Serm. CLXXXVIII. thé GhrilIlan Revelation. 3' 5 t. For fpeculative infidels (of whom I have been principally fpeaking) we may guefs how great their Condemnation shall be, by the greatnefs of their fin, which I haveendeavoured fully to defcribe to you, with all its Aggravations. It is call'd, Heb. 3. 12. An evil heart of unbelief to departfrom the living God, cvzrú ebrzsqvo ;vams. Infidelity is a kind of Apoflafie fromGod ; 'its faid to be the gt-, wing of God the lie, t John 5. to. He that be1ieveth on the Son of God, hash the witnefs in bimfelf: he that believeth not God, bath made him a liar and we can- not but think that God will feverely punifh thofe who put fuch Affrónts upon him : it is but equal, that they who refift the cleareft light, fhould have their portion in otter darknefs. 2. For the Practical Infidels; thofe who inwords acknowledge tie Gofpel to bë.true, but in works deny it ; their condition, is everywhit as bad as the others ; nay I had almoft faid, that it shall be more tolerable at the day of Judgment for the Speculative Infidel, than for them. He who denies theTruth ofthe Chriftian Religion , and lives contrary to the Precepts of it, he ads fuitably to his Princi- pies ; but he that owns the Truth of the Gofpel, and lives a wicked life, offers . violence to thofe Principles which he hack entertained. For if weprofefs our felves Chriftians, by thisProfeffìonwe declare to theworld, that we believe that the Son of God hath declared that Dodrine to the World, which we call the Gofpel, and hath prornifed to be the author of eternalfabuation to them that obey him, and hath threatned Men with eternal Mifery in cafe of dif obedience ; and that we makenot the leant doubt, but that both inhis Promifes and. Threatnings God will be as good as his word : but if in the midit of this ProfefÌì- on, we live contrary to the holy Precepts of the Gofpel, in ungodlinefs and world- ly lulls , in profane fwearing, by a trifling and irreverent ufe of thegreat and glo- rious name of God, in the negle& of God, and of the Duties of Religion, in the Profanationof his Day, inDrunkennefs and filthy Lulls, in Fraud andOppreffion, in Lying and Perjury, in Wrath and Malice, in.Enmity.and Uncharitablenefs one toward another; this very thing, that we have made profeffion of the Gofpel, will be an aggravationof our Condemnation. Do we think, that at the Day of Judg- ment, we (hall efcape by pleading this for our felves, that we believed the Gofpel, and made profeffion of it ? No ! out of our ownmouths we (hall be condemned ; for it feems we knew our Matter's Will, andyet did it not; we were convinced that we ought not to do fuch things, and yet we did them ; we believed the glorious Pro. mifes of the Gofpel, and yet we neeletled this great falvation, as a thing not wor- thy the looking after i we Were verily perfuaded of the intolerable and endlefs Torments of Hell, and yet we would leap into thofe flames. Nothing can snake more againft us , than fuch an Apology as this ; our very Excufe will be the higheftAccufation and Charge that can be brought againft us, and out of our own Confeflion we (hall be condemned. All that now remains, is to make fouie Application of this Difcourfe which I have made to you concerning the Truth of theChriftian Religion ; which I fhould do in thefe two Particulars. Firft, To perfuade us to a firm Belief of the Chriftian Religion. And, Secondly, To live according to it. But as to this, I have prevented my felf in xiie see fome former Difcourfes. * mt. >>a l'fff SER-
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=