the sinne of your soules all this and more could be no satisfaction for the least sinne nor bring any peace to your mindes but you must of force cry out at last as Saint Paul did stating this sad condition of all mankind under the law Ob wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death Justly is it called a body of death for man is of a fraile and weake condition at the best a considerate man hath death alwayes before him What joy or comfort then can hee take all his life long being in the hatred of God a vessell of wrath and liable to eternall death in hell fire for ever What can he looke upon that can give him content Present a man that walkes in the sense of his sinfull condition with all the pleasures the world afford and his sad heart turnes all into death his conscience continually afflicts him terrours and feares and eternall torments are ever in his thoughts and such a wounded Spirit who can beare My beloved I would not be mistaken in what I have said of this woefull condition as though I presented it to your thoughts as a meanes to terrifie you from any your sinfull courses I know full well it is not the way it is not Gods way nor doe I wish this sad condition to be any of yours though happily it may be thus with many of you many of you may through sense of sinne and of wrath due for sinne walke in a very disconsolate condition feares and terrours may abound in you to whom I doubt not though great heavinesse may indure for a night yet greater joy shall come in the morning which as much as in mee lyes I shall indeavour to produce in every one of you I have presented this woefull condition of all mankind under the law thus sadly and truly because I finde generally men doe not seriously consider the bottomlesse depth of the misery from the which they are redeemed I am not a preacher of the law but of the gospell nor are you under the law but under grace the law was given by Moses whose minister I am not but grace and truth came by Iesus Christ whose minister I am whose exceeding love hath appeared and because I would have you fully to see and consider his love therefore did I shew the woefull condition from which only by his love you are delivered Another principle I shall pray you to consider is that God loves nothing but what is pure and holy without spot or blemish so as it is a vaine and delusive doctrin to say that God passes by our daily infirmities accepting our wills for our performances our desire to be obedient to his Commandements for obedience for where there is the least defect God hates for that very defect and loves not but where there is perfect holinesse and righteousnesse which makes this truth appeare that by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be iustified in his sight for by the law is the knowledge of sinne It is a sad favour that the law ever did unto mankinde to make his sinne appeare out of measure sinfull stopping every mans mouth admitting no plea or excuse on mans behalfe And yet it is so naturall to thinke that he is still bound to doe something for obtaining the love and favour of God that you will finde it is the hardest thing in the world to free your selves from it though it be the grossest Antichristian errour that ever was for if righteousnesse come by the law then Christ died in vaine It it such an errour that untill it be removed out of your mindes it will be but labour lost to endeavour to worke any truth upon your mindes and I have much cause to feare your mindes are tainted therewith because our publicke catechismes bookes and Sermons are for the most part corrupted therewith so as we sucke this errour in even with our very milke and it becomes one substance with many of us even to our old age It was so in the Apostles times as may be seene in Acts the 15 from the 5. verse to the end of the chapter where you shall find that some that beleeved affirmâ—â— that it was necessary to circumcise and to keepe the law but you will finde by the story it was their errour Also in the second to the Corinthians the third to the end where you shall find the law stiled the ministration of death written in tables of stone which was the 10 Commandements and verse the 11. to be done away and a more glorious ministration to take place and remaine and yet the breeding of the Iewes being under the law though they did beleeve the comming of Christ yet still even to that day the Apostle wrote their minds were blinded and the vaile remained at the reading of the old Testament which vayle is done away in Christ These things beloved you are to consider seriously for that untill you doe undoubtedly see your selves not to be under the law no not in the least respect you cannot see your selves to be under grace that is in the favour and love of God untill when you cannot with sound judgment affirme that which my text affirmeth that is that the love of God hath appeared for he that in any measure conceiveth himselfe to be under the law doth not clearely discerne the love of god for that vayle is before his eyes you all give credit to the word of God let S. Paul then be your guide to leade you out of this sad Aegyptian bondage who knew all things that concerned the law yet cryes out I account all things as losse and dung that I may be found in Christ not having my owne or mans righteousnesse which is of the law but the righteousnesse which is of God in him make it your own cases by sound consideration for yee are all justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Iesus Christ your feares nor sinnes nor doubtings cannot alter that condition which Christ hath purchased for you for though the sting of death be sinne the strength of sin be the law yet thankes be unto God for he hath given us the victory through our Lord Iesus Christ so as you may all boldly say Oh death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory And that none of you may doubt of his exceeding love and your perfect reconciliation with God I wil reade unto you certaine passages in the 5 chapter to the Romans which if well weighed will leave you without all scruple verse,6 When we were yet without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly you see there that ungodlinesse did not hinder but that Christ died for thee that art ungodly dost thou stand amazed and canst not throwly beleeve the Apostle grants that to mans judgment it is incredible for amongst men scarcely for a righteous man will one dye yet peradventure for a good man one would even