ral' diftance 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 expofe yourself to its curfes; but also to do fomething towards making fatisfaction 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 person upon Chrift's account, without an interest in him, and whilft condemned already by his own mouth, and under the wrath of God for your unbelief. Confider whether you can have any promise 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 fhews of religion, when he knows you have an heart in you that is far from him. Confider, whether you can ever make the cafe better, by all your endeavours to change your own heart, and to create yourself anew in Christ 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 beft performances, as may juftly condemn both you and them. Confider again, whether if you fhould do all you can in the fervice of God, you would do any thing that would either fully come up to the terms of the covenant of grace; or bear the least proportion to that falvation which the Gospel requires. Confider once more, whether the glorious God has not an absolute right so difpofe of his own favours, just how, when, and where he pleafes; and whether he has not affured us, that he will beftow 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 fin 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 fhews: if you run. further in debt by the fin in your duties, instead of paying any thing of the old fcore: if you have no claim to

acceptance on Chrift's account, without a fpecial interest in him nor any claim to the benefits of the covenant of grace, till you actually comply with the terms of it: if both law and Gofpel condemn you in your present ftate: and nothing but omnipotence can change your heart, and make your flate 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 these things to be undoubted truths, it must then be true, even to demonstration, that (while in fuch a ftate) 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 on in the case, be will have mercy upon whom he will have mercy; and whom he will, he hardneth, Rom. ix. 18. 'Tis not for our fakes, that he bestows grace upon us, but for his boly name's fake, Ezek. xxxvi. 22, 31. He predeftinates us unto the adoption of children by Jefus Chrift to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praife 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 sovereign pleasure, as a potter that bath power over his clay, to make one veffel to honour, and another to difbonour; and we have no liberty to rely againft God: 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 yourfelf claim a fovereignty in the difpenfation of your favours, furely you won't dare to deny a like fovereignty in the eternal God. Believe it, the glorious God is a fovereign benefactor; and be will be acknowledged as fuch, by all that ever partake of his faving mercy.

And now I am prepared to shew you, that the confequence which you draw from this doctrine, is unjust; and even directly contrary to the improvement you ought to make of it.

And the reafon I offer for this, is, that a realizing belief of the truth before us directly tends to bring most glory to God; and most safety, comfort, and happiness to yourself. It is easy to conceive how it conduceth

H

moft 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 case we do that honour to an infinite and eternal being, as to fuppofe him a felf exiftent, independent, and immutable fovereign: 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 compaffions towards us, is to conceive him to be altogether fuch an one as ourselves, liable to new impreffions from our complaints or perfuafions, mutable in his affections, and dependant upon our duties for the exercife of his grace. And I leave it to you to judge, which of these apprehenfions are most worthy of that God, who is infinitely exalted above us ; and is without any variation or fhadow of turning. I leave it likewife to you to judge, which principle is moft likely to fubferve our beft interefts, that which does moft honour, or that which does the most difhonour to God.

If we apply this to the prefent cafe, I afk, In which way can we find moft encouragement to feek or ftrive for mercy? in which way have we the best profpect of fuccefs? by entertaining falfe and difhonourable conceptions of the divine being, and denying to God the glory which is due to his name? or else by lying at the foot of a fovereign; and thereby afcribing to him the infinite perfections of his excellent nature? Though in this latter way, you can make no change in God, you will nevertheless have the evidence that he has made a change in you, and a comfortable profpect, that by bringing you to a fubmiffion to his fovereignty, he has a defign of fpecial favour to your foul.

If we fhould yet further continue our view of this cafe, it will appear, that a submission to the mere fovereign mercy of God is moft conducive to your own comfort, fafety, and happiness. This confideration is a just foundation of comfort and hope, in that it obviates the darkness and difcouragements, that would otherwife arife from a fenfe of your guilt and unworthinefs, and from your impotence and unavoidable infirmity and im

perfection in the fervice of God. What hope could you find from your duties; when after your beft endeavours, you would fee fo much deadness, formality, and hypocrify, in your higheft attainments? What hope from your reformations; when you find fo much fin and corruption gaining ground against all your good purpofes and refolutions? What hope from your affections, when so much hardness of heart, worldly-mindednefs, fenfuality, and carnal difpofitions are separating between God and you? Can you quiet your foul by impofing upon an omniscient God, with your vain fhews and flattering pretences? No, Sir, if you have any true discovery of your own heart, thefe confiderations muft continually perplex and diftrefs your foul, with distracting fears and defpondencies, as long as you are thus compaffing yourfelf about with sparks of your own kindling. For thefe defects and imperfections will certainly accompany your beft refolutions, endeavours and attainments. But then, on the other hand, if you lie at mercy, and fubmit to God as the fovereign difpofer of his own favours, you have good grounds of encouragement and hope. Are your fins great, and greatly aggravated? The mercy of God exceeds them all. Have you no agreeable qualifi cations, to recommend you to the favour of God? Multitudes of others have found mercy, who had no better qualifications than you have. Have you no fpecia! promife to depend upon, as belonging to you, while in an unconverted state? Yet is it not fufficient, that you have gracious encouragement to leave all in the hands of that niercy, which infinitely exceeds your highest apprehenfions or imaginations? Are you incapable to come up to the terms of grace, propofed in the gofpel? There is yet hope in God's omnipotent mercy, that he will work in you both to will and to do, of his own good plea-› fure. He has done it for thousands of finners no better than you.

Now, Sir, look around you; and fee what refuge you can poffibly betake yourself to. You are in the hands of juftice; and which way can you make your escape? If you attempt to fly from God, you perish; but if you fly to him, there is hope. He is fovereign in the donation of his favours; you have therefore as good a prof

pect of obtaining falvation (in the use of appointed means) as any unregenerate perfon in the world. Your defects and demerits need not be any difcouragement: for his mercy triumphs over the guilt and unworthiness of the greatest finners. Is it therefore not your greatest fafety to lie at his foot, in the way of his appointments, where there is a bleffed hope fet before you? In this way you have the infinite mercy of God, the gracious encouragements of the gofpel, the glorious fuccefs of fo many thousands who have tried this method, to animate your diligence and hope. And there is no other way in which you have any encouragement to expect renewing grace, and pardoning, faving mercy.

Since you wholly depend upon God's free fovereign mercy, you fhould ufe the more diligent and earnest application, in all the ways of his appointment, that you may obtain it. Since you must obtain mercy of God, or perish; O with what diligence and importunity, with what ardour of foul, fhould you address the throne of grace, for deliverance from your guilt and danger? Since in a way of fovereignty, God is pleafed to beftow his fpecial grace, with an intereft in his Son and his great falvation, at what time and by what means it fhall feear beft in his fight, you should therefore at all times, and in the use of all the means of grace, be feeking the Lord while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near.

Can it be thought just reasoning, that because you cannot help yourself, and there is none but God can help you, it's therefore in vain to apply to him for help? That becaufe you have no claim to his favour, but lye at his mercy, you will not therefore feek mercy at his hands? Does not this, at the firft view, appear contrary to all the methods of reafoning we fhould ufe in any other cafe? Can you promise yourself comfort, from fuch reasonings, and fuch conclufions as thefe, in your last expiring moments, when your foul is entering upon its eternal and unchangeable flate?

་

But you object, If God in fovereignty designs mercy for us, we fhall obtain it, whether we feek, or no: ande if not, it's in vain to ftrive.' To this it's fufficient anfwer, that God never does in fovereignty appoint falvation for any, in the final wilful neglect of Gospel,