teousness of Christ is to all and upon all that believe, but upon none other; for, "He that believeth not shall be damned," Mark xvi. 16. Yea, he that believeth not is condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth upon him, John iii. 36.

3. If my reader be saved he must be created anew in Christ Jesus, and be of those who are formed a people for God, to shew forth his praise. We are predestinated to be conformed to the image of God's Son; God despises all other images but that, Psal. lxxiii. 20. Now, if all the elect of God are predestinated to be conformed to Christ's image, and God will despise all other images, it is necessary to inquire where this image is to be found. Paul says it is in the new man of grace. "Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." This is a righteous nature imparted to us. The image of Christ, which all the saints must bear in heaven, stands in righteousness. This is one grand branch of our meetness for heaven; and it is positively asserted that "The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God," 1 Cor. vi. 9.

4. There can be no admittance into heaven unless we are born again: for, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." The offering up of the Gentiles is accepted, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. There can be no holiness or meetness for heaven but by the Holy Spirit; and without holiness no man shall see the Lord, Heb. xii. 14.

5. We must have the word of truth in us. The church of the living God is the ground and pillar of truth, and in the saint's glorification truth is to be settled in heaven. Nothing but truth can make us free; and all the sons of the heavenly Jerusalem are free; freeborn citizens. And nothing shall enter that city that worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, Rev. xxi. 27. And we know that, "No lie is of the truth."

I will now endeavour to shew my reader what God says of those who are in possession of these five branches of real morality; the first of which is,

Saving knowledge.

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." These have eternal life already, and shall never die. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire;" but not the living, for they shall be delivered,, every one that shall be found written in the book, Dan. xii. 1.

2. The Surety's obedience to the law imputed to us; for, "By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous;" and to us is this righteousness imputed if we believe on him who raised Christ from the dead; and this is our title to heaven, for, "Whom God justified them he also glorified," Rom. viii. 30.

3. I shewed my reader that we are saved by grace; and we know that grace is to reign through

righteousness unto eternal life. This whole work of grace, which comes from Christ, in opposition to sin, which came to us from Adam, is called the new man, as sin is called the old man; and grace from Christ's fulness is called grace for grace; that is, sanctifying grace to assure us of glorifying grace. Hence the grace of the Spirit is called the firstfruits, as glory in the day of judgment is called the harvest: "We which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body,” Rom. viii. 23. Thus, as the firstfruits are the earnest of the harvest, grace is an earnest of glory; for where God gives the one he never fails to give the other. "The Lord God is a sun and shield: The Lord will give grace and glory."

4. The fourth branch of real morality is true holiness, as I have largely shewn before, and that it consists in faith and love, which also is a meetness for heaven; for, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath no power."

5. The fifth branch of real morality is receiving the word and keeping it, which is called a commandment. "My Father gave me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak; and I know that his commandment is life everlasting." "The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his com

mandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected," 1 John ii. 7, 4, 5. Observe here, the commandment is the word, and he that keeps it has the love of God perfected in him; and love is charity, and charity never faileth, but abides for ever in heaven.

And this

word is the word of life and truth, received in faith, loved, kept, and held fast; and will admit us into heaven, for those who keep the commandments have a right to the tree of life, and shall enter through the gates into the city. "Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in."

Come, reader, we do not work by the day, and therefore will push these heads a little closer; for nothing under heaven consumes the spider's web, or crushes the cockatrice egg, like these things. It is choice and sweet labour to work from life; though labouring for life is hard work; and this many of our evangelical letter-preachers know, who cannot get on at all till they have wrought themselves up into a violent rage, which, among the blind passes for zeal, though we know it is strange fire, sparks of their own kindling. But we will go on upon Shigionoth, to the chief singer on our stringed instruments, Hab. iii. 19. What I mean, reader, is to try how far love or charity will go towards accomplishing all these .five branches of real morality; the first branch of which is knowledge. Adam knew God loved

him, and communed sweetly with him until he sinned against him, and his mind became alienated from the life of God; then, as soon as he heard his voice, guilt covered him with shame, and the expectation of death filled him with fear, and then he fled and hid himself. Nor can the law be fulfilled in us without knowledge; for how can we love God with all the heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, when we know nothing of him? Israel of old loved a stock or stone, and prayed to these, trusting in them before God himself. And what was the cause of this idolatry and folly? Ignorance; for those that know God's name will put their trust in him.

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1. Real love to God has saving knowledge in it. Every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God; he that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love," 1 John iv. 7, 8.

2. We must have an imputed righteousness, which must be put on by faith. However, love comes not behind hand here, for, "Charity beareth all things, believeth all things," 1 Cor. xiii. 7. And, if charity believeth all things, it believes in an imputed righteousness.

3. We must have a righteous nature. "Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another; and, above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness," Col. iii. 12-14.