14 SERMONS upon Serin. 11;. look upon it as a law , and let me commend thefe Rules to you. I. Never fet Chrifis mercy againfi his government 5 he is a Saviour, but he is alto our Lord, and mutt beoheyed 5 and Faith implieth a canfent offabjeaion, as well as deperíd- ance. 2. Cry not up his merits againfl his Alirit ; his merit is your ranfom,but his Spirit is your Sàn&ifier ;.and this Law is the law of his Spirit, the one implyeth the other 5 his Spirit implyeth the merit of Chrift, by bringing you under the Law of Grace: . 3. Set not the endi ofChrifls Death one againfi the other : He that died that he might reconcile you to God, died allo to bring you into Obedience; 'tis a mercy to be redeem- ed from wrath; but 'tis a great, if not a greater mercy to be redeemed from Sin: Titus 2. 14. 4. Do not fo put all upon Chrifi, a to exempt your felves from the jurifdidion of God : No, Chrift redeemed us to God, Revel. I. 9. To him we were firft loft, to him we mutt be recovered, that he may not lofe the glory of his Creation in Chrift; we are not without Law, i Cor. g: 21. not :rotao', not withoutthe law to God, but under the law to Chrifi 5 we are not to be irregular, but to rule all our a&ions by the law of Chrift 5. to carry our (elves as without Law, if we challenge it de jare, is to affe& to be Gelds de fado 5 'tis to be as Devils, the greateftRebels innature. I come now to the fecond Do &rive obferved. 2dly. That the Gofpel is the law of the fpirit of Life in Chrift Jefus. Here I (hall enquire, I. What is the Spirit: 2. From whom we receive it. 3. By what Law. r. ,What,is the fpirit here fpoken off? I anfwer, Both the perfori of the Holy Ghofl, and the new nature. Firft, The perfon ofthe Holy Ghoft cannot be excluded 5 partly, be- caufe he is Chrifts Witnefs and Agent in the World, who is powerfully able to apply whatever hetiath procured for us, and to give us theeffe& of all his Offices, John 1526. But when the comforter if come, whom I will fend to you from the father; even the fpirit of truth that proceedeth from the father, he ¡hall tefiifre of me : And John 16. 14. He fball take of mine, and glorify me : Herevealeth the tenor ofChriflsDo trine, and attefts the truth of it by his gifts and graces bellowed upon the Church, and to every one of us in parti- cular, by his powerful effeds in our hearts. Therefore 'cis faid, We are witnefjei oft heft things, and fo is the holy ghost, which he hathgiven to them that obey, Ads 5. 32. _Chrift that taught us the Chriftian Religion, doth work it in us by his Spirit, and fo doth con- firm it to us; and partly, Becauiè by this means all the Divine perlons have their diftind work and (hare in our recovery to God, I Pet. a. 2. Elea according to the fore- knowledg of God the Father, through the fandifea:ion of the Spirit, unto obedience and fprinkling of the blood of Chrifi. The Father concurs by Eledin% 5 the Son, as Purchafin85 the Spirit, as Sanaifying and inclining us to God. As the Father mull not be without the Glory of his free grace 5 nor the Son, of his infinite merit 5 fó neither the Holy Ghoft of his powerful and effe&ual application : and partly alto, becaufe this is agreeable to the Deco- nom, or Difpenfation that is obferved among the Divine perfons. The Spirit is the effe. dive power of God 5 therefore he it is that caufeth our life, or by regeneration infufeth a new *Life into us,Ezek.36.27.l will put my fpirit into you,and cau fi you to walkin my ways. T prove it by threeArgumentsThe firft is takenfrom the nature of the thing it felftcertainly we cannot live independently without the influence of God i for all Life is originally in him, and from him conveyed to us 5 and that by his Spirit. Its life natural, 'cis clear, all that God did in Creation was doné by his Spirit, Job 26. 13. By his fpirit he bath garnifhed the Heavens, his hands bath formed the crooked ferpent. The Spirit is the immediate worker in the Creation of the World; by his. concurrent operation with the Father and the Son, all things were produced; he fpeaketh there of the Heavenly Bodies and Conftellations. And again in PIaI. i r¢. 3o. Thou fendefi forth thy fpirit, and they were created. And when theCreation of man is fpoken of, Mal. 2. 15. Did he not make one? yet had he the ref be/ne of the Spirit. 'TistruealfoofSpirituallife, which is called a new Births and no man can enter into the kingdom of God but he that is born of water and the fpirit, John 3. 5. and 'cis called a new Creature 5 All Creation is of God; 2 Cor. 5. 17. 18. Arefarredion to life, or a quickning.dead Souls, Eph. 2. I, 5. And you bath bequicken- ed who were dead in trefp s and fns. Even when we were dead inftns, bath he quickened us together with Chrifl. AnaellEerefore the Spirit of Life is from God. Now if God effedeth all
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=