8

receive of Chrift's fullness even grace for grace, and live upon Him as their Lord and Husband: he is their spiritual food, and cloathing; their wisdom, their ftrength, their riches, their joy, their fullness, their eternal portion. The Pfalmift, speaking of Chrift, faith, whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I defire befides thees Therefore Paul counted all things but lofs and dung, that he might win Chrift and be found in himt; who of GoD is made unto us wifdom, and righteousness, and fanctification, and redemption.

3 The Spirit of grace and of glory is given unto them; whofe office it is to cause them to hunger and thirst after Chrift and his falvation; to make them know him better, and love him more, to reveal Chrift in their hearts, with increafing clearness, and power, and glory; to make them day by day less conformable to this world, and more conformable to Chrift: to take of the things of Chrift, and fhew them unto their fouls, with special application, and affurance of their part and intereft in Chrift, and his great falvation; whereby be witnesses with their Spirits that they are the children of God .

I 4

4. GOD

* Pfal. Ixxiii. 25.

+ Phil, iii. 8.

Rom. viii. 16.

-God himself is their reconciled GoD and Father who works all these works in them, and loves them, i and giveth his Holy Spirit unto them thro' Chrift, i whofe righteousness God hath imputed to them; : and will not impute to them their fin. He hath': chosen theme in Christ, and will not cast them off; › for be bath found a ranfem for them. Chrift, who died for their fins, and rofe again, ever lives to make interceffion for them; and God himself hath juftified them in righteoufnefs. So that no accu fation can be valid, or of any force, against them?? before God; for the blood of Chrift, in whom they truft, cleanfeth them from all fin. In righteousness they are called, and juftified, and fanctified; and: fhall be eternally glorified: Nor can any thing befall them but God will make it work together for their good, Whoever is against them muft fall, for their fake; for God is for them, Chrift is for: them, and the Holy Ghoft is for them. reigns towards them, thro' righteousness, life, by Jefus Chrift, our Lord.

Thus grace.
unto eternal

Laftly, I fhall conclude with an application,

1. From what hath been faid, the felf-righteous" may know affuredly that his hopes are built upon a falfe foundation; and that the LORD hath rejected.

1

his confidences. Thou trufteft in thyself that thou art righteous, but God faith there is none righ teous, no not one, fave the man Christ Jefus only, and those who believe on him for righteousness therefore Satan and the pride of thy heart hath de ceived thee For, if a man think himself to be fomething when he is nothing, be deceiveth himself.

If thou fayeft, I do not entirely and altogether. trust in my own works, but in the mercy of God" alfo, thou art nevertheless deceived, and thy con fidence is vain, for the Scripture no where speaks of any fuch foundation for our hope towards GoD for God is infinitely juft, as well as merciful: When he proclaimed his great name to Mofes, he declared that, at the fame time that he was merciful and gracious, he would by no means clear the guilty. If thou fayeft again that thou trufteft alfo in Chrift to fupply thy defects, and help thy infirmities; that thou mayeft be faved partly by thy own works, and partly by the mercy of GOD, and partly by the merits of Chrift; thou art equally rejected of God, and thy foundation of hope will fail thee in the hour of trial: For God hath made no discovery of his mercy towards man but in Cbrift, and Gop bath laid him for the only and entire foundation of our hope of eternal life. Chrift, and him crucified: Jefus, and his righteousness;

• Gal. vi. 3.

is

is that alone whereon a finner can safely build his hope of eternal glory; if thou add any thing of thy own to it, thou rejecteft Christ as, all-fufficient to fave finners, and makeft God a liar, who faith, that he hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in bis Son, for by himself he purged our fins*: Isaiah also, fpeaking concerning him, faith, my own arm brought falvation unto me, and my righteousness it upheld me†. But think not that I attempt to diffuade thee from the practice of good works, far be it from me to do this; for he that doth not righteousness is not of God, neither be that loveth not his brother: GoD alfo hath created his people in Christ Jefus unto good works, which he hath before ordained, that we should walk in them: This fhews thy prefumption, and vain hope, O Sinner! who takeft no heed to walk in the right ways of the LORD, in righteousness and holinefs of life; but, on the contrary, conformest thyfelf to the course of this present evil world, according to the lufts thereof: know affuredly therefore that thou alfo, if thou repent, and turn not from the error of thy ways, fhalt perish in thine iniquity; for GoD is a fin-hating, and fin-avenging, as well as, a fin-pardoning GOD.

2. This

Heb. iii. 3. Eph. ii. 1o.

+ Ifa. lix. 16.

! John iii. 1o.

2. This Scripture doctrine of God's grace to man thro' Christ Jefus, is full of encouragement to the trembling and felf-condemned finner; for that which thou lackeft, even perfect righteousness, to justify thee in God's fight, he hath provided in Christ, and promiseth to give thee, if thou will come unto him for life and falvation.

That alfo which is the caufe of all thy fear, even fin, Christ hath put away, and purged by his own blood; and that which thou art afraid of, even the curfe of God's just law, and the wrath to come, Christ bath endured, and delivered thee from, who comeft unto God, by him. What remaineth then but that thou firmly believe in the Lord Jefus Christ, and thou shalt be faved. If thou comeft to Christ, it is impoffible that thou shouldft perifh; for he faith himself, whofa cometh unto me I will in nowife cast off: nor is it poffible that God, even the Father fhould reject thee; for he himself points out Christ to us, that we might live thro' him, faying, this is my beloved Son. in whom I am well pleafed, hear ye him; and again, God fent not his Son into the world to condemn

John vi. 37.