Jefus anfwered them, Verily, verily, I fay unto you, whosoever committeth Sin, is the Servant of Sin.

W

E find, in this Chapter, the Bleffed Jesus teaching publickly in the Temple, but befet with many

of the Pharifees and others of the People, who with equal Ignorance and Malice were frequently interrupting his Difcourfe, and labouring to turn his Doctrines into Ridicule and Abfurdity: The Mifts they thus raised, proceeded

from

from the grofs Perverfnefs of their own Apprehenfions, but did in no wife affect, the intrinfic, Purity and Brightness of the Truths which He taught, and hinder'd not those who were of more enlighten'd and uncorrupted Minds from embracing the Faith of the Gofpel. It is written, that as He was speaking, Many believed on Him, and teftified doubtless such their Belief by fome outward Act of Profeffion. Our bleffed Lord, in order to encourage their Perfeverance in that Faith, which they had just receiv'd, faith unto them; If ye continue in my Words, then are ye my Difciples indeed: And ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free; i. e. you profess yourselves to be my Disciples, but the Reality of your Profeffion must appear from your conftant Obedience to my Commands fuch an Obedience will bring you to the perfect Knowledge of thofe facred Truths I declare among you; and the Knowledge of thofe Truths will enrich you with a moft valuable Freedom. Some of the malicious Standers-by, jealous of the Honour of their Nation, object to this Promise of Freedom,

;

Freedom, as utterly groundless, because they were under no Slavery: They fwered him, We are Abraham's Seed, and were never in Bondage with any Man: How fayeft thou, Ye shall be made Free? An Affertion indeed entirely false in that very Sense wherein they intended it to be understood, because thereby they feem'd to have forgotten their Egyptian Bondage, their Babylonifh Captivity, and their then present Subjection to the Romans. But the Holy Jefus inftructs them, that the Freedom He promfed was of a fpiritual Sort ; that He had in view a Slavery, which all Mankind is concern'd in, viz. the Slavery of Sin; and whatever Boafts they might make of their outward Liberty, yet that every Sinner, with refpect to his Soul, is under a State of wretched Bondage and Subjection. Whofoever committeth Sin, faith our Bleffed Lord, is the Servant of Sin. What Notion the Jews form'd of this particular Affertion is not fo evident from facred Writ; but there is great Reason to fear it would now be generally look'd upon as a Paradox: The current Opinion of Mankind

Mankind runs high against the Restraints of Religion; and the lefs of Piety, it is thought, the more of Freedom: Men, who set up for undoubted Liberty, are ready enough to part with their Innocence to attain it, and grow exceeding fond of their imaginary Purchase: As foon as their Confcience is fubdued, and they can begin to act without Regard to Virtue or Character, they are then compleatly their own Masters, and they look upon themfelves to be Men entirely at large. It fhall therefore be the Bufinefs of this Dif courfe to maintain the Pofition of our Bleffed Saviour, here before us, against the general Senfe of the World, and that from the two following Heads :

I. By confidering and stating the true
Notion of Liberty.

II. By fhewing that a State of Sin does
in no wife fall in with that Notion,
but on the contrary, that it fubject-
eth Mankind to wretched Slavery.

1. THEN, we are to confider and state the true Notion of Liberty.

A POWER