of holiness and virtue our religion does contain; may not he reply, Would you have me to believe you, when I fee you do not believe yourselves? If you believed your religion, you would live according to it. For if the gofpel were every word of it falfe, if there were neither a heaven to be hoped for, nor a hell to be feared after this life, how could many Christians live worse than they do?

As we would not proclaim to the world, that the gofpel is an unholy and vitious inftitution, let us take heed that we bring no scandal upon it by our lives, left the enemies of our religion fay, as Salvian tells us they did in his time, Si Chriftus fancta docuiffet, Chriftiani fanéte vixiffent: Surely, "if Chrift had taught fo holy a doc"trine, Chriftians would have lived holier lives." Tully tells us, that one of the fhrewdeft arguments that ever was brought against philosophy was this, Quofdam perfectos philofophos turpiter vivere; "That fome great philofophers led very filthy lives." Celfus and Por phyry, Hierocles and Julian, among all their witty invectives againft Chriftian religion, having nothing against it that reflects fo much upon it, as do the wicked lives of so many Chriftians. The greatest enmity to religion, is, to profefs it, and to live unanswerably to it.

This confideration ought greatly to affect us. I am fure the apoftle speaks of it with great paffion and vehemency: For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Chrift; whofe end is deftruction, whofe God is their belly, whofe glory is in their fhame, who mind earthly things, Phil. iii. 18. 19. A Jew or a Turk is not fo great an enemy to Christianity as a lewd and vi tious Chriftian. Therefore let me befeech Christians, as they tender the honour of their Saviour, and the credit of their religion,, that they would conform their lives to the holy precepts of Chriftianity. And if there be any who are refolved to continue in a vitious course, to the injury and difparagement of Chriftianity, I could almost intreat of them, that they would quit their profeffion, and renounce their baptifm; that they would lay afide their title of Christians, and initiate themselves in Heathenish rites and fuperftitions, or be circumcifed for Jews or Turks: for it were really better, upon fome

accounts

accounts, that fuch men fhould abandon their profeffion, than keep on a vizard, which ferves to no other purpose, but to fcar others from religion.

3. and laftly, Let us confider the danger we expose. ourfelves to, by not living anfwerably to our religion. And this, I hope, may prevail upon fuch as are not moved by the former confiderations. Hypocrites are inftanced in fcripture as a fort of finners that fhall have the fharpest torments, and the fierceft damnation. When our Saviour would fet forth the great feverity of the Lord towards the evil fervant, he expreffeth it thus: He fhall cut him afunder, and appoint him his portion with hypocrites, Matth. xxiv. 51. So that the punishment of hypocrites feems to be made the measure and standard of the highest punishment. Thou profeffeft to believe in Chrift, and to hope in him for falvation; but in the mean time thou livest a wicked and unholy life: thou doft not believe, but prefume on him; and wilt find, at the great day, that this thy confidence will be thy confufion; and he whom thou hopeft will be thy Advocate and Saviour, will prove thy accufer, and thy judge. What our Savour fays to the Jews, There is one that ac cufeth you, even Mofes, in whom ye truft, John v. 45. may very well be applied to falfe Chriftians, There is one that accufeth you, and will condemn you, even Jefus, in whom ye trust.

The profeffion of Christianity, and mens having the name of Chrift named upon them, will be fo far from fecuring them from hell, that it will fink them the deep. er into it. Many are apt to pity the poor Heathens, who never heard of the name of Chrift, and fadly to condole their cafe: but, as our Saviour faid upon another occafion, Weep not for them; weep for yourselves. There is no fuch miserable person in the world as a degenerate Chriftian; because he falls into the greatest mifery, from the greatest advantages and opportunities of being happy. Doft thou lament the condition of Socrates, and Cato, and Ariftides, and doubt what shall become of them at the day of judgement? and canft thou, who art an impious and profane Chriftian, think that thou shalt escape the damnation of hell?

Doft thou believe that the moral Heathen shall be caft out? and canft thou, who haft led a wicked life under the

the profeffion of Chriftianity, have the impudence to hope, that thou fhalt fit down with Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God? No: Those fins which are committed by Christians under the enjoyment of the gospel, are of deeper dye, and clothed with blacker aggravations, than the fins of Heathens are capable of. A Pagan may live without God in the world, and be unjust towards men, at a cheaper rate, and upon ea fier terms, than thou who art a Christian. Better had it been thou hadst never known one fyllable of the gofpel, never heard of the name of Christ, than that, having taken it upon thee, thou fhouldft not depart from iniquity. Happy had it been for thee that thou hadst been born a Jew, or a Turk, or a poor Indian, rather than that, being bred among Christians, and profeffing thyself of that number, thou shouldst lead a vitious and unholy life.

I have infifted the longer upon these arguments, that I might, if poffible, awaken men to a ferious confideration of their lives, and perfuade them to a real reformation of them; that I may oblige all those who call themfelves Chriftians, to live up to the effential and fundamental laws of our religion; to love God, and to love our neighbour; to do to every man as we would have him to do to us; to mortify our lufts, and fubdue our paffions, and fincerely to endeavour to grow in every grace and virtue; and to abound in all the fruits of righteoufnefs, which are by Jefus Chrift, to the praise and glory of God.

This indeed would become our profeffion, and be honourable to our religion, and would remove one of the greatest obstacles to the progrefs of the gofpel. For how can we expect that the doctrine of God our Saviour fhould gain any confiderable ground in the world, fo long as, by the unworthy lives of fo many Christians, it is reprefented to the world at fo great difadvantage? If ever we would have the Chriftian religion effectually recommended, it must be by the holy and unblameable lives of those who make profeffion of it. Then indeed it would look with fo amiable a countenance, as to invite many to it; and carry fo much majefty and authority in it, as to.command reverence from its greatest enemies, and make men to acknowledge, that God is in

us

us of a truth, and to glorify our Father which is in heaven.

The good God grant, that as we have taken upon us the profeffion of Christianity, fo we may be careful fo to live, that we may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; that the grace of God, which bringeth falvation, may teach us to deny ungodliness, and worldly lufts, and to live foberly, righteously, and godly, in this prefent world; looking for that bleed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour fefus Chrift. To whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghoft, &c.

SERMON

VIII.

Of the happiness of a heavenly conversation.

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PHIL. iii. 20.

For our converfation is in heaven.

OR the understanding of which words we need to look back no farther than the 18th verse of this chapter; where the apoftle, with great vehemency and paffion, fpeaks of fome among the Philippians, who indeed profeffed Chriftianity, but yet would do any thing to decline fuffering for that profeffion : There are many that walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies to the cross of Chrift; they cannot endure to fuffer with him and for him; they are fo fenfual, and wedded to this world, that they will do any thing to avoid perfecution. So he defcribes them in the next verfe: Whofe end is deftruction, whofe God is their belly, whose glory is in their fhame, who mind earthly things. Now, in oppofition to these fenfual and earthly-minded men, the apottle gives us the character of the true Christians : They are fuch as mind heaven and another world, and

prefer

prefer the hopes of that to all the interefts of this life: Our converfation is in heaven.

For the right understanding of which phrafe, be pleafed to obferve, that it is an allufion to a city or corporation, and to the privileges and manners of those who are free of it. And heaven is feveral times in fcripture represented to us under this notion of a city. It is faid of Abraham, that he looked for a city which hath foundations, whofe builder and maker is God, Heb. xi. 10. It is called likewife the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerufalem, Heb. xii. 22. And the fame apoftle, fpeaking of the uncertain condition of Christians in this world, fays of them, that here they have no continuing city, but look for one that is to come, Heb. xii. 14.

Now to this city the apoftle alludes here in the text, when he fays, Our converfation is in heaven for the word woMiTepa, which is rendered conversation, may either fignify the privilege of citizens, or their converfation and manners; or may take in both these.

In the first fenfe, of the privilege of citizens, we find womiteia, a word of near affinity with this, fometimes ufed: With a great fum (fays the Captain to Paul) obtained 1 ToMiTelav Tarn, this freedom, A&ts xxii. 28. According to this fenfe, ἡμῶν τὸ πολίτευμα may very well be rendered, as Tertullian often does this text, municipatus nofter, our citizenship is in heaven; an allufion perhaps, as the learned Dr Hammond obferves, to thofe who, though they were not born at Rome, and it may be lived at a great distance from it, had yet jus civitatis Romana, the privilege of Roman citizens. In like manner, the apostle here describes the condition of Chriftians. It is true, we are born here in this world, and live in it but we belong to another corporation; we are denizens of another country, and free of that city which is above.

:

In the other fenfe, of the conversation of citizens, we find the verb IT used towards the beginning of this epiftle: Let your converfation be as it becometh the gofpel of Chrift, Phil. i. 27. And why may not the word TOMITIUM in the text, without any inconvenience, include both these as if the apoftle had faid, There are fome that mind earthly things, and are so addicted to them, VOL. I. that,

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