have it till you have nothing to pay for it. See how the creditor deals with the debitor in the parable, Luke vii. 42. "When they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both." Now, the legal old-covenant heart of many fays, with the wicked fervant, "Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all;" I will grow a better man, I will fall a repenting and reforming, and then I hope God will pardon me: that man hath fomething to pay, at least he fancies fo, and therefore he hath no forgiveness. But when a poor foul is brought to this, Oh! I have nothing to pay; if I be the payer of my own debt, it will never be paid for me; the debt of fatisfaction will never be paid for me; the debt of obedience, the debt of duty; I have nothing to pay my debt, nay, not the leaft farthing of the debt, were it but a good thought, it can never be paid by me: Why then, that man ftands fair for a full remiffion, according to this free covenant; "When they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both." Are you for this new-covenant way of it, to come and bring nothing, and get all freely out of the covenant, that belongs to grace and glory, debt and duty, happiness and holinefs? Now, what fhall I fay to God, when I go back to my clofet, where I was pleading the laft week, that he would flew his glory, and draw fome of you to himself? fhall I go with a complaint upon you, and fay, Lord, they will not come; they prefer their bafe lufts to the glorious Lord Jefus ; the drunkard prefers his cups to thee; the whoremonger prefers his whoredom to thee; the covetous man prefers the world to thee; the legalist prefers his own righteoufness to thee? Shall we complain to this purpofe? Or, will you give occafion to Chrift to complain upon you to his Father, faying, Father, thou didst give me to be a covenant of the people, but there is a people in Dunfermline, that care not for me, and defpife thy gift; "They will not come to me that they might have life?" O! will not the Father frown upon you, when the Son complains upon you? And, O if you continue of that mind, he will frown you to hell. But, O may we hope that fome at least have fubfcribed their names to the covenant this day? We would go back to God with a fong of praife in our mouths.

and

and glorify his name for the wonders of his grace; yea, if I may fo exprefs it, Chrift would with a glad heart fhew his Father the copy of the covenant that you have figned, and that was offered and directed to you, as to the Gentiles; to thefe that were under darknefs, blindnefs, and bondage, and in the prison of fin, death, and · wrath. Will not the Father be pleafed when the covenant-roll is read over, with the names of all the fubfcrib-. ers and affenters to the covenant, and your name among the reft? There is one that fubfcribed his name thus, I, one of the people, one of the Gentiles; I, one of the blind. and bound prifoners, affenting and confenting. Well, may God fay, was not the covenant directed and offered to the people of that name? Yes, Father, it was. Why then, let the name ftand there regiftrated to eternity, it fhall never be blotted out for me; "Him that cometh, I will in no wife caft him out." Since they had no better name to fign withal, than the name of finner, apoftate, backflider, criminal, leper, blackamoor, flave, and hell's drudges; yet affenting and confenting to this covenant; this covenant that they have fubfcribed, fhall makes their names better than that of fons and daughters, They fhall have a name among the living in Jerufalem; even a new name, and the white flone, that no man knoweth, but he that receiveth it.

Now, as we have a commiflion from the Lord to tell you, that you are welcome to him; fo, O! fhall we have a commiffion from you, to tell him that he is welcome to you? Since God the Father declares, that you are welcome to his Son, faying, "I will give him for a covenant of the people:" fhall we go and tell him, O God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the people at the facrament at Dunfermline, have taken thee at thy word, and are faying in their hearts, thy Son is welcome to them? O if Chrift and you welcome one another this day, whether it be the firft welcoming to fome of you, or a confirming welcoming to others; if he and you, I fay, be welcoming one another this day, Glory, glory to God that ever this day dawned. Eternity will be duration little enough to praife him for this day. Glory, glory to God for the three happy meetings; glory to

him for the happy meeting betwixt the divine and human nature in one perfon, and that is the glorious Perfon given to be a covenant to you; glory to him for the happy meeting betwixt juice and mercy, who have kiffed one another, and faid, We are both pleafed, and are honoured by him, who is given for the covenant of the people; and glory to him for the happy meeting betwixt the Saviour and the finner, betwixt the covenant and the people: Is it a meeting indeed! Hath the Lord God of the Hebrews met with you in Dunfermline? Hath the covenant taken hold of your hearts? O glory to him, for it is a meeting never to part; the covenant will never quit its holding again: and therefore, " "As you have received Chrift, fo walk you in him;" as you have received God's gifted covenant, fo make ufe of it, and improve it.

When you find you have no righteoufnefs, look to the covenant to furnish you; "For his name fhall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." When you find you have no ftrength, look to the covenant to furnifh you; for it fays, "My firength fhall be perfect in thy weaknefs." When you find you have no life nor livelinefs, look to the covenant to furnith you; for it fays, “I am the refurrection and the life." When you feel little of the Spirit's influences, look to the covenant to furnish you; for it fays, "I will pour water upon him that is thirf ty, and floods on the dry ground." When When you find you have much fin and guilt in and about you, look to the covenant for pardon; for it fays, " I, even I am he that blotteth out thy tranfgreffions for my name's fake.". When you find your lufts and corruptions to be powerful and prevalent, look to the covenant for mortification; for it fays, "Sin fhall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace." When you find lit tle or no holinefs taking place in your hearts and ways, look to this holy covenant, and it will make you more holy than ever the covenant of works could do; for this covenant of grace does prefent the law with a perfe&t holinefs, whether you take it as the law of works, or a rule of life in the hand of a Mediator. As the law is a covenant. of works, the believer hath, by this covenant, a perfect VOL. I.

holi

L

holines in his hand, a divine righteoufnefs anfwering

to that and as the law is a rule of life, in the hand of Chrift, the believer hath, by this new covenant, a perfect holinels alfo, not only by virtue of his union to Chrift the fountain of holinefs; but in his own perfon; he hath a perfection of parts here, and a perfection of degrees hereafter. But as to this perfection of parts in time, it is indeed many times fo low, that the believer can hardly difcern it.

Why, may one fay, The thing that frightens me, is, left I be a practical Antinomian, and a gospel-hypocrite; becaufe, though I think my heart goes in to the offer of Chritas a covenant, yet I can never find the powerful and fan&tifying virtue of this covenant, to deftroy my lufts and corruptions, but fill iniquity prevails against me; and can I take comfort in the covenant in that cafe, without abufing free grade to Hoentioufnels? For clearing this, I fhralk only fay to you, that if you can nourish and cherith fin, and yet take comfort in the covenant; that comfort is fufpicious-like, and flows from a fancy, and not from the faithof God's operation; for, "He that hath this hope, purifieth himfelf, even as God is pure." Faith purifies the heart, where-ever it is in exercife; and to take comfort in or from the covenant, and yet take pleasure in fin, at the fame time, is a dream, and a delufion that the believ er cannot be under, unless he be in a fit of temptation.. Dit as to fin prevailing; fin may prevail against a believer, and yet he may have comfort in the covenant; as David had, when he fays, "Iniquities prevail against me;" they are against my will, against my heart, against hiy prayers, against my inclinations; and he immediately adds, As for our tranfgreflions, thou shalt purge them away," Pfal. lxv. 3. But thou, poor foul, that fays you never found the fanctifying virtue of the covenant ? Why, did you never get grace to wrefle against fin? that is fonie virtue. Doth prevalency of fin never humble you to the duft? that is fome virtue. Do you fee and lament your own unholinefs? that is fome virtue. Doth the fenfe and feeling of the power of fin never make you long for complete victory and freedom from fin? that is fome virtue. Did the power of a body of

death

death never make you look upon yourselves as wretchel, faying, O wretched perfon that I am! who fhall deliver me from it? that is, fome virtue. Did the Did the prevalency of fin never force you to the blood of Chrift, the fountain open for fin and for uncleannefs? that is fome virtue. Are you glad of any victory you got over your corruption? yea, that is fome virtue. How do you find it with you, when the light of the covenant is fhining on your foul? Do you not find your heart rifing against fin? Then that is fome virtue. How do you find it with you between hands, when iniquity is prevailing? Do. you not find yourfelf uneafy, and out of your element, ay till the Lord return? That is fome virtue.--Do not deny the fanctifying virtue of the covenant: and what can be the reafon of it, that though you fign the covenant, and go in to it, yet you find fo little of its powerful fanctifying virtue? I will tell you one reafon of your inftability and inconftancy this way: 'It may be, when you figned the covenant, you put not your name at the foot of the bond, but fet your name too far up, as if you were a party-covenanting; you are to fign as a party-confenting, but not as a party-contracting: The covenant was drawn up, and figned by two unchangeable parties from eternity, the Father and the Son; and you, forfooth, would have your name in the midst of the contract, as if you were promifing and, contracting fomething for your part conjunctly with him, who is the first and the laft, and the ALL of the covenant. Remember you are but a poor affenter at beft; and therefore put your name lower down; for your work is juft to do nothing, but to confent to take him, to do all your work in you, and for you: for, fays the Lord in my context here, "My glory will I not give to another." He accounts it the standing of his glory, to perform all that is within the covenant; and he will not let any black fcullion of hell, like you or me, count our doits among his gold. The higher place that you take for your name in the covenant, the more unconftant are you; but the lower place, the more ftable: Therefore, when you

fign

An ancient piece of fmall Scots copper-coin, in value the twelfth part of a penny fteiling; at that time current, but not fo now.