[2.] Bespectu Iwnoris, He is dead in respect of honour ; he is dead to all privileges, he is not fit to inherit mercy. Who will set the crown of life upon a dead man's head ? The crown of life is for the holy Christian, and the holy Christian is for the crown of hfe, Kev. ii. 10 ; 2 Tim. iv. 8. When he in Plutarch had tried all manner of ways to raise a dead man, and to make him stand upon his feet, and saw he could not do it, then he cried out, There must be something within, there must be something within ; so when men have said and done all they can, there must be something within, there must be something of the power and spirit of Christ within, that must raise up spiritual life in those that are spiritually dead. But,
2. Secondly, I answer, That God gave thee ability and power in Adam to obey him in all his commands, and thoiigh by Adam's fall thou hast lost thy poioer to obey, yet God has not lost his right and power to command thee to obey A Suppose a father should furnish a child with moneys and all other necessaries to go a journey, and he should be drawn in by some strong temptation to spend his money, his time, and his strength, so as that now he is not able to go his journey; whose fault is this ? Will you now say that the father hath lost his power to command, because his son hath lost his power to obey ? Surely no. It is no iniquity in God to require that of us, which once he gave unto us. It is no injustice in the creditor to caU for his debt, when the debtor is fallen into extreme poverty through his own default. But,
3. Thirdly, I answer. Though an unsanctified person be not able to perform any theological or spiritual action, as to believe or repent, &c., yet he is able to perform all natural actions, as to eat, drink, work, walk, dtc, and he is able to perform all political actions also, as to trade, bargain, buy, sell, plant, and build, &c. The soul even in an unsanctified person is not dead, but a living principle; and there- fore it is able to understand, wHl, desire, discourse, reason, and to attend the means of grace. Though he be not able to work grace in his own heart, yet he is able to attend on the means of grace. An unsanctified person may as well go to a sermon as to a tavern, he may as well read the Scriptures as read play-books and pamphlets, he may as well associate himself with those that fear an oath, as he does with those that delight to blaspheme that name that all should tremble at, &c. Man's impotency lies in his obstinacy. Man pre- tends he cannot believe, nor he cannot come to Christ, nor he cannot repent, &c., when he is resolved that he will not believe, nor he will not come to Christ, nor he will not repent, &c.2 Christ in the gospel comes and offers pardon and peace and reconciliation, and thou turnest thy back upon him ; he woos and entreats and beseeches thee
1 Gen. i. 26 ; Eccles. vii. 29 ; Ps. viii. 4, seq.
^ Mat. xxiii. 37 ; Luke xiii. 34 j John v. 40 ; Acts vii. 5.
HeB. XII. 14.] AND BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. 243
by his ambassadors, but thou wilt not hear, &c. He sets life and death, heaven and hell, mercy and misery before thee, but thou slightest all, 2 Cor, v. 18-20. Christ brings a cordial in one hand to strengthen thee, and a remedy in the other hand to cure thee, but thou despisest both. Christ offers tried gold to enrich thee, and white raiment to clothe thee, and precious eye-salve to enlighten thee, Eev. iii. 18, and thou shuttest up thy heart against all his offers. Well, sirs ! remember this, in the great day all unsanctified persons will be damned, not for cannots but for loill-nots; it is neither men nor devils — it is neither the greatness of thy sins, nor the numberless number of thy sins that can damn thee, were it not for thy wifulness in sin, Hosea xiii. 9. 0 sinners, sinners, if you are but heartily willing to forsake your sins, and to accept of Christ as your Lord and King, and to resign up yourselves to him to be really his, to be wholly his, to be only his, and to be eternally his, he will certainly change you, and sanctify you, and save you ; but if you will not be holy, if you will not be happy, if you will not be sanctified, if you wiU not be saved, if you will not go to heaven, but are resolved upon going to hell, what can be more just with God than that you should be Satan's bond-slaves, and firebrands of hell, and vessels of wrath to all eternity ? i But,
4. Fourthly, I answer. If thou dost hut stir up thyself to obey the command as loell as thou canst, thou dost not know but that a power may go forth with the command, that may enable thee to act suitable to the command. In that Mat. ix. 1-9, Christ bid the palsy man ' rise and walk, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.' The palsy man might have objected, Alas 1 I am carried by four, I am not able to stir a limb, much less to rise, but least of all to take up my bed and walk, &c. Oh 1 but he puts forth himself as well as he could, and a power went forth with the command, that enabled him to do what was commanded. So in that Mat. xii. 10-14, there was a poor man that had a withered hand, and Christ commands him to stretch forth his hand. He might have objected. My hand is withered, and if I might have a thousand worlds to stretch it forth I could not stretch it forth, yea, if my life, if my salvation did lie upon stretching forth my withered, arm, I could not stretch it forth. Oh ! but he throws by all objections, and complies as well as he could, and a power went forth and healed his hand. God commanded Moses to go and deliver his people out of Egypt. Moses might have objected his old age, the power of Pharaoh, and his want of an army to force their way, &c. But he turns his back upon these objections, and addresses himself to the work, and such a mighty power went along with him as did effect it. He commanded the Israelites to take rams' horns, and with them to go and blow down the walls of Jericho, Joshua vi. They might have said. Lord, these are weak and con- temptible means, yea. Lord, if we may speak after the manner of men, they are such ridiculous means as will expose us to scorn and laughter ; but they pass over these things, and apply themselves to those weak and despicable means that God had appointed, and such a divine and glorious power went along with the means as made the walls of ' Prov. xxviii. 13 ; 1 John i. 9 : Luke xix. 41, 42.
244 THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, RARITY, [HeB. XII. 14.