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ferious and fted faft Refolutions to ferve him faithfully for the Time to come in Newness of Life. Then will God accept us and pardon us, and give us fuch a Meafure of Strength and Affiftance, that we shall both walk acceptably before him in this World, and fhall likewise be made Partakers of his eternal Glory in the other.

VOL. V.

DIS

210

DISCOURSE VIL

Several useful Obfervations from this
Text. The Conclufion against Infi-

delity.

[Delivered in Two Sermons.]

MARK XVI. 16.

He that believeth, and is baptized, fball be faved: But he that believeth not, fhall be damned.

UR Saviour having, by his Life, and his Preaching, and his Miracles, and his Refurrection from the Dead, laid a fufficient Ground and Foundation for the ready Belief and Entertainment of his Gofpel among Mankind, comes upon his Afcenfion into Heaven, and as the laft Act he had to do upon Earth, to iffue out his Royal Charter and Commiffion to his Apostles, to go and preach this Go

fpel

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fpel all the World over; and this he does in thefe Words, Go ye (faith he) into all the World, and preach the Gospel to every Creature. St. Matthew hath fet it down a little more largely, Go ye and difciple all Nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Gboft; and teaching them to obferve all Things whatever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even to the End of the World. This was the Apostles Commiffion; this was the great Truft committed to them, and in them to all fucceeding Minifters of Chrift to the World's End.

But now left it should be furmized that this Order might fignify very little, fince here was no Inforcement of it, no Obligation laid upon the People to whom they were to preach to receive their Meffage, our Saviour takes care to remove that Pretence by adding thefe Words following, (which are the Words I am now to difcourfe of) He that believeth, and is baptized, fball be faved: And he that believeth not, shall be damned. Here is an Obligation with a Witness upon all Perfons whatfoever, to whom the Gofpel is preached, to receive and embrace it, fince no less than their everlasting Salvation or Damnation depends upon it.

That which I defign at prefent upon this Text is, to make fome Obfervations and Reflections upon it, partly in order to the

clearing

clearing the Sense of it, and partly by way of Inference from it.

go

Our Saviour here orders his Apostles to into all the World, and preach the Gospel to every Creature, declaring, that whosoever believeth, and is baptized, fhall be faved: And whofoever believeth not, fhall be damned.

The First Thing I beg Leave to obferve from hence is, That fince Men, to the World's End, are to be faved by believing the Gospel, then there is a Neceffity that there fhould be always an Order of Men in the World, whofe Business it fhould be to preach this Gofpel. For, as St. Paul truly argues, How hall Men believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a Preacher? and how shall they preach except they be fent? If Chrift defigned that the Belief of his Gospel should be the Way of Salvation as long as the World lafts, he must certainly have defign'd that there fhould be Men fet apart to preach and make known this Gospel as long as the World lafts likewife. Accordingly we find that he hath de facto done fo: For the Commiffion he gave to his Apoftles, he did really mean fhould extend to all thofe that fhould fucceed them in that Miniftry, as appears plainly in the laft Clause of it, as I read it to von out of St. Matthew, Lo, I am with you alway, even to the End of the World. What is the Meaning of that ?

Would

Would he be with the Apostles to the End of the World?/Why, that could not be ; they were to go off the Stage in a few Years; and fo they did: But the World hath continu'd many Ages after their Death, and is yet like to continue. Chrift's Meaning then could be no other than this, that he would not only by his Spirit affift the Apoftles in the preaching of the Gospel during their Lives, but he would alfo continue that Affiftance to thofe that fhould fucceed them in the Work of the Ministry, even as long as the World fhould endure; and accordingly we fee that he hath hitherto made this Promise good, having for above 1600 Years all along continued a Succeffion of Chrift's Minifters to gain Souls to Chrift, and all along likewife continu'd a Succeffion of Christ's People in all Parts of the World, who are gained to Christ by their Miniftry; and as he hath hitherto made good his Fromife, fo we doubt not but he will continue to do it to the End of the World.

We beg therefore of all People, that they would not think it ftrange that at this Day they fee a fort of Men (you may call them by what contemptible Names you please) that are fo zealous for this Business of Chrift Jefus and his Gofpel, making it their fet Work to be talking of it once a Week, nay, and now and then, being fo plain with you as to tell you that it is upon Q 3

the

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