DISCOURSE VII. 217 Saviour; Mat. i. 21. He 'shall save his peoplefrom their sins. And it is the same Jesus, who delivers usfrom the wrath to come; 1 Thess. i. 10. Particularly, (1.) It is a salvation from the guilt ofpast sins, which exposes us to divine vengeance, anda restoration of the person to the present love and favour of God, to peace of con- science, and to the hope of eternal life. (2.) It is a saivation and a recovery from the power of sin to the power of holiness. It is a deliverance from vile affections and sinful practices' to the practice and the love of all piety and goodness : It is a recovery of our nature from the lusts ofthe flesh, and the life of a brute, to the reasonable andbecoming life of a man or an angel. It is a recede of the soul from the tyranny of its ownlusts, and the foul image of Satan, to a sweet and sacred liberty, to a religious self-government, and to the image of God.' (3.) It is a de- liverance from all the future punishments due to sin, from the everlasting misery of hell, together with the conveyance' of a right and title to the everlasting happiness of heaven. It is a blessing that runs through this' world and the world to come. It is a total and complete deliverance from all that you feel, and all that you fear. It is all-sufficient and eternal salvation. Whatsoever your ruin, your distress, or your danger be; there is something in this salvation that is suited to relieve them all ; there is relief and hope in Christ. Let us then awaken all the powers within us to attend to the invitations of divine mercy. Are we 'blind and ignorant of God, and heaven, and divine things ? Christ is the light of this lower world; John i. 9. Ile has compassion on them that are ignorant and out of the way ; fhb. v. 2. Are we foolish ? He is madeofGodwisdom to us ; 1 Cor. i. 30. Are we unclean and defiled with many iniquities ? The bloodof Jesus Christ 'his Son cleanseth usfrom etu sin; 1 John i. 7. Are we guilty before God ? He is our propitiation, and atonement ; Rom. iii. 25. and the Lord our righteousness; Jer. xxiii. 6. have we lost the divine favour ? He is the only Mediator betwixt God and man; 1 Tim. ii. 5. And thegreat Reconciler to make our peace; Eph. ii. 15. Are we unholy ? He can change our natures, and sanctify our souls; Heb. ii. 11. Are we hard-hearted and impenitent, so that we cannot mourn for our sins as we would 'do ? Ile is exalted to bestow repentance, as well asforgiveness; Acts v. 31. Arewe weak, and unable to resist temptation, or to perform our duty ? He is our strength ; Is. xlv. 24. Are we sick and dying ? He is our physician ; Mat. ix. 12. Are we dead in trespasses and sins ? He can quicken as to a divine life, and make us live to God,; for the living Spiritis with him. Christ himself is our life; and though the body of thesaint must die ; yet he shall raise it again to life everlasting ; John v. 21, 20, 29.
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