becoming the greatness and holiness of such a one as the Son of God to engage for, less than this. Both God and man, between whom Christ comes to nego- tiate, call for holiness: God's glory, man's happiness, neither of which can be attained, except holiness be restored to man. Not God's glory, who as he is glorious in the holiness of his own nature and works, so is he glorified by the holiness of his people's hearts and lives; were it possible, which is the height of all blasphemy but to think, that the holiness of CJod could be separated from any of his attributes or works, God himself would cease to be glorious ; his sovereignty would degenerate into tyranny, his wisdom into craft, his justice into cruelty, &c. Now the glory of all God's attributes and works resulting from his holiness in them all, it follows that then we glorify God, when we give him the glory of his holiness ; and who but a holy creature will or can do that? While man stands under the power of sin, how can he give God the glory of that, which his own sinful nature makes him defy and hate God for? Had Christ's design therefore been to procure man a pardon, and not restore his lost holiness, he had been but a minister of sins ; and instead of bringing glory to God, he had set sin in the thron-e, and only obtained a liberty for the creature to dishonoiu- God without control. Again, man's happiness could not have been obtained without a recovery of his lost holiness. Man's happiness stands in his likeness to God, and fruition of (iod ; he must have the first before he can enjoy the latter ; he nuist be like Ciod before God can take any pleasure in him ; and God must take full content in man before lie admits him to the enjoyment of himself; which, that he may do, Christ undertakes to make his people holy, as God is holy. You see now what was the great design that the heart of Clu-ist was so full with, to make us a holy people. Well, therefore, may the apostle bring in that heavy charge against all unholy professors, which he doth with tears, Phil. iii. 18 : 'That they are enemies of the cross of Christ.' Christ came to destroy the works of the devil ; the loose, unholy walker, he goes about to destroy the work of Christ. The Lord Jesus lays down his heart- blood to redeem souls out of the hand of sin and Satan, that he may be free to serve God without fear in holiness ; and the loose Christian, if I may call him so, 'denies the Lord that bought him,' and delivers up himself basely unto his old bondage, from which Christ had ransomed him with so great a sum : whose heart doth not tremble at such horrid ingratitude ?
Section IIL — Thirdly, It is God's great design in the regenerating work of the Spirit on the hearts of his people, to make them righteous, and fit them to walk holily before him, Ezekiel xxxvi. 26, 27, where God promiseth ' a new heart, and to j^ut his Spirit into them ;' and why will he do this? That he may cause them to ' walk in his statutes, keep his judgments, and do them.' An old heart would have served well enough to do the devil's drudgery. But God, intending them for more high and noble employment, to lift up their head out of sin's prison, and jirefer them to his own service, therefore he throws away their gaol clothes, and beautifies them with the graces of his Sjjirit, that their hearts may suit their work. When God ordered the temple to be built with such curious care and costly materials, he declared that he intended it for holy use ; that was not so glorious as the spiritual temple of a regenerate heart is, which is ' the workmanship) of God himself;' Eph. ii. 10 : and for what intent reared by him, if we read on, we may see : ' created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath foreordained that we should walk in them.' This ac- cents the unrighteousness and unholiness of a saint with a circumflex, it lays a deeper aggravation, I mean, upon his sin, than others, because committed against such a work of the Spiiit as none have in the world besides. A sin acted in the temple was greater than if the same had been, by a Jew, committed in his pri- vate dwelling, because the temple was a consecrated place. The saint is a con- secrated person, and by acts of unrighteousness he profanes God's temple : the sin of another is theft, because he robs (rod of the glory due to him ; but the sin of a saint is sacrilege, because he robs God of that which is devoted to him in an especial manner. Better not to repent at all, than to re])cnt of our re- pentance ; not to vow and dedicate ourselves to him, and after this to inquire, how we may evade and repeal this act ; such a one tells the world he finds ' some iniquity in (Jod,' that alters his opinion and practice formerly taken up by him. In a word, the saint is not only by the Spirit consecrated to God, but
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