Sooner will those shake off their vicious dress,
Than these blind zealots will their righteousness,
Who judge they have (which fortifies their pride)
The law of God itself upon their side.

Old nature, new brushed up with legal pains,
Such strict attachment to the law retains,
No means, no motives can to Jesus draw

Vain souls, so doubly wedded to the law.

But wouldst the glorious Prince in marriage have,
Know that thy nat'ral husband cannot save.
Thy best essays to pay the legal rent
Can never in the least the law content.
Didst thou in pray'rs employ the morning light,
In tears and groans the watches of the night.
Pass thy whole life in close devotion o'er ;
'Tis nothing to the law still craving more.
There's no proportion 'twixt its high commands
And puny works from thy polluted hands;
Perfection is the least that it demands.

Wouldst enter into life, then keep the law,
But keep it perfectly without a flaw.
It won't have less, nor will abate at last
A drop of vengeance for the sin that's past.
Tell, sinful mortal, is thy stock so large
As duly can defray this double charge?
"Why these are mere impossibles" (sayst thou).
Yea, truly so they are; and therefore now,
That down thy legal confidence may fall,
The law's black doom home to thy bosom call.
"Lo! I (the divine law) demand no less
"Than perfect, everlasting righteousness;

"But thou hast fail'd, and lost thy strength to DO: "Therefore I doom thee to eternal woe;

"In prison close to be shut up for aye, "Ere I be baffled with thy partial pay.

"Thou always didst and dost my precepts break,

"I therefore curse thee to the burning lake.
"In God the great law-giver's glorious name,
"I judge thy soul to everlasting shame."
No flesh can by the law be justified,
Yet darest thou thy legal duties plead?
As Paul appeal'd to Cæsar, wilt thou so
Unto the law? then to it shalt thou go,
And find it doom thee to eternal woe.

What, would ye have us plung'd in deep despair?
Amen, yea, God himself would have you there.
His will it is that you despair of life,

And safety by the law or legal strife;
That cleanly thence divorc'd at any rate
His fairest Son may have a faithful mate.
'Till this law sentence pass within your breast,
You'll never wed the law-discharging Priest.
You prize not heav'n till he through hell you draw,
Nor love the gospel till you know the law.

Know then, the divine law most perfect cares
For none of thy imperfect legal wares;
Dooms thee to vengeance for thy sinful state,
As well as sinful actions small or great.

If

any sin can be accounted small,

To hell it dooms thy soul for one and all.
For sins of nature, practice, heart, and way,
Damnation-rent it summons thee to pay.
Yea, not for sin alone which is thy shame,
But for thy boasted service too, so lame,
The law adjudges thee and hell to meet,
Because the righteousness is uncomplete.
As tow'ring flames burn up the wither'd flags,
So will the fiery law thy filthy rags.

Direction given with reference to the right use of the means, that we rest not on these instead of CHRIST the glorious Husband, in whom our help lies.

ADAM, where art thou? Soul where art thou now?

O, art thou saying, Sir, what shall I do

I dare not use that proud self-raising strain,
Go help yourself, and God will help you then.
Nay, rather know, O Israel, that thou hast
Destroy'd thyself, and canst not in the least
From sin or wrath thyself the captive free.
Thy help (says Jesus) only lies in me.
Heav'n's oracles direct to him alone,
Full help is laid upon this mighty One.
In him, in him complete salvation dwells;
He's God the helper, and there is none else.
Fig-leaves won't hide thee from the fiery show'r,
'Tis he alone that saves by price and pow'r.

Must we do nothing then (will mockers say)
But rest in sloth till Heav'n the help convey?
Pray, stop a little, sinner, don't abuse
God's awful word, that charges thee to use
Means, ordinances, which he's pleas'd to place,
As precious channels of his pow'rful grace.
Restless improve all these, until from Heav'n
The whole salvation needful thus be giv'n.
Wait in this path, according to his call,
On him whose power alone effecteth all.
Wouldst thou him wed, in duties wait I say,
But marry not thy duties by the way.
Thou❜lt woefully come short of saving grace,
If duties only be thy resting-place.
Nay, go a little further through them all,

To him whose office is to save from thrall.
Thus in a gospel-manner hopeful wait,
Striving to enter by the narrow gate;
So straight and narrow that it won't admit
The bunch upon thy back to enter it.
Not only bulky lusts may cease to press,
But ev❜n the bunch of boasted righteousness.
Many, as in the sacred page we see,
Shall strive to enter, but unable be:
Because, mistaking this new way of life,
They push a legal, not a gospel-strife:
As if their duties did Jehovah bind,
Because 'tis written, Seek and ye shall find.
Perverted scripture does their error fence,
They read the letter, but neglect the sense.
While to the word no gospel-gloss they give,
Their seek and find's the same with do and live.
Hence would they a connection native place
Between their moral pains and saving grace;
Their nat❜ral poor essays they judge won't miss
In justice to infer eternal bliss.

Thus commentaries on the word they make,
Which to their ruin are a grand mistake:
For, through the legal bias in their breast,
They scripture to their own destruction wrest.
Why, if we seek we get, they gather hence;
Which is not truth, save in the scripture-sense.
Their Jesus deals with friends, and elsewhere saith,
These seekers only speed that ask in faith.
The prayer of the wicked is abhorr'd,

As an abomination to the Lord.

Their suits are sin, but their neglects no less,
Which can't their guilt diminish but increase.
They ought, like beggers, lie in grace's way;
Hence Peter taught the sorcerer to pray:
For tho' mere natʼral men's address or pray'rs

Can no acceptance gain as works of theirs,
Nor have, as their performance, any sway;
Yet as a divine ordinance they may.
But spotless truth has bound itself to grant
The suit of none but the believing saint.
In Jesus, persons once accepted, do
Acceptance find in him for duties too.

For he, whose Son they do in marriage take,
Is bound to hear them for their husband's sake.
But let no Christless soul at pray'r appear,
As if Jehovah were oblig'd to hear:
But use the means, because a sov'reign God
May come with alms in this his wonted road.
He wills thee to frequent kind wisdom's gate,
To read, hear, meditate, to pray and wait:
Thy spirit then be on these duties bent,
As gospel-means, but not as legal rent.
From these don't thy salvation hope nor claim,
But from Jehovah in the use of them.
The begger's spirit never was so dull,
While waiting at the gate call'd beautiful,
To hope for succour from the temple-gate,
At which he daily did so careful wait;
But from the rich and charitable fort,
Who to the temple daily made resort.
Means, ordinances, are the comely gate,

At which kind Heav'n has bid us constant wait;
Not that from these we have our alms, but from
The lib'ral God, who there is won't to come.
If either we these means shall dare neglect,
Or yet from these th' enriching bliss expect,
We from the glory of the King default,
Who in the galleries is wont to walk;
We move not regular in duties road,
But base, invert them to an idol-god.

Seek then, if gospel-means you would essay,