towards Chrift, fo as it is united to him by faith, love, defire, delight. Thus the dead foul is railed to life, and now the man is converted,

(1.) From his own righteoufnefs to reliance upon the Lord our righteoufnefs. Men naturally depend upon a righteousness of their own; fomething wrought by them, or in them, is the ground of their hope and confidence. Some truf to this, that they are good Chriftians; fume to this, that they are good Proteftants; fome that they have a good honest mind and meaning; fome that they do this and the other good duty; fome that they are good neighbours, and wrong no-body; fome that they are zealous for a good caufe, and are always on the belt fide; fome that they have good affections and enlarge. ments at times; they get a tear fhed in hearing, and joy in hearing, &c. Every one lays ftrefs upon one thing or another. But evangelical converfion brings a man off from thefe bottoms, and from all confidence in the flesh.

(2.) This converfion frees men from all their fins and idols, reckoning all nothing to the pearl of great price. The man not only confeffes fin, but forfakes it; not only forfakes it, but is grieved for it; not only grieves for it, but hates it; not only hates it, but purfues it to death, and feeks the utter ruin of it, faying, O to have fin crucified! O to be avenged on these Philiftines! not only for my two eyes that they have put out, not only for the hurt they have done to me, but for the dishonour and indignities they do unto God.

3. Have you any acquaintance with the ftreets of the city? particularly thefe two great streets wherein the citizens walk, viz. obedience to the commanding will of God, and fubmiffion to his difpofing will.

(1.) A man, by obedience to the commanding will of God, difputes not any of his commands, but approves of his whole will; difapproves of himfelf for want of conformity to him. He is difpleafed with himfelf, faying, "Oh! wretched man that I am!" He hath a fecret approbation and fatisfaction with himfelf, when he finds conformity thereunto wrought, he is pleafed with this, as evidential of his intereft in Chrift's righteousness.

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When he finds himself brought under the power of holinefs, and delivered from the power of fin, then he is best pleased with himself, who is walking along the street of obedience to the commanding will of God.

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(2.) The other street of the city is fubmiffion to God's difpofing will and they that know what it is to walk along this, are brought to a fubmiffion to the providence of God. The man that cannot walk here, he is difpleafed with every providence, faying, "Why doth God fuffer thefe confufions in the world? Why doth he fuffer fin to be in me, and in the world? Why "doth not a holy God take courfe with his enemies on a fudden? Why am not I redreffed inftantly of my grievances? Why are not my prayers instantly heard?" The man cannot wait God's leifure, nor God's time, but limits the holy One of Ifrael, and repines at every difpenfation: but now, when he is brought to be a true citizen, and acquaint with the ftreets of the city, he is ready to fay, Alas! I am afhamed of myfelf, and my unbelief, and my hellish pride, and all my heart-rifings against the divine will. Now he defires to fay, " Lord, what wilt thou have me "to do? What wilt thou have me to fuffer? Let me

do what thou pleaseft, provided thou helpeft me; let me fuffer what thou pleafeft, provided thou upholdeft "me; I will put a blank in the Lord's hand. Let me "be reproached, if he fee that good for me; let me be "poor, let me be trampled under foot: yea, if he fee it "meet fometimes to hide his face, to keep me empty,

and deny me thefe fweet influences that I would gladly have at all times; if it be for his glory and my good, "that these be denied, let him even take the govern"ment, and rule the reins as he pleafeth; let me not "affect the dominion: let him take his own way of

dieting me, and keeping me from hand to mouth. "I know he will not farve me, but defigns my good in all things; "He is a God of judgment, and blessed are all they that wait for him." How unpleasant were his providences of this fort once a day to me! But now he hath brought me to know the ftreets of "the city."

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4. Are you acquainted with the temple of the city? "I faw no temple there, but the Lord God almighty, and the Lamb are in the midst of it." What acquaintance have you with the temple? and with looking again and again to his holy temple in all your firaits? They looked to him, and were enlightened, and their faces were not afhamed."—Are you acquaint with the trade of the city; trading with heaven, living upon Christ, and his fulness? Do you endeavour to fupport the walls of the city, the doctrine, worship, difcipline, and government of God's houfe? Are you feeking the good of the city and citizens?" If I forget thee, O Jerufalem, let my right hand forget her cunning."

5. If you be a true citizen, then you will have fomewhat of the difpofition of, and conformity to the heavenly Jerufalem; for, "Ye are come to mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerufalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general affembly and church of the firft-born, which are written in heaven," Heb. xii. 22. The church militant and triumphant are but one houfe; the one the lower, the other the upper. room. In that city there is perfect vifion; they fee him as he is. Now, what begun conformity have you to that? What views have you got of Chrift?-In that city there is full fruition. Now, what conformity have you to that? What fellowship with the Father and Son?-In that city there is perfect likeness to Chrift. What have you of this? Beholding his glory, are you changed? What holinefs have you? or what lamentation over your unholiness, and longings after it!—In that city there is perfect joy. What have you of the beginnings hereof, by your fharing of the river that makes glad the city of God? What drops of divine joy ftrengthen you at times? Though frequently you have forrow, yet Christ says, "I will fee you again, and your hearts fhall rejoice." Do you find his vifiting you again and again, giving fome joy? I fpeak not of the measure, but of the reality of the thing.

6. Try if you be a citizen of this city, by the love which you bear to fellow-citizens. This is a clear conSequence from the union that is between the members of his compacted body: and though fome coin is lefs

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than other coin, yet, if it bear the image of Gæfar, it fhould pafs. If we fee the image of Chrift, we fhould love it, though there be fome fmall differences. Some have a greater, and fome a lefs degree. "By this we know that we are paffed from death to life, because we love the brethren."

7. If you be among the inhabitants of the city of God, then you are diftinguifhed, from the rest of the world in your garb, your language, your zeal.-You are diftinguished in your garb; you are, in fome refpects, all glorious within, cloathed with the imputed and implanted righteousness of Chrift.-You will be dif tinguished in your language; you will love to speak of Zion's King, and the privileges of the city; and have forgotten the language of Afhdod: the curfed fwearer, and the perfon that loves not to fpeak, or hear concerning the city of God, he does not look like an inhabitant of it. You will be diftinguished alfo as to your zeal, if you be a citizen; the concerns of the city will ly near your heart: and the zeal you have thereto, will even be like to eat you up.

The laft ufe we fhall make of the doctrine fhall be for exhortation: and this fhall be tendered to three forts of perfons. 1. To thefe that are not citizens of this city of God. 2. To these that are citizens. And, 3. To

all in general.

Ift, To these that are not citizens of this city of God. It will not make you a citizen that you dwell in the city, profefs to be a citizen, or be taken for a citizen. Ο ftudy to be citizens of this city of God! And to enforce this exhortation, confider,

1. The great confufions and commotions that are in our day: The earth is like to be removed, and the mountains caft into the midft of the fea; the waters are roaring, and the mountains fhaking: the heathen raging, and the people imagining a vain thing: there are many fecret and open plots againft the Lord and his Anointed.

2. Confider that, notwithstanding of all the confufions and diforders in the world, there is appearance f greater, if the Lord do not prevent, becaufe of our

fraitleffnefs under the gofpel: dreadful fecurity, and many other tokens of the Lord's anger, portending great confufion; and what will you do, if you have not interest in this city, where alone there is fafety and peace?

3. Confider the mifery of thefe who are without the city: the suburbs is a dangerous poft in time of war; for they are lure to be consumed, either by the citizens or enemies. Though you be befide the ark in a profeffion of religion, yet you may perifh as certainly as thefe that are an hundred miles from it. And if And if you fhall NOT efcape who neglect this great falvation, by refuf ing to go into the city, what will become of thefe who pull down the walls of this city, as many are doing at this day? "God will render vengeance to his

enemies."

4. Confider the happiness of these that are true citizens of this city: they are freed from fin, freed from Satan, freed from the law, freed from death, freed from hell, freed from trouble, or bleffed with reft in the midft of it; for, in the greatest commotions in the world, there is a river, the streams whereof do make glad the city of God.

Now, if you afk, What you fhall do to be citizens? We anfwer, That there are none born free of this city. All these that are born under the external privileges of it, have not a right to the fpecial privileges that belong. to the citizens thereof: but if you would become citi

zens,

(1.) You must be born again; it is not your natural generation, but fpiritual regeneration that will make you free in this city; "Of Zion it fhall be faid, This man and that man was born in her."

(2.) You must leave all other cities; you must leave the world, and the pollutions thereof; you must come out of Sodom, Tyre, Babylon, Jerufalem, which are in bondage, and come to mount Zion; we must leave all and come to the city of God, to the Lord Jefus Chrift; break off your fociety with fin and Satan; your covenant with hell must be broken, your agreement with death muft be difanulled, and you must go to the fociety of the godly, however meanly you think of them

now: