liever juftified only from fome things, as it were, and ftill liable to the lafh of the law; but we maintain the apostle's doctrine, that the believer is juftified, from all things, fo as nothing can be laid to his charge: and feeing, It is God that juftifieth, who is he that can condemn, or make him liable thereunto? To receive him as a Jefus, then, is to receive him as a complete Saviour, a perfect Saviour; that faves meritoriously, by the price of his blood, and his mediation for us; and efficacioufly, by the power of his Spirit, and his effectual operation in us; that faves from the law as a covenant both in its commanding and condemning power; that faves from death, hell, and wrath. But SALVATION is a great word that we cannot now enlarge upon; only, to receive Chrift as a Jefus, is to receive and reft upon him alone for falvation, and all the falvation that we need, temporal, fpiritual, or eternal, in a fuitablenefs to his promife and offer in the word.

2. As he is the Lord; which imports a defire to be fubject to him, as he is a King; and to be conquered by him, as well as faved by him. Chrift hath upon his vefture and thigh this name written, KING of kings, and LORD of lords: He is the King and Head of his church; the government of all is upon his fhoulder, particularly the government of Zion, where he hath left officers to rule under him, according to the laws of his kingdom, and in a fuitablenefs to the liberties of his fubjects, pointed out in his word; and to have any hand in marring the beautiful order of his government that he hath appointed, or incroach upon the liberties of his people, doth ill become any that profess to receive him as a Lord; as little doth it become them to fay in effect, Our Lord delays his coming, and fo begin to fmite their fellow-fervants, and fo fall out with one-another, especially when a common enemy is creeping in that would fubject the government of Chrift's house intirely to a fecular power, whether it be patrons or prelates, princes or popes. Surely they that receive Chrift as a Lord and King over themselves will not be carelefs or indifferent about his lordship and government over Zion, as a King and Head of his church; for if they be carelefs about his government

ment that way, whether it ftand or fall, they give evidence of their never truly receiving him as a Lord.

But more particularly, to receive him as a Lord, is to clofe with him for fanctification as well as falvation, and to welcome him in his kingly office, to fubdue fin, conquer Satan, and deftroy the works of the devil. A true believer does receive Chrift not only as he is a Saviour, but as he is a Lord. Confider both thefe capacities jointly, and they may fearch every corner of your heart. The eye of a loft finner is firft upon Christ as a Saviour; fo God proponds him, and fo we may come to him; but obferve, there may be much felf-love in feeking Chrift, a Saviour, for falvation; for falvation may be defired merely out of felf-love, which is evident, if we are for dividing Chrift, for taking the Saviour, and leaving out the Lord. Many would divide between his falvation and his dominion; they would have Chrift as a Saviour, to fave from wrath; but not as a Lord, to destroy their lufts and fins. But herein true receiving of Chrift will discover itself; the Lord makes the man as weary of his load of corruption, as he is weary of his load of condemnation. The man that is weary of condemnation only, would have Chrift as a Saviour; but he that is weary of corruption alfo,' would have Chrift as a Lord. But when the heart would have water as well as blood, then it is in a right temper; when the man would have water to purify the heart, as well as blood to pacify the confcience. Our defire of Chrift for falvation, may be tried with this touch. ftone, whether we have the fame defire for Chrift, the Lord; as for Chrift, the Jefus.

I think it is utterly impoffible there can be any more uprightness in your defire after the falvation of Chrift, than there is of a defire after the dominion of Christ. Faith, whatever it is, will bring a man out from under the commanding power of fin, as well as from under the condemning power of it. And however a believer may ly in darkness, yet I conceive, that foul is out of danger, who is made willing to receive Chrift both as a Saviour and a Lord; and fo, willing to receive, out of his hand, poifon to kill his lufts; as well as pardon to

remove his guilt: the defire of pardon of fin, and the defire of purification of heart, bear proportion; none can truly take Christ, as a Saviour for juftification, but they will alfo truly take him, as a Lord, for fanctification. This we maintain, let calumny fay what it will; as if our doctrine were an enemy to bolinefs! What can be the ground of the calumny, I cannot know, unless it be that men cannot diftinguish betwixt faving faith, and juftifying faith; for faving faith (of which we are now fpeaking) refpects Chrift in all his offices, as a Prophet, Prieft, and King: but when we fpeak of faith merely as it is juftifying, we maintain against all the fubtil Popery in the world, that it refpects Chrift only as a Prieft, as a facrifice, and propitiation; but not Chrift as a King. For, to make that act of faith, that receives Christ as a Lord, to be the justifying act of faith, is the very foul of Popery, that builds juftification upon fanctification, or upon fanctifying faith: whereas it is the receiving of Chrift as a Prieft, that alone juftifies before God. It is true, faith in Chrift as a Saviour and a Lord, go hand in hand together, they are infeparably connec ted; even as the eye and ear are both joined together in one head; yet it is not the office of the eye to hear, or of the ear to fee; no, but it is the office of the eye to fee, and of the ear to hear: even fo, though faith in

The

It hath been the fate of the witneffes for the truths of God, in every period of the church, especially fine the commencement of Christianity, to be traduced and reproached with the moft fcurrilous epithets and opprobrious names. bleffed Author of the Chriftian religion himself did not efcape the obloquy, contumely, and cenfures of the world; and his difciples were accufed with being turbulent and peftilent fellows, and fuch as turned the world upside down, When it fared fo with them, we need not be furprized that their fucceffors fhould be flouted at, mal-treated, and evil spoken of by thofe who do not favour the truth as it is in Jefus-About the time when our Author delivered these discourses, an irreligious difpofition, and legal fpirit, was like to fpread univerfally, and had arrived to fuch a pitch, that any could not endure to hear found doctrine; and the teachers and defenders thereof were the objects of the refentment both of the infidel and legalift. As our worthy Author was fincerely attached to the doctrines of the gospel, he could not but be fincerely affected and truly alarmed at every encroachment upon the facred truths of his ever glorious Mafter, fo this led him frequently to notice, in his public appearances, the afperfions caft upon him and others, in inculcating the most important truths of the gospel of Chrift, particularly their being derided as favourers of Antinomianism, and enemies to holinefs, for their befriending the freedom of the doctrine of grace, in afferting the neceffity of finners dying to the law, in point of JUSTI FICATION, in order to their living to God, in point of SANCTIFICATION.—See Vol. I. p. 232. Vol. II. p. 304, 305•

Chrift as a Jefus and as a Lord go together in one and the fame believer, and at one and the fame time, yet they have their different offices: Chrift as a King and Lord is not the object of juftifying faith, but only Chrift as a Prieft and Saviour. It is not Chrift as the Lord, fubduing my fin, that is the matter of my juftification before God; but Chrift as a Prieft paying all my debt: it is not my perfonal righteoufnefs, even in my gracious fubjection to Chrift as a Lord, that can be the ground of juftification; but it is the righteoufnefs of Chrift alone as a Prieft, his doing and dying, that is the ground of juftification. And therefore it is not faith dealing with Chrift as a 'Lord that juftifies, but faith's dealing with Chrift as a Prieft, a Saviour, and a complete Righteoufnefs. This is the doctrine of the word; which, when our Reformers began to publifh, they were branded as enemies to holinefs and good works: and if fomething of this be not at the root of many reproaches in our day, I know not what it is; and if this be the ground of these reproaches, we may gladly bear them as our glory.

But now, we are fpeaking of the object of faith, more largely taken, in its latitude, as it is faving faith; which, we fay, hath a refpect to Chrift in all his offices, and 'particularly, as in our text, it receives him as a Saviour and a Lord both; and truly, the receiving of Chrift as a Lord, for fanctification, is the best mark imaginable of right receiving of Chrift as a Saviour, for juftification. You may measure your faith and intereft in Chrift, not by the degree of your perfuafion concerning him as a Saviour, but rather by the degree of his virtue and power in you as a Lord: it is better to meafure it by the depth of his work in you, than by the height of your confidence in him, which may be too proud and bold. If you fhould meet a man travelling upon the way, and should afk him how many hours high the fun is, you need not marvel, if instead of looking up to the fun to fee how high it is, he should look down to your fhadow to fee how fhort it is; for he can tell that way better than looking upon the fun itfelf: even fo, if a man would judge how much of Chrift is in him, the best way to try is rather

to

to look downward than upward: look in to your heart, and see what daîh your pride hath got, and what abatement your corruption is brought under; for the fhorter thefe dark fhadows are in you, the higher is the Sun of righteoufnefs. Now, the grand corruption of the heart of man, the great root-fin, which fets itself against Christ, as a Lord, I will tell you what it is, it is that lord of all mif-rule, SELF; that is the lord that lords it over you; and all other fins are but the brats of Self: they are but fub-fervants, under-fervants to this great lord of felflove, felf-pride, and felf-righteoufnefs. Now, a true believer is righteous by the righteoufnefs of another; he lives by the life of another; he is acted by the fpirit of another; and therefore he, of any man in the world, fhould have leaft of felf in him; becaufe Chrift, as Lord, doth abfolutely fet himself against this great corruption. And therefore, if you would know one excellent way of judging of Jefus Chrift the Lord, his being in you, it is by the breaking and cafting down of felf; for the more full that a man is of felf, the more empty is he of Chrift; and the more full he is of Chrift, the more empty he is of felf; for the lord-felf, and the Lord-Chrift, cannot stand together the lordship of Christ and the lordship of self are inconfiftent: when you receive the Lord-Christ, then the lord-felf is unthroned and thrown down.-Thus much of the believer's character and dignity, as a receiver of Chrift Jefus the Lord.

Tho'

II. The second general head is, To speak of the believer's duty, having received Chrift Jefus the Lord, then to walk in bim. You have heard of the two tables of the law, and if you never heard of the two tables of the gofpel, you may fee them in our text; the firft is to receive Chrift, and the fecond is to walk in him. I make not the gofpel, ftrictly taken, to be a doctrine of commandments and precepts; yet, where the law, is in the hand of Chrift, and where Chrift is the ALPHA and OMEGA, there we will find the two tables of the gofpel: Chrift is All in all; and these two ALLS make the two tables of the gofpel. Or, if the two tables of the gofpel muft answer to the tables of the law, then

con