SERMON VII.

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JOHN iv. 22.

Salvation is of the Jews.

N fpeaking to these Words of our bleffed
Lord to the Samaritan Woman, wherein

he tells her, that one of the great Advantages the Jews had over the Samaritans was this, that Salvation, or the Saviour who should bring Salvation to Mankind, should be, or was, of the Jewish Nation; I propofed to fhew,

1. That there has been a Saviour who was by Nation a Jew, by Pedigree defcended from Judah, from whom the Jews were fo called, of the Lineage of David, and of the Seed of Abraham.

2. That as he is a Saviour, fo he is the
only Saviour; Salvation is to be had in his
Name, and in his Name alone. And,
3. That they among us, who impiously re-
ject his Gofpel, can have no juft Cause
to hope for the Remiffion of their Sins,
and much less to expect to partake of
any Happiness in the World to come.
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For

For the more clear Illuftration of the former of thefe, I thought it proper diftinctly to shew these three Particulars,

1. That, before this Saviour came, the Jews had Reason to expect that he would defcend from them.

2. That our Lord Jefus Chrift, when he came, fully anfwered their well-grounded Expectations concerning the Perfon of their Deliverer.

3. What this Salvation is, for whom, and by what Means he has purchased it; or, in other Words, That he has fully purchafed and obtained for Men Salvation, in the fullest Senfe of the Word, provided they will believe in him and obey him; and confequently that in this Senfe our and every Man's Salvation is of the Jews.

In order to fhew, that before this Saviour came the Jews had great Reafon to expect he would defcend from them, I took a fhort and general View of the Prophecies God had given them concerning him, which Prophecies limited his Defcent to them, fhewing both the Place and Time of his Birth; I obferved the gradual Openings of thefe Truths to the World, in what Manner it pleased God that the Knowledge of them should be more clear, and the Light fhine brighter and stronger, as the Dawning

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Dawning of the Sun of Righteousness drew nigh; and I obferved the general Characters the Prophets gave of this Saviour, namely, That he should be a mighty Prophet, yea God himself upon Earth; That he should govern and conduct his People with great Tenderness and Care; That he should be a Mediator, as Mofes was, between God and Man; That he fhould put an End to the Tranfgreffions of Men by fuffering for them; and that he fhould obtain a great and glorious Kingdom, which should never end.

In order to fhew that our Lord Jefus Chrift, when he came, answered all the well-grounded Expectations of the Jews concerning this Deliverer, I fhewed, that all the Circumftances, fpecified by the Prophets concerning the one, were fulfilled in the other, and that all the forementioned Characters center'd in him, and were justly applicable to him. And I proceed now to confider more particularly the Nature of that Deliverance he has obtained, and by what Means, and for whom he has obtained it, by fhewing,

3. That he has purchased and obtained Salvation in the fulleft Senfe of the Word, and this for every Man who will believe in him and obey him, and confequently that in this Senfe our and every Man's Salvation is of the Jews.-Which will, I prefume, appear from thefe Particulars:

1. That the Salvation he has purchased is the most perfect Happiness, of which the Nature of Man is capable.

2. That this Happiness is not confined to one Nation, or Order of Men, but will be enjoyed by all who believe and obey him.

3. That the Means of obtaining it was, by paying that Price which the Wisdom of God was pleafed to ordain fhould be paid for the Redemption of Mankind from the Guilt and Punishment of Sin. 4. That he has not only thus faved us from Sin, but enables us to perform the Conditions on which this Happiness is built. And lastly,

5.

That he has obtained Power to confer this Happiness on those that pursue this Way, and will himself bestow it, when the Time appointed for it is come.

1. The first Particular is this, That the Salvation which he has purchased is the most perfect Happiness, of which the Nature of Man is capable.

Salvation, in the ftrict and proper Senfe, imports no more than Deliverance or Prefervation, and can strictly mean only the refcuing or delivering from Evils of fome kind or other; and it is with Impropriety that we use it to fignify the procuring any Good, any far

ther

ther than the Deliverance from what is Evil in itself is fo.-But nevertheless, though it be unusual, in strict Propriety of Speech, to use the Word in this Senfe; yet the Sense is true, when the Word is applied to the bleffed Jefus, as fignifying his procuring us all Kinds of Good; because the Salvation he has purchased for us is the most perfect Happiness of which the Nature of Man is capable.-This may appear from hence, that the Happiness purchased for the faithful Chriftian will confift in know-· ing as much of God, as the Mind of Man can contain; in being made as like to God, as an human Creature can be to the great Creator; and in enjoying as much of the Glory of God, as the Faculties of the most perfect human Soul will be able to bear.

Since the Mind is properly the Man, the true Happiness of the Mind must be the true Happiness of the Man, and one Ingredient in that Happiness must be Knowledge.—And if Knowledge of any fort contributes to the Happinefs of the Mind, the more noble and excellent that Knowledge is, the greater and more exalted must that Happiness be. And if Knowledge of any kind be really noble and excellent, it must furely be the Knowledge of the Nature, Wisdom, and Works of that infinite and eternal God, from whom all Knowledge and all Happiness is derived; and of whom no Man ever knew fo much as the bleffed Jefus, or could communicate so much

to