Spiritual PerftClion._ 2 • Let Us now confider how influential this Privilege is, to make us incirely holy. 1 • 'Tis molt worthy of obfervation, that God, who might by meer Empire and A ti. thoricy cornman? us to do our Duty, is pleafed by gracious inducements to end~ar our Du.. ty to us. He mtght by Dominion and Power conltrain us, but he is pleafedby thefwectelt Affeaions to allure us. A wafe Pnnce, accordmg to r~e rules of true Po!tcy, wtll rather' govern by love than fear : for his fafety and tranquility is more preferv'd by it; , Fear may fecure him from open Rebellions and Affaulrs; but love from iecret undermm10gs, from Treachery and Poyfon. 'Tis true, there is no fuch Motive inclines God to allure oUr IO\fe'~ but his defign is to gain our beans to obey him, that he may crown our Obedien.ce 1 ; Fear reflrains us from provoking him, but Love makes us aClive and chearful to plea le htm. Now what can be amore powerful obligation ro love him, than the receiving us into the high and dear relation of his Children? If we look up to God, and down upon our felves, we {hall be tlrud: with equal admiration and confufion. There is a rare and moll: affctl:. ing Example of hum?le thankfulnefs recorded in Scripcure, when David fa id to J?ephibo· 1 s1m. 9 . 7,s. f!mh, Fear not, I ,.,a furely fbm theekindnt[s{or Jon4thanthJ Fatlur's f~ke, 4nd>vt0rtflor< thee the Land of Saulth] Fath<r, and thou fhalt eat bread at mJ t.ble contsnuaUJ; he bowed himfelf,and faid, Whatisth,[irvant, thatthou{bot~ld.fllook onfuch • dead Dog .u I am? Mefhibojheth was of Royal Extrattion, and the ~on of'JonAthan, who infinitely deferv'4 of_))avid, yet how does he vilifie himfelf to magnifie the King's favour? What an ex· tream dtfpariry is there between ~he kindnefs of Duvid, and the condefce?ding compaffio· nate love of God ? He is the H1gh and Ho!y One; we were Enaniu to hun, and had ou~ Portion with Dragons, yet he has received us into his Family, and adopted us into the Line of Heaven. ,. Confider, the Pro!llifes fo exceeding great and precious, fo ltableand Cure, are conditional, and not to be obt:iin'd without confent to the terms fpecified in them. The Promifes of the Gofpel are melt fiee in their original and rife, the Love of God ; but their performanceisfufpended uponfucl.iterms, as the bountiful God requires of us. 'Tis true, his Grace a!lilts us to perform them, and the performance is for the full and final glory of his Grace : But the Conditions are indifpenfably requir'd. The terms of the Gofpel are as ftrialy enjoyn,d to our obtaining Salvation, as the terms of the Law were ro preferve the happy Life of Man in P~radife. 'Tis not ~ithin .the compafsof Omnipotence, to admit us to partake of _Adopuon a~d Commumon wtth God, wuhol!t our bemg cleanfed from Sin, and bemg changed m to the Image of God. It would dtfparage the unfpotted ho!ine!s of God to take one into Son!hip, and to manifelt his complacential love in him that continues in the tlate of polluted Nature. While Men are alienated from the Life of God, they cannothavea filial relation to him: For God cannot deny himfelf, neither can there be Communion with him. We are direCted to draw near to God, and he wiO draw nut to I#; but we mujl c!eanfe our hands, and purifie our IJtArts. St.Jo6n declares the heavenly Privilege of CbrHl:ians, Truly our Communion is with the Father, a1J6l with t~ftu Chrift: and he declares the terms of it, If wew,./k in th~ light, M he is in the light, we havt fiUorll{bipon~ •vith another. Communion implies freedom and fruition, a mutual intercourfe of Mercies and Duties; the Soul afcends to God by acts of Faith and Love, and God defcends into the Soul by excitations of Grace, and influences of Joy. There can be no love without likene!S, nor fellow!hip without love- According to the degrees of our holinefS, the more CXfiCl: is our rcf~o:mblance of God, and the more clear and comfortable is the evidence of our filial relation to him. Fire is more clea~ ly difcovered by Fla!lle, than by a little Hell; fo Grace is melt confpicuous in the view of Confcience, by lts radiant Operations. The Spirit of Adoption is the Spirit of Regeneration: 'Tu from his ufiimony with our fpirits, that we have tht comfortable- a!furance, that we art the Children of God. l~~es~ri~~;~";;~~:s ~e~~;;i~et~:tr~f.~fibl~n~~i:r~g~~o~l ;~:1c~K~;~c~ff~:t~r~0 1~~~ down. The teltimoay is argumentative and deelararive from tbofe divine Difpofitions that conltitute the Children of God. · God isterrible to the Confcience, and diltaltful to the AffeCtions of the unholy. The bright and ferene face of the Heavens is pleafant to the fight, but a black Cloud cha;g'd with Thunderb:J ~ ts, and that threatens Srorms, is look'd on with fear. The Countenance of G?d is a refrefhing Light to his obedient Children, but is a tormenting fire to the unfan0:.tfi.ed . . The}' are ave~ft! from the fociety of the Saincs in the Ordinances, becaufe God IS pecultarl y prefent wtrh them. They are unwilling to retire from the Vaniries and Bu!ine!S of the World, lelt Confctence, God's Deputy, !hculd rememb<r them of thw negleCted Duties to God ; and above all things they are afraid to die, becaufe then the Sptm returns to God that gave ir. Now
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