Chap-3- SeCl: 5· BookU. hands. If thou fayell, but hath Chrift paid the debt for my fin• > Ye<, if thou wilt but ace<pt of Chrifi on his own terms; come then poo~ foul, thou who art to!Ted with the waves of dcfpair, think of Jullice interwoven With mercy; or If Juftice be it tholl fearell, think of it a> now thy friend in the Lord Jefus Chrifl, it is Jut!icethat ;cgllits thee, if thou but relyell on Chrifi, and who thcu !Aall condemn thee? who then !hall lay any thing to thy charge> :; • As to the Law, .look not upon that exact obedience which the Law requireth, for- then S1ta n will att:fln his purpofe , but go out of thy felf, l•ok._ upon Je[us , and reject thy own righteoufnds, as altogether imperfect and infufficient. Abs! Who can exactly live up to the Law> the Law requires of us things that we cannot do; the Law accepts ofnothi.nr;,but abfolute perfedion in all it rtqnires:rhe Law looksthat things · !hould be done in a riglott manner, out of a right principle, ~nd to a nght end ; yea, that all 01ould be done in the perfedion of degrees, to the utte:moll that is re· quired: Now if fonlsp..oreo 11 this, and look only on this, no wonder if the dtvil tempt them either to loofitefs or defpair; the way is therefore to go out ofthy felf, and tore– lye upon the alone righte~ufncfsand obedience of Jefus Chrill , as being in i~ (e]f, all– fuffipem for thy jullification and falvation: Thou canll not perform the duttes of obe– dience, which the Law requiretb, but Chrill hath done it, and God pimfelf pro– feffeth that he is well-pleafed with him, and as contented with him and his obe– dience for thee, as if done by thy felf. Surely this is Gofpel, the glad tydings: 0 what courage and comfort mayfi them take at this news. 35 4· As to Hell, with wnic!l the devil !rights thee; medit>te that hell i> thy defert, but heaven is Gods gift; and though Satan may hold thee over hell, yet he cannot turn thee into hell ; if the Lord will fave thee, not all the devils in hell can poffiblt damn thee: And is hell a place tobeexpectcd, orrathertobcavoided? Tell Satan to his face, that thou wilt not willingly be his comp1nion in torments, and therefore thou wilt not fo far gratifie him, nor be fo cruel to thy (elf, as to be led by him into that grifly gulph of defpair, which is the very next door to hell ; no, no, thou wilt rather hope and wait on God in a way of contentednefs to be at his dilpofal; fay, If the Lord wiUhave mercy on me, Ijhalllive; or if the Lord willglorifie his Power and JNjlice in condemning me, which I havt dt{erwl. , I mujl dye, only I will b1pe a;zd wait, and be contented jli/1 to be at the Lords dijpo{al, and not at Satans; aml.thmforeav•unt 2 cor. 4 f. devils, be go11e, I am of Pauls mind, we .,e troubled oil evrryfide, but not dijlref[e.l ,; we £re perplexed , bttt 1101 in defpair. One Objection here mHfl be removed: The Soul now in fear, or fenfe ofmifery, is adOb. vifed for the avoiding of defpair, to loBk on Juftice as its friend in Chrill, and to look on Chrifl as having paid the prize for the pardon of its fin , and to rely on the obedience of Chrill as all·fufficient for its falvation, and to hope , and wait , and to be content to be at Gods defpofal: Now how !hould the SoJl do thus that is in a fiate of nature? all thefe are the prop and peculiar works of ~elievers, and not of the unregc11erate; what can they do to be faved > or what can they do to refilt Satan in order to converfion? I anfwer ·---- , 1· Men, though- unregenerate, may yet be in the ufe of means, dutieo, and OrdinanAufi•.' cts; and if ever the Spirit comes into the hearts of peeple, it is ufualy this way: Nay, I !hall fay more, that befides the rational ads of meditatjon, application, &<. wh~eh are common to men, the Spirit of God doth alwayesina general, but fometimes .in a fpecial way draw out thofe ads, fo as may be moll for Gods glory, and our good. For example, it is in the power of Nature to go to Church, and to hear the Word ; yet that I go at fuch a time (it may be againll my own inclinltion) and that I obferve t,he Word, and lay it up, and meditate on it more then othen, this is the Spirits fpecial influence, by way ofgifts, for in all thiS there may be no grace neither. 2• Tile men I am fpeaking to, I do not look upon as wholly ume5enerate, nor as yet regenerate, they are jull as Embryo's in the womb, before they have any perfect ihape; nmher are they ao they were, nor as . they mull be, but imperfect creatures of Gods Spirit, that will, if the womb mifcarry not, be children of God. Now iPI this cafe 1fuppofe_rhou mayll go further then 'a meer natural man; as qr inllmce, thou mayll hope, a11d 1f thy hope .be not the grace of. !~ope,_ yet grace m~y be femiually in ·~, anhd may firll appear by It. ARe'l'erend 01Vlne g1ves us the dillinction uf a gra- '"" o'fth~ c10us_ ope, and a ratiOnal or moral hope, whereby the Soul comes up to a firm a!Tent Spiri< o'r 2 _ of thiS Propofition, thMgh '1'Y cafe ir [1d, yet it i< Hot defPerJte: Now although Grac<: dage, on F. ~
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