CXXV. they fhall be shut out, and be for ever banifh'dSER M. from the prefence of GOD. This fhall be their doom, which will be much the heavier, because of the disappointment of their confident expectation and hope. So St. Luke tells us, chap. xiii. 28, 29. "There fhall be weeping and gnashing of teeth; << when ye fhall fee Abraham, and Ifaac, and Ja"cob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of "GOD, and ye your felves thrust out. And they "fhall come from the east, and from the west, "and from the north, and from the fouth, and "fhall fit down in the kingdom of Gop." To which St. Matthew adds, chap. viii. ver. 12. "But: "the children of the kingdom fhall be caft our "into utter darkness; there fhall be weeping and "gnashing of teeth." And then our SAVIOUR concludes (Luke xiii. 30.) "Behold, there are last that fhall be firft, and firft which fhall be last.". From all which it appears, with what confidence many men, upon these falfe pretences (which our SAVIOUR calls 66 feeking to enter in") fhall lay claim to heaven, and how ftrangely they fhall be difappointed of their expectation and hope; when they fhall find themselves caft out of heaven, who they thought had out-done all others in religion, and were the only members of the true church, and "the children, and heirs of the kingdom;" and fball fee others, whom they thought to be out of the pale of the true church, and excluded from all terms of falvation, come from all quarters, and find free admiffion into heaven; and fhall find themfelves fo grofly and widely mistaken, that thofe wery perfons, whom they thought to be laft, and SER M. of all others fartheft from falvation, fhall be firft; CXXV. and they themselves, whom they took for "the "children of the kingdom," and fuch as fhould be admitted into heaven in the first place, fhall be rejected and caft out. So that by 66 seeking to enter," we may understand all those things which men may do in religion, upon which they fhall pretend to lay claim to heaven, nay, and confidently hope to obtain it; and yet shall be shamefully disappointed, and fall fhort of it. Whatever men think, and believe, and do in religion, what privileges foever men pretend, what ways and means foever men endeavour to appease the deity, and to recommend themfelves to the divine favour and acceptance, all this is but "feeking to enter in," and is not that ftriving which our SAVIOUR requires. "If men do not "do the will of GOD, but are workers of ini"quity," it will all fignify nothing to the obtaining of eternal happiness. Our SAVIOUR here inftanceth in mens profeffion of his religion, "calling him LORD, LORD;" in their perfonal familiarity and conversation with him, by eating and drinking in his prefence" and company; in their having heard him preach the doctrine of life and falvation, "thou haft taught 66 in our streets;" in their having prophefied, and wrought great miracles in his name and by his power," have we not prophefied in thy name? and in thy name caft out devils; and in thy name "done many wonderful works?" these were great and glorious things which they boasted of; and yet nothing of all this will do, if men" do not the 1 CXXV. "will of God;" notwithstanding all this, he will SER M. fay unto them, "I know ye not whence.ye are, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity." 66 And by a plain parity of reafon, whatever else. men do in religion, what attempts foever men may make to get to heaven, upon what privileges or pretences foever they may lay claim to eternal life, they will certainly fall fhort of it, if they do "not the will of God," but "are workers of ini-. quity." My business therefore at this time shall be, to discover the feveral falfe claims and pretences which men may make to heaven, and yet shall never enter into it. And to this purpose I fhall inftance in feveral particulars, by one or more of which men commonly delude themselves, and are apt to entertain vain and ill-grounded hopes of eternal fal vation. ift, fome truft to the external profeffion of the true religion, 2dly, others have attained to a good degree of knowledge in religion, and they rely much upon that. 3dly, there are others that find themselves much affected with the word of Go D, and the doctrines contained in it. 4thly, others are very ftrict and devout in the external worship of GOD. 5thly, others confide much in their being members of the only true church, in which alone falva: tion is to be had, and in the manifold privileges and advantages which therein they have above others of getting to heaven. 6thly, others think their great zeal for Gop and his true religion, will certainly fave them. 7thly, SERM. 7thly, others go a great way in the real practice of religion. 8thly, others rely much upon the fincerity of their repentance and converfion, whereby, they are put into a state of grace, and become the children of GOD, and heirs of everlafting life; and being once. truly fo, they can never fall from that state, fo as finally to mifcarry. Lastly, others venture all upon a death bed repentance, and their importunity with GOD to receive them to mercy at the last. I fhall briefly go over these particulars, which are the feveral ways whereby men "feek to enter into heaven, and hope to get thither at laft; and fhall fhew the infufficiency of them; and that there is fomething beyond all this neceffary to be done for the attainment of everlasting salvation. ift, fome truft to the mere external profeffion of the true religion, and think it enough to call CHRIST LORD, LORD, to be baptized in his name, and thereby to be admitted members of the chriftian church. What the apoftle fays of the profeffion of the jewish religion, and the outward badge of it, " circumcifion," may be applied to the profeffion of chriftianity made in baptifm, Rom. ii. 17, 25, 28, 29. "Behold thou art called a Jew, and reft"eft in the law, and makeft thy boast of Go D. "Circumcifion verily profiteth, if thou keep the "law; but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy ❝ circumcifion, is made uncircumcifion: for he is "not a Jew that is one outwardly, neither is "that circumcifion, which is outward in the flesh; "but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcifion is that of the heart, in the fpirit, and "not P CXXV. "not in the letter." The cafe is the fame of thofe S ER M. who make only an outward profeffion of chriftianity. "Baptifm verily profiteth, if we perform "the condition of that covenant which we entered into by baptifm," but if we do not, our baptifm is, no, baptifm: för "he is not a chriftian, which is one, outwardly, nor is that baptifm which is outward in the flesh; but he is a chriftian "which is one inwardly, and baptifm is of the heart, in the fpirit, and not in water only." So St. Peter tells us, I Pet. iii. 21. that baptifm is not only the washing of the body with water and the putting away of the filth of the flesh; but, the anfwer of a good confcience towards Gop." . The promise of eternal life and happiness is not made to the external profeffion of religion without the fincere and real practice of it. Why call -ye "me LORD, LORD, (fays our SAVIOUR) and do not the things which I fay?" The scripture hath no where faid, "he that is baptized shall be "faved; but he that believeth and is baptized, he that repenteth and is baptized, fhall be fa ved; 2dly, there are others who have attained to a J |