But, now, a man that

good or evil when he hath done it. hath this rational life, is; and the more of man in a man, the more he is able to reflect upon his own action. Look, I pray, into the xlvith chapter of Isaiah, and there ye shall find this to be the essential property of a man: at the 8th verse, "Remember this, and shew yourselves men." Wherein? "Bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors." Reflect upon your own action, and consider what ye have done, and thus ye will shew yourselves to be men, to have the life of men in you. And upon this account, when as the prodigal bethought himself, then he is said to return unto himself. Now every godly, gracious man hath this power, to reflect upon his own action. And therefore converting Ephraim is brought in thus, "smiting himself upon his thigh," saying, "Oh, what have I done?" Jer. xxxi. 19. And in that of the Epistle to the Corinthians, it is said, "Know ye not, how that Christ is in you, unless ye be reprobates," 2 Cor. xiii. 5. That is, unless ye be reprobates, ye may know that Christ is in you. A reprobate, indeed, does not reflect upon his own action; but as a beast he goes on: he prays, may be, and does not reflect upon his prayer when he hath done; he hears the word, and does not reflect upon his hearing when he hath done; he sins against God, and does not reflect upon his own action and sin, smiting himself upon his thigh, saying, Oh, what have I done? But, now, every godly, gracious man does thus reflect upon his own action, and is able to do it. So then, take the argument in the whole, and it lies thus: If a godly, gracious man, have all the essential properties of those three lives, in a spiritual way and manner; then certainly he is in the state of life, and does live a spiritual life. Now, as ye have heard, every godly, gracious man, hath all the essential properties of all these three lives, in a spiritual way and manner, and therefore, certainly he does live a spiritual life, he is in the state of life.

III. But how may it appear that others are not in this state of life? that a wicked man is not in this state of life? that a wicked man is a dead man, spiritually dead? that the godly, and the godly only are made partakers of this spiritual life, and that others are not?

I answer, Our Lord and Saviour does speak expressly, "Ye will not come to me that ye may have life,” John v. 40.

X

But look into the iiird chapter of John, and the 36th verse, and shall find these words: "He that believeth on the ye Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life." Shall not see life; mark those words, he shall not come within the view or sight of life, or of the good things of life. He does not barely say, He shall not live: no, but he shall not see life, he shall not see the good things of life. So that plainly, then, he that believeth not is a dead man, spiritually a dead man, and lives not this spiritual life.

But all motion comes from life: can a man act, move and work and not be alive? Even wicked men, they pray, and they hear, and they read, and they meditate, and they act, and move and work towards God, and they do many good things, and have many moral virtues; and can all this be, and yet no life in them?

I answer, Yes: for ye know a watch, or a jack, or a clock, they all move, and act, and work, and yet they have no life. Though a wicked man may act, and move, and work towards God, yet, notwithstanding, that motion does but arise from the natural perfection that is left in him by the fall. Take a civil man, and though he have many moral virtues, what is there in him that lies beyond the reach of nature, with the dye of gospel education. But, now, this spiritual life, it is a supernatural perfection. Indeed, it is said of hypocrites, they have a name to live: aye, but they are dead; they are accounted living, but they live not. Why? Because they are not united unto Christ by the Spirit, which is the other property of the spiritual life. This spiritual life, I say, it is the supernatural perfection of the soul, whereby a man is able to act, and move, and work towards God as his utmost end. Now there is no wicked man that is able to move towards God as his utmost end: for, as the schools well speak, wicked men, they do use what they should enjoy, that is God: and they do enjoy what they should use, that is the world. What wicked man is there in all the world, that is able to move and work towards God as his last and his utmost end? There is a two-fold end: there is an hither end and a remote end; a hithermost end and a remote or one's utmost end. A wicked man, indeed, he may have God as the hither end of his action, but himself is at the utmost end. Look, I pray, into the second of Samuel, the iiird chapter, at the 17th and 18th verses, and there you

shall read to this purpose: "Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, Ye sought for David, in times past, to be king over you; now then do it, for the Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel." Here, now, he had God in

his eye, and the fulfilling of the Lord's promise; here is one end why he would bring about the kingdom to David: "For the Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel." But now look a little higher, and you shall see what his utmost end was in bringing about the kingdom to David: he falls out with the son of Saul: and Saul's son comes to him, and says, "Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father's concubine?" verse 7. Whereupon Abner was very angry; at the 8th verse, "Then was Abner very wrath for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head, which against Judah doth shew kindness this day unto the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou chargest me to day with a fault concerning this woman? so do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the Lord hath sworn to David, even so do I to him; to translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel." Mark, here was self; he would be revenged of him. Indeed, he set God at the hither end of the action, but it was self that was at the utmost end of the action. And so it is with a wicked man; though he may have God at the hither end of his action, yet himself is at the utmost end of his action. It is not so with a godly, gracious man; but though self may be at the hither end of his action, God is the utmost end: and if you ask him, Neighbour, friend, why do you thus pray, and hear, and read, and meditate? Oh, says he, that my poor soul may be comforted; for I am one that am of a troubled spirit. Well, but why would you be comforted? I would therefore be comforted, that I might serve God the better. Here his own comfort is at the beginning of the action, but God is at the utmost end. Take a wicked man, I say, and though he doth act, and move, and work towards God, yet he wants a supernatural perfection, he is not united to Christ by the Spirit, he does not act, and move towards God as his utmost end. But, now, every godly, gracious man doth, and therefore he,

and he alone is the living man, that hath this spiritual life, that is in this state of life.

Is all a civil man's civility nothing? and are all moral virtues nothing? Are all these then good for nothing?

I answer, Yes, they are in themselves good, and they are good for something, but they are not good to make a man spiritually alive. If a man come and offer you a brass sixpence, or a brass shilling; and you say, No, it will not go: and if he reply, and say to ye, But though it be brass, is it good for nothing? you will say, Yes, it is good for something, brass is good for something, but it is not good for money, it will not go for pay, it will not pay your debt, it is is not sufficient to fetch you out of prison; it will not make you alive, it is not good for this. So now say I: Do ye ask whether these be good for nothing? I say, Yes, they are good, all moral virtues are in themselves good; but they are not good for to pay your debt, they are not good to make you alive, they can never make you spiritually alive; it is only grace, and union with Jesus Christ by the Spirit, that must make a man alive, spiritually alive; and this only the saints and people of God have; and therefore they only are the living men, every child of God is a living man, and none else.

If this be so, what abundance of comfort is here, unto all the saints and people of God. He only lives, comparatively, that lives this spiritual life: the saints and people of God they are alive. Doest thou therefore believe? Art thou united to Jesus Christ by the Spirit? Then thou art alive, and in the state of life, made partaker of this spiritual life. And dost thou know what it is to be made partaker of this spiritual life? dost thou know what a life it is that now thou livest? It is a life better and beyond the life that thou shouldest have lived in the state of innocency: for as the second Adam is more excellent than the first Adam was; "The first man, Adam, was made a living soul, but the second Adam was made a quickening spirit," 1 Cor. xv. 45; so that life that comes from Christ the second Adam, is better and beyond that life that you should have had from the first Adam in the state of innocency.

Of all lives, this spiritual life, that now I am speaking of, is the most pleasant life. In the xxxvith Psalm, says the

Psalmist concerning the godly, at the 8th verse, "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures." Now, as Austin doth well observe upon that place, The river hath many waves, one following upon another: and so are the pleasures of the saints, the spiritual pleasures; one wave, one pleasure following upon another; and it is a deep river. Oh! but a river may be dry. Nay it cannot be dry if it be maintained with a fountain, and with springs. Now see what follows, at the 9th verse, "They shall satisfy themselves of the river of thy pleasures: why?" for with thee is the fountain of life." So that, if a man do but enjoy God in Christ, and be united unto Christ by the Spirit, he hath this life, which shall be as a river of pleasures maintained with a fountain. Yea, this life it shall know no end. Your lives now, they run into death: but this life, this spiritual life, it shall know no end. The apostle argues unto the Romans, that they should die no more, because they had communion with Christ in his death: and therefore, says he, "In that he died once, he shall die no more," Rom. vi. 10. And so, you having communion with Christ in his death, you shall die no more: once alive spiritually, and ye shall die no more. Who can go to heaven and pull Christ out of heaven? In the iind chapter of Paul unto the Ephesians, the 5th verse, says the apostle there, "Even when we were dead in trespassess and sins, hath he quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Jesus Christ." Here is sitting together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus; and we are raised up in Christ. So then, if once ye have this spiritual life in Christ, ye shall never die again spiritually.

And this life, that now I am speaking of, it is of all other lives, the most communicative life. A man does communicate life unto his child; but his child is not able presently, as soon as it is born, to communicate life unto another child. One beast does communicate life unto another; the sheep communicates life unto the lamb: but the lamb as soon as it is brought forth is not able to communicate life to another, and get another. And so, the herb communicates life to another, but not presently as soon as it is an herb. But now, no sooner does a man partake of this spiritual life, but