faving Benefits?-Can they claim the Benefits of the Covenant of Grace, who are themfelves under the Covenant of Works, which curfes them for their not continuing in all Things written in the Book of the Law to do them ?—I entreat you, Sir, to confider this Cafe; it is of vaft Importance to you. If you have not good Evidence of an Intereft in Chrift, how can you pretend to the Privileges purchafed with his precious Blood? How can you pretend to Accefs to God through him, and a Claim to the bleffed Influences of his holy Spirit --How can Unbelievers have a Claim to the Favour of God by Chrift, when he himself affures us, that the Wrath of God abideth on them?

But, "Will not God have Compaflion on his "Creatures, when they do what they can to ferve "him "What Answer would a Prince make to a condemned Rebel in his Shackles and Dungeon, that should make this Plea for Pardon? Would the Criminal's doing what he can to ferve his Prince (which, in his prefent State, is nothing at all to any good Purpofe) atone for his past Rebellion? Or would this qualify him for his Prince's Favour, while he yet retains the fame Enmity in his Heart against him, and will not fo much as fubmit to his fovereign good Pleafure and meer Mercy? The Application is eafy; and it belongs to you, Sir, to confider seriously, whether a Sinner, who is dead in Trefpaffes and Sins, who is in a State of Rebellion against God, and therefore under the condemning Sentence of the Law, can any more atone for his Sins, or make a reasonable Plea for Grace and Pardon, than the Traitor aforefaid? were your Reasoning ever fo juft, it would afford you no Grounds of Comfort; for there never was, nor ever shall be, any Man, that can fairly make this Plea in his own Favour, and truly say, he has done

13

But

done all he can in the mortifying his Lufts, and in his Endeavours to ferve God. There will, after all his Attempts, remain enough neglected, even of the external Part of his Duty, that was most in his own Power, to condemn both his Perfon and his Services.

You complain, that "the Arguments in the "Book I fent you do not give you Satisfaction.*" -Well, I have here added fome further Evidence to what was there offered; and would now call upon you to confider, whether all these Things put together do not make it evident, that you lie at Mercy, and convince you of thofe Scripture-Truths, that it is not in him that willeth, nor in him that runneth, but in God that fheweth Mercy; and that God giveth his faving Grace only because it hath fo feemed good in his Sight.--Confider, whether you can atone for past Sins by present Duties, by Duties which are fo polluted by the Principle from which they flow, and which have fo much Carnality, Selfifhnefs, Hypocrify, and finful Defects cleaving to them, that if the Iniquity of your most holy Things be imputed, it must greatly increase the moral Distance between God and you. Confider, whether, while you are under the Law, or Covenant of Works, you are capable not only to fulfil all its preceptive Demands, and fo not further expose yourself to its Curfes, but alfo to do something towards making Satisfaction to God's Juftice for what you have already done amifs, and to merit his Favour.Or confider, whether you have any Claim to God's Acceptance of your Perfon upon Chrift's Account, without an Interest in him, and whillt condemned already by his own Mouth, and under the Wrath of God for your Unbelief.

*The true Scripture Doctrine, &c.

Confider,

Confider, whether you can have any Promife of Acceptance to plead, while you remain under the Curfe, both of the Law and Gofpel.Confider, whether an omniscient and holy God can be either deluded or gratified with mere external Shews of Religion, when he knows you have an Heart in you that is far from him.-Confider, whether you can ever make the Case bester, by all your Endeavours to change your own Heart, and to create yourfelf anew in Chrift Jefus, any more than you can produce a new World.Confider, whether you dare venture your Eternity upon this Iffue, that you fincerely do what you can to ferve God; and whether there be not fuch finful Defects cleaving to your belt Performances, as may justly condemn both you and them. Confider again, whether, if you should do all you can in the Service of God, you would do any Thing that would either fully come up to the Terms of the Covenant of Grace, or bear the leaft Proportion to that Salvation which the Gospel requires.Confider once more, whether the glorious God has not an abfolute Right to dif pofe of his own Favours, just how, when, and where he pleases; and whether he has not affured us, that he will bestow his everlasting Mercy upon none but those who are really conformable to the Terms of the Covenant of Grace.

Now, Sir, if you, while unregenerate, can neither make Atonement for your paft Sin and Guilt, nor come up to the Demands of the Law of Nature; if you can neither please God by your finful Performances, nor impofe upon him by your hypocritical Shews; if you run further in Debt by the Sin in your very Duties, instead of paying any Thing of the old Score ; if you have no Claim to Acceptance on Chrift's Account, without a special Interest in him, nor any Claim to the Be

nefits of the Covenant of Grace, till you actually comply with the Terms of it; if both Law and Gofpel condemn you in your prefent State, and nothing but Omnipotence can change your Heart and make your State better; if God be a fovereign Donor of his own Favours; and you can have no Promise to plead, while you remain under the Curfe and Wrath of God, and a Stranger to the Covenants of Promife; if even you yourself must allow all thefe Things to be undoubted Truths, it must then be true, even to Demonstration, that (while in fuch a State) you are capable of no Qualifying Condition of the divine Favour; and had need therefore to feel that you lie at Mercy.

To conclude this Head; if God himself may be believed in the Cafe, He will have Mercy upon whom he will have Mercy; and whom he will be hardeneth Rom. ix. 18.-'Tis not for our Sakes, that he bestows Grace upon us, but for his holy. Name's Sake, Ezek. xxxvi. 22, 31. He predeftinates us unto the Adoption of Children by Jefus Chrift to himself, according to the good Pleafure of his Will, to the Praise of the Glory of his Grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Eph. i. 5, 6.—He acts, in this Cafe, according to his own fovereign Pleasure, as a Potter that hath Power over his Clay, to make one Vessel to Honour, and another to Dishonour; and we have no Liberty to reply against Ged: It is infufferable Arrogance for the Thing formed to fay to him that formed it, Why haft thou made me thus ? Rom. ix. 20, 21.—Sir, as you yourself claim a Sovereignty in the Dispenfation of your Favours, furely you will not dare to deny like Sovereignty in the eternal God. Believe it, the glorious God is a fovereign Bene

factor;

factor; and he will be acknowledged as fuch, by all that ever partake of his faving Mercy.

And now I am prepared to fhew you, that the Confequence which you draw from this Doctrine is unjuft, and even directly contrary to the Improvment you ought to make of it.

And the Reason I offer for this is, that a realiz ing Belief of the Truth before us directly tends to bring moft Glory to God, and moft safety, Comfort, and Happiness to yourself.—It is easy to conceive how it conduceth most to God's Glory, for us to confider him as the Fountain and Foundation of all Grace and Mercy; and to confider all the Favours we enjoy, or hope for, as flowing from the mere Goodness of his Nature, and not from any Motive or Inducement which we can poffibly lay before him.In this View of the Cafe, we do that Honour to an infinite and eternal Being, as to fuppofe him a felf-exiftent, independent, and immutable Sovereign; while, on the contrary, to imagine ourselves capable, by any Thing we can do, to change his Purposes, engage his Affections, or excite and move his Compassions towards us, is to conceive him to be altogether fuch an one as ourfelves, liable to new Impreffions from our Complaints or Perfuafions, mutable in his Affections, dependent upon our Duties for the Exercife of his Grace. And I leave it to you to judge, which of thefe Apprehenfions are most worthy of that God, who is infinitely exalted above us, and is without any Variation or Shadow of turning: I leave it likewife to you to judge, which Principle is most likely to fubferve our best Interefts, that which does the most Honour, or that which does the moft Difhonour to God.

If we apply this to the prefent Cafe, I ask, In which Way can we find moft Encouragement to

feek