ORIGINAL ESSAYS.

LIX.

THE TRUE FOUNDATION.-(SECOND.)

WHEN the Holy Spirit regenerates a man, he then forms within him all the graces of a spiritual state, and the use of them according to the will of God is the formal means of maintaining the character of christian. We cannot divide or separate the several parts of truth: the whole of it is more than any part of it can be; yet the several parts are the occasion of developing the divine perfection of the whole. When Jesus dwells within the heart, as the root of life, purity, righteousness, and sanctity, there is found all the graces, virtues, dispositions, qualities, and tempers of mind peculiar to the gospel dispensation; nor can they ever perish, for he will for ever live as the fertilizing source of all our fruitfulness. Whosoever is thus discriminated by Almighty God, will value very highly the bible, because it contains a revelation of his mind to the heirs of life. Without this transcript ď the will of God we should remain ignorant of the end for which ve are called into a spiritual order of being; and if the eternal Sanctifer were not our enlightening teacher, we should also be in the dark, nd we should not employ our graces in an evangelical manner to the glory of God. There is much done by the good man that cannot be denominated spirituality, for there is in many instances no refrence whatever paid to the authority of God, as the only holy grand of consistent action, and by fair parity of reasoning we conclude that such actions must be placed to the account of self-will. The pride of human intellect is a very great enemy to reigning grace and it is not dead in the most spiritually minded christian upon the ace of the earth. Most of the children of God are under the influere of it to a much greater extent than they are aware of; it is therefre necessary that we take great care how we act, as well as what we 0. Jehovah is the Sovereign in the supernatural world, and in his witten word we are expressly informed, "that they who worship hin must worship him in spirit and in truth." Every real christian is n possession of a subjective fitness for this holy employment, throun the sanctification of the Spirit; but in many instances there is ut little attention paid to what is read in the scriptures. Hence thechurches have become very carnal in their conduct and worldlyin their spirit and tempers, and there is more serving to the fles) than there is to the Spirit. If this line of things should be pursuedwith the same avidity that it has been, it will let in to our worshiping assemblies a flood of vices, that will produce incalculable mischief. "One sinner de

stroyeth much good." It is not a matter of choice with a good man that he should take heed to his spirit and his ways; no, he is not his own, he belongs to God, and he has claimed his own property by setting of him apart for himself, and he must always remain subject to the authority of the holy Legislator of Zion.

The life and vigour of true godliness are maintained by communion with God, and the graces of the Spirit are implanted in the heart to carry on this design. Faith is a valuable gift of God, bestowed upon us according to his good pleasure. This grace can never be dispensed with, for it is not possible for us to do any thing aright without it. When we bow before the throne of God to intreat mercy in the name of Jesus Christ, how ridiculously hypocritical is that man who is thus engaged, and who at the same time does not spiritually believe one word which he reads in the bible. Behold then the distinctive alteration made in a spiritual worshipper of the living God. He is not dead in sin, but he is dead to sin, by the body of Christ, and whatsoever is written in the volume of inspiration is affectionately believed and received by him. The state of sin in which he was born he has demonstrative proof of, for he can do nothing, but this inbred foe does more or less molest him in the path of duty. For him to believe on Jesus Christ to eternal life requires more strength than he can command; but the Holy Spirit, who at first produced this precious grace, is ever present in his own temple, and he sheds holy influence upon the mind, to the intent that what is naturally impossible may be spiritually certain. The faith of God's elect believes the record written, and receives from Christ the Lord heavenly life in a possessive enjoyment of it. This man is hereby saved from ten thousand fears and as many foes; while for mercy he prays in the name of the great Redeemer, the God of all grace hears his broken sighs, and sprinkles the blood of atonement upon his conscience: by it he has full redemption from all sin, and in it he finds a healing virtue that cures him of that infectious disease. What has been said above concerning faith is equally certain of every other grace, for they are interwoven and grow out of the same principle. Hope is supported by what faith credits, and they both live by the blood and righteousness of the great Redeemer. We believe the truth, and we anticipate the possession of it. In some parts of our life some one grace of the Spirit is more remarkably delineated than the others; and some of the saints are more distinguished for exhibiting one grace in their conduct than for another. Sovereignty has decided this point, for before the world was made God had appointed for us our respective stations, and he has "tempered the blast to the shorn lamb." No one saint has ever stood alone; usually in a body of christians we may discern the whole circle of christian graces; and as they are the common property of the whole church, the use of them is calculated to promote the benefit of every member of it. It is a thing devoutly to be desired, that every child of God would look well into his own state, and aim to discover what is that grace or virtue wherein he is made to excel. At the era of the reformation of the

church from popery, those God-raised men who were the instruments of accomplishing that revolution in favour of truth, had their respective spheres of labour appointed for them; and they were also remarkably distinguished for their qualifications to perform their duties in them." God is a God of order and not of confusion." We may therefore say, all the subjects in his kingdom are fitted for the services which they are to perform. The bold man, who is not daunted at any thing, is often a shield to protect the timid saint, who stands trembling by his side; while the prudent man, who has a perception of things as they exist, frequently preserves the dauntless hero from the dangers to which he is exposed. He who is rash and presumptuous in his conduct, is much indebted to his fellow saint who is patient and thoughtful, for the kindness and tenderness that he expressed towards him, by which he is saved from the evil to which he is liable. The interest of the church is one, and the happiness of all her children is connected with the purity of her motives and the integrity and uprightness of her principles and conduct. O ye saints of the living God, consider what ye do; keep the end of your existence in sight. Remember that "no man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself; for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living."

By cherishing of the graces of our spiritual state, we develope the purity of the evangelical dispensation. The life of the christian is the chosen means of exhibiting the nature of the religion of the Son of God. Whatever we are in his person as heirs of God, that we are through him as joint heirs with him in the love of the Father. Indeed there is no other way by which we can prove to our fellow men that we are not of the world, than than of abstaining to seek the friendship of it, and also delineating in our spirit and conduct somewhat of the positive sanctity peculiar to our heavenly connection with the great Immanuel as King of saints. So great and so important is the alteration that is made in the state of the regenerated man, that it is the endless separation of him from a ruined condition, in which he was dead in sin, to a life of imperishable sanctity, in and through the Lord of glory. There is something in such a man that no natural man can acquire by any thing which he can do; yea, so long as he remains so, it is a natural impossibility that he can discern the holy state in which it has pleased God to place him. This radical change of state comprehends all the virtues and qualities which are possessed by every devout christian. We behold the consequence of it in the life of the truly devoted servant of the living God. Whatever he does he commences the performance of it upon evangelical principles; and whilst he is engaged with God in the path of duty, he looks up to the throne of grace for mercy to aid him in the hour of extremity and distress, nor does he look in vain. In the house of God he is a spiritual worshipper of the divine majesty. He has a case of his own,

that requires the most minute attention, and he is not ignorant that his heart is uncovered in the sight of the omniscient Jehovah. He does not palliate nor extenuate his vices, nor talk of their inward motion as though he thought sin to be an innocent thing. To the holy Mediator he looks as his great Redeemer from the guilt, power, love, defilement, and condemnation of sin; and by precious faith he realizes the healing virtue of his atoning blood, and the heavenly liberty of his sacrificial death.

state.

Indeed without an internal root of sanctity, there is not any thing in the human nind that can be acceptable to God. We entered this world enemies to his being and government, and the justness of his nature necessitated him to pronounce us accursed for the sin of our The law of God cannot change; the natural man cannot alter his own condition. The establishment of equity is unbending and inexorable in its nature and demands, and the iniquity of man is invariable in its quality and tendency. What then can be done in such circumstances. So far as the creature is concerned the destruction is inevitable. How wondrous is the grace of God! There was no difficulty with him. He had wisely determined how to make himself known in the person of his equal Son, and in him to gather together the whole election of grace scattered abroad. It does not appear that the whole race of Adam was left to perish in sin, but that God had preserved a portion of the human family in the person of Christ, who are in due time made partakers of a divine nature, in order that they may serve God with spirituality of principle, temper, and design in all they do. How remarkably is the sovereignty displayed herein. There is nothing in the nature of the sin committed by the fallen angels that is worse than that of degenerate man; yet Jehovah has determined not to pardon the guilt of Satan and his colleagues in rebellion against him: they therefore are left to perish beneath the wrath of God for ever. But towards guilty man God has acted otherwise of his own good pleasure he provided a Saviour for them, and he has also accepted at his hands a ransom for all their sins; and in order that they might know the worth of his friendship, the Spirit is in due time given to glorify the Redeemer in them, by turning every one of them away from all iniquity. "Where is boasting then? it is excluded. By what law? of works? nay, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law."

Christ has redeemed us from a state of spiritual slavery into heavenly freedom and endless purity. We stand in such an order of existence, and we maintain it by faith. This is the innocent occasion of exposing of us to peculiar difficulties, but our faith can never fail because Jesus lives to plead our cause in the presence of God. The vital connection subsisting between Christ and his seed through the Spirit is of a supernatural kind, so that he is not ignorant of the cases of his dependent subjects, nor are they wholly in the dark concerning of his regard towards them. There is always a communica

tion from the head to the members to uphold them in the state in which they are placed. We are not independent of him. The influence of Christ, as Lord of all, is felt in all worlds, for his omnipotence is the sustaining cause of the whole creation. By his goodness he is perpetually maintaining the lives of all his creatures: and by his justice he is rewarding his enemies according to their works. In his own person we behold the effect of wisdom in a most marvellous manner, for the human nature of the Son of God is not self-existent, but it stands inseparably united to his eternal person as Jehovah by nature, and it is that nature that is nearest to God, and by consequence it must have the closest communion with him; yet the church is related to his whole person as Immanuel. There is not a holy angel in heaven that is not dependent upon him for physical energy to perform his will, by which they publicly develope the unspotted purity of their natures. The saints in heaven are also indebted to him for their meetness to live in his presence. They are made perfect in sanctity and glory, but it is his influence which is shed on all that holy family which is the upholding cause why they are strengthened to bear the weight of glory with which they are clothed. It is true that we are locally placed at a great distance from the place where the Son of God lives and reigns, yet we are not so situated as that it is a natural impossibility for us to commune with him and to partake of his fulness. When we were dead in sin he sent the Holy Spirit to us to create us anew, and to make us holy for God; and ever since that happy day he has preserved us from lapsing into our former state of being, and he will so perpetuate his mercy to us that we shall never finally depart from him. By prayerful and circumspect attention to the word of God we are saved from ten thousand fears and anxieties, and we also are enriched with a larger measure of sanctifying influence from the head of life to preserve ourselves pure. "In him we live, and move, and have our being."

To be spiritually associated with the Son of God is the means of connecting us with the whole church of God. The person of the great Immanuel is the centre where God and sinners meet for spiritual communion. Here also the church in heaven, and that part of it which is upon earth, are everlastingly united and blessed. If this solemn fact were observed in our churches, we should perceive a greater measure of the primitive simplicity of the gospel amongst us. It is good and profitable to consider that whosoever is clothed with the character of a christian, and wears it upon a proper foundation, he is related to the head of the church, and in him to all those who wear his holy image. How much self-will, pride, and uncharitableness, which are now such crying sins in the religious world, would be resigned as vices of the worst quality, whose tendencies are always mischievous to men, and hateful to God, if every one of the saints were to consider the holy nature of the gospel of our salvation, and to pray for a larger measure of its purifying spirit. With a railer we are commanded not to eat. It is beyond question certain, that