as from us, or for any thing in itself; nor doubting but He will accept of what we do, through the Mediation of His beloved Son, with "Whom He is well pleased," and in Whom He is pleased with what we do sincerely in His Name.

But that we may do any thing wholly in His Name, it is necessary also, that we do it to His glory: according to the rule that He hath given us by His Apostle, "Whether ye 1 Cor.10.31. eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." For what we do to the glory of the Lord Jesus, is done to the glory of Almighty God, the Lord Jesus being Himself God Almighty. Neither can we glorify God the Father but by the Son, Whom He hath sent into the world. on purpose that He may be glorified in Him, and "hath Phil. 2. 11. exalted Him at His Own right hand, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." And therefore as what we do in His Name, must be done for His glory, so whatsoever is done for His glory, is done to the glory of God the Father; which is the ultimate end of all His actions, and ought to be so of ours.

He who thus doth any thing in obedience to His command, and in faith on His promises for His assistance in the doing it, and for God's acceptance of it when it is done, and makes His glory the chief end of it; such a one may be truly said to do that thing in the Name of the Lord Jesus, in that it is both begun, continued, and ended in Him: to Whom be glory and honour for ever.

This will receive great light from the instances which we have in Holy Scripture, of such things as are more particularly commanded or affirmed to be done in the Name of the Lord Jesus; as where He Himself saith, " Where two or Matt.18.20. three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them." Whereby He hath signified His pleasure that all our religious assemblies should be held in His Name; that we should meet together as His Disciples, in obedience to Him our Lord and Master, to serve and worship Him with reverence and godly fear, and to exercise our faith in Him to enable us to perform that and all other duties acceptably to Him, and to God the Father by Him.

Elsewhere He saith, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My John 14. 14.

SERM.

CIX.

1 Tim. 2. 8.

Name, I will do it." Whereby He hath taught us, that as all our devotions, both public and private, are to be performed in His Name, so He will take care that we shall have whatsoever good thing we want, if we ask it in His Name, for His sake, Who hath merited all blessings for us, and by Whom alone we can have any; steadfastly believing that He will intercede, that we may have it: which thereJam. 1.6; fore is expressed also by our " praying in faith," and "without doubting." So for the Sacraments, He ordained and comMatt.28.19. manded that Baptism should be administered in "the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;" and therefore some Acts 19. 5. are said "to be baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus;" because it was done according to His institution and command. And in the institution of His Last Supper, He said, "This do in remembrance of Me," that we may always do it in His Name, and in memory of the death He suffered for us; and so exercise our faith in Him all along through the whole duty.

Luke 22.19.

Eph. 5. 20.

By his Apostle we are taught "to give thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ." And in my text, "Do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him." From whence we may learn, that giving thanks to God in His Name, is the same with doing it by Him. "It John 14. 6. is by Him only that we can go to God the Father," and it is only by Him that we can receive any mercy from Him; and therefore we must give thanks for all things we have, to God by Him, believing and acknowledging, that it is by Him only that we receive them; and then we are said to do it in His Name.

To this we may add the Censures of the Church, which St. 1 Cor. 5.4,5. Paul speaking of, saith, "In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ (when ye are gathered together, and my spirit) with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ; to deliver such an one unto Satan," &c. For here we see that Excommunication, or the casting a person out of the Church, and so delivering him unto Satan, is done in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and by His authority and power; which therefore is the most dreadful punishment that can be inflicted upon earth.

Again, St. Peter speaking of the devil and his tempta

tions, saith," whom resist steadfast in the faith;" implying, 1 Pet. 5.9. that we should resist him by faith in the Lord Jesus, and so

in His Name, as David went out against the giant "in the 1 Sam. 17. Name of the Lord of Hosts."

45.

I shall only give one instance more: The Lord Jesus said to his Disciples, "Whosoever shall give you a cup of water Mark 9. 41. to drink in my Name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward;" where He explains what He means by giving in His Name, by therefore giving it, because they belong to Him, and so for His sake, out of love and respect to Him: and whosoever thus gives any thing in His Name, they have His word that they they shall be rewarded for it.

From these instances we may see what it is properly to do any thing in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and what kind of things ought more particularly to be done in it: and therefore the words of my text are not to be so understood as if we were bound to have respect to Christ in every little indifferent thing that we do in the common affairs of this life, but in such things as are required in order to our Salvation by Him, or have any relation to them; such as we call good works. But that all such must be done in the Name of the Lord Jesus, is plain, not only in that it is here expressly commanded, but likewise in that we can neither do any thing well, neither can any thing we do be accepted of as good in the sight of God, without believing in Him for it, and so doing it in His Name.

Wherefore, as ever we desire to do any good in the world, we must be sure to observe this rule: we must look up to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, believing and trusting on Him to assist us with His grace in doing it, and then to perfume it with the incense of His Own Merits, that God may smell a sweet savour from it, or be well pleased with it: as when we pray to the Most High God in public or private, praise His glorious Name, or celebrate the memory of the death He suffered for us in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper; when we set ourselves to mortify any sin, or to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; when we undertake to convince and convert infidels or heretics, or to reprove and reform the vicious

K

CIX.

SERM. and profane; when we go about to instruct the ignorant, strengthen the weak, or comfort such as are troubled in mind, body, or estate; when we devote any part of our estates to the service of God and His Church, or give any thing to the relief of the poor and indigent; when we speak, or write, or do, or suffer any thing for the defence of the Gospel, and those eternal truths that are revealed in it: these, and such like, are great works; but that they may be good too, they must be done in the Name of the Lord Jesus; otherwise, how great soever they may seem to men, they will be of little esteem with God: whereas, if we do them in His Name, we shall not only be enabled by Him to go through with them, but Almighty God in Him will both accept and reward them.

[Phil. 3. 14.]

And indeed, this is the top of our holy religion; the highest pitch of true Christian piety and virtue, that we can arrive at in this life which therefore we ought to strive all we can to reach, and never leave till we have got to it; still pressing towards this mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus our Lord:" that having the said Lord Jesus always in our minds, and doing all things in His Name, we may always live, not as the offspring of the first Adam, but as the members of Christ, and in Him [Col. 1.12.] the children of the Most High God, and so be "meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light," through Him: to Whom be glory for ever.

SERMON CX.

THE MEDITATION OF GOD'S LAW, THE GOOD MAN'S DELIGHT.

PSALM i. 2.

But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and in His Law doth he meditate (or exerciseth himself) day and night.

21.

IN the Old Testament we find, that in former ages, when people had occasion and desire to know the mind of God in any difficult and doubtful case, they went to the High Priest, who asking counsel for them, " after the judgment of Urim Numb. 27. before the Lord," the Lord was pleased to give them such responses or answers, as clearly discovered His will in the case propounded; which were therefore called His Oracles: or else if God had raised up ever a Prophet among them, as He usually did in every age, they would go and consult him,

or "inquire of the Lord by him," and the Prophet, by Divine Jer. 21. 2. inspiration, would certainly tell them what the mind of the Lord was in the business they went about. Thus "God, at Heb. 1. 1. sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the Fathers by the Prophets." It was God Who spake by the Prophets, and therefore whatsoever they said as such, was likewise an oracle of God. And therefore St. Paul, speaking of the advantages which the Jews had above other people, he reckons this as the chief, "because unto them Rom. 3. 2. were committed the oracles of God."

We have no such kind of oracles to consult in these latter days, as they had; neither have we any occasion for them: for now that God hath spoken to us by His Son, and hath caused what He spake by Him and His Apostles, as well as what He had before spoken by the Prophets, to be committed to writing, and faithfully brought down and delivered to us,