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It is mere mercy

mercy that God saveth us. in the eternal plan of our salvation by Christ; mere mercy in his incarnation, humiliation, obedience and sufferings for us; mere mercy in the application of his redemption to our souls; mere mercy that we are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation, and mere mercy that Christ will at last present us faultless before the throne of God with exceeding joy. It is to the praise and glory of his grace, wherein we are made accepted in the Beloved. Our good works cannot have any share in purchasing our title to this salvation; they cannot make atonement for our sins, because the iniquity of our most holy things stands in need of atonement; they cannot give us a claim to mercy, because we are antecedently sinners, and obnoxious to the sentence of the broken law; they cannot make us meet for salvation, because by their imperfections they leave us open to the curse, and because they cannot sanctify our nature and give us new hearts: Nor, can they give us any claim to the special influences of the Spirit of God, because then our sanctification would be of debt and not of grace. What then can they do? No more than bring us to the footstool of mercy, to wait upon God in

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the way

of his appointments, that He would "work in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

It is our business, with earnest application, to watch at Wisdom's gates, and wait at the posts of her doors, to use our utmost endeavors in all the ways of godliness, righteousness and charity, doing all in the name of Christ; and when we have done all we can, to come still as lost, guilty, worthless, and helpless sinners, self-loathing and self-condemned, to the throne of mercy, acknowledging that to us belong shame and confusion of face; and that we have nothing to plead but the riches of redeeming love, and the boundless grace of God in Christ for the acceptance either of our persons or services.

4thly and lastly I shall add, we must not depend upon our good works for renewing supplies of grace, and for a continual progress in holiness. How many labour in the fire, making religion a hard and melancholy service, by their legal attempts, and by their spirit of bondage. So far as this legal disposition prevails in serious minds, it will not only darken their way, but check their progress in grace and holiness. If they expect to make any proficiency in their spiritual

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course, they ought to remember that the divine life must be carried on in the soul, in the same manner and by the same means that it was begun there. We are not only justified by faith, but we must be sanctified by faith too, and receive all out of Christ's fulness. Would we then maintain a truly spiritual life, the life which we live in the flesh must be by the faith of the Son of God: would we maintain a conversation worthy of our holy profession, our conversation must be in Christ would we live in the love of God and of our neighbour, it is faith which worketh by love: would we get a victory over the world, and all its allurements, this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith would we be able to withstand temptation, it is the shield of faith, by which we shall be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked: would we be strengthened in the service of God against all opposition, we must be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might: would we go on our way rejoicing, we must rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh would we persevere in the service of God, we must be kept by his power, through faith unto salvation. must despair of all sufficiency of ourselves to mortify

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mortify sin, and to quicken our souls in the ways of God and godliness. When we have done all we can, we are unprofitable servants, and must rely wholly upon the Lord. Jesus Christ. Yea, we must rely confidently upon Him, that he may fulfil in us the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power. Amen.

SERMON III.

Preached at the Mission Church, Calcuttà,
29 August 1802.

SECOND PART.

TITUS iii. 8. These things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.

I HAVE shewn you, in a former discourse,

to what purpose good works are not necessary, and in what respects they may not be depended upon. They are not necessary to change God's purposes or designs towards us, or to excite his benevolence or compassion to us. They are not necessary to qualify us for our reception of Christ by faith, or for obtaining an interest in Him. They are not necessary to give us a title to the future inheritance: nor are they to be depended on for a progressive sanctification in the way to the heavenly kingdom. I proceed now to shew, in what respects they are of necessity; and to what purposes they must be done by all those who would approve themselves Christians indeed.

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