ed by faith; seeking and deriving that help from Christ, which is necessary in order thereunto. And therefore,

(1.) As the dominion of sin consists in its rendering us guilty in the sight of God, whereby the conscience is burdened, by reason of the dread that it has of that punishment which is due to us, and the condemning sentence of the law, which we are liable to; and as its mortification, in this respect, consists in our deliverance from that which makes us so uneasy, no expedient can be used to mortify it, but our looking by faith to Christ, as a propitiation for sin, whereby we are enabled to behold the debt which we had contracted, cancelled, the indictment superseded, and the condemning sentence repealed; from whence the soul concludes, that iniquity shall not be its ruin. This is the only method we are to take when oppressed with a sense of the guilt of sin, which is daily committed by us. It was shadowed forth by the Israelites looking to the brazen serpent, a type of Christ crucified, when stung with fiery serpents, which occasioned exquisite pain, and would, without this expedient, have brought immediate death: thus the deadly wound of sin is healed by the sovereign balm of Christ's blood, applied by faith; and we, by his having fulfilled the law, may be said to be dead to it, as freed from the curse thereof, and all the sad consequences that would ensue thereupon.

(2.) As sin is said to have dominion over us, in that all the powers and faculties of our souls are enslaved by it, whereby, as the apostle expresses it, we are carnal, sold under sin, Rom. vii. 14. when we are weak and unable to perform what is good, and the corruption of nature is so predominant, that we are, as it were, carried down the stream, which we strive against, but in vain in this respect sin is to be mortified, by a fiducial application to Christ, for help against it; and herein we are to consider him as having undertaken, not only to deliver from the condemning, but the prevailing power of sin; which is a part of the work that he is now engaged in, wherein he applies the redemption he purchased, by the powerful influences of the Holy Spirit, and the soul seeks to him for them. As it is natural for us, when we are in imminent danger of present ruin, or are assaulted by an enemy, whose superior force we are not able to withstand, to cry out to some kind friend, for help; or when we are in danger of death, by some disease which nature is ready to sink under, to apply ourselves to the physician for relief: thus the soul is to apply itself to Christ for strength against the prevailing power of indwelling sin, and grace to make him more than a conqueror over it; and Christ, by his Spirit, in this respect, enables us (to use the apostle's words,) to mortify the deeds of body, Rom. viii. 13.

And, in order hereunto, we take encouragement, from the promises of God; and the connexion that there is between Christ's having made satisfaction for sin, and his delivering those who are redeemed, from the power of it, as the apostle says, Sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, that is, under the condemning sentence of it, but under grace, chap. vi. 14. as having an interest in that grace which has engaged to deliver from sin: in both these respects we consider Christ not only as able, but as having undertaken to deliver his people from all their spiritual enemies, to relieve them in all their straits and exigences, and to bring them off safe and victorious. This is the method which we are to take to mortify sin; and it is a never-failing remedy. What was before observed, under the foregoing heads, concerning our endeavouring to see the evil of sin, and exercising that watchfulness against the occasions thereof, are necessary duties, without which sin will gain strength: nevertheless the victory over it is principally owing to our deriving righteousness and strength, by faith, from Christ; whereby he has the glory of a conqueror over it, and we have the advantage of receiving this privilege as applying ourselves to, and relying on him for it.

Having considered the way in which sin is to be mortified, agreeably to the gospel-rule; we shall, before we close this head, take notice of some other methods which many rest in, thinking thereby to free themselves from the dominion of sin, which will not answer that end. Some have no other notion of sin, but as it discovers itself in those gross enormities which are matter of public scandal or reproach in the eye of the world, who do not duly consider the spirituality of the law of God; such-like sentiments of moral evil, the apostle Paul had, before his conversion, as he says, I was alive without the law once, chap. vii. 9. compared with 7. and I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet. Sin did not appear to be sin, ver. 13. that is, nothing was thought sin by him, but that which was openly scandalous, and deemed so by universal consent; and therefore he says elsewhere, that touching the righteousness which is in the law, he was blameless, Phil. iii. 6. or, as Ephraim is represented, saying, In all my labour they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin, Hos. xii. 8. These persons think they shall come off well, if they can say, that they are not guilty of some enormous crimes; so that none can charge them with those open debaucheries, or other sins, that are not to be mentioned among Christians; or if, through any change in their condition of life, or being delivered from those temptations that gave occasion to them; or if there natural temper be less inclined to them than before, and, as the result

hereof, they abstain from them, this they call a mortifying of sin; though the most that can be said of it is, that sin is only curbed, confined, and their natural inclinations to it abated, while it is far from being dead.

Others, who will allow that sin is of a far larger extent, and includes in it that which prevails in the heart, as well as renders itself visible in the life, or contains in it the omission of duties, as well as the actual commission of known sins; these often take a preposterous method to mortify it: if they are sensible of the guilt that is contracted hereby, they use no other method to be discharged from it, but by pretending to make atonement, either by confessing their sins, using endeavours to abstain from them, or by the performance of some duties of religion, by which they think to make God amends for the injuries they have offered to him thereby: but this is so far from mortifying sin, that it increases the guilt thereof, and causes it to take deeper root, and afterwards to break forth in a greater degree; or else tends to stupify the conscience, after which they go on in a way of sin, with carnal security, and without

remorse.

Others think, that to mortify sin, is nothing else but to subdue and keep under their passions, at least, to such a degree that they may not, through the irregularity and impetuous violence thereof, commit those sins which they cannot but reflect upon with shame, when brought into a more calm and considerate temper of mind; and, in order thereunto, they subject themselves to certain rules, which the light of nature will suggest, and the wiser Heathen have laid down to induce persons to lead a virtuous life; and they argue thus with themselves, that it is below the dignity of the human nature, for men to suffer their passions to lead their reason captive, or to do that which betrays a want of wisdom as well as temper; and if by this means the exorbitancy of their passions is abated, and many sins, which are occasioned thereby, prevented, they conclude their lives to be unblemished, and sin subdued; whereas this is nothing else but restraining the fury of their temper, or giving a check to some sins, while sin in general remains unmortified.

As to the methods prescribed by some Popish casuists, of emaciating, or keeping under the body by physic, or a sparing diet, and submitting to hard penances, not only to atone for past sins, but prevent them for the future, these have not a tendency to strike at the root of sin, and therefore are unjustly called a mortifying of it. For though an abstemious regular way of living be conducive to answer some valuable ends, and without it men are led to the commission of many sins; yet this is no expedient to take away the guilt thereof; neither is the ensla

ving, captivating, and prevailing power of indwelling sin, that discovers itself in various shapes, and attends every condition and circumstance of life, sufficiently subdued hereby.

And those common methods that many others take, which are of a different nature, namely, when they resolve, though in their own strength, to break off their sins by repentance; or, if their resolutions to lead a virtuous life are weak, and not much regarded by them, endeavour to strengthen them, this will not answer their end, sin will be too strong for all their resolutions, and the engagements with which they bind themselves, will be like the cords with which Sampson was bound, which were broken by him like threads. If we rely on our own strength, how much soever we may be resolved to abstain from sin at present, God will make us sensible of our weakness, by leaving us to ourselves; and then, how much soever we resolve to abstain from sin, it will appear that it is far from being mortified, or subdued by us. Therefore we conclude, that this cannot be performed, but by going forth in the name and strength of Christ, who is able to keep us from falling; or, when fallen, to recover us: and this will be found, in the end, to be the best expedient for the promoting this branch of our sanctification; which leads us to consider,

III. That, in the farther carrying on of this work of sanctification, we are enabled to walk with God, or before him, in holiness and righteousness. We are first made alive in regene ration, and then put forth living actions, which some call vivification, as distinguished from that part of sanctification, which has been already considered, namely, mortification of sin.

This is what we may call leading an holy life, whereby we are to understand much more than many do, who suppose, that it consists only in the performance of some moral duties, that contain the external part of religion, without which there would not be the least shadow of holiness; and in performing those duties which we owe to men in the various relations which we stand in to them; or, at least, in keeping ourselves clear from those pollutions which are in the world through lust, 2 Pet. i. 4. The Pharisee, in the gospel, thought himself an extraordinary holy person, because he was no extortioner, nor unjust, nor adulterer; but fasted, paid tithes, and performed several works of charity; and many are great pretenders to it, who have no other than a form of godliness, without the power of it, or who are more than ordinarily diligent in their attendance on the ordinances of God's appointment; though they are far from doing this in a right way, like those whom the prophet speaks of, who are said to seek God daily, and to delight to know his ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the

ordinance of their God; though at the same time, they are said to fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness, Isa. lviii. 2. But, that we may consider several other things, which are contained in a person's leading an holy life, let it be observed,

1. That our natures must be changed, and therefore sanctification always supposes and flows from regeneration: there must be grace in the heart, or else it can never discover itself in the life; the root must be good, or else the tree cannot bring forth good fruit; the spring of action must be cleansed, otherwise the actions themselves will be impure. Some persons, who are generally strangers to the internal work of grace, are very apt to insist much on the goodness of their hearts, and this is sometimes pleaded in excuse for the badness of their lives; whereas they never had a due sense of the plague and perverseness of their own hearts: Good actions must proceed from a good principle, otherwise persons are in an unsanctified state; and, as they must be conformable to the rule laid down" in the word of God, and performed in a right manner, and to the glory of God as to the end designed thereby; so they must be performed by faith, whereby we depend on Christ for assistance and acceptance, as being sensible of our constant work and business, whereby we are said to walk with God, as well as live to him.

2. In order to our leading an holy life, we must make use of those motives and inducements thereunto, that are contained in the gospel; and to encourage us herein,

(1.) We are to have in our view that perfect pattern of holiness which Christ has given us; he has left us an example that we should follow his steps, 1 Pet. ii. 21. Whatever we find in the life of Christ, prescribed for our imitation, should be improved to promote the work of sanctification; his humility, meekness, patience, submission to the divine will, his zeal for the glory of God, and the good of mankind, and his unfainting perseverance in pursuing the end for which he came into the world, are all mentioned, in scripture, not barely that we should yield an assent to the account we have thereof in the gospel history; but that the same mind should be in us, which was also in him, Phil. ii. 5. or, as the apostle says, He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also to walk even as he walked, 1 John ii. 6. And to this we may add, that we ought to set before us the example of others, and be followers of them, so far as they followed him their example, indeed, is as much inferior to Christ's as imperfect holiness is to that which is perfect; but yet it is an encouragement to us, that in following the footsteps of the flock, we have many bright examples of those, who through faith and patience, inherit the promises.