late us on the change? Look then next to the tempers and dispositions of the soul : have the low grovelling desires of the carnal mind been made to ascend to heaven; and the natural aversion to holy exercises been exchanged for an unfeigned delight in them? In short, is God now glorified in the whole of our deportment, so that, whosoever beholds our spirit and conduct is constrained to admire the grace of God in us? Doubtless, this change is not perfect in any; nor can we expect it to be so, while we carry about with us this body of sin and death: but is the change begun? and is it carrying on towards perfection? O that on considering these questions we might have the testimony of our consciences that things are so! But if there be no evidence of these things, let us beware, lest, instead of being eternal monuments of God's love, we be objects of his everlasting displeasure.]
Isai. lvi. 4 — 7. Thussaith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my ivalls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters : I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my cove- nant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer : their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted, upon mine altar ; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
THE concluding words of our text sufficiently shew the scope of the whole passage. The chapter begins with proclaiming the approach of the Gospel dispensation, under which the way of obtaining right- eousness and salvation through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ was to be fully revealed3. In our text, the admission of all persons to the benefits of that dispensation is insisted on ; and it is declared, that " in every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness, whatever may be his disquali- fications according to the law, shall be acceptedV
a ver. 1 . b Compare Acts x. 34, 35.