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what may be esteem'd no more than a common Inadvertency.

THESE Confiderations fhould make us extremely jealous of ourselves, and our whole Behaviour; becaufe Careleffness in Duty naturally hardens into Stubbornness, Stubbornness ftifles God's Grace within us, and destroys the very Principles of our Spiritual Life. The worst of Men were once under and fufceptible of gracious Impreffions; but inafmuch as they neglected to give due Attention to thofe Impreffions, they were left to themselves, and having quite quenched God's Grace within them, nothing could remain but a certain fearful looking-for of Judgment, and fiery Indignation to devour them.

IT is therefore our Duty to be always attentive to the Motions of God's Grace, and to be ever laborious to improve them to all Purposes of Chriftian Holiness, for which they were given. This will open a blifsful Communication between the Bleffed Spirit and our Souls, engaging for us a ready Support in all our Wants, a fubftantial Comfort in all our Diftreffes, and a transforming us into the Likeness of

his blessed Self, and bringing us forwards to that Inheritance, which was purchased for us by Christ's Merits, and fecured to us by that Gospel-Regeneration, which the Holy Ghost, the third Perfon in the ever glorious Trinity, worketh out in the Souls of all the Faithful.

MAY it please that Bleffed Spirit of God to prepare us for his Reception, and evermore to grant us large Portions of his Grace, through Jefus Chrift. Amen.

VOL. II.

E

SERMON

SERMON IV.

ROM. V. 19.

For as by one Man's Difobedience many were made Sinners; fo by the Obedience of one fhall many be made Righteous.

A

J

BUNDANCE of Errors in Religion arife from Men's taking the Doctrines of it in a partial View: Our Faculties indeed at the beft are very narrow and fhort-fighted, yet not to fo great a Degree, as to prevent our coming to a fufficient Knowledge of Religious Truths, provided we would be but careful to examine and compare together the Whole, which the Scriptures VOL. II. E 2

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fay concerning them: But when one Ar-
ticle feems to interfere with another, we
are always more ftrongly affected by one
of them; and thereby a Doctrine, which
is made
up of both those Articles, is ge-
nerally represented under a Predominancy
of one, tho' it ought to be represented
under an harmonious Concurrence of them

both ; ex. gr. The spiritual State of Man
turns upon Sin and Grace; and by dwel-
ling long upon either of thofe Articles
separately, we may be liable to fall into
dangerous Errors: Let a Mind which
loves to indulge itself in gloomy Pro-
fpects, be frequent and large in confider-
ing the Baseness of our Corruptions, and
the Foulness of its own actual Tranfgref-
fions, Clouds of Blacknefs and Horror-
will be continually rifing fo thick as to
exclude all the comfortable Displays of
the other Article, and the Scene will at
laft end in utter Defpair: Let a Perfon of
another Caft of Mind employ himself in
contemplating the Luftre and free Effu-
fions of Divine Grace, Brightness will
break in upon the Soul like the Rifing
of the Sun, will infenfibly dispel every
gloomy

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