ftrength of fin; and confequently, no finful believers in this world, as all believers are, could ever, upon good ground, fing this fung of victory in the context. But this is fuch dreadful doctrine, that I hope I need not enlarge in the refutation thereof.

Believers are neither juftified upon their perfona! good, nor unjuftified upon their perfonal evil; but their actual perfonal title to life, and their freedom from all legal obligation, and liablenefs to death, which are the two branches of juftification, ftand upon the active and paffive obedience of Chrift, imputed to, and received by them, whereby they are difcharged from all law-debt. And though God continue to pardon the fins of them that are juftified, and they daily need his pardon, as he is a Father, whofe fatherly anger their fins expofe them to; yet they have no more to do with him as a wrathful Judge, except in their own unbelieving apprehenfions and legal fears, which are their fin. Indeed, the more aggravated their fins are, the more are they liable to the bitter effects of God's fatherly wrath and chaftifement; but to make either any good they do a prop to their juftification, or any evil they do a flaw in their juftification, this is a popery. The righteoufnefs of Chrift, with which the believer is ever clothed, fecures him fo, that the fentence of life is never revoked, neither is the fentence of death ever incurred anew; for, "He that believes hath everlafting life;" and, "There is no condemnation to them that are in Chrift:"

Though the law cannot but curfe fin, where-ever it is, and even the believer's fins; yet the curfe can never reach his perfon. Chrift hath no curfed or condemned member. Simeon and Levi had been guilty of heinous crimes, in killing the Ifhmaelites; yet, as fome think, they being good men in the main, Jacob does not curfe their perfons but their fins; Gen. xlix. 7. Curfed be their anger, for it was fierce: and their wrath, for it was cruel; fo cruel, that it might have brought a curfe upon them defervedly. But Jacob, guided by the Holy Ghoft, lays the curfe on their extravagant paffion, not on their perfons: and every believer will join iffue with

that

that curfe of the law againft his fin, faying, Curfed and destroyed be my fin, my unbelief, my enmity.-Believers are not under the law, as a covenant of works, either to be juftified or condemned thereby: if they were brought, by their new fins, under the curfe of the law, then they would be brought alfo under the power of fin, and the reigning ftrength of corruption; and fo they are neither juftified nor fanctified; neither delivered out of the ftate of fin nor of mifery.

See the danger then of this erroneous doctrine, of believers being made liable to the curfe of the law: it is contrary to that gofpel-principle, which afferts, "That "believers are delivered from the wrath of God, and "the curfe of the moral law;" and it is contrary to that gofpel-practice of the believer's, which is influenced by the faith of his freedom from the curfe, and the faith of God's everlasting love in Chrift Jefus. That doctrine of believers liablenefs to wrath, upon every fin, tends to create flavish fear and dread in God's children; and fo to difcourage from duty, and marr true gofpel-holinefs, which is a ferving of God, not out of flavish fear, but a child-like love, and of a willing mind: for the fear of hell, and of falling into eternal wrath, and the fear of lofing their fonship, and being difinherit, which fome, that pretend much to orthodoxy, tell us, believers ought to be influenced by; these fears, I fay, can never be filial or child-like, because they go upon the fuppofition of an allowed act of unbelief, namely, their apprehending God not to be their everlasting Father in Chrift, according to the tenor of the new covenant; which if they believed him to be, they could not fear thefe evils, but would rejoice in the faith of the contrary; and this faith would work by love, and love would conftrain them to halinefs. So that the doctrine I here oppofe, is not a doctrine according to godlinefs, but rather a doctrine of licentioufnefs, tending to keep believers themfelves under the law, which is the ftrength of fin.

This text then fhows us the dangerous tendency of both thefe new doctrines, the one making the believer not to be under the command of the covenant of works, and the other bringing the believer under the curfe of

it but, as they that are not under the command of the law of works, cannot be under the curfe of it; for, where no law, no tranfgreffion: and as they that are under the curfe of the law, cannot but be under the command of it; for, where no tranfgreffion no penalty, and where there is a penalty there is tranfgreffion; fo this ftrange doctrine in effect, and by plain confequences, makes unbelievers happy, and believers miferable : by freeing the believer from the command, it frees him from the curfe; and by bringing the believer under the curfe, it brings him under the command: and, by this means, unbelievers would not be under the law, but free both from the commanding and condemning power thereof; and believers would be under the law, and in bondage, both to the command and the curfe.-I dare not think, that all who maintain the forefaid doctrine, are chargeable with afferting thefe dreadful confequences that flow from it; but furely it is dangerous. to maintain fuch pofitions, from which fuch confequences are naturally deducible.-So far have I enlarged upon an ufe of information, becaufe of the manifold leffons that arife from this text and doctrine.

Ufe 3. The third ufe fhall be by way of examination and trial, namely, to fee what flate we are in, whether or not we be delivered from the law of works, as it is the firength of fin. In order to our having a clear view of this, there is a fourfoid inquiry we may make.

Inquiry Firft, In order to try this matter, viz. Whether delivered from the law of works, as it is the ftrength of fin; let us enquire whether the ftrength of fin be truly broken; for fin has dominion, and a ruling power, over all that are under the law, Rom. vi. 14.

Why, fay you, who are thefe, in whom the rule and Strength of fin remains unbroken?

ANSW. 1. All you that do not find a daily exercife with fin they in whom the ftrength of fin is dashed, will be at work to get themselves purged from it; they are ftill either lamenting their fin, or plotting against it, praying against it, watching against it, making ufe of the blood of Chrift against it, and fometimes mourning VOL. V.

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and crying against it, and against themselves for it: whereas they in whom it reigns, live peaceably and undifturbedly with it.

2. All you who have been your whole lifetime ftrangers to Chrift, and to fellowship and communion with him, you are not yet delivered from fin; there is a throne of iniquity fet up in your hearts, which fhall not have fellow fhip with God, and indeed cannot.

3. All you that know nothing of that difpenfation of grace, to wit, God's hearing of your prayers, and giving you his countenance therein; fin reigns in your hearts, and you regard iniquity in your hearts, therefore the Lord hears you not, but is faying, Go to the gods whom you have ferved.

4. All you that never found any pain in parting with fin, nor any thing of the cross of Chrift, or of fuffering in the flesh, 1 Pet. iv. 1. It is fuch as have fuffered in the flesh, that have ceafed from fin. Some were never difturbed in their making provifion for the flesh; never knew the painful exercife of repentance and felf-denial; never burdened with the vilenefs of fin; nor exercised in the work of judging themfelves. When a gangrene is to be cured, because it is in the flesh, the flesh muft be cut; fo, becaufe fin is feated in the flesh, the flesh muft fuffer by felf-denial. There is a woful tenderness that we have of ourselves, that keeps us from mortifying our corruption. Have you never difcovered or feen the evil and bitterness of fin, but lived always in peace? Why, then it seems the ftrong man keeps the houfe: if the pafling of the gravel ftone never pained you, ye are not yet quit of it; if your heart was never pained with fin, it fays your heart was never yet circumcifed: the ftrength of fin remains where there has been no gofpel-mortification. Which leads to a

Second Inquiry, For helping you to try if you be delivered from the law of works, as it is the firength of fin, namely, inquire if you be acquaint with gofpel-mortification. It is almoft incredible to think how great a length people may go in legal mortification of fin, while yet they are utter ftrangers to the gofpel. It is ftrange to think, what fome heathens have done this way, and

what

what many popifh monks have done; yea, what great reformations have taken place among fome, fo as by their life you would think they were real converts, becaufe of their exactnefs and tendernefs, while yet they are enemies to grace, and firangers to the gofpel, and confequently to true mortification, which cannot be by the law, it being the ftrength of fin.

QUEST. How fhall I know, whether it be by the gof pel that I mortify fin, or by the law?

ANSW. 1. Golpel and legal mortification differ in their principles from which they proceed. Gofpel-mortification is from gofpel-principles, viz. the Spirit of God, Rom. viii. 13. "If ye thro' the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye fhall live:"-Faith in Chrift, Acts xv. 9. Purifying their hearts by faith:"-The love of Chrift constraining, 2 Cor. v. 14. "The love of Chrift conftraineth us."-But legal mortification is from legal principles; fuch as, from the applaufe and praife of men, as in the Pharifees; from pride of felf-righteoufnefs, as in Paul before his converfion; from the fear of hell; from a natural confcience; from the example of others; from fome common motions of the Spirit; and many times from the power of fin itfelf, while one fin is fet up to wrestle with another, as when fenfuality and felf-righteoufnefs wrefile with one another: the man, perhaps, will not drink and fwear; why? because he is fetting up and establishing a righteousness of his own, whereby to obtain the favour of God: here is but one fin wreftling with another.

2. Gospel and legal mortification differ in their weapons with which they fight againft fin: the gofpel-believer fights with grace's weapons, namely, the blood of Chrift, the word of God, the promises of the covenant, and the virtue of Chrift's death and crofs, Gal. vi. 14. God forbid that I should glory, fave in the cross of the Lord Jefus Chrift, by whom [or, as it may be read, WHEREBY, viz. by the crofs of Chrift,] the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. But now the man under the law fights against fin by the promises and threatenings of the law; by its promifes, faying, I will L. 2

obtain