These things all must do, that design in good earnest to be saved by Christ. But as for those whom he sends to administer his word and sacraments, for the salvation of other men, they must likewise do all they can to make him known in the world; and especially to those whom he hath for that purpose committed to their care. His great apostle determined to know nothing among the Corinthians but "Jesus Christ, and him crucified." And the same necessity is laid upon us, too, and woe to us if we preach not the gospel, if we preach not the gospel of Jesus Christ, that people may know him, and the divinity of his Person, the mystery of his incarnation, the perfect innocency and holiness of his life, the infinite merits of his death, the power of his resurrection, his glorious ascension and exaltation at the right hand of God, and the continual intercession which he there makes for us. For unless people know these and the like fundamental articles of our faith, as they are revealed to us in the gospel of Christ, they can never apply themselves to him, nor believe as they ought in him for their salvation; and so will perish everlastingly through our default, for which we must answer severely another day. For when we have preached and they have done all they can, it is only by Jesus Christ they can ever be saved.

But by him, blessed be God for it, we may be all saved as we have no other, we need no other Saviour besides him; "For he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them "." He saves none but those who come to God by him; but he is able to save them to the uttermost, so as to do every thing for them, and in them, that can be any way requisite to his saving them, all of them, how many soever they be, and how much soever is to be done for them, that they may be saved; for he is almighty to save. And, therefore, if any be not saved, it is not for want of power in him, but the fault is wholly in them

selves; they will not come to God by him; they will not mind their salvation at all; or they will look for it some other way; or else they will not trust wholly unto him for it: and then it is no wonder they go without it.

,

But let others do what they will, and save themselves if they can; let us adore and praise the most High God our Maker, that he himself hath been pleased to become our Saviour too; yea, our very salvation 10. So the prophet calls him, "Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him '." And again, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation 2." Moses and David had both sung the same thing before in the same words 3. And they all agree in saying, "He is become my salvation," or "for salvation unto me;" to shew that he is not our salvation, as he is strength and perfection in his own nature, but in ours, which he took upon him, and so became salvation to us. Which is such an unspeakable, such an inestimable expression of his divine love and goodness, that we can never sufficiently extol and admire it as we ought; and, therefore, should be always doing it as well as we can, by ascribing the glory of our salvation entirely unto God, rejoicing in him, trusting on him, and giving thanks continually unto him, and unto him alone for it; singing, with the blessed Virgin, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." And with the Psalmist, "My soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation." "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid "?" "O come, let us sing unto the Lord let us make a joyful noise to the rock of

10 Luke ii. 30.
3 Exod. xv. 2.
5 Ps. xxxv. 9.

66

1 Isa. lxii. 11.

Ps. cxviii. 14.

6 Ib. xxvii. 1.

2 Ib. xii. 2.
Luke i. 46, 47.

our salvation." "Sing unto the Lord; bless his name ; shew forth his salvation from day to day "."

8

Thus we find David and the prophets all along acknowledging that "salvation is of the Lord "" "That he is the God of our salvation," &c. "That we are saved only by the Lord our God." And, therefore, unto him only they always prayed for salvation, saying, 1, "Save us, O God of our salvation," and ] ny'win, “Save us now, we beseech thee, O Lord." Hence it was, that when the Jews would give the greatest glory they could to God, as they sometimes sung Hallelujah, at other times they cried out, "Hosannah, save us, we beseech thee;" as reckoning that when they attributed their salvation wholly unto God, and prayed to him only for it, they praised him as effectually as when they did it in express terms: especially in the Feast of Tabernacles this was done so often, that the Feast itself was from hence called 8 XVI, "The Great Hosannah." And it is very observable that, when our blessed Saviour was coming to Jerusalem, a little before the passover, the people cut down branches from the trees, as they did at the Feast of Tabernacles, and used the same acclamations also unto him, saying, "Hosannah to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosannah in the highest "." As if they had said, "Say ye, Hosannah, Save us now, to the Son of David;" which I cannot but look upon as by the special providence of God. For though but few, if any of them designed it, yet they hereby applied their Hosannahs to their proper object, to God our Saviour, who was then in the midst of them, crying, Hosannahı, “Save us now," unto him who alone could do it; and so ascribing unto him all the praise and glory of that salvation which they so earnestly expect and desire from God.

7 Ps. xcv. 1.

9 Jonah ii. 9. Ps. iii. 8.

3 1 Chron. xvi. 35.

5 Matt. xxi. 9.

8 Ib. xcvi. 2.
1 Ps. xxiv. 5.

Ps. cvi. 47.

2 Hos. i. 7.
4 Ps. cxviii. 25.

But we certainly have as much reason as they had to sing Hosannah to the Son of David, to laud and magnify the eternal God our Saviour, by ascribing our salvation wholly unto him. For this is the way, as we find in the Revelation, which the Church triumphant in heaven also useth in praising of him; and therefore we of the Church militant here on earth may well join with them in singing "Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God 6. " And again, "Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb"," for ever and ever.

Rev. xix. 1.

7 Ib. vii. 10.

SERMON X.

CHRIST THE SOLE AUTHOR OF GRACE AND TRUTH.

JOHN i. 17.

"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

THERE is a great dispute among expositors, whether these words were first written by St. John the Evangelist, or spoken first by St. John the Baptist, as they a little before were. But this is, like most other disputes, frivolous and unnecessary: for it is no matter who spoke or wrote them, so long as we are sure they are the words of the Holy Ghost, who was pleased not only to dictate, but to cause them also to be recorded, that mankind might always know by whom grace and truth came into the world; a thing so necessary to be known, that our eternal salvation depends upon it: for it is only by grace and truth that we can be saved; but unless we know how, and by whom, it came, we can never know how to come at it, so as to be saved by it. And, therefore, the Holy Spirit of God, of his infinite mercy, hath been pleased to acquaint us with it, saying, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

For the understanding of which divine sentence, we must first observe, in general, that what we here translate "grace and truth," is the same that so often