will altogether vanish. We know that a poor man thinks himself liberally paid for his labour, if, after toiling a whole week, he receive a pound or two for his trouble : but the child of a monarch would account himself very ill rewarded for such work, though he should be paid at a much higher rate. It is thus with respect to the point before us : if we be considered as men, the reward of eternal glory infinitely exceeds the labour of a few years of obedience : but, if we be considered as children of the living God, and as 'per- forming our works through the agency of his Spirit, the recompence of heaven is no more than what is suited to our rank and dignity. This seems to be the idea of the Apostle in the text : he has observed, that " if through the Spirit we mortify the deeds of the body, we shall live :" but, lest we should think it incredible that such a reward should follow a life of mortifica- tion, he assigns the reason of it ; " For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God ;" and consequently, they may expect a reward suited to their high character, and to the dignity of the Spirit who worketh in them.
In discoursing on these words, we shall shew, I. Who they are that are led by the Spirit —
It is obvious and undeniable that all are not ; and indeed the very text intimates that their number is limited to a part only of mankind. To distinguish accurately who these are, is a matter of some diffi- culty : for though we may easily shew, what the Spirit will lead us from, or what he will lead us to, we shall speak to no purpose, unless we take such discriminating marks as are found in none but true Christians. To make the matter as clear as possible,
1. We will propose some marks, which, though found in all true Christians, are insufficient to distin- guish them —
[A person is not necessarily led by the Spirit, because he follows the dictates of his natural conscience. Every true Chris- tian consults his conscience, and obeys its voice : but others may do so as well as he. Cornelius was evidently a conscientious man; but did not become a Christian till St. Peter set before