nefs to whomfoever Chrift is made righteoufnefs, to him he alfo is made fanctification.

The gospel hath not the leaft favour for licentioufnefs. It is every way as careful to prefs men to their duties as to inftruct them in their privileges, Tit. iii. 8. "This is a faithful faying; and these "things I will that ye affirm conftantly; that they which have be"lieved in God, might be careful to maintain good works." It is a loofe principle, divulged by libertines, to the reproach of Chrift and his gofpel, that fanctification. is not the evidence of our justification? And Chrift is as much wronged by them who feparate holincfs from righteoufnefs (as if a fenfual vile life were confiftent with a juftified ftate) as he is in the contrary extreme, by thofe who confound Chrift's righteoufnefs with man's holiness, in the point of juftification; or that own no other rightcoufnefs, but what is inherent in themfelves. The former opinion makes him a cloak for fin, the latter a needless facrifice for fin.

It is true, our fanctification cannot juftify us before God; but what then, can it not evidence our juftification before men? Is there no neceffity, or ufe for holinefs, because it hath no hand in our juftification? Is the preparation of the foul for heaven, by altering its frame and temper, nothing? Is the glorifying of our Redeemer, by the exercifes of grace in the world, nothing? Doth the work of Chrift render the work of the Spirit needlefs? God forbid?"He came not by blood only, but by water alfo," 1 John v.6. And when the apoftle faith, in Rom. iv. 5. "But unto "him that worketh not, but believeth on him that juftifieth the

ungodly, his faith is counted for righteoufnefs:" the fcope of it is neither to characterize and describe the juftified perfon, as one that is lazy and flothful, and hath no mind to work, nor the rebellious and refractory, refufing obedience to the commands of God; but to reprefent him as an humbled finner, who is convinced of his inability to work out his own righteousness by the law, and fees all his endeavours to obey the law fall short of righteoutnefs, and therefore is faid, in a law-fenfe, not to work, because he doth not work fo as to answer the purpose and end of the law, which accepts of nothing beneath perfect obedience.

And when (in the fame text) the ungodly are faid to be juftified, that character defcribes not the temper and frame of their hearts and lives, after their juftification, but what it was before; not as it leaves, but as it found them*.

Infer. 3. How unreasonable, and worse than brutish, is the fin of infidelity, by which the finner rejects Chrif, and with him all those mercies, and benefits, which alone can relieve and cure his mifery !

God juftifies the ungodly antecedently not confequently. Par.

He is by nature blind and ignorant, and yet refufes Chrift, who comes to him with heavenly light and wifdom: he is condemned by the terrible fentence of the law to eternal wrath, and yet rejects Chrift, who renders to him complete and perfect righteousness: he is wholly polluted and plunged into original and actual pollutions of nature and practice, yet will have none of Chrift, who would become fanctification to him. He is oppreffed in foul and body, with the deplorable effects and miferies fin hath brought upon him, and yet is fo in love with his bondage, that he will neither accept Chrift, nor the redemption he brings with him to finners.

OT what monsters, what beafts hath fin turned its fubjects into! You will not come to me, that ye may have life,” John v. 40. Sin hath ftabbed the finner to the heart, the wounds are all mortal, eternal death is in his face; Chrift hath prepared the only plaifter that can cure his wounds, but he will not fuffer him to apply it*. He acts like one in love with death, and that judges it fweet to perith. So Chrift tells us, Prov. viii. 36. « All they that "hate me, love death :" not in itself, but in its caufes; with which it is infeparably connected. They are loth to burn, yet willing to fin; though fin kindle thofe everlafting flames. So that in two things the unbeliever fhews himself worfe than brutish, he cannot think of damnation, the effect of fin, without horror; and cannot yet think of fin, the caufe of damnation, without pleasure; he is loth to perifh to all eternity without remedy, and yet refufes and declines Chrift as if he were an enemy, who only can and would deliver him from that eternal perdition.

How do men act therefore, as if they were in love with their own ruin! Many poor wretches now in the way to hell, what an hard fhift do they make to caft themfelves away! Chrift meets them many times in the ordinances, where they fudioufly thun him: many times checks them in their way by convictions, which they make an hard fhift to overcome and conquer. Oh how willing are they to accept a cure, a benefit, a remedy, for any thing but their fouls! You fee then that finners cannot, (fhould they ftudy all their days to do themfelves a mifchief), take a readier courfe to undo themselves, than by rejecting Chrift in his gracious offers.

Surely the fin of Sodom and Gomorrah is lefs than this fin. Mercy itfelf is exafperated by it, and the damnation of fuch as reject Chrift, (fo prepared for them, with whatever they need, and fo ferioully and frequently offered to them upon the knee of gofpel intreaty), is juft, inevitable, and will be more intolerable than to any in the world befide them. It is juft, for the finner hath but

Not that any one is fo mad, as willingly and knowingly to love death, which we all naturally abhor; but becaufe that is the fruit of defpiling the wisdom of God, which at length brings death on us. Lavat, en the place.

his own option, or choice: he is but come to the end which he was often told his way would bring him to. It is inevitable, for there is no other way to falvation, but that which is rejected. And it will be more intolerable than the damnation of others, becaufe neither Heathens nor devils ever aggravated their fins by fuch an horrid circumftance, as the wilful refufing of fuch an apt, offered, and only remedy.

Infer. 4. What a tremendous symptom of wrath, and fad character of death, appears upon that man's foul, to which no effectual application of Chrift can be made by the gospel.

Christ, with his benefits, is frequently tendered to them in the gofpel; they have been befeeched once and again, upon the knee of importunity, to accept him; thofe entreaties and perfuafions have been urged by the greateft arguments, the command of God, the love of Chrift, the inconceivable happiness or mifery which unavoidably follow the accepting or rejecting of thofe offers, and yet nothing will affect them: all their pleas for infidelity have been over and over confuted, their reafons and confciences have ftood convinced; they have been speechlefs, as well as Christless: not one found argument is found with them to defend their infidelity: they confefs in general, that such courfes as theirs are, lead to deftruction. They will yield them to be happy fouls that are in Chrift; and yet, when it comes to the point, their own clofing with him, nothing will do; all arguments, all entreaties, return to us without fuccefs.

Lord! what is the reafon of this unaccountable obftinacy? In other things it is not fo: If they be fick, they are fo far from rejecting a physician that offers himfelf, that they will fend, and pray, and pay him too. If they be arrefted for debt, and any one will be a furety, and pay their debts for them, words can hardly exprefs the fenfe they have of fuch a kindnefs: but though Chrift would be both a phyfician and furety, and whatever elfe their needs require, they will rather perish to eternity, than accept him. What may we fear to be the reafon of this, but becaufe they are not of Chrift's fheep, John x. 26. The Lord open the eyes of poor finners, to apprehend not only how great a fin, but how dreadful a fign this is.

Inf. 5. If Chrift, with all his benefits, be made ours, by God's fpecial application, what a day of mercies then is the day of converfion what multitudes of choice bleffings vifit the converted foul in that day!

This day, (faith Chrift to Zaccheus, Luke xix. 9.) is falvation come to this houfe." In this day, Chrift cometh into the foul, and he comes not empty, but brings with him all his treafures of wisdom and righteoufnefs, fanctification and redemption. Troops of mercies, yea, of the beft of mercies,

come with him. It is a day of fingular gladness and joy to the heart of Christ, when he is efpoufed to, and received by the be lieving foul; it is a coronation-day to a king. So you read, Cant. iii. 11. "Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king So"lomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in "the day of his efpoufals, and in the day of the gladness of his "heart."

Where, under the type of Solomon in his greatest magnificence and glory, when the royal diadem was fet upon his head, and the people fhouted for joy, fo that the earth did ring again, is shadow ed out the joy of Chrift's heart, when poor fouls, by their high ef timation of him, and confent to his government, do, as it were, crown him with glory and honour, and make his heart glad.

Now, if the day of our efpoufals to Chrift be the day of the gladnefs of his heart, and he reckons himfelf thus honoured and glorified by us, what a day of joy and gladness should it be to our hearts, and how fhould we be tranfported with joy, to fee a King from heaven, with all his treasures of grace and glory, beftowing himself freely, and everlaftingly upon us, as our portion! No wonder Zaccheus came down joyfully, Luke xix. 6. that the eunuch went home rejoicing, Acts viii. 39. that the gaoler rejoiced, believing in God with all his houfhould, Acts xvi. 34. that they that were converted, did eat their meat with gladneis, praifing God, Acts ii. 41, 46. that there was great joy among them of Samaria, when Chrift came among them in the preaching of the gospel, Acts viii. 5, 8. I fay, it is no wonder we read of fuch joy accompanying Chrift into the foul, when we confider, that in one day, fo many bleffings meet together in it, the leaft of which is not to be exchanged for all the kingdoms of this world, and the glory of them. Eternity itfelf will but fuffice to blefs God for the mercies of this one day.

Infer. 6. If Christ be made all this to every foul, unto whom he is effectually applied, what cause then have those fouls, that are under the preparatory work of the Spirit, and are come nigh to Chrift and all his benefits, to fretch out their hands, with vehement defire to Christ, and give him the most importungte invitation into their fouls!

The whole world is diftinguishable into three claffes, or forts of perfons: fuch as are far from Chrift; fuch as are not far from Chrift; and fuch as are in Chrift. They that are in Chrift have heartily received him. Such as are far from Chrift; will not open to him; their hearts are faft barred by ignorance, prejudice, and unbelief against him: But thofe that are come under the preparatory workings of the Spirit, nigh to Chrift, who fee their own indifpenfible neceflity of him, and his fuitablenefs to their neceffities, in whom alfo encouraging hopes begin to dawn, and their fouls

are waiting at the foot of God for power to receive him, for an heart to clofe fincerely and univerfally with him; Oh what vehement defires! what ftrong pleas! what moving arguments fhould fuch perfons urge, and plead to win Christ, and get poffeffion of him! they are in fight of their only remedy; Chrift and falvation are come to their very doors: there wants but a few things to make them bleffed for ever. This is the day in which their fouts are exercised between hopes and fears: Now they are much alone, and deep in thoughtfulness, they weep and make fupplication for a heart to believe, and that against the great difcouragements with which they encounter.

Reader, if this be the cafe of thy foul, it will not be the leaft piece of fervice I can do for thee, to fuggeft fuch pleas as in this cafe are proper to be urged for the attainment of thy defires, and the clofing of the match between Chrift and thee.

First, Plead the abfolute neceffity which now drives thee to Chrift: Tell him thy hope is utterly perifhed in all other refuges. Thou art come like a ftarving beggar to the last door of hope. Tell him thou now beginneft to fee the abfolute neceflity of Chrift. Thy body hath not fo much need of bread, water, or air, as thy foul hath of Chrift, and that wisdom and righteoufnefs, fanctification and redemption, that are in him.

Secondly, Plead the Father's gracious defign in furnishing and fending him into the world, and his own defign in accepting the Father's call. Lord Jefus, waft thou not "anointed to preach "good tidings to the meek, to bind up the broken-hearted, and "to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the pri "fon to them that are bound?" Tía. Ixi. 1, 3. Behold an object suitable to thine office: whilft I was ignorant of my condition, I had a proud rebellious heart, but conviction and felf-acquaintance have now melted it: my heart was harder than the nether millftone, and it was as eafy to diffolve the obdurate rocks, as to thaw and melt my heart for fin, but now God hath made my heart foft, I fenfibly feel the mifery of my condition. I once thought myfelf at perfect liberty, but now I fee what I conceited to be fect liberty, is perfect bondage; and never did a poor prifoner figh for deliverance more than I. Since then thou haft given me a foul thus qualified, though ftill unworthy, for the exercife of thine office, and execution of thy commiffion; Lord Jefus, be, according to thy name, a Jefus unto me.

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Thirdly, Plead the unlimited and general invitation made to fuch fouls as you are, to come to Chrift freely. Lord, thou haft made open proclamation; "Ho, every one that thirfteth, come ye to "the waters, Ifa. lv. 1. and Rev. xxii. 17. "Him that is a-thirft