this Difcourfe; I mean, the Parable wherein the King made a Marriage for his Son, and invited firft his Citizens, and afterwards all Sorts of chance Customers, that were found ftraggling in the High-ways and Lanes to come and partake of the Wedding Supper.

This now, among us, is commonly expounded of the Sacrament of the Communion, which we call the Lord's Supper. And, to be fure, if any Man comes to partake of this Sacrament, that is not fatisfied in his own Mind that he is fitly prepared and qualified to take it, he presently looks upon himself to be that Guest which the Parable mentions, which came to the Marriage Supper without having on a Wedding Garment: And who, being discover'd by the King to be in this unfeemly Habit, is ordered to be bound Hand and Foot, and caft into outer Darkness.

But now all this is a great Mistake; the Parable faith not one Word concerning the Sacrament, but is quite about another Bufinefs, as I have told you before: The Marriage that is here made for the King's Son, is certainly Chrift Jefus his coming down into the World in our Nature to efpoufe a Church made up of all Mankind. And accordingly all Mankind are invited. to come and partake of his Mercies. The Jews were the firft that were folemnly

bidden,

bidden, as there was Reason for it, they having been a long Time God's own Citizens. But they rejected the Invitation. Upon this the Gentiles were called in; and they do embrace the Call. But it happened then, as it happens now, and will happen to the End of the World, that among those that, upon the Invitation of Christ and his Apostles, came in to Christianity, and entred themselves into the new Covenant, fome were not fincere, but proved Hypocrites; they profeffed Chrift's Religion, but yet, for all that, their Natures were not changed, they ftill ftuck to their old Gentile Cuftoms, which corrupt Nature had taught them; tho' they called themselves the Children of the Light, yet they lived no better than if they had ftill remained in the Darkness of Heathenism. Thus, I fay, it was then; and thus it is now, and will always be fo. But now all thefe hypocritical Profeffors fhall, at the laft Day, be detected and openly punished. When God, at the End of the World, comes to take a View of his Guefts, he will make a Difference with a Witnefs between all real and all pretended Chriftians. Those that have nothing but the Name and the Profeffion, all thofe fhall be looked upon as not having on a Wedding Garment, but to be in the State of Heathenifm. But all thofe that, together with their Baptifm

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tifm and Profeffion of Chrift's Religion, do bring forth Fruit fuitable to it; all these, I fay, fhall enter with the Bridegroom into his everlafting Manfions of Glory, when the others fhall be fhut out. This, I dare confidently fay, is the true Account of that Parable; and now judge ye, whether there be any thing in it that hath to do with the Sacrament.

But fourthly, from this Account that I have given of my Text, you may see what little Reason any one hath from this Text to put the Iffue of his future Hopes upon any Decrees of God concerning bis particular Election, or what little Reason any one hath to be disturbed or difquieted from this Text, upon Account that he doth not know whether he be particularly elected to Salvation or no. And yet this is the common Ufe that this Text is put to. There is a Sort of Divinity in the World, that ftands fo much upon a particular Election, that, if you cannot affure yourselves that you are in the Number of those that are by Name written in the Book of Life, will hardly allow you to be true Children of God, whatever other Evidence you may produce for it. And this Text I am now upon, is one of the great Pillars of this Sort of Divinity, Many are called, but few are chofen; that is to fay, many are called to be Chriftians, but yet none fhall be

effect u

effectually faved, but those that are from all Eternity chofen and elected of God to Salvation. And therefore, above all things, study to make that out to yourselves.

I will not now dispute the Truth of this Doctrine. It is all one to me, whether God from all Eternity did predeftinate all particular Perfons, that fhall be faved, to Salvation; or whether he only made a general Decree, that whofoever did embrace the Gofpel, and live according to it, fhould be faved, knowing in the mean time who would embrace the Gospel, and who would not: I fay, this is not a Matter that, I think, ought to be controverted; and if we be fo foolish as to difpute about it, I do not fee that we are the wifer by it, but are as much at a Lofs when we have done, as we were at the Beginning. But this I dare confidently fay, that God Almighty never meant, that we fhould put the Evidence of our Salvation, or our Hopes of being happy hereafter, upon fuch a Point as this; but hath all along taught us other Methods for the trying whether we belong to God or no, quite different from this of our particular Eletion. And as for this Text, that is fo much urged for the Neceffity of a particular Election, I think I have already made it plain to you, that it refers quite to another Bufinefs. For all the Meaning I i4

of

of thefe Words, as I have fhewed, is no more than this, That many in those Times were called and invited by Chrift to believe in him, but few did anfwer the Call, or accept of the Invitation. But what is this to any eternal Decree that God has paffed concerning the Salvation or Damnation of particular Men?

Well; but it will be faid, that the Words, if they be ftrictly rendered from the Original, will import more; for thus they run, if you tranflate them literally, Many are the Called, but few are the Elect. Now what can you understand by the Elect, but thofe that are from all Eternity particularly decreed by God to everlafting Salvation? I anfwer, I readily own that this is a good Tranflation of the Paffage; but I utterly deny that this is the Notion of the Elc&t in this Place: Nay, I think I may say in any other Place either in the Old or New Teftament. Two Notions I know of the Elect in Scripture: But I know of no more. Sometimes by the Elect are meant, all thofe Perfons in a Nation which are in Covenant with God, and do own his Religion; and in this Sense the whole People of the Jews are feveral times, in the Old Teftament, called God's Elect; and in the New Teftament, all that embraced Chrift's Religion are likewife called by the fame Name. Both

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