in his heart when he heareth the words of this curfe faying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart. Let no finner behave himself proudly. God hath faid it, and he will perform. Were it the threatening of a man or angel, you might defy his menaces; but the Lion of the tribe of Judah bath roared, who will not fear?—The Lord God bath Spoken, who can but prophecy?

III. The Ifraelites were as liable to the threatened deftruction as the Egyptians, as to any thing in themselves or belonging to them, which distinguished them, as a ground of pre-eminence, or reafon of exemption from the common ruin. This remark is obvious from the account of the paschal inftitution. The nature of the paffover fuppofeth the truth of this obfervation, that there was nothing in the Jew, confidered in himself, to distinguish him from the Egyptian. The one was no more worthy of favour than the other. The Ifraelites, confidered in themselves, as much merited destruction as the Egyptians. There was nothing mark-. ed out the one for favour more than the other; but the fovereign God made the difference, and appointed the fign of distinction. Thus it is in the case of every finner faved by Jefus Chrift. He fees nothing in himself from first to last, to distinguish or recommend him to the favour of God, above the vileft monfter that walks the earth. This is the fincere and undiffembled language of his heart through the whole course of his life, after he has become acquainted with the truth: Why me, Lord? -Why was I taken and another left? Why was I diftinguished from the most tormented wretch that is now in hell? Why was God's grace bestowed on me? Why have I a part in Chrift granted me, while fo many others, who I am fure, are not worse in themselves than I am,

·

if

if so bad, are suffered to perish in rejecting him? He can find no manner of reason for this distinction, but, Even fo Father, for fo it feemed good in thy fight.-Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay, but by the law of faith.

Did not the fovereign God make the difference between the first-born of Ifrael, and the first-born of Pharaoh? Was not fovereign mercy greatly difplayed in faving the one, while the other was flain, when both in themselves were equally liable to deflruction? So fove. reign grace through Jefus Chrift fhines with infinite luftre, in faving fome finners from eternal mifery, while others are left to perish in their iniquities, who by nature were not worse than they. And thus the faint, from his converfion to the day of his death, has continual conviction, that the whole of his falvation is owing to the moft free favour and unmerited grace.

IV. The killing of the paschal lamb was not fufficient to fave them from the ftroke of the deftroying angel, unlefs the posts and lintels of the doors were sprinkled with its blood. This was of effential confequence. This was the great thing to be done after killing the lamb, in order to have any benefit from the inftitution. The whole transaction was useless in neglect of this circumstance. If the blood was not thus sprinkled, they were equally expofed to ruin, as if no part of the inftitution had been complied with. Though they had killed the passover; had eaten of it, and obferved the inftituted feast, yet all would be of no avail to fave them from the deftroyer, if the blood was not sprinkled on the doors. Thus it is with respect to Jefus Chrift the true paffover. He has been flain as the Lamb of God who taketh away the fins of the world. His blood has been fhed. He poured out his

foul

foul unto death. He offered himself a facrifice, an offering of fweet-falling favour unto God, and by his own blood hath entered into the holiest of all. But this will be of no avail to us if we are not fprinkled with it. Without this, the death of Chrift will have no falutary effect with regard to us. The cafe will be eventually the fame to us as if Christ had never died. Chrift will profit us nothing. His death will not fave us from death.

Let it therefore be folemnly attended to, that the shedding of Chrift's blood will be of no avail to your falvation, unless you be fprinkled with it. This is the true blood of sprinkling that can divert the stroke of justice, that can purge the confcience from dead works, and from the guilt of fin, when the overflowing fcourge fhall pass through. The fprinkling of the blood of Jefus is the only defence against the wrath of God. Happy the foul who, when God fhall rife to judgment, will be found fprinkled with this blood, which speaketh better things than the blood of Abel. But indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, to every one that is then found unfprinkled with the blood of Jefus.

How it ftands with you, my hearers, in regard to this matter, becomes you earnestly to enquire. It is of more importance to you than all the other affairs of life befides. And yet, perhaps, there is not a few in this affembly, who never made it any part of your care in all your lives, and to this moment are entirely carelefs about it. Alas! what hath bewitched you, that you fhould not flee from the wrath to come? What will you do when God fhall whet his glittering fword, and his hand fhall take hold on vengeance? If you are never sprinkled with the blood of Jefus, the juftice of God will avenge itself in your blood.

V. It was not the act of the Ifraelites in fprinkling the blood of the lamb on the pofts and lintels of their doors, that God had respect to, when he paffed them over while he destroyed the Egyptians. It was not, I fay, their act or obedience that God looked at, and on account of which he spared them; but it was the blood itself to which he had respect, and on account of which he passed them by. -The blood feen on the posts of their doors was the thing which fecured them from destruction, and to which God had an exclufive refpect, when he went through the land deftroying all the first-born of the Egyptians, and paffing over the Ifraelites.

Thus is the matter reprefented in the above cited chapter. And the blood fhall be to you for a token upon the boufes where you are, and when I fee the blood I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I fmite the land of Egypt. And again :-When the Lord feeth the blood on the lintel and on the two fidepofts, the Lord will pass over the door, the deftroyer to come in to fmite you. blood is the only thing to which God had respect in sparing them from destruction.

and will not suffer Hence you see the

Thus exactly ftands the cafe with refpect to Jefus Christ the true paffover. This blood of the pafchal lamb represented the blood of Chrift, and the sprinkling thereof prefigured the fprinkling of the blood of Jefus. What God had refpect to in the figure, when he paffed by the Ifraelites, to that he has respect in the substance, when he paffeth by guilty finners, and faves them from deferved deftruction for ever. These things teach us directly what God has respect to when he pardons penitent finners, and bestows falvation upon them. It is not to any thing in them he has regard, as the reason of his acquitting them from condemnation. It is not for their obedience, their

faith,

faith, or any thing in them whatever, but entirely and exclufively for the fake of the blood of Chrift. It is this alone God has respect to, in justifying those that believe. The cafe is here as it was with the Ifraelites; it was the blood of the lamb sprinkled on the doors of the latter, to which God folely had respect and spared them: It is to the blood of Chrift God entirely has respect, in the juftification of the former.

This likewife teaches us to what we are to have respect as the only ground of our acceptance with God; for we must have regard to the fame thing in expecting juftification, which God has in granting it. We muft have refpect to Chrift's merit and righteousness exclufively, not to our obedience, our faith, repentance, or any thing else, as the pleadable matter of our acceptance, or the reason and ground of our pardon.

I am particular here, my brethren, because I know your life is in it. If you miftake the ground of acceptance with God, you are ruined. If you place your obedience, or any acts or works of your own, in the room of Chrift's righteoufnefs, you must perish. Those who go about to establish their own righteousness, submit not to the righteoufnefs of God; and those who submit not to the righteousness of God in the gospel, muft perish forever. It is to the righteousness of the gospel God has respect in justifying believing finners; and it is to this you have respect entirely, if you are true believers; for it is the nature of evangelical faith to look to Chrift's righteoufnefs only.

A perfuafion that this is the only thing that can recommend a finner to God, accounting all things elfe but drofs and dung with regard to this matter, are infeparable concomitants of true faith; or, I may fay, belong to the very nature of it.

VI. All