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DISCOURSE I.

Stating the Notion of the Chriftian Salvation, and fhewing it chiefly to confift in a deliverance from our Sins.

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On Matt. 1. 21. Thou shalt call his
Name Jefus: For he shall fave his
People from their fins.

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INCE all men, who make any Pretence to Sobriety and Religion, profefs themselves most ear

nestly defirous of Salvation; and the great Errand of our bleffed Lord into the world was to purchafe it, and make a tender of it to them; it may well seem strange to us, as once it did to the Apostles, that yet for all this, there are but few who shall be faved. For the far greater number of the Chriftian world, are impenitently wicked'; they

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they live all their days in a course of Sin, and die without amendment; and fuch men the Scripture affures us, in the last Judgment will not be forgiven: fo, that notwithstanding all the noise that is made about Salvation, the greatest part have very little, or no fhare in it; it is but feldom found, tho' it be often talked of, and the generality of men feem to be as far from it, as if the Gospel had never come abroad to bring them to it.

Now one chief Reason, why fo many men do at last mifs of Salvation, after they have put forth fuch eager defires, and spent fuch zealous Pains upon it is because they mistake its Nature, and understand not truly wherein it doth confift. They take it to be fomething elfe than what it is, and fo are apt ufually to hope well of it, and, to think they have attained to it, when as, alas! they are yet in a loft ftate, and at a very great distance from it; for altho' that Salvation which Christ dearly purchased, and which the Gospel comes to promote in us, be a Salvation from fin, as we shall see presently; yet that which men ordinarily talk off, and expect by. him is nothing lefs. They think to be pardon'd without Obedience, and to be

faved from Punishment, whilst they perfevere in the Practice of their Sins. For if we come to the most profligate Sinner, altho' it be upon his Death-bed, when he is going out of the world with all his fins, and unmortified Lusts about him; yet even he, who is thus loft in fin, will still talk of his Saviour Christ, and hopes to be faved by him notwithftanding..

To prevent or redrefs fuch dangerous mistakes in a matter of fo high moment, I intend in difcourfing upon these words,

First, To reprefent to you what that Salvation is, which Chrift has purchased for us. And,

Secondly, To note fome particular Uses and Improvements of it.

First, I fhall represent to you what that Salvation is, which Chrift has purchas'd for us.

To fave, is, to deliver from evil and danger; and may be extended to as many evils, as men may be delivered from. Thus every where in David's Pfalms, *Pfal. 37. the Deliverance of the righteous out of 37. A&. afflictions and troubles, is called his 27.31. Salvation; and Gideon is faid to have fa-s. 2 King.13. ved

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ved Ifrael when he rescued them out of the hands of the Midianites, Jud. 6. 14. Now as for those evils which Chrift came to fave us from, in our Deliverance from which confifts our Christian Salvation, they are not the temporal evils and afflictions of this Life. His Kingdom was not of this world; nor is his Protection always from the evils of it; he himself was a man of forrows, and his Church must expect to be like him, and to live under Perfecutions. But they

are,

First, Our fins; and confequent upon them,

Secondly, Thofe eternal Punishments, which are due unto us for them. Upon thefe accounts it is, that he is Chrift the Saviour; he shall be called Jefus, or a Saviour faith the Angel, because he shall Save his people from their fins.

As for the latter of these, viz. the Deliverance from eternal Death, and Helltorments, which are the Punishment that is due unto our Sins; this Christ has undoubtedly purchased for all those that are his. There remains no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus;

faith the Apostle, Rom. 8. 1. but they are paffed over from death unto life, Joh. 5.24. God who should in anger exact those Punishments, is reconciled to them by the death of his Son, Rom. 5. 10. fo that now they are no longer under his feverity as an offended Lord, but can look upon him as their Protector, and Patron, having received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby they can call him Abba, i. e. Father, Rom. 8..15.

And as for this Deliverance, from the worm of Confcience, and Pangs of Soul, from the eternal Pains of Hell, and the Horrors of Darkness, we are generally apt to think it a Deliverance indeed and such as we have all great need of; for who is willing to live with everlafting burnings? Who would be content to roar in never ending Tortures? There is no man who believes there is fuch a place as Hell, but whenfoever he seriously confiders of it, most 'earnestly defires to be fecured from it; and therefore among all thofe, who are not Atheistical or defperately loose and inconfiderate, we fee there are few or none, who will not make fome profeffion and perform fome outward and eafie Acts of Religion, that thereby they may quiet B 3 their