popes da1es, another m another; but He hath done it at once. The Scripture is fa id ,to make the mmt of God perfdl, which cannot be fa id of ony Science in the World. There is not Phi!qjophy enough in all mens Bool<s to make a man a perfeCl: Philofopher; but there is Scripture enough to make a man a perfeCl: Divine. Secondly, Contend for it, for it was but once delivered, St. .Jttde exhorts to contend for 1t upon tillSground,, 1f all both Mag1flra~es and Miniflers and Peop'e fell the Truth 1t IS gone, for 1t JS as m a Leafe m wluch Three have !hare if one will not confentit is not fold; fo if any of tbefe hold the Truth it fhati not de.. part, therefore contend fo~ it, if you loofe it,, you will never have it again, for it was given but once, as Ejatt when he fold h1s btrthnght. Thirdly, Study the Word, let it dwell plentifully in you, for it is the word of Chri!t, Pfal. I I 9• 96. ver, The Law is exceedi11g broad, but the Gojpel is much broader; the va!t Treafures of Wifdom and Knowledge are laid up in .it, St. Pau! had abundance of that Knowledge, ·it is.all hid in the word. Chrifl had a world of Knowledge, he bath hid it in the word,therefore never think you have Knowledge enough, !tudy the word more fully, for there is no Truth laid up in it but Jhall be revealed in it, before the day of Judgment: No mmz !zghtsa Giw– dle audputs lt tmder a 6ujhr!. 2. In the time of the Gofpel he bath revealed himfelfone way,before he did it by Vilions and Dreams'and Types, &c. which were very obfcure; for rhus we have the things and fee them fulfilled, yet how hard are they for us to tjndedland them,and if we do not; who have all fulfilled before oureyes,much lefs they; but God hathlaid all thefe ways alide, and hath revealed himfelf only by the Word and Sacrament, unto the hearts of Men, and this he hath done clearly, 1 Cor. I· 2 ,3. Suiting Spiritualthings with Spiritual; that is, we fpeak to them plain– ly, in their own notions, we donor give them Riddles, but fpeak of things in their own exprefiions, fuitable to them, 2 Cor.~- The Mini!lry of the L•w was a Vail over Mo[es face, which argues his Mini!try was very dark ; but under the Gofpel we with open face behold the glory of the Lord. There are two ways to reprefenr a man, one by his PiCl:ure, another in a Glafs; that under the Law was a reprefentation of Cbri!t by Pid:ures, but in the Gofpel by a Glafs, in the Law there were but lhadows of Chri!t, but now the fhadows are gone, and we lee his p~rfon in a Glafs, they faw him through a Vail, we with open face, the Vail being taken away we look with a broad eye upon Chri!t ; God having be– taken himfelf to one Ordinance, thereby to reveal himfelf to the Sons of Men. V(e I. Mini!lers lhould endeavour therefore to fpeak plainly to the People, becaufe ye are Miniflers of the Gofpel, 2 Cor. 3· Seei11g we have{ttch hope, we 11jegreat plai~tfs of jpuch, a,nd 2 Cor. 4· -j• We fpeak fo plai11/y, faith the A· pof\le, that if tl!IJ M rmperijb through Ignora11ce, it zs 6ecauje he is a loft Crea– ture. Vfe ~. This condemns all ignorance likewife, for under the Gofp.el, we have no Cloak for it, Chrin havi.ng fpoken fo plainly, as be bath incomparifon to what he did under the Law. ~· He jpeaks 1/bW by his So11, whereas he fpake then only by the Prophets; then the !tars Jhined only, but the Son of Righteoufnefs lhincing, he bath put all the flars down, hence we will !hew. Firr!,
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