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have we but to acknowledge that our Saviour had too much cause to say, 'Many are called, but few chosen ;' which I fear is but too true, not only of others, but ourselves too.

I say not this to discourage any one: no, it is my hearty desire and prayer to the eternal God, that every soul of us might be chosen and saved. But my great fear is, that many think it so easy a matter to go to heaven, that if they do but say their prayers, and hear sermons now and then, they cannot miss of it, and therefore need not trouble themselves any further about it. But they must give me leave to tell them, that this will not serve their turn; if it would, most of those which are called would be chosen too. Whereas our Saviour himself, tells us, in plain terms, the contrary. And yet this should be so far from discouraging of us, that it should rather excite us to greater diligence about it than heretofore we may have used, as our Saviour himself intimates in his answer to this question. And verily, what greater encouragement can we have, than to consider, that though there be but few chosen, yet there are some? For why may not you and I be in the number of those few as well as others? Are we not all called to Christ? Are not we all invited, yea, commanded to believe in his name, and obey his gospel, that so we may partake of everlasting glory? Let us then all set about that work in good earnest, which we are called to. Let us but fear God, and keep his commandments, and but believe in his Son for his acceptance of us; and then we need not fear, for though of the many others which are called,

Luke, xiii. 23, 24.

there are but few chosen; yet we few who are called shall be all chosen; chosen to live with God himself, and Jesus Christ, and to sing forth his praises for evermore.

THOUGHTS UPON THE APPEARANCE OF CHRIST THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,

OR

THE BEATIFIC VISION.

So long as we are in the body, we are apt to be governed wholly by its senses, seldom or never minding any thing but what comes to us through one or other of them. Though we are all able to abstract our thoughts when we please from matter, and fix them upon things that are purely spiritual, there are but few that ever do it. But few, even among those also who have such things revealed to them by God himself, and so have infinitely more and firmer ground to believe them, than any one, or all their senses put together can afford. Such are the great truths of the gospel, for which we have the infallible word and testimony of the supreme truth; yet seeing they are not the objects of sense, but only of our faith, though we profess to believe them, yet we take but little notice of them, and are usually no more affected with them, than as if there were no such thing in being. Hence it hath pleased God, in great compassion to our

infirmity, not only to reveal and make known such spiritual things to us, in plain and easy terms, but likewise to bring them as near as possible to our senses, by representing them to us under the names and characters of such sensible objects as bear the greatest resemblance to them; that we, who are led so much by our senses, may by them also be directed how to apprehend those spiritual objects which he hath told us of, on purpose that we may believe them upon his word.

Thus he often useth the words, hand, eye, and the like; to signify his own divine perfections to us. And thus it was that our Saviour preached the gospel to the people, by parables and similitudes of things commonly seen and done among themselves. The prophets also frequently took the same course, as might be shown by many instances; but one of the most remarkable is that in Mal. iv. 2, where the prophet in the name of God speaking of Christ's coming into the world, expresses it by the rising of the sun, saying, 'To you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, with healing in his wings.'

For that Jesus Christ is that Sun of righteousness here spoken of, is so plain from the context, and the whole design of the prophet, that I need not insist upon the proving of it; but shall only observe that this being the last of all the prophets in the Old Testament, he shuts up his own and all the other prophecies with a clear prediction of Christ, and his forerunner John the Baptist, whom he calls Elijah, or Elias, and concludes his prophecy with these words concerning him, 'Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the f thers, lest I come and smite the earth (or rather the land) with a curse." For that by Elijah is here meant John the Baptist, we are assured by Christ himself.' And it is very observable, that as this prophet ends the Old Testament with a prediction of Elias, so St. Luke begins the new with a relation how John the Baptist was born, and so came into the world a little before Christ, as the morning-stai that appeared before the rising of the Sun of righteousness.

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But of the day which shall come at the that glorious Sun, the prophet saith, that t they burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, aiov that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch,' It will be a terrible day to those that shall obstinately refuse to walk in the light of it; they shall be all consumed, as we read the unbelieving Jews were at the destruction of Jerusathem, that happened soon after that sun was up. But then turning himself, as it were, to his own people, almighty God, here by his prophet, cheers and comforts them, saying to them, ' But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, with healing in his wings,' &c. He shall arise to all, but to the other with such a scorching heat as shall burn them up, to these with healing in his wings, or rays, so as not to hurt, but heal them of all their maladies.

Now, that which I chiefly design, by God's

Mal. iv. 5, 6.

2 Matt. xi. 14.

3 Mal. iv. 1.

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assistance, to show from these words, is, what thoughts they suggest to us concerning our blessed aviour, by calling him the Sun of righteousness.' But to make the way as plain as I can, we must first consider to whom he is here said to arise with healing in his wings,' even to those that fear the name of God; i. e. to those who firmly believing in God, and being fully persuaded of his infinite power, justice, and mercy, and also of the truth of all his threats and promises, stand continually in awe of him, not daring to do any thing willingly that may offend him, nor leave any thing. of al. that he would have them do. Such, and have y, can be truly said to fear God. And

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ore the fear of God in the Scriptures, especially of the Old Testament, is all along put for the whole duty of man. There being no duty that a man owes, either to God or his neighbour, but if he really fears God, he will endeavour all he can to do it. But this necessarily supposes his belief in God, and his holy word, or rather proceeds originally from it. For, he that cometh unto God,' so as to fear and obey him, 'must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him.' So that, as no man can believe in God, but he must needs fear him; so no man can fear God, unless he first believes in him. From whence it necessarily follows, that by those who are here said to fear the name of God, we can understand no other but only such as are possessed with a firm belief in him, and with a full persuasion of the truth and certainty of those divine reve. ions that he

1 Heb. xi. 6.

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