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 St. Matthew hath fet it down a

Creature.

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 Ghoft; 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 Apoftles 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, fhall be faved: And he that believeth not, shall be damned. Here is an Obligation with a Witness upon all Perfons whatsoever, to whom the Gofpel is preached, to receive and embrace it, fince no less than their everlafting Salvation or Damnation depends upon it.

That which I design at prefent upon this Text is, to make fome Obfervations and Reflections upon it, partly in order to the Q 2 clearing

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

Our Saviour here orders his Apostles to go 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, shall be damned.

The First Thing I beg Leave to observe 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 Bufinefs it should be to preach this Gofpel. For, as St. Paul truly argues, How fhall 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 fhould be the Way of Salvation as long as the World lafts, he muft 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 those that fhould fucceed them in that Ministry, as appears plainly in the laft Claufe of it, as I read it to you 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 Gofpel 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 Promife good, having for above 1600 Years all along continued a Succeffion of Chrift's Minifters to gain Souls to Chrift, and all along likewise continu'd a Succesfion of Christ's People in all Parts of the World, who are gained to Chrift by their Ministry; and as he hath hitherto made good his Promife, 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 see a fort of Men (you may call them by what contemptible Names you please) that are so 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

the Peril of your Salvation if you do not give ear to their Meffage. The Men may be contemptible enough;. but yet the Errand they come upon is not contemptible. How untowardly, how ungraceful, how unacceptable foever they may be as to their other Circumstances, yet, if they preach nothing but the Gospel of Chrift, you are bound to liften to it, nay, you are miferable if you do not. And as for those that do embrace it, it is no less a valuable Treafure to them, for being had from earthen Veffels. Let it not therefore be objected to us, when we preach Chrift Jefus to you, that it is our Trade; we muft talk at this rate, for we get our Living by it: Alas! it is but fmall Comfort to get a Livelihood by other People's Credulity; I think an honest ferious Man would rather ftarve than live by Cheating. If there be any Atheists or Infidels among the Clergy, any that, whilft they preach Chrift Jefus to the People, helieve no better of him and his Religion than as a mere Fable (as they fay Pope Leo the Tenth did not) they are certainly the worst of Men, and the greateft Impofters that the World can fhew; and let them be treated as fuch; no Man will be forry for it. But when we heartily believe in Jefus Chrift and his Religion, and are really perfuaded that neither we nor you can be faved without it, and likewife are called by the Authority of God and Man to the publick Preaching

Preaching of it, we think it very hard we fhould be the lefs credited, because it is the Profeffion we live by. If our Saviour's Words be true, Whosoever believeth shall be faved; but whosoever believeth not, fhall be damned; it is certainly more your Interest than ours, that you fhould all be fuch Believers as we would have you. But let that be as it will, we shall have a fad Account to make, if, being Ministers of the Gospel, we fuffer you to perifh for want of telling you of thefe Things; or, if we cannot tell you any thing but what you knew before, at leaft for want of calling upon you, to put in practise what you know. Time was, when the preaching of the Gofpel was fo far from being encourag'd by the State, that to be a publick Minifter was the ready way to Martyrdom; Yet in thofe Days there were as many Preachers, in Proportion to the Number of the Hearers, as there are now: Nay, and their Saying then was, Væ mihi fi non evangelizavero, Woe is unto me if I preach not the Gofpel! I hope fuch Times will never come again; and I hope none among us wifh for them: But if they hould come, I doubt not but God would raife up those that would ftill preach the Gofpel, and would declare, even at the Peril of their Lives, that Whosoever believeth shall be faved; but whosoever believeth not, shall be damned.