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النشر الإلكتروني

merit.

God, I thank thee, faid the Pharifee, I am not as other men; It was like a proud boafting of what he had done: But let the believer spend days and nights in prayer, and that with much liberty and enlargement, yet the refult of the work is, O my righteousness is filthy rags, a menftruous cloth; Wo to me, if I be not found in Chrift, for my beft duties deserve damnation: I find my praying, my worshipping, my communicating full of atheism, unbelief, formality and hypocrify. The legalift over-rates his duties; he thinks more of what he hath done, than of what Chrift hath done, and more of his praying on earth than of Christ's pleading in heaven; he thinks more of his tears than of Chrift's blood; he is proud of his humility, and never duly humbled. 5. The believer that is dead to the law, fo far as he is dead thereto, his complaints and his comforts move in a gospel channel. The legalift will complain more for want of holinefs, than for want of Chrift: Seeing he hath taken up with a felf-righteousness, it is his all, it is his happiness, it is his husband, it is his God; and when it is wanting, he cannot but be troubled. But the language of the man dead to the law, is, O for Chrift! O for a day of power! O to be wrapt up in the covenant of grace, to get an omnipotent power, determining me to comply with the gofpel offer! His comforts move in a gospel channel; whereas the legalist finds comfort in lawworks, even in all his extremities in time. In the profpect of trouble, what comforts him? Even this, that he hath done many good duties; he wraps up himself in a garment of his own weaving. Under challenges of confcience, that comforts him, and gives him peace. He even covers

himfelf

himself with the fame robe. In the profpect of judgment, what comforts him, and gives him peace? Why, he hopes God will be merciful to him, because he hath had a good profeffion, and faid many good prayers, and done many good duties. But, Oforry peace maker; the only thing that gives a believer peace and cafe in thefe cafes, is the law biding righteousness of Christ, under which he defires to throud himself; he flees to the blood of Chrift, O I am undone, unless my foul be wrapt up in the mantle of Chrift's perfect righteoufnefs; I defire to be found in him; upon this righteousness of Jefus do I venture my foul; I have no fhift but this. The legalift, I faid, comforts himself in all his extremities with the law, till the laft extremity come, and then he finds himself cheated: And hence, O what a mercy is it, that the Lord drains a man of his legal comfort, that he may unhinge him off the law, and off his felf-confidence! Oft-times, when God is bringing home his elect, he makes all the common work they had before to disappear. It may be they had a profeffion, were morally ferious, they had zeal, prayed with life, heard with affection; but behold now all the ftreams of common influences are dried up; the poor foul finds he cannot pray, he cannot fhed a tear, tho' he should be caft into hell; yea, he cannot think a right thought, tho' it thould bring him to heaven; nay, he finds his heart hardned like a devil, and his mind bemisted with the darkness of hell. Why, this is all in love, to drive him out of himself, and out of the law, to the dear Son of God. 6. The believer that is dead to the law, is content to have his righteousness tried, and compared with the perfect law. As Chrift is the Lord his righteousness, and

O 2

this

this he knows is fufficient to answer all the demands and commands of the law, and he is not afhamed of this righteousness, but glories in it: fo, as to his works of holiness, whatever thortcoming he is fenfible of, yet he is content to be tried with the clearest Light. Let omnifciency defcend, and make a critical fearch; Search me, O God, and fee if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting: I do not love to die with a lye in my right-hand; let all the inward corners of my heart be laid open before me; I am fatisfied to know if I have a lawful hufband, or not, if Chrift be my husband, or not: He is content to be tried. But the legalift, the man that is alive to the law, a fearching-fermon is uneafy to him, a gospel-fermon he cannot abide, a narrow trial he cannot endure; he thinks that the minifter is too impartial to caft us all to hell; he hath ftolen goods, and therefore dreads the light. Yea, 7. The man that is dead to the law, he hath got a foul-humbling fight and view of the glory of Chrift's righteoufnefs, that made him quit with all his legal rags as lofs and dung; even as the ftars evanish out of fight when the fun arifes. O hath Chrift's glory ever shined into your heart, my brethren, and made you fee thousands of worlds to be nothing to him, thousands of righteoufneffes of men and angels to be nothing to his? Have you feen an utter impoffibility of obtaining God's favour by any righteousness of yours? and fuch a fure ground of obtaining God's favour here, that your foul hath been made to renounce all other ways of acceptance, and to fee, admire, and rejoice in the glory of this way, and to approve of it, as a device worthy of God, and fuitable to you? And have you found reft here?

It is good. The legalist is a stranger to such saving views of the glory of Chrift and his righteoufnefs, having never got the fpirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Chrift. 8. The man that is dead to the law, is in love with the doctrine of the gofpel; how beautiful upon the mountains, to them, are the feet of these that preach the glad tidings of peace? Whereas, he that is alive to the law always fufpects the doctrine of the gospel, as if it were leading him away from the law, and away from holiness: Here is a mark that well may find out a pharifaical generation; they fufpect the doctrine of Chrift, and his righteousness, as if it were a doctrine tending to licentioufnefs, and oppofition to the law; a fign they never felt the power of the gofpel upon their hearts, otherwife they would feel the revelation of the righteousness of Chrift, from faith to faith, to be the power of God to their falvation; they would find, that never are they fo much difpofed to holy duties, as when they are under the influences of the spirit of faith discovering the glory of Chrift, and his righteousness to them: But an ignorant generation, that knows not the power and virtue of the gofpel, ftill fufpects it as contrary to the law. This was. the falle charge against Christ of old, and against Stephen, Acts vi. 18. and against Paul, from which therefore he many times vindicates himself. See Acts xviii. 13. 9. The man that is dead to the law, can, in fome measure, put a difference betwixt Christ and a frame: Whereas, he that is alive to the law, can never diftinguish betwixt Chrift in duty, and a frame in duty. I know this is a hard. question, How fhall we know the difference betwixt Chrift in duty, and a frame in duty? I'll fay

in a word, the man that hath only a frame in duty, and not Chrift in it, he is only pleased with his frame, his tears, his enlargements; he makes that his righteoufnefs, he is content with that, and exalted with that, and now thinks all is well : But he that hath Chrift in duty, and not a frame only, he is ready to cry, O I would have Chrift! I would have Chrift! None but Chrift! none but Chrift! Tears will not do; my own heart hath deceived me a thousand times; I find my tearsdo not wash me, my frame does not fanctify me; this flowing of affection may be but a natural thing, it will not do; it is Christ I want, nothing but his blood can wash me; nothing but this blood can pacify his confcience; nothing but fome views of Chrift can give him folid quiet. A fweet frame may indeed be the chariot, in which Chrift may ride towards the foul; but the gospel believer is not fo much taken up with the chariot, as with the glorious king that rides in it. 10. The man that is dead to the law, is dead to fin; fin hath not dominion over him, because he is not under the law, but under grace. The views of Chrift are of a transforming nature; beholding his glory, we are changed. It is true, here the believer fears most of all, because of his fhort coming in point of fanctification, and mortification of fin, because he finds iniquity prevailing against him. And how is it true that fin hath not dominion over him, he not being under the law, but under grace? Why? Sin hath no righteous nor lawful dominion over believers; the first husband is dead, and they are married to Chrift the fecond hufband: and therefore they are not debtors to the flefh. Tho' ftill the flesh craves them to obey it, yet it hath no juft power fo to

do!

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