THE Apostle is here giving us a lively description of the true Church of Christ. Having first described the foundation of the Church, viz. Jesus Christ, whom he calls a 'Living Stone,' (in the preceding verse) ‘Disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious.’ In our text he speaks of the Church, under the same metaphor, 'Living Stones,' ^* 'Ye also as Living Stones,' &c.

Where we may observe, he (the Apostle) de­scribes the Church.

I. By her likeness to Christ, with respect to internal, spiritual or divine life; 'living.'

II. By her stability 'Stones.'

[Page] III. By her union with herself; 'Built up a Spiritual House.'

IV. By her divine constitution; 'An Holy Priesthood.'

V. By her exercises; 'To offer up Sacrifices.'

VI. By the quality of these sacrifices, viz. 'Spiritual and holy.'

VII. By their acceptance with God; 'Accep­table to God.'

VIII. By whose merits these spiritual sacri­fices are acceptable to God, viz. The merits of Christ, 'Acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.' Each of these particulars, in the description of the true Church of Christ, I purpose briefly to con­sider.

I. THE first decription of the true Church, is in her likeness to Christ, her foundation, with respect to her internal, spiritual or divine life; 'Living.'

'Christ lives; and because he lives,' 'They shall live also.' John 14. 19.

Every true member lives by Christ's life, for he lives in them; 'I live,' (saith the Apostle) yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. Gal. XX. 20.

So likewise, they have the same kind of spiri­tual life, that is in Christ. Jesus Christ a living Stone; the foundation of this spiritual building! So likewise, the true members of his Church are living Stones; compacted together in this building▪ The foundation and the superstruc­ture are alike in this; they are living Stones. This spiritual life consists in holiness, divine love or benevolence. Some indeed suppose, that [Page 9] holiness is nothing but divine love; because what the law of God requires of us, is holiness, and the sum of what the law requires of us, is love: Love is the fulfilling of the law; (saith the Apostle.) And upon these two command­ments of love to God and our neighbour, our Saviour makes to hang all the law and the pro­phets. However, some would make a little difference between holiness and divine love: Holiness in God (they say) is the sum of all his divine attributes: And holiness in men they make comprehensive of all the variety of christian graces, to be exercised in the life of a christian; as love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance; which are called the fruits of the holy spirit; Gal. v. 22, 23. And can any say, and say truly, that divine love, or benevolence, is not com­prehended of all the forementioned graces? Doubtless holiness, is to be universally of a right temper of mind: So likewise, for ought I know, love is radically this; a man destitute of love, hath no right temper; without divine love, he doeth nothing that is truly virtuous; nothing that is truly praise worthy; without this, no­thing is done from a right principle, or to a right end: He that hath no true love to God, hath no sincere regard to his glory, in any thing that he doth. Without this, faith hath no real good­ness, or moral virtue in it. All gifts & knowledge is vain without it: Yea, had a man all faith, so that he could remove mountains, and understood all mysteries, and could speak with the tongues of [Page 10] men and angels, and was destitute of this di­vine principle, they would make him no better than sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal; a bare sign or representation of something, when there is really nothing! Nay, should a man give all his goods to feed the poor, and his body to be burnt in sacrifice for his religion, and be desti­tute of love, it would profit him nothing: See all this confirmed, I Cor. Chap. xiii. Love is the very soul and essence of every grace, and the distinguishing character of a good man, for with­out this, he is a wicked man, and dead in tres­passes and sins. Love therefore, is the sum of all moral virtue, and of every christian grace; yea the very soul and life of them all: As without natural or animal life, there would be no natural actions; so also without divine love, there would be no spiritual action. Natural self-love excites natural men to those exercises, or ac­tions, which are proper for moral agents: So su­pernatural and divine love excites to those spiri­tual exercises and holy actions, which are peculiar to a renewea man. Without love of some kind or other, I cannot conceive of a man's acting at all, as a moral agent; and without supernatu­ral or divine love, I can have no apprehension of his acting at all in a spiritual manner; or with the least regard to God, any more than I can conceive of a man's acting as a natural man, without natural life. Hence it is, I apprehend, that divine love is called spiritual life: And cer­tain it is, without divine love, men are dead, yea, wholly dead, in a spiritual sense. But the [Page 11] true members of Christ's Church, are conforma­ble to their spiritual and public head, in this; Christ the living Stone, in the foundation of his Church, and the Church built up of living Stones, upon this foundation

II. The true Church of Christ is described by her stability, Stones. A metaphor borrowed from Stones which are compacted into a building, with an adjective, expressing their peculiar, and distinguishing quality, living Stones. A Stone is solid and durable, not easily moved with the wind; when wrought into a building, they continue for a great length of time. So the Church of Christ, compared to living Stones, built upon Christ, the living Stone, is durable, staple and firm: It continues through every age, firm as the everlasting mountains: It continues through all the convulsions of States and King­doms. Whatever devastations and revolutions take place, in the world, the Church must live; though earth and hell conspire together to de­stroy it, 'Yet must this building rise!' Though Satan, with all his malicious arts, and diabolical subtilty, lay ten thousand snares to destroy it, he cannot prevail; for it is founded on a rock. He that fights against her, fights against God; who will be sure to avenge 'The quarrel.' 'Tis with respect to the Church that he says ‘Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm?’ Psal. cv, 15. Hurt not (q. d.) the people con­secrated to me, by the gifts and graces of my spirit; and those, especially among them, to whom I farmiliarly reveal my mind and will, that [Page 12] they may teach others. The Church is called the bride, the lamb's wife, and is most dear to the almighty bridegroom: And whosoever touches his bride, (i.e. hurts or injures her,) shall find the arm of her almighty husband to be strong; who will 'Soon avenge the wrong.' For thus saith the Lord, to his Church; 'He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye..' Zach. 2, 8. And how precious! how dear! the Church of Christ is to him, he hath manifest­ed in many striking instances of his providence, in punishing those that injured or were unkind to her. For this cause he plagued and destroyed the Egyptians, and when they pursued his peo­ple to the red sea, they were all myraculously drowned in it; they sank as lead in the mighty waters; yea they sank like a stone to the bot­tom: That this was the case is further evident from Joel, iii, 19. Egypt shall be a desolation, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they shed innocent blood in their land. How did it fare with the Amalekites for their unkindness, because they did not meet God's antient Church with bread and water; but instead of this, they smote the hindermost part of them that were weary and faint; therefore the Lord gave it in charge, utterly to destroy Amalak, and to blot out his name from under heaven; which was fully accomplished.

And how did it fare with the Babylonians, for captivating God's people? though done by his permission and direction of his providence. They were threatned with perpetual desolation for it, [Page 13] which threatning has been and still is fulfilling: ‘Babylon shall become a heap, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.’ Jer. ii 37. This city, though the most extensive, viz. magnificent of any in the known world, is made a perpetual deso­lation, never more to be built or inhabited from ge­neration to generation forever. See Jer. I. 39, 40, ver▪ and Isa. xiii, 19, to the end, where the desolation, perpetual desolation of Babylon, is very fully and emphatically expressed. And how did it fare with the Jews themselves, when they rejected the King of Zion, and persecuted his Church? Why he miserably destroyed those murderers, and burnt up their city Jerusalem. Tho' Kings, Rulers and people of Israel joined to de­stroy the Church, yet they failed. What though with hand joined in hand, they set themselves against the Lord, and against his anointed, yet, ‘He that sitteth in the Heavens laughed, as the Lord then had them in derision.’ And though all the powers of Rome, when she was mistress of the world, were bent to destroy and to root out the christian name, from under Heaven; though she (Rome) murdered millions, and christian blood flowed down like rivers; she could not prevail. Under all these trials, the Church rather increased, than diminished; the suffering of one martyr was sometimes the means of converting numbers. They who per­secuted the Church, made war with the lamb, and he overcame them; for he is Lord of Lords and King of King's. Rev. xvii, 14. Thus staple [Page 14] and firm is the true Church of Christ, and no­thing shall be able to destroy it: earth and hell have tried out their strength, in combinations and have not prevailed; for the Lord God and the Lamb is in the midst of her. He keeps her, he watches over her with as much care and ten­derness as the apple of his eye; and the gates of hell cannot prevail against her, cannot overcome her. Thus the church is firmer than heaven and earth, and more unshaken than the solid world; her foundation is strong, she is built up­on a living rock, from which she cannot be sha­ken or removed, for she is united to it, and the union is indissoluble.

III. The true church of Christ is described by her union with herself, built up a spiritual house.

This metaphor shews how the church is unit­ed with itself. As stones which are compacted to­gether in a building, by the artist, are all united together and make one house; so the Church of Christ, as living stones, is one spiritual house built together by the great master builder, in which house he dwells forever. As this building is unit­ed to the living stone which is its foundation, so likewise these living stones which compose this building, are united among themselves, cement­ed in love, which holds it together, and the uni­on is indissoluble: Not one living stone shall e­ver fail in this building. For this the redeemer prayed and his prayer is always effectual. John xvii. 11, 21, 22, 23. "Holy father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are.' ‘That they all [Page 15] may be one, as thou father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be ONE in us: And the glory, which thou gavest me, have I gi­ven them; that they may be ONE, even as we are ONE: I in them and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in ONE: That the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.’

The Church is called ‘The only one of her mother, and the choice one of her that bare her.’ Cant. vi, 9, which denotes that the Church of Christ is one, and is most dear to him, who is the great founder of it. This union in the Church, the Apostle describes by the similitude of a hu­man body, which is united to the head, by joints and bands, from which it receives nou­rishment, and being knit together it increaseth, with the increase of God, Coll. ii, 19. and that which cements together the several parts of Christ's mystical body, (the Church) is love, Coll. ii, 2. Being knit together in love. The liv­ing members, in Christ's Church, are one, in all the following respects, viz. They all have one and the same public head, even Christ, from whom they receive spiritual nourishment and growth in grace. They all trust their salvation in his merits alone. They all with one consent hold the essential doctrines of the Gospel, viz. Such as these, Salvation from sin and hell, by free and sovereign grace alone, bestowed thro' the merits of the great Redeemer. Their de­pendence is solely upon the righteousness of Christ to clothe them in the sight of a holy God; they [Page 16] all trust in the merits of his blood, for the at­tonement of their sins: The merit of his obedi­ence, & death for the justification of their persons, and acceptance with God, both of their persons and services; eternal life and happiness in the enjoyment of God: They all depend upon his spirit and grace to sanctify them and make them meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. In these they all agree, if they are capable of understanding doctrines: If there be babes in Christ, that do not clearly under­stand doctrines at present, yet surely they have a disposition to understand, and as soon as they do understand, or have just notions of the truth, they cordially embrace it: They have a spiritual taste and appetite for the doctrines of free grace; they are pleased with them and like them in their hearts; for like new born babes, in health, they desire the sincere milk of the word, that they may grow thereby, which no unsanctified soul doth. Doubtless there are ma­ny, who have so much light and conviction of the truth, that they are forced to acknowledge it; yet have no love for it; no appetite for it at all in their hearts. They may have the form of knowledge and of the truth, who do not love it: This the Apostle asserts Rom. ii. 20, to 24. concerning those to whom he does not give a very good character, viz.. That they made their boast of the law, and knew God's will, but ne­ver taught themselves; to whom he says, 'The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you.

[Page 17] Once more, every living member of Christ's Church have all the same spirit of divine love, that bond of perfectness, of which the Apostle speaks, Coll. iii: 14. Wherever they are scattered up and down the world, this is the spirit that dwells in them;' this their distinguishing character: By the spirits of love, or true benevolence, which they have to each other ‘All men may know, that they are Christ's disciples,’ John xiii. 35 ‘And by this, we may know, that we are of God; and that he dwelleth in us, viz.. by the spirit which he hath given us,’ As saith the Apostle, I John iii. 24. And to the same purpose is the Apostle Rom. viii. 9, ‘If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his.’

False pretenders to religon, may profess themselves to be his disciples, when they are intirely destitute of the distinguishing character of his true disciples, viz. divine love. Doubt­less there are many such professors, who are in­tirely destitute of any true love, either to God or man: We have a record of some, who pro­fessed well, and no doubt had a very good opi­nion of themselves, to whom Christ says, ‘I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.’ Not all that profess faith in Christ, will put their trust in him; the scribes and pharisees professed to believe in a Messiah to come, but when he came, they rejected him; they ‘Trust­ed in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others;’ and what reason is there to think, but many at the present day, are of the same spirit; they profess to believe in Christ, [Page 18] but trust in themselves, 'Walking in the light of their own fire, and in the sparks which they have kindled.' There were some who professed to be Christ's disciples, his cordial friends; to whom he would not commit himself, but hid himself from them, because he knew them, he knew their hearts; ‘For he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man,’ John ii. 24. 25. Yea many that professed to be Christ's disciples, and were so called, took disgust at some important doc­trines which he taught, viz. [...] of attonement, That they [...] walked no more with him▪ John [...] what if some renounced their [...] Christ and the gospel, and forsook the [...] and fel­lowship of his true disciples [...] an evi­dence that they did not belong to them. ‘They went out from us, (saith the Apostle) But they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would, no doubt, have continued with us; but they went out, that they might be made ma­nifest, that they were not all of us.’ 'Tis no­thing strange, that that, which hath no root or deepness of earth, should wither away: It is nothing strange, that those who are not living Stones, and not belonging to Christ's building; having no special grace, no love to Christ in their hearts; nothing strange, for these to re­nounce their profession, and turn to another, where they can better gratify their pride or their passions in so doing: But the living members of Christ have an unction from the holy one, i. e. [Page 19] an holy anointing, from the holy spirit, viz. Those divine influences, or special graces shed abroad in the heart, which secures them from falling; 'tis an unfailing bond, which holds them fast, and forever secures them; it is the bond of perfectness; therefore they shall never finally fall away: This bond of perfectness, or divine love maintains the union among them­selves.

IV. THE Church is described by her divine constitution, an holy priesthood. One special part of the priests office, under the law, was to offer sacrifices. Besides this, they were to be whol­ly devoted to God, seperated from the world, and to be constantly employ'd in the service of the sanctuary, and in teaching the people▪ in allusion to this, the Church of Christ is called a holy priesthood, in the text; because she is to be seperated to the service of God: she offers up herself as ‘A living sacrifice, holy and ac­ceptable to God, through Jesus Christ: And hath made us, (says the church) Kings and priests unto God, and his father,’ Rev i. 6. This spiritual and holy priesthood, is peculiarly descriptive of the true Church of Christ, it is their peculiar and distinguishing character, as it cannot justly be attributed to any other. None truly give up themselves to God, as liv­ing sacrifices, none are devoted to his service but saints; of which are composed the true Church of Christ.

V. The true Church of Christ is described by her exercises, viz. to offer up sacrifices: which she [Page 20] does in consequences of her divine constitution, 'A holy priesthood.'

These sacrifices consist in the offering up of their souls, their bodies, with all their powers and faculties to God, to be employed in his ser­vice. Their hearts are given to God; (i. e.) they sincerely love him. It is not uncommon for lovers to say to the beloved friend, ‘You have my heart! or I have given you my heart!’ So the Church of Christ has given him her heart; and Christ hath set his heart upon the Church, his spouse: the divine will is her will; this is the rule by which she walks. She choos­es those things which God chooses; Christ and his Church have the same object of love and hatred: she is ready both to do and to suffer for Christ's sake. ‘In the worship of her God, she spends her daily breath.’ She dearly loves the worship and ordinances of Christ, where he is wont to reveal his power and grace: She loves to hear of Christ, of his love and divine excellencies: And her meditation of him is sweet, even in the night watches; she is ready to part with all for his sake; to sacrifice name, estate, and life itself, for his sake ‘whom her soul loveth.’ Yea to esteem reproaches, for Christ, to be great riches, Heb. xi. 26▪ She can take joyfully the spoiling of her goods, and part with father and mother, and other near and dear relatives, houses and lands, and life itself for his sake and the Gosple's. Unless men can part with all for Christ's sake and the Gospel's, they are not, nor can they be his true deciples; (this [Page 21] we have from his own mouth) this truth is il­lustrated from the words of the Apostle; ‘I am not only ready to be bound (says he) but to die for the name of Jesus,’ Acts, xxi, 13. ‘yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung,’ &c. Phil. iii. 8. And, not only St. Paul, but every living mem­ber in the Church of Christ, is ready to sa­crifice every thing, and count them as dung for Christ's sake. In this manner the Church offers up sacrifice to God.

VI. The Church is further described by the quality of those sacrifices which she offers, viz. spiritual and holy, they are not such earnal sacri­fices, as were in use under the law; nor do they consist in modes and forms or meer bodily exer­cises, which profiteth little, I. Tim. iv. 8. which may be done intirely without the heart; but they are sacrifices spiritual and holy; spiritual sacrifices, are such religious exercises, as are per­formed by the special and genuine influences of the holy spirit; from whence the term spiritu­al is taken in scripture. They are such exer­cises therefore, as are peculiar to the spiritual man, viz. Saints; and is given in our text, as one of the distinguishing characteristics of the true Church of Christ: Certainly, none but spiritual men of­fer spiritual and holy sacrifices; and the spiritual man in the scripture dialect, is the distinguish­ing character of a good man, or a true Saint, I Cor. ii. 14, 15, and Gal. vi. I. The natural [Page 22] man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, &c. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things: Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness: By which it is abun­dantly plain, that by a spiritual man, he means a true Saint, or a living member in Christ's Church. And it is peculiar to such as are spi­ritual, to offer up spiritual sacrifices; otherwise a corrupt tree may bring forth good fruit; but in a word, spiritual and holy sacrifices, are such exercises as God requires, being done with those inward and holy affections; such as faith, love, joy, &c. which are effected and maintained by the holy spirit of grace, dwelling in those who are the subjects of those graces, by his genuine operations, in which he communicates his own image or nature: Such are said to be made partakers of the divine nature.

VII. THE true Church of Christ is described by the acceptance of her sacrifices, 'Acceptable to God.' By this the living members of Christ's Church are distinguished from all others; none besides those who belong to the true Church are acceptable to God: The sacrifices, i. e. Spiritual sacrifices of the true Church alone, are acceptable to God; 'But the sacrifices of the wicked are an abomination.' Do you desire to know what acceptance means? I will endeavour to inform you. In our text it must mean favora­bly or kindly to receive; it signifies, being pleased, [...] delighted with; thus God is pleased or [...] with his Church. This is evident in [...] he is said to see 'No spot or wrinkle in her' ▪ [Page 23] It is further evident, in that he is said 'To re­joice over her.' That the Lord Jesus likewise takes peculiar pleasure and delight in his Church and in the exercise of her graces, is evident from many endearing appellations, that he gives her as ‘My sister, my spouse, my love, my dove, my un­defiled;’ often repeated, ‘I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honey comb with my honey; I have drank my wine with my milk.’ Cant. V, I. These expressions, no doubt, have reference to the Church's graces, in which he greatly delights; that the prayers of the Saints are pleasing and delightful to God, is evident, in that they are compared to incense, Rev v, 8. (which was a rich perfume, used in sacrifices by God's appointment, typify­ing the precious blood of Christ,) likewise the preaching of the Gospel, by the faithful ministers of Christ, is mentioned as most pleasing and ac­ceptable to God; though some did not believe, 2 Cor. ii, 15. 'We are unto God,' ‘A sweet sa­vour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish;’ and in a word, every spiri­tual sacrifice is pleasing and acceptable to God; which he will most graciously reward; this brings me to say.

VIII. BY whose merits these spiritual sacri­fices are acceptable to God, 'Acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.' That is, by his merits: excel­lent as the Church is, and, however high in God's account, yet neither the Church nor her sacri­fices, (or religious services) are acceptable to [Page 24] God on account of her own merits or excellency, but wholly by the merits of Christ; she is ac­counted righteous, by his righteousness imput­ed; acquitted from the guilt of sin, by the vir­tue of his atonement; made holy by the sanc­tification of his spirit; otherwise she could not be acceptable to God. Hence it is, we are said to 'Be made accepted in the beloved,' Eph. i. 6. The prayers of all Saints are said to ascend, with the incense of Christ's merit, see Rev. viii, 3, 4. However it may be, that some sinners expect acceptance with God, on account of their own excellencies and virtue of their good deeds (as it is certain they have no dependence upon, or trust in the merits of Christ) yet it may be presumed, that the Saints, or the living members of Christ, (acting in character) have no dependence upon any goodness or merit of their own, to recom­mend them to the divine favour; nor indeed, do they so much as desire acceptance with God, either of their persons or services, but by the merits of Christ; because in no other way, can God, consistently with the honor of his divine, perfections, accept of them: And as they love the divine honor, they cannot in any other way, desire acceptance. This, in one view, is the true Church of Christ, viz. She is alive; all the members in this Church, are living members of Christ; they live, by Christ living in them: The life is a spiritual and divine life: The same kind of life is in every true member of this mys­tical body of Christ; as is in the divine head: From this divine head, spritual life is commu­nicated [Page 25] to every true▪ member in this building; the foundation and the superstructure are alike. The essence of this life, consists in holiness or divine love. This house (the Church) is built upon a rock, and built with living Stones; there­fore no storms can overthrow it: The blowing winds, and driving rains, how fiercely soever they beat upon it, cannot overturn it: No storms of persecution; no trial or temptation nor yet the gates of hell can overcome it.

Not one of these living Stones, shall ever be jostled from its foundation; not one can ever be moved out of its place; nor one Stone sepe­rated from another, in this building; for they are cemented together by an indissoluble union: And the cement that holds them together, is divine love, which never fails. Charity never faileth: This is a Royal Priesthood, whose busi­ness is to offer up spiritual sacrifices; which are holy and acceptable to God, by the merits of Christ; by which she is distinguished from all others: None of all the human race besides, can be compared to her in these respects; no o­ther can offer such sacrifices: The sacrifices of the rest of mankind, are carnal and dead; as dif­ferent as those offered by Cain and Able; but the sacrifices offered by this Royal Priesthood, are spiritual and holy, pleasing and acceptable to God; in which he smells a sweet savour, being perfumed with the most costly incense; the pre­cious merits, righteousness and atoning blood of God, Acts xx. 28. Thus I have endeavoured to give you a plain description of the true Church of Christ; agreeable to our text.