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ing of his foul depends upon it; and without it no man shall fee God, Heb. xii. 14. and John i. 3, 5. "Except ye be regene66 rate, and born again, you cannot fee the kingdom of God." Can you be saved without Christ? You know you cannot. you have intereft in Christ without the new creature? My text exprefly tells you it can never be; for, "If any man be in Christ, "he is a new creature." O reader, whatever flight thoughts of this matter, and with what a careless and unconcerned,eye foover thou readeft thefe lines; yet know thou must either be a new creature, or a miserable and damned creature for ever. If civility without the new creature could fave thee, why are not the moral Heathens faved alfo? If ftrictnefs of life without the new creature could fave thee, why did it not fave the Scribes and Pharifees alfo? If an high profeffion of religion without the new creature can save thee, why did it not fave Judas, Hymenaeus and Philetus alfo? Nothing is more evident than this, that no repentance, obedience, felf-denial, prayers, tears, reformations or ordinances, without the new creation, avail any thing to the falvation of thy foul: the very blood of Chrift himself without the new creature never did, and never will fave any man. Oh how neceffary a work is the new creation!" Circumcifion a"vails nothing, and uncircumcifion nothing: but a new crea"ture."

Fifthly, The new creature is a marvellous and wonderful creature: there are many wonders in the first creation, “The "works of the Lord are great, fought out of all them that have "pleasure therein," Pfal. cxi. 2. But there are no wonders in nature, like thofe in grace. Is it not the greatest wonder that ever was seen in the world (except the incarnation of the Son of God) to fee the nature and temper of man fo altered and changed as it is by grace? to fee lafcivious Corinthians, and idolatrous. Ephefians become mortified and heavenly Christians? to fee a fierce and cruel perfecutor, become a glorious confessor and sufferer for Chrift? Gal.i. 23. to fee the carnal mind of man, which was lately fully fet in a strong bent to the world, to be wholly taken off from its lufts, and fet upon things that are spiritual and heavenly? Certainly it was not a greater miracle to fee dead Lazarus come out of his fepulchre, than it is to see the dead and carnal mind coming out of its lufts to embrace Jefus Chrift; it was not a greater wonder to see the dead and dry bones in the valley to move and come together, than it is to fee a dead foul moving after God, and moving to Chrift, in the way of faith. Sixthly, The new creature is an immortal creature, a crea

ture that shall never fee death, John iv. 14. it is in the foul of man, a well of water, fpringing up unto eternal life. I will not adventure to fay, it is immortal in its own nature, for it is but a creature, as my text calls it; and we know, that effential interminability is the incommunicable property of God: The new creature hath, both a beginning, and fucceffion; and therefore might, also, have an end, as to any thing in itself, or its own nature: Experience, alfo, fhews us, that it is capable, both of increafing, and decreafing, and may be brought nigh unto death, Rev. iii. 2. The works of the Spirit, in believers, may be ready to die but though its perpetuity flow not out of its own nature, it flows out of God's covenant and promises, which make it an immortal creature: when all other excellencies in man go away, as at death they will, Job iv. 21. this excellency, only, remains our gifts may leave us, our friends leave us, our estates leave us; but our graces will never leave us: they afcend with the foul, (in which they inhere), into glory, when the ftroke of death feparates it from the body.

:

Seventhly, The new creature is an heavenly creature: “It " is not born of flesh, nor of blood, or of the will of man, but "of God," John i. 13. its defcent and original is heavenly, it is fpirit born of spirit, John iii. 6. its center is heaven, and thither are all its tendencies, Pfal. Ixiii. 8. its proper food, on which it lives, are heavenly things, Pfal. iv. 6, 7. It cannot feed, as other creatures do, upon earthly things; the object of all its delight, and love, is in heaven, Pfal. lxxiii. 26. "Whom have "I in heaven but thee The hopes and expectations of the new creature are all from heaven; it looks for little in this world, but waits for the coming of the Lord. The life of the new creature upon earth, is a life of patient waiting for Chrift; his defires, and longings, are after heaven, Phil, i. 23. The flesh, indeed, lingers, and would delay, but the new creature haftens, and would fain be gone, 2 Cor. v. 2. It is not at home whilft it is here; it came from heaven, and cannot be quiet, nor fuffer the foul, in which it dwells, to be fo, until it comes thither again.

Gal. v. 25.

Eightly, The new creature is an active, and laborious creature: no fooner it is born, but it is acting in the foul. Acts ix. 6. Behold he prayeth! Activity is its very nature. "If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit." Nor is it to be admired, that it fhould be always active, and stirring in the foul, feeing activity in obedience was the very end for which it was created. "For we are his workmanship, created in Chrift "Jefus unto good works," Eph. ii, 19. and he that is acted in

the duties of religion, by this principle of the new creature, or nature, will (fo far as that principle acts him) delight to do the will of God; rejoice in the way of his commandments, and find the fweetest pleasure in the paths of duty.

Ninthly, The new creature is a thriving creature, growing from strength to ftrength, 1 Pet. ii. 2. and changing, the foul in which it is fubjected, from glory unto glory, 2 Cor. iii. 18. The vigorous tendencies, and conftant strivings, of this new creature, are to attain its just perfection and maturity, Phil. iii. 11. It can endure no stints and limits to its defires, fhort of perfection; every degree of strength it attains, doth but whet and fharpen his defires after higher degrees: Upon this account, it greatly delights in the ordinances of God, duties of religion, and fociety of the faints; as they are helps and improvements to it, in order to its great design.

Tenthly, The new creature, is a creature of wonderful prefer vations: There are many wonders of divine providence, in the preservation of our natural lives, but none like those whereby the life of the new creature is preferved in our fouls: There are critical times of temptation and desertion, in which it is ready to die, Rev. iii. 2. the degrees of its firength, and liveliness, are fometimes fadly abated, and its sweet and comfortable workings intermitted, Rev. ii. 4. the evidences by which its being in us, was wont to be discovered, may be, and often are darkened, 2 Pet. i. 9. and the foul, in which it is, may draw very fad conclufions, about the iffue and event; concluding its life not only to be hazarded, but quite extinguished, Pfal. li. 10. 11, 12. but though it be ready to die, God wonderfully preferves it from death; it hath as well its reviving, as its fainting feafons. And thus you fee, what are the lovely, and eximious properties of the new creature. In the next place,

Fourthly, We will demonftrate the neceffity of this new creation, to all that are in Chrift, and by him expect to attain falvation; and the neceffity of the new creature will appear divers

ways.

First, From the pofitive and exprefs will of God, revealed u fcripture, touching this matter: Search the fcriptures, and you

* Grace indeed cannot be totally intermitted, nor finally loft, but there may be an omiffion of the act, though not an omiffion of the habit, the act may be perverted though the faith cannot be fubverted, it may be shaken, though not fhaken out; its fruits may fall, but its fap lies hid in the root; the effect of juftification may be fufpended, but the state of the justified cannot be diffolved. Suffrag. Brit.

SERM. XXV. 'fhall find God hath laid the whole ftrefs and weight of your eternal happiness, by Jesus Christ, upon this work of the Spirit in your fouls. So our Saviour tells Nicodemus, John iii. 5. “Ve "rily, verily, I fay unto thee, except a man be born of water, "and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Agreeable whereunto are those words of the apoftle, Heb. xii. "Without holinefs no man shall fee the Lord." And whereas fome may think, that their birth-right privileges, enjoyment of ordinances, and profeffion of religion, may commend them to God's acceptance, without this new creation; he fhews them how fond, and ungrounded, all fuch hopes are. Gal. vi. 15.

14.

For in Chrift Jefus neither circumcifion availeth any thing, nor " uncircumcifion, but a new creature." Christ, and heaven, are the gifts of God, and he is at liberty to beftow them, upon what terms and conditions he pleaseth; and this is the way, the only way, and stated method, in which he will bring men, by Chrift, unto glory: Men may rafe out the impreffions of thefe things from their own hearts, but they can never alter the fettled courfe and method of falvation: Either we must be new creatures, as the precepts of the word command us, or loft, and damned creatures, as the threatenings of the word plainly tell us.

Secondly, This new creation, is the inchoative part of that great falvation which we expect, through Chrift, and therefore, without this, all hopes, and expectations of falvation, must vanish Salvation, and renovation, are infeparably connected. Our glory in heaven, if we rightly understand its nature, confifteth in two things; namely, our affimilation to God, and our fruition of God: and both thefe take their beginning, and rise, from our renovation in this world. Here we begin to be changed into his image, in fome degree, 2 Cor. iii. 18. for the new man is created after God, as was opened above. In the work of Grace, God is faid to begin that good work, which is to be finished, or confummated, in the day of Chrift, Phil. i. 6. Now nothing can be more irrational, than to imagine, that ever that defign, or work, should be finished, or perfected, which never had a beginning.

Thirdly, So neceffary is the new creation, to all that expect falvation by Chrift, that, without this, heaven would be no heaven, and the glory thereof no glory to us, by reafon of the unfuitablenefs, and averfion of our carnal minds thereunto; "The carnal mind is enmity against God," Rom. viii. 7. and enmity is exclufive of all complacency and delight: There is a neceffity of a suitable and agreeable frame of heart to God, in

order to that complacential rest of our fouls in him: And this agreeable temper is wrought by our new creation. 2 Cor. v. 5. "He that hath wrought us for the felf-fame thing, is God:" Renovation, you fee, is the working, or moulding of a man's spirit into an agreeable temper, or, as it is in Col. i. 12. the making of us meet for the inheritance of the faints in light.

From all which, it follows, that feeing there can be no complacence, or delight in God, without fuitablenefs, and conformity to him, as is plain, from 1 John iii. 2. as well as from the reafon and nature of the thing itself; either God must become, like us, fuitable to our finful, corrupt, and vain hearts, which were but a rude blafphemy once to imagine; or elfe we must be made agreeable and fuitable to God, which is the very thing I am now proving the neceffity of.

Fourthly, There is an abfolute neceffity of the new creature, to all that expect intereft in Chrift, and the glory to come; fince all the characters, marks, and figns of fuch an interest, are conftantly taken from the new creature wrought in us. Look over all the marks and figns of intereft in Chrift, or falvation by him, which are difperfed through the fcriptures, and you shall still find purity of heart, Mat. v. 8. Holinefs both in principle, and practice, Heb. xii. 14. Mortification of fin, Rom. viii. 13 Longing for Chrift's appearance, 2 Tim. iv. 3. with multitudes more of the fame nature, to be constantly made the marks, and figns of our falvation by Chrift. So that either we mult have a new bible, or a new heart: For if these scriptures be the true and faithful words of God, no unrenewed creature can fee his face; which was the fourth thing to be opened.

Fifthly, The laft thing to be opened, is, how the new creation is an infallible proof, and evidence, of the foul's interest in Chrift; and this will appear divers ways.

First, Where all the faving graces of the Spirit are, there intereft in Chrift, muft needs be certain; and where the new creature is, there all the faving graces of the Spirit are: For what is the new creature, but the frame, or fyftem of all special faving graces? It is not this, or that particular grace, as faith, or hope, or love to God, which conftitutes the new creature; for thefe are but as fo many particular limbs, or branches of it: but the new creature is comprehenfive of all the graces of the Spirit. Gal. v. 22, 23. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, joy, long-fuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meeknefs, temper"ance," &c. Any one of the faving, fpecial graces of the Spirit gives proof of our intereft in Chrift: how much more, then,