glorious Covenant; thro' which, and only thro' which, God can communicate of himself, Grace, Glory, yea, even all the good things of another World

I having confidered these things, together with others, have made bold to prefent yet once more to thy view (my Friend) fomething of the Mind of God, to the End, if it fhall be but bleffed to thee, thou mayeft be benefitted thereby. For verily these things are not fuck as are ordinary, and of Imall concernment, but do abfolutely concern thee to know, and that Experi mentally too, if ever thou do partake of the Glory of God thro Fefus Chrift, and to efcape the Terror and infupportable Vengeance, that will otherwise come upon thee thro' his Justice, because of thy living and dying in thy Tranfgreffions against the Law of God. And therefore while thou liveft here below, it is thy Duty (if thou wifh thyself happy for the time to come) to give up thyself to the studying of these two Covenants, treated of in the enfuing Difcourfe; and fo to fudy them, until thou, thro' Grace, do not only get the Notion of the one and the other in thy Head; but until thou do feel the very Power, Life and Glory of the one and of the other For take this for granted, he that is dark as touching the fcope intent, und naure of the Law, is alfo dark as to the Scope, Nature, and Glory of the Gofpel: And alfo he that hath but A Notion of the one, will hardly have any more than a Noten of the other.

And the Reafon is this, becaufe fo long as People are ignorant of the nature of the Law, and of their being under it, that is, under the Curfe and Condemning Power of it by reafon of their Sin against it; fo long they will be carelefs and negligent as to the enquiring after the true Knowledge of the Gospel. Before the Commandment came (that is in the Spirituality of it) Paul was alive (that is) thought himself safe, which

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is clear, Rom. 7. 9, 10. compared with the 3d of Phil. the 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 11. ver. &c. But when that came, and was indeed difcovered unto him by the Spirit of the Lord, then Paul dies (Rom. 7) to all his former Life (Phil 3.) and that Man which before could content himself to live, tho' ignorant of the Gofpel, erys out now, I count all things but lofs, for the excellency of the Knowledge of Jefus Chrift my Lord, ver: 8 Therefore, I fay, fo long they will be ignorant of the nature of the Gospel and how glorious athing it is to be found within the bounds of it; for we ufe to fay, That Man that knoweth not himself to be fick, that Man will not look out for himself a Phyfician; and this Christ knew full well, where he faith, The whole have no need of a hy fician, but them that are fick; that is, none will in truth defire the Physician, unless they know they be fick That Man alfo that hath got but a Notion of the Law (a Notion, that is the Knowledge of it in the Head, fo as to difcourfe and talk of it) if he hath not felt the Power of it, and that effectually too it is to be feared, will at the best be but a Notionist in the Gofpel; he will not have the experimental Knowledge of the fame in his Heart: Nay, he will not Jeck, nor heartily defire after it, and all because as I faid before he bath not Experience of the nounding cutting, killing nature of the other.

I fay, therefore, if thou wouldest know the Authority and Power of the Gospel, labour first to know the Fonr and Authority of the Law; for I am verily perfraded, that the want of this one thing, namely, the Knowledge of the Law, is one caufe why so many are ignorant of the other. That Man that doth not know the Law, doth not know in deed and in truth, that he is a Sinner and that Man that doth io: know he is a Sinner, doth not know favingly that there is a Saviour.

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Again, That Man that doth not know the Nature of the Law, that Man doth not know the Nature of Sin; and that Man that knoweth not the Nature of Sin, will not regard to know the Nature of a Saviour this is proved, John 8. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36. ver. This People were Profeffors, and yet did not know the Truth (the Gospel) and the Reason was, because they did not know themselves, and fo not the Law. I would not have thee mistake me, Chriftian Reader, 1 do not fay, that the Law of it felf will lead any Sout to Jefus Chrift; but the Soul, being killed by the Law, through the Operation of its feverity feizing on the Soul, then the Man, if he be enlightned by the Spirit of Chrift, to fee where Remedy is to be had, will not, through Grace, be contented without the real and faving Knowledge through Faith, of him.

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If thou wouldeft then wash thy Face clean, first take a Glass and fee where it is dirty; that is, if thou would indeed have thy Sins washed away by the Blood of Chrift, labour first to fee them in the Glafs of the Law (Jam. 1.) and do not be afraid to fee thy be Smeared Condition, but look on every Spot thou hast for he that looks on the foulness of his Face by the halfs, will wash by the halfs; even fo, he that looks on his Sins by the halfs, he will feek for Chrift by the halfs. Reckon thy felf therefore, I say, the biggeft Sinner in the World, and be perfuaded, that there is none worse than thy felf; then let the Guilt of it feize on thy Heart, then also go in that Cafe and Condition to Jefus Chrift, and plunge thy felf into his Merits, and the vertue of bis Blood; and af. ter that thou shalt fpeak of the things of the Law, and of the Gospel, experimentally; and the very Language of the Children of God fhall feelingly drop from thy Lips, and not till then,

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Let this therefore learn thee thus much, He that hath not feen his loft Condition. hath not seen a safe Condition; he that did never fee himself in the Devil's Snare, did never fee himself in Chrift's Bofom. This my Son was dead, and is alive again, was loft and is found; with whom we all had our Converfation in time paft. But now are (fo many of us as Believe) returned to Jefus Chrift, the chief Shepherd and Bifhop of our Souls,

I fay therefore, if thou do find in this Treatise, in the firft Place, fomething touching the Nature, End, and Extent of the Law, do not thou cry out therefore all on a fudden, saying, Here is nothing but the Terror, Horror, and thundring Sentences of the Law.

Again, If thou do find in the fecond Part of this Difcourfe fomething of the freeness and fulness of the Gofpel; do not then say then neither, here is nothing but Grace, therefore furely an' undervaluing of the Law. No but read it quite thro' and fo confider of it; and (I hope)thon fhali find the Two Covenants (which all Men are under either the one or the other) difcovered, and held forth in their natures, ends, bounds, together with the ftate and Condition of them that are under the one, and of them that are under the other.

There be fome that through Ignorancy do fay, hom that fuch Men as preach Terror and Amazement to Sinners, are befides the Book and are Minifters of the Letter, the Law, and not of the Spirit the Gefpel but I would answer them, citing th in to the 16. of Luke, from the nineteenth Verfe to the end; and the 1 Cor. 6 9 10. and Gal 3. 10. Rom 3 from the ninth Verfe to the nineteeth; only this Caution 1 would give by the way, how that they which preach Terror, to drive Souls to the obtaining of Salvation. by the Works of the Law, that preaching is not the

ight Gospel preaching. Yet when Saints Speak of the fad ftate that Men are in by nature to difcover to Souls their need of the Gospel, this is honeft preaching (Jee Romans 3. the 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, &c.) and he that doth do fo, he doth the Work of a Gofpel Minifter.

Again, There are others that fay, because we do preach the free, full, and exceeding Grace difcovered in the Gofpel, therefore we make void the Law; which indeed, unless the Gospel be held forth in the Glory thereof without Confufion, by mingling the Covenant of Works therewith, the Law cannot be eftablished. Do we, through Faith, or preaching of the Gospel, make void the Law? nay, stay, faith Paul, God forbid: We do thereby establish the Law, Rom 3.31.

And verily, he that will indeed establish the Law, ar fet it in it's own place (for so I understand the words) must be fure to hold forth the Gospel in its right Colour and Nature; for if a Man be ignorant of the Nature of the Gospel, and the Covenant of Grace, they, or he, will be very apt to remove the Law out of its Place, and that because they are ignorant, not knowing what they fay, nor whereof they affirm.

And let me tell you, if a Man be ignorant of the Covenant of Grace, and the bounds and boundlefnefs of the Gofpel, tho' he speaks and makes mention of the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and alfo of the Name of the New Covenant, and the Blood of Chrift; yet at this very time, and in thefe very Words, he will preach nothing but the Law, and that as a Covenant of Works.

Readers, I must confefs it is a wonderful mysterious thing, and he had need have a wifer Spirit than his own that can rightly fet these two Covenants in their