SER M. fcience, they liked not to retain God in XVI. their Knowledge; therefore God gave them up unto vile Affections, Rom. i. 24. The Jews after long provocations, God gave up unto their own hearts luft, Pf. lxxxi. 12; and let them follow their own imagination ; even so far as to worship the Host of Heaven, Acts vii. 42. And of Chriftians, in the Times of great Corruptions of the Church, St Paul prophecies, 2 Theff. ii. 11, that fince they loved not the Truth, God should fend them ftrong Delufion, that they might believe a Lye. 'Tis a fevere, but very juft Threatning, which we read in Ezek. xiv. 3, 9: Since thefe men have fet up their Idols in their Heart, if the Prophet be deceived when he hath Spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived That Prophet, and they shall bear the Punishment of their Iniquity. Of the fulfilling which Threatning we have a remarkable inftance in the Cafe of Idolatrous Abab: Concerning whom, the Scripture in a figurative indeed, but very emphatical and expreffive manner, defcribes the Prophet in a Vision beholding the Lord fitting upon his Throne, and all the Hoft XVI. Host of Heaven standing about him, and SER M. the Lord giving Leave to an Evil Spirit to deceive the Prophets of Ahab. Yet even here 'tis very obfervable, that, as a Laft Warning to Abab, if it had been poffible to bring him to Repentance; this very thing, even the deceiving of his Prophets, was itself told him beforehand by Micaiah. But he was under the ftrong Prejudice of an idolatrous Mind, and therefore he had not Ears to hear. More than This, God was not obliged, nor was it fit, to Do for him. Nor will God to Any man, after he has ufed all reasonable Motives, add irrefiftible Means, to convert him whether he will or no. When the Jews, after our Saviour had worked Many Miracles, ftill called for a Sign from Heaven; he told them, there should no Sign be given to an adulterous and perverfe generation. And after his Refurrection, he fhowed himself alive, not to all the people, but to chofen and fufficient Witnesses. And when his unbelieving Countrymen, perverfely, and not with any real Defire of being fatisfied, urged him to repeat the fame Miracles 2 among SERM. among Them, as he had already worked XVI. in other places; he made them this fharp Reply, (the Sense whereof is a Paraphrase on the words of my Text, and wherewith I fhall conclude ;) Luke iv. 25, I tell you of a Truth, many Widows were in Ifrael in the days of Elias,- but unto none of them was Elias fent, fave unto Sarepta a City of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many Lepers were in Ifrael in the time of Elifeus the Prophet; and none of them was cleanfed faving Naaman the Syrian. The Manifeftations God was pleased to make of Himself, were abundantly fufficient; and they that had Ears to hear, could not fail of understanding them. The cafe is the fame Nowe, and in All Ages: God has made abundant Manifestations of Himself, both by Reason and Revelation; and no man can excufably be ignorant of Him. SERMON SERMON XVII. Of the Nature of true Chriftian REV. iii. 15, 16. I know thy Works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, becaufe thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will fpue thee out of my Mouth. R ELIGION is the Great Or-S ER M. nament and Glory of Humane XVII. Nature; that which principally distinguishes Men from the inferiour Orders of Creatures; and upon which Alone are ground ed SER M. ed all Hopes of Life and Happiness hereXVII. after, when this fhort and tranfitory World fhall be paffed away. In a matter of so great importance therefore, 'tis very wonderful, that any man who calls himself a reasonable Creature fhould be carelefs and indifferent; careless, whether he has Any Religion, or Nonc; indifferent, whether his religion, when he does profefs any, be True or Falfe; careless, when he has embraced the True Religion, whether he makes Any Improvement in his Practice answerable to it, or no. The words of the Text are a Reproof fent by our Saviour to the Church of Laodicea, upon account of their remifsnefs and lukewarmnefs in this last particular. The Church of Laodicea, fignifies either literally one of the Seven primitive Churches of Afia, or figuratively one of the feven fucceffive States or Conditions of the Primitive Church Catholick, before its falling into That Univerfal Antichriftian corruption defcribed in the following chapters of This Book. In whichfoever of these two senses we understand the Church of Laodicea to be meant, yet ftill, it being part of the Primitive Church before the times of That |