shine that others might see it, and be provoked thereby to glorify their Father which is in heaven. The apostle Peter speaks of a case, I am afraid the mean is seldom tried, and therefore it is no wonder that the effect is seldom found. The mean is a Christian conversation, the effect is conversion. It is the conversation of the wife for the gaining of the husband. Now, the apostle craves this, and hints a promise for it. You would think it strange, that the Christian and sober deportment of a poor woman at home may accomplish that work, that by the ordinary means of grace had been in vain attempted: That if, says the apostle, any obey not the word, &c. that is, it is possible sometimes that the Spirit and power of God may attend a gospel-like conversation, and make it do that which the gospel and ministerial dispensations have not done; they may without the word be won; not that there is any conversion without the word, but that there may be such mea. sures of light and conviction, given by other means that God may bring in otherwise.

Thirdly, We find by this, that our Lord Jesus Christ has a great concern about our profession. Christ Jesus himself was the great professor: He was so great a professor of faith, that his wicked enemies reproached him for it when he was upon the cross, Matth. xxvii. 42. He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him, Psal. xxii. 8. The apostle calls him the high-priest of our profession. He made a profession of his own, 1 Tim. vi. 13. I give thee charge in the sight of God, and before Jesus Christ, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession. He told them he was a King, and that he came into the world to set up his kingdom; but they greatly mistook it. Christ might reign in this world, and all the kings of the world might sit where they are. Christ is troublesome to none, but them that trouble him, and he will be too hard for them. We find our Lord frequently upon this in exacting profession, and none needed it less than he. When people came to him for healing, What would you, says he, that I should do unto you? They tell him; and then he adds, Believe ye that I am able? Now, any man might say, If thou be able, thou mayst cure whether I believe or no; but our Lord will have it out of their own mouths. He comes to one man after he had wrought a cure;

our Lord finds him out; but the man had confessed Christ honestly, he was a sound believer, and he was cast out of the wicked church of the Jews, John ix. Christ found him when they had cast him out, and says to him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? says he. And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee, Lord, I believe, says he, And he worshipped him. When Peter is to be restored, our Lord will have it by a confession: he had given one great confession to Christ, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, which our Lord praises him greatly for, but he had fallen foully when called to confess Christ in the high-priest's hall. There was no excuse for a man to deny that ever he had seen Christ Jesus, or been in his company. Poor wretched creature! if Christ had left him, if Christ had said, I do not know Peter, as Peter said he is not my master; if Christ had said, he is none of my disciples, what had become of him? Now our Lord is restoring him again, John xxi. our Lord asks him one question, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me; and Lovest thou me? &c. What wonder is it, that the man is grieved that he should come thrice upon him? Ay, but, says our Lord, I will have thee say, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee. This is nothing but a profession of his faith and love.

Lastly, Faith itself will work a profession in a manner, whether men will or no. It is impossible to keep the fire of faith without the smoke of profession, and it is impossible to smother this lamp. If God hath kindled this heavenly fire of faith, and of the hope of the gospel, in any of your hearts, it will break forth one way or other. They with whom you live will know it; your faith will break out sometimes in your tongue; and it will appear, for as modest, and secret, and bashful as the person is, that there is something of heavenly fire working in him. This now is the constant practice of all nations and all people; and the Christian is not to be exempted from this common necessity; every sort of people in the world make a profession of what their faith and hope is: All people, says the prophet, will walk every one in the name of his god, though they be false gods, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever, Micah iv. 5. Shall a

worshipper of Baal be more bold and confident in professing of an idol god, than Jehovah's worshippers? We will walk in the name of the Lord our God; we will go up and down, professing and declaring, in all prudent and fit ways, our respects to him. We have an observable word of Jephthah; and truly he was such an odd sort of man, that unless it were for Hebrews xi. and one or two good words in Judges xi. we should hardly own him a believer. One of the words is in verse 11. He uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh; that looks something like. He was called extraordinarily to be the head of Israel for their recovery out of a distressed state, and before he attempts the work, he acquaints God. The words that I speak of, and bring to this purpose, are these, verse 24. it is in his message to the Ammonites, Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess. Now, here was a great profession of the man's faith: "You "poor blinded idolaters, that call upon your idols, and if you "have success in your way, will praise your idols, and keep

that which they give you to possess: Shall not we keep that "which the Lord our God giveth us to possess?" And, says he, "Be it known to you we will." Try all the world over, I say, wherever there is a form of religion, true or false, a profession of it is always required. As far sunk as the Antichristian state is, yet when they admit infidels, and, according to their wickedness, when they drive Protestants to their communion, they crave something of profession of faith. But all these professions are rather professions of opinion. A great many, ask them what religion they are of, they can tell you; ask them the principles of religion, they can tell you them; there is one question still that a great many of our professors are puzzled with; "Pray, what is your faith?" these truths are the truths of God, but what truth is there in your faith of them? The apostle requires to be ready always to give an answer to them that shall ask a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear. How many of our professors, (and we have a great multitude more than the gospel is honoured by), how many of them are not able to give an account of the hope that is in them? Unless this religion be

well founded in thy heart, it is none of thy religion; it is the religion only of those that believe. But unless the divine truths revealed in the word, be ingrafted in thy heart by a true and lively faith in them and on them, they are not thy religion, they are only thy opinion. Take heed; this matter of profession, and profession of faith, is not so slight and easy a matter as people imagine. There is a very great danger in folks professing to have faith, when they have it not. We think there was great severity in dealing with those two poor people, Ananias and Sapphira, in Acts v. There was a custom then, and special reason for it, that seve ral rich folks, in the prospect of the expected difficulties that were coming upon the church, sold their land; two people, man and wife, agreed to sell their land, and keep part of the price in case of necessity for their own relief. Here was but bare lying in this case. It is true, the apostle aggravates it, as it was lying to the Holy Ghost; and it may be, there was something of a design to try the apostles. But this was an innocent thing to what it is for a poor creature to make a profession of faith, when he knows he has it not. To make a profession of that he has not, is to boast of a vain gift. The Lord is strict in observing mens profession; a little thing will go in God's sight for a profession: and accordingly he will deal with men that are not sincere therein; but there is no true profession but that which is sound. Á profession that is of truth, is not only, that a man professes to. believe truth, but that he does truly believe that which he professes therefore in the creed, commonly called the apostles creed, the first word in it, and which is the greatest mystery in it, is, "I believe in God," I believe that there is a God; "and I believe in," &c. Ay, but the main thing in thy creed is the first word, "I believe this." What conviction hath the Spirit of God made upon thy conscience of divine truth to enforce this belief? For saving faith is nothing else but the mark which a divine impression of divine truth hath made upon a man's heart.

VOL. III.

SERMON II.

HEBREWS X. 23.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, &c. I SHALL now proceed to make some practical improvement

of what has been delivered in the former discourse.

APPLICATION. First, then, we see what a Christian profession is; it is a profession of faith. This is the name given to it in my text. In Heb. iv. 14. it is only called our profession; sometimes without profession, it is called our faith, our confidence, ver. 35. Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, &c. To a Christian profession of faith, there are two things required: 1. That it be true. 2. That it be visible. 1. That it be true; that is, that not only it be a profession of divine truth, but that it be a profession of a true faith that men have in the truth. If people profess error instead of truth, they take God's name in vain; if they profess they have faith when they have not, they lie against God and themselves too. Profession must be sound and true; a man must profess what he hath, and no more. 2. Christian profession must be visible. Profession is mainly for others, as faith in the reality of it is mainly for ourselves: the apostle therefore, when he is speaking of the great profession of the faith of the patriarchs, saith, Heb. xi. 13, 14. They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. And they that say such things, declare plainly that they seek a country, &c. All who had known Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, who saw their way of living, who beheld their way of not mixing with the rest of the nations, who beheld their faith and hope; these might have seen plainly, these were men for another world than this. There can be no profession unless it be visible. This is so general and well known a thing, that a visible credible profession of Christianity is that only that deserves this name.

Secondly, We see hence, what reason and ground ministers and churches have to call for and require a confession of mens