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new tongue and language is of God, who creates the fruit of the lips.-The new food for immortal foul is of God's giving; "My Father giveth you the true bread." The new appetite and defire after Christ is of God, who draws it out after him; "No man can come to me, except the Father, which hath fent me, draw him."The new will is of God, who maketh willing in the day of his power. The new hope is of God, in oppofition to the old hope of our life upon our doing fo and fo.-The new hope of life, upon the doing, dying, and rifing of Chrift, is of God, who hath begotten us again to a lively hope, by the refurrection of Chrift from the dead.-The new walk is of God, who fays," I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my ftatutes."-The new ftrength is of God, who giveth power to the faint, and to him that hath no might he increafeth ftrength.-All our new ability and fufficiency is of him; "We are not sufficient, of ourselves, to think any thing as of ourselves; but our fufficiency is of God."-All things relating to the new creation are of God.The new heaven and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteoufuefs, is of God, who maketh all things new.-The new covenant is of God, who fays, "I have made a covenant with my chofen.' "The new-covenant feaft is of God; "In this mountain fhall the Lord of hofts make unto all his people a feaft of fat things, a feaft of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined," Ifa. xxv. 6.

II. The fecond general head propofed was, To fhew how all these things are of God,

1. All things are, of God, as the contriver and willer of them. The old creation was a great contrivance; but the new creation is not only a great, but a good, and yet a more glorious contrivance. It could never have been devised but in the breast of infinite Wisdom. All proceeds from an act of God's fovereign will; " Of his own will begat he us, by the word of truth," James i. 18. And Heb. x. 18. " By this will we are fanctified, thro' the body of Christ, once for all." Hence all the promifés of the new covenant are fo many I wills; Ezek. xxxvi. 25, -30. “I will be your God; I will

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take away the heart of ftone; I will put my Spirit within you," &c.

2. All things are of God, not only as the contriver, willer, and promifer of them, but alfo as the Creator, worker, and effecter of them. Who creates the clean heart; who creates the fruit of the lips; who creates the new heavens, and the new earth; who makes the faculties of the foul like a new heaven, in point of fpirituality; and the members of the body like a new earth, in point of inftrumentality for fervice? Who, but God the Lord doth all these things? Ifa. xlv. 7. Who turneth men, who are like beafts, into faints?" Behold, I will do a new thing: the beafts of the field fhall honour me, the dragon and the owl. This people have I formed for myself; they fhall fhew forth my praife," Ifa. xliii. 19, 20, 21. Hence our Lord faith, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work," John v. 17.

3. All things are of Goll, as the difpofer, director, and manager; as he upholdeth all things by the word of his power, Heb. i. 3. "Fear not, for I am with thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteoufnefs," Ifa. xli. 10.: fo he orders and difpofes all things in the new creation, according to his fovereign pleafure; partly, by preferving and maintaining all things that he bath wrought; partly, by advancing, building up, and furthering his work; and partly, by reftoring and repairing all things relating to the new creation, that fall under a decay: Thy vifitation hath preferved my fpirit,' faith Job. The builder of all things is God," faith "He reftoreth my foul," faith David.-They that dwell under his fhadow shall return, they fhall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine," Hof. xiv. 7.

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He alloteth to every one fuch a fhare of all things, that are of him in the new creation, as he fees fit to grant. As he hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, fo the veffels of mercy are fometimes very empty, fometimes half-full, and fometimes overflow with communications; "Even fo, Father, for fo it feemeth good in thy fight." All things are of God. How comes it, that the praying veffel of mercy, the praying foul is like a dry veffel, not a drop can fall from it: and, at other

times, able to pour out a prayer, to pour out water like a flood before the Lord? Why, the reason is, All things are of God, as the difpofer. How comes it, that there is fuch an ebbing of grace in the believer at times, and fuch a flowing of the raging, roaring tide of corruption, as grace cannot be feen; and fuch an ebb of corruption, at other times, and flowing of grace, like an overwhelming flood, that fin and corruption feem to be drowned, and cannot be feen? Why, it must be refolved ultimately into divine unaccountable fovereignty; "Be ftill, and know that I am God," Pfalm xlvi. 10. All things are of him, as the wife difpofer.

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4. All things are of God, as the perfecter and compleater thereof: for, as he is a rock, and his work is perfect; fo he will not leave the new creation-work unperfected; Being confident of this very thing, that he that hath begun the good work, will perform it, [perfect or finish it, as in the margin,] until the day of Jefus Chrift," Phil. i. 6. that as it is already complete in Christ the head, Col. ii. 10. fo it may be complete in all the members of his body, who are to be prefented at last a glorious church, not having fpot, or wrinkle, or any fuch thing, Eph. v. 27.

In a word, all things, relating to the new creation, are of God, in Chrift; of the purpofe and decree of God, of the will and pleafure of God, of the word and promife of God, of the Spirit and power of God, of the grace and mercy of God, of the work and operation of God; and, if there be any good or great work among us this day, or at this occafion, it must be of God, as the worker and therefore, let us imitate David, Pfalm lvii. 2. "I will cry unto God most high, unto God that performeth all things for me;" and acknowledge, with the apoftle, Phil. ii. 13. "It is God that worketh in us both to will and to do, of his good pleafure;" that he may get the praise that the church afcribes to him, Ifa.xxvi. 12. "Lord, thou haft wrought all works in us and for us."

III. The third thing propofed was, To give the reafons why all things are of God, that relate to the new creation I offer thefe four grounds of the doctrine.

1. All things are of God, because he is Gop, and it

is his will to be the Author of all things, "Thou haft created all things, and for thy pleafure they are and were created," Rev. iv. 11. Being God, he is the fountain of all things and beings; the fountain of life: as without him nothing was made that was made; fo, without him no new creation can take place; neither men nor angels can create: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth, and all things in them :" and he only could do it; because he is God, and there is none else. And if all things be made new, a new heaven and a new earth, a new heart and a new life, a new faith and a new hope: he only can do it, because he is God, and there is none elfe. The work here is greater; for, when he made the world, there was nothing to refift him; but all the powers of earth and hell oppofe this new work.

2: All things are of God, relating to the new creation, because he therein defigns the glory of his perfections. He that is the beginning, is the end of all things; and all things are of him, because they are to him; "For of him, and through him, and to him are all things," Rom. xi. 36. Of him, as the efficient; through him, as the difpofing; and to him, as the final caufe. And, particularly, the new creation of all things in Chrift Jefus is for the manifeftation of his glory: "Thy people thall be all righteous, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified, Ifa. lx. 22. That they might be called trees of righteoufnefs, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified," Ifa. lxiii. 1. And again, as in the forecited text, "This people have I formed for myself, they shall fhew forth my praife." He makes them to himfelf a peculiar people, to fhew forth the praife of him that called them out of darkness into his marvellous light. Yea, they will never be fo active in fhewing forth his glory, as he is active in glorifying himself, in fhewing forth his own glory herein: therefore, Ifa. xliv. 23. Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it; fhout, ye lower parts of the earth; for the Lord hath redeemd Jacob, and glorified himself in Ifrael." He hath defigned, in all things, the glory of all his perfections.

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3. All things are of God, relating to the new creation, because all things relating to redemption and reconciliation,

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which is the ground upon which the new creation stands, are of God. Here is a fpecial ground why all these things are of God, that relate to the new creation; why, the new creation is in Chrift the Redeemer, and all things relating to this Redeemer, and redemption through him, are of God.

And here I fhall give inftances why the Redeemer himself is of God. It is true, the Redeemer, Chrift Jefus, is God, being the eternal Son, co-equal with the Father: yet, as Redeemer, he is of God; he took not this honour to himfelf, but was chofen and called of God unto it; and fo he is a Redeemer of God's calling and electing, Ifa. xlii. 1. Every thing he hath, as Redeemer, is of God. As his divine Sonfhip is of God the Father, by eternal, ineffable generation; fo his human nature is of God, by fpecial, wonderful donation. Therefore Chrit fays,

A body haft thou given me," i. e. a buman nature.His divine perfon, in the conftitution thereof, as God-man Mediator, is of God: therefore God fays, " A virgin fhall bring forth a Son, and his name fhall be called IMMANUEL, God with us."-His miffion is of God; for," God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whofoever believeth in him fhould not perish, but have everlasting life."His faving offices are of God, who fays, “I have found David my fervant, with mine holy oil have I anointed him: I have laid help upon One that is mighty." And that our help might be laid upon him, our fin and guilt was laid upon him: and this imputation of our fin to him, is of God; "The Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He hath made him to be fin for us."-His ability to execute thefe offices is of God; for, " Him hath God the Father fealed:" and he opens up his fealed commiffion; "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, becaufe he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath fent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of fight to the blind, to fet at liberty them that are bruifed," Luke iv. 18. Ifa. lxi. 1.— His furniture and fulness is of God; for, "It pleased the Father, that in himfhould all fulness dwell:" and he fays, "I have put my Spirit upon him, and he fhall bring forth VOL. VII + R judg

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