shall finally prove victorious over sin, death, hell, and the grave. We are engaged in a most arduous war. We wrestle against principalities and powers, against earth and hell. But we know that the Lord Jehovah is our strength and shield. He who conquered for us, will conquer in us, and by us. He provides for us the heavenly armour, teaches our hands to war, and our fingers to fight, and covers our head in the day of battle, and will give us the victory, and make us more than conquerors through Jesus Christ, the captain of our salvation.

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9. And finally, believers feel assured, that heaven is their home, and that they shall be for ever with the Lord." For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Now he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord." "But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is,"-face to face," and be ever with the Lord."

We have now seen that believers in all ages arrived at the assurance of salvation, by being assured of such things as these-that God is become their God and reconciled Father, that they are the children of his grace, that they are united unto Christ, that they have eternal life, that they are in a state of salvation, that God is their portion and inheritance for ever, that he has entered into a covenant of salvation with them,

that they have communion with him, that he will give them the victory over all their enemies, and that he will at last bring them to glory everlasting. Truly these are great things to be certain of on the earth. Yet we have produced abundant Scripture proofs, which of all others are the most conclusive and satisfactory, that well-grounded believers do attain to assurance of their eternal salvation.

But how do they come at this assurance? is the great question now before us. I answer, it is by acting faith on God the Saviour, and by finding in their own souls, satisfactory proofs that the Spirit of God dwelleth in them, and that they are born of God, and made new creatures in Christ Jesus. This is the way, and there is no other.

We shall now proceed to inquire, first of all, how guilty, lost and ruined sinners come out of their state of condemnation into the happy state of salvation ; and the Lord direct our inquiry, and guide us into all truth.

PART II.

ON THE DOCTRINE OF REGENERATION, OR THE NEW BIRTH.

WE must here inquire into the following particulars. 1. The necessity of regeneration. 2. The nature and reality of it. 3. The importance of it. 4. The author of it. 5. And the benefits of it. It is necessary to have a clear understanding of these points, before we can proceed regularly with the subject.

I. The NECESSITY of Regeneration, or the New Birth.

Only look at the character and condition of man in his fallen state, and you will at once be convinced of the absolute necessity of his being renewed in the spirit of his mind, before it is possible to restore him to God and to glory. "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." The Lord hath said

it, let man believe it. See what man is by nature, and you will say so too.

1. Man in his natural state is wholly incapable of all holy actions or spiritual enjoyment. He is dead in sin, dead towards God, and all that is holy. Man is wholly dead, destitute of all spirituality. All the thoughts of the imagination of his heart are only evil, and that continually. In him dwelleth no good thing towards God, and this plainly proves the necessity of his being raised from the death of sin, unto a life of righteousness. This spiritual death is universal and extensive as the human race. "In Adam all die : death has passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. All are gone out of the way, there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

2. Man under the fall, is not only destitute of all holiness and spirituality, but is also full of all evil. He is averse to God, and hates all holiness. "The carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." All the faculties of the soul are wholly vitiated, carnalized, and unfitted for any spiritual employment. The eyes of his understanding are darkened that he cannot see. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." And his heart is hardened that he cannot understand, nor embrace the things of the Spirit.

3. The natural man has no relish for what is holy. Adam, in paradise, relished nothing else; but the very moment that he left God, he totally lost this relish for divine things; and when restored to God,

his delight in holy things was renewed by grace. So, Adam's children have lost the image of God, which consists in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness; and are become enemies unto God by wicked works. And as the Spirit of the Lord is departed from them, their very hearts are turned from God to the world, so that they have no disposition to love and serve the Lord, no relish for holy things, no delight to draw near to God; but say in their hearts, "Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways." This sufficiently proves the absolute necessity of the renovation of the human heart, and the restoration of the image of God. "Ye must be born again, or you can never see the kingdom of God." So much for the necessity of the new birth.

II.-The change which must take place must be a REAL, RADICAL, and a thorough change.

1. There may be many changes in men's views, habits, and manners, which come far short of that saving change which God requires as necessary to salvation. The most disorderly may become regular members of society: the profligate may grow moral, and the drunkard a sober man. This may benefit society, and be of some service to the man himself; but this alone will never save his soul.

Men of the world may turn their attention to religion, adopt the gospel system, admire its grace, and profess its doctrines. Many hear the glad tidings of salvation with joy, and like Herod, do many things: