divine command. Rev. xviii. 4, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sin,, and that ye receive not her plagues?" How could they remain in such an assembly, who de nied their Saviour, was become Idolatrous, would not be persuaded, and persecuted those who would heal her, even unto death?

Yea more, ought we to be charged with improper severity, because we would never receive the abominable Socinians as brethren? They had indeed utterly subverted all the foundations of the Christian faith, with respect to Jesus, as his Godhead, satisfaction, and heartchanging grace; on which account the Remonstrants also were justly cast out of our purified church; for they would establish freewill as an associate with Jesus in the salvation of sinners, and would also erect an altar to it: and hence they soon deviated to other erroneous opinions, embraced the Socinians as their brethren, and endeavoured to bring those uncircumcised into the temple of God. How were they then to be endured!

Permit me to offer also this inference from what hath been said, that our reformed church alone exhibits the pure doctrine of the word of God without errour. Who can suspect her of errours and misapprehensions, unless it be an errour that she conceives too highly of the only and complete Saviour, that she humbles the sinner too low, comforts the sorrowful too perfectly, and glorifies God too much, as a God of perfect salvation. And do we err herein? we err then with the word of God, which teacheth us these things; yea, we esteem it our happiness, that we may err herein so, that we lose ourselves wholly in Jesus, and are swallowed up in his salvation, that we may be found only in him.

May we not now also extol those as happy, who have Jesus for their Saviour? For (a) he is the most worthy, the Son of God, made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Who in heaven can be compared to him? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to him? he is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be reverenced by all those who are round about him. He is the Lord of lords, and King of kings; yea, he is terrible to the kings of the earth. "His name is called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of peace," Isaiah ix. 6. To have the great God for our Saviour is surely a great hap piness. (b) Let the benefited sinner only consider from what Jesus saves him. It is indeed from sin; all that is abominable, evil and hateful, is comprehended under that one word, sin; for it renders man like the devil, it subjects him to the wrath of God, the

turse of the law and eternal damnation; it is the cause of all our misery, and it deprives the sinner of all his faculties, so that he cannot deliver his soul. When a person hath had a heartfelt sense of this, and sees that he is delivered by Jesus, must it not fill his heart with wonder, astonishment, joy, and praise to God, and induce him to cry out, "He who hath delivered us from so great a death, and who still delivereth us, and in whom we trust, that he will yet deliver us?" (c) Believers, consider also what blessedness and salvation he hath bestowed on you. He hath united you to God, translated you into communion with him, so that ye know him who is true, and are in him who is true: your life is hidden with him in God, ye have an interest in his favour and love, and shall always re tain it; and all this is but a small beginning; yea, although ye were now filled with all the fulness of God, it could not yet be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in you at the last day. And therefore, "behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know, that when he shall apper, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is," 1 John iii. 1, 2. (d) And what hath Jesus done to save you? he poured forth his soul unto death, he was numbered with the transgressors, he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors: he made his soul an offering for sin, that he might see you as his seed; and therefore he hath also given you his Spirit, he regenerates you, he hath made you partakers of his divine nature, he hath obtained your acquittal of the judge, he hath sanctified you, he will love you to the end, and will not withdraw his hand from you, until he hath introduced you into glory, and hath saved you perfectly in soul and body. In this, Job gloried under his greatest troubles; "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me," Job xix. 25, 26, 27. Will ye have more? Behold (e) he is the only and complete Saviour, ye have all things in him that are necessary to your salvation. There is no defect in any sinner so great and grievous, but there is a fulness in every respect sufficient in him against it: Christ is all in all," Coll. iii. 11. "Of his fulness do we all receive grace for grace," John i. 16. "He is made to us of God wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,"

1 Cor. i. 30. "He is able to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them," Heb. vii. 25. And he alone is this, we may not seek, and cannot find salvation out of him; whatsoever the sinner pursues, in order to obtain happiness, is only broken cisterns, which can hold no water. (f) And whose Saviour is he? the Saviour of all men? no: but only of his people, and there are many who are not his people and sheep. That just ye, even ye, O believers, are his people, and the objects of his saving kindness, and that others, perhaps as good, yea, better by nature than ye, come short hereof; ought this not to humble you to the uttermost under a sense of your unworthiness, and cause you to ask with Hagar "Have I here also looked after him, who seeth me?" Gen. xvi. 13.

I know that there are believers, who labour under a grievous uncertainty, whether they have a saving interest in Jesus, and that there are others, who are unconcerned, and think that they ought not to doubt that Jesus is their Saviour, deceiving themselves with vain imaginations: and therefore it will not be unserviceable to inquire for the conviction of the one and the other who are the real partakers of the Saviour. They are,

1. Those who regard their sins and misery with concern and anxiety they cry out, "What must we do to be saved?" Acts in. 37. ix. 6. xvi. 30. "For the Son of man came to save that which was lost," Matt. xviii. 11. How is it possible that a sinner should be delivered from all his sins, and dreadful misery, as long as he doth not behold his wretchedness, so as to be humbled. We know indeed that some are brought to Jesus by a word, or by a calm contemplation of the saving truths, or by a flood of saving joy, which Jesus sheds abroad in their hearts, and they do not experience much perturbation, as Matthew, Lydia, and Zaccheus, Matt. ix. 9. Acts zvi. 14. Luke ix. 5, 6, but we also know, that this is not common; and moreover, that such persons, although they are not greatly distressed at the first on account of their sins and misery, because it is swallowed up by the enjoyment of their love, are afterwards so much the more dejected, and thus humbled on account of their former and present sins. And is not humiliation the daily work of every believer? Surely it is.

2. They have an enlarged view of the perfect ability of Jesus to save sinners, which causeth them to set a high value on him: "To you who believe he is precious," 1 Peter ii. 17. They have not a bare apprehension of this, but they perceive through the irradiation of the Spirit of God, the beauty of Jesus, which allures their hearts, excites a desire in them to Jesus, and induceth them to seek him

earnestly, to look from self, and from all self and imaginary worth and works, to surrender themselves to him, to turn to him, and receive him, in order to be saved by him alone. "They account all things," yea, even their best performances, "loss and dung, that they may win Christ, and be found in him," like Paul, Phil. iii. 7-10. Let none think that since Jesus alone is the Saviour, that he will obtain an interest in him, without any activity on his part. No: those whom he saves, he renders active in their endeavours to be saved by him : therefore the apostle saith, Philip. ii. 12, 13. "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." See also Matt. xi. 2.

3. Such are also his people: he saves his people. They surren der themselves willingly and readily to him, and "join themselves to him," not only to be saved by him, but also to be sanctified, and "to serve him, to love him, and to be his servants,”, as it is said of those who are saved, Isaiah Ivi. 6. "They are willing to swear, and to perform it, that they will keep his righteous judgments," like David, Psalm cxix. 106. And therefore they join themselves to that people whom he saves, and who serve him," saying, we will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you," Zech. viii. 23. Yea, "they are of one heart and one soul" with that people, Acts iv. 32. And thus "we know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren," 1 John iii. 14.

Whoever ye are, examine yourselves by these characteristics, and see whether ye have been thus exercised, and whether ye be still exercised in this manner. But how many are there, who know. nothing at all of these things! Verily ye know nothing of them who have never yet come to yourselves, to examine whether ye were in the faith, or whether Christ were in you; who show by your carelessness, that ye are unconcerned whether ye be saved or damned: for this seldom or never enters into your thoughts; the things of this life, and worldly and fleshly desires possess your minds, so that there is no room for serious reflections upon your eternal condition; and ye show thus, that ye are not of that people, but of the world, Psalm xvii. 14. 1. John iv. 5. Or doth a sudden and transient thought concerning a life after this life enter your hearts, your selflove induceth you to think, that ye in particular will not be lost, but saved; ye take this for granted, as something that is evident of itself, because ye have heard with the hearing of the ear, that Jesus is the Saviour, just as if he were a Saviour of those who never apply to him as such.

.. Neither have ye the evidences which we have mentioned, that Jes sus is your Saviour, who endeavour to do something, in order to be saved, yet do not embrace Jesus as your Saviour, but seek other Saviours. This will appear strange to you, and induce you to say, we certainly know that Jesus alone is the Saviour: but it is perfectly evident that we look upon that as our Saviour, in which we place our only trust and hope of being saved. But is Jesus your trust and hope? do ye flee to him? have ye received him truly, heartily, and entirely and do ye still do this? ye do then show that ye esteem him your Saviour; but is it your hope and trust, that ye will be sa ved, because ye have been born in a Christian country, have been educated in the pure church, have made a confession of your faith, that ye partake of the Lord's supper, have a considerable knowledge, do not commit any wicked abominations, are sometimes sorry for your sins, have a relish for the word, associate with the godly, yea, have a great zeal for God, without having ever received Jesus himself, or sought to win him by faith, ye do then surely declare that ye do not seek Jesus, but only those things and works for your Saviour. With the Papists, Socinians,, and Remonstrants ye fetch Jesus in as far as concerns his names, thinking that if ye do all ye can, Jesus will do all that he can; but Jesus himself is not the object of your exercises. Therefore know that ye are yet, without Christ. What can it profit you, to boast of him with your mouths, while ye deny him with your works?, He will not save you, while ye rem in thus, but condemn you: alas! how much more grievous will your condition be, than that of those who never heard of him: for he hath urged you to receive him for salvation, but ye have suffered him to labour and cry in vain. Hear what he saith, John xv. 22, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin."

Alas! friends, behold your fearful and wretched condition, fand entertain an earnest desire to be saved, and therefore to receive the Saviour by faith. And why should ye not? have ye too much to do in the world? are your thoughts too much taken up with the things of this life?" What will it profit you, if ye should gain the whole world, and lose your own souls! or what would ye give in exchange for your souls?" Matt. xvi. 26. Or will ye not, because sin is sweet to you? how bitter will it be to you, when that momentary sweetness shall be past, to hear him upbraid you, saying, "Ye would not come unto me, that ye might have life," John v. 40. Yea, "the wickedness that is sweet in your mouth, shall be turned in your bowels; it shall be the gall of asps within you," Job xx. 12, 13, 14. Or will