of divinity and perfection upon it; therefore the bleffings intended to be purchased by a price fo inestimable, must have been fecured agreeable to the intention.

3d, If precious faith, for the reasons given, be alike precious to all that obtain it, then the weakeft believer has falvation afcertained unto him, as well as the strongest; feeing it is the gift of the fame God, the effect of the fame fpirit, the reward of the fame righteoufnefs, is given for the like gracious purposes, and has the fame power engaged to preferve and reward it.

USES.

If falvation then be wholly of God, seek it not in yourselves, or in your own performances; this will be to spend your ftrength for nought, and your labour for that which fatisfieth not, let God have the glory, bow yourfelves before him, and acknowledge that you are poor needy helpless creatures, and are expecting your all from him. I will fuppofe that you are thoroughly convinced of the evil of fin, that you have thereby abufed the goodness of God, have violated his holy law, trampled upon his mercy, and are conscious that you have juftly forfeited his favour, and your expectations of happiness, are almoft cut off and extinct; yet fuch conviction and fight of yourselves and fins, have not been attained to by your own prudent attention, and natural light, but have been discovered and laid open in your hearts, by the efficiency of his grace and good fpirit, and therefore the glory of this very dawn of falvation is wholly to be afcribed to him You are by nature dark and blind in your understandings, ftub

born

born and refractory in your wills, and your hearts are too proud and haughty to allow the worft of yourselves, and whatever has made a difcovery to you of your innate darknefs must be a light thining from above, a ray of the uncreated brightneis. Why are not all your friends and kindred aş much affected under a fenfe of fin as you are? Are they not finners alfo? Yes, verily all have finned. Are you more wife and prudent than they, difcovering by your fuperior fagacity the great evil of fin? This you will fcarcely be brought to fay. Had you yourselves always the like conception of the evil of fin, or have you only been finners of late time? This you know is not so. To what then must the prefent fenfe of fin and your, felves be afcribed to, if not to the illuminating grace of God now fhining into your hearts as a light into a dark cavern? And how under fuch discovery of fin, are you purpofing to procure the falvation you want from the direful effects thereof? You are refolving I make no doubt to correct your former errors and wrong dealings, to amend your lives, and tread the paths of virtue and holinefs; and after fuch laudable refolutions have been carried into practice with all poffible care, diligence and circumfpection, what do ye hope for? Will future obedience atone for past offences? No, in no wife, for perfect obedience at all times was a debt you owed the author of your being. Can you imagine fuch obedience as you are purpofing to pay, will be perfect and unremitted as the law requires? Sad experience, if you attend to that law, will foon convince you of the folly of fuch imagination.

Perhaps you are refolving to do fomething, and

are

are pleasing yourselves with the thought, that God will do the reft and make up your deficiences; but pray where is this written? And if this is not God's declared method of falvation, who fuggefted it? Can you not in this self-contrived plan of falvation fee the cloven foot? Is not self and pride at the bottom of all this? What part in this work of your falvation is it that you propofe to manage? It is already fuppofed to be begun, and that by God, otherwife it would never have been set about? It is not unlikely you had stood idle or worse than idle 'till the ninth or eleventh hour, and if the good fpirit of God had not inclined your hearts you would have loitered till you had tumbled into hell. And now that God has begun, do you intend by your own power and prudence to carry it on? Verily you will neither find courage nor conduct to withstand the leaft affault from fin or fatan, for "without Chrift you can "do nothing," John xv, 5, you cannot maintain your ground a day nor an hour. If then your falvation be wholly of God, feek to him alone, take fhame and guilt and weaknefs to yourselves, and give to him the glory.

Again, is falvation only to be obtained through faith in the Lord Chrift, then let your works no longer have either name or place in obtaining the bleffing; if it was wholly purchased by the blood and righteousness of the Redeemer, then freely acknowledge that he alone is worthy to receive power, and riches, and wijdom, and strength, and bonour, and glory, and bieffing. Rev. v. 12. if precious faith is appointed as the inftrument in laying hold on falvation, and this faith itself be obtained as the gift of God, through the righteouf

And

nefs

nefs of our God and Saviour Jefus Chrift; then look out of yourselves, take off your attention from your own works, and look to Jefus; hear the word of the Lord, O earth, for faith comes by bearing, and bearing, (all that you can receive any comfort by) is from the word of God.

2d, If the work and undertaking of our Lord Jefus Chrift was perfectly finished and compleat, labour to fettle in your minds the comfortable and interesting truth; the work finished, what remains to be done? The debt difcharged, who can make any further demands? Who fhall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is Chrift that died, the anointed of the father, the Shiloh, the defire of all nations, the woman's-feed who is God over all blessed for ever; yea rather that has rifen again, and hereby hath given an inconteftable proof of the fufficiency of the facrifice he had offered. As nothing can increase the splendor and light of the fun, or compare with the radiancy and brightness of it's beams; fo nothing can add to the confummate work of the holy Jefus, nor any righteoufnefs of ours be compared with the inimitable excellency of his righteoufnefs.

Let your feafted eyes then continually look to this, meditate thereon by night and by day, and let your charmed ears be attentive to his laft dying, but triumphant declaration, it is finished. Your hearts may often fuggeft unto you, that this or that good thing will enfure your peace; but if thefe would either thruft themselves into the place of Jefus and his perfectly finished work, or would offer themselves as auxiliaries in the grand affair of your acceptance with God, you ought to put them away as Jehu did the meffengers of Joram

king of Ifrael, What haft thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.

God hath fignified his good pleasure in the compleat work of his fon, in that he hath raised him from the dead, and exalted him as the great highprieft of his people to his right hand in hea ven. Set your affections there where Jefus fits, let the anchor of your hope be caft in that which is entered within the vail; let your faith bring to your fouls from the fulness of Jefus a rich and plentiful fupply; as your good works cannot fave you, neither can your involuntary bad works condemn you; "for there is no condemnation to "them that are in Chrift Jefus, who walk not "after the flesh but after the fpirit," Why? Becaufe" the righteoufnefs of the law is fulfilled in 66 us who walk not after the flesh, but after the fpirit." Rom. viii, 1, 3.

66

You may often find your faith affaulted, and whole troops of diftreffing and comfort wafting doubts, attempting to fap your confidence and undermine all your fpiritual joys; on one hand a fenfe of the feebleness of your graces, may dif quiet you, and on the other hand, the ftrength of your yet remaining corruptions, and your many weakneffes and imperfections, may pronounce a fentence of condemnation in your confcience, enforced by the holy law of God.

In fuch cafe, run with speed into the garden of Gethsemane, follow Jefus to the cross, view well his fufferings, liften to the language of his vocal blood, and hear him proclaim to the filencing of all your doubts, and the quieting of all your fears, it is finished. Let this precious declaration be infcribed on the tables of your hearts, let the found

of