willing: till then we do but plough upon the rocks: yet let not our hand slack in duty; pray for them and plead with them: you know not in which prayer or exhortation the Spirit of life may breathe upon them. “Can these dry bones live?" Yes, if the Spirit of life from God breathe upon them they can, and shall live: what though their dispositions be averse to all things that are spiritual and serious, yet even such have been regenerated when more sweet and promising natures have been passed by, and left under spiritual death. Mr. Ward said of his brother, a man of great gifts and eminent graces, yet of a very bad temper, "Though my brother David Rogers has grace enough for two men, he has not half enough for himself.” It may be you have prayed and striven long with your relations, and to little purpose; yet be not discouraged. How often was Mr. John Rogers, that famous and successful divine, a grief of heart to his relations in his younger years, proving a wild young man, to the great discouragement of his pious friends; yet, at last, the Lord graciously changed him, so that Mr. Richard Rogers would say, when he would exercise the utmost degree of charity or hope for any that at present were vile and worthless, "I will never despair of any man for John Rogers' sake." 3. How honourable are Christians by their new birth! They are "born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God," John i. 13, not in a mere natural way, but in a spiritual and supernatural: they are the offspring of God, the children of the Most High, as well by regeneration as by adoption; which is the greatest advancement of the human nature, next to its union with the Divine nature of Christ. Oh, what honour is this for a poor sinful creature, to have the very life of God breathed into his soul! All other dignities of nature are trifles compared with this; this makes a Christian a sacred hallowed thing, the living temple of God, 1 Cor. vi. 19, the special object of his delight. 4. How deplorable is the condition of the unregenerate world! They are but as dead men. As there is no beauty in the dead, and all their loveliness goes away at death, so there is no spiritual beauty or loveliness in any that are unregenerate. It is true, many of them have excellencies which adorn their conversation in the eyes of men; but what are all these but so many sweet flowers strewed over a body where no life is. The dead have no pleasure or delight; even so the unregenerate are incapable of the delights of the Christian life, "To be spiritually-minded is life and peace,' Rom. viii. 6; that is, this is the only serene, placid, and pleasant life. The dead have no heat, they are cold as clay; so are all the unregenerate towards God and things above; their affections to him are cold and frozen: that which makes a gracious heart melt will not make an unregenerate heart move. The dead must be buried, so must the unregenerate be buried out of God's sight; buried in the lowest hell, in the place of darkness for ever, John iii. 3. Woe to the unregenerate! good had it been for them had they never been born! 5. How greatly are all men concerned to examine their condition with respect to spiritual life and death! It is very common for men to presume upon their union with and interest in Christ. This privilege is by common mistake extended generally to all that profess the Christian religion, and practice the external duties of it, when, in truth, no more are united to Christ than are quickened by the Spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus, Rom. viii. 1, 2. O try your interest in Christ by this rule. If I am quickened by Christ, I have union with Christ. If there be spiritual sense in your souls, there is spiritual life in them. There are senses belonging to the spiritual as well as to the animal life, Heb. v. 14; they can feel and sensibly groan under soul pressures and burdens of sin, Rom. vii. 24. The dead feel not, moan not under the burdens of sin, as the living do: they may be sensible indeed of the evil of sin with respect to themselves, but not as against God; damnation may scare them, but pollution doth not; hell may frighten them, but not the offending of God. If there be spiritual hunger and thirst, it is a sweet sign of spiritual life; this sign agrees to Christians of a day old. Even new-born babes desire the sincere milk of the word, 1 Pet. ii. 2. If spiritual life be in you, you know how to expound that Scripture, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God," Psal. xlii. 1, without any other interpreter than your own experience: you will feel somewhat like the gnawing of an empty stomach making you restless during the interruption of your daily communion with the Lord. If there be spiritual conflicts with sin, there is spiritual life in your souls, Gal. v. 17. Not only a combat between light in the higher, and sense in the lower faculties; not only opposition to more gross external corruptions, that carry more infamy and horror with them than other sins do; but the heart will be the seat of war; and the more inward and secret any lust is, by so much the more will it be opposed and mourned over. In a word, the weakest Christian may, upon impartial observation, find such signs of spiritual life in himself-if he will allow himself time to reflect upon the bent and frame of his own heart-as desires after God; conscience of duties; fears, cares and sorrows about sin; delight in the society of heavenly and spiritual men; and a loathing and burden in the company of vain and carnal persons. Objection. O but I have a very dead heart to spiritual things! Answer. It is a sign of life, that you feel and are sensible of that deadness; and besides, there is a great difference between spiritual deadness and death; the one is the state of the unregenerate, the other is the disease of regenerate men. Object. Some signs of spiritual life are clear to me, but I cannot close with others. Ans. If you can really close with any, it may satisfy you, though you be dark in others; for if a child cannot walk, yet if it can take its food; if it cannot take its food, yet if it can cry; yea, if it cannot cry, yet if it breathe, it is alive. SERMON VI. THE ACT BY WHICH WE EFFECTUALLY APPLY CHRIST ΤΟ OUR OWN SOULS; OR, SAVING FAITH. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God; even to them that believe on his name. John i. 12. No sooner is the soul quickened by the Spirit of God, but it answers, in some measure, the end of God in that work, by its active reception of Jesus Christ in the way of believing. What this vital act of faith is upon which depends our interest in Christ and everlasting blessedness, this Scripture will show ; in which observe three things: 1. The privilege conferred is a very high and glorious one, than which no created being is capable of greater: "power to become the sons of God." The word rendered power is one of large extent and signification, and is by some rendered this right, by others this dignity, by others this prerogative, this privilege or honour. It implies a title or right to adoption, not only with respect to the present benefits of it in this life, but also to that blessed inheritance which is laid up in heaven for the sons of God. O what an honour, dignity, and privilege is this! 2. The subjects of this privilege are described: "As many as received him." This text describes them by that very grace, faith, which gives them their title and right to Christ and his benefits; and by that very act of faith, which primarily confers their right to his person, and secondarily to his benefits, namely, receiving him. There are many graces besides faith, but faith only is the grace that gives us right to Christ; and there are many acts of faith besides receiving, but this receiving or embracing Christ is the justifying and saving act: "As many as received him;" as many, be they of any nation, sex, age, or condition. For "there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free but Christ is all, and in all," Col. iii. 11. Nothing but unbelief bars men from Christ and his benefits. As many as received him : the word signifies "to accept, to take,' or, as we fitly render it, to receive, assume, or take to us; a word most aptly expressing the nature and office of faith, yea, the very justifying and saving act; and we are also heedfully to note its special object, not his, but Him, his person as he is clothed with his offices, and not only his benefits and privileges; these are secondary and consequential to our receiving him. So that it is a receiving, assuming, or accepting the Lord Jesus Christ, which must have respect to the tenders and proposals of the gospel, "for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith," Rom. i. 17; therein is Jesus Christ revealed, proposed, and offered unto sinners, as the only way of justification and salvation; which gospel offer, as before was shown, is therefore ordinarily necessary to believing, Rom. x. 11, etc. 3. This description is yet further explained by the additional exegetical clause, even to them that believe on his name. Here the terms are varied, though the things expressed in both are the same; what he there calls receiving, is here called believing on his name, to show us that the very essence of saving faith consists in our receiving Christ. By his name we are to understand Christ himself it is usual to take these two, believing in him and believing in his name, as terms convertible and of the same import. Hence we draw this proposition : -- DOCT.-That the receiving of the Lord Jesus Christ is that saving and vital act of faith which gives the soul right both to his person and benefits. We cannot act spiritually till we begin to live spiritually: the Spirit of life must first join himself to us in his quickening work, as shown in the last chapter. This being done, we begin to act spiritually, by taking hold upon or receiving Jesus Christ, which is the point now to be considered. The soul is the life of the body, faith is the life of the soul, and Christ is the life of faith. There are several kinds of faith besides saving faith, and in saving faith there are several acts, besides the justifying or saving act; but this receiving act, which is our present subject, is that upon which both our righteousness and eternal happiness depend; by this it is that we are justified and saved. "To as many |