and vain affections which are ever busy and ever starting up to defile our consciences, and pollute our lives.

The gospel of Christ makes a sense of sin necessary to salvation. They who are whole, have no need of the physician; but only those who are sick: I came not, says our Lord Jesus, to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance; Mat. ix. 12, 13. This is the language of the Old Testament as well as the New: He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy; Prov. xxviii. 13. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins: But if we say we have no sin, we make God a liar, and the truth is not in us; 1 John i. 8-10. Now it can never be supposed, that those wretches are in the right way to salvation, who, either through stupid ignorance, or a great degree of pride and selfflattery, fancy themselves innocent: These proud vain creatures must be far from the path of salvation and deliverance, who are not convinced of their sin and danger. They are not in the way to obtain relief, who feel not their distress and misery. Such a haughty spirit of vain conceit makes God a liar, by contradicting the testimony that he gives in his word concerning all the children of men.

III. Sincere repentance is another necessary duty required in the gospel, in order to a sinner's salvation. Now this repentance implies a hearty sorrow for all our past offences, and a sincere return from sin to the love and obedience of God. The very light of nature and reason, which teaches an innocent creature to obey his Maker, does as plainly tell a sinful creature, that he must repent of his disobedience, that he must be heartily grieved for having broken the laws of his God, and that he must love and obey him for time to come, if ever he expect the least favour from hin.

The scripture enforces this sacred duty of repentance continually upon the consciences of men; and the gospel of Christ being sent to the nations, commands all men every where to repent; Acts xvii. 30. It is the very word of Christ, Except ye repent ye must all perish; Luke xiii. 3, 5. Not only must we forsake sin, and avoid it in our actions, but we must hate it in our hearts, and fulfil all our duties from a principle of divine love wrought in us. Our wills are by nature averse to God and goodness, and turned toward sin and folly; we must therefore repent and be converted, that our sins may be blotted out; Acts iii. 19.

Our whole natures are vitiated and spoiled by sin, and we must be regenerated or born again, and made new creatures, that is, a universal change must pass upon all the powers of our natures, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, or we can never be fit for the enjoyment of God. It is only the pure in heart that shall

see God; Mat. v. 8. Except a man be born again, be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God, nor enter into it; John iii. 3, 5. That is, except his nature, which was sinful, be renewed unto holiness, so that he begin to live a new life, as a new born child, he cannot be admitted into the kingdom of divine grace: Except he be cleansed from the power of sin, by the influence of the spirit of God, as the body is cleansed from outward defilements by water, which is typified and represented in baptism, he cannot be saved; for nothing that defileth shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; Rev. xxi. 27. and he that hath not the spirit of Christ to sanctify him, to enable him to mortify sin, and create him anew unto good works, such a one, is none of his; Rom. viii. 9. that is, he does not belong to Christ, nor hath any interest in him as a Saviour.

IV. Another necessary rule we must observe is this, viz. To draw near to God, and to seek his favour by a Mediator. This · seems to be designed in the words of St., Paul, which I have chosen for the foundation of this discourse. He that will be crowned must strive lawfully, and, in the following verses, he bids Timothy consider what he teaches him, and remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to his gospel: that is, remember that Jesus Christ approved himself to be the Messiah, the anointed Saviour, by his rising from the dead. This is the only lawful way of striving for the heavenly crown, that is, by Jesus the Mediator. This doctrine of the mercy of God to guilty creatures by a Mediator, was the plain design of the first promise made to Adam after his fall, the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head, as it is written; Gen. iii. 15. Those very words led him to a Mediator, that is, to one born of a woman, that should relieve mankind under the mischief Satan had brought upon them. This blessed Mediator and our Saviour has been always kept in view, through all the succeeding revelations which God has made to the children of men. The Messiah, the anointed of God, who was to be the light of the Gentiles, and the glory of Israel, and the Saviour of men, even to the ends of the earth, was continually expected by the ancient saints.

And in these latter days we are now bound not only to trust in God, manifesting his mercy through some Mediator, but to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is he, that the great appointed Mediator between God and man, is the man Christ Jesus; 1 Tim. ii. 5. for Christ himself has said it, If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins; John viii. 21. It is sufficiently manifested in the gospel, that there is no other hope or refuge : There is salvation in no other, nor is there any other name given under heaven, whereby we can be saved, beside the name of Jesus; Acts iv. 12. Our Lord assures us, that he is the way, that no

man comes to the Father but by him; John xiv. 6. And he bid his disciples preach the gospel to every creature, he bid them not only tell the world, that he that believeth shall be saved, but that he that believeth not shall be damned; Mark xvi. 16. Here let it be noted also, that we are not called to trust in Christ only as a Mediator, to intercede or plead for us, though this is part of his appointed work; Heb. vii. 25. but we must receive him also as one who made propitiation or atonement for sin. This is called in Rom. v. 11. receiving the atonement. For he becomes our propitiation through faith in his blood; Rom. iii. 25. And if we sin wilfully by a public obstinate rejection of him, under his character of a sacrifice of atonement, I fear we shall find that there remains no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful expectation of God's fiery indignation to devour us; Heb. x. 26, 27. This text seems to me to carry a solemn terror in it against those who pretend to be christians, and yet dare to deny that Christ made a proper atonement for sin by his death, since this doctrine of atonement for sins by the blood of Christ is so often and so expressly asserted in the word of God*.

You see then, that trust in a Mediator, and in the mercy of God manifested through him, is a necessary part of our religion. This is that faith in Christ which is foretold so plainly in the Old Testament, that in him should the Gentiles trust. This is represented so often in the New Testament, as the great requisite of salvation, viz. the belief of Jesus Christ the Son of God to be the only Mediator between God and man, and a trusting in the mercy of God in and through this Mediator, a committing the soul into his hands, as a Lord and Saviour from sin and from hell And it is called faith in his blood, to shew that we must trust in him particularly, as a Mediator of atonement. This is that faith of Christ that St. Paul preached wheresoever he preached the duty of repentance, as a necessary attendant of it, in order to a sinner's acceptance with God. Acts xx. 20, 21. Publicly, and from house to house he taught the Ephesians, and he testified both to the Jews and Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

V. A constant sincere pursuit of universal holiness, and perseverance therein till the hour of our death. This is also necessary in order to our arrival at heaven. We are entered into a race, when we are first converted, and set our faces toward heaven; we must not turn backward, lest we lose the prize. We must keep the path of duty with sincerity and diligence, and, in this manner, we must run through the whole stage of life, till we reach the goal of death, if we would obtain the glorious crown of righteousness. It is true the gospel does not suppose or expect,

*I do not tarry here to enlarge on the proof of the atonement of Christ for sin, having sufficiently proved it in my sermons upon Rom. iii. 25. See volume the first, sermons xxxiv. xxxv. xxxvi, page 473, &c.

that we should be innocent or perfect in obedience; and therefore a gracious God has made provision for the repentance of christians, and their return to his mercy after their renewed falls and sins, otherwise no flesh can be saved: But it is our duty to stir up ourselves to arise and return to God with sincere sorrow, and then with greater watchfulness to set upon our duty, and make it appear through the course of life, that in our heart we hate sin and love holiness.

It is not the costly or toilsome performance of ceremonies, nor any long slavish labours in outward forms of godliness nor any painful mortifications of the natural body, and severe penances of fasting and scourging, that will be accepted of God instead of inward piety; nor yet is that piety to be all inward and confined merely to the heart: but it must appear in the life too. The grace of God that brings salvation, teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, and by our good works to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; Titus ii. 10—12. Whatsoever particular neglects the great God may excuse, he will never dispense with a general neglect of holiness: For it is said expressly, Heb. xii. 14. without holiness no man shall see the Lord. He is a holy God, and as compassionate and condescending as he is, he doth not lay aside one ray of his own holiness in order to display his grace, nor will he dishonour that glorious perfection of his divinity to save a world of sinners. The gospel and the grace of God that saves us, can save us only in a way becoming the holiness of his nature. No unholy thing shall

enter into heaven.

We, who are engaged in this christian exercise, have much of strife and conflict to pass through: It is not only a race, but a combat also, and it implies wrestling and fighting: We must take up arms against the sins of our natures, and the corruptions of our hearts, as well as against Satan, and the temptations of this world. Then surely those that know not their spiritual dangers, who are not made sensible of the sins that dwell within them, have no reason to immagine or expect they shall be conquerors: They are not yet engaged in the spiritual warfare, nor apprized of their spiritual enemies: They are not in the way to obtain the prize. If we live according to the inclinations of our flesh we shall die, but if we through the spirit mortify the deeds of the body, we shall live; Rom. viii. 13. They that are Christ's must crucify the flesh, with its affections and lusts; Gal. v. 21. And it is not only flesh and blood must be opposed, but principalities and powers of darkness, and all the hosts of hell, as well as an army of temptations of this wicked world; Eph. vi. 12. and if we lay down our weapons and give over fighting, we give up all pretences to victory, and lose the crown.

VI. A humble hope in the divine promises of joy and happiness in the world to come, is the last thing I shall mention. This is so necessary a grace, that it is said, we are saved by hope; Rom. viii. 24. And it is often put for faith itself, in the language of ancient prophecy; and in the writings of the apostles, Christ himself is called our hope; 1 Tim. i. 1. Unbelief of the promises, and despair of heaven cut off all the sinews of action, and will effectually prevent us from seeking and striving to obtain the prize: We must live therefore in humble expectation of future glory, looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Titus ii. 13.

And the apostle's argument in 1 Cor. xv. 12-16. seems to make the belief and hope even of the resurrection of the body, a necessary part of our christianity also: For, if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is not Christ risen; and if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain, ye are yet in your sins. For my part I must own, that where this gospel comes in such full light and evidence, as we enjoy it, I hardly know what to make of their christianity, who deny the doctrine of the resurrection. These are the substantial parts of our religion, and the chief rules of the christian race, or contest in which we are engaged in order to obtain the crown. And concerning these, I have endeavoured to make it appear from reason, or express testimony of scripture, that God, the great and blessed God, will not dispense with any of them in those persons who expect favour and salvation at his hands.

There are indeed many circumstantials that belong to our religion, which are by no means of equal importance with those substantial parts of christianity before mentioned. In many of these circumstances of our duty, it has not pleased the Spirit of God, to write the rules of them in so plain and express language; and therefore there may be very different sentiments and practices in these points, without endangering our salvation, without breaking the bonds of our christian love and unity. It is of infinitely more importance, that we believe that there is but one God, that he must be worshipped and served by his creatures, that there is an essential difference between virtue and vice, that there is a future state of rewards and punishments, that we are guilty creatures, and can obtain favour of God no other way but by a Mediator, that we must repent of our sins and have our hearts changed and renewed unto holiness, and live in the sincere practice of every known duty, and in humble expectation of future blessedness; I say, these things are of infinitely greater moment, than whether we must be baptized in infancy or riper years; whether that ceremony must be performed by dipping or sprinkling: whether the ordinance of the Lord's-supper must be received in the posture of guests t-si