which by the ftrength of Chrift he was enabled to do.

And this is the true ground of all the perfuafions and exhortations which we meet with in fcripture, to hotiness and obedience; which would all be, not only to no purpose, but very unreasonable, if we were wholly deftitute of power to do what God commands: But if he be always ready at hand to affift us by a grace fufficient for us, if he co-operate with us in the work of our falvation, then is there abundant ground of encouragement to our endeavours; and if we fall fhort of eternal falvation, it is wholly our own fault: it is not because God is wanting to us in thofe aids and affistances of his grace which are neceffary; but because we are wanting to ourselves, in not feeking God's grace more earnestly, or by neglecting to make ufe of it when it is afforded to us. For it is really all one, both to the encouragement of our endeavours, and to the rendering of our difobedience inexcufable, whether we be able of ourselves to perform the condition of the gofpel, or God be ready to affift us by his grace and Holy Spirit to that purpose.

Wherefore as the Apoftle exhorts, Heb. xii. 12, 13, 14, 15. Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, left that which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed. Follow holiness, without which no man fhall fee the Lord; looking diligently left any man fail of the grace of God; intimating, that it is want of care and diligence on our part, if the grace of God fail of its end, and be not effectual to all the purposes of faith and repentance and obedience. God does not withhold his grace from us; but men may receive it in vain, if they do not make use of it. And thus I have done with the third thing I propofed to confider from these words. I proceed to the

Fourth, viz. To confider the neceffity of this obedience, in order to our obtaining of eternal life and happiness. Chrift is the author of eternal falvation to them that obey him; that is, to fuch, and only to fuch, as live in obedience to the precepts of VOL. VI.

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kis holy gofpel, to them who frame the general courfe of their lives according to his laws. Some men seem to be fo afraid of the merit of obedience and good works, that they are loth to affert the neceffity of them, and do it with fo much caution, as if they were not throughly perfuaded of it, or did apprehend fome dangerous confequences of it: but this fear is perfectly groundlefs; as if merit could not be excluded, without cafting off our duty, and releafing ourselves from any neceffary obligation to be good. For any man furely may eafily difcern a plain difference between a worthiness of defert, and a fitness of receiving a rebel, being penitent and forry for what he hath done; though he cannot deferve a pardon, yet he may thereby be qualified and made meet to receive it; though repentance do not make him worthy, yet it may make him capable of it, which an obftinate rebel, and one that perfifts in his difloyalty, is not. This is a thing fo plain of itself, that it would be waste of time and words to infift longer upon the proof of it.

Now the neceffity of obedience, in order to eternal life and happiness, relies upon these three grounds: ift, Upon the constitution and appointment of God.

2dly, The general reason of rewards.

3dly, Upon the particular nature of that reward, which God will confer upon us for our obedience.

ift, The conftitution and appointment of God. Eternal life is the gift of God; and he may do what he will with his own, he may difpenfe his gifts and favours upon what terms and conditions he pleafeth; and therefore if he hath plainly declared, that to them who by patient continuance in well doing, feek for giory, and honour, and immortality, he will give eternal life; that without holiness no man fhall fee the Lord; but if we have our fruit unto holiness, our end fhall be everlasting life, who fhall refift his will, or difpute his pleafure? The right and authority of God in this matter is fo unquestionable, that it admits of no conteft; and the bleffings and benefits propofed, are fo infinitely great and invaluable, that no condition of obtaining them, which is poffible to

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be performed by us, can be thought hard and unequal; fo that we ought thankfully to receive fo great a favour, let the terms and conditions of it be what they will and if there were no other reafon for the impofing of these conditions upon us, of faith, and repentance, and obedience, but merely the will and pleafure of God, this were enough to filence all objections against it.

But 2dly, The neceffity of obedience in order to eternal life, is likewife founded in the reafon of rewards in general. For though the measure and degree of our reward, fo infinitely beyond the proportion of our beft duty and fervice, as eternal life and happiness is, I fay, though the measure and degree of this reward be founded in the immense bounty and goodness of God, yet the reafon of reward in general, is neceffarily founded in our obedience to God's laws; for according to the true nature and reafon of things, nothing but obedience is capable of reward. For though authority may pardon the breach and tranfgreffion of laws, and remit the punishment due thereto, yet to reward the contempt of laws, and wilful disobedience to them, is directly contrary to the defign of government, and does plainly overthrow the very reafon and end of all. laws, and makes obedience and disobedience to be all one; if fo be, they are equally capable of reward and therefore nothing can be more abfurd and fenfelefs, than for any man to hope to be rewarded by God, who does not live in a fincere obedience to his laws. Every man that hath this hope in him, (that is, in Chrift Jefus, to be faved by him) purifieth himself, even as he is pure; that is, endeavours to be like him in the purity and obedience of his life and nothing furely can be more unreafonable than to expect to be rewarded by the great Governor and Judge of the world, if we be difobedient to his laws; for where obedience to law is refused, there all reafon and equity of reward ceafeth. No wife Prince can think fit to reward difloyalty and contempt of his laws; because to reward it would

be to encourage it; much lefs will God, the great and infinitely wife Governor of the world.

3dly, The neceffity of obedience will yet more evidently appear, if we confider the particular nature of that reward, which God will confer upon us for our obedience. The happiness of heaven, which is the reward promised in the gofpel, is described to us by the fight and enjoyment of God. Now to render us capable of this bleffed reward, it is necessary that we be like God; but nothing but obedience and holinefs, and being renewed after the image of him who created us in righteousness, can make us like to God. For he that would be like God must be holy, and juft, and good, and patient, and merciful, as God is; and this alone can make us capable of the bleffed fight and enjoyment of God; for unless we be like him, we cannot fee him as he is, and if we fhould be admitted into heaven, we could not find any pleasure and happiness in communion with him. Bleffed are the pure in heart, (fays our Saviour) for they shall fee God. Without holiness (fays the Apoftle) no man fee fhall the Lord. And indeed, it is in the very nature of the thing impoffible, that a wicked man (whilst he remains fo) fhould ever be happy, because there can be no agreeable and delightful fociety between thofe that are of a quite contrary temper and difpofition to one another, between him who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and a finful and impure creature. For what fellowship (faith the Apostle) can righteousness have with unrighteousness? what communion hath light with darknefs, or God with Belial? that is, with the wicked and difobedient. Till we become like to God in the frame and temper of our minds, there can be no happy fociety between him and us; we could neither delight ourfelves in God, nor he take any pleasure in us; for he is not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither hall evil dwell with him. The wicked fhall not stand in his fight, he hateth all the workers of. iniquity. It cannot be otherwife, but that there mult be an eternal jarring and difcord between the righteous and holy God, and wicked and unrighteous men.

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I will behold thy face (fays David) in righteousness. There is no looking God in the face upon a ny other terms. If we have been workers of iniqui ty, God will caft us out of his fight, and in great anger bid us to depart from him; and we also shall defire him to depart from us,being unable to bear the fight of him.

So that there is great reason why holiness and obedience should be made the conditions of eternal life and happiness, fince in the very nature of the thing it is fo neceffary a qualification for the bleffed fight and enjoyment of God, who to us is the cause and fountain of happiness. I come in the

Fifth and last place, To fhew that this method and means of our falvation is no prejudice to the law of faith, and to the free grace and mercy of God declared in the gospel. The gofpel is called the law of faith, and the law of grace, in oppofition to the Jewifh difpenfation, which is called the law, or cove nant of works, because it confifteth fo much in external rites and obfervances, which were but types and shadows of good things to come, (as the Apoitle calls them in this epiftle) and which when they were come, that law did expire of itself, and was out of date, the obligation and obfervance of it was no longer neceffary; but a better covenant, which was eftablished upon better promifes, came in the place of it, and men were juftified by faith, that is, by fin-cerely embracing the Chriftian religion, and were no longer under an obligation to that external, and fervile, and imperfect difpenfation, which confifted in circumcifion, and in almost an endless number of external ceremonies. These are the works of the law fo often spoken of by St. Paul, concerning which the Jews had not only an opinion of the neceffity of them to a man's justification and falvation, but likewife of the merit of them; in oppofition to both which opinions, St. Paul calls the covenant of the gofpel the law of faith, and the law of grace..

But there is no where the least intimation given, either by our Saviour or his Apostles, that obedience: to the precepts of the gofpel (which are in fubftance

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