26 REGENERATION THE WORK OF CHRIST Gloucester," That Christ's great errand to us wa our thorough conversion from sin, and the making us holy. She shall bring forth a Son, and tho shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.'" Again,-"That blessing of making men holy, was so much the design of Christ's coming, that he had his very name from it. Observe, [says he] the words are,—' He shall save his people from their sins.'"2 Not from the punishment of them only-though he allows this latter (as we do) is a never-failing consequence of the former. The spiritual knowledge of Christ and his blessed work in us. and his dwelling in his saints, being also mentioned by Dr. Gell, in his Essay on "An Amendment of the last Translation of the Bible," I cite a little thereof : "The true Shem," says he, as I have shewn and proved largely, is the Lord Jesus Christ, who dwells in his saints, ἐσκηνώσει. He works in them,' they in him.' Behold the great promise of God, that his tabernacle shall be with men."3 "I can now easily believe that my temper may be transformed, my corruptions may be put off, and I be made partaker of a divine nature; since the Spirit of God will dweil with me, the light of God will always shine upon me, and the power of God will always succour and aid me.' "4 The manifest testimony of such eminent men, with many more that might be added, may serve to quiet the frequent calumnies we have met with from many, who, being unskilful themselves in the inward work (1) Luke i, 16, 17. Essay. (2) Design of Christianity. (3) Gell's (4) Lucas, on Happiness. BY HIS SPIRIT. 27 of religion, reproach those that do experience "Christ to dwell in their hearts by faith," to be led by the Spirit of God, and so to be his children; to be taught of the Lord, and so to be established in righteousness and their peace to be great; their former iniquities blotted out, and their transgressions pardoned; their hearts purged from an evil conscience, and their bodies washed with the clean water of his purifying grace; and so their souls made meet receptacles of those divine favours which our gracious God delights to impart to his prepared people. CHAPTER XIV. Of the Progress of Redemption. PERHAPS Some mourning soul may be ready to say, where is this balm of Gilead; where is this physician of value to be met with? "For mine iniquities are gone over mine head, as an heavy burthen they are too heavy for me."2 Well, thou disconsolate one, He is near, in whom alone thy help and salvation is, as the Apostle declares, where treating both of this work of Christ, and his power that works it, under the expression grace; he says,-"The grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men.' And, that thou mayest know this grace, he tells the work of it, that it teacheth-"That, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, even in this present world." (1) Eph. iii, 27. (2) Psalm xxxviii, 4. (3) Titus ii, 11. "3 28 OF THE PROGRESS OF REDEMPTION. Turn, therefore, O man! to the grace that both teacheth the beginning of this duty, of denying worldly lusts, and also leads on to that great attainment of Christianity, to live righteously and godly in this present world; and then thy sins shall be remembered no more.1 Thus, then, as men are reproved by the Holy Spirit, and as they mind its reproofs, it gives them to see their evil deeds, and seeing, to abhor them, and also themselves, for their pollutions; and we have this to testify for God, that his Holy Spirit doth not only give sinful man to see his miserable state in sin, but (as heeded) doth open his heart to cry to God for mercy and forgiveness, even through bis Son Christ Jesus. In this work many have known holy cries in their souls to the good Physician; Lord, heal my backslidings, bind up the bones thou hast broken; Thou who wert in all points tempted like as we are; 3 deliver us from evil, for thine is the power. It is not any power of our own that is able to keep from evil; it is only the great Preserver of men can do it.5 Though we are not able of ourselves, yet he is; as the Apostle saith, Help is laid on one that is mighty, able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by him. 4 And if any should say the salvation of Christ is a salvation from wrath, but not from sin, in this life, let such consider the saying of the Angel to Joseph, mentioned before in a quotation from Bishop Fowler, "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins," not in their sins; and John the Baptist, who early confessed to Christ, said, (1) Jer. xxxi, 34. (2) iii, 22. (3) Hebrews iv. 15. (4) Matt. vi. 13. (5) Job viii, 20. (6) Heb. vii, 25. (7) Mat. i, 21 MEN MUST NOT BE NEUTER IN THIS WORK. 29 L "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world ;" and this testimony of him agrees with the prophecy before by Isaiah, which the Apostle reads thus ;-" There shall come out of Sion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob."3 Rejoice, therefore, and be thou comforted, thou mourning soul, that hast gone bowed down under the weight of thine iniquities; when none were able to speak peace to thee, but under the sense of thy danger in rebellion, thou wert ready to despair, and say, Surely no one's case is like my case; I water my couch with my tears, and my nights are nights of trouble, and my days days of sorrow;" hope thou now in the Lord, that thou shalt yet see his salvation in the land of the living. Few know how near the Lord is to those who in humility turn their minds to him, and seek him with their whole heart. Yet here we are not to sit still and say, if God will have me be holy, he can make me be so; but now, having been quickened by his Spirit, and having seen and felt the weighty load of sin upon the conscience, it becomes our duty to "Lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us, and run with patience the race that is set before us. Hereunto are we largely encouraged by the Apostle's saying, "If ye through the spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."5 And the necessity of our being concerned in this work is, with us, owned by this author, where he prays, "That we may " "4 cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh (1) John i, 29. (2) Isaiah lix, 20. (3) Romans xi, 26. (4) Hebrews xii, 1. (5) Romans viii, 13. 30 OF SANCTIFICATION. and spirit, perfecting holiness in thy fear, without "which we can never hope to behold and enjoy "thee."1 This, then, to mind and to know going on in us, is of great concern. But here we are to consider, that though we are put upon this work, and that too as our duty, yet we are not to expect the attaining thereof, either by any ceremonial performances, or by our own strength, but alone by the help of Christ, who said,-" Without me ye can do nothing." And though "We are required to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling," yet it is God's working in us, which brings forth both the will and the deed according to his own good pleasure; "He working in [us] that which is wellpleasing in his sight."4 But this, on our part, is necessary, that we wait with our minds inward, to see what in us God works against, and that we are also working with him against whatsoever he shews us is offensive to him, crucifying in our flesh the affections and lusts thereof, putting off the old man with his deeds, which are corrupt. CHAPTER XV. Of Sanctification. THAT same power which purgeth away the guilt of sin, is the power that sanctifies and makes men holy. as it is obeyed and followed. As the mind of man (1) Scougal. (2) John xv, 5. (3) Phil. ii, 12; 13. |