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Its higheft name is from the wedding vote,
So inftrumental in the marriage-knot.
JEHOVAH lends the bride in that bleft hour,
Th' exceeding greatness of his mighty pow'r:
Which fweetly does her heart-confent command,
To reach the wealthy Prince her naked hand.
For clofe to his embrace fhe'd never ftir,
If firft his loving arms embrac'd not her:
But this he does by kindly gradual chafe,
Of roufing, railing, teaching, drawing grace,
He fhews her, in his fweeteft love address,
His glory as the Sun of righteousness;
At which all dying glories earth adorn,
Shrink like the fick moon at the wholesome
This glorious Sun arifing with a grace, (morn.
Dark thade of creature-righteoufnefs to chafe,
Faith now difclaims itself, and all the train
Of virtues formerly accounted gain; (difdain.
And counts them dung t, with holy, meek
For now appears the height, the depth im-
Of divine bounty and benevolence; (menfe
Amazing mercy! ignorant of bounds!
Which most enlarged faculties confounds.
How vain, how void now feem the vulgar charms,
The monarch's pomp of courts, and pride of
The boafted beauties of the human kind, (arms?
The pow'rs of body, and the gifts of mind?
Lo! in the granduer of Immanuel's train,
All's fwallow'd up as rivers in the main.
He's feen, when gofpel-light and fight is giv'n,
Encompats'd round with all the pomp of heav'n.
The foul, now taught of God, fees human
Make Chriftlefs rabbi's only lit'rate fools; (fchools
* Eph. vii. 16. + Phil. iii. 7, 8.

And that, till divine teaching pow'rful draw,
No learning will divorce them from the law.
Mere argument may clear the head, and force
A verbal, not a cordial clean divorce.
Hence many, taught the wholesome terms of art,
Have gofpel-heads, but ftill a legal heart.
Till fov'reign grace and pow'r the finner catch,
He takes not Jefus for his only match.
Nay, works complete! ah! true, however odd,
Dead works are rivals with the living God.
Till Heav'n's preventing mercy clear the fight,
Confound the pride with fupernatʼral light:
No haughty foul of human kind is brought
To mortify her felf-exalting thought.

Yet holieft creatures in clay-tents that lodge,
Be but their lives fcann'd by the dreadful Judge;
How fhall they e'er his awful fearch endure,
Before whofe pureft eyes heav'n is not pure?
How muft their black indictment be enlarg'd,
When by him angels are with folly charg'd?
What human worth fhall ftand, when he fhall
O may his glory ftain the pride of man. (fcan?

How wond'rous are the tracks of divine grace!
How fearchlefs are his ways, how vaft th' abyfs!
Let haughty reason stoop, and fear to leap;
Angelic plummets cannot found the deep.
With fcorn he turns his eyes from haughty kings,
With pleasure looks on low and worthlefs things;
Deep are his judgments, fov'reign is his will,
Let ev'ry mortal worm be dumb, be ftill.
In vain proud reason fwells beyond its bound;
God and his counfels are a gulf profound,
An ocean wherein all our thoughts are
drown'd.

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CHAP. V.

Arguments and Encouragements to Gospel minifters to avoid a legal strain of doctrine, and endeavour the finner's match with Christ by gofpel-means.

SECT I.

A legal SPIRIT the root of damnable Errors.

Y

E heralds great, that blow in name of God The filver trump of gofpel grace abroad; And found by warrant from the great I AM, The nuptial treaty with the worthy Lamb: Might ye but stoop th' unpolifh'd muse to brook, And from a fhrub an wholesome berry pluck; Ye'd take encouragement from what is faid, By gospel means to make the marriage-bed, And to your glorious Lord a virgin chafte to wed.

The more proud nature bears a legal fway, The more should preachers bend the gofpel-way: Oft in the church arise deftructive fchifms From anti-evangelic aphorifms;

A legal fpirit may be juftly nam'd
The fertile womb of ev'ry error damn'd.
Hence Pop'ry, fo connat'ral fince the fall,
Makes legal works like faviours merit all;
Yea, more than merit on their shoulder loads,
To fupererogate like demi gods.

Hence proud Socinians feat their reason high,
'Bove ev'ry precious gofpel-mystery,
Its divine Author ftab, and without fear
The purple covert of his chariot tear.

With these run Arian monsters in a line, All gofpel-truth at once to undermine! To darken and delete, like hellifh foes, The brighteft colour of the Sharon Rofe. At beft its human red they but decry, That blot the divine white, the native dye.

Hence dare Arminians too, with brazen face, Give man's free-will the throne of God's free Whofe felf-exalting tenets clearly fhew (grace; Great ignorance of law and gofpel too.

Hence Neonomians fpring, as fundry call The new law-makers to redress our fall. The law of works into repentance, faith, Is chang'd, as their Baxterian Bible faith. Shaping the gofpel to an eafy law, (ftraw; They build their tott'ring houfe with hay and Yet hide, like Rachel's idol's in the ftuff, Their legal hands within a gofpel muff.

Yea, hence fprings Antinomian vile refuse, Whofe grofs abettors gofpel grace abuse; Unfkill'd how grace's filken latchet binds Her captives to the law with willing minds.

SECT. II.

A legalSTRAIN of doctrine difcovered and difcarded.

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O wonder Paul the legal fpirit curfe, Of fatal errors fuch a feeding nurfe. He, in JEHOVAH's great tremendous name, Condemns perverters of the gospel-fcheme. He damn'd the fophift rude, the babbling priest Would venture to corrupt it in the leaft; Yea, curs'd the heav'nly angel down to hell, That daring would another gospel tell*.

* Gal. i. 7, 8.

Which crime is charg'd on these that dare dif-
The felf-fame gofpel in another fenfe. [penfe
Chrift is not preach'd in truth, but in dif-
If his bright glory half abfconded lies. [guife,
When gospel foldiers, that divide the word,
Scarce brandish any but the legal fword.
While Chrift the author of the law they prefs,
More than the end of it for righteoufnefs;
Chrift as a feeker of our fervice trace,
More than a giver of enabling grace.
The King commanding holiness they show,
More than the Prince exalted to beftow;
Yea, more on Chrift the fin-revenger dwell,
Than Chrift Redeemer both from fin and hell.

With legal fpade the gofpel-field he delves,
Who thus drives finners in unto themselves;
Halving the truth that should be all reveal'd,
The sweeteft part of Chrift is oft conceal'd,
We bid men turn from fin, but feldom fay,
Behold the Lamb that takes all fin away!
Chrift, by the gospel rightly understood,
Not only treats a peace, but makes it good,
Those fuitors therefore of the bride, who hope
By force to drag her with the legal rope,
Nor ufe the drawing cord of conquering grace,
Purfue with flaming zeal a fruitless chafe;
In vain lame doings urge, with folemn awe,
To bribe the fury of the fiery law:
With equal fuccefs to the fool that aims
By paper walls to bound devouring flames.
The law's but mock'd by their moft graceful deed,
That wed not firft the law fulfilling Head;

+ John i. 29.
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