the more genuine is their faith evidenced to be, and the more humble is their walk before the Lord.

6. Abide in Chrift, maintaining union and communion with him. But, perhaps, fome may fay, Seeing daily defilement will remain while in time, and feeing he is fo abfolutely pure and holy; how can fellowship be maintained betwixt clean and unclean, a holy God, and a defiled finner? To which we may reply, There are many fins whereby believers are defiled; but the way of cleaning is fill open to them in the promise : and it is not merely the remains of defilement, but the neglect of purification, that is inconfiftent with the believer's state and his fellowship with God. The rule of communion with God is exprefied by David, Pfalm xix. 12, 13. "Who can underftand his errors? Cleanfe thou me from fecret faults. Keep back thy fervant alfo from prefumptuous fins; let them not have dominion over me. Then fhall I be upright, and I fhall be innocent from the great tranfgreflion." God requires of all his people, that they walk uprightly before him, in a dependence upon his almighty power to enable them; “I am God almighty, walk before me, and be thou perfect." Now, to this uprightnefs four things are requifite: 1. A conftant humble acknowledgment of fin; "Who can understand his errors ?"

2. A daily cleanfing in the blood of Chrift from thofe defilements, which the leaft fecret fins are accompanied with; Cleanfe thou me from fecret faults."

3. A fear of finning with a high hand, flowing from a fenfe of natural pronenefs thereto, and an ardent defire to be reftrained therefrom; " Keep back thy fervant from prefumptuous fin."

4. Deliverance from, or deprecating the dominion, notwithstanding the prevalency thereof: "Let them not have dominion over me; then fhall I be upright, and innocent from the great tranfgreffion." Where thefe things are, then there is a man upright, and may have daily communion with a holy God. And while believers are preferved within thefe bounds, though they are defiled by fin; yet communion with God may be maintained for, our fellowship with Chrift, while in this

world,

world, is with him as he is a Saviour, and we finners: as we have fin to be cleanfed, and he hath blood to cleanfe us and your fins and defilements, which you go to him with, and complain of, and want to be cleanfed, inflead of calling you away for them, they draw out his compaffions towards you. And know that he never united you to himfelf, or drew your heart to him, because you are perfect, but that in his own time and way he may make you fo; nor becaufe you are clean, but that he might cleanfe you, according to his promife, "I will fprinkle clean water upon you; from all your filthinefs, and from all your idols will I cleanfe you."

In a word, take along with you that clean water, which is the only laver for cleaning you from all your fins. Keep in your remembrance the perfect cleannefs of it; the infinite power and efficacy of it. How great is that blood that must have more value, seeing it is the blood of the Son of God, than all fins can have guilt, feeing they are the fins but of the fons of men! All fins are, compared with it, but like a drop of the bucket to the ocean. The more that you earry of this clean water in your heart, the more will it rid you of all unclean devils within and without. This clean water will never putrify or corrupt; hence, the blood of Chrift is oppofed to corruptible things; "We are not redeemed with corruptible things, fuch as filver or gold, but with the precious blood of Chrift, as of a Lamb without fpot," Pet. i. 18. Intimating, that the blood of Chrift, in regard of its power and efficacy, does not corrupt: as the fun fheds his light every day about the world, yet remains a freth fpring of new light in the air every morning; fo, the blood of Chrift fhed upon the cross, lofes not its virtue, but is as operative as ever, and remains a propitiation for ever. Hence, though the facrifice was but once offered; yet it is often commemorate, to fhew the perpetual virtue of it; in regard that Chrift, who was a Prieft, in his perfon; a facrifice, in his humanity; was alfo the altar, in his divinity; and this fanctified the facrifice, and derived infinite dignity to it; as geld which hath a luftre in itfeif, yet hath a greater

greater when the fun fhines full upon it. Chrift was both the offerer and the facrifice; He offered bimfelf, Eph. v. 2. His blood was offered by his perfon.-Let this clean water then be highly prized, and daily improven, by faith and prayer, for the purpofe for which it is here promised of God in the text; Then will I fprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanfe you.

SERMON

SERMON CXXXV.

CHRIST'S TREASURES opened by HIMSELF, Declaring he hath ALL THINGS that GOD the FATHER hath *.

JOHN xvi. 15.

All things that the Father bath are mine.

THE glorious excellency, fulness, and all-fufficiency of our Lord Jefus Chrift, is inexpreffibly great: none can speak of it fo well as himself; and indeed he himself is the preacher here and as here we have his word, fo, if his Spirit accompany it, we may, in this glafs, fee his matchlefs glory: for here it is fo wonderfully defcribed, that neither the tongues of men nor angels can tell fo much of his glorious fulness and furniture, in, fo few words; All things that the Father bath are mine.

Our Lord fairly warns his difciples of what croffes they were to meet with in this world, verfe 2. They fhall put you out of the fynagogues; yea, the time cometh, that whofoever killeth you, will think that he doth God fervice." But, at the fame time, he affures them of what comforts he would afford them: and, as it was usual for the Old-Teftament prophets, to comfort the church in her adverfity with the promife of the Meffias, Isaiah ix. 6. Micah v. 5.; fo, the Meffias being come, he comforts his people with the promise of the Spirit, the

* This Sermon was preached immediately before the celebration of the facrament of the Lord's furper, at Dunfermline, July 19th, 1747. To which is fubjoined, the Difcourfes before and at the fervice of the firft Table, and at the Conclufion of the Solemnity.

Com

Comforter; and this is the great New-Teftament promife.

Chrift promifes the Spirit here, from verfe 5. as a fruit of his afcenfion, faying, "If I go, I will fend him;" and that becaufe the fending of the Spirit was to be not only the fruit of his purchase on earth, but the answer of his prayers in heaven, and of his interceffion within the vail, John xiv. 16. The gift of the Spirit must be paid for, and prayed for, that we might highly value this privilege.

We are told, from verfe 8. and downward, what a great benefit the coming of the Spirit fhould be to a blind world; "When he is come, he will reprove the world of fin, righteoufnefs, and judgment," &c. Next, what a great benefit his coming would be to the disciples themselves, from ver. 13. "When the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth," &c.

Again, the great work of the Spirit is fummed up, verfe 14. "He fhall glorify me; for he fhall take of mine, and fhew it unto you." This I have spoken to formerly. And now this text comes in as a reason of the former; q. d. Would you have a reafon why the Spirit, when he comes, fhall glorify me, by taking of mine and fhewing it to you? Even becaufe, All things that the Father bath are mine: "Therefore faid I unto you, that he fhall receive of mine, and fhew it unto you:" he being the Spirit of the Father as well as the Spirit of the Son, when he comes to glorify me, he comes to glorify the Father in me; and by fhewing things of mine, which are not different from, but the same with the things of the Father; his fhewing of mine, will fhew what a glorious One I am, because, All things that the Father bath are mine.

Our Lord Jefus never fpeaks of his being glorified alone, without the Father's being glorified in him; nor of his own glory ablìract from the Father's glory: fee this in his entry upon his fuffering work; "Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him," John xiii. 31. See it in his entry upon his interceffory work on earth; "Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son alfo may glorify thee," John xvii. 1. And fee it here in