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bruifed with fear and terror of the wrath of God; grieves and forroweth for fin, as a ruining and deftructive evil; and therefore really defires to be freed from it; defpairs of falvation by himself; and fèrioully looks out for relief another way. Acts ii. 17. and xvi. 29, 30. Thus the law is our school master to bring us unto Chrift; and the faith of the law, makes way for the faith of the gospel. Not that either this legal faith or legal repentance, is the condition of our welcome to Chrift and the covenant of grace our access to Chrift and the covenant is proclaimed free, without any conditions or qualifications required in us, to warrant us finners of mankind to believe on Jefus Chrift, as was fhown before. But they are neceffary to move and excite us, to make use of our privilege of free access to Christ and the covenant; infomuch that none will come to Christ, nor embrace the covenant, without them in greater or leffer measure. Even as if a physician fhould cause proclaim, that he will freely cure all the fick of fuch a place, that will employ him: in which cafe it is plain, none will employ him, but fuch as are fenfible of fome malady they labour under; yet that sense of a malady is not the condition of their welcome to that phyfician; nor is it requifite for his curing them, but for their employing him.

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Now, in calling you to embrace the covenant, ye are called indirectly, and by confequence, to this faith of the law, namely, to believe that ye are sinmers in life, heart and nature; loft and undone, under the curfe; and utterly unable to recover yourfelves. Yet it is not saving faith, nor doth it instate one in the covenant of grace; that is peculiar to another kind of believing of which in the next place.

The

The Faith of the Gospel, inftating in the Covenant.

Aving faith, which unites to Christ, is the faith

of the gospel. For the gospel only is the miniftration of righteousness, 2 Cor. iii. 9. It is in it that the righteoufnefs of faith is revealed unto faith, revealed to be believed on, Rom. i. 17. It is the alone word which gives finners the notice of a Saviour, of the atoning blood, and the new covenant in that blood; and therefore is the only word by which faving faith is begotten in the heart of a loft finner. In the word of the gospel, the Lord and Saviour Chrift, with all his benefits and covenant, is; and that to be believed on, as appears from Rom. x. 6, 7, 8, 9. So that, the word of the gospel being received by believing, we have Chrift, and his covenant, with all the benefits thereof: saving faith be ing indeed the echo of the quickened foul, to the word of grace that bringeth falvation: a trusting of the word of the gospel, and the perfon, to wit, the Saviour, and the thing, therein held forth to us, to be believed on for falvation. Mark i. 15. Believe the gospel. Ifa. liii. 1. Who hath believed our report? Gal. iii. 2. The hearing of faith. This is that believing, by which we are united to Christ, entered into the covenant of grace, and instated therein unto falvation. The which believing may be explained in four particulars; (1.) The faith of Christ's fuffici ency: (2.) The faith of the gospel offer: (3.) The faith of our right of Chrift: and (4.) The faith of particular truft for falvation. So putting the

QUESTION, What is that believing, by which I, a loft finner, under the curse of the law, may unite with Jefus Christ, and so enter into, and be inftated in the covenant of grace, to my eternal falvation? We answer thereto directly in thefe four particulars, by way of direction in this momentous point, whercon falvation depends.

I. The Faith of Chrift's Sufficiency.

In the first place, you are to believe, that there is a fulness of falvation in Chrift for poor finners. This is the conftant report of the gofpel concerning him,' Eph. iii. 8. That I should preach among the Gentiles the unfearchable riches of Chrift. Heb. vii. 25. He is able to fave them to the uttermoft, that come unto God by him. In the word of the gospel Chrift is held forth as an able Saviour; able to fave men from their fins, and from the wrath of God. His merit is a fufficient fconte against the tempeft of fiery wrath, which incenfed juftice is ready to caufe to fly forth against tranfgreffors: Ifa. xxxii. 2. A man shall be a covert from the tempeft. His Spirit is fufficient to fanctify the most unholy: 1 Cor. vi. 11. And fuch were fome of you: but ye are washed, but ye are fanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jefus, and by the Spirit of our God. The righteoufnefs he fulfilled as the condition of the covenant, is fo valuable in itself, and in the eyes of his Father, that it is fufficient to procure juftification, fanctification, and all other faving benefits to finners, who in themselves deferve death and damnation: so that they are happy who are in him; they shall never perish, but have everlasting life, being eternally fecure under the covert of his righteousness, as a fufficient defence. Believest thou this?

This is the general faith of the gospel, which being without particular application, doth not unite the finner to Chrift, nor enter him into the covenant; and may be found in reprobates and fallen angels, being only an affent in general to the truth of the doctrine of the gospel, Matth. xiii. 22, 21. and viii. 29. But by the nature of the thing, it is neceffarily prerequifite to a faith of particular application: for I must first believe a faying to be true in itself, before I can trust to it for my part; I must first believe

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a thing

a thing to be good in itself, before I can believe that it is good for me.

But where the faith of the gofpel is carried forward to uniting with Chrift, the effect of this gene. ral faith is very valuable as well as neceffary. And that is, an high efteem of Chrift and his covenant, an ardent defire of union and communion with him, a longing for his righteoufnefs, as a hungry man longs for meat, or a thirsty man for drink. The man fees indeed, that he has no fpecial intereft in Chrift and his righteoufnefs; but he would fain have it: all is faplefs to him without it; his foul within him cries, Give me Chrift, or elfe I die: and he is content to part with all for him, and to take him for all. This is taught us in the parables of the treasure hid in the field, and of the pearl of great price, the finding out of which moves to fell all, and to buy them, Matth. xiii. 44, 45, 46.

Howbeit this esteem and defire of Chrift is different from that which follows upon the foul's union with Chrift, when once faith hath taken poffeffion of him and his benefits, and hath got a view of his intrinsic fupereminent worth and value: the which is menti oned, 1 Pet. ii. 7. Pfalm lxxii. 25. The true fpring of all this esteem and defire, is the principle of felfprefervation, and the view of Chrift as fuited to that end. The merchant man is feeking goodly pearls. for his own enriching: and feeing that the one pearl will anfwer that defign, he is restlefs till he have it. The poor finner is hotly purfued with the law's curfe, which is ftill ringing death and damnation in his ears. In the mean time, he gets a diftant view of the city of refuge; and therefore he makes forward to it with all fpeed: but what makes him run, but life, life, precious life, that he may not perish? Verily, he cannot be expected to act upon a more generous principle, before he is united to Chrift: John xv. 5. Without me ye can do nothing. But let

him not fear; he is welcome to Chrift, even coming to him from no higher principle. The truth is, the Lord Jefus, by his Spirit, fets the principle of felfprefervation aftir, being a thing in itself good; and ufeth it as a mean to haften finners unto him. This

is evident from the complaint, John v. 20. And ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life. Can one imagine our Lord will reject a finner coming to him for life, when he complains that finners will not come to him for that end?

II. The Faith of the Gospel offer.

In the next place, you must believe, that Jefus Chrift, with his righteousness and all his falvation is by himself offered to finners, and to you in parti. cular. This is the plain voice of the gofpel to all unto whom it comes, Ifa. lv. 1. Ho, every one that thirfteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath nó money; come ye, buy and eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price. Rev. xxii. 17. Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Prov. viii. 4. Unto you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the fons of men. But alas! few

believe it: yea, none will believe it to purpose till the Spirit of the Lord make it plain to them, and perfuade them by an inward illumination. Many secure finners hear the gofpel, and are glad of the offer: but they difcern not Chrift's voice in it. They hear it not, as the word of the Lord Chrift himself to them ; but as the word of men: hence it hath no due authority upon their confciences; fo they pafs it over lightly. Thus were his offers of himself entertained, when made by his own mouth, but he not difcerned as the eternal Son of God, and Saviour of the world. So, in the congregation of Nazareth, All bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. But they faid, Is not this Jofeph's fon? Luke iv. 22. And

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