obtain life; and win to heaven, I hope, if I do fo and fo; by its threatenings, faying, I will go to hell and be damned, if I do not fo and fo. Sometimes he fights with the weapons of his own vows and refolutions, which are his ftrong tower, to which he runs and thinks himself fafe.

3. They differ in the object of their mortification: they both, indeed, feek to mortify fin; but the legalift's quarrel is more efpecially with the fins of his converfation; but the true believer fhould defire to fight as the Syrians got orders; that is, neither against great nor fmall, fo much as against the King himself, even against original corruption: a body of fin and death troubles him more than any other fin in the world; O wretched man that I am! who fhall deliver me from this body of death? Rom. vii. 24. His great exercife is, to have the feed of the woman to bruife this head of the ferpent.

4. They differ in the reafons of the conteft: the believer, whom grace teaches to deny all ungodliness, he fights againft fin, because it difhonours God, oppofes Chrift, grieves the Spirit, and feparates between his Lord and him; but the legalift fights against fin, becaufe it breaks his peace, and troubles his confcience, and hurts him, by bringing wrath and judgment on him. As children that will not play in the duft or flour; why?. not because it fullies their clothes, but flees into their eyes, and hurts them: fo, the legalift will not meddle with fin; why not because it fullies the perfections of God, and defiles their fouls, but only because it hurts them. I deny not, but there is too much of this legal temper even amongst the godly.

5. They differ in their motives and ends: the believer. will not ferve fin, because he is alive to God, and dead to fin, Rom. vi. 6. The legalift forfakes fin, not because he is alive, but that he may live: the believer mortifies fin, because God loves him; but the legalift, that God may love him: the believer mortifies fin, because God is pacified towards him; the legalift mortifies, that he may pacify God by his mortification. He may go a great length, but it is still that he may have whereof to glory, •

making his own doing all the foundation of his hope and

comfort.

6. They differ in the nature of their mortification: the legalift does not oppofe fin violently, feeking the utter deftruction of it; if he can get fin put down, he does not feek it to be thruft out: but the believer, having a nature and principle contrary to fin, he feeks not only to have it weakened, but extirpate: the quarrel is irreconcileable; no terms of accommodation or agreement; no league with fin is allowed, as it is with hypo

crites.

7. They differ in the extent of the warfare, not only objectively, the believer hating every falfe way; but allo fubjectively, all the faculties of the believer's foul, the whole regenerate part being against fin. It is not fo with the hypocrite or legalift: for as he fpares fome fin or other, fo his oppofition to fin is only feated in his confcience; his light and confcience oppofe fuch a thing, while his heart approves of it.-There is an extent alfo as to time; the legalift's oppofition to fin is of a fhort duration, but in the believer it is to the end; grace and corruption ftill oppofing one another.

8. They differ in the fuccefs: there is no believer, but as he fights against fin, fo first or laft he prevails, though not always to his difcerning; and though he lofe many battles, yet he gains the war: but the legalift, for all the work he makes, yet he never truly comes fpeed: though he cut off fome actual fin, yet the corrupt nature is never changed; he never gets a new heart: the iron-finew in his neck, which opposes God, is never broken; and when he gets one fin mortified, fometimes another and more dangerous fin lifts up the head: hence all the fins and pollutions that ever the Pharifees forfook, and all the good duties that ever they performed, made them but more proud, and firengthened their unbelieving prejudices againft Chrift, which was the greater and more dangerous fin.Thus you may fee the difference between legal and gofpel mortification, and try yourselves thereby.

Inquiry third, In order to try whether or not you are L3

deli

delivered from the law, as it is the ftrength of fin; enquire whether you have renounced your own righteoufnefs; for they that make their duties their righteoufnefs, and rely thereupon, are yet under the law, and fo under the firength of fin.

QUEST. Who are they that make their duties their righteoufnefs, and eftablish a righteoufnefs of their own, and rely thereupon?

ANSW. 1. Thefe that please themselves with a form of godlinefs; and like the Pharifees, make clean the outfide, while yet they have a fecret enmity at the power of godlinefs, having ontward conformity to the letter of the law; and, like Paul before his converfion, touching the law blamelefs, yet little regarding the fpirituality of it: -they profefs a regard to the law, but if they knew the infide of it, they would hate it.

2. These that reft in a certain pitch of religion, when they have as much as they think will fave them, and are for no more; not knowing what it is to prefs towards the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jefus.

3. Thefe that fet their duties against their fins, and against the wrath of God, and the fear of judgment; not fleeing to Chrift for refuge, as all true believers do, Heb. vi. 18.; but to their duties, their prayers, and no further. Their betaking themselves to duties would be well done, if they went a little further; but they fet their duties against their fins, and thereupon have peace, faying, though my fins be fo and fo great, yet my duties are fo and fo many; therefore, I hope, all will be right. Thus they fpeak peace to themfelves, when God never fpake it here is a dead fly that fpoils all the

ointment.

4. Thefe who are at enmity with the doctrine of grace; however much they may be engaged in duty, Chrift is a ftumbling-block to them, as he was to the Jews, Rom. ix. 33. The doctrine of duties and works, they underftand; but the doctrine of grace, and of the righteoufnefs of Chrift, they will not understand; they fufpect it, as an enemy to the law, and Antinomianifm: they are ig norant of God's righteoufnefs.

5. Thefe

5. These that perform duties in their own ftrength, are eftablishing a righteoufnefs of their own: though they fay they can do nothing without Chrift, yet they can do all without feeing much need of him. But, where Chrift is the righteoufnefs of a foul, he will be the ftrength alfo, Ifa. xlv. 24. Some, indeed, profeís to take Chrift, for their firength, but they fet Chrift against himself, as it were, by employing the ftrength of Chrift against the righteousness of Chrift; that is, when they cry to Chrift for ftrength to perform duties, that when they are enabled to perform them, they may make them their righteoufhefs. Hence many will fay, O for a foft heart! O for an enlarged heart in duty! O for grace to feek, and a heart to pray! And if they get any thing like it, what make they of it? Why, then they think they have a good enough righteoufnefs, and feek no further.

6. Thefe that are of a wrathful and implacable difpofition, they discover themfelves to be under the law, and under the ftrength of fin, and fo not delivered from eftablishing a righteoufnefs of their own; "The law worketh wrath," Rom. iv. 15. Not only wrath in God against man, and wrath in man againft God; but wrath and enmity alfo in man against man, efpecially upon any real or fuppofed injury. When wrath rifes, and relts, and remains from day to day, from week to week, from month to month, from year to year, and the man will by no means be reconciled to one that has offered him any affront; nay, he will not pardon, he will not forgive, he will not forget; furely that man is under the law, and under the ftrength of fin: he never got a pardon from God, that cannot pardon his neighbour an offence; he has not the image of God, not being merciful as his heavenly Father is merciful; he cannot pray, "Forgive me my fins, as I forgive them that fin against me. Anger refts in the bofom of fools," fays Solomon. Anger and wrath may rife, and rage a little in the bofom of a wife man, a good man, but it cannot reft there; it reits only in the bofom of fools. This foolish and implacable difpofition fhews the man to be selfish and felf-righteous.

7. Thefe whofe good hope, founded upon, and drawn from duties, never utterly failed them, fo as to fay, as it

is, Ifa. lvii. 1o. "There is no hope;" no, " They are wearied in the greatnefs of their way, and have found the life of their hand," &c.

8. Thefe who, the more they go about outward duties, the more liberty they take to fin, faying, as it is, Prov. vii. 14. and 18. compared, "I have peace-offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows: come let us take our fill of love, until the morning; let us folace ourfelves with loves."

9. These who neglect duties, through desperation and hopeleffnefs of getting any good by them, faying, "It is vain to ferve the Lord;" why, what is this, but that becaufe they would rely on duties, as their Saviour, when they find they may not do fo, they will rather forbear them, and caft all behind their back, faying, "There is no hope?" Hence,

10. When men are madly purfuing their lufts, it may be a fign they are relying on their duties, even when they commit fin defperately. Why, they are defperate debtors; and, perhaps, have been trying, fome time or other, to pay their debt by doing fomething that they might live but finding that will fail them, they say, There is no hope of paying that debt, therefore they defperately take on more; Jer. ii. 25. "There is no hope; for, I have loved ftrangers, and after them will I go :" and, Jer. xviii. 12. "There is no hope; but we will walk after our devices, and do every one the imagination of his evil heart." They want not a natural inclinazion, as all others have, to pay then debt in the way of a law of works, with their own righteoufnefs, which appears whenever confcience is awakened; but for the prefent they are defperate: if they cannot win to heaven by their own righteoufnefs, they will rather go to hell in their wickedness, than be obliged to the righteousness of another for heaven and eternal life: fo ftrong is the law of Do and live, even at the root of their wickedness. The Strength of fin is the law.

Again, it may be asked here, Who are they that have renounced their own righteoufnefs?

ANSW. 1. Such as have renounced their own righteoufnefs, are easily brought to the fenfe and acknowledge

ment