to give, but as disposing us to receive. A sinner will neither seek nor accept the great atonement, till sensible that divine wrath and the damnation of hell, are what he deserves; and what, without the propitiation of the adorable Jesus, he must unavoidably suffer.

I take it for granted that we must come to Christ under that character by which he calls us. Now, it is evident, he invites us by the name of sinners. As sinners, therefore, miserable, ruined sinners, we must come to him for life and salvation. The gospel of peace is preached to such, and them the gospel calls; even those who are not conscious that they are the subjects of any good disposition. Yes disconsolate sinner, be it known to you, be it never forgotten by you, that the gospel, with all its blessings, that Christ, with all his fulness, are a glorious provision made by the great Sovereign, and by grace as reigning, for the guilty and the wretched for such as have nothing of their own on which to rely, and utterly despare of ever being able to do any thing for that purpose. The undertaking of Jesus Christ was intended for the relief of such as are ungodly, altogether miserable, and without hope in themselves. Such was the beneficent design of God, and such is the salutary genius of his gospel. Delightful, ravishing truth! enough, one would think, to make the brow of melancholy wear a smile. Let me indulge the pleasing thought, and once more express the charm. ing idea. The blessings of grace were never designed to distinguish the worthy, or to reward merit, but to relieve the wretched and save the desperate. These hear and rejoice! these are the

patentees in the- heavenly grant. Yea, they have an exclusive right. For as to all those who imagine themselves to be the better sort of people; who depend on their own duties, and plead their own worthiness; who are not willing to stand on a level with publicans and harlots, Christ has nothing to do with them, nor the gospel any thing to say to them. As they are too proud to live upon alms, or to be entirely beholden to sovereign grace for all their salvation, so they must not take it amiss, if they have not the least assistance from that quarter. They appeal to the law, and by it they must stand or fall.

He, therefore, who believes in Christ, relies on him as the justifier of the ungodly. Nor does he consider himself in any other light, or as bearing any other character, in that very moment when he first believes on him: if he did, he could not believe on him as the justifier of such. The only encouragement a sinner has to apply to Christ for all that he wants, consists not in a consciousness of being possessed of any pious disposition, of having come up to terms, performed any conditions, or as being any way different from what he was beforebut in that grace which reigns, and is proclaimed in the gospel. Yes; the free declarations of the gospel concerning Jesus, contain a sufficient warrant for the vilest sinner, in the most desperate circumstances, to look for relief at the hand of Christ. Such as, I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will

give you rest.

wise cast out.

Him that cometh unto me, I will in no

Whosoever believeth in Him shall not

perish, but have eternal life.

In these as in similar passages of holy writ, the sinner is encouraged to look to the Lord Redeemer with assurance that in so doing he shall not be disappointed; to look to him, not as one whose character and state are different from those of the world in common, but as a guilty creature, and ready to perish. These free declarations are founded on the glorious undertaking, and finished work of Christ; who suffered for the unjust; who died for men, while sinners and ungodly; and who reconciled them to God when they were enemies. So that all things are now ready for the sinner's enjoyment and happiness; here, in a life of faith and holiness-hereafter, in the fruition of glory. These divine testimonies are only a specimen of what might be produced on the occasion; and they, together with others of the same import, are the proper ground of our faith in Christ, or dependance on him for everlasting salvation.

Hence, it appears, that the sinner who is effecttually called of God, is not led by the Holy Spirit to believe in a dying Redeemer, under a persuasion of his being now distinguished from his ungodly neighbours, and former self; or, in other words, of his being a much better man than he was before, in virtue of any good habits or qualities; nor does his comfort arise; from any such supposed alteration. No; the divine Spirit does not bear witness to our spirits concerning our own inherent excellencies, or inform us how much we are superior to others, but concerning the all-sufficiency, suitableness, and ab

solute freeness of Christ, and of all the blessings included in his mediation. The basis of a believer's hope, and the source of his spiritual joy, are not a consciousness that he has done something toward his own salvation.-call it believing, or what you will,but the truth he believes, and the Saviour on whom he relies; which truth, possessed in the heart, is also the spring of his holiness.

A sinner being brought, under the influence of the blessed Spirit, and by the instrumentality of the Gospel, to renounce every false confidence, and legal hope, and, as to acceptance with the Most High, to pour contempt on every righteousness which is not in all respects perfect, leans on Christ, as the Rock of ages-cleaves to him, as the only hope of the guilty-and rejoices in him, as able to save to the uttermost ALL without exception, who come to God by him. Now a new scene of things opens to his view. He beholds, with amazement, how God can be just, and yet the justifier of the ungodly. The just God and the Saviour appear in the same point of light. Now the everlasting covenant unveils its infinite stores to his ravished sight, and the Gospel pours its healing balm into his wounded conscience. Jesus Christ and his righteousness are now his only hope. He finds a sufficiency in the glorious Immanuel, not only to supply all his wants, but to make him infinitely rich, and eternally happy, and in him he rests completely satisfied. He who, but a little before, stood trembling and confounded at the tribunal of conscience, who could scarcely imagine that God would be righteous if he did not pour out his vengeance upon him, finds the work of the heavenly Substitute a full

vindication of the rights of justice, and an everlasting foundation for the strongest confidence. This wonderful expedient, so well adapted to glorify God. and save the sinner, he beholds with astonishment, and contemplates with rapture. Yes! beholding Grace on the throne, he bows, adores, and rejoices. Gratitude abounds in his heart, and praise flows from his lips.

When he reflects on his present unworthiness, and former state, beholding what enmity he cherished in his bosom against his Maker; when he considers how carnal his affections, how stubborn his will, how proud his heart; how often he had, in his conduct, adopted the language of those who say to the Almighty, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways; he is amazed that he was not long since transmitted to hell. When he farther considers, how loth he was to acknowledge divine sovereignty, and bow to heavenly mercy, how long he resisted the calls of providence, how often he stifled the remonstrances of conscience, and that, if less than an infinite Agent had been employed in reducing an obstinate rebel to obedience, he had been finally obdurate, and eternally miserable; when he thus reflects, he is filled with pleasing astonishment. On a comparison between what his offences deserved, and what God has bestowed, he cannot forbear exclaiming, What hath God wrought! What a mericle of mercy!' He is convinced, to a demonstration, that his Calling must be ascribed to reigning grace. He is fully persuaded that God was the first mover in this, as well as in every other blessing bestowed, in every other benefit enjoyed or promised. When he me

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