[2.] With patience, enduring all the hardships and difficulties that ■we meet with by the way. The good ground is described to be the good and honest heart, ' That bringeth forth fruit with patience,' Luke viii. 15. The other grounds brought forth fruit, but they did not bring forth fruit with patience ; the stony ground was impatient of afflictions, the thorny ground impatient of the delay of the reward. They that have a deep sense of the other world can tarry God's leisure : Heb. vi. 12, ' Be ye followers of them who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises.' Many troubles and dangers will attend a holy course, loss of estate, slanders of the wicked, hazards of life ; but all these things we must endure, and submit to our trial, else our faith will never be found to praise and honour.
Secondly, It is applied to the Thessalonians, ' Because our testimony among you was believed.' As if he had said, Among which number I assuredly place you; that which is said of all believers belongeth to you ; for you are of that number, for you have believed our testimony.
Doct. That those that truly and sincerely believe the apostle's testi-
VER. 10.] SERMONS UPON 2 THESSALONIANS I. 279
mony concerning God's good-will to sinners in Christ, are sure to have the honour and glory which he will bestow upon his servants at the last day.
To explain this point to you.
1. I suppose, and take for granted, that general promises may and ought to be applied to particular persons, rightly qualified, for other- wise the promises were in vain ; they must be applied to some or none ; if not to these, to none. I distinguish between an inviting offer and an assuring promise. The inviting offer is universal to all, and puts in no exception against any to exclude them from the grace offered, if they will fulfil the condition ; and they must not exclude themselves ; as John iii. 16, ' Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life/ If you will repent and believe, the benefit may be yours as well as others'. Now this must be applied and taken as sent to us : Acts xiii. 26, ' To you is this word of salvation sent.' You must take it home to yourselves, for God promiseth and offereth you pardon and life if you will believe in Christ ; this is to excite you, not to assure you. But then there is an assuring promise, which doth put all those that are qualified into the number of those that have obtained par- don and life by Christ, and give them confidence of their good estate, as all those places which do describe the heirs of salvation ; as John i. 12, * As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name;' John v. 24, ' He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life ; ' and the like. Those promises suppose a qualification and per- formance of duty by the person to whom the promise is made ; before we can be certain of our own interest and future enjoyment, we must not only perform the duty and have the qualification, but must certainly know that we have done that which the promise requireth, and are duly qualified. If it be so, then we not only apply the promise by way of excitement, but by way of assurance, and conclude with the apostle, 2 Tim. iv. 8, ' Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- ness.' Of this sort is the present application to the Thessalonians. The apostle supposeth the sincerity of their faith: if Christ will be glorified in his saints, and admired in all that believe, he will be glori- fied in you, admired in you, because our testimony among you was be- lieved.
2. That the great test of christians is believing ; for the promises run everywhere in this strain : Mark xvi. 16, ' He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned ; ' and John iii. 36, ' He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.' Why? Because the gospel, which is God's powerful means to recover us out of the apostasy, is firstly and mainly received by faith. Before we can give up ourselves to the Son of God, and submit to his healing methods, we must believe him ; and there all things are so supernatural, both as to the person of the Eedeemer, and his offices and benefits, that we cannot own him in that quality, nor receive his doctrine, nor obey his laws, nor depend with any assur- ance on his promises, without faith. Therefore when a lost sinner, that lieth under the wrath of God due to him for his former sins.
280 SERMONS UPON 2 THESSALONIANS I. [SER. IX.
would enter his plea and claim, and put in for a share in everlasting happiness and salvation, he must undergo this trial, whether he do believe in Christ, yea or no ; for this is his entrance into Christianity, and to believe is to become a christian.