you may be able to go to them in the dark, when the minifters and ordinances of Chrift have taken their leave of you, and bid you good night.

Whilft many are haftening on the wrath of God by profaneness, and many by fmiting their fellow-fervants; and multitudes refolve, if trouble come, to fish in the troubled waters for safety and preferment, not doubting, (whenfoever the overflowing flood comes) but they fhall ftand dry. O that you would be mourning for their fins, and providing better for your own fafety.

Reader, it is thy one thing neceffary to get a cleared interest in Jefus Chrift; which being once obtained, thou mayeft face the florm with boldnefs, and fay, come troubles and diftreffes, loffes and trials, prifons and death, I am provided for you; do your worst, you can do me no harm: let the winds roar, the lightnings flash, the rains and hail fall never fo furiously, I have a good roof over my head, a comfortable lodging provided for me: "My place "of defence is the munition of rocks, where bread fhall be given "me, and my waters fhall be fure," Ifa. xxxiii. 16.

The defign of the enfuing treatife is to aflift thee in this great work; and though it was promised to the world many years paft, yet providence hath referved it for the fittest season, and brought it to thy hand in a time of need.

It contains the method of grace in the application of the great redemption to the fouls of men, as the former part contains the method of grace in the interpretation thereof by Jefus Chrift. The acceptation God hath given the former part, fignified by the defires of many, for the publication of this, hath at laft prevailed with me (notwithstanding the fecret confcioufnefs of my inequality to fo great an undertaking) to adventure this fecond part alfo upon the ingenuity and candour of the reader.

And I confent the more willingly to the publication of this, becaufe the defign I first aimed at, could not be entire and complete without it; but especially, the quality of the fubject-matter, which (through the blefling and concurrence of the Spirit) may be useful both to rouze the drowfy confciences of this fleepy generation, and to affift the upright in clearing the work of the Spirit upon their own fouls. Thefe confiderations have prevailed with me against all difcouragements.

And now, reader, it is impoffible for me to speak particularly and diftinctly to the cafe of thy foul, which I am ignorant of, except the Lord fhall direct my difcourfe to it in some of the following | fuppofitions.

If thou be one that haft fincerely applied, and received Jefus Chrift by faith, this difcourfe (through the bleffing of the Spirit) may be ufeful to thee, to clear and confirm thy evidences, to melt

thy heart in the fenfe of thy mercies, and to engage and quicken thee in the way of thy duties. Here thou wilt fee what great things the Lord hath done for thy foul, and how thefe dignities, as thou art his fon or daughter, by the double title of regeneration and adoption, do oblige thee to yield up thyfelf to God entirely, and to fay from thy heart, Lord, whatever I am, I am for thee, whatever I can do, I will do for thee; and whatever I can fuffer, I will fuffer for thee; and all that I am, or have, all that I can do or fuffer, is nothing to what thou haft done for my foul.

If thou be a stranger to regeneration and faith; a person that makest a powerless profeffion of Chrift; that haft a name to live, but art dead; here it is poffible thou mayeft meet with fomething that will convince thee how dangerous a thing it is to be an old creature in the new creature's drefs and habit; and what is it that blinds thy judgment, and is likelieft to prove thy ruin; a seasonable and full conviction whereof will be the greatest mercy that can befal thee in this world, if thereby at laft God may help thee to put on Chrift, as well as the name of Chrift.

If thou be in darkness about the ftate of thy own foul, and wil ling to have it faithfully and impartially tried by the rule of the word, which will not warp to any man's humour or intereft, here thou wilt find fome weak affiftance offered thee, to clear and dif entangle thy doubting thoughts, which, through thy prayer, and the fupply of the Spirit of Jefus Chrift, may lead thee to a com fortable fettlement and inward peace.

If thou be a proud, conceited, prefumptuous foul, who hast too little knowledge, and too much pride and self-love, to admit any doubts or fcruples of thy ftate towards God, there are many things in this treatife proper for thy conviction and better information; for wo to thee, if thou shouldft not fear, till thou begin to feel thy mifery, if thy troubles do not come on till all thy hopes are gone off.

I know all these things are performed by me with much infirmity; and that the whole management is quite below the dignity of the fubject. But when I confider that the fuccefs of fermons and books in the world hath but little relation to the elegancy of language, or accuracy of method, and that many may be useful, who cannot be excellent, I am willing in all humility and fincerity to commit it to the direction of Providence, and the blefling of the Spirit.

One thing I fhall carneftly request of all the people of God, into whofe hands this fhail fall, that now at laft they will be perfuaded to end all their unbrotherly quarrels and ftrifes among themfelves, which have waited fo much precious time, and decayed the vital fpirits of religion, hindered the converfion of multitudes,

and increased and confirmed the atheifin of the times, and now at laft opened a breach, at which the common enemy is ready to enter and end the quarrel to our coft. O put on, as the elect of God, bowels of mercy, and a fpirit of charity and forbearance, if not for your own fakes, yet for the church's fake: Si non vis tibi parcere, parce Carthagini.

I remember it is noted in our English history as a very remarkable thing, that when the Severn overflowed part of Somerfet fhire, it was obferved that dogs and hares, cats and rats, to avoid the common destruction, would fwim to the next rifing ground, and abide quietly together in that common danger, without the least discovery of their natural antipathy.

The ftory applies itfelf, and O that Chriftians would every where depose their animofities, that the hearts of the fathers might be turned to the children, and the children to the fathers, left God come and smite the earth with a curse.

O that you would dwell more in your closets, and be more frequently and fervently upon your knees. O that you would fearch your hearts more narrowly, and fift them more thoroughly than ever, before the day pass as the chaff, and the Lord's fierce anger come upon you: look into your Bibles, then into your hearts, and then to heaven, for a true discovery of your conditions; and if this poor mite may contribute any thing to that end, it will be a great reward of the unworthy labours of

THY SERVANT IN CHRIST,

JOHN FLAVEL.

SERMON I.

The general Nature of effectual Application stated.

I COR. i. 30.

But of him are ye in Chrift Jefus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and fanctification, and redemption.

HE

E that enquires what is the juft value and worth of Chrift, afks a question which puts all the men on earth, and angels in heaven, to an everlasting non-plus.

The highest attainment of our knowledge in this life, is to know, that himfelf and his love do pafs knowledge, Eph. iii. 19.

But how excellent foever Chrift is in himfelf, what treafures of righteousness soever lie in his blood, and whatever joy, peace, and Favishing comforts, fpring up to men out of his incarnation, bus miliation, and exaltation, they all give down their diftinct benefits and comforts to them, in the way of effectual application.

For never was any wound healed by a prepared, but unapplied: plaifter. Never any body warmed by the most costly garment made, but not put on: Never any heart refreshed and comforted by the richest cordial compounded, but not received: Nor from the beginning of the world was it ever known, that a poor deceiv ed, condemned, polluted, miferable finner, was actually delivered out of that woful ftate, until of God, Chrift was made unto him, wifdom and righteoufnefs, fanctification and redemption.

For look as the condemnation of the first Adam paffeth not to us, except (as by generation) we are his; fo grace and remiffion pafs not from the fecond Adam to us, except (as by regeneration) we are his. Adam's fin hurts none but thofe that are in him: And Chrift's blood profits none but those that are in him: How great a weight therefore doth there hang upon the effectual application of Chrift to the fouls of men! And what is there in the whole world fo awfully folemn, fo greatly important, as this is! Such is the ftrong confolation refulting from it, that the apostle, in this context, offers it to the believing Corinthians, as a fuperabundant recompence for the defpicable meannefs, and bafeness of their outward condition in this world, of which he had just before VOL. II.

C

Parifienfis de caufis, cur Deus homo, cap. 9. Quemadmodum non tranfit Adæ damnatio, nifi per generationem in carnaliter ex eo generatos: fic non tranfit Chrifti gratia, et peccatorum remiffio, nifi per regenerationem ad spiritualiter per ipfum regeneratos. Sicut delictum Adæ non nocet, nifi fuis, in eo quod fui funt: fic nec gratia Chrifli prodeft, nji fuis, in co quid fui funt.

spoken in ver. 27, 28. telling them, though the world contemned them as vile, foolish, and weak, yet "of God Chrift is made un"to them wisdom and righteoufnefs, fanctification and redemp

❝tion.

In which words we have an enumeration of the chief privileges of believers, and an account of the method whereby they come to be invested with them*.

First, Their privileges are enumerated, namely, wisdom, righte ousness, fanctification, and redemption, mercies of ineftimable value in themfelves, and fuch as refpect a fourfold mifery lying upon finful Man, viz. ignorance, guilt, pollution, and the whole train of miferable confequences and effects, let in upon the nature of men, yea, the best and holieft of men, by fin.

Lapfed man is not only deep in mifery, but grofsly ignorant, both that he is fo, and how to recover himself from it: Sin hath left him at once fenfelefs of his ftate, and at a perfect lofs about the true remedy.

To cure this, Chrift is made to him wisdom, not only by improvement of those treasures of wifdom that are in himself, for the benefit of fuch fouls as are united to him, as an head, confulting the good of his own members; but alfo, by imparting his wifdom to them by the Spirit of illumination, whereby they come to difcern both their fin and danger; as alfo the true way of their recovery from both, through the application of Chrift to their fouls by faith.

But alas! fimple illumination doth but increase our burden, and exafperate our mifery as long as fin in the guilt of it is either imputed to our perfons unto condemnation, or reflected by our confciences in a way of accufation.

With defign therefore to remedy and heal this fore evil, Chrift is made of God unto us righteousness, complete and perfect righteteoufnefs, whereby our obligation to punishment is diffolved, and thereby a folid foundation for a well-fettled peace of confcience firmly established.

Yea, but although the removing of guilt from our persons and confciences be an ineftimable mercy, yet alone it cannot make us completely happy: For though a man fhould never be damned for fin, yet what is it lefs than hell upon earth, to be under the dominion and pollution of every base luft? It is mifery enough to be daily defiled by fin, though a man fhould never be damned for it.

To complete therefore the happinefs of the redeemed; Chrift is

*He ascribes a fourfold commendation of Chrift, which comprehends all his vir the, and all the good we receive from him. Calvin on the place.