And concerning this we shall not be at a loss to satisfy ourselves.

For if we find that with the apostle we look upon and esteem it our highest felicity, a favour never enough to be valued by us, that we have by the divine goodness been brought to this knowledge of Christ and the method of salvation which he has revealed from almighty God: if, further, we have happily learned of Christ, whose words and example are set before us by his apostles, to prefer virtue and holiness and doing the will of God above all worldly views and enjoyments, and can welcome reproach and suffering for his sake, in the way of our duty, and to spread the knowledge of God and his truth that many may saved by it: we have then all reason to think well of our estate, and that, if by the divine assistance we thus persevere unto the end, eternal life will be ours.

be

But many have not been contented with this plain way of salvation marked out by the Gospel, in which the apostles of Jesus walked before us, and directed us to follow them.

They would willingly be saved without the trouble of forsaking their sins, and amending their crooked tempers and dispositions.

And

And hence, from some mistaken passages of Scripture and various errors concerning the person and office of Christ, they have imagined that it was he alone that made God favourable and propitious to his sinful creatures, and that it is sufficient for salvation that we be persuaded of this; and moreover, that it is most honourable to God to give all to him in the work of salvation, and nothing to ourselves.

But it was seen above that our heavenly Father has always been merciful and compassionate towards his children of mankind, and ready with open arms to receive them to his mercy on their repentance, without any other consideration, without the interposition of any other persons whatever in their behalf. All that our Saviour did and suffered, was, by the gracious appointment of God, to be a means of his own purification and advancement, as the Scriptures inform us, and at the same time a most powerful and efficacious motive and inducement to change our dispositions and reconcile us to God, and not to reconcile God to us, who is always disposed to show kindness to us.

And it is a vain and groundless fancy that we are to be passive in the work of our salvation.

salvation. We can indeed do nothing to deserve the immense bounty of God in calling us to eternal life. But then we must be fitted and qualified for it by suitable holy tempers and virtuous habits. And these cannot be wrought in us without our own will and concurrence. And this continual exertion of ourselves, to work holiness in the fear of the Lord, is what the Scriptures throughout exhort to and require at our hands.

Lastly. The manner in which St. Paul speaks of the divine goodness to sinners, manifested by Jesus Christ, and of his own experience of it, will be a fit and instructive conclusion of the subject.

He seems to labour for expressions strong enough to describe and recommend it. "This," says he, "is a certain truth, and worthy of universal acceptation; that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners: of whom I am chief." Not that he would have it thereby understood that he had in any degree led an irregular life before his conversion. For elsewhere he declares that he had lived in all good conscience, that he had served God from his childhood in a pure conscience, i. e. had never allowed himself in a course of wilful

transgression,

transgression, but had always acted up to the light he had.

But he makes himself the chief of sinners on account of his cruel opposition to the Gospel, and fury against is professors; and well did it become him so to speak, and to be humbled for it. For he vas suddenly stopt by the immediate act aid interposition of God, in the midst of a scale of violence and persecution of the followes of Jesus; and was thereby saved from the urther guilt which he must have contracted, ha he been suffered to go on in his blind zeal and passion.

And though he says, he und he und mercy, because he did it ignorantly nd in unbelief: by which he would signify, that he had no selfish by-views in it; he thought it right: yet in time, had he proceedd and met with no check, he must have beome lost to all compassion and humanity, ly accustoming himself to shed the blood of is fellow creatures, and murder them, merly for differing from him in opinion; and Es mind must have become more and more hardened in malignity and opposition to the truth, from laying such strong temptationsbefore others to blaspheme and deny it, throgh the hopes

and

and fears of this world; and in thus preventing the propagation of the Gospel, and the salvation of manlind.

St. Paul never look back upon this part of his life but with horor, and with deep sensibility of the mercy of God, who snatched him out of so great daiger.

if

There is none of us who may not sympathize in this respet with the great apostle; so be, as the piou Psalmist speaks, "we have tasted that the lord is good," if we are in earnest seeking ater this great salvation which we have by our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is hardy any of us but may be able to look back upn and recount something of the same kind with this of the apostle in his own history, ofbeing saved from our sins by the favour of (od and the knowledge of the Gospel, not ineed in so miraculous a way; but a deliverace and escape from dangerous temptations, ad a divine leading marked out as visibly by the hand of divine goodness, either in the lessing of pious parents or other early instrucors in our youth, without any choice of ou own thrown in our way; who brought us times to the knowledge of God and the Gosel, and to take delight in it and