SERM. we are to remember, that it is a free dispensation of CCIII. his grace and goodness, "he works in us both to "will and to do, of his own good pleafure." And the promise of this grace is not fo abfolute, but that he expects we should earnestly fue and beg to him for it. He hath not promifed his "HOLY SPIRIT," but to them that afk him," and that with great earneftnefs and importunity; we must" afk, and "feek, and knock." Even where he promiseth "to give us a new heart and a new SPIRIT;" yet he fays, that "for all these things he will be fought to "by the house of Ifrael." And though fometimes "he be found of them that feek him not," and do frequently prevent us with his grace, and the motions of his bleffed SPIRIT; yet we have no reason to expect it without our feeking of it. II. We fhould thankfully acknowledge and afcribe all the good that is in us, and all that we do, to the grace and affiftance of GoD, exciting and ftrengthening us to every good work, without which "we can do nothing;" and fay, with David, " not "unto us, not unto us, O LORD; but to thy "name be the praife." And with St. Paul, "yet "not I; but the grace of GoD which was with "me." As the children of Ifrael were brought out of Egypt, and conducted to the poffeffion of the good land (which is a type of heaven) by the prefence and power of GoD going along with them, "not by their own fword and bow, but by a mighty "hand, and an out-ftretched arm: "fo if ever we be rescued from the bondage of fin, and quickned to newness of life, if ever we be faved, and come to heaven, we must be affifted and conducted, and kept by the mighty power of GoD;" for "by 66 66 grace grace we are faved, and that not of ourfelves, for SE RM. it is the gift of God." III. Let us take heed that we "refift not the "SPIRIT of GoD, and receive not this grace "of GOD in vain." And this we do, whenever we refift the motions of GOD's bleffed SPIRIT, and do not make ufe of that grace and affiftance which GOD offers to us, by being "workers toge"ther with Go D," and co-operating with his grace by our own fincere endeavours. GOD'S SPIRIT doth frequently put good motions into us, and is ready to further them, if we comply with them, and to enable us to bring them to effect: but men may, and many times do, refift the HOLY "GHOST," and quench the motions of that bleffed SPIRIT of grace; and then GOD juftly leaves. us, and withdraws his affiftance, and takes away his HOLY SPIRIT from us. But if we comply with them, his grace and help is ready to carry us ftill farther, and to affift us more and more, that we may "go from strength to ftrength, till we come to appear before him in Sion." 66 IV. The confideration of our own impotency, is no excufe to our floth and negligence, if fo be the grace of GoD be ready to affift us. For if that be offer'd to us, and always at hand to help us, where men have not provoked GoD to withdraw it; then it is our own fault, if we do not do our duty, and if we fall short of eternal happiness. For we are really able to do all that which God's grace and affiftance is ready to enable us to do. St. Paul reckons upon the strength of CHRIST as in fome fense his power. "I am able to do all things through CHRIST "ftrengthening me." CCIII. V. and lastly, the confideration of our own impotency is no just ground of difcouragement to our endeavours, confidering the promise of divine grace and affiftance. Now that GOD is enter'd into a new covenant of grace with us, and offers us eternal life upon the conditions of faith and repentance and fincere obedience, the greater our weakness is, the more reason we have to expect his grace and affistance; because we know that he deals fincerely with us, and intends to bring us to that happiness which he offers to us; and therefore we are affured that he does not command us impoffibilities, and feeing we are weak and insufficient of ourselves to do what he requires of us, that he is ready to afford us his grace to enable us to do it. SERM. CCIV. SERMON CCIV. Of the form, and the power of godliness. 2 TIM. iii. 5. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. T HE apoftle in thefe words diftinguishes two things in religion, which do not, but The fire ought, always to go together, viz. the fhew and fermon on pretence of religion, and the life and power of it. this text. He condemns neither, but blames the separating of them. The latter indeed cannot be without the firft; for where-ever religion really is, there will be fome appearance of it: but the former may be, and often often is, without the latter. Men may make a great SERM. fhew of religion, and yet be very deftitute of the cciv. 5 power of it. And such were those persons the apostle describes here in the text; they were guilty of the greatest faults and vices in their lives, but thought to cloke all these by an outward fhew and appearance of godliness. Having a form of godliness, but denying the 66 power thereof." The word oppos, which is here tranflated form, fignifies, the fhew or image of a thing, which is dead and ineffectual: in oppofition to the reality and life, which is quick and powerful. And, I think, this word is but once more used in the new teftament, and much in the fame fenfe, viz. for an empty and ineffectual knowledge of religion without the practice of it. Rom. ii. 17, 20, 21. The apoftle there speaks of fome pharifaical Jews, who gloried in their knowledge of the law, but violated it in their practice, "behold, thou art called a Jew, and refteft in the "law, and haft the form of knowledge, and of the "truth in the law. Thou therefore that teachest ano"ther, teachest thou-not thyfelf? thou that preach"eft, a man fhould not fteal, doft thou fteal ?" So that" a form of godlinefs" fignifies an empty fhew and profeffion of religion without the real effects of it. And they who are destitute of these, are faid " to fefs to know GOD, but in their works they deny SERM." his own, especially for those of his own house, he CCIV. "hath denied the faith." The apoftle does not mean that fuch an one denies the faith by express declara- First, fhew wherein " a form of godliness" confifts. Thirdly, give fome marks and characters whereby we may know when these are separated, when "the form of godliness" is deftitute of " the power." Fourthly, fhew that a mere "form of godliness" without the power of it," is infignificant to all the great ends and purposes of religion. First, to fhew wherein " a form of godliness" doth confift. In general it confists in an external fhew and profeffion of religion, or of any eminent part of it, or of that which is reputed to be fo; and a form of religion is more or less complete, according to the extent of it. Some pitch upon one part of religion, and fet themselves chiefly to make a fhew of that; others take in more parts of it, and endeavour to exprefs and counterfeit them; so that the forms of religion are various and different, and not to be reduced to any fix'd and conftant standard; but they commonly appear in fome one or more of these shapes: I. An external devotion. II. An orthodox profeffion of the christian faith. tion. VI. The |