Repentance, then, and righteoufnefs, and holiness, and all virtuous and godly qualifications, are so abfolutely needful, that there is no good to be done, no heaven to be had, without them. No, it is vain, it is impudent, to look for a bleffed end in a wicked way; when as the Saviour. himself will not fave us in our fins, but from them, i. c. not when we continue impenitently in them, not unless we contrive and strive to forfake them. Let no man deceive you with vain words; for becaufe of the wicked things forbidden,, comes the wrath of God upon the children of dif obedience,' Eph. v. 6. He has revealed it from heaven against all ungodlinefs, and unrighteoufnefs of men, that hold the truth in unrighteoufnefs,' Rom. i. 18. And he that is angry with the wicked every day,' will never allow of wickednefs in any No; the righteous Lord loveth righteouf nefs; his countenance does behold the upright,' Pfal. xi. 7. And he that does righteoufness, is righteous, and is of God,' 1 John iii. 7, 18. It is not talking of it or pretending to it, without doing it, that will prove you to be poffeffed with it, and owned of the Lord. And if you are not fincerely righteous, with a righteoufnefs inherent, you will never be able to make it out, either to the world, or to your own confciences, that you are completely righteous with a righteoufnefs imputed; for from this righteoufnefs evermore flows the other.

man.

But it may be afked, what need is there of this: righteoufnefs of our own, if we be juftified by the: righteoufnefs of another? Nay, if God juftifies the the ungodly, may not we even caft away the care of piety, and live at large, how we pleafe, if we do but believe in Jefus Chrift, and perfuade ourselves, that.

his

his righteousness fhali fet us right with God, and bring us fafc to heaven? And then is not this a doctrine like to make good work to reform the world, and turn finners apace to the Lord? How could you fit the humour of ungodly men better? and do not you thus give even the vileft wretches the halloo, not only to run on, but to abound in all iniquity, that they may reap the abundance of grace, and make all even, by the cheap and eafy way of faith; to believe that all their work is done, and they may then take their cafe, and fear nothing?

I bewail it, that this is the common ufe many do make of all the rich grace of the gofpel. Thus they Rumble at the corner-ftone, and dafh themfelves, to their own deftruction, againft the very rock upon which is to be built all our falvation. Thus the holy One of God fhall be made the pander of fin and reliance on Chrift, the warrant to rebel against the Lord.

Now, both to stop the mouths of fuch as blafpheme the righteoufnefs of faith, and are ready to cry out even of the chofen veffel for running loofe with unfavoury doctrine; and alfo to ftop the way against the beats of the people, that are ranging about to feek any gap where they may break loofe, to outrun their duty; I must here give my pen liberty to flow down in a meafure beyond the proportion obferved in the other parts of this difcourfe.

And this cavillation having more in it of fophiftry than honefty, and ufing to arife rather from that perverfenefs of fpirit which holds the truth in unrighteoufnefs, than from the real want of understanding, how to make a better ufe of it; and growing not fo much upon a weak, as a wilful miftake of the de

fign

fign of our Saviour's coming, and of the nature of that true faith which gives us the faving interest in him; I fhall think I have done enough to rescue the truth out of ill hands, and to fatisfy all just exceptions, in capitulating with the objectors, and endea vouring to fet them right as to thofe two points, and to cut off the occafions of wrefting and perverting them to their own vile and vitious purposes.

1. Though I dare not limit the defign of our bleffed Saviour's coming, into the world, only to his preaching righteousness, and living and dying an example of all virtue and piety, in his continual doing good, and patient bearing evil, and leaving the rules of holiness for us to follow; however holiness has been well proved to be the defign of Christianity, in a noted book, (which also speaks the pious defign of the right reverend author ;) yet it feems with good advice, that ONLY was pinched out of the title of that book in the latter edition: for wo to poor guilty loft finners, if Christ Jefus had no further end to atone for their guilt, and deliver them from the deserved curfe, to give himself for their ranfom, to make their peace with heaven, and to purchase them an eternal bleffed inheritance there. This wonderful kindness and love of God our Saviour, must never. be overlooked and forgotten: yet, at the fame time, muft we remember, that he had a defign upon us, to renew us, as well as to redeem us; yea, to redeem us from the flavery of fin, as well as from the mifery of hell; to turn us from our iniquities, and raise us above this world, and fo to fit us for a better, after he had fet us right in the court of heaven, to make us alfo meet for the kingdom of glory. Indeed his defign (as one ingenioufly fays) was not upon our

names,

names fo much as upon our natures; not to raise a generation that should be called Chriftians or believers, but to make them fuch manner of perfons, in all holy converfation and godliness, as fhould be to the praife of his grace, and adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things to cure the deadly difeafes of our fouls, that pulled us down to the ground, and made us ready to drop into hell; yea, to reflore us to health and integrity, and renew us after the image of him that created us,' that we might be capable of communion with him here, and the bleffed fruition of him for ever.

But O how do they miftake the Redeemer, who take him for their fervant, only to carry them to heaven, but no Lord to order them in the way leadng thither! yea, their flave to ferve with their fins, and give them boldnefs to go on in their trefpaffes, becaufe he has brought fufficient remedies; and mare defpitefully to use them, the more he has done for them; as if there were no more in his falvation, but just to fave them from hell, without any further ado, whether ever they be changed and renewed by his fpirit ar no; and Chrift muft take them with all their treafons and rebellions, and fave them whether they will or no, though they run on quite wide of, and contrary to his way of falvation. So ill have they learned Chrift, who think no better of him than as a protector of wickednefs, giving men leave to live as they lift, yea, giving any the uncleaneft finners hopes of falvation, that will but talk of their good faith when, as he was manifefted to deftroy the works of the devil, 1 John iii. 8. and gave himfelf for us, that he might redeem us from all miquity, and purify us a peculiar people to himself, and M

Tit.

Tit. ii. 14. He died for fin, that we being dead to it, might live unto righteoufhefs,' 1 Pet. ii. 24. and to make us fuch a fanctified fort, that he might not be aflamed to call us brethren, Heb. ii. 11. yea to make us fo pure in heart, that we might fee God,' Matth. v. 8. to turn our hearts against the corrup tions which they were fet upon and to make that holinefs, which was our greatest eye-fore, become the moft amiable beauty in our eyes; to fave us from the curfe, but not from the obedience of the law; to throw down our idols, that he might be chief and uppermoft in our fouls, and reign over us, till we hould be fit to reign with him.

Though he came to eafe us of the load of our fins, yet not to discharge us from all the care of our duty; not to call us to a lawlefs condition, but to take his yoke upon us, and fubmit to his government and difcipline over us, and refign up the right even of ourfelves to our Lord Redeemer; to be, and to do, as he by his word fhall order us; yea, and order even the fecreteft workings of our hearts, not leaving fo much as our thoughts free; and bringing all defires, intentions, and motions, fubject to his controul; fo making the heart-adultery, and mental malice, and pride of fpirit, to be as much fins, even as any that break forth into outward act.

Indeed he gives not only hopes, but affurance to all believers, who repent and are converted, that their fins fhall be blotted out,' Acts ii. 19. But then whatever we believe, he tells us, that except we repent, we fhall perish,' Luke xiii. 3. The Saviour himfelf will not fave us without repentance.; and except he wafh us, we have no part in him,' John xiii. 8. We fhall not be juftified by his blood,

nor.