this Command, thou shalt be damned. Mar.16.16. Christ comHe that believed not, fhall be damned. mands them to go into the world, and preach the Gospel to every Creature, unto every foul this Gospel which I fpeak: If you will not hear, and believe, if you will not take God at his Word, you shall be damned. John 3. He that believeth not, fhall not fee life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Here's an Iron fcourge to drive thee, thou that art so flow of heart to believe. In Pfalm 78. where is fet down Gods Mercy unto the Ifraelites afterwards comes one plague upon another; verfe 22. it is faid, They hardened their hearts as in the day of provocation. This is applyed in Heb. 3.12. to Unbelievers. The Lord heard this, and was wrath, a fire was kindled against Jacob, and against Ifrael. Why was this? becaule they believed not in him, because they trufted not in his falvation. Nothing will more provoke God to anger, then when he is liberal and gracious, and we are straitned in our felves, hearden our hearts, and not truft him: never forget this Sermon while you live, this is the net which Chrift hath to draw you out of the world.I fhal hereafter tell you what faith is, which is to receive Christ, and to believe in his name; but that will require a more particular explication: aud on that I fhall enter the next time.

FINIS.

EPHE.

EPH E. 1.13.

In whom ye also trufted after that ye heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of your Salvation ; In whom also after you believed, you were feaied with the Holy Spirit of Promife.

HE last time I entred on the decla ration of that main point, and part of Religion, which is the foundation of all our hopes and comfort, namely, the offering of Chriftunto us; that as he did offer himself a Sacrifice to his Father for us upon the Crofs,fo that which is the bafis,ground and foundation of our comfort, he offereth himself unto us. in that gracious gift of the Father which closes in with God: That as God faith, To us a child is born, to us a Son is given, &c. fo there is grace given us to receive him. And as the greateft gift doth not enrich a man, unless he accept it, and receive it; fo this is

Hh 2

And here comes

our

our cafe, God offers his Son unto us, as an earnest of his love; if we will not receive him, we cannot be the better for him: If we refuse him, and turn Gods Commodity which he offers us back upon his hand, then Gods storms, and his wrath abides on us for evermore. That it is his good pleasure that we fhould receive Chrift, it is no doubt, we have his word for it: all the point is,how we may receive him,and that is by Faith.

And in this Text is declared, how Faith is wrought, and that is by the Word of truth; In whom alfo you trusted after you had heard the word of Truth. Now after this Faith, there cometh a fealing by the Spirit of God; In whom alfo after you believed, you were fealed by the Holy Spirit of Promife. Now left a man should through ignorance and indifcretion,be misled and deceived, there is faith, and there is feeling. Where this is not, I fay, not that there is no faith; No: for feeling is an after thing, and comes after Faith. If we have Faith, we live by it; But after you believed, you were fealed. You fee then Faith is that whereby we receive Jefus Chrift, and to as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the Sons of God, to as many as believe on his name. The blood of Chrift is that which cureth our fouls, but (as I told you)it is by application. A Medicine heals not by being prepared, but being applied: fo the blood of Chrift fhed for us, unless applied to us, doth us no good. In Heb. 12. Its called the blood of Sprinkling and that in the 51. Pfalm, hath relation to it, where he faith, Purge me with byfop. In the Pafsover there was blood to be shed, not to be fpilt,but to be shed: and then to be gathered

up:

up again, and put into a Bafin, and when they had fo done, they were to take a bunch of Hyfope and dip and sprinkle, &c. Faith is this bunch of Hyfope that dips it felf as it were into the Bafin of Christs blood, and our fouls are purged by being fprinkled with it. In Levit. 14.6. There was a bird to efcape alive; but fee the preparation for it, rou fhall take it, and the fcarlet, and the Cedar wood, and the Hyfop, and fhall dip them, and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed, &c. and then you shall Sprinkle on him that had the leprofie feven times, and shall pro-. nounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loofe into the open field. We are thus let loofe, cleanfed and freed; but how? unless we are dipt as the living bird was in the blood of the dead bird, there is no efcaping, unless we are dipt in the blood of Chrift Jefus this dead bird, and fprinkled with this Hyfop, we cannot be freed.

So that now to come to that great matter, without. which,Chrift profiteth us nothing,which is Faith.The Well is deep, and this is the bucket with which we muft draw. This is the hand by which we must put on Chrift; As many as are baptized put on Chrift: thus muft we be made ready: we must be thus clothed upon, and by this hand attire our felves with the Son of Righteoufnefs. Wherefore I declared unto you that this Faith must not be a bare conceipt, floating in the brain; not a device of our own. The devil taking hold on this, would foon lead a man into a fools Paradife. To fay, I am Gods Child, and fure I fhall be faved, I am perfwaded fo: this the Devilwould fay Amen to, and would be glad to rock

meni

men a fleep in fuch conceipts. Such are like the foolish Virgins, That went to buy oyl for their Lamps; and were perfwaded they should come foon enough to enter with the Bride-groom; but their perfwation is groundless, and they are fhut out. So fuch groundless perfwafions and affurances in a mans foul, that he is the child of God, and fhall go to heaven, is not Faith; thou mayft carry this affurance to hell with thee: This Faith is not Faith; For faith comes by hearing, and that not of every word or fancy, but by hearing the word of Truth. Faith must not go a jot further then the Word of God goeth. If thou haft an apprehenfion, but no warrant for it out of the Word of God, it is not faith, for its faid, After you heard the Word of Truth you believed. So that we must have fome ground for it out of the Word of Truth, otherwife it is prefumption, meer conceipts, fancy, and not Faith.

Now I fhew'd unto you the last time how this might be; for while a man is an Unbeliever, he is wholly defiled with fin, he is in a moft lothfom condition, he is in his blood, filthy, and no eye pities him. And may one faften comfort on one in fuch a condition, on a dead man? And this I fhew'd you was our cafe: When Faith comes to us, it finds no good thing in us, it finds us ftark dead, and ftark nought: yet there is a Word for all this to draw us unto Chrift,from that miferable Ocean in which we are swimming unto perdition, if God catch us not in his Net. Hearken we therefore to Gods Call: there is fuch a thing as this Calling. God calls thee and would change thy condition, and therefore offers thee his Son. Wilt

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