may cry, Peace, peace to themselves; but fudden deftruction fhall come upon them. This miferable, delufive peace, cannot ftand the test of God's holy law and strict justice, nor abide the ftorm of his indignation, which fhall come down upon every foul of man that doth evil, that is in an unrighteous, unjustified flate. The storm of God's wrath, that will meet fuch a foul at death, will fweep away all this false peace; and nothing but terrors will then furround it. Confcience, that was once lulled asleep, by a false apprehenfion of the creature's goodness, as if fufficient to make its peace with God, will then awake, and, like an enraged lion, gnaw and torment the foul for ever; when, upon the fulleft conviction, though too late for all remedy; it fhall fee, that nothing could make peace with God, for a finner, nor give peace to it, but the blood and righte oufnefs of Chrift. And thus the poor foul, being ftript naked of all its own righteous nefs and peace, that hiding-place, whither it had fled for fhelter, that refuge of lies, with which it had been deceived, fhall ftand expofed to all the curfes of God's righteous law, and the amazing ftorm of ་ his vindictive wrath, which fhall breakforth upon it thereby, and drown it in eternal perdition. For, the waters of God's indignation, ball overflow the hiding-place of a finner's own righteoufnefs, and fweep away the refuge of lies, its false peace, built thereupon, and drive away the naked foul, like an irresistible torrent, into the bottomlefs gulf of remedilefs torment, Ifa. xxviii. 17, 18. But he that believeth on Christ, the foundation, God has laid in Zion, shall never be confounded, verfe 10. with 1 Pet. ii. 6. He that hath Chrift for all his righteoufnefs and peace, hath such a righteousness, fuch a peace, that fhall abide for ever. That man, that is juftified by faith, is a perfect man, an upright man, in God's account; and concerning him, the Pfalmift fays, Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace, Pfalm xxxvii. 37. And as it is the happiness of the righteous man to enter into peace, when he dies, Ifa. lvii. 7.; fo is it his privilege to have peace while he lives, and that even in the mid of tribulation; in the midst of outward troubles, he hath inward peace, John xvi. 33. 1 As for that falfe peace, which the wicked have in this world, as it fhall perish at laft, fo it is often broken now, by the flafhes of God's law in the confcience; which are as many earnests of that approaching ftorm of his fiery indignation, which fhall quickly overtake them. And, alas! for these miferable fouls, when under preffing afflictions, how are they like the troubled fea, that cannot reft, whose waters caft up mire and dirt?—But as for the righteous man, he hath peace, even in the most trying circumftances; fuch peace, that the world can neither give, nor take, nor yet can understand. That peace of God, that keeps his heart and mind, through Chrift Jefus, paffeth all the understanding of the natural man, Phil. iv. 7. A juftified foul, having his feet, his faith, bod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, having peace with God, through Jefus Christ, is well prepared to pafs fecurely through a thorny world. Such an one may safely tread upon all the briers of the wilderness, without fear of danger, fince his shoes are like iron and brass, that will even turn a thorn, Eph. vi. 15. Deut. xxxiii. 25And, in a word, there is nothing can hurt that foul, who, being justified by faith, has peace with God, neither in this world, nor that to come. So great is the privilege of that peace, which is the effect of juftification! Again, 2. The effect of justification, with respect to the foul, may be confidered, with regard to its state. And the ftate of a juftified foul, is a ftate of bleffedness. As foon as ever the foul is enabled to believe in Chrift, for juftification, and in God, as justifying in and through him, it paffes from death unto life, John v. 24. It is delivered from the curfe of the law, and all the bleffings, both of the law and gofpel come upon it. As Chrift has redeemed it from the curfe of the law; fo the blessing of Abraham, comes upon it through faith, Gal. iii. 13, 14. And thus the apostle, fpeaking of a juftified state, Rom. iv. 5. calls it a state of bleffedness, verfes 6, 7, 8. Even as David alfo defcribeth the bleffednefs of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteoufness without works, faying, Bleffed are they whofe iniquities are forgiven, and whofe fins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute fin: and verse 9. Comet b this blessedness then upon the circumcifion only, or upon the uncircumcifion alfo?—Thus it appears, that a juftified state, is a state of bleffedness. The ftate of an unjustified foul is a ftate of wrath; and fuch an one is under the curse wherever he is, or whatever he does: as Deut. xxviii. 16, 17, 18, 19. The Lord has not only threatened to curse him, by fending upon him vexation and rebuke, as verfe 20.; but even to curfe his bleffings, his outward enjoyments, as Mal. ii. 2. His But, on the contrary, a juftified foul is blessed in all conditions; his enjoyments are bleffings to him, and fo are his afflictions. All things are his, whether comforts or croíes, life or death; all work together for his good, and turn to his falvation, 1 Cor. iii. 22. Rom. viii. 28. very fufferings are gifts of divine favour, Phil. i. 29. And he has reason to rejoice even when he falls into divers temptations; because of that prefent and eternal advantage he shall reap thereby, and that peculiar blessedness, which attends him therein, James i. 2,-12. A juftified foul paffes on from bleffing to bleffing, in every changing providence; for every change opens to him a new scene of blessedness, |