J'/- c 
 
 I ALUMNI LIBRARY, % 
 
 * s 
 
 f THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, | 
 
 M . * 
 
 * ' PRINCETON, N. J. J 
 
 * 
 
 «X!» .vO>. xffif *■<*' *.Q.> aB/-sQ> *Q». -v(V vD/ «£/ .iO- jfli jflt jjk. ■iDL^sJk.AJk 
 
 1' 'Division _ & 
 
 * Sectio 
 
 Bool', N . . 
 
 © 
 
 S6E 
 
 /0 79?- 
 
i/f^i 
 
 
 s-> 
 
 '9 
 
 FAITH, AND EXPERIENCE, 
 
 WHEREIN SEVERAL 
 
 GOSPEL TRUTHS 
 
 ARE STATED AND ILLUSTRATED, 
 
 AND THEIR 
 
 % OPPOSITE ERRORS POINTED OUT. 
 
 - 
 BY SAMUEL ECK1NG. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 ■•■•>*<- 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 
 
 A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE AUTHOR, 
 
 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE FAITH OF DEVILS, 
 
 THE CONFESSION OF FAITH DELIVERED AT HIS ORDINATION, 
 
 AND A FEW OBSERVATIONS ON SANDEMAN & CUDWORTH. 
 
 WITH 
 
 FOUR SERMONS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 
 NO W FIRST PUBLISHED. 
 
 This is the true Grace of God wherein ye {land. — i Peter iv. iz. 
 EarnefUy contend for the Faith which was once delivered to 
 
 the Saints. — Jude 3. 
 Experience wcrktth Elope. — Rom. v. 4. 
 
 «*. , 
 
 LIVERPOOL, 
 
 PRINTED AND SOLD BY IF. JONES, 56, CASTLE-STREET; 
 
 Sold alfo by J. & A. Duncan, Glafgow ; J. Turnbuil, and 
 Gutbris&Tait, Edinburgh; T.Johnfton,Crow-rtreet,Dublin5 
 and W. Button & Son, London. 
 
 1806, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE, 
 
 A short Account of the Author - - - S 
 
 The Author's Preface - - 
 
 ESSAY I. 
 
 ON DIVINE GRACE. 
 
 Of the Nature, Purpose, Manifestation, Word, Spi- 
 rit, and Principle of Grace, - - 29 
 Sect i. Of the Nature of Grace in general, - ibid. 
 
 2. The Purpose of Grace, - - - - S3 
 S. The Manifestation of Grace, ... 39 
 
 4. The Word of Grace, or Grace in its Publication, 50 
 
 5. The Nature and Manner of the Operation of the 
 
 Spirit of Grace, - ... 67 
 
 6. On the Principle of Grace in the Heart, - 85 
 
 ESSAY II. 
 
 ON THE FAITH OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 On the Nature of Faith, - - - 109 
 
 Introduction, - - ibid. 
 
 Sect. 1. A general View of the various Notions and 
 
 Definitions of Faith, - . - - 112 
 
 2- On the Faith of the Operation of God, - 124 
 
 3. Some Questions and Objections which may arise 
 
 from the foregoing View of Faith considered, 137 
 
 ESSAY Ilf. 
 
 ON CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE. 
 
 On Experience, - • - - 151 
 
 Introduction, - - - - ibid. 
 
 Sect. i. Wherein some kinds of delusive Experiences, 
 and the use made of them, are laid open and 
 exposed, - - - . - 156 
 
 2. Wherein the Nature of true Experience is consi- 
 
 dered, - - 176 
 
 3. Wherein some Questions are sta ted and considered 
 
 relative to the Sentimem contained in the Essay, 203 
 
 Consideration on the Faith of Devils, - - 217 
 
 Confession of Faith, &c. - - - - 231 
 
 Observations on Sandeman and Cudwcrth, , - 243 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
SERMON I. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Gospel Ordinances considered as Means of Christian 
 
 Edification, .... 247 
 
 Then had the Churches rest throughout all Judea, and 
 Gallilee and Samaria, and (were edified, and walk- 
 ing in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of 
 the Holy Ghost were multiplied. — Acts ix, 31. 
 
 SERMON IL 
 
 The Life of Faith considered as opposed to Self- 
 confidence, - 263? 
 
 Behold his Soul which is lifted up, is not upright in 
 him ; but the just shall live by his Faith. — Ha- 
 bakkuk, ii, 4. 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 The duty of seeking first the kingdom of God and 
 
 his righteousness, - - - 231- 
 
 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righte- 
 ousness, and all these things shall be added unto 
 you. — Matt, vi, 33. 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 Scriptural evidences of regeneration stated and con- 
 sidered, ... ~ 
 
 Hereby do we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit 
 (which he hath given us. — 1 John, iii, 24. 
 
A SHORT ACCOUNT 
 
 AUTHOR. 
 
 MR. SAMUEL ECKING was born at Shrewsbury, 
 December 5, 1757. By the mother's side, he was de- 
 scended from two very ancient and respectable families, 
 (ihe.Adderton's and Blodwell's) from whom his mother 
 inherited considerable property : But, unfortunately, mar- 
 rying a person of imprudent conduct, who in a few years, 
 squandered it all away, she was left with two children, a 
 daughter four years old, and Samuel, about two. Being 
 now reduced to penury, she retired from Shrewsbury to 
 a cottage about two miles off, where for the space of two 
 years, she earned, with her own hands, a subsistence for 
 herself and children. Her circumstances at last drew the 
 attention and compassion of her friends, who removed 
 her residence to Shrewsbury, and placed her in a situatioa 
 somewhat more comfortable. Here she was enabled to 
 put her children to school, and a relation of hers dying 
 soon afterwards, she became again entitled to a consider- 
 able property, part of which went to extinguish her hus- 
 band's debts, which amounted to upwards of i iool. 
 
 Mr. Ecking was at this time about twelve years of 
 age, of a disposition naturally sedate and studious, and 
 applied himself to learning with such diligence and in- 
 dustry, that at the age of fifteen he was taken into an 
 academy kept by Mr. Boore, in Shrewsbury, in the capa- 
 city of an ufher, where he continued upwards of two 
 years, until the decease of the master put an end to the 
 school. By this time, he had acquired so much favour 
 B and 
 
A SHORT ACCOUNT 
 
 and reputation in the school, that he was importuned 
 both by parents and scholars, to undertake the master- 
 ship, which, however, he declined on account of his youth, 
 and engaged himself again as an usher, in a respectable 
 academy in the same town, under the direction of Mr. 
 Gentleman, a dissenting minister, with whom he conti- 
 nued till towards the close of the year 1777 ;— and in Ja- 
 nuary, 1778, opened a school himself, in which station 
 he continued acquiring additional reputation, till his re- 
 moval to Chester. 
 
 We learn from the discourse preached on occasion of 
 his death,* that he himself had said, " He was not with- 
 out some awakenings of conscience, even in his very 
 early years ; — not enough indeed to break the natural at- 
 tachment of the heart to vanity and folly ; — yet enough 
 to restrain him from running into those vices which the 
 generality of young men give way to ; — and enough to 
 convince him, when he had acquired more experience, 
 that there may be serious alarms in the mind, concerning 
 the evil consequences of sin, productive also of many 
 seemingly good resolutions, and a temporary regularity 
 of conduct (which are now often depended on as hopeful 
 signs of true grace) while the heart is destitute of the 
 knowledge of God the Saviour, and without one spark 
 of real religion." it is evident, not only from the report 
 of friends, but also from a journal, which'he kept in short 
 hand, and which is entitled, " The experience of a saved 
 sinner," that his mind was early occupied with religious 
 concerns. The following words arc prefixed to the jour- 
 nal, dated January 9, 1777, " I have wrote an account of 
 the way and manner in which the Lord began his work 
 upon my soul, and how he carried it on to this present 
 time, in a small tract, which may be found amongst 
 my papers." This must relate to what had happened 
 before he was nineteen years of age. 
 
 His 
 
 * By Mr. Joseph Jenkins. 
 
OF THE AUTHOR, 
 
 His usual attendance for public worship was at the es- 
 tablished church, tinder the ministry of Mr. De Courcy, 
 of whom he was a warm admirer, as well as an intimate 
 acquaintance. But when the dispute about baptism began 
 in Shrewsbury, in the year 1776, and in which so many 
 pens were engaged, it seems to have excited much of his 
 attention. Being educated in the principles of Predobap- 
 tism, it does not appear, that before the commencement 
 of this dispute, he had ever been led to suspect the validi- 
 ty of that practice. " The controversy, however," says 
 the writer before quoted, " had that effect upon him, 
 which it were to be wished, all books of controversy 
 might have upon their readers, to engage him to study 
 the Bible more diligently, and receive the truth from God 
 himself.'' He has frequently related the following cir- 
 cumstance respecting that affair : — When his mind first 
 began to waver upon the subject, the president of the 
 academy, who appears to have been not a little concerned 
 upon the occasion, put into his hands a very popular 
 publication in defence of infant sprinkling, earnestly re- 
 questing him to read it attentively, and expressing his 
 confidence that it would effectually establish his mind. — 
 With this request he cheerfully complied, and having di- 
 ligently perused the book, returned it to the gentleman, 
 assuring him, that his mind was now fully satisfied; add- 
 ing, however, that he supposed it would surprise him to 
 hear, that it was of the impropriety of the practice con- 
 tended for in it. 
 
 In consequence of this change in his sentiments, he was 
 soon after baptized upon a profession of his faith, and 
 added to a Baptist congregation at Shrewsbury, of which 
 he continued a member upwards of five years. 
 
 Possessing promising abilities, he was occasionally call- 
 ed upon by the church to exercise his gifts sometimes 
 among themselves, and sometimes in the adjacent villages; 
 — and as the church had it ultimately in view to give 
 him a call to the public work of the ministry, he was re- 
 quested to preach before them a public discourse, which he 
 ..B 2 accordingly 
 
A SHORT ACCOUNT 
 
 accordingly did, from I Pet. i. 5. — " Who are kept by the 
 po-zver of Cod, through faith unto salvation ?" A copy 
 of this discourse is found amongst his short-hand papers, 
 with the following words annexed, " The above was de- 
 livered in the Baptist meeting-house, in Shrewsbury, June 
 24, i,78l, being for the trial of the authors abilities, and 
 which being approved, he was, by that church, called to 
 the work of the miniftry." 
 
 Towards the close of the same year, Mr. Ecking ac- 
 cepted an invitation from a few scattered individuals at 
 Chester, to preach to them, and settled there with his fa- 
 .mily soon after. He had not been there more than a year, 
 before a few persons were united together in a profession 
 of the faith, over whom he was appointed pastor, in the 
 month of April, 178S; — on which occasion he delivered 
 ** The Confession of Faith," which the reader will find 
 in this volume subjoined to the Essays. But between the 
 time of his coming to Chester and his ordination to this 
 office, an important and remarkable change took place in 
 Lis religious sentiments ;* — a change which, though it 
 may be said to originate in a single point, yet is that 
 point of such a peculiar nature, as ultimately to diffuse it- 
 self through the whole system of gospel doctrine, practice, 
 and experience. 
 
 That a real and essential change took place in his sen- 
 timents at this time, might be easily demonstrated from a 
 comparison of his manuscript discourses, and the journal 
 of his experience, prior to this period, with the principles 
 contained in the following essays. He had formerly the 
 common popular notions of divine grace, 'and professed 
 the doctrine of free justification, through the imputed 
 righteousness of Christ, by faith without works ; — but (as 
 is too commonly the case) he did not in reality perceive 
 the tiue grace of God in its freedom and suitableness to 
 
 * his 
 
 * It is but justice to ntention, that his mind was first struck 
 at hearing an occasional sermon preached at Chester, by Mr» 
 Joseph lenkiiis, of Wrexham. 
 
OF THE AUTHOR, 
 
 his case, as a guilty, unqualified sinner ; nor did he under- 
 stand how the work finished by the Son of God in his 
 death, and declared to be accepted in his resurrection, was 
 alone sufficient to relieve his mind, and give him immedi- 
 ate peace with God, without taking into his view some 
 previous work of grace wrought in his heart, distinct 
 from the knowledge of Christ, and as a necessary requisite 
 to warrant his hope in him. This radical mistake, which 
 is natural to the human heart, made the gospel appear to 
 him in a conditional point of view, so that he expected 
 no comfort from it, but through the medium of some fa- 
 vourable symptoms about himself. When he thought he 
 discovered these, he was encouraged, upon that ground, to 
 trust in Christ, as having now a better opinion of himself ; 
 but when these favourable symptoms disappeared, his 
 hopes sunk, his mind was distressed, and he could find 
 nothing in the gospel itself suited to relieve him. Thus 
 his happiness and comfort partook of all the changes and 
 fl actuations of its unfteady foundation, whilst the whole 
 exercises of his mind turned upon a legal or self-righteous 
 hinge. But when it pleased the Lord to draw his atten- 
 tion to the divine evidence, beaming in the gospel, of the 
 perfection and sufficiency of the obedience of the Son of 
 God to justify the ungodly — its suitableness in all respects 
 to the case of helpless, perishing sinners, — and particularly 
 its immediate nearness and absolute freeness to the very 
 v, orst of mankind, who can find no good thing in them- 
 selves to warrant their claim, but every thing the reverse 
 — then his mind was immediately relieved; he was deli- 
 vered from a spirit of bondage, and filled with all joy and 
 peace in believing, abounding in hope, through the power 
 of the Holy Spirit, for now he found all his salvation and 
 ail his desire, simply in what the gospel testifies of 
 Christ. 
 
 That glorious truth which was now become the delight 
 and happiness of his own soul, gave a new turn and re- 
 freshing savour to his discourses from the pulpit, and in- 
 vigorated him in the discharge of the duties of his office. 
 B 3 "It 
 
A SHORT ACCOUNT 
 
 " It raised him up," as he said, " from that state of bar- 
 renness and desertion in his own soul, as well as from that 
 leaning to himself, through which he was in doubt, whe- 
 ther he should have been able to preach another sermon." 
 
 The important difference which he now perceived be- 
 tween the commonly-received doctrines, and the apostolic 
 gospel, in its primitive simplicity, freeness and glory, 
 made him resolve to publish his sentiments to the world. 
 Accordingly, in the year 1784, the following performance 
 made its first appearance ; — and his design therein, as he 
 himself informs us in the preface, was, " to recommend 
 the disallowed gospel as the ONE THING NEEDFUL; 
 as that alone which can give peace at the last, and land a 
 sinner safe and happy on the heavenly shore." 
 
 The opposition which the author met with, on account 
 of this publication, was such as an attentive reader might 
 reasonably expect. Several of his former intimate asso- 
 ciates in the ministry, and who had professed the highest 
 regard for him, raised the greatest outcry of Heresy 
 against it. Whatever reason Mr. Ecking might have 
 had for affirming, in the introduction to the Essay on Ex- 
 perience, that modern Catholic Charity " has it in her na- 
 ture to persecute the friends of truth, even unto strange 
 cities," it is certain that experience, in this case, had no 
 tendency to alter his opinion : For it is well known, that 
 some, who value themselves much upon the liberality of 
 their minds, and their catholic charity, and who, under a 
 specious semblance of moderation and candour, offer a 
 comprehension, from which none seem excluded, were 
 nevertheless amongst his most zealous opposers, and ma- 
 nifested in their conduct towards him the greatest disin- 
 genuity. Justice to the truth for which he contended, 
 required that he should not pass these things altogether 
 unnoticed. He wrote a letter to one of this stamp, from 
 whose character for Catholicism, and eminence among 
 his fraternity, a different conduct might have been ex- 
 pected. The following is an extract of it :■— •" By what 
 kind of penetration, Sir, could you perceive that I had re- 
 
 ■ fined 
 
OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 fined my. sentiments into rank Sandemanianism, when you- 
 seriously declared to more than one of your friends, that 
 you had not read the book, nor would do it at present, if 
 you did at all ? — The essays I have published contain 
 what I believe to be the truth, as it is in Jesus, and (with» 
 out the fear of man) I hope, in the fear of God, steadily 
 to maintain them, in opposition to every error which af- 
 fects them. But if you, or any other person, will point 
 out to me, wherein they stand opposed to the scriptures, 
 1 shall attentively consider what is said ; and this will bet- 
 ter become persons of your character, than to wrap up your 
 mind in prejudice, and, sheltered behind the walls of fan- 
 cied orthodoxy, to pour out vollies of absurd assertions, 
 instead of scripture proofs, and fair argument." 
 
 Mr. Ecking did not survive the publication of the Es- 
 says more than 8 months; his indisposition, which began, 
 with a severe cold, terminated in a putrid fever. On the 
 Lord's day, Jan. 16, 1785, he preached in the forenoon 
 from John XV. 12. " This is my comma?idment, That ye 
 lo<ve one another as I have loved you. 13 And in the after- 
 noon, from Psalm cii. 16. 17. " When the Lord shall 
 build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. He will regard 
 the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer."-~ 
 On the afternoon of that day, his hoarseness increased to 
 such a degree, that it was painful for him to speak, so 
 that he was constrained to decline preaching in the even- 
 ing, as was usual to him. During the remainder of that 
 week he gradually grew worse ; though he attended his 
 school, as usual, and on Saturday "morning went into his 
 study to prepare for preaching next day, though much 
 against the inclination of his friends. The passage of 
 scripture he had fixed his attention upon, was Acts xi. 23. 
 M Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was 
 glad, and exhorted them all, that 'with purpose of heart 
 tbey w oid d cleave unto the Lord." Upon this subject, as 
 usual, he wrote his thoughts ; — but this discourse he was 
 prevented from delivering, for his indisposition increasing, 
 and an apothecary being called in, he was : immediately 
 
 Ordered 
 
A SHORT ACCOUNT 
 
 ordered to his bed, and though the utmost attention was 
 paid him, by a very respectable physician, yet so rapidly 
 did his disorder proceed, as entirely to baffle the utmost 
 power of medicine. 
 
 In a few days, being apprehensive of his approaching 
 dissolution, he called together the church, and took his 
 last, solemn, affectionate, and comfortable farewell of 
 them ; told them he was going to the arms cf Jesus, and 
 • that he hoped, ere long, to welcome them all there. The 
 chief thing he dwelt upon, was, the contempt and scorn 
 which he foresaw would attend their attachment to the 
 truth. He took great pains to reconcile their minds to 
 this, and with much earnestness exhorted them to " hold 
 fast the truth," adding, " the truth is great-, and will sup' 
 fort you" 
 
 After this interview he enjoyed but sparingly the un- 
 disturbed exercise of his thinking powers ; yet an interval 
 scarcely returned, in which he did not gladden the hearts 
 of those around him, by the joyful manner in which he 
 spoke of the consolations of the gospel ; and, on the 5th 
 of February, he closed his days, in the 27th year of hi? 
 age, exchanging a state of warfare and trial for the blessed- 
 ness of the dead who die in the Lord. 
 
 In stature Mr. Ecking was about the middle size, slen- 
 der, and veiy active; his complexion swarthy, his coun- 
 tenance grave and sedate, and a just index of his mind. — 
 In conversation, particularly after the alteration in his 
 religious sentiments, he was chearful and lively, yet was it 
 happily seasoned with incorruptness, gravity, and sincerity. 
 His imagination was warm and active ; and he possessed 
 a talent for poetical composition, which cultivation (had 
 his days been prolonged) might have raised to some de- 
 gree of excellence. Many of his juvenile pieces may be 
 found in The Gospel Magazine, a periodical work edited 
 by the celebrated Mr. i oplady, with his signature S.— - 
 E-k--g affixed to them, about the years 1778 and 1779. 
 
 His daily erhpJoyment was the education of youth. — 
 His school at Chester consisted of about half a dozen 
 
 boarders. 
 
OF THE AUTHOR, 
 
 boarders, and about twenty day scholars, to whom he 
 paid unremitted attention ; and for discharging the im- 
 portant duties of which, few persons were better qualified. 
 His discourses from the pulpit were very animated and 
 interesting ; — and his manner of preaching bore a great 
 resemblance to that of his writing in the Essays ; for 
 when he opened up the doctrine contained in a passage, 
 he generally took occasion to point out to his hearers, 
 how it stood opposed to the current doctrine of the day. 
 He appears to have enjoyed much happiness in his pasto- 
 ral capacity, and in the few connected with him. In a 
 letter to the writer of this account (then at London,) dated 
 January isth, 1784, he says, " We go on very comfort- 
 ably ; both minister and people desire to know nothing 
 but Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Three persons have 
 been added since you went, and as many more will soon 
 be baptized to that end. But we do nottake the most effec- 
 tual method to have what is called a flourishing church; — 
 yet if but two or three are united together in the one hof>e 9 
 loving and living upon the precious truth, however poor, 
 mean and despised they may be, I shall think myself au- 
 thorised to call them a flourishing church" 
 
 How affectionate he was as a husband, how tender as a 
 parent, how pleasant and amialle as a friend and compa- 
 nion, will long be remembered by those who enjoyed an 
 intimacy with him. His domestic connections he regard- 
 ed with peculiar tenderness — In the letter above quoted, 
 he says, " I have had some trials in Prov : dence, since I 
 saw you ; — my dear little boy was taken from me by the 
 small pox, in September last. I hardly ever knew any 
 trial in comparison of that ; but it becomes me to beflill, 
 and to hold my peace. He who presides over the affairs 
 of the world cannot be mistaken in any thing he does ;— 
 nor will he do any thing but what shall work, together 
 with his other dispensation?, to promote his own glory, 
 and Irs people's present and eternal good. It is a joyful 
 reflection, however, to me, that of such is the Kingdom of 
 
 Heaven $ 
 
A SHORT ACCOUNT 
 
 Heaven ; and therefore, ray love to him should cause me to 
 be glad." 
 
 His unremitted diligence in the various duties of his" 
 office and calling, will appear from the following brief 
 detail of a week's employment On the Lord's day he 
 preached three times, attended his school the five succeed- 
 ing days; — and on Saturday spent almost the whole day 
 in his study. And here it is worth noticing, that though 
 lie preached without notes, yet his discourses were pretty 
 fully written down in short hand, the preceding day. — 
 Besides what has already been mentioned, he held a con- 
 versation-meeting with his people, at his own house, on 
 Tuesday evenings, preached a public discourse on Wed- 
 nesday night, held a public prayer meeting on Friday 
 night \ and visited his flock, at their own houses, as occa- 
 sion required. And when we take into view, that it was 
 amidst such a multiplicity of labours he composed the 
 following Essays, it is not so much to be wondered at, 
 that some defects and inaccuracies are to be found in 
 them, as that they have so many excellencies. The 
 great and leading principles contained in them are admi- 
 rable, <viz. That Christ is held forth, in the word of God, 
 as .he sure, immediate, and only foundation of hope, for 
 guilty, perishing sinners, as such — That no inherent qua- 
 lification is required, as previously necessary to a sinner's 
 believing and hoping in Christ — That no saving change, 
 nor any true principle of grace is wrought in his heart, 
 before he believes in Christ, as a free and all-sufficient Sa- 
 viour, suited to his case, as a sinner — And that all true 
 peace of conscience, Christian experience, and real holi- 
 ness in heart or life, originate in this faith of the Son of 
 God, and must constantly be supported and influenced by 
 it. Those who relish these great truths, will easily par- 
 don a few occasional mistakes in the author's attempt to 
 elucidate them. 
 
 Though Mr. Ecking was but a short time engaged in 
 the pastoral office, yet it served to convince him, that it 
 was essentially necessary to the welfare of a church, to 
 
 adhere 
 
OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 adhere strictly to the exercise of that discipline which the 
 Lord Jesus himself hath instituted. He has frequently 
 been heard deeply to lament the little attention paid to 
 this important matter, by those societies who profess to 
 copy the example of the apostolic churches ; and theie is 
 no reason to doubt, that, had his life been prolonged, he 
 would have attempted a reformation in many parts of the 
 church order. But the Sovereign Disposer of all things 
 saw meet to prevent his putting these designs into execu- 
 tion, by calling him to Himself 
 
 POSTSCRIPT 
 TO THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 Trom the preceding account it will be inferred by the 
 reader, that Mr. Eckixg must have left behind him copies 
 of a considerable number of Sermons, which he had 
 preached during the course of his ministry at Chester. — 
 The intimation of this fact, in the last edition of the Es- 
 says, has induced several persons who esteem the author's 
 writings, to express their wishes of being gratified with 
 the publication of them. It should be remembered, how- 
 ever, that he wrote them in short hand, and in a system, 
 too, which is at present not much in use. The publisher 
 of the present edition, considers himself fortunate in hav- 
 ing been taught that system by Mr. Ecking himself, be- 
 cause it has not only given him an opportunity since his 
 death, of refreshing his recollection by a re-perusal of ma- 
 ny exce vnt discourses which it had been his happiness to 
 hear him personally deliver from the pulpit, but also of 
 gratifying the wishes of those who are friendly to the au- 
 thor's views of Christianity, by submitting some of them to 
 public inspection. In the execution of this pleasing task, 
 
 he 
 
A SHORT ACCOUNT, 8cc. 
 
 he is not insensible of the delicate ground on which he 
 treads. He has had frequent opportunities of seeing with 
 regret, the just fame and reputation of the dead, in his 
 opinion, considerably lessened by the injudicious conduct 
 of their surviving friends, in giving to the public such 
 parts of their writings, as the authors, if living, would 
 '.have been anxious to conceal. He is conscious that his 
 departed friend had no intention of submitting to public 
 view these sermons, and the respect he owes his memory 
 on the one hand, with his desire of gratifying the wishes of 
 many, on the other, has occasioned a struggle in his breast 
 which has been for some time of doubtful conflict. To 
 the latter he has at length yielded, by printing as an Ap- 
 pendix, to what has already more than once met the pub- 
 lic eye, a few of the author's sermons. In the selection 
 of them, he has not been directed by any consciousness of 
 superior excellency over others which are yet unpublished. 
 His object has been chiefly to exhibit a fair specimen of 
 the author's style and manner of preaching, which he is 
 ■aware the partiality of friendship may have led him to 
 over - rate. He has no hesitation in stating as his humble 
 opinion, that in the disposition of his subjects of discourse, 
 and in a clear and scriptural elucidation of them, Mr. 
 Ec king's talents were of a superior order, though he is 
 constrained to allow, that every part is not filled up with 
 that ability which would 'have marked them, had he him- 
 self prepared them for the press. Nevertheless, such as 
 they now are, he flatters himself that they will be perused 
 with satisfaction, and contribute in some small measure, 
 to the promotion of those ends which the author had 
 much at heart, in delivering them from the pulpit ; — the 
 instruction of the ignorant, and the edification and esta- 
 blishment of the disciples of Christ. Should it be his fe- 
 licity to find, what is now only submitted as a s; scimen, 
 sanctioned by the public approbation, he may be induced, 
 at a future period, to follow it up with an additional vo- 
 lume of the author's sermons, on important and interest- 
 jug subjects. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 J-T has been observed, that, in controversies about reli- 
 gion, most parties, however wide in their sentiments, have 
 claimed the authority and countenance of scripture for their 
 respective notions. Some, on this account, have been de- 
 posed to fix the charge of inconsistency upon the sacred 
 lecords ; and others, for the fame reason, have thought it 
 necessary to have some certain rules to interpret scripture 
 by. Hence traditions, church-authority, creeds, and con- 
 fessions of faith, have been multiplied in great abun- 
 dance, and which are in general thought better calcu- 
 lated to guard against heresy than that book which is 
 appealed to by all heretics. — The church of Rome has 
 deservedly been held up to public ridicule, for her preten- 
 sions to infallibility, and for keeping the people in igno- 
 rance, by prohibiting the reading of the scriptures ; happy 
 day that was, therefore, which began the dawn of Refor- 
 mation. But does it not lead us back to ROME, to con- 
 demn free enquiry, from the fear of innovation ? What 
 essential difference is there between having the scriptures 
 wholly kept from our eyes, and suffering our undemand- 
 ing, judgment, and conscience to be limited by articles, 
 church-authority, Sec. ? Do not these limitations tend to 
 shut us up in as gross darkness, as our ancestors were co- 
 vered with, by receiving papal tradition in the room of 
 divine revelation ? — The preaching of Fulgentio-at Venice, 
 on Pilate's question, What is truth ? is not foreign to our 
 purpose. He told his hearers that at last, after many re« 
 searches, he had found it out, and holding out a New 
 Testament, said that it was in his hand ; but he put it in 
 C his 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 pocket, and coldly added, "The book is prohibited." 
 What difference would there have been had he said, 
 you may read the book, but its true meaning is pro- 
 hibited ? Rut what has been the consequence of intro- 
 ducing this method of preventing heresies and schisms ? 
 Plainly this (not -to say any thing >about extirpation), 
 many have, as it were insensibly, been led to make 
 tradition and church-authority their faith \ and have 
 thus become the dupes of superstition, while they have 
 professed to be guided by the word of God ! Yet fince all 
 spirits must be tried by the scriptures — fince all true church 
 authority must be founded there — and fince if any man 
 speak not according to the form of sound words recorded 
 there, it is because there is no light in him, where can 
 Christians appeal but to the scriptures ? These, they are 
 well assured, are able, to make them wise unto salvation, 
 through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is gi-ven by 
 inspiration of God, and is prof table for doctrine, for reproof 
 for correction, for instruction in righteousness : That the man 
 of God may be perfcl } thoroughly furnished unto all good 
 <zvcrk s. 
 
 The writer of the following pages might tell his reader 
 of his connections with those who are reputed Orthodox ; 
 but as one justly observes, " Orthodoxy, like almost all 
 martial terms- of controvei tists, is a very vague, equivocal 
 word. — In its original and true import, it signifies a right 
 belief; but, such is the fate of language ! in one latitude it 
 means a belief of one thing, in another the belief of ano- 
 ther thing, quite contrary. In these Essays, let it stand for 
 what Paul calls the belifofihe truth-^-not the belief of the 
 truth as it is in this creed, or in that, or in any other, but 
 as it is in Jesus" — He presents them to the reader's se- 
 rious attention, submissively and impartially to be tried by 
 the heavenly oracles, in their most simple and obvious 
 meaning, comparing spiritual things with spiritual ; 
 assuring .him, that he wishes them to have no other in- 
 fluence than what they may have borrowed from thence. 
 His grand design is -.to recommend the disallowed gospel 
 
 as 
 
r e r: r a c e . 
 
 as the one thisg needful; as that alone which caa 
 give peace at the last, and land a sinner safe and happy- 
 on the heavenly shore. The glorious gospel, in its primi- 
 tive simplicity, freeness, and glory, standi opposed, on the 
 one hand, to self-righteousness and self-dependance in all 
 i:s forms ; and, on the other, to carnal confidence, worldly 
 mindedness, and self-indulgence : for while it makes ample 
 provision for the most wretched circumstances a sinner 
 can be in, by laying a sufficient foundation for his hope in 
 the Redeemer's finished work ; it exhibits the most power- 
 ful incentives to true godliness, and makes the keeping of 
 Christ's commands essential to the Christian character. 
 On this account it is expected that the self-righteous and 
 the licentious (however ambiguously they hold those tenets 
 which lead them to self-confidence and self indulgence), 
 will be much disgusted with what they find in the follow- 
 ing pages: and the writer frankly acknowledges that he 
 has not designed, in a single line, to please either of them ; 
 but on the contrary has endeavoured to set forth his sen- 
 timents in such a light, as to stand in direct opposition to 
 their notions of Christianity. The doctrines opposed are 
 mostly stated in the very words of some who have written 
 in favour of them, but without mentioning the names of 
 the authors ; the reason of which is, that persons or par- 
 ticular parties are not attacked, but ert:ors,let them be found 
 with what persons or parties they may. The same method 
 has been occasionally observed, in regard to those who 
 have maintained the doctrines herein stated ; and when 
 the reader is referred to an author's name, it is not with 
 the least design, either to rest the sentiment upon his ere - 
 dit, or screen the writer from censure, under covert of 
 another's reputation : for though he highly esteems their 
 writings, who have been valiant for the truth, yet if ten 
 thousand writers, in the highest reputation for orthodoxy, 
 could be produced in confirmation of what is here said, 
 unless they were prefaced with, Thus saitkthe Lord, they 
 will only stand as so many insignificant cyphers in the 
 esteem of those who have an ear to Lear what t'e spirit 
 C 2 iaith 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 saith unto the churches. On the other hand, if the reason- 
 ing of these essays be found to accord with the word of 
 truth-, it will be a very small circumstance with discerning 
 Christians, though the wise, the learned, or the seemingly 
 religious, should unite to reprobate the book, and load its 
 author with reproach ; for what are the highest sounding 
 names among men, to the name and authority of CHRIST ? 
 And what should Christians fear, though their faith and 
 practice provoke the contempt of nations ? Would any 
 strange thing happen to them if it should be so ? Nay 
 verily ! for so persecuted they the prophets and apostles, 
 which have gone before them. 
 
 The writer has nothing to say in favour of the manner 
 in which the work is executed. He makes no pretension 
 to accuracy of language, or refinement of stile ; but is con- 
 scious of many deficiencies in each of these respects. All 
 he aims at is to convey his meaning, in the most simple 
 and intelligible manner he can. If he has made known 
 what he intended, by what he has declared, the summit of 
 his attempt, as to manner •, is obtained. — If it should please 
 the great Prophet of the church, who alone can teach to 
 profit, to make use of these hints to convince any of the 
 error of their way, or to confirm the souls of the disciples, 
 the author's labours will be richly rewarded : But if, after 
 comparing what is written with the Bible, that infallible 
 standard of truth, any should be disposed to condemn it 
 as heretical) he has no higher court to appeal to. He is 
 persuaded, in his own mind, that the remarks are grounded 
 upon the evidence of Moses and the Prophets, Christ and 
 his Apostles ; but is very willing to allow, what indeed 
 every man has an equal right to, the right of private judg- 
 ment ;. and can say no more than, I speak as to <w ; fe men t 
 judge ye what I say, and let srERr man be fully persuad- 
 ed in his oirti mind. 
 
 ESSAYS, 
 
ESSAYS, &<?. 
 
 ESSAY FIRST, ON DIVINE GRAC 
 
 OF THE NATURE, PURPOSE, MANIFESTATION, WORD t SFIRIT, 
 
 AND FR1NC1PLE OF GRACE, AS SET FORTH IN 
 SCRIPTURE LIGHT. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 OF THE NATURE OF GRACE IN GENERAL, 
 
 1 : ii e doctrine maintained by the apostle? 
 
 Christ, is distinguished from every sch< 
 framed 'by the wisdom of men, in that it is a 
 tern of pure grace.- They asserted, that man 
 must stand before his Maker either upon the 
 footing of the lazo of works; or the gospel cf 
 grace. Upon the former ground they fully de- 
 monstrate, that rto tteshlivjng can be accepted, 
 because the whole world is become guilty before 
 God, and so justly condemned by his Jaw.; 
 therefore they -assert, that if any of the fallen race 
 of Adam are saved, it must be by sovereign 
 grace alone, la the apostles' days, liowever, 
 many asserted - with them that salvation was ■ 
 grace,, who yet meant something thereby, \ 
 different from the obvious sense -if their word-; 
 and it is hardly to be questioned, ! hat the great- • 
 est part of those who call themselves christians. 
 in oar day, will affirm in like manner, that wo 
 are saved by s;race : while yet, when they come 
 G 3 to. 
 
30 THE NATURE OF GRACE. 
 
 to explain themselves upon the point, few will 
 be found to understand the term, in the sense in 
 which it is plain the apostles used it. — The in- 
 spired witnesses, aware of the errors which many 
 ran into in their own day, about grace; and also of 
 the more general opposition that would be made 
 against it after their decease ; declared them- 
 selves upon the subject, with the greatest preci- 
 sion. Thus when Peter had written upon the 
 truth of the gospel, he tells those who had re- 
 ceived his doctrine, this is the true grace of 
 Cod wherein ye stand, 1 Peter, v. J 2. It was 
 Paul's peculiar consolation that the Colossians 
 knew the grace of God in truth; Col. i. 6. 
 that is, as opposed to every falsehood, or coun- 
 terfeit of it: they had been taught the truth as 
 it is in Jesus, and so had received the grace of 
 God in incorruption. And it was his grief to 
 find, that the Galatians had fallen from grace ; 
 Gal. v. 4. that is, if we attend to what he says 
 in the beginning of that epistle, they had re- 
 ceived a perverted gospel, which led them to 
 entertain wrong notions of the true grace of 
 God. In his epistle to the Hebrews, he exhorts 
 professing believers to Look diligently, lest any 
 /nan fail of the grace of God, &.c. Heb. xii. 15. 
 Row as every one chuses to affix his own no- 
 tion to the words of scripture which he has occa- 
 sion to use ; and seeing that an error about grace 
 is, of all! others, the most dangerous, yea the 
 very source of all other errors, under a profession 
 of religion, and must therefore prove fatal, if not 
 perceived and corrected ; it is needful that we 
 should search diligently into the true nature of 
 that grace which is revealed, and by which alone 
 we can be saved. 
 
 Grace, in the scriptures of truth, stands in 
 direct opposition to zvorks of every kind, and 
 every degree ; so that it is utterly impossible 
 
 there 
 
THE NATURE OF GRACE. 51 
 
 there should be any, even the least mixture of 
 the one with the other; for such is the purity 
 of grate, and so opposite is its nature to human 
 works, that a coalition would destro} r its very 
 bciiiLC ; grace would be no more °:race. This 
 appears plain from Paul's writings, Rom. xi. 6.„ 
 And if of grace, then it is no mart' ofzeorks; other- 
 wise grace is no more grace ; but if it he ofzeorks, . 
 then it is no more of grace, otherwise work is no 
 more work. If this passage does not state the 
 most glaring opposition between works and 
 grace, it is past a possibility to make a contrast. 
 They, therefore, who attempt to join them, to 
 the same end and for the same purpose, even 
 though it might be under the most plausible 
 pretence of securing the interests of holiness, are 
 under a fatal mistake in the most essential points 
 of the gospel, and as far from standing in the 
 true grace of God as the east is from being joined 
 with the west. For to him that workcth is the 
 rezcard not reckoned of grace, but of debt , Rora. 
 iv. 4. 
 
 And here let it be carefully observed, that the 
 grace of God stands in opposition, not only to 
 those legal works, by which the Jews went about 
 to establish their own righteousness, but to all 
 works whatever, wrought by the creature. Whe- 
 ther they be works of the \?a\, or works of the 
 gospel ; exercises of the heart, or actions of the 
 life; done while we are in a state of nature, or 
 after we are born of God ; they are all, and every 
 of them, equally set aside, as being either the 
 cause, condition, qualification, or medium, either 
 in the purpose, manifestation, or bestowment of 
 grace, in any of its abounding blessings # ; in 
 
 * It must be noticed, that the author is here treating of the 
 nature of divine grace, and therefore distinguishes it even from 
 its effects upon men's hearts and lives, which in scripture are 
 eometimes called grace, — Ed, 
 
 order 
 
HE NATURE OF GRACE. 
 
 order that every shadow of glorying, should he 
 for ever cut off from the creature, and God in 
 Christ receive the unrivalled honour of salva- 
 tion in all its parts. 
 
 J)ivine grace, therefore, is the free favour ;, the 
 undeserved compassion of Jehovah, through 
 Christ Jesus, to the absolutely wretched; and in- 
 cludes the bestowment of all spiritual and eter- 
 nal' blessings.— The properties of divine grace 
 are, sovereign, rich, imdfrec; that is, sovereign, 
 as it hestows its favours where and on whomsoever 
 it pleases; — rich, as being exceeding abundartt 
 in all manner of supplies, extended to the ut- 
 most necessities of the poor and wretched ; — 
 and free, because not conferred upon the account 
 of any inviting qualifications, nor rewarding him 
 that vvillelh or runneth, but, in all its bestow- 
 ments, wearing the pleasing appearance oi' reign- 
 ing mercy. In short, grace confers the greatest 
 blessings and highest favours upon the most un- 
 deserving amongst the sons of men, according U> 
 the good pleasure of the divine goodness. — The 
 -scriptures always preserve these ideas, whenever 
 the term grace is mentioned. — Thus the gcsjul 
 is called the grace of God, because it reveals the 
 grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ, and 
 opens up the eternal purposes of sovereign grace 
 and abounding mercy in him. If the new crea- 
 ture be at any time designed by this -term, it still 
 preserves the same endearing signification. For 
 God, zcho commanded the light to shine out of 
 darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the 
 light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the 
 jace of Jesus Christ. — 2 Cor. iv. fj. Titus iii. 4. 6. 
 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy call- 
 i/ig, not according to our works, but according to 
 his own purpose and grace, zc'hich was green us in 
 Christ Jesus before the world began. — 2 Tim. i. 9. 
 If acts of libcraiitu or a good conversation, 2 Cor, 
 
 viii, 
 
THE FUK.POSE OF GRACE. 
 
 viii. 7. be called grace, it directly leads our 
 thoughts from the effect to the cause, 2 Cor. ix. 
 I shall close this section with the words one 
 had occasion to use when giving cautions against 
 the counterfeit, grace. " T&e doctrine of free 
 grace being so illustrious in the scriptures as not 
 to be spoken against, they (tiie Arminians) will 
 talk as high of it in general terms as any other, 
 and tell us what great pretensions their doctrine 
 hath to magnify grace, and that they design no- 
 thing more than the honour of that ; when, in- 
 deed, it is not grace, but a contrary thing set up 
 with that name : for, follow the stream either 
 upward or downward, and as it arises from, so it 
 all runs into, advancement ofseif." 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 THE PURPOSE OF GRACE. 
 
 Nothing is more capable of demonstration, if 
 we take it for granted that the scriptures are the 
 word of God, than that the self-moved good 
 pleasure of Jehovah's eternal pui pose, is the grand 
 original source of all spiritual and eternal bles- 
 sings: according as it is written, Who hath saved 
 us, ana called us — according to his ozen purpose 
 and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus be- 
 fore the world began, — The choice of the Medi- 
 ator's person, in whom men should be blessed, 
 and his fore-ordination to be the beginning of 
 the new creation, was the effect of mere good 
 pleasure and sovereign favour. 1 will give thee 
 for a covenant to the people, is the language of 
 pure grace. In the eternal purpose, Christ 
 
 stands 
 
34 THE PURPOSE OF GRACE. 
 
 stands the first and chief elect. Hence the Fa- 
 ther calls him Mine elect in whom my soul de- 
 lighteth. He is the first-born among many bre- 
 thren in the houshold of faith, the family of' 
 heaven ; the centre of Jehovah's delights amongst 
 the sons of men. In him God is well pleased; 
 and out of him, he is nothing but displeasure 
 against sinners. Hence the remnant according 
 to the election of grace are chosen in him; and 
 unless this had been the case, there could have 
 been no salvation. — That Jehovah's good plea- 
 sure was the only cause of a people being chosen 
 in Christ before the foundation of the world, and 
 of grace being treasured up in him, by the divine 
 decree, for the salvation and glorification of 
 numberless sinners, is a fact which shines with 
 the clearest lustre, and is demonstrated and con- 
 firmed in the oracles of .unerring truth. Hence 
 we read of a remnant according to the election of 
 grace — of predestination to the adoption of chil- 
 dren, according to the good pleasure of his will, 
 which he had purposed in kimstlf] &c. And it 
 is equally plain from the same authority, that 
 His original design in the appointment of Christ, 
 &c. was his own glory,- — the manifestation of his 
 sovereignty, wisdom, justice, holiness, mercy, 
 faithfulness, power, and truth. 
 
 But though this good pleasure of the divine 
 goodness is so grand in its own nature, so full of 
 divine sovereignty, so consistent with all the di- 
 vine perfections, so infinitely worthy of himself 
 to make known, that he is represented as delight- 
 ing in the same before he gave birth to time, or 
 existence to creatures ; yet it is most disgustful 
 to, and mortally hated by, the sons of pride, 
 who think no reproaches too odious to cast upon 
 it! But why is it so? Why should man reply 
 against God? Why does the creature proceed 
 so impiouslv, as to call the God that made him 
 
 to 
 
THE PURPOSE OF GRACE. 
 
 to his bar , and censure and condemn his conduct, 
 who has a sovereign right to do according to his 
 own pleasure in Heaven and Earth, without 
 being subject to any one's inquiry into the rea- 
 son of his procedure? 
 
 The true cause of this ungodly opposition is, 
 that vain man would fain have some ground of 
 glorying in himself before God ; whereas the 
 •language of the bible is, the loftiness of man 
 shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of man 
 shall he made low: and the Lord alone shall 
 he exalted. It not only "forbids creatures glory- 
 ing in the divine presence, but strips them of all 
 their fancied importance, and leaves them desti- 
 tute ef the least pretence to, or ground of, boast- 
 ing. Hence the very sinews of human pride are 
 cut; and every one that is saved eniers the 
 Kingdom of Heaven upon the same footing as 
 a little child. But however this sublime truth 
 is hated, traduced, and rejected by those who 
 fancy themselves rich, and so stand in need of 
 nothing; it will ever prove salutary to those 
 who view themselves as poor and miserable; be- 
 cause towards such it wears the most encourag- 
 ing, friendly, and smiling aspect: for, if rightly 
 understood, the doctrine of divine sovereignty 
 .opens a door of hope, presents an all -sufficient 
 relief to those who are justly condemned, an<l 
 on the very verge of despair. The self-sufficient, 
 like their prime leader, go about industriously 
 to pervert this heavenly doctrine ; for, though 
 like him, they use scripture, and, in general 
 terms, talk highly about the eternal purposes of 
 .grace; yet under that name, they set up a thing 
 contrary iii its nature to the true grace of God. 
 Such are they who make the cause of the divine 
 choice to salvation and eternal life, to centre in 
 somejbreseen works, pious desires,repcntance,&x\ 
 But could we imagine that man appeared, in the 
 
 fore- 
 
36 THE PURPOSE OF GRACE. 
 
 fore-knowledge of God, as pure and holy as the 
 angels who sinned not; yet if that were the. 
 cause, or, in any sense, the reason thatiniluenced 
 Jehovah to chuse them, though we might disco- 
 ver faithfulness and justice, in the Almighty, 
 when accomplishing his designs, we directly lose 
 sight of sovereign grace. And though the sig- 
 nification of the term grace be twisted and turn- 
 ed by false criticism, to blind the eyes of the 
 weak and unstable ; yet an authority higher than 
 human, warrants us to say, that if any, or all of 
 the above -mentioned things be the cause of any 
 being chosen to eternal life, Grace is no wore 
 
 we. Yea, we may go further, and yet keep 
 within the bounds of revealed truth. The eter- 
 nal purpose of grace was not the cjject of Jeho- 
 vah's foreknowledge even of the spotless obedi- 
 ence, and perfect atonement of Christ. This is 
 not the cause of everlasting love and the eternal 
 purpose, but the fruit and effect thereof, John. 
 iii. )t). Much less then would it comport with 
 the scripture account of the eternal purpose, or 
 the genuine signification of grace , to say, that 
 foreseen works or any inward qualities whatever 
 in the creature were the moving cause, or even 
 the remotest medium of the divine choice. 
 
 Again ; the supposition that any thing fore- 
 seen in the creature, influenced the divine choice, 
 is opposed by that state which the word of God 
 represents mankind universally to be in, and in 
 which the divine prescience must have univer- 
 sally beheld them, viz. a state of sin, in which 
 they lay polluted as an unclean thing, and ob- 
 noxious to the divine wrath ; which it would be 
 blasphemy to suppose, could draw out the love 
 of the holy God, so could not be any reason of 
 the divine approbation or choice. But the 
 Holy Spirit, even the Spirit of truth who can- 
 not err, makes void the hypothesis I am oppos- 
 
THE PURPOSE OF GRAC 
 
 ing, when he tells us, that they who were chosen 
 in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world, 
 tuid predestinated to the adoption oj thildren by 
 Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of 
 his ■' will, to the praise of the glory of his grace; 
 were dead in trespasses and sins, and by nature 
 the children of wrath, even as others, \Lph. i. 4 — t). 
 chap. ii. 1 — 3. Thus he who searches the mind 
 of God reports, and we know that his witness is 
 true. 
 
 Further; it is contrary to the express decla- 
 ration of the word, Itom. xi. o. (J, where we are 
 expressly taught, that the divine choice proceeds 
 upon grace, in opposition to every notion of 
 worthiness or desert whatever. We have not 
 the liberty here, even of halving the matter, cl- 
 adding the least grain of the one to the other, 
 for even this cannot be done without destroying 
 both. To say, therefore, that the divine choice 
 is of grace, and yet to maintain that iirtes res- 
 pect to works, under any form or notion that 
 they can be conceived of, is to assert, in Paul's 
 estimation, the most glaring contradiction that 
 can possibly be thought of. 1 can compare ii 
 to nothing more fitly, than an attempt to prove 
 that darkness is the cause of light. 
 
 Once more ; it has been said that election is 
 founded upon a foreknowledge of our love. But 
 the carnal mind is enmity against God, it is not 
 subject to the law of God, neither indeed can 
 be, so that naturally we have no love to God in 
 us ; nor can we have any love to God's true cha- 
 racter, until the sovereign, preventing grace of 
 God, turn us from darkness to light; for till then, 
 we are totally ignorant of the divine beauty. 
 Paul sets the matter in its true light, Eph. ii. 4, 
 5, But God, who is rich in mercy for ins ore at 
 love wherewith he loved us, Kv. And another 
 scripture saith, Herein is love, not that we 
 I) loved 
 
S3 THE PURPOSE OF GRACE. 
 
 loved god, but that he loved us; And we 
 love him because he first icved us. So that 
 it would seem, if credit is to be given to God's 
 word, that the notion of foreseen love in us 
 being the cause or medium of God's love to us, 
 is a mere human fabrication, and without the 
 shadow of foundation, in the scriptures. 
 
 Lastly ; others who admit the eternal purpose, 
 and deny either foreseen works or foreseen love 
 to be the cause of it, nevertheless maintain, that 
 it was formed upon the foreknowledge of our 
 faith or believing. But the full force of this no- 
 tion is invalidated by this single consideration, 
 that faith comes as much of God's good pleasure 
 and sovereign favour, as the eternal purpose it- 
 self. Divine faith is what no man naturally 
 possesses; for we are all in unbelief. Faith is 
 of the operation of God ; the very verse which 
 declares salvation to be of grace, shews that faith 
 is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. And 
 the person who receives this precious favour, 
 can no more account for its being given to him, 
 in the behalf of Christ, to believe in his name, 
 while others remain in unbelief, than he can tell 
 whence the wind cometh, or whither it goeth. 
 For however firmly a person may have believed, 
 what he imagined was the gospel of Christ, when 
 he truly knows, through divine teaching, what 
 the gospel is, he will plainly discover that the 
 Lord was found of him who sought not after 
 him. 
 
 From this brief view of the eternal purpose 
 of grace, it appears that divine sovereignty, wis- 
 dom, justice, and goodness, are united in the 
 blessed decree of him whose council shall stand, 
 and who will do all his pleasure ; and though 
 many have been more concerned about the crea- 
 ture's liberty, lest it should be infringed, than 
 Jehovah's sovereignty, lest it should be limited, 
 
 yet 
 
THE MANIFESTATION OF GRACE. 3Q 
 
 ■ ■ -■_ ■ . =-rr i ■!■■■■ iii ii ----t-~ 
 
 yet divine wisdom so directs the accomplish- 
 ment of his purpose, that his choseh people are 
 made willing in the day of his power ; whilst all 
 who eventually perish, do so with the utmost 
 freedom of will: they chuse 'what their delight 
 centers in ; the} r love darkness rather than light. 
 To conclude this section; sovereignty is es- 
 sential to deity. Sovereignty, directed hy un- 
 erring wisdom, is the rule of all Jehovah's pro- 
 ceedings. The original cqttse of salvation, is 
 the se/f moved purpose of divine grace; and the 
 only cause of any sinner's damnation is his own 
 voluntary wickedness, and unprovoked rebellion 
 against God, 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 THE MANIFESTATION OF GRACE. 
 
 Paul having spoken of the purpose of grace in 
 Christ Jesus before the world began, tells us that 
 it is now made manifest by the appearing of our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, zoho hath abolished death , 
 and brought life and immortality to light through 
 the gospel. And that, Through death he destroy- 
 ed him that had the power of death, that is the 
 Devil. Our attention is hereby led to the en- 
 trance of sin into the world. Sin is the cause 
 of that death which God our Saviour came to 
 abolish. Sin first originated in Satan: his sin 
 was pride, which it has been thought, (from 
 John viii, 44), arose in his high mind from sup- 
 posing it an indignity to him, that the human 
 nature should be the medium of God's commu- 
 nion with his creatures, and so he left his own 
 D 2 habitation. 
 
40 THE MANIFESTATION OF GRACE. 
 
 habitation. From Christ and his Apostles com- 
 paring those who are enemies to, and corrupters 
 of' the gospel, to the aftgels that fell, and declar- 
 ing, that those who apostatize, fall into the con- 
 demnation of the Devil ; it seems not unlikely 
 that this was the case. However that may be, 
 we are at no uncertainly when the first manifes- 
 tation of sovereign grace was made to man ; and 
 this more directly claims our attention. 
 
 The word informs us that man was made lord 
 of tii is lower creation, yet himself framed to live 
 in absolute dependance on his Maker, as the au- 
 thor and giver of all things, and the sovereign 
 of life and death ; in the enjoyment of whose 
 favour he was completely happy, and had assur- 
 ance that he should remain so, while his depen- 
 dance upon, and obedience to the word of his 
 Sovereign, were preserved inviolable. His na- 
 tural knowledge of God then gave him com- 
 fort, while conscious of having done the things 
 that were well pleasing in his sight. He did 
 not stand in need of any different revelation of 
 God, to complete that happiness which he was 
 framed to enjoy ; so that no intimation was, or 
 consistently could be given him, in his state of 
 innocence, of the purpose of grace. But when, 
 through affecting independence, he became a 
 transgressor, and so deserving of the threatened 
 death; — when defiled, and so incapable of com- 
 munion with God; — when nothing but awful, 
 aggravated guilt flew in his face, — nothing but 
 shame, terror, and almost despair filled and har- 
 rassed his conscience ;< — when, in consequence 
 of this, his former knowledge of God heighten- 
 ed, instead of allaying the storm within, so that 
 nothing but a fearful looking for of judgment 
 was before him ; — when emptiness, vanity, con- 
 fusion, disorder, and wrath were brought upon 
 the whole creation ; — when nothing from with- 
 out 
 
THE MANIFESTATION OF GRACE. 41 
 
 out Jehovah could move him to suspend the 
 execution of the threatening, far less be a motive 
 to manifest his goodness; — then was the time 
 that infinite wisdom chose, for grace, in all its rich 
 aboundings, to make its welcome appearance ; 
 that its true nature and design might appear, and 
 that it might be seen upon the earth, that sove 
 reign ty, wisdom, justice, and mercy were in the 
 purpose of grace perfectly united. And £ will 
 put enmity between thee and the woman, and be- 
 tween thy seed and her teed: it shall bruise thy 
 head, and thou shall bruise his heel, were the 
 blessed words that opened the grand mystery 
 which had been hid with God. — By this glorious 
 system of grace the wisdom of God in the per- 
 mission of sin was manifested, and the honour 
 of the divine government in the destruction of 
 Satan's kingdom — the abolishment of death— 
 the establishment of the divine law — and the 
 eternal salvation of the elect — are infallibly se- 
 cured. 
 
 The way Jehovah has been pleased to make 
 known his designs of grace in its various stages, 
 is declared: by the Aposle Paul, Heb. i. i. God,- 
 who at sundry times, and in divers mannas, spake 
 in times past unto thejathers by the prophets, 
 hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son 
 — who is the brightness of his glory , and the ex- 
 press image of his person. — Hence we see, that 
 though there has been but one Way of salvation 
 since the fall, and that according to the purpose 
 of God in Christ, yet the manifestation of it was 
 given at sundry times, and in divers manners. — 
 I shall not attempt here to trace at large, the 
 various openings of the mystery of grace, previ- 
 ous to the appearance of God our Saviour, bvX 
 only observe, that Paul ranks them under the 
 general name of the old covenant; by which I 
 understand, that temporary dispensation, which 
 x D 3 God, 
 
42 THE MANIFESTATION OF GRACE. 
 
 God gave to the fathers,, which under the veil 
 of* types, &c. represented the blessings of the 
 divine purpose, and were patterns of heavenly 
 things, to remain in use until the seed should 
 come. It appears from Gen. iii. 21, and chap. 
 iv. 4, that sacrifices were made immediately after 
 the fall, which, without doubt, were intended to 
 set forth the great atonement, through faith in 
 which Abel's sacrifice was accepted, Meb. xi. 4. 
 iNotto say any thing particularly about Noah, 
 and the manifestation of grace to him under cer- 
 tain signs, such as the Ark, the Rainbow, &c. it 
 may be observed, that the nature of this cove- 
 nant was more fully revealed to Abraham, and 
 the blessings of grace which it represented, 
 more clearly manifested to him, Gen. chap. xii. 
 3. xxii. G— 19, John viii. 56, Gal. iii. 8, the, 
 Apostle Paul also confirms this thought, Heb. 
 ix. 15. And jar this cause he is the Mediator 
 of the new testament, that by means of death, for 
 the redemption of the transgressions that were 
 vtider the fist testament, they which are called, 
 might receive the promise of eternal inheritance, 
 836 v. 26. The one atoning sacrifice of Christ 
 extended itself to the transgression of Adam, and 
 to all their transgressions, who believed in the 
 promised seed to the time that the sacrifice was 
 made at Calvary, with as much virtue as it does 
 to those who through grace believe in him now, 
 as having finished'his work, and received the 
 great reward thereof. Some are inclined to 
 think that the old covenant began, when the 
 Lord took Israel by the hand, and led them forth 
 out of Egypt ; and perhaps there is reason from 
 the scripture to think so: though without doubt, 
 under the ministry of Moses, "the former signs 
 were renewed, greatly augmented, and formed 
 into a complete system of ceremonial worship. 
 The sacrifices in general — the cities of refuge — 
 
 the 
 
THE MANIFESTATION OF GRACE. 43 
 
 the year of jubilee — the land of Canaan — the 
 kings, prophets, and priests in Israel — the Tem- 
 ple, its utensil?, and every part of the worship 
 thereof (of which things we cannot now speak 
 particularly) were all shadows of good things to 
 come ; but after having answered their end, de- 
 caved, waxed old, and then vanished away. 
 But 1 have chiefly to speak of grace and truth 
 as it came by Jesus Christ. And indeed it is 
 only in reference ^to this that we can behold 
 grace manifested under the old covenant, for we 
 are not to imagine that any thing pertaining 
 thereunto could take away sin ; nor yet that the 
 privileges of the temporary covenant gave any 
 right to that of the new and everlasting. The 
 promise 3 that he should be heir of the world, was 
 not to Abraham, or to his seed through the laze, 
 but through the righteousness cj faith: J or if they 
 which are of the law be heirs, Jaith is made void 
 and the promise (that all nations of the earth 
 should be blessed in Christ) made of none effect. 
 God — hath in these last days spoken unto us 
 by his Son. And indeed only the Son could 
 make known the mystery which lay hid with 
 God ; for no man hath seen God at any time ; 
 — the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of 
 the Father, he hath declared him. Jt will not 
 be amiss here, to take some notice of the person 
 of the Son, by whom the eternal purpose is made 
 manifest. He is frequently stiled the Son of 
 Man, which points out that he is properly a 
 man; and when this title is given him in the 
 New Testament, it leads us to think of him as 
 in this respect naturally inferior to the angels, 
 and not a creature existing before any other 
 creatures were made, as some most absurdly 
 suppose, Heb. i. i. ch. ii. 14. Yet under this 
 title we are not to suppose him begotten of man : 
 otherwise he could not have been called that 
 
 HOLY 
 
44 THE MANIFESTATION OF GRACE. 
 
 holy thing. Concerning this important 
 matter, the word of God thus teaches. Fear not, 
 Mary, for thou hast found favour zciih God, 
 And behold, thou shait conceive in thy womb, 
 and bring forth a son — and Mary said unto the 
 angel, how shall this be, seeing 1 know not a man? 
 And the angel answered, and said unto her, the 
 Flohj Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power 
 of the Highest shall overshadow thee: there- 
 fore also that holy t hi 'ng which shall be bom of 
 thee, shall be called the Son of God. By the 
 Holy Ghost coming upon the Virgin, &c. our 
 attention is led to what is written in the Psalms 
 concerning him. A body hast thou prepared 
 me. This body was set apart for Jehovah as his 
 own, so that God was manifested in the flesh:, 
 for though Jesus was made a little lower than 
 the angels, for the suffering of death ; yet he 
 has a name above every name, and all the an- 
 gels of God are commanded to worship him. 
 The prophet, foretold, that he who should make 
 his appearance upon the earth, in the fulness of 
 time, was in fact no less a person than The 
 mighty God ! the everlasting Father ! the Lord 
 God ! the God of the whole earth, fyc. ! — Is. ix, 
 6, chap. xl. 10, chap. liv. 5. John also tells us, 
 that the Word that was in the beginning with 
 God — was God ; so that when Immanuet made 
 his appearance, he scrupled not to say, I am the 
 Son of God ; by which he meant the same as 
 when he said, 1 and my Father are one. The 
 Father is in me, and 1 in him. In this sense the 
 Jews understood him, and counted what he 
 said blasphemy, for which they put him to death : 
 and in the resurrection of Christ we see the Fa- 
 ther, who was appealed to on both sides, inter- 
 posing and deciding the controversy ; by which 
 he cleared Jesus from the charge of blasphemy 
 
 when 
 
THE MANIFESTATION OF GRACE. 45 
 
 when he made himself God. He is therefore 
 the living and true God in human nature,, and 
 as Immanuel he is a true and perfect image of 
 the invisible God, the brightness of the Father's 
 glory, and the express image of his person. As 
 the Christ of God, it hath pleased the Father 
 that in him all fulness should dwell and those 
 who knew him in the days of his flesh, beheld 
 him full of grace and truth, John i, 14. In 
 agreement with this we are told, that the grace 
 of God was upon him, and grace is poured into 
 his lips. Moses speaking of him as the great 
 prophet who should reveal the father's grace, 
 says, HIM shall ye luar; and that he was well 
 qualified to open the grand mystery, will appear 
 if we collect what has been already hinted of 
 him. He is truly and properly man, and so can 
 hold converse with us, without his terrors mak- 
 ing us afraid. He is holy, harmless, undented, 
 and separate from sinners, and so a fit person 
 for Jehovah to enter into covenant with, and 
 communicate his mind unto. He is above all, 
 God blessed for evermore, and so possessed of 
 all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge ; and 
 being all this in unity of person, he could stand 
 between God and man — and of course, all that 
 he did, or spoke, must be filled with infinite 
 dignity and virtue. 
 
 Having seen that Christ is the only person in 
 earth or heaven, worthy to open the divine pur- 
 pose, and accomplish the same, let us see where- 
 in sovereign grace appears in the manifestation 
 of God our Saviour. — God so loved the world that 
 he gave his only begotten vSon; and this unspeak- 
 able gift is the proper expression of that love, 
 with which God loved his people before the 
 world began; for that love being infinite, the 
 full expression of it could not have been de- 
 clared, but by a gift of infinite worth, so that 
 
 unless 
 
46 THE MANIFESTATION OF GRACE. 
 
 unless Jesus were an infinite person, the gift, 
 would not have been expressive or the abundant 
 grace ; bu t the gift of Christ is equal to the Fa- 
 ther's superlative love: yet how great the grace 
 and the expression of it are, no finite being can 
 tell. We can only say, God so loved the world ! 
 &c. and herein is love! yet since it is so mani- 
 fested, as that we may, in part, perceive it, let us 
 take a view thereof, in the mirror of truth. Je- 
 hovah gave his Son, his only Son, his well- 
 beloved Son — gave him for a covenant to a peo- 
 ple deserving his wrath — gave him up to the 
 swoid of justice in their place — and, what is 
 most astonishing, himself commanded that 
 sword to delay no longer, but awake and strike 
 the awful blow! yea, it even pleased the Lord 
 to bruise him and put him to grief! Whether 
 the divine sovereignty, justice, or grace, shone 
 most glorious in this awful transaction, who can 
 tell ? Consider further, that the persons on 
 whom this infinite blessing was bestowed, were 
 enemies to God by wicked works— rebels against 
 the divine Majesty — persons who had wickedly 
 tra.ijpied upon his authority — at awful enmity 
 in i heir hearts against his government — univer- 
 sally defiied with sin, and of consequence' infi- 
 nitely odious to divine purity — a mass of tin- 
 cleanness. What shall we say to these things? 
 Was God under any obligation to manifest such 
 abundant kindness? Far otherwise: his law, 
 which man had broken, was holy, so that the 
 wisdom, holiness, faithfulness, and honor of God, 
 yea, ail his adorable perfections, stood engaged 
 to punish the transgressor with destruction. 
 Nothing therefore but pure sovereignty and free 
 grace could be the moving cause of such com- 
 passion. This Paul had an eye to when he said, 
 But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love 
 Wherewith he loved us, even while zee were dead 
 
 in 
 
THE MANIFESTATION OF GRACE. 47 
 
 I I I " ll l l r n i l ■ ■■■■■ 
 
 in sins, &c. How infinitely above the utmost 
 extent ot" what is called mercy among men, does 
 the divine good pleasure rise! — Again, as the 
 riches of grace appear in the Father's unspeak- 
 able gift, and considering the objects upon whom 
 its favours are conferred, so also in the astonish- 
 ing humiliation of the Son of God. For ye 
 know the grace of air Lord Jesus (. hrist, that 
 though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became 
 poor , that ye through his poverty might be rich. 
 Who being "in the form of God , thought it not 
 robbery to be equal Kith God, but rmtue himself 
 of no reputation , and took upon him the form of 
 a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, 
 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled 
 himself and became obedient unto death, even the 
 death of the cross. Unparalleled condescension 
 this! That he who inhabited the praises of eter- 
 nity — he who spake, and the universe rose into 
 being — he who fills the sun with light, preserves 
 the course of nature, stretches out his hand, and 
 fills all living with food — he who appeared in tre- 
 mendous glory at Sinai, and shall shortly ascend 
 his great white throne to judgment — -that he 
 should become an infant of days — be brought 
 forth in a stable, and laid in a manger, where 
 oxen fed — should take the form of a servant — 
 suffer hunger, thirst, and fatigue — be without a 
 place to lay his head — and subject himself to 
 cruel mockings, bufletings, and shameful spit- 
 ting, and, to complete the strange scene, volun- 
 tarily yield up himself to his enemies — deny 
 himself of his Father's smiles, which he valued 
 more than life — make his soul a sacrifice for sin, 
 and expire under the wrath of a sin-avenging 
 God! — What things are these! Does any thing 
 but mere good pleasure, grace altogether liberal 
 and unmerited appear throughout the whole? 
 Let us now consider the character that Jesus 
 
 sustained 
 
48 THE MANIFESTATION OF GRACE. 
 
 sustained in his state of humiliation; and the be- 
 nefits resulting to his people from his work. — 
 The important office which the Son of God sus- 
 tained was that of a surety, Heb. vii. 22. In 
 order to this he was made under the law, and 
 set by the Sovereign of Heaven in the law room 
 and place of his people ; to fulfil all righteous- 
 ness in their behalf, and to satisfy justice in its 
 utmost demands for their transgressions, that 
 God /night be just, and ytt the jwtzjier oj him that 
 believeth in Jesus. The prophet Daniel very ac- 
 curately states the surety's work in the following 
 words, Seventy weeks are determined upon thy 
 people, and upon the holy city, tojiuish the trans- 
 gression, to make an end of sins, and to make re~r 
 conciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlast- 
 ing righteousness. That our sins were imputed 
 to the surety ; that Jesus was substituted to be 
 the sin-bearing and sin-atoning lamb, appears 
 from such declarations as follow: The Lord, 
 hath laid ox him the iniquity of us all. He 
 was -made sin for us. Himselj 'ban our sins 
 in his own body on the tree. Through the eternal 
 spirit he ojj'ered himself without spot unto God, 
 and thereby put away sin by the sacrijice of him- 
 self. Thus lie poured out his soul unto death, : 
 and lie was numbered with the transgrcssois, and 
 tie bare the sins o/' many, and made intercession 
 for t fie transgressors. But though our divine 
 substitute placed himself in the lowest state of 
 human wretchedness, and expired under the 
 wrath of God; though he made his grave with 
 the wicked, and with the rich in his death ; yet 
 the third clay he rose again, according to the 
 scriptures; whereby it was fully demonstrated, 
 that the work which he had ^declared finished, 
 when he gave up the Ghost, was acceptable and 
 well pleasing to God, was all-sufficient to deliver 
 bis people from death and the curse^ — that he, 
 
 as 
 
THE MANIFESTATION OT GRACE 49 
 
 rtr i i ii, •■■..■a, i .,—?■> — 
 
 as our surety, was freed from those sins which 
 had been charged upon him, having made fulj 
 atonement for them, — being justified in the sight 
 of the holy law. — declared to be the Son of God 
 with power, and, as the reward of his obedience 
 and sufferings, crowned with glory, as it is writ- 
 ten. Thou hast made him most blessed for ever : 
 thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy coun- 
 tenance* ■ 
 
 It is generally allowed that Christ magnified 
 the law and made it honorable, and so fulfilled 
 all righteousness ; and it is as plain that his obe- 
 dience to the law, was done in his people's room, 
 or as their surety. If this be not true, it will be 
 hard to find a tolerable gloss to put upon that 
 scripture which informs us, that by the obedience 
 of one many are made righteous. But this mo- 
 mentous truth does not <zo a begfirinsj for its 
 evidence, nor does it rest simply upon one pas- 
 sage of holy writ, but is intermingled with the 
 whole of Revelation. Paul, in describing The 
 righteousness of Faith, shows, that it is imputed 
 for righteousness to every one that beiieveth. — 
 Christ is the end of the laze for righteousness to 
 every one that beiieveth, Rom. x. 4. He was 
 made sin for us, that we might be made the right- 
 eousness of God in him, 2 Cor. v. '2.1, see also 
 Horn. iii. 21 — <26, chap. iv. 3 — 6, 22 — 25. Un- 
 less this be admitted, there can appear no pro- 
 priety, beauty, nor glory in that admirable name 
 which the surety bears, and which is the glory 
 of his church, viz. The Lord our righteous- 
 ness, Jer. xxiii. 6. And their claim would be 
 void, who, in the triumphs of faith, say, In th r 
 Lord have I righteousness and strength. 
 If this sacred truth was built upon no better 
 foundation, than the highest witness of men, we 
 might fear the wrath of men against it; but it 
 rests upon a basis infinitely more secure, than 
 E even 
 
THE WORD OF GRACE. 
 
 even earth's foundations ; for Their Righteous- 
 ness is of me, saith the Lord. 
 
 Thus we have seen that the incarnation, obe- 
 dience, sufferings, death, and resurrection of 
 Christ, and the glory that followed, together 
 with the declared end thereof, is the eternal pur- 
 pose of grace unfolded, even the mystery which 
 hath been hid from ages, and from generations, 
 hut nozo is made manifest to his saints. Many of 
 the works of men are beautiful ; all the divine 
 works are glorious ; but the Saviour's works of 
 obedience and suffering, exceed in glory. Here 
 the Eternal ceases, as it were, to be invisible : 
 tbe veil is rent, and the most holy place thrown 
 wide open ; for in the cross of Christ the bright- 
 est exhibition is made of every divine perfection ; 
 the sovereignty and riches of divine mercy and 
 grace — the glory of the divine justice, or the in- 
 finite opposition of the Deity to sin ; in a word, 
 infinite wisdom, veracity, and power, with every 
 other glorious attribute, unite in honouring the 
 holy law, setting forth the evil of sin, destroying 
 the works of Satan, and completely saving the 
 .chosen of God. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 THE WORD OF GRACE ; OR, GRACE IN ITS 
 PUBLICATION. 
 
 V Nothing can be more grand, and becoming 
 the sovereign of heaven, than that awful view of 
 eternal power given us in the following words : 
 
 LET THERE BE LIGHT AND THERE WAS 
 
 light ! Thus by the word of the Lord were the 
 
 heavens 
 
THE WORD OF GRACE* 51 
 
 heavens made, and all the host of them by the 
 spirit of his mouth ; tor he spake and it was— 
 he commanded, and it stood fast. This divine 
 person, who spoke all tilings into existence, and 
 who upholds all things by his power, is called 
 the word of God, Rev. xix. 13, and in refe- 
 rence to the purpose of grace and its publication, 
 he is called a prophet, Dent, xviii. 15, 18, 19 
 the forerunner of this great prophet testifies, 
 that tie whom God hack sent, speaketh the words 
 of God; and t lie faithful and true witness him- 
 self declares, The words zchkh ye hear of me. are, 
 not mine, hat the Fathers thai sent me ; he gave 
 me eo.n.nandment what I should speak. And ad- 
 dressing the Father, he says, / have preen them 
 (his upostles) the words which thou gavest me. 
 Now the scriptures of truth are the words of this 
 great prophet ; for though but a small part of 
 them were spoken by him, while lie tabernacled 
 upon earth ; yet it was by his Spirit that holy 
 men of old were inspired to write, t Peter i. li. 
 2 Peter i. 2 1 . And the same blessed spirit was, 
 after Christ's ascension, made to rest upon his 
 apostles, under whose inspiration they spake none 
 other things than Moses and the prophets did say 
 should come. The scriptures then being given 
 by inspiration of God, are a perfect record of his 
 mind, and the only unerring guide to the know- 
 ledge of him the true God, and Jesus Christ 
 whom he hath sent. So that it is a vain thing 
 to pretend to, or expect any other knowledge of 
 Grace, than what the word of truth publishes. 
 Hence it is called Word of Grace — the Gospelof 
 Grace — the Truth, fyc. and all that are of the 
 truth hear Christ's voice. Such will not be sur- 
 prized to see these heavenly oracles perverted ; 
 it will not appear a strange thing to them, to be- 
 hold some turn the grace of God into lascivious- 
 ness — others with, cunning craftiness, lying in 
 £ '2 ' wait 
 
D'2 THE WORD OF GRACE. 
 
 wait to deceive — others changing the truth of 
 God into a lie — and many., following their per- 
 nicious ways, by reason of whom the wa}' of 
 truth is evil spoken of; they rather receive here- 
 by a notable confirmation of the truth of the 
 . scriptures, which foretold, that many would deny 
 Christ, under a profession of his name. 
 
 I shall here therefore give a brief view of some 
 svstems, out of many, which, while they pretend 
 to have their foundations in the word of God, 
 answer no other end, than to eclipse and pervert 
 the truth as it is in Jesus ; and so, to decoy and 
 ruin precious souls : and then attempt to state 
 ihe true nature, glory, sufficiency, and frcencss 
 of the glorious gospel of the grace of God. 
 
 It might be observed by the way, that the va- 
 riety of doctrines, and the diversity of sentiments, 
 prevailing in the professing world, are by no 
 means to be considered as arising from any dif- 
 ferent end, that their inventors and propagators 
 have in view ; but from the different ways in 
 which they hope to attain the one common end. 
 Nothing less than happiness, even everlasting 
 happiness, is the grand end proposed; and every 
 one is ready to think his own scheme the nearest 
 and most eligible way thereunto. Those among 
 professing Christians, who have the highest re- 
 putation for virtue, benevolence, candour, and 
 decorum, seek to obtain the favour of the Most 
 High, by their own obedience ; and it must be 
 acknowledged, that this plan claims the prefe- 
 rence of any modern scheme, which the wisdom 
 of man has framed ; for such have the assurance 
 vA^ the one law-giver for their security, and if 
 they are found perfectly good, or in his sight do 
 well, thev shall be rewarded. Man was at first 
 framed to live and enjoy lhs Maker's favour in 
 this way ; nor is there any knowledge, that we 
 have naturally, that can point-out a better. We 
 
 find 
 
THE WORD OF GRACE. 
 
 find many very earnest in the pursuit of eternal 
 lite this "way /seeking alter righteousness as it 
 were bv the deeds of the Jaw ; not that it should 
 be thought they have nothing to do with the 
 gospel ; for, in general, that is esteemed as the 
 best directory to obey the law. Nor are we to 
 imagine, that every notion of grace is excluded 
 from this system, for looking upon the progress 
 of nature, as they imagine, under divine assist- 
 ance, they can see great cause to say, God, I 
 thank thee, that I am not as other men are : and 
 though they do not come up to the full require- 
 ments of the law, even in their own sense of it, 
 yet they put their many acts of piety, charity, 
 benevolence, heavenly : mindedncss, &c. in the 
 opposite scale, and, with pleasing admiration, 
 fancy they see the balance in their favour. And 
 as to their short-comings, occasioned by human 
 frailty, the streaming sorrows of the heart-bleed- 
 ing penitent are thought sufficient to wash, 
 away the -impurity thereof. Now, to animate 
 the votaries of this way, the rewards of virtue in, 
 this present life, but more especially in the life 
 to come, are proposed to their consideration.— 
 <c To be conseiuus of that ciouldless serenity 
 ■within, which proceeds from passions subdued, 
 under the superior authority of reason and reli- 
 gion ; — to feast upon the^ uninterrupted joys, 
 which this vain world can neither give nor take 
 away ; to bless and be blessed ; to love and be 
 loved ; to be eyes to the blind, and feet to the 
 lame ;— — to serve him whose service is the 
 glory of those who sit enthroned in heaven, and 
 to have neither thought nor wish, which would 
 not do us honour, if published- before the uni- 
 verse — What sense of dignity, what self-enjci;- 
 nunty must this consciousness yield ! — And if 
 such enjoyments are the rewards of virtue here, 
 what, then, must bethe undisturbed fruition of 
 E 3 
 
54 THE WORD OF GRACE. 
 
 that state which the present weakness of the 
 human understanding cannot adequately con- 
 ceive of 1 &c." Such is the doctrine, and such 
 the stimulation to virtue, among some who pro- 
 fess to derive their religion from the Bible. — ■ 
 But what if it should appear, from that very 
 book, that every son and daughter of Adam is 
 under a law, which requires sinless perfection, on 
 pain of eternal death — that the least transgres- 
 sion is infinitely heinous — and that no partial 
 obedience, however sincere, can recover the di- 
 vine favour, when once lost? and what if it 
 should appear, from the express words of the 
 great Law-giver, that the whole world is guilty 
 before him ? Then surely it will follow, that 
 tills doctrine is corrupt, the hope founded upon 
 it delusive; — and that, while its votaries are 
 pleasing themselves with the thoughts of being 
 in the way to heaven, they are in fact going 
 down to hell, with a lie in their right hand. — 
 And that this is the case, plainly appears from 
 Gal. iii.. 10. Luke x C Z1 . Mat. v. 22, 28; whence 
 it is evident, that such is the nature of that law, 
 which every intelligent creature is under infinite 
 obligations to obey, that it extends to the inmost 
 thoughts of the heart, and condemns the risinsr 
 of anger, as murder, and the secret motions or 
 uncleaimess, as adultery. If it be denied by 
 any, that every soul of man, is under obligati- 
 ons to keep the whole law, let the following 
 thoughts be impartially weighed. If all are 
 not under the law naturally ; — then the re- 
 wards of obedience, and the threatenings of 
 disobedience could not be universal. But the 
 whole world is become guilty before God ; and 
 so are liable to the threatened curse. Rom. iii. 
 19- eh ii. 8, 9- Gal. iii. 10; therefore all men 
 are naturally under the law. And however it 
 might shock the boasted benevolence of some, 
 
 to 
 
THE WORD OF GRACE. 55 
 
 to think of God destroying the soul and body of 
 any of his creatures in hell ; yet that book, from 
 whence they profess to have gathered their creed, 
 informs us, that the law, even as the ministra- 
 tion of death, is glorious. To urge that the re- 
 morse of the transgressor, or any degree of pe- 
 nitence, would bind or influence Jehovah to 
 pardon him, would be an unworthy reflection 
 upon the holy law, and the equity of the divine 
 government ; and would involve nothing less 
 than an insinuation, that Christ died in vain, 
 and that the doctrine of the cross is foolishness. 
 But.so far is remorse ox penitence from averting 
 the curse, cr procuring pardon, or the highest 
 human virtue, from balancing the least trans- 
 gression, that a single grain of sand would do 
 more towards overbalancing the world. If sin 
 be an infinite evil (and consistently to deny it 
 we must give up the whole of revelation) then 
 i( the streaming sorrows of the heart- bleeding 
 penitent," added to thousands of sacrificed rams, 
 or ten thousand rivers of oil, will be of no avail 
 to atone for it. Now that sin is an infinite 
 evil, might be fairly demonstrated from — the 
 object against whom it is committed — the ma- 
 lignant stain of it, which, unless atoned for, 
 will eternally remain — the loss of an infinite 
 portion in God being its demerits, and the eter- 
 nal extent of that Joss. Unless therefore an 
 atonement of infinite worth be found out, the 
 wrath of God must abide on the soul that sin- 
 neth ; for this (however uncharitable it may ap- 
 pear in their view whom it affects) is the deci- 
 sion of that law, by which we are to judge 
 ourselves and to be judged. 
 
 But the above system is found fault with and 
 exploded by others, who yet maintain, *f That 
 though Paul says, where sin hath abounded, 
 grace hath alio supera bounded ; it does not 
 
 therefore 
 
50 THE WORD OF GRACE. 
 
 therefore follow, that before one is by grace 
 made acceptable, he may not through divine 
 assistance prepare himself, by works morally 
 good for the divine favour." — te I agree" says 
 one, (< with those who ascribe a little to free 
 will, but very much to grace." INow, by the 
 works hinted at here, we are to understand ei- 
 ther sincere obedience to the law, or fulfilling 
 the conditions of faith and repentance, or else 
 complying with the terms of peace, to which 
 we are told the blessings of the gospel belong, 
 and which may be produced by nature, assisted 
 by common grace. If any fixed meaning. can 
 be given to this jargon, it is something like the 
 following, viz. that God will give all desirable 
 assistance to the well disposed ;— and if we do 
 but what we can, or at least make but one step 
 towards our reconciliation with him, he will 
 give us his spirit to help us to proceed. The 
 same sentiment has been given us in various 
 other forms of speech, and by some with a great 
 show of sound doctrine ; we have been told. 
 that "whosoever endeavours sincerely to please 
 God, may rest perfectly assured, that God has 
 no displeasure against him ; for the righteous 
 Lord loveth righteousness." At other times the 
 word of encouragement is given to the weak and 
 feeble, though well-disposed, in this form, ** In 
 the usual methods of grace, evil habits are mas- 
 tered by degrees — and it is a great while before 
 the contrary habits of grace and virtue are 
 grown up to any considerable degree of strength, 
 and man comes to a confirmed state of good- 
 ness — but yet this ought not to discourage us ; 
 for so soon as WE have seriously begun this 
 change, we are in a good way, and all our en- 
 deavours will have the acceptance of good be- 
 ginnings, and God will be ready to help us ; — 
 sad if we pursue our advantage, we shall every 
 
 dav 
 
THE WORD OF GRACE. 57 
 
 day gain ground, and the work will grow easier 
 upon our hand." When our first beginnings to 
 be better take the notion. of sincere repentance, 
 then we have the following instructions ; " If 
 you hate your former ways, which were not 
 good, and sincere]}' repent of them, and with 
 mourning hearts, and weeping eyes approach to 
 God, for the pardon of sin ; as that law, which 
 is the unchanging standard of right, requires 
 man should forgive his enemies, upon their re- 
 penting and asking pardon ; much more will 
 
 the divine author of that law. To the 
 
 humble peni{&Ht every encouragement is given." 
 
 But when the beginning of any good 
 
 in us, is termed acting faith upon Chiist, then 
 the address runs thus : " If ever the spirit of 
 God graciously influence your souls, ye will be- 
 come thoroughly sensible of your absolute in- 
 ability" (here follows the proof of this) " and 
 yet enter upon a vigorous use of means. Ye 
 will do for yourselves as if you were to do all ; 
 and yet overlook all ye do" (which by the way 
 will be the greatest part of the work) " as if ye 
 had done nothing. Will ye do nothing for your- 
 selves, because ye cannot do all? Lay down no 
 such impious conclusions against your own soul. 
 J3o what you can, and it may be, while ye are 
 doing what you can for yourselves, God will do 
 for you v. hat ye cannot" And in order to re- 
 move every discouragement, from the thought 
 that the natural man cannot please God, it is 
 added, " Let us believe as we can, in obedience 
 to God's command, and while we are doing so, 
 although the act be at the be^innine; but na- 
 "J Ural, yet in the very act, promised and pur- 
 chased grace strikes m, and turns it into a 
 supernatural act of believing." Thus, at length, 
 it is found cut how they "that are in the flesh 
 might please God ! — This the apostle Paul had 
 
 not 
 
58 THE WORD OF GRACE. 
 
 not attained to, Rom. viii. 8. To the same 
 amount is the following address, " So soon as 
 the sinner was disposed to accept, the Saviour 
 was willing to bestow, free and full redemption ; 
 and the very first sigh that comes from an 
 awakened heart, pierces the heart of our graci- 
 ous God— the Psalmist says, he sent water into 
 the wilderness to change its nature ; that is, he 
 sent his grace into our hearts to change their 
 nature, to shew them their dead and barren state, 
 to make them sensible of it, distressed under it, 
 and then to cry to him for deliverance, and 
 when his grace has thus far disposed the heart 
 aright, and it can pray tor more grace ; — then 
 will our Lord enrich it with abundant streams ; 
 for he is always disposed to give, in the measure 
 we are dispose to receive." 
 
 These are but a few specimens, out of many 
 that might be collected, to shew the use men have 
 made of the gospel, in what sense they under- 
 stand it, and how they expect to be saved by.it. 
 But if it be indeed true, as most of the above 
 systems would insinuate, that man is a ruined 
 creature, and so in a forlorn, helpless condition; 
 it does not appear from either of these schemes,, 
 that there is any thing like glad tidings of great 
 joy, to ^'jch an one ; for however much the bet- 
 ter disposed son of people may be encouraged 
 thereby, they contain no hope or encouragement 
 for the simply guilty ; for nothing can be gos- 
 pel to such, but that which presents a sufficient 
 ground of hope to them, while, in the divine 
 sight, and in their own conscience, they stand 
 justly condemned, as transgressors of the law. 
 This the gospel of the grace of God does ; and 
 therefore every scheme of religion that teaches 
 men to do any thing, or even to wait to have any 
 thing done, to encourage their hope in God, is 
 quite different in its nature and design, to the 
 
 gospel 
 
THE WORD OF GRACE. 59 
 
 gospel of Christ, and in fact encourages man's 
 natural disaffection to God, even while it leads 
 him to fancy that he is at peace with him. The 
 go-pel does not teach us to no any thing for 
 life, though it be varnished over with the most 
 evangelical names, but to live by what is alrea- 
 dy -finished, 1 John iv. 9- — It is, whether men 
 perceive it or not, gtad tidings of great joy to 
 all people ; and so must be free from what are 
 called the terms of the gospel ; for however small 
 these terms are sometimes said to be, when they 
 come to be explained, they shew that by far the 
 greater part of the work of salvation, is left for 
 the sinner to perform. The gospel is in fact noth- 
 ing more than a report of the grace and truth 
 that came by Je^us Christ. There are various 
 summaries given of it in the scriptures, such as, 
 " He was delivered for our offences, and raised 
 again for our justification." — "The blood of Je- 
 sus Christ, his Son, cleanser!} us from all sin." — ■ 
 HE was made sin tor us who knew no sin, that 
 we might be made the righteousness of God in 
 Him." "For when we were yet without strength, 
 in due time Christ died for the ungodly," and 
 ■?* God commendeth his love towards us, in that 
 while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us ;" 
 yea, " Herein perceive we the love of God, be- 
 cause he laid down his lire for us," and " It is a 
 faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, 
 that Jesus Christ came into the world to -save 
 sinners, even the chief among them ;" — Where- 
 fore he is able to save them to the uttermost 
 that come unto God by him, seeiug he ever 
 liveth to make intercession for them/' so then 
 it is " not by works of righteousness, which we 
 have done, but according to his mercy he saved 
 us, by the washing of regeneration, and re- 
 newing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on 
 us abundantly, through Jesus Christ, our Savi- 
 our : 
 
60 THE WORD Or GRACE. 
 
 our ; — that being justified by his grace, we 
 should be made heirs according to the hope 
 of eternal life." " For now the righteousness of 
 God, without the law is manifested, being wit- 
 nessed by the law and the prophets, even the 
 righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus 
 Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe^ 
 for there is no difference ; for all have sinned, 
 and come short of the glory of God; being jus^ 
 tified freely by his grace, through the redemp- 
 tion that is in Christ Jesus; — whom God hath 
 set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his 
 blood, to declare his righteousness for the re- 
 mission of sins that are past, through the for- 
 bearance of God ; to declare at this time his 
 righteousnees, that he might be just, and the 
 juslifier of him who believeth in Jesus." The 
 word that conveys this blessed righteousness " Ts 
 nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; 
 that is the word of faith which we preach ; that 
 if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord 
 Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God 
 hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be 
 saved ; for with the heart man believeth unto 
 righteousness, and with the mouth confession is 
 made unto salvation ; for the scripture saith> 
 whosoever believeth on him shall not be 
 ashamed — so then faith cometh by hearing, and 
 hearing by the word of God." The glorious 
 truths set forth in these words of scripture arc, 
 1st, That the work of Christ finished upon the 
 cross, does in itself' contain every requisite for 
 the justification of those who are ungodly and 
 without strength ; — that God appears just in 
 justifying such through the work of his Son ; — 
 and that therefore, the Redeemer's work is an 
 all-sufficient ground of present peace to the 
 guilty conscience, and of joy to the most discon- 
 solate soul, without taking in any other consi- 
 deration 
 
THE WORD OF GRACE. 6l 
 
 deration whatever. 2dly, That salvation, thro' 
 the finished work of the divine surety, is bes- 
 towed in the most sovereign, free, and uncon- 
 ditional manner, on sinners, without any dis- 
 tinction of character, nation, name, or degree ; 
 on sinners, as such, destitute of every qualifica- 
 tion or recommendation whatever Such are 
 the persons, and such the deplorable circum- 
 stances of those, whom the gospel is designed to 
 relieve and save ! 3dly, That this gospel of the 
 kingdom is brought near to the guilty, and that the 
 faithfulness of God, in the free promise of life 
 in Christ Jesus to sinners believing in him, is the 
 only encouragement that the lost and helpless 
 have to hope in divine mercy; and that to hope 
 through any other medium, is to frustrate the 
 true grace of God. 
 
 First : That Christ obeyed and suffered in the 
 room of his people, has been before shown to be 
 a scripture doctrine. We have seen that he 
 placed himself in the lowest state of human 
 wretchedness, even under the curse of God : be- 
 neath the full weight of which he expired. — 
 Now had the Lord Jesus been confined a pri- 
 soner by the bars of death ; it would have been 
 fully demonstrated, that this work was not suf- 
 ficient to bring salvation, to persons in the cir- 
 cumstances under which he died, and therefore 
 we are taught to look upon his resurrection \ t as 
 the grand central evidence of the sufficiency of 
 his work :- of which fact the Lord therefore has 
 been pleased to give ample evidence, both hu- 
 man and divine. — The old Testament foretold it 
 — the new Testament confirms the glorious 
 truth ; — the Spirit, whom Christ promised, as 
 the consequence of his resurrection and ascen- 
 sion, testifies of it, in the miracles which the 
 apostles wrought, and the happy effects which 
 the gospel had amongst the nations of the earth ; 
 J F for 
 
62 THE WORD OF GRACE. 
 
 for though the gates of hell were set in opposi- 
 tion to it, the kings of the earth, and all human 
 power united against it, and a fortress still more 
 invulnerable in the hearts of sinners ; yet such 
 was the almighty power attending it, that it 
 bore down all opposition, and proved itself 
 mighty to save. It' to all this be added the tes- 
 timony of them whose interest it was to conceal 
 it, it must appear that no fact can be supported 
 by stronger evidence ; and the truth of the re- 
 surrection of Christ being established, the suf- 
 ficiency of his work to save the guilty, is con- 
 firmed. By his being placed under the law by 
 sovereign grace, that according to the eternal 
 purpose .men might be blessed in him; God, by 
 whose act of sovereignty he was appointed Me- 
 diator, in very faithfulness imputes his obedi- 
 ence and atonement to every one that believes, . 
 whereby they are made the righteousness of 
 God in him. 
 
 The belief of this truth is the first and only 
 thing which gives peace to a guilty conscience; 
 for as the only reason God assigns, why any 
 should be delivered from going down to the pit 
 is, I have' found a ransom; so this is the only 
 reason of that good hope that comes through 
 grace. When a guilty sinner understands that 
 it is the voice of God that addresses his con- 
 science, informing him that righteousness is im- 
 puted without works ; he believes, ceases from 
 his own works, and enters into rest by virtue of 
 what he believes, concerning Christ's being de- 
 livered for our offences, and raised again for our 
 justification. 
 
 Again: that good news which the gospel 
 brings is, that Jesus Christ came into the world 
 to save sinners, as such. Unless this be true, 
 the scriptures contain no tidings of great joy to 
 all people; nay, unless this be an established 
 
 fact 
 
THE WORD OF GRACE. 
 
 fact, there is no just ground upon which any of 
 the human race can approach to God ; nor can 
 any soul receive the least benefit by the Work 
 of Christ. Nature will teach us, and the law of 
 Moses will confirm it, that if we do well we 
 shall be accepted. But this cannot be glad tid- 
 ings to those who are conscious of being the 
 unhappy subjects of ever} evil inclination, and 
 of having been to every good work reprobate. 
 But happy for such sons and daughters of 
 wretchedness, that the gospel is a pure stream 
 of grace, flowing out of the throne of God and 
 the Lamb. Far from being clogged with those 
 manifold qualifications and prerequisites, which 
 the sons of pride would make a kind of stepp ng- 
 stone to the salvation of Jesus; the heavenly 
 publication of grace does not lead poor sinners 
 to look for the beginning of something for the 
 better in themselves, under any notion what- 
 ever, previous to faith on the Son of God ; but 
 teaches them, even while destitute of every sign, 
 work, or evidence, except what confirms their 
 misery, to hope in the bleeding sacrifice. It re- 
 veals and establishes an important, comfortable, 
 precious, undeniable truth ; and leads the most 
 guilty to take their first beginnings of hope, 
 peace, and comfort from it alone. Thus the 
 genuine gospel passes by, and totally disregards 
 all those fine distinctions, which the pride of 
 men prompts them to make, as so many cyphers; 
 and in the most sovereign manner bestows the 
 richest favours on the most unworthy among 
 men. Every other scheme, but the gospel, 
 leads men, either directly or indirectly, to take 
 the beginnings of their hope from their sincere 
 obedience, penitential tears, deep humiliations, 
 watchfulness, earnest desires, holy breathings, 
 repentances, faith, &c. If it be admitted that 
 something is requisite to appear in the soul, 
 F 2 that 
 
f)4 THE WORD OF GRACE. 
 
 ■., . .,.. „ . i . ii.ii. M . ... , ,,, , i i , i . — — — — — i ■»- 
 
 that is favourable, and whereby we become, in 
 some measure, different from the ungodly and 
 profane; this fatal something, whether we 
 are aspiring after it, waiting for it, or in the 
 supposed possession of it, is that awful instru- 
 ment by which the God of this world blinds 
 the minds of them that believe not, lest the 
 light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in 
 the face of Jesus Christ, should shine into their 
 hearts, and is a grand reason why the gospel is 
 foolishness to some, and a stumbling block to 
 others: in short, it is the true cause of all dis- 
 affection to the gospel. — The gospel of the 
 grace of God, making known the sufficient 
 righteousness, and perfect atonement of Christ, 
 as the sovereign cure provided of God for sin- 
 ners, may very fitly (and with the strictest pro- 
 priety) be called the one thing needful. 
 This in the word of faith is brought near to us, 
 Rom. x. — 6. 10. is directed to the attention of 
 sinners of all sorts; to such as possess nothing 
 but what is loathsome and disgustful ; to persons 
 whose character is fitly set forth, Luke xiv. 21. 
 The poor and the maimed, the halt and the 
 blind ; and shows that as mankind are in an 
 equal state of condemnation by nature, the most 
 zealous devotee is as far off from God as the 
 most prophane. In fine, it considers the whole 
 human race as having turned their backs on 
 God" \ and so the word of faith is a voice be- 
 hind them, calling them in the most benevolent 
 language to return, at the same time presenting 
 a sufficient encouragement thereto. Heathen 
 unto me, ye stout-hearted and Jar from righteous* 
 ness: I brtng near my rigliteousness: it shall not 
 be Jar off. and my salvation shall not tarry — ■ 
 Hear, and your souls shall live — Believe on the; 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and ye shall be saved. 
 
 h has pleased the Lord also to leave on re- 
 cord 
 
THE WOttD OF GRACE. t>& 
 
 cord many patterns of his grace, all of which 
 import, that it is divinely sovereign, unbounded- 
 lv rich, and infinitely free. And we are, more- 
 over, informed, that those examples of Jeho- 
 vah's long-suffering and mercy, were recorded 
 to this end, that in the ages to eome he might 
 shew the exceeding riches of his grace, through 
 Christ Jesus. Thus it appears that the eternal 
 purpose of gracCj manifested by the appearance 
 of God our Saviour, and published in the word 
 of faith, is the only encouragement that the 
 wretched have to hope in Jehovah's mercy; so 
 that hope, peace, or comfort taken from any 
 source aside from, or in conjunction with, the 
 abundant grace, is delusive, and must, in the 
 t ud, make ashamed. 
 
 I shall conclude this Section with the words 
 cf an author, who writes with becoming reve- 
 rence for the true grace of God, and like one 
 who has tasted its sweetness, and knows its 
 value. u The genuine gospel will always appear 
 an insult on the taste of the public. Wherever 
 it come-;, if it be not received, it awakens dis- 
 gust, and provokes abhorrence. Nor can it be 
 otherwise. Tor its principal design is, to mor- 
 tify the pride of man, and display the glory of 
 gfcace; to throw all human excellence down to 
 the dust, and to elevate, even to thrones of 
 glory, the needy and wretched ; to shew that 
 those things which are highly esteemed among 
 men are an abomination in the sight of God, 
 and that he who is despised of men, and ab- 
 horred by the nations, is Jehovah's eternal de- 
 light. The ancient gospel is an unceremonious 
 thing. It pays no respect to the academic, be- 
 cause of his profound learning ; nor to the mo- 
 ralist, on account of his upright conduct. It 
 has not the least regard to the courtier, because 
 ef his pompous honours ; nor to the devotee, 
 
 ' for 
 
66 THE WORD OF GRACE. 
 
 for the sake of his zeal or his righteousness. 
 No: the potent prince and the abject slave ; the 
 wise philosopher and the ignorant rustic; the 
 virtuous lady and the infamous prostitute, stand 
 on the same level in its comprehensive view. — ■ 
 Its business is only with the worthless and mise- 
 rable, whoever they be. If these be relieved, 
 its end is gained. If these be made happy, its 
 author is glorified, whatever may become of the 
 rest. Towards these it constantly wears the 
 most friendly aspect, and rejoices to do them 
 good. But the self-sufficient of every rank are 
 treated by it with the utmost reserve, and be- 
 held with a steady contempt. He (the convinced 
 sinner) wants to find himself some way distinguish- 
 ed, as a proper object of mercy, by holy tempers 
 and sanctified affections. This is a bar to his com- 
 fort: this is his grand embarrassment. In other 
 words, he is ready to fear, that he is not suf- 
 ficiently humbled under a sense of his sins ; that 
 he has not those fervent breathings after Christ 
 and holiness, which he ought to have, before he 
 can be warranted to look for salvation with a 
 well-grounded hope of success — But the spirit 
 of truth shows that there are no good qualities to 
 be obtained ; no righteous acts to be performed, 
 -—that we must come to Jesus under that cha- 
 racter by which he calls us. But it is evident,, 
 fee calls us by the name of sinners. As sinners, 
 therefore, miserable, ruined sinners, we must 
 come to him for life and salvation---It was, 
 wrought for the sinner; it was designed for the 
 sinner, and is bestowed, freely bestowed, on. 
 the vilest of sinners. It is not matter of bargain 
 or the subject of sale ; it is not proposed on I 
 know not what conditions; as the performing, 
 some arduous course of duties, or the attaining. 
 «ome notable qualifications ; but it is a free 
 gift. Grace, as a sovereign, is exalted to con-. 
 F 3 fer 
 
OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT OF GRACE. 6*7' 
 
 "V ' i ■ i ■ - »■» 
 
 fer it; and grace, we know, deals only with the 
 unworthy. Asa gift it is imparted; as a gift,, 
 therefore, it must be received ; and as for an 
 absolute free gift, the possessor of it ought to be 
 thankful. From these considerations we may 
 with confidence affirm, that the mere sinner, the 
 obnoxious wretch ; he who feels himself in a pe- 
 rishing condition, and is conscious that he de- 
 serves no favour ; has the strongest encourage- 
 ment given him to rely on it, as sufficient for his 
 justification and free for his use*7 a 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 THE NATURE AND MANNER OF THE OPERA- 
 TION OF THE SPIRIT OF GRACE. 
 
 Nothing is more generally mistaken, though 
 nothing more important to be known and well 
 understood, than the nature and manner of the 
 operation of the Spirit of Grace. Many indeed 
 have gone so far in profaneness, as to deny,, 
 flatly and openly to deny, that there are now 
 afforded to mankind any divine and supernatural 
 influences; and level the blackest charges against 
 those who maintain, the importance and neces- 
 sity of this heavenly doctrine. It must be ac- 
 knowledged, that too much ground has been 
 given for a denial of divine influences by those 
 enemies of the truth, who, professing themselves 
 advocates for the doctrine, have run into the 
 most profane enthusiasms, and the vilest jargon. 
 In this Section, therefore, an attempt will be 
 
 made 
 
 * See Booth's Reign of Grace, p. 3 — 9. 124— -130. 416. 
 
68 THE NATURE AND MANNER OF THE 
 
 made to point out the absurdity of the former, 
 to expose the enthusiasm and profaneness of the 
 latter, and to set forth the scripture account of 
 this important doctrine. 
 
 We have nothing to do here with those men 
 of zcit, who not only sneer at the work of .the 
 Holy Spirit, but also disregard every thing that 
 wears the stamp of holiness: we rather address 
 ourselves to those who, while they profess an 
 uncommon attachment to the scriptures, and 
 the one way cf salvation by Jesus Christ, in fact, 
 rank themselves among those who have a form 
 of godliness, but deny the power ihereof. These 
 who presuming they can produce a few passages 
 of scripture (without regard to their connection) 
 to show that the terms word and spirit are syno- 
 nymous, fancy they have made a vast improve- 
 ment in the scheme of Christianity; and so, 
 with contemptuous sneer, pour ridicule upon ail 
 who acknowledge the divine sovereignty, and 
 maintain the indispensible necessity oFthe ope- 
 ration of the Spirit of Grace, to give a true 
 understanding of the word. 
 
 Their notion upon this subject i-, that the 
 word itself is a divine power, granted for us to 
 believe by : — and that there is no supernatural 
 agency necessary to go forth in the word, either 
 for our instruction, ediiieation, consolation, or 
 establishment; — but it is our adhering to the 
 written word.. When persons of this sentiment 
 condescend to explain themselves, we find that 
 they look upon the scriptures as one would a 
 common history, and maintain that all who 
 understand the use of words, may attain to the 
 true knowledge of the bibie ; — and that it is as 
 foolish to talk of the necessity of the superna- 
 tural agency of the divine Spirit, to lead us into 
 the t-rutn, as to talk of waiting for his instructi- 
 on when reading the history of England. Upon 
 
 this 
 
OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT OF GRACE. 6Q 
 
 this plan it would seem that the more wise and 
 learned they are, and the most skilful in the 
 knowledge of words, they stand thefairestchance 
 to enter into life,contrary to that authority which 
 informs us, that Not many zvise men of the iiesh 
 are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things 
 vf the world, to confound the zcise ; for it is icrit- 
 ten I will destroy the zcisdom of the wise, §c. 
 1. Cor. i, xix, 8;c. — If it be asked, why one re- 
 ceives the word and not another? Why do the 
 most illiterate receive it, while the wise and 
 learned, in the saine assembly, manifest the most 
 awful enmity against it ? — It is replied, because 
 the one mix the word with faith, while the other 
 do not. If the question again be moved, how 
 does one come to mix the word with faith, and not 
 another? — Then we are told, because he perceives 
 beauty and suitableness in it; which in iact on- 
 ly tends to provoke a repetition of the question, 
 which when made, we are told, that we are not 
 satisfied with the word — we seek a separate spi- 
 rit, Sec. And thus raillery is substituted in the 
 place of argument, and anathemas in the room 
 of scripture proof. In opposition to this senti- 
 ment it may be observed, that the highest evi- 
 dence has been presented to the wise and learn- 
 ed, of the truth and diviuity of the scriptures,* 
 without success. Rational and scriptural argu- 
 ments have been urged, by him ,\vha spake as 
 never man spake, with the addition of miracles 
 to confirm what he said, and yet it all proved 
 ineffectual ; and he who knew what was in man, 
 informs us, that No man can come unto him, ex- 
 cept the father draw him. The preaching of 
 Paul drew the contempt of the wise and learn- 
 ed, and was a stumbling block to the religious, 
 1 Cor. i, 23, and he points out the cause of 
 this, 1. Cor. ii. 14. The natural man receiveth 
 net the things of the spirit of God, for they are 
 
 foolishness 
 
70 THE NATURE AND MANNER OF THE 
 
 foo'<?/ui;ss to him ; — neither can ht know them, 
 because they are spiritually discerned. The pha- 
 risees made many converts; thejudaizing teach- 
 ers propagated their false gospels with wide suc- 
 cess ; yet neither reason, scripture, nor miracles 
 did, m themselves, make men in love with the 
 truth. Such is the natural and wilful darkness 
 of man — such the awful infatuation that the 
 god of this world spreads over the soul — and 
 such the spirituality of divine truth ; that until 
 supernatural influence be exerted, gross dark- 
 ness will remain. But here let it be observed,, 
 that unbelief is infinitely criminal, and that the 
 whole blame of disbelieving the gospel lies at 
 the sinner's door ; Mat. xi, 20 — 25, John vi,44, 
 chap, viii, 24 — 47, chap, xv — 22, Matt. xxii. 1, 7. 
 
 If any one is made wise unto salvation, it 
 must be either by the creature, willing and run- 
 ning, or else through the Lord shewing mercy. 
 But the scripture sailh, it is not of him that 
 willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God. 
 that showeth mercy ; — and, indeed, nothing is 
 more firmly established in the sacred records,than 
 that the eternal purpose of grace, manifested by 
 the appearing of God our Saviour, and publish- 
 ed in the scriptures of truth, is only applied to 
 sinners by the Holy Spirit. All who are born of 
 God are said to be born of the Spirit — all who 
 have good hope through grace, abound in it 
 through the power of the Holy Ghost — all who 
 believe in Christ, and so are saved from the 
 wrath to come, obey the truth through the Spirit, 
 and are sanctified in the name of the Lord Je- 
 sus, and by the Spirit of oar God ; love to God 
 is s ed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost; 
 in short, the kingdom of Christ in the souls of 
 his people is righteousness, peace, and joy, in 
 the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Again : our Lord, when speaking of the Spi- 
 rit 
 
OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT OF GRACE- 71 
 
 rit, says, He shall {each you all things, and bring 
 all things to your remembrance, whatsoever 1 
 have said auto you. — Here is a plain distinction 
 between the words which Christ spoke, and the 
 Spirit by whom the disciples were guided into 
 the truth of those words. It is plain, therefore, 
 that no one understands the truth but by his 
 teaching ; or believes it, but by his persuasion ; 
 or obeys it, but through his influence and power. 
 I suppose it is customary, upon some occasions, 
 for this class of* professors \o pruy ; — though I 
 cannot see what propriety there is in their doing 
 so, at any time or upon any occasion, while 
 they retain this ndtion : for if we do not believe 
 that divine influences are essentially necessary 
 to give the word success, why should we pray 
 to ihe Father of mercies to edify, sanctify, and 
 comfort, us in reading or hearing the word ? Is 
 not this drawing near with the lips, while the 
 heart is far from God I And must not such pray- 
 ers be an abomination in the sight of the Lord ? 
 And can any, holding this sentiment, pray in 
 faith for a blessing upon the word ? 
 
 But on the oth.er hand it is readily admitted, 
 that the doctrine of the operation of the Spirit 
 of truth has been much abused and traduced by 
 men who have not the Spirit ; — who teach that 
 iiis operations are wrought by mere energy, mak- 
 ing impressions upon the mind without the 
 word of grace : — yea, some have ascribed to his 
 agency, the most crude, ludicrous, and even di- 
 abolical whims and fancies ; — all of which must 
 also be an abomination in the sight of the Lord : — 
 and if the holy anointing oil (which was a type 
 of the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit) 
 was forbidden to be counterfeited, on paiu of 
 being cut off from the people, Exod. xxx. 31 — 
 33, surely nothing can be more heinously wick- 
 ed,, nothing more pernicious to men, than coun- 
 
 feiting 
 
terfeiting the operation of the Holy Spirit, or 
 imposing the delusions of the Spirit of dark- 
 ness upon men, under the sanction of God's 
 work. Yet what is more common amc.ig 
 professors of religion, than to call every rap- 
 turous humour of the mind, every impulse of 
 the imagination, and every false fire of the pas- 
 sions, the work and operation of the spirit of 
 God ? And if any one, out of zeal for God, 
 and love to their souls, faithfully expose the de- 
 lusion, and affectionately warn them to avoid 
 the ratal snare, he will he thought an enemy to 
 their peace, and be branded as an opposer of the 
 Spirit. 
 
 It is still thought by some, that miracles, or 
 something like them, are included in the work 
 of the Spirit, even as in the Apostles' days. — - 
 Such would do well to consider, that those 
 things, which, through the power of the Spirit, 
 were wrought by the Apostles, were intended as 
 confirmations of the truth which they preached; 
 but when the whole mind and will of God to his 
 church was completed, their end was answered, 
 and their use ceased ; for if they had been con- 
 tinued after revelation w r as declared to be com- 
 pleted, it would have been an argumen tagainst 
 that declaration. Whoever therefore pretends 
 to them, or is wailing for them, errs, not know- 
 ing the scriptures. 
 
 Again : it is generally thought that his saving 
 work consists in disposing the mind to serious- 
 ness, restraining evil practices, and in working 
 good dispositions and heavenly tern pers, as they 
 are called. But a person may have much seri- 
 ousness about him, be very decent in his car- 
 riage among men, have a number of what we 
 may think good and heavenly dispositions, and 
 yet all this be nothing more than the effects of 
 that principle, common to mankind, which teach- 
 es 
 
OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT OF GRACE. 73 
 
 es poor sinners to fancy themselves better than 
 others, and that they are approaching very near 
 in likeness to God, and so leads them to esta- 
 blish their own righteousness. Whatever teaches 
 a poor sinner to do this, is not of God, but is 
 that spirit which now worketh in the children 
 of disobedience. 
 
 Further : it is thought that terrors of consci- 
 ence, fearful apprehensions of God, and despair 
 of the soul, proceed from the operation of the 
 Spirit of truth. But this arises from a mistaken 
 notion, and wrong application of what Christ 
 says, John xvi. 8, He shall convince the world of 
 sin s fyc. He explains himself v. 9, (to take up 
 his words, and put a construction of our own 
 upon them, therefore, when the great Prophet 
 condescends to explain, is, to say the best of it, 
 very disingenuous indeed !) He informs us, 
 that his Spirit would act as the Comforter in this 
 operation, v. 7, by showing the world their sin 
 in not believing in him ; which could not pos- 
 sibly be dene, without giving them an under- 
 standing to know him that is true ; — and the 
 knowledge of him would keep them from tor- 
 menting despair on the one hand, and from self- 
 righteous confidence on the other But many 
 things which are not sins, because not a breach 
 of any divine law, are sometimes attributed to 
 the work of the Spirit ; — such as the remorse 
 which seizes the conscience of the Papist for 
 eating flesh on a fast-day, or a conscientiousness 
 of guilt tormenting the mind of a Protestant 
 Dissenter, as the consequence of having broken 
 one or other of the laws of his particular church- 
 covenant, &c. and this concern of mind can 
 readily be removed without the atoning blood 
 of Christ. It will be inquired, perhaps, how 
 people came to be convinced of sin ? — And the 
 scripture teaches us to reply, that convictions of 
 G sin, 
 
74 THE NATURE AND MANNER OF THE 
 
 sin, followed with torment and tending to des- 
 pair, arise from the natural conscience, and the 
 holy law ; — "Rom. ii. 14, 15, chap. iii. £0 ; — the 
 one revives and enforces the genuine dictates of 
 the other-, and conviction, arising from this 
 quarter, will not suffer a person to think himself 
 in a fair way of deliverance -from the threaten- 
 ed wrath ; any more than a felon's heing appre- 
 hended would he to him a hopeful sign of his 
 being acquitted. Never will this kind of con- 
 viction prevailing in the mind suffer the least 
 attempt to deliver himself out of the hands of 
 his offended Sovereign ; — hut will rather show 
 him, that nothing but death and destruction are 
 his just portion. Nor will he (I mean, while 
 natural conscience is permitted to speak its ge- 
 nuine language) imagine that God will assist 
 him to make his escape. But, as it hath been 
 already hinted, many terrors may possess the 
 mind, where the person has never heen convinc- 
 ed of the evil of sin ;■ — such as frightful views of 
 hell, impressions OporJ the imagination that the 
 flames of hcil are kindling about him, Sec. by 
 which he might be drove into actual despair, as 
 thinking he is reprobated — that his day of grace 
 is passed, or that he has committed the sin 
 .-•rjiinst ihe Holy Ghost. For persons to be 
 encouraged therefore to extract any degree of 
 hope, peace, or encouragement from convictions, 
 is but drawing off their hope from a profane to 
 "f- righteous foundation; — is only changing 
 i an obvious delusion, to a more subtle and 
 secret one, which makes their situation the more 
 dangerous. 
 
 And as the nature of the Spirit's work has 
 been grossly mistaken ; so also has the manner 
 of it been sadly misundersood. It has been gen- 
 erally thought, that his manner of working is by 
 some secret whisper, impression; or operation, 
 
 without 
 
OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT OF GRACE. 75 
 
 without the written word ; whereby sinners are 
 taught to believe, that a work of grace is begun 
 in them, and from which they are instructed to 
 conclude, that they are the dear children of 
 God. But without transgressing the bounds of 
 scripture charity, it may be observed, that what- 
 ever spirit impresses, influences, or comforts a 
 sinuer, by any thing aside from what is written 
 iu the word of God, is fitly denominated, and 
 justly characterized, by the following epithets ; 
 — the spirit of the world — the spirit of disobedi- 
 ence — the spirit of error — the spirit of anti-christ 
 — the spirit of slumber, S°c. The direct tendency 
 of whose teaching is, to promote the work of 
 self-independence which he began in our first 
 parents ; and one justly observes on this head, 
 tiiat " This self-independence may be ranked 
 among the most dangaous of the infernal po- 
 litics, because the poison lies dap, and is too 
 often undi seemed." 
 
 I shall now proceed to give some account of 
 the Spirit of Grace and his work, by which alone 
 we know the things which are freely given lis 
 of God'. The spirit of whom we now speak, is 
 distinguished from every other, under the titles 
 of the holy spirit — the spirit of God — the spirit 
 of truth — the good spirit — the spirit of judgment 
 — the spirit of knozcledge — the spirit of tcisdo?n 
 — the spirit of faith — the spirit of grace — and 
 the spirit of glory. These sacred epithets plainly 
 set forth the nature of his work ; — and that, we 
 may speak it with all becoming reverence, let 
 us remember that the spirit of God ; — which 
 should cause us to tremble, lest we ascribe any 
 work to him, unworthy of his wisdom, justice, 
 holiness or truth. The work of this sacred agent 
 is to testify of Christ — to glorify him — to lead 
 him into truth, and to comfort the disciples of 
 Jesus. But our safest way of proceeding will 
 G 2 be 
 
76 THE NATURE AND MANNER OF THE 
 
 be to hear the faithful and true witness speak 
 upon the subject, John xvi. 13 — 15, When he, 
 the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into 
 all truth ; for he shall not speak of himself; but 
 whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak — 
 he shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine, 
 and snow it unto you. Jill that the father hath 
 are mine, therefore, said I, that he shall take of 
 mine, and show unto yon. From hence we learn, 
 that the sole work of the promised Spirit is to 
 glorify Christ, by testifying of him: and least 
 we should fancy, that the Father would be dis- 
 honoured thereby, we are informed, that all 
 things that the Father hath are Christ's ; even 
 every divine excellency, perfection and glory. 
 Moses and the prophets, who wrote under the 
 influence, and by the direction, of the Spirit of 
 grace, had Christ for their theme. Many sub- 
 ordinate subjects, it is true, were introduced by 
 them, to illustrate and confirm this one grand 
 design ; but to testisy of Jesus in his person and 
 Sufferings, and to speak of the glory that should 
 follow, was their primary design in writing — 
 1, Peter i. n.Rev. xix. 10. Acts x. 43. And as it 
 was the prophets delightful employ, to testify 
 of Christ through the Spirit; so also was it the 
 one grand theme of the apostles of our Lord, on 
 whom this Spirit in his rich effusions rested. 
 Paul, in giving a summary of the doctrine which 
 himself and fellow-apostles advanced, says, zee 
 preach Christ crucified. Hence it is plain, that 
 the whole Bible is a testimony of Jesus; even 
 as himself saith, search the scriptures— for thvu 
 testify of me. The Spirit of Grace, therefore, 
 through the whole of his work, of enlightening, 
 quickening, edifying, and comforting sinners ; 
 speaks not of any thing distinct from, much less 
 opposed to, the glory and compassion of Jesus. 
 Fie shall not speak of himsefj ; but whatsoever 
 
 he 
 
OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT OF GRACE. 77 
 
 he shall hear, that shall he speak*. If then the 
 Spirit of truth does not speak of himself \ it can- 
 not be supposed that he will lead any whom he 
 instructs to speak of any work of his separate 
 from Christ, who is the alone subject of his tes- 
 timony. Whatever influence, then, men are 
 led by, to talk of a work of grace, that is not 
 wrought by the Spirit's testimony of the things 
 of Christ, we may with certainty conclude, that 
 it is not of God. Much less then can we sup- 
 pose, that this glorious agent leads any to speak 
 great things of themselves : of their own supposed, 
 efforts, pious exertions, humble breathings, holy 
 strivings, &c. and to call them his regenerating 
 influences. Far otherwise ; his work stains the 
 pride of man, by laying his fancied honour in 
 the dust; and presenting a source of glorying 
 in the Lord alone. But this doctrine deserves 
 a more particular illustration. First: as the 
 employment of the blessed Spirit is to lead into 
 truth, even the whole truth as it is in Jesus, 
 of consequence he has no hand in teaching any 
 thing inconsistent with, or unworthy of, trie 
 truth. He speaks and communicates only the 
 things of Christ, and of the father whom Christ 
 reveals; which things are written: there can, 
 therefore, be no divine operation, but what is 
 wrought by the concurring influence of the zoord 
 and spirit of truth. Is it the Spirit's work to re- 
 generate the soul ? We are also said to be be- 
 gotten by the zoord of truth, and through ther 
 
 gospel, 
 
 * What the author here says is exceedingly just, and it is 
 noticed only to prevent improper cavils, that when it is said the 
 Spirit shall not speak of himself, it means that he shall not speak 
 uncommissioned, for it is immediately added, but -whatsoever he shall 
 Lear, that shall he speak. 
 
 This however comes to the fame thing that the author pleads 
 for. It is Christ he is commissioned to fpeak of. He is the 
 Spirit of the truth, guides into all truth, and shews Christ's glo- 
 rious grace to the guilty. — Ed. 
 
 G 3 
 
THE NATURE AND MANNER OF THE 
 
 gospel. Are his regenerating influences com- 
 pared to the old creation ? It was by the word 
 of the Lord that the heavens were made. He 
 spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it 
 stood fast. Is his work compared to the resur- 
 rection? That will take place by the dead hear- 
 ing Christ's voice, John v. 24, 25<. In one word,, 
 the beginning, and his future operations upon 
 the souls of his disciples, in nourishing, comfort- 
 ing, establishing, and sanctifying them, are per- 
 formed by the word of' grace. Jt is by the babes 
 partaking of the sincere milk of the word, that 
 they grow into a more advanced state in Christ ; 
 and it was only by being nourished up in the 
 words of faith, and of good doctrine that Timo- 
 thy could be fitted for the work of the ministry, 
 And as the work of sanctification is carried on. 
 hi the soul, by the agency of the Holy Spirit, 
 so our Lord informs us, that it is the truth, even, 
 the word of truth, that sanctifies, John xvii. 17«, 
 and ye are clean through the ztord which I have 
 spoken unto you, see also Eph. v. Q5, 26. To 
 what has been observed it may be added, that 
 the Spirit of grace never leads any to misapply 
 the word ; never comforts by the word in any 
 other way, than by giving a true understanding 
 of it, and applying the true sense of the passage 
 to the soul. He does not speak a jot more than 
 is contained in tire written word ; or lead to 
 perceive any thing in one part of scripture, that 
 is contrary to, or inconsistent with 5 the general 
 scope of revelation. — Here I shall take the 
 liberty to introduce the sentiment of Calvin upon 
 this doctrine ; that they who call themselves by 
 his name, and yet plead for a work of the Spirit 
 separate from the word, may see how improperly 
 they bear the name of Calvinists. He enquires 
 of those who hold the spirit's operation without, 
 the word, " Whether they have tasted of any 
 
 Qtfce? 
 
OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT OF GRACE. 79 
 
 •yf~* ' ~ ' •--■ ■ ' ■ ' - . 
 
 other Spirit than that which the Lord promised 
 to his disciples ? — -But what manner of spirit d id 
 he speak or" in the promise? Even that Spirit 
 which should not speak of himself, but should 
 minister, and inspire into their minds., those 
 things which he, the Lord himself, had taught 
 by his word. — It is not, therefore, the office of 
 the Spirit which. is promised to us, to feign pew 
 and unheard-of revelations, or to coin a new 
 doctrine, whereby we should be led from the 
 received doctrine of the gospel; but to seal u\ 
 our minds the self-same doctrine that is com- 
 mended to us by the gospel. — If any spirit, leav- 
 ing the wisdom of the word of God, doth thrftst 
 unto us another doctrine, that same spirit ought 
 rightfully to be suspected of vanity and lying. 
 But lest under his (the Spirit of God's) name, 
 the Spiiit of Satan should creep in, he will have 
 us to know him by that image of himself, which 
 he hath printed in the scripture. — The Holy 
 Ghost doth so stick fast in his truth, which he 
 hath expressed in the scripture, that then only 
 he putleth forth and displays his force, when the 
 scripture has its due reverence and dignity. — 
 The faithful know none other spirit, but that 
 which dwelt and spake in the apostles, by whose 
 oracles we are continually called to the hearing 
 of the wofd." Calvin's lnstitu. B. i. Chap. 9. 
 
 Having thus briefly noticed the manner of 
 the divine Spirit's operations, let us now attend 
 a little to the nature of them. In general it may 
 be observed, that when any one is instructed by 
 him, he learns some precious truth of the word, 
 which previously he was ignorant of — or some 
 truth which he had been before taught, is season- 
 ably revived in his mind, and his soul confirmed 
 in the rue understanding thereof; of which, 
 comfort, direction, or support, will be the eon- 
 sequence. But more particularly, his work i^ 
 
 to 
 
80 THE NATURE AND MANNER OF THE 
 
 to convince of unbelief — to reconcile those who 
 are at enmity against the truth, to it — and to 
 further enlighten, quicken, comfort, and confirm, 
 the souls of the disciples. 
 
 To fasten a conviction of unbelief, even in 
 the hearts of the wise, the learned, the devout, 
 &c. as well as the profane, is the peculiar work 
 of God, the sovereign of the conscience ; it is 
 what no man can do for himself, or work in ano- 
 ther. This will plainly appear if we advert to 
 the days when what our Lord says of the Spirit 
 was eminently confirmed. The apostles went 
 forth, not in the wisdom of the scribes, or the 
 disputers of this world, or with the charms of 
 human eloquence ; but preaching Jesus and the 
 resurrection, declaring the testimony that God 
 had given of his son, that he was well pleased 
 in him. By this testimony they commended 
 themselves to every man's conscience in the 
 sight of God, declaring with all boldness, lie 
 that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; 
 but he that believeth nut, shall be damned. And 
 though the gates of hell were moved against 
 their testimony — though the god of this world 
 exerted every artifice to blind the minds of men, 
 and pervert the truth — though the lords of the 
 gentiles, and the tyrants of the earth opposed 
 it — though the men, who were in the highest 
 repute for philosophy and universal literature, 
 and were believed to be the most pious and de- 
 vout upon the face of the earth, did all they 
 could to prevent the name of Jesus from being 
 mentioned ; yet the Spirit of truth bore down, 
 with irresistible evidence, the prejudices which 
 men of all ranks had imbibed — convinced them 
 that the whole world was guilty and in unbelief 
 — emboldened many to receive the testimony, 
 openly to confess salvation and eternal life 
 through it, and made them willing to suffer the 
 
 loss 
 
OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT OF GRACE. 81 
 
 loss of all things for it, yea, encouraged them 
 rather to give up their lives,, than let go the 
 truth. But still it will be inquired, How does 
 the Spirit convince of unbelief? In reply to 
 which I would inquire, how do we come to know 
 that we have been in error, about things in ge- 
 neral which we have heard, and either denied to 
 be true, or received under some mistaken no- 
 tion, but by receiving a true understanding of 
 the matter ? Even so it is in the question under 
 consideration. Man, previous to divine teach- 
 ing, either wholly rejects the testimony of God, 
 or receives it in a natural, carnal sense. But 
 when the Spirit of grace enlightens the under- 
 standing, to know the truth as it is in Jesus ; 
 when he sets before any one the true grace of 
 God, and gives him to behold the authority of 
 God in his word, the soul readily discovers its 
 former error ; perceives its dangerous situation 
 while in a state of ignorance ; forsakes its for- 
 mer oppositions to the truth, or false notions 
 about it ; is ashamed of its evil ways, repents of 
 them, and turns unto the Lord. The Spirit; 
 therefore, convinces of unbelief, in giving an 
 understanding to know him that is true. 
 
 Again : his work consists in reconciling ene- 
 mies to God. It is a maxim that has not yet 
 been refuted, that the determination of the will, 
 must evermore follow the illumination, convietion, 
 and notice of the understanding. Without stay- 
 ing to illustrate this at large, it may be observ- 
 ed, that scripture and matter of fact clearly 
 show, that, when a sinner beholds the beauty 
 and excellency of God in Christ, as displayed in 
 the gospel, he immediately chooses that most- 
 lovely manifestation of the true God as his chief 
 good. It is contrary to scripture to maintain, 
 that the Holy Spirit, in his operation upon the 
 minds of men, exerts any power that does the 
 
 least 
 
8<2 THE NATURE ANT) MANNER OF THE 
 
 leat injury to the highest, the most rational 
 sense of human liberty, which consists in cruis- 
 ing what we like best ; — and yet every part of 
 his -work is founded in pure sovereignty, di- 
 rected by infinite wisdom, justice, mercy, and 
 faithfulness. This blessed agent does not drag 
 the sinner unwillingly, or against his will; but 
 by bringing near to his view, the infinite love- 
 liness of Jesus, and the preciousness, freeness, 
 and glory of the gospel ; and thus by filling the 
 understanding with the light of truth, the man's 
 will becomes effectually determined. The soul 
 finds the charms of Christ so irresistibly strongs 
 that every power thereof is drawn out. after him; 
 so that now should any other object propose it- 
 self as the supreme good; the happy sinner 
 would, without hesitation, say, Godjorbid that 
 I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Je- 
 sus Christ. He is now reconciled to the one 
 way of salvation by free grace and sovereign 
 mercy. It appears, therefore, that the essential' 
 difference between a real work of the Spirit of 
 God, and every counterfeit thereof, is this, that 
 to the one it is given to know the mysteries of the 
 kingdom of heaven ; he has heard the word of 
 God and understood it ; while the natural man, 
 whatever notions he has obtained of the gospel, 
 knozceth not the things of the spirit of Godj &c. 
 It may be added, that when a sinner is 4 recon- 
 ciled to God by the Spirit, he will not be led 
 thereby, to talk of a certain previous round of 
 feelings which he has had, or serious acts which 
 he has exerted ; but will frankly confess, that 
 all his strivings, and earnest and laborious ex- 
 ertions, in seeking, fasting, praying, resolving, 
 6cc. before he knew the truth in which he now 
 rejoices, only tended to fear his conscience, and 
 draw off' his attention from the hope of the gos- 
 pel \ so that in all, he was doing that abomi- 
 nable 
 
OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT OF GRACE. 83 
 
 liable thing that God hated ; that now his only 
 refuge is divine grace — his only hope, that so- 
 vereign mercy which the gospel makes manifest, 
 and which the most profane have an equal right 
 to with himself. 
 
 Further: Christ promised not to Jeave his 
 people comfortless; but to send the promise of 
 his Father upon them, even the Comforter, 
 who should bring all those things to their re- 
 membrance that he had spoken unto them, and 
 thereby comfort their hearts with peace and 
 joy, while in the world they had tribulation. — 
 This he does by leading them into the 2;rand, 
 sublime, and inexhaustible fulness of the mvs- 
 tery which lay hid in God ; by gradually open- 
 ing their understanding, and causing them 
 thereby to grow up into all riches of t lit full as- 
 surance of understanding, to I he acknowledgment 
 oj the mystery of God, and of the Father, and 
 of ( 'hi 1st ; filling them zcith ail the knozcledge of 
 his zcill, in all wisdom and spiritual understand? 
 ing ; stroigthening them thereby, zcith all might, 
 according to his glorious pozcer, unto all patience 
 and long-suffering zcith joyfulness. 
 
 We may now collect a summary of what has 
 been said upon this matter : All men by nature 
 are in error, ignorance, and unbelief— going on 
 in a course of deception, deceiving and being 
 deceived — no one but the Spirit of grace can 
 spiritually enlighten, and comfortably undeceive 
 them — -this he does, not by the exertion of pow- 
 er without instruction, nor yet by teaching any 
 doctrine about himself separate from Christ, 
 but by taking of the zcord of the truth of the 
 gospel, and causing that to enter into the soul, 
 he thereby communicates the light of the know- 
 ledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus 
 Christ — that, as in the first beginning of his 
 work on the mind, he uses no other instrument 
 
 but 
 
S4 THE NATURE AND MANNER OF THE 
 
 but the written word, so in all his future instructi- 
 ons, quicken ings, &c. he proceeds by the same 
 rule ; which rule is the only touchstone that we 
 have to try the operation of spirits by. 
 
 As the whole process of jdivine grace is sove- 
 reign, free, and efficacious ; so the work of the 
 Spirit uniformly wears the same aspect. All 
 his operations are sovereign :— in every act the 
 arm of the Lord is manifested, John iii. 8 ; no 
 one can assign a reason why a wind should 
 come, at any particular time, from one point in 
 preference to another ; — or why it goes in that 
 direction, not in this, but that so it pleaseth its 
 sovereign director. Neither can any account 
 for one out of a particular company of hearers, 
 and he perhaps the most illiterate, unthinking, 
 and rebellious, coming to the knowledge of the 
 truth and rejoicing therein, while the rest con- 
 tinue in enmity to it ; but that the Spirit quick- 
 eneth whom he will. All his operations are also 
 perfectly and unconditionally free. It was the 
 crime of Simon Magus that he thought the 
 Holy Ghost might be purchased vyith money; 
 and it would have been a happy circumstance, 
 had the spirit and essence of his crime died with 
 him, or with that age ; but alas ! it is but too 
 evident, while we find persons saying, that when 
 we exert our natural efforts, &c. the Spirit will 
 help us, and turn our natural aids into superna- 
 tural ones, that though the letter of Simon's 
 crime is not common among us, the essence of it 
 still prevails. But if the exertions of our natur- 
 al abilities are the inducements, or circumstances , 
 .that encourage the spirit to work, grace is no 
 more grace. And as all his operations are sove- 
 reign and free, so they are effectual. For as 
 the rain cometh down, and the snowjrom heaven, 
 and returneth not thither, but water eth the earth, 
 and maketh it bring forth and bud, thai it may 
 
 give 
 
THE PRINCIPLE OF GRACE, &C. Hh 
 
 ^give seed to the sozcer, and bread to the enter ; — 
 
 SO SHALL MY WORD BE THAT GOETH FORTH 
 OUT OF MY MOUTH; IT SHALL NOT RETURN 
 
 'UNTO ME VOID BUT IT SHALL ACCOMPLISH 
 
 THAT WHICH 1 PLEASE, AND IT SHALL 
 PROSPER IN THE THING WHEREUNIO I SEND 
 
 it. — Isaiah lv. 10. 11. 
 
 SFXTION VI. 
 
 ON THE PRINCIPLE OF GRACE IN THE 
 HEART. 
 
 It is thought a matter of little importance by 
 some, whether we conceive of the principle of 
 grace in the heart previous to, and so distinct 
 from the word of grace, or insist that the word 
 of life implanted in the soul, is that principle. 
 With all becoming deference to the learned per- 
 sons, who have attempted to accommodate mat- 
 ters in this respect, the writer of these Essays 
 takes the liberty of saving, that in his view of 
 the matter, one of the most important distincti- 
 ons is to be made, that concerns the whole sys- 
 tem of experimental Christianity; and that the 
 schemes established upon these two hypotheses, 
 are as much opposed to each other, in their na- 
 ture, and necessary tendency, as light and dark- 
 ness, or Christ and Belial. 
 
 The reader will observe, that the important 
 difference attempted to be stated in this Secti- 
 on, is not whether there is any such thing as a 
 supernatural principle, or habit of grace, in the 
 soul ; nor whether that principle be abiding 
 •■vhen implanted ; nor yet whether it is the 
 
8(5 THE PRINCIPLE OF GKACE 
 
 work of the Holy Spirit to implant it ; all these 
 things are admitted,. as important and undeni- 
 able facts. But our principal inquiries are. — ■ 
 wherein does the nature of the principle of 
 grace consist ? — and, are there any preparatives 
 of any kind thereunto i — It will not be amiss to 
 lay down some general and scriptural truths, 
 which may tend to shorten this Section : such 
 as that, — man is by nature dead in sins, nothing 
 but spiritual death is to be found in the unre- 
 generate soul, — all works proceeding from man 
 in thai state are dead works; — for an evil tree can- 
 not bring forth good fruit ; — there can be no 
 spiritual life infused into man, but what proceeds 
 from Christ ; — so that "He that hath the Son, 
 hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God, 
 hath not life ;" — the figures, metaphors, repre- 
 sentations, &c, which set forth the darkness of 
 the mind, or man's sinful state by nature, do 
 not lead us to any gross conceptions of the dis- 
 ease,asthough itwere something material, and so 
 needed some physical or mechanical power to be 
 exerted to rectify it* ; but rather, the scripture 
 doctrine of the fail is, that the moral rectitude 
 of the soul is disordered, the understanding 
 darkened through error, ignorance, and unbelief, 
 whereby the will is influenced to rebellion, the 
 directions are become unholy, sensual and bru- 
 tal ; ail of which is made manifest by false wor- 
 ship, false hope, false comforts and evil works ; 
 _, _ = __ ¥ 
 
 * No subject has been more betroped and befigured than the 
 article of inherent^ grace. Scriptural writers speak figuratively 
 of the religion of the heart — they call it circitmcision — dying — 
 lining — seed — creation, and so on ; — and many divines, instead of 
 reducing metaphor to meaning, affix gross notions to those 
 terms, and cover them with grosser still, till one would think 
 conversion consisted in the actual addition of seme new bodily- 
 organs, or mental powers, when nothing perhaps is intended 
 but the belief of a truth or the practice of a virtue.-— ~~Cl(wd>,\ 
 Essay on the composition of a >::. Iwft, vol- I. p. 30 8. 
 
IN THE HEART. 
 
 by the deep-rooted enmity of the heart against 
 God, and the aversion there is to depend simply 
 upon his word. These things premised, I shall 
 now proceed to take some notice, of the pre- 
 vailing notion of a principle of grace in the soul, 
 I mean previous to the word of life being im- 
 planted there by the Holy Spirit. 
 
 What is generally asserted upon this subject 
 is this, that there is in regeneration, an inhe- 
 rent, spiritual, principle implanted in the soul, 
 previous to, and so separate from the hearing, 
 understanding, and receiving the gospel of 
 Christ. The nature of this principle, the man- 
 ner of its coming into the soul, and the use 
 that should be made of it when discovered 
 there, are matters about which the professing 
 world is by no means agreed ; — some plead for 
 certain principles in the soul, previous to this 
 principle ; but here again they are divided 
 wherein these principles consist; while others 
 maintain, so far justly, that there is no medium 
 betwixt being dead in sins, and being new crea- 
 tures ; and these generally hold, that this prin- 
 ciple is infused into the soul, it does not know 
 when, how or where, or in fact whether it is 
 there or no, till by the help of some kind, casu- 
 istical friend, he is enabled to persuade himself 
 that it is so. Though it frequently happens, 
 that to a person's dying day he remains in pain- 
 ful suspense, and dreadful anxiety about it. — 
 But let us hear each of these divided parties 
 speak for themselves. 
 
 " Man comes to the grace, whereby we are 
 regenerated in Christ, by a natural faculty ; — as 
 in asking, seeking, knocking ; and before they 
 are born again, there is repentance, a sorrow for 
 sin, a change of life for the better, and a begin- 
 ning of faith, and an initial love of God, and a 
 desire of grace : these are an occasion' (how mo- 
 H 2 destly 
 
88 THE PRINCIPLE OF GRACE. 
 
 destly expressed) "by which God is moved to 
 bestow his grace. For such is the mercy of 
 God, that he recompenses these very sma/l be- 
 ginnings of good, with this illustrious reward." 
 We have the same sentiment given us in the 
 following words. u Some work of man there- 
 fore goes before his vivification. ; viz. to acknow- 
 ledge and bewail his death; to will and desire 
 tleliverence from it; to hunger, thirst, and seek 
 after life ; all which, and a great deal be- 
 sides, is required by Christ in those whom he 
 will make alive." To these things it has been 
 replied, that since we are dead in trespasses and 
 sins we can do nothing before, by way of pre- 
 paration for grace,unless we think sinful thoughts 
 and rebellious actions will do it. But, more- 
 over, we have seen persons the best disposed 
 for this kind of grace — the person mentioned 
 Matt. xix. for instance : he was full of good in- 
 tentions, inflamed with a desire after heaven, 
 and of a blameless life before men, notwith- 
 standing which he was disapproved of; and 
 there was another, whom we are told was not 
 far from the kingdom of heaven — wanted, as it 
 were, but one step, and yet publicans and har- 
 lots, who were void of the least good qualifica- 
 tion, went in before those who were civilly 
 righteous, and externally religious. Nor does 
 it happen favourably to this scheme, that the 
 scriptures point out several examples or actual 
 proofs of the assertion, that in the first manifes- 
 tation of grace to the soul, God is found of 
 them that sought him not: and made manifes 
 to them that asked not after him. But we have 
 been ingeniously informed upon this head, for 
 the encouragement of the well-disposed, that 
 " He is sometimes found of them that seek him 
 not ; — much more will be found of them that 
 seek him,, in his appointed way." If we call to 
 
 mind 
 
IN THE HEART. 89 
 
 mind the true signification, of the grace of God 
 that bringeth salvation unto men, it will readily 
 ■appear that, upon this plan, grace is no mate 
 grace. 
 
 There are others who agree in the main with 
 the class above referred to, about the nature of 
 this pi inciple, and who, with them, insist upon the 
 necessity, of some kind of pre-requisites there- 
 unto, and yet would seem to differ from them, 
 about the author of these previous principles, 
 and the design of their beimr wrought in the 
 mind. (i In persons to be regenerated is requir- 
 ed a breaking of the natural obstinacy, and a 
 flexibility of the will— a sound law-work upon 
 the soul — a legal fear of punishment and a dread 
 of hell, &c. and some anxiety about deliver- 
 ance." But then we are informed that, " These 
 things are not produced by nature alone, but 
 are rather to be conceived of as the effects of 
 the spirit of bondage preparing a way to him- 
 self for their actual regeneration. And that 
 God does not bestow the grace of regeneration 
 from a regard to, or moved by occasion of, 
 these preparations, much less by any merit in 
 them, but God in this -mariner tetets a way for 
 himself, fills rallies, depresses mountains and 
 hills, in order the better to smootke a rcaj/for his 
 entrance into the soid? To which it has been 
 replied, that ail this, and more is common to 
 those, who perish, and therefore cannot, either 
 from the nature of the thing, or the intention of 
 (.rod, be preparative for regeneration. Not tlx.o 
 former : for however great these things may ap- 
 pear to be, yet they continue within the verge 
 of spiritual death ;' and sinners are so far from, 
 being disposed thereby to spiritual (fe, that on 
 the contrary, deceived by these acts, which 
 counterfeit spiritual life, they are the more har- 
 dened id real death,*;nd-ibnd)v pleasing them- 
 11 .3 ~ selvesj 
 
yG THE PRINCIPLE OF GRACE 
 
 ■ ■ ■- I i -- '- i 
 
 selves, are at a greater distance from inquiring 
 after trite life, which they falsely imagine they 
 have obtained. Not the latter : for no intenti- 
 on of God can be rendered void. (See Jfitsius 
 on Regeneration.) It may be added, that the 
 grace of God does not consider man as upon 
 the return to God — willing to be saved, and 
 only needing a little help ; but as being quite 
 indisposed, even so much as to hearken to God's 
 method of salvation ; or rather, quite at enmity 
 with the God of grace; though- it is natural 
 enough for sinners to be in love with a false, or 
 what Paul terms a perverted, gospel. Hence the 
 complaint which the Saviour brings against 
 them is not, they are not sincerely disposed to 
 come — they have not yet had a sound law-work 
 upon their. souls ; — they are not sufficiently ter- 
 rified with. the dread of hell, &c. but ye will 
 not come unto me. The fact is, God would 
 have the ends of the earth, sinners at the great- 
 est, distance from him, to behold the salvation 
 which- he has provided, and live ; — but sinners 
 will not come as such, and yet they fancy they 
 are willing to. come. It is plain they want to 
 make a more creditable appearance, before they 
 do come, that when, they approach, it may be 
 manifest to all, that, God had not so much trou- 
 ble to save them, as. those despicable wretches, 
 tit e T h i e f , Za c c he u s, , &c . 
 
 Again : there are others who deny absolutely, 
 ,-*; , work previous to regeneration, who yet zea- 
 lously maintain, that a principle ..of grace is in- 
 Fused into the soul, by the Spirit of God, prevl- 
 ovs to, and distinct from, the gospel of grace, 
 which principle coutains the habits of every 
 oilier grace, faith, hope, love, .&c. which .princin 
 pie also, disposes the soul, to receive and delight 
 in the word of God ; for we are told " The prin- 
 ciples of faith, hope and -love,, must be in. the 
 
 soul 
 
IX THE HEART. <M 
 
 soul prior to the knowledge of what we are to 
 believe, hope in, and love." This kind of doc- 
 trine is so mystical and metaphysical (not to say 
 cnthusiasiical and unintelligible) that though it 
 plainly appears what it leads to, yet to reconcile 
 it either to scripture or common sense, would 
 be a task unsurmountable to any but those who 
 are skilled in the depths of the doctrine., . The 
 following sentence seems, in some measure, to 
 set forth the notion under consideration. "The 
 reason why the word of Christ, was effectual 
 upon Peter's hearers, when three thousand were 
 converted, and that it had no success, at Chora- 
 zip and iiethsaida, when Christ himself preach- 
 ed, is not to be attributed to any different 
 energy upon the mind of one more than the 
 other ;— but rather to the different principles of 
 those to whom it came — the word is attended 
 with the same pozcer and efficacy, simply consi- 
 dered in itself, in all places, and at all times; — 
 the difference, and reason of its success is, one 
 is principled, and the other is not ; and therer 
 fore, had all had the same principles, all would 
 have received it alike."* 
 
 I shall not stay here to remark upon this sentence 
 which, it is obvious, is contrary to the true grace of 
 God, and virtually, with the Arminians, opposes 
 the work of the Spirit ; but proceed to consider 
 the principles upon which this notion is found- 
 ed. And we are told, that " Man being dead 
 
 in 
 
 * A friend, upon reading the above, observes, in a letter tp 
 the author of these Essays, that " This previous principle destroys 
 the use of prayer for a blessing upon the word ; all prayer on 
 such principles must be conditional, thus, " If thou feest any, here 
 already principled fox the reception of the word, bless it to them.!* 
 If the word is attended with the same poiver in all places, and 
 at all times, it would be as foolish for me to pray for a blessing 
 at any given time, as for me to pray, that the Sun may rise 
 March Xoth, 1784, an hour sooner than it did former years.'* 
 
§2 THE PRINCIPLE OF GRACE 
 
 in trespasses and sins, void of the least degree of 
 spiritual life, he must necessarily be passive in 
 the work of regeneration, for dead matter 
 cannot act. But wherever the word of 
 grace is received to any good purpose, it always 
 supposes the mind to be active in the entrance 
 thereof. Therefore, sound reason teaches us to 
 conclude, that there must of necessity be a prin- 
 ciple of life existing in the soul, before it can 
 hear, understand, and receive the word, and so 
 cannot be the grace of the gospel implanted : 
 nor can the word be the instrument of implant- 
 ing it ; — unless we can conceive, with any de- 
 gree of rationality, of one seeing without eyes, 
 hearing without ears, receiving without action, 
 or believing. the word of God without faith/' — =- 
 Here we are presented with an argument blend- 
 ed with scripture and some sort of metaphysical 
 philosophy, which the apostles were cautious to 
 keep separate, lest the cross of Christ should be 
 made of none effect : — for to entertain precious 
 souls with philosophical speculation, about the 
 activity and passivity of the mind in receiving 
 the truth, tends to lead them from that which 
 alone can give peace to the conscience, purity 
 in the soul, and holiness in the life. 
 
 That man is dead in trespasses and sins, is an 
 awful fact, admitted and much lamented — that 
 he must therefore be necessarily passive in re- 
 generation is freely granted — and that "dead 
 matter cannot act," is also readily acknowledg- 
 ed. But surely that system of philosophy that 
 Would teach us to compare " dead matter" to 
 a sfirit that cannot but think and be consci 
 ousj, ought not to be reputed sound, it is plain 
 that man can be regenerated, he has faculties in 
 which the principles of regeneration can be 
 wrought; but dead matter cannot, in the same 
 sense, he regenerated j and so then the parallel 
 
 is 
 
IN THE HEART. 03 
 
 is altogether impertinent to the subject. And 
 if a possibility of being regenerated is intended, 
 by having the principles ot" faith, Sic. it is grant- 
 ed, and when we think of God, and behold his 
 work's, we must say, 13 any thing too hard for 
 him ? But we have instances recorded in the 
 scripture of the power of the divine zcord to 
 animate and vivify even " dead matter." " And 
 God said let the earth bring forth living crea- 
 tures," Sec. And of the truth of this we have 
 full evidence at the grave of him who had been 
 dead four days John xi. 39 — 44. Here we be- 
 hold that dead mutter was forcibly and effectually 
 worked upon and quickened by the living uord 
 of Jesus. But, dismissing any further remarks 
 about dead matter, let us turn our attention to 
 a living spirit. 
 
 The minor proposition we beg leave to de- 
 ny, which may be done without falling into 
 the absurdity and irrationality of saying a per- 
 son may see without eyes, hear without ears, 
 See. and if this can consistently be done, then 
 not only the conclusion must fall to the ground, 
 but most of the arguments for this doctrine be- 
 ing built upon kindred premises, will be weak- 
 ened, if not overturned. The whole argument 
 goes upon the supposition, that in hearing, un- ■ 
 derstanding, and receiving a report of testimo- 
 ny, the mind must necessarily and invariably 
 be, not only active, but also zcell disposed to the 
 tidings which i: conveys : which seems as 
 though some fatal necessity had forced us to 
 love and delight in a thing before we have ei- 
 ther heard or understood any thing about it ! It 
 is granted, that the mind frequently, though 
 not necessarily and invariably, is active in re- 
 ceiving a report ; and also, that what it is well 
 disposed to, it frequently seeks to hear of, in 
 order to receive. But very often we receive 
 
 reports 
 
94 THE .PRINCIPLE OF' GRACE. 
 
 reports not only without having a good disposi- 
 tion towards them ; but we have been forced to 
 admitthem through unquestionable conviction 
 of their reality and truth, even though the in- 
 clination would wish to oppose them. Thus a 
 criminal receives sentence from his judge — a ser- 
 vant reproof from his master — and thus on the 
 day of Pentecost,Christ's murderers were convin- 
 ced of sin sorely against their inclination. And 
 are not our minds frequently surprised., by re- 
 ceiving the knowledge of that which gives us 
 pleasure ? But what is that inability in man 
 which is the ground work of his opposition to 
 the truth; are not we too apt to forget our- 
 selves that it is of a moral and spiritual nature ? 
 That it consists in having the understanding 
 darkened,, being alienated from the life of God 
 through the ignorance that is in us, and that 
 the soul being under the fatal influence of er- 
 ror, ignorance, and unbelief, it opposes the 
 true grace of God i Are we not too apt to for- 
 get that the language used to describe this aw- 
 ful state is frequently metaphorical, and in con- 
 sequence thereof, run into some thoughts of a 
 physical or natural death of the soul, or priva- 
 tion of animal life, at least of the natural, 
 faculties? . But does not man's inability consist in 
 his loving darkness rather than light, in a disin- 
 clination to depend upon a holy sovereign God; 
 and not from the want of rational faculties, so 
 that he zcoiild return to, and depend upon God, 
 if he could? Now it is perfectly agreeable 
 to sound reason and good sense to say in this 
 case, that if the cause of this spiritual death be 
 removed, the necessary effects thereof will be 
 removed also : and if the disease consist in er- 
 ror, ignorance, and unbelief; these being done 
 away, and "truth, knowledge, and faith im- 
 planted in their stead ; the soul must be renew- 
 ed ; 
 
Itf THE HEART. 9-5 
 
 ed; the renewal will consist in the implanting 
 of these things ; and that which removed their 
 opposites may, with -propriety, he termed the 
 means or instrument of the work. If then i^no- 
 ranee, &.c. are the very essence of the natu- 
 ral man's darkness ; what can remove it but the 
 entrance of the lio^ht of divine truth? For as 
 when the sun riseth darkness fleeth away, so the 
 entrance of the word giveth tight: it giixth un- 
 derstanding unto the simple, Psalm cxix. ISO. 
 That is, the word is the very first principle of 
 spiritual light in the soul : and this word, un- 
 der the direction, and by the influence of the 
 Spirit of grace, being implanted in the soul, 
 light, life, and spiritual activity, are the cer- 
 tain concomitants. As then, the very essence 
 of spiritual death, consists of ignorance about 
 God's true character, of error about the way of 
 salvation by Christ Jesus, and in disbelieving 
 the divine word ; and as the true character of 
 God, the way of life, &c. are only made known 
 in the scripture, spiritual death, or man's natu- 
 ral darkness cannot be removed, and the divine 
 life communicated to the soul, but by the en- 
 trance of the word through the power of the 
 Spirit. 
 
 But let us consider those irrational conse- 
 quences which we are thought to fail into by 
 this kind of doctrine. (1st.) " It cannot be 
 rationally received, that the principle of grace 
 is the word implanted, unless we can make it 
 out that one can see without eyes." Here it is 
 readily acknowledged, that we must have eyes 
 before we can perceive objects ; and also that 
 we must have a spiritual principle before we 
 can discern divine beauties ; but it should be 
 kept in mind, that the hinge upon which the 
 enquiry turns, is — what is that principle, and 
 .how is it implanted. As it is commonly ac- 
 knowledged 
 
96 THE PRINC1TLE OF GRACE 
 
 knowledged, that Christ's miracles of healing 
 all manner of sicknesses, &c. were signs of his 
 ability to save his people from their sins ; so 
 also that the way which he took to perform 
 them, serves as a fit illustration of that way, by 
 which he blesses bis chosen with all spiritual 
 blessings. Mark x. 53, informs us that sight 
 was given to the blind by the word of Jesus. It 
 appears to be in the same way that Saul of Tar- 
 sus received his sight, Acts ix. 17 ; in other ca- 
 ses Jesus chose, by Ins word to give success to 
 different means, Matt, ix. 28, 29, John ix. 1. 
 though he could have done it by mere invisible 
 energy. We have seen wherein spiritual blind- 
 ness consists, and likewise how it is removed : 
 to what has been observed might be added. 
 Psalm xix. 8. — i( The command moit of the 
 Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes," even as 
 we may suppose the entrance of a torch, enligh- 
 tens a dark room ; to do which, would it not be 
 absurd to say, that there must of necessity be 
 some principles of light in the dark room, 
 which disposed it to receive the light? Rather 
 did not the light disperse the darkness? Even 
 so did the word of Jesus disperse the natural 
 darkness of him mentioned, Mark x. 52 ; and 
 in like manner is spiritual eyesight given to 
 those, whose understandings the god of this 
 world has blinded. (Qd\y,j Is or shall we be 
 driven to embrace the irrational notion, of 
 " hearing without hears ;" for admitting the 
 physical necessity of having the sense of hear- 
 ing, previous to being active in the reception 
 of sounds ; the point pleaded for is sufficiently 
 established by submitting to the simple dictates 
 of scripture upon this head ; not only in Mark 
 vii. .32. have we an account of a deaf man be- 
 ing brought to Jesus to be cured and v. 34, of 
 the manner how the cure was wrought ; (Jesus 
 
 looking 
 
IN THE HEART. 97 
 
 looking up to heaven, sighed, and said unto 
 him, Ephphatha, that is, be opened, and 
 straightway his ears were opened); bat Psalm 
 lviii. 4, ^. spiritual deafness is thus described : 
 " They will be like the deaf adder thatstoppeth 
 her ears : which will not hear the voice of 
 charmers, charming ever so wisely ;" plainly 
 Showing, that this deafness is not any defect 
 subsist: g 1 the natural faculties, but mere 
 enmity to that which addresses them, Acts vii. 
 57. Hence it is said, " Bring the deaf men 
 that have ears." And surely he who first formed 
 the ear can, whenever it pleases him, command 
 attention, and by tbe force of his almighty 
 voice, cause not only the deaf) but even the 
 dead, to hear and obey him. He saith, Isaiah 
 xxxv. 5. The ears of the d. if shall be unstop- 
 ped; and it should be observed that the truth 
 as it is in Jesus, is not received upon a long 
 chain of rational conclusions; but upon the au- 
 thority of him who speaks in the sacred records. 
 We may see this sentiment confirmed in vari- 
 ous places in the scriptures. — Our first parents 
 fell by admitting a falsehood into their minds: 
 and they were renewed in knowledge, by hear- 
 ing the voice of the Lord God conveying the 
 welcome tidings of a Saviour. Was there any 
 principle of grace in Adam's heart previous to 
 the hearing the word of reconciliation ? And 
 was not the divine word the instrument of con- 
 veying that knowledge whereby he was renew- 
 ed? Surely no one can put on a face, to deny 
 the last question; and without doubt corruption 
 and grace, and their methods of working, are 
 the same in ail ages. — The case of Matthew is 
 much to our purpose, Luke v. 27, 28. to see a 
 man of his infamous character — in the midst of 
 his avaricious and oppressive employment, 
 wrought upon by a zcord speaking:, so wrought 
 I upon 
 
98 THE PRINCIPLE OF GRACE 
 
 upon as to change the whole bias of his soul ; 
 is such a proof that the word is passively im- 
 planted — that it is the very first principle of 
 Iight> and the instrument of regeneration, that 
 it requires a good deal of art to make even a 
 tolerable opposition to it. — The instance of 
 Zaccheus recorded Luke xix. i. — 6. corrobo- 
 rates the doctrine. It will hardly be thought, 
 that grace in his heart influenced him to climb 
 the tree; for nothing is more plain than that he 
 was then a graceless wretch. Curiosity seems to 
 have been the motive, that he might the more 
 advantageously behold Jesus, whom he had 
 heard of as an extraordinaiy person. When 
 the Saviour said unto him, make haste and 
 come down, Sec. the happy effects quickly ma- 
 nifested, that the heavenly word was quick and 
 powerful, and brought every needful requisite 
 along with it.- — * Paul's regeneration is thus re- 
 corded, Acts ix. 3—8. where it is obvious, that 
 the voice accompanied with divine power un~ 
 stopped his deaf ears. 
 
 Let us now consider the genuine import of 
 some passages of scripture which are made use 
 of to prove the previous principle : 1 st. The im- 
 planting 
 
 * Mr. Kervey fays, pointing to the apostle's own words in 
 describing his conversion, " Can any thing denote a more ini- 
 quitous and savage temper! 'Tis the very picture of as incar- 
 nate devil — the favour of man is backward to interpose till" 
 something amiable and inviting appears in the object ; but the 
 grace of God is immensely rich, and infinitely free. It prevents 
 the most vile and hardened rebel, it brings every requisite, and 
 recommendation in its own unspeakable and beneficent nature. 
 It accomplishes all its blessed ends, not by any toivard/y difpo- 
 sition in the sinner ; but by that one glorious righteousness. pro- 
 vided in the Saviour. This overtook the persecutor in his 
 journey to Damascus, light and comfort were poured upon him, 
 not from arty daivn of reformation in himfelf, but from a very 
 different quarter ; by opening as it were a window in heaven, 
 while he sojourned even in the suburbs of hell. He faiv thai 
 Just cne, and was made partaker of the inestimable gift." 
 
IN THE HE AT,*?. 09 
 
 * ' ' - - - -- " i *-- 
 
 planting of grace in the heart is, Eph. ii. 1. call- 
 ed quickening, and we arc asked, " What in- 
 strument docs God make use of to implant the 
 soul in the body r" h\ reply to this deep ques- 
 tion^ the writer frankly confesses he cannot 
 tell. But if the enquiry be, how is a soul dead 
 in trespasses and sins quickened and made alive 
 unto God, the scriptures furnish us with a suf- 
 ficient reply, John v. 24, c 2-5. When the word 
 of grace enters into the soul, through divine 
 influence, it conveys the knowledge of Christ, 
 which quickens the mind to delight in him, and 
 ardently to long after him, John iv. 10. 1 Cor. 
 xv. 45. 1 John v. 1 1, 12. As the spirit dwell- 
 ing in the Hist Adam's body, made him a living 
 soul; even so Christ dwelling in the heart by 
 faith, begins and maintains the life of God 
 there. Such a soul will say, with the psalm- 
 ist, " Thy word has quickened me/' ~dly. 
 The implanting grace in the heart is called a 
 resurrection, Eph. i. 19, 2o. and the question 
 put in favour of the previous principle is, "What 
 instrument do you suppose Jehovah made use 
 of, when he raised Christ from the dead, and 
 what instrument will he make use of in the re- 
 surrection of the dead r" and it has been added, 
 " none at all, no not even his word" Here it 
 should be observed, that power or efficacy must 
 always be of such a nature as is suited to the 
 object upon which it is exerted. And though 
 it may appear, that the power which raised 
 Christ from the dead was what may be called a 
 physical power, it does not follow, that the 
 icunc kind must be exerted towards them that 
 believe ; nay, the contrary is manifest, ver. 17, 
 18. But then we are told, that the metaphor 
 is destroyed. By no means ; for in both cases, 
 ■nothing less than the great power mentioned in 
 the word is exerted by the divine Spirit; and 
 1 2 this 
 
100 THE PRINCIPLE OF GRACE 
 
 this is the very essence of the metaphor. And 
 as to the spiritual resurrect ion, we are expressly 
 told, Col. ii. 12, that it is produced through 
 the faith of the operation of God ; see Ez. 
 xxxvii. 1 — 10 — 3dly. The work is compared 
 to the creation, Eph. ii. 10, and we are asked, 
 what instrument was made use of in that work? 
 and reminded ofxliv, 2,4. That the old crea- 
 tion was a figure of the new will appear by com- 
 paring the one with the other, 'i tie first crea- 
 tion of the world was out of nothing, so nothing 
 was prepared for the second, no good, no vir- 
 tue, no previous dispositions in the sub- 
 ject : yea, something indeed was in being, 
 which had no place in the old ; but that was 
 only rebellion and enmity, making vehement 
 opposition to the almighty grace of God. The 
 first was performed by the command of God, 
 the second in like manner, " Of his own will 
 begat he us by the word of trui ii, James i. 
 18. The rudiments of the first were an undi- 
 gested mass, " The earth was without Jorm, and 
 void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep" 
 Gen. i.2. In like manner, all things lie in base 
 confusion in the soul, when it is to be adorned 
 by the new creation, and depraved lusts are vi- 
 olently agitated every w here without any order, 
 Those things which should possess the upper 
 place, are depressed to the lowest. There is 
 also a surprising emptiness of every thing that 
 is good, Rom. vii 1£. JSeilher are all things 
 only surrounded with the gross darkness of ig- 
 norance, but the whole soul is nothing but 
 darkness itself, Eph. v. 8. When God was 
 pleased to adorn the world he had created, he 
 began with the production of light, and he takes 
 the same method in this other creation. r * God 
 who commanded the light to shine out of dark- 
 ness, hath shined in our hearts, &c. 2 Cor. iv. 
 
 6. 
 
IN THE HEART. 101 
 
 6 f 4thly. The case of infants is thrown in, as 
 an unsunnountable objection to this doctrine ; 
 yea, it is said that. u Upon this plan tliere is as 
 much ground for the regeneration and salvation 
 of infants, as there is for that of devils!! That 
 all infants are saved, is a pleasing fact founded 
 in the word of truth ; for Christ says " Of such 
 (that is, mostly of such) is the kingdom of hea- 
 ven/' even that innumerable multitude made 
 righteous by the obedience of the divine surety, 
 Rev. vii. 9. Infants have done no evil, and yet 
 die by the imputation of the first Adam's trans- 
 gression ; they have done no good, and yet are 
 entitled to eternal life through the obedience 
 of the second Adam, and so enter in upon the 
 very same footing as St. Paul, and all others 
 that are saved. But it is a hard matter for us to 
 submit to that doctrine which teaches us to re- 
 ceive the kingdom of God as a little child. Yet 
 whoever thinks that theii believing, or any ac- 
 tivity in themselves whatever, is taken into con- 
 sideration in their justification to eternal life, 
 are without doubt ignorant of the true grace of 
 God. Without admitting the salvation of 
 infants, it cannot he shown, how Christ hath 
 bruised the serpent's head — destroyed the works 
 of the devil — and abolished death, it is piaiu 
 infants are among the number mentioned, Rev. 
 xx. 12 — lo. But they not having done evil, 
 can have no sin charged upon then) against ei- 
 ther the law of nature, the written law, or the 
 gospel, so cannot be judged and condemned 
 out of these books. We must either say, there- 
 fore, that there is a purgatory for them, or ac- 
 cording to some modern refiners of Popery, a 
 middle state, the notion of which is without tiie- 
 shadow of a foundation in scripture, and is ab*- 
 
 f Sec Witnui Oecon. b. 4. chap. 6. p. 49. — JO. 
 
 I 3 soli 
 
102 THE PRINCIPLE OF GRACE 
 
 solute nonsense ; or admit that they are written 
 in the Lamb's book of life. See Deut. i. 39. 
 And if a person is passive in receiving the truth* 
 then why may we not say that the efficacy of 
 the divine Spirit can and does implant the truth 
 in the soul of an infant : which we can have 
 as clear conceptions of as that which is so ge- 
 nerally admitted, viz. that a falshood, first in- 
 stilled into our federal-head, dwells in them, 
 and corrupts their souls. 5thly. It has been 
 thought that the good and honest heart, menti- 
 oned Mat. xiii. 8. Luke viii. 15. is an argument 
 in favour of grace in the heart, previous to the 
 truth being implanted. To this it has been ob- 
 served, that the scope of the parable is to re- 
 jjreseiu the different effects of the word. But 
 this lias been cavilled at, though never yet suf- 
 ficiently refuted. Some, however, have thought, 
 'that the good and honest heart has reference to 
 those who, like Simeon, Cornelius, &c. were 
 waiting for the kingdom of God ; who had be- 
 lieved in the Saviour to come, and so were jus- 
 tified by his righteousness, as Abraham was ; 
 and who, when they heard the word, testify- 
 ing that the Christ was actually come, readily 
 received it. From the whole, if grace can be 
 in the heart, previous to the word of Christ en- 
 tering there, then the gospel is not the power 
 of God unto salvation; neither is there any 
 essential need of Christ, especially not of his 
 word. For whoever is regenerated shall enter 
 into the kingdom of heaven, because such be- 
 ing born of G-od, are heirs of the promise of 
 eternal life; andean this be, without under- 
 standing and knowing the true character of 
 God, or believing in the name of Christ, or 
 even hearing of his name? Though the implant- 
 ing or this principle in the heart, is ascribed to 
 ■■ihe Spirit of God; it is plain that he has no- 
 thing 
 
N THE HEART. F03 
 
 thing to do in the affair; for it is his office to 
 testily of Jesus, and to apply the things which 
 speak of him. He works, not by energy alone, 
 but by the almighty, persuasive force of truth ; 
 and by instruction leads those whom he teaches, 
 to speak of Christ, and to rejoice in him. But 
 the spirit that implants this previous principle, 
 leads persons to boast but too commonly of 
 themselves.; he cannot therefore be the Spirit of 
 God ; nor is it the true grace of God which he 
 implants ; and it must follow, that the various 
 systems of doctrinal and experimental religion, 
 that are founded upon this principle, are essen- 
 tially different, in their -nature and necessary 
 tendency, from the gospel of the grace of God. 
 Their necessary tendency, therefore, must be 
 to mislead, perplex and entangle, if not to de- 
 lude and destroy the souls, who are founding 
 their hope of eternal life upon them. 
 
 Having said so much in opposition to the dis- 
 tinct, previous principle of grace in the heart 
 generally pleaded lor, and but too commonly 
 made the foundation of a professor's hope, as it 
 is most obviously the source of various errors, 
 more especially in experimental religion; I 
 shali do little more in this section, than briefly 
 show wherein the true principle of grace consists 
 — confirm the sentiment by the word of God — 
 and then shew the harmony of this view of the 
 principle of grace, with every other part of the 
 revelation of the true grace of God. 
 
 The trut principle of grace in the soul is the 
 gospel in its true import, implanted there by 
 the Spirit of God, which is properly a divine 
 instinct, a living and abiding principle. It coun- 
 terbalances the corrupt principle which resides 
 in the soul; and powerfully and effectually in- 
 clines it to desire the sincere milk of the word — ■ 
 
 to 
 
104 THE PRINCIPLE OF GRACE 
 
 to live upon the fulness of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ — to exercise every becoming affection 
 towards him, as he is revealed in the word — 
 and influences to a conduct agreeable to the 
 gospel. This is that new heart and right spirit 
 promised in the new covenant, and the scrip- 
 tures expressly piove that the truth in the love 
 of it., dwelling in the heart, is the only grace of 
 God that his Spirit implants, Heb., x. 16". Is. 
 Ji. 4. John xii. 49, 50. Rom. iii. 27. ch. viii. 2. 
 Is it inquired, how we are made partakers of 
 the divine nature, that is, of the communi- 
 cable attributes of God, his wisdom, happiness, 
 love, and holiness? Peter informs us, that it is 
 through the knozcledge of him who hath called 
 us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto 
 us exceeding great and precious promises; that 
 by these you might be made partakers of the di- 
 vine nature, 2 Peter i. 3, 4. Is it asked, how 
 do we become the children of God ? The reply 
 is, " Being bom again, not with corruptible seed, 
 but incorruptible, by the word of God which 
 
 L1VETII AND ABIDET1I FOR EVER, ei'CU the 
 
 word which by the gospel is preached unto you" 
 Jam. i. 18. i Peter i. <23, the word is 'the seed, 
 the supernatural, vital, unchanging, incorrup- 
 tible principle of divine life. Spiritual life is 
 only in Christ, and is communicated from him 
 by knowledge to his people. God hath given. 
 us eternal life, and this life is in his son. He 
 that hath the Son, hath life: and he that hath 
 not the Sun of God, hath not life, l John v. d. 
 12. however much he may amuse himself with 
 a notion of a principle of grace dwelling in his, 
 heart. These simple declarations of scripture 
 confirm the doctrine under consideration, be- 
 yond all reasonable contradiction. This is life 
 eternal to know the only true God and Jesus 
 Christ ; and if any modern refiner should object 
 
 to 
 
IN THE HEART. 105 
 
 to these, a thousand passages that seem to make 
 against it, and thereby urge the old insinuation 
 " Yea hath God said/' &c the scriptures being- 
 one perfect harmonious system of incorruptible 
 truth, clear of the least contradiction in any of 
 its parts, we should take the plain evidence of 
 these divine \vi messes as absolutely decisive, 
 and impute any quibble thai forms a seeming 
 contradiction, to the blindness of man, who na- 
 turally opposes his own wisdom to the revelation 
 of God. We may here take notice, how suit- 
 able the divine word, in the hand of the Spirit, 
 . is, to perform every operation by which this 
 principle is denominated. Is it called grace in 
 the hedrtf The gospel is styled The word of 
 grace. Is it termed '1 he truth i/i us? The gos- 
 pel is The word of truth. Is it calied life i The 
 scriptures are the icords of life. Is it conceived 
 of as a principle of faith? The gospel record 
 is The word of faith } 8cc. 
 
 When this divine principle is implanted in 
 the soul, the true knowledge of God is given. 
 That is, a true knowledge of God in Christ, 
 where justice and mercy in perfection unite, 
 shine, and harmonize. This is the true grace 
 of God. This the sinner believes with all his 
 heart. His standing is fixed upon it; and it 
 begets every answerable affection there. Hence 
 the true gospel, being the proper principle of 
 grace, begets in the soul faith, hope, love, &c. 
 and is the genuine source of all true experience. 
 This view of things preserves the glorious system 
 of grace, in its beautiful symmetry, its grand 
 and uniform connection. Let us take a sum- 
 mary view thereof. If we conceive of grace 
 dwelling in the eternal purpose, it is nothing 
 more than Jehovah's sovereign design of shew- 
 ing favour to the people of his choice, through 
 the Son of his love. If we take the term for 
 
 the 
 
166 THE PRINCIPLE OF GRACE 
 
 the manifestation of his great love, free favour 
 and boundless compassion, it is discovered in 
 the incarnation, life, sufferings, and death of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom grace and truth 
 came. If we speak of grace as a doctrine, then 
 it is the word of truth; revealing, explaining, 
 and proclaiming the nature, end, and design of 
 Christ's work, as the Surety of his people. And 
 if we take the term to signify that vital princi- 
 ple, by which we are partakers of spiritual life, 
 it is the doctrine of Christ implanted in the 
 understanding possessing the will, and influen- 
 cing the affections and conversation: and so 
 conforming the soul to Christ, which was the 
 very end of being chosen in him before the 
 foundation of the world. 
 
 The following remarkable words of Dr. Owen, 
 may be considered as an epitome of the whole 
 of this essay, and with them 1 conclude it : iC As 
 the word is in the gospel, so is grace in the 
 heart ; yea they are the same things variously 
 expressed, Rom. vi. 17, as our translation doth 
 jnot, so I know not how, in so few words, to ex- 
 press that which is emphatically here insinuated 
 by the Holy Ghost. The meaning is, that the 
 doctrine of the gospel begets the form, figure ^ 
 image, or likeness of itself, in the hearts of them 
 that believe : so they are cast into the mould of 
 it. As is the one, so is the other. The prin- 
 ciple of grace in the heait, and that in the word, 
 are as children of the same parent, completely 
 resembling and representing one another. Grace 
 is a living zvord, and the word is figured, limned 
 grace. As we have heard, so have we seen and 
 found it; such a soul can produce the duplicate 
 of the word, and so adjust all things thereby. 
 The first original expression of divine truth is 
 not in the word, no not as given out from the 
 infinite abyss of divine wisdom and veracity, but 
 
 il 
 
N THE HEART. 10? 
 
 it is first hid, laid up, and expressed in the per- 
 son of Christ. HE is the first pattern of truth, 
 which from him is expressed in the word, and 
 from, and by the word impressed on the hearts 
 "of believers ; so that as it hath pleased God that 
 all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge should 
 be in him, dwell in him, have their principal re- 
 sidence in him, Col. ii. 3, so the whole word is 
 but a revelation of the Truth in Christ, or an 
 expiession of his image and likeness to the sons 
 of men. Thus we are said to learn the truth as 
 it £* in Jesus, Eph. iv. 21. It is in Jesus origi- 
 ginally, and really, and from him it is commu- 
 nicated unto us by the word. We are thereby 
 taught, and do learn it ; for thereby, as the 
 apostle proceeds, zee are renewed in the spirit of 
 our mind, and do put on the new man which 
 after God. is created in righteousness and true 
 holiness, v. 23, 24. First, the truth is in Jesus; 
 then it is expressed in the word ; this zcord, 
 learned and believed, becomes grace in the heart , 
 every way answering unto the Lord Christ his 
 image, from whom this transforming truth did 
 thus proceed. Nay, this is earned by the apos- 
 tle yet higher, namely, unto God the Father 
 himself, whose image Chtist is, and believers 
 his, through the word, 2 Cor. iii. 18. " We all 
 with open face beholding as in a glass the glory 
 of the Lord, are changed into the same image, 
 from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord;" 
 whereunto add, chap. iv. 6. " God who com- 
 manded the light to shine out of darkness, hath 
 shined into our hearts, to give the light of the 
 knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of 
 Jesus Christ." The first pattern or example of 
 all truth and holiness is God himself: hereof 
 Christ is the image, ver. 4. Christ is the image 
 ^>f God, rt The brightness of his glory and the 
 express image of his person/' Fleb. i. 3. a The 
 
 image 
 
8 THE PRINCIPLE OF GRACE 
 
 image of the invisible God/' Col. i. Id. Hence 
 we are said to see the glory of God in the face 
 of Jesus Christ ; because he, being his image, 
 the love, grace, and truth of the Father are re- 
 presented and made conspicuous in him. For 
 we are said to behold it in his face, because of 
 the open and illustrious manifestation of the 
 glory of God in him. And how do we behold 
 this glorj T ? in a glass (as in a glass) that is, in 
 the gospel, which hath the image and likeness 
 of Cnrist, who is the image of God, reflected 
 upon it, and communicated unto it. So have 
 we traced truth and grace, from the person of 
 the Father, unto the Son as Mediator, and 
 thence transfused it into the word. In the 
 Father it is essentially, in Jesus Christ originally 
 and exemplarily, and in the word as in a tran- 
 script or copy. But doth it abide there ? Ko\ 
 God by the word of the gospel shines into our 
 hearts. He irradiates our minds with a saving 
 light into it, and apprehension of it. And what 
 thence ensues ? The soul of a believer is changed 
 into the same image, by the effectual working of 
 the Holy Ghost, chap. iii. 18, that is, the like- 
 ness of Christ implanted on the word, is impres- 
 sed on the soul itself, iwhereby it is renewed 
 into the image of God, whereunto it was al first 
 created. This brings all into perfect harmony *.'* 
 
 ESSAY 
 
 * See Dr. Owen on the 130th Psalm, p. 168 — 170. Quarte 
 edition. 
 
( 109 ) 
 
 ESSAY II. 
 
 ON THE NATURE OF FAITH. 
 One faith, Eph. iv. 5. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 It has much prevailed as a fashionable senti- 
 ment, though it displays great ignorance of human 
 wretchedness, and the vast extent of the holy 
 law, that if we walk before God according to 
 that light which is afforded us, either by nature, 
 or religious instruction, our services will be plea- 
 sing to God, and without doubt we shall be 
 happy with him for ever. From hence it has 
 been argued, that if it be true that man can 
 please God here, and enjoy him hereafter, by 
 doing the best he can, there can be no necessity 
 for him to trouble himself about those matters 
 ■of opinion, about which even the wise, the learn- 
 ed, and the religious, are so much divided. Yea, 
 it has been thought that an attention to those 
 things has been the grand cause of the present 
 glaring declension in piety. But surely such 
 are not aware, that this sentiment is immediately 
 opposed, and effectually overthrown, by the un- 
 erring word of God, which declares that without 
 faith it is impossible to please him ; and also that 
 there is no acceptable worship without it ;for he 
 that cometh to God must idieve that he is, and 
 the* he is a rezcarder of them that diligently seek 
 him. Which includes, not only a belief that 
 K there 
 
110 ON THE NATURE OF FAITH. 
 
 there is a God, which the devils believe and 
 tremble at, but that he is such an one as the 
 scriptures represent him to be. To form ideas 
 of the great God contrary to his true character, 
 and to worship him according to our own false 
 imaginations, is to worship we know not what ; 
 is to worship, in fact, an imaginary god. All 
 such worship, therefore, although attended with 
 the formalities of invocation, adoration, confes- 
 sion, petition, supplication, dedication, &c. and 
 with the most animated harangues, about the 
 excellencies of virtue, and the extensive rewards 
 of piety, or even of the happiness and comfort 
 of the people of God, is not only unprofitable, 
 being unmixed with faith, but odious and abo- 
 minable in the sight of God. Isaiah lxvi. 3/4. 
 Horn. xiv. 23. Psalm 1. 21. 
 
 Again : true holiness, whether of heart or 
 conversation, cannot possibly be wlihout Jaith, 
 for in reality faith is the grand source from 
 whence it flows. Such is the inseparable con- 
 nection betwixt faith and sanctification, that 
 where works do not appear, faith is dead ; and 
 where faith does not dwell, works are dead al- 
 so. Works, therefore, without faith in Christ, 
 however splendid, are of no account at all in 
 the sight of God; and the heart not being pu- 
 rified by faith, being naturally polluted, cannot 
 but bring forth corrupt fruits, even as a good 
 tree cannot bring forth corrupt fruit. 
 
 Further : faith is essentially necessary to sal- 
 tation. The scripture teaches us, that there is 
 no other name given under heaven among 
 men, whereby we must be saved, but the sacred 
 name of Jesus Christ, and most solemnly avers, 
 He that believeth on him is not condemned, but 
 he that believeth not is condemned already, be- 
 cause he hath not believed on the name of tie 
 anli/ begotten Son of God, John iii. 18 — 3rj; 
 
 and 
 
ON THE NATURE OF FAITH. Ill 
 
 - '-• •• ■ .. . - 
 
 and notwithstanding the most decent appear- 
 ance among men, unbelievers are ranked in that 
 black list of characters, that are excluded the 
 kingdom of heaven. Luke xii. 46, Rev. xvi. 8. 
 Tiie necessity and importance of proceeding 
 with the greatest care, in our inquiries about 
 faith, will appear, if we add to the above con- 
 siderations, that all men hate not faith — that 
 there is such a thing as a dead faith — a feigned 
 faith, &c. — that, in reality, tbere is but one 
 faith that will profit the soul. Yet if we attend 
 to the prevailing cavils in the professing world 
 about faith, it will not be wondered at, that 
 men of sense who have no fear of God before 
 their eyes, reject every system of religion as 
 a mere farce, or that deism should so much 
 prevail in our day. For while they behold that 
 jtaith, which is in general acknowledged essen- 
 tial to salvation, made a matter of doubtful 
 disputation ; by some any thing, by others no- 
 thing ; by a third class, every thing ; and by a 
 fourth, worse than nothing; they cannot think 
 that all are right ; nor can they think it consis- 
 tent to suppose, that the God of nature, the 
 fountain of all intelligence, would give a reve- 
 lation to his creatures that was altogether unin- 
 telligible ; and if persons were not led more by 
 fashion and custom (for it is become rather in- 
 decent to be of no religion) in their religious 
 profession, than solid reflection ; they would 
 rather reject all religion, and commence Deists, 
 or renounce the vain jangling of the professing 
 "world, and become Christians indeed, by re- 
 ceiving that truth which is able to save their 
 souls. It remains, therefore, that there is no 
 consistent medium between antient apostolic 
 Christianity, and downright infidelity ; and ac- 
 cordingly, in strict truth, in his sight who 
 searches the heart, there are but two sorts of 
 K 2 men 
 
112 ON THE NATURE OF FAITH. 
 
 men in Christendom ; and at the day of judg- 
 ment it will appear so to all the world. Now 
 we are divided into a great variety of sects and 
 parties,, but then of all these sects and parties, 
 there shall appear but two sorts of men, believ- 
 ers, and unbelievers. And then that most re- 
 markable saying of Jesus Christ will take effect 
 tuid be fulfilled* He that believelh and is bap- 
 tized shall be. saved : but he that believeth not 
 shall be damned. See Bellamy's Essay on the 
 Gospel, p. 252. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE VARIOUS NOTIONS 
 AND DEFINITIONS OF FAITH. 
 
 Faith, in the Scripture account of it, is a 
 very simple, intelligible thing. Butas it is retailed 
 out in the professing world, it is sometimes so 
 cut and trimmed, so changed and metamor- 
 phosed, that it is hard to say, after all the de- 
 finitions and directions that have been given, 
 what it is, wherein it consists, or how it is to be 
 performed! Some notice, however, may be ta- 
 ken of the names which have been given it, in 
 some of its transmutations, though fully to ex- 
 .plain their genuine import, our skill would fail 
 us in attempting, 1 Tim. i, (i, 7. Faith then, 
 as it appears in human writings, has among se- 
 veral others, obtained the following epithets, 
 viz. historical faith, temporary faith, the faith 
 of reliance, the faith of affiance, the faith of 
 application, the faith of approbation, the di- 
 rect, the reflex, the recumbent, the courage- 
 
 ous 
 
ON THE NATURE OF FAITH. 113 
 
 pos, the venturesome,, and the triumphant, acts 
 of faith. It is also represented by some as 
 having, and putting into action, eves, - 
 mouth, arms, hands, fingers, legs, and reef. — 
 To describe these various kinds of faith, and to 
 give direction when each of these acts should 
 be put forth, or which of these members should 
 be exerted, has served to the time, ta- 
 
 lents, and ingenuity ol many, though, after ail, 
 few of them, if any, have condescended to 
 make it appear, how their notion of faith is 
 consistent, either with the scripture definition 
 thereof, or the use of the tcim in common 
 life. Fearing, tl . lest I should get in- 
 
 volved in a labyrinth ot 'inextricable d-;fli 
 -hould I attempt to < file above terms, 
 
 and indeed, not see; use my labours 
 
 would be ot, had i talents to perform it, I shall 
 leave that part of the work to those that have 
 more time on their hands than 1 have, and 
 whose reputation and interest may l:e more in 
 the use of them, than mine happens to 
 However, a few i e defini- 
 
 tions that have been given may be considered. 
 
 First: it has been received as a commc 
 iom, for the u^e of the weak and wavering, 
 vv ho nevertheless wUh to think well ol 
 selves in religious concerns, that the desire of 
 grace, is grace ; and so, that the desire of faith, 
 is faith. "-So if there be but a willing mind to 
 this service it is accepted /'-"-^Without doubt, 
 where the true grace of God is known, tl 
 will be an earnest desire after its increase, it be- 
 ing a living principle in the soul. But surely 
 this is a very unwarrantable way of proceed 
 either in defining faith, or leading those who 
 wish to know whether they have believed, or 
 not, to a fair trial. The human heart is de- 
 ceitful abov*e all thing-, and i; eve ready to 
 K 3 fancy 
 
114 ON THE NATURE OF FAITH. 
 
 fancy what is most agreeable; and indeed 
 there are but few under a religious profession, 
 but are ready to think, that they sincerely de- 
 sire and endeavour to believe, though they are 
 not able to perform their desire. Surely then 
 we are not allowed to say, that even/ desire of 
 faith is faith; this would be too vague. The 
 desire then must be limited, and of course qua- 
 lified. Without doubt it should be, in order 
 to prove itself genuine, an humble, penitent, 
 sincere, earnest, and affectionate desire. But 
 there are some very material objections to this 
 notion of faith; first:— It leads those who 
 think they have such a desire, to presume upon 
 it. If a sense of guilt trouble the conscience, 
 nothing but that which fairly atones for sin can 
 effectually remove it. But sinners are naturally 
 disaffected to the gospel hope, and would ra- 
 ther catch at any thing for present relief, than 
 give up every good thought of themselves, and 
 be relieved from that which is equally free for 
 the profligate, as for the morally decent. To 
 lead sinners therefore to take peace, or encou- 
 ragement, from the workings of their own 
 minds (which, while in a state of nature, are 
 nothing better than the working of pride) is to 
 establish them in their enmity to the gospel 
 hope ; and this cannot be done without confirm- 
 ing them in presumption. Again : it tends to, 
 and often actually does, involve those for whose 
 relief it is intended, in greater distress, since it 
 is told them that the desire must be qualified. 
 The distressed person is led to seek within him- 
 self, for the approved qualities of this desire ; 
 but finding so much of the world there, so ma- 
 ny interruptions in his devotion, so many in- 
 stances of deceit in his heart, &c. either he 
 comes to a conclusion that he has not such a 
 desire, or has it not to that degree, which is 
 
 thought 
 
<JN THE NATURE OF FAITH. 115 
 
 thought necessary, in order to constitute a right 
 desire. This he sincerely laments ; yet lives in 
 sad suspense from day today, waiting and pray- 
 ing, as he is encouraged, for this desire. Some- 
 times he thinks (especially under preaching) he 
 lias obtained it, and then hope, joy, and com- 
 fort, begin to arise. Anon all these pleasing 
 symptoms are cut down, dried up, and wither- 
 ed ! then his life hangs in doubt, and were it 
 not that he is told by'his miserable comforters, 
 that to sincerely lament these things is a token 
 for good, bis soul would be driven into black 
 despair unless it could obtain some temporary 
 ease, by mingling again with the world. It 
 needs not be told, at least to those who have 
 had access to c/ass-/neeti)igs, and meetings for 
 relating experiences, how common this method 
 of comforting them that mourn, is in our day. 
 But ah ! iiow foreign to the hope set before us 
 in the gospel ! [n fact it is neither law nor gos- 
 pel. Neither works nor grace. But a mere 
 device of Satan to blind the minds of them that 
 believe not, 2 Cor. x. 12. For 
 
 Further ; the thing itself is contrary to scrip- 
 ture and common sense. When a person says, 
 <( I desire to believe," * nothing more pertinent 
 
 can 
 
 * What is here supposed, is a great mistake, and gross absur- 
 dity; even that men may sincerely choose and desire those spi- 
 ritual duties of love, acceptance, choice, rejection, &c. 
 consisting in the exercise of the will itself, or in the deposition 
 and inclination of the heart; and yet not be able to perform or 
 exert them. This is absurd, because it supposes, that a man 
 directly, properly, and sincerely, inclines to have an inclination, 
 v»hich at the same time is contrary to his inclination, and that 
 is to suppose him i.ot to be inclined to that which he is inclined 
 to. If a man in the disposition and acts or his will does pro- 
 perly and directly fall in with those duties, he therein virtually 
 performs them; for the duties themselves consist in that very 
 thing, they consist in the state and acts of the will being so 
 formed and directed, If the soul properly and sincerely falls in 
 
 with 
 
116 ON THE NATU11E OF FAITH 
 
 can be replied than,, why then don't you believe? 
 Does some sovereign power, some fatal necessi- 
 ty prevent 3^011 ? Or have you a sincere desire to 
 believe what God has said, only there is not suffi- 
 cient evidence thereof; the salvation is desirable, 
 but not sufficiently proved to be true? Rather 
 does not your unbelief proceed from ignorance, 
 and a consequent disinclination to believe ? 
 Without doubt it does. But to convince of 
 this is a work, which he only, whose name is 
 Almighty, can perform. Therefore it is said 
 by way of apology, that such desire to know 
 the gospel. Then surely, the nature, design and 
 evidence of the gospel salvation should be laid 
 before them, instead of putting them to pore 
 upon their own hearts, in order to extract some 
 kind of comfort from their supposed desires 
 
 But, as before hinted, the plain fact is, the 
 gospel hope is thought to be - too weak to sup- 
 port them ; and therefore this humble,, sincere, 
 earnest, and affectionate desire, is to believe, 
 not in Christ alone, but that they are the chil- 
 dren of the Most High, the peculiar favourites 
 of heaven. The desire, therefore, maybe consi- 
 dered as an important struggle between consci- 
 ence, which bears witness that they are not the 
 children of God, and which the holy Spirit in 
 the word confirms — and the aspirations of their 
 pride, under the influence of that antient doc- 
 
 trin'e, 
 
 with a certain proposed act of will or choice, the soul therein 
 makes that choice its own. Even as when a moving body falls 
 in with a proposed direction of its motion, that is the same 
 thing as to move in that direction. That which is called a 
 desire and tvillingness for these inward duties, id such asdo not per- 
 form them, has respect to those duties only indirectly and re- 
 motely, and is improperly represented as a willingness for them, 
 not only because it res-pects those good volitions only in a dis- 
 tant view, and with respect to future time: but also because 
 evermore, not these things themselves, but something else, 
 that is alien and foreign, is the object that terminates these vo- 
 litions and desires. — See Edwards, on Free WW, />. 131. 
 
ON THE NATURE OF FAITH. 117 
 
 trine. Ye Jtail bi as gods. I\ow as the former 
 prevails, conviction* fear, shame and torment, 
 
 are the painful consequences. But when the 
 latter gains the ascendency, and so the consci- 
 ence becomes blinded or seared thereby, then 
 some kind of peace, joy, and comfort, are its 
 attendants. But if such persons are, through 
 divine teaching, mercifully brought to obtain 
 peace by the blood of the Redeemer's cross ; 
 they will then perceive, that ail their previous 
 desires, prayers, resolutions, and endeavours, 
 were not in reality after God's salvation, but 
 aimed at doing or feeling something from 
 which, or through which, their peace and hope 
 might be derived, 
 
 Once more : the person who is seeking faith> 
 or desiring to believe, must either be a believer 
 or an unbeliever ; for between these two there 
 is no consistent medium. He cannot be a be- 
 liever, or else what he professes to believe, 
 would give rest to his soul. For beitig justified 
 by faith, he would have peace with God, and 
 cease from those fruitless works, Sec. He must 
 therefore be an unbeliever: and as such is in a 
 carnal state. But the carnal mind is enmity 
 again* God. Therefore, though it is natural 
 enough, for one, under the alarms of conscience, 
 sincerely to desire peace ; it is neither scriptu- 
 ral not rational to say, he desires to believe the 
 truth of Christ, or is seeking faith in him He 
 does not understand or know what faith in 
 Christ is ; how then can he seek it? His heart 
 rises in enmity when the pure gospel is preach- 
 ed ; how then can he desire it? Would it not 
 much better become Christian teachers, when 
 they have to deal with such persons as those 
 under consideration, to copy after the example 
 of Christ in his treatment of the like characters? 
 Mat. six. 10— Ci, fee. 
 
 Faith 
 
118 ON THE NATURE OF FAITH, 
 
 Faith has also been defined a condition of jus- 
 tification, or that act of the mind which God 
 requires us to exert, instead or* obeying the 
 whole law, and is frequently called the obedi- 
 dience to the new law. This sentiment has been 
 sufficiently exposed by those who have enga- 
 ged in the Arminian controversies ; and stands 
 so much opposed to salvation by grace, that no 
 one can receive it, but he whose mind «s blind- 
 ed by the god of this world, and who is under 
 a strong delusion to believe a Jie. It indeed 
 comes under the specious recommendation of 
 that doctrine, which would seem to wear the 
 face of more than ordinary holiness, but is in 
 fact an abominable Antinomian tenet, and aims 
 at making void the law. As to faith, it is as 
 foreign to the scripture view of it, as darkness 
 is to light. I shall therefore offer no other re- 
 futation of this notion, than Paul's words ; Rom. 
 iv. 4, 5. Now to him that worktth is the rezmrd 
 not reckoned of grace, but of debt. Bui to him 
 that worketh not, but believeth on him that jus- 
 tifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for right- 
 eousness. 
 
 Again: it has been said that — "Faith is not 
 simply the believing of any sentence that is 
 written, or that can be thought upon I" — It is 
 seldom expressed in these very words, though 
 the same thing is to be understood, when we are 
 told that — " Faith is a saving grace, implanted 
 in the heart at regeneration (and must therefore 
 be previous to understanding and believing the 
 gospel) by the Spirit of God, and is a disposition 
 or readiness in the human mind, to believe the 
 gospel." — But this faith, whatever it be, cannot 
 be the faith of the operation of God ; because 
 that comes by hearing the word of God. It is 
 admitted, that unfeigned faith is a work of the 
 Spirit,and that salvation is inseparably connected 
 
 with 
 
ON THE NATURE OF FAITH. 119 
 
 with it ; yet scripture and common sense forbid 
 us thinking, that faith can exist without a 
 testimony. The absurdity of this notion, about 
 a disposition in the mind towards the gospel, 
 previous to a true understanding thereof, has 
 been shewn in the sixth section of the first 
 essay. 
 
 By others faith has been defined, a belief that 
 we have a right to salvation in preference to 
 others — a belief that we are the elect of God — 
 or a persuasion that Christ shed his blood for 
 me in particular, or that I shall go to heaven, 
 &c. That believers do come to a knowledge of 
 their personal interest in Christ, and the things 
 that they believe and hope in, is granted, and 
 will be considered in its proper place. But it 
 is most certain, that carnal men may and do 
 embolden themselves, upon false notions, to use 
 the most confident expressions about their per- 
 sonal interest in the favour of God. Such as, 
 u I know so surely as that there is a God in 
 heaven, that he is my God, and that I shall as 
 surely go to heaven as if I were there," &c. 
 Who more confident than the Pharisees? they 
 had no doubt of God being their father ; and 
 yet, who more blind to the knowledge of the 
 true God than they? If it be faith, to believe 
 our relation to God, to call ourselves the acar 
 people of his choice, and appropriate all the bles- 
 sings of eternal life to ourselves ; then the Pha- 
 risees had faith in .t very eminent degree. But 
 to suppose that faith consists in a firm persua- 
 sion of our own interest, is, in effect, the 
 very same thing as to say, faith is a believ- 
 ing that we believe. To this it will be object- 
 ed, that wicked men, deceiving their own 
 souls, in believing a lie, is no- argument against 
 the appropriating act of faith upon the grant of 
 the gospel. 1 rue, if that were all the ground of 
 
 objection. 
 
120 ON THE NATURE OF. FAITH. 
 
 '■■■ - - ■■ ' ' ~ ' ■ ■ ~* 
 
 objection. But it wants evidence from scripture 
 to support that notion, that God promises eter- 
 nal life to every hearer of the gospel, or which 
 in fact is the same thing, that even/ hearer has a 
 right to believe that Christ died for him in par~ 
 ticular. It is granted that the gospel proclaims 
 salvation indefinitely, and declares that every 
 believer thereof shall be saved, and that who- 
 mever believes on Christ, hath everlasting life 5 
 yet it gives no ground for any one to assure 
 himself in his first believing, that Christ and 
 heaven are infallibly his. Every believer of the 
 gospel is confident that whosoever bciieveth on 
 Christ shall be saved, and that it may be said 
 of every one who is saved that Christ loved him, 
 and gave himself for him in particular, while 
 yet he is not confident that this is true of hiat- 
 self, because it remains to be proved that he has 
 believed, and that it is the gospel of Christ which 
 he does believe*. And since it is not any 
 thing about ourselves that we are immediately 
 called to believe, but the testimony that God 
 has given of his son ; our confidence, if it be 
 that which the gospel produces, is not in our- 
 selves, nor of the goodness of our state, but in 
 the sufficiency of that salvation which the scrip- 
 tures indefinitely proclaim. Besides, some have 
 rejoiced in the word of the gospel, who have 
 aftei wards revolted from their profession — many 
 think they believe the truth, who are at the 
 
 same 
 
 * When a man believes the gospel, he must be immediately 
 conscious that he does so- though this requires to be farther 
 proved by the fruits of his faith: but if it also " remains to be 
 proved that it is the gospel of Christ that he do.es believe," he 
 must either in the mean time be suspending his belief of the 
 gospel till he obtain that proof, or else he must be believing it 
 without proof. A proper attention to the difference between 
 the evidence of our believing it, would have prevented this inac- 
 curacy. Yet every man ought to take- heed lest he believe a 
 false gospel.— Ed. 
 
ON THE NATURE OF FAITH. 
 
 same time holding some fatal delusion ; and it 
 is no where ascertained in the word of God, that 
 Christ died for. the actual transgressions of any 
 person in particular. But the mystery of this 
 sort of faith is set before us in the following lines. 
 "" Let it be well observed, that the reason why 
 we are to assure ourselves in our faith,, that God 
 freely giveth Christ and his salvation to us par- 
 ticularly, is not because it is a truth before we 
 believe it, butbecause it becometh a certain truth 
 when we believe it, and because it will never be 
 true except we do, in some measure persuade and 
 assure ourselves that it is so. We have no abso- 
 lute promise or declaration in the scripture, that 
 God certainly will or doth give Christ and his 
 salvation to any one of us in particular ; neither 
 do we know it to be true already either by scrip- 
 ture, or sense, or reason, before we assure our- 
 selves of it : yea, we are without Christ's salva- 
 tion at present, in a state of sin and misery, un- 
 der the curse and wrath of God. Only 1 shall 
 prove, that we are bound, by the command of 
 God, thus to assure ourselves : and the scripture, 
 doth sufficiently warrant us, that we shall not 
 deceive ourselves in believing a lie r — but accord- 
 ing to our faith so shall it be to us. This is a 
 strange kind of assurance, far different from ordi- 
 nary kinds; and therefore no wonder if it should 
 be found weak and imperfect, and difficult to be 
 obtained, and assaulted with many doubtings. 
 We are concerned to believe other things on 
 the clear evidence that they are true, and would 
 remain true, whether we believe them or no ; — 
 so that we cannot deny our assent without re- 
 belling against the light of our senses, reason, 
 or conscience. But here our assurance is not 
 impressed on our thoughts by the evidence of 
 the things ; but we must work it out in our- 
 L selves 
 
122 ON THE NATURE OF FAITH. 
 
 selves by the assistance of the Spirit of God, 
 and thereby we bring our own thoughts into 
 captivity, to the obedience of Christ. None but 
 God can justly require of us this kind of assur- 
 ance, because he only caileth those things that 
 are not, as though they were, he only can give 
 existence to those things that yet are not, and 
 make a thing to be true upon our believing it, 
 that was not true before." * 
 
 It is acknowledged in the above citation, that 
 there is no evidence, of any kind, that God 
 gives Christ and his salvation to any one in par*- 
 ticular, before we absolutely assure ourselves of 
 it — that this is not a truth before zee believe it, 
 and moreover, will never be true except zve do 
 persuade and assure ourselves that it is so ; but 
 that which was not true before, becometh a certain 
 truth when zee believe it ! ! ! Yet it is confessed 
 this doctrine of faith will not hold good in any 
 other things ; for we are concerned to believe 
 them on the clear evidence zee have that they are 
 true, and would re>habi true, whether we believe, 
 them or no. To believe without evidence is not 
 faith, but fancy and presumption, whether the 
 thing believed be human or divine. And it is 
 most certain, that the very attempt to persuade 
 persons to believe, without knowing what they 
 are to believe, or, without plain evidence, that 
 what they are called to believe is true, whe- 
 ther they believe it or no, would be hissed out of 
 the world as an affront to common sense in any 
 thing but religious matters; in which, grievous to 
 
 think, 
 
 * Marshall's Gospel Mystery of Sanctification, 8th edition, 
 pages 173, 174. The very singular nature of this quotation 
 will sufficiently apologize for receding from the method I have 
 all along adopted of concealing the author's name from whom 
 I have quoted . And unless I had referred to the book in which 
 this very Jeep sentiment is maintained, I should have feared being 
 suspected by some- of having fabricated it myself, 
 
ON THE NATURE OF FAITH. 1 2 
 
 think, nothing is too absurd to be propagated, 
 or to ridsculous to be received ! Is it then pe- 
 culiar to the God of Heaven, the source of intel- 
 ligence, to set falsehoods before his creatures, to 
 be transformed into truths by a confident belief 
 of them, and to bind them by his command to 
 perform the strange operation ? Far be it from 
 him ! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do 
 right I 
 
 I conclude this general view of the various 
 notions of faith in the professing world, with 
 observing, that divine truth is always consistent 
 with itself, and evidence is its inseparable 
 characteristic; whereas falsehood wears ma- 
 ny faces, and sets the invention of its propa- 
 gator upon the rack to cover its hateful appear- 
 ance with the mask of truth, in order to blind 
 the understanding, scar the conscience, and 
 delude the soul. Whether this approbation 
 therefore be supported by supposed qualifica- 
 tions — the imaginary " deed of gift" — or the 
 courageous act of faith without evidence either 
 from scripture, sense, or reason, it is most cer- 
 tainly essentially different from believing the 
 record that God has given of his Son. — So that 
 however well pleased any may be, in a full per* 
 suasion that they have exerted the appropriating 
 act, unless more solid evidence of their actuai 
 interest in Christ be given, their claim will, 
 in the end, be found miserably deficient. And 
 though persons may strain every nerve in labor- 
 ing to believe that their state is good, or to 
 make that true which is not true before they 
 believe it, it will remain an unchangeable truth 
 that, he that believeth not (that very gospel 
 which Christ and his apostles preached) shall be 
 damned. — Seeing then that there is but one 
 faith, and that without it we cannot please 
 God, acceptably worship him, or eternally en- 
 L '4 joy 
 
124 ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 joy him ; and since those various and opposite 
 notions of faith prevailing in the professing 
 world, cannot all be right ;"it follows that there 
 is danger of being deceived ; this cautions us to 
 inquire, wherein the very essence of the one 
 faith consists,- which, when known, in obe- 
 dience to the exhortation, we should contend 
 earnestly for. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 / 
 
 ON THE FAITH OF THE OPERATION 
 OF GOD. 
 
 ±he inquiry in this Section is, principally* 
 wherein the nature of that faith consists which 
 may with strict propriety be stiled like precious 
 with the apostk-s; and in order to avoid an er- 
 ror in the proposition, and so to prevent stum- 
 bling at the threshold, I shall rest satisfied with 
 such a definition of it as the Bible affords. 
 .And surely, when the unerring Spirit of truth 
 condescends to define, and to point out a line 
 of illustration ; it manifests much pride and ig- 
 norance in any one to swerve from it. No* is 
 it to be wondered that any who swerve from the 
 scriptural definition, should also err from faith 
 "unfeigned, and turn aside to vain jangling. 
 
 According to that very accurate divine, Paul, 
 Faith is the substance of things hoped fur, thd 
 evidence of things not seen,* Heb. xi. 1. Here 
 
 then 
 
 * It may not be improper here to observe, that this text is* 
 by some, differently translated. They say, the original word 
 (hypostasis) which is rendered substance, should be translated 
 
 confidence 
 
THE OrEHATION OF GOD. 
 
 then we are presented with a full, clear, and 
 comprehensive definition of gospel faith : thai 
 faith which is of the operation of God, and 
 without which we cannot please him. It con- 
 sists of two parts, viz. the truth believed, which 
 is vhe substance of things hoped for ; and the 
 belief of the truth, which is the evidence of 
 things not seen, f How plain, how rational, 
 how worthy of the God of intelligence! We 
 read nothing here of the direct, or the reflex 
 acts, nor of making a falsehood truth, by con- 
 fidently believing it. Here is nothing said, of 
 L 3 the 
 
 confidence, as in the margin, and in z Cor. ix. 4. ch. xi. 17. Heb. 
 iii. 14. Tkis confidence, say they, respects things loped for, i.e. 
 future good things promised, and is illustrated by the faith of 
 the patriarchs. The word (elenchos) evidence, they translate 
 conviction, i. e.of things not seen, which are more comprehensive 
 than things hoped for, as they include every thing that God has 
 cither testified or promised — things past and present, as well as 
 things to come. So that both the wor-^s tciifkieoce and csr.viciion, 
 according to this view, are expressive of simple belief '; and the 
 object of this belief is the truth, whether testified or promised. 
 — See M 1 - Leans Treatk* on the Apostolic Cornmissiou, p. 8 1. See 
 also a little piece c.:ti:led, " The belief oj the Gesfiei saving Faith" 
 by the same author, p. 5, 6. — Ed. 
 
 f The author explains the apostle's definition of faith thus; 
 " Now faith is the truth believed, and the belief of the truth." That 
 the word faith is used in scripture in a metonymical sense, i. e. 
 as importing the truth to be believed, must be very evident to an 
 attentive reader, Acts vi, 7. chap. xxiv. '24. 2.\. Gal. i. 23. Philip 
 1.27. Jude, ver. 3. Pxv. ii. 13. &c. And that its general ac- 
 ceptance is the belief of the truth, is equally clear, and probably 
 will not be denied by any; so that whatever may be the true 
 meaning of this passage, Mr. Ecking"'s ideas are well supported 
 by the scriptures, and the doctrines he has advanced in the re- 
 mainder of the section, will remain unaffected byany criticisms 
 upon it. 
 
 It may not be improper however to observe, that in illustra- 
 ting the second part of his definition of faith, he has gone into 
 a slight inconsistency, and has departed from the idea with 
 which he set out ; for he has made the evidence of things r.ot seat, 
 to consist m the truth to be believed, and not in our belief thereof. 
 So that, although he at first explains the word in ,a double 
 sense, yet he has for the most part, as the reader may perceive, 
 adhered to one idea. — Ed. 
 
10:3 ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 "the personal appropriating act, neither, is faith 
 and its effects confounded. — But 1 shall proceed 
 to consider a little more particularly,, this truly 
 excellent definition of the faith of God's elect, 
 which the inspired apostle has with plainness 
 and clearness laid before all men. 
 
 First : Faith is the substance of things hoped 
 for. The Bible exhibits one harmonious,, con- 
 sistent, beautiful system of truth. The whole 
 of which, in all its glorious parts, is only a tran- 
 script or copy of what was drawn out in the 
 character of Jesus Christ: so that the truth as 
 it is in him, or the doctrine of Christ in the 
 scriptures, of which many summaries are given, 
 contains the sum or substance of the whole com- 
 pass of evangelical truth ; and the hope which 
 is laid up for the saints in heaven, is heard of in 
 the word of the truth of the gospel, Col. i. 5. 
 which is the substance of what things they ex- 
 pect hereafter, or the substantial foundation of 
 their hope. Faith then, in the first part of the 
 definition under consideration, evidently intends 
 the things to be believed : and that the term is 
 often used in this sense, in things human and 
 divine, will appear by having reference to a few 
 instances. Laws and treaties made and con- 
 nrmed, betwixt one nation and another, are 
 called the faith of those nations. To preserve 
 them inviolably is called keeping the faith ; and 
 for either party to recede from, or break, any 
 of them, is called a breach of faith ; and these 
 laws, treaties, &c. are the substantial ground of 
 hope and confidence to each nation. When 
 a person has declared his sentiments upon any 
 point, those things that he has testified of are 
 properly called his creed o'r his faith : and it 
 becomes very common to denominate such a 
 declaration, a confession of faith. If the per- 
 son professes his hope of salvation in the things 
 
 he 
 
THE OPERATION OF GOD. 1C7 
 
 he has held forth, then it is plain, that his faith 
 is the substance of his hope ; and the nature of 
 his hope will be as his faith is. The term is 
 frequently used in the Bible in this sense, as 
 Rom. iii - 3. Shall their unbeHefmdke the faith 
 of God of none ejj'ect / Gal. i. 23. The faith 
 which he once destroyed ; and what the apostle 
 preached was Jesus Christ and hint crucified* In 
 this sense it was used Gal. iii. 2. 5 12. 23. ( 25. 
 and nothing but the doctrine of Christ, which, 
 by the writings of the prophets and apostles, 
 were delivered to them, could be intended when 
 Jude, ver. 3. exhorts to contend earnestly for 
 the faith once delivered to the sanits. 
 
 Calvin, in his lnstit. b. 3. chap. 2.§ 13. ob- 
 serves, that (( Oftentimes faith signifies the 
 sound doctrine of religion, as in the place that 
 we now ailedge (1 Tim. i. 5.) And in the same 
 epistle Paul wiil have the deacons to hold fast 
 the mystery of the faith in a pare conscience. 
 Again, when he published the failing away of 
 certain from the faith; But on the other side 
 he saith, Timothy was nourished up with the 
 words of faith. Again, where he saith that pro- 
 fane vanities and oppositions, falsly named sci- 
 ences, are the cause that many depart from the 
 faith : whom in another place he calleth repro- 
 bate touching faith. As again he chargeth Ti- 
 tus, saying, warn them that they may be sound 
 in the faith* By soundness he meaneth no- 
 thing else but purity of doctrine, which is easily 
 corrupted, and brought out of kind by the 
 lightness of men. Even because in Christ, 
 whom faith possesseth, are hidden all the trea- 
 sures of wisdom and knowledge. Therefore 
 faith is worthily extended to signify the whole 
 sum oj heavenly doctrine, from which it cannot 
 be separated."* 
 
 There 
 
 • One would think that the greater part of those who call 
 
128 ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 Tli ere are many things spoken of in the sacred 
 writings concerning faith, that must be under- 
 stood in the above sense. As first : our resur- 
 rection from a death in trespasses and sins, Col. 
 ii. 12. This cannot intend any act of the human 
 mind, under any influence whatever, for. ofkh 
 own will begat he as by the zcord of truth. Faith 
 in this sense comes by hearing the word of God. 
 But tills shows how faith comes to us ; not how 
 we approach to it. Our ears are not previously 
 disposed to hearken : but the almighty voice of 
 the Son of God goes forth and unstops the 
 deaf cars. Even as he once said to one literally 
 deaf, Be opened. And straightway his ears 
 were opened. But this sentiment has been con- 
 sidered in the former Essay. 
 
 Again: it is faith taken in this sense, that is 
 the matter of justification before God, and in 
 the sinner's conscience. No fact comes better 
 established in the word of God, than that the 
 matter of a sinner's justification is the righte- 
 ousness of Christ imputed. It is established 
 firm as Jehovah's throne; nor can the deepest 
 subtilties of hell move it. Yet we are expressly 
 said to be justified by faith, Rom. v. 1. chap, 
 iv. 3. — 9- wJ the divinity of men would teach 
 us, though nothing can be more palpably ab- 
 surd and dangerous, that faith justifies us QS a/i 
 i list lament ; and many by acting faith, as an 
 instrument to their justification, are insensibly 
 
 led, 
 
 themselves Cahinists, arc shamefully deficient in knowing 
 wherein Calvin's doctrine consists; or should we find them 
 main. aining the notion of faith being in the heart before we 
 understand, receive, ox even hear the word of God ? But it has 
 happened to Calvinism, as it has long been with Christianity iJct- 
 many are fond of the name, for the sake of credit, reputation, 
 and interest, who yet are as ignorant of the doctrine, and as 
 far from following the practices of the first Christians, as an 
 idolatrous pagan. 
 
TrtE OPERATION OF GOD. 129 
 
 led, upon tnaiiy, occasions, to substitute these 
 acts afjfttfh, in Vae place of those divine acts 
 which wrought out the all-sufficient righteous- 
 ness. But it" it be faith, as an instrument, that 
 Abraham is said to be justified by, then it would 
 seem that it is by the instrumentality of Abra- 
 ham's faith, that all his seed are justified ! For 
 it is the very same thing that justifies him and 
 his children; see Rom. i.v. 3 — 8. compared 
 ■with verses c 22 — ( 25. To the same signification 
 are the following scriptures : Rom. iii. 38. 
 Gal. ii. Id chap. iii. 24. It is what the sinnei 
 believes then, or the work of Christ alone sepa- 
 rate from all its effects and fruits, that justifies.* 
 It has been very common to use the phrases 
 " justifying faith," and u saving faith ;' and it 
 is to be hoped many use them, without connect- 
 ing any erroneous sentiment therewith. Yet it 
 is plain others would be understood, that it is 
 some peculiar sort or manner of believing that 
 justifies. But if the heartiness, seriousness, or 
 sincerity of our believing, have any influence 
 whatever in our justification, it cannot be said 
 to be fredy by grace through the redemjjtion 
 zv.'iu h ts in Jesus 
 
 Further : Faith in the sense under considera- 
 tion is what believers live by, according as it is 
 written, 1'he just shall live by his faith. Some 
 are apt to imagine that the vigorous actings of 
 the soul are here intended. Such live (such a 
 life as it is) by the workings of their own mind, 
 which they call faith. But surely this is not the 
 life of -faith pointed to in the scripture; far 
 otherwise. The soul that is spiritually quicken- 
 ed, lives a much nobler life than this. He lives 
 by his faith it is true ; but what is the believer's 
 
 faith ? 
 
 * Though the work of Christ alone is the meritorious ground 
 of our justification, yet we must ever remember, that it is only 
 he that fwlievetb\ that is justified by it. Ed, 
 
ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 faith ? Undoubtedly Christ as he is revealed in 
 the word. He is our life, Col. lii. 4. and This 
 is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that 
 a mun may eat thereof and not die. I am (says 
 Chi hi) the living bread which came down jrom 
 Heaven; if any man eat of this bread he shall 
 live for ever , and the bread that I zc ill give is 
 my flesh zvhich I will give for the life of the 
 world. He, therefore, who lives by any thing 
 else, whatever his frames, feelings, his supposed 
 humble breathings, holiness, sweet sensations, 
 &c. is in the estimation of him who cannot err, 
 a dead sinner. Jesus said unto him, verily, 
 verily I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of 
 the son of man and drink his blood, ye have no 
 life in you, John vi. 53. 
 
 Once more : under this pari of the definition, 
 we are to conceive of faith sanctifying. Acts 
 xxvi. 18. Sanctified by faith which is in me. 
 Chap. xv. 9- Purifying their hearts by faith. 
 Nothing else can be intended but the truth be- 
 lieved, according to our Lord's prayer, John 
 xvii. 17- Sand if u them through thy truth: thy 
 word is truth. Chap. xv. 3, flow ye are elean 
 through, the word which I have spoken unto you, 
 1 Cor 1. SO. Eph. v. 2o\ Thus the precious 
 truth as it is in Jesus, dwelling in the heart, 
 produces every good disposition, and prompts 
 lo every good work, It dwells in the under- 
 standing, and enlightens it. It possesseth the 
 conscience, and purges it from dead works. It 
 prevails in the will, and disposes it to pray, Fa- 
 ther, thy will be done. It engages the affections, 
 and regulates and influences them, and of course 
 the outward conversation will be adorned with 
 every good word and work. Such are the tri- 
 umphs, and such the correspondent effects of 
 divine truth in the soul. 
 
 The second part therefore of the apostle's de- 
 finition 
 
THE OPERATION OF GOD. 131 
 
 finition of faith, leads us to conceive of it a3 
 The evidence of things not seen. From hence it 
 appears, that they who chuse to define faith — 
 a believing, without any evidence from scrip- 
 ture, sense, or reason, differ essentially from 
 the apostle. Paul held no such crude notions. 
 As a man of good sense, as a pupil of Gamaliel; 
 and as a disciple of the Holy Ghost, he knew the 
 absurdity of proposing any thing to be believ- 
 ed, without evidence of its existence and reality. 
 
 Equally absurd is their notion who, in order 
 to appear more than ordinarily accurate, cen- 
 sure and solemnly condemn the idea of believ- 
 ing being on act of the mind. It is acknow- 
 ledged, indeed, that very unscriptural sentiments 
 *have prevailed about acts of faith, when they 
 are supposed to arise from some previous prin- 
 ciple, well disposing the mind of unbelievers 
 towards the gospel. Yet, if it be admitted 
 possible for the soul of man to act (and who 
 will deny that it does r) there is nothing more 
 properly an act of the mind, than believing a 
 truth ; in which first the mind perceives it, then 
 considers the evidence offered to support it ; 
 and finally gives assent to it And can this 
 comport with inactivity? We must either say 
 then, that the soul acts in believing the gospel ; 
 or that the soul is an inactive spirit, which is 
 absurd. 
 
 No inquiries are of greater importance in 
 treating upon faith than, IV hat is truth ? and, 
 upon what kind of evidence is the truth to be 
 received ? In regard to the first, Christ says, I 
 am the truth. And what he means by that 
 the ISew Testament is intended to illustrate; 
 which has been considered in the former essay. 
 As to the evidence upon which the truth is to 
 be received, it might be observed in general, 
 that evidence should always be of the same na- 
 ture 
 
ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 ture with what is proposed to be "believed. Are 
 we to receive the gospel,, -because, or just as 
 far as, it is agreeable to reason? No; i-jr then 
 reason would be set up to inform us what God 
 ought to say. And as what is called reason, 
 wears an evil eye to the truth, it is not to be 
 supposed that we can receive it in the love of 
 it, upon this evidence. Are we then from some 
 impressions upon the mind which are thought 
 to be the convictions of the Holy Spirit? No; 
 for then we should receive nothing from God, 
 bnt what in some certain zcay or other we feel 
 impressed upon our minds. However, many 
 find it convenient to believe upon this kind of 
 evidence ; because then they can chuse what 
 part of the word they like best, and readily 
 avoid what is disagreeable to them, or is likely 
 to injure their reputation among professors, and 
 hurt their worldly interest. Are we upon the 
 evidence, that" the fathers, the church, the wise 
 and learned, or the great and pious have pro- 
 duced ? No; for then we should acknowledge 
 masters upon earth, contrary to Christ's com- 
 mand : neither would this be hearing his voice, 
 but the voice of the learned, the pious, &c. 
 and would at best, be but u human faith." Are 
 we to receive the truth, upon the force of a phi- 
 losophical argument, or a mathematical, or lo- 
 gical demonstration ? By no means : for this 
 kind of evidence is unsuitable to the nature of 
 the testimony, which is not written in the words 
 of man's wisdom. 
 
 The truth to be believed being divine, the 
 evidence upon which it is received must be of 
 the same nature. And the gospel has its most 
 •proper evidence in itself. The majesty which 
 clothes the sacred pages evidently declares, that 
 God himself speaks there. When the Spirit of 
 truth opens the understanding, by the entrance 
 
 of 
 
THE OPERATION OF GOD. 
 
 of the word, to understand and know the truth 
 as it is in Jesus, the light, power, and evidence 
 thereof produces a confidence in the same. We 
 believe and are sure, because the faithful and 
 true witness has spoken it, 1 John, v. 10, and 
 this certainty of soul, grounded upon unchang- 
 ing veracity, is the evidence not seen. However 
 as our knowledge of the gospel admits of de- 
 grees, so our faith may be denominated weak 
 or strong, and we be stiled, agreeably thereun- 
 to, babes, young men, or fathers in Christ. 
 Believing then, whether the things believed are 
 human or divine, is nothing more than a con- 
 viction of the soul, that those things are true. 
 This conviction is nothing more than the force 
 of satisfactory evidence. And this evidence, in 
 the gospel, is in the things believed. 
 
 It has rather inconsiderately been said by 
 some, that what we understand we cannot help 
 believing: for this is not literally true. Two 
 persons may equally understand the nature of a 
 proposition, while the one receives it as true, 
 and the other rejects it as false. I may clearly 
 understand the error of my friend ; but does it 
 follow that I cannot help believing it? Yet it 
 certainly is impossihlc, that we should under- 
 stand a proposition to be true, and not believe 
 it, whether the nature of the thing be agreeable 
 or displeasing. — When it is said all faith suppo- 
 ses evidence, it is not to be understood, that every 
 thing spoken of in the scripture is to be com- 
 prehended in all its parts, powers, and qualities, 
 in an absolute sense before we believe it ; or that 
 we should reject what we cannot fathom. For 
 then we must not only disbelieve that there is a 
 God, but also every thing that necessarily be- 
 longs to him ; yea, and ten thousand things in 
 nature beside :. 'We believe that God IS;" but 
 how he exists, our understandings were not 
 M framed 
 
134 ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 framed to conceive, nor are we called to believe. 
 So there is sufficient evidence, both human and 
 divine, that the scriptures are the word of God, 
 though many sacred truths are only known in 
 their nature and extent, to him who searches 
 the deep things of God ; for even Paul himself, 
 in the view of them, not being able to explore, 
 cries out, O the dtpth ! Y-et it should be ob- 
 served that, He who is perfectly zcise, and can- 
 not be deceived ; faithful and good, and will 
 not deceive his creatures, has revealed nothing 
 but what is worthy of himself. He does 
 Hot bind his intelligent creatures to believe real 
 inconsistencies : for though the sublime truths 
 are above human reason, they are not incon- 
 sistent with it. 
 
 But what evidence have we in the true sayings 
 cf God, of that which man believes for his sal- 
 vation ? 
 
 First : there is evidence of the sufficiency of 
 Christ's work to save to the uttermost, the 
 most guilty, the most polluted, and the most 
 abandoned wretch on this side hell. This pleas- 
 ing fact is -confirmed in the resurrection of 
 Christ from the «lead, wherein the infinite dig- 
 nity of his person, obedience and sacrifice, is 
 demonstrated: for the declared import of this 
 is, That repentance and remission of sins should 
 be preached in his name, among all nations, be- 
 ginning at Jerusalem. No person that calls 
 this in question believes the gospel : yet every 
 one does this, who disbelieves the sufficiency 
 of the atonement to save him. .Again : there is 
 evidence of the feeness of this salvation. The 
 report of it is spread amongst all nations, and 
 directed to all sorts of persons without distinc- 
 tion. All its blessings are to be partaken of 
 freely, as the bestowment of sovereign grace to 
 the guilty sinner, as such. So that the rude 
 
 Barbarian 
 
THE OPERATION OF GOD. T35 
 
 Barbarian, and the savage Scythian, have an 
 equal right to partake of this salvation, with the 
 Jew, the polite Greek, or the most decent Mo- 
 ralist. And when the evidence of the gospel 
 strikes the mind, when a sinner is once convinced 
 of the veracity of God — that the scriptures are 
 his word — and that sinners as such are invited 
 to partake of the benefits of grace freely; he 
 will need nothing more to convince and satisfy 
 his soul, and cause him to believe on the name 
 of the Son of God. He will not wait for any 
 new revelation or assurance that God speaks to 
 him; nor will he go about to make this true by 
 believing it ; what is written sufficiently Satisfies 
 him that he is not excluded. But if the inde- 
 finite extent of the gospel report be denied (and 
 this everyone denies who excludes himself), the 
 truth is called in question, and the common 
 salvation is disbelieved. 
 
 Further: there is sufficient evidence in the 
 dispensation of grace, that God in the distribu- 
 tion of his favours is just and merciful in perfec- 
 tion — that in the grand exhibition of mercy, 
 through the obedience and atonement of Christ, 
 his law is fulfilled, honoured, magnified, and es- 
 tablished as holy, just, and good — sin is demon- 
 strated to be an infinite evil — justice, in all its 
 tremendous forms, a lovely attribute of Deity; 
 and all his ways are founded in righteousness, 
 holiness, and truth. To believe a gospel that 
 does not set forth these things, is to believe a 
 lie ; and to manifest enmity against this gospel 
 of the kingdom, is a full proof that such are 
 alienated from the life of God, through the igno- 
 rance that is in them. But to believe the truth, 
 in its glorious connection, is the sovereign gift 
 of heaven; those on whom it is bestowed, will 
 not be heard saying, ""My sins are too great to 
 be pardoned," because they believe upon un- 
 M 2 changing: 
 
136 ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 changing authority, that the blood of Jesus 
 Christ cleanseth from all sin. Nor will they be 
 distressed for want of something as a pre-requi- 
 site, to distinguish them from the profane world, 
 because they are persuaded that Jesus Christ 
 came into the world to save the chief of sin- 
 ners. Nor will they be perplexing themselves 
 with fruitless fears, lest they should not be elect- 
 eel, because they know and believe that he is 
 faithful and true who hath said, that Whosoever 
 helkveth in him shall not perish, but have ever- 
 lasting life. 
 
 The believing view of this salvation, or rather 
 The truth in the love of it } dwelling in us, begets 
 every evangelical motion of heart towards God 
 in Christ, it leads to love the Lord Jesus Christ 
 in sincerity — to receive him as the free gift of 
 God — to trust in him as the sure mercies of 
 David, and, in a way of meditation and prayer, 
 daily to be coming to him as unto a living stone. 
 But the necessary fruits and happy effects of 
 faith will be considered in the next essay. Here 
 I only add by way of summary, that the faith 
 which is like precious with that of all the apos- 
 tles, has for its immediate object, The rightcvus- 
 ?tess of our God and Saviour,® Peter i. i — for 
 its ground and salvation The testimony of God, 
 i Tries, ii. 1$, is obtained through divine teach- 
 ing, as the sovereign gift of God, Eph. ii. 8. 
 Phil. i. 29 — -its peculiar effects are Joy and peace , 
 i Peter i. 8 — and its genuine evidence is good 
 works, James ii. 14 — 26. 
 
 SECTION 
 
THE OPERATION OF GOD. 137 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 "WHEREIN ARE CONSIDERED SOME QUES- 
 TIONS WHICH MAY ARISE, AND OBJEC- 
 TIONS THAT MAY BE STARTED, UPON 
 THE FOREGOING VIEW OF FAITH. 
 
 
 To the scripture account of salvation by faith, 
 it has been objected, that, " This is a very easy 
 way of going to heaven : nothing more easy 
 than to believe. And if believing will take us 
 to heaven, the greater part of mankind are going 
 there." The objector, it would seem, has no 
 other notion of the way to^heaven than by doing 
 some great thing. And it must be acknowledged 
 that nothing can be more natural However 
 the objector is one instance, easy as this way 
 may seem, that all do not believe the gospel, or 
 expect to be saved through the righteousness 
 of Jesus. Instead of all men believing the gos- 
 pel, it is but too manifest that very few in reality 
 do : and that " the greater part of mankind" 
 slight the gospel way of salvation as weak and 
 foolish (among whom our objector, must be 
 ranked) or else think nothing at all about it: 
 while others professing that they know God, in 
 Works -deny him, and turn the grace of God into 
 wantonness. And there are not wanting others^ 
 who, while they profess to be saved by Christ, 
 either in plain or more ambiguous terms and 
 ways, establish their own righteousness. But 
 ran it be strictly said that either of these classes 
 believe that very gospel which Christ and ..; 
 apostles preached ? Rather, is it not manifest 
 that they are sporting themselves with their own 
 >I 3 deceiving::, 
 
138 ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 Receivings, and that, if sovereign mercy does not 
 prevent,, by giving them to understand and know 
 the Lord, they will perish in their delusions. It 
 is readily acknowledged that many will sat/ they 
 t( Believe in God the Father Almighty, maker 
 of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only 
 Son our Lord," &c. when m truth they do not 
 believe it, but some false representation thereof 
 which the god of this world lias impressed upon 
 their mind, to blind them, lest the glorious gos- 
 pel of Christ, who is the image of God, should 
 shine into them. It has been justly observed, 
 that most nun, who live under the dispensation 
 of the gospel, do wofully deceive their own souls 
 in this matter. They do not believe what they 
 profess themselves to believe, and what thev 
 think they believe. Men talk of fundamental 
 errors; this is, to me, the most fundamental 
 error that we can fall into. This mistake is in 
 the foundation, and ruins the souls of those who 
 die in it. Nothing is more common than for 
 men to deceive themselves in this point, self-love, 
 reputation among the religious, &c. make them 
 rest secure. Such will avoid the clear preach- 
 ing of the truth, because if some of its light 
 break in, it discovers their error, and fills them 
 with torment — alas for them, for they have found 
 out a way to go quickly down into the pit! — 
 But still in whatever way it is supposed the ob- 
 jection has weight, it will remain a truth esta- 
 blished for ever, that, he that believeth 
 
 SHALL BE SAVED. 
 
 " But a person may have the clearest percep- 
 tion, and the most just views of the person and 
 work of Christ, in his head, who does not be- 
 lieve on him in his heart" It is acknowledged 
 that ail who profess to know the Lord, do not so 
 jn truth, John viii. 64; yet This is life eternal 
 to know the, true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
 
 he 
 
THE OPERATION OF GOD. 139 
 
 he hath sent. John xvii. 3. Such as know him 
 are directed to glory only in this, Jer. ix. 24. 
 and such are in a blessed state,. Psalm lxxxix. 
 ]5. As to the above notion, it needs no other 
 confutation, than fox every thinking person to 
 make the experiment, upon any point of know- 
 ledge that he has obtained ; and I am of opi- 
 nion that the greatest adepts in metaphysical 
 subtilties, will find themselves puzzled to make 
 out the distinction: though all will at once per- 
 ceive that it is possible, yea, very common, for, 
 persons to say that with their mouths, which 
 they do not understand or believe in their hearts; 
 and, without doubt, this is what Paul would 
 lead our thoughts to, Rom. x. 10. The faith of 
 the operation of God is very different from every 
 other kind of faith, but that difference does not 
 consist in the manner of believing, but in the 
 nature of the thing believed, and in the evidence 
 which supports that belief; an hypocrite may 
 have feigned faith, which from various motives, 
 and to various ends, lie may see it prudent to 
 retain ; and many very sincere persons, in their 
 way, may have a false faith, by which they may 
 deceive themselves and others : that is, they 
 may believe a falsehood, oi hold wrong notions 
 of the truth. But then if they are sincere, it 
 supposes that they believe it with their hearts to 
 -be true. There is no reason to doubt that there 
 are many sincere Papists, Arians, Socinians, 
 &c. who believe in their hearts that the doctrines 
 which they severally profess, are true. Even as 
 there were many very sincere in their opposition 
 to Christ in the days of his flesh, and in the first 
 preaching of the gospel, Acts xxvi. 9- Would 
 it not then be talking more intelligibly to say, 
 that when a person's profession is not productive 
 of suitable fruits, it is plain he is not taught of 
 God, and so does not know the truth as it is in 
 
 Jesus i 
 
140 ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 Jesus; than to make the above idle distinction, 
 which, is void of foundation either in scripture 
 or common sense ? Eph. iv. 20 — 24. 2 Peter i. 
 8—10. 
 
 " But a person may believe the doctrine of 
 Christ, who yet does not believe on the person 
 of Christ " It is true when faith relates simply 
 to the existence of a person, ihe distinction is 
 ever to be preserved. Many believe there were 
 such persons as Paul and James, who do not 
 believe their doctrine. But this weighs on the 
 contrary side to that on which the objection 
 would place it, for it supposes a person may be- 
 lieve all that is written about Jesus Christ, and 
 yet not believe on him or in Aim. But Paul 
 says, Rom. x. 14. 17- And how shall they be- 
 lieve in him 0/ mhom they have not heard'? — So 
 thenjaith cumeth by hearing, and hearing by the 
 word of God. And what can we know of Christ, 
 or what benefit can we receive from him but by 
 and through his word ? It is not the arrange- 
 ment of letters or words of scripture barely that 
 we believe, but the mind and truth of God con- 
 tained therein. There is no other use, therefore, 
 for the distinction, than to entangle and perplex 
 persons, and to promote and cherish some kind 
 of blind Piuhusiasm. 
 
 " But if faith is nothing more than a simple 
 belief oj the truth, it is only what devils believe: 
 and can the faith of devils profit us?" Such an 
 objection as this, coming from one whose person 
 is held in admiration, will have much more in- 
 fluence upon the minds of his adherents (who . 
 without doubt hate every thing that they 
 believe belongs to the devil) than sound argu- 
 ment or positive scripture. Those who, in at- 
 tempting to answer this objection, have pleaded 
 that the devils only believe that there is one 
 God \ not only leave the objection unanswered, 
 
 hut 
 
THE OPERATION OF COD. 141 
 
 but certainly have very limited notions of their 
 creed. The apostle James plainly shews that 
 their faith, in some respects,, is more orthodox 
 than that of many professors of religion, because 
 the faith of the former produces terror and 
 dreadful horror, while that of the latter leads to 
 presumption, and awfully sears the conscience ; 
 nor have we any reason to believe otherwise, if 
 scripture be our guide, than that devils believe 
 every gospel truth as firmly as the true believer 
 does : and perhaps understand the nature of the 
 truth much more extensively. But what does 
 this avail them? Christ did not take upon him 
 the nature of devil*. He did not become surety 
 for, and bear the sins of, devils. Nor is it said 
 to them, to you is the word of this salvation 
 sent No : unhappy creatures ! they are, in 
 awful sovereignty, though in strict justice, re- 
 terved in everlasting chains under darkness^ unto 
 the judgment of the great day, Jude, ver. 6. So 
 that though they believe and confess with Peter, 
 that Jesus is the Son of God, Luke iv. 34. 41. 
 Mark iii. 1 1. Yet they hate the truth, knowing 
 that for this purpose he was manifested, that he 
 might destroy the works of the devil, i John, 3. 
 8. Hence we find them crying out and saying, 
 Let us alone, zohat have we to do with thee, thou 
 Jesus <>f Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy 
 nst I know thee who thou art, the holy one of 
 God, Mark i. 24. But though the saving truth 
 torments devils, it delivers sinners of the human 
 race from the wrath to come. The Son of God 
 clothed himself in the human nature, and be- 
 came the Surety of his people ; and the language 
 of Scripture is, To you, I ) men, / call, and my 
 voice is to the sons of men And whosoever 
 among men believes what devils do about the 
 Son of God, is born of' God, and sh tIJ be saved, 
 I John, v. ]. Nevertheless there are not want- 
 ing 
 
142 ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 ing those among the sons of men, who make no 
 better use of what they know about the gospel 
 than the devils do ; and who, therefore, have no 
 more benefit from it than they have. The de- 
 vils know the truth well : but they hate it — 
 make use of every artifice to corrupt and pervert 
 it, and bring forth fruits directly opposite to it. 
 The Pharisees saw so much of the truth, as to 
 hate it, speak evil of it, and seek to take Christ's 
 life away, for bearing witness to it, and hereby 
 manifested themselves to be the children of the 
 devil, John viii. 40. 44. And many in our day 
 agree with devils, to hate and pervert the truth, 
 and persecute them that are of it; having seen 
 so much of it as to be aware, that it does not 
 suit their scheme of religion. Let us remember, 
 then, that the faith of devils is this ; to know so 
 much of the truth as to join with thern to hate 
 and corrupt it ; while the same truth, known in 
 its beautiful connection, believed in its native 
 simplicity, and therefore received in the love of 
 it, will save the soul, and promote a godly con- 
 versation. And it will appear plain to every 
 one, who duly considers what the apostle James 
 says, that he does not distinguish the faith of the 
 operation of God, from the faith of devils, by the 
 nature of the thing believed, but by its fruits; 
 he plainly intimates, that if we separate love and 
 good works from faith, as its certain and neces- 
 sary concomitants, the devils are as orthodox 
 as the most critical professor, James ii. 18. 20. 
 chap. i 22. 27. 
 
 " But did not Simon Magus believe, who yet 
 was a bad man f* True: but zohat did he' be- 
 lieve ? Is it replied, He believed the doctrine 
 of Philip ; without doubt he did in the sense 
 in which he understood it. But who will say 
 that he really understood the preaching of Phi- 
 lip ? If then he did not understand that very 
 
 gospel, 
 
THE OPERATION OF GOD. 143 
 
 gospel, which was preached, but held it in a 
 corrupt sense under a form of sound words, he 
 cannot, with any degree of propriety, be said 
 to have believed the gospel of Christ : for what 
 we have no understanding of, we cannot believe, 
 John ix. 35, 36. But that he did believe in 
 some sense is true, because the word asserts it, 
 and it is very plain wherein his mistake lay. He 
 had not received the evidence of ihefreeness of 
 salvation by Jesus Christ, and was ignorant of 
 the sovereign manner in which the blessings of 
 it are bestowed. For he thought that the gift 
 of the Holy Ghost might be purchased with 
 money, Acts viii. 18 — 24. He wondered, like 
 some professors now, at the discoveries which 
 he had made, or the wonders which he beheld 
 the apostles work, but did not understand the 
 true grace of God. Their faith, therefore, 
 &hould be classed with his, who think by their 
 doings, or on account of their sincere, earnest, 
 motions of heart, &c. they are qualified for 
 Christ, and so through the medium of these 
 ■things hope for his mercy. 
 
 " But is there not such a thing as believing 
 in vain r" 1 Cor. xv. 2. Yes :* and to believe in 
 vain is to believe something that is not true, 
 and which therefore deceives us .; to hold some 
 error along with the truth, which tends to de- 
 stroy its nature. As for instance. Those to 
 whom the apostle wrote, believed that Christ 
 was risen from the dead ; and yet denied that 
 there would be a resurrection of the just and of 
 the unjust : and thereby overthrew the faith of 
 some. The apostle shows that if this sentiment 
 be true, that the dead rise not, the doctrine of 
 
 Christ's 
 
 * There is ro 6uch thing as believing the gospel in vain, un- 
 less it can be shewn that it is not true, or that Christ is not 
 risen. It is only upon that supposition the Apostle speaks of 
 believing in vain. — Ed. 
 
144 ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 Christ's resurrection must of consequence fall ; 
 and so, their preaching would be vain, and the 
 Corinthian's faith would be vain, and they 
 would be yet in their sins, 1 Cor xv. 13, 14. 
 Again : If we believe that salvation from sin 
 and hell comes only by the death of Christ, and 
 yet maintain that we obtain righteousness by 
 our legal works, or become qualified for Christ 
 by virtue of any thing exerted by us, or wrought 
 in us, under any name or pretence whatever ; 
 it is plain that we have believed in vain. For if 
 righteousness come by the law, or if we can by 
 any means shorten the distance betwixt God 
 and us, and so begin to return to him — the 
 great difficulty is over; we may easily proceed 
 on our way ; but in that case Christ has died in 
 vain, and, of consequence, our faith in him is 
 a vain thing. 
 
 " But is it not said that some believe only for 
 a timer" Mat. xiii. 20, CI. True: and where 
 shall we say their faith was defective, for that 
 there was some fatal defect is manifest? But 
 surely it was not in the manner of their believ- 
 ing ; for there appears to have been approbation 
 of their idea of the gospel — delight in it, and 
 dependence upon it. And, in the appearance 
 of things, they deserved to have been received, 
 as those who had obtained like precious faith 
 with the apostles. Yet, as before hinted, some 
 where or other a mistake was made, which, like 
 a canker worm, at length eat away their zealous 
 profession. Where then did this latent evil lie ? 
 Christ condescends to inform us ; and therein 
 points out a real difference between true faith> 
 and its most subtle counterfeits that can possibly 
 exist. Tie that receiveth the seed into the good 
 ground is he that heareth the word and UNDER- 
 STANDETH it, which aho beareth fruit and 
 bringeth forth some an hundred fold } some sixty, 
 
 some 
 
THE OPERATION OF GOD. 143 
 
 some thirty, v. 2, 3. while the rest UNDER 
 STOOD it not, v. 19- On this account Jesus 
 frequently inquires of his disciples, Have ye Un- 
 derstood these things? After all the laboured 
 definitions and nice distinctions, that have been 
 given to distinguish a true faith from a false 
 one, it appears from infallible truth, that the 
 reason why any draw back to perdition, after 
 many fair and flourishing appearances, is, be- 
 cause that under their profession they entertain 
 some mistaken notions of the truth, and join 
 somewhat of their own to it : so that though 
 they may frequent the ordinances, talk in feel- 
 ing strains about their experiences, and profess 
 much regard to many of Christ's sayings ; yet 
 some pernicious falsehood, lying at the root of 
 their profession, they endure but for a while. 
 But we ought not to have suspicion of this be- 
 ing the case with any, while they continue in a 
 true profession of Christ, or while they appa- 
 rently abide in him, and bring forth fruit. The 
 example seems to have been recorded in order 
 to prevent any, when they see these draw back, 
 from supposing that true faith might be lost, 
 1 John ii. 19. And to lead each professor to ex- 
 amine what kind of faith he holds, 2 Cor. xiii. 
 5. But when we perceive persons swerving 
 from the form of sound words — courting tha 
 favour of the world to avoid the cross — decli- 
 ning in good works, and falling into enthusias- 
 tic fancies, or immoralities, we have sufficient 
 ground to suspect, they have no root in them- 
 selves, and are withering away, 2 Peter ii. 1, 
 20, 21, '22, Heb. vi. <L— 6, chap. x. 26, 27, 
 3S. There are various instances of persons 
 making a clear profesions of the truth as worth 
 can well express, who yet (as in the case with 
 the Aiitinoinians) do not understand that the 
 Lord is a jealous God — that his holy law, so 
 •: N fax 
 
*4ft ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 far from being abolished by the gospel, is ho- 
 noured and magnified by the Surety's obedience, 
 and established as a rule of duty to them ;* and 
 it is to be feared that the principal reason, why 
 some cavil at the law being a rule of conduct 
 to believers is, because it forbids a«d condemns 
 what their carnal appetites approve. The clear- 
 ness of the profession — the uprightness of the 
 conversation — obedience to Christ, and endu- 
 ring therein unto the end — are the scripture 
 criterions of true faith. 
 
 " Is it the duty of all who hear the gospel to 
 believe itr" If the intention of this inqury be, 
 ought e\e\y hearer of the gospel to believe that 
 he is elected — that Christ shed his blood for 
 him in particular, or that he shall certainly go 
 to heaven ? we must reply in the negative ; be- 
 cause these things are not true of all. So that if 
 it were the duty of all to believe them, it would 
 be their duty to believe the most palpable false- 
 hoods. If the design of the question be to know 
 whether the belief of the gospel is enjoined up- 
 on us, and recommended to us as the law is, 
 viz. That the man that doth those things shall 
 Uvt ; it must be answered, No : for if any exer- 
 tions of body or mind are required to that end, 
 Christ has died in vain. But if the enquiry be, 
 whether it is the duty of every hearer of the 
 gospel, to believe the record that God has giv- 
 en of his Son ; that he is well pleased in him, 
 and gives eternal life to as many as believe in 
 his name — that he is the end of the law for righ- 
 teousness to every one that believeth, and that 
 there is redemption in his blood, even the for- 
 giveness of sins according to the riches of his 
 grace, for those who are inexcusably criminal I 
 
 it 
 
 • See the Death of Legal Hope, the Life of Evangelical 
 Obedience, by Mr. A. Booth, p, 130—160, 
 
THE OPERATION OF GOD. 
 
 14? 
 
 it is certainly every one's duty, who hears these 
 things, to believe them, and that for the fol- 
 lowing reasons : 
 
 (1st) There is nothing m the gospel message, 
 but what men are capable of believing and ob- 
 serving, if they choose it. As there is nothing 
 which men more tenaciously retain, than a good 
 opinion of their own disposition to do well, if 
 they were disentangled from certain unfavour- 
 able circumstances, &c. so their deficiencies are 
 generally attributed to the want of power or 
 ability ; which ultimately throws the blame up- 
 on God, and makes him the author of sin. If 
 the Lord required that of us which is naturally 
 impossible to be performed, however willing 
 we might be to the service, the case would be 
 hard indeed with us ! But is this the case ~ J far 
 be such a case from us: far be such a thing 
 from the Judge of all the earth. The scripture 
 plainly shows, that naturally man is as able as 
 
 he is wilting, to do the will of God. There is 
 no natural inability in man to believe the gos- 
 pel, otherwise it would not be criminal in him 
 to reject it ; any more than it is sin in the deaf 
 not to hear, or in the blind not to see, or in the 
 lame not to walk. If a defect in the natural 
 capacities were criminal, then the more igno- 
 rant part of mankind would be the greatest 
 sinners; and they who had an assemblage of 
 brilliant parts, would be the highest saints. But 
 then it is urged that the scripture represents 
 man as utterly unable to understand, receive, 
 or delight in, the gospel. As that no man 
 can come unto me, John vi. 44. The world can- 
 not receive. Johnxiv. 17. chap, viii.43. Rom. 
 viii 7- All this, and whatever else can be urged 
 of the same nature is admitted. But then, most 
 certainly, this necessity is nothing more than 
 disinclination. There is no lack of natu- 
 N 2 ral 
 
148 ON THE FAITH OF 
 
 ral abilities*; sinners can love, delight in, and 
 practise sin; and if they would — if they had 
 not a prevailing inclination to the contrary — & 
 deep-rooted enmity to God, there is nothing 
 that would hinder them from loving him, and 
 obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 But unbelief and disobedience suit their inclina- 
 tions better; and men, as free agents, choose 
 what is most agreeable to them. So that the 
 unbelieving and disobedient are not compelled, 
 by some extrinsic necessity, to follow their per- 
 nicious and destructive courses; but they do it 
 by voluntary choice, as that which is most agree- 
 able, and seems most convenient to them. 
 Hence Jer. xliv. \Q. We will not hearken un- 
 to thee. Psah lxxxi. J 1. But my people would 
 riot hearken to my voice. Job xxii. 17- Mat, 
 xxiii. 37- \o\n\ v. 40. To repent and believe,, 
 to love and obey, therefore, cannot be what men 
 would do, but cannot; for the natural man, if 
 he would speak out the language of his soul, its 
 meaning would be this: " 1 have no inclination 
 to love God and keep his commandments. The 
 lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the 
 pride of life, suit my inclination better, and 
 them I freely chuse, voluntarily indulge, and 
 delight in. 
 
 2dly, If it be not the duty of every one who 
 hears the gospel to believe it, unbelief cannot 
 be their sin. But unbelief is deemed a sin, so 
 enormous in its own nature, and so dishonouring 
 to God in its consequences, that condemnation 
 is passed upon it in the divine word, John iii. 
 18. 36. It must therefore be their duty to be- 
 lieve the gospel. If it be not the duty of all who 
 
 hear 
 
 * Such expressions are liable to be misunderstood by those 
 who know not the distinction of natural and moral abilities. 
 The author, while he affirms that men are possessed of the for» 
 mer, admits that they arc destitute of the latter. — Ed. 
 
THE OPERATION OF GOD. 149 
 
 hear the truth preached, to believe and receive so 
 glorious a revelation ct' God's love, then it can be 
 no crime to break the first and great command- 
 ment. But nothing is more plain in scripture, 
 than that every intelligent creature is under in- 
 finite obligations, to love the Lord with all his 
 heart. To disbelieve and reject the gospel must 
 therefore be an evil ; and if it be an infinite evil 
 to disobey and reject the truth, and have plea- 
 sure in unrighteousness, then of course we are 
 under infinite obligations to believe. If we are 
 not bound in duty to believe the gospel, are we 
 under any obligation to believe cnii/ part of 
 God's word ? If we are, what part ? if not, then 
 
 are under no obligation at all to observe any 
 one thing that is commanded therein — Deism, 
 if consequence., is no crime, and Christianity a 
 mere farce! 
 
 Sclly. To believe the gospel is the cbmmdnd- 
 
 "f of the everlasting God, 1 John iii, 23. Rom. 
 xvi. 25. 26. John xii. ,30. Mark i. 15* And 
 if the command, exhortation, and invitation of 
 God, do not bind the conscience, and enforce 
 obedience, what dues? 
 
 Since, therefore, it is nothing but man's dis- 
 inclination, that, prevents his believing; 
 since unbelief is asm deserving damnation ; and 
 since it is the commandment of the everlasting 
 •iiod, that men should repent and believe the 
 gospel, it follows of course, that to believe the 
 gospel must be the duty of ewvy persou who 
 hears it. This then, L Hope, heing settled, 1 
 conclude this section with a few observations 
 on the following question: — " What are we to 
 understand by the assurance, and the full assur- 
 ance of faithi" It has in general been taken 
 tor a confidence of personal interest in Christ; 
 but this goes upon the supposition that faith is a 
 persuasion that Christ loved me, and gave him- 
 self 
 
150 ON THE FAITH OF, fyc 
 
 self for me in particular ; which, as hath been 
 shewn, is not the faith of the gospel. IN umbers 
 have arived at the full assurance of iheir election, 
 &c. who yet have not obtained like precious faith 
 with the apostles ; and whose assurance there- 
 fore is built upon a false foundation, and is 
 nothing better than self-conceit and sad delu- 
 sion. The faith of the operation of God is be- 
 lieving the record, testimony, witness, or evi- 
 dence, that God has given of his Son, I John v. 
 9. 13. John iiii 33. Heb. xi. l. The full as- 
 surance of faith, then, must be a more enlarged 
 acquaintance with, and confidence in, The truth 
 as it is in Jesus, Rom. iv. 19.' 20. Luke i. i. 
 John vi. 69. Heb. x. 22. This is promoted by 
 growing up into all riches of the full assurance 
 of understanding, Col. ii. 2. And as faith grows 
 in proportion to the increase of our knowledge 
 of the truth, so also it becomes much con- 
 firmed, through the experimental enjoyment 
 thereof: and as we grow up unto all the 
 rictics of the full assurance of understanding in 
 the truth, and enjoy pleasure in the blessed ex- 
 perience of it, so will our obedience prove, that 
 our faith is not dead, and in this way we shall 
 come to know our personal union with, and in- 
 terest in, the Lord Jesus Christ. For when we 
 can assert with the apostle Paul, 1 am cruci/ied 
 with Christ : nevertheless, I live : yet not i, biifc 
 Christ liveth in me: and the life which 1 now 
 live in thejiesh, I live by the faith of the Son of 
 God (we may with great propriety add) a ho 
 loved me and gave himself for me. 
 
 ESSAY 
 
( 151 ) 
 
 ESSAY III, 
 
 ON EXPERIENCE, 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Christianity is far from consisting in mere 
 speculation: it has immediately to do with the 
 understanding, will, conscience, affections, and 
 conversation. So that no person can have any 
 substantial, proof that he is a believer, unless he 
 enjoys, in some measure, the inward, powerful 
 experience, of those truths that he professes to 
 believe, as their genuine and necessary eifects. 
 Of all errors, therefore, in a profession of Chris- 
 tianity, that is the most dangerous in its conse- 
 quences, which supposes a person may under- 
 stand, believe, and trust in the gospel of Christ, 
 and yet have no experience of the reality and 
 efficacy of it. This surely is to have a form of 
 godliness, while the power thereof is practically 
 denied. 
 
 But the many abounding errors about the 
 nature of gospel experience, and the use that 
 should be made of it, warn us to proceed cauti- 
 ously m our inquiries about it. " A vast deal 
 of what, now-a-days, goes by the name of Chris- 
 tian experience, is very delusive, consisting of 
 whims, nights., and raptures, engendered by the 
 warmth of animal passions, without one spark of 
 grace. Accordingly, we have often seen these 
 va» l-glonous boasters, like the crackling of 
 thorns under a pot ; bluster for a time, and then 
 
 vanish 
 
152 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 vanish into emptiness." Yet vain and delusive 
 as these imaginations are, it is but too manifest 
 that many, who pass for orthodox Christians in 
 our day, have no better a reason of their hope, 
 than " Thus I have been affected, &c. and there- 
 fore 1 hope." Whence conclusions are drawn 
 just as fancy dictates. 
 
 Here it will not be amiss, briefly to glance at 
 the true cause of the various mistakes about re- 
 ligion in general, and experience in particular, 
 We are taught in the word of God, that while 
 man retained his original rectitude, he beheld 
 his Maker's glory in the works of creation : and 
 worshipped him with purity of affection, as far 
 as God had made himself manifest in these visi- 
 ble objects. Moreover, man was framed to hear 
 his Sovereign's voice, and obey it; and that he 
 might know, that his happiness depended upon 
 his hearing and obeying the word of Gcd ; that, 
 to obey was life, and to transgress, death ; a test 
 oi' his loyalty and dependence was given him., 
 when he was placed in Paradise, Gen. li. II j, 17, 
 His understanding being clear, his will under 
 subjection to the divine word, and his affections 
 pure; his enjoyment, or experience of what he 
 knew and believed, was a pure stream of felicity, 
 flowing from the fountain, of happiness itself. 
 But human nature being corrupted by the poison 
 of the serpent, that first apostate from holiness, 
 being infused into it, man became vain, foolish, 
 and disobedient. That human nature is cor- 
 rupted, 1 take for granted, rather than set my- 
 self formally to prove : not for want of evidence 
 to demonstrate the awful fact, but because it is 
 too stubbornly supported by scripture and expe- 
 rience, to be denied with any tolerable shew of 
 truth,: and notwithstanding some may find 
 themselves disposed to maintain the uigniti/ of 
 human nature, by substituting the flowers of 
 
 rhetoric 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 153 
 
 rhetoric, or mere romance, in the place of evi- 
 dence; the streams will indubitably prove the 
 true qualities of the fountain, Mark vii. 20. 23. 
 
 Man's safety and happiness lay in his depen- 
 dence on, and obedience to, the zcord of his 
 Maker ; and therefore, the seducers grand aim 
 was to draw him off from that, which we find 
 he went about to do, by representing to him> 
 that God withheld something from him, which 
 if enjoyed would greatly add to his felicity ; and 
 to gild the fatal snare, perverted the divine 
 word ; which scheme but too well answered his 
 design. Hereby he robbed man of the principle 
 of truth, and so of the divine image, and of 
 course of his safety and happiness. The false 
 doctrines of Satan, ye shall not surely die, and 
 ye shall be as gods, having entered into and cor- 
 rupted the mind, the enemy thereby drew his 
 own hateful image, consisting of pride, enmity, 
 and deceit upon him. This is the sad source of 
 all that irregularity, both in the powers of body 
 and mind, that daily experience manifests, and 
 of all that atheism, idolatry, and ungodliness, 
 which so awfully prevail in the world. In con- 
 sequence of this, it is become natural for man to 
 sin with hope of impunity, and to seek happiness 
 independent of God. If then we do but con- 
 sider, what principles man is naturally under the 
 dominion of, if we but reflect that his under- 
 standing is darkness, through Lhe ignorance that 
 is in him, the will enmity, and every affection 
 disordered and defiled ; and moreover, that man 
 voluntarily gives up himself, to be led by the 
 spirit of error and self-dependence, we. shall see 
 the true cause of the various brandies of ido- 
 latry, and shall he able to account for all that 
 self-flattery, self-exaltation, and self-confidence, 
 which men are so prone to : nor shall we won- 
 der, that the experience of many, under a pro- 
 fession 
 
154 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 ■■■■'■' -.■•>. 
 
 fession of religion, is legal, enthusiastic, or evert 
 diabolical. The corruption of human nature, 
 and the lead which the spirit of error takes in 
 directing the mind in religious concerns, are the 
 two grand sources of all error and delusion; 
 But it should also be observed, that Satan, in 
 all ages, has had his agents among men, who 
 have industriously propagated his doctrinal 
 tares, and thereby, while they have sealed their 
 own destruction, have promoted that of their 
 fellow-creatures. Such our Lord stiles blind 
 guides , and leaders <>f the blind, and warns his 
 disciples to be aware of them, because their de- 
 lusions would be so strong as to deceive, if it 
 were possible, even the very elect. The apostles 
 point them out (especially in the Epistles of 
 Peter and Jude, and also in the Revelations) as 
 the worst of enemies to mankind. We are in- 
 formed that many would follow their pernicious 
 Ways in consequence of which, such different 
 sorts of churches would be framed, from those 
 which were gathered by the influence of the 
 apostles' doctrine, that they would be governed 
 by different rules, and united by different prin- 
 ciples, from what the first churches were. Such 
 agree to give their power to the beast, and sup- 
 port the kingdom of the destroyer: for, however 
 shocking it might appear, there is scarce any 
 thing in which people are so willing to deceive 
 and be deceived, as in their eternal concerns ! 
 This the Lord by the prophet complains of, Jer. 
 v. 30. 31. A wonderful end horrible thing is 
 committed in the land, the prophtts prophesy 
 falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means, 
 and the people love to have it so; and to hat zvill 
 y loin '-he end thereof ^ This observation to 
 pei ions famous for a liberal way of thinking, 
 may seem exceedingly uncharitable; but we 
 have seen that he who can neither deceive nor 
 
 be 
 
ON EXPERIENCE, 155 
 
 be deceived, has declared that so it is. Nor 
 was this horrible thing confined to Jeremiah's 
 day : our Lord and his apostles, as above hinted, 
 bid us expect such things, even under the strict- 
 est pretensions to Christianity, and to guard 
 against the cunning craftiness of men, who lie in 
 wait to deceive, and who privily wouid bring 
 in damnable heresies, Eph. iv. 14. 2 Peter, ii. 
 1. But the Protestant reformed churches are 
 ready to imagine that error, deception, &c. are 
 confined to Rome, and some few schismatics; 
 while Protestant dissenters maintain that error 
 and delusion are inseparable from national 
 churches, the very constitution of them being 
 antiscriptural ; and each party thinks every 
 other sect is tainted with heteroxy but them- 
 selves j when, alas ! false joys, arising from false 
 confidence, are but too manifestly among the 
 various professions of our day ; which should 
 lead every man, in the first place, to suspect 
 hiimelj, and then to look with a jealous eye on 
 all making pretensions to Christianity about 
 him. V et there have gone forth such abundant 
 effusions of the spirit of catholic charity, that 
 nothing is deemed more rude, than to intimate 
 the least suspicion of Our neighbour's creed 
 being sound ; and, therefore, nothing more ge- 
 nerally censured than bigotry, party spirit, and 
 a narrow way of thinking. But, strange to tell, 
 though undeniaby true the fact, this same catho- 
 lic charity has it in her nature (happy for the 
 friends of Jesus that it is not at present in her 
 power) to persecute unto strange cities, and even 
 unto cieath, those who dare refuse subscription 
 to her dogmas! Though the above representa- 
 tions are nothing more than the scripture fore- 
 tels, the writer of these Essays is far from think- 
 ing that every one who is in error, and rejoicing 
 in a thing of nought, is intentionally striving to 
 
 deceive, 
 
156 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 deceive. Far be any such thought from him. 
 No: It is to be lamented that many sincere per- 
 sons aie ignorantly led astray; and even some 
 who are born of God, in their infantile state, 
 may be in bondage to the rudiments of this 
 world, not knowing the depths of Satan. There 
 are also degrees in Christian experience, even as 
 there are in knowledge and faith: for the path 
 of the just is as the shining fight, that shineth 
 more and more unto the pet feet day. Though it 
 should be carefully observed, that even the new- 
 born babe desires the sincere milk of the Word, that 
 he may grow thereby; and so, the breathings of 
 the heaven-born babe are essentially and visibly 
 different from the swelling imaginations of the 
 flesh, which are manifested in a certain kind of 
 canting, whining, voluntary humility. In line, 
 the smallest degree of real gospel experience is, 
 in its nature, foundation, and effects, not only 
 distinct from, but directly opposite to, that which 
 goes under the borrowed name of Christian-ex- 
 perience; but which, in fact, is nothing more 
 than the fluctuation of the passions, generally 
 set in motion b} r some enthusiastic rant, and is 
 without foundation.either in scripture, sense, or 
 reason — a mere castle in the air! 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 WHERIN SOME KINDS OF DELUSIVE EXPE- 
 RIENCES, AND THE USE MADE OF THEM, 
 ARE LAID OPEN AND EXPOSED. 
 
 The pleasure and satisfaction persons take, in 
 reflecting upon the advances they have made 
 
 towards 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 157 
 
 towards tiie ports of bliss, according to their re- 
 spective schemes of religion, and the influence 
 this has upon their conduct, may be termed 
 their experience. . ISot to enlarge upon the ex- 
 perience of the Pagan, the Mahometan, the 
 Jew, or the Papist, who have all enjoyments 
 suitable to the nature of their own creed, I shall 
 briefly notice that kind ol experience which is 
 talked of amongst Protestants. 
 
 First : since the nations of the world have 
 been denominated Christian, it has been no un- 
 common thing to find those who renounce the 
 scripture as idle fiction, bearing the Christian 
 name. Such, however, have a scheme of re- 
 ligion, and of consequence have experience suit- 
 able thereto. Their scheme may be briefly sum- 
 med up thus: the notice of God and reason, 
 which all men by the light of nature have, or at 
 least may have, by the mere improvement of 
 their abilities, without revelation, are sufficient 
 to direct them in the way to eternal blessedness 
 — satisfy them that such a state is attainable — 
 and point out ihe way how it is to be attained ; 
 so that by a practical compliance with these 
 notions, which man in his present state is capa- 
 ble of, he may certainly attain to acceptance 
 with God, please him, and obtain eternal hap- 
 piness. So much for the doctrine. Now for 
 the corresponding experience, which may be 
 had in the words of one of this class, who, in 
 describing some Christians of his own stamp, 
 says, " They hearken to the great Immanull 
 within, the word and voice of everlasting reason,, 
 and are as blessed and happy as creatures can 
 be, L)3 r the redeeming powerof the holy J esus.' 
 It is most certain that by the phrases" Imman- 
 ucl, and the holy Jesus/' the " word and voice 
 of everlasting reason" is intended. It is plain, 
 also, that there is no other reason for using these 
 O scripture. 
 
158 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 scripture phrases, than to throw a dash of popu- 
 larity into their system, in order to make it 
 more agreeable to those who may yet find some 
 scruples of conscience which make them unwil- 
 ling entirely to give up revelation, ftow though 
 it is true, that by the notices of. God. in his 
 works, Rom. i. 20. and the reasonableness of 
 doing to others, as we think it right they should 
 do unto us, Rom. ii. 14, 15. we are taught our 
 duty to God and our neighbour; and though 
 this knowledge is sufficient for every man to 
 find himself guilty by, and so to stand in need 
 of some other revelation of God, to give peace 
 to his conscience, and make him happy for 
 ever ; yet nothing but some pernicious false- 
 hood can teach the guilty to hope for eternal 
 happiness, separate from that which takes away 
 sin, and gives a title to everlasting life. But if 
 any thing else can, there is no cause why " the 
 word and voice of everlasting reason" should 
 not make us happy as creatures can be. How- 
 ever, it needs but little discernment in the scrip- 
 tures to understand, that the sense connected 
 with these phrases, m the experience before us, 
 is foreign to the sense of them there ; and that 
 the experience itself is nothing better than a 
 mere phantasm. 
 
 Again : we have already considered the doc- 
 trine of those who seek their Maker's favour, as 
 it were by tht dee da <>J the iazv, and have point- 
 ed out the falsity and delusion thereof, Essay I. 
 Sect. IV. The experience arising from it, is 
 that dignity and self-enjoyment, which a con- 
 sciousness of their sincere obedience, and the 
 progress they make in that antient doctrine,^ 
 s/ioit be as gods, yields them. But things al- 
 ways are as their foundations be. The ground 
 pi the doctrine being falsehood and deceit, the 
 experience must be nothing better than a miser- 
 able 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. lj§ 
 
 able delusion, and tne pleasure supported in the 
 soul by it, equally criminal with the indulgence 
 of any fleshly lust, and much more dangerous. 
 Further : there are other professing Christians, 
 whose doctrine and experiences are of a more 
 spiritual nature than the former, who are much 
 more concerned about cultivating thetlevout exer- 
 cises of the heart, than performing the externals of 
 religion. The doctrine of this class of profes- 
 sors, is not a very material circumstance even 
 among themselves ; for they can readily agree 
 to differ about that, provided they are of one 
 mind in what are reckoned essentials. Indeed, the 
 most spiritual of this class find no occason for 
 any external revelation; but this notion is now 
 become more out of repute than it was a century 
 ago. However, they generally agree in this, 
 that the word of God is a dead letter — that its 
 doctrines are dry — and that to insist much noon 
 them, leads, at \east } to sjjeatlative An tinomianism. 
 In, short, the doctrines of the word being look- 
 ed upon as mere shells, their language is " away 
 with doctrines, and give us a spiritual frame, a 
 warm heart, and comfortable feelings ; you are 
 for a Christ without, we are for a Christ within ; 
 you are for doctrine, we are for experience." 
 Now if this warm heart, spiritual frame, and so 
 on, is promoted, whether it be by bodily sensa- 
 tions, a dream, some impressions on the imagi- 
 nation, or by the force and energy of what is called 
 a pozcerful preacher; they account that they are 
 alive to God, and are eminently influenced by 
 his Spirit. They have somehow got a notion, 
 that something spiritual enters into the nature 
 of Christianity, but being in a natural estate, they 
 understand not the things of the Spirit of God, 
 1 Cor. ii 14. Alas for them! their wretched fits 
 of affection begin in self, tend to exalt self, and 
 end in self-sootliing, if not in self-adoration. The 
 O 2 foundation 
 
K>0 ON EXPEP.IFNCE. 
 
 foundation of all such experience is gross ignor- 
 ance, supported by the mere agitation of corrup- 
 ted nature, or the strong delusions of the devil ; 
 and to attribute these things to the work of the 
 Spirit of God, is in fact to take the name of the 
 Lord in vain. But I shall produce a specimen 
 of these kinds of experience. 
 
 As to those which arise from bodily sensations, 
 a certain author has thus expressed himself, 
 " 'i here rue some instances of persons, in whom 
 it seems manifest, that the first ground of their 
 affection is some bodily sensation. The animal 
 spirits, by some cause (and probably sometimes 
 by the devil; are suddenly and unaccountably 
 put into a \evy agreeable motion, causing persons 
 to feel pleasantly in their bodies; the animal 
 spirits are put into such a motion as is wont to be 
 conceded with the exhilaration of the mind ; 
 and t iie soul, by the laws of the union of soul 
 and body, hence feels pleasure. The motion of 
 the animal spirits does not first arise from any af- 
 fect. on or a [(prehension of the mind whatsoever, 
 but the very fiist thing that is felt, is an exhil- 
 aration of the animal spirits, and a pleasing ex- 
 ternal sensation, it may be in their breasts. 
 
 Hence, through ignorance, the person being 
 surprized, begins to think, surely this is the 
 Holy Ghost coming into him. And then the 
 mind begins to be affected and raised; there is 
 first gteac joy, and then many other affections, 
 in a wry tumultuous manner, putting all nature, 
 both body and mind, into a mighty ruftie." In- 
 stances of this sort of experiences might be seen 
 i.i abundanee amongst the Jumpers in Wales,or 
 in certain select experiences and journals, which 
 have been published to the world. Query : Are 
 not these kinds of experiences much promoted 
 by the new mode of conducting the psalmody 
 in certain places of worship ? And, if so, might 
 
 we 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. lOI 
 
 we not obtain as rich expo knee in a play-house, 
 or at a conceit ? 
 
 Again : the chief and most satisfactory experi- 
 ence of some arise from (beams, and I have known 
 this kind of, to use their own phrase, f preci- 
 ous experience," received with great applause, 
 when the dreamer has requested- church-fellow- 
 ship, which, by the way, is a proof that the bond 
 of union amongst such societies,, is a mutual 
 good opinion of each others experience, and not 
 the faith which w;;s once delivered to the saints. 
 It is hardly to he told what tcnilj/e and what 
 pleasing experiences come from ibis quarter. 
 Some hereby have been driven to their wits 
 end : while others have been soaring almost into 
 the habitations of the blessed : and have been 
 ready to imagine themselves enthroned in bliss 
 above; when, to their sad moi lir:ca:ion, they 
 awoke and behold it was a dream ! Eccl. v. 7. 
 Isaiah, xxix. 8. - However, the extasies and 
 raptures which it occasioned, frequently gave 
 strength for many days afterwards. 
 
 Further: these " warm hearts," and "com- 
 fortable feelings," frequently arise from impres- 
 sions upon the imagination. Here i shall again 
 lay before the reader the words of the author 
 above referred to, who expresses himself accu- 
 rately on this head. " The imagination is that 
 power of the mind, whereby it can have a con- 
 ception or idea of things.of an external or out- 
 ward nature, when tho>;e< tilings are not present, 
 and are not perceived by the senses. It is called 
 imagination from the word image; because 
 thereby a person can have an image of some 
 external thing in his mind, when that thing is 
 not present in reality, nor any tiling like it. — 
 When such ideas are strongly impressed upon 
 the mind, and the image o: them in the mind 
 is very lively, almost as if one sarr them, or 
 O 3 heard 
 
162 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 heard them, &c. that is called an impression upon 
 the imagination. Many, who have had such 
 things, have very ignorantly supposed them to 
 be of the nature of spiritual discoveries. Some 
 have had impressed upon them ideas of a great 
 outward light, which they call a sight of God's 
 glory. Some have had imaginary ideas of Christ 
 hanging on the cross, with his hands and feet 
 extended, and the blood streaming from his 
 pierced side ; which they term a spiritual disco- 
 very of Christ crucified, and of the way of sal- 
 vation through his blood. Some have had lively 
 ideas of heaven, and of Christ sitting at the right 
 hand of God, with the shining ranks of angels 
 and arch-angels bowing before him, which they 
 think is like what Stephen enjoyed, when he 
 saw heaven opened, Sec. Some have had, time 
 after time, lively ideas of a person of a beautiful 
 countenance (somewhat like the representation 
 of cherubs at the altar in churches) smiling upon 
 them, which they account a spiritual discovery 
 of a reconciled God, and a manifestation of the 
 love of Jesus to their soul. To such it is a suf- 
 ficient evidence that these things are spiritual 
 discoveries, and that they see them spiritually, 
 that the}' do not see them with the external 
 organs of sight, but in their hearts. For they 
 can see them when their eyes are shut. In like 
 manner the imagXiation of some has been im- 
 pressed wi th ideas of the sense of hearing. They 
 have had ideas of words, as if they were spoken 
 to them ; sometimes they are the words of scrip- 
 ture, and sometimes other words. These they 
 term having the inward call of Christ — hearing 
 his voice if* their hearts*, having the inward 
 
 witness 
 
 * Some such notion as this must be maintained, to counte~ 
 nance the silly distinction between believing in the foaJ, and 
 believing in the heart. 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 1 63 
 
 witness of his spirit — and the inward testimony 
 of the love of Christ," and so on. From these 
 impressions, these imaginary ideas, they con- 
 clude, as indeed they are taught by their leaders 
 so to do, that the good work is begun in them 
 — that they are the dear people of God's love, 
 and that these experiences are the foretastes of 
 heaven ! and the heat of their passions so in- 
 toxicates their soul, that one may as soon 
 expect to gain the attention of a company 
 of drunkards to a lecture upon sobriety, as 
 to have theirs, while we expostulate with them 
 about their delusions. It might be truly 
 said, they feed on ashes ; and a deceived heart 
 has turned them aside ; and, what is truly 
 lamentable, these unhappy souls, instead of 
 watching against these enthusiasms, lay them- 
 selves open to them ; yea, they even pray for 
 them, aixd when, after their absence, they have 
 been renewed, it is taken for granted that God 
 has heard their prayer ; and this affects them 
 more, and confirms them the stronger in their 
 delusions. Now that these things are spiritual 
 discoveries, of some kind, is readily admitted ; 
 but that they are the teachings of the Spirit of 
 God, divine illuminations, or in any sense what- 
 soever proceeding from God, must be denied, 
 so long as we retain the least veneration for him. 
 All divine illumination conveys instruction. The 
 spirit of truth testifies of Jesus, and in all his 
 operations makes use of the written word, by 
 which he opens the understanding. But the 
 hope and experiences of the persons above re- 
 ferred to, would not in the least be injured, if 
 infidels could piove the scriptures to be a cun- 
 ningly devised fable. If then, these enthusiastic 
 reveries must be called spiritual discoveries, they 
 may fitly be denominated by the scripture 
 phrase, spiritual wickedness in high places. 
 
 Once 
 
1.64 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 -~ — ■ ' -~ — =-«g 
 
 Once more : under this sort of experience may 
 be ranked those extasies of the mind, that are 
 engendered by the solemn tone, earnest zeal, and 
 blustering vociferation, of those who are, by 
 these persons, called experimental preachers. 
 The principal attention of these leaders is to 
 produce what is most likely to influence the pas- 
 sions, work upon the imagination, and wind up 
 the affections into lively frames, raptures, and 
 extasies ; which, in order to make some shew of 
 gospel, they have the daring profaneness to call 
 by the most sacred names. Hence we have 
 been told, in writings almost universally admir- 
 ed, that " Whoever, upon an impartial exami- 
 nation, can find certain marks upon them, viz. 
 a spirit of prayer — not committing sin — conquest 
 over the world — loving one another, and loving 
 our enemies'* — may be as-certain as though au 
 angel from heaven was to tell them their pardon 
 is sealed in heaven. — These are infallible marks; 
 these are i m m a n u e l, God in and with us ; these 
 make up the white stone; these are the earnest 
 of the heavenly inheritance: in short, these are 
 glory begun, and are that good thing, that better > 
 party which neither men nor devils shall ever be 
 able to take from us." Mow there is no reason 
 why a free-thinker may not as well use the terms 
 Immaiiud, and the hu/y Jesus, when he applies 
 them to the " Word and voice of everlasting 
 reason," as tho^e who profess to be shocked at 
 the thought of Deism prevailing, when they 
 apply them to the imagination of the thoughts 
 of their heart, under the influence of bodily sen- 
 sations, dreams, impressions upon the imagina- 
 tion, or the influences of the passions under the* 
 
 powerful 
 
 * These things, if real, are folid marks of a Christian: but 
 the author is here speaking of counterfeit; delusive experiences 
 —Ed. 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 165 
 
 powerful vociferation of a modern cledaimer. 
 I\or would the nature of these experiences be in 
 the least injured, if the name should be changed 
 from " I mm art u el God in and with us" to the 
 term spirit, or the tight within, which is the 
 great arcanum of the Quakers. Or-! were they 
 to agree with the antient Pythagoreans -among 
 the heathen, to call these inward movements 
 " A divine afflatus." But to renounce scripture 
 name and thing would never preserve the credit 
 of these pretenders to Christianity — The ebbings 
 and flowings of these things are called Christian* 
 experience: their absence is termed desertion, 
 or the hiding of God's face; and their presence 
 communion with God. Nothing can be more 
 applicable to this class of professors, than the 
 word of the Lord by the prophet Isaiah, lxvi. 3. 
 4. chap. 1. 10. lea, tkeif have chosen their oivn 
 ways, and their sou/ detighteth in their abomi- 
 nations. I also will chouse their delusions, and 
 fying their fears upon them; because when I 
 Called, none did answer; when I spake, they did 
 not heat: but they did evil before mine eyes, and 
 chase that in which f deliohtcd not. — Therefore, 
 behold all ye that kindle Ji re, , that compass your- 
 selves about with sparks: walk in the light of y out 
 fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. 
 This ye shall have vj ' mine hands, ye shall lie 
 
 DOWN IN SOL ROW. 
 
 Again : there are others, who in their studied 
 confessions of faith, profess to depend for life 
 and salvation upon Jesus Christ, and to be go- 
 verned in their faith and practices by his word 
 alone : among whom, nevertheless, there is much 
 chatj, which, if it were winnowed away, would 
 be no great loss. The experience of such might 
 be considered as arising, either from some parts 
 of scripture coming suadenty to their mind, 
 from the appearance of the supposed principle 
 
 of 
 
163 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 of grace, or from what is generally called the 
 assurance of faith. Without being solicitous 
 about order, or the choice of words, some gene- 
 ral attention maybe given to these things as 
 they appear in the professing world. 
 
 It is acknowledged that all genuine experi- 
 ence does proceed from the word ot God : and 
 those experiences which are agreeable to the 
 gospel cannot but be true. But the error here 
 intended to be pointed out, is that readiness 
 discovered in professors, if they are in any way 
 atiected by a passage of scripture, to conclude 
 that it must come from God ; it must be true 
 gospel-experience, and therefore cannot deceive 
 the. j). Such, in relating what they call "The 
 Lord's gracious dealings with them/' will say, 
 t( There were such and such sweet promises 
 brought to my mind : they came suddenly as if 
 they were spoken to me : I had no hand in 
 bringing such lexis to my mind. I was not 
 even thinking of any thing leading to them ; 
 they came all at once, so that I was surprised. I 
 had not thought of them a long time before; 
 I did no. know at first that they were scripture ; 
 but they came with such power, that i was over- 
 whelmed with joy, the tears flowed in great 
 abundance, and i was filled with joy and peace 
 in believing " Here let it be observed, that if 
 any scripture comes to the mind, whether sud- 
 denly or more gradual) y, as the effect of the 
 Spirit's work, and givesunstruction and support, 
 the effects are, without doubt, genuine gospel- 
 experience. But what is here objected to shall 
 be instanced in a few particulars. 
 
 If a person (whose hope is placed in his 
 awakenings, his convictions, or his experiences, 
 be they of what kind soever they may) should 
 be in great distress from the fearful apprehen- 
 sion that his hope is vain., and that he is still in 
 
 his 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 1 67 
 
 his sins; and his distress heightened by the 
 near prospect of death's approach, should on a 
 sudden have, Hab. ii. 3. darted into his mind, 
 « The vision is yd for an appointed time, but at 
 the end it shall speak, and not lie : though it 
 tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it 
 will not tarry" — If from hence he should, by 
 the vision, understand the return of his former 
 experience or joys — that the tune for his com- 
 forts in this way is fixed, and so it becomes 
 him to wait without them till they come, under 
 the persuasion that they will shortly be here : 
 And if, following this, Isaiah liv 1. 8 should be 
 suggested and applied to the same purpose — 
 " Far a smalt moment have 1 forsaken thee, but 
 with great mercies will I gather thee. In a 
 little wrath I hid myjacefrom thee, for a mo- 
 ment : but with everlasting kindness will 1 have 
 mercy on thee, &c. — from which hope is revived, 
 fear prevented, and comrort, in some measure, 
 restored, in the thought that he shall some time 
 be comforted again. It is very plain the Holy 
 Spirit has nothing to do with any part of this; 
 and it is as plain, that the hope founded upon 
 it, and the comfort taken from it, are vain and 
 dehisive ; for the setise m .which the passages are 
 understood, is contrary to the true meaning of 
 the Spirit of truth in those places It is making 
 a new meaning to the text; a meaning too w hich 
 God never designed, aid is in fact the same as 
 making a new BIBLE; which is not the work 
 of the Spirit of God. Besides, there is no com- 
 fort that comes from Goo to guilty sinners, ^>ut 
 what comes through Christ, Ins righteousness, 
 and his atonement. But to talve comfort under 
 a sense of having done wrong, from a persuasion 
 that we are different from others, and from what 
 we once were, is not the hope set before us in 
 the gospel. To suppose,, therefore, tHat'God 
 
 would 
 
%6& ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 ' would comfort any by such means., is to suppose 
 that he delights in sinners out of his Son, and 
 that he can comfort them in believing a lie : 
 than which a greater absurdity cannot be in- 
 vented. 
 
 Again : if a person prays earnestly to the 
 Lord to direct him in the way of Providence, 
 when, we will suppose, there are two or more 
 ways before him, (though perhaps before he has 
 an inclination to one way) while he is musing 
 and in great perplexity, that passage comes 
 suddenly into his mind, attended with the cir- 
 cumstances mentioned in the other case, This is 
 the Way 3 walk ye in it ; that is, the way he has 
 most impressed upon his mind. He takes this 
 for a notable answer to his prayer; and meeting 
 with what his heart went after, he becomes con- 
 firmed in the persuasion, and has it strengthened 
 by, Gen. xxviii. 15. following it, Behold 1 am 
 with thee, and zvill keep thee in all places whither 
 thou goest ; for 1 will not leave thee until I have 
 done that which I have spoken to thee of ;. and 
 many others of the like import. Hence he con- 
 cludes, that he has much interest with God ; 
 that he is beloved of the Lord, and that his ways 
 are directed by him. Though there is no proof 
 in all this that God has any hand whatever in 
 the whole affair. But what is very remarkable, 
 when a text of scripture comes to the mind 
 which tends to distress, as for instance, when a 
 doubting soul has darted into his mind the words 
 of David, " I shall now perish, one day by the 
 hand of Saul," it is said to be the temptation of 
 the Devil. But what reason can be assigned 
 for this? Has Satan power only over uncom- 
 fortable passages of scripture ; or cannot he per- 
 vert any part of them, to tempt and deceive 
 men with ? and if so, then its being a comfortable 
 or a precious promise, is no proof that Satan has 
 
 not 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. U>[i 
 
 — - - — i - 
 
 not a hand in it. Yea, it appears to be his work 
 alone when it tends to confirm the false joy, and 
 false confidence of sinners. 
 
 The experience of others arises from, and is 
 maintained by, some imaginary symptoms of a 
 work of grace in their souls ; such are going 
 about in quest of some token for good in them- 
 selves, and when they hear the word, are search- 
 ing in every corner of their heart, to see if some- 
 thing favourable does not appear there; an i 
 that generally with a strong bias in the mind, 
 to make the most of what they find ; that much 
 the same use has been made of these signs, as 
 the ancient Pharisees made of the law. Hence 
 some signs and marks arc given for professors 
 to judge of their s^ate by, that are common to 
 believers and hypocrites; and others, that have 
 no foundation at all in the word of God ; from 
 -which, when they are perceived, or imagined to 
 be in them, they conclude well of themselw:. 
 But when the more thinking part of them come 
 to reflect, they perceive, that many have had 
 those things and yet fallen away, which tend to 
 create sad suspense ; and though nothing but 
 the blood of Christ, flowing freely to the chirr 
 of sinners,, can effectually remove the torment 
 of the mind, yet their leaders, either from igno- 
 rance of, or disaffection to, this sovereign reme- 
 dy, set themselves to distinguish where there is 
 no difference, and to create reverence for theii 
 own judgment, divide and subdivide very nice- 
 ly, betwixt what are genuine convictions, de- 
 sires, affections, and so on ; and what are coun- 
 terfeit; whereby the mind is frequently uioie 
 eatangled, ami heavier burdens laid upon i:. 
 And after all the labour and pains, it is gene- 
 rally found a difficult piece of work, to persuade 
 some to think well of themselves ; the mo 3 t that 
 they can be brought to is, that, they desire to 
 P believe: 
 
170 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 believe; and when nothing else will do, they 
 get some sort of ease by hearing, that the desii^ 
 of faith is faith. This reminds me of what I 
 once heard an old woman say to one of these 
 " doubting believers/' with whom she had taken 
 much pains to make her think well of herself; 
 but her patience at length being worn out, she 
 exclaimed, is You are the most uncomfortable 
 people in the world to talk to. There's no end 
 in it, for no sooner has one removed one doubt, 
 but you bring up twenty more." — The opportu- 
 nities wherein comfort and joy are obtained 
 from this source, are called " Bethel-visits;" and 
 if the persons are what is called orthodox in 
 their creed, although they should not think 
 much about a godly conversation, or of observ- 
 ing a-1 things whatsoever Christ has command- 
 ed, but on the contrary, through frequent returns 
 of these fits of affection, should grow tired of 
 religion ; yet believing the final perseverance 
 of the saints, they know, that if once in grace 
 tnen always in grace, and can address their 
 souls in words often used upon this occasion: 
 
 " Did Jesus ence upon thee shine ? 
 " Then Jesus is for ever thine." 
 
 In like manner they are asked, " Do you re- > 
 collect, in any part of your life, either in read- 
 ing, hearing, praying, or conversing, when you 
 enjoyed the presence of God ?" (of which they 
 are to form their o\Vn conceptions) " if so, then 
 my soul for your's all is safe," or in words to 
 this effect. Hence they conclude, that as by 
 divine assistance they have exerted an act of 
 faith, (that is, persuaded themselves that they 
 are not as other men) and have enjoyed the di- 
 vine presence — all is secure and well. It only 
 happens to be " winter with the soul," and if 
 the person dies in this wintry season, it is hoped 
 
 ali 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 171 
 
 all is well, because we have been told (Jod puts 
 many of his children to bed in the dark! it any 
 doctrine deserves to be denominated Aniino- 
 niiati, surely this does ; for what can be more 
 dangerous, or what have a greater tendency to 
 Jul I professors to sleep, in the bed of carnal se- 
 curity, and encourage them to sin, with the 
 hope of impunity ? Once more: there are 
 others whose experiences arises from what is 
 called by them the •< assurance of faith," or, in 
 other words, the appropriating the benefits of 
 the gospel, Christ, heaven, and so on, to myself; 
 and if we closely attend to the experience aris- 
 ing from this doctrine, we shall fine), that it docs 
 not come so much from the things believed, 
 as from the consciousness that they are pints. 
 We shall hear persons of this sentiment cry 
 down works and legal doctrines, and set up wnat 
 they call faith in opposition to them, and they 
 will speak many excellent things about grace 
 and the gospel ; but then we are somehow led 
 to imagine, that these things, declared in com- 
 mon to the world, are little or nothing with- 
 out the appropriating; act. This act is sometimes 
 made upon internal qualifications ; but others 
 cut the matter much shorter, and appropriate, 
 without any evidence, either from scripture, 
 sense, or reason, or in other words they vainly 
 imagine, though firmly persuade themselves, 
 that it is so, because they believe it to be so. 
 They confess that it is not a truth before it is 
 believed, but becomes a certain truth when they 
 believe it, and never would be true, had not they 
 assured themselves it was so. This persuasion 
 begets joy and great peace, yea, even leads them 
 (to use one of their own expressions) to (i bask 
 before the throne." Such will talk of lying 
 very humbly before the Lord, and will make 
 high pretences to humility; but not knowing 
 V 2 wherein 
 
172 ON EXPEDIENCE* 
 
 wherein true humility consists, they very awk- 
 wardly ape it. In giving an account of their 
 lich experiences, wonderful discoveries, and so 
 on, they tell us " at such a season I was humbled 
 in the very dust — was entirely emptied of self — 
 saw my heart as black as hell, and as deceitful 
 as the devil, and was as low as I well could be 
 in self-abasement." And this will be ai tended 
 with great outward shew of humiliation ; per- 
 haps, iti the meanness or peculiarity of their 
 dreas — ihe affected manner of their speech — 
 Sbme strange gestures — solemn looks, &e. ; so 
 that if one had taken their word for it, they are 
 the most humble creatures under heaven. Yet 
 if their general conduct is but closely looked 
 into, we shall see them to be the most haughty, 
 assuming, unci audaciously proud, of any among 
 the sons of men. The writer has had occasion 
 to iee the best-affected humility spoiled, by an 
 honest friend to truth charging the pretender 
 thereto, with the very thing he had confessed 
 himself the subject of. The person, whom we 
 will call llun.'itis, having, in one of his prayers, 
 confessed before the Lord, t lie hypocrisy of his 
 heart, that he was less than the least of all saints, 
 and not worthy to be named among the chil- 
 dren of God: his friend having observed some 
 things about him, which laid but too just a 
 foundation for such a confession, tookithe liberty 
 of expostulating with him. But llumitis having 
 forgot what manner of person he had confessed 
 himself to be, was very much chagrined at the 
 charge ; his temper warmed, and at length arose 
 to the heights of resentment; in short, if the 
 whole were told, it would appear, that llumitis 
 had a very deceitful sense of the deceitfulness 
 of his heart. From hence it is plain, as well as 
 from various other circumstances, that the chief 
 end in this voluntary humility, is to be thought 
 
 very 
 
OX EXPERIENCE. 17 
 
 very humble Christians, and persons of great 
 diffidence, by all who hear them, that in thei; 
 estimation they may be set foremost on the lists 
 of saints. The account God makes of this 
 parade, may be seen, Isaiah'lxv. 5. The whole 
 of it is founded in ignorance ; for did such know 
 what cause there is in them, for self-abasement 
 before God ; that would appear so great, that 
 astonishment would seize them, that such 
 wretches as they are, so filthy and abominable, 
 are not more deeply abased before him whose 
 name is HOLY. It' we did but entertain just 
 sentiments of ourselves, we should wonder why 
 the Lord should condescend to call our lowest 
 abasement humility, when even "then we are in- 
 finitely short of being so low as we ought to be. 
 A person truly humbled before God, would 
 think it a much greater instance of pride in hira 
 to boast of his humility, than for a slave who 
 has washed his master's feet, to triumph in the 
 great stoop he had made. But the fact is, those 
 who delight to talk of their humility, have an 
 intolerably high conceit of their own importance; 
 which makes them think, that the least condes- 
 cension below what they imagine themselves to 
 be, is great humility 1 We also hear much of 
 their hearts being tilled with the love of God, 
 and how great their love to God is.-. But then- 
 love flows from a vain, blind conceit, that God * 
 loves them in particular; it is not the true cha- 
 racter of God, either in the law, or in the gos- 
 pel, that draws their attention. Besides, did 
 they know the infinite loveliness of God, and 
 the boundless lengths, breadths, and depths of 
 iiis love to sinners, they would be led, in their 
 highest flame of love to God, to confess, that in 
 comparison with what it ought to be, it is very 
 flat and languid. But if their ozcn interest in 
 the great things of God be called in question ; 
 P 3 if 
 
174- ON EXPERIENCE, 
 
 iff they are charged with sin, because of the sad 
 and shameful detects in their love, and are told,, 
 that nothing can relieve them, under a sense of 
 their deficiencies, notwithstanding all their for- 
 mer experiences, but that which saved the Thief 
 upon the cross ; if they are warned to fear, lest 
 a promise being made of entering into rest, any 
 of them should seem to come short of it, and are 
 addressed with those words, " Let him that 
 thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall :" — 
 We shall be charged with razing foundations — - 
 making the hearts of God's people sad — discou- 
 raging them in their pilgrimage, and laying 
 stumbling blocks in the way; and, in the tem- 
 per that influenced our Lord's hearers in the 
 synagogue at Nazareth, we shall hear them say- 
 ing, " What, have 1, who have been a professor 
 of Cmist so many years, and have been indulged 
 with communion with God — I, who have bask- 
 ed before the throne, and have been indulged 
 with so many Bethel-visits from the Lord — 
 am 1 at last reduced to the same situation, as to 
 the ground of my hope and comfort, as a sinner 
 in his first coming to Christ? How shocking 
 the thought ! How alarming the consideration! 
 if I could admit this to be true, I must give up 
 all, and despair!" — Thus some have shewn their 
 enmity to the gospel hope, and plainly declared, 
 that their experience comes from the soothing 
 thought that Christ and heaven are thnrs; 
 though it is certain that Christ proposes nothing, 
 bin his grace manifested in his death and resur- 
 rection, tor the relief of any of his people, under 
 a consciousness of their deficiencies and daily 
 back-slidings: Witness, 2 Cor. xii. 8. Rev. 1. 
 17. From the whole, though one would be 
 ready to think, from hearing the doctrinal creed 
 of these persons, that they have some regard for 
 the disallowed gospel, yet when we trace them 
 
 to 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 175 
 
 *7i , ii ■ ■ - . -i— — 
 
 to their experiences, and mark the use they 
 make of them, it but too visibly appears where 
 their hope in reality is grounded. 
 
 From the specimens that have been produced 
 of the best approved experiences, though each 
 party is ready to censure the other, either for 
 legality or presumption, and so would seem 
 widely to differ from them; every one taught 
 of ood will easily discern, tha.t in fact they all 
 agree in one central point : and that is, to make 
 up some kind of foundation for the guilty to 
 build their hope upon, aside from the perfect 
 atonement, and everlasting righteousness, of the 
 Son of God. And though some will speak of 
 Christ's work in high strains, and would at first 
 view appear to make it all in all ; yet it is plain, 
 that without taking into consideration something 
 either acquired by them, or wrought in them, 
 along with his work, tiiey do not find rest to 
 their souls ; and therefore the more clear the 
 profession, the greater the deception and the 
 more liable to entangle unwary souls. Because 
 this kind of self-deptndtnce is varnished over 
 wi in evangelical phrases, and so lies deep and 
 unsuspected Whether then our preservative 
 against despair, or the source of our experience, 
 be called — everlasting reason — a life of pietv, 
 virtue, and devotion — some pleasing feelings of 
 the mind, arising either from bodily sensations, 
 dreams, impressions upon the imagination, or 
 the zeal of a blustering preacher — the evidence 
 of a supported work of giace begun, or a 
 powerful persuasion of the goodness of our 
 state, it is foreign to the hope set before the 
 guilty in the gospel, and far distant from the 
 source of all true Christian experience. In 
 them, therefore, who are thus carried away, are 
 the words of the prophet verified, Is. ix. 16. 
 The leaders of this people cause them, to err; and 
 
 they 
 
j'76 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 they that are (ed of them are destroyed. 1 1 would 
 be the greatest happiness that could befall such, 
 to be fairly convinced of the delusion, and be 
 persuaded of the sufficiency of the truth in 
 Christ to give them peace and joy in believing. 
 But alas! their bands are generally strong, and 
 the least that is to be expected, for making the 
 friendly attempt (unless the arm of the Lord be 
 revealed) is a sneer, an outcry of uncharitable- 
 ne*s, a complaint of a bad spirit, or a charge of 
 being an enemy to Christian experience. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 WHEREIN THE NATURE OF TRUE CHRISTIAN 
 EXPERIENCE IS CONSIDERED. 
 
 It is very common for persons carried away 
 with the workings of corrupted nature, and the 
 delusions of Satan, to charge those who, out of 
 love to their souls, expostulate with them, and 
 expose their error to them, with denying all 
 Christian experience. But is it not very unfair 
 to conclude, that because we don't hold a point 
 to be true, in every seme in which persons have 
 set it forth, therefore we do not believe it in any 
 sense l — Every Christian has experience of the 
 following nature, viz. That which ariseth from 
 tbe flesh, the corruption of nature, and the vari- 
 ous trials with which his heavenly Father sees 
 meet to prove him ; and from the inward proof, 
 or trial that his soul has, of the gospel of peace 
 and salvation, or from finding that to be true, 
 by actual enjoyment, which he believes upon 
 
 the 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 377 
 
 the unerring testimony of God. Of these we 
 shall speak more particularly. 
 
 First: Mat] is naturally of the earth, earthy. 
 II is constitution was framed to dwell on the 
 earth, and to hold communion with God in the 
 things that are made, through the medium of 
 his obedience; so that it was no crime for 
 Adam to set his affections on things which are 
 upon the earth, or to be of a legal spirit. We 
 may justly say, therefore, that it is natural for 
 man to cleave to the earth, and also to have a 
 strong propensity to seek the favor of God by 
 his own works. This state is commonly termed 
 nature, or the natural man, and at other times 
 the flesh. Rom. iv. i. Gal. iii. 3* i. Cor. ii. 14. 
 But James iii. \'t. not only represents man as 
 earthly, but also sensual, and devilish ; and Paul, 
 referring to the same thing, says, The carnal 
 mind is enmity against God, it is not subject to 
 the lazo of God, neither indeed can be, Rom. viii. 
 7. 8. Such is the dreadful malignity of the 
 flesh as corrupted b} T sin, and such the contra- 
 riety of it to the divine nature, that it is impos- 
 sible it ever should be made like to God, or 
 even in the least degFee conformed to him, being 
 in its very essence absolute enmity against 
 him. — This corrupt principle is properly inhe- 
 rent, being interwoven with the very texture of 
 our constitution. Or rather we are said to be 
 in the /feshj that is, covered in and overwhelmed 
 with its impurity; so that naturally our thoughts, 
 words, and actions, are under the dominion and 
 powerful influence thereof. — When a soul is 
 born of God, we are not to imagine that the old 
 man is better natured than he was before ; or 
 that there is a change in our corrupt nature for 
 the better. Tor we have the authority of the 
 Holy Ghost to say, and the experience of Paul 
 to evince, that in thejtcsh dwells no good thing, 
 
 it 
 
17S ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 it is neither converted nor totally destroyed. 
 There is indeed anew principle, a vital, spiritual; 
 and divine source of lite implanted, which liveth 
 and abideth for ever; even the word which by 
 the gospel is preached, and which is called spirit. 
 But this is not nature renewed, but a principle 
 as opposite to nature, as light is to darkness. 
 Hence we read that the Jiesh lusteth against the 
 spirit, and the spirit against t\\ej(esh 9 and these 
 are contrary the one to the other, so that ye 
 cannot do the things that ye would, Gal. v. 17. 
 Corrupt nature, or sin that dwelleth in us, is so 
 full of enmity to God, so deceitful, so despe- 
 rately wicked, that it i& past all cure. We might 
 as well attempt to wash the Ethiopian white, or 
 to change the Leopard's spots, as to make the 
 carnal mind any better disposed towards God 
 and his law ; even the great Physician himself 
 has marked it incurable, and died that it might 
 be destroyed, Rom. vi. 6. It must, therefore, in 
 whatever measure it remains in the soul, retain 
 its corrupt principles and properties. — ]Sow the 
 opposite principles ofjttsh and spirit, or nature 
 and grace, dwelling in the same souJ, they can- 
 not fail to oppose each other. Each strives for 
 the victory, and aims at the total extirpation of 
 the other, so that war is continually maintained, 
 James iv. i. i. Peter ii. n. Every believer, 
 then, has painful experience of this, law in his 
 members, warning against the law of his mind, 
 which has made the Saints in all ages groan, 
 being burthened. Hence we find some of them 
 making use of such expressive language as the 
 following, — Behold I am vile— I abhor myself— 
 I am undone — I am as a beast before thee—rl 
 am more brutish than any man, and have not the 
 understanding of a man — In me, that is in my 
 Jiesh, dwelleth no good thing. Those who have 
 been made partakers of grace, cannot be recon- 
 ciled 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 179 
 
 ciled to the jiesh ; they long and pray for its de 
 struction, in all its properties. The different 
 and opposite actings of" flesh and spirit may 
 briefly be described as follows: We have seen, 
 that man was framed to live by virtue of his own 
 righteousness ; hence self-righteousness is a chief 
 property of nature, and all who are born again, 
 find in themselves a strong bias to reject the 
 righteousness of Christ, and establish their own; 
 and that in various forms, and under various 
 pretences ; and none but believers in Christ are 
 aware of the evil of this propensity — this is the 
 root of unbelief — this cleaves close to, and easi- 
 ly besets, every child of Adam ; but as the be- 
 liever only is conscious of it, the more he in- 
 creases in the knowledge of Jesus, the more per- 
 ceptible will these self-righteous propensities be 
 to him. So that, though once he was very un- 
 willing to think himself indisposed to the gospel, 
 he now finds a constant necessity of suspecting 
 himself of this evil. But the true grace of God 
 in the heart leads the sinner to live by ttie right- 
 eousness of Christ: — its genuine language is, 
 And be found in him not having my awn right- 
 eousness, which is of the taw, but ttiat which is 
 through the faith of Christ, the righteousness 
 which is of God bu faith, and, / will make men- 
 tion of thy righteousness, even of thine only. 
 Here then is the chief point where watchfulness 
 in the believer is requisite, lest the ever-restless 
 principle of self-righteousness should prevail. 
 Thcjiesh tends to the earth, being earthy — ihe 
 spirit is for having the affection set on things 
 above, and for looking for the mercy or our 
 Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, '^hejles/t 
 is tor gratifying the corrupt inclinations, which 
 are sensual and devilish ; — the spirit is for mor- 
 tifying the deeds of the body, and denying all 
 ungodliness and worldly lusts. Nature shudders 
 
 at 
 
180 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 at the thought of death, and, indeed, were it to 
 act otherwise, it would deny itself — the spiritual 
 desire is, To depart and be Kith Christ, which is 
 Jar better. Thus we see, that every believer has 
 a carnal, fleshly principle dwelling in him, but 
 not reigning ; abiding, but not ruling ; in some 
 measure cast down, but not entirely destroyed. 
 He has also a spiritual and divine principle, an 
 immortal seed that is springing up unto ever- 
 lasting life. \\hen nature is dissolved, the cor- 
 rupt principle will be destroyed, and in the re- 
 surrection, the Saints shall have their bodies 
 fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body, and 
 their renewed spirits shall inhabit this incorrup- 
 tible frame ; and by virtue of that righteousness, 
 which is upon all who believe, enjoy eternal life. 
 Again : the believer has much experience, 
 arising from the various trials which his heaven- 
 ly Father sees meet to bring upon him ; or 
 which he, through his own weakness or impru- 
 dence, may bring upon himself. The trials of 
 his faith may be of various kinds; sometimes 
 prosperity, and at other times adversity; which 
 have their different effects upon his mind ; all 
 of which tend to convince him, of standing in 
 constant need of being upheld by the Lord, and 
 in the end prove rich benefits to his soul, Heb. 
 xii. '0. James i. 2. 4. i Peter i. 7. He finds, 
 under these various trials, that Tribulation 
 zc o) kcth patience; and patience expirience; and 
 experience hope. For while under the pain- 
 ful feelings of the body of sin and death, 
 the temptations of Satan, who is continually 
 attacking him, and the trials of life, he expe- 
 riences divine grace sufficient for him ; so that 
 while in the world he has tribulation, in Jesus 
 he has peace. He has thereby that hope, 
 which is built alone on the riches of divine 
 grace, confirmed I; and thereby knows in whom 
 
 'he 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 he has believed, and becomes persuaded (not. only 
 fiom the certainty that arise th from the divine 
 declaration, but from his own joyful experience) 
 that he is able to keep that which he has com- 
 mitted to him until that day ; having found al- 
 ready that the love and power of Christ were 
 sufficient to support him when, Without. were 
 fighting* — wit hi u zcere fears. 
 
 Second ly : we have bow to speak more large- 
 ly of the inward proof and trial that believers 
 have of gospel truths. Such is the nature of 
 every gospel truth, that no sooner is it received 
 in the light of the Holy Spirit, than it produces 
 in the mind every answerabie affection : and as 
 the happy soul advances in the knowledge of 
 ' the truth, he finds himself, as it were, m an in- 
 finite circle. The transcendent beauty, glory, 
 and suitableness of divine truth, engage Ins at- 
 tention : with steady purpose of heart he puisnes 
 it, and receives the blessings contained m it; 
 whereby his soul is fed, nourished, and strength- 
 ened; though far from being cloyed; but finding 
 his life in the enjoyment thereof, presses a^er 
 more enlarged views and experience of the 
 blessed realities, even until lie arrives at all 
 riches of the full assurance of understanding, 
 which, in the very nature of the thing, must 
 lead him an eternal round of knowing, and de- 
 siring to know — of enjoying and longing to en- 
 joy: still rising higher and higher — still learn- 
 ing more of the excellent knowledge of Christy 
 of his unparalleled, exquisite, and satisfying 
 -sweetness, which only makes the soul hunger 
 and thirst for more! ior the truth of Christ can 
 never, never cloy. 
 
 Here it might be observed, that what distin- 
 guishes true gospel experience from its various 
 counterfeits, is, The truth as it is i)i Jesus: this 
 is what the soul feels the force of and not any 
 Q manner 
 
182 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 manner in which the mind is exercised, in look 
 ing to, or receiving the truth, but the truth it- 
 sejf', even all the excellent things contained ia 
 tie gospel, viz. the glorious character of God, 
 his great love in giving his dear, his only, his 
 well-beloved Son, to die the just for the unjust 
 — the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ* who 
 humbled himself, and became obedient unto 
 death, even the death of the cross — and the 
 glory, sufficiency, and freeness of the gospel to 
 heal, pardon, and save the guilty. So that 
 when a Christian speaks of his experience, he 
 will not furnish us with a long detail of what he 
 has been assisted to do, what success and dis- 
 appointments he has met with (in attempting to 
 establish his own righteousness) what doubts and 
 fears he has had about the goodness of his state, 
 and his " secret hope at bottom" from his for- 
 mer experience, and so on ; but having his heart 
 directed into the love of God, out of the fulness 
 thereof, he will speak of the sovereign favour of 
 (jod^-the beauties of the Redeemer's person, 
 and the glory, excellency, and perfection of his 
 finished work. "With these pleasing realities his 
 soul is so taken up, that he has no time to be- 
 stow any compliments upon himself, or his own 
 attainments: a sense of the former charms, 
 chains, and captivates his soul ; an acquaintance 
 with the latter lays him in the dust — shews him. 
 what a poor, wretched, helpless sinner he is still 
 — how deceitful his heart is — how prone to let 
 slip the gospel-hope, and that he has need of 
 many humbling, and affecting lessons, to sub- 
 due his pride. Hence he learns the necessity 
 of distrusting himself, of keeping a watchful eye 
 over his own heart, and of holding fast the be- 
 ginning of his confidence stedfast unto the end. 
 Having given some general hints about the 
 nature of gospel-experience, we shall now attend 
 
 a 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 18. 
 
 a little more particularly to the subject. But it 
 will not be amiss to collect from the fore^oinrr 
 essays,, a summary of the gospel, which we have 
 seen is the genuine source of all true experience. 
 The Angel, in proclaiming the Saviour's advent, 
 addressed the shepherds thus, Behold I bring 
 you good tidings of great joy which shall be to 
 all people. For unto you is born this day in 
 the city ojkDavid, a Saviour who is Christ the 
 Lord. Which manifestation brings Glory to 
 God in the highest, and- on earth peace, good- 
 will tozvards men. The primary glory of the 
 gospel consists in the divine perfections of wis- 
 dom, holiness, justice, love, mercy, truth, and 
 faithfulness, being therein gloritied in the highest. 
 But in this bright mirror of deity, there is also 
 represented the most shocking scene of human 
 misery that can possibly be set forth, while yet, 
 the good pleasure of God is manifested to men, 
 in the all-sufficient relief that is provided there 
 for sinners of all nations. These things pub- 
 lished, contain good tidings of great joy to all 
 people, whether they entertain them as such 
 or no ; for our reception or rejection of a truth 
 cannot possibly alter its nature. The glad tid- 
 ings of the gospel point immediately to every 
 one who hears them. Unto you is the word of 
 this salvation sent; and through this man is 
 preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, is its 
 benign language to every one who hears it. 
 Whoever then is taught of God, to undersiam! 
 the gospel, will not conceive of it merely as m 
 account of what God intends to do for some 
 unknown persons; but he sees a wide door 
 opened to sinners of every nation and decree, 
 without distinction No person, therefore, who 
 doubts of the sufficiency of the finished work 
 of Christ, to give him immediate relief' under 
 the deepest sense of guilt, believes, thai very 
 Q 2 forgiveness 
 
184 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 forgiveness that is with God. No person ques- 
 tioning its unlimited freeness, or whether it is 
 addressed to sinners as such, believes the same 
 gospel that Jesus and his Apostles preached. 
 No one believing that the blessings of the gos- 
 pel belong to him, because he is properly prin- 
 cipled or qualified, in preference to those who 
 are ungodly and without strength, understands 
 and knows that gospel that is good tidings of 
 great joy to all people. It is not denied that 
 either of these persons, heartily, sincerely, affec- 
 tionately, and steadily believe the gospel in some 
 seme, as did Simon Magus, the stony ground 
 hearers and others. But to receive the gospel 
 in any other sense than that which the Holy 
 Spirit teacheth, is the most fundamental and 
 pernicious error that any can fall into. How- 
 ever, all who have heard and learned of the 
 Father, and so have received the truth in the 
 love of it, will find that it has, in some degree 
 or other, the following effects, which may be 
 called the experience of it. 
 
 first: Christian experience consists in the 
 enjoyment of peace in the conscience. The 
 work of righteousnes, that the divine Surety 
 wrought, has made perfect peace with God. 
 Eph."ii. 14. 16. 2 Cor. v. 19- God is now the 
 very God of peace, Christ is the Prince of peace 
 — the word that proclaims the Saviour's work 
 is the Spirit of peace. Surely then the neces- 
 sary effect of the gospel known and believed, 
 must be peace in the conscience. For as the 
 knowledge of God and his law gives the guilty 
 conscience torment; so the knowledge of the 
 atonement, or full, free, and everlasting for- 
 giveness by the blood of Christ, who through 
 the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot 
 to God, purges the conscience from dead works 
 to serve the living God. .Now this peace of 
 
 conscience 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 conscience which always, in some degree, fol- 
 lows the belief of* the truth, arises merely from 
 the blood of Christ, as it freely flows in the gos- 
 pel proclamation, to sinners' of all nations, ranks, 
 and degrees. Hence it appears that true peace 
 does not arise in the guilty conscience, from any 
 thing that the sinner by reflection finds in him- 
 self, or from consideration of what he at any 
 time has done, or under any influence whatever 
 has been enabled to do ; nor even from any evi- 
 dences of a true work of grace -in his soul ; but 
 simply and alone, from the exceeding abundant 
 grace revealed in the gospel, which becomes his 
 hope. Nothing, therefore, can be more evident, 
 than that he is under some fatal mistake, about 
 the very nature of the gospel, whose faith does 
 not bring peace to his soul. Either he has 
 some suspicion that the blood of Christ alone is 
 not sufficient to cleanse liun from all sin — that 
 it is not so free as to be for every sinner as a 
 sinner that believes it, or that some work of the 
 spirit must be perceived in his soul before he 
 must take the comfort which the gospel brings; 
 which mistake, however small it may seem, if 
 not corrected, will prove destructive. It is 
 true, many are crying peace to themselves-, vt 
 there is no peace j but then every kind of fa 
 peace flows from some mistaken notion of the 
 gospel ; from something different from that, 
 which removes the ground of all fear and tor- 
 ment in the soul. Peace coming in this way 
 may be said to proceed from believing: but 
 from believing what? Not that God is well 
 pleased in his Son, but that we are properly 
 principled for receiving Christ, or something of 
 that nature, under some other name. True 
 peace' leads the sinner to an absolute and imme- 
 diate dependence upon the Lord ; and so re- 
 stores him that from which he fell : while every 
 Q 3 false 
 
IpO ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 false peace (as in some form or other it leads to 
 trust in something within) cherishes and pro- 
 motes that awful apostacyj which began in self- 
 dependence. 
 
 Secondly: the believer experiences the meri- 
 torious righteousness and perfect atonement of 
 Christ, to be a sufficient encouragement, to give 
 him boldness and access with confidence at the 
 throne of grace. Many have quarrelled with 
 the Pharisee mentioned in the parable, Luke 
 xviii. on account of the haughty manner of his 
 approach to God, who yet, in reality, come in 
 the very same way themselves. But those who 
 have been taught of God, find no other ground 
 of encouragement and confidence than what the 
 Publican had. Under the most aggravated 
 sense of guilt, and conviction of many sad and 
 shameful deficiencies, they derive all their en- 
 couragement, from having such an atoning 
 sacrifice to look to — such a faithful God to trust 
 in — such an altar to offer up their prayers and 
 praises upon — such rich incense to perfume 
 them with, as the Mediator's intercession, and 
 such an high priest over the house of God. 
 They mourn indeed over sin with bitter lamen- 
 tation, abhor themselves as the subjects of it, 
 and watch over it as their worst enemy ; but do 
 not take their lamentations, abasements, &c. 
 into consideration in their approaches to God, 
 but, looking to the propitiation, say, Have 
 mercy upon me O God, according to thy loving 
 kindness : according unto the multitude of thy 
 tender mercies blot out my transgression: many 
 who profess to draw nigh to God in this way, 
 have nevertheless the full testimony of their con- 
 science, that in all their approaches there is still 
 a sad distance between God and them*. Yet 
 if 
 
 * What follows to the end of this paragraph would require 
 to be a little guarded, lest it should be construed to mean, tha; 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 187 
 
 if at any time they can approach the throne, in 
 the persuasion that they are less sinners than 
 once they were — under a consciousness of more 
 affection in their worship than usual, and less 
 deficiencies — or in the belief that they are the 
 children of God, they would have more eucour- 
 agement, hope of access, and pleasure in their 
 devotion. But this way of approach is founded 
 in legality, manifests that the heart is not right 
 with God, and is directly opposite to the new 
 and living way of coming to him. Heb. x. 19. 
 22. 
 
 Thirdly: in these things, and in this way, the 
 belies r er has the joyful experience of communion 
 with God. Communion signifies fellowship, 
 common possession, or a partaking of the same 
 thing; and communion with God consists in 
 being pleased with, and taking delight in, that 
 which is the centre of his delights, with which 
 his smiles, or the manifestation of the light of 
 his countenance, are always connected. Noth- 
 ing deserves the name of communion with God, 
 but that pleasure which arises in the soul from 
 understanding and knowing the Lord, who exe- 
 cuteth loving kindness, judgment, and right- 
 eousness in the earth ; for in these things I de- 
 light, 
 
 the Spirit of adoption, and the testimony of a believer's con- 
 science to the influence of the truth upon him, are inconsistent 
 with his coming to God in the new and living way. Surely 
 the author could not mean this, and the Apostle, on the con- 
 trary, says, " Beloved, if our hearts condemn us not. then have 
 we conndence towards God ; and whatsoever we ask, we re- 
 ceive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those 
 things that are pleasing in his sight, i Joh. lii. ftx. 22. referring 
 to our Lords words, Joh. xv. 7. The fact is, though Christ is 
 the alone way of access to the Father, yet no man can draw 
 near in this way, or have true confidence before God through 
 him, while he is conscious of allowed hypocrisy or want of love 
 to the brethren ; the scripture repels such confidence, (Isa. 1. 15, 
 Mat. v. 23= 24. Ch. vi. 14. ij. Mark xi. 25. 26), and the med>. 
 auon of Christ was never intended to support it. — Ed, 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 light, saith the Lord, Jer. ix 24. If we would 
 know when this grand exhibition was made on 
 the earth, the voice from the excellent glory in- 
 forms us, when pointing to the obedience and 
 suffering of Christ, and the. glory that should 
 follow, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
 uell pleased." W hoe ver therefore, is well pleased 
 with, and delights in the person and work of 
 Immanuel, has communion with God in his 
 blessedness, even fellowship with the Father and 
 his Son Jesus Christ. But this is very different . 
 from what is commonly, though profanely, call- 
 ed communion with God, which arises merely 
 from sett-love and self-conceit. Some are con- 
 fident they hold communion with God ; bask 
 belore the sun of righteousness ; dwell upon the 
 Mount; and have frequent Bethel-visits, be- 
 cause they have some impulses in their duties, 
 or secret whispers, which they call the witness 
 of the spirit, that God loves them far above the 
 greater part of the world ; which leads them to 
 talk highly of eternal things, such as, personal 
 election, covenant transactions, and unchanging 
 love, particularly redemption, the final perse- 
 verance of the saints, and the enjoyment of eter- 
 nal glory*. And while this is the case, as a cer- 
 tain author observes, " Even pride itself will 
 prejudice them in favour of that which they call 
 Christ. Selfish, proud man naturally calls that 
 lovely, that greatly contributes to fris interest, 
 and gratifies his ambition." — To be upon the 
 Mount, is to understand and delight in what was 
 declared there. To have a Bethel-visit, is to 
 behold heaven and earth united, and an inter- 
 course opened between God and man, in. the 
 
 person 
 
 * It is not these doctrines that are intended to be censured., 
 for they are great and glorious in their own nature ; hut ihe 
 oiute of them* 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 189 
 
 person and work of the mighty God of Jacob, 
 manifested in the flesh. To behold all salvation 
 and ail desire in Christ — to rejoice in him hav- 
 ing no confidence in the flesh, and to glory in 
 this, that we understand and know the Lord as 
 a just God and a Saviour, this is communion 
 with God, and notliing else deserves the name. 
 
 Fourthly : the gospel presents Jehovah's cha- 
 racter in the most lovely point of view : so that 
 no one can behold him as there revealed with- 
 out loving him with a supreme affection. In- 
 deed the beauty of God's moral image is set 
 forth in the holy law ; — and in that representa- 
 tion he is infinitely worthy to be loved, by all 
 intelligent beings ; and not to love him, io this 
 view, is infinitely criminal But while man's 
 natural corrupt principles reign, so far is he 
 from loving this infinitely amiable character, 
 that his heart rises in enmity against it ; which 
 
 if O 
 
 indeed is an awful proof of that gross darkness 
 which, through unbelief of his mercy, covers 
 the soul. _Now, tho' every rational creature is 
 under obligations to love God for his own ex- 
 cellency f which every believer will do,) and tho' 
 not to love him with all the heart, justly desei ves 
 everlasting punishment; — yet nothing is more 
 certain, horn scripture and fact, than that no 
 person will love God in truth till his natural 
 enmity is broken ; which is never done till the 
 regenerating influences of the Holy Spirit, by 
 the word of truth, quicken his soul. The natural 
 man may iove that notion of God which suits 
 his carnal, deceitful, proud, sensual heart; but 
 eveiy notion of him that does not give us just 
 views of his glorious majesty, holiness, &c tends 
 to lead us into idolatiy. Some are disposed to 
 love God, because they conceive of him as a 
 being so good and benevolent, that he cannot 
 find in his heart to damn them for their sins. — 
 
 Others 
 
190 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 Others feel an affection for the deity because 
 they believe he has pardoned all their sins — 
 exalted them above many of their fellow-crea- 
 tures, and that all the joys of heaven are their 
 own. And these we shall hear speaking in 
 high strains, about sovereign, free, electing love ; 
 who } T et, when the true nature of God's sove- 
 reign love is set forth, and his true character de- 
 clared, will, like the antient Pharisees (who also 
 belies'ed a kind of absolute Predestination,*) 
 hate it. Yet so essential is love to God to the 
 Christian f character, that he who loveth not is 
 not of God ; for God is love. And upon the 
 person who loves not our Lord Jesus Christ in 
 sincerity, the most awful curses are denounced. 
 To love God includes (1st) Love to that amazing 
 grace, shown towards sinners in opening a way 
 for their deliverance from deserved w r rath. In 
 this was manifest the love of God towards us, be- 
 cause that God sent his only-begotten Son into 
 the ivorldj that zee might live through him. Here- 
 in is love ; — not that we loved God, but that he 
 loved ns, and sent his Son to be the propitiation 
 for our sins, i John iv. 9. 10. John iii. lCj. (2dly) 
 In connection with the above, love to him for 
 his special benefits and favours conferred upon 
 us ; for it would be an instance of the greatest 
 ingratitude not to love him for the bestowment 
 of favours so divine. (3dly) Love to that grand 
 and most beautiful display of the divine perfec- 
 tions, drawn out in the obedience and atone- 
 ment of Christ. Here the divine holiness shines 
 forth with the brightest lustre, m its infinite op- 
 position to sin, by appointing the holy one to 
 magnify the law and make it honourable— the 
 
 inflexible 
 
 * See Prideaux's Connection, vol. ii. part ii. p. 341. 
 f The passage referred to more immediately respects love to 
 the brethren, which indeed arises from love to God. — Ed, 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 191 
 
 inflexible justice of God appears in its persisting 
 in the punishment of sin according to its infi- 
 nite demerits, even though his well-beioved 
 Son must bear the weighty stroke ; and every 
 other divine attribute shines most gloriously.-— 
 Whoever acknowledges this, and loves this ap- 
 pearance of the true God, justifies the divine 
 proceedings toward the angels that fell ; — and 
 also his dealings with sinners who break the 
 law ; — and owns, that if all the world had been 
 consigned over to eternal death, the character 
 of God would have appeared infinitely glorious. 
 We shall hear many talking of beholding great 
 beauty in Jehovah's goodness, mercy and love, 
 who manifest no disposition to love him, for the 
 tremendous display of his holiness and justice, 
 in opposition to sin. Vet nothing but a full 
 conviction of divine glory in the distribution of 
 justice, will effectually siop the cavils of man's 
 pride, against the procedure of divine sove- 
 reignty. 
 
 But here let it be observed, that no one can 
 love God, and at the same time love sin. 1 John 
 i. 6. No one can love God, and at the same 
 hate his law, or speak unworthy thiugs of it. — 
 Horn. vii. 12. No person loves God who goes 
 about to pervert the gospel ot his grace, Gal. i.8. 
 Nor can any one love God, who does not love 
 his brother, and study the good of mankind. — • 
 1. John iv. 20. chap, hi 17 — Every one who 
 loves the character of God is led to imitate it. 
 
 Fifthly : the gospel of grace gives the high- 
 est display of the great God : of his tremendous 
 perfections, and their infinite opposition to sin ; 
 so that wherever it is truly known and received, 
 it cannot fail to implant the fear of God. The 
 -black character of the wicked is, that There is 
 no fear of God before their eyes. Rom. iii. 18. 
 .Hence the Lord promises; in the new and ever- 
 lasting 
 
192 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 lasting covenant, to put his fear into his people's 
 hearts. And this, we are informed, is the be- 
 ginning of wisdom — Every doctrine, but the 
 doctrine of Christ, tends more or less to keep 
 out godly fear from the soul. Hence the gospel, 
 though it is the very source of the joys of the 
 lioly Ghost, strikes at the root of all false con- 
 fidence, false joys and disobedience. A sort of 
 fear or dread of God is sometimes awakened by 
 the dictates of the natural conscience, and en- 
 forced by the written law ; but from the know- 
 ledge of the truth, the fullest impressions of the 
 living God are made on the mind, and, of course, 
 a more genuine and lasting experience of his 
 fear is implanted there ; the happy and salutary 
 effects of which, among many others, are the 
 following : (1st) It begets conviction of sin in 
 the soul, where Uie conscience has been seared, 
 and enforces and confirms it, where slight im- 
 piessions have been made. Nothing is better 
 suited to awaken the attention to a just sense of 
 sin, than the preaching of the cross of Christ, 
 which makes known God's terrible wrath against 
 it. Deep convictions of sin may be in the soul-, 
 previous to any saving ilkimination, and may 
 occasion great terrors there, which may be sti- 
 fled and expelled by a false hope : but wnen the 
 per lection oi the holy law appears to the sin- 
 ner in the glass of Christ's sufferings, then he 
 peiceives that God is just indeed! and that 
 there is nothing about himself, but what exposes 
 him to the most awful frown of Jehovah ; and 
 from this source he learns more of the infinite 
 heinousness of sin, and has the fullest display of 
 its dreadful consequences. The fear of God, in 
 the sense spoken of here, as proceeding from 
 the knowledge of God in Christ, is perfectly 
 consistent with the strongest confidence of 
 Christ's ability to save to the uttermost — it pos- 
 sesses 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. !;):• 
 
 sesses the mind of a believer in the full assur- 
 ance of faith — in the delightful enjoyments of 
 love, and in the firmest persuasion of his own 
 interest, in electing, redeeming, calling, and 
 preserving grace. Yea this reverence and god- 
 ly fear maintains in the soul, an increasing view 
 of the evil nature of sin, while it grows in know- 
 ledge of, love to, and hope in, the gospel of 
 peace : and is thereby distinct in its very nature, 
 from that slavish fear, which arises from pride, 
 working in a way of painful desire, attended 
 with many fears, till it is crowned with the en- 
 joyment of self-complacency in its own works,*" 
 quite the reverse of that fear, which fills the 
 mind with torment, till it can say, with some as- 
 surance, God 1 thank thee that I am md as 
 other men. It cannot be thought the true be- 
 liever is led by his faith in Christ, and confi- 
 dence of interest in him, to fear sin less than 
 when he expected to be sent to Hell for the 
 commission of it ; — or is emboldened to trans- 
 gress the least command in hope of impunity • 
 II much 
 
 * This seems to glance at a passage in Sandeman's letters on 
 Theron and Aspasio, see 4th Ed. vol. ii. page 8, 20 — If so, it 
 appears that the author must have much misunderstood the pa- 
 ragraph, as it does not seem to be applied in the essays, accord- 
 ing to its real meaning and intention. In order, therefore, to 
 do justice to Mr. Sandeman, we have thought it necessary to in- 
 sert the sentence at large. 
 
 His words are, " No man, then, by enjoying the Holy S] 
 ■ as the Comforter, can find any ground for be rg less afraid of 
 " sinning, or of its consequences, than he was before . For be 
 " no sooner indulges any evil affection, or any thovght op; 
 " to chanty, than he loses that enjoyment, Paul fuppofi- , 
 n men who have tasted of this enjoyment, may. by indulging 
 " tht passions oppofite to charity, grieve the Holy Spirit, and 
 " so lose that enjoyment ; so he rays, Eph. iv. 30. Grieve not 
 *' the Holy spirit, ivhereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 
 «'* They who thus grieve the Holy Spirit, must find mercy and 
 " forgiveness in the same way as at the first : a::.' tbeir love 
 u must be left to work, in the way of painful desire, and fear, 
 "* till it be again crowned with enjoyment, and so perfected." Ed- 
 
194 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 much less will he embrace that vile tenet, that 
 soul destructive error, that believers are not un- 
 der the law as a rule of conduct, and so cannot 
 sin! Nor does the believer in Christ imagine 
 that his sins are less displeasing to God, or less 
 deserving of the curse, than those of the most 
 profane ; that sentiment is purely dntinomian, 
 which teaches professors to think that their sins 
 only deserve fatherly chastisements. What ! 
 does our profession of faith in Christ make sin 
 otherwise! than an infinite evil in us ? — Or does 
 God, like some indulgent parent, wink at our 
 transgressions ? Far be it from us to think so of 
 him, who is of purer eyes than to behold iniqui- 
 ty; rather let us say that the least transgression 
 in a professor, is attended with abundantly more 
 ingratitude and baseness than in others, and will 
 lead a real believer to the blood of Jesus for par- 
 don as a poor sinner, who has no hope but in 
 the promise of mercy to the guilty. But this 
 sentiment wears a very hostile aspect towards 
 those who get relief, when under a sense of 
 guilt, by referring to their past experiences : — 
 and indeed it must be offensive to our corrupt 
 nature y because it necessarily leads the soul to 
 live near to, and constantly dependant upon, an 
 infinitely holy and sovereign God. (2d)y) The 
 true fear of God in the heart promotes a genuine 
 spirit of devotion, and a suitable frame of soul 
 for the whole worship of God. Many, out of a 
 false notion of boldness, and eminent nearness 
 to, and familiarity with God, are guilty of much 
 impertinence and irreverence before him. Did 
 but the fear of God prevail in our souls, we 
 should not dare to approach him but with senti- 
 ments of deep abasement. Believers, it is true, 
 do not come before the Lord us slaves, but with 
 a nearness of union and relation; yet the sub- 
 jects of the true grace of God are taught by 
 
 that 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 195 
 
 that grace, to worship and serve him with re- 
 verence and godly fear — for our God is a con- 
 suming fire. In this way the angels worship, 
 Isaiah vi. (3dly) By this tear the Lord pre- 
 serves his people From falling away Jer xxxii. 
 10. By this the believer knows that God is 
 well pleased only in bis Son, and with him only 
 as united to Christ. He perceives hereby, tii.it 
 if Le turn aside from the hope exhibited in 
 death of Christ, there remains nothing but a 
 fearful looking for of) judgment, and fiery in- 
 dignation to consume him. Under every fresh 
 conviction of sin, it leads the soul to the atone- 
 ment, as its only relief. In brief, it draws off 
 the soul from every false source of peace, and 
 keeps it fixed, trusting only in the free grace of 
 God in Christ. 
 
 Sixthly: the faith of the gospel produces a 
 gospel spirit, or promotes the same mind that 
 was in Christ Jesus The nature of a gospel 
 spirit has been much mistaken. It is generally 
 thought to consist in some kind of an affected 
 self -diffidence , lame sub. mission, and universal 
 Catholicism; or, in accommodating our views of 
 the gospel to other men's notions, and thinking 
 all good Christians, however widely their ideas 
 of the nature and design of Christ's work may 
 be. But the gospel of grace creates an utter 
 aversion to this spirit, and also to that canting, 
 whining, fawning way, that always accompanies 
 it, and teaches its adherents tenaciously to hold 
 the truth, boldly to maintain the faith, undaunt- 
 edly to reject and expose exery attempt to per- 
 vert the gospel, and to limit their charity to 
 those who are of the truth, and make it manifest 
 by hearing the great Shepherd's voice, and fol- 
 lowing him. The gospel, most certainly, pro- 
 motes a spirit agreeable to its own nature, wher- 
 ever il comes in power, for the believer, behold- 
 
IQ() ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 lag as in a glass the glory of the Lord, is changed 
 into the same image. A gospel spirit is a spirit 
 of humility, meekness, forgiveness, love, and 
 compassion. As to humility, we have already 
 taken a view of that which the apostle calls vo- 
 luntary, or affected ; and in regard to genuine 
 humility, it may be justly said, that no person 
 is a partaker of it, who has not renounced those 
 refuges of lies, which the natural man flies to, 
 and fortifies himself in, and as a naked sinner 
 believer on the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, and 
 not til! then, is the haughtiness of man bowed 
 down, and the loftiness of man made low, when 
 the Lord alone is exalted. By believing in, 
 coming to, and depending upon, the atonement 
 und righteousness or Christ alone, for peace, sal- 
 vation, and eternal life ; the sinner forsakes his 
 own rishteoqsness, holiness, tears, sanctification, 
 humblings, &c. This proud nature cannot bear. 
 To do it, therefore, is the most humbling thing 
 in the world, for the secret thought that there is 
 something good, at least in the inclination, is 
 the least thing a sinner gives up ; and while any 
 such thought prevails, and the soul is influenced 
 accordingly, the spirit of pride rules in the heart. 
 But when Christ is received, humility ascends 
 the throne, and governs the soul ; — the sinner 
 then learns that there is an infinite dispropor- 
 tion between what he knows, and does not know 
 of Christ — the strength of his faith in, and love 
 to him — the degree of his likeness to his image, 
 and his abasement before him ; and what there 
 ought to be (from the consideration of the cause 
 I here ii for these things) so that he considers 
 himself as the least Of saints, and abhors himself 
 in dust and ashes. We shall not hear the sin- 
 ner thus taught of God, talking high things of 
 his own love, attainments, and humility ; for 
 in the fairest view he can take of himself, he 
 
 sees 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 10? 
 
 sees abundant reason to be ashamed and eon* 
 founded, and an absolute need of looking to 
 that blood which cleanse th from ail sin: — and 
 his demeanor will be answerable hereunto. 
 
 Again : the truth believed produces a spirit of 
 meekness, which consists in a readiness to enter- 
 tain all that God has spoken, Jam. i. 21. and a 
 temper of mind that suffers injuries without seek- 
 ing revenge ; that quietly submits lo the will of 
 God, and is gentle towards all men. Col. iii. 12 
 Tit. i,. . c 3. Wath. xi 29. Of this spirit Jesus was 
 our eminent examplar, and ail his genuine dis- 
 ciples, in their measure, copy alter him. Yet 
 let it be ob^eived, that this spirit is by no means 
 opposed to being variant for the truth, for even 
 the meek and lowly Jesus, our bright example, 
 ever opposed error w;t ! : a steady zed, regardless 
 of the highest names among men : witness bis 
 controversies with the Pharisees. This spirit of 
 meekness will teach us, in all controversies about 
 the faith, to distinguish between persons and 
 errors — to avoid ali bitterness and wrath, and 
 evil speakings, in regard to the former, and to 
 shew the warmest indignation, and most steady 
 opposition to the latter, in short, it is in per- 
 fect friendship with that zca/, which promotes i 
 universal boldness tor Christ, and carries the 
 friends of truth above the displeasure and wrath 
 of man. - 
 
 Further: a gospel spirit is- ztjofgwi/eg spirit. 
 This is so essential to me Christian character, 
 that there is not the least shadow of real god- 
 liness without it, Matin, xviii. 22. to the end, 
 also Mark xi. 2d. The great motive to this is 
 mentioned, Col-, iii. 13. But it is much to be 
 lamented, that while many marks and evidences 
 of believing have been given, 'his doctrine has 
 been but little spoken of, and las practised, 
 even amongst the proiessed friends of practical 
 It 3 godtincsh 
 
i98 ON EXPEDIENCE. 
 
 godliness. How often do we see a spirit, of re- 
 venue in one professing Christian towards ano- 
 ther, who not only let the sun go down on their 
 wrath, but even for days, weeks, months, and 
 years, retain their anger; and this even among 
 •persons of the same religious community ! But 
 how can such persons from their heart pray, 
 forgive us our trespasses, as wt-forgive them that 
 trespass against us f How can they have fellow- 
 ship one with another in the Lord's Supper, 
 where the doctrine of forgiveness is illustrated, 
 confirmed, enforced, and professed? Or what 
 proof have such that their trespasses are forgiven 
 them? for upon the principles laid down, 
 Matth. .vsiii. it is plain, that notwithstanding a 
 person may profess himself a saint, and he held 
 in high reputation for his acquaintance with 
 doctrinal, qx peri mental, and practical religion ; 
 yet if he he not under the prevailing influence 
 of this gospel spirit, he is none of Christ's, Rom. 
 \ iii. 9- From such considerations as these, many 
 may strive, from wrong motives, and to wrong 
 ends, to acquire this spirit; but jt never enters 
 the soul till the gospel is understood and be- 
 lieved, and so is a part of gospel-experience. 
 
 Once more: the knowledge of the truth pro- 
 moles a genuine spirit of love to the brethren. 
 For as the gospel implants the love of God in 
 the soul, so also he that loveth him that begat 
 love;h him also that is begotten, i John iv c 20. 
 The ground of this love is expressed, 2 John, 
 ver. '2. The rule of it, the tieto commandment, 
 John xiii. 34. The example and motive to it, 
 Christ's love, chap xv. \ c l. and the manifestation 
 of ii in deed and in truth, in opposition to pro- 
 fessing it in zoord and in tongue, is the great 
 evidence :f having passed from deatn unto life, 
 i John iii. 14. 18. Vet this spirit pays the 
 highest regards to all the precepts of the king-. 
 
 dom 
 
OX EXPERIENCE. 1 D9 
 
 -i — v 
 
 -clom of heaven, and leads those who possess it 
 to be faithful to their brethren, and even sharp- 
 3j to reprove them, when they walk unworthy 
 of the heavenly calling. Love wiil not suffer 
 sin upon the brethren. Charity sujffertth lotig, 
 and is kind: charity envieth not : charily xaun- 
 teth not itself] is not puffed up, doth not behave 
 itself un&tem/t/t seeketh not her van, is not easily 
 prov&ked, thinketh no evil, njoiceth not in iniqui- 
 ty, but rejoiceth in the truth: beareth all things, 
 helieittli all things, hopeth all things, endureth 
 all things. To conclude: a gospel spirit is a 
 spirit of benevolence and compassion, Titus iii. 
 2. and leads to pity and relieve, as far as in our 
 power, the poor, indigent, and afflicted, in imi- 
 tation of him who went about doing good, and 
 hereby we are followers of God as dear children. 
 From what nas before been observed, upon the 
 believer's experience of the body of sin, 6cc. 
 none will imagine that it is here insinuated, that 
 the oppositcs of a gospel spirit are totally ex 
 eluded. .L'or if they were, it would be difficult 
 to understand what is meant by the followers of 
 Christ denying themselves — losing their life — 
 taking up their c;oss — and warring against the' 
 flesh. \ et, nothing can be a greater absurdity 
 than the notion at a proud, spitefuL envious, uru 
 merciful, hypocritical, hard-hearted Christians 
 though such a character, making pretension to 
 the Christian name, may frequently be found 
 even amongst those who bear the highest repute 
 for seriousness, and depth oj experience ! 
 
 Lastly: the last kind of Christian-experience 
 which L shall mention, is practical gojdUness, or. 
 obsciving all things whatsoever Christ has com 
 manded This nas been generally ranked under 
 the notion of este mah, and he who ever insists 
 much, upon the impo tance and necessity of it, 
 is. sure to procure the charge of legality. Even 
 
 as 
 
200 ,ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 as a scriptural defence of the One thing needful, 
 draws forth the charge of Ant'ima, danism. But 
 the nature of a legal spirit is often mistaken, 
 and even those very persons who are most zealous 
 against, it, are most frequently under the influ- 
 ence of it, for legality is a wry subtle thing. If 
 steadily and zealously maintaining, that no per- 
 son is a Christian, but he who from the same 
 motives, by the same rule, and to the same end, 
 obeys the commands of Christ, as the apostles 
 and primitive Christians did, be deemed Ugal s 
 the writer frankly professes himself a stubborn 
 legalist. Some in the heights of their zeal for 
 doctrinal religion, and others, amidst their atten- 
 tion to the workings of their affections, have had 
 but little regard, indeed seem almost to have 
 forgotten, practical godliness, which is the im- 
 mediate effect of true knowledge and experience. 
 Others would seem to pay great regard and 
 reverence to the kingly authority of Christ, who 
 yet have taken upon them to cut and carve upon 
 his commands, as most conveniently serves their 
 wordly interest, and religious reputation. From 
 this quarter we have heard much about what is 
 essential, and what non-essential: what parti- 
 culars we are to obey that Christ has command- 
 ed, and what might be left undone without in- 
 curring the censure of our J udge. But may we 
 not modestly inquire, by what authority they do 
 these things, and who gave them this authority? 
 Indeed while the t: adit ion* of men have been 
 mingled with the precepts and ordinances of 
 Jesus Christ, there is great propriety in distin- 
 guishing between essentials and non-essentials; 
 and if we may be permitted to assume tor a 
 moment the dictator's chair, the distinction may 
 stand thus. ALL things that Chnst has com- 
 manded his disciples to tio, co the least jot or 
 tittle of them, we will call essential : and 
 
 every 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. £01 
 
 every alteration of, and addition to them, we will 
 venture to call non-essential*, or so many 
 cyphers, which the disciples of Jesus may cen- 
 sure, expose, and reject at pleasure. When it 
 is said obedience to Christ's commands is essen- 
 tia/, it is not to be understood, that through 
 our obedience, in any sense whatever, salvation 
 is obtained; but that an universal compliance 
 with them is essential to the fear of God, ihe 
 love of God, and the obedience of faith; and to 
 say that because the commands of Christ are 
 not essential to salvation, therefore I will not 
 obey, proceeds not from the Spirit of truth, birt 
 from him who first taught man to sin with hope 
 of impunity, and savours both of legality and 
 licentiousness. No one who enjoys the power- 
 fid experience of the precious truth, will dare 
 to make light of any duty the gospel enforces ; 
 knowing that the beginning of all misery in the 
 world, was the breach of such a positive pre- 
 cept, as the generality of professors, in this day 
 of refinement, would deem trivial, punctilious, 
 circumstantial, or non-essential. He therefore 
 esteems his word in all things to be right, and 
 will not admit any such distinction between 
 great and small in the commandments of Christ, 
 as shall tend to make void, or cast the least con- 
 tempt upon the kingly office of the Lord the 
 Redeemer; much less will he prescribe how far 
 Christ ought to require obedience. And, sure- 
 ly, if there is any truth in the seriptures, those 
 ordinances and precepts enjoined upon, and ob- 
 served by, the apostolic churches, are as much 
 binding upon Christ's disciples now as they were 
 then; and if obedience to the New-testament 
 precepts was then, the standing rule of judging 
 of those who made pretensions to the knowledge 
 
 of 
 
 They are not only nw-esscntiah^ but pernicious. — Ed. 
 
202 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 of Christ, is not the same rale to be observed 
 7wzc? It is true there may be much ex ernal 
 appearance, where there is no true faith, and 
 where this is the case, the most splendid works, 
 however useful to men, are, in his sight who 
 judges not by outward appearance of no profit. 
 The inclination of the will to do whatsoever 
 Christ has commanded, from those motives arid 
 to those ends that he requires, is the inward ex- 
 perience or effect, of the belief of the truth ; 
 and the external conduct, or actual performance 
 or what the will determines, must o course be 
 the effect, and so the experience, of the trulh. 
 And nothing can more properly be called expe- 
 rimtnta /-religion, than, when Christ and his 
 ways are set before us on the one hand ; and 
 the world, with its pleasures, profits, honors, 
 &c. on the other : and the former cannot be at- 
 tended to without exposing us to the loss of ihe 
 latter, together with shame, reproaches, &x\ if 
 the knowledge we have of Christ proves power- 
 ful to incline us to revere his authority, and 
 make us willing to suffer the loss of all things 
 for his sake; chusing rather to suffer affliction 
 with the people of God than to enjoy the plea- 
 sures of sin for a season ; this is a proper expe- 
 rience of the trulh and power of what we be- 
 lieve. And all experience without this is worse 
 than nothing. If a man say, he loves his bro- 
 ther for the sake of the truth, and yet sees him 
 in need, and shuts up his bowels of compassion 
 from him, it is plain lie lias no experience of the 
 love of God dwelling in him. He professes, it 
 may be, to know the grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who, though lie was rich, yet for our 
 sakes became poor, that we through his poverty 
 mighl be made rich, but when he sees his brother 
 in :«eedy circumstances, he finds no heart to 
 imitate the divine goodness; from whence it is 
 
 piain, 
 
OX EXPERIENCE. 205 
 
 plain, that he does not stand in the true grace 
 of God. He professes to trust in the Lord, but 
 in refusing to Jend unto him, by giving unto 
 the poor, the hypocrisy of his profession is laid 
 sufficiently open ; it is plain he trusts in uncer- 
 tain riches, and not in the living God, and his 
 heart goes after eovetousness. — They know most 
 of gospel-experience who are most devoted in 
 their Ives to God ; who are of a humble, meek, 
 forgiving, loving, compassionate spirit, who 
 deny themselves for the sake of Christ, and to 
 promote the welfare of his church ; who walk 
 with God in their families, provide things honest 
 in the sight of all men, observe the things 
 Christ has commanded, and count all things 
 but loss for the excellent knowledge of him. 
 But alas ! instead of the generality of professors 
 proving the'w faith hy their works, they offer no 
 better evidence of it than either a confident 
 assertion that they have exerted the appropriat- 
 ing act, or a long detail of their convictions, 
 discoveries) experiences, and so on ; all of which 
 amount to nothing more than what the apostle 
 James stiles a man's saying he has faith; winch, 
 in fact, is no evidence at all, unless it be con- 
 firmed by a good conversation. 
 
 SECTION in. 
 
 WHEREIN SOME QUESTIONS ARE STATED 
 AND COxNSIDERED RELATIVE TO THE 
 SENTIMENT CONTAINED IN THIS ESSAY. 
 
 QUESTION I. 
 4i Are there no runner joys to be experienced, 
 •than what arise from the hope of the gospel :" 
 
 Answer* 
 
204 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 Answer. There are no true joys but the joys 
 of the Holy Ghost; and the only way in which 
 he leads to joy unspeakable and full of glory, is 
 by testifying of the things of Christ which are 
 written in the word of truth : so that unless the 
 joys which we have are founded upon, or flow 
 from, the hope set before us in the gospel, we 
 have great reason to think they are not the joys 
 of the Holy Ghost, Rom. v. 3. i Cor. xiii. 6\ 
 Psalm v. 11. But it will be inquired, " Am I 
 to take no joy from perceiving the work of God 
 in my soul distinguishing me from others ? And 
 can 1 come to no other certainty of my personal 
 interest in Christ, than what arises from the be- 
 lief of the gospel proclaimed equally to all ?" # 
 In reply to this, it is needful to inquire, whether 
 your conscience bear witness before God, who 
 knoweth all things, that Christ, as the free re- 
 fuge of the guilty, is your only hope, the free 
 promise of life through his name, your only en- 
 couragement to draw near to God, and his 
 righteousness, your only title to heaven. If this 
 be not the case, it is in vain for } r ou to look for 
 any other kind of joy ; for it is impossible there 
 should be any distinguishing evidences, or ge- 
 nuine experience in the soul, till Christ is formed 
 there the hope of glory; without this all- our 
 duties are legal and selfish, and our hope and 
 experience delusive. But if you have the testi- 
 mony of your conscience before God, that the 
 blood of Christ gives you peace, and that all 
 the blessings you hope for, are viewed as the re- 
 ward of his work; if the free gospel comforts, 
 
 quickens, 
 
 * The answer to this question should be well attended to, as 
 it sets forth the way in which believers attain to the full assur- 
 ance of hope, or of their personal interest in Christ ; and the 
 rather, as several expressions in the foregoing essays seem, at 
 first sight, to set aside the medium of proof here stated, but 
 which the author could not intend in that view. — Ed. 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 20.3 
 
 — 
 
 quickens, and rejoices your heart, then you must 
 be in a measure conscious, that Christ alone is 
 your life, light, peace and joy ; — and that of 
 course a vital union is formed between your 
 soul and him ; — and this being accompanied by 
 the genuine spirit of the gospel, and the fruits 
 of righteousness, it is confirmed, so far as this 
 evidence goes, that you are bom of God ; and 
 to the truth of this the Holy Spirit bears wit- 
 ness, by showing that these are the genuine in- 
 ternal and external effects of understanding the 
 truth of Christ, under a consciousness of which, 
 you may rejoice that your name is written in 
 heaven; bless God for his distinguishing grace, 
 and take comfort from, and rejoice in, the doc- 
 trines of election, final perseverance, and ete, nal 
 glorification. But even in this the true believer 
 does not lose sight of the common salvation, 
 nor does he build his assurance of eternal life, 
 either upon his experiences, or the fruits of his 
 life. This is an important point of doctrine, and 
 should be well considered. 
 
 The believer is assured, by the gospel testi- 
 mony, that eternal life is inseparably conne ted 
 with the belief of the truth ; so that he tnat be- 
 lieves shall be saved. He looks upon the 
 genuine effects of the gospel, only as proving 
 his connection with Christ, or that he is a child 
 of God by faith in him, and then justly argues, 
 If children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint 
 heirs with Christ. He does not view his expe- 
 rience or obedience as an intervening righteous- 
 ness in titling him to Christ and eternal life, and 
 therefore does not assure himself of reigning in 
 life by virtue of them ; nor yet does he appro- 
 priate heaven, &c. without evidence either from 
 scripture, sense, or reason, that he has a right to 
 make such a claim. The Christian* hope of 
 eternal life is founded upon his word, who can- 
 S not 
 
206 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 not lie ; but unless there is substantial evidence 
 of a personal connection with Christ, the assur- 
 ance thereof is groundless and vain ; for as the 
 gospel ascertains the certainty of eternal salva- 
 tion to none but believers of the truth, so unless 
 we have the witness of the spirit of God with 
 our spirits (Rom. viii. 16, 1 John iii. 20, 21.) 
 that we are of the truth, our assurance that 
 Christ shed his blood for us in particular, and 
 that of course eternal life is infallibly ours, is 
 void of scriptural foundation. As the first Epis- 
 tle of John was professedly written that believers 
 may know that they have eternal life, the best 
 way will be to take no man's opinion about the 
 way by which we are to come to this knowledge, 
 but each for himself consult that Epistle. We 
 have been told by those who deny the necessity 
 of the work of the Holy Spirit, to make the 
 gospel effectual, that " the appropriating act is 
 necessary to a consciousness, knowledge, and 
 enjoyment of the divine righteousness," which 
 is consistent enough with their own plan ; be- 
 cause as that righteousness stands in the scrip- 
 ture, it is proclaimed indefinitely to the world, 
 and therefore must need some power to give it 
 efficacy to individuals, and they maintain, as 
 above, that their appropriating act does this ; — 
 whereas all who are taught of God in hearing 
 the divine report concerning this righteousness, 
 well know that it is not any working of their 
 mind (whether it be called acting faith, appro- 
 priation, or by any other name) that gives know- 
 ledge, consciousness, or enjoyment of it ; — but 
 that the spirit of truth, taking of the things of 
 Christ which are written, and opening the un- 
 derstanding thereby, performs every divine ope- 
 ration, and draws forth every evangelical act, 
 whether of mind or body. But if any professor 
 of the gospel so far forgets the only ground of 
 
 hope 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 207 
 
 hope and confidence before God/ as to take 
 pleasure in the exercises of his own mind, and 
 lives by his experiences; or the change within 
 him, he so far is guilty of criminal indulgences, 
 and rejoices in the flesh ; which cannot be done 
 but at the expence of turning aside from Christ. 
 
 QUESTION II. 
 
 (< What are the proper uses believers should 
 make of their experience ?" — It has before been 
 shewn what the genuine experience of the gos- 
 pel is, and its happy and salutary effects upon 
 the practice ; — the sum of which is, that the 
 atonement known and believed, gives rest to 
 the guilty conscience ; — the saved sinner lives 
 dady by his faith, or that which the dying Re- 
 deemer declared finished, and walks as be- 
 cometh the gospel of Christ. Without these 
 things are more or less known by us, we are not, 
 at present, Christians : we have no right to be- 
 lieve that we are so ourselves, nor has any one 
 authority to believe it of us. Not the former, 
 because the witness of our conscience, and that 
 of the Spirit of God, are against us : to persuade 
 ourselves of it, therefore, is not only to believe 
 without evidence, which is absurd, but also 
 against the strongest evidence to the contrary. 
 ISot the latter, because the rule given to judge 
 and be judged by, is — By their fruits ye shall 
 know them. 'Without noticing the use com- 
 monly made of false joys, false confidence, &c. 
 it may be observed that a believer might make 
 the. following use of his experiences, viz. (1st) 
 What inward experience he has of the body of 
 sin and death, the opposition of flesh to the gos- 
 pel, and the deceitfulness, pride, and enmity of 
 his heart, should be used as a prevailing argu- 
 ment for the necessity of looking daily to the 
 S a blood 
 
20$ ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 blood of Christ, for healing, cleansing, and par- 
 don. ( c 2) The trials in Providence that he meets 
 with, the losses, disappointments, persecutions, 
 and sufferings, which he is called to endure, 
 should be used as so many proofs that this is 
 not his rest, that he should not lay up for him- 
 self treasure upon the earth, but be daily Look- 
 ing for that blessed hope, and the glorious appear- 
 ing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus 
 (Jhfilt, (5) The precious, peaceful, and com- 
 fortable experience of the truth, he should use 
 as a confirming evidence of the gospei, which 
 he has believed upon the testimony of God. — 
 For lie iinds that to be true by blessed experi- 
 ence that he before received upon the authority 
 of seiipture. John iv. 42, chap. viii. 30 — 32. 
 (4) He may also use his experience of the gos- 
 pel, both his peace of conscience and bis ob- 
 servance of those things that Christ has com- 
 manded, as a proof that his faith is nut raise or 
 feigned, nor his hope in Christ vain. Rom. v. 1. 
 ] John ii. 3. (.•)) He may use his experience to 
 lead him to ihe cause of it, when he needs a le- 
 vival of it in his soul. But hen let Hie be un- 
 derst -od : 1 do not mean that he should lenew 
 his enjoyments by reflecting upon his founacc 
 experiences ; or that upon the ground ci them, 
 or through them, either as a medium, occasion, 
 or circumstance, he should argue his right, or 
 make his claim to present comfort; but simply 
 this is intended ; namely, that he may trace the 
 streams up to the fountain ,* or by recollecting 
 that Christ and his salvation are the source of 
 all joy, peace, rest, and comfort, when he feels 
 the want of these things he may apply to Christ 
 to renew them, under the same character, upon 
 the same ground, and with the same views as he 
 at first looked unto him for salvation. All who 
 are taught of God, are taught as guilty sinners, 
 
 constantly 
 
ON EXP Eli I FiN'Cli. 
 
 constantly to live by the Righteousness of the 
 Redeemer, whieh is perfectly consistent with a 
 full persuasion of personal interest in him. 
 
 QUESTION 1IL 
 
 *' Does the gospel hope admit of taking re- 
 lief, under fresh charges of guilt upon the con- 
 science, from any former works or experiences; 
 or any present feelings or resolutions f From 
 what has been already observed, it is answered 
 in the negative ; for if any thing appears in the 
 temper and walk of a professor, that the word 
 of God condemns : he ought on that account to 
 examine himself whether lie be in the faith, ac- 
 cording to 2 Cor. xiii. 5. and indeed if but a 
 small portion of the fear of God be before his 
 e} r es, and his conscience remain tender, a suspi- 
 cion of this will force itself upon his mind, whe- 
 ther he chuses to entertain it or no. But the 
 question requires a more distinct reply. (1) 
 There is nothing that persons are more deceiv- 
 ed in than their fetfiHg*. Christ Belts ns of some 
 whose joy, while it lasted, no one could question 
 the truth off Math. xiii. 20. Luke iv. '20—30, 
 And have not we seen many making a shining 
 profession of religion, persons who have been 
 high in our esteem as Christians, and .the rela- 
 tion of whose experiences has often given us 
 pleasure, who yet have turned back, and been 
 a sad disgrace to religion, yea even to societ\~ ? 
 And is it nbt plain from hence, find abundantly 
 confirmed by the word or God, that professors 
 may have lake hopes, false confidence, false 
 comforts, and false joys, even while they have 
 made the clearest profession in words r And if 
 this be the case, then would it not be confirm- 
 ing the delusion, and sealing the destruction of 
 such, to endeavour to comfort them, and cause 
 S 3 them- 
 
210 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 them to think well of their state from their for- 
 mer supposed experiences, or works, or present 
 desires, or resolutions? But to say the best of 
 this method, it is uncertain, and therefore un- 
 comfortable and unsafe ; — for seeing there have 
 been persons who have been deceived this way, 
 the leaders of this people set themselves to divide 
 and sub-divide betwixt this kind of conviction, 
 and the other — these kind of desires, repentances, 
 and faith, and those which have been disprov- 
 ed ; yet, after all, many are held in sad suspence 
 through lite, and awfully prove the deficiency 
 of this hope and comfort in death ! And as few 
 are capable of making the necessary distinctions, 
 their comfort, in general, depends upon their 
 leaders, not upon God's testimony. — But (2) 
 The present situation the mind is supposed to 
 be in, is an objection to this method of proce- 
 dure. For this state of mind renders a former 
 real experience apparently delusive, and so can- 
 not give relief: — no not even upon the supposi- 
 tion that a persuasion of our election will give 
 peace to a guilty conscience : Because the very 
 ground of the proposed encouragement, or 
 source of relief, is called in question ; — and in- 
 deed if under a sense of guilt any can take relief 
 from their past experience, that very satisfaction 
 which lie finds should lead him to suspect the 
 truth of his faith, hope and experience. For 
 our past experiences are no otherwise evidenced 
 to be the true joys of faith, and the real com- 
 forts of the Holy Ghost, than as the soul is 
 disposed thereby to look directly to Christ alone 
 far peace, when his conscience is charged with 
 ijVesh guilt. (3) To make use of any former 
 works ov experiences, or any present feelings or 
 resolutions to this end, is in its own nature 
 wrong. I suppose it will be admitted that fresh- 
 contracted guilt tends to work in the soul fear, 
 
 darkness. 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 211 
 
 darkness, and distress, which, as before observ- 
 ed, render a former real experience apparently 
 delusive. But if this were not the case, can our 
 past experiences, however genuine, remove the 
 ground of our present fear, darkness and distress? 
 if so, then we have found out something differ- 
 ent from the blood of Christ, that can cleanse us 
 from all sin ! But supposing Lt possible, that a 
 retrospect of our past experiences could remove 
 the present sense of guilt, &c. what sense can 
 we .make of such an address to believers as the 
 following, as ye have, therefore received Christ 
 Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Col.ii.6. A 
 sinner does not at first receive Christ through the 
 medium of his experiences, or upon the ground 
 of his own working, under any consideration 
 whatever; but rather as freely given for a sanc- 
 tuary to the distressed, and the hope of the un<- 
 qualified and guilty. If then, when guilt buiv 
 t hens the conscience again, we can get relief from 
 any other quarter, than we did at first; that is, 
 through any other medium than the gospel of 
 the grace of God, we must certainly obtain it at 
 the expence of turning out of the way to God ; 
 and instead of holding the beginning of our co?i- 
 Jidence (which if well-founded musi be in Christ) 
 steadjast unto the end, as we are exhorted, Heh. 
 iii. 14. wt are moved away front the hope of the, 
 gospel, Col. 1. 23. to another hope and another 
 gospel : Which indeed is not another ; but there 
 be some that trouble you, and would pervert 
 the gospel of Christ. (Gal. i. 6. 90 In 
 short, if a believer can at any time take relief 
 in this way, to say the least of it, he does not 
 obey the exhortation to walk in Christ as he 
 first received him. But it must be acknow- 
 ledged this method of giving peace to the guilty 
 conscience, is consistent enough with that doc- 
 trine which teaches the necessity of certain pre- 
 requisites 
 
212 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 requisites to qualify us for" receiving Christ. 
 But, (4) this method tends to give us slight no- 
 tions of sin; which is a sufficient argument 
 against it, if no other could be urged. It leads 
 professors to think that their sins are not infi- 
 nitely criminal, and as such deserve the wrath 
 of God ; which sentiment is purely Jntinomian, 
 and so, is opposed to Jehovah's moral govern- 
 ment. Nor can any person have the fear of 
 God before his eyes, who entertains such 
 thoughts of sin. If every defect in Joving God 
 with all our hearts is infinitely criminal, as with- 
 out doubt it is, then the fear arising from a con- 
 sciousness of it cannot be removed by any thing 
 less, than an atonement of infinite dignity and 
 worth. Hence we may sec one reason, why the 
 Christian should live daily by the faith of the 
 Son of God. (.5) There is no occasion for such 
 a procedure. For even while we view nothing 
 about ourselves, but what leads to despair, yet 
 against all hope from within ourselves, we may 
 , believe in hope of what is set before us in the 
 gospel. It cannot be proved, by any logical 
 deduction of one proposition from another, or 
 a taking for granted certain premises, and then 
 drawing rational conclusions from them, that 
 we are believers in Christ, unless we rest in the 
 persuasion, that He is able to save to the utter- 
 most all that come unto God by him, and that 
 the gospel is good tidings of great joy to all 
 people; and if the sufficiency and freeness of 
 the Redeemer's work is believed ; and thereby 
 a persuasion arises in the soul from the faithful- 
 ness of God, that whosoever believeth shall be 
 saved ; that person will find no necessity to look 
 to any other quarter for peace. But if our 
 knowledge and belief of these things do not 
 bring peace, without doubt we do not believe 
 ihem ; or to speak the most cautiously, we have 
 
 nor 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 our nnncis sadly clouded about them. In short, 
 if wc ^ould reconcile our minds, to attend to the 
 direction of God himself, we should see that he 
 proposes nothing, to renew or revive the peace 
 and joy of the most eminent saint, but that 
 winch he sets before the most guilty sinner, 
 which may be seen, 2 Cor. xii. 8. 9- Rev. i. 17. 
 18. 
 
 Gbj. u But did not David in a time of trouble 
 and sorrow seek comfort and peace in referring 
 to his past experiences?" (Psalm xliii. 5. 11. 
 Psalm xliii. 5.) In reply to this it may be ob- 
 served, that these psalms seem to have been 
 composed by the same authoi, and upon the 
 same occasion : probably David was the author 
 of tliem, who at this time was banished from 
 the Mouse of God, either by Saul's tyranny, or 
 Absalom's rebellion. He longs to be restored 
 to the worship of God, with as much ardour as 
 the long-chased hart, ready to expire, pants for 
 the water-brooks. He looks back to the hap- 
 piness he was used to enjoy in going to the 
 house of the Lord, and contrasts it with his pre- 
 sent forlorn situation : the effect whereof is, that 
 his &juI is cast dozen within him. However, he 
 is fa. from looking to, or expecting help from, 
 himself ur any ha. nan aids; but in the midst of 
 his grief he encourages himself in the Lord. 
 He looks to his works of providence (ver. 6) 
 which are the ground upon which he exhorts 
 his soul to (ver. 1.) hope in God ; even as he at 
 another time says, " Because thou hast been my 
 help, therefore, under the shadow of thy wings 
 wilt L rejoice." i( therefore this might be ap- 
 plied to Christian experience, it is a suitable di- 
 rection in wbat way we should proceed to renew 
 our comforts (viz.) looking from ourselves, and 
 upon the ground of the faithful word, which re- 
 cords 
 
^14 ON EXPERIENCE. 
 
 cords the mighty acts of the Lord, hope in his 
 mercy, and confide in his veracity. 
 
 The penman of Psalm lxxvii. had so for forgot- 
 ten himself, as to look to his former experiences 
 to relieve him, under the sense of present guilt, 
 but found the method fail in the trial. Ver. 1 — 
 4. he gives a distressing view of that which 
 troubled his conscience, and ver. 5. 6. he tries 
 what looking to his past enjoyments would do 
 for him. 1 have considered the days of old f the 
 years of antient times. I call to remembrance 
 my song in the night : I commune with mine ozvn 
 heart, and my spirit made diligent search. Thus 
 we see he took the same method that is com- 
 monly recommended to, and practised by, pro- 
 fessors in our day. But his conscience was too 
 sensibly afiected with the wrath that lay upon 
 it, to take comfort from any such quarter — still 
 he complains, ver. 7 9. Convinced in the trial 
 of the folly of this method, he acknowledges 
 his error, ver. 10. And I said this is my injir- 
 mity. He tries another expedient, ver. lO — 20. 
 this is opposed to ver. 5. 6. This method then 
 is quite the reverse of the former. Instead of 
 looking to his former experience, his song in 
 the night, &c he looks now to the wonderful 
 works of God, whieh were a type of the spiritual 
 redemption by the greatest of all the divine 
 works. If then we count the psalmist a pattern 
 worthy to be imitated, let us follow his example, 
 cease from this former fruitless method of look- 
 ing for relief, and renew our joys, by looking to 
 the finished work of the Redeemer. 
 
 To conclude: to know the truth as it is in 
 Jesus, is to be wise unto salvation. To expe- 
 rience its genuine influences upon our souls, is 
 to be truly happy. And to contend earnestly 
 foi it, against every opposition to it, or subtle 
 corruption of it, is the Christian's highest honour. 
 
ON EXPERIENCE. 215 
 
 To profess the faith without enjoying the genu- 
 ine effects of it, is to have the form without the 
 poccer of godliness. To talk of experience with 
 out a scriptural knowledge of the Son of God, 
 is mere enthusiasm. And the most flaming pro- 
 fession of knowledge and experience, without 
 observing the things that Christ has command- 
 ed, is nothing better than a miserable delusion. 
 
 THB 
 
the 
 
 FAITH OF BEYI1S 
 CONSIDERED. 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 i he Scripture informs us, that the Devils confessed Jesus 
 to be the Christ, the Son of God, Luke iv. 41. but we 
 cannot well suppose that God extorted this confession 
 from them in order to confirm that truth. Jefus never 
 refers men to the testimony of Devils for a proof of hij 
 divine mission ; on the contrary, both he and his apostles 
 had the utmost aversion to their testimony, and command- 
 ed them to hold their peace, Mark i. 25, 54. Luke iv. 
 41. Acts xvi. 18- Far less can we suppose that Devils 
 confessed Christ with a view that men should believe on 
 him; for this would be Satan divided against himself, 
 and voluntaiily overturning his own kingdom; whereas 
 his business is to blind the minds of them that believe not, 
 lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine 
 unto them, 2 Cor. iv. 4. It is therefore most probable, 
 that these confessions were intended by Satan to discredit 
 that precious truth which is the sum of the whole gospeJ, 
 and the sole foundation of hope to guilty men. And if 
 -this was Satan's design, he has not been altogether dis- 
 appointed ; for though every professor of the Christian 
 religion will readily admit that what the Devils confefled 
 is a truth; yet many deny it to be the saving truth, or that 
 salvation is connected with the belief of it ; and the reason 
 they give is, that the very Devils confessed and believed 
 this truth without reaping any benefit from it, and men 
 cannot be saved by the faith of Devils Thus the grand 
 T enerav 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 enemy of mankind, by confessing the truth, has made men 
 to undervalue it, as a thing which cannot profit them, and 
 has set them in search of something else for a ground of 
 hope which it is supposed Devils cannot believe. By this 
 means they are also led to conceive, that true faith is " not 
 simply the believing of any sentence that is written, or that 
 can be thought upon $" but some good motion or dispo- 
 sition of the will and affections towards Christ, of which 
 Devils are incapable. So that both the TRUTH itself, and 
 the simple belief of it, are in a great measure set aside, in 
 order to keep clear of the faith of Devils. 
 
 The author of the following pages, sensible of the 
 odium cast upon the faith of God's elect, and of the deep 
 prejudices conceived against it, by this diabolical arti- 
 fice, had in a former publication asserted, " That who- 
 soever among men believes what Devils do, about the 
 Son of God, is born of God, and shall be saved." This 
 it seems gave offence to many, which occasioned his writ- 
 ing what follows, as a further explanation of the above 
 proposition. His death, which happened soon after, pre- 
 vented its being published at that time ; but it is now pre- 
 sented to the public, exactly copied frcm the manuscript 
 which he left behind him. 
 
 TH£ 
 
THE 
 
 FAITH OP ©EVILS* &c, 
 
 s< Let w alone, what have, IV E~ to do mtkthee 
 thou Jesus of Nazareth? — Art thou come to 
 destroying — I know thee who thou art, the 
 Holy One of God. —Mark i. 24. 
 
 — <( Devils came oat of many, crying out and 
 saying, Thou art Christ the Son of the living 
 God."— Luke iv. 4,1. 
 
 Among the various methods which the enemies 
 of the saving truth of the gospel have adopted 
 to shew their contempt of it, none have served 
 their purposes better, than denominating it 
 a The faith of Devils."' When the ignorant 
 multitude inquire who they are that are so 
 stupid as to think the faith of Devils can save 
 them ; their leaders have nothing more to do 
 than fix the charge upon those whom they wish 
 their deluded followers to shun, and their end 
 is accomplished. For as every body is afraid of 
 the Devil, it may be readily thought, that people 
 will shun those who have nothing better for 
 their justification, and the ground of their hope, 
 than what Devils know and believe. 
 
 As the author of these lines has elsewhere 
 asserted, to the no small surprize and disgust of 
 many serious people,* that "whosoever among 
 men believes what Devils do about the Son of 
 God, is born of God, and shall be saved ;" he 
 T 2 takes 
 
 * Essay on Faith : &c page 120. 
 
2*20 THE FAITH OF DEVILS CONSIDERED. 
 
 takes the liberty to present them with a few 
 more thoughts on the subject, which will either 
 heighten their surprize and disgust, or convince 
 them that their former sentiments were founded 
 jn ignorance, either of the creed of Devils, or 
 the salvation of sinners; or both. 
 
 The writer declines entering upon a metaphy- 
 sical disquisition of the existence and nature of 
 Devils ; as also that abstruse subject, the origin 
 of evil; yet cannot well avoid just glancing at 
 those words of Christ in John viii. 44. because 
 they have some relation to the Creed of Devils, 
 U is entirely out of my province to say how 
 evil first entered the mind of a pure intelligence; 
 but, to me, the passage before us seems to point 
 out the nature of Satan's apostacy — " lie abode 
 not in the Truth." Now it is plain that " the 
 Truth" here referred to, is lhat which Abraham 
 believed and rejoiced in, ver oO', and which 
 those unbelieving Jews hated, and put Jesus to 
 death, as a blasphemer, for confessing.- — " For 
 he said, I ain the Son of God."- — u Because thou, 
 being a man, makest thyself God" in doing 
 which they did the works of the Devil, and 
 so shewed themselves to be his children. 
 
 It appears then, that Satan had some intima- 
 tion that God was to be manifested in human 
 nature; and it is probable that it was given the 
 angels, when man was made in the image of 
 God: but, however that may be, it appears, 
 from the above Scripture, that the mind of this 
 angelic Chief was not well affected to it — and 
 that he fell by apostatizing from it. When the 
 fulness of time was come for God to be mani- 
 fested in the flesh, to bruise the serpent's head ; 
 when the voice iiom heaven had declared* in 
 reference to Immanuel, This is my beloved Son 
 i?i whom 1 tun well pleased: Satan, the leader of 
 the disaffection to this plan of manifesting the 
 
 divine 
 
THE FAITH OF DEVILS CONSIDERED. 2"2 1 
 
 divine Glory , met him in the Wilderness to 
 combat the Truth, that had been declared from 
 Heaven ; and to use all his power and sagacity 
 to overthrow it : But found himself foiled in the 
 attack; and, being overcome, he withdrew. 
 From hence it is plain, that the Devil knew who 
 Jesus was — what was spoken of him in the Old 
 testament, and what he came to work. If this 
 \\ants further 'proof, it may be had from the fol- 
 lowing words — " He suffered diem not to speak, 
 for they knew that he was Christ." If we further 
 consider — the sagacity of the evil spirits — the 
 opportunities they have had of hearing the scrip- 
 tures— the readiness of Satan, when tempting 
 Jesus, to quote the word that was written of 
 him — his ability to transform himself into an 
 Angel of Light, and the lead he takes in deceiv- 
 ing the nations by false religions ; we shall have 
 no reason to imagine that the Devils are defi- 
 cient in any one point of scripture knowledge. 
 And one has justly observed, " That though they 
 endeavour to seduce men into heresies, they are 
 100 well informed to be speculatively heterodox . 
 themselves." 
 
 But though this be plainly the case, it is 
 equally true, that their knowledge is of no ser- 
 vice to them; but on the contrary heigh tens- 
 their torment. The reason is obvious. God 
 was not manifested in the angelic nature, "for 
 verily he took not on him the nature of Angels ; 
 hut lie took on him the seed of Abraham." lie 
 did not come into the world to deliver the fallen 
 Angels from those awful chains of darkness in 
 which they are bound : but tie took hold on the 
 human nature to deliver the seed of Abraham 
 from the wrath to come. Hence the Redemp- 
 tion of Christ is published in the Scriptures, for 
 the salvation of men ; but not for the salvation of 
 the fallen Angels, The Truths that Devils be- 
 T 3 lieve^ 
 
THE FAITH OF DEVILS CONSIDERED. 
 
 lieve, therefore, clo not contain their own salva- 
 tion in them; else their believing would be ac- 
 companied with joy, peace, love and obedience. 
 This thej' very well know, and therefore say, 
 while they acknowledge him. the Christ, the 
 JIo/u One" of God, "What have we to do with 
 thee? Art thou come to destroy usf" — Seeing 
 then that the destruction of Devils is contained 
 in l lie testimony of Jesus, it is not to be wondered 
 at, that their belief of it is attended with terror 
 and dreadful horror; even as the law worketh 
 wrttch in the conscience of those who are con- 
 vinced of being breakers of it, and so deserving 
 the curse. But we may safely say, that unless 
 the Devils believoxl that the Testimony concern- 
 ing Jesus is the truth oj God; and unless sinners 
 believed the truth of the threatened wrath; 
 neither the one nor the other would fear and 
 tremble. From hence I conclude, that Devils 
 do believe "The testimony that God has given 
 of his Son ;" and do also experience the genuine 
 effects of it, so far as that testimony 
 
 i ONCER NS THEM. 
 
 Having shewn, in general, what Devils do be- 
 lieve; let us again advert to the obnoxious pro- 
 position, u Whosoever, among men, believes 
 what Devils do about the Son of God, is born 
 of God, v.nd shall be saved." One would have 
 thought that whatever disgust arose in the minds 
 of the religious in reading this Proposition, that 
 some degree of reverence would have been paid 
 to the scripture produced in favour of it, 1 John 
 v l. "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the 
 CHrist, is born of God.' From which it plainly 
 appears., that the proposition of ihe Essay- 
 writer, and that of the apostle John, must stand 
 or fall together; and that if the one stands in 
 in « 1 of correction, the other does so also; for 
 it can hardly be supposed; after what has been 
 
 said 
 
THE FAITH OF DEVILS CONSIDERED. 2C3 
 
 said above, that any one will deny that the 
 Devils believe that Jesus is the Christ. The 
 objector, therefore, is driven to this alternative, 
 viz. either to confess that what Devils believe, 
 without being profited by it, is the same that 
 believing sinners are begotten again by, and 
 saved from wrath through, or, that what consti- 
 tutes the essence of justifying faith, and sa'ves us, 
 is the manner of believing, in regard to the 
 fhrmer a I would know, whether the saved sinner 
 believes any truth that Devils do not believe? 
 If they do, what is it : Is it replied, that men 
 see and believe that Devils have nothing to do 
 with salvation, whereas every believer sees and 
 believes his own salvation contained in the re- 
 port f This I presume is the most formidable 
 objection. I ask then, do not Devils believe 
 this also ? Do not the) 7 know that their own 
 salvation is not contained in the record, but that 
 the salvation of all that believe is ? I can hard- 
 ly suppose an}' one will deny this. And as to 
 the latter, I call upon the objector to shew, that 
 there is any other manner of knowing and be- 
 iieving a truth, among intelligent creatures, than 
 by understanding it, and being persuaded of its 
 reality and truth. 
 
 As to the effects that any testimony lias, in 
 consequence of understanding and beUeving it, 
 that is quite another thing. But let us take a 
 closer view of the subject before us. 1 1 is pretty 
 generally agreed among professing Christians, 
 that Christ is the only Saviour of dinners : and 
 herein they agree with the apostles, who de- 
 clared that, There is solvation in none other. 
 But then a material difference arises between 
 them, when they come to particularize their 
 views of salvation by Christ alone. 1 have only, 
 at present, to ascertain the apostolic notion of 
 this subject j or to shew zchat that is which de- 
 livers 
 
£{24 THE FAITH OF DEVILS CONSIDERED. 
 
 livers sinners from the wrath to come, and brings 
 them to the eternal enjoyment of the divine 
 favour. The doctrine of the inspired witnesses 
 is this: — that zehen the fulness of the time teas 
 come, God sent forth his Sun made of a woman, 
 made under the laze, that he might redeem them 
 that zeere under the laze. And We have redemp- 
 tion in his blood — the forgiveness of sins accord- 
 ing to the riches of his grace. Thus Christ has 
 redeemed us from the curst of the laze, being made 
 a curse for us, And as to that by which justifi- 
 cation unto eternal life is obtained, the word 
 thus speaketh, Christ is the end of the laze for 
 righteousness, to every one that believe th, as it is 
 written, In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel 
 be justified and shall glory, for, their righteous- 
 ness is of me, saiih the Lord. All that believe, 
 therefore, are justified from all things from 
 which they could not be justified by I tie laze of 
 Moses. The apostles account for these things 
 by shewing, that Christ was made sin for us, 
 zeho knew no sin, that zee might be made the 
 righteousness of God in him. The sole requisite 
 then to justification unto eternal life, is the work 
 which Christ wrought in his lite, completed in 
 his death, and proved its all- sufficiency, and 
 God's good pleasure in it for that purpose, in 
 his resurrection from the dead. Now sinners 
 can have no knowledge of that grace, which 
 reigns through this righteousness unto eternal 
 life by Jesus Christ our Lord, but by the BIBLE, 
 which is the only revelation that God has given 
 of it : and from that book only through super- 
 natural instruction. And the work of Christ is 
 accounted for righteousness in believing, Rem. 
 iv. chap. x. James I. IS. The divine word 
 does not take effect through any previous good 
 dispositions inclining them to seriousness, Sec. 
 but God u'ho commanded the light to shine out' 
 
THE FAITH OF DEVILS CONSIDERED. Q. L 2o 
 
 of darkness, shines into the heart, and gives the 
 light of the knowledge of the gloiy of God in the 
 faee of Jesus Christ, l 2 Cor. iv. 6. Acts xxvi. 
 ]S. Isaiah Iv. 10. ] ]-. then, and not till then, a 
 sinner is born of God, justified, sanctified, and 
 saved. But does he know any thing now that 
 Devils do not know, or believe any thing that 
 they. do not believe? The sum of what has 
 been said above, is included in Simon Peter's 
 confession, Matth. xvi. 16. 'Jhou art Christ 
 the Son vf the living God — and in John's propo- 
 sition, "He that believeth that Jesus is the 
 Christ, is born of God/' 1 John iv. 15. and chap. 
 v. i. and have we not seen that Devils have con- 
 fessed the same glorious truth, Mark i. (24. 
 Luke iv. 4 1 . Does not Christ tell Peter that he 
 had been taught that truth of the Father, and 
 was blessed through the knowledge of it . r As 
 it is written, « Blessed is the people that know 
 the joyful sound." And does not John, under 
 divine inspiration, declare, that such sinners are 
 born of God ? And what more does the writer 
 declare in the proposition cavilled at ? 
 
 But though that testimony which sinners be- 
 lieve and are saved by, is nothing more than 
 fallen spirits believe ; yet as it wears a very dif- 
 ferent aspect towards the one than towards the 
 other, it has, of course, very different effects. 
 The Devils hear the gospel revelation, and, with* 
 out doubt, clearly understand that Jesus came 
 into the world to save sinnen of the human race; 
 and that in performing this work for them, he 
 has bruised the Serpent's head — destroyed the 
 works of the Devil, and delivered Sinners from 
 his service and dominion. The genuine effects 
 of the belief of these truths, on them, must be 
 enmity, hatred, and torment. Sinners of the 
 human race, believing the same record, perceive 
 and are assured of the pardon of sin, reconcili- 
 ation 
 
226 THE FAITH OF DEVILS CONSIDERED. 
 
 ation to God, deliverance from all condemnation, 
 and free justification to eternal life, to all that 
 believe ; the genuine effects of which will be 
 peace, joy^, hope, love, and thankfulness. 
 
 If we consider men and Devils lying in the 
 same common state of just condemnation ; then 
 the different effects of the same testimony, will 
 be similar to what we may suppose would take 
 place, if there were two felons under sentence 
 of death, and the King's pleasure should be 
 read in their hearing, leprieving and fully forgiv- 
 ing the one, and fixing the day for the execution 
 of the other-. Would not the same testimony 
 give joy to the one, and enlarge the torment of 
 th rher? Or if we consider Satan exercising 
 tyranny over the human race, as the task-masters 
 in Egypt did over Israel, or as a powerful tyrant 
 docs over his slaves ; then the report of a mighty 
 conqueror, having irresistible power, coming to 
 inflict vengeance on the tyrant, and to set the 
 slaves at liberty, if there is ineontestible evidence 
 of the truth of ir, both will believe; but the ef- 
 fects, we may suppose, would be widely different. 
 Even so the Devils believe the Gospel Testi- 
 mony and tremble, dreadful horror seizes them; 
 while smncrs believe the joyful sound and re- 
 joice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
 Thus we see that the same truth that torments 
 Devils saves believing sinners. 
 
 But why do people make objection to that 
 which is so obvious in the scriptures ? The rea- 
 son is plain. Self-righteousness and unbelief 
 are at the bottom. The work which Christ fi- 
 nished in his death, reported in the word of 
 Truth, is not thought, in itself) sufficient to jus- 
 tify the ungodly, and to give the mere siuner 
 peace and joy as soon as lie believes it. The 
 objection goes upon the supposition, that there 
 must be, if not good works,, yet some good dis- 
 positions 
 
THE FAITH Of DEVILS CONSIDERED. 2 l 27 
 
 positions in the mind to make our believing of 
 the right sort. So that upon this plan the seri- 
 ousness, heartiness, steadfastness, &c. of the 
 person's mind m believing, distinguish his faith 
 from all other kinds; in short, makes it justify- 
 ing fait h. It ■will -be allowed, that man is a 
 sinner, and undeserving of the favour of God, 
 but then it is thought that Grace either common 
 or saving rectifies the will, and enables the per- 
 son sincerely, heartily, affectionately, and hum 
 bly (tbough very often doubtinglv) to believe 
 himself a Christian, and that God is very fond 
 of him. There are various ways of expressing 
 these things, from the "sincere desire to believe," 
 up to u The appropriating act of Faith" which 
 teaches men courageously to conclude that 
 Christ is theirs, and they are his, without the 
 ?east evidence of either. These dispositions, 
 workings of the mind, or acts of faith, are often 
 considered as concurring requisites with the 
 work of Christ, to acceptance with God : — and 
 to raise, cherish, and teach the proper use of 
 them is the great work of our modern Dema- 
 gogues. Hereby a different meaning is given to 
 the Scripture terms grace, Jaith, C/trist, righte- 
 ousness, Gospel and Spirit, than is affixed to them 
 in the apostolic writings ; and this difference, let 
 it appear in what form soever it may, the apos- 
 tle teaches us to call a perverted Gospel. And 
 though persons may boast of their sincerity and 
 pious designs in opposing the revealed Iruth ; 
 yet it is impossible that ever it should be opposed 
 from any other principles, than that pride, en- 
 mity and deceit w hich are manifest in the Devil's 
 opposition to it 
 
 But let us enquire, for a moment, who they 
 are that are justly chargeable with the faith of 
 Devils ? 
 
 I, The faith of Devils, is a faith without love. 
 
 1 hey 
 
228 THE FAITH OP DEVILS CONSIDERED. 
 
 They hear, understand, and hate the Truth, wvA 
 do all in their power to corrupt it : and in so do- 
 ing are haters of God, and destroyers or" men. — 
 Because in the saving Truth the highest glory 
 of God is manifested, and the greatest good to 
 men made known. To shew enmity to this, 
 therefore, is to discover the most ungodly and 
 inhuman disposition. Now (as is observed in 
 the essays) there are not waating those among 
 the sons of men, who see so much of the saving- 
 Truth as to hate it, speak evil of it and of those 
 who maintain it, and .go about to corrupt it.— 
 And this is the very spirit of the Devil — such are, 
 however much they may be shocked at the 
 charge, enemies to God, and to the eternal hap- 
 piness of mankind. For God is hated or loved, 
 and mankind's best interest served or opposed, 
 according as our minds stand affected to the 
 gospel of Christ. The faith of Devils and of his 
 children, appears different from the faith of 
 God's elect, in that the latter works by love to 
 that which the former hate. They have receiv- 
 ed the love of the Truth that i.hey might be 
 saved. 
 
 2. The faith of Devils is without good zcorks. 
 That which makes them Devils is their pride, 
 ambition and dissimulation, and their works are 
 in opposition to God's method of manifesting 
 his own glory: — destroying men's souls by false 
 notions of God, or blinding their minds bv 
 
 counterfeit gospels, ( 1 Cor. iv. 4; and chap. xi. 
 1-4. 15, defaming and persecuting them that arc 
 of the Truth, whose lives they cannot destroy. 
 The faith of Devils then, as it appears among 
 men, is a faith without good works. This the 
 apostle James calls a dead faith, chap. ii. 2(), 
 and compares it to the faith of Devils, ver. :Q, 
 and the chief scope of this epistle is to detect 
 and expose this kind of faith, and he particular- 
 
THE FAITH OF DEVILS CONSIDERED. 22$ 
 
 ^ — 
 
 \y characterises it as without the good works of 
 mercy in feeding the hungry and ctba thing the 
 naked brother or sister, ver. 14, — IS. Where 
 we discover, under a profession of religion,, pride. 
 ambition, avarice, dissimulation, perverting {he 
 scripture phrases to accommodate the gospel to 
 the taste of men, and hatred to, and persecuti- 
 on of, those who maintain the Truth in its na- 
 tive glory and primitive simplicity ; — there the 
 disposition of Devils is seen, and there the chil- 
 dren of the wicked one do appear. 
 
 3. Devils believe that the salvation of men is 
 contained in the gospel ; vet they do not believe 
 that Christ is willing to save them. Even so, 
 many who are esteemed as convinced, seriouslv 
 disposed people, and as having, what is called 
 ,f the good work" begun in them, or,' as others 
 chuse to phrase it, are partakers of" initial sal- 
 vation ;" believe that Christ is both able and 
 willing to save others, but through their great 
 humility! (which in fact is intolerable pride and 
 unbelief) are led to fear that Christ is not trilling 
 to save them. This kind of rant, of which there 
 is plenty id various forms in the religious world, 
 is occasioned by their natural bias to establish 
 their own righteousness, and the unscriptural 
 methods whereby their leaders retail their per- 
 verted gospels. It is plain, therefore, that their 
 faith is no better than that of Devils, it being 
 of no more use to them than theirs is. Indeed 
 it is worse: for, as we have seen, the salvation 
 of Devils is not contained in the gospel record, 
 while that of men is. 
 
 But what shall we say of their pretended faith, 
 who, in hearing the revelation of God, neither 
 rejoice, nor tremble, but harden their hearts un- 
 til their conscience becomes seared as with a 
 hot iron r Surely this is more dreadful than any 
 U thine 
 
230 THE FAITH. OF DEVILS CONSIDERED. 
 
 thing yet mentioned ; but awful as it is, it is 
 far from being uncommon. 
 
 From the whole, let us take heed of agreeing 
 with those who hate the truth, lest we be found 
 to be despisers of " The most holy Faith" and, 
 as such, when it is too late to be delivered from 
 wrath by it, — " wonder and perisfi" 
 
 CONFESSION 
 
CONFESSION OF FAITH, &fc. 
 
 That there is a God I believe, not from tradi- 
 tion, but from the strongest evidences arising 
 from the things which lie lias made. But I am 
 happy in not being left either to the dictates of 
 natural reason or philosophy, to obtain the 
 knowledge of this supreme and glorious Being, 
 but have the sacred lines of revelation, which 
 lead me into his more glorious works, in which 
 I discern his real character. 
 
 The external evidences of the Bible being 
 the word of God, are many; but its own in- 
 trinsic evidence is most glorious and satisfactory 
 to me. But J am called upon to shew what I 
 have been taught from these sacred pages, [n 
 reading the account given of ( 'ledtion, my mind 
 is struck with a different view of the DEITY, 
 than philosophy can furnish ine with, or help 
 me to comprehend. Indeed, I there find it con- 
 firmed, that J BHOVAH is the one inrmice, al- 
 mighty, and eternal God : but am also informed, 
 that the one divine essence has revealed himself, 
 in order to exalt his own glory, and lay a proper 
 basis of hope for his people, in three distinct per- 
 sonal characters, viz Father, Word, and Spirit ; 
 in each of which he displays every divine perfec- 
 tion. The chief object of this lower creation is 
 man. Adam was made in the image of God, 
 and was, by the great Creator, distinguished 
 from all other creatures, by giving him the 
 knowledge of his Maker. From which know- 
 ledge he drew the reasons of his conduct, and 
 became conscious of the divine favour, so long 
 as he obeyed the natural dictates of his can- 
 U 2 science* 
 
232 CONFESSION OF FAITH. 
 
 science. It is plain from his history given by 
 Muses, and moreover by Paul's account of him-, 
 that all human nature was J'eder a t/y considered 
 in him, and was to be propagated from him. 
 1 lad he remained in a state of innocency, we 
 must of necessity have received human nature 
 i;i its original purity: but he, the fountain, being 
 i-orni]:f<(( by the poisonous quality of sin being 
 intermingled with it by the Father of lies, the 
 >'rc(im^ are like to be defiled — which streams 
 are we. That human nature is corrupted, I 
 have a three-fold knowledge of. 1st. The Lord 
 positively declares it in his word. 2dly. My 
 ij\yn experience testifies to it. Sdly. Daily 
 matter of tact in the lives of thousands confirms 
 i,v And tiiis corrupt principle, I believe, is 
 properly inherent, being interwoven with the 
 \ civ texture of our constitution. The following, 
 1 believe, are some of the unhappy consequences 
 of the fall, viz. loss of original purity — loss of 
 the manifestation of the divine good pleasure, 
 an awful succession of innumerable evils; in 
 which I include, a dark understanding, vicious 
 ., flections, an evil conscience, and a stubborn 
 will : in short, that we are naturally dead in ties- 
 passes and in sins. All man's natural knowledge, 
 which before furnished him with reasons of 
 duty, and taught him to walk humbly with his 
 God, now, is so far from giving him comfort, or 
 informing him how he may be reconciled to his 
 otfended Sovereign ; that, so far as he retains it, 
 he must be filled with horror and despair. But 
 man being corrupted, his original impressions 
 of Jehovah began to wear olf, and through his 
 <>wn propensity to evil, and the enemies lying 
 injections, he en tertains false notions of God, 
 and goes about upon some vain presumptions, 
 to reconcile himself to the Lord, and obtain his 
 favour: though every such attempt is a fresh 
 
 jproof 
 
CONFESSION OF FAITH. (133 
 
 II r ■■■■■— !—»■■■ ■■■ — 1 ■■■ [[■■■■■[■■■■—IHIMIl'l'-Biii i "2 
 
 proof how sadly he is fallen from his original 
 knowledge of the true God. 
 
 In order that the divine character misrht be 
 
 o 
 
 rescued from the misrepresentations man had 
 given of it, as well as that the offence might 
 abound, the moral law was added. This is a 
 perfect transcript of the divine Being: it forbids 
 sin, shews the evil of it, and condemns for it, 
 and is under all dispensations a rule of obedience, 
 and a fixed standard of righteousness. This re- 
 vives the dictates of natural conscience, and en- 
 forces them ; so that neither the law, nor the 
 natural conscience, can work any thing in the 
 guilty, but wrath: Both declare the necessity 
 of an unspotted righteousness to appear id be- 
 fore God ; both shew the impossibility of par- 
 don, without perfect satisfaction being given for 
 ihe offence; both teach, that where mercy is 
 exercised, it must be in strict consistency with 
 consummate justice, though neither the one nor 
 the other can inform us where to find either. 
 iSow I believe that the gospel is the only 
 place where we can learn this: there, in the 
 jinhhed work of Immanuel, [ behold a just God 
 and a Saviour! Here natural conscience re- 
 ceives its fullest impressions of the divine cha- 
 racter, and the holy law its highest honours, 
 while mercy and truth, with respleudent glory, 
 unite in the sinners salvation* But here it may 
 be expected 'that I should be particular: — The 
 gospel, I believe, is the production of infinite, 
 eternal, counsel and wisdom ; a plan formed, 
 in all its beautiful connection, before the world 
 began. That the ETERNAL determined to 
 glorify his perfect i an s in the salvation and glori- 
 fication of an innumerable number of sinners, 
 and to this end personally chose them in his Son, 
 before the world began : and whatever distinc- 
 tions may be made between the absolute decree, 
 V 3 and 
 
234 confession or FAITH. 
 
 and the foreknowledge of God, whoever admits 
 the latter (and zoho so impious as to deny it r) 
 does in faet confess the former; for if Jehovah 
 had prescience of all events that should take 
 place in time, from eternity, then they must 
 take place in the order in which he foresaw them, 
 or his knowledge could not be perfect. I can- 
 not think that either the happiness of his chosen, 
 or the misery of the test, is the ultimate end of 
 election, but rather the praise of the glory of> 
 his sovereignty. Every impotent attack on this 
 doctrine by the pride of man, I believe, is silen- 
 ced in the word of truth. Further: I believe 
 that God manifested his purpose of grace to 
 man, after the fall, and that in the fulness of 
 lime God sent his son into the world, to 
 bring the many sons to glory, whom he had pre- 
 destinated to be heirs with Christ. This chosen 
 race, indeed, in the eternal purpose, stood con-' 
 nected with Christ, their covenant-head; but 
 when God brought his first begotten into the 
 world, he actually took part with them in their 
 nature; for bo'n he that sanctifieth, and they 
 who are sanctified, are all of o^e. Hence, being 
 their kinsman, he could righteously engage for 
 them ; but having to pacify God, and perform a > 
 work that should be beneficial to others, it be- 
 came absolutely necessary that the mediator- 
 should be God. And moreover, it was required, 
 that he be Gob-man in unity of person. 
 
 Again: I believe that immtwuel appeared 
 under the law, as the representative of his people, 
 in which capacity it was a righteous thing in 
 God to lay on him the iniquities of them all, 
 though it was an amazing display of his sovereign- 
 ty; that by his perfect obedience, he fulfilled, in 
 its utmost extent, whatever the law demanded : 
 and by the complicated sufferings which he en- 
 dured, when the zciath of God lay hard upon- 
 
 him. 
 
CONFESSION OP FAITH. 235~- 
 
 m~r~~ ^— — 1 — — ^Hiimmm^ — — — — ~— ~ ill T" I 
 
 him, sin received punishment to the/}/// extent* 
 of its desert, and that divine justice -could not' 
 require -more satisfaction than it obtained in the 
 death of Christ. I believe that Jesus, as his 
 people's Surety, died under the zcralh of God, and ■ 
 that his resurrection from the dead is an infal- 
 lible proof, that the work which he declared 
 finished, was well pleasing to God, and is suffi- 
 cient in itself to declare him just in justifying 
 the ungodly who believe, as they stand con- 
 demned by his holy law. Take away this sub- 
 stantial evidence of the sufficiency of the Re- 
 deemer's work, and I frankly confess, that I am 
 without hope ! JSot that all men can say, nor ail- 
 that I csXi jeei, will quiet my guilty conscience; 
 but from my inmost soul 1 believe, upon the 
 fore-mentioned evidence, and its import, that 
 the blood and righteousness of Christ alone, are 
 sufficient to deliver me from all condemnation, 
 recommend me to the favour of God, and give 
 me a title to everlasting- gloiy 7 . 
 
 J believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the 
 apostles of our Lord, to record tire transactions 
 of 1ns life and death, and the peculiar evidence 
 of its extensive efficacy adverted to. This re- 
 cord which God has given of his Son,' is the 
 gospel, or glad tidings of the kingdom, and is 
 an universal proclamation to sinners in general, 
 of pardon, justification, sanctification, and eter- 
 nal life, as the free gift of God, through Jesus 
 Christ. J believe that no preparations, requi- 
 sites, or qualifications whatever, are required of 
 the creature, in order to meeten him for this 
 great salvation; but that, simply as a sinner, 
 every one who hears the gospel is encouraged^ 
 upon the faithful word of God, to take Christ, 
 and all the blessings of eternal life, freely. — 
 Here I confess the necessity of the work of the 
 Spirit of God. Man in his natural state may 
 
 speculate 
 
£36' CONFESSION OF FAITH. 
 
 speculate upon the gospel, and obtain natural 
 notions of these things, but no one ever did, or 
 ever can, understand the spiritual import and 
 glory of the gospel, but as taught by the Holy 
 Spirit. I believe this glorious agent teaches 
 only by the written word. The whole will of 
 God is revealed there ; — and lie never works se- 
 parate from, much less opposed to, it. 
 
 Now by his almighty agency dead sinners are 
 made to hear the word, are regenerated thereby, 
 and made new creatures. The word is the seed : 
 the life of Christ is implanted in the heart of 
 the Redeemed by it, John v. — 24. He that hath 
 my word, and believeth on him that sent me, 
 bath everlasting life — is passed from death unto 
 life. In this way, I believe faith is the gift of 
 God, i. e. when the spirit of Truth enlightens 
 the understanding, to perceive the spirituality 
 of divine Truth, his teaching is attended with 
 demonstration and power, which works in the 
 soul a real persuasion of the nature, extent, and 
 efficacy of the finished work of the Redeemer ; 
 this persuasion, I believe, is grounded solely up- 
 on the record which God has given of bis Son, 
 in consequence of which the soul comes to, and 
 receives, the Lord Jesus as a present Saviour. — 
 Notwithstanding! would acknowledge, there are 
 degrees of faith, and must necessarily be so while. 
 we know but in part. If 1 am desired to define 
 faith more fully, I beg leave to quote Paul up- 
 on the subject: " Faith is the substance of things 
 hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."* L 
 
 believe 
 
 * It is believing the record which God has given of his Son: 
 but I hope I shall not be misunderstood here. — I believe a natu- 
 ral man may have a full persuasion of this, in the sense in which 
 he understands it, but no natural person can understand it. The. 
 great difference between true converts and all others, is pointed 
 to by our Lord, Matth. chap, xiii,. One understands ihe word of 
 
 the 
 
CONFESSION OF FAITH. 237 
 
 believe the soul becomesjusti/ied by the righteous- 
 ness of faith, or that divine testimony which faith 
 receives as infallibly true. Justification is a law 
 term, and consists in a judge declaring a person 
 acquitted from all judicial charges ; righteous in 
 the eye of that law by which he is judged. 
 In justification, the righteousness of Christ is 
 imputed to the believer, who is made the righte- 
 ousness of God in him; in the same way as 
 Christ is made sin for his Elect. In this act, I 
 believe the subject is considered as ungodly, so 
 that ueither in the divine eye, nor in the sinner's, 
 is there any respect had to an}' worthiness in 
 the creature, but this righteousness is unto and 
 upon all them that believe, for there is no dif- 
 ference. 
 
 All who believe, receive full, free, and ever- 
 lasting pardon of all their sins : full, because his 
 blood cleanse th them from all sin ; free, because 
 it is forgiveness of sin according to the riches of 
 his grace ; everlasting f because Jehovah blots 
 out their transgressions as a thick cloud, and 
 will no more remember their sins ! 
 
 I believe further : that this glorious gospel 
 implanted in the heart in regeneration, is the 
 sole spring of sanctification. Justification is a 
 single act of grace, and terminates in a freedom 
 from punishment, and a right to life. Sanctifi- 
 cation is a work within us, is progressive, and 
 terminates in the destruction of sin's reigning 
 power. The more the spirit of Truth increases 
 our knowledge of, and faith in, the gospel ,* the 
 more our understanding is enlightened, our af- 
 fections spiritualized, our conscience purged, 
 and our will bowed, andin this consists the pro- 
 gress of our sanctification, 2 Cor. iii. 1 8 ; though 
 
 the kingdom, the other understands in a wrorg sense, and there* 
 fore cannot have equally precious faith with the apostles. 
 
£38 CONFESSION OF FAITH. 
 
 I am very far from thinking that nature is con- 
 verted, or the flesh spiritualized. Gal v. 
 
 The necessary and inseparable consequence of 
 this, is good works Sanctification through the 
 Truth is the cause, good works the effect ; sanc- 
 tification the root, holiness the fruit — I believe 
 that though good works are not our title to, or 
 qualification for, justification — or cause of our 
 sanctification — yet that they are evidences of 
 bothy so that without them, our profession is vain, 
 and our faith dead. To constitute a froth good, 
 I believe the love of God must be shed abroad 
 in the heart, as the living principle of action. 
 The revealed will of God, in which I include 
 the moral laze, must be the rule, and the glory 
 of God the end of our obedience. The evange-; 
 licai motives to them, the glory of God, the 
 mercies of God, the end of election, calling, and 
 adoption : their use, to prove the truth of our 
 profession before men — to stop the mouths of 
 opposers — and for the use and benefit of men;— 
 Thus I believe, that wherever the gospel is 
 known clearly, it will be felt powerfully, and 
 where it is ft It powerfully, it will produce the 
 fruits of righteousness in the life. In this way 
 which I have been declaring, I believe that the 
 eternal purposes of Jehovah, concerning the 
 salvation of his elect, are brought about. 
 
 .Now as the apostolic ministry consisted in 
 teaching the things concerning the kingdom of 
 God, as well as preaching Christ and him cruci- 
 fied ; it may be expected, that I should say 
 something about my views of the gospel church 
 state — The Jews looked for the appearance of 
 this kingdom ; but as they had been mistaken 
 about the appearance ol the promised King., so 
 also they were in the nature or" this kingdom. 
 Joho the Baptist proclaimed it at hand ; so did 
 Jesus ; but it never was established till Christ 
 
 ascen ded 
 
CONFESSION OF FAITH. 23£ 
 
 ascended into the heavens, and angels and prin- 
 cipalities became subject unto him. The nature 
 of this kingdom is spiritual, John xviii. 36*. 
 My kingdom is not of this world. The bulk of 
 its subjects are in glory, beholding the King in 
 his beauty; and it makes its appearance here 
 among the few who are of the truth, and hear 
 Christ's voice. Hence I conclude, that it can- 
 not be national, and that every national esta- 
 blishment, and every dissenting congregation, 
 framed upon human authority, and cemented 
 by secular ties, stands opposed to this heavenly 
 kingdom. The truth of Christ, or the pure gos- 
 pel of salvation, is the foundation upon which 
 the New Testament church is built ; and by the 
 same precious truth, its subjects are cemented. 
 None in heaven or earth have a right to appoint 
 laws in this kingdom, but Christ the anointed 
 King ; and no person can truly acknowledge 
 him as King in Zion, that does not obey the 
 laws which he has made. Now for the test of 
 every one's obedience who confess him with their 
 mouth, as well as precious means of drawing 
 near to, and holding communion with, him, he 
 has appointed several ordinances, among which 
 are Baptism, and the Supper, which represent 
 in public signs the blessings of this kingdom. 
 Neither of these ordinances can be of the least 
 service to any but true believers, because none 
 but they can understand those things which are 
 therein represented. 
 
 That Baptism is a standing ordinance in the 
 church, I believe from the nature of the king- 
 dom ; — it cannot be moved, Heb. xii. 128. But 
 to break the laws, is the most effectual way to 
 undermine it. The design of the ordinance — a 
 practical renunciation of error, and acknow- 
 ledgement of the truth — a protest against the 
 prevailing traditions of the age, and a confession 
 
 of 
 
240 CONFESSION OF FAITH. 
 
 of evangelical truths ; and moreover, from the 
 promise of Jesus to be with his ministers to the 
 end of the world, in enforcing and administering 
 it. True believers are the only proper subjects; 
 and the only mode of administration, immersion 
 of the whole body in water, in the name of the 
 Father, Son, and Spirit. To change either mode. 
 or subject, under any pretence whatever, is an 
 impious attack upon the sovereignty of Christ 
 our King; and I hope ever to maintain the 
 importance and necessity of this gospel institu- 
 tion. 
 
 The ordinance of the Lord's Supper represents 
 disciples united in one body, partaking of their 
 one common Lord in all his salvation fulness, by 
 the outward symbols of bread and wine. Be- 
 lievers here behold one glorious righteousness, 
 the ground and hope of their calling ; one grand 
 fountain of spiritual supply, alike common to 
 them all : — here the distinguishing work of the 
 Son of God, received by faith through the eat- 
 ing of the bread, and drinking of the wine, de- 
 stroys those distinctions between them, which 
 their pride would prompt them to make. Be- 
 side these two leading ordinances, there are 
 preaching the word, public and social prayer, 
 mutual conversation, and the new command of 
 brotherly love to be attended to. The church, 
 I believe, is vested with power to chuse her own 
 officers, to receive members, and expel them 
 when unruly. The proper officers are Pastors, 
 Eiders, or Presbyters, who are to give themselves 
 to prayer, and the ministry of the word : and 
 Deacons, whose employment is to receive con- 
 tributions, take care of the poor, and serve 
 tables. The communion of saints is a subject 
 so copiously insisted upon in the New Testament, 
 that no persons can make that their rule of faith 
 and practice; and live in the neglect of it. The 
 
 confession 
 
CONFESSION OF FAITH. '241 
 
 confession of the mouth can only be confirmed 
 by a practical submission to the laws and ordi- 
 nances of this heavenly kingdom : nor can I see 
 what substantial evidence any professor lias of 
 being a disciple of Christ's, while he lives in the 
 known omission of any ordinances of the gospel 
 dispensation. • In an uniform attention to these 
 things, the believer is bid to expect increase of 
 grace, and may scripturally hope, that he shall 
 hold on his way, and is authorized to take the 
 comfort of all those promises which have refer- 
 ence to the final perseverance of the saints in 
 faith and holiness. The doctrine of a true be- 
 liever infallibly enjoying the heavenly inheri- 
 tance, I from my heart believe — the covenant 
 of grace, the perfections of Jehovah, the union 
 between Christ and his people, and the precious 
 promises of a faithful God, all secure it. But I 
 have no other idea of a believer persevering, 
 -than of one running the race set before him, look- 
 ing unto Jesus, and bringing forth the fruits of 
 righteousness. To conclude: — L believe that 
 the saints shall have their bodies raised from the 
 dead, and fashioned like unto Christ's glorious 
 body; that alt the redeemed shall be everlast- 
 ingly tilled with the fulness of him that filleth all 
 in all ; but that the wicked shall go away into 
 everlasting punishment! — That whatever reflec- 
 tions corrupt men may cast upon the God of 
 purity, as being in any sense the cause of sin, 
 or any of his decrees the cause of the sinner's 
 damnation, it will then appear that sin originated 
 in the creature, aud that sin alone is the cause 
 of their condemnation. If it be thought neces- 
 sary that an apology s'iiould be made for ex- 
 pressing myself positively, I have only to say.. 
 that I have, by request, taken in hand to set 
 forth in order, a declaration of those things which 
 arc most surely believed among us. BuUtowever 
 X positively 
 
242 CONFESSION OF FAITH. 
 
 positively, I hope in the fear of God to maintain 
 divine truth. 1 have every reason to be diffident 
 in myself: I hope I am conscious, in some mea- 
 sure, what a poor, weak, fallible creature I am, 
 and how much I stand in need of the prayers 
 of the weakest saint : a prevailing sense of which, 
 I hope, will keep me humble, watchful, and 
 prayerful, and ready candidly to hear the reproof 
 or instruction of any of my brethren. Brethren 
 pray for me, that I may study to approve my- 
 self unto God a workman that needeth not to 
 be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, 
 and be, in all things, praise-worthy — an exam- 
 ple to the flock. Amen. 
 
 THOUGHTS 
 
THOUGHTS 
 
 On the difference betiveen 
 
 SANDEMAN and CUDWORTH. 
 
 Ijoth Sandeman and Cudnorth agree, that 
 4< G)d is zcell pleased in his beloved ban" That 
 this »s the sole requisite to justification : that the 
 most guilty are accepted herein, without more ; 
 and that whoever believe this, are the blessed 
 persons to whom God imputes righteousness 
 without works : — that this is the central poinl 
 and spring of true Christianity; so that to seek 
 acceptance and peace in any other way what- 
 ever, is to contradict this truth, and springs from 
 pride and self-rigceousness. But their difference 
 lies here : — Sandcman pleads that the great dif- 
 ficulty with a sinner is, how the jiist God can 
 become a Saviour, or be just in justifying. — 
 That the gospel solves this by the testimony be- 
 fore us ; that all the joys aperson has in first be- 
 lieving is, that such a righteousness is provided, 
 and that there is a possibility of his being saved : 
 ■ — that such an one labours in painful desire and 
 fear, till he becomes assured of his own pari in 
 the divine righteousness; that this makes out 
 his personal claim, and in this way he arrives at 
 a particular application of what he before be- 
 lieved in general. 
 
 On the other side, Cudzcorth pleads that the 
 pinching point with a sinner is, hot simply how 
 shall I know that the just God can be a Saviour ; 
 but how shall I Jiave such a righteousness as he 
 requires r That the testimony before us answers 
 X 2 this, 
 
2-44 OBSERVATIONS ON 
 
 tii is, by bringing the divine righteousness near 
 in the gospel^ and conveys it in such words as 
 directly to 'shew, that it is for evert/ creature that 
 hears it. That without any further enquiry, the 
 guilty sinner may say, " tie fovtd me, and gave 
 himsetj fvr me" and assure Himself of eternal 
 life, without taking into consideration any ef- 
 fects of the gospel whatever. That it is this 
 ui J r (.j. nation that gives a conscious possession and 
 enjoyment of thai which justifies; and that the 
 want of such an appropriation, is that sin of un- 
 belief which has condemnation entailed upon it. 
 1 agree with both, that God is well pleased hi 
 his Son, and that the work of Christ is the sole 
 requisite to justification. Sandernan, notwith- 
 standing the many great things he has said, is 
 most certainly very wrong in pleading that the 
 gospel record believed, gives no more comfort 
 to the mind than what a bare possibility that he 
 shall be saved, will afford; for it is plain, that 
 no one can believe the gospel report, that ex- 
 cludes himself from the number of those to 
 v.'hom it says, "He that bctuvelh shall be saved" 
 And it is equally plain, that when the gospel is 
 believed, peace of conscience, or a deliverance 
 from that wrath which the law works, will be 
 t lie immediate effect, which could not be it' 
 there was nothing more in the testimony than a 
 mtjrt 'possibility ,ot" salvation. Faith is the sub- 
 stance of things hoped for; and when any one 
 is begotten again by the report of Christ's re- 
 surrection from the dead, he directly has a lively 
 hope, grounded upon that word which he be- 
 lieves : so that if any one proceeds to labour in a 
 way of painful desire and fear, to come to peace 
 of conscience_and a gospel hope, nothing is more 
 plain than that v he hath not heard and learned 
 of the Father, for such-come to Christ, and find 
 rest to their souls. He that believeth enters in- 
 to 
 
SAN DEM AX AND CUD WORTH. 245 
 
 as 
 
 to rest, and ceases from any work whatever to 
 obtain rest. So that it is plain, that to labour 
 in painful desire and fear, in order to gel peace 
 of conscience, is totally incompatible with the 
 belief of the truth. 
 
 Cudworth, without doubt, is right in pleading 
 that the gospel contains more than a possibility 
 of being saved ; but is wrong in saying, that 
 eternal lije is given to even/ hearer of the gospel ; 
 Tor the gifts of God are without repentance ; — 
 and it is plain, many hearers of the gospel will 
 perish eternally. Besides, if every hearer has 
 eternal life given him by God who cannot lie, 
 then it follows, that such a gift is not sufficient 
 in itself to secure that life to any one ; — so that 
 there must be something more (however much 
 Mr. Cvidworth exclaims against it) to secure 
 this gift, seeing that many to whom the gift it- 
 self is made, finally perish. Now nothing is 
 more evident from Mr. Cudz H ortns own words, 
 than that he makes the same use of "Appropria- 
 tion* that Mr. Handeman does of his "Painful 
 desire and fear," — for he tells us, that it is ne- 
 cessary to the consciousness or enjoyment of 
 that which justifies: — neither is there any ac- 
 count in the scriptures of a person's lirst believ- 
 ing, being any thing more than a persuasion that 
 what is testified in the gospel^ is true. And 
 when any person is taught or God, in hearing 
 the gospel, to believe it, both the painful desire 
 and fear, and the appropriation, are superseded ; 
 for it is the sovereign power of God, or the Spi- 
 rit of truth accompanying the written word, that 
 gives the truth a possession in the soul ; and this 
 brings a consciousness and enjoyment of that 
 whichjustifles without leaving room for what \lv. 
 Cudicorth would plead for ; whereas both he 
 and Mr. Sande/nan suppose it possible for the 
 truth to be believed, without the enjoyment. — 
 X 3 Indeed, 
 
246 OBSERVATIONS ON, &C. 
 
 Indeed, Cudworth altogether denies the influ- 
 ence of the Spirit, and so substitutes his own 
 appropriation in its place. Neither the one nor 
 the other of their phrases are scriptural, nor the 
 ideas conveyed by them ; the truth lies between 
 them both :— Thus, when any sinner is taught 
 of God to believe on Christ, he is justified, and 
 obtains peace by what he believes ; but he can- 
 not have assurance that he has believed, until 
 his faith works by love in keeping Christ's com- 
 mandments. 
 
SEKMONS. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 rt Then had the churches rest throughout all 
 Judea, and Gallilee, and Samaria, and were 
 edi/ied, and walking in the fear of the Lord, 
 and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were 
 multiplied." — Acts ix. 31. 
 
 The history of the Church of Christ is full of 
 instruction to the sons of men. It presents to 
 us on the one hand the awful perverseness of 
 human nature, and its opposition to the glory 
 of God ; and on the other, the almighty power 
 of Jehovah, in overcoming every obstacle to the 
 progress of the gospel, and the exceeding riches 
 of his grace towards its opposers, the objects of 
 his pity. Here, therefore, men may learn more 
 just views of the Supreme Being, and of them- 
 selves, than they can possibly acquire from 
 books of human composition, - and may be taught 
 with what reverence and gratitude they ought 
 to contemplate his character, and with what 
 humility they ought to regard their own. 
 
 The Church of Christ is described in scrip- 
 ture under a two-fold view. First, as the Uni- 
 versal, or Catholic Church ; and, secondly, as 
 the visible representation oi this in an assembly 
 of believers. 
 
 By the former, we are not to understand the 
 Church of Rome, who proudly arrogates to her- 
 self the title of Catholic, nor indeed any national 
 or congregational church under heaven. But 
 the Church of Christ properly means the whole 
 
 company 
 
248 GOSPEL ORDINANCES. 
 
 company of the redeemed, styled his body. It 
 consists of all thv;se who have died in the Lord, 
 and who are now in heaven, beholding the King 
 in his beauty; of all true believers now upon 
 the earth, and of all who shall be gathered 
 unto Christ to the end of time, when the Tem- 
 ple, Church, or Body of the Redeemer shall be 
 completed. INo revolution upon earth can affect 
 this church in the smallest degree : it cannot 
 be moved : even the dissolution of all things 
 cannot disturb it, for it is not of this world, and 
 is immoveable like the throne of the Redeemer. 
 
 By the term church, in the New Testament, 
 we are taught to understand also the visible ap- 
 pearance of persons in the faith of Christ ; or 
 in other words, the visible church is a company 
 of professed believers in the gospel, however few 
 in number, and however despised by the world, 
 who have among them the true preaching of 
 the word of God, the right administration of the 
 ordinances of Jesus Christ, and the faithful 
 exercise of that discipline, which he has pre- 
 scribed in the New Testament. Wherever 
 there is such an assembly, without doubt there 
 the visible church of Christ appears. The church 
 at Jerusalem, the church at Rome, and the 
 church at Ephesus, were all of this description. 
 The apostolic writings no where give us the 
 slightest intimation that such a church should 
 be national ; for when speaking of the societies 
 of believers scattered throughout different pro- 
 vinces, they never designate those in one pro- 
 vince as one church, but as several. Hence we 
 read of the churches of Judea, of the churches of 
 Galatia, the churches of Macedonia, Sup. Re- 
 sides, these assemblies are represented as being 
 in the midst of their enemies, ruled by the rod 
 of the Redeemer's strength, the sceptre of his 
 grace, the word of his kingdom, in the pre- 
 
MEANS OF EDIFICATION, 249 
 
 ceding chapters we are informed,, that they suf- 
 fered persecution from the world; and indeed, 
 they are forewarned to expect this in their way 
 to the heavenly kingdom until the end of the 
 world. Faith and patience are their prominent 
 characters; and these can never be accordant 
 to the name or character of any national church 
 on earth. 
 
 The visible church, through the fury of perse- 
 cution, may be moved from one place : but then 
 such events are made, through the infinite wis- 
 dom of God, to promote the real welfare of the 
 true Church. This was the case in that part of 
 their history before us. Saul, the chief perse- 
 cutor, being called by divine grace, preached 
 the faith which he once destroyed ; and the Jews 
 restrained by Providence, and deprived of their 
 leader, became less violent in their proceedings 
 against the Christians, and thus the cnurches in 
 Judea had rest. They could then attend to the 
 instituted order of the gospel, and were edified 
 together in love, walked in the fear of the Lord, 
 and enjoyed the comforts of the Holy Ghost. 
 They also increased in number, and in all the 
 increase of God. 
 
 What 1 intend from the words of the sacred 
 writer, is to lay down and illustrate some obser- 
 vations founded upon them. The observations 
 arising from them are the following: 
 
 1. — That the instituted church order of the 
 gospel is calculated tor edification. 
 
 2. — That where edification is promoted, it 
 will be mani-fested by the disciples walking in 
 the fear of the Lord. 
 
 3. — That the comforts of the Holy Ghost are 
 intimately connected with gospel edification, 
 and walking in the fear of the Lord. 
 
 4. — That churches thusj organized, and walk- 
 ing together under the impressions of the fear 
 
 of 
 
250 GOSPEL ORDINANCES* 
 
 of God,, have scriptural grounds to expect, that 
 they shall be multiplied. 
 
 I. By the instituted order of a gospel church, 
 I understand that order and those rules, which 
 Christ and his apostles have left upon record by 
 example and precept to be attended to by dis- 
 ciples unto the end of time : particularly such 
 as relate to the administration of his word and 
 ordinances, and the upright preservation of the 
 discipline of the house of God. As to the ordi- 
 nances of the gospel, they are Baptism, the 
 Lord's Supper, the reading and preaching of the 
 word, prayer, and the ordinance of brotherly 
 love, in the outward expressions of it, as prac- 
 tised stedfastly by the first christians under the 
 direction of the Apostles, Acts ii. 42. Unless 
 these be fully attended to, all professions of reli- 
 gion are wholly vain. It is but mockery in the 
 extreme to call Jesus Lord, and not to do what 
 he has commanded : and no church can, in the 
 judgment of gospel charity, deserve the name 
 of christian, which does not observe his institu- 
 tions from a sense of his authority. 
 
 The discipline of the church is to be found- 
 in the New Testament, in the express command* 
 ments of Christ and his apostles, or in the ap- 
 proved example of the first churches. All the 
 schemes of men must be wholly excluded from 
 it; the government is upon the Redeemer's 
 shoulder, and to him alone must be in subjec- 
 tion. Now on the head of discipline, we are 
 taught (Matt, xviii. 13. 18, that the power of 
 binding and loosing is vested in the church pro- 
 perly organised: see also Matt. xvi. 19, that it 
 is givenTpurely for the brethren of Christ, and 
 not intended for the world ; that its end is for 
 the maintenance of purity in faith and brotherly 
 love upon the plan of the gospel, and the whole 
 of this painful work is to be done in the name 
 
 of 
 
MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 251 
 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in their name, 
 nor after their own inclination, not from strife, 
 ill-will, or umbrage, which one party may en- 
 tertain against another, and that it must be 
 conducted by the word of God and prayer. 
 This church, in its discipline, is subject to no 
 power or authority but that of Christ ; and is 
 the only mean which has been appointed by its 
 exalted Head for collecting the outcasts of 
 Israel, and gathering his people into one. The 
 first churches are left as patterns to all that 
 should follow, and hence it must be impious and 
 presuming to endeavour to establish an order 
 different from them. 
 
 Having taken a brief survey of the instituted 
 order of gospel churches, it remains that I should 
 shew that it is suited to promote edification, and 
 this we shall find true of every part of it, Eph. 
 iv. 11, 16. 
 
 As to the readingof the word and thelabours of 
 the gospel ministry, it is by means of these that 
 we receive our first instruction in the knowledge 
 of God ; and for the improvement or edification 
 of the disciples they were expressly intended, 
 1 Cor. xiv. 3. 5. 12. Hence it is plain, that he 
 who preaches the word, must have an under- 
 standing of its true meaning, else how can he 
 speak to edification? Those who despise these 
 appointed means of instruction, which are so 
 well adapted to correct us in righteousness, have 
 no ground to expect the blessing of God, or die 
 edification of their souls. On the other hand, 
 all the disciples of Christ should study to have 
 the great ends of edification promoted by their 
 attendance on divine ordinances : this should be 
 their great object ; nothing inferior to this should 
 excite them to hear or to read the word of truth. 
 
 Another mean of edification in a gospel church 
 i-; the assembling of themselves together to ex- 
 hort 
 
252 GOSPEL ORDINANCES. 
 
 hort one another. That this was the practice of 
 the first churches is plain, and that edification 
 was the end proposed, is equally so. Heb iii. 
 x. chap. 13. 24. 25.. In these meetings, the 
 disciples have an opportunity of warning each 
 other of the prevailing errors of the times, andr 
 by contrasting truth and error, to build up them- 
 selves upon their most holy faith. For this Paul 
 commends the Thessalonians, and repeatedly 
 exhorts them to continue in the practice of k. 
 i Thessal v. 11. Hence we may infer, that if 
 we would be followers of them who through 
 faith and patience have inherited the promises, 
 we ought not to forsake the assembling of our- 
 selves together. Let us, in such meetings, be 
 doing all things to edification, and cautiously 
 avoid what Paul warns Timothy of. i Tim. i. 
 4. In these assemblings of ourselves together, 
 let us ever keep in mind what is advanced. — 
 1 Cor. xii. 13. Sec. 
 
 The ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's 
 Supper serve to promote the ends of edification, 
 because in them are represented the grand truths 
 of the gospel upon which our hope depends, and 
 by which holiness is promoted, and the great 
 condescension of God our Saviour, familiarized 
 to our senses. Every action in these divine 
 institutions presents something concerning the 
 truth, and in the use of them, disciples grow in 
 grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. In them they follow on to. know the 
 Lord, and pass through the different stages of 
 the christian life. Every church, therefore, 
 should be zealous in preserving these ordinances, 
 as they were delivered unto the churches by the 
 apostles ; for if this order be changed, the end 
 must be frustruted. And hence we may see 
 that those persons are injuring themselves, who 
 keep back .from a practical attendance on 
 
 these 
 
MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 23c> 
 
 these ordinances, and not only so, but count 
 those institutions weak and circumstantial which 
 God, in great condescension, has ordained for 
 edification. Let me earnestly recommend this 
 part of my discourse to those who belie vethe gos- 
 pel, and have peace in their souls through it, and 
 yet keep back from the instituted church order. 
 You complain of being weak, and is it to be 
 wondered at, while you are neglecting the means 
 which God has instituted for giving you strength? 
 I may also add, that if the Lord's Supper is an. 
 ordinance of edification, can we be too often 
 edified ? And does not this remove that objec- 
 tion, that a frequent attention to it takes off 
 from its dignity and importance ? The more 
 frequently the mind is exercised in the contem- 
 plation of the important truths of the gospel, and 
 in cultivating the tempers corresponding to 
 them, the ordinances of Christ will rise in our 
 estimation : the mind will elevate itself in thank- 
 fulness, or be deeply abased with a sense of un- 
 worthiness. The apostles and ancient churches 
 met every first day of the week for eating the 
 Lord's Supper ; but when the gospel order be- 
 came corrupted, it was attended to but once a 
 quarter; then once a year : this arose from 
 priestcraft and superstition. Since that time it 
 has been customary once a month ; but where 
 have we any command, or any example for this 
 in the scriptures? Can we frequent the means 
 of edification too often ? Can we shew Christ's 
 death too frequently? Can we remember Christ 
 too often ? Can we too frequently confess our 
 faith in him, and be put in mind of his second 
 appearance ? If not, then why is not the gos- 
 pel order observed among us? 
 
 And as the ministry of t lie word, and ordi- 
 nances of the gospel, are calculated to promote 
 edification, so also does the discipline of the 
 Y bou c :2 
 
£54 GOSPEL ORDINANCES. 
 
 house of God, 1 Cor. v. 5. — 2 Cor. x. S. chap, 
 xiii. 10. It was not for the destruction of the 
 person on whom the discipline is exercised, but 
 as a means for promoting his edification and 
 repentance ; not for destruction or injury to the 
 body, as some would think, but for the preser- 
 vation of the soul in the ways of God. Such a 
 part of discipline is set forth, as the sign of God's 
 dealing at the great day with an apostate from 
 the truth ; it teaches them his power in his 
 church, and the evil and danger of sin ; and 
 though it fall short of the salutary effect it should 
 have upon the individual, yet the body may be 
 saved. 2 Cor. v. As the reason of this dis- 
 cipline, and indeed of all the ordinances and 
 commandments, arises from the truth believed, 
 it should be made known among the churches, 
 as their rule and example, and should be prac- 
 tised in the fear of God, in obedience to his 
 word, when the providence of God points out 
 occasion. Thus have 1 endeavoured to illustrate 
 and improve, as I went along, the first propo- 
 sition which was. laid down. 
 
 '2. [ come now to the second thing proposed, 
 which was to shew, that where the church order 
 is preserved, and edification promoted, it will be 
 manifested by the disciples walking in the fear 
 of the Lord Such is the nature of spiritual in- 
 struction, that it not only has a suitable influence 
 upon the heart, but carries its happy effects into 
 the practice, and is -manifested in such a manner, 
 that others may take notice of it. The fear of 
 the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, so that 
 without it no man can be a christian. But here 
 let us attend to the meaning of the term fear. 
 The word in our text does not intend that slavish 
 dread, of damnation, which is common to the 
 wicked, nor the painful fear of the Pharisee, 
 who is labouring to establish his own righteous- 
 ness 
 
MEANS OF EDIFICATION". 255 
 
 ness,and is inquiring, "What lack I yet?" This 
 is a fear which gives much disquiet, lest we have 
 not done enough for our salvation, and shews 
 that the mind is altogether estranged from the 
 gospel. The fear here spoken of, possesses the 
 mind, even when there is a full consciousness of 
 the sufficiency and freeness of pardoning mercy, 
 and also of personal interest in the everlasting co- 
 venant. For this fear is a blessing of thatcovcnant, 
 Heb. viii. and a principal characteristic of the 
 man of God. This fear is first produced in the 
 heart, when faith, hope, and love are produced 
 there, by the word and spirit of God : it arises 
 from believing God to be such as his word re- 
 presents him, and its practical tendency is to 
 lead us to walk before him in such a manner as 
 becomes that belief of his true character. Now 
 as the first genuine impression of the fear of 
 God comes through the knowledge of him, so 
 without doubt, as we grow in the knowledge of 
 the gospel, or in proportion to our edification 
 in the scripture, will be our fear of God, and in 
 proportion to that fear in our hearts, will be the 
 evidence of it in our lives. In the fear of God 
 is included. 
 
 First : A fear of respect. If we know God as 
 our Creator, Preserver, as our King, our Father, 
 our Friend, surely we should respect and rever- 
 ence him as such. But this cannot be proved 
 to others, nor can we have any solid evidence 
 of it ourselves, unless it produces such a conduct 
 towards God, as is suitable to such views of his 
 character. When the disciples walked in the 
 fear of the Lord, they adored him as their crea- 
 tor, they acknowledged and praised him as their 
 Preserver, they obeved him as their King, they 
 loved him as their Father, and walked with him 
 in alibis appointed ways as their best Friend, 
 Y 2 shewing 
 
£56 GOSPEL ORDINANCES- 
 
 shewing such a fear of him as preserved them 
 from acting unsuitably to the impressions of his 
 character. Another property of this fear is that, 
 
 Secondly : ft promotes the hatred of sin. J hey 
 who have this fear, know what a glorious God 
 the Lord Jehovah is! what dreadful punish- 
 ments sin deserves ! how awfully it makes against 
 the happiness of the soul! and how jealous he 
 is of his glory and honor !— Having God before 
 their eyes,, Ihey stand in awe of offending his 
 laws. This fear makes us have our eyes direct- 
 ed to the Lord, to deliver us from the evil of our 
 hearts, and from the wiles of the devil. When 
 t,his fear dwells in the mind, it leads the subject 
 of it to tremble at the word of God ; to receive 
 as saered every word that God hath spoken, to 
 fear lest he should form wrong notions of that 
 word, or lest others should mislead him, care- 
 fully to compare one part of it with another, 
 that he may learn its true meaning. It promotes 
 a reverential walk in the church, in tj>e family, 
 and in the world, according to the directions of 
 God's word, and leads to live by the faith of the 
 Son of God, in whose character and work the 
 divine perfections are so strikingly manifested. 
 Thus we see that edification promotes the fear 
 of God, and on the other hand, that walk- 
 ing in his fear, proves the truth of o>wr spiritual 
 edification, and thus from the whole, the falsity 
 of that doctrine winch fixes the charge of licen- 
 tiousness upon the gospel of grace, is demon- 
 strated. 
 
 Let us then cultivate and cherish this fear, 
 and sludy the grounds and motives of it. It 
 indeed wears an hostile appearance towards cor- 
 rupt faith: but setting the Lord always before 
 our eyes, let us ever remember that they do not 
 walk m this fear, whatever they may profess who 
 
 make 
 
MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 257 
 
 make light of the gospel, the ordinances and 
 discipline of God's word. 
 
 3. 1 come now to the third thing proposed,™ hich 
 is to shew, that the comforts of the Holy Spirit 
 are intimately connected with walking in the 
 fear of the Lord. 
 
 By the comfort of the Holy Spirit, is not in- 
 tended that peace and joy which arise in our 
 minds on our first believing, but that joy and di- 
 vine consolation, which Christ promises to his 
 disciples united together, walking in the fear of 
 the Lord, and bearing the hatred of the world 
 with patience. — Christ has connected these 
 things to" ether; << In the world ye shall have tri- 
 bulation, but in me ye shall have peace. I have 
 overcome the world. * The work of the Holy 
 Spirit, as the comforter, is to bring to remem- 
 brance the friendly and gracious sayings of 
 Jesus, to lead into all truth, and seal the souls 
 of the disciples unto the day of Christ. ISow, 
 it is in the way of walking in the fear of the 
 Lord that he does this. Some are ready to 
 wonder how there can be the least connection 
 between the fear of the Lord, and the comforts 
 of the holy Ghost; but this arises either from 
 ignorance of the nature of gospel comfort, or 
 their inattention to gospel obedience. To illus- 
 trate this subject, it may be observed, in a tew 
 instances, how the highest manifestations of the 
 love of God have accompanied the deepest im- 
 pressions of his fear. The tase of Abraham, 
 Gen. xxii. 12. &c. Isa. vi. Dan. x. Matt. xvii. 
 'j'he beloved disciple John, Rev. i. 17- and even 
 the sufferings of the first-born among many bre- 
 thren, are proofs of this. Thus we see what 
 an intimate connection there is between the fear 
 of God and the comforts of the gospel. When 
 a church is using the means of edification, and 
 walking together in the rear of the Lord, they 
 Y 3 will 
 
<3;8 GOSPEL ORDINANCES. 
 
 will most surely partake of the comfort of the 
 Holy Spirit, who will shed abroad the love of 
 God in their hearts. God will deal with them 
 fis his sons and daughters ; he will manifest 
 himself to be their God, and recognize them as 
 ins people. But where either a church- or a 
 private individual walks otherwise, there is no 
 scriptural ground to expect the comfort of the 
 Holy Spirit; for God hath said, "they that 
 honor me, I will honor, and they that despise 
 me, shall be lightly esteemed." The connection 
 between these things will further appear from 
 the ii and iii. chapters of the *book of Revelations. 
 The nature of this comfort is a confirmation 
 that their joy in the gospel is the true joy, or 
 the beginning of eternal life, and thus Christians 
 become assured that they are not deceiving 
 themselves, but that they are Christ's disciples 
 indeed. 
 
 4. Societies thus walking agreeably to the 
 mind of Christ, have grounds to expect that 
 their numbers shall be multiplied. It has 
 been generally thought a good sign that people 
 are edified, and that Christianity flourishes, when 
 great multitudes flock together, but more espe- 
 cially, when many profess themselves members 
 of such and such churches ; but there is no rea- 
 son to think that edification will be promoted 
 where the gospel in its purity is not preached, 
 the ordinances, in their original form, adminis- 
 tered, and the discipline of the house of God 
 carefully preserved, because these we have 
 seen are God's ordinary methods of edifying 
 his people ; and as we cannot call such 
 an increase the increase of God, or that the 
 Lord added to the church such as shall be saved, 
 so, on the other hand, we cannot expect God 
 to smile in gathering the people together, where 
 the ordinances and discipline of his house are 
 
 not 
 
MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 259 
 
 not zealously attended to : but on the other 
 hand, where this is the case, it may be expected, 
 because, in this way the Lord has blessed the 
 churches of old, and where they did not so, he 
 removed the candlestick out of its place, and 
 unchurched them. 
 
 It should be observed also, that where such a 
 people are gathered, there the hand of God ap- 
 pears ; it is a proof that he is with them of a 
 truth. Where, notwithstanding, the corruption 
 which surrounds them, the gospel is purely 
 preached, the ordinances duly administered, and 
 without the fear of man, the discipline regarded, 
 there his kingdom does appear; and there,accord- 
 ing to his promise, he will come and bless his 
 people. Such a conduct must have a native 
 tendency to strike the attention of others, and 
 lead them to acknowledge that God is with us 
 of a truth. Let your light then so shine before 
 men, that others seeing your good works, may 
 glorify your heavenly Father. The happy in 
 rluence of such conduct in drawing the attention 
 of others to the gospel, is strikingly manifested 
 in the case of the church at Thessalonica, whose, 
 faith and exemplary conduct are so highly com- 
 mended by Paul : and it is a means of promot- 
 ing the inteiests of the gospel, which cannot be 
 too deeply felt, or fervently enforced. 
 
 The subject which we have been considering, 
 suggests many useful instructions for the regu- 
 lation of the conduct, and which merit the deep- 
 est attention, of all the followers of Christ. 
 
 First ; — How careful ought we to be to pre- 
 serve the purity of the gospel, and the order and 
 discipline of the house of God. The gospel is 
 indeed a treasure of unspeakable value. It is a 
 jevelation of the utmost importance to man, and 
 it is from its purity that the advantages of com- 
 fort and practical godliness are derived. The 
 
 gospel 
 
QoO GOSPEL ORDINANCES. 
 
 ~~ • - '■■-- ' ■-' ::; 
 
 gospel gives us just views of the character and 
 perfections of God, and of the moral condition 
 of man ; it presents a solid foundation of hope to 
 the guilty mind, and contains the only efficacious 
 motives for forming a holy life. It is the pow- 
 er of God unto salvation to every one that be- 
 Jieveth. If our views of the gospel be perverted, 
 we must entertain improper ideas of God, which 
 must vitiate our religious conduct, we must be 
 destitute of till true consolation, nor shall we 
 feci the force of these incentives to holiness 
 which he who best knows the heart of man has 
 made known for its government. Consider, 
 moreover, that the gospel is of divine authority, 
 and that every part of it is the testimony of God. 
 This renders it our duty not only to understand 
 it well, and to receive it submissively, but to 
 preserve its purity with fervent zeal and love. — 
 The conduct of Paul in this respect deserves the 
 imitation of all christians. lie was firmly as- 
 sured of the truth of the gospel, and his love 
 to it is warmed into godly detestation of eve- 
 ry sentiment, that either affects its truth, 
 or contaminates its purity. " If an angel from 
 heaven preach any other gospel than that ye 
 have received, let him be accursed." When his 
 mind was ripened by experience, and his since 
 rity tried by the severest calamities, he still holds 
 fast the faith himself, and earnestly exhorts be- 
 lievers, if they would attain the everlasting king- 
 dom, to do the same. This shews in what light 
 christian churches ought to view attachment to 
 a pure gospel, and teaches them, that every 
 faithful disciple is distinguished by his love to 
 the truth and the commandments of Jesus. — 
 Sensible that what he has appointed has the 
 weight of divine authority, and must be best 
 calculated for their edification,, they must ob- 
 serve 
 
MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 26l 
 
 serve all things whatsoever he has commanded 
 them. 
 
 Secondly. There cannot be any good hope or 
 consolation enjoyed by any professor of the 
 gospel, who does not walk in the fear of God. 
 
 The gospel, no doubt, communicates peace of 
 mind and the hope of eternal life to all that be- 
 lieve it. This is essential to its nature, as a re- 
 velation of pardon to the guilty, through the 
 death and resurrection of Christ. But faith must 
 be productive of corresponding fruits ; — it must 
 produce a delight in the law of God, lead us to 
 serve him with reverence and godly fear, and 
 stimulate us to holiness of life. This is the na- 
 tural influence of all the truths, which the gospel 
 reveals, and peculiarly of the doctrine of recon- 
 ciliation through the sacrifice of the Son of God. 
 The christian's faith purifieth the heart, and 
 works by love ; the gospeJ hope leads to purify 
 ourselves as Christ is pure, and fortifies the mind 
 not only to endure suffering with resignation, 
 but to oppose every sinful propensity. The 
 knowledge of God's love induces the love of the 
 brethren of Christ, and faith in his mercy pro- 
 duces mercy and good fruits towards theni.-— 
 These principles and their effects are inseparable. 
 And hence it is by tl*e operation of the faith 
 upon our hearts and conduct that our comfort 
 in the gospel is promoted. By the work and la- 
 bour of love we arrive at the full assurance o£ 
 hope, and know that we have passed from death 
 unto life. Most delusive and false must that pro- 
 fessor's hopes be,whichare accompanied by a sin- 
 ful life, or not attended with a reverence for the 
 distinguishing laws of Christianity. His profes- 
 sion must be but a name to live, and his hope 
 that of the hypocrite which perisheth for ever. 
 
 Thirdly. Let this subject lead the members of 
 gospel churches to diligent self-examination. 
 
 « Be 
 
Qfri GOSPEL ORDINANCES, #C. 
 
 " Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for what- 
 soever a man soweth he shall also reap/' These 
 are interesting questions, which every one should 
 address to his own mind; — what effect has the 
 gospel had upon us ; has it led us to fear God ? 
 How has this been manifested ? Does it appear 
 in the life and conversation, in our families, to- 
 wards the members of the body of Christ,. and 
 in a practical obedience to his commandments. 
 Lastly; — This subject suggests practical in- 
 formation to the believei;s of the gospel who are 
 not united with the church of Christ. The fear 
 of God should lead you to observe his command- 
 ments ; and these cannot be obeyed while you 
 do not walk in union with his disciples. This, 
 too, is as essentially necessary to your own com- 
 fort, as it is to evince the sincerity of your at- 
 tachment to the gospel, and your belief of its 
 truths. While you neglect this, or continue in 
 communion where his commandments are disre- 
 garded, you must be living in disobedience to 
 his authority, and negligent of those proofs of 
 love to the Redeemer, which he has expressly 
 enjoined. Let. these reflections receive the con- 
 sideration which is due to them, for " blessed are 
 they that do his commandments," for they shall 
 have a right to the tree of life, and shall enter in 
 through the gates into the city, where, waiting in. 
 the perfect fear of the Lord, they shall enjoy the 
 consolations of divine mercy in their highest, 
 measure and perfection. Amen. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON II. 
 
 Behold his soul, which is lifted uv. is not upright 
 in him; but the just shall live h\j his faith. — 
 Hab. ii. 4. 
 
 In the present state of existence, the righteous 
 often snlier calamity, while the wicked rejoice 
 in prosperity. To account for this seeming in- 
 equality of the divine procedure in the govern- 
 ment of this world, has always baffled the wis- 
 dom of the wise, and frequently perplexed the 
 servants of God. One thing we may be assured 
 of, that however unable we may be to compre- 
 hend the ways of God, still they are directed by 
 unspotted justice and unerring wisdom, and that 
 none have any cause for complaint or discon- 
 tent. To wait with patience, and to acquiesce 
 with submission, is the duty of all. 
 
 This temper of mind is strongly inculcated in 
 the preceding discourse of this Prophet. He 
 had been contemplating the prosperity of the 
 wicked, and saw their violence, injustice, and 
 oppression fully established. While he adores 
 the unchangeable purity of God, lie asks, why 
 Jehovah held his " peace when the wicked de- 
 voured the man, who was more righteous than 
 he," chap. i. 12. 13. Ihe beginning of the se- 
 cond chapter represents him " watching to see 
 what God would say to him," what information 
 he should receive for satisfying the inquiries of 
 his people. He receives the answers of God, 
 commanding him to " write the vision, and.make 
 it plain upon tables, that he may run that read- 
 eth it." He is informed,, that the time for un- 
 veiling 
 
664 THE LIFE OF FAITH. 
 
 veiling these dispensations was yet distant, but. 
 that the event to which the vision refers was 
 fully determined, so as not to be averted by man 
 nor by distance of time. Hence the prophet is 
 directed to wait for its accomplishment, in the 
 full confidence of God's will being unchangeable, 
 and only to be known from future events, which 
 his providence directs and over-rules. Such was 
 the answer of Jehovah. If any, in the pride of 
 discontent, should arraign his wisdom or justice, 
 " the soul of such is not upright within him/' 
 but the just believing that the Lord spoke by 
 his prophet, waited in faith to see the end. 
 
 Such is the literal signification of the passage, 
 which has an evident reference to the deliverance 
 of Israel from Babylon, and the destruction of 
 their enemies. The apostle Paul, however, 
 quotes these words three times, and evidently 
 applies them to two opposite descriptions of 
 professors of the gospel. Under the direction 
 of the apostle, therefore, I shall draw your atten- 
 tion to the spiritual improvement, which they 
 are suited to conve}\ 
 
 First. I shall consider, in its nature, causes and 
 effects, that frame of mind which is expressed 
 in the text by the souls being lifted up. 
 
 Secondly. I shall shew that that frame of mind 
 stands opposed to the christian character, and 
 that it is, in fact, an awful evidence of a cor- 
 rupt and widsed heart. His soul is not upright 
 zcithin him. 
 
 Thirdly. I shall delineate the opposite character 
 mentioned in the text, and shew how the prin- 
 ciples of the just are calculated to destroy every 
 degree of self-confidence. 
 
 1. The language of the text, like;^ that of 
 prophecy in general, is poetical and figurative. 
 By the soul being lifted up, may be understood 
 a self-confident spirit. Nothing, indeed, can be 
 
 more 
 
OPPOSED TO SELF-CONFIDENCE. S65 
 
 more expressive of that disposition of mind, by 
 which we think more highly pf ourselves than 
 we ought to think. This is a depravity too 
 common to man in his fallen state, and arises 
 from ignorance of God and enmity against his 
 will. 
 
 The judgment which we should form of our- 
 selves, will be best learnt by considering the 
 character of God, and the law which he has 
 given us. From these we may ascertain the 
 character of man, and be convinced, that senti- 
 ments directly opposite to self-conhdenee, ought 
 to reign in the human mind. 
 
 God is a being of infinite holiness, justice, 
 goodness, mercy, and truth. He possesses every 
 moral perfection in the highest degree. He 
 views with holy detestation every thing incon- 
 sistent with his all-perfect character. " Before 
 him evil cannot dwell, nor sinners stand in his 
 sight/' — In the striking language of the prophet, 
 " He is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and 
 cannot look on iniquity." As the great Gover- 
 nor of the world he has given us a law, which 
 bears the image of his moral perfections, and 
 winch, in its nature, **is holy, just, and good." 
 All God's rational creatures are under its autho- 
 rity, from their relation to him as their Creator, 
 and as the subjects of his moral govern men t. 
 Men ought to judge of their righteousness only 
 in proportion to their conformity to its righteous 
 requirements. It enjoins us "to love the Lord 
 our God witli alt our heart, soul, and strength, 
 and to love our neighbour as ourselves." The 
 smallest deviation from this even m thought it 
 condemns as moral impurity. Such is the ab- 
 solue perfection it requires, tlfat its voice is, 
 " Be ye ;oly, even as God is holy." — If there- 
 fore, we think better oi'ourseives, man we really 
 "appear in the sight of this only rule of righteous- 
 ^ ness. 
 
266 THE LIFE OF FAITH 
 
 ness, we must be thinking more highly of our- 
 selves lhan we ought to think.— " Our souls are 
 lifted up within us." Such a spirit, however 
 disguised, and however flattering to the nature 
 of man, can proceed from no other cause, than 
 ignorance of the purity of God and of his holy 
 law, particularly as this is manifested in the 
 death of Christ as a sacrifice for sin. It is, not- 
 withstanding its inconsistency with our present 
 state, the governing spirit of man. It is discer- 
 nible in every situation of life, from the highest 
 to the lowest of mankind, and discovers itself in 
 nothing more strikingly than in our religious 
 intercourse with our Creator. It is highly ne- 
 cessary, therefore, to speak more particular^ 7 of 
 this reigning pernicious spirit as it manifests it- 
 self in the religious world, or among those who 
 have, or intend to have a serious turn for a reli- 
 gious life. 
 
 Some arc of opinion, that there is no occasi- 
 on to confine themselves to religion at present, 
 because they imagine, that they can break off 
 from their sinful pleasures when they please, and 
 that whenever they do, God is bound to receive 
 them into his favour. Every person of this.sen- 
 timent thinks more highly than he ought ; be- 
 cause he thinks his heart better than it is, and 
 that it is as inclinable to holiness as to sin. He 
 imagines his vicious propensities and whole 
 course of wicked life can be altered at his plea- 
 sure. How awfully mistaken ! The heart is 
 deceitful above all things and desperately wick- 
 ed, and experience proves his fatal mistake. — 
 His mind is so devoted to sin, that though he 
 can prevail with himself lo abandon some wick- 
 ed courses, he* does not, cannot love God with 
 all his heart, soul, mind and strength. And al- 
 
 though we should repent and do the will of God, 
 what but the spirit of self-confidence in the vir- 
 tue 
 
OPPOSED TO SELF-CONFIDENCE 2(>7 
 
 "T~ i i 7 i ii i iiit 
 
 tue of his own works could delude him into the 
 supposition, that the All pure Jehovah is bound 
 to accept him as a righteous character ? Hav- 
 ing forfeited the divine favour by sin, he can 
 have no claim on the Most High God is surely 
 under no obligation to receive into hisfriendship 
 the persevering viola ters of his law, who have 
 stifled the voice of their Consciences, and who, 
 while they acknowledge it to be in their power 
 to lead a holy and virtuous life, had no pleasure 
 but in iniquity. Every sin deserves hell as soon 
 as it is committed ; — and saith the scriptures, 
 Caned is every one, that continue tk not tn all 
 things written in the book of the law to do them. 
 But this spirit is often equally evident in the 
 sinner that is awakened. He goes about by bis 
 tears, his prayers, his repentance and devotional 
 duties, to establish his own righteousness, in 
 contemplating these, he fancies his hopes of 
 heaven secure, and his soul is lifted up within 
 him. It is very common for men to be more 
 elated with pride from this quarter than the for- 
 mer: — and thousands are to be met with who 
 build their hopes of eternal happiness upon this 
 foundation. Their religious ardour blinds their 
 understandings, and obliterates the impressions 
 of former crimes. Nay, even the contrast tv; 
 their former conduct with their present zeal and 
 seeming devotion, swells them with self-conceit, 
 and hardens their hearts against the voice of 
 truth. But these self-elating thoughts are not 
 only pernicious in themselves, but they are 
 highly immoral. Every sentiment must be so, 
 that subverts the standard of morality, the law of 
 God ; and that teaches us to extenuate our guilt 
 in not loving the Lord with all our heart and 
 mind, or makes the tears of a sinner, or the ago- 
 nies of the self-condemned set aside the curse 
 of the Almighty. If righteousness comes by 
 Z 2 these 
 
208 THE LIFE OF FAITH 
 
 the s'e means, the gospel of Christ is an unneces- 
 sary revelation ; if human efforts he sufficient, 
 then the incarnation, life, death, and resurrec- 
 tion of Christ are all in vain. 
 
 licit the spirit of self-confidence is still more 
 fully displayed by many, who explode the 
 schemes which we have mentioned, and who 
 adopt one apparently more agreeable to truth, 
 but more pernicious in its consequences. The 
 scheme to which I refer is the conclusion, that 
 we are the elect of God, the children of his 
 love, and the favourites of the Most High upon- 
 tin scriptural grounds. Mr. Hervey gives his 
 opinion of this source of a self-righteous spirit 
 m these words, " Now this self-dependence may 
 be ranked among the most dangerous of infernal 
 polities, because the fatal poison lies deep, and 
 too often lUidiscemed." Such persons are lifted 
 up with conceit of their own discoveries, expe- 
 rience, and attainments. Like the Pharisees of 
 old, they have a full persuasion of' their interest 
 in the kingdom of God, and upon the same 
 grounds, the difference betwixt themselves and 
 others. They speak much, indeed, of their own 
 viJeness, — which carries in it a shew* of volun- 
 tas- v humility, but they expect their humility to 
 U: extolled. Should they be charged with any 
 particular sin, or told the bitter truth, that they 
 are in no respect better than others, they soon 
 discover n hat mariner of spirit they are of. They 
 talk about the glories of the gospel, about their 
 interest in covenant mercies, about the special 
 work of the Spirit upon their hearts, about 
 heaven and its glories • and their souls are elated 
 while these thoughts prevail, because they ima- 
 gine that all these are theirs. But unless they 
 perceive their ow*n interest in them, they see no 
 beauty -in the Saviour, nor derive any comfort 
 from the gospel. All this, however, arises from, 
 
 nothing 
 
OPPOSED TO SELF-CONFIDENCE. £69 
 
 nothing but the spirit of self-dependence. To 
 persons of the same principles Christ addressed 
 these awful words, " Ye serpents, ye generation 
 of vipers, how shall ye escape the damnation of 
 hell r" The Pharisees, like these professors, were 
 strict in external duties, practised mortification, 
 had a great zeal in the profession of religion, 
 and believed with the fullest assurance that God 
 loved them, and that they should be partakers 
 of endless happiness, but they hated the Son of 
 God, and the truths he proclaimed. Our Lord 
 told them that this decided the falsehood of 
 their hopes, for u If ye were of God, ye would 
 love me." — " He that is of God, heareth my 
 words." The same text decides the character 
 of all similar pretenders, of whom we are speak- 
 ing. The truth, that they must enter the king- 
 dom of God upon the very same footing as the 
 publican and harlot, that the ungodly are jus- 
 tified in simply crediting the gospel testimony 
 concerning the Son of God, that his atonement, 
 without a thought or work on the part of the 
 sinner, is sufficient to present the most guilty 
 perfect and spotless before God, is a truth, which 
 provokes their warmest hatred. It ever awakens 
 their detestation, and excites the virulence of 
 their language in every term of obloquy and 
 scorn. Yet a most undoubted truth it remains, 
 and it is by love to this truth, and delight in it, 
 that the genuine Christian is distinguished in 
 the scriptures. 
 
 Again, we may reject all the former piansj 
 and nave exceedingly clear and just views of the 
 gospel, and yet be under the iniluence of the 
 temper condemned in the text. How strikingly 
 is this manifested by many, who nice and criti- 
 cal in their taste about doctrines, delighted in 
 making discoveries in divine things, and ready 
 to censure every other system but their own, 
 Z 3 shew 
 
270 THE LIFE OF FAITH 
 
 shew that the tone of their minds is too elevated 
 for humble Christians, and that the gospel, 
 which tends to produce a lowly spirit, has not 
 humbled them. With such the gospel is more 
 an object of judgment, than of affection; of 
 criticism and speculation, than of the reforma- 
 tion of the temper. Such are under the govern- 
 ment of the same confidence, which is condemn- 
 ed m the church of Laodicea, and ought ever 
 to be reminded of the striking language of our 
 Saviour to its members. " Ye are poor, wretch- 
 ed,, miserable, blind, and naked." 
 
 hi many other ways does the spirit of self- 
 dependence operate. It is natural to the de- 
 praved mind of man. lis operation is powerful 
 even in the believers of the gospel. Against 
 no disposition have they more need to be conti- 
 nually on their guard, for none is more opposed 
 to genuine Christianity. 
 
 This leads to the Second thing proposed, 
 which was to shew that self-confidence stands in 
 direct opposition to the christian character, and 
 is an awful evidence of a heart not upright with- 
 in us. 
 
 AH conceit of ourselves is contradictory to 
 th j truths of the gospel, and the spirit it recom- 
 mends. The very foundation of Christianity 
 pre-supposes this awful truth, that the whole 
 world is guilty before God, and there is no pos- 
 sible way to escape everlasting punishment, but 
 through the plan of salvation, which infinite and 
 eternal wisdom contrived, and which the incar- 
 nate Redeemer fulfilled in his sufferings unto 
 death. Christianity is founded upon the confes- 
 sion, that the holy law of God is glorious, and 
 deserving the supreme regard of all his rational 
 creatures, and that Jehovah's conduct in reveal- 
 iti.o; his wrath from heaven against all sin, is, like 
 himself just and glorious. Besides the gospel 
 
 teaches 
 
OPPOSED TO SELF-CONFIDENCE. l 2 { 1 
 
 teaches us, that God will not accept of us as his 
 people, on account of any actings of our bodies 
 or minds, and that we have.no reason to con- 
 clude, that we are his favorites, unless from our 
 receiving his testimony, and continuing in his 
 faith and commandments to the end. 
 
 Hence the temper most essential to the chris- 
 tian character, is genuine, humility, because, 
 most consonant to the design of the gospel. — • 
 Every christian sees his own character infinitely 
 odious in the sight of God and of his law. — 
 ^Numberless defects he will perceive in the duties 
 which he performs, and in the motives of his 
 actions. Deeply convinced, that in many things 
 he offends the divine commandments, he will 
 adopt the language of the Psalmist, If thou> 
 Lord, shou/dest mark iniquity, who, Lord, 
 could standi He has no idea of comparing 
 himself with any other rule than God's holy law, 
 which requires perfect love to God and to man. 
 He must consider God as holy and just in not 
 accepting his services, and viewing himself as 
 justly obnoxious to the everlasting wrath of 
 Omnipotence, he must acknowledge the equity 
 of the divine sentence in the threatenings of his 
 law : — In a word, he must consider himself in no 
 other light than a hell deserving sinner. In 
 thinking thus of himself, he thinks soberly, ever! 
 as he ought to think. But the temper condemn- 
 ed in the text is the very reverse of all this : — . 
 ]t is purely an antinomian spirit, because it is 
 subversive of the purity and immutability of the 
 divine law. Jt is the spirit of pride, elevating 
 the soul to entertain high conceit of its emotions 
 and feelings, and is directly repugnant to the 
 character of God, who resisteth the proud, and 
 giveth grace to the humble. 
 
 Self denial is also essential to the christiar 
 character. Without it wc cannot be Chris 
 
 discip 
 
!W THE LIFE OF FAITH 
 
 disciples. If any would he my disciple, let him 
 deny himself, and take up his cross and follow 
 me. By self denial we are to understand, not 
 only the denial of every vicious propensity, but 
 also the giving up of that false opinion which we 
 form of our own characters ; — the denying of 
 our own righteousness, wisdom, strength and 
 excellency. Like humility, it is founded in a 
 conviction of our sinfulness, and is excited to 
 action from the permanency of such an impres- 
 sion. It requires but little reflection to see, how 
 opposite ajl self confidence is to this important 
 part of the christian temper. It exalts our own 
 righteousness and wisdom, while self denial 
 abases them ; — it sacrifices every thing at the 
 shrine of pride; self denial presents its offerings, 
 with a contrite heart, at the foot of divine mer- 
 cy. Must not then that man's mind be highly 
 depraved, his soul not upright within him, who 
 is under its governing influence ? Every thought 
 of his heart, all his views of himself and divine 
 things are in direct contradiction to the will of 
 God, and to the sentiments which he has incul- 
 cated upon his creatures by his Providence and 
 his word. Every word which a sinner says in 
 his own justification, is a wicked condemnation 
 of God's law, and every doctrine, by whatever 
 name it may be called, that gives comfort to 
 sinners, while thus thinking highly of themselves, 
 confirms this pernicious spirit, which strengthens 
 man's opposition to both the law and the gospel. 
 
 I proceed now, Thirdly, to delineate the op- 
 posite character; and to shew how his principles 
 are calculated to sap the foundation of self-con- 
 fidence. 
 
 But where shall we find such a character ? A 
 
 iust man, in the proper sense of the word, is not. 
 
 "i be found in this state of imperfection. '* All 
 
 ve sinned,'" all are condemned as unjust in 
 
 the 
 
OPPOSED TO SELF-CONFIDENCE. 273 
 
 the sight of the divine law. ISay, saith trie 
 scripture, " there is not a just man upon earth, 
 that doeth good, and sin net h not." 
 
 Sinners are made righteous in the sight of 
 God, through the atonement of the Son of God. 
 He was sent, agreeably to the gracious design 
 of infinite mercy, to make reconciliation for the 
 sins of his people, and to bring in an everlasting 
 righteousness. For this purpose he assumed 
 human nature, and bore the punishment of his 
 people's sms in bis own body on the tree, in the 
 character of their substitute and representative. 
 In their name he endured the wrath or" God due 
 to their sitis, and offered up himself as a pure 
 and all-sufficient sacrifice of " a sweet smelling 
 savor' to the Most High. With this Jehovah, 
 hath declared himself well pleased, by raising 
 his Son from: the dead ; hereby manifesting his 
 delight in him, and his full acceptance or his 
 sacrifice. This being effected in their stead, the 
 blessings of pardon, peace with God, and eter- 
 nal life, which the death of Christ has secured, 
 are graciously conferred on sinners, who believe 
 the gospel. Thus it is that sinners are made 
 just before God, — " justified freely by his grace, 
 through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." 
 This doctrine is strikingly set before us by Paul 
 to the Corinthians, and is there pointed out to 
 be the sum of the gospel. " God was in Christ 
 reconciling the world unto himself, not imput- 
 ing their trespasses unto them — Tor he hath 
 made him to be made sin for us, who knew no 
 sin ; that we might be made the righteousness 
 of God in him." 2 Cor. v. 19- 21. " By the dis- 
 obedience of one, many were made sinners, so 
 by tiie obedience of one, many were made right- 
 eous." — I his all-perfect lighteousness is con- 
 veyed to men in the testimony of God concern-- 
 ing it .; and when this testimony is known and 
 
 believed , 
 
£74 THE LIFE OF FAITH 
 
 believed by the guilty sinner, he is accepted as 
 righteous in the Beloved, and « being justified 
 by grace, he becomes an heir according to the 
 hope of eternal life." This view of the ground 
 of his acceptance is always calculated to pre- 
 serve him from self-righteous boasting, to fill 
 the mind with humility, and to lead him to 
 " glory only in the Lord as his righteousness 
 and strength." 
 
 The truth and reality of his acceptance before 
 God is manifested by his works. This is what 
 is meant by the apostle James, when he teaches, 
 that a man is justified by works. Thus we are 
 told of Abraham, the father of the faithful, that 
 " he was justified by works, when he had offered 
 up Isaac his son upoto the altar : that faith 
 wrought with his works, and by works his faith 
 was made perfect." Jam. ii. 21. 22. This does 
 not refer to justification before God, but to jus- 
 tification in the sight of man, and to our own 
 consciences, by doing justly, .walking uprightly, 
 and carefully keeping the commandments of 
 God. And assuredly without obedience to his 
 will revealed in the scriptures-, our faith must 
 appear dead, even " as a body without a spirit." 
 The grace of God, which brings salvation, and 
 freely justifies the sinner, "teaches him that, 
 denying ungodliness and wordly lusts, he should 
 live soberly, jighteously, and godly in this pre- 
 sent world, looking for the blessed hope of 
 Christ's second and glorious appearing" 
 
 What are we to understand by \h& faith of 
 the just? Many have been the definitions of 
 faith, which men have given us, and often high- 
 ly perplexing to the serious mind. These let 
 us leave to the darkness whence they originate, 
 and simply enquire what the scriptures teach us 
 on this head. Here we learn, that the term 
 
 Faith 
 
OPP03F.D TO SELT-CONFIDETs'CE. 
 
 Faith is used in two senses, first, tor the belief of 
 the tra h, and, secondly, for the truth believed. 
 
 By the truth, I understand that doctrine 
 which it is the grand design of the gospel to 
 make known to men, and which the apostles 
 -call the truth by way of eminence. This is no 
 other than the testimony of God, that there is 
 forgiveness to the chief of sinners through faith 
 in the death and resurrection of Christ. This 
 was the doctrine which the apostles proclaimed 
 as the sum of the gospel, which contains the 
 brightest display of the divine character, and 
 gives importance and truth to the law and the 
 prophets. Now faith is nothing more nor less 
 than the belief of this truth. The gospel is the 
 report of God concerning the Person, work, and 
 salvation of his Son : — faith is the belief of this 
 report as true. The gospel is the testimony or 
 witness of Jehovah concerning Jesus the Mes- 
 siah ; — faith is receiving this testimony, or cre- 
 diting it as the truth of God. Saving faith, from 
 the words of our Lord to Peter, is this, ■' We 
 believe, and are sure, that thou art the Christ, 
 the Son of the. Living God." — All who believe 
 this, as the gospel teaches, are blessed of God, 
 and possess the same precious faith as the apos- 
 tles. 
 
 The other sense of the term faith is the truth 
 believed, or the gospel revelation. The apostle 
 uses it in this acceptation, when he says, u that 
 he preached the faith which he had "once des- 
 troyed :" and it must also be thus understood, 
 when Christians are enjoined " to contend ear- 
 nestly for the jaith once delivered to the saints," 
 and when some are spoken of " as denying the 
 faith? _ F ■ ° 
 
 In whichsoever of these senses we understand 
 the word faith, in the passage it amounts to 
 much the same thing : and both views serve to 
 
 illustrate 
 
276 THE LIFE OF FAITH 
 
 illustrate the spirit and temper of the christian, 
 and to distinguish him from the self-righteous 
 Pharisee, whose happiness arises horn his feel- 
 ings and unwarrantable confidence, and not 
 from the testimony and promise of the Most 
 High. 
 
 Th'e just shall live by faith, that is, they live 
 in the firm belief that the gospel is the truth 
 of God. It is very evident that the apostle to 
 the Hebrews quotes these words in this sense, 
 from his contrasting the character of the just 
 with that of the backslider from the truth. 
 " Now the just shall live by faith, but if any 
 man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure 
 in him." He points out the just as those, u who 
 believe to the saving of the soul," or who are 
 " faithful unto death, and obtain a crown of life." 
 When a sinner is brought to believe the gospel 
 at first, it is in virtue of divine agency. " God 
 who commanded the light to shine out of dark- 
 ness, shines into his heart, giving him the light 
 of the glory of God as it shines in the face of 
 Jesus Christ." His mind is convinced by the 
 character, the doctrine, and the resurrection of 
 Christ, and the suitableness of the gospel to his 
 fallen state, that the good news of salvation 
 through a crucified Saviour are divinely true, 
 and he sets to his seal, that God is true in the 
 testimony given to his son. This discovery of 
 infinite mercy deeply engages his heart, and ap- 
 pears to him " the one thing needful." It takes 
 possession of his understanding, as making-known 
 the most important of all knowledge, and of his 
 affection, as interesting to his present and his 
 eternal happiness, and it subdues the enmity of 
 his heart, by discovering to him the love and 
 o-ood pleasure of God in the work of his Son. 
 Many temptations from various sources assail 
 his mind, tending to lessen his attachment to 
 
 the 
 
OPPOSED TO SELF-CONFIDENCE. C77 
 
 the gospel, and to subvert his faith in its tuuli. 
 15 lit the true christian holds fast " the beginning 
 of iiis confidence, and the rejoicing or' his hope, 
 firm unto the end." He sees, that every thing 
 that leads away the mind from the gospel, is 
 derogatory to the honor of the divine perfection*, 
 to the purity of the divine law, or flattering tu 
 the depravity of tiie human heart, as well as de- 
 structive of every solid hope ; and, therefore, 
 he <( rights the good fight of faith, that he may 
 lay hold on eternal life." Think not this, bre- 
 thren, a matter of small moment. Tis by thi* 
 that the genuine christian is distinguished from 
 every false professor, whose attachment to the 
 gospel is not founded in solid conviction of its 
 truth, or has been inferior to their love of the 
 world. It is by " patient continuance in well- 
 doing that we are to seek for glory, honor, and 
 immortality, and it is only by faith and patience 
 that auy man can inherit the promises." 
 
 The just derive all their peace and happiness 
 from the truths which they believe concerning 
 the death and resurrection of Christ. The apos- 
 tle to the Romans, declares the gospel of Christ 
 to be w the power of God unto salvation to every 
 one that believeth ; — for therein tiie righteous- 
 ness of God by faith is revealed to faitn." It 
 makes known an all-sufficient way of salvation, 
 which wilt terminate in the everlasting happi- 
 ness of all who believe it ; \'ov it makes known 
 to the faith and credit of men, God's ngnieou 3 
 method of justifying the ungodly, who believe 
 in Const. Tne apostle quotes tuese words of 
 the Prophet, *' tiie just shall live by faith,'*; as a 
 confirmation of the truth which he had ex^ies.-.- 
 ed respecting the ail-sutrieiency of me gSjspei 
 method of salvation: — and ins application'^" it 
 certainly teaches us, that it is from toe gospe., 
 As the grand revelation of mercy and forgive- 
 A a > ness) 
 
278 THE LIFE OF FAITH 
 
 ness, that our peace and hopes must be derived. 
 No sinner can receive true peace to his mind from 
 any other quarter. The law is to him the ministra- 
 tion of condemnation and death: — for it pronoun- 
 ces the curse of God upon every soul of man that 
 doeth evil. — Therefore, " by the deeds of the 
 law no flesh can be justified, for by the law is 
 the knowledge of sin." While the guilty sinner 
 is in this unhappy state, the gospel presents an 
 all-sufficient ground of hope in the finished work 
 of the Son of God. He is brought to see that 
 this is fully answerable to his guilty and miser- 
 able state, and that it is commensurate to all the 
 demands of the law and justice against him. — 
 " Being justified by faith, he enjoys peace 
 with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and rejoices in the hope of the glory of God." 
 A believer must never lose sight of the truth 
 which first gave him Confidence before God. — 
 Deeply convinced of his manifold sins, and of 
 the imperfections of all his religious duties, he 
 must continue to draw all his consolation and 
 hope from the atonement of Christ, in whichGod 
 is for ever well pleased. Hence we find the 
 •apostle Paul thus expressing his sentiments, — 
 4V God forbid, that 1 should glory, save in the 
 cross of our Lord Jesus Christ/ 7 — Renouncing 
 bis own righteousness, and every thing estima- 
 ble in the view of men> as a ground of hope, he 
 says, Sl What things were gain to me, these I 
 counted loss for Christ; yea doubtless and J 
 count all things but loss for the excellen- 
 cy of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ■; 
 that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not 
 having mine own righteousness, which is of the 
 Jaw, but that which is through the faith of 
 Christ, the righteousness which is of God by 
 faith." Such was the source of hope to a chris- 
 tian, who had been highly exemplary in his life, 
 
 who 
 
OPPOSED TO SELF-CONFIDENCE. 279 
 
 who had enjoyed a high sense of the divine fa- 
 vor, had lived in communion with God, and was 
 now soon to finish his course. His comfort and 
 hope still arise from that gospel, in which 
 cf Christ is made of God to sinners, wisdom, 
 righteousness, sanctification and redemption/' 
 A* there is but out' hope, let none imagine, that 
 the believer, who has lived obedient to the faith, 
 can have any other ground of hope, than the 
 most guilty sinner. Tor Paul in the prospect 
 of appearing before God, declares that ail his 
 confidence arose from his knowledge of the cha- 
 racter of Christ as an all-sufficient Saviour. " [ 
 know whom I have believed, and am persuaded 
 
 LUUl lie la al/lc lu Keep llicuL wliitli i lici\«~ luuj- 
 
 raitted to him ag linst that day." Thus ought 
 the christian to live by the truth he believes. — 
 And as the gospel reveals his own vileness, as it 
 contains the brightest discoveries of the grace 
 and love of God, as it teaches him that his hope 
 must be founded upon the obedience of Christ, 
 and makes known what he hath done for the re- 
 demption of sinners, when a christian lives by 
 the truth believed, his mind will be transformed 
 into its likeness : he will be clothed with humi- 
 lity, he will honor the divine law ; gratitude and 
 love to God, will be united with distrust in him- 
 self,and an impressive sense of divine forgiveness. 
 Thus the principles by which he lives, while 
 they are subversive of false hopes, are equally 
 destructive to that seli-contidenee which reigns 
 in the heart of the Pharisee, and which arises 
 from improper views of God and of himself. 
 
 The just live by faith, as they are firmly persuad- 
 ed of the truth of the promises, and live in the 
 belief of the certainty of their fulfilment as to 
 future blessings. 
 
 The apostle, in quoting these words in the 
 
 epistle to the Hebrews, has a manifest reference 
 
 A a £ to 
 
CSO THE LIFE OF FAITH 
 
 '■• ' ' " 
 
 to this. " For yet a little while, and he that 
 shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now 
 the just shall live by faith." Many of the pro- 
 mises of the gospel are fulfilled to the believer 
 in this present life, in the peace and abundant 
 consolation which he enjoys through the Holy 
 Spirit, in the sanctification of his soul, and the 
 hope of immortality. But the greater part of 
 them relate to future blessings, to the happiness 
 of the soul after death, the coming of Christ, 
 the resurrection of the body, and the endless 
 stare of giorv and felicity in the kingdom of the 
 Father. Christians are described in the New 
 Testament as living in the firm belief that these 
 
 ct»o.ll tv^ (\\..\.\j\n Lflinlit;«] at OuJ'a ni/LH/luicU UlllC 
 
 The hopes, which these promises inspire, are 
 their great support in this state of trial and suf- 
 fering, as well as the most powerful motive to. 
 watchiulness, humility, and purity or life. These 
 future events, so interesting to the christian, are 
 discredited by the unbeliever, they are kept out 
 of view by the carnal hypocrite, and the temper 
 suitable to them, makes no part of the religious 
 experience of the Pharisee. 13 u t it is essential 
 to the character of the christian, to be " looking 
 not at those things which are seen and temporal,. 
 but at those things which, are not seen and eter- 
 nal/' " They wait for the manifestation of the 
 Sons of God," and having their hope laid up in 
 heaven, to be fully enjoyed at the coming of the 
 Son of Man, " they have their affections set 
 upon those things which are above, where Christ 
 sitteth at God's right hand." A firm belief in 
 these unseen realities, must have a powerful in- 
 fluence to lead to holiness in all manner of con- 
 versation, and also to destroy a self-righteous 
 spirit. What man, who knows the character of 
 i iod, the purity of the divine law, and his own 
 oumberless transgressions, can contemplate the 
 
 prospect 
 
OPPOSED TO SELF-CONFIDENCE. <28l 
 
 prospect of future judgment, relying on the 
 merit of his works, and going ahout to establish 
 his own righteousness as the "round of his ac- 
 ceptance? Such a temper is inconsistent with 
 the chiistian's hopes and exercise in the view of 
 future bliss. He knows that a happy death is 
 the fruit of the Redeemer's victory over sin, 
 which is the sting of death, and that eternal life 
 is the unmerited gift of divine grace through the 
 righteousness of the Saviour. He cannot, there- 
 fore, look forward to death and judgment, but 
 the ground of his acceptance must meet his 
 view, and without reflecting upon his own vile- 
 nessand unworthiness in the sight of God. A 
 self-confident temper is utterly subversive of that 
 watchfulness, patient hope, and devout resig- 
 nation which the gospel so strongly incul- 
 cates. It divests the mind of that trodlv fear 
 and holy jealousy of ourselves, which is the very 
 .parent of watchfulness : and by elating the soul 
 with spiritual pride, -effectually subverts every 
 motive to patience and submission. How op- 
 posite also to the exercises of the ransomed of 
 Lord! In them the most profound humility, 
 and the deepest sense of -their own unworthiness, 
 are united with love to the Redeemer, and glory 
 to God in the highest. Their hallelujahs to 
 God and to the Lamb, teach us, that an interest 
 in salvation excludes all boasting, on the part of 
 the just, and leads to glory in the worthiness of 
 the Lamb alone. Well are thev described a* 
 
 There would I vie with all the host, 
 
 In duty and in bliss, 
 While less than nothing I can boast, 
 
 And vanity confess. 
 
 The more thy glories strike my eyes, 
 
 The humbler I shall he ; 
 Thus while I sink my joys shall rise 
 
 Uameasurably high. 
 
 A a 3 Let 
 
<282 THE LIFE OF FAITH, SjC. 
 
 Let the truths now set before each of you, serve 
 to guard you against a self-righteous spirit. 
 Your own conscience must accuse you, that it 
 has too great influence upon your mind. But 
 you ought to be ever watchful against its pre- 
 valence. "The lofty looks of man should be 
 bumbled, the haughtiness of man bowed down, 
 and the Lord alone exalted." " Be ye clothed 
 with humility." Study the perfections of God 
 revealed in I he gospel, attend to the purity of 
 his law, and grow in the knowledge of the grace 
 of Christ. This will prevent you from talking 
 highly of your piety, your humility, your expe- 
 rience, your discoveries, or attainments. Jt will 
 lead to think justly of yourselves, and to glorify 
 God in your body and spirit. Live by the faith 
 of the Son of God, and carefully attend to all 
 v.ose oidinanees which are given you to pro- 
 mote this life : and soon shall ye receive the 
 end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 
 1 hen shall your faith be turned into vision, and 
 your hope into full fruition ; " for you shall see- 
 aim as he is, and be made like him." Anuu. 
 
 Awake our souls, (away our fears, 
 Let ev'ry trembling thought be gone,) 
 Awake and run the heav'nly race, 
 And put a cheerful courage on. 
 
 True, 'tis a strait and thorny road, 
 And mortal spirits tire and faint ; 
 But they foi get the mighty God 
 'J hat feeds the strength of ev'ry saint. 
 
 From thee, the overflowing spring, 
 Our souls shall drink a fresh supply, 
 While such as trust their native strength, 
 Shall melt away, and droop and die. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON III. 
 
 But seekye first the kingdom ofGcd,and his tight*- 
 to fitness, and alt these things shall be added 
 unto you — Matt. vi. 33. 
 
 Phe preaching of the kingdom of heaven, and 
 the things pertaining to it, being a declaration 
 of war against those all-powerful and subtle ad- 
 versaries, the lust of the flesh, the lust of tha 
 eye, and the pride of life, it is not at all to be 
 wondered at, that "not many mighty, not many 
 noble are called." But as the lusts adverted to 
 are odious to God, prejudicial to society, and 
 hurtful to every man's own soul, even' real lover 
 of men will stedfastly oppose these formidable 
 enemies, and enforce subjection to that kingdom 
 which is not of this world,. at the risk of incur- 
 ing the displeasure, opposition, and malice of 
 worldly professors. And as this cannot be better 
 done than by setting forth that immortality which 
 is brought to light by the gospel, and the supe- 
 rior blessedness of attaining to the resurrection of 
 the just, in opposition to gratifying our worldly 
 lusts, I shall, in a dependence upon God, and 
 with a view to what has been mentioned, attempt 
 to discourse to you upon the genuine import of 
 the words now read. In doing which, regard 
 may be had, First, to the kingdom of God, and 
 his righteousness ; Secondly, to that direction 
 which our Lord gives his disciples, in oppo- 
 sition to the heathenish practice mentioned in, 
 the preceding verse ; and Thirdly, to the promise 
 made to those who seek first the kingdom of 
 God, and his righteousness. 
 
 1. The 
 
284 THE KINGDOM OF GOD 
 
 1. The kingdom of God, in the scripture ac- 
 count of it, hath four significations, all depend- 
 ent upon each other. Sometimes it is put for 
 that general assembly and church of the First- 
 born, whose names are written in heaven, en- 
 rolled among the blessed. Since Jesus ascend- 
 ed on hisjh, he has reigned on the throne of his 
 Majesty, angels, principalities, and powers, being 
 made subject to him ; there-angels and spirits of 
 just men made perfect, behold the King in his 
 beauty; or as Christ himself expresses it in his 
 prayer, " Behold his glory." These happy spirits 
 enjoy a perfect freedom from all evil, deliverance 
 from the curse of the law, the lusts of corrupt 
 nature, with all its attendant miseries, and are 
 blessed in the enjoyment of the uninterrupted 
 favor of God. God has told us how they arriv- 
 ed at this blessedness,- from this present evil 
 world ; " They have washed their robes, and 
 made them white in the blood of the Lamb; 
 therefore are they before the throne." Which 
 leads me to observe, further, that, 
 
 The kingdom of heaven, or of God, on this 
 account, frequently signifies the preaching of 
 the word, or the making known the blessedness 
 of the other world; and shewing how any obtain 
 that unspeakable bliss. 
 
 Again : The kingdom of God, or of heaven, 
 sometimes intends the gospel becoming the 
 power of God to our salvation ; causing us to 
 receive it, not as the word of man, but as the 
 word of the living God, which effectually work- 
 eth in them that believe. Hence the apostle 
 describes it as consisting of " righteousness, 
 peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Rom. xiv. 
 17. 1 Co;. iv.20. 
 
 Lastly; The gospel church state, or the union 
 of believers in the profession of the saving truth, 
 is denoted by the Kingdom of Heaven. This rs 
 
 its 
 
AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 285 
 
 its most common signification; an import,indeed, 
 which is expressive of all the three. It is the 
 power of God in his word that subjects any peo- 
 ple to the christian order. The open profession 
 of the faith, is the outward sign of a person's 
 belonging to the kingdom of God, and every 
 distinct assembly of believers, united in the faith, 
 and order of the gospel, is a visible representee 
 tion or the eternal kingdom, in that city or town 
 in which they dwell. In this kingdom, or in 
 the church the gospel is preached, the truth ex- 
 perienced, and the hope of the eternal inheri- 
 tance maintained. And since those who possess 
 this hope, deny themselves to the life which is,and 
 -^ potion fly waiting for the life to eoine, all their 
 concerns are, or should be, reguiateu \>y Ujv. 
 
 principles of this heavenly kingdom. 
 
 Let us now turn our attention to the right- 
 eousness spoken of in our text, and this respects 
 two things, dependent, indeed, upon each other; 
 First, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 in which all the seed ot Israel arejustitied, and in 
 which they glory. This righteousness is the. 
 -obedience of the Son of God unto death, v\hich 
 is a perfect fulfilment of that law winch requires 
 godliness and humanity, or love to God, and 
 love to man in perfection. This law the Saviour 
 had in his heart; and, in his obedience he mag- 
 nified and made it honorable; declaring it finish- 
 ed when he died, and which is warranted ap- 
 proved, and accepted of God in his resurrection 
 from the dead. It is by this righteousness alone 
 that any have a title to the heavenly kingdom 
 and eternal life. This righteousness is conveyed 
 in the gospel testimony to every one that be- 
 lieves. Without the knowledge of this, giving 
 us hope before God, maintaining peace, and 
 giving us a sense of the divine favor, which al- 
 ways accompanies it as its reward, all our pre- 
 tensions 
 
£86 THE KINGDOM OF GOD 
 
 tensions to righteousness^ in any other sense, are 
 vain and delusive. And it is equally so to fancy 
 we are made just hy virtue of it, in the sight of 
 God, when we have no enjoyment of it in our 
 own consciences, giving us ease and rest under 
 that wrath which the law worketh. But, 
 
 Secondly: There are the fruits of this right- 
 eousness, or the genuine effects of the knowledge 
 of it. These, indeed, are nothing more than an 
 imitation* of it; for every one who loves the 
 saving truth, is influenced by it, agreeably to its 
 nature. This must ever be maintained; this 
 the gospel calls for as fruits meet for repentance, 
 and without this conformity to the righteous- 
 ness of Christ, which John mils," a A^ rc3 ~;«.l«, 
 cousness ourselves, our profession is or no 
 avail, and our experience nothing better than a 
 miserable delusion — the form, without the power 
 of godliness. Hence our Lord says, in this 
 very chapter, " unless your righteousness exceed 
 the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisee?, 
 ye shall, ret no wise enter into the kingdom of 
 heaven" It is by the appearance of the fruits 
 of righteousness that our Lord would have his 
 disciples, in all ages, judge of the reality of any 
 one's pretensions to relationship with him ; " By 
 their fruits ye shall know them." But it will be 
 necessary to be more particular on this part ot 
 our subject. 
 
 First: Righteousness consists in the impor- 
 tant duty of alms-giving, or, in imitation 
 of the divine goodness to us, in doing good 
 to all men as we have opportunity, but especially 
 to the household of laith. This is what is fre- 
 quently meant in the scriptures by righteousness; 
 giving our biead to the hungry, our money to 
 the needy, and our clothing to the naked, and 
 is called a making ou/^elvei rich towards God, 
 Or a lending to ban. who has piomised to pay us 
 
AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 28.7 
 
 again ; — and, as we should do this according as 
 avc have opportunity and ability to all men, so 
 especially to the household of faith, who, because 
 of their profession, are exposed to the loss of 
 worldly enjoyments ; and, because, that though 
 God has shewn compassion to the world, and is 
 daily doing good to his enemies, in his provi- 
 dence, yet hath he more particularly shewn his 
 goodness to those who believe on his Son. 
 And if we be disposed to this kind of righteous- 
 ness, this imitation of the divine bounty, we 
 may as readily find where to lay out our substance 
 as those who put their money out to usury/ ex- 
 pecting to receive again. 
 
 Secondly: This kind of righteousness/belong- 
 ing to the kingdom of heaven, stands opposed 
 to covetousness, or to laying up in store what is 
 beyond providing things honest in the sight of 
 all men. This may receive illustration from 
 Luke xii. — 16. 34. et Jesus spake a parable 
 unto them, saying, the ground of a certain rich 
 man brought forth plentifully: And he thought 
 within himself, saying, what shall I do, because 
 1 have no room where to bestow my fruits .? 
 And he said, this will I do : I will pull down my 
 barns, and build greater ; and there will I be- 
 stow all my fruits and my goods. And I will 
 say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods 
 laid up for many years % take thine ease, eat, 
 drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, 
 Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required 
 of thee : then whose shall those things be, which 
 thou hast provided? So is he that iayelh up 
 treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. 
 And he said unto his disciples, therefore 1 say 
 unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye 
 shall eat ; neither for the body, what ye shall 
 put on. The life is more than meat, and the 
 body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens : 
 
 for 
 
288 THE KINGDOM OF GOJ> 
 
 for they neither sow nor reap ; which neither 
 have storehouse nor barn ; and God feedeth 
 them ; how much more are ye better than the 
 fowls ? And which of you, with taking thought, 
 caii add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be 
 notable to do that thing which is least, why take 
 ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies 
 how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; 
 and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his 
 glory was not arrayed like one of these. It' then 
 God so -clothe the grass, which is to-day in the 
 field, aud to-morrow is cast into the oven ? how 
 much more will he clothe you, ■() ye of little 
 faith ? And seek not what ye shall eat, or what 
 ye shall drink, neither be ye 'of doubtful mind. 
 For all these things do the nations of the world 
 seek after : and your Father knoweth that ye 
 have need of these things. But rather seek ye 
 the kingdom of God, • and all these things shall 
 be added unto you. Fear not, little flock ; for 
 it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the 
 kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; 
 provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a 
 treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where 
 no thief approaeheth, neither moth corrupted!. 
 For where your treasure is, there will your heart 
 be also." Here is a case stated and considered 
 by the Sovereign of this heavenly kingdom, 'and 
 it is left upon record for our admonition. It 
 teaches us, that covefrousness does not consist 
 merely in desiring and pursuing after riches by 
 unjust means, but also in laying up treasure for 
 ourselves.of worldly goods, and considering tliem 
 as a source of happiness: and that the true use 
 of riches is to do good and communicate. 
 
 y. I come now to the next part of the subject, 
 which is, to consider, Secondly, The exhortation 
 which our Lord gives his disciples, to seek Just 
 the kingdom of God and his righteousness. 
 
 The 
 
AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 289 
 
 The men of this world take every method that 
 human wisdom and policy suggest, to obtain 
 that kingdom from which man, by transgression, 
 fell; to attain to some real or imaginary posses- 
 sion of an earthly kingdom ; — for all that the king- 
 doms of this world can propose/is the possession 
 of those things only which will gratify the lust 
 of the flesh, or feast the lust of the eye, or pam- 
 per the pride of life. Hence we may see that 
 the kindom of heaven is different in its nature, 
 and quite the reverse of the kingdoms of this 
 world, in its maxims, ways, and government; so 
 that what may be reckoned prudent, wise, and 
 commendable in the one, is condemned as folly 
 and madness in the other. It requires no very 
 extensive knowledge of men and things to know 
 what is the principal pursuit of all mankind; as 
 animals we must have somewhat to subsist on, 
 and it is right that every one should provide for 
 himself and his own family, things honest in the 
 sight of ali men. But alas, we are not content 
 with having food and raiment, though many are 
 destitute of them. Still many are seeking to lay 
 up for themselves treasures upon earth, while 
 others are spending what they have more than 
 food and raiment, in the gratification of some 
 lust, either of the flesh, or the eye, or the pride 
 of life : and this is called in the scripture, sowing 
 to the Jiesh, and making provision for the flesh 
 to fulfil the lusts thereof. Thus some are bes- 
 towing all they have on their lusts, and others, 
 from the fear of future evils, or from a desire to 
 be rich in this world, are laying up treasures 
 upon the earth. If we consider the conduct of 
 him, who is making provision for his lusts, we 
 may observe that the objects of sense so much 
 engross his attention, that he has no time to be- 
 stow in seeking the kingdom of God, and the 
 righteousness thereof; such a one is a heathen. 
 B b Mark 
 
290 THE KINGDOM OF GOD 
 
 Mark the worldty professor also, who is deeply 
 engaged in seeking what he shall eat, or what he 
 shall drink, or making haste to get rich, that he 
 may lay up in store treasures upon the earth ; 
 because his doubtful mind fears he shall need 
 them ; he is far from seeking first the kingdom, 
 of God. Perhaps, to maintain his credit among 
 his fellow-professors, he may make some shew 
 of religion ; but though the disciples of Jesus 
 meet together for a few hours, to put one ano- 
 ther in mind of the things of eternal life, though 
 in the six days he has one hundred and forty*- 
 lour hours to seek the things of this world, the 
 wordling cannot spare two hours out of them, 
 or considers this as a sacrifice, and yet he is 
 ready to imagine he is seeking.ftrst the kingdom 
 of God and his righteousness. 
 
 The exhortation in our text is quite the re- 
 verse of this, " but seek ye first," &c. It may 
 be objected, Is it not lawful to provide these 
 things ? Is it wrong to be diligent in business, 
 to enlarge our business? And so on. I answer, 
 christians are exhorted to provide for their own, 
 to provide things honest in the sight of all men ; 
 yea, they are commanded to study to do their 
 own business ; to work with their hands, that 
 they may walk honestly ,and have lack of nothing; 
 therefore to take care to do these things, cannot 
 be wrong, but highly commendable. The gos- 
 pel does not encourage busy bodies, nor sloth 
 and indolence, yet are we commanded to seek 
 first the kingdom of God ; which evidently 
 means that it should be the first and principle 
 object of our pursuit. 
 
 The word seek is to be taken in the same 
 xense, as when it is applied to signify the mak- 
 ing a search or inquiry ; to make any thing the 
 object of pursuit. And to seek the kingdom of 
 God, and his righteousness, must be to enquire 
 
 and 
 
AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. ££/l 
 
 and search after a farther knowledge of its nature 
 and possession of its blessings, or to make the 
 affairs of the heavenly kingdom the chief object 
 of our pursuit, in opposition to what the nations 
 at' the world are seeking after. In whatever 
 sense we understand the kingdom of heaven, 
 we should seek it //r>£. Does it mean the eter- 
 nal stale of things I To realize these things; 
 to search after the evidence of immortality, and 
 to form our manners agreeably to this state,, 
 should be the chief object of our pursuit. 
 
 Again: Does the kingdom of heaven intend 
 the preaching of the word, or the gospel dispen- 
 sa ion? Still the exhortation is suitable and 
 applicable*. It teaches us -highly to value the 
 gospel of salvation, to search the scriptures as 
 ihe word of eternal life, to hold fast this fa' i- 
 ful word in the midst of a crooked and perverse 
 generation, and to strive in prayer for its ad- 
 vancement in the world, ({ that it may have free 
 course, and be glorified in bringing sinners out 
 of darkness into God's marvellous light." 
 
 Further : Does thektndom of God intend the 
 kingdom wi-thin the soul ? The exhortation 
 applies with peculiar force to this also, and 
 teaches us, that we ought to regard it as the 
 most important of all pursuits, to cultivate 
 " righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy 
 Ghost." These heavenly tempers are essential 
 to the christian character. Without these, in- 
 deed, no man can be a subject of the kingdom 
 of heaven, nor prepared to enjoy their final hap- 
 piness. It was the grand design of Jehovah in 
 the mission of his Son, that his moral image 
 might be restored in the minds of his fallen crea- 
 tures, and that " they should serve him in 
 righteousness and holiness all the days of their 
 lives." That this end may be fulfilled in us, 
 should be our great pursuit, and we ought zea- 
 Bb 2 lously 
 
%{)2 THE KINGDOM OF GOD 
 
 lously to employ every means for attaining it,, 
 by fervent prayer to God for the sanctifying in- 
 fluence of his Holy Spirit, by meditation upon 
 his word, and impartial self-examination. 
 
 Or lastly: Do we refer it to the church mili- 
 lant? The command in the text teaches us, 
 highly to value the interests of Zion, and of" all 
 who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." 
 The churches of the saints, consisting of the 
 professed believers of the gospel, are the insti- 
 tution of Christ for the important purpose of 
 edifying his people in the knowledge and love 
 of the truth. Every genuine christian ought to 
 seek their happiness as " his chief joy," and 
 make their lasting good his stwdy. How strik- 
 ingly was this manifested in the spirit nnd con- 
 duct of the Apostle Paul, and above all, in the 
 Author and Tinisher of our faith. With such 
 examples before them, christians should " love 
 one another with pure hearts fervently :" and this 
 should be displayed, ci not in word and tongue 
 only, but in deed and in truth," in the " work 
 and labour of love" towards the poor, and in 
 the self-denied obedience enjoined upon his disci-* 
 pies in feeding the hungry, visiting the distress- 
 ed, and shewing mercy to the afflicted. 
 
 The world will ridicule this as foolish, and 
 even the disciple of Christ must deny himself to 
 obey the exhortation in the text. He must re- 
 member, that the duties of Christianity are di- 
 rectly opposed to the prevailing maxims of the 
 world, and the dictates of the human heart : — 
 and if he would please God, and be accepted by 
 him at last, he must fear God, and prefer his 
 will to every consideration. But it should ever 
 be remembered by us, that those things are of 
 infinitely greater concern than what worldly 
 people are seeking after. The doctrine of this 
 kingdom is the one thing needful, so that were a. 
 
 man 
 
AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 293 
 
 man to gain the whole world yet be destitute of 
 an interest in the kingdom of God, he is miser- 
 able. Consider also, that it is only in this king- 
 dom that true happiness is to be enjoyed. The 
 pleasures of sin are but for a season ,; — they cart 
 give no happiness to the soul, for " the end of 
 these things is death," while "for these things the 
 wrath of God cometh on the children of dis- 
 obedience." Blessed, therefore, are those only, 
 who are seeking first the kingdom of God. — 
 Such only enjoy the divine favor, peace with the 
 Almighty , and the well-founded hope of a bless- 
 ed immortality. 
 
 Seeing then that it is the command of Christ 
 to seekjirst the kingdom of God, and that it is 
 fit in the nature of things that we should do so, 
 indifference concerning it, and opposition to its 
 interests must be highly criminal in the sight of 
 God, and inconsistent with our real happiness. 
 Depraved also must that disposition be, which 
 leads us to seek our happiness in the things of 
 this world, and to pursue them as our chief 
 good. Christians, as those who are " risen with 
 Christ," ought to u seek -those things which are 
 above, to have their conversation in heaven, 
 whence they look for the Saviour :'■ — and while 
 they are diligent in, business, they ought to be 
 careful about nothing, but in every st^ie to cul- 
 tivate contentment, and by prayers and sup- 
 plication to make their requests known unto 
 God.. 
 
 iigain, with' regard' to the righteousness of 
 this kingdom ;-*-if we refer it to (he everlasting 
 righteousness of the Saviour, we are taught, 
 that as an interest in this is the most important 
 of all blessings, so we should " count all things 
 but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of 
 Christ." The conduct or the apostle Paul serves 
 to illustrate and. exemplify the precept of our 
 
 Saviour 
 
£94 THE KINGDOM OF GOD 
 
 Saviour before us. He was not ashamed of the 
 gospel of Christ, which reveals this righteous- 
 ness to men; on the contrary, both as an apostle 
 and private christian " he determined to know 
 nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified — he 
 gloried in nothing but the cross of Christ." It 
 was his chief desire to be found in Christ at last, 
 *' not having his own righteousness, which is of 
 the law, but that, which is through the faith of 
 Christ, even the righteousness, which is of God 
 by faith." Let " as many as would be perfect, 
 be thus minded." Convinced, that all your own 
 righteousness is but as filthy rags, and that this 
 is every way perfect and glorious in the sight of 
 God, you ought to make it all your salvation, 
 <( and all your desire," making mention of this 
 righteousness and this only, as the ground of 
 your hope, and source of your joy. Or, do we 
 consider the exhortation as respecting our imi- 
 tation of the Saviour's righteousness ? — In this 
 view the exhortation teaches us, that as the per- 
 fection of his lay in love to God and man in the 
 highest degree, so the observance of these duties 
 ought to be our leading study. Upon them 
 " hang all the law and the prophets." Christ's 
 righteousness, also, teaches to cultivate meek- 
 ness and lowliness of heart, to love the divine 
 character, and to abhor all sin. By exhibiting 
 the Jove of God in the highest lustre, it teaches 
 us to abound in love to his people, by minister- 
 ing to the saints from a sense of his grace to- 
 wards us ; to be patient under unjust sufferings 
 from men, to rely upon the divine promise in 
 the midst of every affliction, and to run with 
 patience and hope the race set before us. 
 
 I come now to consider — 3. The promise 
 made to those who seek first the kingdom of 
 God and his righteousness, viz. " that food, rai- 
 ment, and supply in times of sickness shall be 
 
 added 
 
AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. c 2§5 
 
 added unto them/' verse 25, &c. Why shoujd 
 Christians be of a doubtful mind in regard to 
 food ? He who hath done such great things for 
 the soul, shall he not also take care of the body? 
 (( Take no thought for your life then, what ye 
 shall eat, or what ye shall drink : — Behold the 
 fowls of the air, which neither sow nor reap, nor 
 gather into barns, yet your heavenly father 
 feedeth them." And if he provide for the fowls 
 of the air, who cannot provide for themselves, 
 how much more shall he provide for his people 
 who are infinitely dearer to him than they are. 
 
 And why take ye thought for raiment f — 
 " Consider the lillies of the field how they 
 cgrow ; they toil not, neither do they spin ; and 
 yet even Solomon in all his glory was not array- 
 ed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so 
 clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, 
 and to-morrow is cast into the oven, how much 
 more shall he clothe you, oh ye of little faith ? 
 Therefore, take no thought, saying what shall 
 we eat, or what shall we drink, or where withall 
 shall we be clothed, for your heavenly father 
 knovveth that ye have need of all these things." 
 
 Thus we see that the surest way to find all 
 necessary things is not to seek them in the first 
 place, but with the dispositions of little children, 
 who place the most implicit confidence in the 
 care of their earthly parents for the supply of 
 all their wants, our minds should be divested of 
 all anxiety and fretful ness about these things, 
 reposing upon the care of our heavenly father 
 who does not think it beneath his regard to feed 
 the fowls of the air and clothe the flowers of 
 the field. 
 
 How powerful are the motives which should in- 
 fluence us to such a conduct; — 1. To make the 
 glory of God the leading object of our pursuit, 
 is the most honourable conduct we can be em- 
 ployed 
 
SQ6 THE KINGDOM OF GOD 
 
 , , »■ „,-.,— , — ; "V 
 
 ployed in, as most agreeable to the divine will, 
 alone consistent with the end of our beins;, and 
 intimately connected with our eternal happiness. 
 
 2. It is the best way of securing the good- 
 things of this world from rust, moth,. or thieves, 
 in bags that wax not old ; and' thus of making 
 to ourselves friends of the mammon of un- 
 righteousness. 
 
 3. It will be the way to promote trust in God, 
 and will lead us to have our hearts and affections 
 set on things which are above. It will mortify 
 us to the present world, and lead us to confess 
 ourselves strangers and pilgrims upon earth, and 
 to seek the better and heavenly country. Thus 
 it will be a means of preparing our minds for 
 that state of permanent felicity. 
 
 From this subject we learn ; — 1. That the 
 kingdom of God is quite opposi te to the bias of the 
 human mind,and to man's natural constitution and 
 thirst for that happiness which centres in this 
 world. The doctrine of the kingdom of heaven 
 proposes happiness indeed, but not of that kind 
 which man is seeking for ; the happiness it pro- 
 poses stands opposed to worldly wisdom, world- 
 ly prudence, worldly lusts, and to the maxims 
 of this world. The things of the kingdom of 
 God are accounted foolish by worldly professors, 
 and they must necessarily be so to all, who have 
 no other rule of judging, but their love of 
 worldly happiness. Hence we infer, 2. "That, 
 except a man be born again, he- cannot see the 
 kingdom of God." To be born again, to be born 
 of God, or born from above, shew, that new, 
 divine, and supernatural principles are implanted 
 in the soul ; — giving a new source of life, and 
 producing a new line of action, which is called 
 the new creation ; a new source of happiness is 
 found; and our pursuits are formed agreeably 
 thereunto. Without this, no one can enter in- 
 to 
 
AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 297 
 
 to the enjoyment, or be a real subject of Christ's 
 kingdom, so as to appear in this world, in the 
 profession of the faith, or enter into it in the 
 other world. 3. — Hence we learn the reason 
 why Christ teaches, enforces, and requires self- 
 denial ; 
 
 " Deny thyself, and take thy cross, 
 Is the Redeemer's great command ; 
 Nature must count her gold but dross 
 If she would gain the heavenly land." 
 
 This shews, that, though the actions of Christ's 
 subjects are influenced by the truth, and done 
 out of love, yet, that what is properly called 
 S ELF in every man must be denied ; — that is, 
 the obedience which the gospel enforces is con- 
 trary to man's natural inclinations. Hence 
 there will be many disputing^ in our minds, ma- 
 ny suppositions made, strange inferences drawn, 
 and specious pretences found, as evasions to co- 
 ver our worldly lusts; — while our consciences 
 plainly agree with what the scripture dictates ; 
 but let us ever remember that we must all ap- 
 pear before the judgment seat of Christ, where 
 the self-denying disciple only wilt be able to 
 stand. 
 
 4. — From this subject we learn, that as 
 without the righteousness of Christ we shall 
 never be accepted of God ; so, without the 
 fruits of this righteousness we give no evidence 
 that we are born of God, or that we belong to 
 the heavenly kingdom. Every professor should 
 weigh well the import of those important words 
 of Christ, " except your righteousness exceed 
 the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, 
 ye shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 Lastly ; — This subject may teach us that, 
 while many have run to the doctrines of legality 
 and works, so many, on the other hand, in their 
 zeaj for the national religion, and care to culti- 
 vate. 
 
$g$ THE KINGDOM OF GOD ; ,$fC. 
 
 vate the exercises of the hearty have shamefully 
 neglected practical religion. Jt should be our 
 care to avoid both extremes, and to remember 
 upon the whole, that " pure religion, and undent- 
 ed before God and the Father, is this ; to visit 
 the fatherless and widows in their afflictions, and 
 to keep ourselves unspotted from the world." 
 
 Peace, peace, my foul, thou need'st not fear, . 
 The great Provider still is near ; 
 Who fed till now, will feed thee still; 
 Be calm, resign'd unto his will. 
 
 The Lord, who built the earth and sky, 
 Has past his word, ner can he lie, 
 Water and bread he'll give for food, 
 With all things else which he sees good. 
 
 He feeds the ravens when they cry, 
 And shall his children lack supply? 
 He clothes the grass, and can his saints 
 Suppofe him deaf to their complaints ? 
 
 He built our frame, with life endow'd ; 
 Gifts greater these than cloaths and food : . 
 Our very hairs which are so small, 
 With minute care he numbers all. 
 
 Then why our, anxious carking care, 
 What we shall eat, or drink, or wear ? 
 Our heav'nly Father will us feed ; 
 He knows that all these things we need. 
 
 Our chief concern be to possess 
 God's kingdom and his righteousness j 
 . What else we need v/e shall receive ; 
 With Christ he'll all things freely give. 
 
 Thus, trusting to his care, we'll find 
 His peace shall keep our hearts and mindj . 
 He who on God doth truly rest, 
 Must be content, serene, and blest.. 
 
 SERMOK 
 
SERMON IV. 
 
 Hereby do zee know that he abideth in us by the 
 spirit which he hath given us. — 1 John, iii.4. 
 
 Among the many excellencies of the scriptures, 
 none is more evident or practically useful, than 
 the correct distinction which they make betwixt 
 holiness and sin, and the infallible criterion, 
 which tliey afford us for judging of ourselves. 
 This may be fully expected from the dictates of 
 their Author, who knows what is in man, and is 
 intimately acquainted with every principle of the 
 human heart: and who being perfect holiness 
 himself, must be the best instructor. On these 
 subjects human writings are highly deficient. 
 The tests, which they propose, are not only con- 
 tradictory to each other, leaving the mind in 
 utter uncertainty ; but they are brought so low 
 as a standard of morality, that they are much 
 more favorable to human pride and depravity, 
 than is allowable in a case which is of eternal 
 importance, and where a good opinion of our- 
 selves is often the most fatal we can form. Leav- 
 ing such delusive marks, let us attend to the 
 word of God, which is highly profitable for our 
 .instruction and correction in righteousness. 
 
 I have chosen this passage in order to prove 
 that there are those things in every one who has 
 perceived the love of God whereby he may 
 know that he is of the truth, and thereby assure 
 his heart before God, that he has passed from 
 death unto life : and this is known, we are told, 
 ci by the spirit which he has given us." 
 
 As 
 
500 SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCES 
 
 As an introduction to what I have to say upon 
 this important subject, it may be proper to pro- 
 mise a few things, in order to prevent being 
 misunderstood. 
 
 Be it carefully observed then, that I am not 
 about to speak to that very important question, 
 " How shall man be just with God ?" or upon 
 the sinner's title to eternal life. This is only by 
 the righteousness of God our Saviour, upon a 
 plan of grace, which excludes all internalor ex- 
 ternal works or qualifications whatever. IN or 
 am I about to speak of the sinner's approach to 
 Christ, or the ground of his believing in him for 
 eternal life. This is none other than the free 
 declaration of God in the word to all nations 
 and kingdoms under heaven; so that all who 
 hear the gospel, have an equal right to believe 
 it for their salvation, without waiting for any 
 thing to make them differ from others. Neither 
 am 1 going to speak of what we are to ground 
 our confidence upon ; for surely that must be 
 the faithfulness of him who speaks in the scrip- 
 tures in opposition to all internal experience or 
 external performance. But my principal design 
 is to enquire upon what grounds any professor 
 is warranted to conclude that he is a christian, 
 and to bring those to the touchstone of scrip- 
 ture, and the bar of conscience. 
 
 In discoursing, therefore, upon the words of 
 the text, 1 shall, First, treat briefly on the doc- 
 trine of Christ's union with his people, expressed 
 by " his abiding in them." And then, Suo)idly y 
 shew that his people may come to a knowledge 
 of this " by the spirit which he hath given them*" 
 
 1. There have been many disputes in the 
 religious world upon the subject of union with 
 Christ. Some have thought it has been from 
 everlasting, while others have dated its com- 
 mencement at believing; and others., again, 
 
 have 
 
OF BELONGING TO C1IRI 1. 30] 
 
 Have said, that those who have been united to 
 Christ, may finally perish in hell. 1 look upon 
 these differences, as well as many others, con- 
 cerning the doctrine of Christ, to have arisen 
 from the different parties taking some detached 
 part of the doctrine, which has led them to con- 
 clude their opponent's view of it to be false ; 
 and this has caused them to load it with dread- 
 ful consequences. 
 
 In speaking upon this subject, I shall make 
 three observations. First, that the scripture 
 gives us authority to say, that there has been an 
 eternal union between Christ and his people in 
 the mind, will, council, or purpose of God. To 
 this proposition the scriptures afford the strong- 
 est evidence ; hence sinners are said to be " cho- 
 sen in Christ" before the foundation of the 
 world ; and also to have been "given to him." 
 Again: His substitution in their place, and the 
 imputation of their sins unto him, and his obe- 
 dience unto the death for them, are unquestion- 
 able proofs of the same truth. Lastly: Since he, 
 as their representative, rose for their justification, 
 and ascended unto glory, to take ; >n of 
 
 the eternal inheritance for them; hence all his 
 people were virtually in him. Tnis is the source 
 of all the blessings which they enj >y; for he 
 hath " blessed us with all spiritual blessings in 
 heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath 
 chosen us in him, before the foundation of the. 
 world." Eph. i. 3. Sec. 
 
 Secondly: That there is such an union, or real 
 connection between Christ and his people, as 
 countenances the declaration of our text, and 
 others of the same nature, namely, that he is in 
 us, and abides with us, and that we are in him, 
 and abide with him, is abundantly taught in 
 scripture. By this union, which is xiiiy termed 
 vital, Christ is to his people what the soul is to 
 C c 
 
30'2 SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCES 
 
 i mi l "— '■ — '■ ii m i ii — ■ mi «-i...i...« .— I ~T i ST i 
 
 the body. So Paul says lo the Galatians, " [ 
 am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live ; 
 yet not I, but Christliveth in me." Gal. ii. 20. 
 Hence he is frequently called in scripture, the 
 life of his peppit. " When Christ, who is our 
 life, shall appear." And hence it is said, " He 
 that hath the Son, hath life." This life gives 
 them a spiritual sensation of spiritual things, 
 even as life in the body implies natural sensa- 
 tion ; the christian's ears are open to receive in- 
 struction from the voice of God in his word ; 
 hence he is said to taste, hunger, and thirst after 
 more of the enjoyment of spiritual things. All 
 activity in the ways of God arises from this ; for 
 before, the soul was " dead in trespasses and sins," 
 Eph. ii. 1. But as it is from this vital union 
 that I shall draw most of the evidence of be- 
 liever's disci pies hip, I shall not here enlarge 
 upon its effects, but speak a little concerning the 
 thing itself. 
 
 Thirdly. The way and manner by which it is 
 formed, or brought about, is agreeably described 
 by our Lord John v. 25. "The hour is comingand 
 now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of 
 the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." 
 The entrance of the word of God gives life, for 
 Christ's words are spirit and life. Through the 
 entrance of this word into the understanding, 
 by divine teaching, faith is begotten in the sou] ; 
 and in understanding and believing the truth, 
 the word dwells in us richly in all wisdom. In 
 this sense principally Christ dwells in the heart, 
 Eph. iii. 17- For us to abide in Christ, is the 
 same as to abide in the doctrine of Christ by 
 which he is known to us; and, by the power of 
 his spirit, all that fulness that dwells in him is 
 communicated through the word into, the be- 
 liever's soul. Thus he supports, cherishes, com- 
 forts, 
 
OF BELONGING TO CHRIST. 30.3 
 
 forts, and preserves them ; and because he lives, 
 they shall live also. 
 
 " He abides in us," snith the apostle. It 
 should be carefully noticed, that there may be 
 a profession of union to Christ, and a manifest 
 disunion afterwards ; but where there is a real 
 union formed, it must be eternal because Christ 
 lives, and " our life is hid with Christ in God." 
 Thus the Poet sings : 
 
 Christ be my first elect, he said, 
 Then chose our souls in Christ our head ; 
 Nor shall our souls be thence remov'd, 
 'Till he forgets his first-beiov'd. 
 
 So also the apostle spates the subject, {t Who 
 shall separate us from the love of Christ: Shall 
 tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, 
 or nakedness, or peril, or sword? — Nay, in ail 
 these things we are more than conquerors through ^ 
 him that loved us." Rom: viii. 35. 37. 
 
 Union with Christ makes its appearance in a 
 scriptural profession of him, and manifest sub- 
 jection to him as our King. And all who pro- 
 fess Christ's name, and become subject to him, 
 we are bound to believe are united to him, till 
 something appears to render this questionable. 
 But as we are bound to receive all who jnake a 
 good confession of Christ, so also we must sepa- 
 rate from thOse who walk not according to the 
 rule of the gospel, or who have any disinclination 
 to be subject to Christ as their King, because 
 such subjection would expose them to the con- 
 tempt of the world, and the loss of woidly things. 
 -But I proceed now to what indeed I had chiefly 
 in view., which was to shew — 
 
 2. That every doctrine that is received, has an 
 
 effect upon the mind and conscience, agreeably to 
 
 its own nature, which may be properly termed the 
 
 spirit of that doctrine. In reference to which the 
 
 C c 2 Apostle 
 
S04 SCRIPTUCAL EVIDENCES 
 
 Apostle John exhoits to u try the spirits whether 
 they be of God" by their tendency 1 John iv. 
 f. &.e. The spirit of every doctrine framed by 
 men.) may be justly denominated the spirit of 
 self-righteousness, sell-dependence, or self-con- 
 fidence, because it leads persons to trust to them- 
 selves under some notion or other, that they are 
 righteous. But the Spirit of Christ, which is 
 given to those in whom he abides, has the very 
 contrary tendency: hence, says the apostle in 
 our text, " do we know that we are in him by the 
 spirit which he hath given us." And here let us 
 not forget that this is a thing capable of being 
 known, and so stands opposed to that doctrine 
 which teaches that persons may be in Christ, 
 and yet know nothing about the matter. Paul 
 says, " know ye not that Jesus Christ is in you, 
 except ye be reprobates r" And as this may cer- 
 tainly be known, so it may be gathered from the 
 spirit which we have received, {'or " if any man 
 have not the spirit of Christ, lie is none of his.'' 
 Now the spirit of Christ was a spirit of humi- 
 lity, love, meekness, quietness, forgiveness, for- 
 bearance, and mercy ; in short, a spirit that was 
 disposed to all true Liodliuess ; such, then, must 
 be the spirit of every one in whom he dwells ; 
 because the likeness of whatever is in him, being 
 beheld by his people, is communicated to their 
 minds, and in an impel feet measure imitated in 
 their conduct. 
 
 (1.) "Every true christian has a spirit of genuine 
 humility given him ;" and this spirit is drawn 
 from the doctrine on which his hope of salva- 
 ticn is founded. Hence, when the apostle would 
 enforce this temper of mind upon his brethren, 
 lie directs their attention to the cross of .Christ, 
 and leads them there to contemplate the amazing 
 humiliation of the Sou of God. " Let this 
 mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus ; 
 
 who, 
 
OF BELONGING TO CHRIST. 30o 
 
 who, being in the form or' God, made himself of 
 n# reputation, and took upon him the form of a 
 servant, and was made in the likeness of man ; 
 and being found in fashion as a man, he hum- 
 bled himself, and became obedient to death, 
 even the death of the cross." Phil. ii. 6. 8. 
 Thus while he calls them to the exercise of this 
 christian temper, he sets before them a perfect 
 pattern for their imitation, and exhibits the most 
 powerful motives to be conformed unto it. 
 Thus the cross of Christ, which sets before us 
 the death of the divine Saviour as a sacrifice for 
 sin, while it opens up a glorious foundation of 
 hope to the guilty in the finished' work of the 
 Redeemer, strips man of all his fancied excel- 
 lencies, shews him that he is a poor, miserable 
 sinner, and, believing the good pleasure of God 
 in the work of his Son, leads him to "glory only 
 in the Lord." The gospel, or the truth on which 
 Christ's disciples rest for solvation, is of all other 
 things the most subversive of human pride, and 
 the most powerful incentive to genuine humility. 
 It gives such a broad display of human guilt, of 
 man's forlorn and helpless state, and of his being 
 destitute of every single pleawhv he should not 
 be sent to hell, and at the same time opens up 
 such a wonderful display of sovereign grace in 
 delivering sinners from the wrath to come, ex- 
 cluding all distinctions between one another, 
 cind giving such a glorious and tremendous view 
 of the perfections of God, that the sinner in be- 
 lieving and resting upon it for salvation forsakes 
 himself, and thereby mortifies that leading pr'n 
 ciple of self-dependence -which predominates in 
 t\tvy unbeliever. '1 he saved sinner sees lliat 
 Ire ;. 5 vile, and therefore hates and loathes him- 
 self, nil ile on the other hand, having experien- 
 ced much forgiveness, he is Il-lI to love mutfn. 
 is taught not to for m an estimate of any 
 C c 3 thing 
 
S06 SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCES 
 
 tiding he possesses, by comparing it with other 
 persons who have a less degree of it, but foe 
 forms an estimate of his knowledge, love, trust, 
 obedience, or humility, by what they ought to he. 
 He knows some little of God, but the more he 
 knows of him, the more he sees he has to know; 
 so that, far from having attained to what he 
 ought in the knowledge of God, he finds he is 
 but a babe. That considering the clearness of 
 the revelation, the importance of the things, 
 and the time he has been in acquiring that little, 
 alas! it appears like a spark to the sua. And 
 thus he sees that there is more darkness than 
 light in him, and that there is no room for boast- 
 ing. His knowledge, indeed, increases, but 
 having got deeper into the knowledge of God, 
 he says " I am less than the least of all saints." 
 
 So in regard to his love, he is led to see the 
 infinite holiness of God, and love it. To behold 
 his grace, mercy, and compassion, and to love 
 their appearance. He sees himself under in- 
 finite obligations to love the Lord with all his 
 heart, soul, mind, and strength ; but when he 
 reflects upon his great attachment to this present 
 world, and the things' of it, and sees how far he 
 falls short of bis duty in loving God with all his 
 heart, he discovers his own vileness, and instead 
 of boasting, finds that he has much cause of 
 self-abasement before the Lord. 
 
 Again, in his experience, his confidence, his 
 joy, or his humility; he will have no room to 
 talk great things about them It is true, these 
 things dwell in him; but so infinitely short of 
 what they should be, that they bear less propor- 
 tion to it than a grain of sand does to the globe. 
 When he thinks of the faithfulness of God, he 
 sees that he ought to repose in it the highest as- 
 surance of confidence ; yea, such as should re 
 move far from him every shadow of fear and 
 
 distrust 
 
OF BELONGING TO CHRIST. 30/ 
 
 distrust ; and as to his joy, it ought to be constant, 
 pure, and great, even unspeakable, and i'ull of 
 glory. So with respect to his humility, instead 
 or' being proud of it, lie sees that in the greatest 
 self-abasement, and the most odious views which 
 lie ean take of himself, he comes infinitely short 
 of what should at all times impress his mind. 
 So it is in his zeal and his obedience ; compar- 
 ing them with what they ought to be, they 
 shrink into nothing, so that in viewing his 
 knowledge, love, humility, experience, zeal, and 
 obedience, he sees every reason why he should 
 be humbled before God. But this does not 
 put him upon an ostentatious way of shewing it 
 by affected looks, gestures, manner of speech, 
 or meanness of apparel, or some affected singu- 
 larities, but by an unreserved confession of his 
 short comings to God in secret, mourning over 
 them as his burden, and praying to be delivered 
 from them. Matt. vi. 17- Prov. xxx. 32. 
 Thus he imbibes thai poverty of bpirit, which in 
 the sight of God is of great price, and to which 
 Christ promises the blessedness of the kingdom 
 of heaven. This temper or spirit w hieh is given 
 him, will appear to others in his walk, which is 
 infinitely better than talking about it. From 
 the views whieh he is led to entertain of him- 
 self, he expeets to be despised by others, and he 
 knows that he deserves it. He will not there- 
 fore think it a high crime in others that they do 
 not take notice of him, for he is prepared H to 
 sit in the lowest room." Conscious of his many 
 weaknesses and frailties, he receives reproof from 
 his brethren quietly, saying in the language of 
 the Psalmist, " Let the righteous smite me, it 
 shall be a kindness, and let him reprove me, it 
 shall bean excellent oil, whieh shall not break 
 my head ; for yet my prayer also shall be in his 
 calamity." Ps. cxvi. 5. In his behaviour he is 
 
 not 
 
303 SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCES 
 
 not haughty, proud, or assuming. He knows 
 that a proud look is an abomination in the sight 
 of the most high." Ps. ci. o. 1 Cor. xiii. 4. 
 
 Upon the whole, from this part of our subject 
 we may be convinced, how vain it is for 
 any to profess the christian character who are not 
 clothed with humility. No effect is more inse- 
 parable from the knowledge of Christ, or faith 
 in him as the Saviour. And we may be assured 
 that when we see any person talking high 
 Ihingsofhis knowledge, his love, humility, or 
 attainments of any kind, he makes these things 
 the ground of his confidence and rejoicing be- 
 fore (iod, or the medium through which he 
 takes his joy, and that he is under the dominion 
 of a proud, self-dependant spirit, for the apostle's 
 conclusion concerning such a character is " If 
 any man think himself to be something, while he 
 is nothing, he deceive th himself." 
 
 (2.) " Christ gives his disciples a spirit of 
 lovev^*2, Tim. 1, 17. 
 
 This Paul calls by the name of charity, 1 Cor. 
 xiii, 4, 5 ; and we may learn the grounds, nature 
 and tendency of it Cial. v. 21. Without this 
 spirit, all our profession is nothing, even though we 
 should understand all mysteries, and speak witli 
 the tongue of men or angels. This spirit Christ 
 gives as the distinguishing mar]: of his disciples. 
 — John xiii. 84, 35, and the apostle John not 
 only in this chapter, but throughout the whole 
 of this epistle teaches, that there can be no true 
 religion without it. lie states it as the great 
 proof or evidence of our knowing the truth, of 
 our having passed from death unto life, or of 
 our being born again, in the truth we perceive 
 the love of God, and are taught thereby to love 
 him, and to love one another for the truth's 
 sake. Every man's conscience can judge of the 
 motives of hi? kxVej and every ofie's conduct 
 
 shews 
 
OF BELONGING TO CHRIST. 
 
 ;o9 
 
 shews whether lie loves in word and in tongue, 
 or in deed and in truth, for the fruit of the spi- 
 rit is love, jo y, peace, long-sufferings, gentleness, 
 goodness, faith, (or fidelity,) meekness, and tem- 
 perance. And the apostle James teaches that 
 if we have bitter envying and strife in our 
 hearts, we lie against the truth. — ch. iii. 14, 17. 
 The truth into which the spirit of Christ leads 
 his people, by exhibiting the most stupendous 
 display of the love of God in giving his Son for 
 their salvation, draws out their love and gives 
 them peace and joy in believing it ; and behold- 
 ing much long-suffering manifested, much gen- 
 tleness, much divine . goodness, faithfulness, 
 meekness, &c. in the temper and conduct of 
 him, they imbibe the same spirit. And as the 
 spirit of humility, meekness, love, forgiveness, 
 and mercy is the spirit or Christ, so he gives his 
 own spirit to his followers. Would we know then 
 whether we belong to Christ? Let the appeal be 
 made to the sober verdict of conscience, for if 
 our hearts condemn us as destitute of tnis tem- 
 per, God is greater than our hearts and know- 
 eth all things ; — ver. 20. 
 
 (3.) " The spirit of Christ was a spirit of meek- 
 ness and gentleness." This stands opposed to a 
 haughty, magisterial, self-important temper of 
 mind, and this was a striking feature in the cha- 
 racter of Christ. Indeed one of the amiable 
 titles which is given him in the scriptures is 
 ° The Lamb of God." Hence he calls his 
 followers to learn or him who was meek and 
 lowly in heart. — Matt, xi, 29< We may re- 
 member also that, when the apostles would 
 enforce a walk and conversation becoming the 
 gospel, they set before us the example of Him 
 ** who when he was reviled, reviled not again ; 
 when he suffered he threatened not, but commit- 
 ted 
 
310 SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCES 
 
 ted himself to him who judgeth righteously."— 
 1 Peter, ii. 2S. And Paul, urging upon the Co- 
 rinthian church the most persuasive and insinu- 
 ating entreaties, beseeches them by the " meek- 
 ness and gentleness of Christ." — 2 Cor. x. 1.— 
 Let every one faithfully consider what effect the 
 gospel has produced upon his mind, whether it 
 has destroyed his angry passions, and whether 
 it be leading him to cultivate meekness, forbear- 
 ance and mercy. 
 
 (4,) a The spirit of Christ was alsoa forgiving- 
 spirit." The apostle Paul speaking of the tem- 
 per or spirit which rules in the minds of the un- 
 regenerate, and while . reflecting opera Ins own 
 former conduct, says, "We ourselves were some- 
 times foolish, disooedient, deceived, serving 
 divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and 
 envy, hateful and ha'tttog one another." — thus 
 iii. 3. But of himself he says, upon anotner 
 occasion, " I obtained mercy, that ra me first 
 Jesus Christ might shew forth all long suffering, 
 for a pattern to them which snomd nereafter 
 believe on him." — I Tim. 1, 1(3. Exhorting his 
 brethren to the exercise of this feeayjer, he sets 
 before them that forgiveness which ebere is with 
 God as an example for them to copy in their 
 conduct one towards another. w Be ye kind 
 one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one 
 anolber, even as (rod for Christ's sake haih for- 
 given you.' — Fphes. iv. 3 ( 2. In the character of 
 Jesus, this temper eminently shone throughout 
 his life, and his last pniyer for his enemies was, 
 " Father fdfgive them, for they know not what 
 they iio ;" (bus setting his followers a pattern for 
 their imitation. Let us then ask ourselves how 
 our minds stand affected to this duty ? 
 
 (5.) " Christ gives his followers a spirit of zeal 
 and fortitude." But tms zeal stands distinguished 
 from that fiery spirit that would curse every one 
 
 to 
 
OF BELONGING TO CHRIST. oil 
 
 to the lowest hell who are not of their party. 
 Let as beware of confounding these opposite tem- 
 pers. There is much difference between a party 
 spirit and that which is dictated by christian zeal. 
 A tierce and violent spirit, venting itself in sharp 
 and bitter passion, displays weakness instead of 
 christian zeal and fortitude, for " the weapons 
 of our warfare are not carnal/' "The wisdom 
 that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, 
 gentle, and easy to be entreated." — James iii. 17. 
 Every disciple of Jesus receives such a measure 
 of this spirit as prevents him from remaining in 
 a state of indifference, as to the profession of his 
 name or the interests of his kingdom in this 
 world. Indeed nothing stands more condemn- 
 ed in scriptures than a lukewarm frame of 
 soul. — 1 Kings xviii. 21. And so Christ him- 
 self leaches. " He that is not for us is against 
 us." There is no neutrality in his kingdom. — 
 Those who will be his disciples indeed, must 
 take a side which will immediately call for the 
 exertion of zeal and christian fortitude. When 
 the glory of divine truth takes possession of the 
 soul; when the real beauty of Christ's ordinances 
 and kingdom appear to the mind, it rouses the 
 soul from a state of indifference, to act on the 
 Lord's side. This 1 suppose, most will acknow- 
 ledge ; let us then bring the matter home in 
 regard to ourselves^ and take the solid verdict of 
 conscience on the subject. Hozv is it zcith us '! 
 Do the views which we have of Christ and his 
 kingdom make us, take part with hrm in his suf- 
 ferings, and boldly stand onr ground in the 
 midst of every opposition : Do they lead us so 
 far to fear HIM who is able to destroy both soul 
 and body in hell, as to disregard the fear of 
 men i May we all be under the influence of 
 that declaration, " They that deny me before 
 
 men, 
 
SC1PTURAL EVIDENCES 
 
 men, will I deny before my Father who is in 
 heaven." 
 
 (6,) " He gives his disciples a spirit of grace 
 and supplication." Zcch. xii. 10. In this is 
 included what the apostle calls the spirit of adop- 
 tion, leadingthem to cry Abba, Father. Rom. 
 viii. 15. Flaving given them to see God, the 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and their Father 
 as in him, they are led to pour out their souls to 
 Ood as unto their Father who is in heaven. 
 1 ^pressed with a lively sense of their daily wants, 
 ;. prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, 
 they make them known unto God. 
 
 Lastly: ff Jle gives them a spirit of humanity 
 and godliness," which is manifested in an atten- 
 tion to every part of practical religion, and ena- 
 bles them to persevere in the same unto the end. 
 It is not any profession of words, however clear,' 
 which will fully prove that we belong to Christ. 
 Godliness in our lives must confirm this. Nor 
 is it any present appearance of both, but a per- 
 severance unto the end, for it is only he " that 
 cndureth unto the end that shall be saved." And 
 although I firmly believe the doctrine of the final 
 perseverance of the saints,, I must confess I have 
 no other notion of it than of a believer of the 
 doctrine of Christ going on in his profession, and 
 the fruits of righteousness appearing in his whole 
 conversation. Now a godly practice flowing 
 from the principles which 1 have mentioned, 
 from the spirit of truth, of life, humility, love, 
 forgiveness, compassion, zeal, and the practical 
 part is the proof of the sincerity of the other. 
 For where the true grace of God dwells in the 
 heart, it will assimilate a tendency to the fruits 
 of righteousness, as a fountain has to a stream, 
 or as the sun has to light. This is the end of 
 election; for we are said to be " chosen in Christ, 
 that we might be holy and without blame before 
 
 him. 
 
OF BELONGING TO CHRIST. 313 
 
 him." Ephes. i. 4. And. of redemption; for 
 
 " Christ gave himself for us, that he mightredeem 
 us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a 
 peculiar people zealous of good works." Titus 
 ii. 14. So also of our calling or regeneration, 
 for " we are his workmanship created anew in 
 Christ Jesus unto good works, which God had 
 before ordained, that we should walk in them.' 
 Eph. ii. 10. Now I speak only of practice in 
 regard to an evidence to ourselves. There may 
 be much of the appearance of humility, love, 8cc. 
 without a principle, but I am not speaking of 
 acts ; God regards the motives horn which they 
 flow. It is the principle, together with the 
 fruits, that we should examine. This apostle 
 says., u Hereby do we know that we know him, 
 if we keep his commandments, chap. ii. 3. By 
 which I understand, his commands in regard to 
 his kingdom, the ordinances of his house, the 
 exercise of love one to another, and of compas- 
 sion and kindness to all. Thus we see that all 
 pretensions to the spirit of Christ are cut off 
 while a person lives in sin, for it is an evident 
 and undeniable principle, that all actions are re- 
 gulated by the will. How can we credit that 
 man who should tell m that it is his will to at- 
 tend the ordinances of Christ, whilst he lives in 
 the neglect of them ? 
 
 Now that christian practice is the best evidence 
 of our profession and experience being genuine, 
 may appear from reason. Assuredly, those 
 things which shew what persons will actually 
 prefer in their practice, when left to follow their 
 own choice, are the proper trials, what they 
 really do prefer in their hearts. Therefore, a 
 man's actions are the proper trial of what he 
 prefers in his beast As for instance, when it 
 comes to this point, whether il respects an at- 
 D d tention 
 
314? SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCES 
 
 tention to any particular ordinance., or a person's 
 attention to the ways of God in general. Here 
 God and his ways, wherein his honor and the 
 soul's comfort are included, are set on the one 
 Land, and the loss or inconvenience of his 
 worldly interest, which perhaps may follow his 
 attention to them, on the other. His conduct 
 in such a case is the proper trial which he pre- 
 fers. T he event proves whether he trusts in 
 uncertain riches, or in the living God, who 
 gives him all things richly to enjoy. So if any 
 refuse to lend to the Lord, by giving to the 
 poor, it is plain he trusts in uncertain riches, and 
 not in the living God, as in the former instance, 
 and that his tieasure is on earth, because where 
 the treasure is, the heart will be also. For " to 
 follow Christ in heart, is to have a heart to follow 
 him." So godliness does not consist merely in 
 an intention or purpose of heart to do the will 
 of God, but " in an heart to do it." Deut. v. 
 27. 29. Thus when Abraham had been tried, 
 it was said of him, " Now I know that thou 
 iearest me, because thou hast not withheld thine 
 only son from me." Indeed this must ever be the 
 greatest evidence to a person's own conscience. 
 Hence we find Christ took this method with 
 those who professed love to him. Matt. xix. 16". 
 So the seeds sown among thorns in time of 
 temptation or trial fell away. And this evidence 
 is above all others insisted on in the scriptures, 
 which from the beginning to the end are full of 
 it. Yea this evidence will be made use of before 
 the judgment seat of Christ, for thus the judge 
 himself hath taught us. Matt. xxv. 34, 46. — 
 How unspeakably important is it to have the 
 testimony of our consciences that " in simplicity 
 and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, 
 but by the grace oi God we have had our con- 
 versation 
 
OF BELONGING TO CHRIST. 315 
 
 versation in the world." This will be better 
 than our having the judgment of all the divines 
 in the world to the soundness of our creed, or 
 the truth of our experience, for this, as we have 
 seen, confirms all other evidence. 
 
 As a general observation upon the whole il 
 may be remarked, 1. That as the word of God 
 does not require any of the things we have been 
 speaking of, nor exhort any to wait for them, in 
 order to his believing in Christ for salvation ; 
 so no person has any warrant to conclude that 
 he is a christian, unless he can upon scriptural 
 authority prove, that he is actuated in his prac- 
 tice by the principles which the apostles were 
 actuated b}'. 
 
 2. There is a great deal of difference between 
 believing in Christ, and believing that I am a 
 child of God. The former is to be built upon 
 the word of God, under no other sense of our- 
 selves than that of sinners, and which is the 
 ground of our peace, hope, joy, and confidence. 
 The other is grounded upon what we have been 
 considering, and is a confirmation of the truth 
 of our profession to our own souls — a proof that 
 we are not deceiving ourselves with a name to 
 live while we are dead. Great care should be 
 taken to keep these things distinct. A careful 
 judgment of things in this lisHit will deliver us 
 from the various delusive schemes about expe- 
 rience, and true godliness would appear more 
 by practice than talk, while many stumbling 
 blocks would be removed from the way of Zion's 
 travellers. I cannot help adding, however, that 
 if upon trial our consciences condemn us, that 
 only proclaims to us the necessity of the blood 
 of Christ, which flows freely for the chief of 
 sinners — that divine blood, which cleanses from 
 all sin,, and to which the chief of sinners may 
 
 come, 
 
316 SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE, &C. 
 
 come, on which they may rely, and through 
 which be saved from the power of sin here, and 
 the wages of it hereafter. May God bring us 
 to this hope. Amen* 
 
 THM £N£>< 
 
 5=533 
 
 LIVERPOOL, 
 
 Printed gt the Chronicle Office, by W Jones, 
 
 1806. 
 
INTENDED FOR PUBLICATION, 
 
 If suitable encouragement be given, 
 A 
 
 VOLUME OF SERMONS, 
 
 BY THE LATE 
 
 MR. SAMUEL ECKING, 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 ESSAYS ON GRACE, FAITH, ^ , EXPERIENCE. 
 
 N. B. These, Sermons zvill treat on. the most 
 important subjects in the Christian system; and 
 will be selected uud arranged with a view to* 
 wards something like a body of doctrinal and 
 practical divinity; comprehending, among others, 
 the following subjects. 
 
 The nature, extent, and effecls of spiritual darkness* 
 and divine illumination illustrated — The character and 
 mission of the Son of God — The Just God and the Sa- 
 viour — God is Love — The Birth of Christ — The Grace 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ — The Resurrection of Christ 
 — Christ the great High Priest — The doctrine of Elec- 
 tion — Effectual calling — The nature and privileges of 
 Adoption — The doctrine of Perseverance — The inheri- 
 tance of the Saints in Light — The Strait Gate— The 
 mystery that had been hid from ages and generations now 
 made manifest — The fruits of the Gospel, &c. &c. &c. 
 
LATELY PUBLISHED, 
 
 In 6 Vols, \<ZmOi price \t, U. bound \ or otte 
 Guinea m boards. 
 
 And may be had from the Booksellers mentioned in the 
 Title Page, 
 
 THE 
 
 THEOLOGICAL REPOSITORY : 
 
 CONSISTING OF 
 
 Original Essays, on the evidences, excellency, ancl 
 doctrines of Christianity — Extracts from Valuable Writ- 
 ings, illustrative of these Subjects — Sacred Criticism, 
 and Notes on Passages of Scriptures, explaining the 
 Sense and Connexion of the Inspired Writers — Reviews 
 of new Religious Publications — With characters of ce* 
 lebrated Writers, 
 
BOOKS 
 
 PRINTED AT THE 
 
 <£te$0oto Vmbroitp press* 
 
 JOANNIS SCAPULA LEXICON GR^CA-LATINUM, ex pro- 
 batis auctoribus locupletatum, cum Indicibus et Graeco et Latino, auctis 
 et correctis. Additum Auctarium Dialectorum, in tabulas compendiose 
 redactarum. Accedunt Lexicon Etymologicum, cum thematibus investi- 
 gatu difficilioribus et anomalis. Et Joannis Meursii Glossarium con- 
 tractum bactenus desideratum. Editio nova, in qua, nunc primum voca- 
 bula ex Appendice Askeviana secundum literarum seriem iuseruntur. 
 
 Beautifully printed in 2 Volumes ito, from the Elxevir edition of 1652. 
 L.l 7s. boards. 
 
 SCHLEUSNERI LEXICON GRiECO-LATINUM in Novum Tes- 
 tamentum. Recensuerunt J. Smith, J. Strauchon et A. Dickinson. 
 Editio quinta. 
 
 Handsomely printed in octavo, in Two thick Volumes. In this Edition the Sy- 
 riac and Hebrew quotations have been carefully revised, and many errors of the 
 former Edition corrected, price L.3 -.0:0. 
 
 HOMERI OPERA OMNIA, ex recensione, et cum Notis Sam. 
 Clarkii, S. T. P. accessit varietas lectionum MS. Lips, et Edd. Vtterum, 
 cura Jo. Augusti Ernesti, qui et suas notas adspersit, 
 
 Elegantly printed in five volumes, octavo, with the Greek, Latin, and Notes, onthe 
 same page, demy paper, L. 4, 10s. boards. A few copies executed in the finest man- 
 ner on large paper, L3. boards. 
 
 T. LUCRETII CARI DE RERUM NATURA, LibriSex; ad Ex- 
 emplar Gilberti Wakefield, A. B. cum ejnsdera Notis, Commentariis, 
 Indicibus fideliter excusi. Adjectae sunt, Editionum quinque, in quibus 
 Principis, Ferrandi, Lectiones Variantes omnes ; ut et integrae Richardi 
 Bentleii Annotationes, Illustrationes, Conjecturae, ex ipsius Autographo, 
 in Musaeo Britannico conservaio. 
 
 Elegantly printed in octavo, in four volumes, price LJ3, Ss. boards. A few copies 
 remain of the large pa per, price L.6, Gs. boards. 
 
 HENRICI HOOGEVEEN, DOCTRINA PARTICULARUM LIN- 
 
GXJJE GRMCM; in epitomen redegit, Christianus Godofredus Schutz. 
 Neatly printed in one volume, octavo, price 15s. boards. 
 
 LAMBERTI BOS ELLIPSES GREECE, cum priorum Editorura 
 snisque Observationibus. Edidit Godofredus Henrictjs Schjefer. 
 
 Neatly printed, uniformly ivith Hoogeveen and Figerus, price 18s. boards. 
 
 FRANCISCI VIGERI Rotomagensis, de preecipuis GRMCM DIC- 
 TIONIS IDIOTISMIS, Liber, cum Animadversionibus Henrici Hooge- 
 veeni et Joannis Caroli Zeunii, edidit et Annotationes addidit Godo- 
 fredus Hermann us. 
 
 Neatly printed in one volume octavo, uniform with Hoogeveen and Bos, price 
 18s. boards. 
 
 GODOFREDI HERMANNI ELEMENTA DOCTRINE MET- 
 RICS. Editio Nova. 
 
 Neatly printed from the Leipsic Edition of 1816, uniform with the Editions of 
 Hoogeveen, Bos, and Vigerus, price 15s. boards. 
 
 HERODOTI HALICARNASSEI Historiarum Libri IX. Ex Edi- 
 tione et cum Praefatione Johannis Schweighjjtjser. 
 Handsomely printed in ttvo volumes octavo. 
 
 XENOPHONTIS DE CYRI INSTITUTIONE, Libri Octo, ex 
 recensione et cum notis Thom^e Hutchinson, A. M. Graece et Latine. 
 
 Neatly printed, in octavo, uniformly with the Anabasis, 10s. 6d. boards. 
 • XENOPHONTIS DE CYRI EXPEDITIONE, Libri Septem, ex 
 recensione et cum Notis Thom,e Hutchinson, A. M. Graece et Latine. 
 
 Neatly printed in one volume octavo, price 12s. boards. A few cqpiesprinted in 
 the finest manner, on large paper, price, L.l, Is. boards. 
 
 M. ANN^EI LUCANI PHARSALIA, cum notis Hugonis Grotii 
 et Richardi Bentleii. 
 
 Beautifully printed in one vol. 8vo. 12s. boards. A few copies on large Paper. 18s. 
 boards. 
 
 EURIPIDIS MEDEA, Graece et Latine, ex recensione Porsoniana. 
 
 Neatly printed on a small type in a 2tono pocket sixe, price is. boards. A 
 common copy for Schools, price 2s. 6d. boards. 
 
 ARISTOPHANIS NUBES, Graece et Latine, ex editione Hermanni. 
 
 Neatly printed on a small type, in a 24mo pocket size, uniformly with Euripidis 
 Medea, 2s. 6d. common , 4s. 6d.fine. 
 
 jESCHYLI CHOEPHORCE, ex recensione Porsoniana adjectasunt 
 Choephoron Choiici Cantus, sicut dispositi sunt in Tentamine V. R. Ca- 
 roli Bumeii S. T. P. 
 
 Neatly printed, on a small type, in a 24mo pocket sixe, uniformly with Aristophanis 
 Nubes. Common ; 3s. Sd.fine, 5s. boards. 
 
SOPHOCLIS (EDIPUS TYRANNUS, ex recensione, R. P. ft 
 
 Brunck. 
 Neatly printed in iSmo Fine, 4s. boards; common, 2s. €d. boards. 
 
 NOVUM TESTAMENTUM GREECE, cum Versione Latina; se- 
 cundum curam Leusdenii et Griesbachii. Editum ab Henrico Arnoldo 
 
 AlTON, V. D. M. ZWOLLANO. 
 
 Neatly printed in two vols.2imo, 6s.fi/iepaper, 9s. boards. 
 NOVUM TESTAMENTUM GREECE, cura Lecsdenii et Gries- 
 bachii. 
 
 Handsomely printed in crown 18mo, uniformly with the Regent's Classics, Price, 
 6s. boards. 
 ————— A common copy, 2imo, 4s. 6d. boards. 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM LUC1AN, with a Latin Translation and 
 English Notes; to which are subjoined, Mythological Index, and a Lexi- 
 con adapted to the Work. Compiled for the use of Schools, by John 
 Walker, formerly Fellow of Dublin College. 
 
 Neatly printed in \2mo, price 10s. 6d. boards. 
 
 CAII JULI1 CiESARIS Opera Omnia, ad optimorum exemplarium 
 fidem recensita, notulis serraone Anglicano exaratis illustrata, et iudice 
 nominum propriorum uberrirao instructa. In usum Seholae Glasguensis. 
 Studio Joannis Dymock. 
 
 Price bound, is. 
 
 DECERPTA ex P. OVIDII NASONI METAMORPHOSEON 
 Libri ; ad optimorum exemplarium fidmn, recensita, notulis sermone An- 
 glicano exaratis illustrata, et indice nominum propriorum uberrimo instruc- 
 ta, in usum Scholar Glasguensis. Studio Joannis Dymock. 
 
 Price 2s. 6d. 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS Opera, ad Lectiones probatiore diligenter 
 emendata. 
 
 Neatly printed on fine paper, is. 6d. boards. A common copy for Schools, price 
 2s. bd. bound 
 
 MOOR'S GREEK GRAMMAR, with Dalzel's Fragmenta, 12mo, 
 price 3s. 6d. bound. 
 
 EXCERPTA EX LUCIANI OPER1BUS in usum Juventutis 
 Academic Glasguensis. Price stitched, 2s. ; bound, 2s. 6d. 
 
 TACITUS DE SITU; MORIBUS ET POPULIS GERMANLE. 
 Price Is. stitched. 
 
 TAC1TI VITA AGRICOLjE. Price Is. stitched. 
 
 CORNELII NEPOTIS Vitae excellentiura imperatorum; or, Corne- 
 lius Nepos's Lives of the excellent Commanders: with an Euglisli Trans- 
 lation, as literal as possible: and large explanatory notes, by W, Arrol. 
 
 Price 3s. <od, bound. 
 
MATURINI CORDERII Colloquiorum Centuria Selecta: or a Se- 
 lect Century of M. Cordery's Colloquies: with an English Translation, as 
 literal as pssible, and a large Vocabulary. By W . Arrol. Price Is. 6d. 
 bound. 
 
 EUTROPII HISTORIC ROMANCE BREVIARIUM, cum Ver- 
 sione Anglica, in qua verbum de verbo, quantum fieri potuit, redditur ; no- 
 tis quoque, Anglicis, Indice Geographico, et Vocabulario locupletissimo* 
 By W. Arrol. 
 
 Price 3s. 6d. bound. 
 
 MAIRS TRANSLATION of SALLUST, with large Notes, and the 
 Latin annexed. Price 33. 6d. bound. 
 
 COUPER'S (Prof.) HEBREW GRAMMAR, abridged from Wil- 
 son's, price 4s boards. 
 
 DUNCAN'S Translation of CESAR'S COMMENTARIES, with a 
 Discourse on the Roman Art of War. A new edition, in 2 vols. 12mo. 
 
 Price 12s. boards. 
 
 WARDLAW'S DISCOURSES on the Principal Points of the So- 
 cinian Controversy, 8vo, second edition, price 12s. boards. 
 
 BROWN'S STRICTURES on Mr. Yates's Vindication of Unitarian- 
 ism, in Reply to Mr. Wardlaw's Discourses on the Socinian Controversy 
 8vo, price 2s. 6d. stitched. 
 
 MYLNE'S (Professor) Statement oi the Facte connected with a Pre- 
 cognition, taken in the College of Glasgow, on the 30th and 31st of March, 
 1815, 8vo, price 2s. stitched. 
 
 ISOCRATIS PANEGYRICA, ex recensione Athanasi'i Auger, Greece 
 et Latine. Crown 18mo. 
 
 A PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY into the ORIGIN of our IDEAS 
 on the SUBLIME AND BEAUTIFUL, with an introductory Discourse 
 concerning Taste, and several other additions, by Edmund Burke, Esq. 
 Crown 1 2mo, fine, Price 3s. 6d. boards. 
 
 JARDINE'S (Professor) SYNOPSIS of Lectures on Logic and Belle9 
 Lettres ; read in the University of Glasgow, price 3s. 
 
 AN ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH PHYSIOGNOMY ON SCIEN- 
 TIFIC PRINCIPLES, by Dr. Cross, 8vo, boards 7s. 
 
m& 
 
 
 mm 
 PS - m 
 
 
 ■ "•'**''. 
 
 * 
 
 SsHB 
 
 m -