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family. And he can do all with his Father, having the entire management of the house of heaven, John v. 22. He is a moft compaffionate and merciful High Prieft. The Spirit of the, family is a noble Spirit, that will spirit you for the greatest achievements; a holy and fanctifying Spirit, that will make the vilest heart holy; a quickening Spirit, an enlightening Spirit. And all the children partake of this Spirit.

3. Ye fhall have glorious privileges here; and among the reft establishment and perfeverance in the family, John viii. 35. Come once in, and ye fhall never be caft out, and never get leave to fall out again.

4. Lastly, The full poffeffion of your eternal inheritance in heaven, Matth. xxv. 34. He will give the kingdom to all his children, fons and daughters. Your elder brother will give you to fit on his throne.

Come out from among them then unto Jefus Chrift, and fo be entered into God's family by adoption. Seemeth it a small thing to you, to be children of the houfe of heaven, to have God for your Father, and ye to be his fons and daughters? Believe this offer of the gofpel therefore made to you, O children of the houfe of hell, and clofe with the offer of adoption into God's family, and receive the feal of it in the facrament. I beseech you to accept it, nay I charge you to come out from among them this day, and enter into God's family through Jefus Chrift, under the pain of God's eternal difpleafure. What ails you at it? The language of the hearts of many will be,

1. They do not like the laws of the houfe. They think it would be what would take away their liberty, and pen them up to intolerable bondage. Anf. No: Satan's fervice is flavery, and the worst of flavery. If ye continue in it, your chains will ever be on you; the chains of your lufts are rattling about you now, 2 Tim. ii. 26. and the chains of wrath will be rattling about you through eternity, Matth. xxii. 13. But thofe of

God's family enjoy true liberty, John viii. 36. And their liberty fhall be enlarged after, and be very glo. rious, Rom. viii. 2 1.

2. They like not the fociety of the house. They think it is but the peevish filly part of mankind, the fcum of the world, that trouble themselves with thefe things. Anf. No; they are the excellent in the earth, Prov. xii. 26. David a king thought them fo, Pfal. xvi. 3. Why do ye despise them, but because they are of another spirit than the fpirit of the devil's fa mily? Remember, that not many wife men after the flesh are called, &c. 1 Cor. i. 26. 27. 28. But I affure you the main quarrel and the ground of this is, ye like not the Father of the family, and therefore not thofe that bear his image, 1 John v. 1. However, remember that the day comes when you will fay, O that my foul were in their fouls ftead! Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like

bis.

3. Laftly, They do not believe any fuch thing, as that God will make men his fons and daughters. Anf. Then ye do not believe God's word, in the text, John i. 12. Christ's death and fufferings muft lof their end, Gal. iv. 4. 5. But ye will be cured of that, if not before, yet at their receiving their inheritance as children, Matth. xxv. 34. when unbelievers get their doom.

But there may be fome that would fain believe it, and that with application too, that they might come away and partake of it. But Satan and their hearts mutter up objections against it.

1. Was it ever heard, that there was an adoption where the party adopting was rot childlefs? Anf. God's ways are not man's ways. It is free grace only, and no need, that puts the heavenly Father to adopt any of his creatures. Yet there is a fuitablenefs in it to the divine wildom. God's family fuffered a vaft di minution by the fpiritual death of children, and thus it is made up again.

2. But how is it confiftent with the honour of the Adopter, to take men as children into his family? Anf. This is provided for by the incarnation of the Son; man's nature is thereby nobilitated. The Son of God became the Son of man, that fo the fons of men might become the fons of God, in a confiftency with God's honour.

3. But I am afraid God will never take me into his family. Anf. Wherefore, if ye come in by the door, through Jefus Chrift? The greatnefs of your former fins will not hinder it, If. i. 18. the multitude of them, John i. 7. your backflidings neither, Jer. iii. 22.; though ye have been the worft of finners, 1 Cor. vi. 9. 10. II. In ye must be or ye perish. 4. But Satan plies me at a terrible rate, fo that I think I will never get away out from among them. Anf. When the devil apprehends his time fhort, he has great wrath. When the children of Ifrael were nearest their deliverance, Pharaoh made their bondage hardeft. Be refolute like the lepers of old.

5. Lastly, But I fear I never be able to carry fuitably to the character of one of the heavenly family. Anf. Take Chrift for fanctification, put your heart and life in his hand this day, for purifying and managing it, Eph. v.2 5.26. Chrift loved the church, and gave himfelf for it, that he might fanctify and cleanfe it with the washing of water, by the word. Believe the promises of fanctification, and cleanly through bearing; look on them as fealed by the facrament, and confcientiously use the means of holiness.

To fhut up all, I teftify to every one, that they are undone for ever, if they come not out from among them, and be feparate, and touch no unclean thing; and that there is nothing to hinder your entrance into God's family, if ye be content to come out from among them, and to clofe with Chrift. He will receive you, and introduce you into his Father's family, entertain you at his table, and at length carry you to the upper house, where ye fhall be for ever with the Lord.

Of Sanctification.

I CORINTHIANS vi. II.

But ye are fanctified,-by the Spirit of our God.

N this verse the apoftle tells the believing Corin. thians,

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1. What fome of them fometime were, fuch, viz.as thofe ver. 9. 10. fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effemi nate, abufers of themselves with mankind, thieves, cove tous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners, even the wort and groffeft finners, who therefore could have nothing to move God to fanctify them.

2. What they now all were, viz. the true believers among them; they were washed. Though fome of them in their natural ftate were more unclean and vile than others, yet they all needed to be, and accordingly were washed,

(1.) In fanctification, whereby fin itself is gradually carried out of the heart and life, and grace planted therein, and actuated, and advanced. This is done by the Spirit of God, who is holy, and makes the elect holy.

(2.) In juftification, whereby the guilt of fin is removed, and the foul clothed with a perfect righteoufnefs. This is done in the name of the Lord Jefus, i. e. by the merits and blood of Chrift, through Chrift ap prehended by faith. The apoftle's order of ftating thefe two will be confidered afterwards.

The doctrine of the text is as follows, viz.

DocT. All that are effectually called, are freely fantified by the Spirit of Christ.

In treating this fubject, I fhall fhew,

I. The general notion of fanctification.

II. More particularly inquire into the nature of it. III. Deduce fome inferences.

I. I will lay before you the general nature of fanc tification. It imports three things.

1. Separation, or fetting apart to a holy use or fervice. Thus the bread and wine in the facrament are fanctified, and thus Aaron and his fons were fanctified. And thus the fanctification of the Spirit, is the Lord's taking one out of the corrupt mass of mankind lying in wickedness, and fetting him apart for himself, Pfal. iv. 3. So that holinefs is God's mark and feal fet on a foul, teftifying it to be his in a peculiar manner, Eph.

i. 13.

2. Purification, or taking away of pollution. Thus people are called to fanctify themfelves. There is a natural impurity and filthiness that every foul naturally is funk in, 2 Cor. vii. 1. They are loathfome in the fight of God, all over defiled with filthy lufts.

Sanc

tification is the Spirit's cleaning of the foul from its impurities; breaking the reign of fin, working out fin from the heart and life, as the fpring doth the mud caft in it.

3. Preparation, whereby a thing or perfon is made fit for use or fervice. Thus our food is fanctified by the word and prayer. Naturally we are unfit for God's fervice; fanctification fits us for it, 2 Tim. ii. 21. What use are we for in the world, if not for God? But the unfanctified foul is not meet for his ufe: but the Lord loaths them and their fervices too, as one would do liquor in a foul veffel.

II. More particularly, I will inquire into the nature of the fanctification of a foul. And let us confider,

1. The kinds of fanctification. it. 3. The moving cause of it. 3fifts. 5. The parts of it. 6. 7. The effect of it. 8. How it is means of it.

2. The author of 4. Wherein it conThe subject of it. carried on. 9. The

FIRST, I fhall confider the kinds of fanctification diftinguishable. Sanctification of a foul is two

fold.

1. Initial fanctification, which is the implanting of the feeds of grace in the foul at firft, and is the fane VOL. II.

PP

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