in goodness, and delighteth in mercy. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance," Rom. xi. 29.

I may add, we are not to do good works with a view to qualify us for our reception of Christ by faith, or for our interest in him. Multitudes seem most dangerously to deceive their souls in this matter. It is but too common a case for men to quiet their consciences, and to entertain hopes of salvation, because they endeavour to be found in a way of duty; they endeavour to mortify their lusts, and to live a holy life; and, therefore, though guilty of many defects, both in their duties and conversation, they hope God will accept them upon Christ's account; that the merits of Christ will make up the defects of their performances, and his blood cleanse them from the guilt of their sins. If they should fall into some more gross and enormous sins, or grow careless and remiss in duty, they will then, perhaps, fall into a panic, and terrify themselves with apprehensions that Christ will not accept such as they are; but when they have reformed their conduct, their fears blow over, and they revive their hopes that they shall yet obtain mercy for Christ's sake. And what is the natural language of all this, but that they shall obtain an interest in Christ by their good works, and when they have done their part, he will do the rest, will make up the defects of their attainments, and give such a value to their sincere (though imperfect) obedience, that this shall recommend them to the favour and acceptance of God; as though the glorious Redeemer undertook our ransom for no other end than to render our deficient duties meritorious, and our sins innocent and inoffensive. This legal and self-righteous principle seems generally to obtain with the careless, carnal world; and when sinners come under conviction of their guilt and danger, they are yet influenced

Their

by the same legal disposition, though it appear in another form. What distressing fears and terrors do they usually agonize under! How impossible is it to give them any sensible view of the hope that is set before them! But what stands in their way? sins are great, their hearts are hard, their duties formal and hypocritical, their corruptions prevalent; so that they cannot think Christ will accept such as they are, and therefore they dare not venture their souls and their eternal interests upon him. Were the case otherwise, could they subdue these stubborn hearts, could they get a victory over these corruptions, sanctify these depraved affections, and be more spiritual in their duties; or, in other words, could they themselves begin their own salvation, then they could depend upon Christ to carry on the work in their souls, and then they could hope that God would accept them for Christ's sake. But all this is to substitute our own righteousness in the place and stead of the righteousness of Christ; or at best, to divide the work of our salvation between Christ and ourselves.

Will you bear with me, sir, if I am forced to express my fears that you are yet under too great remainders of this unhappy disposition. I rejoice in your recovery from your late dangerous mistake. I cannot but hope that you have chosen the good part, which shall not be taken from you. But what mean the frequent returns of your desponding hours? What occasions those many dark apprehensions, not only that you have not yet an interest in Christ, but that you shall never attain to it? I entreat you to consider, that Christ came to save sinners; and that we must come to him and trust in him as sinners, having no qualification of our own to entitle us to his favour, nothing but our guilt and pollution, and his sufficiency

to plead for our acceptance with and interest in him. In proportion as you look to your own qualifications to recommend you to Christ, so far you practically make a saviour of your good works, and reject the terms of salvation by Jesus Christ. As it is certain that you can have no good works, which are acceptable to God for any saving purposes, till you have faith in Christ; so it is also certain, that you need not seek for any in order to your cheerful trust in him and dependence upon him, to justify you by his righteousness, to sanctify you by his Spirit, and to make you an heir according to the hope of eternal life. The gospel brings glorious tidings of salvation to perishing sinners. It exempts and excludes none who will come to Christ for life, who will come to him as lost sinners, under a sense of their guilt and unworthiness; who will buy of him wine and milk, without money and without price; and who will take of the water of life freely. Be their sins ever so great, his blood will cleanse them from all their sins. Be their hearts ever so hard, he will take away their hearts of stone, and give them hearts of flesh. Be they ever so destitute of any gracious qualification, of his fulness they shall receive even grace for grace. Whatever their case be, they may safely trust in him, as the author of eternal salvation. But this, alas! is the misery and ruin of multitudes, who are pretending to seek salvation by Christ, that they are for dividing the work of their salvation between him and them: and thus, though they follow after the law of righteousness, they do not obtain it; because they seek it, not by faith, but, as it were, by the works of the law. Here, then, you see, that good works have no place at all. We are to look after no recommending qualifications for an interest in Christ; but to come to him guilty and miserable as we are, that he may be all and in all,

He came

be all to us, and do all in us and for us. not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,, Matt. ix. 13.

I must further add, that we are not to do good works, in expectation that we shall by them obtain a title to the future inheritance. Heaven is a purchased possession. Our title to it, our qualification for it, our perseverance in the way that leads thither, and our eternal enjoyment of the glorious inheritance, are all purchased by the blood of Christ. In all these respects, Christ Jesus is our hope; and when we rejoice in hope of the glory of God, we must rejoice in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the flesh. It cannot be too deeply impressed upon our hearts, that it is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but of his mercy, that God saveth us. It is mere mercy in the eternal contrivance of our salvation by Christ; mere mercy in his incarnation, humiliation, obedience, and sufferings for us; mere mercy in the application of his redemption to our souls; mere mercy that we are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation; and mere mercy that Christ will at last present us faultless before the throne of God with exceeding joy. It is "to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein we are made accepted in the Beloved." Our good works cannot have any share in purchasing our title to this salvation. They cannot make atonement for our sins; because the iniquity of our most holy things stand in need of atonement. They cannot give us a covenant right to mercy; because we are antecedently sinners, and obnoxious to the curses of the broken law. They cannot make us meet for salvation; because, by their imperfections, they still in themselves would only expose us to the curse; and because they cannot sanctify our nature, and give us new hearts. Nor can they

give us any claim to the special influences of God; because then our sanctification would be of debt, and not of grace. What, then, can they do? No more,

than to bring us to the foot of a sovereign God, to wait upon him in the way of his appointments, that he would work in us both to will and to do, of his good pleasure.

of

You will remember, that I am here speaking of our being entitled to salvation by our good works, and not of their usefulness to our spiritual and eternal welfare. In the former sense, they must be utterly disclaimed, and all our righteousness esteemed but as filthy rags, as I have particularly shown you in some former letters. In the latter sense, they must be diligently and laboriously pursued, and attended to, as I shall more fully set before you. Our business, therefore, is, with most earnest application to watch daily at wisdom's gates, and wait at the posts of her doors; to use our most active endeavours in all the ways godliness, righteousness, and charity; doing all in the name of Christ; and when we have done all we can, to come still as lost, guilty, worthless, and helpless sinners, self-loathing and self-condemning, to the throne of mercy, acknowledging that to us belong shame and confusion of face, and that we have nothing to plead but the riches of redeeming love, and the boundless grace of God in Christ, for the acceptance either of our persons or services. In our highest attainments, we should come before God with that language of faith," We do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies," Dan. ix. 18.

I will only subjoin, that we must not depend upon our good works for a progressive sanctification, for renewed supplies of grace, and for a continued progress