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St. Paul gloried in it. "God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I am crucified to the world." APPLICATION.- And now, men and brethren, suffer the word of exhortation. Has God, in his infinite mercy, sent us this glorious Gospel? then let us be very thankful for it, and very attentive to it. Let it be the study of our lives, and the delight of our hearts. Nothing so justly demands, nothing can so well require, our best regard, as this. It is God's greatest and best gift to a lost world.And he takes particular notice how we receive it. O let us beware of neglecting it. Angels desire to look into these things; and shall not we study them diligently, who are so much more interested in them? Compared with the Gospel, all other books are waste paper. Compared with the Gospel tidings, all other news is trifling. This alone can teach us how we may be pardoned and sanctified; this alone can secure our happiness in time and eternity.

We have now heard that the Gospel is the power of God, it is that which he works by, and renders effectual to the salvation-of whom? To whom is this Gospel the powerful instrument of salvation? It is only to them that believe. Let infidels tremble; they, alas, have no part nor lot in this matter. Faith begins in an assent, a cordial assent, to the truth of the Gospel. It is received as a divine testimony. The believer sets his seal to it that it is true. Faith proceeds to affiance or trust in Christ. "He first gives a firm assent to the Gospel, then cordially accepts its blessings; from a conviction that the doctrine is true, he passes to a persuasion that the privileges are his own." The believer then cleaves inseparably to Christ, depends incessantly on Christ. Gladly does he renounce all dependence on himself, all ideas of human merit; he flies to this refuge, there he is safe; he builds on this foundation, and he shall never be removed. This done, sweet peace takes possession of his conscience; hope enlivens his breast; love warms his heart; zeal fires his soul; and he cries, "Dearest Saviour, I am thine. Henceforth I will follow thee. I will serve thee all my days on earth, and I desire to be with thee for ever in heaven."

And are any ashamed of this Gospel; a Gospel so wise, so holy, so honourable to God, so safe to man? Let them be ashamed of it who never knew its nature, who never felt its power. No man can be ashamed of it, if it be the power of God to his soul. No; "he that believeth hath the witness, or testimony in himself;" he can give a reason of the hope that is in him. And being baptized unto Christ, he will not be "ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under his banner against sin, the world, and the devil; and to continue Christ's faithful soldier and servant unto his life's end." And O, beware! beware young people, lest any seduce you from the faith, by the pride of reason and the sophistry of wicked men. Ever be on your guard, and remember those awful words of Christ-"Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall also the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Finally, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from all iniquity. As we must not be ashamed of the Gospel, neither let us be a shame to it. Many are too much prejudiced against the Bible, even to read it; but they love to read the lives of professors. Let them see the Holy Gospel transcribed in our daily walk. So shall we adorn and recommend it to the world, and constrain them to say that Christianity is all divine.

SERMON XXXV.

SIN AND DEATH, OR GRACE AND LIFE.

Romans viii. 13. 1f ye live after the flesh ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

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HESE words set before us, LIFE and Death ;— eternal life, or eternal death: they plainly shew us what will be the eternal consequence of a life of sin, or of a state of grace; and therefore it is of the greatest importance to us clearly to understand them, in order that we

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may know what will be our future portion. "It is a question," said an old divine," you ought seriously to put to yourselves, Shall I be saved, or Shall I be damned? If you have any spark of conscience left, when you are sick, or dying, you will put it with an anxious and trembling heart. Poor soul, whither art thou going? It is better, my friends, to put this question now, while you have opportunity to correct your error, if hitherto you have been wrong. And nothing will sooner determine it than this text." "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die," &c. These words contain two things, which I shall express in two plain sentences.

I. If sin live in us, we must die eternally, and

II. If sin die in us, we shall live eternally.

I. If sin live in us, we shall die; that is, if it reign and rule; "if we live after the flesh, we shall die."

By the flesh, we are to understand human nature in its present fallen state. Man is made up of two parts, body and soul, or flesh and spirit, but man is now called flesh, because the spirit is dead to God, and he lives only a fleshly or animal life. So God spake of the wicked world before the flood, Gen. vi. 3. "And the Lord said, my Spirit shall not always strive with man," that is by the good counsels and faithful warnings of Noah and others, "for that he also is flesh"-incurably corrupt, carnal and sensual; sunk into the mire of sin, and fleshly lusts. This is still the case of all men before they receive the grace of God-they are flesh. They take their name from that part which rules, which is the flesh, and not the spirit :they are wholly engaged by things which concern the body and its sensual delights. Hence it is that the mind itself is called carnal or fleshly, ver. 5, 6. fleshly, ver. 5, 6. "For they that are after the flesh, do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." This bad turn of mind is called flesh, because it exerts itself by means of the senses and members of the body; for carnal men "yield their members servants to uncleanness, and to iniquity, unto iniquity," Rom. vi. 19. Habits and practices of uncleanness and iniquity are like tyrannical lords and masters, which rule over sin

ners, to whom they have resigned the members of their bodies, and the affections of their minds.

Now, to live after the flesh, is to obey the dictates and orders of our corrupt nature; to gratify its sinful desires, without regard to the will of God, yea, in direct contradiction to his will. And this will appear more plainly by considering the actions, the words, and the thoughts of a carnal man.

Take a view, in the first place, of his actions. Among these the Apostle, Gal. v. 19. mentions "Adultery, Fornication, Uncleanness," &c. These are abominations to which corrupt nature is strongly inclined. The world is full of pollution through lust. In youth, especially, these sins are predominant and "it is a shame even to speak of the things that are done in secret." And however lightly the sins of uncleanness may be thought of in general, we are assured by the Scriptures, that "whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." Drunkenness is another work of the flesh. Fools make a mock at this sin also, but St. Paul declares, 1 Cor. vi. 10. that “drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God." It is very common for a person to promise himself security in this sin, and to say, “I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst ;" but what does God say in this case? "The Lord will not spare him, but the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man. Deut. xxix. 19. The profane man also lives after the flesh. What can be a plainer proof that man is destitute of the fear of God, than his daring to set the Most High at defiance, and wantonly and wickedly to take his awful name in vain? The Sabbath-breaker lives after the flesh. The man who, having no regard to the authority of God, no love to his service, and no care for his own soul, dares to spend the sacred hours of the Lord's day in worldly business, idleness, and pleasure. The conduct of the Sabbath-breaker proves, in a dreadful manner, that he is flesh, and as much a stranger to the life of God in the soul as the beats that perish. "Let no man, then, deceive himself with vain words; for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." But it is not only by these grossly immoral actions that

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men appear to live after the flesh; a man's speech betrayeth him. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." We have already mentioned cursing and swearing, on account of which our land mourneth. Equally carnal is the corrupt communication which proceedeth out of the mouth; that "filthiness, foolish talking, and jesting, which are not convenient." O how is the tongue, the glory of man, debased by cursing, lying, slandering, evil speaking, lewd songs, and wanton speeches. "The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; it defileth our members, and is set on fire of hell," James iii. 6. The conversation of carnal men is wholly carnal. They can talk fluently for hours together upon worldly subjects, but let the things of God be introduced, the company is struck dumb! natural men can find nothing to say to God, or to one another, on the great and glorious subjects of salvation and eternal life.

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But we must go a step further, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is." A man must be judged of by his vailing, chosen, and delightful thoughts. "Out of the heart," said our Lord, "proceed evil thoughts." A good man may have bad thoughts, but a bad man, a natural man cannot have good thoughts. A good man hates vain, wicked, lewd, or blasphemous thoughts; but a wicked man loves, cherishes, and delights in them. It is said of the wicked, "God is not in all his thoughts." He rises in the morning without any thoughts of God. He goes about his business without any thoughts of him. He sits down to his table, and rises from it, without any thoughts of him. -And he goes to rest, like a beast, in the same manner. Thus it is said in verse 5, of this chapter-" they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh"-they are earnally minded; they constantly and habitually consult and relish, pursue, and delight in only worldly, sensual, and sinful things, such as are agreeable to their carnal and unrenewed appetites. And this may serve to convince some persons, how much they deceive themselves respecting their true state before God. They flatter themselves that they shall be saved, because they are not so wicked as others; but they have never noticed the prevailing bent and inclination of their minds. They are not drunkards

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