enjoyment of it.

But we are not brought into this state, or life, merely by faith, fimple faith, or faith alone, as it is faid; but rather, by the influence of divine love and truth from the Lord, whereby we are led to true repentance, which is the beginning of redemption in man; forfaking of evil, believing on and loving the Lord our God, and fincere obedience to his divine laws.

When this change is wrought in the mind, then we fee that our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the fcribes and pharifees, which was only an external, hypocritical, and partial one; and that we must be internally righteous, actually righteous, and impartially fo: that the laws of God must be engraven on the heart, and fulfilled in the life

that we muft depart from all evil, and do that which is good-and that we must do this as of ourfelves; yet knowing that the power fo to do is from the Lord and that all goodness and truth, faith and love, charity and obedience, arife from the influence of his divine love and truth upon our will and understanding. And here we are enabled to see most plainly, that we can keep the laws of God-be actually righteous, both internally and externallyand at the fame time we have nothing to boaft of as to ourselves; all the power is from the Lord alone, and to him alone returns all the praise and glory for ever and ever.

We are thus led to understand, that the law of God, instead of being abrogated, fet afide, and that

we have nothing to do with it; is, on the contrary, the rule of our. life-the fum and fubftance of all religion-that it is fpiritual and divine-and that it will be our rule of life and conduct in the other world, and through the endless ages of eternity. Though heaven and earth pass, yet one iota or tittle of the law fhall not fail. "Do we then make "void the law through faith? God forbid-yea, "we establish the law" (fays Paul). And hereby we learn, too, how unnecessary, and also how impoffible it is, that the righteousness of Jefus Chrift should be imputed to us, and become ours, that we may be justified.

Firft, It is unnecessary, because the true christian— the man who believes in loves, and obeys the Lord, is actually made righteous. His evils are fubdued his heart and life are changed-he is regenerated, born again, made a new man-in short, he is restored to the image and likeness of his God, He is the pure in heart, who fhall fee the Lord. Therefore, the imputation of another righteousness is unnecessary.

But again, the imputation of the Lord's righteousness, is a thing impoffible. His righteousness is the righteoufnefs of a God-for he is God alone; and creation, redemption, or falvation, might as well be imputed to us as that righteousness. For his righteousness is a thing purely divine, and therefore cannot be imputed to any creature. The fact is, that the notion which has prevailed in the

chriftian

christian church, namely, that there are more Gods than one; with a few paffages in the holy word (and more particularly in Paul's epiftles) wrongly understood, have been the real caufe of all these unfcriptural and irrational fentiments concerning the law of God, redemption, imputation, and faith alone. But I hope the time is come, in which the pious mind will be delivered from the hackles of tradition-the bondage of falfe doctrine-and be led to acknowledge the Lord Jefus Chrift as the one only God of heaven and earth. Then will he fee that redemption confifts in a deliverance from all evil and misery, and a restoration of the foul to real goodness, the image and likeness of God, and the enjoyment of all that is heavenly and divine.

Let me intreat my audience to take into ferious confideration what I have laid before you, upon these very important fubjects-examine and judge for yourselves-and let enlightened reason and pure truth determine your judgment. I have endeavored to prove that Jefus Chrift came, not to atone divine wrath-not to fulfil the law on our account, that we might be exempted from obedience to it -not to reconcile the Father to finners, and make him placable;--but that he came to deliver us from the power of all evil-to fubdue the infernal powers to redeem us from all iniquity-and to purify unto himself a people, zealous of good works. I have labored to prove, that the law of God is not only moral, but fpiritual and divine

-that

.

-that it is immutable and eternal-that we have power given unto us to obferve it-and that to love the Lord with all the heart, and our neighbour as ourselves, is the fum and fubftance of that law.

May every one of us experience a real redemption from all evil, falfhood, and mifery; and a reftoration to all that is good, true, and heavenly: then we fhall delight in the law of God, after the inward man-and in a little time be translated to that bleffed world, where all is love, goodness, and joy, for evermore. Amen.

SERMON

SERMON VIII.

THE INTERNAL PURIFIED;

OR,

THE REAL MEMBER OF THE LORD'S TRUE CHURCH A HOLY MAN.

ISA. iv. 3, 4.

And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerufalem, fhall be called holy; even every one that is written among the living in Jerufalem: when the Lord fhall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and fhall have purged the blood of Jerufalem from the midft thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

THE latter

HE latter part of the preceding chapter treats of the vastation and end of the fallen church; in the beginning of this chapter a new church is spoken of, and its quality and character are described in the words of our text. Whoever carefully attends to what is written in the third chapter, muft be convinced that it has an internal and spiritual

mean