implacable enemies, yet ftill it is upheld by its own intrinfic truth and excellence, and that divine power that accompanied it: yea, to the end of the world, the Captain of falvation will ride forth, in the chariot of this gofpel, with his crown upon his head, and his bow in his hand, conquering and to conquer.

6. Hence fee the folly and wickedness of those, that reproach the way of the Lord, who speak against Christ and his holy religion, as monftrous furely we should lament their cafe, because of the difhonour hereby done to the name of God and Chrift. How should it affect us, that the God that made the world fhould be fo vilified in the world! That Chrift, who fo loved the world, fhould be hated by the world! What fhould we do, with the reproach caft upon him and his followers, but as king Hezekiah did with Rabshakeh's blafphemous letter; "He fpread it before the Lord, faying, Now, Lord; what wilt thou do for thy own name?" and with the pfalmift: "Q God! how long fhall the adverfary reproach, and enemies blafpheme thy name, for ever ?” Pfal. lxxiv. 10. 18. 22. What a miferable condition are they in, who thus prefumptuously reproach the way of the Lord! Though they may do it with an air of afsurance, as if there was no hazard; yet, he that rolls this, stone, it will certainly return upon him: Zion will be a burdenfome ftone to her enemies; and on whomfoever this ftone falls, it will grind them to powder. How little do reproachers confider what mifchief they do to the fouls of others? Unwary fouls are easily beguiled, and brought over to entertain rooted prejudices against that which they hear every where ipoken against and reproached. Few have confideration and refolution enough to maintain a good opinion of that, which they, who fet up for wits, make it their bufinefs to ridicule and cry down. Many poor fouls have their minds quite debauched, by these means: and, under a pretence of free thought, a fashionable converfation, and a generous difdain of profeffing fingularity, atheistical and deiftical. principles are imbibed, reftraints of confcience are fhaken off, brutish lufts are indulged, yea, pleaded for; and ferious godlinefs, and fervent devotion, looked upon with

con

contempt; and thus the heart impregnably fortified againft Chrift and the gofpel.

Again, This doctrine may be improven by way of trial. People may try their flate by this doctrine. Though every mark of reproach be not a mark of grace; for, fome may be juftly fpoken of, and yet be gracious perfons; and others may be unjustly reproached, and yet be graceless perfons: yet there are fome things whereby we may try, if we be reproached, whether the reproaches caft upon us meet with fuch reception from us, as to determinate our being the children of Chrift, that are bearing his reproach with him. I may apply to this what the apoftle fays of chaftifement, Heb. xii. 8. "If ye be without chaftifement, then are ye bastards, and not fons:" and yet chaftifement of itself, as an affliction, is no mark of fonship, if it be not fanctified: even so here, if ye be without reproach, then are ye baftards, and not children; and yet reproach of itself is no mark of being children, if it be not accompanied with faving good, and if it be not fanctified.

QUEST. How fhall we know if we get any faving good, out of reproach, fuch as will difcover us to be children? Behold, I and my children are for figns and wonders."

1. It is a mark of one's getting faving good out of reproach, if he receive them with the fame mind and fpirit, with which Chrift received them. How did Chrift receive them? Why, he received them as out of his Father's hand. Reproach was a part of his bitter cup; "Now, fays Chrift, the cup which my Father giveth me to drink, fhall I not drink it?" So, the child of God looks upon reproach, as coming from the hand of God: though he fees the finful hand of man, yet he sees the holy hand of providence; this is observed in the text: "We are for figns and wonders, from the Lord of hosts, that dwelleth in mount Zion :" we fee the hand of our God. Thus David; God hath bidden Shimei curfe David.-Again, Chrift received reproach with meekness; for, "He was meek and lowly; when he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he fuffered, he threatened not:"

yea,

yea, he was fo far from reviling again, that he prayed for forgiveness to his reproachers, Luke xxiii. 46. Something of the fame fpirit will be in us, if reproach do us real good. He received them fubmiffively; "He committed himself to him that judgeth righteoufly," 1 Pet. ii. 23. So will we be fubmiflive to God's providential afflicting will, and thereby be more humbled.

2. It is a fign of one's getting faving good of reproaches, if thereby they are brought to examine themfelves, if they have given juft occafion for reproach: and tho they find they have given no juft occafion before men, yet are they made to fearch their own fouls, to fee and lament the fin that hath provoked God to affli&t them with the scourge of tongues; and thereupon are made to pray, with Job, "Shew me wherefore thou contendeft with me," Job x. 2. And, withal being thankful to God, ascribing it only to his grace, that they have been kept from giving any juft occafion for fuch an af perfion.

3. It is a mark of one's getting good of reproach, if reproaches have come while we were in a course of backfliding, and they have been the means of recovering us; whence we are made to blefs the Lord that he hath fent them, to put a stop to our defection. This is an evidence of our getting good by reproach, as David faid of affliction: "It is good for me that I was afflicted; be-fore I was afflicted, I went aftray, but now I have kept thy word," Pfal. cxix. 67. And that reproach was a part of his affliction, is evident from ver. 69. "The proud have forged a lye against me."

4. It is an evidence of one's getting good of reproach, when a perfon is, in a spiritual manner, fuitably affected, according to the rife of the reproach. If it arife from our fin, so that we have given occafion for the reproach, fo as God is difhonoured: if in that cafe the foul be more grieved for the difhonour done to God, than for any thing relative to his own particular intereft; this is an evidence of his getting good thereby, why, the man in this cafe lays his own honour in the duft, and grieves for the difhonour done to God.-If the rife of the reproach be from our duty, and thereupon the foul be

more

more confirmed in the way of duty, as thofe, Neh. v. 8. Ought we not to walk in the fear of the Lord, becaufe of the reproach of the brethren ?" And as David, Pfal. cxix. 69. "The proud have forged a lye against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.” When a man, inftead of being deterred from a duty, by reproach caft upon him, is more confirmed, and made more circumfpect, in the way of duty, than ever.-If the reproach hath rilen from our zeal for the concerns of Chrift and his intereft; and thereupon, the man hath been made to count it his glory, "Etteeming the reproach of Chrift greater riches than the treasures of Egypt:" and thẹ man is more grieved for the afperfions caft upon Christ, than what concerneth himfelf, faying, as Pfalm lxix. 9. "The zeal of thine houfe hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproach thee, are fallen upon me. Thefe are evidences of reproach doing good to a man: when thereby, alfo, he is made to long for the day of the manifeftation of the fons of God; when our reputation will be cleared up, and afperfions caft upon us wipt away. Thus much for marks in order to trial.

Again, The doctrine may be applied for exhortation, Having no time for addreffing myfelf to particular forts of perfons, I fhall offer thefe following advices, and drop them in the general.

Advice 1. Let all profeffors of religion take care, that they give no occafion to any to look upon them and their religion too as monftrous. Some that wear Chrift's li very may be taxed, as a fcandal to his family, by their lying, cheating, drunkennefs, whoredom, and other vices: tho' it is unjuft and unfair to reproach religion, becaufe fome who profefs it expofe themselves to reproach; yet, it is no doubt a grievous fin in thofe who give any occafion to do fo, 1 Tim. V. 14. We should pray with David, "Lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies;" in the Hebrew it is, because of mine OBSERVERS, Our enemies are our obfervers; and though no finful practice is confiftent with religion, yet enemies will think, and fay fo, if they find us making it consistent with the profeffion of religion.

Advice 2. If the world be fet upon fpeaking reproachfully of religion, let us be the more engaged to speak favourably of it. Every believer fhould be both a witness and an advocate for his religion, and for the truth. When you hear how God's name is abused, his people reproached, his truth contradicted, have you never a word to lay for him? Whoever is afhamed of him now, of him will he be afhammed when he comes in the glory of his Father. If we hear our dearest friends in the world flandered, we will be ready to appear for their vindication: and have we no refentment of the contumely and contempt caft upon God, and Chrift, and the fcriptures of truth? If we fear we are not able to speak for the truth, as we ought, we may take encouragement from that promife," It fhall be given you in the fame hour, what ye fhall fpeak." Out of the mouth of babes and fucklings he can ordain ftrength; and fo ftill the adverfary and avenger.

Advice 3. Reckon the godly to be the excellent ones of the earth, however contemptible and hateful the world judge them to be. The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour, however reproached; and it is the wicked that are the monfters. Let none think the worfe of the way of religion and godlinefs; neither be frighted from walking in that way, because of the contempt poured upon it.-Confider who the reproachers are ; generally men of debauched confciences, and profligate lives if you choose fuch for your leaders, then the blind leads the blind, and both will fall into the ditch.Confider how trifling their reproaches are: they that speak against religion, they make lies their refuge, and under falfhood they hide themselves. Confider how much is to be faid in favours of the good old way, whoever they be that reproach it: "Wifdom's ways are pleafantnefs, and all her paths peace." All the wealth and pleasure of the world is not worth an hour's communion with God in Chrift, in the way of believing the gofpel, and embracing the truth.-Confider, that however the godly may be run down, they fhall be raifed up; for the reproaching of them is the reproaching of Chrift and his religion though none pretend it is religion they reproach,

but