3 3 8 Of the Forn; and Vol. II. or if he fancy any hope or comfort to himfelf, it is built upon a falfe foundation, which when it is tryd will endure nofhock. This is the comparifon our Saviour ufeth in this very cafe, Mattb. 7. 26, 2 Every one that heareth thefe fayings of mine, and doth them not (here is a Form of Godlinefs without the Power of it) (hall be likened to afoolifhman, which built his houfe upon theland ; and the raindefcen_ ded andthefloods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that haute, and it fèll, andgreat was the fall ofit. But real and fubftantial Religion is like a houfe built upon aRock, which no tempeft canoverthrow. Righteoufneft faith Solomon, Prov. to. 25. is an everlafling foundation ; it is a continual fpring of joy and peace. There is a certain unfpeakable contentment and delight arifìng from a good Con- fcience, and from the fincere difcharge of our duty, which a Hypocrite is a ftranger to, and is never admitted to the tafte of. Now what an uncomfortable thing is this, for a Man to take the pains to feem to be religious, and yet to lofe the real pleafure of Religion ! III. The great End of all, ofbeing religious, is the faving of our Souls. And this End a sneer Form ofReligion will certainly mifs of No external garb of Re- ligion will gain a Man admiflion into Heaven; there is no getting in there in maf- uerade, no prayers will then avail, tho' never fo fervent and importunate: Many allfad in That day, Lord, Lord, open unto us andyet he will bid them depare from him. Tho' we had heard Chrift himfelfpreach, and had received the blefl'ed Sacrament withhim, yet this will not avail. So our Saviour tells us, Luke t3. a6. Then fhall they begin tofay, We have eaten and drunken in thy pretence, and thou hall taught in our flreets ; and yet he willfay unto them, I know not whenceyou are. 'Tis not a pretence to infpiration, no, tho' it were juftified by miraculous gifts, that will then ftand us in ftead. Many (hallfay in that day; Lord, Lord, have we notprophefied in thy name, and in thy name have call out devils, and in thy name have donemany wondrous works ? And yet thefe fhall be rejetted. Why, what Should be the reafon of all this feverity? Our Saviour gives us a plain account of it becaufe they were workers of iniquity. Under all theft feveral Mafks ofRe- ligion, they were wicked in their lives. 'Ls not an Orthodox Faith, and the belief of all the Articles of Chriflianity, that will fave a Man, without the works ofa good life, Jam. 2. t¢. What doth it profit aman, my Brethren, tho' a Man fay that he loath faith, and bath not wrks ? Can faith fave him ? Thou believefl there is one God; thou doff well; the devils believe this too, but they are not fo vain as to hope to be favedby this Faith ; no, they know the contrary, and that makes them fear and tremble. Know then, O vain man, that faith without works is dead. Thou believeft in one Lord Jefus Chrf1, that came down from Heaven to fave us, that was conceivedby the Holy Ghofl,. born of the Virgin Mary, and became Man that be might bring us to God; that fuf'ered anddied for ourfins, and'rofe againfor our Juflification, and is af- cended into heaven, andfitteth at the right hand ofGod the Father Almighty, and from thence hefhall come againat the end ofthe World, to judge the quick and the dead ; thou dolt well to believe this: But if thou do not live accordingly, what will become of thee, when, the Son of God (hall come to judge the World ? Then the great enquiry will be, howwe have lived? What good we have done ? Soour Saviour reprefents the Proceedings of that great day. Iwas hungry, andye gave me no meat ; Iwas thirty; andyegaveme nodrink; naked, andye clothed me not; fick and inprifon, andye vifitedme not : therefore departye turfed into everlafling fire. So that it feems here the bufinefs will flick, upon thegood or bad aflions of Mens lives,' and accordingly Sentence fhall be pronounced upon them. For God will render to every man according to his works ; to them that by patient continuance in well-doing leek for Glory, and Honour, and Immortality ; Eternal Lifè: but to thofe that obey not the Truth, but obey Unrigbteoufnefs ; Indignation and Wrath, Tribulation andAnguifh upon every foul ofMan that doth Evil, of the Jew full, and elfo ofthe Gentile: But Glory and Honour, and Peace to every man that worketh good, to the 'Jew firfl, and alfo to the Gentile: for not the bearers ofthe Law are jufl before God, but the doers ofthe Lawfhhall be juflified. Still you fee that 'tis to the 5
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