1 will but touch it by the way, to shew the danger of it. They will not have all of mere grace. But Christians are under grace while they are in this world, as St Paul saith, all is grace, grace still : nay, at the day of judgment, ' The Lord shew mercy to the house of Onesiphorus at that day,'
2 Tim. i. 16, at the day of judgment. Grace and mercy must be our plea, till we come to heaven. They stand lapon grace to enable f us to the work ; and then by the work we may merit our o^\^l salvation, and so they will not have it of grace, of gift ; but as a stipend, a thing of merit, directly contrary to St Paul, Rom. vi. 23, Eternal life is y^d^iaiia. The word comes of %ag'j, of gift. ' The gift of God, a free gift through Jesus Christ our Lord.' So from the first grace, to eternal life, which is the complement of all, aU is grace.
As for the New Testament, it is the covenant of grace. The whole car- riage of om- salvation is called the covenant of grace ; because, God of grace doth enter into covenant with us. He sent Christ of grace, who is the foundation of the covenant. The fulfilling of it, on our part, is of gi-ace. He gives us faith. ' Faith is the gift of God,' Eph. ii. 8. ' He puts his fear in our hearts that we should not depart fi'om him,' Jeremiah xxxii. 40. And when he enters into covenant with us, it is of grace and love. It was of grace that he sent Christ to be the foundation of the covenant ; that in the satisfying of his justice he might be gracious to us, without disparagement to his justice. Of grace he fulfils the condition on our part. We are no more able to believe than we are to fulfil the law ; but he enables us by his word and Spirit, attending upon the means of salvation, to fulfil the covenant. And when we have done all, he gives us of grace, eternal life ; all is of grace. * That is, ' acceptation.' — G. f That is, ' qualify.'— G.
VOL. m. B
18 COMMENTARY ON
There is nothing in the gospel hut grace. Therefore in the Ephesians, i. fi, it is stood upon by the apostle, ' To the praise of the glory of his rich grace.' From election to glorilication, all is to the glory of his grace.
We ouglit to conceive of God as a gracious Father, withholding his auger, which we deserve to be poured upon us ; by the intercession of Christ, withholding that anger, and the fruits of it. And, notwithstanding we are in grace, if we no^'lcct to seek to God the Father, if we neglect to seek to Christ, who makes intercession for us, then, though we be in the iirst grace still, we are not cast away yet ; we are filii sub ira, sons under wrath ; we are under anger, though not under hatred.
Therefore, ever}' day we should labour to maintain the grace of God with the assurance of it. It is a great matter to carry ourselves so, as we may be under the sense and feeling of the gi-ace of God. It is not suffi- cient to be in the grace of God, but to have the report of it to our own hearts, have it to shine upon us.
Quest. How should we cany ourselves so, that we may be in [a] state of grace ? that is, in such a state as we may find the sweet evidence and com- fortable feeling continually, that we are God's children.
A71S. First of all, there must be a peiyetual, daily practice of abasing our- selves, of mahimi onrselres poor ; that is, every day to see the vanity of all things in the world out of us ; to see the weakness of gi'ace in us ; to see the return of our corruptions that foil us every d|y ; that so we may see in what need we stand of the favour of God : considering that all comforts without are vanity, and that all the graces in us are stained with cor- ruption ; considering, besides the stains of our graces, that there is a conti- nual issue of corruption. These things will make our spirits poor, and make us hunger and thirst after the sense and feeling of free pardon every day. This will enforce us to renew our patent, to renew our portion in the covenant of grace, to have daily pardon. This should be our daily practice, to enter deeper and deeper into ourselves.
This is to ' live by faith,' Gal. ii. 20. As God is continually ready to shew us favour in Christ, not only at the first in acquitting us from our sins, but continually doth shew us favoui' upon all occasions, and is justifying and pardoning, and speaking peace continually to us ; so there must be an action answerable in us, that is depending upon God by faith, Uving by faith. This we do by seeing in what need we stand of grace. ' God resists the proud, btit gives grace to the humble,' James iv. 6.