through his comeliness. Poor as I am, I embrace the offer of his eye-salve. There is riches enough in Christ for me; and I see he invites me to buy without money, and without price, and to take the water of life freely.

4. If you would use the law evangelically, then look not on the law as a fountain of justification, nor yet as the fountain of strength, but only as the standard of duty; and therefore you will use it in a gospel manner, if you make a constant journey between Christ and the law; looking to him for righteousness and strength, who is the fountain of both: righteousness, for your acceptance and strength, for your assistance, in every piece of obedience to the law. Here is the short road to glory: the law forces the man to Christ, to be sheltered by him; and Christ sends him back again to the law to be ruled by it: and the man, in using this rule, looks to Christ in the gospel, for righteousness and strength. In a word, let the main stress be laid upon the gospel, especially when you are brought to an extremity; when there seems to be a contrariety between the law and the gospel. When the law says, " Thy hope is perished from the Lord:" and the gospel saith, "There is hope in Israel, concerning thee;" and shews the ground of hope to be in Christ, as the Lord our righteousness and strength: it is safest, in this case, to hearken most to the voice of the gospel; for there is a possibility of salvation this way, but not the other. Though you should have no more, but a may-be ye shall be hid; venture upon the may-be, upon the peradventure which the gospel affords: for, hope is a duty, but despair is a sin : the one honours God, the other dishonours him.

Direct. 2. Our next direction is, diligently to ply the means of this gospel-purity. We shall offer a few of many that might be mentioned, and so close.

1. One mean is, to live by faith on the Son of God, by deriving continual supplies of grace and strength from him, saying, with David, "I will go in the strength of the Lord, making mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only," Psal. Ixxi. 16. Plead, by faith, the promise of sanctification; that having these promises, you may cleanse yourselves from all filthiness of the flesh andspirit. 2. Another mean is, to set the Lord always before

you, and set a watch over yourself. This was David's resolution; "I said, I will take heed to my ways." Security will betray you into the hands of enemies; but, "Blessed is the servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching."

3. Another mean is, to take care of discharging the sacred duties that he calls you to. The scripture gives great encouragement to this: "They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength." The more that a man minds divine ordinances in secret, private, and public, in obedience to God's command, and dependance on God's promise, the more strength shall he receive to conquer his spiritual enemies, and discharge his spiritual work. God could preserve your bodies without food; but he will not when he affords ordinary means: so, God could preserve your souls, without ordinances: but he will not, when he gives opportunity to enjoy them. Let me say to you, as Jacob to the patriarchs, "Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt; get you down thither and buy, that you may live and not die :" So, behold you have heard, that there is spiritual food in the gospel; our Joseph has his granary full of corn, go you thither daily by sacred duties, that you may live and not die for, In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And particularly,

4. Another mean is, Give yourselves unto prayer: the praying Christian is readily the holy Christian. Pray, with David, " O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes: Thy Spirit is good, lead me to the land of uprightness." By daily prayer in secret, and in your families, you may get daily incomes for helping you to this gospel-purity.

5. Another mean is, O set about subduing your predominant sins, through grace; for sin doth greatly mar your sanctity. Cast the Jonah over-board: throw the Jezebel over the window; and stone the Achan to death; and, for this end, call in the aid and assistance of the Spirit of God; for, If ye through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."

6. In a word, Labour to live under a constant sense of your own spiritual wants, and of the defects of grace and holiness; and a sense of Christ's fulness: the persuasion

hereof will induce you to come and receive out of his fulness, grace for grace.-If these means of gospel purity are diligently used, it is more than probable you shall be successful therein.

Now, go home: and this evening cry to the Lord, that he would help you to reduce the preaching into practice. Mind the good man's saying, who, coming from sermon, was asked, If all was done. He fetched a deep sigh, and said, All was said, but all was not done. Our preaching is not practice, your hearing is not practice; these are only certain means unto gospel practice. What is your coming to church, on the Lord's day? It is like servants coming to their master in the first morning of the week, and saying, "Now, tell us what "shall be our week's work; what shall we do this day, " and the next day, till the next week come?" You should come thus to Christ to get your orders; for, if you rest merely in the hearing, you confound the means with the end, and overturn the nature of things.

What do you mean, sirs? Why stand you here all the day idle? Some of you have done nothing for God, nothing for your souls, for the generation, since you came into the world. Perhaps you have treasured up, a cursed conquest for your children, or for your wife; and God may blast it when you are in the grave, and may punish your children for your sin; your children on earth, and you in hell, at the same time, and for the same sin. What have you done for God? what have you done for the church of God? what have you done for advancing holiness in your place? and the interest of Christ in your station? Many of you have done nothing; some of you have done something, but it is little: and some of you will neither do nor let do; you hinder others in the way of religion and holiness.

O see to it, man, woman! You are no friends to Christ; nay, you are enemies to him, if you have nothing of this gospel-purity that I have been speaking of. O pray, pray that the Lord may bless to you what hath been said on this subject, for directing you to, and promoting you in, true gospel-holiness, and may the Lord hear your requests, and fulfil your desires; and to his great name be all the praise.

PROV. XXX. 12.-There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

[The Eighth Sermon on this Text.]

THE greatest step towards Heaven, is to step out of our own door, and over our own threshold; to go wholly out of ourselves, and wholly in to Christ. Instead of going abroad, and out of ourselves, by self-denial, we naturally stay at home, by self-conceit and proud imagination of our own excellency; "There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes; and yet is not washed from their filthiness."

It is idolatry to worship an holy angel, as well as a cursed devil. To make our virtues our God, is idolatry, as well as to make our belly our God: nay, it rather adds to the idolatry; because that is used to rob him of his glory, which should have brought him in the greatest revenue of glory. If a man boasts of his vices and sins, he pulls down the throne of God, and worships a devil: if a man boasts of his virtues and graces, he pulls down the throne of God with that wherewith he should build it up; and worships a golden image, a golden calf : yea, worships himself, while he trusts in his own beauty and purity." There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes; and yet is not washed from their filthiness."

Having prosecuted the two first observations we took notice of from these words, we now proceed to the third proposition which we observed from them, namely,

DOCT. 3. That self-conceit is incident to a multitude of professors.

Many, who are most impure, look upon themselves as pure; and labour under a sad, a woful delusion, a gross and damnable mistake, about the state and case of their immortal souls.

The method we lay down, for prosecuting this observation, through divine assistance, shall be the following. I. To prove and clear the truth of the doctrine. II. Touch a little at the nature of self-conceit.

III. Inquire into the grounds, causes, and springs of it. IV. Point out the evil of it, both in respect of the sinfulness and danger of it.

V. Deduce some inferences from the whole.

1. The first thing then to be essayed, is, to prove and clear the truth of the doctrine, viz. That self-conceit is incident to a multitude of professors. This point is evident both from scripture and experience.

1. It is clear from a multitude of scriptures. Not only the words of the text, but many other scripture passages confirm it; such as, Isa. lxv. 5. "Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near, for I am holier than thou. Chap. Iviii. 2, 3. They seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinances of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice: they take delight in approaching to God. Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?" They were much in duty; much more than the generality of professors in our day; but they had an high conceit of themselves and their duties. Self-conceit is self-deceit; " For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself," Gal. vi. 3.: or, he that conceiveth of himself highly, deceivéth himself greatly. "How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? See thy way in the valley; know what thou hast done," &c. Jer. ii. 23. They said they were not polluted; and yet they are called to see their way in the valley. It is observed by the prophet Hosea, chap. viii. 2, 3. concerning Israel, that they cry, My God, we know thee;" and yet they cast off the thing that is good. Why are you saying, "My God, we know thee?" You are all mistaken saith God; you have neither part nor portion in me. If you consult the parable of the ten virgins, Mat. xxv. you will there see, that the foolish virgins had an high profession, and very high pretensions to religion: they entertained an high opinion of themselves and their lamps; though yet they had no oil in their vessels. Yea, it is told of many, Mat. vii. 22. that they shall say, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy

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