that directly or indirectly annex the above-mentioned reward to WORKS: And,

(1) To confideration, converfion, and exercifing ourfelves to godlinefs. Because he confidereth, and turneth away from all his tranfgreffions, &c. he fhall furely live, he fhall not die. When the wicked man turneth away from his wickednefs, &c. he fhall fave his foul alive.-Wherefore turn yourselves and live ye.-Exercife thyfelf unto godlinefs, for it is profitable unto all things; having the promise of the life that now is, and that which is to come.' (2) To doing the will of God. He that does the will of my Father, fhall enter into the kingdom of heaven. He that does the will of God, abideth for ever. -Whofoever fhall do the will of God, the fame my brother and fifter-i. e. the fame is an heir of • God, and a joint-heir with Chrift.'

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(3) To diligent labour, and earnest endeavours.-' O man of God, lay hold on eternal life-Work out your own falvation.---Labour for the meat that endureth to everlasting life.---In fo doing thou fhalt fave thyfelf.---Narrow is the gate that leads to life.---Strive to enter in.---The violent prefs into the kingdom of God, and take it by force.

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commandments.

(4) To keeping the commandments.-' Blessed are they that do his commandments, &c. that they may enter through the gates into the city,' i. e. into heaIf thou wilt enter into life, keep the Thou haft answered right: This do and thou fhalt live. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to fave and to deftroy:' [fome of whofe laws run thus:] Forgive, and ye fhall be forgiven. Bleffed are the merciful, for they fhall obtain mercy- BLESSED are the peacemakers, for they fhall be called the children of God,' [and, of course, the heirs of the kingdom.] The king fhall fay unto them, Come, ye BLESSED of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, " for I was hungry and ye gave me meat, &c.Whatfoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord,

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knowing that of the Lord ye fhail receive the 6 REWARD of the inheritance: But he that does · wrong, fhall receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no refpect of perfons. (5) To running, fighting, faithfully laying up treafure in heaven, and feeding the flock of God. They who run in a race, run all; but one receiveth the prize: So run that you may obtain. Now they are temperate in all things to obtain a corruptible crown; but we, an incorruptible. I therefore fo run 'fight and bring my body into fubjection,' [that I may obtain:] left I myself should be caft away' i. e. fhould not be approved of, should be rejected, and lofe my incorruptible crown.

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life. Lay up treasure in heaven.- Make yourselves 'friends with the mammon of unrighteousness, that 'when you fail, they may receive you into everlafting habitations- -Charge them who are rich, that they do good, that they be rich in good works, laying up in ftore for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay • hold on eternal life. Feed the flock of God, &c. being examples to the flock, and when the chief Shepherd fhall appear, ye fhall receive the crown. of glory, that fadeth not away.' (6) To a godly walk.

There is NO condemnation to them, &c. that walk NOT after the flesh-As many as walk according to this rule, mercy [be, or 'will be] on them.-The Lord will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

(7) To perfevering watchfulness, faithfulness, prayer, &c. He that endureth unto the end, the fame fhall 'be faved.-Be faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life. -Bleffed is the man that 'endureth temptation, for when he is tried, he fhall receive the crown of life-To him that overcometh, 'will I grant to fit with me in my throne.-To him

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that keepeth my words unto the end, &c. will I give the morning ftar.-Take heed to yourselves, watch and pray always, that ye may be counted. worthy to efcape, &c. and to ftand before the Son of 6 man.' In a word,

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(8) To patient continuance in mortifying the deeds of the body, and in well doing.- If ye live after the flefh, ye fhall die; but if ye through the spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye fhall live---For he that foweth to his flesh, fhall of the flefh reap perdition; but he that foweth to the fpirit, fhall of the spirit reap life everlafting: And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due feafon we shall REAP' [not, if we faint or not, but] IF we faint not.- He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal.- Ye have your fruit ' unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.'—God, at the revelation of his righteous judgment, will render to every man according to his deeds: eternal life to them, who, by patient continuance in welldoing, feek for glory. Anguifh upon every foul of man that does evil, &c. but glory to every man that worketh good, &c. for there is no refpect of perfons with God.'

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Is it not aftonishing, that, in fight of fo many plain fcriptures, the Solifidians fhould ftill ridicule the paffport of good works, and give it to the winds paper-kite ?" However, if the preceding texts do not appear fufficient, I can fend another volley of gofpel-truths, to fhow that the initial falvation of believers themselves may be loft through bad works.

I know thy works, &c. fo then because thou art lukewarm I will fpue thee out of my mouth. Grudge not one against another, brethren, left ye be damned [in the original it is the fame word, which is rendered damned, Mark xvi. 16.]' If we fuffer, we fhall alfo reign with him: if we [believers] deny him, he will alfo deny us.Add 'to your faith virtue, &c, charity, &c. if ye do these

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things ye fhall never fall, for so an ENTRANCE fhall 'be miniftered unto you abundantly into the everlaft'ing kingdom of our Lord.It had been better for them, that have escaped the pollutions of the 'world through the knowledge of our Saviour, [i. e. 'for believers] not to have known the way of 'righteousness, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. Every tree, that bringeth not forth good fruit, 'is cut down, and caft into the fire.---Every branch 6 IN ME, that beareth not fruit, my Father taketh 'away---Abide in me, &c. If a man abide not in 'me' [by keeping my commandments in faith] he is caft forth as a branch, and is withered; and' [he fhall fhall fhare the fate of the branches that have really belonged to the natural vine, and now bear no more fruit] men gather them, and caft them into the fire, and they are burned.'---The figtree in the Lord's moral vineyard is cut down, for not bearing fruit.- Him that finneth I will blot out of my book--Some having put away a good confcience, concerning faith have made fhipwreck..

Such as turn back to their own wickedness, the 'Lord fhall lead them forth with the evil doers.-To'wards thee, goodness, if' by continuing in obe'dience thou continue in his goodness, otherwise 'thou shalt be cut off.'

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Again, For the wickedness of their doings, I ' will drive them out of my houfe, I will love them no more. Some are already turned afide after Sahaving damnation because they have caft off their firft faith-the faith that works by love-the 'mystery of faith kept in a pure confcience-the faith unfeigned' [that the apoftle couples with] a "good confcience-the faith that cries like Rachel, Give me children, give me good works, or elfe I die

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-the faith that faints without obedience, and actually dies by bad works; the following fcriptures abundantly proving that faith, and confequently the juft who lives by faith, can die by bad works.

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When a righteous man + doth turn from his righteoufnefs, and commit iniquity, &c. he fhall 6 DIE in his fin, and his righteoufnefs, which he has 'done, fhall not be remembered. Ezek. iii. 20Again, When the righteous, &c. does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, fhall he live? All his righteoufnefs, that he has done, 'fhall not be mentioned; in his trefpafs that he hath trefpaffed, and in his fin that he hath finned, in 'them fhall he DIE.' Ezek. xviii. 24.- -Once more: The righteousness of the righteous fhall not deliver him in the day of his tranfgreffion, &c. 'When I fay to the righteous, that he fhall furely live; if he truft to his righteoufnefs, and commit iniquity he fhall die for it.' Ezek. xxxiii. 1g.

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It feems, that God foreseeing, the Solifidians would be hard of belief, notwithstanding the great ado they make about faith, condefcended to their infirmity,

+That this is fpoken of a truly-:ighteous man, i, e, of a believer, appears from the following reafons: (1) The righteous here mentioned, is oppofed to the wicked mentioned in the context: As furely then as the word wicked means there one really-wicked, fo does the word righteous mean here one truly-righteous. (2) The righ teous man's turning from his righteoufnefs, is oppofed to the wicked man's turning from his iniquity: If therefore the righte ous man's righteoufnefs is to be understood of feigned goodness, fo the wicked man's iniquity must be understood of feigned iniquity. (3) The crime of the righteous man here spoken of 18 turning from his righteoufnefs; but if his righteoufnefs were only an hypocritical righteoufnefs, be would rather deferve to be commended for re nouncing it; a wicked, fly pharifee being more odious to God than a barefaced finner, who has honefty enough not to put on the mafk of religion, Rev. iii. 15-(4) Part of this apoftate's punishment will confift in Nor having the rightoufnefs that he has done remembered but if his righteoufnels is a falfe righteoufnefs, or meer hypocrify, the divine threatning proves a precious promife; for you cannot please an hypocrite better, than by affuring him, that his hypocrify fhall never be remembered. What a pity is it, that, to defend our mistakes we fhould fix egregious nonfenfe, and grofs contradiction upon the only wife God?

Thefe words are another indubitable proof, that the righteous here mentioned is a truly-righteous perfon; as the holy and true God would never fay to a wicked pharifee, that he fall furely live.