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formerly the whole powers of his foul were buried in the grave of fin, devoid of all life and fense in fpiritual things. Now the dead are raised, the dry bones have come together, and ftand upon their feet. The dead foul could never have infused life into itself, but would have eternally rotted in the grave of fin, if the Spirit of Chrift had not entered into it, and Chrift become the life of the foul: Pfal. xvi. 11. "Thou wilt fhew me the path of life." As the life of the body lies in the union of the foul with the body, fo the life of the foul lies in its union with God through Chrift. And as it was by eating, Gen. iii. 6. that mankind were separated from God, and laid in the duft of death, so it is by eating that the foul comes to be re-united to God, and to live again in Chrift: John, vi. 53. 56. "Then Jefus faid unto them, Verily, verily, I fay unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” -The believer derives from Chrift,

2. A life of favour with God: Pfal. xxx. 5. "In his favour is life." We are naturally deadin law, under a fentence of condemnation, the broken law has doomed us to eternal death: Gal. iii. 10. "Curfed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them." But the fentence against the believer is reverfed, he is no more a condemned man, but is juftified: Rom. viii. 1. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus." Now he is a free man; who can lay any thing to his charge?" It is God that juftifieth, who is he that condemneth ?" Can juftice fay any thing? it is fatisfied. Can the law? it has got all its demands upon them in Chrift: Gal. iii. 13. "Chrift hath redeemed us from the ourfe of the law, ha

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ving been made a curfe for us." What is become of thofe long accounts of their debts, subscribed with their own hands? Chrift has blotted them out with his blood, put them out of the way, left the criminal should fear that they yet may be read. The nails are driven through the writing, so that it is. nailed to the cross, and hence will never appear more against them, Col. ii. 14. What has become of the face-covering, which was on the condemned man? Chrift has deftroyed in this mountain the face of the covering caft over all people, and the vail that is fpread over all nations, Ifa. xxv.

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What is become of death which stood before him, ready to devour him? Ver. 8. « Chrift has fwallowed up death in victory." Glory, then, be to the Lamb, by whom we live. Ver. 9. « Lo, this is our God: We have waited for him, and he will fave us This is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his falvation.” The believer derives from Chrift,

3. The new life of gofpel-obedience and true holinefs: Rom. vi. 4. 5. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: That likeas Chrift was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even fo we alfo fhould walk in newness of life. For if we had been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be alfo in the likeness of his refurrection." The believer is not now the man he once was, he is not only come out of the grave of his natural ftate, but he has caft off his grave-clothes: Col. iii. 8. «But now ye alfo put off all these, anger, wrath, malice, blafphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth." These reigning lufts are laid afide, for the Lord hath faid, "Loofe him, and let him go." He has put on Chrift, perfonates him, as the beggar in borrowed robes represents a king on the stage. There is none refembles Chrift in his life among

among men, fo near as the believer does; for he labours to walk, even as he alfo walked. Now his obedience is univerfal. He has refpect unto all God's commandments, Pfal. cxix. 9. His heart is enlarged in breadth and length to the law of Chrift. He loves those ways which he formerly hated, and hates those which he formerly loved. His obedience is a cluster of vital acts in the foul, of all which Chrift is the principle: Gal. ii. 20. "I am crucified," faith he, " with Chrift; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Chrift liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flefh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." As Chrift is the principle,

fo he is alfo the end of the believer's life: Phil. i. 21. "For me to live," fays he, "is Chrift, and to die, is gain." O! whence comes this new life! fure it could never be ftruck out of vows, refolutions, and Chriftlefs endeavours, nor hammered out of the united force of the whole powers of the foul, called forth together as in a folemn day. But they have been planted together with Chrift, Rom. vi. 5. (quoted above). Therefore they rife up with him, in the likenefs of his refurrection. An eternal barrenness had shut up their womb; but being married to Chrift, who is rifen from the dead, they now bring forth fruit unto God, Rom. vii. 4.---The believer derives from Christ,

4. A life of activity in grace, as fpringing water is accounted living water: Pfal. Ixxx. 18. "So will we not go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name." Sometimes the believer is at a low ebb with his graces. Faith, the conduit-pipe, by which life comes into the foul, is stopped, and then all the flowers in his garden, the believer's graces, begin to hang down their heads, and wither. The weeds of corrup

tion begin to thrive. What fhall become of the foul then? There is ftill one ground of hope, it is not like the falfe path of the hypocrite, laid fhort of the fountain, in which all communication is cut off, and this is the reason why their common graces go back, and never rise again; but the faith of the true believer remains ftill a bond of union betwixt Chrift and the foul, and therefore fays he, John, xiv. 19. " Because I live, ye fhall live alfo." Chrift puts in his hand at the hole of the door, his Spirit opens the means of conveyance, and influences again flow, which put quite a new face upon the foul: Hof xiv. 7. "They that dwell under his fhadow fhall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon." Christ fpeaks life, and thus the coldrife foul begins to glow: Luke, xxiv. 32." And they faid one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the fcriptures ?" Fire is brought from the altar of burnt-offering, and this is fet to the incenfe of their prayers which lay downwards before, and then they mount up like pillars of fmoke.--The believer derives from Chrift,

5 A life of growth in grace; life, and more life: John, x. 10. "I am come," fays Jefus, "that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Things which have life, grow in the growing time, and grace is of a growing nature: Prov. iv. 18. "The path of the juft is as the fhining light, that fhineth more and more unto the perfect day." The trees planted in the houfe of God, even the righteous, fhall flourish like the palm tree: he fhall grow like the cedar in Lebanon. "Thofe that be planted in the house of the Lord, fhall flourish in the courts of our God,"

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Pfal. xcii. 12. 13. They do not indeed grow always; and why, but because they do not eat always they have their fick fits, when they lofe their appetite, and then may they fay, My leannefs my leannefs !- neither is their growth always difcernible; they may notwithstanding be growing. The kingdom of God in the foul, is like feed caft into the ground, which fprings and grows up, one knows not how, Mark, iv. 26. 27. But they grow fometimes; there are golden fpots of time, when the dew of heaven lies on their branches, fo that they will be adding a cubit to their fpiritual ftature. And all this is derived from Christ: Mal. iv. 2. "But unto you that fear my name, fhall the Sun of righteoufnefs arife with healing in his wings; and ye fhall go forth and grow up as calves in the ftali." It is their being planted by the Lord which produces this;-their waiting on him: Ifa. xl. 31. They that wait upon the Lord fhall renew their ftrength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they fhall run, and not be weary, and they fhall walk, and not faint." And this growth which they have from him has a beauty, which that wants which arifes from any other quarter. It is univerfal, regular, and proportionable: Eph. iv. 15." But, fpeaking the truth in love, may grow up to him in all things, which is the head, even Chriit." They are not as others, who, like the rickety child, have a big head, but a flender body; but all comes away together under influences from Chrift. They grow inwardly in clofe walking with God, the foul cleaving more clofely with Chrift: They grow outwardly in good words and works, which are more communicative and edifying to others: They grow upwardly in heavenly-mindedness, and contempt of the world; and in the mean time alfo downwardly

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