This should make every poor heart leap for joy. For though you have no goodness, no sort of inherent claim to this bliss, yet you are invited to come and take freely of it; nor need you be afraid. Jesus loves you freely, and though neither himself nor you can see any thing worth his notice in you, yet he loves you with everlasting love, and is not willing that you should perish, but have everlasting life. Come, then, all you that are poor in spirit, you that are self-condemned, and guilty, you that are hungry, thirsty, and in want; yea, you worst of sinners, publicans, and harlots, drunkards, and winebibbers, sensualists, and rioters; and above all, you dear souls that have sought for righteousness under the law, with a troubled head and heart; and you that have been awakened to see your own spoiled and corrupted hearts, so that you have lost nearly all hope and courage; come ye to the Lamb, and he will ease you; he will undertake for you; he will cast all your sins behind his back, and put a new song in your mouth, even praises and thanksgiving to our God. O come boldly and in faith, nothing doubting. Open your mouth wide, and he will fill it. Ask any thing, and he will do it for you. Ask then the forgiveness of sins, and to be assured of your eternal happiness in him, and you shall receive it. So shall you be blessed here and for ever, and safe living and dying. Ye shall be witnesses of his love to your children, and to the rising generation; and in the Lord's own good time, ye shall go to him, and see him whom ye love so much here, and be for ever with him. Amen.

DISCOURSE

DISCOURSE XXXVII.

THE LINSEY-WOOLSEY GARMENT.

DEUT. xxii. 11.

Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together.

E, who despiseth the law of Moses, or thinks lightly of the doctrines there delivered, is mistaken; nor can he rightly understand the gospel, or: value the New Testament, who does not esteem the Old, since therein is hid much of the treasures of the revelation of God, and which is only brought to light and made manifest by the gospel.

In the law Christ is preached, but only darkly, and the commandments, which seemed to respect ceremonies and outward things, were not given in vain ; for all things commanded by Moses were shadows of the good things which came in by Christ Jésus, and patterns or copies of things shewed Moses in the

mount.

We are told by the apostle, that the souls of good men, before our Saviour, were shut up under the law, and did not see the end of every commandment. Hence it was that Moses put a veil upon his face when he spake to the people; and his ministers, and such as are hearers of him, to this day use veils. The law is covered with a veil, the ark also, and the sanctuary were hid from the Jews by being

veiled.

veiled. The Holy Spirit would have us understand that this is not merely human tradition, but that himself has his hand therein, signifying that the veil is upon the heart, where men see not farther than the law and its appurtenances. To such all is veiled and dark, and they see not the glorious end of all the law, nor know their way to eternal life, but are perpetually in bondage under the yoke of Moses, without feeling the redemption of Jesus Christ.

There was however so much light shined in the law of Moses, as served to help on the pious worshippers in that time, to faith in the Lamb of God, and which assisted them to pry a little into the great design the Almighty God had in saving the world. ›

The rigid prohibition and charge to abstain from blood had its good effect. Two reasons are chiefly assigned by the faithful and meek prophet, wherefore blood might not be eaten: First, because it was the life and secondly, blood made the atonement for the soul. No religious Jew could forbear to look upon blood, as sacred, not only because of this so often repeated commandment, but also because he saw how it was blood that hallowed the altar, the vestments, and whatever was used in the service of God. All things were purged with blood; and though many found out, and spake of it, that God. did not drink the blood of bulls, nor could it wash out sin, yet they all could not see the unprofitableness of it; nor did any think worthily of it, but such who were inspired of the Holy Ghost, to look upon it as the figure only of the true blood which Jesus shed once for all; and these were persons who saw afar off the salvation, and who died in faith.

The doctrine delivered in the text is yet more hard to explain, and not so clearly opened in the gospel, as many other doctrines, of the shedding and sprinkling

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sprinkling of blood, sacrifices, &c. are: but yet enough is said by him who rent the veil in two from the top to the bottom at his death, and by his apostles, to make this dark law of use to us in this day.

This doctrine is one of the many, of which the christians seem to take notice. It seldom would come into our minds in our life, to scruple wearing a garment of woollen and linen together. They are often mixed, and worn by religious people, and men of tender consciences, who at the same time have no conviction that they sin; yea they would have but weak heads, should they believe nothing more was meant in this law than only to forbear wearing two sorts of stuff in the same garment.

Could I believe our Saviour would have me go in sackcloth, or be covered in any way particularly, however it might seem a needless scrupulosity, or ridiculous, I should think it my duty to obey. Wantonness, and the gay spirit of the world have prevailed far upon the most of christian congregations, so that it would be hard to find out those whose only ornaments are a meek and a quiet spirit, and whose only finery is the garment "all glorious within." But as the treating upon the dress and garb of christians is not my purpose, I shall only wish all the lovers of the plain Son of David, to follow him in all simplicity of dress and manners, and not be ashamed of God whose coat was without seam, and who did not conform to the fashion of a world which passeth away; and so pursue my design.

The woollen garment in the text, is a shadow of the righteousness of the law or the righteousness of works; the linen also is a shadow of the righteousness of faith, or Christ's righteousness. To speak plain therefore, and after the manner of the gospel, the text teacheth us not to blend both together.

There

There are three sorts of preachers who receive the scripture, and confess the God of Abraham.

The first are such as preach the law alone, and these are generally Jews, and men of their spirit.

The second sort are evangelists, or true gospel preachers, ministers of the New Testament, who preach only the Lord our righteousness, and who will know nothing among their congregations, and souls committed to their charge, but Jesus Christ and him crucified.

There are others, of which the world is now too full, who sin against the law, and against the gospel, blending both together, and teaching the people to wear the garment of linen and woollen; of all which I intend to speak freely.

I do not wonder that St. Peter calls the law yoke, which neither they nor their fathers could bear, because it must have been so to them who heard not plainly of Jesus and his salvation. Who, under the law, could have any comfort, when he knew he was under the curse as long as he continued not in all things of the book of the law to do them? The more sincere, the more unhappy such were who served under the law, and heard of no way to heaven but a perfect obedience to all the ordinances of God.

The sacrificing their turtle-doves, lambs, and goats, could not make easy the consciences of awakened and truly pious persons. Such as made no more of religion than only to hear the law, frequent the temple, observe the customs and traditions of the elders, who fasted twice in the week, and found out means so to explain the law, as to make a sincere, though imperfect obedience (as they termed it) the whole, such might content themselves under the law, and hope they were righteous and good, and in a safe way: but where men had no time to deceive themselves, but heard and knew the commandment

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