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where the apostle puts himself among the redeemed ones, in whom we have redemption through his blood; this he was by the grace of God; for though redemption is by the blood of Chrift, it is according to the riches of God's grace; though it coft Chrift dear, his blood and life, it is free to the redeemed; it is without money and without price to them; it was the free grace of God that provided Chrift to be the Redeemer and Saviour, called him to this work, appointed him to do it, and promised him as such; it was owing to the grace of God that he was fent in the fulness of time to redeem men; at his incarnation, the first step to it, the angels fung, peace on earth, good-will to men; the love, grace, favour and good-will of God, are in a moft wonderful manner displayed in the miffion of Chrift to obtain redemption for men. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that is, to be the Saviour of men; in this was manifefted the love of God towards us, because that God fent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him; herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and fent his Son to be the propitiation for our fins; it is owing to the grace, favour and good-will of God to men, that Chrift was delivered up for them, into the hands of juftice and death; it was by the grace of God he tasted death for every man'; that is, suffered death for every one of the fons he brings to glory, for every one of the brethren he is not ashamed to own, for every one of the children given unto him, as appears from the context. As Abraham shewed his love to God in not withholding his fon, his only fon, his beloved fon; fo God has fhewn his love, favour and good-will to men, in not fparing, but fending and giving his own, his only begotten fon, his well-beloved fon, to fuffer and die for them, in order to redeem them: and to be a redeemed one, is an instance of distinguishing grace; for they that are redeemed, are redeemed from among men, out of every kindred, tongue, people and nation; fo that by the grace of God they are what they are.

4. Was the apoftle a juftified perfon? as he certainly was; he was fo by the grace of God; not by any works or merits of his: thefe he difclaims; for I know nothing by myself, yet am I not hereby justified; though he was not conscious of any unfaithfulness in his miniftry, yet this was not the matter of his juftification before God; nay had he been unconscious of any fin then in him, or done by him, he knew he could not be justified thereby from former fins committed by him; and therefore he defired to be found in Chrift, not having his own righteoufnefs, which is of the law, but the righteoufnefs which is of God by faith"; the righteousness of Chrift, which is imputed of God, and received by faith: if men, Abraham, or any other, were juftified by works, they would have whereof to glory; but boafting is excluded in the article of juftification, not by the law

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of works, but by the doctrine of faith. Juftification cannot be by works, becaufe they are imperfect; and if a juftifying righteoufnefs was by them, the death of Chrift would be in vain, and the grace of God frustrated; but it is fafeft to conclude with the apoftle, that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law; and who always afcribes juftification to the free grace of God, In one place he says, being justified by his grace; and as if it was not strongly enough expreffed, he elsewhere fays, being juftified freely by his grace; grace moved God to fend his Son to bring in everlasting righteousness, and Christ to work it out; God of his grace imputes it to his people, without works; and faith by which they receive it, is a free-grace-gift of his; and they that receive the gift of righteousness, receive abundance of grace in it and with it.

5. Was the apostle a pardoned finner? of which there can be no question; this he was, not through any merit of his, but by the grace of God; I obtained mercy, fays he, that is, pardoning grace and mercy, even though he had been a blafphemer, a perfecutor, and injurious; and he expreffes the abundance of grace difplayed herein, the grace of our Lord, adds he, was exceeding abundant with faith and love, which is Chrift Jefus: pardon of fin, though through the blood of Chrift which was fhed for it, yet is according to the riches of grace;. all that are pardoned, are pardoned, not through any defervings of theirs, for. all alike have finned, and all the world is become guilty before God; and the law pronounces condemnation and death without mercy; if any are pardoned it is by the grace of God through the blood and facrifice of Chrift: not even for their repentance and humiliation; truly gracious fouls do repent of fin, and are humble for it; but this is not the caufe of their pardon; what of this kind is most genuine and evangelical, flows from a fense of pardon applied; firft, fouls look to Chrift by faith for pardon through his blood, and then they mourn for fins pardoned; and never do they mourn better and more kindly, or are more aflamed and confounded because of their fins, than when they are moft fatisfied that God is pacified towards them for all that they have done: nor is it owing to their confeffion of fin, and departure from it, that any are pardoned. Such who have received the grace of God in truth, will confefs their fins and depart from them, and fuch receive mercy, but not as the cause of it; but pardoning mercy with God is ufed as a motive to forfake fin, Ifai. lv. 7. And though when men confefs their fins, God is just and faithful to forgive them their fins, yet it is not on account of their confeffion, but on account of the blood of his Son, that his justice and faithfulness appear in the forgiveness of it. Forgiveness of fin is always attributed to the multitude of mercy in God, to the tender mercy of our God, to the riches of his grace, and to the covenant of his grace, in which this blessing is provided ".

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1 1 Tim. i, 13, 14.

6. Was

6. Was the apostle regenerated, called, converted, fanctified? it was all by the grace of God; and fo the regeneration, vocation, conversion and sanctification of every one. Regeneration is neceffary to falvation; it is in this way God faves his people, and without it none can fee nor enter into the kingdom of heaven; and this is not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of men, but of God; of the will, power, and grace of God, who of his own will, of his fovereign good-will and pleasure, begets men with the word of truth": effectual vocation is of grace; the apostle ascribes his calling to grace, when it pleased God who called me by his grace"; and whoever are called, are called with an baly calling, not according to their works, but according to his (God's) purpose and. grace given them in Christ Jesus before the world began. Converfion is not by might or power of men, but by the Spirit of the Lord, by his mighty and efficacious grace; they are turned when he turns them, and not before. Sanctification is by the Spirit of God, and not by the will of men: if any are partakers of sanctification, and of the feveral parts of it, it is by the grace of God: have any repentance unto life unto salvation, which needeth not to be repented of, it is a grant from God, a gift of Chrift, who is exalted as a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Ifrael. God may give men space to repent, but if he does not give them grace to repent, they never will. No means whatever are fufficient of themselves; not the greatest mercies; if any thing, one would think, the goodness of God would lead men to repentance, but it does not; nor the fevereft judgments, as famine, peftilence, the fword, &c. For notwithstanding these, men return not to the Lord. The most awakening miniftry, fuch as that of John the Baptift, who preached the doctrine of repentance, will not be effectual of itself, as facts fhew; and indeed, unless God, by his powerful and efficacious grace, takes away the ftony heart, and gives an heart of flesh, no man will repent of his fins: faith in Chrift is the gift of God, and not of a man's self; it is given to men to believe; nor can any come to Chrift, that is, believe in him, unless it is given him of the Father; and hope, when it is a good one, firm and fure and well founded, it is given, and given through grace'; and the same may be faid of every grace of the Spirit, and of every part and branch of fanctification, which is begun in grace, and is compleated by it.

7. Did the apostle conduct his life, converfation, and walk, becoming the character he bore as an apostle, a minister, and a faint? this was by the grace of God, and to it he afcribes it; our rejoicing is this, the teftimony of our conscience, that in fimplicity and godly fincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we bave had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-wards'; and

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it is the grace of God that teaches and enables the faints to deny ungodliness and worldly lufts, and to live foberly, righteously, and godly in this prefent world'; and if men perfevere in faith and holiness unto the end, it is to be afcribed to the grace and power of God, by which they are kept through faith unto salvation. In a word, it is by the grace of God faints are what they are; by the grace of God they have what they have; and by the grace of God they do what they do. Wherefore,

1. Let us give the glory of all we have, are, and do, to the grace of God: the end God has in all he does, in things spiritual, and relative to our falvation, is the glory of his grace'; and our concern fhould be, as much as in us lies, that this end be answered; and therefore not unto ourselves, to any works, merits, and deferts of ours, but to the grace of God, be all the glory.

2. Let us endeavour to hold faft the doctrines of grace, whereby the glory of the grace of God is maintained; for men may fail of the grace of God", that is, of the doctrines of grace; may come fhort of them, drop and deny them; for whoever seek for justification and falvation by the works of the law, are fallen from grace", that is, from the doctrine of grace; for from the love and favour of God in his heart, and from the grace of God implanted in the hearts of his people, there can be no falling.

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3. Let us take care that the grace of God is not received in vain; that is, the gospel of the grace of God, which may be received and profeffed in vain, when the profeffors of it are not careful to adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour, by a becoming life and converfation; and when they turn the grace God, the doctrines of it into lafciviousness, and abuse it to wicked purposes. 4. Let us, fuch who are truly partakers of the grace of God, be encouraged to expect glory; for to whomsoever God gives grace he gives glory; these are infeparably connected together; whom he did predeftinate, them be also called; and whom be called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them be also glorified what we now are, we are by the grace of God; but it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we should be looking, waiting for,, and expecting the appearance of Chrift, when we fhall be like him, and fee him as he is 2*.

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• The reason why this Sermon is placed among the Funeral Discourses, is, that it was firft preached on account of the death of the Reverend Mr JOHN BRINE. But as he had left directions not to have any Funeral Sermon preached for him, the character then given of this great and good man was obliged to be but short: The following is the substance of what was then delivered. I am debarred from faying fo much of him, as otherwife I could do, we both having been

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The faithful Minister of Chrift crowned.

Occafioned by the Death of the Reverend Mr WILLIAM ANDERSON.
Preached September 20, 1767.

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2 TIMOTHY IV. 6, 7.

I have fought a (or the) good fight, I have finished my (the) courfe, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not unto me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

THE

HESE words are read unto you on account of the death of Mr WILLIAM ANDERSON, late minifter of the gofpel. It was the latter of these two verfes the deceased took notice of on his death-bed, and repeated with a fingular appropriation to himself, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, &c. for which reason it is judged a proper fubject of a funeral discourse. I have read both verfes, because there is a clofe connection between them, and they depend one on another; and the fense of the one cannot be understood fo fully and clearly without the other; and the beauty of the paffage would otherwise be greatly loft. The apoftle, in the preceding part of the chapter, gives a ftrict charge to Timothy, in a very folemn manner, before God and his fon Jefus Chrift, whom he defcribes as judge of quick and dead: the charge is, to perform

born in the fame place, and myse'f fome years older than him, and from his being among the firstfruits of my Miniflry.-I might take notice of his natural and acquired abilities, his great undertanding, clear light, and found judgment in the doctrines of the gospel, and the great and deep things of God:Of his zeal, skill and courage in vindicating important truths, published by him to the world, by which be, being dead, yet fpeaketb. In fine, I might obferve to you, that his walk and converfation in the world, was honourable and ornamental to the profeffion which he made, and fuitable to the character he sustained, as a Minister of Jefus Chrift, all which endeared him to his friends -But I am forbid to speak any thing more.

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