heart, and overcomes the world; and he that hath this hope in Christ, purifieth himself, even as he is pure. A true faith unites the foul to Chrift, as the branch is united to the vine; and thereby enables the man to bring forth much fruit. The true believer hates every false way; he mourns over, and watches, ftrives, and prays against all the corruptions of his nature, and all the imperfections of his heart and life. There is no known fin, which he indulges himself in; no known duty, which he willingly neglects; no difficulty, which can deter him from following Chrift; no temptation, which can allure him from endeavouring a conformity to the whole will of God. Not as tho' he had already attained, or were already perfect. He has daily caufe to lament his defects: but yet he can truly fay, that he delights in the law of the Lord, after the inward man; and accordingly endeavours in every ftation and relation, in all his conduct both to God and man, as well in fecret as openly, to live a life of conformity to God, in all the du ties he requires of him. And wherein he cannot attain, he is yet preffing towards perfection, and groaning after a further progrefs in holiness, even in all inftances, without referve; nor yet fatisfied without a final perfeverance, to crown his fincerity.

But on the other hand, the obedience of an unfincere profeffor is very partial, defective, temporary; and but a matter of force and constraint upon the appetites and affections. If with Herod he reforms and does many things, he yet retains his Herodias, fome darling corruption unmortified; or leaves fome unpleasant duty neglected. Or if, 'by the lashes of an awaken'd conscience, he is driven for a time to a more general reformation from all known fin, and to outward attendance upon all known duty, he finds no inward complacency in it; and therefore is like a dull horfe, that will be kept on his way no longer than he feels a fpur in his fide.

Here then is a confpicuous difference between a true and a falfe believer. The one has a principle of holinefs, a delight in it, and an earneft and continuing defire after further proficiency in the divine life. The other aims only at fo much holinefs as he thinks will fave him out of hell, but cares for nothing more; and what

he has, is excited by fear, or conftrained by force, contrary to the natural tendency and bias of his foul. In fine, the one makes it the endeavour of his life, to approve himself to a pure, holy, and omnifcient God. The other refts in endeavours to quiet his conscience, and to filence his clamours and accufations.

5. A faving faith works by love to God and man: but a dead faith always falls fhort of both. The apostle aflures, that if we have all faith, fo that we could remove mountains, and have not charity, we are nothing. Faith worketh by love; and the true believer keeps himself in the love of God, looking to the mercy of the Lord Jefus Chrift for eternal life. He delights in contemplating the glorious perfections of the divine nature. His meditations upon God are fweet, and the thoughts of him precious to his foul. He values the favour of God as life, and his loving kindness as better than life. If he can have the glorious. God for his portion, and live in the light of his countenance, he can be content with straits, difficulties, trials, and affli&tions here in the world. He takes peculiar pleasure in the ordinances of God, and all the appointed means of a near approach into his fpecial prefence; and he is especially pleafed, when favoured with fenfible communion with God. Though he can't always walk fo near to God, and find fuch fenfible deJight in him; yet he laments his abfence, when he withdraws; heavily complains of his own deadnefs, world. linefs, fenfuality, which feparates between God and his foul; and can find no true reft or fatisfaction, till here. turn to God, and God to him. This is at least the ordinary courfe and tenour of the believer's life: and if at any time he fhould be fo left of God as to grow forgetful of him, and have any continuing prevalence of a dead carnal worldly frame in his foul, this darkens the evidence of his state, robs him of his comfort and peace, and will at length put him upon vigorous and active endeavours for obtaining a revival of his languishing graces, by a fresh fupply of the Spirit of Jefus Christ.

Thus, the true believer hath the love of God dwelling in him; and from the fame, principle, he likewife loves his neighbour as himself. He maintains a life of justice, mecknefs, kindnefs, and beneficence towards all men,

bears injuries, is ready to forgive, entertains the best opinion of men's fate and actions, that the cafe will al low; and endeavours to live in the exercise of love, joy, peace, long-fuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness meeknefs. And as he thus maintains a love of benevo lence to all men, he has in a special manner a love of complacence towards those who bear the marks of the divine image. Thefe he delights in, on account of their being (or at leaft appearing to be) the children of God. He loves them for their heavenly Father's fake, as well as for thofe gracious qualifications, which make the righ teous more excellent than his neighbour. He loves the company of the faints. Thefe are the excellent, in whom is all his delight. He loves their piety; and studies an imitation of them, wherein they follow Chrift; and studies to equal (if not excel) them in their highest improvements in religion. He loves their perfons; and hopes to join with them in the eternal praises of God.

This is the real and genuine character of every true believer : while the highest attainments of a dead faith do fall short of every part of this description. The falfe profeffor may imagine, that he has fomething of the love of God in him: but upon a juft view of the cafe it will appear, that it is only to an idol, the creature of his own imagination. If he feems to love God under an apprehenfion of his goodness and mercy, he yet dreads him on account of his justice, and has an inward aversion to his purity and holiness; so that the object of his love is an imaginary being, of infinite goodness and mercy, without either juftice or holiness. If from the alarms of conscience, or fome emotions of his natural affections, he may take fome pleasure in religious exerciles, this pleasure is fhort and tranfient, like the principle from whence it flows; he foon returns to careleffness and forgetfulness of God, and has his affections quickly engag ed in worldly and fenfual purfuits. And however he may deceive himfelf in any fuppofed progrefs in religion, he can never fatisfy his foul with having God for his portion. He can never in course keep up a life of fpiritual-mindednefs, and delight in God, and in a way of obedience to him, and commuuion with him.

The fame defects are likewife found in the unfound believer with refpect to his love to his neighbour. If he be not (as its too commonly found) unjuft and des ceitful, wrathful, and contentious, hard-hearted and unkind, bitter and cenforious, revengeful and implacable, yet he never loves the children of God as fuch. Whatever love he may have to any fuch from special intimate acquaintance, or from their being in the fame caufe, party, or perfuafion with himself (which is indeed no more than the exercise of self-love or self esteem) he never loves the image of Christ in every fect or party, in whom he finds it, nor can he love a conformity to the children of God in the holiness of their hearts and lives.

Here then you fee an apparent difference in these two forts of believers. The one loves God above all things: and indeed he that does not love him with a fupreme love, does not love him as God; and confequently does not love him at all. But the other feeks the favour of God, from no other motive but fear of his displeasure, or fome defire of happiness; and not from sense of the excellency of his glorious perfections, and the blessed. nefs of an intereft in his favour. The one loves what God loves; hates what he hates; and loves and esteems himfelf but in proportion to his conformity unto God. The other retains his delight in his lufts and idols; and repairs to God because he durft not do otherwife. The one, like God himself, takes pleasure in doing good to all men; and takes fpecial delight in all without diftinction, who are partakers of the divine nature. The other at the best has his love to man influenced by selfish principles and therefore takes moft delight in those, who are moft conformable to his own fentiments or difpositions.

Left I fhould weary out your patience, I fhall juft mention but this one particular more.

6. A faving faith humbles the foul, and makes it low and vile in its own eyes: whereas a dead faith tends to exalt the mind with vain apprehenfions of, or endeavours after, fome fufficiency or excellency of its own. The true believer has a deep fense of the greatness and aggravations of his fins, loathes himself on account of them; and adores the patience and long-fuffering of

God towards him, that has kept him out of hell. is fo fenfible of the great defects of his duties, of the finfulness of his heart, the imperfections of his life, and his utter unworthiness of any favour from God, that he cannot but entertain a moft deep and fenfible impression, that it must be a wonderful difplay of mere fovereign grace, if ever he obtains falvation. It is always true, that the greater manifeftation of God's love is made to his foul, the greater fenfe he hath of his own nothingnefs and unworthiness, and the more he admires and adores the aftonifhing riches of free diftinguifhing grace to fuch a guilty polluted creature as he is. Though the true believer lives in the exercise of that charity towards others, which thinketh no evil, but believeth all things, and hopeth all things: yet he always finds occafion to condemn himself, and to cenfure his own inward affections, and outward performances, religious duties, and moral conduct; and therefore cannot but esteem others better than himself. In fhort, the true believer always, while in this tabernacle, groans being burdened. He finds occafions of a renewed repentance every day: he every day finds new caufe to complain of himself; and new cause to commit a finful and unworthy foul to the mere mercy of God in Chrift.

1. On the contrary, a dead faith always either puffs up the vain mind with a haughty pleafing apprehenfion of its own attainments, makes it cenforious and uncharitable, and infpires it with that proud Pharifaical language, I thank God, I am not as other men: or else from the fame haughty principle, either leaves the foul fecure and eafy, in its good defigns and purposes of future repentance; or impatient and defponding, through want of thofe good qualifications which it fuppofes neceflary.

I think I need not enlarge upon this distinction; it is fo apparent and manifeft, and the characters fo eafy to

be known.

And now, Sir, to fum up the whole in a fhort and eafy view. If you have good evidence of a faving faith in Chrift, you must have fuch a fenfible impreffion of the truth of the gofpel, as makes you feel the importance of your eternal concerns, and your neceffity of an intereft in Chrift; and puts your foul upon earnest and active