relief from any of thefe things corrupt nature is wont to incline us to rely on. The foul's motion to Jefus Chrift, is a motion from all other things. The foul that rolls the weight of all over upon him, doth not lean to any thing besides him. All the expreffions formerly opened up, do fufficiently intimate to us, that this renunciation of all confidence in other things belongs to the nature of faith, and must go to the conftitution of it: and the fame the Scripture plainly enough declares, when it exprefly enjoins finners this, as a part of their duty, or rather expreffes the whole of this duty by it; Ashur Shall not fave us, we will not ride upon horfes, nor will we fay any more to the work of our hands, fe are our gods: In vain is falvation looked for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains, fays the returning church, Hof. xiv. 3. and Jer. iii. 23. And thefe two texts are a good Commentary upon that forecited expreffion of the apostle, and have no confidence in the flesh. To have no confidence in the flesh, is to expect no falvation from the hills and multitude of mountains, from Afhur, from horfes, or the work of our own hands. But that I may be a little more particular, faith or believing has in it an exprefs renunciation (1.) Of our own wisdom. Carnal Man is exceedingly inclined to truft to his own fleshly wisdom, which is enmity against God, and to advance this as of ufe to direct him to true happiness. This was that which befool'd the heathen world: They thought by their own wifdom to reach happiness, to know God. But in the wifdom of God, the world by wifdom knew not God; and the believer becomes a fool that he may be wife, perfectly renouncing his own wisdom, and fubfcribing himfelf a fool, owning himself, with wife Agur, more brutish brutish than any Man. (2.) Believing has in it a renunciation of our own ftrength and power. Man is conceited exceedingly of his own ability. As long as man has a leg of his own to walk upon, he is fure never to look near Chrift Jefus. But no fooner has he a mind for Chrift, but prefently he confeffes his own impotency. If the man be able to ftand alone, what means he to lean upon another? If he be able to bear his burden, what needs he roll it over upon another? (3.) Believing has in it a renunciation of man's own righteoufnefs. The natural man goes about with the carnal Jews, who were ignorant of the righteouf nefs of God, to establish his own righteoufness, not fubmitting to the righteoufnefs of God: But the believer rejects this, and owns with the church, Ifa. Ixiv. 6. We are as an unclean thing, and all our righteoufnefs are as filthy rags. The believer fees his righteoufnefs all ragged. He fees, here one duty wanting, and there another entirely a miffing, which makes his righteousness no better than a ragged coat, which is full of holes: And he fees what remains to be all defiled; there is fome wanting, and what is not fo is filthy. The best fall fhort of, and are entirely deficient as to the practice of fome duties; and filthinefs adheres and cleaves to what they do perform: Therefore they renounce their own righteoufnefs. (4.) Believing or faith in Chrift renounces all foreign relief, I mean relief from other things befides Chrift, It will not truft to privileges, to faints, to any creature. If any would entice believing finners to follow any other, then faith anfwers the tempter as Peter did our Lord, in an addrefs to Chrift himfelf, To whom shall we go, thou haft the words of eternal life? Now all these things are compreR 3 hended hended in that of the apoftle, Having no confidence in the flefb: And therefore we find him rejecting his own wisdom, for the excellency of the knowlege of Chrift Jefus, rejecting his own ftrength, for acquaintance with the power and efficacy of Christ's death, renouncing his own righteousness, that he might be found in Chrift; and counting all the privileges he had as one of Abraham's children, one in covenant with God, one of the stricteft fect of the Jews, to be but lofs and dung for an intereft in Chrift. (2.) There is in believing on Chrift, a confent of will to the terms of the gospel as good and defireable. And who can refufe this fave fuch as are blind? The Gospel terms may be reduced, as has been hinted juft now, to three. (1.) Seek not falvation from that which cannot fave you. Have no confidence in the flesh. (2.) Take freely, whatever ye need. Need ye righteousness, or need ye ftrength, or need ye wifdom, or redemption? All these ye may have freely in Chrift, who is made of God to all them that believe, wisdom, righteousness, fanctification and redemption; in whom all believers have righteoufnefs and ftrength; in whom all the feed of Ifrael by this means, fhall be justified and glorified. This is to rejoice in Chrift Jefus. (3.) Lay out and improve what ye receive. Ye are not bid fpin a web out of your own bowels; but ye are bid improve what's given to you. Ye are bid worship God in fpirit; ay, but 'tis by the affiftance and direction of the fpirit that's given freely. The will clofes with thefe terms as good and agreeable: And who could refuse to do fo, were there not in him the carnal mind that's enmity against God? The world can conceive nothing more reasonable, no terms terms more encouraging, favourable and condescending than these; therefore they are embraced as worthy the love, goodness, mercy, and wisdom of God. (3.) Hereon there enfues an acquiefcence and reft of foul in Chrift Jefus for falvation. The finner is no more tofs'd in perplexing enquiries after a faviour. Now it fixes upon him, according to the propofal made of himself; and it will not look near any other thing. It has tried them, and found no reft in them. Now it comes where it finds reft; and therefore here the foul is in a blefs'd compofure. It has confidence in Chrift Jefus, rejoiceth in him, and glories in him. If confcience challenge for fin, it points it to Christ Jefus, and lets it fee what he has done, and feeks no other answer to confcience. If the threats of the law fet themfelves against the finner, he gets in behind Chrift's righteousness to skreen him, and here he thinks himself fecure: Therefore he will not betake himself to any thing else. He refts in this as fafe; and feeks not any other thing to fhelter him from the wrath of God, to fit him for every good word and work. Thus we have opened up, in fome measure to you, the nature of faith, fufficiently in order to our prefent defign. We proceed now, V. To enquire what this falvation is, which a convinced finner believing on the Lord Jefus 'Chrift fhall affuredly obtain. Upon the former verfe we did obferve, that this word is taken in a lax fenfe, not only for a deliverance from evils, but for a collation of good things: That is plainly, it takes in all that is requifite in order to reinftate the finner in that happy condition whence Adam fell, or even into a better; fo that falvaR 4 tion Now tion and eternal life do not much differ. here I shall first enquire what falvation thus taken implies, and then name fome of its properties. As to the firft, falvation implies these three particulars, to which all others may be eafily reduc'd. 1. Deliverance from wrath. Sin deferves wrath: The finner fees it a coming, and feels its beginning, which makes him flee for refuge from the wrath to come. Thus it was with the jaylor in the text: He was like a man going abroad, who feels the beginnings of a bitter ftorm, and fees the clouds gathering, which portends a heavy deluge; and not being able to abide the very beginnings of it, he timeously betakes himself to a covert; he runs to feek fhelter from the ftorm. So this awakened finner feels fome of the drops, as it were, of the wrath of God in his face already; and he knows he is not able to abide any more, and therefore cries out, What must I do to be faved? Where fhall I get shelter? And here his question is anfwered; Believe on the Lord Jefus, and thou shalt be faved. He will fkreen thee from that ftorm of wrath, that has begun to fall down with fo great violence. 2. It implies a title to life eternal. The man would be happy; and how he thall be fo, he cannot tell. He fears he may never attain to it, and this pains him. Once man was on a fair way to eternal life; but now he is far out of it, and never like to obtain it. This makes the poor awakened man fhiver, and cry out, What must I do to be faved? I cannot think of falling fhort of happinefs: how fhall I come at it? Believe on the Lord Jefus, and thou shalt be faved. There's the Anfwer: thou shalt have a title to eternal life; for he |