all his ways, knows his downfitting and his uprifing, and understands even his thoughts long before; He that in earneft believes this, will not dare, in the innermoft Receffes of his Heart to harbour any evil Thought, much lefs to commit any wicked Act, tho' under cover of the deepest Secrecy, and impoffible to be found out by any Mortal Sight, but will demean himself as ever in the Prefence of his Judge, nor prefume to affront him to his Face, and as the Prophet (peaks, provoke the Eyes of his Glory.

He that believes, that the only Way to Happiness is the Way of Holiness; That the Pure in Heart Shall fee God, but that where He is, No unclean thing hall enter there; having this Fear of being excluded for ever from the Beatifick Prefence, will cleanfe himSelf from all Filthiness of Flesh and Spirit, and having this Hope in him of feeing God as he is, will purify himself even as he is pure.

Again, He that believes and confiders the Corruption and Impotence of his natural Condition, and the Defign of Chrift's com-' ing into the World: What he has already done and what he is ftill doing for him: How that Himself, and every Man, is by Nature a Child of Wrath, that Sin reigns in his mortal Body, that he lyes under a Bondage from which he cannot redeem, a Guilt from which he cannot acquit himself: That no

Flesh

Flesh is justify'd in the Sight of God; Who foever, I fay, doth believe this concerning Himfelf, and on the other Side concerning Chrift, That for this End was be born, and for this Caufe came he into the World that he might fave Sinners, That the World thro' Him might be fav'd; That to this End, and to this End only, He came down from Heayen; This was the End of his Conversation upon Earth, His Life and Doctrine, His Preaching and Example; This was the End of his Crucifixion, Refurrection, Afcenfion, and Seffion at the Right Hand of God; That by the Sufferings of his Life, and the Ineftimable Value of his Blood, the World might be justify'd and redeem'd from the Guilt of their Sins, and refcu'd from the Miseries of the World to come; And that by the Operation of his Doctrine and Example, and the Power of his Interceffion the World might be fanctify'd, deliver'd from the Dominion of Sin, purify'd and prepar'd to be admitted to the Vifion of the moft Holy God, and Fruition of the Life to come: I fay, the Man that firmly, and ftedfastly, and actually believes these things, will not (nay indeed cannot) neglect so great Salvation: That He will not trample upon the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant, or defpife the Spirit of Grace, or crucify afresh the Lord of Glory, and put him to an open Shame;

Shame; But that for his continual Cleanfing from his paft Tranfgreffions, he will daily refort to the Fountain which Chrift has open'd for Sin, and for Uncleanness, Zech. 13. 1. offering and presenting his Head and his Heart (his Mind and Affections) to the Blood of Sprinkling; and that for the obtaining of preventing and following Grace to preferve him from lapfing for the time to come, he will throw himself daily at the Feet of that High-Prieft, who is fenfible of his Infirmities, and who fits at God's Right Hand making Interceffion for him, and with Sighs and unutterable Groans he will implore the Affiftance of that Spirit, which helpeth our Infirmities; And that continuing and perfevering in this Course (by the Grace of God, which never faileth them that feek him) he will certainly conform himself to the Commands of Chrift, and compofe himfelf to his Example, till at length he be transform'd into his Image; He will add to his Faith, Virtue; and to Virtue, Knowledge; and to Knowledge, Temperance; and to Temperance, Patience, and to Patience, Godlineß; and to Godlineß, brotherly Kindneß; and to brotherly Kindneß, Charity; He will go on from Strength, to Strength, until he appear before God in Glory.

I fay, that whoever he is that from his Heart believes all these things, fuch a Man

Τι

by

by denying Ungodliness and Worldly Lufts, and Living Soberly, and Righteously, and Godly in this prefent World, will work out his Salvation with Fear and Trembling; and in the End of his Days, will certainly and infallibly receive the end of his Hopes, even the Salvation of his Soul.

And this I think sufficient both to make good the Affertion of St Paul in my Text, That ye are Sav'd through Faith, and also to fhew in what manner, and by what means Faith conduces to fo bleffed an Effect. Namely by prefenting to our Hopes and Fears the great Springs of all Human Actions, Arguments of fuch amazing Concern and infinite Moment, as duly weigh'd, and feriously attended to, muft by a kind of Moral Neceffity set all our Endeavours on work to the producing fuch an Obedience, as God for the fake of Chrift, Believ'd in and Obey'd, will graciously accept, and Crown with Everlafting Life.

By all which, it plainly appears what Juftifying Faith, the Faith thro' which ye are Sav'd is, Namely, a Faith working by Love; A Sound, Real, and Steady Belief of those Sacred Truths, which are not matter of bare Speculation only, but of fuch a Nature in themselves, and of fo great Concern to us, as being once clearly known and firmly affented to, muft needs carry us out to

Action;

Action; without which the Knowledge or Belief of them is of no worth, it is unacceptable to God, it is unprofitable to Men, it is Dead, For as the Body without the Soul is Dead, fo Faith without Works is Dead also. James 2. 26.

Which brings me to the laft Propofition to be handled, namely Good Works, to which we are Created in Chrift Jefus, and which God hath ordain'd that we should Walk in.

III. And of thefe every Minister of the Gospel, as well as Titus to whom the charge was particularly given by St Paul, is oblig'd to affirm conftantly, that they who have Believ'd in God be careful to maintain them. In obedience to which Apoftolical Injunction, we are bold to lay it down for an unconteftable Truth, That Good Works, tho' not of fo meritorious a dignity, that we shall be Sav'd for them, yet are of fuch abfolute neceffity that we shall not be Sav'd without them.

The Doctrine of Juftification by Faith, is with great probability conceiv'd by Learned Men, to be One of the Chief of those things which St Peter points at in his Brother Paul's Epiftles, as hard to be understood, which they that were Unlearned and Unftable Wrefted to to their own Destruction. For even while the Apostles were yet alive, there arofe Men

Speaking