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law, or covenant of works; and every natural man, so far as he sets himself to seek after salvation, is engaged in that way; and will not quit it, till beat from it by divine power. Now the way of salvation by works, and that of frec grace in Jesus Christ, are inconsistent, Rom. ix. 6. “And if by grace, then it is no more of works; otherwise, grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace; otherwise work is no more work." Gal. iii. 13. "And the law is not of FAITH; but the man that DOTH them shall live in them." Wherefore, if the will of man naturally incline to the way of salvation by the law, it lies cross to the gospel-contrivance. And that such is the natural bent of our hearts, will appear, if these following things be considered:

1. The law was Adam's covenant, and he knew no other, as he was the head and representative of all mankind, that were brought into it with him, and left under it by him, though without strength to perform the condition thereof. Hence, this covenant is ingrained in our nature : And though we have lost our father's strength, yet we still incline to the way he was set upon, as our head and representative in that covenant; that is, by doing to live. This is our natural religion, and the principle which men naturally take for granted, Matth. xix. 16. "What good thing shall I Do, that I may have eternal life ?”

2. Consider the opposition that has always been made in the world against the doctrine of free grace in Jesus Christ, by men setting up for the way of works; thereby discovering the natural tendency of the heart. It is manifest, that the great design of the gospel-contrivance, is to exalt the free grace of God in Jesus Christ, Rom. iv. 16. "Therefore, it is of faith, that it might be by grace." See Eph. i. 6. and chap. ii. 7, 9. All gospel-truths center in Christ: So that to learn the truth is to learn Christ, Eph. iv. 20. And to be truly taught is to be taught as the truth is in Jesus, ver. 21. All dispensations of grace and favour from heaven, whether to nations or particular persons, have still had something about them, proclaiming a freedom of grace; as in the very first separation made by the divine favour, Cain, the elder brother, is rejected; and Abel, the younger, accepted. This shines through the whole history of the Bible: But as true as it is, this has been the point

principally opposed by corrupt nature. One may well say that of all errors in religion, since Christ, the seed of the woman, was preached, this of works, in opposition to free grace in him, was the first that lived; and it is likely to be the last that dies. There have been vast numbers of errors, which sprung up, one after another, whereof at length the world became ashamed and weary; so that they died out. But this has continued from Cain, the first author of this heresy, unto this day; and never wanted some that clave to it, even in the times of greatest light. I do not, without ground, call Cain the author of it: For, when Abel brought the sacrifice of atonement, a bloody offering of the firstlings of his flock, (like the Publican, amiting on his breast, and saying, God be merciful to me a sinner,) Cain advanced with his thank-offering of the first-fruit of the ground, (Gen. iv. 3, 4.) like the proud Pharisee, with his God I thank thee. For what was the cause of Cain's wrath, and of his murdering of Abel? Was it not that he was accepted of God for his work? Gen. iv. 4, 5. "And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous, 1 John iii. 22. That is, done in faith, and accepted; when his were done without faith, and therefore rejected, as the Apostle teacheth, Heb. xi. 4. And so he wrote his indignation against justification and acceptance with God through faith, in opposition to works, in the blood of his brother, to convey it down to posterity. And since that time, the unbloody sacrifice has often swimmed in the blood of those that rejected it. The promise made to Abraham, of the seed in which all nations should be blessed, was so overclouded among his posterity in Egypt, that the generality of them saw no need of that way of obtaining the blessing, till God himself confuted their error, by a fiery law from mount Sinai, "which was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come,' Gal. iii. 19. I need not insist to tell you, how Moses and the Prophets had stiil much ado, to lead the people off the conceit of their own righteousness; Deut. xi. is entirely spent on that purpose. They were very gross in that point, in our Saviour's time. In the time of the Apostles, when the doctrine of free grace was most clearly preached, that error lifted up its head, in face of clearest light; witness the Epistle to the Romans and Galatians: And, since that time, it has not been wanting; Popery being the common

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sink of former heresies, and this the heart and life of that delusion. And, finally, it may be observed, that always as the church declined from her purity otherwise, the doctrine of free grace was obscured proportionably.

3. Such is the natural propensity of man's heart, to the way of the law in opposition to Christ; that, as the tainted vessel turns the taste of the purest liquor put into it, so the natural man turns the very gospel into law; and transforms the covenant of grace into a covenant of works. The ceremonial law was to the Jews a real gospel; which held blood, death, and translation of guilt before their eyes continually, as the only way of salvation: Yet their very table (i. e. their altar, with the several ordinances pertaining thereto, Mal. i. 12.) was a snare unto them, Rom. ii. 9. While they use it to make up the defects in their obedience to the moral law, and cleave to it so, as to reject Him, whom the altar and sacrifices pointed them to, as the substance of all: Even as Hagar, whose it was only to serve, was by their father brought into her mistress's bed; not without a mystery in the purpose of God, for these are the two covenants, Gal. iv. 24. Thus is the doctrine of the gospel corrupted by Papists, and other enemies to the doctrine of free grace. And, indeed, however natural mens heads may be set right in this point, as surely as they are out of Christ, their faith, repentance and obedience, (such as they are,) are placed by them in the room of Christ and his righteousness, and so trusted to, as if by these they fulfilled a new law.

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4. Great is the difficulty in Adam's sons their parting with the law, as a covenant of works. None part with it in that respect, but those whom the power of the Spirit grace separates from it. The law is our first husband, and gets every one's virgin love. When Christ comes to the soul, he finds it married to the law; so as it neither can, nor will be married to another, till it be obliged to part with the first husband, as the apostle teacheth, Rom. vii. 1, 2, 3, 4. Now that ye may see what sort of a parting this is, consider,

(1.) It is a death, Rom. vii. 4. Gal. iii. 19. Intreaties will not prevail with the soul here; it saith to the first husband, as Ruth to Naomi, "The Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me." And here sinners are true to their word; they die to the law,

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ere they be married to Christ. Death is hard to every body But what difficulty do ye imagine must a loving wife, on her death-bed, find in parting with her husband, the husband of her youth, and with the dear children she has brought forth to him: The law is that husband; all the duties performed by the natural man are these children. What a struggle, as for life, will be in the heart ere they be got parted. I may have occasion to touch upon this afterwards. In the mean time, take the Apostle's short, but pithy description of it, Rom. x. 3. "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God." They go about to establish their own righteousness, like an eager disputant in schools, seeking to establish the point in question; or like a tormentor, extorting a confession from one upon the rack. They go about to establish it to make it stand; their righteousness is like a house built upon the sand; it cannot stand, but they will have it to stand: It falls, they set it up again : But still it tumbles down on them; yet they cease not to go about to make it stand. But wherefore all this pains about a tottering righteousness? Because, such as it is, it is their own. What ails them at Christ's righteousness? Why, that would make them free grace's debtors for all, and that is what the proud heart by no means can submit to. Here lies the stress of the matter, Psal. x. 4. The wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek, (to read it without the supplement,) that is, in other terms, "He cannot dig, and to beg he is ashamed." Such is the struggle ere the soul die to the law. But what speaks yet more of this woful disposition of the heart, nature oft-times gets the mastery of the disease; insomuch that the soul, which was like to have died to the law, while convictions were sharp and piercing, fatally recovers of the happy and promising sickness; and (what is very natural) cleaves more closely than ever to the law, even as a wife brought back from the gates of death would cleave to her husband. This is the issue of the exercise of many about their souls case: They are indeed brought to follow duties more closely; but they are as far from Christ as ever, if not farther.

(2.) It is a violent death, Rom. vii. 4. " Ye are be come dead to the law," being killed, slain, or put to

death, as the word bears. The law itself has a great hand in this; the husband gives the wound, Gal. ii. 19. “I through the law am dead to the law." The soul that dies this death, is like a loving wife matched with a rigorous husband: She does what she can to please him, yet he is never pleased; but tosseth, harasseth, and beats her, till she break her heart, and death sets her free; as will afterwards more fully appear. Thus it is made evident, that mens hearts are naturally bent to the way of the law, and lie cross to the gospel-contrivance; and the second article of the charge, against you that are unregenerate, is verified, namely, that ye are enemies to the Son of God.

Sdly, Ye are enemies to the Spirit of God. He is the Spirit of holiness: The natural man is unholy, and loves to be so, and therefore resists the Holy Ghost, Acts vii. 51. The work of the Spirit is to convince the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, John xvi. 8. But O how do men strive to ward off these convictions,as ever they would ward off a blow, threatening their loss of a right eye, or a right hand! If the Spirit of the Lord dart them in, so as they cannot evite them; the heart says, in effect, as Ahab to Elijah, whom he both hated and feared, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And indeed they treat him as an enemy, doing their utmost to stifle convictions, and to murder these harbingers, that come to prepare the Lord's way into the soul. Some fill their hands with business, to put their convictions out of their heads, as Cain, who fell a building of a city: Some put them off with delays and fair promises, as Felix did: Some will sport them away in company, and some sleep them away. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of sanctification; whose work it is to subdue lusts, and burn up corruptions: How then can the natural man, whose lusts are to him as his limbs, yea, as his life, fail of being an enemy to him?

Lastly, Ye are enemies to the law of God. Though the natural man desires to be under the law, as a covenant of works, chusing that way of salvation in opposition to the mystery of Christ; yet as it is a rule of life, requiring universal holiness, and discharging all manner of impurity, he is an enemy to it: "Is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be," Rom. viii. 7. For, (1.) There is no unrenewed man, who is not wedded to some one lust

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