Chrift's mouth, and out of his hand; This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleafed, bear ye him.

2. Did you receive Chrift humbly and meekly? Was your foul humbled to the duft when you received him? Did you ly proftrate before him, under a fenfe of your own emptinefs, weaknefs, and wickednefs? Did you trample upon yourself as a beaft, a dog, a devil, a lump of hell, having no confidence in the flesh? Well, as ye have received him humbly, fo walk in him; Walk bumbly with thy God, Micah vi. 8. Walk in a humble dependence upon him, receiving your all from him by faith, and returning your all to him in duty and gratitude.

3. Did you receive him deliberately and refolutely, with due deliberation, judgment, and confideration, refolving to take your hazard with him, to part with all for him, and to follow him whitherfoever he goes, to welcome his crofs and his crown? Why then, fo walk ye in him, namely, with deliberation; weighing the advantages in one fcale, and the difadvantages in another, of walking in him or not. You will meet with nothing in this way, but what you was made to weigh, if you rightly received him. Even though loffes, and croffes, and martyrdom fhould be in the scale where Chrift was; and the world, and all the profits, pleasures, and preferments of it, in the other scale; yet you was made to choose Christ. Why then, fo walk in him, by evidencing it in your life, that whatever reproaches you fuffer for his name, or whatever trials you may fuffer, you are at a point. Having deliberately received, deliberately walk.

4. Did you receive Chrift uprightly, with the utmost integrity, fincerity, and exactnefs? Why then, so walk ye in him, evidencing in your life the fame uprightness and integrity: He that walketh uprightly walketh furely, faith Solomon: See then that ye walk circumfpectly, faith the apostle, Eph. v. 15. the word is AKRIBOS, that is, exactly, accurately, and precifely. Some are cenfured as if they were too precife in their religion; but it is the command of God, that we be as exact and upright in the way of walking in Chrift, as in the act of believing in him, and receiving of him.

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5. Did you receive Chrift cordially, chearfully, and lovingly? Did you receive him with the heart, and with a thoufand good-wills? And oh! how fweet was he to you in the day that God revealed him in you, and that you was made to ftrike hands with him. Then fo walk ye in him; that is, endeavour, through grace, to keep up that frame of heart that you had in clofing with him, and to bring up your converfation to the way and manner in which ye received him, by walking in him cordially and chearfully; having the joy of the Lord for your strength; rejoicing in Chrift Jefus: for, he meeteth him that rejoiceth and worketh righteoufnefs; and entertaining a fenfe of his love which you had in the day of believing, fo as his love may conftrain you to obedience; and you may fear the Lord and his goodnefs. In the day of believing, was you not more elevated, and more chearful, than ever the bird that fat upon the brier? Was you not filled with joy unfpeakable and full of glory? Away then with finful difcouragement in your walk, faying, Why art thou caft down, O my foul? why art thou difquieted within me? Hope in God, for I fhall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God," Pfalm xliii. 5.

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6. Did you not receive him fpiritually; that is, in the ftrength, and under the conduct of his own Spirit, without whofe influence and affiftance you could do nothing? Then, fo walk ye in him fpiritually, depending on the grace, ftrength, conduct, and influence of his Spirit, for ftrengthening you both for your work and warfare; and fo, with the true circumcifion, worshipping God in the Spirit, praying in the Holy Ghost, and walking in the Spirit of Chrift. The Spirit is in every believer according to his meafure; and when the believer is in the Spirit, then it is well with him; Rev. i. 10. "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." The man that walketh in Chrift, as he hath received him, walketh not carnally but fpiritually, just as he received him; and hence he cries for the Spirit, faying, "Lord, hold me with thy free Spirit; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me: Thy Spirit is good, lead me to the land of uprightnefs."

7. Did you not receive Chrift speedily? Yea, none can tell how speedily the poor foul that faw himfelf ready to drop into hell, doth flee to Chrift in a day of power. Oh! with what eagernefs, and earneftnefs doth the convinced finner flighter after him? and how actively he runneth in to him? Well, did you receive him fpeedily and actively? So walk ye in him, by endeavouring through grace, to be speedy in your motion, ready and active in his fervice. This is to have a walk fuitable to the manner of your receiving of Chrift. To be lazy and unactive doth not anfwer the right reception; but to run in the way of his commandments, and to run without wearying, this is fuitable; for in a day of believing, the foul is far from wearying, nay, then he flies on the wings of faith and love.

8. Did you not receive him fiducially and confidently, having boldness to enter into the holieft by the blood of Jefus, and drawing near with full affurance of faith, and with fome measure of application, appropriation, and perfuafion? Whatever unbelieving diffidence took place, yet according to the measure of faith, fuch was the meafure of holy confidence, truft, and perfuafion, founded upon the truth and veracity of God in the promife. Well then, fo walk ye in him, whatever oppofition be in the way; faying, with Job, "Tho' he flay me, yet will I trust in him. Caft not away your confidence, faith the apostle to the Hebrews, which hath great recompence of reward," chap. x. 35.; and, "Hold faft the confidence," chap. iii. 6.; for, "We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence ftedfast unto the end," ver. 14.

9. Did you not receive Christ wholly and undividedly, in all his three offices, and in all the four excellencies that the apostle puts together, 1 Cor. i. 30. for wisdom, righteoufnefs, fanctification, and redemption? Did you receive him for WISDOM, to make you light in the Lord? for RIGHTEOUSNESS, to make you accepted in the Beloved? for SANCTIFICATION, to make you holy? and for REDEMPTION, to make you happy? Why then, fo walk ye in him. Ye cannot walk wifely, if ye do not improve

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him for your wifdom; ye cannot walk acceptably, unless ye improve him for righteoufnefs; nor holily, unless improve him for fanctification; nor fafely, unless ye improve him for your complete redemption.

10. Did you not receive Chrift orderly and evangelically, or in the gofpel order, namely, as the Lord your righteousness and ftrength; firft, to be your righteoufnefs for your juftification; and then to be your ftrength for fanctification? The legal order is just the reverse of this; the man would do by his own ftrength, and then be juftified by his own doing. But true faith receives Christ, in the gofpel order; that is, firft to be juftified by his righteoufnefs; and then fanctified by his grace and ftrength; knowing that his performances cannot be accepted, nor acceptable fervice, until his perfon be accepted in the Beloved. Now, have you received Christ orderly, then walk in him orderly; for, "To him that ordereth his converfation aright, will I fhew the falvation of God," Pfal. 1. 23. And walk in him evangelically as ye have received him; that is, from a gofpel-principle; the love of Chrift conftraining to a gofpel-end, the glory of a God in Chrift; and in a gospel manner, going on in the strength of the Lord, making mention of his righteoufnefs, and his only.

In a word, Did you not receive him irreverfibly, fo as never to part with him? Why then, fo walk ye in him, saying, as Ruth to Naomi, "Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee; for, whither thou goeft I will go; and where thou lodgeft, I will lodge; thy people fhall be my people; and thy God my God: Nothing fhall part thee and me," Ruth i. 16, 17.-And thus we fee the proportion that this walk fhould bear to the receiving of Christ, with refpect to the manner of receiving him. Secondly, The proportion or fuitablenefs of this walk to the object received, or, to the capacity wherein we receive him, comes next to be spoke to. Here we may confider, 1. The three generals mentioned in the text, CHRIST, JESUS, the LORD. 2. The manifold particulars that are comprehended under, and deduceable from thefe; and in all these we may view the proportion that our walk fhould bear to our faith objectively confidered. Ift, Notice

Ift, Notice the three generals in the text holding forth the object of faith, CHRIST, JESUS, the LORD. And,

1. Have you received him as the CHRIST, the Anointed of the Father? fo walk ye in him; even in him as the Chrift. Now, as I oblerved in the former part of the doctrinal heads, Chrift is to be confidered both doc. trinally and perfonally.

Confider Chrift doctrinally; that is, the doctrine of Christ, which you, believer, have received, while you received Chrift in his word and in the doctrine of the gofpel. As ye have received, or believed the doctrine of Chrift, or the truth of the gofpel, fo walk ye in it. If you confider the text, with the context, both preceding and following, you will fee that Christ, doctrinally confidered, is particularly here intended, not excluding, but including Chrift perfonally confidered. And indeed none can receive Chrift, and reject his doctrine: If a man profess to take Chrift, and yet neglect the gospel, he is a liar; for he that will have the treasure, muft buy the field where the treasure is, Mat. xiii. 44. Now, did you receive Chrift doctrinally, by receiving the truth as it is in Christ? then fo walk ye in him; that is, walk in the truth; 2 John 4. "I rejoiced that I found thy children walking in truth. I am the way and the truth," fays Chrift: If we walk in this way we muft walk in the truth. And this intimates to us,

(1.) That they cannot be walking in Chrift, who are not zealous for truth, and againft error; zealous for Chrift, the Truth, in oppofition to all error; and so to walk in Chrift, is to contend for the faith once delivered to the faints; for, if we have received the truth, as it is in Chrift, then to walk in him, as we have received him, is to maintain his truth, and perfevere in the true doctrine of the gospel, in oppofition to all error on the right and left hand, not holding the head, Col. ii. 19. If a man be careless whether truth fink or fwim, he is not one who walks in Chrift, or holds the head. Some inftead of holding by the head, they hold by the foot; it is enough to them, that fuch a good man, or fuch a learned man says so and fo, concerning this or that truth: and fo they that let the head go, and hold by the foot,

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