THE TRIUMPH OF TRUTH¹

¹

Richard Schadle: Some minor changes have been made to make this more understandable for the modern reader. The older English terms have been changed, the Roman numerals have been converted and Scripture references have been changed to a more modern format.

A SERMON

Preached at the Surrey Tabernacle Borough Road,

By Mister JAMES WELLS

Minister of the Chapel

London: E. Palmer and Sons, 18, Paternoster Row

1838

“Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven.” Psalm 85:11

What can equal the blessedness of that man who is savingly interested in the gospel truth, delivered from the power of darkness by the truth, made free by the truth, who has for his shield and buckler the truth, and who knows that the Lord is the God of eternal truth. With particular emphasis is this emphatic word, truth applied to each of the persons of the godhead, the Father is called the God of truth, the Saviour is declared to be the truth, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. Bible truth is the majesty of God the glory of Christ, and the security of the church. None can rejoice in the truth to the gospel of God, but those who in some measure know what it is to tremble at the truth of the law of God; Not one jot nor a tittle of which can pass away till all be fulfilled; This holy law is the rule of human accountability to God, God demanding perfection of heart and life, and at the same time declaring that he that offenders in one point is guilty of the whole; and have we by nature any conformity to this role of holiness and righteousness; are not our hearts deceitful above all things and desperately wicked? Is it not declared by him who cannot error, that we are by nature dead in sin, ignorant of God, and enemies to him, nor can we any more help ourselves out of this state, then the Ethiopian can change his skin, or the leopard his spots. To deliver us from the vileness of our nature, the power of darkness, the delusions of the world, and the wrath to come, is the work of God, and God alone; to him, and him only belong the issues of death. The man who is not brought to know and feel the truth of this, has no right to conclude that he is a Christian; Without the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, there is no true knowledge of our state by nature. What is generally termed religious, we may be from a variety of circumstances, but not knowing what our state by nature really is, we shall rest in the free will duty faith doctrine of men, instead of

embracing the free grace doctrines of God such as our state by nature, and such the inflexibility of the law of God, that we cannot be saved by anything short of Christ being made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. God in every other way is a consuming fire. Blessed then are the people that know the joyful sound, they shall walk in the light of the Lord's countenance in his name so they rejoice, and in his righteousness, they shall be exalted.

None but the experimentally poor and needy can appreciate the unsearchable riches of Christ, which are brought to know that the Lord is true and the threatening’s of his word, as well as the promises of the gospel, and that the only shelter from the threatening is in the Rock of Ages, Christ Jesus. If we attend for a moment to the solemnities of Mount Sinai, what shadow of possibility do we there find of access to God? Who could penetrate the awful cloud, grasp the vivid lightnings, or bid the thunders ceased to roll; who could stay the trembling earth, or endure the sound of the astounding voice of God? Compare the terrors of Sinai with the tranquility of the Tabernacle, and then ask which is the way of access to God, the works of the law, or the blood of the lamb? If such the awful sense of Sinai’s hallowed mount, what must be the solemnity of the that day, when the dead shall hear the voice of the same God, whose eyes shall penetrate the subterraneous caverns of the earth, and whose voice shall be heard through all the mountains of the unfathomable deep, whose hand shall find out all his enemies, whose power shall place them at the decisive bar; the earth shall roll from under them; the sun, the moon, and stars of heaven shall cease to be, while the Savior shall fill all the universe with the light of his own majesty, a non-elect world, on his left hand, whose groans will meet no pity, who's fiery doom can never be revoked, the smoke of which torment ascends forever and ever.

The scene of suffering which surpasses all, is that of the Savior's death; He comprehended in his death all the sin of his people, and all the vindictive wrath of heaven due thereto. He made an end of sin, by going in his sufferings to the end of the curse of the law. Fallen angels and lost men can never arrive at that extent, nor the end of the desert of sin; But the Lord Jesus did go to the boundaries of the desert of sin; He compassed infinity and eternity and put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. The mighty oceans that met on him, he dried up and made a way for the ransom to pass over. He has quenched the consuming fire, a fire which could be extinguished only by the infinite efficacy of his own blood. With his own arm he brought salvation, the salvation of a number that no man can number.

“He sunk beneath their heavy woe to raise them to his throne.”

No circumstances can never fully develop what he endured, deep called unto deep, but the depth of this deeps who can fathom? But this we know, that by him mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other; and the redeemed of the Lord are daily passing from nature to grace, and from grace to glory; and that because he who made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, “truth has sprung out of the earth and righteousness is looking down from heaven.”

Let us, then, from the language of the text, notice:

I Character, The Truth

II Procession, Truth shall spring out of the earth.

III Attention, Righteousness shall look down from heaven.

The Lord Jesus is truth, supernatural timely and conclusive.

1st, supernatural. He embodies in himself all the perfections of God, all the blessings of the everlasting covenant, and all the glories of salvation; In him dwells the Father in all of the councils of his will; In him dwells the Holy Spirit in all the sacred relations and characters he sustains; in him is the law of God fulfilled, honored and magnified on behalf of his people; In him are all the promises of the gospel and the precepts too; In him the Saints are complete. Nothing can be savingly known without him. It is by him that we are enabled in our hope and affections to rise above the things of time, having that true supernatural and eternal life which is by him, this life brings us up into the love of God, and patient waiting for Christ; causing us to feel and know that the things of nature are but dung and dross compared with the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. The importance of this eternal life is brought home with quickening and illuminating power to the hearts and consciousness of all who are chosen to salvation; And they are brought to know the Lord's loving kindness is better than mortal life. Yet nature is nature still, while their sins are stirred up and become lively, sin revives, the flesh cleaves to the earth, and so ties them to this world that they cannot do the things that they would. From this they're fallen nature arises the greater part of their trials and entanglements, by means of which the Lord humbles them, sickens them of the religion of the flesh, and renders hateful in their eyes the doctrines of men; discovers to them the nothingness of all creature doings, and makes them and their need of the free sovereign, and effectual discernment of all the blessings of the sure mercies of David. .

The reason why men hold the doctrines of free will and duty faith is, because they have never been made to feel really and truly, the state they are in by nature. They talk much of human duty, the accountability of man, of going to Christ, turning to God, praying for the neighbours, evangelizing the world, and universal charity. These doctrines, a mixture of truth and error, suit the appetite of the flesh, beguile unstable souls, and becloud the glory of the gospel.

There are two things which it is no small mercy to be experimentally acquainted with; These two things are the accountability of man, and our state by the fall. The law of God is not altered by the fall; It demands us to be what we were by creation, holy and upright. This is the responsibility in which it holds us. Is there any possibility of being what we were before the fall? Certainly not. Neither in whole or in part; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. The penalty of our fall in Adam, together with sins personally committed in heart and life, is everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power. Let then our accountableness and vileness be known by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, and then it will be readily acknowledged that there is nothing but blackness, darkness, wrath, and condemnation in the law, so in the flesh dwells no good thing, nor is it possible for this corrupt tree to bring forth good fruit; And although some may, and many do, rendered to Caesar in some measure, the things that are Caesar’s, where is the man that can render to God the things that are Gods? All the formal doings of the creature have left him where they found them, destitute of a vital experience of the enormity of sin, the total depravity of nature, the terribleness of the law of God, the value of atoning blood, together with all the mysteries of redeeming love. Everything short of Christ formed in the in the heart, the hope of glory, is delusion. All confidence in the flesh must be renounced, and if we have a religion of any real use

in our souls, it must be religion altogether supernatural. The righteousness we had in Adam is become filthy rags. By the great force of the disease of sin is this garment changed (Job 30:18), and the creature, a captive to darkness, sin and death, to the wicked one, and to the law of God. Nor can anything but an experimental acquaintance with this awful state, lead to any saving knowledge of Christ. Hence it is that many are ever learning, never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. They have never been pulled down; therefore, they cannot be truly built up. Their refuge of lies not being swept away, they cannot receive the truth; they do not see the necessity and cannot therefore appreciate the importance of the eternal settlements of heaven, in the salvation of a chosen world.

The religion of the Son of God is altogether above and independent of the creature. On whom do the love of God, the fulfilling of the law of God, the harmonizing of the perfections of God, and the gathering together the children of God depend? On whom do these depend but upon God himself? He has mercy on whom he will have mercy; And whom he will he hardens. He has chosen his people to salvation, because he loved them. For the same reason he has ordained them to eternal life; imputed to them the Saviors obedience and blood; promised them his Holy Spirit and has confirmed his sovereign councils by an immutable oath. All these things are in and by Christ Jesus, the Lord of life and glory, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

These are things brought into the hearts and affections of all who are taught of God. Here then is a religion altogether supernatural. If we possess these things, let nature wax old, and droop, and die; Let even wealth, human wisdom, and human power, lie beyond our reach; fallen angels take our destruction; let seas of trouble roll; let furious winds of air blow; let kingdoms be overturned, empires subverted, the works of men all brought to not, kings and queens cease to sway their scepters, yes the starry heavens and this terraqueous globe passed away, having the Lord on our side, we shall be more than conquerors, seeing nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. How high then is the privilege of being taught of God, and to be thus lead in of the realms of grace and glory. These are the land of promise, wherein is no death, no condemnation, no famine, no fatal disease, mirth spontaneously springs and breaks forth in strains of more than golden joys. “We have a strong city; Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.”

Not only is the gospel truth supernatural, but truth timely. Gospel truth is sent to suitable objects at the suitable time and for the most noble of all purposes. The great ends are the glory of God and the celebration of the great Redeemer’s name, that the Lord of all might show forth in eternal ages to come the exceeding riches of his grace.

In order for a man to perform anything good and great, three things are requisite viz., opportunity, capacity, and application.

First opportunity, see, then, the Lord's opportunity in the fall of man. Look at the law we have violated, the God we have sinned against, the paradise we have lost, the lies we have received, the wrath we have encouraged, and the death we have entailed. Look at the master we have served, the king of the bottomless pit; Look at our dependence upon the judge of quick and dead; the firmness of the stern, but just, decree, “dust thou art into dust shall you return”; Look at the many powers by which we are blinded, held in captivity, and rendered helpless; Look at the fortifications

of hell and of sin; who can clear these battlements away? Neither angels nor men; Look at the immortality of the soul, the eternity of the law, and majesty of omnipotence!

Again: look at the immensity of the number of the human race their capabilities of sorrow or joy: all dead in sin and guilty before God, his eyes they cannot elude, and his arm they cannot repel; And to the mortification of human pride be it said that men were brought into this state by their fall in Adam, for all sinned in Adam, nor has men ought wherewith to help himself.

---------------------------“Man disobeying;

Disloyal breaks his fealty, and sins

Against the highest supremacy of heaven, Afflicting God had, and no losing all, To expiate his treason hath ought left, But destruction sacred and the devout, He with his whole prosperity must die, Die he or just this must; unless for him Some other able, and willing, pay The right satisfaction, death for death Say heavenly powers, where shall we find such love, Which of you will be mortal to redeem

Man's mortal crime, and just but I'm just to save, Dwells in all heaven’s charity so dear;” MILTON

Who, then, can bring in ruined man these tidings that are good? Who can deliver his soul from going down into the pit, take the prey from the mighty, and cause the captive exile to be loosed, that his pride should not fail or that he should not die in the pit. For ten thousand times ten thousand, even thousands of thousands of Adams race are to be, and that forever, kings and priests to God, and this in a way that accords with all the perfections of God. Where, then, shall we find capacity for this infinitely great and everlastingly important work, but in him who has said “Lo I come;” in him who is God and man in one person. The comprehension of all the sins, persons, and circumstances of the church is no difficulty to him who inhabits eternity and fills infinity. None but such a person as this could undertake the assumption of human nature, the subjugation of all the powers of sin, of the world, of death, and hell. Who but an infinite person could take into his hands a number which no man could number? To put away their sin and deliver them from the lowest hell, by his own blood, and exalt them to the highest heaven by his righteousness, gathering them from all nations, kindreds, and tongues of the earth. He is perfect and has by his one offering perfected forever them that are sanctified. What can be more encouraging then to see how in every way the Savior is suited and is sure to establish the noble characters and saving relations he sustains. Take away his godhead, where would be his understanding of the boundless affairs he has to manage. Where would be the divinity of his righteousness, the value of his blood, the victory of his cross, and redemption of our souls, for no man (that is no mere man) can redeem his brother nor give to God a ransom for him. Christ being God, as well as man, he has equal love to, and interest in the church, as have the Father and the Holy Spirit, for these three are one. The people of God stand in the love of God, and that love is in Christ, they stand in all the grace of the Holy Spirit, and that grace is in Christ, in him they dwelt, while all the treasures of infinite wisdom and knowledge are secured for them, and for them, in him. No man who knows him to be (objectively considered) an infinite evil; the law exceedingly broad, and the Lord a God of inflexible justice; no man who knows these things will deny the godhead of Christ; he brought forth in perfection

the counsels of the Father's mind and will, and by him so all the characters of the Holy Spirit be substantiated, and all the privileges of the saints enjoyed; he then being God could be and can be trusted with the great work of salvation, the claims of justice, the honors of the law, the promises of the gospel, the covenant of mercy, and the welfare of the people. God the Father trusted in Christ four thousand years, and all who are to be to the praise of the glory of his grace, shall trust in him too, and shall never be confounded; may then his Godhead shine, his power be displayed, his glory be revealed, and his presence be increasingly enjoyed. As we cannot be saved without the Godhead of Christ, so neither can we be saved without the manhood of Christ, for without this there could be no nature to be under the law, to suffer, to bleed, and die. Divinity without humanity be to us a consuming fire, and without shedding of blood there's no remission of sin, but through this man, this God-man mediator is preached unto us the forgiveness of sin, and by him we are justified from all things, from which we could not be justified by the law of Moses. The great Redeemer in taking our nature, took us, passing by the nature of angels, he took upon him the seed of Abraham, nor can the church be separated from Christ any more than his manhood can be separated from his godhead,

For a while his throne unshaken stands, Shall all his chosen live.

He then is the timely help, the suited salvation, the good physician, healing our diseases with his own blood, the true counselor delivering us from the entanglements of law, the king whose hand is in the neck of all his enemies, and who lifts us up from the dust of error, and from the dunghill of the world, setting us among princess, even the princes of his people. Well might the Church of old say that he was the chiefest among 10,000, and altogether lovely.

“Go worship at Emmanuel’s feet

See in his face what wonders meet, Nor earth, nor seas, nor sun, nor stars, Nor heaven his full resemblance bears;

His beauties we can never trace

Till we behold him face to face.” WATTS

Such then is the capacity of the Savior for the great work of salvation between God and man, that the law is infinitely magnified, God glorified, and Israel saved in the Lord, with an everlasting salvation, and shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

As therefore the fall of man is the Lord's opportunity of showing mercy, and as there is suited ability in Christ, so the other requisites, viz. application, is found in him, and that to perfection; He was with his people through all the tributary scenes of the Old Testament age, and kept them as the apple of his eye; his eyes and his heart were on them perpetually, and of his sheep none can perish. Many, mighty, and vigilant were his enemies in the days of his flesh, but never could they for one moment divert him from the great object for which he came into the world. He was, in the highest sense of the word, diligent in business, and fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. When only 12 years old, we find him in the temple, surrounded with the great and wise of that age. Appearing as they did, with all the prompts of office, the pride of learning, the sacredness of religion, and solemnities of the sanctuary, yet, imposing as was their appearance, they were to be approached, questioned, and astounded and that by the Holy Child Jesus, who was wiser than his enemies, and had more understanding than these ancients, although they knew him not.

There are in the wise and noble answer he gave to his mother, treasures untold, she, with the mingled feelings of anxiety and affection, said, Son, why have you dealt with us thus, and who can unfold the full import of the answer: “knowl you not that I must be about my Father's business”; nothing that needed his attention was for a moment neglected. He perceived all the craftiness of his foes, and constantly and finally defeated their aim. He obeyed all the commandments of the law, ratified all the promises of the gospel, and declared all the councils of God. Of the extent and consistency of his diligence, we have at present but a faint conception; Whatever he said or did, accorded with the dignity of his person, and importance of his work. It is a truth which had been many years known in the church, that many waters could not quench his love, neither could flood drown it. He travelled in the greatness of his strength, triumphed over all the mountains of unrighteousness and sin and death, which had imprisoned us, he led captive, and destroyed, and brought life and immortality to light. He journeyed, preached, and wrought miracles by day; held communion with God, and prayed for his people through the hours of the night. His meat was to do the will of him who sent him, condescending to undergo the weaknesses of hunger, thirst, and weariness, not having where to lay his head. Angels looking on with wonder, glorified saints waiting with assurance the accomplishment of his work. Justice well pleased with all that he was, and with all that he did; nor could all he endured even on the cross, make him neglect the situation of Mary his mother, but commands the beloved disciple John, to be her defense, as it does not appear that Joseph her husband was then living. And what shall we say to the attention he paid, and the promise he made to the dying thief. All that the great Redeemer was then suffering, would not close his heart, nor his ears against the prayer of faith, nor can all the glory he now enjoys, make him for a moment indifferent to the prayers of the destitute;

“His ere attends the softest call, His eyes can never sleep.”

Thus is the truth that he came into the world to save sinners, written in characters indelible, while he that keeps Israel will neither slumber, nor sleep. What think we then of the Saviors’ willingness and ability to save? He needed not in the days of his flesh, to cry nor lift up his voice in the streets; His works made him know and no one who had been healed by him, could keep it to himself. Each ran about and talked of the great things Jesus of Nazareth had done for him; The things that were done were realities, and we're not done in corners, (like the fabled, miracles of the Papists,) but in the open streets, so that his miracles could not be denied, but were often confessed, even by the most virulent of his enemies, so that his name irresistibly spread abroad; not that it could be savingly known, but by the Holy Spirit; he it is, that testifies of Jesus to the heart; In this way it is that our ever precious Lord and Master still goes on conquering, and to conquer; and if his fame spread abroad in the days of his flesh by the blessings of health and cure, which he bestowed upon the bodies of men; how much wider will his glory shine, and how much brighter shall his honors rise by the salvation of the souls of men? His fame is still spreading; his crown still flourishing; his kingdom immovable, and his throne unshaken; his name like Aaron's rod, swallows up all others; Infinitely surpassing creatures, and all created things. He eclipses the glory of everything else; While he cannot be too much extolled, too much sought, nor too implicitly trusted. All that is in the Father's abundant mercy we have by him; the whole work of the Holy Spirit is to reveal and glorify him. He is the true end of the ceremonial law; the mediatorial fulfiller of the ten commandments; The fullness of the gospel; the believer’s all in all.

Gospel truth is not only supernatural and timely, but also conclusive. How important is truth in this character especially, as truth is of all things, one of the most difficult to get at. What have all the wars, the personal and national animosities, the persecution, bloodshed, and misery, that have agitated the world, from what have these arisen, but a want of knowledge of, and submission to the truth? So it is written, “this people do error in their hearts, for they have not known my ways;” the few who do know the truth, have to encounter it like many who do not know it; The most popular error in the religious world is, that gospel truth of itself is not conclusive, but as true rest is to be found in the truth, we must prefer hostility to a dishonorable peace; the weapons of our warfare being spiritual and mighty through God, we must fight against all systems that fight against the conclusiveness of gospel truth. By its conclusiveness, I mean, that salvation is entirely of grace, and that, in the full sense of the word; that the Savior has on behalf of his people, made an end of sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness; That he is the end of the law for the righteousness to everyone that believes; that he has terminated the claims of justice; that he has accomplished the warfare, perfected forever them that are sanctified; that he has rendered it impossible for any of his people to be lost, that his love is everlasting, that his counsel is immutable, the covenant of grace eternal. That the Holy Spirit descends by the finished work of Christ; sovereignly and effectively quickens and illuminates the Lord's people, leads them into all truth, and without difficulty, hesitation or indifference, carries on the good work up to the day of Jesus Christ; That he is the heavenly wind that blows when and where he likes to blow that he waits not for men, nor tarries for the sons of men, that nothing can impede his progress any more than the Father could be hindered in his counsels, or the Savior in his works. That the Lord's people are made as willing to be saved in the Lord's way as the Lord is willing to save them, that they do revere the name of the Lord, love Jesus Christ, and earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints. Can things come to a better conclusion than this? It is not every way suited to us, and every way glorifying to God. And what is the daily experience of those who are taught of God, but a declaration on the one hand of their need of these things, and on the other of their sufficiency.

Is not the Bible account of human nature substantiated? Are not the Lord's people burdened and beset with unbelief, hardness of heart, infidelity, worldly mindedness, fretfulness, impatience, pride, laziness, selfishness, fear, presumption, vanity, and a thousand other evils that flesh is heir to; Nothing but the exceeding great, precious and yea and amen promises which are conclusive can support the minds, and supply the needs of those who are the truly poor in spirit. Many of these are, and in the Lord's own time they shall be, assured of their eternal election to God. Their yoke of bondage is destroyed by the atoning of the Holy Spirit, the love of God is shed abroad in their hearts, the Savior is precious to their souls, they are rooted and grounded in him, and although they still groan being burdened, yet they know in whom they have believed and are persuaded that the Lord will keep that which they have committed unto him against that day. The gospel is to all the poor in spirit, the power of God to salvation. Therefore, we conclude that by grace we are saved through faith and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. So that grace will reign through righteousness unto eternal life. “Truth shall spring out of the earth and righteousness shall look down from heaven.” I notice next:

II, Second: Procession. Truth shall spring out of the earth; Wherein we may observe, first, descent, our Lord sprang from the tribe of Judah, there is a twofold use in sacred genealogy, first to show the truth of prophecy, and secondly the right of inheritance; First to show the truth of prophecy, it

is written of the Messiah that he was to be of the House of David, David was exalted to royalty in the tribe of Judah; From this royal family was the Savior according to the flesh. This is one subject with which the apostles proved the messiahship of Christ; The priesthood of the ceremonial law belonged to the tribe of Aron, but Christ was not a priest after the law of carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life, while his kingdom was not of this world; one use then of the sacred genealogy is to show the truth of prophecy, concerning the descent of Christ. Secondly, to show the right of inheritance; The land of Canaan was divided by lot, the descendants of each family, showing their claim to their portions by their genealogy, but their register was loseable, hence some that returned from the Babylonian captivity, “sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore they were, as polluted, put from the priesthood.” (Nehemiah 7:64). But the register of the Saints is in heaven. Their names are recorded on high and although the returning captives were deprived of the privilege of eating of the holy things, yet they were not altogether in despair, for hope was given to them, that a priest should come forth with Urim and Thummim, light and manifestation. So, it is with the Lord's people they could not prove their election of God until the great high priest lift up on them the light of his countenance and manifests the love wherewith, he loved them. They shall read their title clearly.

There is an apparent contradiction in the genealogy given by Matthew, to the one given by Luke, which circumstance infidels have not admitted noticing, as Matthew says that Joseph the husband of Mary was the son of Jacob, and Luke says that Joseph was the son of Eli. As the New Testament like the old, was given by inspiration of God, it must in the sense of it be perfectly harmonious, and as for this apparent contradiction between Matthew and Luke, the matter is simply this, one mentioned Joseph's own father, the other Mary's father, which was Joseph's father-in-law. One descending from David by Nathan, the other by Solomon. So that both Joseph and Mary were in the family of David, “truth shall spring out of the earth.”

Secondly, resurrection; “except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone, but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit." (John 12:24). The Lord of life and glory by his death and resurrection has brought in abundance of the finest of the wheat, he has brought us into the land of plenty, we need no league with the nations around to secure provision, the old story can never be exhausted nor yet diminished, and the land is wide, and quiet, and peaceable (I Chronicles 4:40). Who would not live in such a land as this, which is infinitely superior to the tranquil land that we lost in the first Adam, there God was worshipped as a Creator; In this land of promise he is communed with as a Father, enjoyed as a Savior, and reposed in as a satisfying Comforter, his love encompasses all its inhabitants who live under the canopy of his everlasting covenant, encircled with the walls of salvation, and sing of the mercy of the Lord and tell of his doings. There could be no coming into this land, no enjoyment of this abundance, no entering into the holy of holies, no spirit of grace to be our teacher, no heavenly love shed abroad in our hearts, no eternal life by Christ Jesus, no resting in the truth of God, no washing in the fountain which is now open for sin and uncleanness, no union of heart and mind by the gospel, no pressing towards the mark for the prize, no effectual opposition to the wicked one, no enemy could be conquered, no mercy could be obtained, no deliverance realized, no hope to be indulged, there would be none of these things without the resurrection of Christ: “if Christ be not risen your faith is vain, you are yet in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:17). The apostles well knew that in proving that Christ rose from the dead they proved everything, and thus it is written “that with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4 33). The great

Redeemer stood in the character of a surety, the surety of the people; for them he was to fulfill the law, and endure its awful curse, with his own arm affect salvation, and make their entrance in the realm of bliss as certain as is earned; His resurrection is the infallible and public proof that all this was done; his resurrection was not public, as it regards the world, at least not in the sense that was public in the church, no one was allowed to see him after his resurrection but his disciples, among whom he was forty days, and was seen by above five hundred brethren at once, well known was the moment to all the holy angels, (and to the holy ones too) and to the spirits of just men made perfect, well known in all these was the moment when the Savior left the silent tomb, men who were on earth, these, and these only, were ignorant of the despised the “Great event?” the king of the bottomless pit knew he was conquered, while the direful things must have run with lightning pace through all the regions of the awful deep: death to the Saints has lost its sting, the grave lost its victory, the Prince of darkness had lost his power, for all the forces he can raise, can at the most but kill the body, after which there is no more that they can do; Well might the truth declarative of the perfection of the Redeemers work be hated by fallen angels and by all who were under the dominion of the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in all these children of disobedience.

On the other hand, if the tidings of the resurrection of Christ were as gladdening to the disciples, that they thought the news too good to be true, and could not believe until they were absolutely obliged to it; Their joy, (for then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord,) surpassing all the pleasures that Adam had before the fall, and so delighted were they, that they were determined if possible, to make poor Thomas believe, and rejoice too; But as it is now, so it was then none but the Master can do this. Job’s friends could not do anything with him, but when the Lord came Job was silenced, humbled to the dust, sat at the Saviors’ feet, listened to his gracious words, and gloried in his holy name. So it was at the resurrection, nothing but the power and presence of the Lord could make the disciples believe, and so it is now, nothing but that power and presence of the Lord can assure us that we are risen together with him; We know we are as unworthy as possible we could be of such a mercy; and that thousands of our fellow creatures, will, by the false experience, and false doctrine, together with a false heart, be finally deceived. How then, can anything short of the power and presence of the Lord satisfy those who know, and are assured of these things; therefore, the proofs which the Lord Jesus gave his disciples of his resurrection, were proofs infallible, nothing but this could overcome their carnal reason, unbelief, and hardness of heart, that caused them, which the Lord did cause them, to rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory; if then, the resurrection of Christ was so divinely glorious to the disciples, what on this occasion must have been the delight of angels, who glory in the prevalence of the Savior’s name; in a word, the joy of the disciples, the delight of angels, the raptures of the saints above, the pleasure of the redeemer, and the glory of God, are all beyond the power of words to express, or in our present state, for a moment to conceive; and be it remembered, that in in heaven this joy is always full. The Saviors person, work, that characters, are always fresh; the Lord Jesus, is the rock of ages, the tree of eternity, the river that is everlastingly the treasure that will never cease to enrich, his kingdom can never be moved.

The doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, was well known to the Old Testament saints, and also, that their rising into a present knowledge, and future enjoyment of his love, or by virtue of his resurrection. And so it his written, “after two days will he revive us, on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.” (Hosea 6:2). This scripture is full of importance.

First. Here is fixation of time; The third day he will rise us up; this fixation of time includes our first and 2nd birth, our death and resurrection; it ties down our enemies, restricts their power and brings all their devices to nothing.

Secondly. Here is the power of his resurrection, he will raise us up; That is, he having finished the work the Father gave him to do; having laid down his life, he has power to take it again, and has thus entitled his people to a deliverance from their horrible pit, and the miry clay; God is entirely on their side and who can hinder him; they therefore shall enjoy the power of Christ's resurrection; They shall arise, and shine, because the glory of the Lord will effectually shine upon them.

Thirdly. Here is confession, he will raise us up; This implies what other scriptures positively assert, viz. that we are by nature dead; dead in sin, under the sentence of death by the law of God, and deserving eternal death; none but the Lord can raise the dead, it is God who quickens all things, the flesh profits nothing; this all the Lord's people are brought to feel and confess.

Fourthly. Participation, he will raise us up; The Lord's people are made to participate in what others can only know in word, but not in power, whatever the power of godliness is, it brings the creature to nothing in his own eyes, makes him base in his own sight, and is brought to know, that free will is a phantom, human power in the things of God a doctrine of the flesh; That universal charity is universal delusion, that election is absolute and eternal; That salvation is complete; While the word being attended with power, Christ becomes precious; truth, eternal truth, their shield and buckler; These are the us spoken of in holy scripture; These are the children of the resurrection.

Fifthly. Here are unbecloudable prospects; we live in his sight; Here is spiritual and eternal life, surviving the wreck of nature and ruin of the world; Here is also enjoyment; We shall live in his sight, that is in his presence, and when we have his presence, we are happy, whether it be in the gloomy desert, the lions den, the fiery furnace, or the dying hour; again here is certainty. We shall live in his sight, there are no means by which we shall come short of this eternal life, there is nothing in sin, life, death, hell and the grave, but what the prince of this life has overcome; these things thus contained in this Scripture, and in the Old Testament, agree with the following great and important things spoken of in the New Testament. First, that he rose again for our justification; our justification of acceptance, before God is by the life of Christ, as our justification from the curse of the law is by the blood of Christ (Romans 5:9). The justification of our profession of Christ is by his resurrection; his rising from the dead, justifies our confidence in him; had he not risen from the dead, where would have been the truth of the scriptures, the proof of his messiahship, together with our deliverance from the powers of darkness? But now, is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept; So that we are justified in making him that which he really is, our all in all. We should not be justified in making him anything less than this; the Lord has purposed to stain the pride of the glory of all flesh, that we might glory in the Lord alone; and therefore, it is that Christ is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, that he that glories may glory in the Lord. Is not Christ, God the Father's all in all, is he not the Holy Spirits all in all, is he not the all in all of angels, and shall we, who are the most indebted to him, make anything less than this of him. Shall we connect with his holy doctrines the vow traditions of men? Shall we for whom he has lived, and laboured, groaned and bled, and died; So we who are gathered by his arm, carried in his bosom, and washed in his blood, and covered in his

righteousness, taught by his Spirit, accepted to eternal bliss, loved with an everlasting love and delivered from the wrath to come, all of this, and infinitely more than eye has ever seen, ear heard, or has entered into the heart of man to conceive, so we, in the face of all this, be the last to crown him Lord of all? Impossible! And yet, alas, we should, were it not that the Lord is our teacher, and who teaches like him? Away with Freewillism Socinianism, Roman Catholicism, Irvingism, Duty faithism and every other damnable ism that meddles in any way with the prerogatives of the Godman mediator; take away anything belonging to him, what is to supply its place? The Lord is precious, salvation important, and the Lord Jesus not to be trifled with; the man who lives and dies ignorant of, careless about, or an enemy to the eternal election of his people, the finished work of Christ, and the spiritualizing work of the Holy Spirit, it had been better for that man if he had never been born, to such God will be a consuming fire; it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. If, then, we be asked by what authority we make the Lord Jesus our all in all, by what authority we assert, profess, and live upon the eternity of his love, the freeness of his grace, the fullness of his mercy, the order of his covenant, and perfection of his great work, our answer is this, that by his resurrection we are justified and so doing; no other line of conduct accords either with law or gospel, neither proves our election, nor brings any glory to God, neither brings any honour to Christ, nor good to the souls of men, this is the victory over the world, even our faith; by these great truths the apostles instrumentality, turned the world upside down, guided the feet of thousands of thousands into the way of peace, turning them from darkness to light, from the creature to the creator; from the inventions and doctrines of men to serve the living and true God; these are the truths by which the Lord has upheld his people in all ages of the world. Abel knew that it was grace alone that made him to differ from Cain; Noah knew that it was the Lord that shut him in; Abraham knew that it was the Lord that called him with a holy and effectual calling; Isaac knew that the Lord had sovereignly chosen him and left Ishmael, his brother after the flesh; Jacob knew that the Lord freely loved him and hated Esau; Joseph knew that it was the Lord who had exalted him, and meant all his affliction unto good: the Patriarchs then were high in doctrine, decided for the free grace, having no confidence in the flesh, those having obtained, through the faith given them of God, the same good report that we have; the Old Testament Saints sang and we sing with them, that God (the God-man), is going up with the shout, he has ascended on high, he has led captivity captive, and received gifts from men, yes, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Who or where, is he that does reprove us for eating heartily of the good things of the promised land and drinking abundantly of the new wine of the kingdom, does not the master of the feast make us truly welcomes saying, “eat O friends, drink, yes drink abundantly, O beloved.”

And I believe with all my heart that those who can and do preach sermon upon sermon, without opening up the state of condemnation we are in by our fallen Adam, the wickedness of our hearts, and the faults of our lives, for in this threefold sense we are in a state of condemnation, (but this is kept partly in the background, and deluded mortals call upon to embrace and accept a salvation never yet offered to them, nor by anyone else, at least not by the Lord, he always gives grace, but never offers it) these, then, who touched lightly upon eternal election, the finished work of Christ, the covenant of grace, the mighty operations of the Holy Spirit, the utter helplessness of the creature, sovereignty of God, and security of the church: I believe that those who professing to believe these things, yet dwell more upon human duty, than upon divine transactions: such men I believe are no more taught of God, than Simon Magus was taught of God; I believe that such men are deceivers, whether they know it or not; As to avowed free willers, we expect nothing else but

opposition from them, but the bastard Calvinist appear to me to be the most delusive of all; if it were the will of the Lord that these men should be as industrious in advocating in the face of an ungodly world, the great and leading truths of the gospel, as they are in making proselytes to human inventions, I should be tempted to expect the accomplishment of what they are now professing to aim to accomplish, that is the evangelism of the world. “What a man sows, that shall he also reap;” if fleshly inventions and doctrines of men are sown, why then a harvest of fleshly professors will be the result. Nothing can justify the practice of keeping the great truths of the gospel in any measure in the background, they ought always to be in the front of the battle, that the enemy may be defined, the saints led on in the way, and the Lord alone exalted; however, it must not be forgotten that each class, both of professors and profane, has its work to do, and its place assigned, and the Lord knows them that are his, and no doubt that there are many who are his, both among the Wesleyans, and the bastard Calvinist too, and some among the real children of God, that are not the Lords but still the Lord knows them that are his, and he saved them by grace, and it is by his grace, that he will in his own time deliver them from all the evils of the world, the flesh and the devil; For where sin has abounded, grace how much more abound; yet error is an awful thing, and it must be exposed for the detecting of hypocrites, the instruction of the church, and for the honor of him, who is truth itself. The compromising spirit the professors in general of the present day, is a spirit decidedly unscriptural, the truth of it is those liberalists have never felt their own sore, the plague of their own heart, the law of God has never been brought home with killing power to their consciousness, they know not what it is to be planted together in the likeness of Christ’s death: these are the reasons why they are not in the likeness of his resurrection; he was victorious exclusively and entirely by the completion of his work, while the great things that pertained to the Kingdom of God were his throne, whether on the Mount of Transfiguration, in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the cross, or among his disciples at his resurrection, and while in heaven he pleads the case of his people with his own blood and if those moderate Calvinist ministers were taught of the Lord, would they not mourn the idea of fooling their time away and trying to turn tares into wheat, and the goats into sheep. I went a few months ago to hear one of the most popular among these professed Calvinists, and went rather prepossessed in his favor, nor could much fault be found in what he said, though I found him as adept at working upon the fleshly passions of the old self-pitying nature; here lies one part of the deception, which deception is completed, by the general and compromising way in which they advance the truth of the gospel. My conclusion upon the sermon of this gentleman I have alluded to, was that all the free willers, pharisees, moralists, and dead professors in the world, may sit under such a ministry for a century, without being disturbed. It is true the immortal might be made a little more uneasy, and the unclean spirit might go out, and the man might sweep and garnish his house, and become what they call a pious man, but this, and being planted together in the likeness of Christ death, are very different things; yet as we have said, all have their work to do, and the Lord's truth is his truth, whether in the mouth of the false prophet or a true one, and the Lord does sometimes render his word effectual, so that some are really called by grace, under their ministry, but these are merely exceptions, for this is not the general tendency of their preaching, for it is evident to the Lord's people that nearly all the conversions that take place among these the free willers and the bastard Calvinists, are merely nominal, that is, there is the name of conversion but not the reality; for they neither know the plague of their own hearts, nor yet the real preciousness of Christ, a very little of him does for them, the circulation of the Bible, the institution and support of funds of charity, are the best works in which these dead professors are employed, and I am sure every good man wishes to see these two things carried as far as possible, nevertheless it is vital and personal knowledge of the truth as

it is in Jesus, must not be lost sight in the noise of these public institutions. It may be asked, what would you have these men do, whom with all their public usefulness you think are nevertheless dead in sin, deceived and deceiving others? To which I answer, that if it were the will of the Lord, I should like to see them throw away their favorable opinion of free will, duty faith, and human invention; Say less about the creature and more about the creator; less about the supposed power of man, and more about his real weakness; less about what creatures ought to do, and more about what the Lord has done for his people, what he is to them, with them, in them, and around about them; together with more decisive scriptural descriptions of the work of the Holy Spirit, they would then more rightly divide the word of truth, take forth the precious from the vile, and would be as God’s mouth, while the great and noble work of sending the word of God to the dark corners of the earth, would receive a hundredfold luster from motives founded in real gospel principles: but they are doing their work, and will have their lot, nor can we expect to gather grapes from thorns nor figs from thistles; all are the Lord servants, though all are not sons. Thousands in our favored land, who by their talents, learning, charity, and zeal for the morality in the letter of the word of God, command and deserve attention and respect, but are nevertheless in a state of enmity against the true meaning of the word of God, calling the great doctrines of the gospel high and dangerous doctrines, being destitute of real charity, real love to the truth as it is in Jesus, they are after all but tinkling symbols, and sounding brass. So feasible is the way in which the enemy carries on his work of deception, that if it were possible, he would deceive the very elect, but Jesus is risen from the dead, the Holy Spirit is their teacher, and they shall be guided into all truth, you shall be justified in exposing, and opposing the lies of the devil, and the inventions of men.

I shall close this part of my sermon, just by noticing two more great and important things said of the resurrection of Christ; one is that it is not possible that death should detain him (Acts 2:24). There are two reasons why death could not detain him, which are these: the completeness of his work, and the greatness of his power. His work being completed, his resurrection was a matter of right, while power secured to him that possession and enjoyment of that right. His great work imputed to us, is also our right, our title to regeneration, final perseverance, and eternal bliss: while the same power that raised Christ from the dead, secures to us all the happy consequences of his atoning death; these truths are dear to the heart of everyone that knows what gospel truth is.

Another comfortable truth is that he died no more, death has no more dominion over him; here is our eternal life, for it is because he lives for us and in us, that we live also; he died no more, death has no more dominion over him. If the Lord bring this truth home to our hearts with power, we shall boldly face the troubles of the way, contend for the truth, and call the Redeemer ours, and so in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

III. I come now to notice thirdly Attention. “Righteousness shall look down from heaven.” the Lord regards all creatures and things, from the minutest atom to the most ponderous orb of the universe; From the hyssop that grows out of the wall, to the mighty Cedars of Lebanon; from creepy insects to angelic hosts; nothing is above his reach; nothing is beneath his notice. Wherefore then, did you doubt, oh you of little faith; not because the Lord is unable or unwilling to take care of you, but because you are a poor, unbelieving, weak, and helpless creature, that cannot have a grain more of faith then what the Lord is pleased to bestow upon you; This is the kind of experience by which the Lord's people are brought to feel that it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy, to whom he will have mercy. All the circumstances of his people,

however mysterious they may be, have special attention, the Lord's people are generally speaking a tried people, often “persecuted but never forsaken, perplexed but not in despair; cast down but not destroyed.” We have much said in the Word of the Lord, concerning the afflictions of the Lord's people, but we have not one instance of any one being in any trouble, from which he was not delivered, at least not one trouble can follow them beyond the grave; “there the wicked one ceases from troubling, and the weary are at rest;” there is an end, and our expectation shall not be cut off. May the Lord in mercy grant us gratitude for the mercies of this life, resignation to his will, faith to believe his word, and strength and patience to wait until our changes come, when all of the cares of time and sense shall cease.

It is only as we are in union with the Lord Jesus that anything can be unto us a real blessing; everything he touches turns as it were into gold, the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands; not a trouble but he will turn into a triumph, nor an enemy but he will render subservient to the purposes of his love. “He led them forth by a right way to a city of habitation,” are words never to be taken from the Bible, or rendered null and void. It is a great privilege to be enabled to plead the promises of his holy word, however cold and helpless we may be in this exercise of mind, the remedy is, that Jesus ever pleads for us, to a Father that loves us, and will never forsake us; The way to honor him is to receive the record he has given us of his Son, rest in the counsel of his will, and look for salvation through the blood of the Lamb, who can do this, but the Holy Ghost: no man can thus from experience say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost, and if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his, not in the manifestation of it.

2nd, Investigation. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand or seek God, and what is their state as described by God himself. It is this, “they are all together become filthy, there is none that does good, no not one” (Psalm 14). Here it is declared the human race is departed from God, they are all gone aside, that they are unholy in his sight, they are altogether become filthy, and not one good work performed by any one man or woman; There is none that does good no not one. Mark the universality of this state of man by nature, they are all gone astray, they are altogether become filthy, there is none that does good no not one. If he that offends in one point be guilty of the whole, then what must be the extent and magnitude of human guilt and misery, and if without faith it is impossible to please God, and none but God can bestow faith, for faith is the gift of God, how fearful must that man's doom be, that lives and dies without the faith of God's elect. If a man being not taught of God, his works, whether religious or irreligious, are but the works of the flesh, and they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Only imagine then, what in the sight of the Lord must be the hatefulness of the state of man by nature, their hearts the habitation of devil's, their minds clouded by the infusion of sin, and their works, however fair in the sight of men, are nothing but a smoke in the Lord's nostrils, a fire of enmity that would if possible consume his truth, and send it out of the world; this is the spirit not of the profane only, but of the greater part of professors, here it is that the power of enmity burns higher and hotter than in the profane, not just what they are all led by the flesh. What then is the sentence of the law of God upon this race of unholy and guilty men. The sentence upon the body is this; “dust you are, and to dust you shall return,” The sentence upon the whole person is this: that it shall go away into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, there the fire cannot be quenched, and the stinging and gnawing worm of guilt dies not. This being our state by nature, and the destiny of all whose names are not written in the Lambs book of life; What can equal the importance of salvation? One hour in hell would amount to more pain than a hundred-

year affliction on earth. What are the troubles of life compared with the eternal damnation of the soul? This is what the Bible calls the wrath to come, it is the indignation of an incensed God, the vengeance of an almighty arm; those who are saved are in the same state by nature and children of wrath deservedly even as others. What then must be the freeness of the love wherewith the Lord has loved them; of what grace by which he has embraced them; of that salvation by which he has delivered them. Is it not then a mercy of all mercies to know the truth, for righteousness has looked down from heaven, the world has become guilty before God, and not one jot or tittle of the law can fail, and those that are lost, every sin of which they were ever the subjects in heart and life, will ever be vividly fresh to the memory, and their whole weight lay upon the mind; providential mercies once enjoyed in this world forever gone, gnashing their teeth and blaspheming God because of their pain, the wrath of God will never abate, eternity is unalterable. This, then, is the Lord's look of disapprobation upon all who shall never see his face with joy; Righteousness shall look down from heaven.

3rd, I notice thirdly, Approbation. The Lord's approbation of his people is in Christ and is according to the love wherewith he loved them, and according to the great work he has imputed to them. His approbation of them is first, as they are or shall be, internally: the King's daughter is all glorious within, the blood of Christ heals all the diseases of his people, is their sanctification and abiding health; the blood is the life, the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus will bring all the benefit and purity of atoning blood into the hearts and minds of the royal priesthood, and in this way they shall be holy, and made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. All holiness short of this, which is by the blood of Christ, is delusion. Close indeed, is the relation of Christ and his people, related by the sameness of nature, by love embracing them, a marriage vow, a covenant oath binding them to him, and ratified by his own blood. What can sever any of these ties, they are conformed to his image by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, because as it were, one blood, and being joined to the Lord are one Spirit; his love is brought into their hearts, by which they receive and love the truth, that truth which the Lord desires, is in the inward parts, and are thus brought to enjoy, in some humble measure, peace and purity by the blood of the Lamb, not one sin shall at the last day be found in them, for the blood of Christ cleanses them from all sin, which blood, in the mystic sense, will never cease to circulate in his body the church, ever keeping it in youthful vigor, blooming health, and incomparable happiness; Here then, is life, nothing short of this is the true life, the Lord will dwell in them and they in him.

As the Lord approves of what they shall be internally, so he approves of what they are, by union to Christ, externally, for as his blood shall as it were circulate in them, so his righteousness shall be upon them; they are complete in him, who is the head of all principalities, and powers; they need not fear to renounce all confidence in the flesh, for they need nothing but what they have in Christ; Their great object therefore is, when in their right mind, to have fellowship with the Father, and that by Christ Jesus. To this they are ordained, to this they are invited, to this the Holy Spirit brings them, and if the gift of the Father, and the death of the Savior do not condemn them, what can welcome them? He has in mercy, passed by all that are in the first Adam; declaring he will not even remember their sins; he ever looks upon them in Christ here he meets them, receives them, and dwells with them. What matter who may be against us, while the Lord is for us, having spared not his own Son, now shall he not with him freely give us all things. The more the Holy Spirit is pleased to bring these great truths into our hearts, the more do we participate in the provisions of mercy. Such is the way in which we are received by the Lord, that we are saved both according to

mercy and to truth, the one being as much on our side as the other, The law of God never was, and never will be honored in any other way, as it is by the work of Christ, nor is it possible for our deliverance therefrom to be more entire, or more honorable; and are we to be ashamed to acknowledge, yes, we glory and exult in this precious truth, that the law is dead to us, and we are dead to that wherein we were held; That we are alive unto God, and that by Christ Jesus; that as the honor of the law, our deliverance from it, and its course, and accomplishment of the purposes of mercy depended on the validity of the work of Christ, so do the work of the Holy Spirit, our final perseverance, and resurrection to glory depend upon this very same thing; And be it remembered, that it is the work not of a mere man, but of the work of an incarnate God. His righteousness is therefore called the righteousness of God. And again, “free the Church of God, which he purchased with his own blood,” and although we do not say, or believe, that divinity could suffer, bleed, or die; but, this we do say that what he did, and suffered, was in the strength, holiness, and majesty of his Godhead; he was not (as we are) the subject from necessity, or any of those things he underwent, but in the greatness of his love to us, even while we were yet sinners he bowed the heavens and came down, vailed himself in our nature; and laid down his life and took it again; He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; all his cries and tears, his sorrows and his blood, were for us; He was cut off not for himself, but for us; he healed diseases, bid devil’s flee, stayed the furious winds, and tempestuous waves, in a word, all he did for us, to show his love to us, with his own arm he wrought salvation for us. His work then was the work of an incarnate God: if then sin is an evil, that none but such a person as this could remove, and even he to accomplish it, must lay down his life; If the law be so divine, and the commandment so exceedingly broad, that none but such a person as this, could meritoriously obey it; if the making an end of sin, and bringing in everlasting righteousness be a work of such magnitude as this, how awfully are we by nature blinded and deluded in supposing there is something that the creature can do.

That salvation is conditional, this, indeed is the religion, of nature, but it is not the religion of the Son of God, for whatever that is, it turns all creature comeliness into corruption, brings to light the enormity of sin, the completeness of salvation in the Lord; Nor can such find rest, nor feel satisfied, until he who has humbled them, exalted them to the enjoyment of the light of his countenance, not that this enjoyment will ever be uninterruptedly had in this world, yet nothing short of some enjoyment of it, can assure them of their interest in electing and redeeming love. All of the fruits of the Holy Spirit spring from the plantation of Christ in the heart; He is the root that will never die; all the fruits brought forth by the Holy Spirit, to evidence our union with Christ, and enable us to glorify God, are from this root; no faith, repentance, love, godly fear, nor prayer is acceptable to God, but what comes in this way. Everything else is of the flesh, and consequently hateful in the sight of God, and therefore it is that we are approved in Christ, and in Christ alone; All the approbation worth having is in Christ. Angels approve of us here, and we approve of them, in that security which they have through God's eternal election of them to the honors they enjoy: angels therefore love eternal election.

Our love one to another as Christians, is by union to Christ; hence the more we see of Christ in one another, the more fellowship we have one with another; It is only by this union too, and possession of Christ, that we live together as heirs of God; Let what may occur between the Saints in their pilgrimage, their united approbation of Christ, will at the end of their journey, terminate all their antipathy to one another. Not one fault shall be found among them, nor of them; there is

nothing objectionable but what they will then possess. If it be, then, by Christ Jesus that all our sins and sorrows are terminated; can we have too much of him now? Is not every doctrine concerning him dear to our hearts? Does not the doctrine of the love of God, tell us this love is in Christ Jesus? Does not election tell us, that we are chosen in him? Predestination to an eternal life is by him. Our redemption, justification, regeneration, are by him, all things are by him, and for him.

It is a great thing to say, but none more great than true, that God the Father's approbation of Christ and of his people, is one and the same. This appears clear from the following truths: first, that they are loved with the same love as Christ himself is. That the Prince of this world could find nothing in Christ. That the church is all glorious within. That Christ was the Lamb without spot that the church is all fair, having no spot. What then must be the blessedness of union to Christ, for this love, purity, and spotlessness are enjoyed by union to him? And be it repeated again, and again, that the Lord gave us union to Christ, this joint heirship with him, by the great act of eternal election. The wicked one knows, if he can undermine this doctrine, or keep it back, he can turn the gospel upside down, insult the king of kings, and lead men on in rebellion against the sovereignty of God. Yet, the Lord God omnipotent reigns, let the Lord's people be glad of this. For woe unto them, if the Lord did not work all things after the counsel of his own will, they would then lose they're standing in Christ, union to him and salvation by him. But the Lord reigns, let the chosen earth rejoice. Let the favored isles be glad thereof, for they are approved in Christ; And the saying that is written, which is this: death is swallowed up in victory, shall surely be brought to pass.

Righteousness shall look down from heaven and demand, as the Savior's reward, all for whom he has shed his blood, and as we travel towards this, our celestial home, free grace truth will become increasingly precious. It is true, the troubles of this life may, or may not, rapidly thicken; old nature may be turbulent, bodily infirmities may increase, our circumstances may be adverse, the Lord may hide his face, and the enemy come in like a flood, and our brothers and sisters in the Lord, with whom we have communed by the way, may refuse our company; yet all are still approved in Christ, nothing can sully the holiness, injure the righteousness, nor tarnish the dignity we have in Christ. The Lord's approbation of his people is constant. He has owned them under all circumstances, even down to old age, when the pale, and partly withered lips, the wrinkled face, and hoary head shall be speak the approach of that hour, when the worn out body shall mingle with its native dust; and the soul retire to that world where the inhabitants shall no more say I am sick; the people that dwell therein, shall be forgiven their iniquity. Let the hour of departure come when it may, it cannot find us out of Christ, it cannot be when the Lord is not regarding us; here then is our security, and while on the one hand, the Lord will, as we journey on, show us more and more of what we are by nature; on the other hand he will open up stores of mercy, bring us further from the creature, that we may trust in his arm, learn more implicitly on him in the immutability of his love, and have, if not such ecstasy, yet a solid peace and good hope through grace, a growing knowledge of the truth will make us prize the great truths of the gospel, and while the world is passing away, we shall find that our God abides the same; that his counsel stands for ever, and the thoughts of his heart to all generations, while our chief concern will be to walk with him; the Holy Spirit making Christ precious, truly precious unto us we cry out abba Father, nor fear a dissolution of this relationship; our eyes and hearts fixed upon the truth, we being in a straight betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and be with Christ, which is far better, and as to the glory awaiting those who are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, we must not attempt a description, as it as much

surpasses the glory of Solomon, as the creator surpasses the creature what is the creature compared to the creator, time to endless duration or the things of time to the things of eternity surely every man walks in a vain show; surely, they are disquieted in vain. He heaps up riches and knows not who shall gather them; and now Lord what wait I for, my hope is in you. Happy then are those who are brought by regenerating grace into the kingdom that cannot be moved, born again of incorruptible seed, which lives and abides forever; so, that neither the kingdom nor the people can be moved. Salvation is not to be abolished, imputed righteousness is to be forever, with God our Father there is no variableness, neither the shadow of turning. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The spirit of truth shall be with us forever, the Lord will make us weary of everything short of himself, and nothing short of himself can satisfy the soul that is born of him:

_______ The high, born soul, Distains to rest her heaven aspiring wing Beneath its native quarry; tired of earth And this diurnal scene, she springs aloft, And shall through all the ascent enlarge her view, Till every bound at length shall disappear, And infinite perfection closed the scene, Call now to mind what high capricious powers Lie folded up in man. Akenside

FINIS.