in the natural faculties of the foul, viz. the understanding, memory, and will; which is an umbrage of a trinity in unity; but it rather confifts in the renovation of the faculties by grace; for in this we bear the divine image upon our fouls,, and that image or resemblance of God in holiness is the beauty and ho Dour of our fouls.

It is their beauty: "How fair, and how pleasant art thou, "O love, for delights!" faith Chrift of his people, Cant. vii. 6. Natural beauty confifts in the fymmetry and comely proportion of parts each with the other; fpiritual beauty in the harmony or agreeablenefs of our fouls to God: and as it is our chiefeft beauty, fo certainly it is our highest honour; for it gives us accefs unto God, who is the fountain of honour and glory; and this makes the righteous more excellent than his neighbour; let his neighbour be what he will, though the blood of nobles run in his veins, the righteous is more excel lent than he, except faving grace be alfo diffused into his foul. 3. Thirdly, Confider it in its recipient subject, and you will find its value fill to increafe; for the precious oil of favinggrace is never poured into any other than an elect veffel.

Hence faith, one branch of fanctification, is, with respect to its fubject, filed The faith of God's elect, Tit. i. 1. Whofoever finds true grace in his foul, may (during the evidence thereof) from it ftrongly conclude his election, looking backward, and his falvation, looking forward, Rom. viii. 39. It marks and feals the perfon in whom it is, for glory," God hath fet apart "him that is godly for himself," Pfal. iv. 3.

4. Fourthly, View the precious worth of grace in its excel lent effects and influences upon the foul in which it inheres.

(f.) It adorns with incomparable ornaments, which are of great price in the fight of God, 1 Pet. iii, 4. Yea, it reflects fuch beams of glory in the foul where its feat is, that Chrift himself, the author, is alfo the admirer of it; Cant. iv. 9. "Thon haft ravished my heart, my fifter, my fpoufe! thou "haft ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one of "the chains of thy neck!" and as one overcome with its excelling beauty, he faith, "Turn away thine eyes from me, for "they have overcome me," Cant. vi. 5.

(2.) It elevates and enobles a man's fpirit beyond all other principles in man; it fets the heart and affections upon heaven, and takes them up with the glory of the invifible world, Phil. iii. 20. "But our converfation is in heaven, from whence we' "look for the Saviour". Whilst others are, trading for corn and wine, for theep and oxen, for feathers and trifles, the gracious

foul is trading with God for pardon and peace, for righteouf nefs and life, for glory and immortality: "Truly our fellow"hip is with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Christ," John i. 3.

(3.) It doth not only raise the spirit by conversing with God, and things above, but transforms the foul, by that converse, into the likeness of those heavenly objects it converseth with; "It changes them into the fame image," 2 Cor. iii. 18. So that though the fanctified man ftill remains the who he was, yet not the what he was before; the very temper of his spirit is altered.

(4.) It doth not only transform the foul in which it is, but preferves the subject in which it is: it is a fingular preservative from fin; fo that though fin be in them ftill, and works in them still, yet it cannot prevail in them ftill to fulfil the lufts of it, as it was wont to do, Gal. v 17. Sia conceives, but cannot bring forth fruit unto death; this gives a miscarrying womb.

(5) It doth not only preferve it from fin, but grace establisheth the foul, in whom it is, far beyond any other arguments without, or any other principles within a man. "It is a good thing that the heart be established with grace,' "Heb. xiii. 9. This is that which the apostle calls our own ftedfastness, or that ballast we have within ourselves; which keeps us right and ftable. O the excellency of grace!

(6) To conclude; it is the root of all that precious fruit which we bring forth to God in this world: it is the root of every gracious word in our lips, and of every gracious work in our hands: be the matter of our gracious thoughts never fo Excellent, the matter of our heavenly difcourfes and prayers never fo fweet, ftill grace is the root of the matter, Job xix. 28. O then what a precious thing is grace!

5. Fifthly, View it in its properties, and you will fooner difcover its tranfcendent excellencies: the richest epithets are no hyperboles here; we feak not beyond the value of it, when we call it fupernatural grace, for fo it is: it comes down from above, from the Father of lights, Jam. i. 7. Nature can never be improved to that height, how much foever its admirers boast of it: nor do we ftrain too high, when we call it immortal grace; for fo hath God made it. This is that water which fprings up in the fanctified foul unto eternal life, John iv. 14. It will not die when thou diest, but afcend with the foul from which it is infeparable, and be received up with it into glory, Rom. viii. 10. You may outlive your friends; you may out

Live your estates; you may outlive your gifts; but you can not outlive your graces.

Shall I fay it is the most sweet and comfortable thing that ever the foul was acquainted with in this world, next Jesus Christ, the author and fountain of it. Sure, if fol fpeak, I have as many witnesses to atteft it, as there be gracious fouls in the world nothing is more comfortable than grace, except Chrift; and yet without grace no foul can feel the comforts of Chrift, in the troubles of life, or in the straits of death. This is a spring of comfort!

6. Sixthly, Confider it in its design and scope; and you will ftill difcern more and more of its precious excellency: for what is the aim and end of God in the infufions and improvements of grace, but to attemper and mould our fpirits by it, into a meetness and fitness for the enjoyment of himself in the world to come? Col. i. 12. 66 Giving thanks to the Father, who “hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the "faints in light." Compare this with 2 Cor. v. 5. "Now he "that hath wrought us for the felf-fame thing is God."

O bleffed defign! how precious must that work be, which is wrought for fo high and glorious a purpose as this is? No work more excellent, no end more noble.

7. Seventhly, Confider the means and inftruments, both principal and fubordinate, employed in this work: many bleffed inftruments are fet on work to beget, conferve, and improve it in our fouls; and these all speak the precious worth of it. No wife man will dig for a base and worthless metal with golden mattocks. The blood of Chrift was fhed to procure it, Heb. xiii. 12.

The Spirit of God is fent forth to form and create it; for it is his own workmanship, Ephef. ii. 10. his fruit, Gal. v. 22. The ordinances and officers of the gospel were at first inftituted, and ever fince continued in the church, for this work's fake, John xvii. 17. and Eph. iv. 12. It is the fruit of Chrift's blood; yea, and it hath cost the sweat and blood of the dif penfers of the gospel. too.

Nay, all the works of providence look this way, and aim at this thing, Rom. viii. 28. What is the errand of all God's rods, but to make us partakers of his holiness? Heb. xii. 10.

8. Eighthly, The high value that the most high God fets upon grace, fhews it to be an excellent thing indeed : "It is of great price in his fight," Pet. iii. 4. no fervice finds acceptation with God, but what is performed by grace: None but fanctified veffels are meet for the master's ufe." The end of the

1

"commandment is charity out of a pure heart," 1 Tim. i. §. The weakest performances of grace find acceptance with him, though clogged with many finful weaknesses and infirmi ties, Heb. xi 31, 32. If God fo prize it, well may we: He that made the jewel, beft understands the value of it.

:

9. Ninthly, The hypocritical pretences made to it all over the profeffing world, thew what a moft precious and defireable thing it is If there were not fome fingular glory in it, why doth every one covet to be reputed gracious? Nay, the devil himself baits many of his hooks of temptation with a shew of grace; for he knows fin hath no native beauty of its own to entice, and therefore he borrows the paint and pretence of ho linefs to cover it: but, oh! what a dilemma will the hypocrite be pofed with at laft? And how can he answer it when God

fhall demand?

If grace were evil, why didft thou affect the name and repu. tation of it? And if it were good, why didft thou fatisfy thy felf with the empty name and shadow of it only?

10. Tenthly, To conclude: the incomparable esteem that all good men have for it, fhews it to be a thing of inestimable price.

Grace is the fum of all their prayers, the fcope of all their endeavours, the matter of their chief joy, the reward of their afflictions and fufferings; their chief joys and forrows, hopes and fears in this world, are taken up about it. By all which it appears that its price is above rubies; and all the gold and filver in the world are but dung and drofs in comparison with it.

SECT. II.

Containing fix practical inferences from this precious truth. Infer. 1. Is faving grace more precious than gold? Let them that have it, blefs God for it, and not boaft. Mens hearts are as apt to puff up and fwell with fpiritual, as with material gold: It is hard to be an owner of much of this gold, and not be lifted up with it. To keep down thy heart, and preferve thine eyes from being dazzled with these thy glorious excellencies, it will be needful for thee, Chriftian, fometimes to confider,

That although grace be one of the most excellent things that ever God created, yet it is but a creature, a dependent thing, i Cor. v. 17.

Yea, it is not only a creature, but a very imperfect creature yet in thy foul, labouring under many weakneffes, Phil. iii. 12. and fometimes ready to die, Rev. iii. 2.

Practical Inferences from the precioufnefs of Grace. 137 Though it can do many things for you, yet it cannot justify you before God: You cannot make a garment of it to cover your guilt, nor plead the dignity of it at God's bar for your discharge: It is not your inherent, but Chrift's imputed righteouiness must do that for you, though in other respects it be very neceffary.

Nay, remember how excellent foever it be, it is not the native growth and product of your hearts; all the grace you have is foreign to your natures; and what you have is received, 1 Cor. iv. 7.

And, lastly, remember he that is most proud and conceited of his own graces will be found to be the owner of least grace, and hath most cause to question whether he hath any or no. It is the nature of grace to humble, abase, and empty the foul; and it is the ftrength of our corruptions which thus puffs us up with vain conceits.

Infer. 2. Is faving grace more excellent than gold? What cause then have the pooreft Chriftians to be well fatisfied with their lot? To others God hath given Ishmael's portion, the fatnefs of the earth; to you Ifaac's, the graces of the covenant: Their portion is paid in brafs, yours in gold. Many of you are poor in the world, but "rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom "which God hath promised," Jam. ii. 5. What is the duft of the earth to the fruits of the Spirit? You are troubled that you have no more of the world: It may be if you had more gold, you would have lefs grace. You confider not how many are poor and wretched in both worlds, moneylefs and Christlefs too: You do not confider you are near come to that fate, in which all your wants will be fully fupplied; where you shall not need the treasures of the earth, and have your deftres fatisfied out of the treasures of grace and glory.

Infer. 3. Is faving grace gold? yea, infinitely more precious than gold? Then furely declining Chriftians are great lofers, and have caufe to be great mourners. The remiffion of the leaft degree of grace, is more to be lamented than the loss of the greatest sum of gold.

Though the habits of grace be not loft, yet the acts of grace may be fufpended, 2 Sam. xii. 31. The degrees of grace may be remitted, Rev. iii. 3. The evidences of grace may be clouded, and confequently the comforts of grace may be fufpended, Ifa. 1. 10. and the leaft of thefe is fuch a lofs, as all the treasures of the earth cannot repair. Well therefore may declined ChriVOL. VII.

S