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sin, and a love to righteousness; in proportion as you have reformed your past transgressions, and distrust your own strength in future; in proportion as you rely wholly on the supply of those gifts that alone can work a real change of heart and life; so far have you received of the Spirit of regeneration; so far have you good ground that you are justified, and that Christ, who is ascended up on high, and is seated on the right hand of all power, has bestowed those gifts upon you, which are the fruits of his meritorious death and sufferings, which are part of the reward of his victory over our spiritual enemies. In short (Gal. v. 22, 23), the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, temperance: against such there is no law. Have you all, or any of these qualities, my brethren? have you in any good degree crucified the flesh, with its affections and lusts? Again, among the ordinary gifts that Christ hath obtained for us, the outward means of obtaining these several graces are to be accounted, such as the blessing of a mild and wise government of the visible church, constituted on the basis of Christ's own pure doctrines; the advantage of a regular ministry to preach those doctrines; and the opportunity of serving God in peace, with liberty of conscience, and in the beauty of holiness, i. e. in a decent, orderly, and apostolical church establishment.

Examine yourselves still further, whether you feel desirous of recovering from your backslidings. Are you willing to close with every means of growing better? do you attend God's public worship as frequently as you ought? do you meditate earnestly on what you hear there? do you petition the Lord, in humility of spirit, that what you read or hear, may turn to the mending your lives and saving your souls? do you study God's holy word? If you do not perform these duties as often as you could wish, do you attend to them as often as you can ? do you employ every other means of obtaining divine assistance? do you pray to him in private? do you shun bad example? do you covet sober and serious company? If you observe these things, you do well; if you sincerely wish to follow after righteousness, the good seed is sown, and may be said to spring. So far as the Spirit beareth witness to these attainments, and any truly religious improvement, so far are ye CHRIST's, so far doth the Lord dwell with you.

But, supposing you in some measure have fallen short of these actual signs of grace; if duly sensible of your gross omissions, and still sincerely desirous to attain unto righteousness, ye do well; the good work may safely be said to be begun. Though the difficulty of the task alarm you, and you sometimes doubt and faint, pray that you enter not into temptation;

ery earnestly, Lord, save me, or I perish; and He that hath begun the good work in you, will not leave it imperfect. To conclude-never lose sight (my brethren) of those words of Christ that call for the mark of the gifts he ascended to procure for you; they will direct you to the true way; they will keep you in it ; they will hold you up, and prevent your falling: for, If ye abide in me, saith Christ, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you; for herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit: so shall ye be my disciples. In truth, there is no other way, no other sure sign that Christ hath obtained good gifts for you, but that you show the effect of them, and that they so far profit you, as to produce fruit in your lives and conversation. Now to God, &c.

LECTURE XIV.

SEVENTH ARTICLE OF THE CREED:

"From thence he shall come to judge the quick "and the dead."

ROMANS, XIV. 9, 10:

For to this end, Christ both died and rose, and revived, that he might be the Lord both of the dead and the living; for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ.

WE

E may very truly assert, in the language of St. Paul (2 Cor. ii. 16, 17), that the import of this article is either the savour of death unto death, or of life unto life; a sweet savour of Christ, to them WHO DIE IN THE LORD; i. e. in the true faith of his holy name, and humble dependence on his merits and mediation; and at the same time, the most powerful inducement that can be urged upon all men, to LIVE TO THE LORD; and that from this very serious consideration (2 Cor. v. 10), that we must all appear

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before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, good or bad.

The words of this part of our Creed propose to our faith the doctrine of a general judgment of all mankind. With this solemn act the office of Christ closes. Hitherto we have discoursed concerning our blessed Master, in his characters of prophet, priest, and king; as our lawgiver and pattern; as the sacrifice and atonement for our sins; as our mediator and intercessor at the right hand of God, by whose power, there committed to him, in consequence of that exaltation, he is also made a principle of inward life to us, while our state of trial lasts, by shedding abroad his grace upon our souls, through the influence of his Holy Spirit. This subject represents him in the most majestic and awful of all his characters and as the event is of such vast concern to every one of us (even our eternal salvation, or condemnation), every one must see the necessity of confirming our faith in this article of the Belief; because it includes a double motive to urge our perseverance in well-doing, viz. fear and reward.

I shall proceed in the plain order which I have hitherto adopted, as the most suitable method of informing your minds upon the principles of the holy religion you profess.

The article itself may be divided into three.

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