faved, and not by our works.

Chrift has done all for us, and wrought out our falvation by himself. Shall we piece out his work by our obedience; • when all we have now to do is to believe on • him?

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Anf. There is the fweeteft harmony between the merits of Chrift, aud our working out of our falvation. To make it evident, I fhall fhew what Chrift has done for us, and what he expects we fhall do for ourfelves. He has merited

grace, and purchased eternal happiness. And why did Chrift merit grace? Was it not that we might act it in obedience? If he merited grace that we might obey, is it fenfe to object that our obedience is derogatory to his merit? If one end of his doing all that he did for us, was to enable us to do for ourselves; will any man fay, now I am bound to do nothing, becaufe Chrift has done all ? How loft are fuch men both to reafon and religion, who undertake fo to argue? No, Salvation was. purchafed and Grace procured, that by the acting and exercife of that grace, we might attain to that falvation. It is not by way of merit or purchase that we exhort men to work out their falvation. Thofe are guilty of practical blaf phemy against the Priefly Office of Chrift, who think to merit it by their own works.

As Chrift has done two things for us, fo he requires two things from us. (1.) That we fhould put forth all the strength of nature in labouring after grace: and, (2.) That we fhould put forth the power of grace in labouring for the falvation purchafed for us. (1.) Let every finner kno it is his work to repent and return, that he may live. You cannot fit down and say, 'what need is there of my working? Chrift has already done all my work for me to my hands. No, Chrift has done his own work, the work of a Saviour and a Surety; but he never did the work of a finner.

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If Chrift by meriting grace had beflowed it upon thee, and wrought it in thee, then indeed no more would be required of thee to become holy, but to caft back a lazy look at the purchafe of Jefus Chrift: Then thy floth would hav e fome pretence not to labour. But this will not do. Our Saviour commands all men To feek firft the kingdom of God, and the Apoftle exhorts Simon Magus to pray. Do not therefore cheat I your own fouls into perdition by lazy notions about Chrift's merits. If you fit ftill expecting till the meriting grace of Chrift drop down into your fouls, and change your hearts; truly it may be before that time you yourfelves may drop down into hell, with your old unchanged

• hearts.

(2.) Chrift expects that thofe who have grace, fhould put forth the utmost power thereof in labouring after the falvation he has purchafed for them. He has merited falvation for them, ⚫ but it is to be obtained by their own labour and induftry. Is not what Chrift has done fufficient? Muft he repent, believe, and obey for them? This ' is not to make him a Saviour but a drudge. He has done what was fit for a mediator to do. He now requires of us what is meet for finners to do; that is, to repent, &c. He now bids you wa ⚫ and be clean. Would you have the great Prophet come and strike off your leprofy, and do nothing 'towards the cure? The way to heaven is made 'poffible, but if you do not walk in the way that ⚫ leads to it, you may fill be as far from heaven as ever. Though Chrift's bearing the punishment of the law by death does exempt us from fuffering, yet his obeying of the law does not excufe C Our obedience to the law. Nor is our obedience derogatory to Chrift's, because it proceeds from other grounds than Chrift's did. He obeyed the law as a covenant of works, we only as a rule of righteoufnefs.

⚫ To

To conclude upon this point, So work with that earnestnefs, conftancy and unwearinefs in well doing, as if thy works alone were able to juftify and fave thee: And fo abfolutely depend and rely upon the alone merits of Chrift for juftification and falvation, as if thou never hadst performed one act of obedience in all thy life. This is the right gofpel-frame of obedience, fo to work as if we were only to be faved by our own merits; and withal fo to reft on the merits ⚫ of Christ, as if we had never wrought any thing. * It is a difficult thing to give to each of thefe its ⚫ due in our practice: When we work we are too apt to neglect Chrift, and when we rely on Chrift, we are too apt to neglect working. But that Chriftian has got the right art of obedience 'who can mingle thefe two together; who can with one hand work the works of God, and yet at the fame time lay faft hold of the merits of Jefus * Chrift. Let this antinomian principle be for . ever rooted out of the minds of men, that our working is derogatory to Chrift's work. Never more think he has done all your work for you, ⚫ but labour for that falvation which he has purchafed and merited. Could ever fuch fenfeless> objections prevail with men who have feriously read this Scripture? He gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himfelf a peculiar people zealous of good works. But truly when floth and ignorance meet together, if you tell men what powers their natures, affifted by preventing grace, have to work, and how neceffary obedience is to falvation, they with the fluggard fold their arms in their bofom doing. nothing; telling us thefe doctrines are Arminianifm and flat Popery. But deceive not yourselves; whether this doctrine takes hold on your judgments now I know not; but this I know affuredly, it fhall take hold of your confciences either here or hereafter; and then it will not fuffice you to fay

either that you had no power to do any thing, or that Chrift has already done all for you.'

This excellent difcourfe fhould be in all the houfes of profeffors. It would fhame the careless Remonftrants, and fhew them how orthodox fome Calvinists are in point of works; and it would confound the flothful Calvinifts, and make them fee how they have left Practical Chriftianity for Antinomian Crifpianity. For Eaft cannot be farther from Weft, than the preceding extract of Bishop Hopkins's fermon is from the following propofitions, extracted from Dr. Crifp's works, which fome make the standard of evangelical preaching. (They are refuted alfo in Gospel truth vindicated by Mr. Williams, whofe excellent refutation is recommended by 53 Calvinist divines of the last century. And Mr. Wefley's Propofitions in the Minutes of the Conference held in 1770, may be looked upon as the ground on which that refutation ftands.)

'Muft not a believer, an elect, be reckoned to be a finner while he does fin? No. Though he does fin, yet he is not to be reckoned as a finner, his fins are reckoned to be taken away from him.A man does fin against God; God ⚫ reckons not his fin to be his; he reckons it 3 Chrift's, therefore he cannot reckon it his.There is no condition in the covenant of Grace

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man has no tie upon him to perform any thing whatfoever; as a condition that must be observed on his part; and there is not one bond or obligation upon man to the fulfilling of his part of the covenant, or partaking of the benefits of it.- There is no better way to know your portion in Chrift, than upon the general tender of the Gospel to conclude abfolutely he is yours: fay, my part is as good as any man's:" Set down thy reft here; queftion it not, but believe it. Christ belongs to finners as finners; ⚫ and if there be no worse than finfulness, rebellion and enmity in thee, he belongs to thee, as

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well as to any in the world.Chrift does juf tify a perfon before he believes; we do not believe that we may be justified, but because we are juftified. The elect are juftified from eternity, at Chrift's death; and the latest time is before they are born.It is a received conceit among perfons, that our obedience is the way to heaven; and though it be not, say they, the cause of our reign, yet it is the way to the kingdom: but I muft tell you, all this fanctification of life is not · a jot the way of that juftified person to heaven.To what purpose do we propofe to ourselves the gaining of that by our labour and industry, that is already become ours before we do one jot ?• Muft they now labour to gain these things, as if it were referred to their well or evil walking; that as they fhall walk fo they fhall speed: The Lord does nothing in his people upon conditions. The Lord intends not that by our obedience we fhall gain fomething which in cafe of our failing we shall mifcarry of.- While you labour to get by duties, you provoke God as much as in you lies.-We must work from life and not for life. There is nothing you can do from whence you ought to expect any gain to yourfelves. Love to the brethren, universal obedience, and • all other inherent qualifications are no figns by which we should judge of our state. Every elect veffel, from the first inftant of his being, is as pure in the eyes of God from the charge of fin, as he fhall be in glory.-Though fuch perfons do act rebellion, yet the loathfomeness and hatefulness of this rebellion is laid on the • back of Chrift; he bears the fin, as well as the blame, and fhame: And God can dwell with perfons that act the thing, because all the filthinefs of it is tranflated from them upon the back of Chrift.. It is the voice of a lying spirit in your hearts that fays, you that are believers (as David) have yet fin wafting your confcience. David indeed fays, my fins are gone over my head,

• but