our might, to convince the man of his mistake, and use every argument in our power to persuade him to turn back, and take the right road: If after all that we can say, he will not believe us, but on he will go; should we not be inclined to think that the man has been endeavouring to deceive us, and that he neither desires, nor intends to go to the place which he speaks of, but to some other. Nor should we believe any who would tell us; "We are desirous to go to such or such a particular place," when at the same time they sit down on the ground, and we can by no means move them; but there they will sit. And shall we believe those persons, who tell us that they wish to go to heaven, when we plainly see, and can clearly prove, from God's own word, that they have their back upon heaven, and are in the high road to eternal perdition? Or those who are at ease, and will take no pains to obtain salvation? No, let such persons pretend what they may, they do not desire to be saved; if they did, they would endeavour, as well as Say they desire.

Solomon observes, that "the soul of the sluggard desireth, but hath nothing;" and he tells us in another place the reason of it; "The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold, therefore he shall beg in the time of harvest." There are many spiritual sluggards, who will not be prevailed upon to give up themselves to God, nor know the time of their visitation, or have a proper regard for the things belonging to their everlasting peace: and therefore those will have to lament their folly, when it is too late. But, on the other hand, we are told by the same person, that "the hand of the diligent maketh rich." These words are certainly true, with respect to spiritual, though not always as to temporal riches; as it is well known there are many remarkably diligent people, who never were, and who never will be rich: There is not the least probability that ever any such thing should be. But respecting the other, the hand of the diligent always did, and always will make rich. Not that the Lord blesses us for the sake of our diligence; but this is the way which himself hath fixed upon, and he will abide thereby. He would have us to feel the want, and to know something of the worth of spiritual blessings, before he bestows them upon us, so that when we are brought to enjoy them, we may set a proper value upon, and duly improve them to his honour and praise. Accordingly, his precious promises are made to truly earnest souls: Then shall ye seek me and find me, when you search for me with your whole heart," is the word

of the Lord, and every part of the Bible agrees therewith. It is happy therefore for us, when we have a clear sight and a deep sense of our want of any particular blessing, when our whole soul is filled with vehement desire after the enjoyment of it; so that we use every means in our power to attain it.

The blessing we want, whether it is the pardon of our past sins, or the perfect love of God, or any other, is the free gift of God, thro' Christ Jesus: And man, at his best estate, let him be as diligent in the means of grace as he may, can only be a bare receiver of the grace of God: He can never pretend to merit, or to deserve any one blessing whatsoever at the Lord's hand. And let him take whatever course he may, he can never rise higher, in fitness, to receive any spiritual blessing, than the Holy Virgin did, when she said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." "The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord," in all its stages; and we must be saved by grace, thro' faith, from the beginning to the end. For want of seeing this, many sincere souls are greatly discouraged, and kept from the enjoyment of the salvation of God. When we are earnestly seeking the pardoning love of God, we can hardly help thinking, there must be some degree of fitness, or worthiness in us, before we can possibly receive the blessing; and it is with the utmost difficulty we are brought to see, that we must be justified freely, that we must be pardoned as mere lost, guilty, ruined sinners. And when we are brought into a state of favour and acceptance with God, and are truly desirous to be saved to the uttermost by him, although we acknowledge that salvation is of grace, yet a refined sort of self-righteousness cleaves unto us, and none but God himself can deliver us from it. We can hardly help thinking, that our own sincerity, integrity, and uprightness, our faithfulness to grace already received, and our fruitfulness in the means of grace, which we have been favoured with, must all be taken into the account, that God may give us the salvation we want. That every true believer must be sincere and upright before the Lord, is certain; and that every such person ought to be faithful and fruitful is beyond a doubt: But then we fhall find, in the general, those who have been the most faithful to grace already received, and who have lived the nearest to God, and have therefore been the most fruitful, havé commonly the deepest sense of their own un

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profitableness, in every respect; and therefore have the least to say upon this head; and consequently cannot depend upon any thing of this sort: But a sense of their own unfaithfulness may, and very often does discourage them, and they dare not expect any higher salvation, till (as they think) they have been more faithful, and have improved the blessings which they have already received, more abundantly.

But how may those who are truly simple and upright, and who only want and wish to be saved in God's own way, in as high a degree as he wills them to be, rise above these difficulties? And how may they experience that preparation of heart, which the Lord has made necessary, that they may be wholly sanctified? To set this important matter in as clear a light as poffible, let every such person endeavour to recollect what preparation of heart he had, before he found. the pardoning love of God; and he will find, upon serious consideration, that he had a clear sight and a deep sense of his guilty, lost, and helpless state, and consequently of his want of redemption by Christ Jesus: He clearly saw that Christ hath fully accomplished the great work of man's redemption, and that he hath procured mercy and grace, pardon and peace, for every returning sinner. He was made to see that the God of Love promises these inestimable blessings, to all who long for the enjoyment of them, and kindly and affectionately invites all such to come unto him; and, at the same time, strongly assures them of his love towards them, and his willingness to receive them into his favour and family. Thus encouraged, he felt lively; yea, vehement desires after the enjoyment of this salvation; and these desires led him to diligent endeavour, to obtain that which he so earnestly longed to enjoy. It was the constant cry of his very soul; "Give me Christ or else I die." Farther than this he could not go; no, not if he had waited for the blessing seven, or twice seven years; only it may be allowed that he might have all this, in a higher degree: He might have still clearer views of his lost and ruined state, and be more deeply affected thereby: He might have a clearer understanding of the work of redemption, as accomplished by Christ, of the Gospel plan of salvation, and of the promises made to penitent sinners; and he might have more lively desires after the accomplishment of these promises; and consequently he might be still more diligent in the use of the means of grace. But all this could not save him; no, nor render

him, in any wise, worthy to receive salvation; but after all, he must be saved by grace, and receive a pardon, as the free gift of God.

As the blessed God offers a free pardon, to every re turning sinner; so does he offer a free and a full salvation, to every true believer. But what preparation of mind is absolutely necessary in order to a person's experienc ing the truth of the promise, or enjoying the blessing contained therein? The Apostle St. Paul observes, that the ancient saints "by faith obtained promises; were put in possession of the blessings contained in the promises. by faith in the promise-maker. And we shall find, that there is no other way, for any person whatsoever, to obtain the blessing contained in any promise, but by faith.

A Christian believer then, must clearly see, and sen sibly feel, the remaining depravity of his heart, and consequently his want of entire sanctification. He must see that Christ hath procured, and that God hath graciously promised that measure of grace to him, which will fully sanctify the soul. He must feel lively, earnest desires after the enjoyment of this salvation, and these desires will lead him to endeavour to obtain that which appears so desirable: He will carefully and constantly use all the means of grace, and look for the presence of God in them. Like the Apostle, he will reach forth after the things which are before; he will press towards the mark, so that he may obtain the prize of perfect love, which he endeavours to keep continually in view. And while he is so doing, he will certainly grow in grace; his soul will be in a prosperous state: But he must embrace the promise, which holds forth a full salvation, by faith; and it is faith alone, which puts him in possession of the blessing.

Was he to wait for ever so long a time, in earnest expectation of receiving this blessing, he could have no other preparation of mind but this, only he might have it in a higher degree: He might certainly have a deeper, a more lively sense of his want of entire conformity to the will of God: He might have clearer views of the design of Christ in all that he did and suffered, respecting the full sanctification of his soul: He might more fully understand the nature of those promises, which hold forth a full and a present salvation unto him; and he might find more of these promises in the Bible than he was before acquainted with: He might feel increasing dé

sires after, and a more lively expectation of the blessing: But still he cannot plead any thing of this sort, by way of merit; nor can he suppose that it renders him, in any wise, worthy to receive the blessing; much less does it put him in possession of it: But the God of Love saith unto him, "According to thy faith, so be it done unto thee." Let him then lay hold upon the promise; let him embrace it with his whole soul; and the Lord will certainly make it good, and seal it upon his heart, by his Holy Spirit: So that as strange as it may seem to many, the blessing is received by simple faith, and consequently in a moment.

"Take with you words, and turn unto the Lord," saith the Prophet, "say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously." And what words can any one

take but the words of God? There are no words like these. Let any one then, take that particular word or promise of God, which belongs to, or agrees with his present state of mind, and let him spread this before the Lord in prayer, as Hezekiah did Sennacherib's letter; and he will find the Lord will not deny his own hand-writing, or refuse to ratify and make good what he hath promised. For may we not, nay, ought we not to look upon every promise made to us in the Gospel, as an holy, and a sacred bond, put into our hands by the blessed God himself, having the broad seal of heaven upon it, and witnessed by the Holy Spirit? And may we not humbly, yet believingly, plead this sacred bond before the Lord in prayer, in some such words as these? "O Lord, here is thy own hand-writing, here is thy own sacred bond, which thou hast graciously put into my hand; and thou hast lovingly commanded me to put thee in remembrance, in order that thou mayest do these things for me. I chearfully obey thy word, O my gracious God, I put thee in remembrance. Here, Lord, is thy gracious promise, O seal it upon my heart, even mine, for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whose name I come unto thee." Will the Lord deny his own promise? Or, what is the same thing, will he refuse to fulfil it? O no, that cannot be; he hath made the promise on purpose to fulfil it: Nor can it pos sibly make any difference with God, whether the promise we plead be for present pardon, or for entire sanctification.

But perhaps some will say, "How can these things be?" This is a vain question, where the infinitely wise and gra