promised us, even eternal life. And upon this account, the new covenant of the gofpel is preferred before the old covenant of the law, because it is eftablished upon better promifes, All the special and particular promifes of the law were of temporal good things, and thefe were the great encouragements that were given to obedience, under that imperfect dif penfation: But now godliness hath not only the promife of the life that now is, but of that which is to come; as the Apoftle tells us, 1 Tim. iv. 8. The gofpel hath clearly revealed to us a happy ftate of immortality after this life, of which men had but very ob. fcure and doubtful apprehenfions. So the Apostle tells us, 2 Tim. 1. 10. That it is now made manifeft, by the appearance of our Saviour Jefus Chrift, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light, through the gospel. Holy men had good hopes of it before; but they had no fure, diftinct apprehenfions of it, no fuch full affurance concerning it, no fuch clear and exprefs promises of it, as the gofpel hath given us.

Thus you fee what thofe great promifes are which the gofpel hath given us, namely the promife of the free pardon and forgiveness of our fins, upon our faith and repentance; the promife of God's grace and Holy Spirit to affift our obedience, and the promife of eternal life and happiness to reward it. These are the three eminent promifes of the gofpel, and in all probability thofe which the Apostle here calls great and precious promises; which brings me to the

II. Thing which I propounded to confider, name, ly, why they are faid to be exceeding great and precious, τα μέγιςα καὶ τίμια ἐπαγέλματα, the greate eft and the most valuable promifes. And to fatisfy us that they are fuch, the very confideration of the blef fings and benefits that they carry in them will be fufficient. If we confider the condition that mankind was in, when God was pleafed to make thefe gracious declarations to us, we fhall fee great reafon to fet a high value u upon every one of thefe promi fes. Mankind was extremely degenerated, all flest had corrupted its ways, and the whole world was

guilty before God, and liable to all that mifery which the finner had reafon to apprehend from the incenfed juftice of the Almighty. We had forfeited that happiness to which our immortal nature was defigned, and, which made our condition more fad, we were without ftrength to recover ourfelves out of it, by our repentance for what was paft, (if God would have accepted of it) and by our future obedience. Now the promifes of the gofpel offer relief to us in all these refpects, and thereby obviate all the difficulties and difcouragements which mankind lay under.

The gracious promife of pardon frees us from guilt, and fecures us from the terrible wrath of God, which our guilty confciences did fo much dread; and without this promife, mankind would have been under the greatest doubts and difcouragements. For when men are afraid their fins are greater than will be forgiven them, they are apt to fall into defpair, and defpair is an effectual bar to repentance; for when men think their condition is desperate, they care not what they do.

And the promife of God's grace and Holy Spirit, to affift and enable us to do our duty, does fully anfwer all the difcouragements and objections from our own weaknefs, and the power of temptation. We may do all things through Chrift ftrengthening us; and how weak foever we are of ourselves, we are ftrong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. If God be for us, who, or what can ftand against us? The devil is a very powerful enemy, and much too ftrong for flesh and blood to encounter in its own ftrength; but there is another principle in the world, which is mightier and more powerful than he, the Holy Spirit of God, who is always ready to help, when we do not repulfe and refufe his affiftance Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world, fays the Apostle, 1 John iv. 4. The Spirit of God dwells in all thofe who are willing to admit him, and is ever ready to affift those who comply with his bleffed motions, and do vigorously put forth. their own endeavours.

And

And then the promise of eternal life, that answers all the difficulties of our obedience, and fets us above any thing that the world can threaten us withal, for our conftancy to God, and his truth. A wife man will be content to fuffer any thing, or to quit any thing, upon terms of far greater advantage: And what greater confideration can be offered to encou rage our conftancy and obedience, than an eternity of happiness? So that the Apostle had reason to call thefe exceeding great and valuable promifes; fo valuable, that if any one of them had been wanting, our redemption and recovery had either been abfolutely impoffible, or extremely difficult. I proceed to the

III. Thing I propounded, which was to confider the tenor of thefe promises; that is, whether God hath made them abfolutely to us, without requiring any thing to be done on our part, or upon certain terms and conditions to be performed by us. That God may (if he please) make an abfolute promise of any bleffing or benefit to us, there is no doubt; and that God's grace does prevent many, and is before-hand with them, is as little to be doubted: The Spirit of God goes along with the Gospel, moving and inclining men to yield obedience to it, many times before any inclination and difpofition thereto on their parts. But as to this promife of God's grace and Holy Spirit, the great question is not about the first motion of it, but the continuance of this affiftance, and the increase of it; and this, I think, may fafely be affirmed, is promifed only conditionally, as alfo the pardon of fin, and eternal life. And concerning each of thefe, the matter may quickly be decided, by plain texts of fcripture.

Concerning the promife of the grace and affiftance of God's Holy Spirit, the fcripture takes notice of two conditions. First, that we beg it earnestly of God And this our Saviour expreffeth by asking, Seeking, and knocking, which fignifies the importunity of our requests; Our heavenly Father will give his Holy Spirit to them that thus ask it. And then, fecondly, That we improve and make use of the grace

which God affords us; To him that hath, fhall be given, and from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that which he seems to have. That is, (as appears plainly from the fcope of the parable) to him that ufeth that grace, and thofe advantages which God affords him, more fhall be given; but from him that makes no ufe of them, and therefore is as if he had them not, fhall be taken away that which he but feems to have, becaufe he makes no ufe of it.

Concerning the pardon of fins; the fcripture plainly fufpends that upon the general condition of repentance, and the change of our lives; Repent, that your fins may be forgiven you and upon the condi tion of our forgiving others; If ye forgive men their trefpaffes, then will your heavenly father alfo forgive you; but if you forgive not men their trefpaffes, neither will your father forgive your trefpaffes, fays our Saviour, Matt. vi. 14. 15.

And then the promife of eternal life, is every where in feripture fufpended upon the condition of faith and repentance, and perfeverance in well-doing. He that believes (fays our Saviour) shall be faved, which indeed implies the whole condition of the gofpel. He that believes; that is, he that effectually affents to the doctrine of Chrift, and is fo perfuaded of the truth of it, as to live according to it, shall be saved. But if obedience were not included in the fcripture notion of faith, yet the fcripture elsewhere exprefly makes it the condition of our eternal falvation. Heb. v. 9. Chrift is there faid to be the author of eternal falvation to them that obey him; thereby implying, that none fhall be faved by Chrift, but thofe that obey the gospel. Heb. xii. 14. Follow bolinefs, without which no man shall fee the Lord. Rom. ii. 7. 8. 9. To them who by patient continuance in welldoing, feek for glory and honour, and immortality, God will give eternal life; but to them that are contentious, and obey not the truth (that is, the gospel) but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every foul of man that

doth evil.

I cannot well imagine what can reasonably be anfwered to fuch plain texts; but I will tell you what is commonly anfwered; namely, That God gives the condition which he requires; and therefore tho' thefe promises run in a conditional form, yet in truth they are abfolute; because he that makes a promise to another, upon a condition which he will alfo perform, doth in effect make an abfolute promife. As if a man promised another fuch an eftate, upon condition he pay fuch a fum for it, and does promife withal to furnifh him with that fum, this in effect amounts to an abfolute promife of the estate.

And this is very well argued, if the cafe were thus. But God hath no where promised to work the condition in us, without the concurrence of our own endeavours. God may, and oftentimes doth prevent men by his grace; but he hath no where promifed to give his Holy Spirit, but to them that ask it of him. And he hath no where promised to continue his grace and affistance to us, unless we will use our fincere endeavours; nay, in cafe we do not, he hath threatened to take away his grace and affiftance from us. And if this be fo, then the promises of the gofpel do not only feem to be conditional, but are really fo. And it is a wonder that any man should doubt of this, who confiders how frequently in the New Testament the gofpel is reprefented to us under the notion of a covenant: fuch a covenant in the very nature of it doth imply a mutual obligation between the parties that enter into it. But if the gofpel contains only bleffings which are promised on God's part, without any thing required to be done and performed on our part, in order to the obtaining of those bleffings, then the gofpel is nothing elfe but a promife, or deed of gift, making over certain benefits and bleffings to us; but can in no propriety of language in the world be called a covenant: But if there be fome things required on our part, in order to our being made partakers of the promises which God hath made to us, (as the fcripture every where tells us there is) then the promiles are plainly conditional. To inftance in the promife of forgiveness of