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Chrift's Commiffion to his Minifters:

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SERMON,

Preached before the Conference held in

LEEDS, JULY, 1793,

MARK XVI. 15, 16.

"Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gofpel to every creature. He that believeth, and is baptized, fhall be faved; but he that believeth not, fhall be damned."

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•IN

reading the facred Narrative of the Evangelifts, concerning the Life and Doctrine of the LORD JESUs, and in comparing their fundry accounts together, it is diligently to be obferved, that, in writing their hiftories, they regarded not the amusement, but only the inftruction and edification of their readers. They paid no refpect to the gratification of the curiofity of mankind, by a relation of uninterefting and trivial circumstances, but confulted merely the illumination and renovation of their minds, by laying before them important truths. Hence, without detaining us to hear on what occafion, at what time, or in what place, our Lord performed his miracles or delivered his difcourfes, they frequently carry us forward to obferve rather, what is of infinitely greater importance to us, the fact done, or the doctrine taught.

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The confequence, however, of this is, that, if we do not make this proper allowance for their paffing over unimportant matters, and reflect that fome of them omitted what others of them relate, we shall be led into the erroneous idea of their defignedly connecting events, which, in reality, were not immediately connected, and even of their contradicting one another, which would impeach their credit as Hiftorians, and fhake the very foundation of our faith.\

2. I am led to make this remark by confidering the paffage before us in connexion with the context. These words of Chrift, as they ftand here, feemingly connected with the preceding verses, may appear, at first fight, to have been spoken to his difciples on the day on which he rose from the dead. Whereas, upon comparing the contents of this chapter, with the accounts which the other Evangelifts have given, of the events which took place between the refurrection of Chrift and his afcenfion, it seems evident that they were uttered on the day of his afcenfion, and probably at the very time, when, he was lifting up his hands and bleffing them, and was just about to be parted from them and carried up into heaven. At that folemn and ever-memorable moment, it seems, among other inftructions and advices, recorded by St. Luke, in the above mentioned Chapter, and Acts i, Jefus gave them this most important, most benevolent, and yet moft awful charge, and faid, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature: He that believeth, and is baptized, fhall be faved; but he that believeth not fhall be damned." For, as we are affured, verse 19, "after the Lord had spoken unto them," viz. the preceding words, a part of which is my Text,

*

* Luke xxiv. 50.

"he

he was received up into heaven, and fat on the right hand of God."

In difcourfing from these words, containing, as we fee, the laft, folemn charge of the Son of GOD to his Difciples, I propose to confider,

J. What is implied in preaching the Gospel?

II. To whom the office of preaching it belongs? In other words, To whom this charge is given ?

III. Where they are to preach it, and to whom? And

IV. Laftly. What is required of thofe who hear it, with the confequences of their complying, or not complying, with the condition required of them.

I. And first, I am to enquire, What is implied in preaching the Gospel ? Under this head it will be neceffary to confider firft, what the gospel is, that we may understand secondly, what it is to preach it.

1. Now with regard to the nature of the Gofpel, I may obferve first, in general, that the very word, ufed here and in other places by the Evangelifts and Apoftles, in the original, and tranflated Gofpel, gives us fome information concerning it. It means, as is well known, not God's-fpel, or God's-tidings, which is all that is fignified by the Saxon term Gospel, but Good-news, or Gladtidings. Such the Gospel of Chrift is in the very effence of it. It is good news, or glad tidings to the fallen race of Adam, to the finful, guilty,. weak, and wretched children of men, even tidings of a Saviour, and falvation thro' him. Therefore when the Angel announced the birth of Chrift to the fhepherds, he expreffed himfelf thus, "Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy," ευαγγελίζομαι όμιν χαραν μέγαλην, literally, I evangelize unto you great joy, or, I preach the Gospel, contain

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