~60 An Expojiiion of the Epiflie . ~ receive the word with joy; There is the thorny ground, and they indure perfe• Sermoll cution, they have a greater work upon them, that is fpoken in He6, 6. Yet our XXVH. Saviour Chrifi faith plainly in the clofure of the Parable, whmthry f all aw'!Y ............,.. that is taken from them that they fecm to have. He feemeth to have true grac~ but he hath it not, yea he himfelf thinketh he bath it ; heis not a perfect Hipo– crite in that fenle, yet take him in comparifon of what is true, it is but feeming to have, it isbutaguildingoverof corrupt Nature as I may !peak. Itdothdit· fer from the other in kind. I come now to the !aft thing with which I conclude. Thty are unrrgtntrate Mm. I{peak this for the comfort of you that are Saints and have but the Iealt labour of love in your hearts, the lealt love to the name of God, You read the 6th. Htb. and you are terrified at it. Read the 9th. verfe, We an ptr(waduJ !Jrtttr things of you, What bettenhings 1 you will expect fome greatthing! Tottr work a11tlla6our of lovt whtchyott have fhewtd towards his namt faith he. I:! aft thou any love of God in thy heart, which is the root of thy actions? Haft thou love to the name of God in his Saints and Cb,ldren ? However men flight fuch figns as thefe are,the Apoate you f~c oppofeth them to all enlightnings. I charge you therefore, and I charge you agam, you that are poor good Souls never read the one but read the other too, and there is not apla,e in all the whol~ book ofGod may comfort you more. That which always hath difcomforted Chri~ fiiam fo much, there is no place will comfort them more, if they have love of God in their hearts. If you'~ear Minifiers preach of this, if they fiill make _thefe to be unregene. rate men, let tl.1em fpeak thetr worlt, let them fpeak the htghefi,they cannot dif– courage th~e if thou have the love of God in thy heart.. And if they wind it up further beheve them not, for you fee th~ Holy Ghofi faah th.ere are better things than thefe, My Breti1ren, they remam unregenerate men fiiJI, u i,s but work– ing upon the principles that are in corrupt nature, it is but railing them up. You will expett I lhall give you fome differences,I lhall not do it. I will give you fome Rules. , They are unregenerate men, they were never emptied of themfelves nor of their own righteoufne1s. If not in righteoufnefs pall, yet they trufi in what is to come or what is in them at prefent. Phtl. ~· ~· Wt are of the Circumcijion faith he, we have true grace and are truly circumcifed, Jo~Wt have no cotifidtnct m theflefb, AH the Duties thefe men perform they do them a!ter the llelh in this that they do them upon legal motives and they relt in them. It is made a diffe– rence between the fiate ot Nature, and the !late of grace, He th,Jt u unde~ tht Law, tu~ntth the Gofi;rl iltto Law; Ht is moved to a/J duties 6y tht Law. The one is under the suidance of grace, the other is under the guidance and fiir– rings and workings ot the Law upon the Confcience, So he remaineth fiill an un– regenerate man, he is married to the Law fiill, he is not dead to the Law, and emptied there, and married to Chrifi, Then again, He is an unregenerate man,for felf-ends are the mofi predominant things in him. lt is faid likewife here in Phi!.~· ~· Wtworjhip God i11 the Spi– rit, andhavtttoconfidmct in thtfl1h, What is it to Worlhip God in the Spirir? The Apofile expoundeth it, Rom. 7• 6. Whm wt wtrt in tht ftejh wt didfulfil, (lie. that is, when we were unregenerate, nil was lufi, all was felf-love, nothing elfe was the ground of all our obedience to God; but now (faith he,) whm we Wtre drlivtredfrom tht Law th,tt being dtad wherein wt Wtre htiJ, that 'We Jbouldfertlf in ntwltt(s of Spirit , andnot in tht otdnefs of tht Lette~. What is it to ferve in newnefs of fpirit, that is oppofed you fee to the oldnefs of the Letter.? It is this in a word, To be made a fpiritual man, and then to ferve God fpiritually. Wh,~~ is it to be made a fpiritual man that is oppofed toflelh, which a)I thefe men are,thougli they are wrought never fo much upon1 In a word, A Spitit.ual man is he that hath a heart fuited with fpiritual things as fpirirual,(I can . . g~
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