us holy, but muft we not come to him for it? Is it not upon condition that we believe, that he loves us, and faves us! My dear friends, whence is it that we get faith? If ever we have any true faith, is it upon the account of forfeen faith that God loves any man? that is rank Arminianifm. Is it because we had faith before? O! does faith come out of our own fhop? Or, is it fpun out of our own bowels, and forged upon our own anvil? Can we bring faith out of our own head or heart? Can dry bones live, or raise themfelves out of the grave? Nay, it is as impoffible for us to believe, and raise ourselves up to the life of faith, as it is for a carcafe of clay to put life in itfelf; nay, is not faith the gift of God? Is not Chrift the author and finier of faith? Who fays, "When I am lifted up, I will draw all men to me?" It requires the fame power that raised Chrift from the dead. O then! Let not your imagination in this matter crofs the very first principles of religion, fo as to think that your faith, if you have any, is the caufe of God's love, while his love is the caufe of your faith; "He first loved us."

3. His love prevents our repentance; for that is a fruit of his love: Why, fay you, niuft we not repent and reform, before God fet his love upon us? And ought we not, by the exercife of our common gifts and abilities that God hath given us, to work up ourfelves to fomething of this, in order to our obtaining the favour of God? Alas, for fuch ignorance, and fuch a gofpel darkening religion, as is like to come in fafhion in this generation! O! is not repentance as much the gift of God, and fruit of his love, as any other graces and fruits of the Spirit? Acts v. 31. "Chrift is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, by the right-hand of God, to give repentance to Ifrael, as well as remiffion of fin." We have a great deal of noise made about the neceflity of gofpel-repentance before, and in order to juftification, and that even as a condition and qualification; here is indeed a new scheme of divinity, of which there is no foundation in our ftandards of doctrine. It is true, repentance is fo neceflary, that none can expect pardon without it; and fo fay I, ho

linefs and fanctification are fo neceffary, that none can expect pardon without them: but is therefore holiness and fanctification neceflary in order to juf tification? I think it is hard to maintain this without running to Rome, and making fanctification before justification, and in order to it; for if actual gospelrepentance be not a part of fanctification, I know not what it is; yea, as defcribed in our Catechifm, it comprehends the whole of fanctification. But to return; why, may one fay, may we not repent of our fins, in fome measure, and reform our lives, and humble ourselves, and mourn? At least, can we not fled a tear? Can we not leave off our tippling, and quit our lufts, and think upon death, judgement, and eternity, fo as by the meditation of these we fhall get ourfelves wrought up to a ftrong and ftrange mortification to all things in the world; yea, become as eminent in this as any faint in all the country, for all their boafting? Well, much good may your repentance do you; and would to God that you were doing more than you do. But I would have you fufpect your repentance; yea, I tell you affuredly, that even by the utmost use of the higheft common gifts and graces, you cannot repent; and when you have brought yourfelf by thefe means to the greatest measure of legal repentance, yet there is no promise in all the Bible to that repentance; "For all the promises are yea, and amen, in Chrift Jefus ;" and till you get in to Christ, by a faith of his operation, your common legal repentance is a finful repentance; "For whatsoever is not of faith, is fin ;" and fo it is a God-difpleafing repentance: "For without faith, it is impoffible to pleafe God." In a word, your repentance, which you fo much magnify in your heart, for I fuppofe you are not fo deftitute of fenfe, as to fpeak thus before the world; this repentance, I fay, is fo far from difpofing you for Christ, that it tends effectually to make you oppose Chrift; why you find heart-melting and mourning, tears and forrows, great flashes and love-floods of affection, and then you think all is right; you fee no more need of Chrift, and come short of him, instead of

being drawn into him. "A man in this cafe, as one fitly expreffes it, is like one that comes to court a lady; but having got a fight of the handmaid, he falls "in love with her, courts her, and marries her, who yet "was but the perfon that fhould have led him to the lady, "he was propofing to match with: fo here, Chrift is the "match, the law and the duties thereof are the hand"maid; well, thou falls to duties, forrowing for fin, and "the like; you have fallen in love with that, and feek "no further." Why, you will fay, by this means you would have no preparatory work at all. It feems by this doctrine, fay you, a man muft come to Chrift at the first leap, reeking out of his fins, before his life be reformed; nay, Sirs, I must tell you, in the Lord's name, that the defign of a right preparatory work, is to force you out of your feigned repentance and reformation, and out of your falle hopes and confidence, and to fweep away your refuge of lies and if ever God prepare you for Chrift, he will bring you to fay, "O, I cannot repent, I can"not reform, I cannot mourn; and give me a world I "cannot command a hearty figh, or a fob for fin; I can "do nothing; I am hard like a ftone, and black like a "devil; and unlefs Chrift help, I am utterly and eter

nally undone.” And this tends to give the foul a great demonftration of the freedom of his love, that it prevents our repentance: "He firft loved us."

4. His love prevents our prayers; for that is alfo a fruit of his love. You will fay, though we cannot attain to be holy, and cannot believe and repent, yet we must pray, and feek, or else we cannot get his fayour and love. Wo is me that people fhould have fuch dark and dangerous notions of the method of falvation! Pray, whence comes your prayers, if they be worth the name of prayers? Do they not come from heaven, and from the Spirit of grace and fupplication? If you have any defires that are worth the naming, they come from above; and if they come wholly out of your heart, or head, they are not worth; yea, whatever defire you have out of Chrift, and whatever prayer is not put up on this altar, the name of Chrift Jefus, and by the help of the Spirit of Chrift, there is no promife made to it: for, however feveral promifes are

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made to God's ordinances and inflitutions, which o blige you to be about his hand in the ufe of means; yet no promife is made to your performance out of Chrift. Expect then no favour for, or upon the ac count of your duties; for if that be your way of doing, you need to pray that God may force you out of your prayers. Let none think now that I am dif couraging any from the ufe of means, and the perfor mance of duties; nay, I take witnefs, that, in God's name, I call you to the ufe thereof; and declare you are obliged thereto by the command and author ty of Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft. But, in the fame name, I call you to the right ufe of the means, the gospel-use of the means; for that legal notion of praying and feeking, that I find for ordinary among people, as if their feeking would prevent God's love, and procure his favour, is derogatory to the goodnefs of God; and hath a tendency to make a Chrift of their prayers, yea, more than a Chrift; in regard it would be afcribing a cafuality to our prayers, which is not even done to the merits of Chrift in this matter: for, as I faid before, the love of God in itself, cannot be procured; Christ himfelf did not procure it; for God's love prevented Chrift's miffion, and fent him to procure all that he did procure and purchase and therefore, if you think your prayers will purchafe God's love, you make more than a Chrift of your prayers; and they are offenfive to God, difhonouring to Chrift, and prejudicial to your own fouls. The faints themselves know that it is not by their duties that they obtain his love; but in duty fometimes they get a fenfe of his love. Why, may fome fay, we need pray none at all, if we get no good by our prayers. Really, man, thefe prayers of yours, which you make your righteoufnefs, and for which you expect to be loved, and juftified, and faved, they are the most abominable to God, and unprofitable to you in the world. "To what purpofe is the multitude of your facrifices? Therefore bring no more vain oblation: your incenfe is abomination to him; he cannot away with it, it is iniquity, even your folemn meeting," Ifa. i. 11. 13. See Ifaiah Ixvi. 3. Therefore you have need to pray,

that

that God would learn you the mystery of prayer; for you will never find it a plealant, comfortable, and profitable exercife, while you fet it before his love, as a caufe of it; whereas it follows after his love, as a fruit of it. Hence all that ever prayed to purpose, or wreltled with him for the bleffing, have found that they could not pray, more than they could move the earth from its center, until his grace prevented their prayers; and they can all fet their feal to that word, Ifa. lxv. 1. "I am found of them that fought me not." None ever fought him aright, till free grace fought them out, and found them in fome repet.

Queft. But is it not faid, Ezek. xxxvi. 37. "For thefe things will I be enquired of by the houfe of Ifrael ?” True, betwixt gracious feeking and finding, there is a certain connexion; for gracious and fpiritual feeking prefuppofes grace to feek, and that his love hath already prevented our prayers; and when he gives grace to seek, to be fure he will give more and more, not for our feeking, but for the fake of his promife in Chrift Jefus, and upon his account. But if we underfland that word as an encouragement to all, whether gracious or graceless perfons, "For this will I be enquired of by the houfe of Ifrael," then the meaning is not, I will give you none of these things, viz. the new heart, the new spirit, there promised, and the Spirit to be put within you; 1 fay, the meaning is not, I will give you none of thefe things, but for the fake of your prayers, and till your prayers produce them; nay, that expofition would be cross to the very context, which fays, "Not for your fake do I this, O houfe of Ifrael; be it known to you, and be afhamed, and confounded for your own ways;" you may be afhamed of your prayers and duties, as well as your fins and iniquities; and therefore it is not for the fake of your perfons or prayers either, be it known unto you; and therefore the meaning of the word is, that as all Ifrael hath a right of access to thefe promifes; and all poor finners that hear tell of them, may come to a throne of grace, and plead for the accomplishment of them to themselves, in a way of free grace; fo in the diligent ufe of all these means and

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