never a holy man. But, 4. Hereby fin is ftrengthned and encreased, as I faid before: The motions of fin are by the law, Rom. vii. 5. The law entred, that fin might abound, Rom. v. 20. Not only as to the knowledge of it, which is by the law, but as to the actual out-breaking of it from the heart; like a river being bounded and damm'd up by the law, it fwells and breaks out the more violently. The wicked nature of man, being reproved, fwells and rifes like a fnake brought to the fire. 5. Hereby the man becomes defperate, for the law fays, there is no hope without a perfect obedience; and the man having wearied himself in doing nothing answerable to what the law requires, comes at laft, perhaps, to fee there is no hope, and fo he dies in defpair; I mean, he dies in fin, faying: There is no hope, and therefore after idols I will go: He flees away from God, as Adam did. 6. Hereby he becomes flavish alfo; the fear, torment and wrath, which the law brings along with it, when the penalty of it is feen, weakens the man's hands; and thefe lying like heavy loads upon the foul, it is thereby fettered and bound in prifon, hence faid to be held in the law; that being dead wherein we were held, fays the apoftle. The man is held, and fhut up in the prifon of the law, and fo out of cafe for fervice while his bands are not.loofed, or at beft his fervice is flavish, and not free; the law holds him in prifon, he cannot ferve God freely. The free fpirit of the gofpel is what the world cannot receive, while under the law. Thus you may fee what influence living to the law may have upon men's living in fin, fo as they cannot live unto God.

Secondly,

Secondly, What influence a man's dying to the law hath upon his living unto God, or upon holiness and fanctification? Anfw. It hath efpecially a twofold influence, both a phyfical and a moral influence, And,

1. It hath a phyfical influence upon a man's fan&tification, in regard that a man that is dead to the law, is married to Chrift, Rom. vii. 4. and fo neceffarily the man must be holy, being disjoined from the law, and joined to the Lord Jefus, who hath fatisfied the precept of the law by his obedience, and the penalty of the law by his death; and in him, not only have they thus a full discharge of all the demands and commands of the law; but alfo, by the implantation and inhabitation of his fpirit, are created to a conformity to the image of God; and they cannot but live unto God. For, 1. In Christ they have life: Though, while under the law, they were dead in fins and trefpaffes, now in Chrift they have life, and have it more abundantly; they are quickned by virtue of their union to this everlasting head; because he lives, they live also. A dead perfon can produce no living action, but Chrift is the life of his people. He that hath the fon, hath life; and then, and never till then, is he in cafe for fpiritual action and living unto God. He that hath not the fon of God, hath not life: Vain men fancy within themselves, that they have not lost their life, and fo they think they can do fomething that will pleafe God, and profit themfelves for juftification and fanctification, even before ever they think of coming to Chrift; but we may as well expect, that a dead corps will rife of itself, and do the natural actions of life, as to expect that you should rife, and act fpiritually, be

M 4

fore

fore you be in Chrift. The natural confcience indeed may be roufed a little, and prevailed with to fet about this and that duty; but there is no living unto God, till you get Chrift: In him the believer hath life, even in his head; as a man cannot live without his head; but, being joined to this new head, and disjoined from the law, he cannot but live. 2. In Chrift his new head and husband, he hath light as well as Life; as you know, the eye is in the head, fo the believer's eye is in Chrift his light, whereby he fees fin and duty, fees to work, fo as he may live to God. The man that is under the law, is in the dark, and cannot fee to work the works of holiness, which is a living unto God. He is blinded with felf-conceit; he fees not the vanity of his old covenant obedience, and he fees not the way of the new covenant gofper obedience, till he get the fpirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Chrift, who is the light of the world, a light to lighten the Gentiles; by whose light the believer fees how to walk in a way well-pleafing to God. In Chrift his new head he hath ftrength: The man that is under the law, joined to it as his head, hath no ftrength for his work, and the law gives him none, and fo he cannot live to God; but the believer can say, In the Lord bave I righteoufness and ftrength; whereas others have no ftrength to produce fpiritual actions; fin domineers over them, and they have no power to shake off the yoke of fin, their ftrength being but weakness. The believer hath ftrength in his head; all things are poffible to them that believe, they can do all things through Chrift ftrengthning them; they can overleap a wall, and break bows of Atcel in pieces. O believer, be strong in the grace

3.

that

that is in Chrift! O it is ftrange, the grace that is in him, is in thee, as the life that is in the heart is in the toe, the foot, the utmost members! There is a communication of vital ftrength and influences from the heart and head to all the members; the. believer's grace is in Christ, and the grace that is in Chrift is in the believer. Here is a mystery to the world, but yet this mystery lies wrapt up in that word, Be frong in the grace that is in Chrift Jefus. If the grace that is in Chrift, were not in the believer alfo, according to the measure of the communication, how could he be strong in the grace that is in Chrift? My grace shall be fufficient for thee, &c. 4. In Chrift his new head, he hath liberty. Under the law the man is under bondage, and fevere bondage to the command of perfect obedience upon pain of death and damnation, and fo under bondage to the curfe of the law, and the fear of God's everlafting wrath; and fo he can do nothing, he hath no heart nor hand to ferve God, he is bound neck and heel: But in Chrift he hath liberty, If the Son make you free, you are free indeed; free for fervice; Truly I am thy fervant, thou haft loofed my bands. Now he walks at liberty, yea, runs the way of God's commandments, when he does enlarge his heart. This is the glorious liberty of the children of God begun in time, whereby they are put in cafe to live unto God. Now he is at liberty to ferve cheerfully, being delivered from the hands of all his enemies, to ferve him without fear, in holiness and righteoufnefs before God all the days of his life. Now he is at liberty to serve Spiritually, the fpirit of Chrift being put within him, and causing him to walk in God's

ftatutes;

statutes; and now he is at liberty to ferve hopefully, knowing that his labour fhall not be in vain in the Lord; though while under the law, his labour was but vain labour. Now he is at liberty to ferve acceptably, being accepted in the beloved, Epb. i. 6. that is, not only for his fake, for there is much more in it, he being our head, and we members of his body, and he as our head having performed perfect obedience to the precept of the law, and complete fatisfaction to the penalty of the law; the head having done it, the whole is reputed as having done it, and so we are accepted in him : His doing is ours, because we are in him as our head, accepted in the beloved; our perfons are accepted in him, and next our performances and duties. O what sweet liberty is here! what a fweet foundation for fpiritual and acceptable fervice and living anto God! But this leads me next to fhew,

2. That it hath a moral influence upon fanctification. A man's being dead to the law, disjoined from it, and joined to Chrift, hath not only a phyfical, but also a moral influence, in regard that hereby he is constrained fweetly to live unto God, 2 Cor. v. xiv. 15. The love of Christ conftraineth us. If we have not love at the root of our actions, love to a God in Chrift, we are but empty vines, that bring forth fruit to ourselves; it is but felf-love, which is not fruit unto God, or living unto him. The natural way of man's thinking is, we fhould ferve God, that he may fave us; but the gospel way is, he faves us, that we may serve him. What made Paul fay, Being dead to the law, I live unto God? Why? in the next verfe he enlarges on it, I live to bim, who loved me, and gave himself for me. all of you perfuaded of this; or elfe, as the

Be

Lord