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take; fome are altogether ignorant of the fanctifying principles of the gofpel, others have a head-knowledge and notion of fome gofpel-principles, but no fanctifying knowledge thereof; thefe abufe the grace of God to licentioufness. But, what experience have you of the power of gofpel-truth, and the fanctifying virtue of gofpel-doctrine? If the grace of God has taught you nothing but loofenefs, you have no true knowledge of it; for it teaches otherwife, Titus ii. 12. Did never the doctrine of Chrift's death and refurrection, as the Lord our righteousness, tend to beget you to a new and lively hope? Did you never feel the power of that doctrine for killing fin? Examine your experience by that of Paul, who defired to know more and more of Chrift, and the power of his refurrection. Phil. iii. 10. compared with 1 Pet. i. 3.

6. What experince have you of the fanctifying privileges of the gofpel? Gofpel-privileges, enjoyed by believers, are the foundation of gofpel-holinefs. By the law of works, obedience was first to take place, and then privileges; but by the gofpel of grace, priviliges first come in, and thereupon obedience influenced thereby. Have you experienced gofpel-joys and comforts in the Lord, infomuch that the joy of the Lord was your ftrenth? Gospel-confolation is a great furtherance of gospel-fanctification. Have you ever experienced a gospel-day ; I mean not a day of preaching only, but a day of power? Why then, furely willingness to ferve the Lord in holinefs was wrought; "Thy people fhall be willing in the day of thy power."-But not to enlarge this ufe further, I come to close with a word, by way of Exhortation.

And our Exhortation fhall be firft to unbelievers, that are under the law, and fo under the commanding and condemning ftrength of fin. Oh! Sirs, do not stay there; for it is a fearful ftate, to be under the law, and under the power of fin: if you die in that ftate, you must bear the weight of your fins for ever; and, how dreadful will it be, when God fhall open the treasures of his wrath, and shut the bowels of his mercy for ever upon you! O unbelievers! fee the neceffity of fleeing to Chrift and his righteoufnefs: think not to please God

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by your own feeble endeavours; there is but one way in all the world to get from under the law-curfe, and fo from under fin's ruining power, and that is, to get in to Christ, who hath fulfilled, and is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. Where there is but one way, there is no room for confultation: were there many ways to heaven, you might confult which to take; but there is only one, Chrift the way, the truth, and the life; there remains no more facrifice for fin. If a man were fallen into a great pit, full of fnakes, and ferpents, and fire, and all that can be imagined terrible and dreadful; and there comes one, and cafts a rope into this deep pit; will there be need of arguments to perfuade the man to take hold of it? He is in a miserable cafe, and there is no other way to help him even fo here, you are in a pit full of snakes, and ferpents, and fire, the power of Satan, the fting of fin, the fire of God's wrath; you are in a manner in hell already; and God has fent his Son, with a law-biding righteoufnefs in him; he lets down this rope, that poor perishing finners may lay hold upon it: what will you do in this cafe? will you put off time, faying, What shall I do? when there is no other way left for you, but to come to Chrift, as the Lord your righteoufnefs. Alas! ftand not trifling and dallying till you go to the devil in hell, as many do. Will you take advifement till the next year, when, for ought you know, you may be in hell the next hour? Are you brought to that question, "What shall I do to be faved?" There is no other answer in the world to be given to it, but this one, " Believe in the Lord Jefus Chrift, and you fhall be faved;" defpair of life by the law, as you would not live under the ruling, and die under the damning ftrength of fin: but repair to the gofpel, by applying the promife thereof; for there is exhibite to you the faving ftrength of Chrift. Give up with the old covenant of works; for there fin reigns, through want of righteousness, to eternal death: but take hold of the new covenant of promife; for there grace reigns, through righteoufnefs, unto eternal life, by Jefus Chrift our Lord, Rom. v. 21. Be content not to

think of paying a farthing of your own debt to the law,

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and to be obliged to Chrift for paying it all for you. To believe in Chrift, is to come out from under the law, that you may be under grace: and to come under grace, is to be fubject to it, fo as to be content to be in grace's debt, and that grace do all for you and in you, and that grace be glorified in you, and Chrift glorified in grace, and God glorified in Chrift. May the power of grace perfuade you to flee to Chrift, and out from under the law, which is the ftrength of fin.-I might here adduce manifold motives and directions; but, referring you to other parallel fubjects, and having enlarged fo much beyond my intent in the preceding parts of this difcourfe, I haften to a conclufion. Therefore,

2dly, I would offer a fhort word of exhortation to believers, that are not under the law, and fo are delivered. from the ftrength of fin. O let it be your care to study conformity to the law as a rule of life, fince you are gracioufly delivered from it as a covenant of life: give evidence, that being delivered from the law, you are delivered from the ftrength of fin: fhake off the power and dominion of it; you are under ftronger obligations to mortify fin than any in the world; yea, than Adam in a state of innocency; for you are not under the law that he was under, but under grace; and grace hath brought you to poffefs a more glorious and honourable righteoufnefs than ever Adam could have yielded, though he had never violate the covenant of works. Grace gives you more encouragement to obey the law, as a rule, than ever Adam had to obey it, as á covenant. You have fuch grace as Adam never had in that ftate, even grace in a better hand, where it can never be loft. Adam never had a title to life by the covenant of works, because he failed in the condition: but you have a title to life, and the condition alfo in your Head: "Will you fin, because you are under grace? God forbid." Will you turn loofe, and carnal, and formal, because you are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Will you hate God, because he loves you? Oh! monftrous ingratitude! Becaufe God has a regard for your happiness, will you have no regard

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to his honour? Becaufe he is gracious, will you be ungrateful? Alas! Tell it not in Gath!-Has grace juflified you, and will you not evidence your juftification by your fanctification?-Has grace adopted you, and will you not be followers of God as dear children?-Has grace given you the hope of glory, and will you not, having this hope, purify yourfelf, even as he is pure!-Has grace given you all the promifes, and will you not, having thefe promifes, cleanse yourselves from all filthinefs of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holinefs in the fear of God?O give evidence that you are not under the law, which is the ftrength of fin; but under grace, which is the ftrength of holinefs. If you be under grace, furely you will have a regard to the glory of God, and to the credit of grace, that the gospel of grace be not reproached as an Antinomian doctrine of licentioufnefs. We call you to mortify fin, and ftudy holinefs and conformity to the law, as a rule of life, as you have a regard to the love and grace of God, and to your own peace and comfort; for, "Great peace have they that love his law:" as you have a regard to the welfare of others, and their conviction and converfion; and as you have a regard to your family and pofterity, and would entail a bleffing on following generations, and leave a bleffing behind you. In a word, it is by your holinefs of heart and life, that the power of grace is feen, the truth of grace is tried, the beauty of grace is difcovered, and the comfort of grace is felt, as I noticed on a former occafion. The power of grace will not be feen, if you be not holy, and if it be not fo powerful, as to make the hardest command eafy to you: The truth of grace will not be evident to you, if you be not holy; for fin will caft a cloud over it: The beauty of grace will not appear to others, if you be not holy; they will fay, You are just like neighbour and other, if you do not fhew your faith by your works: The comfort of grace will not accrue to you, if you be not holy; it is they that walk in the fear of the Lord, that walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghoft. The fweets of religion, and the exercife of it go together. Go therefore in the ftrength of grace, leaning upon your Beloved, setting the ftrength VOL. V. † M

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of Chrift, who is the Lord your righteoufnefs, against the ftrength of fin, which is the law. The more firm and fixed that a man's faith is, with refpect to Chrift, as the end of the law for righteoufnefs, the more faft will he follow the Lord in the works of hclinefs; for the true believer hath two feet, as I have formerly faid elfewhere, like the feet of a pair of compaffes, the one foot ftands faft in the centre, and the other draws the line, and goes round; now, if the foot that is in the centre do not fiand firm and fixed, if it move out of its place while the line is a drawing, then the other foot can never make an exact circle: fo here, the believer hath two feet, the one is the affured faith of juftifying grace, this fhould be ftill firmly fixed in its centre Chrift, the Lord our righteoufnefs; the other foot is gofpel-obedience, and a holy walk influenced by faith, and this fhould be always moving about in the work of the Lord, and running its holy round of fpiritual duties: now, if one foot, namely, the faith of juftifying grace, be not fixed, and firmly eftablifhed in its centre, then the other foot, namely, that of obedience, cannot perform its motion with any exactnefs. While a believer is fixed in the faith of God's grace and love, then this love conftrains him to obedience; but when his faith begins to waver and totter, and he begins to jealoufe the Lord's love, and to deny his grace, then he lofes his heart, and ftrength, and courage; and fo, by an evil heart of unbelief, departs from the living God. O then, seek to be firmly fixed in the faith of divine grace, and in the full affurance of your privilege, that you are not under the law, but under grace; then fhall you be able to mortify fin with fuccefs. And, fecing the most thankful believer is the moft obedient, entertain ftill a thankful remembrance of your merciful deliverance from the law, and let the apostle's fong of victory in the text be much in your hearts and mouths, "O death, where is thy fting? O grave, where is thy victory? The fting of death is fin, and the ftrength of fin is the law but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jefus Chrift."

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