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ments fmell of myrrh; but if Chrift never breathed the breath of eternal life in his noftrils, he will not distinguish the odoriferous grace of God (Heb. xiv. 6) from the infernal perfumes of erroneous hypocrites, Prov. vii. 17. He must have a nofe in the body mystical—If the whole were seeing, where were the fmelling? 1 Cor. xii. 17. This I know, if he cannot smell out the gracious, the gracious will foon smell out him, Ifaiah iii. 24.

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Not a man who hath any thing fuperfluous. Not one in Popish principles, who has got works of fupererogation; that is more works than the law of God requires. Not a man perfect in the flesh, for he has more perfection than the gospel gives or requires, Gal. iii. 3. Not a man wife in his own conceit, Rom. xi. 25, for he is wife above what is written, 1 Cor. iv. 5. Not a man that holds universal redemption; because he has got more redemption than the Bible, and will apply that to the goats which belongs to the sheep only, John x. 15. Not a Pharifee, for he is felf-righteous overmuch, Ecclef. vii. 16. Not a free thinker; because apreacher of the gofpel is to bring in every thought to the obedience of Christ, 2 Cor. x. 5. Not a freeagent; because he is to preach free, fovereign grace, and its reigning power, ifaiah ii. 11. 17. Not a self-sufficient man; for he will cry down the fovereignty of God, Lukexix. 14, and justify the wicked, which is an abomination, Prov. xvii. 15. Not a man fwimming away only with a flood of natural affections; for he will think God is just like him

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felf, Pfalm 1. 21, and will preach the eternal love of the God-head, as univerfally fixed on all the human race this is denying the Bible, which tells us thousands are in hell already, Ezek. xxxi. 16, 17; xxxii. 21, 22, and not one there but the object of his hatred, Prov.xxii. 41; Gen. xxvii. 41. All these principles we bring into the world with us, and they are a fuperfluity of naughtiness, Ifaiah i. 21; thefe old things must be done away, before we can be new creatures. A man in the old Adam is but a very poor divine at beft, and will be a bad inftrument to proclaim the neceffity of a new heart, a new fpirit, and self-denial,

Not a man that is broken banded or broken footed. A man broken handed cannot work, and he that is broken footed cannot walk. A prieft under the law was to receive and kill the facrifice, and to wave it before the Lord; and if it was offered for himself, he must lay his hands upon the head of it, and confefs his fins over it to God; he was to go to God to enquire for the people, and then to come out and lift up his hands, and blefs them in the name of the Lord; therefore, a ceremonial priest needed both feet and hands; and a gospel minister must be both a wayfaring man and a labourer, 2 Tim. ii. 6; he muft walk by faith, 2 Cor. v. 7, and by faith lay hold on eternal life: Freewill is a withered arm, Ifaiah Ixiv. 7, and flefhly confidence is a foot out of joint, Prov. xxv. 19.

Not a man crooked-backed.--Surely it is not a deformed body that is meant in this paffage; God is

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no refpecter of persons, neither does he delight in any man's legs. Paul the apostle was a deformed man, and the devil tempted him enough about it, Gal. iv. 14; and fools often defpifed him for it, 2 Cor. x. 10. Every unrenewed man is one of Adam's crooked generation, Deut. xxxii. 5; Phil. íi. 155 and his ways are as crooked as himself, Prov. ii. 15. The worst crook in man is his ferpentine, froward, ftubborn, and perverse will; if his will be refigned to the will of God, he is an upright man; but if he is felf-willed, he is a curfed child, therefore a very improper channel to convey bleffings to others. If the felf-willed are to be scattered in Ifrael, and divided in Jacob, Gen. xlix. 5, 6, 7, they are not very fit perfons to call the elect to the unity of faith. Shew me a free-will perfon, and I will fhew you a rebel; yea, a rebel against the fovereignty of the King, the laws of his kingdom, and every loyal fubject of it. He muft not be crookbacked, nor bowed down with a legal yoke; if he is a minister of Chrift, he must go upright, Lev. xxvi. 13; 2 Chron. xxix. 34.

Not a dwarf fhall offer the bread of his God, Lev. xxi. 20. Surely it doth not mean one of low stature in a gospel fenfe; if it did, Paul would have been excluded, for he was very fmall, or else they would not have been able to have got him out at a window, or let him down in a basket, Acts ix. 25. A dwarf is one ftinted by illness; or ricketty, for want of good nurfing. I have feen poor infants crawling on their knees at three years old, when if they had been pro

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perly nurfed, they would have been on their feet at fifteen months. We have many bad mothers in our days, who, like oftriches, are hardened against their young, and leave them for the fun and fand to hatch; forgetting that, if they lose the use of their limbs, every foot may crush them, Job xxxix. 15. Many fuch dwarfs we have in Zion's family, and it is much owing to bad nurfing. Some nurses live on milk themselves, and use nothing but milk for others; these are unfkilful in the word of righteousness; they are babes; and a family nursed by babes must be kept all their years in infancy. Hence the complaint, as for my people children are their oppreffors, and women rule over them.

Some there are who are afraid to reprove, or rebuke, for fear of diftreffing the weak; though God has commanded it, in order to make them found in the faith, Tit. i. 13. Others are afraid to preach up the doctrine of God's election, left their followers fhould grow licentious; as if the predeftination of God, which is for our eternal welfare. were nothing but a trap, Jer. xxvi. 2. I know fome who feldom mention the imputed righteousness of Jefus Chrift, for fear of crying down inherent righteoufnefs, and making them flothful with regard to the works of righteousness; but if all self-righteousness be no better than filthy rags, the lefs we have of it the better: Rags are not worth speaking of, therefore we ought to make mention of the Lord's righteousness, and of his only, Pfalm lxxi. 16. And with refpect to good works, God has promised to direct their work

work in truth, and to work in them both to will and to do. Some do not chufe to preach up too much of the final perfeverance of the faints, left it should stop them from striving; but fleshly strivings for mastery will not be crowned, because fuch do not strive lawfully, 2 Tim. ii. 5. Nothing on earth is fo bad for feeking finners as a legal ministry; it keeps poor fouls in perpetual bondage; legal travel is attended with no growth-how fhall a foul grow, till it is born again. Legal fear makes a foul stick in the womb, Hof. xiii. 13, but perfect love cafts out fear, John iv. 18.

I once was in company with a woman, who fits under a very legal preacher, and her husband is in the fame fpirit; fhe was forely wounded in her confcience with the terrors of God, and in her greatest distress she took herself to private prayer, and earneftly befieged the throne of grace; the kingdom fuffered violence, and fhe took it by force, Matt. xi. 12; being filled with light, love, and liberty, fhe broke forth in raptures to her husband, and told him what she felt this burning lamp fo dazzled his eyes, that he fufpected the flame to come from the infernal regions, and told her fhe was deluded; but the continued ftill to blaze. He went and fetched other members of the fociety, and they declared the fame; then the minifter was defired to examine her; he alfo declared fhe was deluded. So the pinned her faith to the priest's judgment, and refifted the Holy Ghoft, taking his influences for falfe comfort; and very foon fhe loft all her

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