of our Lord God, to be in the family and co-heirs with Christ Jesus, to sit at his table, to be his brethren and sisters; and this honour have all his saints. Men who have received this privilege and embraced this glorious offer, though they are not brought into the possession of so great mercies, by means of their righteousness or merits; and though they have not the least dependence on their works, nor would suffer that thought which would so rob Jesus of his honour, but are in a readiness to revenge every such theft, and to lay all glorying in the dust, and ascribe to his praise all their salvation; yet are constantly employed to his glory, and out of love to him live good lives. His words are too dear to them to be neglected, and his commandments too precious to be despised or disesteemed. Out of the bottom of their hearts they are glad to serve the Lord Christ, and rejoice at every opportunity of doing any thing to please him; and this is not out of fear, not for reward, not to make a righteousness of it, or because they are not fully satisfied to depend wholly on the Lamb; but, as I said, it is out of pure love to Jesus, who has saved them, and brought them into his Father's household. It is their meat and drink to do his will; it is natural to them; and he who acts otherwise, be assured he has not seen God, neither known him. A servant of God, or one who has been brought up in the church of God and served under the law, may for a time do well, be very exact and careful, be enlightened from above, taste with joy the good word of God, and run as if he meant sincerely to be saved; who after all perhaps rests there, or goes again back into a sinful life, and brings a blot upon all his services, "all his righ teousness teousness that he has done shall not be mentioned to him, in the sin that he has sinued in that shall he die, saith the Lord God." No state is therefore safe or secure, but the state of the children of God. It is above all things necessary that a sincere person make his calling and election sure; namely, that he is not content with having done much, or learnt or understood or comprehended much, but that he is sure Jesus is become his Saviour, and is now near to him as his brother, and as near as if he had sucked the breasts of his mother; that our Saviour's Father is his Father, and that he will not be ashamed to confess him as such, when he comes the latter day upon the earth. Then shall he say to such, "Come, ye blessed children of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." This grace is attainable; it is preached to all mankind; it is promised in all the prophets by our Saviour, and by all his apostles and evangelists, and may be entered by every upright soul. A greater favour cannot be. The benefit is exceeding great, the privilege inexpressible, but is surely granted to every believer in Christ Jesus, and is part of the commonwealth of Israel, the rights of the New-Testament, and what was the pure aim and intention of our dear Lord and Master, when he stooped to be the servant and minister of all, and when he paid our debts and died for us. Since then all the scriptures preach this, let none seem to come short of it. Let not our Christianity be only the form, or without the happy enjoyment of this privilege, but let all look upon it as the free gift of grace, and what belongs to them and their children, and to all who believe in the name of Jesus, so let them seek it, so ask it of the Lord Christ, whose prerogative it is to bestow it, and they shall find, "that as many as receive Jesus, to them gives he power to become sons of God, even to as many as believe on his name." Let the spirit of adoption only be given you, and all that is said of this divine matter by St. Paul to the Galatians will be clear and plain; you will know by experience what that means; "Thou art no more a servant but a son; we are not children of the bond-woman, but of the free, namely, of Jerusalem above, who is the mother of us all. We are children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Because ye are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, "Abba, Father." May that merciful and gracious Lord, of whom it is said, "Who shall declare his generation?" make you of the number of his children, and of that race "who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God!" These shall be reckoned to the Son of man for a generation, and be named after him. These shall help to fill up the innumerable company of children that shall be born to him as dew out of the womb of the morning." you, my dear brethren, be found among them, and be entitled to this grace to your soul's comfort in this life, and to your eternal joy hereafter! Amen. May DISCOURSE |