“ IT Thews us, that the ground of our “ AccepTANCE with God is through CHRIST, “ whom he hath made a PROPITIATION for “ the Sins of the World; and who alone is the “ true and LIVING WAY, whereby we may “ draw near to God with a true Heart, in full

ASSURANCE of Faith; having our Hearts Sprinkled from an evil Conscience. « THROUGH Christ we understand the « TERMS on which God will Thew Fa

vour and Grace to the World; and by « him we have Ground of Access with Free “ dom and Boldness unto God. On his Account we may hope not only for GRACE to SUBDUE our Sins, RESIST TEMPTATIONS, CONQUER the Devil, and the World: but having fought this good Fight, and finished our Course, by patient continuance in Welldoing, we may justly look for Glory, Ho

NOUR, and IMMORTALITY, and that “ Crown of RighTEOUSNESS which is laid up

for those who wait in Faith, HOLINESS, and “ Humility, for the appearance of Christ from « Heaven.

“ NOW what Things can there be of

greater Moment and IMPORTANCE for Men “ TO KNOW, or God to REVEAL, than the Na“ ture of God, and our felves, the State and « Condition of our Souls, the only way to « avoid ETERNAL MISery, and enjoy EVER

LASTING Bliss ! “ THE Scriptures discover not only Matters of Importance, but of the greatest Depth and Mysteriousness. There are maf

ny

ny wonderful Things in the Law of God;

Things we may admire, but are never able “ to comprehend.

" THE Scripture comprehends Matters of s the most universal Satisfaction to the Minds " of Men; though many Things do much “ exceed our Apprehensions, yet others are « most suitable to the Dictates of our Nature. « As the Nature of true HAPPINESS, wherein “ it lay, and how to be obtained.

" TRUE CONTENTMENT under the Trou

BLES of Life, which the Scripture only ac“ quaints us with the true Grounds of; and “ all the Prescriptions of Heathen Moralists « fall as much Thort of, as the Directions of

an Empirick doth of a wise and skilful Phy« fician.

“ AVOIDING the Fears of DEATH, “ which can alone be through a grounded Ex“ PECTATION of a future State of HAPPINESS, " which Death leads Men to; which cannot “ be had but through the right UNDERSTAND

ING of the Word of God.

“ THUS we see the Excellency of the « Matters themselves contained in this Reve

LATION of the Mind of God to the World.

« AS the Matters themselves are of an ex" cellent Nature, so is the Manner wherein " they are revealed in the Scriptures. And

« that,

First, IN a clear and perspicuous Manner; not but there may be still some Passa

“ges

ges which are hard to be understood, as be

ing either Prophetical, or containing Mat“ ters above our Comprehension; but all those “ Things which concern the Terms of Man's “ SALVATION, are delivered with the greatest “ Evidence and Perspicuity.

“ WHO cannot understand what these Things mean? What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to LOVE MER

cy, and to WALK HUMBLY with thy God? « That without Faith, it is impossible to “ PLEASE God; that without HOLINESS, none Jhall see the Lord; that unless we be BORN

again, we can never Enter into the KING“ DOM of Heaven. These, and such like Things, “ are so PLAIN and CLEAR, that it is nothing “ but Men's SHUTTING their Eyes against the “ Light, can keep them from understanding “ them. God intended these Things as Di

RECTIONS to Men; and is not he able to

SPEAK INTELLIGIBLY when he please? He " that made the Tongue, shall he not speak

so as to be understood without an infallible Interpreter ? especially, when it is his design

to make KNOWN to Men, the Terms of their “ETERNAL HAPPINESS?

Will God judge “Men at the great Day, for not BELIEVING “ those Things which they could not UNDER“ STAND? Scrange, that ever Men Thould judge the Scriptures OBSCURE in Matters necessary, when the Scripture accounts it so

great a JUDGMENT for Men not to UNLER“STAND them. If our Gospel be HID, it is "bid to them that are lojt; in whom the God of

f ?

" this

" this World hath BLINDED the Minds of them " which BELIEVE not, left the Light of the

GLORIOUS Gospel of Christ should shine unto

" them.

“ Secondly, I N a powerful and AUTHORI“ TATIVE Manner: As the Things contained in

Scripture do not so much beg acceptance as

COMMAND it; in that the Expressions where“ in our Duty is concerned, are such as

AWE Mens Consciences, and pierce to their “ Hearts, and to their secret Thoughts. Thirdly, IN a pure and unmixed man

The same Vein of Purity and HoliNESS running through the whole Book of " SCRIPTURES.

ce

ner:

“ Fourthly, IN an uniform and agreeable

manner.

1. THAT this Doctrine was delivered by Persons who lived in different Ages and Times from each other. In the sacred Scrip

ture, we read not one Age condemning ano“ ther; we find Light still increasing in the “ Series of Time in Scripture, but no Reflec“ tions in any time upon the IGNORANCE or “ WEAKNESS of the Precedent; the dimmest

Light was sufficient for its Age, and was a step to further Discovery.

2. By Persons of different Interests in the 6 World.

"GOD

" GOD made choice of Men of all Ranks to be Enditers of his ORACLES; to make it appear, it was no Matter of State Policy, or

particular Interest, which was contained in « his WORD; which Persons of such different « Interests could not have AGREED in, as they “ do. We have Mofes, David, Solomon ; Per« fons of ROYAL RANK and QUALITY; and “ can it be any mean Thing which these think “ it their Glory to be Penners of? We have

Isaiah, Daniel, and other Persons of the

Highest Educationand ACCOMPLISHMENTS; " and can it be any trivial thing which these “ employ themselves in? We have Amos, and « other PROPHETS in the OLD TESTAMENT, « and the APOSTLES in the New, of the mean

er sort of Men in the World; yet all these

Joyn in Consort together : when God tunes “ their SPIRITS, all agree in the same strain of “ Divine Truths, and give Light and HarMONY to each other.

3. BY Persons in different Places and “ Conditions. “ ALL the different Dispensations

agree

in " the same common Principles of Religion: " the same Ground of ACCEPTANCE with “ God, and OBLIGATION to Duty, was com

MON to all; though the peculiar Instances " wherein God was SERVED might be diffe

rent, according to the Ages of Growth in « the Church of God. So that this great

UNIFORMITY, considered in these Circumstances, " is an Argument that these things came originally from the same Spirit, though con