He that lies under the power and vassalage of his base appetites, and yet talks of Gospel freedom, is but like a poor condemned prisoner, who, in his sleep, dreams of being set at liberty, and of walking up and down wheresoever he pleases, whilst his legs are, all the while, locked fast in fetters and irons. To please ourselves with a notion of Gospel-liberty, while we have not a Gospel-principle of holiness within, to free us from the power of sin, is nothing else, but to gild over our bonds and fetters, and to fancy ourselves the inmates of a golden cage. There is a straitness, slavery, and narrowness, in sin sin crowds and crumples up our souls, which, if they were freely spread abroad, would be as wide and as large as the whole universe.

No man is truly free, but he that has his will enlarged, to the extent of God's own will, by loving whatsoever God loves, and nothing else. Such an one does not fondly hug this and that particular created good thing, and envassal himself unto it; but he loves every thing that is lovely, beginning at God, and descending down to all his creatures, according to the several degrees of perfection in them. He enjoys a boundless liberty, and a boundless sweetness, according to his boundless love. He enclaspeth the whole world within his outstretched arms; his soul is as wide as the whole universe, as large as "yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Whosoever is once acquainted with this disposition of spirit, he never desires any thing else; and he loves the life of God in himself, dearer than his own life. To conclude this, therefore; if we love Christ, and "keep his commandments, his commandments will

not be grievous to us; his yoke will be easy, and his burthen light:" it will not put us into a state of bondage, but of perfect liberty. For, that is most true of evangelical obedience, which the wise man speaks of wisdom: "her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace: she is a tree of life, to those that lay hold upon her; and happy are all they, that retain her."

I will now shut up all, with one or two considerations, to persuade you further to the keeping of Christ's commandments.

First, from the desire which we all have, of knowledge. If we would indeed know divine truths, the only way to come to this, is by keeping Christ's commandments. The grossness of our apprehensions in spiritual things, and the many mistakes, which we make about them, proceed from those dull and foggy steams, which rise up from our foul hearts, and becloud our understandings. If we but heartily complied with Christ's commandments, and purged our hearts from all gross and sensual affections, we should not then look about for truth, wholly without ourselves, and enslave ourselves to the dictates of this and that teacher, and hang upon the lips of men; but we should find the great eternal God, inwardly teaching our souls, and continually instructing us, more and more, in the mysteries of his will; and from within us "should flow rivers of living water." Nothing puts a stop and hindrance to the passage of truth in the world, but the carnality of our hearts, the corruption of our

lives.

It is not wrangling disputes, and syllogistical rea

sonings, that are the mighty pillars, which underprop truth in the world: if we would but underset it with the holiness of our hearts and lives, it should never fail. Truth is a prevailing and conquering thing; and would quickly overcome the world, did not the earthiness of our dispositions, and the darkness of our false hearts, hinder it. Our Saviour Christ bids the blind man wash off the clay, that was upon his eyes, in the pool of Siloam, and then he should see clearly; intimating this to us, that it is the earthiness of men's affections, which darkens the eye of their understandings in spiritual things. Truth is always ready and near at hand, if our eyes were not closed up with mud, if we could but open them to look upon it. Truth always waits upon our souls, and offers itself freely to us, as the sun offers its beams to every eye, that will but open, and let them shine in upon it. If we could but purge our hearts from that filth and defilement, which hangs about them, there would be no doubt at all of truth's prevailing in the world. "For truth is great, and stronger than all things: all the earth calleth upon truth, and the heaven blesseth it; all works tremble at it. The truth endureth, and is always strong; it liveth and conquereth for evermore. She is the strength, kingdom, power, and majesty, of all ages. Blessed be the God of truth."

Secondly, if we desire a true reformation, as some would be thought to do; let us begin, by reforming our hearts and lives, by keeping Christ's commandments. All outward forms and models of reformation, though they be never so good in their kind, yet they are of little worth to us, without this inward

reformation of the heart. Tin, or lead, or any baser metal, if it be cast into never so good a mould, and made up into never so elegant a figure, yet it is but tin or lead still; it is the same metal, that it was before. If adulterate silver, with much alloy or dross, have never so current a stamp, yet it will not pass, when the touchstone tries it. We must be reformed within, with a spirit of fire, and a spirit of burning, to purge us from the dross and corruption of our hearts, and to refine us as gold and silver; and then, we shall be reformed truly, and not before. When this once comes to pass, then shall Christ be set upon his throne indeed; then, "the glory of the Lord shall overflow the land;" then, we shall be a people acceptable unto him, and as mount Sion, which he dearly loved.

439

SERMON II.

THE CHRISTIAN'S VICTORY, OVER SIN, THE LAW,

AND DEATH.

1 Cor. XV. 57.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

CHRIST's resurrection, which the Apostle treats of in the former part of this chapter, is one of the main and principal articles of our Christian faith. For, though Christ, by his death upon the cross, made a propitiatory sacrifice for the world, yet it was his resurrection only, which manifested his death to be effectual and available for that end, and evidenced its acceptance with God. For, if the grave had detained Christ, and held him prisoner, this would have been an argument, that the debt, for which he was committed to that dark dungeon, was not yet paid, nor satisfaction made; for, "if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain, ye are yet in your sins." But now, death and the grave having delivered up Christ out of their custody, his resurrection is an undoubted argument, that they had no more to lay to his charge, as he was a surety and undertaker for mankind; but the debt which