The neceffity of this oath, that is, of publick worship, cannot be fet forth in a stronger light than here, no, not by the creator himself. God has taken his oath upon it, that it must and shall be fo. Obferve how he words it, I have fworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and fhall not return, that unto me every knee fhall bow, and every tongue fhall fwear. God has tied and bound himself unto himfelf, that he will not dispense with it, nor excufe, nor put up with any man's neglect of the fabbath, or absence from divine worship. He is bound to infift upon it, by his being, and justice, and word. He fwore by his infinite existence, he fpake out the word of the oath with his mouth, and pronounced it unto himself, in his own hearing, and the word went out from him, and never will return, that fo it fhall, and muft be. He that will not by fabbaths and publick worship, fwear to his own salvation, fhall never have it.

This is the nature and neceffity of publick fabbaths and worship. And whatever excufes and evafions, men find out to amufe themfelves in this folemn business at prefent, the time will come

when

their pleas will not bear pronunciation. Moft people now act as if God had lodged a difcretionary power in them, to be, or not to be engaged in these things, as humor or accidents may difpofe or indifpofe them; not confidering that God is upon oath himself, and cannot excuse them if he would, and that they alfo are called upon herein, to be upon oath in a matter that deeply concerns the creator, the universe, and themselves. Excuses therefore cannot be heard, and abfence cannot be difpensed with.

This oath must be adminiftered to every person in order to falvation. Every man muft ftand up as a witness for God, that men are saved by grace, and if they perish, they are without excufe; that in the last day, God may fit upon his throne, and fum up the evidence of all ages, and pronounce the final fentence accordingly. And if men expect mercy here, though they do neglect it, they will be disappointed, for it is out of God's power to fhew them any. He fays his oath binds him not to do it. The word of the oath

is gone, and cannot be recalled.

Here is mercy

enough, let this be owned, and if this does not fave, nothing will.

And

And God himself is alfo upon oath concerning

this matter

By myself have I fworn, faith the Lord, that in bleffing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy feed; and in thy feed fhall all the nations of the earth be blessed: The apoftle alfo takes notice of this oath, that it was made in favor of the heirs of promise, which as appears above, are the nations of the earth in general; and fays it was added to the decree, to make it impoffible for God to lie: to banish jealoufies and fears out of the minds of the heirs, and to perfuade them to believe with certainty and confidence. In other words, to remove all the fcruples that could any way arife in their minds, against taking the oath contained in the nature of their worship and confeffion. God adminiftered it to himlelf: himfelt fwore to himfelf, to make the grant of falvation to all the heirs of Abraham univerfal and irrevocable. He has put it out of his own power to reverse, or limit it. He has made it impoffible for himself not to fave all human nature. By myfelf, fays he, have I fworn that I will do it: bleffing I will blefs thee, and in thee, all the nations of the earth. I vow it; I swear it, and appeal to myself.

As

As if he had faid, I had before, from the very beginning, in a gracious counfel of my good will, decreed and refolved to be the Savior of all men: but now Abraham has pleafed me fo much by his obedience, that to the benign decree, I have added an oath, to make it firmer and more impoffible to miscarry. Love to human nature has always had a ruling influence in all my works and ways. It is fo great that it is ready to take fresh fire, and be inflamed by every occurrence that may have any tendency to flir it. I have now found one of the race whofe faith and obedience have highly pleafed me, pleafed me, and every man in the world fhall be the better for him. Not himself only; not only the nation that fhall defcend from him; but every nation in the world; every man, woman and child on earth. I love the whole human race more for his fake. Out of love I will conftitute him the father of them all. I am fo prone to this, that I am ready to be carried away by it on every occafion. I am by this affair of Abra

1

ham, more in love with all the fons of men; more inflamed with their falvation than before; it is more firm and impoffible to fail: there was one immutable thing to fecure their happiness before;

but

but now there are two, by each of which it is impoffible for me to lie in the affair. Let the whole univerfe hear and obferve and bear witness. I have fworn by my own Godhead, because there is no greater, that in bleffing I will bless Abraham; in bleffing I will blefs his feed, the Jewish nation: yea, every one of them; that in bleffing I will bless all the nations of the earth. Obferve what I fay, I do not fay that I will not hurt or destroy them, but bless them; I blefs all the nations in Abraham. In bleffing him I blefs them. I comprehend and include them all in the fame complicated bleffing. In bleffing I will blefs, first Abraham, and then all human nature in him. All are his children, and the bleffing fhall be one family bleffing, conferred upon the father and entailed upon all the children.

Every perfon in the world is therefore the better for Abraham. The falvation of each is more fafe and certain. We are loved and esteemed more than otherwife we fhould have been. The oath paffed on his account in our favor is, and will be, an eternal evidence of this truth. Our falvation was inclofed in a firm and immutable decree before,

but