EVERY man, who has any sense of the value of his soul, and any regard to its eternal inte­rest, must be convinced of the necessity of some sure and certain foundation, for peace, comfort, and hope, with respect to his future state: The soul is so precious, that nothing can be a proper founda­tion for hope concerning its salvation, but one that is firm and stedfast, one that is laid by GOD him­self, one that will endure the severest trials, and that will stand when every thing else will fall. He is represented as a foolish man, who built his house on the sand; but he is called wise, who built upon the Rock, and that Rock is CHRIST.

It is also a matter of great importance, that Chris­tians should learn to distinguish between the true ground of hope, and every thing else which has any connexion with it, or dependence upon it: For want of this, many a true Christian has been subject to great uneasiness of mind, and has deprived him­self of much comfort, which he might have enjoyed, [Page 4] if he had had a clear and distinct idea of what he ought solely to build upon. We are very apt to mistake the evidences of our interest in CHRIST, for the foundation of our hope; and because we see much imperfection in the evidences, we are apt to think there is imperfection in the foundation: Whereas the foundation is perfect, while the superstructure is very defective; and by a due attention to this dis­tinction, we might enjoy great comfort and peace of mind, even when our evidences are very dark and perplexed.

The Apostle in our context, compares Christians to a building, "YE are GOD's building," the foundation of which is JESUS CHRIST. "Every man" is building on this foundation; but the Apos­tle's direction is, "Let every man take heed how he builds thereon." The foundation is the most im­portant part: There is but one, and no man can lay another, that will stand. When he has begun on the true foundation, then let him take heed how he builds; for there are precious and vile materials, which, imperfect as we are, we are very apt to blend together. There are "gold, silver and precious stones," by which are meant divine truths in the heart, forming the graces and virtues of the Christian character, the genuine fruits of faith and acts of obe­dience to the gospel. And there are "wood, hay and stubble," by which are meant false notions, mis­guided zeal, and erroneous conduct in religion, su­perstition, enthusiasm and human infirmity. These things are too often mixed with the genuine fruits of religion, even in those whom we have reason to hope are true Christians. But there is a day coming when "every man's work will be tried as with fire," then these imperfect and corrupt mixtures will be [Page 5] burnt, and the man who had them will suffer loss, a loss however which he will have no reason to regret; because he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire, i. e. as "a brand plucked out of the burning." But if any man's work shall abide the trial, he shall re­ceive a reward, from that impartial and all-penetra­ting Judge, who "shall try every man's work of what sort it is." This I take to be the meaning of the Apostle in our text and context. ^* He would [Page 6] have us take heed that we build on the true founda­tion, for God has laid but one, and no man can lay another. Yet as it is too evident that many persons, and some who call themselves Christians, are either building on an imperfect foundation, or else mis­taking the foundation, for some part of the super­structure; I shall endeavour, in discoursing on this subject,

I. To shew that JESUS CHRIST is the only Foundation, on which we can build with safety.

II. To point out the weakness and insufficiency of other things which we may mistake for the Foundation.

First, I am to shew, that JESUS CHRIST is the only Foundation, on which we can build with safety.

The Christian life is here compared to a building raised on a foundation; to a building not yet finish­ed, but which is growing up by degrees, to an holy temple in the Lord. A foundation is in its nature fixed and immoveable, composed of the firmest ma­terials, laid with great care and strength, so as to bear the structure, without any danger of its falling or sinking. Such a foundation is CHRIST, as he is de­scribed by the Prophet; ‘Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cor­ner-stone, a sure foundation.’ (Isa. xxviii. 16.) When he is said to be a foundation, the meaning is, that on his account alone, we can hope for pardon and eternal life: And this will appear if we consider the dignity of his person, the depth of his humilia­tion, and the glorious testimony of God to the per­fection of his work.

The dignity of his Person consisted in his being the Son of God. The name whereby he is called is [Page 7] "Wonderful," so wonderful, that as he himself tells us, "No man knoweth the Son but the Father." The Apostle Paul, who had the most elevated and comprehensive idea of the divine nature and govern­ment that any mortal ever had, has informed us, that by this glorious Person, whom he stiles ‘the image of the invisible GOD, the first born of every crea­ture, were all things created, which are in heaven, and which are in earth, visible and invisible;’ the Angels in their various ranks and orders, which he thus reckons up, ‘Thrones, Dominions, Principali­ties and Powers;’ and not only that all things were created by him, but for him, and for this reason he is stiled "the heir of all things," and "Lord of all." The whole creation being his own work, is his own property, and inheritance. No change or revolution could come to pass in his creation, without serving in some way to manifest his glory. Among the creatures which he endowed with rational powers and freedom of will, some of the superior order, abusing their natural liberty, ‘kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, and are reserved in ever­lasting chains, under darkness, to the judgment of the great day.’ This is all which is revealed to us, concerning the defection, or revolt of those supe­rior beings; and perhaps we should never have been made acquainted with so much as this, if there had not been some connexion between that event, and our own apostacy. For the prince of those fallen spirits was the instrument of spreading ruin and mi­sery in this world: He seduced our first parents to join him in rebellion against their Maker; and thus brought mankind into a state of sin.

To recover from ruin, that part of his creation which had been thus seduced, the glorious Son of [Page 8] God was pleased to become a Mediator, with his Fa­ther. Divine justice required that the guilty should be punished; but the mercy and compassion of our Emmanuel, led him to undertake the work of our redemption, by making himself a sacrifice for us. And because it was impossible that he should perform this work, in his pre-existent state; because it was impossible that he should suffer death, without a body to suffer in; therefore God his Father prepared him a body, in the womb of a virgin, which body was "the seed of Abraham."

We are then to consider that glorious and exalted Being, who "was in the form of GOD," who was "in the beginning with GOD," and "was GOD"; whose comprehensive powers were equal to the crea­tion and government of the heavens and earth, re­duced to the condition of an human infant, one of the most weak and helpless beings in the world; all those vast and amazing faculties which he possessed in the days of eternity, inclosed within the scanty limits of an infant mind, to be opened and unfolded by de­grees. He who ‘was made better than the angels, and obtained by inheritance a more excellent name than they,’ was "made lower than the angels." He who was that wisdom which ‘the Lord possessed in the beginning of his way,’ was reduced to such a state as to grow in wisdom as he grew in stature. He who was Lord and Governor of heaven and earth, became subject to Joseph and Mary, and lived in strict obedience to their commands. He "in whom were hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," condescended to sit in the midst of the Jewish doctors, asking them questions, and hearing with attention their answers. He who was Lord of the angels, and against whom some of them rebelled, was beset with [Page 9] the temptations of that soul spirit, the leader of their rebellion, was vexed with his impudent suggestions, and carried about by him from place to place, that he might be tempted in a variety of ways, and that the temptations might have the greatest force. He who was King of kings, and Lord of lords, put on the form of a servant. He who was happy in the joys of eternity, condescended to weariness, hunger and thirst, grief and distress of mind. He who knew the heart of man, was betrayed by a false friend. He who had "all power in heaven and earth," and was able to "rule in the midst of his enemies," was carried before the tribunal of an hypocritical high-priest, and the judgment-seat of a time-serving governor. He who is "the faithful witness," was falsely accused, and ‘the Judge of all’ was unjustly condemned. ‘The Prince of Life’ was hanged on a tree, and gave himself up to Death. His holy soul was penetrated with a most deep and affecting sense of the honor of his Father's law, the dignity of his character, the rectitude of his government, the justice and necessity of those suffer­ings which he was entering upon, and at the same time filled with the most tender love and compassion to mankind. Whilst all these views were present in his mind, and whilst at the same time he reflected on the eternal love of God to him, ‘the glory which he had with him before the foundation of the world,’ and the unspeakable happiness he had enjoyed ‘in the bosom of the Father, rejoicing always before him,’ he had now the gloomy prospect of being "cut off," and "made a curse:" and can we wonder, that, with these views and prospects in his mind, he should pray the Father to ‘glorify him again, with that glory which he had with him before the world was?’ This prayer was made in full faith and confidence; and we are assured, that "he was heard in that he feared."

[Page 10]God was pleased to give the most public, solemn testimony to the perfection of his righteousness, and the acceptance of his sacrifice, by raising him from the dead, and exalting him to his own right hand in the heavenly places. Being thus ‘made perfect through suffering, he is become the author of eternal salva­tion to them that obey him.’ Upon this foundation, namely, the once offered sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God is reconciling the world to himself. Upon this foundation the Church is built. "Christ is the stone which the Jewish builders rejected, and which is now become the head of the corner; neither is there salva­tion in any other, for there is no other name given under heaven, among men, whereby we must be saved.

I now proceed to the second thing proposed, viz.

II. To point out the weakness and insufficiency of other things, which we may mistake for our foun­dation.

1. There are some who build their religion only on the foundation of nature; on the natural notions which they have of God, his attributes and works. They have learnt that there is a God, that he is infi­nitely wise, holy, just and good; and from these cha­racters of God, they infer the duties of reverence, love, and obedience to the dictates of that law which he has written on the heart. These primary truths and duties of religion are all contained in the Gospel, and make an essential part of it; but this foundation is defective, because it admits not of a Mediator. It will do for innocent, but not for sinful creatures. This foundation is defective, because it has no sacrifice for sin, and consequently no promise of forgiveness. The religion of nature will teach us a great part of our duty; but it will not shew us how we can be ac­cepted [Page 11] of God, when we are pressed with a sense of guilt; it cannot take that burden off from the con­science, and give us hope toward God, when we view ourselves as sinners in his sight. This foundation alone, therefore, will not do for sinful creatures to build upon, especially for those who have a better re­vealed to them. If they neglect the true foundation, which God has revealed in the scriptures, and build only on this, they shew that they ‘love darkness rather than light.’

Whatever knowledge of God may be deduced from the works of nature and providence, yet it is certain, that by Jesus Christ there is the most full and glorious discovery made of the divine perfections. ‘In him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead, bodily;’ so that they who saw him, saw the Father who dwelt in him. God did "in very deed dwell with man," though ‘the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him.’ "God was manifested in the flesh," and displayed his glorious perfections in human nature; yet in such a mild, easy and familiar view, as to at­tract the love, as well as veneration of those who "beheld his glory." And by the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, we are led to such a knowledge of him, as will be the eternal life of our souls; a know­ledge which is begun here, and will be increasing through eternity. Let the Deist then boast of his natural knowledge of God, and throw the Mediator out of his religion; the Christian will believe, that ‘there is ONE God, and ONE Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus;’ and in this Me­diator, he will see more of God, and be more happy in his acquaintance with him, than the most enlight­ened Deist can without him.

2. An outward profession stands, for some people, [Page 12] instead of a foundation. They flatter themselves, that because they have been baptized into the name of Christ, or because they have entered into the number of visible Christians, or because they are regular in their attendance on the public worship and ordi­nances, therefore it will be well with them hereafter. There are not many who will own this; for they would be ashamed to have it known, that they have no better foundation; but yet they vainly presume, in their hearts, that the respect, which they outwardly shew to religion, will commend them to God, as wor­thy objects of his savour: They think themselves the friends of Christ, because they eat and drink in his presence, and call him Lord, Lord, and appear among his disciples. Such a conduct as this, is as ab­surd, as if we should mistake the outward covering and ornaments of a building for the foundation. An outward profession, an attendance on religious wor­ship and ordinances, are but the ornamental part of the christian character; they are indeed duties be­coming a Christian, for it is our duty to be, and to appear to be, the disciples of Christ; but if we have no real religion within, to what purpose do we put on the appearance of it? Why do we attempt to de­ceive men, when God knows our heart? What will it avail to plead, that we have eaten and drunken in the presence of Christ, when he shall say, ‘I know you not, depart from me, ye that work iniquity?’

3. Some people build their religion on a partial view of Christ, as a redeemer. They believe that he died to redeem us from the punishment of sin in the future world; but they have no idea of being re­deemed from the power of sin in this world: They will readily trust in him as a saviour from the wrath of God, but they are not willing to submit to him as [Page 13] a King and Lord, and bow their necks to his yoke: They would be glad to be saved by him, but they are not willing to be ruled by him: They entertain very high thoughts of the mercy of God towards sin­ners, and the merits of Christ's blood, to deliver them from destruction; but they have no regard to the duty which God requires of them; no readiness to the work of mortification and self-denial; no dis­position to do any thing in religion, but to entertain a blind hope, and a dead faith in Christ, as a partial redeemer. They may think they are building on the true foundation, because they are in raptures with Christ and free grace; but it is a Christ of their own making, and not the Christ of God; it is grace of their own devising, and not the grace of the Gospel; for ‘the grace of God, which bringeth salvation, teacheth us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godlily in the world;’ and Christ ‘gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.’ Those therefore who pretend to build on Christ, and yet have no desire to be redeemed from iniquity, no desire to deny them­selves, to take up their cross and follow him; no desire to live soberly, righteously and godlily in the world; whatever high notions they may entertain of Christ and free grace, are yet strangers to the true foundation of christian hope.

4. There are others who go on the contrary ex­treme, and fancy that they shall be saved because of their good works, without any just regard to the perfect obedience of the Mediator. They are exact in per­forming some of the duties of morality, honest in their dealings, faithful to their promises, and kind to the poor; or, they are punctual in their devotion and [Page 14] observation of the Sabbath, and in supporting the preaching of the Gospel; or, they are sober, chaste and temperate in their behaviour. These are all good works, good in themselves, for they are com­manded duties, and have a tendency to do good, and God forbid that any man should, by any means, be discouraged from the performance of them. But then we should remember, that these are not the foun­dation on which we are to build; they ought rather to be accounted a part of the superstructure. Good works are proper materials in the spiritual building, but they should be put in their proper place, and not laid as the foundation of our hope of eternal life. They are, when rightly performed, fruits and evidences of our faith in Jesus Christ, and our regard to his authority; but they are not the ground of our hope, because they are imperfect. If we would be justified by our obe­dience, it must be perfect. None but a perfect righ­teousness can be allowed or accepted by God, as a ground of justification in the eye of his law; and where is the man who dare look the law of God in the face, and say, " I am righteous?" If there be any defect in our obedience, be it ever so small, that de­fect will mar the whole. " If we keep the whole law, and offend in one point, we are guilty of all." But how often does it happen, that they who expect to be sa­ved by their works, and who glory in their observance of some of the rules of morality, are as remarkably deficient in others? Are there not some, who are scrupulous in their dealings, exact to their promises and the payment of their debts, yet are given to pas­sionate and profane language, or the lust of unclean­ness? Are there not some who are nice in their ob­servation of the Sabbath, and the forms of devotion, and yet will make no scruple to slander their neigh­bours, [Page 15] raise false reports, entertain groundless jealou­sies and evil surmisings, abuse well-meaning people, and sow the seeds of discord among brethren? Are there not some, who are sober, chaste and temperate, who keep their tongues from slander and reproach, and yet will cheat and over-reach in their trade, and take advantage of the ignorance, or necessity, or care­lessness of others, to advance their own interest? Few people are entirely consistent and uniform in their re­gard to the duties of morality; and if they make their foundation of such imperfect, ill-joined materials as these, they have but a poor bottom to stand upon, and their building will fall into ruin.

As Christ is the true foundation of our hope to­ward God, so he is the foundation of all that moral­ity, and those good works, which will be accepted and rewarded at the last day. We are commanded to do all that we do, ‘in the name of Christ, and to the glory of God by him;’ and if it be so done, it will be accepted and rewarded for his sake. The grace of God will accept and reward the obedience of believ­ers, for the sake of Him who has ‘fulfilled all righ­teousness,’ and by "whose obedience we are ‘made righteous.’ Christ has all power given to him in heaven and earth; power to dispense rewards and punishments, to every man, according to his works; and when he shall come in the glory of his Father, he will make this distribution, with the most exact dis­cernment, and the strictest impartiality.

5. Some people are very fond of building upon their experiences. They think they have experienced such things, in the course of their past lives, as de­nominate them the favourites of heaven, and they have great confidence arising from such a persuasion. But, if what they have experienced is false and delu­sive, [Page 16] their confidence is in the highest degree dan­gerous; and, if their experiences are ever so real and well-grounded, yet they must be carefully distin­guished from the foundation, for they are no part of it, but are rather a part of the superstructure which is built upon it. And here I shall be more large and particular, because this is a very essential part of Christian knowledge; and an exact attention to it will greatly tend to remove difficulties, and clear up obscurities, with which many good people are troubled.

By false experiences, I mean those exercises of the mind, which exist only in the imagination or passions, and never truly affect the heart, or have a right in­fluence on the moral conduct. Such, for instance, is the pleasure which we feel in hearing some particular sorts of preaching; where, the mere force and energy of the speaker's voice, the gracefulness of his oratory, or the smoothness of his periods, give a pleasing mo­tion to the animal spirits. Or, those workings of the passions, either of admiration, fear, grief, joy or pity, which are excited by an attention to the word preached, and which go off as soon as the sound is out of our ears. Or, those may be termed false ex­periences, which consist in the lively working of the fancy, either sleeping or waking; such as seeing sights, hearing voices, feeling impulses and impressions, which we do not know how to account for, and so imagine them to be from the Spirit of God. When a person forsakes the Word of God, as his rule, and gives him­self up to the wild wanderings of his imagination, under a notion that he is immediately dictated to by the Spirit of God, he is in a fair way to run into all manner of confusion and error, both of principle and conduct. Or, we may call those false experiences, [Page 17] which are grounded on the sudden impressions of texts of scripture on the mind, without any regard to the meaning and design of the sacred writers. Truth may indeed be brought to the mind in this way by the Spirit of God, and he may use the words of scrip­ture, which are his own words, to convey truth to the mind; but before we can determine whether such impressions are from him or not, we should consult the scriptures, and be sure that we understand those texts, which are so impressed, according to their just sense and meaning; for we know that the devil him­self has quoted scripture, by scraps and pieces, to fa­vour his temptations; as he did to Christ, when he would have had him cast himself down from the pin­nacle of the temple. And we should always be sure that we pay more regard to the truth itself, than to the sudden and extraordinary manner of its coming into our mind. If we have a regard to the truths and commands of God's word, it is of no great importance, whether they come into our mind by reading, by hearing, by recollection, or by sudden impression: But if we regard sudden impressions, though made in the very words of scripture, as a sign of the distin­guishing favour of God toward us, and make use of them, to uphold a notion that we are admitted to more intimate communion with him, than other per­sons, who take pains to search the scripture, and ac­quire their knowledge more slowly and regularly, we have a sad proof of the blinding power of spiritual pride and presumption. In short, all those workings of the imagination, all those flights of passion, all those impulses and impressions, which tend to raise our opinion of ourselves, as if we were higher in the favour of God than others; to make us look with contempt on those whom we imagine to be not ad­mitted [Page 18] to such familiarity with our Maker; to make us trust in our own attainments, and neglect the in­stituted means of divine knowledge; all such things, call them experiences, manifestations, or what you will, are vain and deceitful, and as worthless in them­selves as the righteousness which Paul had before his conversion, and which he accounted but "as dung," when he came to know the grace of God in truth. ^†

But there is another kind of experiences, which are real and well-grounded, and yet are to be distinguish­ed from the foundation of the Christian's hope. For instance, every one, who is acquainted with the re­ligion of Jesus Christ, has had experience of the wick­edness of his own heart; he is convinced, by expe­rience, that there is in him no good thing; he has seen that his sins have separated between God and him, and that it is not in his power to remove the guilt of them, or secure the favour and mercy of God toward him. How absurd would it be to rely on such an experience as this, for the foundation of his hope? Is not the natural tendency of it to take him off from all self-dependence, and lead him to Christ, in whom alone he can find that righteousness, on which he may safely build his hope of pardon and life? And indeed this is the true nature and ten­dency of all gracious and spiritual experiences, to shew us our own emptiness and insufficiency, and to make us prize and value Christ above all things. But our experience of the worthiness and excellency of Christ, and of his suitableness to be our saviour, is not the reason of his being so; he is so, whether we experience it or not; he is altogether lovely in him­self, whether we perceive his beauty and loveliness or [Page 19] not; he is infinitely worthy in himself, or we could not perceive him to be so; he has "all fulness" dwelling in him, or we could not ‘receive of his ful­ness:’ There is an essential glory, dignity and loveliness in his character, and a suitableness in him to be our saviour, which is the ground and reason of all exercise of trust in him, and love to him; and our belief of it unites us to him, and engages us to trust in him, to love and serve him.

However, these experiences, though real, spiritual, and delightful, yet are liable to great imperfection and interruption; and for this reason, if there were no other, they are not a suitable foundation for our hope. There is no Christian, however highly favour­ed of God with a sense of his love and grace, and with a sight of the glory, excellency and loveliness of Je­sus Christ, but has been forced to experience, on the contrary, the hidings of God's face, and the withdraw of those comfortable manifestations of the love of God; especially when he has been surprized into some sin, the guilt of which hangs heavy on his soul, and renders him offensive to an holy God. In such a circumstance, can it be any just ground of consola­tion to the Christian, to reflect upon his past experi­ences? Can he patch up a righteousness out of them, in which he may appear pure before an heart-search­ing God? Will old experiences quiet his mind, under a sense of new guilt? Will they purge his conscience from dead works? Rather, will they not serve to ag­gravate his guilt? Will he not be ashamed of his in­gratitude to that God, who has so highly savoured him? Will he not see that he has violated the strongest obligations? Will he not be ashamed of his baseness and vileness? And will he have peace or rest in his mind, till he has humbled himself be­fore [Page 20] God, and begged his pardoning mercy? And on what ground will he ask, or can he look for mercy? Certainly, not from any thing that has heretofore passed in his mind; for that which is an aggravation of his offence cannot be the ground of his forgiveness; but he must, he will look to the atoning blood of the Lamb of God, shed for him ages before he was born; and thence he will derive all his hope and comfort.

Moreover, supposing that a Christian may, either by the natural decay of his rational faculties, or the power of a melancholy habit, lose all sense and re­membrance of his past experiences, or be inclined to call in question the reality of them; in either of these cases, what must he do? If experiences are the ground of his hope, his hope is gone, and he must abandon himself to despair. But God has provided better for us than this. He has provided "strong consolation" for them that fly ‘for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before them;’ this refuge is always open; and though a Christian has fled to it ever so often, still he may flee to it again. If he should lose all comforta­ble sense of having done so before, yet the doors of everlasting mercy are wide open to receive him; and if he comes, "he shall in no wise be cast out." ‘The foundation of God standeth sure;’ so sure, that none of the changes, darknesses and perplexities of our minds can remove it.

Christian experiences are so far from being the proper foundation of our hope, that though they should be all lost to our remembrance, yet the foun­dation of our hope will remain, and we may have recourse to it at all times, as much as we had at first, and derive the same comfort and support from it. The most experienced Christian in the world has no better, no other foundation for his hope than he had [Page 21] the first moment he became a believer: He knows there is no other name given under heaven, whereby he can be saved, but the name of Christ; and though he has had ever so bright and clear evidence of his union to him, and interest in him, it does not add any thing to the strength of his foundation; it does not add any thing to the virtue and merit of that blood which cleanseth from all sin, of that atonement which was the original ground of his reconciliation to God: He still looks on himself as an unworthy sinner, and puts his whole trust in that ‘righteousness which delivereth from death.’ The result of all his ex­periences is to abase himself in his own eyes, and to exalt Christ in his esteem; he finds him exceedingly precious, as the author and finisher of his faith, and through him alone he hopes for acceptance before the presence of a righteous God.

We see then, that experiences are to be distin­guished from the foundation; they are no part of it; but rather arise out of it; and the use of them is this; they are, in conjunction with acts of obedience, evi­dences of our being built on the true foundation. I say, in conjunction with acts of obedience, because, without obedience to the commands of Christ, we certainly are not his disciples; and if our experiences are not accompanied with obedience, they are not true nor genuine; but both together serve to evi­dence, that we are built on the foundation; they are both fruits of the Spirit of Christ, and ‘hereby do we know that we are of the truth, by the spirit which he hath given us.’

Let me now assist you in making some IMPROVE­MENT of this Discourse.

And, in the first place, I would caution you against making a wrong use of it. Do not hastily conclude, [Page 22] from what you have heard, that all who have not such clear ideas of the distinction between the foun­dation and the superstructure, are building on a wrong foundation. Some very sincere Christians may have very indistinct notions of these things. They know that they must believe in Christ; they know that they must obey him, and they know they must have an experimental acquaintance with relig­ion, or they cannot be saved: And they are the sub­jects of this faith, and this obedience, and this expe­rimental knowledge, and yet, not being able to dis­tinguish between them, they blend them all together as the foundation of their hope, which is thereby greatly interrupted and obscured. But as our gra­cious Redeemer knows ‘how to have compassion on the ignorant, and such as are out of the way;’ so we should exercise our charity toward all those who appear to love and obey the Gospel, though, at the same time, they appear to be but "babes in Christ," and "unskilful in the word of righteousness."

Secondly, We should improve this subject to clear up the doubts and darknesses which Christians are often troubled with, for want of attending to this distinction between the foundation and the super­structure.

When Christians look within themselves, they see such remainders of corruption, such imperfection in holiness, such a mixture of sin with their best duties and brightest enjoyments, that they are ready to question their own sincerity; they are afraid that they are building on a wrong foundation, and their peace and comfort are greatly interrupted: This makes them drag heavily along, and robs them of that satis­faction which they might enjoy by a direct contempla­tion of the objects of faith and hope. This doubting, [Page 23] hesitating frame of mind is very common with Chris­tians on a sick bed, and is much increased by the weakness of their bodies, and the suggestions of the great adversary, who loves to vex and distress, though it is not in his power to destroy, the sheep of Christ. But if Christians would learn to distinguish between the foundation, and the superstructure which is raised upon it, this would help to remove, or prevent the darkness they are troubled with. And there is a clear distinction between them; for the one is perfect, and the other is imperfect; the foundation is the work of God alone, and is therefore absolutely perfect, un­changeable and immoveable; the other is the joint work of God's Spirit and themselves; and is, as the Apostle describes it in our context, a mixture of gold, silver and precious stones, with wood, hay and stubble; a mixture of spiritual graces and virtues with human errors, weaknesses and infirmities. Now if we look among this mixture, we shall find some things good and valuable, and some things vile, mean and abominable; but nothing fit to rely upon, nothing that can give us hope and confidence toward God. If we look over our devotional exercises, we shall find some degree of seriousness, of love to God, of confi­dence in Christ, and submission to the divine will; and therewith we shall find a mixture of pride and vanity, wanderings of heart, carelessness and formal­ity. If we look over our good works, we shall find some things just and charitable, honest and of good report; and we shall find a mixture of passion, or prejudice, or selfishness, or vain-glory, among these. If we look over our experiences, we may recollect some seasons of great pleasure and delight in God and the things of religion; we may find that we have, by divine grace, been enabled to resist and overcome [Page 24] very strong temptations; that we have enjoyed much light and comfort in the word of God; much support in affliction, and the like: And on the other hand, we shall find that we have had experience of the de­ceitfulness of our hearts; too easy compliance with the alluring vanities of the world; a restive, repining disposition of mind, and a want of submission to God's will. There is no Christian but will find such a mixture of purity and impurity, sin and duty, in his own heart and life. But let him remember, that such a mixture as this is not the foundation, it is the superstructure which is built upon it, and which will be tried with fire; the wood, hay and stubble will be burnt up; and all that is worth preserving, will be preserved. The foundation is quite a different thing; it is nothing less than the perfect obedience of the Son of God, the "everlasting righteousness" which he hath "brought in" for the justification of the guilty: This is a thing which cannot be moved or shaken by any changes that pass in our minds; if our devotion, our obedience, our experience be ever so imperfect, yet the foundation of God is perfect; the everlasting righteousness of the Redeemer is as firm as the throne of God; the anchor of our hope is ‘within the vail, whither the Fore-runner is entered, having obtained eternal redemption for us.’ Here then must we look for hope and comfort; here is the "strong consolation" which God has provided for the heirs of salvation: Behold the Lamb of God! turn your eyes off from yourselves, and look to Jesus, whom your sins have pierced! Behold him giving his life a ransom for you! Behold him rising, and re­assuming that life which he laid down, carrying hu­man nature to heaven, and seating it on the right hand of God! and behold him there, making con­tinual [Page 25] intercession for you! Draw your comfort from this source, and you need not fear drawing too much; there is enough to satisfy the most enlarged desires of your immortal souls. Let not a sense of your un­worthiness hinder you from enjoying this rich con­solation; for it is intended only for those who know themselves utterly unworthy; they only can receive it with a true relish; Gospel blessings are not bought and sold, they are freely given, and freely received, "without money and without price." Behold the grace of the giver, and esteem the gift for its worth and preciousness; take the comfort which it con­tains, and which is designed for you, and keep not yourselves in doubt and darkness. If you look with­in yourselves ever so long, ever so critically, you will find nothing there to be any foundation for comfort; you will there see enough to be a ground of condem­nation and despair; but if you look to Christ, you will see enough in him to give you hope and confi­dence toward God.

I doubt not there are many true Christians who are often perplexed with doubts and darkness about their spiritual state, because they see so much wickedness and imperfection in themselves; and yet, whenever they can happily get disengaged from themselves, and turn their eyes toward their Redeemer, can rejoice and delight in him, are perfectly satisfied with the plan of divine grace, and the method of salvation; and though they ‘walk in darkness, and see no light, can trust in the name of the Lord, and stay themselves on their God;’ and thus prove that they are built on the true foundation. The best way, therefore, to get rid of doubts and darkness, fears and scruples, is to go di­rectly to the foundation, and begin again, just as if we had never done any thing before, as if we were but [Page 26] just setting out in religion; and we shall then find the same comfort, arising from a view of Christ and his redemption, as we did at first; and as often as we get involved in darkness, do the same; ‘forget the things that are behind,’ leave the wood, hay and stubble to be burnt up, and take our comfort from the founda­tion, which is always fixed and immoveable.

Thirdly, What has been said may also be improved for the detection of hypocrisy. I do not mean, that we should detect the hypocrisy of one another, but of ourselves. Thus, we should examine what it is that we are building upon. Are we building on our out­ward profession of religion, our regular standing in the church, on the supposed goodness of our moral cha­racters, or our past experiences? if so, then we are mistaking our foundation; and the sooner we discover our mistake, the better it will be for us. Let me assist you a little in this self-examination.

Are you regular in your profession of religion and attendance on the means of instruction? Very well, this is your duty. Do you do it from a regard to Christ, and because he would have all his disciples make an open profession of their relation to him? Do you do it to shew that you are not ashamed of a cruci­fied Saviour, even in the midst of a crooked, perverse and scoffing generation? This is a duty you owe to Him, who hath redeemed you by his blood, who re­quires you to confess him before men, and has pro­mised to confess you before his Father and his angels. But if you are proud of your profession; if you look upon yourselves as superior to other persons who make not such a profession; if you despise them as persons who do not stand in so near a relation to God as you; if you are ready to say, ‘God, I thank thee that I am not as other men, nor as this publican,’ [Page 27] then your sacrifice is so tainted with pride, your pro­fession is such a bubble, and your heart is so rotten and deceitful, that God will look on you with the same contempt as you do on others; for he looks not at the outward appearance, but at the heart.

Again, Are you punctual and exact in the perform­ance of moral duties? Do you deal justly with all men, and shew mercy to the distressed? This is doing well. But are you consistent with yourselves in what you do? Have you regard to all God's commands? Do you perform secret duties? Do you pray to your Fa­ther who sees in secret? Do you give your alms so that your left hand knows not what your right hand does? Do you mortify secret lusts? Do you watch and guard against secret temptations? Do you aim to be spiritually minded? And do you do all this in a firm reliance on the grace of Christ, and the aid of his Spirit, desiring to approve yourselves faithful in the sight of Him who searches the heart? These are signs that you are building on the true foundation; your morality is of the nature of gold, silver and pre­cious stones, which will abide the devouring fire; and though you may have some mixture of wood, hay and stubble, yet that will be burnt up, and you will be saved. But if your morality is only outward; if you do works of justice or charity to be seen of men; if whilst your outside is fair, your hearts are impure; if you do not struggle with secret lusts; if you are not uniform and consistent in your obedience; if you perform one duty because it is convenient, or because it will get you a good name, and neglect another be­cause there is no outward advantage attending it; then your morality is but ‘a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal;’ it may indeed be of some benefit to mankind, and to yourself too, in outward respects; [Page 28] it may be best for the world and for your temporal interest, but you have but a very poor foundation to expect, that "our God, who is a consuming fire," will accept or reward it, in that day, ‘when the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is.’

Again, Have you had experiences? Do you re­member how you have been formerly wrought upon by the word of God? Have you been led to see the wickedness of your own heart? Have you been led to see yourself condemned, by the righteous sentence of God's law? Have you been led to see the way of escape from the wrath of God? And do you suppose you were enabled to ‘fly for refuge, and lay hold on the hope set before you?’ Perhaps you then expe­rienced such joy and satisfaction, that, in the first warmth of your affections, you were ready to forsake all for Christ, and even thought you could lay down your life for his sake; you were eager to profess your­self his disciple, and join with them that loved re­ligion; you loved the company of those who seemed most zealous; you loved to hear plain, practical, ex­perimental preaching; you loved to examine yourself by the marks which you read, or heard, from time to time, out of the word of God; and you were pleased when you found a correspondence in your own hearts thereto; so far it was well; this was a good beginning. But how is it now? How has it been ever since? Have you, ever since that time, been growing in your hatred of sin, and your love of ho­liness? Have you, ever since that time, been morti­fying your corrupt lusts? Have you, ever since that time, been guarding against the sin that easily besets you? Have you, ever since that time, been crucified to the world, and the world to you? Have you ex­perienced, and do you yet continue to experience, [Page 29] daily conflicts with your lusts? And when you are hard driven, and pressed by temptations, do you go to "the Captain of salvation," and beg him to make his strength perfect in your weakness? And do you experience "his grace to be sufficient for you," and that with every temptation, there is a way for your escape? You have lived some time in the world, and had doubtless some experience of the vanity of it, do you find that your heart is weaned from it? that your affections are more strongly set on heaven? You have doubtless met with afflictions, and what experience have you had in them? Do you find that "tribulation worketh patience?" Do you receive the discipline of God's providence with meekness, with submission to his will, with a child-like disposition? Do you rejoice in tribulation? and ‘count it all joy when you fall into divers trials?’ Are you glad that God tries you as gold is tried, that you may be puri­fied from the dross of corruption, and have greater evidence of your own purity? And are these experi­ences accompanied with a resolute self-denial? a per­severing obedience to the will of God? a regard to his glory and the good of mankind? Do you ‘deal justly, and love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?’ Do you "forgive men their trespasses," as you hope God will forgive yours? And after all that you have done, or can do, do you look upon yourself as an unprofitable servant, and patiently wait for your reward, till God shall please, of his free grace, through Christ, to give it to you? If so, these graces and ex­periences will prove you to be built on the true foun­dation; they are among the gold, silver and precious stones, which compose the spiritual building; but they are not your foundation; that is more precious still, for it is the tried stone, which God himself has [Page 30] laid in Zion. But if you are supporting yourself with a notion that you have had such and such experiences in time past, and are patching up a righteousness out of them; if you imagine you were once converted, and that all has been well with you since, though you have lived in the neglect of known duty, and the commission of known sin, without remorse of conscience, or design of amendment; if evil habits are gaining strength, and your corruptions are yet unmortified; if you are impatient of reproof, and unwilling to receive correction; if you are offended when your experiences are called in question; if you are angry with such preaching as serves to disturb the repose of your mind, and shake the foundation on which you are building; then all your pretended ex­periences are no better than "filthy rags," in which you are trying to hide your shame; they are but as a foundation of sand, and all that you build upon it will fall into ruin; and the sooner it falls, the better it will be for you. May God grant you wisdom to discover the weakness of your foundation, and lead you to the "Rock of Ages," on which alone you can build with any hopes of safety.

Finally, Let us be thankful to God for Jesus Christ, the only foundation which he has laid; and for the abundant evidence which he has given us of the di­vinity of his character, the perfection of his righ­teousness, the acceptance of his sacrifice, the preva­lence of his intercession, and the future glory of his kingdom. On him, as our foundation, let us build our faith, our hope, our profession, our obedience, and our experience. We must not pretend to hold the foundation, unless we are building thereon; for a foundation is of no use but to build upon. Having therefore begun at the right foundation, let us be [Page 31] careful that our structure consist of the best materials, and avoid, as much as possible, all impure and pe­rishable mixtures. And if we are building on this foundation, we shall have all his glorious perfections engaged for us; his wisdom to direct us, his righ­teousness to justify us, his power to defend us, and his grace to bestow on us a full reward—when he "shall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire." Then, our building, though imperfect, will abide the trial, all our errors and infirmities will be purged away, and our virtuous habits will be carried to perfection.

AMEN.