This fhould make every poor heart leap for joy. For though you have no goodness, no fort of inherent claim to this blifs, yet you are invited to come and take freely of it; nor need you be afraid. Jefus loves you freely, and though neither himself nor you can fee any thing worth his notice in you, yet he loves you with everlasting love, and is not willing that you fhould perifh, but have everlasting life. Come, then, all you that are poor in fpirit, you that are felf-condemned and guilty, you that are hungry, thirsty, and in want; yea, you worst of finners, publicans and harlots, drunkards and winebibbers, fenfualifts and rioters; and above all, you dear fouls that have fought for righteoufnefs under the law, with a troubled head and heart; and you that have been awakened to see your own spoiled and corrupted hearts, so that you have loft nearly all hope and courage; come ye to the Lamb, and he will eafe you; he will undertake for you; he will caft all your fins behind his back, and put a new fong in your mouth, even praises and thanksgiving to our God. O come boldly and in faith, nothing doubting. Open your mouth wide, and he will fill it.

Afk any thing, and he will do it for you. Afk then the forgiveness of fins, and to be affured of your eternal happiness in him, and you shall receive it. So fhall you be bleffed here and for ever, and fafe living and dying. Ye fhall be witneifes of his love to your children, and to the rifing generation; and in the Lord's own good time, ye fhall go to him, and fee him whom ye love fo much here, and be for ever with him. Amen.

DISCOURSE XXVII.

THE LINSEY-WOOLSEY GARMENT.

DEUT xxii. Ir.

Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers forts, as of woollen and linen together.

HE, who defpifeth the law of Mofes, or thinks lightly of the doctrines there delivered, is mistaken; nor can he rightly understand the gospel, or value the New Teftament, who does not esteem the Old, fince therein is hid much of the treasures of the revelation of God, and which is only brought to light and made manifeft by the gospel.

In the law Chrift is preached, but only darkly, and the commandments, which feemed to refpect ceremonies and outward things, were not given in vain; for all things commanded by Mofes were fhadows of the good things which came in by Christ Jefus, and patterns or copies of things fhewed Moles in the mount.

We are told by the apostle, that the fouls of good men, before our Saviour, were thut up under the law, and did not fee the end of every commandment. Hence it was that Mofes put a veil upon his face when he fpake to the people; and his minifters, and fuch as are hearers of him, to this day use veils. The law is covered with a veil, the ark alfo, and the fanctuary were hid from the Jews by being 04

veiled.

veiled. The Holy Spirit would have us understand that this is not merely human tradition, but that himself has his hand therein, fignifying that the veil is upon the heart, where men fee not farther than the law and its appurtenances. To fuch all is veiled and dark, and they fee not the glorious end of all the law, nor know their way to eternal life, but are perpetually in bondage under the yoke of Mofes, without feeling the redemption of Jefus Chrift.

There was however fo much light shined in the law of Mofes, as ferved to help on the pious wor fhippers in that time to faith in the Lamb of God, and which affifted them to pry a little into the great defign the Almighty God had in faving the world.

The rigid prohibition and charge to abstain from blood had its good effect. Two reasons are chiefly affigned by the faithful and meek prophet, wherefore blood might not be eaten: First, because it was the life and, fecondly, blood made the atonement for the foul. No religious Jew could forbear to look upon blood as facred, not only because of this fo often repeated commandment, but alfo because he faw how it was blood that hallowed the altar, the veftments, and whatever was ufed in the fervice of God. All things were purged with blood; and though many found out, and fpake of it, that God did not drink the blood of bulls, nor could it wash out fin, yet they all could not fee the unprofitablenefs of it; nor did any think worthily of it, but fuch who were infpired of the Holy Ghoft, to look upon it as the figure only of the true blood which Jefus fhed once for all; and these were perfons who faw afar off the falvation, and who died in faith.

The doctrine delivered in the text is yet more hard to explain, and not fo clearly opened in the gofpel, as many other doctrines, of the shedding and Sprinkling

fprinkling of blood, facrifices, &c. are but yet enough is faid by him who rent the veil in two from the top to the bottom at his death, and by his apostles, to make this dark law of ufe to us in this day.

This doctrine is one of the many, of which the chriftians feem to take notice. It feldom would come into our minds in our life, to fcruple wearing a garment of woollen and linen together. They are often mixed, and worn by religious people, and men of tender confciences, who at the fame time have no conviction that they fin; yea they would have but weak heads, fhould they believe nothing more was meant in this law than only to forbear wearing two forts of stuff in the fame garment.

Could I believe our Saviour would have me go in fackcloth, or be covered in any way particularly, however it might feem a needlefs fcrupulofity, or ridiculous, I fhould think it my duty to obey. Wantonnefs, and the gay fpirit of the world have prevailed far upon the most of chriftian congregations, fo that it would be hard to find out those whofe only ornaments are a meek and a quiet fpirit, and whofe only finery is the garment "all glorious within." But as the treating upon the drefs and garb of chriftians is not my purpose, I fhall only with all the lovers of the plain Son of David, to follow him in all fimplicity of drefs and manners, and not to be ashamed of God whofe coat was without seam, and who did not conform to the fashion of a world which paffeth away; and fo purfue my defign.

The woollen garment in the text, is a fhadow of the righteousness of the law or the righteousness of works; the linen alfo is a fhadow of the righteoufnefs of faith, or Chrift's righteoufnefs: To fpeak plain therefore, and after the manner of the gospel, the text teacheth us not to blend both together.

05

There

There are three forts of preachers who receive the fcripture, and confefs the God of Abraham.

The first are fuch as preach the law alone, and these are generally Jews, and men of their spirit.

The fecond fort are evangelifts, or true gofpel preachers, minifters of the New Teftament, who preach only the Lord our righteousness, and who will know nothing among their congregations, and fouls committed to their charge, but Jefus Chrift and him crucified.

There are others, of which the world is now too full, who fin against the law, and against the gospel, blending both together, and teaching the people to wear the garment of linen and woollen; of all which I intend to fpeak freely.

I do not wonder that St. Peter calls the law a yoke, which neither they nor their fathers could bear, because it must have been fo to them who heard not plainly of Jefus and his falvation. Who, under the law, could have any comfort, when he knew he was under the curfe as long as he continued not in all things of the book of the law to do them? The more fincere, the more unhappy fuch were who served under the law, and heard of no way to heaven but a perfect obedience to all the ordinances of God.

The facrificing their turtle doves, lambs, and goats, could not make eafy the confciences of awakened and truly pious perfons. Such as made no more of religion than only to hear the law, frequent the temple, obferve the customs and traditions of the elders, who fafted twice in the week, and found out means fo to explain the law, as to make a fincere, though imperfect obedience (as they termed it) the whole, fuch might content themfelves under the law, and hope they were righteous and good, and in a fafe way: but where men had no time to deceive themselves, but heard and knew the commandment