In the economy of the covenant, the Holy Spirit engaged to guide the vessels of mercy into all truth: agreeable to the Saviour's declaration, " He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you," John xvi. 14. Amongst all the wonders of covenant, and of redeeming love, the price of redemption, which is "more precious than rubies," Prov. iii. 15. is one grand and inexhaustible subject, which the immaculate Spirit of wisdom leads the redeemed of Jesus into an experimental acquaintance with; so that they also can say, We also joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement," Rom. v. 11. O blessed fountain of inexhaustible and unbounded consolation! How refreshing, salutary, and healing, are all thy invaluable and efficacious streams. A sight of my interest in the purity, fulness, and completeness of Christ, my passover, who was sacrificed by the hand of justice in my place, and for my transgressions, has given me the most humiliating sight and sense of the evil of my sin: I can therefore say with Paul, that sin " is become exceeding sinful," Rom. vii. 13.

There is no point more obvious to me in real divinity, than the following, viz. that the purity of the doctrines of grace, which are made known to the pure in heart, by the sanctifying operation of the Holy Ghost, leads to purity of conduct.

First. They walk in the way of wisdom, being "followers of God, as dear children," Eph. v. 1. and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved them, and hath given himself for them an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour,' Further; in this house of pilgrimage they have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but habitually reprove them.

ver. 2.

Secondly. A sense of a free, full, and irreversible pardon, through the atonement of Christ, leads to purity of company. All my delight is with the saints on earth, especially those that excel in virtue; that is, in evangelical knowledge, and in a rich experience of the truth.

Thirdly. It leads to purity of conversation. Their conversation is in heaven; that is, about heavenly things. “For thus saith the Lord, I will turn to the people a pure language, that they may call on the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.' Zeph. iii. 9. "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I have told you the truth?"

IV. The fallacious sentiment that God punishes his people for sin, refuted. The solemn prelude to every servant of Christ's credential is, If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God." And "He that hath my word, let him speak it faithfully." It is not the credenda of any man, or body of men under heaven, that is any rule for my faith; if it have not a "Thus saith the Lord." Implicit faith is the idol of ignorance and stupe

faction. It is the privilege of the subjects of grace to search the scriptures, and to implore the powerful and benign influence of the Holy Ghost, that they may have more expanded views of the glorious doctrines of grace, and a more sensible enjoyment of their great importance. Every momentous truth claims our strict attention. Servants of Christ are appointed to be valiant for the truth, by defending the purity of every invaluable principle. It is obvious to me, that the shadows of the evening are come upon many churches. For it appears to me, that all who contend for that unscriptural and baneful sentiment, viz. that God punishes the spouse of Christ for the sins which her bridegroom was made a curse for, are tacitly denying the sacrifice and atonement to be complete, and ignorantly confronting the gracious declaration of the Almighty Saviour on the cross, who said, "It is finished," John xix. 30.

Let us minutely examine the subject. It is obvious, that all who aver that Jehovah resolved in the covenant compact to punish sin in the spouse, as well as in the Surety, are really, in my view, worshipping with a veil on their understanding.

I must think, that all who are of this Popish principle, have the most dishonourable thoughts of the eternal God, and of his Christ. It is impossible for you to have any glorious and exalted thoughts, and consistent ideas of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the only propitiation for transgression, while you maintain so disagreeable a sentiment.

First. Your conceptions and perceptions, respecting the evil of sin must be tenebrous, therefore stand in need of the orient beams of wisdom to chace away the gloom and darkness from your minds, You can never think that there is an infinite demerit in sin, while you assert that God punishes those for sin for whom Christ died.

Secondly. Your views must be very superficial respecting the purity of God's law. Your sentiment implies this, if it imply any thing, viz. that the law did not take cognizance of all the sin of the elect world on Christ, in order to punish him in the wine-press of vindictive wrath; therefore, on your own principle, the sacrifice was inadequate to the claim of justice, consequently partial and incomplete: or further, if you think at all, you must conclude, that justice was relaxed in its demands, consequently there must be a defect in the law or sacrifice.

Thirdly. There are some things in your sentiment incompatible with the attributes and perfections of Jehovah. He can never love in a partial way, because his nature is immutable. Hence he has said, for the comfort of Christ's spouse, " Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love," Jer. xxxi. 3. Again, the Lord, from necessity of nature, must punish sin according to its demerit, on the aggressor, or on a surety. If you will not allow punishment for all unrighteousness to be penal, you impeach the

wisdom, holiness, and justice of the Almighty Lawgiver. Now the sins of the elect world have been fully punished on the Redeemer in a vindictive way, according to their vile and cursed nature. To talk of God having punished sin heavily on Christ, but that he punishes it in a light way on his people, in my view, is the greatest absurdity that ever was advanced by a rational being, professing to understand the gospel of Christ. If a prince were to become surety for an insolvent princess, whom he had prior loved and betrothed, on such principles of honor as are graceful and ornamental to royalty: and if we were to view him going with a willing mind from an heart running over with love to her, and honourably paying the immense debt which she had contracted into the hands of the creditor, and bringing her in triumph to his magnificent palace, and making her the consort of his bosom, as well as a sharer of his riches and honors, and this proclaimed by a herald throughout the prince's dominions, should we not see his fidelity and generous conduct operate on the hearts of his subjects, to revere, with unfeigned affection, so illustrious a character? The reply is natural, from every thoughtful and expanded mind. Suppose, after the celebration of the marriage nuptials, the old creditor should come upon the princess with cruel stripes for the debt which her prince had paid? Would not this raise indignation in his breast, and in the hearts of his subjects, against such an unjust being? Would they not all agree to bring him to condign punishment? The solution is easy. Now the Lord Jesus Christ has paid into the hand of justice an invaluable price, even a full satisfaction for all the sins of his bride! And can I therefore entertain the ungenerous and base thought, of my covenant God and Father, that he will punish the spouse for debts which her Lord has paid? The sentiment to me is horrid in all its forms. It is my prayer, that I may never be left to such darkness of mind, or to such a strong delusion, as once to think that the God whom I love, upon a knowledge of his love to me, should ever act like an unjust man. It is obvious to me, that the notion of God's punishing his people for sin, is the very essence of Popery; and if ever the principles of the mother of unrighteousness have a greater spread in these kingdoms, it will come in, in my view, through the ministrations of those who maintain that principle. Further, let me intreat your attention to the following portions of the word; But we glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope," Rom. v. 3, 4. Now if Paul had viewed tribulations sent as a punishment for sin, he most certainly gloried in that which was not good, and attributed good to that which was only evil. He also informed the Corinthians, that he and his brethren in the Lord were 66 filled with comfort and exceeding joyful in all their tribulations," 2 Cor. vii. 4. It is therefore

plain, that the servant of Christ viewed, and also received tribulations, as the appointments of love, consequently productive of all that good specified, otherwise his glorying and rejoicing must have been of an unrighteous nature. Once more, let us consider the afflictions of Job. It is plain also, that they were all the appointments of covenant love to him. The Almighty gave Job a character unto Satan, viz. that of “ a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil," i. 8. But we find that Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, were of the same judgment with some in the present day, viz. that God did punish his people for sin, and that God was punishing his servant Job for unrighte ousness. Job knew that they were in an error, which moved him to address them in the following manner : "How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words? These ten times have ye reproached me," Job xix. 2, 3. Nevertheless God brought them into their right mind, and Job prayed for them, though they had not "spoken of him the thing which was right," xlii. 8.

Having recourse to transactions under a shadowy dispensation, (when the people worshipped under a cloud, to support a tenet which is inimical to the full atonement of Christ) is an indication to me, that it is a very cloudy day with respect to the understanding of those men who contend for that which the Almighty Jehovah hath no eyes to find; for thus saith the Lord, "If sins be sought for, they can no where be found," Jer. 1. 20.

Introducing detached sentences from Old Testament transactions, to support a principle that stands opposed to the work of Christ, and purity of the gospel, is shamefully absurd. We have nothing to do with the Jewish ritual, or code of certain laws, which were made with the tribes of Israel as a nation, which laws were given to them as a conditional covenant, to be attended to in a rational and duty way, which, when strictly observed, the blessings promised were liberally granted; but when disregarded, withholden from them.

The passages introduced to support this favourite Popish principle have by violence been misconstrued, and their original features distorted. "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I have told you the truth ?”

Real servants of Jesus know the truth, and live and rest in the truth. They know the truth of the precious gospel, and rejoice in the truth which has set them "free from the law of sin and death." They know the truth of Christ's righteousness, in which they stand complete, and glory; and all those who are not leaning to their own understanding, but are under the benign influence and teachings of the Holy Spirit, know the blessedness of that soul-comforting truth, viz. Christ made a curse and bloody sacrifice for all the sin and guilt of the vessels of mercy,

even to the last motion of impurity that may be felt in their souls, while in time. It is with pleasure I can declare that I am happy in a sweet view of my eternal interest and inseparable oneness with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When I have been helped to take a faith's view of my union with him, I have seen myself with him in eternity; I have seen myself with him in his wonderful birth! in his death! with him in the grave! with him in his glorious resurrection! in his ascension! and fitly set as a seal on his heart, in the holy place not made with hands.

Let me intreat your indulgence a little longer. Some have inadvertently said, if all our sin past, present, and to come, hath been punished in Christ, and that God doth not punish his children for transgression, may we not then live as we list? I answer, in one point of view we may, because if we are heavenborn, our list will be, to be looking unto Jesus, and living upon, and receiving out of his fulness, grace upon grace, that we may habitually live to his glory. But if any of you now present draw sinful inferences from the purity of a salutary truth, I must say to the honour of my God, and in faithfulness to your souls, that you are strangers to a spiritual change; therefore at present, the root of the matter is not in you; that is, you are not regenerated; or in other words, you are not born of God. I once heard an herdsman, who at this time is in high estimation for a work of close thinking, aver, that God sometimes threatened his own children with banishment, damnation, and hell fire, in order to keep them from sin. Astonishing! and can these be the conceptions of a spiritual mind? Impossible! I will now take the liberty freely to inform you, that I have had a large portion of tribulation for a series of years, but I am confidently satisfied, that my Almighty Lover never punished me for sin. Let me add, that there is nothing makes me hate sin, but a discovery of God's love to my soul, through the atonement of Christ. Further, there is one point of christian experience, which the babes in Christ frequently misconstrue, viz. that when the outward waves of tribulation join the internal sea of corruption, and the north wind of temptation is commissioned to blow, they are ready to conclude that the Lord is punishing them for their sin. But it is obvious to real spiritual perception, that God cannot do any thing but in a way of love to his saints; for godly sorrow, and sweet contrition of spirit, which are both in our new nature, are glorious demonstrations of the life and love of Jesus in our souls. This creates in the new man, indignation against all iniquity, and revenge against the powers of darkness, 2 Cor. vii. 11. I shall now close the subject with two declarations.

First. The two points of doctrine which have been the principal matter attended to, are perfectly agreeable with my writings. There is not a word said in any of my works conVOL. XIII. No. 163.] 2 E