misery of it. There are five memorials I may thence give into the whole assembly of the saints, who are no more children of wrath, but heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, though as yet in their minority. (1.) Remember, that in the day our Lord took you by the hand, ye were in no better condition than others. O what moved him to take you, when he passed by your neighbours! he found you children of wrath, even as others; but he did not leave you so. He came into the common prison, where you lay in your fetters, even as others; and from amongst the multitude of condemned malefactors, he picked out you, commanded your fetters to be taken off, put a pardon in your hand, and brought you into the glorious liberty of the children of God, while he left others in the devil's fetters. (2.) Remember there was nothing in you to engage him to love you, in the day he first appeared for your deliverance. Ye were children of wrath, even as others, fit for hell, and altogether unfit for heaven; yet the King brought you into the palace; the King's Son made love to you, condemned criminals, and espoused you to himself, on the day in which ye might have been led forth to execution. «Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight," Matth. ix. 26. (3.) Remember, ye were fitter to be lothed than loved in that day. Wonder, that when he saw you in your blood, he looked not at you with abhorrence, and passed by you. Wonder that ever such a time could be a time of love, Ezek. xvi. 8. (4.) Remember, ye are decked with borrowed feathers. It is his comeliness which is upon you, ver. 14. It was he that took off your prison garments, and clothed you with robes of righteousness, garments of salvation; garments wherewith ye are arrayed as the lilies, which toil not, neither do they spin. He took the chains from off your arms, the rope from about your necks; put you in such a dress as ye may be fit for the court of heaven, even to eat at the King's table. (5.) Remember your faults this day; as Pharaoh's butler, who had forgotten Joseph. Mind how you have forgotten, and how unkindly you have treated him, who remembered you in your low estate. Is this your kindness to your friend? In the day of your deliverance, did ye think ye could have thus requited him, your Lord?

Secondly, Pity the children of wrath, the world that

lies in wickedness. Can ye be unconcerned for them, ye who were once in the same condition? Ye have got ashore indeed, but your fellows are yet in hazard of perishing; and will not ye make them all possible help for their deliverance? What they are, ye sometimes were. This may draw pity from you, and engage you to use all means for their recovery. See Tit. iii. 1, 2, 3.

Thirdly, Admire that matchless love, which brought you out of the state of wrath. Christ's love was active love, he loved thy soul from the pit of corruption. It was no easy work to purchase the life of the condemned sinner; but he gave his life for thy life. He gave his precious blood to quench that flame of wrath, which otherwise would have burnt thee up. Men get the best view of the stars from the bottom of a deep pit; from this pit of misery into which thou wast cast by the first Adam, thou mayest get the best view of the Sun of righteousness, in all his dimensions. He is the second Adam, who took thee out of the horrible pit, and out of the miry clay. How broad were the skirts of that love, which covered such a multitude of sins! Behold the length of it, reaching from everlasting to everlasting, Psal. cii. 17. The depth of it, going so low as to deliver thee from the lowest hell, Psal. lxxxi. 13. The height of it, in raising thee up to sit in heavenly places, Eph. ii. 6.

Fourthly, Be humble, carry low sails, walk softly all your years. Be not proud of your gifts, graces, privileges, or attainments; but remember ye were children of wrath, even as others. The peacock walks slowly, hangs down his starry feathers, while he looks to his black feet. Look ye to the hole of the pit, whence ye are digged, walk humbly as it becomes free grace's debtors.

Lastly, Be wholly for your Lord. Every wife is obliged to be dutiful to her husband ty but double ties lie upon her who was taken from a prison or a dunghill. If your Lord has delivered you from wrath, ye ought, upon that very account, to be wholly his; to act for him, to suffer for him, and to do whatever he calls you to. The saints have no reason to complain of their lot in the world, whatever it be. Well may they bear the cross for him, by whom the curse was borne away from them. Well may they bear the wrath of men in his cause, who

has freed them from the wrath of God; and chearfully go to a fire for him, by whom hell-fire is quenched to them. Soul and body, and all thou hadst in the world, were sometimes under wrath; he has removed that wrath, shall not all these be at his service? That thy soul is not overwhelmed with the wrath of God, is owing purely to Jesus Christ; and shall it not then be a temple for his Spirit? That thy heart is not filled with horror and despair, is owing to him only; to whom then should it be devoted but to him alone? That thine eyes are not blinded with the smoke of the pit, thy hands are not fettered with chains of darkness, thy tongue is not broiling in the fire of hell, and thy feet are not standing in that lake which burns with fire and brimstone, is owing purely to Jesus Christ; and shall not these eyes be employed for him, these hands act for him, that tongue speak for him, and these feet speedily run his errands? To him who believes that he was a child of wrath, even as others, but is now delivered by the blessed Jesus, nothing will ap pear too much, to do or suffer for his deliverer, when he has a fair call to it.

III. To conclude with a word to all: Let no man think lightly of sin, which lays the sinner open to the wrath of God. Let not the sin of our nature, which wreaths the yoke of God's wrath so early about our necks, seem a small thing in our eyes. Fear the Lord, because of his dreadful wrath. Tremble at the thought of sin, against which God has such fiery indignation. Look on his wrath, and stand in awe, and sin not. Do you think this is to press you to slavish fear? If it were so, one had better be a slave to God with a trembling heart, than a free man to the devil, with a seared conscience and a heart of adamant. But it is not so, you may love him, and thus fear him too; yea, ye ought to do it though ye were saints of the first magnitude. See Psal. cxix. 10. Matth. x. 28. Luke xii. 5. Heb. xii. 28, 29. Although ye have passed the gulf of wrath, being in Jesus Christ, yet it is but reasonable your hearts shiver, when ye look back to it. Your sin still deserves wrath, even as the sins of others; and it would be terrible to be in a fiery furnace; although by a miracle, we were so fenced against it, as that it could not harm us.

MAN'S UTTER INABILITY TO RECOVER HIMSELF.

ROMANS V. 6.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the Ungodly.

JOHN vi. 44.

No Man can come to me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him.

WE

E have now had a view of the total corruption of man's nature, and that load of wrath which lies on him, that gulph of misery he is plunged into, in his natural state. But there is one part of his misery that deserves particular consideration; namely, his utter inability to recover himself, the knowledge of which is necessary for the due humiliation of a sinner. What I design here is, only to propose a few things, whereby to convince the unregenerate man of this his inability; that he may see an absolute need of Christ, and of the power of his grace.

As a man that is fallen into a pit cannot be supposed to help himself out of it, but by one of two ways; either by doing all himself alone, or taking hold of, and improving the help offered him by others; so an unconverted man cannot be supposed to help himself out of that state, but either in the way of the law, or covenant of works, by doing all himself without Christ; or else in the way of the gospel, or covenant of grace, by exerting his own strength to lay hold upon, and to make use of the help offered him by a Saviour. But, alas! the unconverted man is dead in the

pit, and cannot help himself either of these ways. Not the first way; for the first text tells us, that when our Lord came to help us, we were without strength, unable to recover ourselves. We were ungodly; therefore, under a burden of guilt and wrath; yet without strength, unable to stand under it; and unable to throw it off, or get from under it: So that all mankind had undoubtedly perished, had not Christ died for the ungodly, and brought help to them who could never have recovered themselves. But, when Christ comes and offereth help to sinners, cannot they take it? Cannot they improve help when it comes to their hands? No, the second text tells us, they cannot; No man can come unto me, (i. e. believe in me, John vi. 35.) except the Father draw him. This is a drawing which enables them to come, who till then could not come ; and, therefore, could not help themselves, by improving the help offered. It is a drawing, which is always effectual; for it can be no less than hearing and learning of the Father, which, whoso partakes of, cometh to Christ, ver. 25. Therefore, it is not drawing in the way of mere moral suasion, which may be, yea, and always is, ineffectual; but, it is drawing by mighty power, Eph. i. 9. absolutely necessary for them that have no power in themselves, to come and take hold of the offered help.

Hearken then, O unregenerate man, and be convinced, that as thou art in a most miserable state by nature, so thou art utterly unable to recover thyself, any manner of way. Thou art ruined; and what way wilt thou go to work, to recover thyself? Which of these two ways wilt thou chuse? Wilt thou try it alone? Or wilt thou make use of help? Wilt thou fali on the way of works, or on the way of the gospel? I know very well, thou wilt not so much as try the way of the gospel, till once thou hast and the recovery impracticable, in the way of the law. Therefore, we shall begin, where corrupt nature teaches men to begin, viz. at the way of the law of works.

F. Sinner, I would have thee believe that thy working. will never effect it. Work and do thy best, thou shalt never be able to work thyself out of this state of corruption and wrath. Thou must have Christ, else thou shalt perish eternally. It is only Christ in you can be the hope of glory. But if thou wilt needs try it, then I must lay before thee, from