but woe to him that strives with his Maker, Ifa. xlv. 9. This ftriving is unlawful; in this sense, the fervant of the Lord must not ftrive.

3dly. Setting the law perpetually before the children of God, which has a tendency to terrify weak believers, and to take their mind from the Saviour, as too many do in our days, who make Mofes's law to be the truth of Mofes's rod, and fet it to fwallow up all the promises of the gospel, as if the law was against the promife of God, or the promise an enemy to the law. Surely the covenant of grace was in being before the law, and as it is a better covenant, and established upon better promifes, one would think (of the two) the covenant of grace ought to have an equal footing, if not the pre-eminence. But we have too many who are alive without the law, the law has not killed them, and being ignorant of the fentence of it, they are not dead to it. The law is to be used lawfully, to awaken careless finners, and stop the mouths of proud boasters by bringing them in guilty by the law; whatsoever the law faith, it faith to them that are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped. We are to infift upon the faints ordering their steps in God's word, and on love to the law after the inner man, not to a part thereof, but to the whole will of God; then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy commandments; but this love to the law after the inner man is nonfenfe to them who are not acquainted with the new man. Thofe that can act contrary to the commanding

will of the Saviour in the new teftament, while they are contending for one chapter in the old, are the worst of Antinomians. He that breaketh the leaft of thefe commandments, and teachetb men fo, whether by word or example, fhall be accounted leaft in the kingdom of heaven: But whosoever shall do and teach (do first, and teach afterwards) shall be accounted great. 'Tis vain to enforce the law to others, unless they give us an account of its operation on their own hearts, and a copy of it in their own life. Thofe that tell us perpetually that the ten commandments are the believer's only and all-fufficient rule of life, feem to give us no account of themselves being quickened; they are for excluding the Saviour's commands, for not one of these has ever mentioned to me one word about the fpiritual rule that Christ gave by Paul, which is eafily to be accounted for; for fpiritual circumcifion, the new creature, and faith that worketh by love, are difficult points to handle, therefore 'tis better to wave the fubject, and go to Sinai, for Ishmael has more friends than Ifaac; more are the children of the defolate than thofe of the married wife, and by these means, fimple fouls are entertained with a vain jangle, which ferves to make a ftir, employ the minds of the people, give a job to the devil, and raise a multitude to ridicule the faith. We know the ten commandments are not of faith, nor do they give any direction about it; they fay nothing about a Saviour, nor promise one, nor do they direct to his blood and

righteoufnefs; they know nothing about repentance, they do not point to it, nor give it, nor accept it it is perfect doing and perfect love that they require. But we are under a better teacher, namely the Spirit of promife, who teaches us to profit, and guides us into all truth; we are taught of God to love one another. The law tells me to love my neighbour as myself, but not better, as the gospel does, which fays, we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren-to be offered up upon the fervice of their faith-to spend and be spent for them: Nor does it tell me to deny myself daily, nor to take up my daily crofs, nor to set my face against the world and oppose it, nor yet to follow another in the regeneration, nor yet be crying to God day and night in prayer, nor give any direction concerning the various branches of divine worship, not a word about baptifm, nor of breaking bread. If the ten commandments are the only rule, I cannot find any of these things in it; and yet, many live in the practice of these things, which convinces me that believers have got other rules of life befide the ten commandments, and a fpiritual rule too, befides this narrow legal one which fome contend for; they must take these things from fome other part of the will of God. It must be confeffed that unregenerate profeffors may have the form of knowledge and of the truth in the (letter) of the law, Rom. ii. 20. as well as the Jewish pharifees had, and thefe may make the law their rule of life as it certainly is, for they

must

must abide by the rule if they will live therein; and fuch may be alive to this form of knowledge, and alive to this rule, and be as Paul was alive without the law, Rom. vii. 9. for the finner's form of knowledge, and the Spiritual law of God widely differ. Nevertheless, according to this form of knowledge, which is their rule, they may perform a deal of fervice, which is called ferving in the oldness of the letter, Rom. vii. 6. these are the people who fit in Mofes's feat, and give rules to the believer, and whatever they bid him obferve, he by the spirit does; and if he does thefe things, having them in his heart, he will at laft judge the others; but the main drift of Satan in this bufinefs is, to turn the eyes of weak believers from the Saviour and fo bring them into bondage, as was the cafe with the Galatians. But the believer has more than a form of knowledge; God fends the law in its fpiritual power to his heart, and by his fpirit he writes it there, which leaves fo deep and lafting an impreffion as never to be blotted out. He is the man that knows righteousness, a man in whofe heart is God's law he is not alive without the law, but through the law alive to God-he walks in newness of life -he ferves God in the newness of the fpirit, not in the oldnefs of the letter. This man is fure to be right, he is in the covenant, and has the law of God in his heart, grace fubdues his fin, God guides kim with his eye, and he ferves God in the fpirit

fpirit-he is circumcifed, and walks in love to God -he is a new creature and follows Chrift in the regeneration-he has a faith that worketh by love, and he is not idle, but abounds in the work of the Lord; and as many as walk according to this rule, mercy on them and peace. If there is truth in the fcriptures, this man fhall be eternally faved; this doctrine will do to die by; the former may do to talk about or to trade with in order to gain a penny for a livelihood, but it will afford no comfort at death, nor is it attended with any power in life. God fets not his feal to that; this is vifible enough, and will be more fo daily. The believer is the man that will perform good works; these vain janglers about the law only ftrive in vain; they fay and do not. This is a faithful faying, and these things I will that thou affirm conftantly, that they which have believed in God (for 'tis in vain that we expect them any where else) might be careful to maintain good works: thefe things are good and profitable unto men. But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and STRIVINGS about the law; for they are unprofitble and vain, Titus iii. 8, 9. This is the unlawful ftrife of workmongers against the grace of God; but, in this sense, the fervant of the Lord must not frive.

the

4thly. To lay in wait for him that reproves in gate to make a man an offender for a word -to ridicule a fervant of God and his work, by falfehood, as the Rev. Mr. Belly at Gravefend did

me,