be a feeming, there can be no real Repug- SERM. nancy between them. Divers Methods have III. been pursued, to reconcile the apparent Difagreement of the two Apoftles: Thefe are not unknown to the learned, and need not be known to the unlearned Chriftian. I shall therefore pafs over in Silence every Solution, but what the Courfe of my Argument leads me to adopt, and which feems the most probable, viz. That St. Paul writing to the Jews and Judaizing Chriftians, infifted on Juftification by Faith alone in Oppofition to the legal Rites; and that St. James writing to fuch as had fadly perverted the Words of his Brother Paul to the Encouragement of Debauchery, declared they must not expect to be juftified by an empty Belief, but by fuch a one, as manifefted its vital Force in the Produce of Piety, Charity, and Purity: And being fo understood, as they well may, there is no Contradiction in Sentiment between them, both fpeaking and defigning the fame Thing, though addreffing themselves to different Perfons and on different Occafions, they exprefs their Reasonings in different Terms.

THE Works which St. Paul excludes from any Concern in this weighty Affair, are directly

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SERM. rectly the Works of the Jewish Law and III. ceremonial Ordinances, confequentially the Works of abfolute Perfection and of strict Mcrit; none of which St. James requires : And the Gofpel-Services, which the latter enjoins, as neceffary, the former does by no means reprefent, as injurious or useless. It is doing the great Apoftle of the Gentiles foul Injustice to fuppofe this, he having guarded most strongly against the Reflection in feveral of his Epiftles.

HE delivers his Thoughts on this fundamental Article to the Galatians thus: In Christ Jefus neither Circumcifion availeth any thing, nor Uncircumcifion, but a New Creature (d). And to the Corinthians, Circumcifion is nothing, and Uncircumcifion is nothing; but the keeping the Commandments of God (e). And again, he teaches the Romans the Neceffity, and exhorts them to the confcientious Obfervance, of all Virtues, in the following weighty Paffage, Let not Sin reign in your mortal Bodies, that ye fhould obey it in the Lufts thereof; neither yield ye your Members, as Inftruments of Unrighteousness unto Sin: But yield yourfelvs unto God, as thofe that are alive from the dead, and your

(d) Gallat. vi. 15.

(e) 1 Cor. vii. 19.

your Members as Inftruments of Righteoufnefs SER M. unto God (f).

AND what may be further look'd upon to be an unanfwerable Argument in St. Paul's Favour, is, That Abraham, in whom he instanced in his Epiftle to the Galatians, as a Person juftified by Faith, is in his Epiftle to the Hebrews propofed for an Example of Obedience. By Faith, fays the Apostle, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a Place, which he should afterwards receive for an Inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went (g).

So that upon the whole, we have very fmall Room to think, that St. Paul defigned to extoll an Affent to the Doctrines of Revelation at the Expence of its Duties; any more than St James aimed at crying up Moral Virtue to the Prejudice of an Orthodox Confeffion. Our Apoftle is so far from it, that he makes little Account of Faith itself separate from good Works: For, fays he to the Corinthians (b), Though I have all Faith, fo that I could remove Mountains, and have no Charity, I am nothing. And, indeed,

(f Rom. vi. 12, 13. (b) 1 Cor. xiii. 2.

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(g) Heb. xi. 8.

III.

SERM. indeed, altogether worthlefs is an hiftorical III. and fpeculative,---a dead and unactive Be

lief of revealed Religion,---a Profeffion which is not ornamented with a confonant Practice, or which implies not an habitual Difpofition to exercise every Kind and Degree of true Goodnefs, whenever it is thrown in our Way.

AND now, if the Cafe be, as has been before reprefented, how wretched is the State. of many, who ftile themselves the Disciples of Chrift,---who are forward to own the Truths of the Gofpel, but as prone to deny the Power of it in their Lives,-----who are Chriftians in Name and Heathens in Manners? Their confident Affurance, they know not why, that they are at prefent, and fhall be finally juftified, muft miferably deceive them; and fuch nominal Believers, who depend on Salvation, will doubtlefs find their Hopes void of all folid Grounds.

WE are to be thoroughly perfuaded, that, though we cannot be faved by our Virtue, yet we cannot be faved without it,--that it is not enough to have Faith in God, unless this indipenfable Subjection of the Understanding caufes us to pay him all

dutiful

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dutiful Submission of the Will,---that it is SERM, not enough to acknowledge Chrift Jefus to be the Saviour of the World, the only begotten Son of God and one in Effence with the Father, unless we diligently keep his Commandments, and tread, as exactly as our Infirmities will permit, in the bleffed Steps of his moft holy Life,---that it is not enough to believe in the Holy Ghoft, as the Third Perfon of the adorable Trinity, the Affifter and Sanctifier of the Faithful, if we refift his Operation on our Hearts, and turn his Grace into Wantonnefs.

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To maintain undue and prefumptuous Reliances on the Merits and Interceffion of our Redeemer to the Contempt of found Morality, is as bad, or rather a worfe Corruption of Chriftianity, than to plead for the Meritorioufnefs of our own imperfect Works. For whilft this Notion makes the Chriftian Scheme useless, that renders it pernicious; whilft the one fuppofes it needlefs, that it should fubfift as a Rule of Action, the other proves, that it ought not.

BUT we, I truft, have not fo learned Christ, who declare it to be an indifputable Article of our Religion, That in the great Day

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