20. This is fo often repeated in Scripture, that no Man that confiders and believes what he reads, can doubt of it. Chrift himfelf tells us, Matt. ix. 13. He came to call Sinners to Repentance. And St. Peter, Acts iii. 26. tells us, That God fent his Son Jefus to bless us, in turning every of one us from our Iniquities; for it seems, the turning of us from our Iniquities, was the greatest special Blessing which God intended us in Chrift.

21. Nay, we are taught by St. Paul, that this was the End of his very Death alfo, Tit. ii. 14. Who gave himself for our Sins, that he might redeem us from all Iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar People, zealous of good Works. And again, Gal. i. 4. Who gave himself for us, that he might deliver us from this prefent evil World, that is, from the Sins and ill Cuftoms of the World. Diverfe other Texts there are to this Purpose; but these I fuppofe fufficient to affure any Man of this one great Truth, that all that Chrift hath done for us, was directed to this End, the bringing us to live Chriftianly; or in the Words of St. Paul, To teach us, that denying Ungodlinefs, and worldly Lufts, we should live foberly, righ teously, and godly in this prefent World.

22. Now we know Chrift is the Foundation of all the Promifes; In him all the Promifes of God are Yea and Amen, 2 Cor. i. 20. And therefore if God gave Chrift to this End, certainly the Promifes are to the fame alfo. And then how great an Abuse of them is it to make them ferve for Purpofes quite contrary to what they were intended? viz. to the encouraging us in Sins, which they will certainly do, if we perfuade our felves they belong to us, how wickedly foever we live. The Apoftle teaches us another Use of them, 2 Cor. vii. 1. Hảving therefore these Promifes, let us cleanse our

felves from all Filthiness of the Flesh and Spirit, perfecting Holiness in the Fear of God. When we do thus, we may juftly apply the Promises to our felves, and with Comfort expect our Parts in them. But 'till then, though thefe Promifes be of certain Truth, yet can we reap no Benefit from them, be- . caufe we are not the Perfons to whom they are made; that is, we perform not the Condition required to give us right to them.

23. This is the Faith or Belief required of us, towards the Things God hath revealed to us in the Scripture, to wit, fuch as may answer the End for which they were fo revealed, that is, the bringing us to good Lives; the bare believing the Truth of them, without this, is no more than the Devils do, as St. James tells us, Chap. ii. 19. only they are not fo unreasonable as fome of us are; for they will tremble, as knowing well this Faith will never do them any good. But many of us go on confidently, and doubt not the Sufficiency of our Faith, though we have not the leaft Fruit of Obedience to ap prove it by; let fuch hear St. James's Judgment in the Point, Chap. ii. 26. As the Body without the Spirit is dead; fo Faith, if it have not Works, is dead alfo

24. A fecond Duty to God is HOPE; that is, a comfortable Expectation of Hope. thofe good things he hath promised. But

this, as I told you before of Faith, must be fuch as agrees to the Nature of the Promises, which being fuch as requires a Condition on our Part, we can hope no farther than we make that good; or if we do, we are fo far from performing it by this Duty of Hope, that we commit the great Sin of Prefumption, which is nothing else but hoping where God

B. 5

Prefum

tion.

hath

hath given us no Ground to hope; this every Man doth, that hopes for Pardon of Sins and eternal Life, without that Repentance and Obedience to which alone they are promifed: The true Hope is that which purifies us. St. John faith, 1 Epist. iii. 3. Every Man that hath this Hope in him, purifieth bimfelf, even as he is pure; that is, it makes him leave his Sins, and earneftly endeavour to be holy as Chrift is; and that which doth not fo, how con⚫ fident foever it be, may well be concluded to be but that Hope of the Hypocrite, which Job affures us fhall perifh.

25. But there is another way of tranfDefpair. greffing this Duty, befides that of Prefumption, and that is by Defperation: By which I mean not that which is ordinarily fo called; viz. the defpairing of Mercy fo long as we continue in our Sins, for that is but just for us to do; but I mean fuch a Desperation as makes us give over Endeavour, that is, when a Man that fees he is not at present such an one as the Promifes belong to, concludes he can never become fuch, and therefove neglects all Duty, and goes on in his Sins. This is indeed the finful Defperation, and that which, if it be continued in, must end in Destruction.

26. Now the Work of Hope is to prevent this, by fetting before us the Generality of the Promises, that they belong to all that will but perform the Condition. And therefore, though a Man have not hitherto performed it, and fo hath yet no Right to them, yet Hope will tell him, that that Right may yet be gained, if he will now fet heartily about it. It is therefore ftrange Folly for any Man, be he never fo finful, to give up himself for loft, when if he will but change his Course,

he fhall be as certain to partake of the Promifes of Mercy, as if he had never gone on in those former Sins.

27. This Chrift fhews us in the Parable of the Prodigal, Luke xv. where we fee that Son, which had run away from his Father, and had confumed the Portion given him in riotous Living, was yet upon his Return and Repentance used with as much Kindness by the Father, as he that had never offended; nay, with higher and more paffionate Expreffions of Love. The Intent of which Parable was only to fhew us, how graciously our heavenly Father will receive us, how great foever our former Sins have been, if we fhall return to him with true Sorrow for what is paft, and fincere Obedience for the time to come; nay, fo acceptable a thing is it to God, to have any Sinner return from the Error of his ways, that there is a kind of Triumph in Heaven for it; There is foy in the Prefence of the Angels of God over one Sinner that repenteth, Luke XV. IO. And now who would not rather choose, by a timely Repentance, to bring Joy to Heaven, to God and his holy Angels, than by a fullen Defperation to please Satan and his accurfed Spirits ; efpecially when by the former we fhall gain endlefs Happiness to our felves, and by the latter as endless Torments.

Love ; it;
Motives.

28. A third Duty to God is Love; there are two common Motives of Love among Men. The one, the Goodnefs and Excellency of the Perfon; the other his particular Kindness and Love to us; and both these are in the highest Degree in God. 29. Firft, he is of infinite Goodness

you

and Excellency in himfelf; this were before taught to believe of him; B 6

God': Ex

cellency.

and

and no man can doubt it that confiders but this one thing, that there is nothing good in the World but what hath received all its Goodnefs from God ; his Goodness is as the Sea or Ocean, and the Goodness of all Creatures but as fome small Streams flowing from the Sea. Now you would certainly think him a Mad-man, that fhould fay the Sea were not greater than fome little Brook; and certainly it is no lefs Folly to fuppofe, that the Goodnefs of God doth not as much (nay infinitely more) exceed that of all Creatures. Befides the Goodness of the Creature is imperfect, and mixed with much Evil; but his is pure and entire without any fuch Mixture. He is perfectly holy, and cannot be tainted with the leaft Impurity, neither can be the Author of any to us; for though he be the Caufe of all the Goodness in us, he is the Cause of none of our Sins. This St. James exprefly tells us, Chap. i. 13. Let no Man Jay when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with Evil, neither tempteth he any Man.

nefs to us.

30. But fecondly, God is not only His Kind- thus good in himself, but he is also wonderful good, that is, kind and merciful, to us. We are made up of two Parts, a Soul and a Body, and to each of thefe God hath expreffed infinite Mercy and Tendernefs. Do but confider what was before told you of the SE. COND COVENANT, and the Mercies therein offered, event Chrift himself and all his Benefits; and alfo that he offers them fo fincerely and heartily, that no Man can mifs of enjoying them but by his own Default. For he doth moft really and affectionately defire we fhould embrace them and live as appears by that folemn Oath of his,

Ezek.