the first resurrection, on whom the second death hath no power!

In short, great is the mystery of godliness; God made manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world-received up into glory..

The necessity of a Redeemer, and his condescending love and mercy, is here fully proved without controversy. Without his atonement, and mediation, and intercession, what must become of the best Christians that ever yet lived, that ever can live? Holy titles do not make holy men. If, indeed, we have our fruit in holiness, we do show that Christ, our first fruits, hath profited us; but still we must observe, that the more we abound in grace, the greater need have we to pray that we may continue in it; the greater need have we of support and strength, lest our very virtues prove snares to us. That subtle enemy who seeks every opportunity to ruin us, will find it more difficult to conquer the humble sinner than the proud saint; we must therefore confess and forsake our sins, and God will be gracious and just to his promise, and forgive us our sins. Alas! unless we do this, what will become of us? for who is pure in God's sight? Who could stand before him if he was extreme to mark what is amiss? Unless we have faith in the blood of Christ, unless we believe in his resurrection, and the sure ef

fects of it, how can the most perfect be justified? What assurance can we have of any salvation? Even did not our conscience condemn us, God is greater, and knoweth all things. Must not all plead guilty before such a Judge? Let us but truly examine ourselves, and we shall soon be terrified from trusting in our own righteousness to any inherent or personal good qualities independent of the grace of God, to any pretensions to favour, but through the merits and mediation of Christ. If our hands have never done violence to our fellow-creature, have our thoughts never inclined to wish him out of the way? And we know, God will prove the thoughts of our hearts. Though we had never offended with our tongue, yet how often have we sinned, by uncharitable, injurious, and false opinions of our neighbour? For all these we are liable to condemnation. Supposing we were wholly clear of the transgressions which, on the contrary, we must acknowledge we daily and hourly commit; yet even in the good things we do, what a wretched mixture of imperfection is discoverable! If God did not, in his infinite mercy, consider the sincerity and good design, more than the purity of our actions, even the principle of faith in that mercy by which we, trembling, trust to qualify our deeds, what would be our fate? If we withdraw the usual motives which often influence our very choicest

deeds, such as our own interest, our pleasure in pleasing others—our fond partialities—our wish to be respected, and try them by the principle of pure sincerity, and love to God; how poor will they appear!-how unequal to merit favour! But let us weigh our very HOLIEST actions. Most certainly we are never better affected towards God, than when we PRAY; yet even then, how are we apt to wander from the blessed work! what vain, wicked thoughts, do frequently disturb us! how ready are we sometimes to yield to them! how little reverence do we discover in our behaviour to the high Majesty we are addressing! how slender is the concern for our misery! how small our sense of his tender mercy, in allowing us such a privilege! Are we not often as slow to begin the task, and as hasty to make an end, as though, in saying Call upon me, God had assigned us a grievous burden? Well, my brethren, who can deny these sorrowful truths? Doth not the confession prove, that there is none that doeth good, no, not one? Thus, then, must we lament our delinquencies; thus must we accuse, thus must we condemn ourselves: and then, confessing our great unworthiness, and leaning upon God's mercy, through Christ, we shall plainly perceive the value of a Saviour, and that without him there could have been no reconciliation.

To finish this strict inquiry into our insuffi

ciency for any thing that is good, I will put only one question to every man's own heart, and let him honestly apply the answer. Supposing that God should promise (not as he did to Abraham, that if fifty, forty, thirty, twenty, nay, even TEN good persons could be found in a place, he would not destroy it for their sake, but) that he would extend his mercy to this wonderful condition, viz. that if a single person could be found, since Adam's fall, that had done a single action that was free from blemish, and that, for that ONE pure deed, he would rescue men and angels from the torments prepared for both; do think that the ransom could be you found among the sons of men? It is most certain it could not; all, under such condition, if it depended on such a stake, must surely perish. If our purest deeds are so contaminated by a degenerated nature, as to require pardon, how can we do any thing of ourselves alone, that is worthy to be rewarded? The absolute necessity indeed of a good life (in the qualified acceptation of the phrase), we must uphold-but the MERIT of it we must RENOUNCE. Only one Son of man hath merited, but he was also the SoN OF GOD. On him we rely to blot out all our transgressions, to qualify all our best exertions of holy praise and humble service, and to supply us with continual grace to help in time of need. No; most holy and gracious Father! we

do not presume to expect reward, as due to any thing we have done, but as in compliance with thy commands, and through the influence of thy good Spirit; but we crave thy mercy for the manifold deficiencies of our very best performances, thy needful forgiveness for the things

we have left UNDONE.

After this view of our state by nature, the blessing of a Redeemer will hardly be disputed. The necessity of our faith, that Christ is risen from the dead, is supported by the comfort every real Christian will receive in the certainty of the fact. To Him, therefore, who died, and is alive again, who bore the image of the earthly body, that we might bear the image of the heavenly, to be renewed in us here, and continued to us for ever: to him be all praise and dominion in heaven and earth. AMEN,