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would fave him, or that a ftricter life would do the bufinefs: but now there is no hope appears in the whole horizon of fenfe; there is no way but one, Christ or condemnation for ever. Now the man is brought to say, Oh! I cannot deliver myself out of the wretched ftate: men and angels cannot deliver me: all my former refuges will not fecure me: I find the bed is too fhort, the covering is too narrow; and if I trust to these Egyptian reeds, they will not only fail me, but pierce and wound me too.

3. The Spirit, in working this faith, whereby the foul receives Chrift, having wrought the foul to this conviction, this felf-defpair, doth next bring the foul readily to the greatest pinch and ftraits, and folemn concern, that ever it was under about any thing in the world, as we fee in the experience of the jaylor, Acts xvi. 29. He came trembling, and afked, why the judgment of the great day, was acted by way of anticipation in his confcience? It is with no little concern, that pecple do revolve thefe and the like queftions in their minds daily; What fhall I eat? what fhall I drink? and, how fhall I and mine be fed and cloathed? But furely, much deeper impreffions upon the heart, when the foul is under the awakening influences of the Spirit of bondage, do thefe questions make in the man's breaft; What shall I do to be faved? and, What fhall come of me thro' eternity? The man is brought to a folemn and awful concern about his everlasting condition; and to be in fad earneft about his eternal ftate. All frolics and frothinefs doth evanifh, and here the man lies at God's mercy unable to help himself, and unworthy that God fhould help him; and owning that he deferves to be thrown into the bottomlefs pit; and that it will be a wonder of grace, and a miracle of mercy, if God fhall pity him. And then,

4. The Spirit, in working this faith, whereby the man receives Chrift, doth come into the foul by a powerful, faving, conquering illumination; even as a Spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the knowledge of Christ, Eph. i. 17. Some enlightening work, fetting home the law, and difcovering fin, makes way for what I have already

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mentioned but now faving, powerful illumination takes place, for difcovering the glorious object of faith, the Lord Jefus Chrift; for there must be a feeing of the Son, ere there can be a believing in him, John vi. 40. As faith without works, fo the confequent of it is dead; as faith without light, fo the antecedent of it is blind: faith is the hand whereby we receive Chrift, but knowledge is the eye by which that hand is directed. Now, hath ever God opened your eyes, and given you a heartfome view of Chrift, the King in his beauty, as fairer than the children of men; as more glorious than mountains of prey; as brighter than the firmamental fun, in his meridian fplendor and glory? Have you got fuch a view of him, that, fuppofe God fhould come to you with Chrift in one balance, and ten thousand worlds, full of all imaginable pleasures and honours, in another balance; and faid to you, Which of them will you choofe? You would have rejected all thofe with disdain and abhorrence, and your foul would have flightered after a Redeemer, faying, "I count all but lofs and dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Chrift Jefus my Lord?" Have you got fuch glorious difcoveries of the grace and love of God in Christ, in the gospel, as hath drawn out your heart to the offer thereof? It is by the fhining of the gospel light, thro' the free promife, into the heart, that the man is turned from darknefs to light. The highest natural light will leave a man fhort of the discovery of fin, in its exceeding finfulness; and of the riches of grace in Chrift, for the recovery of loft finners: these cannot be feen aright, till they be revealed by the divine Spirit; For flesh and blood revealeth them not, Mat. xvi. 17. The heart stood immediately before, at an infinite diftance from the Lord Jefus, and was full of oppofition against him; but now, a divine power being exerted, by the word of the gospel, for drawing the foul off from all other objects, to pitch upon Christ alone for falvation, in the way of free grace; then it accepts of the bleifed offer, when all arguments in the world before could not prevail with it. Hath the Spirit of God cleared up to you the gospel offer of Chrift, in order to your receiving of him? for, "Therein is the righteousness of God

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revealed from faith to faith." It is in a gofpel-glafs, that the foul gains a right difcovery of the excellency of Christ, and that righteoufnefs of his, without which there is no falvation. This firft acquaintance with Chrift doth make fuch a powerful alteration, by difcoveries above fenfe, bringing the heart towards Chrift beyond all other means, that it ufually hath a mark upon it, in fo much. that it is moft evidencing, and carries its evidence along with it. Such firft things have a mark upon them, and are of a moft defirable nature; the state thereupon being fo vaftly different from what it was, how refined foever the nature was before.--Thus try your faith by the way how it was created by the Spirit.

2dly, How was faith acted in your fouls, when Christ was received? or, how did it act? To be fure, in general, faith acts under the influence of the fame Spirit that works it; for, as he works it, fo he draws it forth to act and exercife; and, under this conduct, the foul, in receiving Chrift, acts in the following manner.

1. The foul, in receiving Christ, doth act humbly; Ezek. xvi, 63, "That thou mayeft remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth, because of thy shame, when I am pacified towards thee, for all that thou had done." O but a foul convinced of its unworthinefs, and defert of hell, and that scarce can expect any thing but utter damnation, how doth the firft dawpings of mercy melt and humble it! O whence is this to fuch a worm as I! He ftands behind Chrift weeping and washing his feet with tears. When one of the firft works of the word and Spirit is, to give the foul a light to go down to the dark cellar of his heart, and make difcoveries, fo as he is ftanding amazed, and trembling at the fight of himself: and the next work of the Spirit is, to lead him into the lightfome chamber of the King of glory to bring him from darkness to light; how is he melted with the fenfe of mercy!

2. The foul, in receiving Chrift, doth act vehemently, and with ardent defire after Chrift, and hungering and thirsting after righteousness; and crying for faith itself, which yet may be hid from the man's own fight, faying, Lord, I believe, kelp my unbelief: he fees his own inabi

lity to believe, and that the work of faith is wholly fupernatural; and cries, O enable me to come to Chrift! O give me Chrift, or I perifh for ever! It is thy work, O reveal thy arm! O man, woman, where are the bedfides, and fecret corners where you have befieged heaven with such a cry? faying, O for a drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem! O for a drop of that precious blood? O for a fmile of a God in Chrift!" As the heart panteth after the water-brooks, fo panteth my foul after thee, O God," Pfal. xlii. 1.

3. The foul in receiving Chrift, acts intirely and undividedly; he receives him as CHRIST JESUS the LORD. As the three offices are undivided in Chrift, fo are they in the believer's acceptance: O my ignorance, fays the foul, makes him neceffary and defirable as a Prophet! O my guilt makes him neceffary and defirable as a Prieft! And my ftrong corruption makes him neceffary and defirable as a King! To receive Chrift as a Jefus, in fubmitting to his obediential righteoufnefs, for acceptation unto life, is faith unto juftification, Rom. x. 10. And to confent to have him for our Lord, to rule over us, by his Spirit dwelling in us, is faith unto fanctification, Rom. viii. 9, 10, 11. Is it thus that you receive Chrift?

4. The foul in receiving Chrift, acts confidently; for, in him we have boldness and confidence, thro' the faith of him; for it acts upon an infallible teftimony, the divine veracity and faithfulnefs; or, Thus faith the Lord, is the firm foundation upon which faith is built: faith is a fetting to the feal that God is true. When faith is

acted, God gives the man a teftimonial; Heb. xi. 5, 6. "Enoch had this teftimony, that he pleafed God: But without faith it is impoffible to please God." But what is yet more ftrange, faith not only gets a teftimonial from God, but gives a teftimonial to him, as I formerly ob ferved; John ii 33. "He that hath received his teftimony, hath fet to his feal, that God is true." It is a receiving the record of God: here is the confidence and affurance of faith, according to the meafure of it; and all acts of faith without this, are but as fo many arrows fhot at random, into the open air.

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5. The foul in receiving Christ, acts violently; “The kingdom of heaven fuffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." It acts peremptorily, faying, If I perish, I perifh; at Chrift I muft be. It acts in a manner wilfulły; "Altho' he flay me, yet will I truft in him. I will not let thee go, until thou blefs me." The foul ventures upon the free grace and faithfulness of God, in the greateft diftreffes; and here it lies, as it were, at anchor, in fuch ftormy days, Heb. vi. 19.

6. The foul, in receiving Chrift, acts exclufively, excluding all other faviours, all other helps, all other props; receiving him, and refting upon him alone; faying, "I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only, Pfal. Ixxi. 16. "And be found in him, not having mine own righteoufnefs, which is of the law, but that which is thro' the faith of Chrift, the righteoufness which is of God by faith," Phil. iii. 19. To depend partly upɔn Chrift's righteousness, and partly upon our own, is to fet one foot upon a rock, and another in the quick fands: Chrift will either be to us, all in all, in point of righteoufnefs, or elfe nothing at all; as he did the whole work, fo he will have the whole praife: If he be not able to fave to the uttermoft, why do we depend upon him at all? If he be, why do we lean upon any befide him? If we lean partly on Chrift, and partly on ourfelves, or our own good works, wifhes, actions, or af fections we infallibly ruin ourselves. If a man fet one foot upon dry land, and the other upon deep water, and lean to them both with equal weight; yea, if he give any of his weight to the water, he will fink there: So here, if a perfon reft partly upon the merits of Chrift, and partly, or in any degree, upon his felf-righteousness for falvation, he will inevitably perifh. Man's righteoufnefs indeed was once in himfelf; and becaufe he was endowed at first with a perfect rectitude of nature, and ability fufficient to have yielded perfect obedience to the law, and thereby to have obtained eternal life, had he persevered in his integrity: fo there is ftill a mighty bias in his heart, though now depraved, to seek righteousness by the works of the law; and all his best actions favour much of this legal turn of mind. It is

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