Are there any infidels here? Yes, (O that I had not too great reason to think fo!) I fear moft are fuch: not indeed fuch infidels as profeffedly deny the LORD that bought us (though I fear too many even of fuch monsters are in every country); but I mean such unbelievers, that have no more faith in CHRIST than the devils themselves, Perhaps you may think you believe, because you repeat the Creed, or subfcribe to a Confeffion of Faith; becaufe you go to church or meeting, receive the facrament, and are taken into full.com. munion. These are bleffed privileges; but all this may be done, without our being true believers. And I know not how to detect your falfe hypocritical faith better, than by putting to you this question: How long have you believed? Would not most of you fay, as long as we can remember; we never did difbelieve? Then this is a certain fign that you have no true faith at all; no, not so much as a grain of mustardfeed for, if you believe now, (unless you were fanctified from your infancy, which is the cafe of fome) you must know that there was a time in which you did not believe on the LORD JESUS CHRIST; and the Holy Ghoft, if ever you received it, convinced you of this. Eternal truth has declared, "When he is come, he will convince the world of fin, because they believe not on me.”

None of us believe by nature: but after the Holy Ghoft has convinced us of the fin of our natures, and the fin of our lives and duties, in order to convince us of our utter inability to fave ourselves, and that we must be beholden to Go, as for every thing else, so for faith (without which it is impoffible to please, or be faved by CHRIST) he convinces us alfe, that we have no faith. "Doft thou believe on the Son of GOD?" is the grand queftion which the Holy Ghost now puts to the foul: at the fame time he works with fuch power and demonftration, that the foul fees, and is obliged to confefs, that it has no faith.

This is a thing little thought of by most who call themfelves believers. They dream they are chriftians, because they live in a chriftian country: If they were born Turks, they would believe on Mahamet ; for what is that which men commonly call faith, but an outward confent to the established religion? But do not you thus deceive your

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own felves; true faith is quite another thing. Afk yourfelves, therefore, whether or not the Holy Ghoft ever powerfully convinced you of the fin of unbelief? You are perhaps so devout you may imagine) as to get a catalogue of fins ; which you look over, and confefs in a formal manner, as often as you go to the holy facrament: but among all your fins, did you ever once confefs and bewail that damning fin of unbelief? Were you ever made to cry out, "LORD, give me faith; LORD, give me to believe on thee; O that I had faith that I could believe !". If you never were thus diftreffed, at leaft, if you never faw and felt that you had no faith, it is a certain fign that the Holy Ghoft, the Comforter, never came into and worked favingly upon your fouls.

But is it not odd, that the Holy Ghoft fhould be called a Comforter, when it is plain, by the experience of all GOD's children, that this work of conviction is usually attended with fore inward conflicts, and a great deal of foul-trouble? I anfwer, The Holy Ghoft may well be termed a Comforter, even in this work; because it is the only way to, and ends in, true folid comfort. Blessed are they that are thus convicted by him, for they fhall be comforted. Nay, not only fo, but there is préfent comfort, even in the midft of these convictions: the foul fecretly rejoices in the fight of its own' mifery, bleffes GOD for bringing it out of darkness into light, and looks forward with a comfortable profpect of future deli verances, knowing,' that, though forrow may endure for a night, joy will come in the morning."

Thus it is that the Holy Ghoft convinces the foul of fin. And, if so, how wretchedly are they mistaken, that blend the light of the Spirit with the light of confcience, as all fuch do, who fay, that CHRIST lighteth every man that cometh into the world, and that light, if improved, will bring us to JESUS CHRIST? If fuch doctrine be true, the promise in the text was needlefs: our LORD's apoftles had already that light; the world hereafter to be convinced, had that light; and, if that was fufficient to bring them to CHRIST, why was it expedient that CHRIST should go away to heaven, to fend down the Holy Ghoft to do this for them! Alas! all have not this Spirit: it is the fpecial gift of God, and, without this fpecial gift, we can never come to CHRIST.

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The light of confcience will accufe or convince us of any common fin; but the light of natural confcience never did, never will, and never can, convince of unbelief. If it could, how comes it to pass, that not one of the heathens, who improved the light of nature in fuch an eminent degree, was ever convinced of unbelief? No, natural confcience cannot effect this; it is the peculiar property of the Holy Ghost the Comforter: "When he is come, he will reprove (or convince) the world of fin, of righteousness, and judgment." We have heard how he convinces of fin: we come now top fhew,

Secondly, What is the righteousness, of which the Comforter convinces the world.

By the word righteousness, in fome places of fcripture, we are to understand that common juftice which we ought to practise between man and man; as when Paul is faid to reafon of temperance and righteousness before a trembling Felix. But here (as in a multitude of other places in holy writ) we, are to understand by the word righteousness, the active and paffive obedience of the dear LORD JESUS; even that perfect, perfonal, all-fufficient righteousness, which he has wrought out for that world which the Spirit is to convince. Of righteousness, (fays our LORD) because I go to the Father, and! ye fee me no more." This is one argument that the Holy Spirit makes ufe of to prove CHRIST's righteousness, because he is gone to the Father, and we fee hin, no more.. For, had he not wrought out a fufficient righteousness, the Father would have fent him back, as not having done what he undertook; and we should have feen him again. 9.216 17 O the righteousness of CHRIST! It fo comforts my foul, that I must be excufed if I mention it in almost all my difcourfes. I would not, if I could help it, have one fermon without Whatever infidels may object, or Arminians fophiftically argue against an imputed righteousness; yet whoever know themselves), and GOD, must acknowledge, that " JESUS CHRIST is the end of the law for righteoufnefs, (and perfect juftification in the fight of GOD) to every one that believeth," and that we are to be made the righteoufnefs of GOD in him. This, and this only, a poor finner can lay hold of, as a fure

anchor of

his hope. Whatever other scheme of falvation men may lay, Lacknowledge Lean fee no other foundation whereon to build my hopes of falvation, but on the rock of CHRIST's personal righteousness, imputed to my foul.

Many, I believe, have a rational conviction of, and agree with me in this: but rational convictions, if rested in, avail but little; it must be a fpiritual, experimental conviction of the truth, which is faving. And therefore our LORD fays, when the Holy Ghoft comes in the day of his power, it convinces of this righteousness, of the reality, compleatness, and fufficiency of it, to fave a poor finner.

We have seen how the Holy Ghoft convinces the finner of the fin of his nature, life, duties, and of the fin of unbelief; and what then muft the poor creature do? He muft, he must inevitably defpair, if there be no hope but in himself. When therefore the Spirit has hunted the finner out of all his falfe refts and hiding places, taken off the pitiful fig-leaves of his own works, and driven him out of the trees of the garden (his outward reformations) and placed him naked before the bar of a fovereign, holy, just, and fin-avenging God; then, then it is, when the foul, having the fentence of death within itself because of unbelief, has a fweet difplay of CHRIST'S righteousness made to it by the Holy Spirit of GOD. Here it is, that he begins more immediately to act in the quality of a Comforter, and convinces the foul fo powerfully of the reality and all-fufficiency of CHRIST's righteousness, that the foul is immediately fet a hungering and thirfting after it. Now the finner begins to fee, that though he has destroyed himself, yet in CHRIST is his help; that, though he has no righteousness of his own to recommend him, there is a fulness of grace, a fulness of truth, a fulness of righteousness in the dear LORD JESUS, which, if once imputed to him, will make him happy for ever and ever.

None can tell, but thofe happy fouls who have experienced it, with what demonftration of the Spirit this conviction comes. O how amiable, as well as all-fufficient, does the bleed JESUS now appear! With what new eyes does the foul now fee the LORD its righteoufnefs! Brethren, it is unutterable. If you were never thus convinced of CHRIST's righteoufnefs in your own fouls, though you may believe it doctrinally,

doctrinally, it will avail you nathing if the Comforter never came favingly into your fouls, then you are comfortlesscindeed. But reland to dom end no tudosvlat to esqod yo What will this righteousness avail, if the faul has it not ją poffeffion? 200 (zuen inc15 6 sunt stod Ivne M ith litt 11 e ni om diew Thirdly, The next thing therefore the Comforter, when he comes, convinces, the foul of, is judgment...diu st By the word judgment, I understand that well-grounded peace, that fettled judgment, which the foul forms of itself, when it is enabled by the Spirit of GOD to lay hold on CHRIST's righteousness, which I believe it always does, when convinced in the matter before-mentioned. Of judgment

(fays our LORD) because the Prince of this world is judged;" the foul, being enabled to lay hold on CHRIST's perfect righteoufnefs by a lively faith, has a conviction wrought in it by the Holy Spirit, that the Prince of this world is judged. The foul being now juftified by faith, has peace with Gon through our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and can triumphantly fay, It is CHRIST that justifies me, who is he that condemns me ? The strong man armed is now caft out; my foul is in a true peace; the Prince of this world will come and accuse, but he has now no fhare in me; the bleffed Spirit which I have received, and whereby I am enabled to apply CHRIST's righteousness to my poor foul, powerfully convinces me of this : why should I fear? or of what shall I be afraid, fince God's Spirit witneffes with my fpirit, that I am a child of God? The LORD is afcended up on high; he has led captivity cap tive; he has received the Holy Ghost the Comforter, that beft of gifts for men and that Comforter is come into my heart: he is faithful that hath promifed: I, even I, am powerfully," rationally, fpiritually convicted of fin, righteousness and judg. ment. By this I know the Prince of this world is judged.

Thus, I fay, may we fuppofe that foul to triumph, in which the promise of the text is happily fulfilled, And though, at the beginning of this difcourfe, I faid, moft had never expe rienced any thing of this, and that therefore this preaching must be foolishness to fuch; yet I doubt not but there are fome few happy fouls, who, through grace, have been enabled