e, and be maintained? to which may be answered, as ministers of our Lord were, when he at the first sent em forth; who when they returned to their Master, he xed them, "If they lacked any thing?" they answered, No." But instead of lacking any thing, the devils were oject to them. Pray let the serious christian con er, here is now a wonderful change. Is it in Christ, in the hireling money loving priest? It is certainly in eman and not in Christ Jesus; for he is the same to day, sterday, and forever. Where the power of Christ rules, ere the devil and his power must of necessity be subject. But some object, that people are not so free now a ys; were there not a law to maintain ministers, the nisters might perish and starve in this generation; if then their ministry must starve the people's souls. it this thought of starving, is for want of the gift of od, and power of Christ; which power in the minis7 would wonderfully open people's hearts towards God, d those who are his true servants and ministers; who id, "Freely ye have received, freely give." Oh! faithss generation, what, shall we mistrust him who prodes for all his creatures, even to the ravens and sparws, and will he not much more provide for his servants id ministers? How shall we receive power from on gh, if we want faith, and cannot depend on the proviential hand of God?

Christ sends his ministers into the world, in order to ropagate his gospel of salvation, and to let the world now that he is come to put an end to sin, and bring fe and peace to the soul, according to the angels' testihony of him, that "His name shall be called Jesus (which 3 a Saviour) for he shall save his people from their sins.” Mat. i. 21. The apostles of Christ also, according to heir holy commission, declared, that "God had sent his Son to bless us, in turning of us from the evil of our vays." But that doctrine must certainly be opposite o this of the angels, Christ, and his disciples, which eacheth, that we must live in sin while on this side the grave, and that there is no being free from it while we re in this world; though Christ himself came for that

very end and purpose, to put an end to it, and to save us from it, and to bring unto, and into the world, everlasting righteousness; as also is that doctrine which maintains, that there is no perfection that we can attain to in this life; though Christ says, " Be ye perfect (for or) as your Father who is in Heaven is perfect;" as he is perfect in fulness, so are we to be perfect, according to the measure of grace received. This faith and belief is much wanting in this unbelieving genera tion, which is the reason that people remain in their sins, and the peoples' leaders cause them to err, and their ministers minister in their sin, and minister sin to the people. Oh! that the great Lord of all may grant the faith which purifies the heart, unto the children of men, and especially to his ministers, that they might be instru mental to the convincing and converting souls to Christ, and his "Gospel, which is the power of God to salvation, to all them that believe." And as without believ ing, and being baptized, we can neither be saved, nor truly preach the gospel; how do we believe in Christ if we remain in our sins? For Christ saith, If ve believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins:" So it is plain, that the true faith and belief in Christ taketh away our sins, and that if we remain in our sins, it is evident that we have not the true faith of Christ.

It is not enough to have a notional or historical faith or belief that Christ is the Son of God, but we must also believe, that "This is he," that, as the angel declared to Joseph," should save his people from their sins." This was before he was born of the holy virgin; and those people mightily mistake the doctrine of Christ in the holy scriptures, who think or believe they shall be saved in their sins; and those ministers must needs be antichristian, who preach and write, that there can be no living here in this world without sin, which is also contrary to their own doctrine at other times, and to their solemn covenant in the water baptism (or sprink ling) in which they promise for their children, "To for sake the devil and all his works" (and without doubt all his work is sin, no christian can pretend to greater or higher

rfection, than to forsake the devil and all his works) the pomp and vanity of this wicked world, and all the ful lusts of the flesh, and to keep God's holy will and mmandments, and to walk in the same all the days of r lives;" so that according to this solemn covenant, re is no day for sin; yet those covenanters at other hes will say, preach, dispute, and write, that the best nts cannot live without sin, and that people sin in eir best duties. If any think to mock the Almighty er that manner, they will be much mistaken in the y of the righteous judgement of God: for "Christ ne to put an end to sin, and to finish transgression, to destroy the works of the devil," which all sin ost certainly is. And it is plain, that John, the bered disciple of Christ, believed this, from his own ords, "I write unto you, young men, because ye ve overcome the wicked one. I have written untó u, young men, because ye are strong, and the word God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wick one." 1 John ii. 13, 14. To which I shall add what saith through the Spirit to the seven churches in

ia.

To the church of Ephesus. "He that hath an ear, him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches: to m that overcometh, will I give to eat of the tree of e, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." ev. ii. 7.

To the church of Smyrna. "He that hath an ear, let m hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches: he at overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." ev. ii. 11.

"He that hath an ear,

To the church of Pergamus. t him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches: to im that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden anna, and will give him a white stone, and in it a new ame written, which no man knoweth, save him that eceiveth it." Rev. ii. 17.

To the church of Thyatira. "He that overcometh nd keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give ower over the nations: and he shall rule them with a

SSS

rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be brok en to shivers even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Rev. ii. 26, 27, 28, 29.

"He that overcometh,

To the church of Sardis. the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life; but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Rev. iii. 5, 6.

To the church of Philadelphia. "He that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New-Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto churches." Rev. iii. 12, 13.

To the church of Laodicea. "To him that over. cometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Rev. iii. 21, 22.

Surely that soul who cannot by all this see that there is an overcoming, must certainly be blind, as to a spir itual sight of the doctrine of Christ; and what is it but to make Christ and the Holy Spirit a deceiver, to promise all those great things to his churches, if they cannot perform the conditions he prescribes; and if it were true (as it is not) that it is impossible to overcome sin and satan, then would Christ be a hard master, which is absurd and wicked to suggest. But this overcoming must not be in our own wills, nor in our own time, nor with our own weapons, but according to the apostle Paul's testimony of the saints' weapons, and their war fare, and also of his own fight and victory, viz. "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strong holds." 2 Cor. x. 4. (Satan's holds of sin are strong ones, if never to be overcome.)

But with these weapons we may overcome: and he Is the christian put them on, and calls them the whole nour of light; (opposite and contrary to satan's dark wer), and he names them after this manner: "Stand erefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and ving on the breastplate of righteousness, and your et shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ove all taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall = able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked: and ke the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, ich is the word of God." Eph. vi. 13. 17. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my urse, I have kept the faith, henceforth there is laid up me a crown of righteousness; which God, the rightus Judge, shall give to me at that day, and not to me ly, but to all them who love his appearing." 2 Tim. 57, 8.

Thus the saints and primitive christians were victorius in this christian and spiritual warfare, and they enuraged others to follow them, as they did Christ. The ry belief of this doctrine, that we can never overcome 1 and satan, is contrary to the faith of Christ, and is a ighty engine of the wicked one to destroy souls: for hat encouragement have any to the work of reformaon, or to believe in, or press after the new birth, if they o not believe in the new birth, or that they may, or can e reformed, or created again anew in Christ Jesus, unto ood works, and that they must not walk after the flesh, > fulfil the lusts thereof. Oh! that ministers and peole would consider that awful sentence of holy scripire, viz. "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but f ye, through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the body, e shall live." Rom. viii. 13. The want of a lively hope and faith in Christ, the great Lord of heaven and arth, is great, very great indeed. Oh! that true faith n him might abound and increase in the earth more and nore! Then would he inspire the soul with inward strength and grace to resist the devil, and overcome him, and actually to do the works of God, and to forsake the tevil and all his works; and then, and not until then, is