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in the way of God's commandments. Tho' you have once known what it was to run fweetly in the Lord's way, yet if now you find an habitual indifpofition to duties, and religious exercises to be a heavy yoke, a grievous burden, this indifpofition teftifies against you, that tho' you have once known the gospel of Chrift, yet now you are hankering after the law. The Lord may indeed withdraw his prefence from his people, for neceffary ends, even from the man that hath much of a gofpel-fpirit; and fuch a man, amidst all his trials of that fort, will triumph in Chrift, and fay, though I have little in hand, yet I have much in hope; whatever my own wants be, I have enough in Chrift; however weak in myself, I am strong in him; imperfect in myself, but compleat in him. But when for the most part the perfon does not find pleafure in duty, hath little heart to it, and finds it not eafy and light, but grievous, it is a token, that he is bearing the yoke of the law, or old covenant: For Chrift's yoke is eafy, and his burden light; but this law-yoke is heavy. The law, the first husband, requires hard and heavy things, and does not help the finner with ftrength; but Chrift, the new husband, requires the fame things, but he gives ftrength to perform; and what he requires of us, he works it in us; I can do all things through Chrift ftrengthening me, were it to overleap a wall, and fight armies of devils in my way. 8. It is a fign of a legal temper, when a poor creature finds ftill discouragement, except when about religious duties, and finds no peace when about any other work, but is ftill racked except when upon his knees, or going about fome religious performance or other: It is a token of being knit too much to the first husband; for the law drives hard, and

craves

craves hard: But Chrift is very tender and gentle in his commands and demands; and a perfon under the influences of grace, will find as much sweetnefs, even when eating and drinking, and when he is about his lawful employment fometimes, as when about religious exercifes. Miftake me not here, think not that Chrift will indulge his people in the omiffion of duty, that is not what I intend. God forbid; I know and am perfuaded, that the fweetest hours that the believer hath, is when he can attain communion with God in the ordinances and duties of his appointment: But yet, they that have much of a gofpel-fpirit can, with peace and freedom of mind, go about other things as the work of Chrift; though it be a piece of felf-denial to them, not to be always with him; they would be every minute with him, and are longing for uninterrupted communion with him: Yet the thing I fay is, that their hearts are not difheartened, nor their spirit difpirited, when called to other things; and it favours much of a legal fpirit, when the poor exercised creature can find no peace about their other lawful duties, unless they be still about duties that are properly religious duties, fuch as prayer, and reading, and hearing, and the like; for, in fome fenfe, other duties, fuch as plowing and fowing, and the like, may be turned to religious duties by a fpiritually-minded man, and fuch as have a gofpel-fpirit, while they carry a heavenly mind to their earthly work. 9. It is a fign of too much of a legal temper, when a man is not fatisfied with the measure of grace that the Lord allows him, but frets against heaven because he hath not fo much as others. Let none miftake me here neither: No man ought in an indif

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ferent way to be content with any measure of grace, we are still to be going on to perfection; but when we grudge and grieve, and are pained at the heart, and murmur against God, because we have not this and that measure as others have, it is a fymptom of hankering after the law. A gospel fpirit does not strive with God, but meekly waits upon that fovereign, who will have mercy upon whom he will have mercy, and difpenfes freely of his gifts and graces as he pleaseth. 10. It is a

fign of a legal temper, when a person is more taken up with the gifts of Chrift, than with Chrift himfelf; more taken up with any little thing they get from him, than with himself. When they get any fenfible grace, any fenfible good affections, melting of heart, melting of fpirit, any inclination to what is good, any gifts or graces, whether more common or special, they admire thefe, and are not fo much taken up with Chrift himself: But the perfon that is evangelical in his actings, by what he gets he is led to the giver; if this be sweet, O he is infinitely fweeter that fent it; I embrace the token, and it draws out my heart after him, from whom it came. 11. It is a fign of being too much under the influence of the law, when the believer is poffeffed with a fretful spirit, and is not content with any thing: For the gofpel fweeten's a man's frame of fpirit. If the believer go to the law, he is always pained and wounded, and a difeafed perfon is always a fretful perfon, and this fretfulnefs is a fign, that they are not found at heart; but the gospel is health to the heart, and medicine to all the flesh. A gofpel-fpirit is a fpirit of faith, a spirit of love, a fpirit of power, and of a found mind, 2 Tim. i. 7. And hence, take a believer

when

when he is much under the influence of the grace of the gospel, ten thousand little difficulties, which fometimes fret him, and put him in confufion, will not move him, then, when he is living near Christ, and under the influence of the covenant of grace; but when at other times every thing frets him it is a fign that the law hath the afcendant, for the law works wrath, Rom. v. 15. 12. It is a fign of a legal fpirit, when, upon the back of religious duties, the man hath more freedom to fin: Sin fhall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace. The law irritates corruption, raises the devil, but cannot lay him; but the grace of God in Chrift, teaches to deny ungodliness, and worldly lufts. This grace only keeps down the devil, and lays him low, as it were; yea, bruifes the ferpent's head, and destroys the works of the devil. When a man performs duty in a legal way, to quiet his confcience; why then, when confcience is quieted with the duty, luft gets a vent, like the whore, Prov. vii. 14. I have offered my peace-offerings, this day I have paid my vows; come, let us take our fill of love. But when a man performs duty in a gospel way, not merely to fatisfy confcience, or pacify the judge, but to glorify God, to honour Christ, which is the great gofpel-end of performing duty; then this glory of God and Chrift, that he hath in view, prompts him to defire, by the means of duty, to be avenged of God's enemies in the heart; and when he gets victory, he defires to purfue his enemies, even to the death.

Now, my dear friends, if there be any believer here, I am fure fome of these evidences, if not all, may find you out, to have too much of a le

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gal temper about you. O believers, you that have fled for refuge to the hope fet before you, will you confider what danger you're in from Chrift's rival, the law as a covenant, your first husband, and how much your hankering after that doth undo, you? You (it may be) think, you're in hazard from carnal friends, or from the world; but you cannot underftand how you can be in hazard from the law: But you may be in greatest hazard from that which you're leaft afraid of. Paul tells the believers here, and elsewhere, to whom he writes, what hazard they were in, even from thefe that pretended to preach the gofpel, who were but minifters of the old covenant, who preffed, and knew nothing, but to prefs people to yield obedience and fubjection to their old husband the law, pretending to the greatest holiness and strictness of life; and preffing nothing but do, do, do, and live. Nay, but fays Paul, I and all believers, have another way of living to God, and to his glory, than by living on or by the law as a covenant; I through the law, am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. O believer, arm yourself against all proxies that the law makes use of; ftudy the nature, fulness and freedom of the new covenant; and pray much for the fpirit of wisdom, and revelation in the knowledge of Chrift, and his gofpel. I go on to the

3d Thing here propofed, which was to fhew the caufes of this legal temper. Why is the world fo fet upon the law as a covenant, and fo little upon Christ as the Lord their righteousness? I fum up. all the reafons into this one, which I fhall draw out into fome particulars: And it is grofs ignorance, proud ignorance, Rom. x. 3. For they

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