CHAP. VII. WE have confidered thus briefly why they are called the children of God; it concerns us next in a word or two to enquire the confequence of this, or what benefit they have by being owned as the children of God, and in this lies the fubftance of the bleffing. St. Paul has done it to our hands in that one text to the Romans, † If children then beirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Chriftthat we may be glorified together. They fhall be partakers of the heavenly inheritance, be received into everlasting life, and reign with Chrift in glo ry. And he who thinks there can be a more defirable bleffing than this, is at once infenfible and unworthy of any thing which may be called a blef fing; 'tis the utmost of a Chriftian's hopes, and a more than fufficient reward for all his labours. Yet this is ftill to be understood, as in the two preceding Beatitudes, fuppofing a principle of love to God, and obedience to him, as the ground of all our endeavours for making or obferving peace, and including the reft of our chriftian duty required of us in the Gospel, as the terms of our entrance into the kingdom of heaven. *Rom. viii. 17. CHAP. 145 กอ CHAP. VIII. Of PERSECUTION for Righteousness fake. MATTH. V. 10, 11, 12. Blessed are they which are perfecuted for righ teousness fake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men fhall revile you and perfecute you, and shall fay all manner of evil against you falsly for my fake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for fo perfecuted they the prophets which were before you. JUR bleffed Saviour, knowing that the adherence of his followers to him in the faith and practice of the Gospel would certainly raise them abundance of enemics; that the prince of darknefs, who is also ftiled* the prince of this world, from his numerous and prevailing party in it, the Spirit that ftill works in the children of difobedience, would mufter all his forces against them, and ba John xii. 31. † Eph. ii. 2. rafs rafs them at leaft (if he can do no more) by daily detachments of the violence or malice of wicked men, in fome degree or other to infult and ruffle them in the profeffion of truth and holinefs, fo that through much tribulation it is that we must enter into the kingdom of God; thought fit to encourage with a particular bleffing those who were to be expofed to fo many particular hardships; and not only to entail a reward upon their virtue, but upon their fuffering for it too. And this he does in a much larger compafs of expreffion than any of the foregoing Beatitudes took up; he is copious in defcribing the perfecution, emphatical in pronouncing the reward, repeats the bleffing twice, and throws in an exhortation and an additional comfort to the fufferer; and all this because he knew 'twas eafier by much to do well than to fuffer well: For notwithstanding all the corruption of our nature, the most elaborate and exalted virtue is not fo much against the grain with us, fo difficult or uneafy, as it is to fuffer perfecution. Our Saviour therefore was pleas'd to apply himself with more than ordinary pains (as we find in many other dif courfes of his as well as this) to fortify his Difciples against the terrible fhock which he forefaw the rage of hell and human wickedness would give them. In the verfes now before us we have, I. THE perfons bleffed, thofe which are perfecuted for righteousness fake. II. THE bleffedness or reward of such persons. III. THEIR duty, or an exhortation to them to rejoice and be exceeding glad. To begin with the First, * Acts xiv. 22. I. THE perfons bleffed, fuch as are perfecuted for righteoufnefs fake. And here it concerns us to enquire, what is meant by righteoufnefs; and confider what that perfecution is, which may be expected on the account of righteousness. FIRST, What is here meant by righteousness; a point which had need be well underftood, and carefully diftinguifhed; for if this be not the cause for which we fuffer, or if we mistake that for righteousness which is not really fo, the title to the reward is loft. By righteoufnefs therefore is meant, (1.) The profeffion of the chriftian faith, or the adherence to fome eminent fundamental article thereof. The moft material articles of this are comprised in what we commonly call the Apostles Creed; but more at large in the Scriptures of the Old and New Tefta ment. The Apostle tells us, that all fcripture is given by infpiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for inftruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works, i. e. in one word, 'tis a compleat and perfect rule of faith and manners. Whatfoever therefore is exprefly taught us in the holy Scriptures as an article of faith, we are to believe; thefe being that form of found words delivered to us, which we must hold fast, and earneftly contend for: Whatever is contrary to the holy Scriptures, let the authority be what it will that fhall attempt to force it upon us for a truth, is to be refolutely and boldly rejected: And whatsoever is not exprefly there laid down as matter of faith and doctrine in religion, or by neceffary confequence clearly to be inferred from that which is, we are not only under no obligation to receive; but when it fhall be impofed as a truth cffential to the faith and * 2 Tim. iii. 16. t2 Tim. i. 13. M 2 com communion of Chriftians, we are under an obligation to protest against it. And if we be called to fuffer upon any of these accounts, either for maintaining the one, or rejecting, or oppofing the other, it may with affurance be concluded that we fuffer for righteousness fake. * St. Paul declares to the Galatians, that if he, or any other man, or even an angel from heaven should preach any other gofpel to them than that which they had received, he fhould be accursed. Let thofe confider this who + make the commandment of God of no effect by their traditions, and will needs be altering, adding to, or amending the Gofpel which our Saviour left us. And fince we cannot acknowledge that as an article of faith, which the Author of our faith Christ Jefus and his holy Apoftles have not declared to be fo, without owning another Law-giver and Author of our faith befides him, and another Gospel; to fuffer perfecution for refufing to do this, is properly and literally to suffer for Christ. But fince there have been many differences about the interpretation of feveral texts of Scripture containing matters of faith and doctrine; and the Church has all along been divided into parties upon fome or other of thefe, maintaining diverfe and contrary expofitions, and either fide appears fo zealous in their own fense of them, as to be ready to expofe their lives and all their advantages for the maintaining of it; and fince it has often happen'd, that not only in different places and countries, where different opinions are countenanced; but in the fame ftate or body, according to the fway of government on one fide or the other; men have fuffered the lofs of their eftates, their liberty, and their lives, for maintaining a contrary sense of the fame thing: It concerns us to be very careful in judging of the cause of fuch fuffering, and to be very fure of the ground * Gal. i. 8, 9. ↑ Matth. xv. 6. we |