parts of this creature in my text, which earnestly expect the manifestation of the sons of God.

But what is this manifestation of sonship? Are not believers the sons of God, manifestly so by faith in Christ Jesus? Yes, for he that believes hath the witness in himself, and that witness is true, and is no lie; and he doth, as the spirit of adoption, cry, Abba, Father, in all believers: and where this witness and this cry is, sonship is manifested there already, and he is enabled to claim it, though the poor weakling in faith and babe in grace may not; but this is not the manifestation meant in my text, for this manifestation of sonship is more or less in all believers now.

The manifestation of this sonship is something future, something in hope and expectation, which is always something to come; "For what a man seeth [himself in possession of] why doth he yet hope for?" and what a man hath already got, why doth he yet expect? "Now are we the sons of God," this is already manifested; " But it doth not yet appear what we shall be," this is yet to come; "but we know that when he appeareth we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is;" this is the manifestation that this creature so earnestly expects.

When Christ was in the world he was viewed and embraced as the only begotten Son of God by his own elect; but the world viewed him as a deceiver, a madman, and as Beelzebub: but all this dishonour must be wiped away, to the con

fusion of his foes and the glory of his own majesty; and, when this is done, our adoption will appear before our enemies as his divine sonship shall appear before his, and this shall be done when we are all made perfect in one God, Father, Son, and Spirit; and then the world shall see, and believe too, as devils believe and tremble yea, the Arian, Sabellian, Socinian, Atheist, Deist, Jew, and Infidel, for so it is written, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me," John xvii. 21. When this end arrives there will be no more controversy about the mystery of godliness; Christ will appear the just God and the Saviour in all his glorious majesty, and the saints in all their glory; devils in all their villany, and Christ's enemies in all their confusion, shame, and everlasting contempt. Christ told the Jews, "When ye have lifted up the son of man, then shall ye know that I am he;" but he gave them not an honest heart to confess it, but left them to sin with open eyes, that they might drown themselves in the great transgression.

Furthermore, As Christ was, so are we in this world. We are deemed fools, impostors, madmen, false prophets, deceivers, the filth and offscouring of the earth, and are treated accordingly; but our sonship shall be as fully manifested to the wicked, in the day of judgment, as it is to us now. "All that see them shall acknowledge

them that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed;" for there shall be a conspicuous manifestation both of the sons of God and of the children of the devil; for the one shall appear in the image of Christ, and God shall despise the image of the other; goats and sheep shall be separated, the goats shall acknowledge the sheep, and the sheep shall see the goats.

"For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope." Whatever this vanity is that this creature is made subject to, it is something disagreeable to it, for it is made subject to it not willingly. Sin and the pleasures of it are vanity, which man is not unwilling to the pursuit of, nor can any thing but a divine power displayed incline his will to choose the better part. But it may be objected, that a new creature in Christ is delivered from all this. To which I answer, there is in him the flesh that loves the law of sin, and a lusting at times after evil things; yea, and at times a willingness to them, though the fear of God awes him, and the Spirit assists him in mortification and self-denial; yet, if the deeds of the body are mortified through the Spirit, it is plain that mortification is a crossing and disappointing the will of the flesh, and self-denial is nothing else but a refusing to gratify self. Neither of these things appear to me to be the vanity to which this creature is unwillingly subject.

Again, Vanity is written upon man himself,

and upon every thing beneath the sun; for," All is vanity," all is light, transient, dissatisfactory, unsubstantial, disappointing, and grievous; it is vanity and vexation of soul; but to this vanity the creature is not by nature unwillingly subject, no not the creature in my text. The enjoyment of a wife and family, riches, honour, pleasure, apparel, and many other things of this life, he can find, at times, that member of the old man, called inordinate affections, going out after, which cost him many a stripe, and many a groan.

In short, the vanity to which the creature is. unwillingly subject, is death. "The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool," Eccl. ii. 14-16. To this vanity the creature is subjected, but not willingly.

And when was this creature made subject to this vanity? Answer, it was done in paradise, where Jehovah said, "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." There is in nature an unwillingnesss to this, for death, abstractedly considered, hath nothing pleasing in it; for, though the heaven-born soul may long for it in order to obtain the full enjoyment of Christ, the soul being armed against the second death, yet the flesh is

weak, the body hath no armour, the weakest part must go to the wall. Besides, grievous pains, languid spirits, increasing infirmities, dying agonies, weeping friends, and leaving poor fatherless children behind in a miserable sinful world, are things in themselves not pleasing to nature. He is subjected to this vanity unwillingly, and no wonder, when the human nature of Christ, at the approach of death, began to be exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, and sore amazed.

But God hath subjected the creature to this vanity in hope; for, at the same time that he said, "To dust thou shalt return," he raised them to hope by a promise, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head;" and, as Paul says, "Christ destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and delivered them who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Here is death, and bondage through the fear of it, to which the creature is unwillingly subject.

But the creature is subjected in hope of a resurrection through Christ; for God begot the apostles again to a lively hope by it; and the ultimate end of Paul's hope was to attain to the resurrection of the dead. For though he wanted to depart and be with Christ, and to be unclothed, or stripped of the mortal body, yet he had something in view beyond that: "Not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon with our house which is from above, that mortality may be