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titude to God.

with Astonishment. And what Returns does the glorious God expect from us, for all this? No more than the Love and Obedience of our thankful Hearts and fruitful Lives. No more than to live to him, and delight in him, gratefully to receive, and faithfully to improve the Benefits he is bestowing upon us. He requires nothing of us but that we should be ready to every good Work, out of Love and Gra-How unworthy shall we therefore be for ever, of one Smile of his Countenance, or the least favour and Kindness, if the infinite Goodnefs of God, his infinite Love and Compaffion in Chrift, does not conftrain us to renounce our Lufts and Idols, and make it our delightful Endeayour to feck and ferve him?-He may well expoftulate with fuch, as with his antient People, Will ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish People, and unwife! He juftly may, and certainly will exclude fuch from the Glory and Bleffedness of his eternal Praises, who have not Hearts to love him, and serve him, and praise him here. They who have ever tafted that the Lord is gracious, and have any becoming Sense of their Obligations to him, will study what they fhall render to the Lord, for all his Benefits; they will delight in Endeavours to glorify him; they will be folicitoufly careful of a conftant Conformity to his Will, and take a peculiar Pleasure and Pains in following after Holiness.

5. As I have diftinctly confidered in my laft, Good Works are neceffary Evidences of the Truth and Sincerity of our Faith in Chrift. And I need only add here, It is a faithful Saying, which cannot be too much infifted upon, that they who pretend to have believed in God, must be careful to maintain good Works. All their Profeffion of Religion, all their imaginary Faith in Chrift, all their Peace and Joy, all their Appearance in the Caufe of

Truth

Truth, all their feeming Zeal for the Glory of God, the Interest of Religion, and the Convertion and Salvation of Sinners, or whatever elfe they may fuppose Evidences of their renewed State, will prove but as founding Brass and a tinkling Cymbal, without a real Life of good Works. --Such are greatly to be pitied, who can have Peace from any supposed Experiences of Grace, while they walk in the Imaginations of their own Hearts. The Lord Jefus Christ will own none as belonging to him, but those who are a peculiar People, in fome measure zealous of good Works. He will in the Day of Acccounts declare to all others, that he never knew them; and fentence them to depart from him, as Workers of nliquity.But to this I have spoken particularly already. And therefore fhall only subjoin here, that Obedience is the genuine Exercise, and therefore a neceffary Evidence of Faith unfeigned. What are goodWorks, but Works of Faith; or Faith in Operation, exciting other Graces to their proper Action and Exercife. Without we exemplify the Obedience of Faith, our Faith is vain.

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6. Good Works are neceffary to honour our Pro feffion, to adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour, and to bring Glory to his Name. There is Nothing infers a greater Scandal upon our holy Religion, than the unfanctified Lives of its Profeffors. This gives Occafion to the Enemies of the Crossof Chrift to blafpheme his Name, and Speak Evil of the Way of Truth; to call Religion itself a Cheat; and judge all that make an Appearance of Holinefs, to be Hypocrites and falfe Pretenders. This cafts a Stumbling-block in the Way of poor Souls, that are beginning to look Zion-ward; and proves a fad Temptation to Apoftafy. This har dens fecure Sinners in their finful Courses; and pacifies their Confciences, from the Thoughts that

fuch

fuch who make Pretenoes to Religion, are impious and wicked, as well as they. And what is still worse, if while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourfelves alfo are found Sinners; this brings great Dishonour upon our bleffed Saviour, as though he were the Minister of Sin; and has a dreadful Ten dency to render the Means of Grace ineffectual, to quench the Spirit, and to drive the very Form, as well as Power of Godliness, out of the World -You therefore fee the Neceffity of good Works and of a holy Life, if we have any Value for the Interefts of Chrift's Kingdom in the World, any Pity to the precious Souls of Men, any Regard to the Honour of our bleffed Saviour, and the holy Religion which we profefs; and any Defire to escape having the Guilt of other Men's Sins, as well as our own, charged to our Account in the Day of Christ. If there be any any Force in these and many other like Motives, to prompt us to a Life of Holiness, we who profess ourselves Chriftians, fhould approve ourselves a chofen Generation, a royal Priesthood, an holy Nation, a peculiar People, to fhew forth the Praises of him who has called us out of Darkness into his marvellous Light, 1 Pet. ii. 9.—Indeed the chief End of Man is to glorify God ; it is the Design of our Creation; and it is the Defigh of our Redemption. For ye are bought with a Price; therefore glorify God, in your Body, and in your Spirit, which are God's, 1 Cor. vi. 20. It is the Defign of our Baptism and Profession, and of all our Experience of the Operations of the Spirit of Graces and fhould be the Scope of all our Converfation and Practice.But, how shall we act in Correfpondence to this Design, unless we care for the Things of the Lord, that we may be holy, both in Body and Spirit; diligently following every good Work? We should study, whatever we do,

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to do all to the Glory of God, 1 Cor. x. 31. And to this Purpose it is neceffary, that we follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. For by breaking the Law, we dishonour God; but herein is he glorified, that we bear much Fruit, in an exemplary and useful Life.

7. Good Works are likewife neceffary to our inward Peace and Comfort. We often fee that Obfervation verified, that the Wicked are like a troubled Sea when it cannot reft, whofe Waters caft up Mire and Dirt; and that there is no Peace to the Wicked. They must have feared Confciences indeed, who can have peaceable Minds in a Progrefs of Sin, and in the Neglect of practical Godliness. A truly tender Confcience will always remonstrate against the Indulgence of any Sin, either of Omiffion or Commiffion. And how unhappy and uncomfortable a Life is it, to have our own Hearts condemning us; to have a Worm gnawing in our Breafts, to have Conscience applying the Terrors of the Law, and representing to us our Guilt and Danger And yet this cannot be avoided without a Life of good Works. We cannot have Grounds of rejoicing, but from the Teftimony of our Confciences, that in Simplicity and godly Sincerity, not with fleshly Wifdom, but by the Grace of God, we have had our Conversation in the World, 2 Cor. i. 12. As they who live carelefs and fenfual Lives, cannot have good Evidences of a renewed Nature and a fafe State, they must neceffarily be Strangers to that Joy and Comfort, which flows from the refreshing Views of an Interest in the Covenant of Grace, and from the Sense of our having the eternal God for our Father and Friend, compaffionately to provide for us here, and to make us eternally happy in the Enjoyment of himself. They muft likewife be altogether Strangers to the unfpeakable

unfpeakable Confolation which flows from a Life of Communion with God For this is never obtained without a Progrefs of Holiness and good Works-If therefore we would have the continual Feaft of a peaceful Confcience; if we would enjoy a comfortable View of the divine Favour, and rejoice in Hope of the Glory of God; if we would find by bleffed Experience, that the Ways of Wisdom are Ways of Pleafantness, and all her Paths Peace; if we would obtain the Sealings of the blessed Spirit, the Earnest of our eternal Inheritance, and the Foretaste of heavenly Happiness, which are Enjoyments vaftly preferable to all the Pleasures of Senfe, we must add to our Faith Virtue, and maintain a Life of Holiness and good Works. For if we fay, thot we have Fellowship with him, and walk in Darkness, we lie, and do not the Truth, 1 Joh. i. 6. But then fhall I not be ashamed, when I have Refpect to all God's Commandments. Great Peace have they which love his Law; and nothing fhall offend them, Pfal. cxix. 6. 165.

I might in feveral other Particulars exemplify to you the Neceflity of good Works: But you will probably acknowledge, that I have faid enough already, to take off the Odium caft upon us, as if we denied the Neceffity of good Works, in reference to Salvation. I fhall therefore only add,

8. Good Words are neceffary in order to our escaping eternal Ruin and Mifery.-I have fhewn. you indeed, and I think fufficiently proved, that' they are not necessary as an Attonement for our Sins, or as what will appease the Wrath of God, and procure us an Acquittance from Guilt, and a Right to be freed from Condemnation. But still it is nevertheless certain, that in Fact no Man will escape the amazing Horrors of eternal Perdition, who has had Opportunity for a religious Life, and

yet

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