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ousness, and may constantly submit myself to the righteousness of God. And by the fame grace help me to bring forth the fruits of righteousness abundantly unto the glory and praise of God, magnifying thine atonement in the peace of my confcience, exalting thy righteousness in the love of my heart, and in my walk and warfare glorifying thy fulness: So that out of it I may be receiving a fufficiency of grace, by which I am now enabled to bless thee for the hope of glory. To thee, almighty Jesus, for the work of righteousness, which is peace, and for the effect of righteousness, which is quietness and affurance for ever : To thee be everlasting praife. Amen, and Amen.

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CHAP. IV.

The believer's triumph in Jesus under a sense of the defilement of fin.

IT is in virtue of this fellowship with Jesus, that believers are freely forgiven all their iniquities. His atonement was the work of our great High Priest, who was made fin for us, although he knew no fin, that we might be made the righteoufnefs of God in him. God is of purer eyes than to look upon the least iniquity: And there is a defilement in fin, which makes it exceeding filthy and abominable in his fight. He shewed his utter abhorrence of it by establishing in the Old Tefta

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ment such an abundance of legal pollutions, as might exhibit to sense the defiling nature of fin, and might keep it ever before their eyes, and fresh upon their minds. And by making it neceffary, that the worshippers should be purified from these pollutions, and by eftablishing the means of their purification, and by forbidding every other, he would lead them to exercise faith in the great purifier, whose office it was to purge their confciences, before they could offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. And it was a fixed law, That if any one legally unclean neglected or refused the appointed means of being cleanfed, he was to bear his iniquity: For an unpardoned finner can have no communion with a most holy God. Unto the pure all things are pure, pure, but unto them that are-defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure, but even their mind and confcience is defiled. The mind is the fountain from whence all the streams flow. Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, &c. these are the things which defile the man. An en lightened confcience is made fenfible of this, and feels the neceffity of being purified from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, in order to approach God, and to have boldness and access with confidence to the throne of grace. His meditations at fuch times are like thefe.

The more I know of myself, the more I am led to loath myself, and to repent in duft and ashes : For I am a finner, filthy and abominable altogether. By nature as

vile as fin can render a fallen creature, and daily polluting myself in heart and life with fresh impurities. I have no means of cleanfing myself: No hope, that any thing in the creation can do it for me. Deep in my very conftitution the stain remains. And I am forced to be crying out-Unclean, unclean. My case would be quite defperate, if God himself had not provided a remedy, the report of which has come to mine ears in the gospel. O it is blessed news. I welcome it to my heart: That God has opened a fountain, which cleanfeth from all fin. He has recommended it to me, as having infinite virtue and everlasting efficacy to cleanse. And I have a command from heaven, vile and filthy as I am, to make use of it :

For thus it is written- "In that

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