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ing to please them, then we live to men. If we make God our end, studying to please and praife him, then we live to God. Our life terminates in God, and fets him up as the highest and most excellent being, to whom all our actions are ultimately to be referred.---Thus we have feen what that foul-life is, for which men fhould be concerned.

Quest. 2. Why fhould men be concerned, that their fouls may thus fpiritually live?

Anfw. 1. Because of the excellency of fpiritual life. This is indeed the most excellent life of all. It is the life which the glorious Angels do live. They do the will of God in heaven. That's the only rule of their lives. (Pfal. ciii. 20, 21.) And they aim at the glory of God as their higheft end; always glorifying and praifing God. (Rev. v. II, 12.).This alfo was the life of Jefus Chrift. He ever made the will of God his rule. He came not into the world to do his own will, but the will of him that fent him. Joh. vi. 38. And he did always the things that pleafed God, that were agreeable to his will. (Job. viii. 29.) He alfo made the glory of God his great end. It was the honour of God bis Father which he fought, and not his own glory. (Joh. 8. 49, 50.) And therefore, when he was about to leave this world, he could fay to God, as in Job. xvii. 4. I bave glorified thee on the earth, I have finifhed the work which thou gavest me to do.---Again, this is the life of God himself. He doth according to his will. (Dan. iv. 35-) He does all things according to the counfel of his own will, (Eph. i. 11.) making his own will the only rule of all his operations. And he makes his own glory, his last end. He made all things for himself, Prov. xvi. 4. He rules and orders all things for his own glory.We fee then, that a fpiritual life, or living according to the will of God, and to the glory of God, is an angelical, a Chrift-like, and divine life. Now, furely fuch a lifeis the most excellent life. For this caufe, we fhould be under the greatest concern to lead fuch a life.

Aufw. 2. Becaufe of the delightfulness of fpiritual

life. Living to God, or a religious life, is of all lives the most pleasant and delectable. None live fo fweet a life, as the truly Godly. They that ferve and obey God, fball Spend their years in pleafures, Job xxxvi. 11. In the ways of piety there are admirable delights to be experienced; compared wherewith, all the pleafantnefs in the creature is but an unfavory thing. Wifdom's ways, do yield great pleafure and peace, to thofe that walk therein. Prov. iii. 17. Her ways are ways of pleasantnefs, and all her paths are peace. Pfal. cxix. 165. Great peace have they that love thy law. None but they do, or can, enjoy true quietness of mind, and peace of confcience. And fometimes they do partake of joy unspeakable and full of glory, 1 Pet. i. 8. They fometimes find in the ways of godlinefs, fuch manifeftations of the love of God, as caufe that gracious contentment of mind, and glorious gladnefs of heart, which they are not able to exprefs, but only wonder at. It is an unutterable joy which the faints do experience, when they walk in the light of God's countenance. Pfal. iv. 6, 7. Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou haft put gladness

in my beart more than in the time that their corn and their wine increafed. The joys which the men of the world find in the greatest affluence of earthly comforts, are not to be compared with the joys, which the Godly find in the fweet fenfe of God's fpecial favour. Spiritual delights, flowing from fpiritual objects, which fuit the foul, are the most folid and ravishing delights. As ever then we would live a joyful life, we fhould be concerned to live a fpiritual life, a life of holiness.

Anfw. 3. Becaufe of the profitableness of fpiritual life. No way of living, is fo gainful, as that of a godly man, who lives to God. He has the promife, not only of this life, as far as fhall be for his good, but alfo of the life which is to come, 1 Tim. vi. 6. A fpiritual, holy life, fhall certainly end in an eternal happy life. All that live unto God here, fhall most afluredly live with God for ever hereafter. They fhall come to the everlafling enjoyment of God in heaven. It is effential to the fpiritual

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fpiritual man, and to a fpiritual life, to be carried out in defires after God. That's its language in Pfal. lxxiii. 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none on the earth that I defire befides thee. The renewed will and affections, pafs over all created good things, and reach up to God, the univerfal and chief good, feeking the enjoyment of him as its only al-fufficient portion. And these fpiritual defires, and outgoings of a gracious heart after the living God, fhall be fatisfied. They thall eternally be fatiated from that infinite fountain of living waters. A fpiritual life then is the most beneficial life, as it leads to, and will infallibly end in, an everlasting life of glory and bleflednefs. For this caufe we should be under the greatest concern, that our fouls do live a fpiritual life; for then it fhall be well with them for ever. Thus for the firft Propofition.

PROP. 2. The way, or means, for men's fouls to live, is to hear the word of God.The apoftle tells us, that faith (which is the great principle of fpiritual life) cometh by bearing. Rom. x. 17. This is the way in which faith is ufually wrought in the fouls of Men; the means which the Spirit ufes herein.Now that this is the way for atraining fpiritual life, will further appear to us from thefe two things.

1. Hearing the word is the appointment of God for atraining fpiritual life. This is the ordinance of God, for the quickning of dead fouls. Our Lord Jefus Chrift therefore fent forth his apoftles into the world to preach the gofpel, in order to the bringing men out of a state of fpiritual death, into a ftate of fpiritual life. Thus he faid to the apostle Paul, A&t. xxvi. 17, 18. I fend thee to the Gentiles, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of fatan unto God. For this end is the ftanding miniftry of the word continued in the church of Chrift, that it might be a means of converting finners and edifying of faints. Eph. iv. IT, 12. And hence the word of God is faid to be the inftrument of fpiritual regeneration. Fam. i. 18. Of his

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own will begat he us, by the word of truth. So, 1 Pet. i. 23. Being born again, not of corruptible feed, but incorruptible, by the word of God. This therefore being the inftitution of God, our attendance upon the word preached, is the way to attain fpiritual life. And accordingly we find, that many were quickned and converted to God, by hearing the word; as is to be feen in the history of the Acts of the apoftles. God will own, and blefs, his own ordinance and in duly waiting upon him therein, we may expect his bleffing upon it, to the making it effectual for our faving advantage.

2. The word of God is a fuitable means for conveying fpiritual life to the fouls of men. It is called the word of life, (Phil. ii. 16.) the word of Salvation (A&. xiii. 26.) and that becaufe it has an aptnefs and fitnefs in it, to bring men's fouls to life and falvation. Fam. i. 21. Receive with meekness the ingraffed word, which is able to fave your fouls. As now, it convinces men of fpiritual death, and difcovers to them the mifery of being in fuch a ftate; that they may feek to get out of it.It alfo fhews men the excellency and benefit of fpiritual life; that fo they may defire it and feek for it. It alfo reveals to men the author of this life, even Jefus Chrift; that fo they may repair to him for it.It alfo fets before men the most powerful motives to labour after fpiritual life: Ex. gr. The calls and commands of the great God, to feek after fpiritual life: The examples and inftances of fuch as have been made alive, and lived to God: The dreadful and terrible threatnings of God, denounced against those that abide in the fate of fpiritual death: The exceeding great and precious promifes of God, made to thofe that live to God. All these things are moft clearly revealed, and fet before men, in the word of God: And all these things are moft powerful motives and inducements to feek after fpiritual life. Therefore the word of God is exceedingly fuited and adapted to be an instrument, in the hand of the holy Spirit, for caufing dead fouls to live. For this reafon, men fhould

wait upon God, in the hearing of his word, as being the most likely means for making them to partake of fpiritual life.

APPLICATION.

USE I. Hence fee, what caufe we have to blefs God for the enjoyment of his holy word. This is the means of attaining that fpiritual life of grace in this world, which fhall be perfected in an eternal life of glory in the other world. They are fo far in happy circumftances, who are favoured with this bleffed word of God. They are fingularly advantaged for attaining holinefs and happiness. And it is by the direction of divine providence, that they enjoy this word of life. 'Tis not a cafual or fortuitous thing, that they are under fuch an enjoyment of the word; but the ordering and difpofing hand of God is in it. The gofpel goes no where, but where he fends it. Act. xiii. 26. Unto you is the word of this falvation fent. And the fending of it to any, is a diftinguifhing difpenfation of divine providence. 'Tis not fent to all men, 'tis not fent to moft men; 'tis fent only to a few, comparatively. Much of the fovereign and adorable grace of God is to be feen, in fending the gofpel to fome, and not to others; in fending it only to a few nations, and not to moft. Thofe then that enjoy the light of the glorious gofpel of peace are under peculiar obligations to praife God for fuch a diftinguifhing mercy. Let us then, whofe privilege this is, ponder upon the fpecialty of divine providence and grace therein, and call upon our fouls and all that is within us to blefs his holy name on the account thereof. Pfal. cxlvii. 19, 20. He fheweth his word unto Jacob, his ftatutes and his judgments unto Ifrael. He bath not dealt Jo with any nation: and as for his judgements, they have not known them. Praife ye the Lord.

USE 2. Of Exhortation. Let us be concerned fo to hear the word of God, as that our fouls may live. Let us not content ourfelves with the bare outward enjoy

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