them....Rom. vi. 14: And the water (says Christ) which I will give you, shall be in you a well of water springing up into everlasting life....John iv. 14.

It is plain, from the whole tenor of the gospel, that the ever lasting love and favor of God, together with the everlasting indivelling of the holy spirit as a sanctifier, which are the two great things which a poor sinner wants, are the two great things promised in the covenant of grace. St. Paul, having explained the nature of the gospel-way of salvation by free grace through Jesus Christ, and shown that faith is the only condition of the new covenant, in the four first chapters of his epistle to the Ro mans, proceeds to show the benefits accruing to believers. And first, they are justified, and have peace with God, (chap. v.) Secondly, they are delivered from the power of sin, (chap. vi.) And although they are, in this life, continually in a state of spiritual conflict and warfare, (chap. vii.) yet they are influenced, and led, and governed by the spirit of God, which dwells in them, (chap. viii.) And now all things shall work for their good, and they shall be brought to glory at last, (ver. 28–39.) So again, see both these summed up in Heb. viii. 10, 11, 12.... For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: And I will be to them a "God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.— Here is the everlasting indwelling of the holy spirit, together with what results therefrom: For Iwill be mercifu unto their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more....ver. 12. And here is the everlasting love and favor of God.

And now, seeing, by this new constitution...this covenant of grace, true believers are thus entitled to the everlasting love and favor of God, and to the everlasting indwelling of the holy spirit, as sanctifier, in the perfect enjoyment of both which, eternal life, in heaven, will consist; hence, therefore, they are

said to have life, yea, to have eternal life, immediately upon their believing in Christ. I. John v. 12.... He that hath the Son, hath LIFE--John i. 36.... He that believeth on the Son hath EVERLASTING LIFE-John v. 24.... Hath EVERLASTING LIFE, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from DEATH unto LIFE-John xvii. 3.... This is LIFE ETERNAL, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Eternal life is begun in them, and heaven begins to dawn in their souls: And believers, being thus made the subjects of the everlasting love and favor of God, and of the everlasting indwelling of the holy spirit, are hence called the chil dren of God....John i. 12: For God loves them as children, and they love him as a Father: And this filial frame of spirit, whereby they are disposed to reverence, fear, love, trust in, and sobey God as a Father....live upon him, and live to him as a Father;-I say, this filial frame of spirit is called the spirit of adoption, in opposition to that servile frame of spirit they used to be under the bondage of, before faith, and before they had received the Holy Ghost. Rom. viii. 15....For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

And this filial frame of spirit being peculiar to believers.... that which none but believers have, and which yet is common to all believers; and this filial frame of spirit being that wherein believers bear the image of their heavenly Father, each one resembling the children of a King; for they view things, according to their measure, as God does, and love what God loves, and make his interest their interest, and are taken up with the same designs;—I say, this filial frame of spirit being such a peculiar and remarkable thing, and that wherein they so nearly resemble God, and being also the immediate product of the indwelling and influence of the holy spirit, therefore, in scripture, it is spoken of as the distinguishing badge of a true believer.... as a mark whereby God's children and Christ's sheep are to be known. This is what is called the seal of the spirit, in Eph. i. 13. And this seal is the witness, evidence, and proof which

the holy spirit gives to our consciences, that we are the children of God....Rom. viii. 16. This filial frame of spirit is what satisfies and assures the children of God. They feel the very temper of children towards God: They feel a heart to reverence and fear, love and honor him as a Father-a heart to go to him....to trust in him....to be in subjection to him, and obey him as a Father: And by this they know they are his children.

Marvellous is the change which the poor sinner passes through in that awful hour of inexpressible solemnity, when he first comes into the awful presence of the dread Majesty of heaven and earth, through Jesus Christ, the glorious Mediator, venturing his ALL for ETERNITY upon this sure foundation. And now, from this time forward, he is quite another creature, under quite new circumstances: As when orphan children, left without a guardian or a guide, from running into riot and indulging themselves in all extravagances, are taken and brought into the family of a wise and good man, who makes them his children ....instills new principles and a new temper into them, and puts them under a new discipline, by which all things become new to them-so, here, from being without God and without hope in the world, and from running to eternal ruin, we are taken and brought into God's family....have a new temper given to us.... have a new father, and are under a new government. God's fatherly eye is upon us every hour, and he is daily laboring to bring us up to his hand....to train us up to his mind....to make us such as he would have us be. He contrives, and takes all manner of ways, by his spirit, and by his providence, and by his word, to make us more serious, spiritual, and heavenly.... more humble, weaned from the world, and devoted to God. And thus he purgeth us, that we may bring forth more fruit.... John xv. 2: He enlightens...he leads...he teaches....he quickens...he strengthens....he comforts us....Heb. viii. 10, 11, 12Isai. 40, 31: When we want it, he instructs us...I. John 2. 27 Jamesi. 5: When we want it, he corrects us....Heb. xîì. 6: And when we need it, he encourages and comforts us...II. Cor.

K

xii. 9. When we love him and keep his commands, he man ifests himself unto us.... John xiv. 21: And when our spiritual enemies are too strong for us, and our heart and our strength fail, our steps are slipping, our feet just gone-in the distressing juncture he puts underneath his everlasting arms....he takes us by the right hand....he prevents us by his grace; and before we are aware, we have gotten the victory, and begin to say, Whom have we in heaven but thee? And there is none on earth we desire besides thee. Our flesh and our heart faileth; but God is the strength of our heart, and our portion forever: And O, It is good for us to draw near to God....Psalm lxxiii: And if at any time we forsake him, he follows after us, and visits our transgressions with the rod, and our iniquities with stripes; but nev er breaks his covenant with us....Psalm lxxxix. 30-34. He hedges up our way with thorns, and brings us to a hearty return .... Hos. ii. 6,7: And thus we are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation....I. Pet. i. 5-and finally are brought to the full vision and perfect fruition of God to all eter nity....Rom. viii. 30.

Now faith in Christ entitles us to all this, by virtue of that divine constitution which we call the gospel, or covenant of grace by virtue of that new and living way of salvation which God, the great Governor of the world, has contrived and provided, ratified and confirmed, the sum of which is contained in John iii. 16-Which constitution God has been pleased to confirm by an oath, to the intent we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before us. He has said, He that believeth shall be saved, and he has confirmed it by an oath, to remove all doubt, and to give the highest possible assurance....Heb. vi. 17, 18. And now, being assured that this way of salvation may be depended upon, as being contrived and confirmed by God himself; hence, here we rest secure and safe. We know that this new constitution must be from God, because the whole plan is altogether divine: it is just like God: God cannot but be pleased with it: it is perfectly suited to exalt God....to magnify the law....to dis

countenance sin....to humble the sinner, and to glorify grace; and if sinners are ever saved, it is infinitely fit that they should be saved in such a way, and in no other. There is such an ap parent resemblance of the divine nature and perfections in this whole plan, as is sufficient to assure the heart that it is from God. None but God could be the author of it....II. Cor. iv. 3,4, 6; And being, in the first place, assured that it is from God, we have, in the second place, the highest assurance that God will abide by it, and act according to it: For, first, we. have his promise; and secondly, we have his oath: So that there can be no reasonable doubt remaining. And now, upon this foundation, does the true believer build all his hopes and expectations-here is the bottom of all: For if I am assured that, by divine grace, I do rightly understand the gospel, and am brought to a genuine compliance therewith, now, then, I am safe, if the gospel be TRUE, and if that way of salvation may CERTAINLY be depended on-if it be no cunningly devised fa ble, but a way of God's own contrivance, and which he will CERTAINLY abide by. A clear, rational, spiritual conviction and assurance of this, is the very anchor of the soul, sure and stedfust....Heb. vi. 19.

If mankind had remained in a state of pure nature, i. e. under no constitution at all....under nothing but merely the law of nature, i. e. to have been guided and directed to their duty, and to have been rewarded or punished by God, only and merely by and according to the reason and nature of things--if this had been the case, then, so long as every individual should be continued in being by God, and should continue to love God with all his heart, and obey him in every thing, so long every individual would be perfectly happy: But then, God might, without injustice, let one or all drop into non-existence, if he pleased, and when he pleased, although perfectly holy....Jobxxii. 2, and xxxv. 7: Or, if he was pleased to continue one and all in being forever, yet, at what time soever any should commit the least sin, that soul should immediately sink down into an eternal hell....Rom. vi. 23-a thousand years of perfect obc