An Expojition of the EpifUe ~ Well, "hen a man is rhus laid dead, what followeth? Saith the Apo!lle, Sin Sermotl 1 ·tvived. Why, I was guilty of fin afore, tt never troubled me, f had thoughts XXIX. of God's being merciful, I could fet my good .works amongfl them, and one ~ lhould anfwer rhe other; but when God had latd me for dead thus, all my fins revived. l lookedupon my fins afore as dead Serpents.that had no flings; but now they are all hvmg Serpents, and they begtr~ to revtve, and to ktll me and fling me worfe : For when a man feeth htmfelf tn a !late of death, all his fins come in upon him, I died (faith he) and fin revived. And as when Self– flattery is once l<illed, a man is dead for ever from having any opinion of him– felf: fo when a man is once dead thus, he is apt to be fwallowed up with De– fpair, as the Apo[\Je's expreilion is of the Ince!tuous perfon, f<JJaUowtd up with Surrow, not only dead but buried; if God be not merciful to the poor Soul, he is not only l1illed (you fee,) but he is likely to be buried. Now then, when the Soullieth thus, (to come to the Second Head,) when :1 . man is thus dead, thus killed, to work Faith in this Soul is a RefurreCl:ion; Ye ,Jrtri{en (faith be) thr.pugh the faith of thr operatioll of God, thatraifedup (hrif/from the dead. It mull be a Refurrdl:ion, my Brethren: For firfl you can never fetch life into this Soul again, if he be rightly wounded, A man certified may, for he is but in a Swoon; but he that hath a Spiritual infight into his con• clition, all the world will never fetch life in him again, that is, he will never have a good opinion of his former el\ate, nothing but the refurreCl:ion of Faiih will do it, a new light put in; a new light throt1gh the Righteoufnefs of Cbtilt fot theforgivmejJ ofjinJ, that will revtve his heart• . Nay, He will not only never have a good opit~ion of his former eflate; but fet him a work to do new things, that which he never did before, from all his doing of them he will never come to have life again; nothing but faith will do it, Tell him rhus, You were a dead man before, becaufe you did not thefe and thefe things, you had not tbefe and thefe workings which now you have; but all thefe new workings of themfelves confidered meerly as workings in him, they will never fetch Jil'e in him; it mufi be Faith, and Faith on him that raifed upChrif/ from thr dead that mufi do it. In this cafe Nature is apt to fall adoing pnd to fall upon new Duties, Evangelical duties, never prad:ifed afore, to wafu the heart, to"reform the life,and twenty fuch things; when it bath tried all thefe all is in vain when the Soul is tightly wounded, it will never live by all thefe~ If he could weep his eyes out for fin, if a man could be aU holy, as I may fo exprefs it; if his heart could fet it felf to all forts of Duties, all thefe would ne– ver fetch life in him a~;ain; nay, Holinefs it felf would never fetch life into this J1eart. It mufi be Fatth only, that mufl recover this man out of the deadnefs .that God hath !\ruck him with. So that there is a riling again by Faith. Saith the Apo(\ie, Ga/.2.19. I flm dead to thr Law, through thr Law, I am dead to it for ever, I can never live to it agoin. What doth he mean by Law there? He cloth not only mean meerly the Law of MofeJ, bu! he difputeth there againfl the opinion of tbeGa!ati,znJ, who did not only take in the L,>w of MOfesto be j\lfiified by, but they took in works after Converfion to be juflified by them. ·That is clear out of Ga/.1 .g. He telleth us, in the Preface of the Epiflle, what his fcope was ; it was not to confute another L.nw, but another Gofpel. If any ma11, faith he ,preach atiJ other Gojpr! 1111toyou; yrt not a11othtr, faith he, they .would have made another Gofpel, they would have joyned works with Chrifi. Saith he, I can never live by this other 9ofpel, I mu!t have pure Gofpel faith he, it mufi be Chrifl alone that mufl revtve.me; mee'r Faith;, tht Son of God, (as he faithChap. 2. 20.) I am dead to all new Laws whatfoever, Take the Gofpel it (elf, the Lawwrittm in the keart, Sanctification will never revive me again, I am dead to all thofe courfes, tt mufi be nothmg but lbet r Faith. If ever you w.ill fetch life into that Soul agam, you mufl have a Cordial of Chrifl purely, and no mixture of L<lW, or works, or qllalificatiolls, or any thing elfe inlt, r Now,
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