ftock, or doing many good works that will bring you to Chrift; nay, you are mistaken; you must be cut off from your old ftock, and from your own works, and ingrafted into Chrift.-Thus, walking in him fuppofes union to him. Therefore,

2dly, What this walking in Chrift excludes. It excludes fin and felf; a finful walk, and a felfish walk. So far as a man walks in Chrift he cannot walk in fin, nor walk in himself.

1. It excludes a finful walk, a walking in fin or in the flesh; for, they that are in Chrift, they walk not after the flesh; but after the Spirit, Rom. viii. 1. Tho' they have fin in them yet they do not walk in it, like the reft of the world; becaufe fo far as Chrift comes in, fin goes out. Some fpeak of forfaking fin, in order to, and before coming to Chrift; but never will you forfake fin evangelically, till once Chrift come to you, and you come to him. When Chrift comes in to the temple, he drives out all the buyers and fellers; and therefore, let him in, and he will make the houfe clean. His coming is like the coming of light; as the light comes in to the house, the darknefs goes out; even fo, as the Sun of righteousness fhines in to the foul, the fhadows of fin and darknefs evanifh.-When a man walks, he leaves fomething behind him, which he turns his back upon; fo he that walketh in Chrift, he turns his back upon his old master, the devil, faying, Wo is me that I have been fo long led captive by him at his will!-He turns his back upon his old acquaintance, the world, faying, O vain world! I have feen fomething of the matchlefs glory of the Son of God, and therefore look upon all worldly glory as nothing, and lefs than nothing and vanity.He turns his back upon his old lufts and idols, faying with Ephraim, What have I any more to do with idols? Fain would he be rid of fin; Lord, take vengeance on this luft and that luft; give it a dead ftroke that it may never revive again.—He turns his back upon his old religion, that he may ferve the Lord in newnefs of Spirit, and not in the oldnefs of the letter. He leaves his cradlefaith behind him, and gets a faith of God's operation: He leaves his old hope behind him, which had no foun

dation but fand, and is begotten again to a new and lively hope: He leaves his old legal way of performing duty behind him, and learns a new obedience, influenced by new-covenant grace, and by the love of Chrift conftraining him. And therefore,

2. It excludes a felfifh walk. This walking in Chrift excludes a walking in felf; for the more that a man walks in Chrift, the more does he walk out of felf: as Christ comes in, felf goes out; when Chrift is received, felf is expelled. The felf-righteous finner is like an empty bottle filled with nothing but air; but pour wine into the bottle, and as the wine goes in, the air goes out fo, the foul is filled with nothing but airy fpeculations, and a light, vain efteem of himfelf; but let Chrift in, let the wine of the Spirit be poured into the foul, as that wine goes in, the air will go out. The felfish finner is like an empty ftomach, filled with nothing but wind; but if wholefome food be received and digefted, then the wind is gradually difpelled; fo here, the finner is filled with the wind of pride and felf; but if Chrift, the bread of life, and water of life, be received and digested, then it diffipates the wind of pride: his felf-eftimation is turned to felf-abhorrence; his felf-juftification is turned to felf condemnation; his felf-love is turned to felf-loathing; his felf-dependence is turned to felf-renounciation; his felf-feeking is turned to felffearching, and felf-examination, and to a feeking of God and his glory. Inftead of ferving himself, his defire is now to ferve God as his only Mafter: instead of exalting himself, his defire is now to glorify God as his chief end: inftead of pleafing himself, his defire is to please God, not to fatisfy his justice, as a Judge, for that the Surety hath done, but to please his heart as a Father; he dares not venture on any thing that will displease fuch a kind Father: inftead of refting in himfelf, his defire is to rest in the Lord, and enjoy him, faying, O to enjoy him in his grace, and in his glory! to enjoy him in this and that duty; in this and that ordinance; until I enjoy him fully in heaven?

Now, when a felfifh walk is excluded, it excludes at the fame time, a natural walk, a legal walk, and a

pharifaical walk.-It excludes a natural walk, which being grounded only upon the light of nature, amounts to no more but a natural righteoufnefs.-It excludes a legal walk, which being grounded only upon the light of the law, and that as a covenant, makes but a legal imperfect righteoufnefs.-It excludes an hypocritical walk, which being grounded only upon the external light of the gospel, makes only a pharifaical righteoufnefs, where the man hath the form of godlinefs, but denies the power of it.--Many things here might be added as to what this walking in Chrift doth exclude, which may afterward fall in upon the application. I come, therefore,

3dly, To confider what this walking in Chrift doth include. Not to multiply particulars here either; there are two things more efpecially that it feems to include. Walking in Chrift is, 1. A walking in a conformity to him. 2. In the improvement of him.

1. It is a walking in a conformity to him, and fo to walk in Chrift is to be like him. In heaven the faints fhall be like him, for they fhall fee him as he is: Even fo here, when we behold his glory, and are changed into the fame image, then it is that we walk in him; even as the body walks wherever the head walks; and where the head and the body walk, there the feet walk; all that is in the head walks. This then is a walking in him who is the glorious Head, when the members follow the Head, and walk in a conformity to him.-It is a walking in a conformity to his nature, being holy as he is holy, perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, mer. ciful as he is merciful, &c.-It is a walking in a conformity to his way of walking; 1 John ii. 6. "He that faith he abideth in him, ought to walk even as he alfo walked." Did he walk in love to God and man? Did he walk in zeal, fo as the zeal of God's houfe did eat him Did he walk in meeknefs, patience, humility, and activity, always going about doing gcod, never weary of well-doing? We are to walk as he thus walked. It is a walking in a conformity to his ends that he fet before him; his end was the glory of God, the advancement of his kingdom, the ruin of Satan's king

up?

dom,

dom, and in all the praife of his rich and free grace; and furely we will walk in him, when we have thefe for our ends which were his ends.It is a walking in a conformity to his law, which is a tranfcript of his com. municable nature for our practice; he walked in a conformity to his own law, in all its holy, juft, good, and merciful ways; and we will walk in him, when we walk in a gofpel-conformity to the fame.-It is a walking in a conformity to the relations that he comes under to us; and fo it is a walking in him as our Redeemer, by price and power, which we do when we walk as thefe who are not their own, but bought with a price, therefore glorifying the Lord in our fouls and bodies which are his.It is a walking in him as our Head, by living as members of fuch a Head, and deriving spiritual virtue from him.--It is a walking in him as our Father, depending on him as children upon their father.-It is a walking in him as our Judge, Lawgiver, and King; and fo a walking as thefe that are accountable to, and as we fhall anfwer at the tribunal of this Judge; fitting at the feet, and receiving the law from the mouth of this Lawgiver; and yielding the tribute of praife, obedience, and fubjection to this King.--In a word, it is a walking in conformity to the privileges we receive from him: Hath he enlightened us in the knowledge of himfeif? Then to walk in him, is to walk as children of light, and not as these that are in the darknefs of ignorance.-Hath he called us effectually? Then to walk in him, is to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called.-Hath he given us grace? Then to walk in him, is to walk, not as graceless, but as gracious perfons; not as these that are in a state of nature, but in a ftate of grace. -Hath he pardoned our fins, juftified our perfons, brought us into peace with himfelf? Then to walk in him, is to walk fo as to fland fast in the liberty wherewith he hath made us free. Hath he poured in the promife into our hearts? Then to walk in him, is to walk fo as having thefe promises, to cleanfe ourfelves from all filthinefs of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holinefs in the fear of the Lord.-Hath he made us heirs of glory? Then to walk in him, is to walk as candidates for heaven, as pilgrims

and

and ftrangers in the earth, and fo having our converfation in heaven.

2. It is a walking in the improvement of him. To walk in Chrift is to improve him by faith, as we receive him thereby. It is to improve and make ufe of him for light, life, ftrength, mction, acceptance, and all in him.-And fo to walk in him, is to walk as thefe that have their life in him, and cannot live without him, no more than the body can live without the head; "Without me ye can do nothing," John xv. 5.-To walk in him, is to walk as thefe that have their light in him, faying, "The Lord is my light; and though I walk in darknefs, the Lord will be a light to me."-To walk in him, is to walk as these that have their ftrength in him, faying, "Not that we are fufficient of ourselves to think any thing of ourselves, but our fufficiency is of God: And, I can do all things,, thro' Chrift ftrengthening me;" hence they are called to be ftrong in the grace that is in Chrift. Art thou in Chrift? Then the grace that is in him is forthcoming for thee: as the life that is in the heart is in the toe, the foot, the outermoft member of the body; fo is the believer's grace in Chrift; and if the grace that is in Chrift were not in the believer alfo in his meafure, how could he be ftrong in the grace that is in Chrift?-To walk in Christ is to walk as these that have their acceptance in him; we are accepted in the Beloved; not merely for his fake, but in him as our Head; who having fulfilled the law, and fatisfied the juftice of God, his doing is ours, because we are in him: the Head having done it, the body is reputed as having done it; and fo we are accepted in him. -To walk in Chrift, is to walk as thefe that have their motion in him we cannot move fpiritually, but by the Spirit of Chrift; and indeed if our life and ftrength be in him, our motion must be in him alfo.--To walk in Chrift, is to walk as thefe that have their fulness in him; their wisdom, righteoufnefs, fanctification, and redemption; and are complete in him by virtue of their union to him. You fee what a vaft field is here, and how much lies in this walking in Chrift. It is an improvement of him for all, as having our all in him.

And yet further, this walking in Chrift imports fuch an improvement of Chrift by faith, as I told you before