.. _..._ _ 426 The 1)eath of Sin, and ; 4 The order. Obfervat. Men fidi die to fin,and then liveto God. ` afon I. Fromour uni- on withChrift. s. prom the contrariety of them. that his id-vanes under himmay livethe life of grace with him too. A Christian Fas' titer will labour that his chilldrenmay live to God, as well as himfelf .aaHUsbaud, will labour to draw his Wife to Chrift as himfelf is drawn; and every one, father' and friend,'and acquaintance, as much as in them lics,by any advantage,andoppor. ttìnity that is put into their hands, they will draw others to Chrift becatifethere is life in them. And this is not done out of faoiion, out of a delire to maketheir partyiftrong, as many in the world defire to ftrengthen their party: but as in living things thereis a natural deli re to convey that life to others. parents begat nor children out offaCtì. onto increafe the party,but out of a natural affcftion to convey the natural life they have to others: fo Chriftians, that they dois out ofspiritual atfeftion,out oflimple love to the lalvationofothers : outof a naturahtefs in their .difpofttion,toendeavour that all maybe like them. As the Apoftle Saint Paul wil}seth, that all that heard him were like him except thofe bonds; So much for that: you fee how fitly the Apoftle ufeth thefe terms oflife,and death,toexprefs thechangeof onethat is in Chrift,when he turns fromfinto God. Nowwecome to fee the order wherein the Apoftleexpreffeth them,nsekeaccosent ofthie,condudeofthis,that you were dead,but arc alive. Firlt,you weredead to fin,; and then alive to God. Thefecertainly are knit together, but they are done inor- der : fo we joyn both thefc points in one, and that is thus much; that, All that are in Chrift, he works in them by his Spirit.in thisorder, theyfirsi dieto fn ; and after live to God. , Thefe two are infeparable, but yet theyare joyned inorder, that firft men dieto fin,and fecondly live toGod. TheScriptureçxpreffcrh this in fit fimilitudes;ilish. y. : 22, aq.. faith the Apoftle there, Seing you have put off the old man, that is corrupt; through deeeivable !tails, and put on the newman, that after God is created in rigb - teoufnefs, and true !Alinefs: Here is the order, thereis not only aneffeOual change, but this is wrought in amethod, firft puttingoff, and then putting on. Hefeems to allude to apparel there, that as a man that is cloathed with rags, he puts not on ornaments, and robes , till he have put offhis rags, as it is Zach.3. when 3ofhua came before the Angel of the Lord with filthy garments, with vile ray ments, fa th the Lord, take away thofe rags, and put upon him changeof rayment.' Juft thusGod deals in the conversion of a man, in the changeof a man that is in Chrift, he takes away his filthy rags firft,his love to fin, he isno more cloathed with themas hewas wont; heaccounts them notornamentsas they were wont to do, but filthyclouts,to which he faith, Getye hence; he deteststhem,and then he is cloathed with rayment, then he expreffeththe fruit of holincfs andrightcoufncfs. Another exprelfion there is, Ephef. g. S. re were darkness, but nowye are light in the Lord, walkaschildren of light. There is not only a change of apparel; that is,from rags torobes, but of your ftateand condition: youwere in darknefs, now ye are lirlaT Markthe order, fromdarknefs to light. That look as it was in the Creation, hrít darknefs covered the face of the deep, Gen. s. all was withoutform, and void, and thenGod Paid, Let there be light: fonow, first there is a removing of the darknefs the foul was held in, and now ye are light in the Lord : fo they come to walk as childrenof lìght.Well this isthe exprellionof it in Scripture:let us feethe ground of itin reafon.It muftbe fo that in this order God proceeds in this die dualchange: firft to turn men from fin,and then to GOD; first todieto fin,and then to live to God. The firft reafon (hall be taken from our union withChrift ; we are plantedinew Chrift, faith the .Apoftle, Ram.6.4,g,6. By being planted with Chrift, there grows a fimilitude between Chrift and us. Weare baptized, and buried by baptsfine, faith the Apoftle, into hisdeath; and we are raid andquichned, faith he, by the refsor- rellion of Chrift: thatlike as it was with Uhrift , fo it is with us; He was dead , andraifed, fo we arc first dead to fin, and thenalive to God. Secondly, it muft befofrom the natureofcontraries ,forthefe two things are con- trary one to another : there isan immediate oppofrti*n between them, foasthere muff ,
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