without money. He is bidder. to the marriage of the King's Son, where the bridegroom himself furnisheth all the guests with wedding garments, ftripping them of their own: but he will not come, because he wants a wedding garment; howbeit he is very bufy making one ready. This is fad work; and therefore he must have a deeper ftroke yet; elfe he is ruined. This ftroke is reached him with the ax of the law, in its irritating power. Thus the law girding the foul with cords of death, and holding it in with the rigorous commands of obedience, under the pain of the curfe: and God, in his holy and wife conduct, withdrawing his restraining grace: corruption is irritated, lufts become violent, and the more they are striving against, the more they rage, like a furious horfe checked with the bit.

Then do corruptions fet up their heads, which he never faw in himself before. Here oft-times atheifm, blafphemy, and, in one word, horrible things concerning God, terible thoughts concerning the faith, arife in his breaft: fo that his heart is a very hell within him. Thus while he is fweeping the house of his heart, not yet watered with gofpel grace, thefe corruptions which lay quiet before, in neglected corners, fly up and down in it like duft He is as one who is mending a dam, and while he's repairing breaches in it, and ftrengthening every part of it, a mighty flood comes down, overturns his work, and drives all away before it, as well what was newly laid, as what was laid before. Read Rom. vii. 8, 9, 10, 13. This is a stroke which goes to the heart; and, by it, his hope of getting himself more fit to come to Christ, is cut off.

LASTLY, Now the time is come, when the man betwixt hope and defpair, refolves to go to Chrift as he is, and therefore, like a dying man ftretching himself, juft before his breath goes out, he rallies the broken forces of his foul; tries to believe, and in fome fort lays hold on Chrift. And now the branch hangs on the old stock by one fingle tack of a natural faith, produced by the natural vigour of one's own fpirit, under a most preffing neceffity, Pfal. lxxviii. 34, 35. "When he flew them, then they fought him, and they returned and enquired early after God. And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their Redeemer." Hof. viii, 2. "Hrael fhall cry unto me, My God we know thee." But the Lord minding to perfect his work, fetches yet another ftroke, whereby the branch falls quite off. The Spirit of God convincingly difcovers to the finner, his utter inability to do any thing that is good; and fo dieth, Rom. vii. 9. That voice powerfully ftrikes through his

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foul, "How can ye believe?" John v. 44. Thou canst no more believe, than thou canst reach up thine hand to heaven, and bring Chrift down from thence. And thus at length he fees he can neither help himself by working, nor by believing: and having no more to hang by on the old flock, he therefore falls off. And While he is diftreffed thus, feeing himself like to be fwept away with the flood of God's wrath; and yet unable fo much as to ftretch forth a hand to lay hold of a twig of the tree of life, growing on the banks of the river: he is taken up, and ingrafted into the true Vine, the Lord Jefus Chrift giving him the fpirit of faith.

By what has been faid upon this head, I defign not to rack or diftrefs tender confciences; for though there are but few fuch, at this day, yet God forbid I should offend any of Chrift's little ones. But alas a dead fleep is fallen upon this generation ; they will not be awakened, let us go as near the quick as we will: and therefore, I fear there is another fort of awakening abiding this fermon-proof generation, which fhall make the ears of them that hear it to tingle. However, I would not have this to be looked upon as the fovereign God's ftinted method of breaking off finners from the old flock: but this I affert as a certain truth, that all who are in Chrift, have been broken off from all these several confidences; and that they who were never broken off from them, are yet in their natural stock. Nevertheless, if the house be pulled, down, and the old foundation razed, it is all a cafe, whether it was taken down ftone by stone, or whether it was undermined, and all fell down together.

Now it is, that the branch is ingrafted in Jefus Christ. And as the law, in the hand of the Spirit of God, was the inftrument, to cut off the branch from the natural ftock, fo the gospel, in the band of the fame Spirit, is the inftrument ufed for ingrafting it in the fupernatural flock, 1 John i. 3. "That which we have feen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye alfo may have fellowship with us and truly our fellow fhip is with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Chrift." See Ifa. xi. 1, 2, 3. The gofpel is the filver cord let down from heaven, to draw perishing finners to land. And, though the preaching of the law prepares the way of the Lord; yet it is in the word of the gospel, that Chrift and a finner meet. Now, as in the natural grafting, the branch being taken up, is put into the flock; and being put into it, takes with it, and fo they are united: even fo in the fpiritual ingrafting, Chrift apprehends the finner and the finner being apprehended of Chrift, apprehends him; and fo they become one, Philip. iii. 2.

FIRST,

FIRST, Chrift apprehends the finner by his Spirit, and draws him to himfelf, 1. Cor. xii. 13. "For by one Spirit, we are all baptized into one body.' The fame Spirit, which is in the Mediator himself, he communicates to his elect in due time never to depart from them, but to abide in them, as a principle of life. Thus, he takes hold of them, by his own Spirit put into them; and fo the withered branch gets life. The foul is now in the hands of the Lord of life, and poffeffed by the Spirit of life; how then can it but live? The man gets a ravishing fight of Chrift's excellency in the glafs of the gofpel: he fees him a fol', fuitable, and willing Saviour; and gets a heart to take him for and instead of all. The fpirit of faith furnisheth him with feet to come to Chrift, and hands to receive him. What by nature he could not do, by grace he can; the holy Spirit working in him the work of faith with power.

SECONDLY, The finner thus apprehended, apprehends Chrift by faith, and fo takes with the bleffed flock, Eph. iii. 17.

That Chrift may dwell in your hearts by faith." The foul that before tried many ways of escape, but all in vain, doth now look again with the eye of faith, which proves the healing look. As Aaron's rod, laid up in the tabernacle, budded and brought forth buds, Numb. xvii. 8. So the dead branch apprehended by the Lord of life, put into, and bound up with, the glorious quickning ftock, by the Spirit of life, buds forth in actual believing on Jefus Chrift, whereby this union is compleated. We having the fame fpirit of faith-believe,' 2. Cor. iv. 13. Thus the ftock and the graft are united, Chrift and the Christian are married faith being the foul's confent to the fpiritual marriagecovenant, which, as it is propofed in the gofpel to mankind finpers indefinitely, fo it is demonftrated, attefted, and brought home, to the man in particular, by the Holy Spirit and fo he being joined to the Lord, is one fpirit with him. Hereby a believer lives in, and for Chrift, and Christ lives in, and for the believer, Gal. ii. 20. I am crucified with Chrift, Nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Chrift liveth in me.' Hof. iii. 3. • Thou fhalt not be for another man, fo will I alfo be for thee.' The bonds then of this bleffed union, are, the Spirit on Chrift's part, and faith on the believer's part.

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Now, both the fouls and bodies of believers are united to Christ. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit,' 1 Cor. vi. 17. The very bodies of believers have this honour put upon them, that they are the temples of the holy Ghoft,' ver. 19. And, the members of Chrift,' ver. 15. When they fleep in the duft, they

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'Aleep in Jefus,' 1 Theff. iv. 14. And, it is in virtue of this union they fhall be raised up out of the duit again, Rom. viii. 11.' He fhall quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dewelleth in you. In token of this myftical union, the church of believers is called by the name of her head and husband, 1 Cor. xii. 12. For as the body is one, and hath many members,-fo alfo

is Chrift.

USE. From what is faid, we may draw thefe following inferences:

I. The preaching of the law is moft neceffary. He that would ingraft, muft needs use the fnedding knife. Sinners have many thifts to keep them from Chrift; many things by which they keep their hold of the natural stock: therefore, they have need to be closely pursued, and hunted out of their sculking boles, and refuges of lies.

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Yet, it is the gofpel that crowns the work the law makes nothing perfect." The law lays open the wound, but it is the gofpel that heals. The law ftrips a man, wounds him, and leaves him half dead :' the gospel binds up his wounds, pouring in wine and oil,' to heal them. By the law we are broken off: but, it is by the gofpel we are taken up, and implanted in Chrift.

3. If any man have not the Spirit of Chrift, he is none of his,' Rom. viii. 9. We are told of a monfter in nature, having two bodies differently animated, as appeared from contrary affections at one and the fame time; but fo united, that they were ferved with the felf-fame legs. Even fo, however men may cleave to Chrift, call themfelves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Ifrael,' Ifa. xlvii. 2. And they may be bound up as branches in him, John xv. 2. by the outward ties of facraments: yet, if the Spirit that dwells in Chrift, dwell not in them, they are not one with him. There is a great difference betwixt adhefion and ingrafting. The ivy clafps and swifts itself about the oak; but it is not one with it, for it fill grows on its own root: fo, to allude to Ifa. iv. 1. many profeffors take hold of Chrift, and eat their own bread, and wear their own apparel, only they are called by his name. They Atay themfelves upon him, but grow upon their own root; they take him to fupport their hopes, but their delights are elsewhere.

4. The union betwixt Chrift and his myftical members is firm and indiffoluble. Were it fo that the believer only apprehended Chrift, but Christ apprehended not him; we could promife little on the stability of fuch an union; it might quickly be

diffolved: but, as the believer apprehends Chrift by faith; fo Chrift apprehends him by his Spirit, and none fhall pluck him out of his hand.' Did the child only keep hold of the nurfe, it might at length weary and let go its hold, and fo fall away but if the have her arms about the child, it is in no hazard of falling away, even though it be not actually holden by her fo, whatever finful intermiffions may happen in the exercife of faith, yet the union remains fure, by reafon of the conftant indwelling of the Spirit. Bleffed Jefus ! All his faints are in thy hand," Deut. xxxiii. 3. It is obferved by fome, that the word Abba, is the fame, whether you read it forward or backward! whatever the believer's cafe be, the Lord is ftill to him Abba, Father.

LASTLY, They have an unfure hold of Chrif, whom he has not apprehended by his Spirit. There are many half marriages here, where the foul apprehends Chrift, but is not apprehended of him. Hence. fall away, many and never rife again: they let go their hold of Chrift; and when that is gone, all is gone. These are the branches in Chrift, that bear not fruit, which the husbandman taketh away, John, xv. 2. Queft. How can that be? Anf. Thefe branches are fet in the ftock, by a profeffion, or an unfound hypocritical faith; they are bound up with it, in the external ufe of the facraments: but the flock and they are never knit; therefore they cannot bear fruit And. they need not be cut off, nor broken off: they are by the husbandman only taken away, or, (as the word primarily fignifies) lifted up; and so taken away, because there is nothing to hold them: they are indeed bound up with the ftock; but they have never united with it..

Queft. How fhall I know if I am apprehended of Christ? Auf. You may be fatisfied in this inquiry, if you confider and i apply thefe two things.

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FIRST, When Chrift apprehends a man by his Spirit, he is fo drawn, that he comes away to Chrift with his whole heart: : for true believing is believing with all the heart, Acts viii. 37. Our Lord's followers are like thefe who followed Saul at first, men whose hearts God has touched,' 1 Sam. x. 26. When the Spirit pours in overcoming grace, they pour out their hearts like water before him, Pfal. Ixii. 8. They flow unto him, like a river, Ifa. ii. 2. All nations fhall flow unto it,? namely, to the mountain of the Lord's houfe.' It denotes not only the abundance of converts; but the difpofition of their fouls, in coming to Chrift: they come heartily and freely, as drawn with loving kindness,' Jer. xxxi. 3. Thy people shall