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At that day saith the Lord, thou shalt call me Ishi, and shalt call me no more Baali....Hos. ii, 16.

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MANY people say, "the scripture is a dead letter:" who told them so? Not God in his word. True, Paul says, "the letter killeth."....2 Cor. iii. 6. This cannot prove the scripture to be a dead letter: but only that the letter of the law is a ministration of death; therefore, even the law cannot be a dead letter: for that which kil leth cannot be dead itself: St. Stephen calls it "the lively oracles.". Acts vii. 38. Our Lord says, "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life."....John vi. 63. If we are dead to the law and married to Christ, here is a precious word of spirit and life from our loving bridegroom to us this nights married by faith: this is what constitutes "that day," that gospel day of our espousals. Whatever may be in the womb of God's covenant purpose and de cree concerning any sinner, yet he can enjoy no comfort of it, till brought into actual marriage union to Christ by faith: "saith the Lord;" when you read this, consider yourself in your Lord's presence, and your Lord speaking freely to you: "thou shalt call me Ishi, and shalt call me no more Baali:" why not? as both names signify my husband: "thy maker is thine husband."....Isa. liv. 5. O, but there is much more love and sweetness in the one than the other: here is an overflow of the Lord's affectionate heart to us: ISHI is expressive of precious affection and holy familiarity: BAALI, of that lordly power, which keeps the soul in subjection; domineering over it, so as to keep it at a distance and making it shy of its Lord: many women can truly call thier husbands Baali, because they lord it over them: their fear and dread of them is greater than their love and affection to them: but our dear Lord would not have it so with us; therefore bids us, "Call me Ishi." Mr. Henry says, "Ishi, is VIR MEUS, my man: A MAN, THE LORD." O, the affectionate love! O, the marvellous humility of our Lord and husband! May he help us to improve these precious words, 1st. In casting away all servile fear and slavish dread of our Lord: he has taken away the law that cursed us; put away sin which caused it; and there is nothing but love and compassion in his heart to us. O let us, 2d. Prove this in coming to him with the same freedom and familiarity, as a loving wife to her affectionate husband and tell him of our sorrows and wants, that he may comfort us and supply them. 3d. Let us imitate Christ in the purity of his love and chastity of affection; turn from all other lovers; delight more in his company and walk closer with him in love: "for the love of Christ passeth knowledge." ....Eph. iii. 19.

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Ye are fallen from grace....Gȧl. v. 4.

AWFUL words! Enough to excite in us a holy fear, a godly jealousy, and an earnest cry, Lord, uphold me by thy free Spirit. What is here meant by grace? The doctrine of God's free favor to lost sinners in Christ: redeeming their souls from the curse of the law by his blood: justifying their persons before God by his righteousness without any works of their own; and finally saving them without any desert of theirs. O my Lord, what rich, what matchless grace is this! My soul shall love and praise thee eternally in heaven for this: no, but stop, thy joy is damped: thou mayest fall from this grace; lose the favor of God; fall into hell: who says this? Some say Paul here does; no, it is as impossible for a saint in Christ Jesus thus to fall, as for a glorified saint in heaven to fall into hell. Christ is God; it is impossible for God to lie, for Christ says, "my sheep shall never perish."....John x. 28. If they did, God the Father must change in his love: God the Son shed his blood in the greatest agony in vain: God the Spirit's work upon their hearts would be fruitless; and hell would triumph against the love, grace and power of Jehovah. Bless the Lord, O my soul, for persevering as well as converting grace: what then does the apostle here mean? 1st. And principally, these Galatian professors of the great and glorious doctrines of the grace of God had fallen into other notions of justification, than by the righteousness of Christ only: they thought their own works must have some hand in procuring it first or last: therefore, 2d. They were fallen from the profession. they once made, that they saw themselves lost and perishing sinners, come short of the glory of God, destitute of a righteousness to justify them in his sight, and must be eternally damned without the righteousness of Christ. For, 3d. They were now fallen into a high opinion of their own free-will, to work out a righteousness to justify them in whole or in part; faithfulness to grace received to entitle them to God's favor; their own sinless perfection to keep them in his favor; if at first they are not justified by their own works yet there is a second justification, when their works shall entitle them to glory: this is the case with some in our day. At first they thought God's free-grace through, the blood and righteousness of Christ, would entirely save them: but now grown wise in their own eyes, and mighty strong in their own power, they are fallen from the grace of the gospel into the pride of nature: they say, "we once leaned too much to Calvinism." Now, forsaking the truth, they get perfection in themselves: now they can do without the imputed righteousness of Christ, and vehemently exclaim against the doctrines of grace; from such falling, good Lord deliver us!

By the obedience of one, shall many be made righteous.... Rom. v. 19.

PAUL speaks of "another JESUS, another SPIRIT, and another GOSPEL."....2 Cor. xi. 4. Some talk of a Jesus, who shed his blood for sinners, and yet lets them perish for want of righteousness: this is another Jesus than what the scriptures reveal; they speak of Spirit who strives to make sinners righteous, but meeting with so much unexpected, perverse wickedness in their nature, he gives over his attempt and leaves them to perish in their sins: this is another spirit than that Spirit, whose office it is to convince us of sin and of the righteousness of Christ, to sanctify us in him and to glorify Jesus. Again, they preach what they call gospel, which consists of certain terms to be fulfilled and conditions performed by them, in order to get righteousness and eternal life: this is another gospel than that good news of everlasting righteousness, life and salvation, being the free gift of God through Christ to hopeless, helpless, desperate sinners. The subtlety of the serpent is in all this; our minds though espoused to Jesus, are in danger of being corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Paul was jealous over souls with a godly jealousy on account of this; we ought so to be over our own souls: here is a plain simple truth; by the ONE obedience of Jesus, shall many be made righteous: that heart is not simple which raises the least cavil, or objection, to the obedience of Christ imputed to believing sinners: or says, they are or may be made righteous any other way. Such reject the truth, deny the faith, corrupt minds, dishonor our Lord, and deprive souls of the comfort and joy which spring from believing Jesus to be, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS: avoid such, as you would those who deny the divinity of our ever dear Lord; hold fast and rejoice in this blessed truth, that though you are a miserable sinner in yourself, though your obedience, after all your sincere strivings and earnest endeavours, is maimed and imperfect, yet the perfect, spotless obedience of the Son of God is yours, imputed to your account: as much yours as though you had in your own person obeyed every jot and tittle of the law of God: by this one obedience of Christ you are perfectly righteous in God's sight; he looks on you, loves you, and will treat you as such: O then, poor sinner be not dejected as without hope, but rejoice and give glory to your dear surety, who has fulfilled all righteousness for you, that you should eternally love, "serve and rejoice in him, though you have no confidence in the flesh."....Phil. iii. 3.

God's truths demand obedient faith,

Then to thyself for sin take shame, We're bound to hear whate'er he saith; And all the glory give the Lamb. M.

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He that trusleth in his own heart is a fool....Prov. xxviii. 26.

WE all do so naturally: therefore we are all natural fools; but through our blindness we are ignorant of it: through pride we will not own it: how many continue in this awful state of folly, ignorance and pride? Among the many who are made wise unto salvation, how doth this folly of self-confidence cleave to them? Say some, "to be sure, it is the greatest folly for natural men to trust in their own hearts, for they are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked but God hath given me a new heart, a clean heart, and a good heart, and surely I may trust in it." This is the natural language of folly not the judgment of a new creature in Christ; hear the Lord: "I will give them an heart to know me that I am the Lord and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return unto me with their whole heart."....Jer. xxiv. 7. So that the .new heart, the clean heart, and the good heart, which is from the Lord, knows the Lord as its only confidence and returns to the Lord, and trusts in him wholly and solely: this is the nature of true faith, to go entirely out of ourselves and to trust wholly in the Lord. It is the foolish, deceitful, wicked workings of the old evil heart of unbelief that causes self-confidence: such was Peters vain confidence. Hence he got a dreadful fall to teach him more humility. Hazael was very self-righteous: he started and stared when he was told what a wicked thing he should do; all the disciples forsook Christ, for all their bold declarations to the contrary: would not that mariner be a fool, who would trust his ship to ride out a storm with an anchor of lead and a cable of straw? He exalteth such folly who trusts in any inherent righteousness, wisdom, and power of his own: for he thereby withdraws his confidence in our only righteous, wise, and powerful friend and Saviour; trust not in the fine frames and warm feelings of your heart. The graces of the Spirit are not bestowed to exalt self-confidence, but to glorify Jesus, in whom should be our whole and sole trust; for "of God he is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption:" to what end? A most blessed one. O, study it more and more, day by day, "that, according as it is written, him that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.".... Cor. i. 31.

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For thy names sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great....Psalm xxv. 11.

STRANGE plea! GREAT is mine iniquity, therefore pardon it! Such an address at a throne of grace never rose from a self-righte ous heart! No: with the the pharisee of old they are ready to say, "thank God, I am not such a sinner as David was: I never committed the horrid crimes of murder and adultery: his iniquity was great indeed;" it was so. But souls enlightened by the Spirit of truth, to see the spirituality of the holy law of God, will agree to our Saviour's gloss upon it; that lust is adultery in the heart, and anger a species of murder in the soul....Matt. v. 28. "Out of the heart proceed murders, adulteries." &c....Matt. xv. 19. Sensible of the desperate wickedness of our heart; convinced of the exceeding sinfulness of sin; who will dare plead, pardon mine iniquity for it is LITTLE? Is it against a little God sin is committed? Is a little wrath revealed against sin? Did a little Christ die for us? Is a little hell the punishment of sin? Lord forbid that we should think little of sin, or that iniquity should appear little in our eyes; the iniquity of each of us all is great.

O, says a poor sin-burdened soul, mine iniquity is great, too great to be forgiven; so the father of lies might suggest to David, but he believed him not: great as his iniquity was, he did not aggravate his crimes, by rejecting God's declarations of mercy, invitations of grace, and promises of pardon; he confesses his great iniquity; he pleads pardon for it; on what does he found his plea? FOR THY NAME'S SAKE, O LORD; thou hast taken upon thee that precious name JESUS: "thou wilt be SALVATION to the ends of the earth.".... Psalm xcviii. 3. Thy blood cleanseth from all sin; wash me in it and I shall be whiter than snow; ALL manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: O, while these glorious truths stand upon record, I cannot doubt, I dare not despair; the belief of them causes me to pray and plead, and hope: GREAT as mine iniquity is, GREAT as my distress is, yet thou art A GREAT GOD AND SAVIOur, to pardon my sin and give peace to my soul; was ever any sinner sent to hell with such a plea in his mouth? No: that is impossible; for the word of God cannot be broken, which says, "if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.".... John i. 9. Therefore heaven rings with acclamations of joy from such pardoned, glorified sinners. O, that we may join them, in giving glory unto him, who loved us and washed us from our sins, in his own blood....Rev. i. 5.

No sin however great,

Shall keep me from my God:
For Christ's salvation is complete;

I'll plead his cleansing blood.

Pardon, O Lord, my soul,
Bring comfort to my mind,

O make my wounded spirit whale,
Joy in thee let me find.

M.

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