poffible that the heart can at once be both for the Lord and lufts, Matth. vi. 24. The first marriage must be made void before a fecond can be made fure. They must have their covenant with their lufts broken, who will have their covenant with the Lord fure: Hofea, xiv. 8. "Ephraim fhall fay, What have I to do any more with idols ?" Living lufts and the living Lord will not both get the throne of the heart. In the day of efpoufals, when Christ gets the crown, lufts get the crofs. Many will be in fuit of the heart, and the heart for a time may be halting betwixt two; bnt in a covenanting day with the Lord, all others must be difcharged: Pfal. xlv. 10. "Hearken, O daughter! and confider, and incline thine ear; forget alfo thine own people, and thy father's houfe."-Here fome may inquire, How may a perfon know if their heart be divorced from fin?, Answer, That which makes the man and his lufts one, is the greedy grip which the heart takes of fin, it is the heart cleaving to its lufts: Jer. viii. 5. Why then is the people of Jerufalem flidden back by a perpetual backfliding? They hold fast-deceit, they refufe to return." The heart and affections in fin are like the hot iron, where the iron and the fire are very close together. The man's lufts are to him like a leg or an arm which is knit to the body with joints and bands. Now, where the heart is divorced, it loaths that fin which before it loved. Though fin cleaves to the man, yet he cleaves not to it, Rom. vii. 17.-22. Never was the captive more defirous to be loofed of his bands, than that foul to be free from fin. Like a weak honeft virgin, though it cannot fhake itself loose of its grips, yet it would be content if one would fet it free.--Solemn covenanting is trifling,

2. When the foul is not divorced from the law,

Rom.

Rom. vii. 4. "Wherefore, my brethren, ye alfo are become dead to the law by the body of Chrift; that ye fhould be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit to God." Legal profeffors do but trifle with the Lord, and never make heart-work of covenanting with him. They may bind themfelves fafter and fafter to duties, but there is no engaging their hearts to the Lord of duties; they are as they who would draw up with the handmaid instead of the mistress; and do but bind themselves to the work of spinning out their own ruin out of their own bowels. There is a generation who get some convictions of their misery by fin, the law comes and takes them by the throat, and then they cry, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Hence they beftir themselves, and fall a trading to gain fomething for heaven and eternal life; they fet about fecret duties, attending public ordinances, and take the facrament, and the effect of all is but to wreath their necks fafter in the yoke of law-bondage, and to remove themselves farther from Chrift. This is but trifling. If it be inquired, How may one know if they be divorced from the law? you have the word, Gal. ii. 19. "For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God." The law comes home to the foul with fuch force and power, that it cuts off all hopes of the foul's ever mending itself by its works; makes the foul fee its utter emptinefs and weakness; and hence it dies off, and lies at the foot of free grace, with that prayer in its mouth, Jer. xxxi. 18. "Thou haft chaftifed me, and I was chaftifed, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I fhall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God." Then Chrift's blood is the foul's only refuge for D d 2 guilt,

guilt, Chrift's Spirit for holinefs; and the foul will have no peace but what comes from this blood; while many, instead of this, lick themfelves whole of their wounds by confession, mourning, prayer for pardon, and engaging not to do fo any more. But it is quite different from this, when, as above, the Spirit of Chrift leads his divorced bride out of the houfe of her former hufband to Jefus himself.—It is fo,

3. When the foul comes not heartily and freely to the Lord in his covenant, Pfal. Ixxviii. 34.37. The Lord will not meet that foul. He cares not for perfons giving the hand, when they do not give him their hearts. Indeed this is a covenant which speaks out the extreme naughtiness of men's hearts, by their coming into it grudgingly and per force. The facrifice that is dragged to the altar, will not be accepted, it will run away from it again. It will be like the ftrong bough which is forcibly bowed, which will foon fly back. When the Lord comes to a foul, he deals with the heart. He touches the heart, as he touched the hearts of Saul's companions, 1 Sam. x. 26. Jer. xxxi. 3. "The Lord hath appeared to me of old, faying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindnefs have I drawn thee." There is grace in the Lord's lips, heavenly rhetoric to catch a finner's affections, Pfal. xlv. 2. When the Spirit of the Lord pours in overcoming grace, then the man pours out his heart before him, Pfal. lxii. 8. Thus the people becomes willing in the day of his power, Pfal. cx, 3.-Here we may shortly state and confider two cafes.

Cafe 1. What fhall become of those, then, who are driven to the Lord by terror? I answer, Those who are only driven by terror, they will even leave