to hell a little faster than I. A ruinous soul is base, he makes base spirits, and not noble spirits his pattern, that he may keep on his way, to serve his lust. He goes as near a downright worldling, a downright time-server, as he can; there is so much desire to accommodate an engaged heart this way, more than there is in nobility of spirit. A ruinous soul is a dunghill kept from being offensive in every one's nostrils, and that is all. When he begins to smell strong, the shift is, smell to such a one, he does this and that. A ruinous soul lives within the confines of hell, to gain earth: it is a piece much below his allowance; he will be judged with the world in this life, he will have a hell here, scarcely be saved, seem to come short of eternal rest; he will be saved by fire; a fiery salvation, a hellish heaven, will be to this man. He will be dragged by

the heels out of his baseness.

Having given these principles of discovery, attend to your charge. I charge you ruined and ruinous souls, with all the ruins of England. Ye desolate souls, ye have desolated a glorious land. Your will is your worst piece, and you think it is the best. You have no mind to be better; because to be better will not so well serve your turn. Had you had a will to be better, could you have rubbed along so basely, till now that judgment stares you in the face?

Creating and making power hath but three hinderances, 1. Unbelief; 2. Frowardness; 3. Besottedness it never fails else, to make any man meet to be partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light.

Creating power works in order to believing. As a man credits Christ, so he puts forth power to cast

out devils. Christ will have the honour of judg ment, ere he will make towards a man. Judge highly and honourably of Christ, and he will visit you, and show you what an arm he hath, and how possible your state is to him. If you judge that he can make you clean, he will honour your judgment and fulfil your faith. Christ will be to you in action, what you make him in apprehension; not a drachm of faith shall fail you. your If you believe that he can remove mountains he will do it; that he can create a new heart, he will do it. Your faith puts you into a capacity of a creation. Creation puts you into a capacity of any thing; what can be wanting to him that stands under the blessing of a creating power?

Creating power works in order to submission. Stubbornness gets nothing at Christ's hands but blows. A man must lay his soul at Christ's feet, and let him do with it what he will; that would be made happy by him. Pride is resisted; a pitiful condition must be pitifully laid open, and then mercy is moved. "Son of David have mercy upon me," and then saith Christ, "What wilt thou?" Any thing now.

Finally, creating power works in order to sense. A besotted soul abides so. He is what he is in conceit; he dies so good opinion keeps him bad, leaves him so to death. The rich need nothing; they have nothing to make them better. They have all, what needs a creation? Making power is put forth upon extremity, sharp sense. Men and brethren, what shall I do?" Now Christ bestirs himself and does something indeed to make a miserable creature happy, partaker of an inheritance.

The riches of the saints is in this point; I will

touch this and conclude. Your mercies do not proceed from themselves, they are created; creating power is omnipotent, everlasting; so it makes christians' mercies. Generation speaks limitation, it speaks restraint to such a species, to such kind of things, and no other. Creation speaks illimitation, boundless proceeding; you may have what you will, that stand under the blessing of this power. You stand in a capacity of all; what would you be, that creating power cannot raise you to; "I am made all things to all men," says the apostle : making power makes a general christian.

"Make

me to hear joy and gladness," says the psalmist. No blessing too large for making power; it will make joy and gladness in the most bleeding soul, neaven in hell.

SERMON XVI.

COLOSSIANS I. 12.

GIVING THANKS UNTO THE FATHER, WHO HATH MADE US MEET TO BE PARTAKERS OF THE INHERITANCE OF THE SAINTS IN LIGHT.

Or power creating and making we have already spoken; the persons to whom this is referred, is our next thing to consider, who are noted in this term

us.

"Who hath made us meet," &c. Divine love singles out her objects; "Who hath made us meet," &c.

Love works freely. Christ makes many; nothing makes him. The Holy Ghost cannot be bought with money; he is in the gall of bitterness who

thinks so. Nobility no more than peasantry, wisdom no more than folly is able of itself to take Christ; he embraces as many of one as the othernay, more; more poor than rich, more foolish in the eyes of the world than wise. His will is his pleasure; therefore will is called often in scripture the pleasure of God. Whom he will, he pleases; whom he will, he makes; "Who hath made us meet."

Love works righteously. Mercy leaves room for justice she can hold all in her arms, yet she chooses but few, and leaves the rest to be embraced, with more rough hands. The sun shines as it can get room; in a little place it cannot bring in all its rays, only one or two, some few, but in the open world, all. Christ hath his course now in an open world; all are under sin, he may put forth all his beams and glories, and be righteous; here a beam of justice, and there a beam of mercy; he may shine upon one part as upon Sodom, bloodily; upon another part as upon Goshen, blessedly. Christ may go killing and saving, making and marring through this congregation, so as to leave the apostles liberty for me, in speaking of you; "Who hath made us meet," &c.

Love works very purely; purity is choice. Pure love looks upon many, but chastely cleaves only to one. Christ singles out a spouse and cleaves only to her. The church singles out Christ, she is only for him. Christ singles out a church, he is only for these." My beloved is one," this is the language of the church, and this is the language of Christ. The church's love gathers into one; so doth Christ's. Him and no other, says the church; these and no other, saith Christ; Who hath made us meet," &c. Love works strongly. She contracts her beams,

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that is her strength. The more concentrated the sun-beams are, the stronger in heat. Love is love indeed, that loves but few, one of a tribe, two of a city, us of all Colosse; a few poor persons of such a great famous city, and all the rest left and lying under wrath. Running in many channels breaks the strength and greatness of a stream; that love which runs common is nothing. Special love works strongly; she travails to bring forth a heaven ; a heaven fit for man, and men fit for it. Multitude

is made up by magnitude; a few kings are considerable to many thousands of inferior men; one kingdom is considerable to many manors; a few saints considerable to many wicked. Love travails and works strongly; she brings forth kings, kingdoms, great things, and therefore but few; "Who hath made us meet," &c.

Love works nobly. The channels are all earthly and base in which she runs here below, and therefore she runs but in few. Nobles will be intimate and frequent with nobles, but with few others, with few that are low and base; only with here and there one, whom they have a mind to prefer. It is so with Christ, he moves nobly; he is intimate with all the nobles above, frequent with all those royal spirits, but he looks but upon few here below, here and there one, whom he hath a mind to advance. Christ does not throw down himself, when he sets up man; he ennobles himself in every thing that goes forth from himself; he so makes great, as to make himself great; he advanceth men, and advanceth himself in such advancement. Christ doth so speak love, and work love, as to make all echo to his own honour. Much amongst few, will hold its muchness, and they will confess the donor noble,