We may throng and crowd round about Christ, and call him Lord, Lord, when we come to worship before his Footstool; but we have not effectually touched him, till by a lively Faith in his Refurrection we perceive a Divine Virtue coming out of him, to renew and purify our Souls.

How greatly then do they err who reft in a bare Hiftorical Faith of our Saviour's Refurrection, and look only for external Proofs to evidence it? Whereas were we the moft learned Difputers of this World, and could speak of the Certainty of this Fact with the Tongue of Men and Angels, yet without this inward Teftimony of it in our Hearts, though we might convince others, yet we fhould never be faved by it ourselves.

For we are but Dead Men, we are but like fo many Carcaffes wrapt up in Grave Cloaths, till that fame Jefus who called Lazarus from his Tomb, and at whofe Refurrection many that flept arofe,raife us alfo by his quickening Spirit from our natural Death, in which we have fo long lain, to a holy and heavenly Life,

We might think ourselves happy, if we had feen the holy Jefus after He was rifen from the Dead, and our Hands handled that Lord of Life- -But more happy are they who have not feen him, and yet having felt the Power of his Refurrection, therefore believe in him.--For many faw our Divine Mafter, who were not favǝd by him; but whofoever has thus felt the Power of his Resurrection, he has the Earneft of his Inheritance in his Heart, he has

paffed

paffed from Death to Life, and fhall never, if he ftill ftir up the Gift of God that is in him, fall into Condemnation.

rofe again.

I am very fenfible that this is Foolishness to the Natural Man, as were many fuch like Truths to our Lord's own Difciples before he -But when thefe Natural Men, like them, have felt the Power of his Refurrection, they will then own that this Doctrine is from God, and fay with the Samaritans, Now we believe not because of thy Saying, for we ourselves have experienced it in in our own Hearts.

And oh that all Unbelievers, all Letterlearned Masters of Ifrael, who now look upon the Doctrine of the Power of Chrift's Refurrection, or our New Birth, as an idle Tale, and condemn the Preachers of it as Enthufiafts and Madmen, did but thus feel the Power of it in their Souls,---They would no longer afk, How this Thing could be?-But they would be convinced of it as much as Thomas was when he faw the Lord's Chrift; and like him, when Jefus bid him reach out his Hands, and thrust into his Side, in a holy Confufion they would cry out, My Lord, and my God!

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But how fhall an Unbeliever, how fhall the formal Chriftian come thus to know Chrift, and the Power of his Refurrection?That God who cannot lye has told us, I am the Refurrection and the Life, fays Jefus Chrift, whosoever liveth and believeth in me, though he were dead, yet fhall be live.-Again, fays the Apoftle,

By

By Faith ye are faved, and that not of ourselves, it is the Gift of God.

This, this is the Way, walk in it. This do, and ye fhall live. You fhall live in Christ, and Chrift in you; you fhall be one with Chrift, and Chrift with you. But without this, your outward Goodnefs and Profeffions will avail you nothing.

But then by this Faith we are to understand not a dead fpeculative Faith, a Faith in the Head; but a living Principle wrought in the Heart by the powerful Operations of the Holy Ghoft---A Faith that will enable us to overcome the World, and forfake all in Affection for Jefus Chrift-For thus fpeaks our Bleffed Mafter, Unless a Man forfake all that he bath, he cannot be my Difciple.

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And fo the Apoftle, in the Words immediately following the Text, fays, being made conformable to bis Death; thereby implying that the knowing the Power of Chrift's Refurrection, cannot be without the being made conformable to him in his Death.

This we have fhadowed out by the Custom of Baptizing by Immerfion in the Primitive. Church, and (which is alfo recommended by our own) their putting the Infants under the Water, fignified their Obligation to die unto Sin; as their taking them out of the Water, fignified their rifing again to Newness of Life.To which the Apostle plainly alludes, when he fays, We are buried with him in Baptifm.

If we can reconcile Light and Darknefs,
Heaven

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Heaven and Hell, then we may hope to know the Power of Chrift's Refurrection, without dying to ourselves and the World.

-But till we can do this, we might as well expect that Chrift will have Concord with Belial.

For there is fuch a Contrariety between the Spirit of this World, and the Spirit of Jefus Chrift, that he who will be at Friendship with the one, must be at Enmity with the other. We cannot ferve God and Mammon.

This may indeed feem a hard Saying, and many, with the young Man in the Gospel, may be tempted to go away forrowful? But wherefore fhould this offend them? For what is all that is in the World, the Luft of the Eye, the Luft of the Flesh, and the Pride of Life, but Vanity and Vexation of Spirit?

God is Love; and therefore could our own Wills, or the World have made us happy, he never would have fent his own dear Son Jefus Chrift to die and rife again to deliver us from the Power of them-But because they only torment, but cannot fatisfy, therefore God bids renounce them.

Had any one perfwaded profane Efau not to lofe fo glorious a Privilege merely for the Sake of gratifying a prefent corrupt Inclination, when he faw him about to fell his Birthright for a littled red Pottage, would not one think that Man was Efau's Friend?---And just thus stands the Cafe between God and us.- -By the Death and Refurrection of Jefus Chrift we are newborn to an heavenly Inheritance amongst all

them

them which are fanctified, but our own corrupt Wills would tempt us to fell this glorious Birthright for the Vanities of the World, which, like Efau's red Pottage, may please us for a while, but will foon be taken away from us.God knows this, and therefore bids us rather renounce them for a Seafon, than for the fhort Enjoyment of them lose the Privilege of that glorious Birthright, to which by the Resurrection of Jefus Chrift we are entitled.

Oh the Depth of the Riches and Excellence of Christianity! Well might the great St. Paul count all things but Dung and Drofs for the Excellency of the Knowledge of it-Well might he dèfire fo ardently to know Jefus, and the Power of his Refurrection-For even on this Side Eternity it raises us above the World, and makes us fit in heavenly Places in Chrift Jefus.

Well might that glorious Company of Worthies, recorded in the Holy Scriptures, fupported with a deep Senfe of their heavenly Calling, defpife the Pleasures and Profits of this Life, and wander about in Sheep-fkins and Goat-skins, in Dens and Caves of the Earth, being deftitute, afflicted, and tormented.

And oh that we were all like minded! that we felt the Power of Chrift's Refurrection as they did! How fhould we then count all things as Dung and Drofs for the Excellency of the Know-. ledge of Chrift Jefus our Lord! How should we then recover our primitive Dignity, trample Earth under our Feet, and with our Souls be continually gafping after God!

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K

And