Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace....Rom. vi. 14.

WHO are under the law? All who think they can fulfil it, seek tó be made righteous by it, and expect salvation from it; all such are under the dominion of sin and the curse of the law. Who are under grace? All who fly from the law as a ministration of condemnation, embrace the gospel as a ministration of righteousness, and cleave to Jesus and expect righteousness and salvation in him ONLY. Over such sin has no power to destroy; they are out of its territories, in another kingdom, under another king: Jesus rules in and over them; and he says of every one of them, sin shall not have dominion over you. O, what a heart-reviving promise is this! how delightful to hear our worst foe, our bitterest enemy shall not lord it over us! Art thou, O disciple, ready to cry out, Would to God sin had no being in me, then I should be completely happy! Remember what thy Saviour said to his mother, "Mine hour is not yet come." ....John ii. 4. It is enough that thou are called to the marriage of the Lamb; the bridegroom keeps the best wine for the last; this is excellent wine on earth, sin shall not have dominion over us; in glory, sin shall have no being in us.

Be assured, O christian, thine enemies are all conquered, though sense and experience afford thee daily proof they are not all dead. Never think of laying down thine arms, folding thine hands, and setting up thy rest here; thou art still in the camp; the enemy lies in wait to take all advantage; but here is thy victory, though sin is an enemy, whose life is commensurate with the life of thy flesh; though so nearly allied to thee that it is part of thyself; yet, being one with Jesus, thou hast a spiritual and eternal life, and the power of omnipotence is engaged to preserve and keep thee; therefore sin shall not maintain its usurpation, nor hold dominion over thy soul; its empire is dethroned, the kingdom of Jesus is set up in thy heart, Christ dwells there by faith, thy heart is sprinkled from an evil conscience by his blood; he who hath conquered for thee will also conquer in thee.

Take heed of a state of independence on him, and vain confidence in thyself; think not the root and being of sin are destroyed, and thyself in a sinless state; for then thou hast no need of Jesus, faith in him, hope on him, nor prayer to him. O, if satan thus rocks any poor sinner asleep, it is in the cradle of delusion, while he sings a sweet siren's song: be ever active and vigilant to oppose and conquer thy inbred foe. Daily attend this wholesome advice, "Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof."....ver. 12.

Wherefore we labour, that whether present or absent ive may be accepted of him....2 Cor. v. 9.

"IN all labour there is profit."....Prov. xiv. 23. The belief of this maketh the heart diligent, lively, and active. When Nehemiah was stirred up to build the wall of Jerusalem amidst the scoffs and opposition of enemies on every side, yet, in prayer, watching, and working, he and his brethren wrought with one hand, a guard in the other, and this confidence of faith in their hearts, "Our God shall fight for us."....Neh. iv. 20. Thus animated they laboured till the

work was finished.

Thus the beloved brethren of Jesus are called to be "stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord;" being confident that the Lord fights for them, and "knowing assuredly that their labour is not in vain in the Lord." The labour of love is pleasant, it is profitable to the believing heart; the work of faith is delightful to the soul while it exercises the patience of hope. Most reviving consideration! we serve not a hard task-master; we labour. not for a rigorous, severe Lord; we obey not from base, mercenary principles. No; every command of Jesus is in love; every work we do in his name is from love to spiritual good as well as to his glory : we have the fullest assurance that we are 66 accepted in the beloved." We are not left to doubt of the way of acceptance, nor to do any thing to procure it; the truth, as it is in Jesus, forbids all this; but knowing our persons are accepted in Jesus, this is the most enlivening, powerful motive not only to do, but also to abound in those things with which God is well pleased; to study to please God in our walk and way, cheerfully to lay out ourselves in his service, unreservedly to give up ourselves wholly to the Lord: O, this is the sweet exerercise of faith and love. Shall we pretend to believe that Jesus is our Saviour and that we are accepted in him, and yet not labour and strive that our works may please him? Not study and endeavour, as assisted by his Spirit, to avoid those things that are contrary to his nature and commands? Alas! this is "hail, master;" only like Judas to give a kiss of hypocrisy, while faith in him and love to him are wanting.

Thou disciple of Jesus, from that moment thou didst enter into the rest of Jesus by faith, thou art called to labour, that thy works may please God, and be accepted of him; and when the heart is whole with its Saviour and simply looking to him, need one forbid such a soul to refrain from the vain pastimes and sinful gratifications of a carnal world? No; he saith these things do not please my Lord, they cannot be acceptable to him, they shall not ensnare me, I cannot displease my Saviour. "We love him because he first loved us.".... 1 John iv. 19.

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And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy....Exod. xxxiii. 19.

CARNAL reason, pride, and unbelief, like a threefold cord, binds the soul under legal bondage; each of these mutually strengthens the other, and all combine to oppose the sovereign goodness and grace of our Lord. Instead of believing in, so as to be comforted by free-grace declarations from our God, how apt are we to consult flesh and blood! How prone to reject them, because we cannot reconcile them to our carnal reason! here is the grand source of that damning sin, unbelief. Marvel not, believer, though the pride of thy flesh rises and rebels against distinguishing grace and discriminating love. This, though sweet to the experience of faith, is bitter to the stomach of rebellious nature: but here is thy mercy; grace, which is sovereign in its nature, is saving in its operations; all must be resolved into this humbling acknowledgment, "I, a poor sinner, who could neither will nor run the way of salvation; the Lord wills to shew me his goodness, to proclaim his name, to bestow his grace, and comfort me with his mercy in Christ Jesus, to the salvation of my precious soul.”

: Thus the Lord speaks in love; let all his children hear in faith, rejoice, and be humbled. Where, O soul, canst thou fix thy foot, but thou standest upon the ground of free grace? Hast thou faith? It is of grace. Dost thou find pardon of sin and consolation of heart in Christ Jesus? It is of grace. Dost thou "love God? It is because he has first loved thee." Dost thou hate sin as contrary to God's glory and thy soul's peace? What astonishing grace is this! Consider it on thy knees; reflect on it with meltings of soul. Why shouldst thou be singled out by the power of the word, marked by the grace of the Spirit for salvation, when many hundreds perish everlastingly? Why are thine eyes opened amidst a throng of blind sinners? Why art thou watered, like Gideon's fleece, while others are dry? Was thy nature better, thy desires holier? What conditions hadst thou performed to procure this? Grace has taught thy soul otherwise than so to think; all must be resolved into this soulhumbling, God-exalting truth, "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious." Here is an inexhaustible source of comfort; this a neverfailing motive to love and obedience; that grace and mercy which God owes to no one sinner on earth, he has freely given to thee; it is thy privilege to rejoice in it, thy duty to confess it, and to lie in the dust and be humble. "If by grace, it is no more of works.".... Rom. xi. 6.

This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go heaven....Acts i. 11.

into

THE parting of dear friends is very grievous and affecting; but sorrow is alleviated from expectation of meeting again. O the joy of meeting our dear friends in glory, who are gone before! but what will heighten all, will be sight and enjoyment of our best friend and dearest Saviour. The disciples were looking stedfastly to heaven, after their dear master ascended to glory, when they received this.assurance: they saw his human form, the same dear man, their beloved companion with whom they had so often eat and drank and taken sweet counsel, and who was lately crucified, dead, and buried; this very man Jesus they saw ascend; the Son of God came from heaven in Spirit; he assumed a body of flesh and blood; he lived in it on earth; and having “finished the work his Father gave him to do, he took the same body with him to glory: this same Jesus shall so come again in like manner." Every eye shall see him in the last day in his human form.

Thus in all the transactions of Jesus by faith, we "behold the MAN." View him in his birth, an outcast babe in poverty; in advanced years of life, "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, despised and rejected of men:" in death he died as another man; yea, an accursed death, as a malefactor; in his resurrection and ascension with a human body like our own; such was thy Saviour, believer, a man "like unto thyself in all things, but without sin ;” and having perfectly expiated and atoned for all our sins, he is now at the right hand of God, the glorified MAN, still in human form pleading our cause. "And he is able to save them to the uttermost who come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession."....Heb. vii. 25. God is in Christ; thou canst not come to the Deity but through the humanity of Jesus: mind that. Who can tell the uttermost of Jesus' salvation? It is unto all manner of perfection both of soul and body. How sweet and encouraging is this to faith, that our Saviour, our brother, our friend, is in our nature before the throne! "He ever lives; he is able to save." And canst thou ever doubt of his love and willingness? O, remember Calvary! think of his agony and blood-shedding there. And canst thou want a proof of his love, poor sinner? If thou, whilst an enemy, wast redeemed and reconciled to God by his blood, how much more, being reconciled shalt thou be saved by his life! It is thy happiness to be ever looking upon and unto Jesus as the man and Mediator by whom thou comest to God; be looking for him to see him in his glorified form. "He shall come again in like manner," "to be glorified in his saints and to be admired IN all them who believe."....2 Thess. i. 10.

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.... James iv. 8.

How sweetly is the children's duty and the father's promise joined together! The latter is a most powerful encouragement to the former; though we were "sometimes afar of, yet being made nigh by the blood of Jesus," we are exhorted to DRAW nigh to God in prayer, in full assurance of faith, firmly believing that "faithful is he who hath promised," he will draw nigh to us to bless us. To live near God is our heaven below; to experience a distance from him is our misery; we cannot draw nigh to God but in the way he hás drawn nigh to us, that is in Christ, in the humanity of Jesus his Son; in all our approaches to God, consider this, Jesus is the object of our faith, and GOD IN HIM; all other objects drawn nigh to, will leave the soul in a painful sense of distance from the true God and real comfort. Happy, only happy canst thou be, while thou art daily living in close communion and near fellowship with thy God and Saviour. While the terrors of the law drive legal spirits to duty to fulfil terms of peace and conditions of acceptance, evangelical promises ever sweetly constrain and encourage to every duty those who "are not under the law, but under grace." To live in neglect of our duty and God's ordinances, is devilish licentiousness; but to be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, is true christian liberty: here is our mercy, we have a sure way of access; by Jesus we draw nigh; in him God and man meet; the holy Spirit is our strength, "praying in the Holy Ghost." As it is the office of Christ to intercede For us, so the Holy Ghost intercedes IN Us; as an advocate within, he enables us to plead in faith what Jesus is to us, what he hath done for us; so we speak with confidence to our dear Father: he helps in prayer, as a nurse helpeth a little child that is unable to go of itself, or as a weak decrepit person is upheld by the arm.

Here is our encouragement, the word of promise, "God will draw nigh to you." This, O soul, is thy happiness below, thy heaven on earth, to have access to the God of mercies, and the Father of all consolations draw nigh to thee; thou sweetly findest it so; not merely to draw nigh to duty, but to God in. duty; to find and feel the special presence and blessing of the Lord; without this, loving hearts cannot be satisfied; communion and fellowship with God, finding nearness of spirit, delightful intercourse, having to do with God, and receiving inward peace and love from him; O, this is the glory of the life of faith on Jesus! and this draws us away, from, and makes us dead to all things beside. When God and Christ, and heaven is within, all without becomes truly mean and despicable in comparison. "It is good for me," saith Asaph, "to draw near to God."....Psalm lxxiii. 28.