speaking, which occur elsewhere in this our apostle; so Eph. iv. 1, I pray that ye walk worthy of the vocation. Phil. i. 27, he exhorts them to conduct themselves worthy of God. He walks worthy of the Lord, therefore, who so lives as becomes him who is called by the gospel to the adoption of the sons of God, and to the lively hope of the inheritance of heaven. Here some may ask, How is it possible to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, or of God, or of the Gospel, or of our vocation; since nothing adequately corresponds to the high excellency of all these things, except perfect and immaculate righteousness and holiness, such as is not found in men who retain this body of sin? I answer, the word worthy, in the Scriptures, does not always denote the exact proportion of equality of one thing to another, but a certain accordance or suitableness, which takes away repugnance, though it does not establish absolute merit. So Matt. iii. 8, Bring forth fruits WORTHY of repentance, that is, according with and befitting, not repugnant to the repentance which ye profess. He, therefore, walks worthy of God who flees from the baseness and folly of carnal men, who carries himself as a faithful soul, loving God and his brethren, although he often slides and sins through infirmity. For this our worthiness does not depend upon our absolute perfection, but upon the gratuitous condescension of God, who accounts, as worthy his favor, those who follow the guidance of his Spirit; and those unworthy who yield themselves slaves to the flesh and sin. Hence is to be noted, 1. The infinite goodness and compassion of God, who accounts us children, worthy of the adoption and of the heavenly inheritance, although we are very far from perfect holiness; provided we walk not in the counsel of the ungodly, and stand not in the way of sinners, and sit not in the seat of the scornful; but delight in his law, and meditate therein continually. 2. Hence also appears the pride of those who, from this divine loving-mercy, attempt to establish the merit of human actions; as though to walk worthy of God was to merit heavenly felicity by their works. But the apostle dreamt of no such thing; only, he would have them strive after holiness, that it might thence appear they did not receive the knowledge and the grace of God in vain. And you that were sometimes alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled, in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable, and unreprovable in his sight, if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven, whereof I Paul am made a minister. Col. i. 21–23. FROM hence we may discover the per ection and completeness of the redemption that our Saviour purchased for us. He fully repairs what was ruined by the fall. He was called Jesus, because he should save his people from their sins. He reconciles them to God, and redeems them from their vain conversation. He came by water and blood, to signify the accomplishment of what was represented by the ceremonial purification, and the blood of the sacrifices: satisfaction and sanctification are found in him. And this was not a needless compassion, but absolutely requisite in order to our felicity. Man, in his guilty corrupt state, may be compared to a condemned malefactor, infected with noisome and painful wounds and diseases, and wants the grace of the Prince to pardon him, and sovereign remedies to heal him; supposing the sentence were reversed, yet he can not enjoy his life till he is restored to health. Thus the sinner is under the condemnation of the law, and under many spiritual, powerful distempers, that make him truly miserable; his irregular passions are so many sorts of diseases, not only contrary to health, but to one another, that continually torment him: he feels all the effects of his sickness: he is inflamed by his lusts, and made restless, being without power to accomplish or to restrain them. All his faculties are disabled for the spiritual life, that is only worthy of his nature, and whose operations are mixed with sincere and lasting pleasure. Sin, as it is the disease, so it is the wound of the soul, and attended with all the evils of those that are most terrible: The whole head is sick, the whole heart is faint; and from the sole of the foot to the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. Now our Redeemer, as he hath obtained a full remission of our sins, so he restores holiness to us, true health and vigor of soul. He hath made a plaster of his living flesh, mixed with his tears and blood, those divine and powerful ingredients, to heal our wounds. By the Holy Spirit it is applied to us, that we may partake of its virtue and influence. His most precious sacrifice purifies the conscience from dead works, that we may serve the living God. Without this, the bare exemption from punishment were not sufficient to make us happy; for although the guilty conscience were secure from the wrath to come, yet those fierce unruly passions, the generation of vipers, that lodge in the breast of the sinner, would cause a real domestic hell. Till these are mortified, there can be no ease nor rest. Besides, sin is the true dishonor of man's nature, that degrades him from his excellency, and changes him into a beast or a devil; so that to have a license to wallow in the mire, to live in the practice of sin that stains and vilifies him, were a miserable privilege. The Scripture therefore represents the curing of our corrupt inclinations, and the cleansing us from our pollutions, to be the eminent effect and blessed work of saving mercy. Accordingly St. Peter tells the Jews, that God having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities: that is, Christ in his glorified state gives the Spirit of holiness to work a sincere thorough change in men, from all presumptuous reigning sins, to universal holiness. Invaluable benefit! That equals, if not excels, our justification. For, as the evil of sin, in its own nature, is worse than the evil of punishment, so the freeing us from its dominion is a greater blessing than mere impunity. The Son of God, for a time, was made subject to our miseries, not to our sins. He divested himself of his glory, not of his holiness. And the apostle in the ecstasy of his affection desired to be made unhappy for the salvation of the Jews, not to be unholy. Besides, the end is more noble than the means. Now Jesus Christ purchased our pardon, that we might be restored to our forfeited holiness. He ransomed us by his death, that he might bless us by his resurrection. He gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Sanctification is the last end of all he did and suffered for us. Holiness is the chief excellency of man, his highest advantage above inferior beings. It is the supreme beauty of the soul, the resemblance of angels, the image of God himself. In this the perfection of the reasonable nature consists, and glory natu rally results from it. As a diamond, when its earthly and colorless parts are taken away, shines forth in its lustre; so when the soul is freed from its impurities, and all terrene affections, it will appear with a divine brightness. The church shall then be glorious when cleansed from every spot, and made complete in holiness. To this I will only add, that without holiness we can not see God, that is, delightfully enjoy him. Suppose the law were dispensed with, that forbids any unclean person to enter into the holy Jerusalem, the place can not make him happy; for happiness consists in the fruition of an object that is suitable and satisfying to our desires. The holy God can not be our felicity, without our partaking of his nature. Imputed righteousness frees us from hell, inherent makes us fit for heaven. The sum is, Jesus Christ, that he might be a perfect Saviour, sanctifies all whom he justifies; for otherwise we could not be totally exempted from suffering evil, nor capable of enjoying the supreme Good; we could not be happy here nor hereafter. "Finish then thy new creation; Pure and spotless let us be; Till in heaven we take our place,- JANUARY 20. DR. PRESTON. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear: but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.— Romans viii. 15, 16. THE spirit of bondage must of necessity go before; so that if you never had the spirit of bondage, certainly you never had the Spirit of adoption. For the apostle speaks of it here, as the common condition to all Christians; they do not receive the spirit of bondage again; you had it once, but now you have the Spirit of adoption: I say, every man must have this spirit of bondage; because no man can come to Christ, except the law be a schoolmaster to bring him to Christ. Now the law is not a schoolmaster-it teacheth no man, except the spirit of bondage work fear, and put an edge upon it. You may hear the law, and the threatenings and curses applied to you ten thousand times over, and yet no fear be bred in you, unless the spirit of bondage join with it, and make it effectual. Though the spirit of bondage is not just alike in all; it is sometimes in a greater degree, sometimes less, but all have it more or less; sometimes its influence is not so much discerned. But God intends to bestow upon some men a great measure of grace, and therefore he gives them a greater measure of the spirit of bondage. Because God means to teach them more to prize Christ, and to baptize them with the baptism of the Holy Ghost, therefore he baptizeth them with a greater measure of the spirit of bondage; they shall drink deeper of that spirit, because his intention is, they shall drink deeper of the Spirit of adoption. The things which go with it are these three; the testimony of the blood, of the water, and of our own spirits. First, there is the testimony of the blood. When the spirit of bondage makes a man fear, it empties a man of all righteousness, as a man empties a cask, that there is nothing left in it; it pulls away all other props and stays from him; it leaves a man in this case, that he sees nothing in the world to save him, but the blood of Christ. When a man sees this, he takes fast hold of that, and will not let it go for any thing; and though it be told him, you shall have many troubles and crosses; you must part with all that you have; he cares not though it costs him his life; if he may have this blood to wash away his sins, it is enough; this he lays fast hold on. And when a man doth this, at that very hour he is entered into covenant; he is translated from death to life. When a man can say, "I know I have taken and applied the blood of Christ; I rest upon it; I believe that my sins are forgiven; I grasp it; I receive it; "this is the testimony of the blood. But the Lord comes not by blood only, but by water also; that is by sanctification; he sends the Spirit of sanctification, that cleanseth and washeth his servants; that washeth away, not only the outward filthiness, but the evil nature. He washeth every man that believeth thoroughly. There is not one place in the soul, not one place in the conversation, but it is rinsed in this water. And then, when a man comes to find this, that he hath been able to purify himself, and by the work of |