Col. ii. 7. "To be rooted and built up in Chrift, and eftablished in the faith, as we have been taught." The damnable nature of fuch doctrine you may fee, 2 Pet. ii. 1, 2. But there were falfe prophets alfo among the people, even as there fhall be falfe teachers among you, who privily fhall bring in damnable herefies, denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves fwift deftruction: and many fhall follow their pernicious ways; by reafon of whom, the way of truth fhall be evil fpoken of." There is no falfe doctrine broached, nor delufive fpirit appearing, but, according to that prophecy, it will find many favourers, followers, and entertainers thereof. This made Paul to fay, when he faw the levity and inconftancy of people, " I marvel that you are fo foon removed from him, that hath called you, to another gofpel. O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you,&c. Having begun in the Spirit, are you made perfect in the fleth?" There is in feducers, a bewitching diabolical fpirit, that makes them refilefs in leading others into deftruction with them; fo the Scribes and Pharifees compaffed fea and land to make profelytes: they were blind leaders of the blind: tho' they were blind, yet they would be leaders. Now, a view of Chrift, and his truth, as immutably the fame yesterday, to-day, and for ever, is needful, for fhewing the damnable nature of these new and strange doctrines, which are doctrines of devils, directly oppofite to the true Chrift, who is the only Saviour and Deliverer; whereas every new and falfe Chrift, is a feducer and deftroyer of immortal fouls.

5. The view of the immutability of Chrift, and his truth, as one and the fame always, fhews that diverfe doctrines must be delufive, though men are apt to be carried about therewith; for, whereas the doctrine of truth is one, and clear, and firm, and ftable, the doctrines of men and devils are not one, but divers, various, ambiguous, deceitful, inconftant, and unstable, and even inconfiftent with one-another. Man being full of vain inventions, there is no certain rule to be found but in God's word; hence we are called to try the fpirits, whether they be of God; and for this end we need to pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge

of

of Chrift, without which we may be foon drawn into one or other of thefe diverfe doctrines.

6. The view of the immutability of Chrift, and his truth, is needful for fhewing, that new and firange doctrine must be delufive. Things are called ftrange that are not ufual, or that have not been heard of before; but in the church of God, and among God's people, that is called ftrange which is not grounded on God's word; for the word of God is that upon which the church of God grounds all her doctrine, and acknowledges none for found, but that which is contained therein, founded thereon, and raifed therefrom. Thus the fire, that Nadab and Abihu offered before the Lord, is called ftrange fire, becaufe it had no warrant from God's word: Thus the doctrines the apoftle here warns the Hebrews against, under the name of ftrange doctrine, are fuch as have no warrant from the word of God, and which the church of God had neither acknowledged nor received.

Now, the immutability of the truth being known, makes it evident, how all diverfe and ftrange do&rines, doth impeach fome divine truth or other; how the broachers of them ruin immortal fouls, and bring upon themselves fwift destruction; for Chrift, the fame yefterday, to-day, and for ever, is here fet in oppofition to diverfe and flrange doctrines, intimating, that men cannot be faved in any religion, as fome dream; for if Chrift and his unchangeable truth be rejected, and diverfe and ftrange doctrines be embraced, damnation, inftead of falvation, will be the end, however right they may reckon their new way: "There is a way that feemeth right to a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death," Prov. xiv. 12.

IV. The fourth thing propofed, was the application, Is Chrift the fame yefterday, to-day, and for ever? Hence fee,

1. The great difconformity between CHRIST and us; he is ftill the fame, but we are flill changing and varying. We fee, Hof. vi. 4. how God complains of us, "Q Ephraim, what fhall I do unto thee? O Judah, what

fhall

hall I do unto thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew, it goeth away." But what is the way to be fixed in the faith, and fixed in the love of Chrift? Even to know and believe how fixed, and firm, and immutable he is. The ground of faith is unchangeable; but the rife and fpring of our unbelieving doubts, and jealoufies, and waverings, is our apprehending, upon every turn of the wheel of providence, as if Chrift were another thing than he was; as if he were changed in his love, as we are in our outwardframe, and he in his outward difpenfations.

2. Hence fee the root of error in principle, about Chrift in his kingdom and government. As the Sadducees erred about the refurrection, not knowing the power of God; fo many in our day err about the kingdom and government of Chrift in Zion, not knowing the fcriptures, nor the immutability of Chrift, that his throne is for ever and ever, and that his dominion is an everlafting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation, Dan. iv. 34. But men are apt to think him changeable like themfelves, and fo think his government in Zion is arbitrary and ambulatory. Hence Chrift, as a King, is treated with contempt and mockery. Men put a crown of thorns ftill yet upon his head, inflead of a crown of glory and honour; a reed into his hand, inftead of a fceptre.

3. Hence fee the excellency and extent of the object of faith. The true Chrift is fo glorious and excellent, that he cannot be feen but by that faith which is of divine operation. They that fee the true Christ, (and, O Sirs, try your faith by this) they fee one who is the fame yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Oh! what delufive fights of Chrift do many now fee! They fee a beautiful and glorious perfon prefented to their imagination, or to their bodily eye. What a devil, instead of Chrift, is this!

*We had occafion formerly, p. 376. 427. to lay open what our Anthor here, and in what follows, alludes unto. By the time this fermon was preached, the matter was become ferious; the noife of it had fpread abroad, beth fur and near. The promoters and oppofers of this work, had taken the field; and if human teftimonies and popular approbation, were admitted fufficient evidences to fupport a fupernatural work of the Spirit, this doubtless would have been a genuine work of God. A human work needs to be supported by a human teftimony; but a divine work carries its own evidence along with it,

But,

But, true faith is the evidence of things not feen, and the fubftance of things hoped for. The faith that fees Chrift truly, fees both what is paft, and prefent, and to come; a Chrift yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

4. Hence fee the picture of a falfe Chrift. Every new Chrift, that was not feen in the Bible yefterday, is a falfe Chrift. New and ftrange forts of convictions are to be fufpected. If, inftead of convictions, we hear of convulfions, bitter outcryings, frights, faintings, and foamings, how delufive is the work! New and ftrange converfions are to be fufpected. If, inftead of converfions, we hear of fudden confolations by voices, vifions, revelations, impulfes, and impreffions, what delufive work is this! If they are not Bible-convictions, Bibleconverfions, and fuch as the faints of God, of old and of late, have experienced according to the fcriptures, then they bear the image of a falfe Chrift; for the true Christ is the fame yesterday, to-day, and for ever. His word is an immutable rule whereby to try the sprits; therefore, "To the law and to the teftimony, if they fpeak not according to this, it is becaufe there is no light in them." His word is the fame that it was, his Spirit is the fame, and his work, upon all that are effectually called, is ftill the fame fubftantially, becaufe he is the fame yesterday, to-day, and for-ever. Therefore, work of a different kind fhews forth but a falfe Chrift.

5. Hence fee, if it be fo needful to know and believe this immutability of Chrift, especially in fhaking times, when faith is endangered by new and falfe doctrine, what need there is, at this very day, to be established and requires nothing lefs than a divine teftimony. Mighty ftretches were made by the promoters of this extraordinary work, to prove its authenticity; Narratives of its extraordinary quality were given; Attestations of its genuine nature were published, &c. And in defending the bodily agitations, and vifionary reprefentations, with which this work was attended, the favourers of it were left to vent, and afterwards to defend, fome very ftrange pofitions; fuch as, "That we cannot think upon any thing invifible, without fome degree of "imagination; that images of spiritual things must be reprefented to our fancy; that we can have no thought of God or Chrift, without fome degree of imagi"nation; that imaginary ideas of Christ, as man, are confiftent with faith, &c." If the reader incline to fee thefe, and many other abfurd propofitions refured, and the whole nature of this work laid fully open, and the arguments adduced to fupport it, unhinged, he may confult Mr. Fisher's Review of that, extraordi«. nary work, and our Author's elaborate Treatife, intitled, Faith no Fancy; or, A Treatife of Mental Images.

in the faith of this truth, That Jesus Christ is the fame yesterday, to-day, and for ever. At this day the faith of many is endangered, and diverfe and ftrange doctrines are appearing on the field. Many errors have been broached in our day, fuch as thofe of Arians, Deifts, Arminians, Socinians, Pelagians, &c. But never, I think, did Satan appear as an angel of light, fo evidently, as in a delufive fpirit that is now fpreading through the land. But whatever glorious fhew and appearance of religion it makes, if it can be proved, that the language and tendency of it is, "Let us go after other Gods," Deut. xiii. 2.; if it lead people to diverse and strange doctrines, and to a new and ftrange God, a new and ftrange Christ, that ye never heard of in the Bible, then the delufion and diabolical tendency of it may appear; fo as all ought to beware of being carried about with fuch. ftrange doctrines, that fland fo directly oppofite to him who is the fame yefterday, to-day, and for ever. according to the view I have of that matter, I fhall fhew you in eight or ten particulurs, what another God, and what another Chrift is appearing in the delufive fpirit of this time, (brought in by the inftrumentality of the foreigner *, of whom we had once fome grounds for very favourable thoughts and expectations, till we understood him more fully, and found him in feveral refpects, a ftranger to our God, and setting up another God.) Why?

Here,

(1.) Our God is, according to Pfalm cxxvi. 3. a God that hath done great things for us, and particularly by calling us to and working for us, a glorious work of reformation; bringing us out of antichristian Babylon, and helping us to make a happy feceffion from the church of Rome; for the defence of which glorious reformation, we now own our feceffion from fuch as are razing it. But the delufive fpirit of the times leads people to another God, a new God, that is calling us off from this reformation-work, and all contending or witneffing for it, and would have it tumbled down as a Babel-building. (2.) Our God is a God that invefted Chrift with

* The person intended here, can be no other than Mr. Whitfield, who was the principal promoter of this ftrange work.

the