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fee the bond cancelled; fo this perfect work only produces perfect peace.

Inference 5. Did Chrift work, and work out all that God gave him to do, till he had finished his work? How necessary then is a laborious working life to all that call themselves Chriftians? The life of Chrift, you fee, was a laborious life. Shall he work, and we play? Shall a zealous, active, working Christ be reproached with idle, negligent and lazy followers? Ō work, and work out your own falvation with fear and trembling, Phil. ii. 12.

Object. But if Chrift wrought fo hard, we may fit still. If he finished the work, nothing remains for us to do.

Solut. Nothing of that work which Christ did, remains for you to do. It is your commendation and duty to leave all that to Chrift: but there is other work for you to do; yea, store of work lying upon your hands. You must work as well as Chrift, though not for the fame ends Chrift did. He wrought hard to fatisfy the law, by fulfilling all righteoufnefs. He wrought all his life long, to work out a righteoufnefs to juftify you before God. This work falls to no hand but Chrift's: but you muft work, to obey the commands of Christ into whose right ye are come by redemption: you must work, to teftify your thankfulnefs to Chrift, for the work finished for you: you must work, to glorify God by your obedience: let your light fo shine before men. For these, and divers other fuch ends and reasons, your life must be a working life. God preferve all his people from the grofs and vile opinions of Antinomian libertines, who cry up grace, and decry obedience: who under fpecious preténces of exalting a naked Chrift upon the throne, do indeed itrip him naked of a great part of his glory, and vilely dethrone him. My pen fhall not english what mine eyes have read *. Tell it not in Gath.

But for thee, reader, be thou a follower of Chrift: imitate thy pattern yea, let me perfuade thee, as ever thou hopest to clear up thine intereft in him, imitate him in fuch particulars as thefe that follow.

First, Chrift began early to work for God: he took the morning of his life, even the very beginning of it, to work for

* Da mihi Chriftum, non quæro dona gratia, fed Chriftum. Non quero promiffiones, fed Chriftum. Non quæro fanctificatio nem, fed Chriftum. Ne mihi narra fabulam de mediatore, et of ficio; narra mibi de Chrifto. Commentarius de ftatu Ecclef. Brit. P. 45.

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SERM. XXXV. God. "How is it (faid he to his parents, when he was but a "child of about twelve years) that ye fought me? Wist ye not "that I must be about my Father's bufinefs?" Reader, if the morning of thy life be not gone, O devote it to the work of God, as Chrift did: if it be, ply thy work the clofer in the afternoon of thy life. If a man have any great and necessary bufinefs to do, it is good doing it in the morning; afterwards a hurry of bufinefs and diverfion comes on.

Secondly, As Chrift began betime, fo he followed his work clofe he was early up, and he wrought hard, to hard, that "he forgat to eat bread," John iv. 31, 32. So zealous was he in his Father's work, that his friends "thought that he had "been befides himfelf," Mark iii. 21. So zealous, that " the

zeal of God's houfe eat him up." He flew like a feraphim, in a flame of zeal, about the work of God. O be not ye like fnails. What Auguftus laid of the young Roman, well becomes the true Chriftian, "whatfoever he doth, he doth it to " purpose."

Thirdly, Chrift often thought upon the fhortness of his time, and wrought hard because he knew his working-time would be but little. So you find it John ix. 4. "I muft work the works "of him that fent me, whilft it is day; the night cometh, "when no man can work." O in this be like Chrift: rouze your hearts to diligence with this confideration. If a man have much to write, and be almoft come to the end of his paper, he will write close, and thereby much matter in a little room.

Fourthly, He did much work for God, in a very filent manner: He wrought hard, but did not spoil his work, when he had wrought it, by vain oftentation. When he had expreffed

his charity, in his acts of mercy and bounty to men, he would humbly feal up the glory of it, with this charge; " fee ye tell "no man of it," Mat. viii. 4. He affected no popular air. All the angels in heaven could not do what Chrift did, and yet he called himself a worm, for all that, Pfal. xxii. 6. O imitate your pattern: Work hard for God, and let not pride blow upon it, when you have done: 'Tis hard for a man to do much, and not value himself for it too much.

Fifthly, Chrift carried on his work for God refolvedly: No difcouragements would beat him off, though never any work met with more from first to last. How did Scribes and Pharifees, Jews, Gentiles, yea, Devils fet upon him, by perfecutions, and reproaches, violent oppositions, and fubtil temptations; but

+ Quicquid vult, valde vult.

yet, he goes on with his Father's work for all that: He is deaf to all difcouragements . So it was foretold of him, Ifa. xlii. 4, "He fhall not fail, nor be difcouraged." O that more of this fpirit of Chrift were in his people: O that, in the ftrength of love to Christ, and zeal for the glory of God, you would pour out your hearts in fervice, and like a river, fweep down all difcouragements before you.

Sixthly, He continued working, whilft he continued living: His life and labour ended together: He fainted not in his work: Nay, the greatest work he did in this world, was his last work, O be like Chrift in this, be not weary of well-doing: Give not over the work of God, while you can move hand and tongue to promote it, and fee that your last works be more than your first. O let the motions of your foul after God be, as all natural motions are, fwift when nearest the centre . Say not it is enough, whilft there is any capacity of doing more for God. In these things, Chriftians, be like your Saviour.

Inference 6. Did Christ finish his work? Look to it Chriftians, that ye alfo finish your work which God hath given you to do: That you may with comfort fay, when death approaches, as Christ said, John xvii. 4. "I have glorified thee on earth, I have finished "the work thou gavest me to do; and now, O Father, glorify "thou me with thine own felf." Chrift had a work committed to him, and he finished it; you have a work also committed to you: O fee that you may be able to fay, 'tis finished when your time is fo: work out your own falvation with fear and trembling: And, that I may perfuade you to it, I beseech you lay these confiderations clofe to heart.

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First, If your work be not done before you die, it can never be done when you are dead. "There's no work nor knowledge, nor device in the grave, whither thou goeft," Ecclef. ix. 5, 10. They that go down to the pit, cannot celebrate the name of God, Ifa. xxxviii. 18. Death binds up the hand from working any more: ftrikes dumb the tongue that it can fpeak no more; for then the compofition is diffolved. The body, which is the foul's inftrument to work by, is broken, and thrown afide: the foul itself prefented immediately before the Lord, to give an account of all its works. O therefore, feing the night cometh, 0002

Savior, ab obice ibit. lutely because of obstacles.

i. e. He fhall proceed the more refo

Si dixifti fufficit, periifti. If thou once fay it is enough, thou art loft.

SERM. XXXVI. when no man can work, as Chrift fpeaks, John ix. 4. make hafte and finish your work.

Secondly, If you finifh not your work, as the feafon of working, so the season of mercy will be over at death. Do not think, you that have neglected Christ all your lives, you that could never be perfuaded to a laborious holy life, that ever your criés and intreaties fhall prevail with God for mercy, when your feafon is past: No, no, 'tis too late; "Will God hear his cry, when "troubles come upon him?" Job xxvii. 9. The feafon of mercy is then over; as the tree fulis, fo it lies: Then he that is holy fhall be holy ftill, and he that is filthy fhall be filthy ftill. Alas, poor fouls, you come too late: "The mafter of the house is rifen 66 up, and the doors are fhut," Luke xix. 42. The feason is over : Happy had it been, if ye had known the day of your visitation.

Lastly, If your work be not finished when you come to die, you can never finish your lives with comfort. He that hath' not finished his work with care, can never finish his course with joy. O what a difmal cafe is that foul in, that finds itself furprized by death in an unready posture! To lie fhivering upon the brink of the grave, faying, Lord what will become of me! O I cannot, I dare not die! For the poor foul to shrink back into the body, and cry, Oh, it were better for me to do any thing than die. Why what's the matter? Oh, I am in a Christless state, and dare not go before that awful judgment-feat. If I had in feafon made Chrift fure, I could then die with peace. Lord, what shall I do? How doft thou like this, reader? Will this be a comfortable close! When one afked a chriftian that conftantly spent fix hours every day in prayer, why he did fo? He answered, Q Imuft die, I muft die. Well, then, look to it that you finish your work as Chrift alfo did his.

SERMON

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XXXVI.

Opens the seventh and last Word with which CHRIST breathed out his Soul.

LUKE Xxiii. 46. And when Jefus had cried with a loud voice, he faid, Father, into thy hands I commend my fpirit; and having faid thus, he gave up the ghoft.

TH

HESE are the last of the last words of our Lord Jefus
Christ upon
the cross, with which he breathed out his

foul: They were David's words before him, Pfal. xxxi. 5. and for fubftance, Stephen's after him, Acts vii. 27. They are words full, both of faith and comfort; fit to be the last breathings of every gracious foul in this world. They are refolved into thefe five particulars;

First, The perfon depofiting, or committing: The Lord Jefus Chrift, who in this, as well as in other things, acted as a common perfon, as the head of the church *. This must be remarked carefully, for therein lies no fmall part of a believer's confolation: When Christ commends his foul to God, he doth as it were bind up all the fouls of the elect in one bundle with it, and folemnly prefents them all with his, to his Father's acceptance: To this purpose one aptly renders it.

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"This commendation made by Chrift, turns to the fingular profit and advantage of our fouls; inasmuch as Chrift, by "this very prayer, hath delivered them into his Father's hand, as a precious treasure, whenever the time comes that they are to be loosed from the bodies which they now inhabit.†" Jefus Chrift neither lived nor died for himself, but for believers; what he did in this very act, refers to them as well as to his own foul: You must look therefore upon Christ, in this last and folemn act of his life, as gathering all the fouls of the elect together, and making a folemn tender of them all, with his own foul to God.

Secondly, The depofitory, or perfon to whom he commits this precious treasure, and that was to his own Father: " Father, "into thy hands I commit my fpirit." Father is a fweet encouraging, affuring title: Well may a fon commit any concernment, how dear foever, into the hands of a father; especially fuch a fon into the hands of fuch a father. 66 By the hands of "the Father into which he commits his foul, we are not to understand the naked or mere power, but the fatherly acceptati-"on and protection of God ."

Thirdly, The depofitum, or thing committed into this hand,

*He commends not his foul to the Father on his own perfonal account, but the fouls of all the faithful bound up as it were in one bundle, that they might be kept in fafety together with his own. D. Pareus.

+ Hac Chrifli commendatio, in animarum noftrarum commodum cedebat. Quippe quas ille a corpore quod inhabitaverant abfolutas, quafi quoddam depofitum, in Dei viventis manu, ex oratione tradebat. Vict. Antioch, in Mark ix.

Manus hæc patris alias Dei potentiam fignificant, hic vero paternum Dei præfidium, &c. Pareus.

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