principles and nature of new creatures, then feek earthly things with fubmiffion, enjoy them with fear and caution, refign them with cheerfulnefs and readinefs; and thus "let your moderation "be known unto all men," Phil. iv. 5. Let your hearts daily meditate, and your tongues difcourfe about heavenly things; be exceeding tender of fin, strict and punctual in every duty; and hereby convince the world that you are men and women of another fpirit.

Fifth ufe, for confolation.

Let every new creature be cheerful and thankful: if God hath renewed your natures, and thus altered the frame and temper of your hearts, he hath beftowed the richest mercy upon you that heaven or earth affords. This is a work of the greateft rarity; a new creature may be called, One among a thousand: it is also an everlafting work, never to be destroyed, as all other natural works of God (how excellent foever) muft be: it is a work carried on by Almighty Power, through unspeakable difficulties and mighty oppofitions, Eph. i. 12. The exceeding greatnefs of God's power goes forth to produce it; and indeed no less is required to enlighten the blind mind, break the rocky heart, and bow the stubborn will of man; and the fame Almighty Power which at firft created it, is neceffary to be continued every moment to preferve and continue it, 1 Pet. 1. 5. The new creature is a mercy which draws a train of innumerable and invaluable mercies after it, Eph. ii. 13, 14. 1 Cor. iii. 20. When God hath given us a new nature, then he dignifies us with a new name, Rev. ii. 17. brings us into a new covenant, Jer. xxxi. 33. begets us again to a new hope, 1 Pet. i. 3. intitles us to a new inheritance, John i. 12, 13. It is the new creature which through Chrift makes our perfons and duties acceptable with God, Gal. vi. 15. In a word, it is the wonderful work of God, of which we may fay, "This is the Lord's doing, and it is "marvellous in our eyes. There are unfearchable wonders in its generation, in its operation, and in its prefervation. Let all therefore, whom the Lord hath thus renewed, fall down at the feet of God, in an humble admiration of the unfearchable riches of free grace, and never open their mouths to complain under any adverfe or bitter providences of God.

SERMON XXVII.

Of the Nature, Principle, and Neceflity of Mortification.

GAL. V. 24.

And they that are Chriff's, have crucified the flesh, with the affections

and lufts.

WO great trials of our intereft in Chrift are finished; we now proceed to the third, namely, The mortification of fin: "They that are Chrift's have crucified the flesh." The fcope of the apoftle in this context is, to heal the unchristian breaches among the Galatians, prevailing, by the inftigation of Satan, to the breach of brotherly love. To cure this, he urges four weighty arguments.

Firft, From the great commandment, to love one another; upon which the whole law, i. e. all the duties of the second table do depend, ver. 15.

Secondly, He powerfully diffuades them from the confideration of the fad events of their bitter contests, calumnies, and detractions, viz. mutual ruin, and deftruction, ver. 15.

Thirdly, He diffuades them from the confideration of the contrariety of these practices unto the Spirit of God, by whom they all profefs themfelves to be governed, from ver. 17. to ver. 23.

Fourthly, He powerfully diffuades them from thefe animofities, from the inconfiftency of these, or any other lufts of the flesh, with an interest in Chrift: "They that are Chrift's, have crucified the "flesh," &c. q. d. You all profefs yourfelves to be members of Chrift, to be followers of him; but how incongruous are thefe practices to fuch a profeffion? Is this the fruit of the dove-like Spirit of Chrift? Are thefe the fruits of your faith and profeffed mortification? Shall the fheep of Chrift fnarl and fight like rabid and furious beafts of prey? Tantæne animis cæleftibus ira? So much rage in heavenly fouls? Ó how repugnant are thefe practices with the ftudy of mortification*, which is the great ftudy and endeavour of all that are in Chrift! "They that are Chrift's have crucified the "flesh, with the affections and lufts." So much for the order of the words; the words themselves are a propofition wherein we have to confider, both

1. The fubject.

2. The predicate.

Firft, The fubject of the propofition, they that are Chrift's, viz. "+True Chriftians, real members of Chrift; fuch as truly belong "to Chrift, fuch as have given themselves up to be governed by "him," and are indeed acted by his Spirit; fuch, all fuch perfons (for the indefinite is equipollent to an univerfal) all fuch, and none but fuch.

Secondly, The predicate; "They have crucified the flesh, with "the affections and lufts." By flesh we are here to understand carnal concupifcence, the workings and motions of corrupt nature; and by the affections we are to understand, not the natural, but the inordinate affections; for Chrift doth not abolish and deftroy, but correct and regulate the affections of those that are in him: And by crucifying the flefh, we are not to understand the total extinction or perfect fubduing of corrupt nature, but only the depofing of corruption from its regency and dominion in the foul; its domi- 0 nion is taken away, though its life be prolonged for a season; but yet, as death furely, though flowly, follows crucifixion, (the life of crucified perfons gradually departing from them, with their blood) it is just fo in the mortification of fin; and therefore what the apostle in this place calls crucifying, he calls in Rom. viii. 13. mortifying." If ye, through the Spirit, do mortify," JavaTare; if ye put to death the deeds of the body: But he chufes, in this place, to call it crucifying, to fhew not only the conformity there is betwixt the death of Chrift and the death of fin, in refpect of fhame, pain, and lingering flowness; but to denote also the principle means and inftruments of mortification, viz. the death, or crofs of Jefus Chrift, in the virtue whereof believers do mortify the corruptions of their flesh; the great arguments and perfuafives to mortification being drawn from the fufferings of Chrift for fin. In a word, he doth not fay, They that believe Chrift was crucified for fin, are Chrift's; but they, and they only, are his, who feel, as well as profefs the power and efficacy of the fufferings of Chrift, in the mortification and fubduing of their lufts and finful affections. And fo much, briefly, of the parts and fenfe of the words.

The obfervation followeth.

Doct. That a faving intereft in Chrift may be regularly and ftrongly inferred and concluded from the mortification of the flesh, with its affections and lufts.

This point is fully confirmed by those words of the apostle, Rom. vi. 5, 6, 7, 8. "For if we have been planted together in the "likeness of his death, we fhall be alfo in the likeness of his re

* V'ere Chriftiani qui ad Chriflum pertinent, qui fe ei dedere regendos. Pol. Synop.

« furrection, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, "that the body of fin might be deftroyed, that henceforth we "fhould not ferve fin; for he that is dead is free from fin: Now "if we be dead with Chrift, we believe that we shall alfo live with " him."

Mark the force of the apoftle's reafoning; if we have been planted into the likeness of his death, viz. by the mortification of fin, which resembles, or hath a likeness to the kind and manner of Chrift's death (as was noted above) then we fhall be alfo in the likeness of his refurrection; and why fo, but because the mortification of fin is an undoubted evidence of the union of such a foul with Chrift, which is the very ground-work and principle of that bleffed and glorious refurrection: And therefore he faith, ver. 11. "Reckon ye, alfo, yourselves to be dead, indeed, unto fin, but alive "unto God, through Jefus Chrift our Lord;" q. d. Reason thus with yourselves, thefe mortifying influences of the death of Chrift are unquestionable prefages of your future bleffedness, God never taking this course with any but those who are in Chrift, and are defigned to be glorified with him. The death of your fin is as evidential as any thing in the world can be of your fpiritual life for the prefent, and of your eternal life with God hereafter. Mortification is the fruit and evidence of your union, and that union is the firm ground-work and certain pledge of your glorification; and fo you ought to reckon or reafon the cafe with yourfelves, as the word Aeyde there fignifies. Now for the ftating and explicating of this point, I fhall, in the doctrinal part, labour to open and confirm thefe five things.

1. What the mortification or crucifixion of fin imports.

2. Why this work of the Spirit is expreffed by crucifying. 3. Why all that are in Christ must be fo crucified or mortified unto fin.

4. What is the true evangelical principle of mortification. 5. How the mortification of fin evinces our interest in Christ. And then apply the whole.

First, What the mortification or crucifixion of fin imports. And, for clearnefs fake, I fhall fpeak to it both negatively and pofitively, fhewing you what is not intended, and what is principally aimed at by the Spirit of God in this expreffion.

First, The crucifying of the flesh doth not imply the total "abolition of fin in believers, or the deftruction of its very being "and exiftence in them for the prefent; fanctified fouls fo put off

• Mortificari carnem non eft cam ita perimi, ut aut prorfus non fit, aut nulla prova in bomine defideria commoveant, quod in corpore mortis hujus non contingit, &c. Éltius in

loc.

"their corruptions with their dead bodies at death :" This will be the effect of our future glorification, not of our present fanctification. Sin doth exift in the moft mortified believer in the world, Rom. vii. 17. it still acteth and lufteth in the regenerate foul, Gal. v. 17. yea, notwithstanding its crucifixion in believers, it ftill may, in refpect of single acts, furprize and captivate them, Pfal. lxv. 3. Rom. vii. 23. This, therefore, is not the intention of the Spirit of God in this expreffion.

Secondly, Nor doth the crucifixion of fin confift in the fuppreffion of the external acts of fin only; for fin may reign over the fouls of men, whilft it doth not break forth into their lives in grofs and open actions, 2 Pet. iii 20. Mat. xii. 43. Morality in the Heathens (as Tertullian well obferves) did abfcondere, fed non abfcindere vitia, hide them, when it could not kill them: Many a man fhews a white, and fair hand, who yet hath a very foul and black heart.

Thirdly, The crucifixion of the flesh doth not confift in the ceffation of the external acts of fin; for, in that refpect, the lufts of men may die of their own accord, even a kind of natural death. The members of the body are the weapons of unrighteoufnefs, as the apostle calls them; age or fickness may fo blunt or break those weapons, that the foul cannot use them to fuch finful purposes and fervices as it was wont to do in the vigorous and healthful feafon of life; not that there is less fin in the heart, but because there are lefs ftrength and activity in the body. Juft as it is with an old foldier, who hath as much ikill, policy, and delight as ever in military actions; but age and hard fervices have fo enfeebled him, that he can no longer follow the camp.

Fourthly, The crucifixion of fin doth not confift in the fevere caftigation of the body, and penancing it by ftripes, fafting, and tirefome pilgrimages. This may pafs for mortification among Papifts, but never was any luft of the flesh destroyed by this rigour. Christians, indeed, are bound not to indulge and pamper the body, which is the inftrument of fin; nor yet muft we think that the fpiritual corruptions of the foul feel thofe ftripes which are inflicted upon the body: See Col. ii. 23. it is not the vanity of fuperftition, but the power of true religion, which crucifies and destroys corruption; it is faith in Chrift's blood, not the spilling of our own blood, which gives fin the mortal wound.

Secondly, But if you enquire, what then is implied in the mortification or crucifixion of fin, and wherein it doth confift? I anfwer,

Firft, It neceffarily implies the foul's implantation into Christ, and union with him; without which it is impoffible that any one corruption fhould be mortified; They that are [Chriff's] have crucified