of death unto death to them, being only hypocrites

in Zion.

"Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead." There is nothing more common in the present day than to hear a poor canting hypocrite crying out, O! what a lively minister that young man is! What a lively congregation such an one hath! That and this young man, how lively they are! they are alive to God indeed! When, at the same time, if you ask ninety-nine out of an hundred, either ministers or people, what the quickening operations of the holy Spirit are; what the application of the word of life is when sent home with power; what it is to pass from death to life by faith; what it is to be delivered from the sting of death, the fear of death, and from the law, which is the ministration of death; and what a lively hope is, what repentance unto life means, and what the circumcision of the heart to love God with all the heart, that we may live, implies; or what it is to have Christ living in us; they will give you just as good an account of these things as an Hottentot, and no better; they have a name to live, but they are dead. And those who give them this name to live are such as only judge according to appearance, and not righteous judg ment, Nor does their appearance of life spring from divine things, but from human inventions, such as the missionary business. This kept many of the flying troops and scouting parties for a long

time in life and motion: novelty gives life to many thousands. Such a precious soul is coming up, and preaches his first sermon at lo here; such an one takes his leave at lo there; but divine life is neither enforced nor described by one in fifty of them; for, if life was insisted on, they would be badly attended by those who have only a name to live.

Many ministers are obliged to have recourse to an organ before a little false glee can be raised; others study the art of moving the passions by empty oratory, and a great noise; others are kept in life and motion by abusing the civil powers, and crying up the majesty of the jacobins; and not a few thousands are fed and kept in life and motion by those who blacken the gospel, by charging it with the opprobrious names of antinomianism and licentious doctrine, and by ridiculing the power of godliness, and those who preach it, and those who enjoy it. The name to live, springs from these things, and not from the Holy Ghost's operations.

"Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die." The first of these words contain a reproof for blindness of mind, carnal security, idleness, and inattention. And blind they must be, with a witness; for, when the hour of temptation came on, they expected no less than the destruction of all rule, government, order, and distinction, among men, and that anarchy was to ride in triumph; whereas God sent it as a fan to

separate the vile from the precious, and as a trap to discover and take by the heel the impostors and hypocrites in Zion; and they are so desperate at the success that God gives to our forces, that it is a vexation only to understand the report, and will terminate as the prophet foretold it would, namely, that they shall fret themselves, and curse both their king and their God, and look upward.

"Strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die." These things are the vessels of mercy in the furnace of affliction, half starved for want of the bread and water of life, and nothing to attend but wells without water, clouds without rain, and shepherds that cannot understand; they want their state described, and the kind invitations and encouragements of the gospel spoken experimentally to them; and they go from city to city to find it, but all in vain. And there is scarce a large town in the nation, but what you will find here and there a little company sensible of their lost state, labouring in bondage and misery, but none to feed them; hypocrites are fed and nourished up in their presumption, and such as these are quite starved. These are called

"The things which remain;" which implies that great numbers are fallen off; and this is most certainly true with respect to our day of profession. Mr. Winchester, who laid a foundation for hope in hell, overthrew the faith of many, both of them that stood in the pulpit, as well as those in

the pew. Mr. Brothers, the lunatic, who promised a basis for hope in the Saviour's sepulchre, and that we should once more seek the living among the dead, hath slain his thousands; but Tom Paine has slain his ten thousands; and there is not one in a hundred of them that remain that Christ takes any notice of; it is only the few things which are ready to die, not them that have a name to live while they are dead, that he cares for; for, "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living." His complaint is,

"I have not found thy works perfect before God." The perfect work of a gospel minister is doing the work of an evangelist, or the work of a minister of the Spirit; and he that doth it must be one that is born again, and interested in the love, favour, and finished salvation of Christ, and in union with him, who shines in his light, stands in his strength, burns in his love, and enjoys life, righteousness, peace, and rest, in him; and so spreads the truth of his word, the power of his hand, the savour of his name, the mysteries of his kingdom, and the benefits of his cross; and by enforcing these things influences others, by the good hand of God upon him, who promises to give testimony to the word of his grace, and to no other doctrine: this is a divine work, and therefore called a good work, and perfect work, because it brings souls to believe in Jesus, to love him, and to worship God in spirit and in truth, to glorify him, and to ascribe the glory of their salvation to

him. But the works here complained of are of another sort; time serving, walking in craftiness, and handling the word of God deceitfully: which is legalizing and carnalizing men, beginning in the spirit and ending in the flesh, confessing truth, and publishing it at the beginning of their profession, and then departing from it, and condemning it; swearing allegiance to the king, and then preaching against him; subscribing the Articles of the Church, and then lampooning them and all that maintain them. These are the works of the present day.

"Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast and repent." How the church received, and what she at first heard, may be seen in the above mentioned articles, predestination and election, redemption by the blood of Christ, pardon and peace by his sacrifice, and justification by faith in Christ's righteousness; as may be seen in Luther's works, in Calvin's, and in the Church Articles; these are the things which used to be heard and received. But can we say that these are held fast in our days? No; so far from it, that the generality of professors wage war with every one that preaches them and the experience of them, and with every one that professes them and abides by them. The Lord's exhortation to us is, to hold fast,

"And repent," for the generality of professors are without repentance, and altogether ignorant of it, and so are the generality of preachers; they