firft the Lord God made a breach upon us, for that we fought him not after the due order. 1 Chron.xv. 12, 13.

Thus, when Chrift informed the apostles of the treachery of Judas, every one, in fearful furprise, fufpecting the deceit of his own heart, cried out, Lord, is it I? And, when Ananias and Sapphira were ftruck dead, great fear came upon all the churches. And fo now, when a hypocrite is discovered, and fmitten with madnefs, given up to a fearful lookingfor of judgment, or left to himself to commit fuicide; this yoke of flavish fear often falls upon them that fear God; which fometimes moves them to felf-examination, to humble confeffion, to private prayer, to greater diligence, and to learn a little how to read and judge of profeffors; and fo is among the all things that work for good to them that love God, and are the called according to his purpofe. Once more, the laws and rules, which a weak believer prefcribes to himfelf to walk by, and the vows, promifes, and refolutions which he is too apt to make, and more apt to break, thefe often betray him into this fpecies of bondage. I come now,

3dly, To treat of the narrowness and contraction of foul that attends a believer under the influence of this Spirit of bondage. This legal fpirit clofes the heart, and bars it up against every warm, cheerful, favoury, and unctuous Christian; yea, fuch an one will even fhun their company and their fight; finding a heart to embrace none, to receive none, to commune with none, no nor even to feek fellowship with any, but

thofe

those that are in fhackles, bondage, and flavery, as well as himself. "Like loves its like." Hence the Galatians received the judaizing teachers and their companions, who crept into houses, cordially; they were zealously affected by them, and zealously attached to them; even to the danger of excluding Christ himself. But, as for Paul, he had no place in their hearts; no, not as a friend, nor as an apostle, nor even as a true witnefs for Chrift; for they counted him their enemy, and a falfe apoftle. Hence he labours, in his epiftle to them, to prove his apostolic office to be by the will of God; that his miffion and commiffion was from Chrift alone; his doctrine by immediate revelation, without learning it from man, or so much as feeing them that were apostles before him; and that when he did fee them, they gave him the right hand of fellowship, as approving both of him and his doctrine. And he expreffes his warmest love to them, calling them his little children, telling them that he travailed in birth again for them till Chrift was formed in them; that is, he laboured in foul, in writing, and with God in prayer, to get them again out of that legal bondage into liberty; out of that legal fear into gospel love; that Chrift might be formed in them; that is, dwell in their hearts by faith, and in their affections, as the only hope of future glory. But they called him their ene. my for telling them the truth.

The Corinthians' hearts were ftraitened, bound, and fhut up, by thefe difciples of Mofes, in the

fame

fame manner. They could fuffer these fools gladly to mislead them, being themfeives fo wife; but as for Paul, they wanted a proof of Chrift fpeaking in bim; though his voice, by Paul, was not weak in them, but mighty, even at the fame time. Let their inftructors be who, and as many as they might, it was Paul that had begotten them, yet this would not do. They caft the father, and the faithful ambaffador, out of their affections; and embraced the minifters of Satan, who were nothing but deceitful workers, enemies of the cross of Chrift, and who had no god but the god of this world and their own bellies. Paul fends letters to them-His letters are weighty and powerful; this even his enemies allowed; but his fpeech, they said, was weak, and bis bodily prefence contemptible; and they charge him with breaking his promife of coming to them, being puffed up with a vain conceit of themselves; while the believers, which were the feals of Paul's own ministry, fuffered these fools thus to ridicule their father in Chrift; yea, they fuffered these fools gladly. Thus were thefe Corinthians legalized, prejudiced, straitened, and as it were fhut up under the fpirit of bondage. But this was not the cafe with Paul toward them.-O, ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged, ye are not straitened in us, but ye are ftrailened in your own bowels. Now for a recompenfe in the fame (I speak as unto my children) be ye alfo enlarged. 2 Cor. vi. 11, 12, 13.

Furthermore, As the heart, ftraitened by a spirit

of

of bondage, is barred up against the faints, and the minifters of the Spirit, and against the evangelical doctrines of the gofpel; fo it is clofed, ftraitened, and fhut up against Christ himself; no extended thoughts are hovering about him, nor meditating on him; no extended views and fresh difcoveries of his glorious perfon, offices, and wondrous undertakings; no faith in exercife, dealing with his blood for peace, with his obedience for righteousness, with his arm for ftrength, and with his fulness of grace for help in time of need; no affections running out after him, nor placed at the right hand of God, where he fitteth. Hence the kind and endearing entreatiesOpen to me, my fifter, my love, my dove, my undefiled. Song, v. 2.

A foul that has lain long in this bondage does not care to move or ftir itself in wifdom's ways. It gets cloyed with reading, hearing the word, and with private and family prayer. It is like a rickety child, ruined for the want of nurfing; it is death to move it, much more to fhake it; it had rather fit ftill all its days than move its limbs. A foul thus influenced walks not in the Spirit, but in the wrath of the law.-0, thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the Spirit of the Lord fraitened? Are thefe his doings? Micah ii. 7. Job reasoned with unprofitable talk, and re·ftrained prayer before God, instead of looking conftantly to Jefus, confeffing, and praying; which, in order to obtain enlargement, ought to have been done.-Even so would he have removed thee out of the

frait into a broad place where there is no ftraitnefs. Job xxxvi. 16.

A foul thus legalized is ftraitened at the throne of grace; he has not the whole church of God in his heart, nor yet in his mouth; he prays only for himfelf, and that in a very cold, lifelefs, fparing manner, as if God was as poor, and his heart as narrow, as his own. Jehoshaphat feeks the Lord by Elifha only for water for his army. The prophet tells him to dig the valley full of ditches, and there fhall be neither dew nor rain, yet that valley fhall be full of water: and this is but a light thing in the eyes of the Lord; hinting thereby that the Lord had more weighty bleffings to bestow than these. But this was all that was wanted.

Afk a fign of the Lord thy God, faith the prophet Isaiah to Ahaz, afk it either in the height, or in the depth. I will not afk, faith he, neither will I tempt the Lord. Ye have wearied men, faith the prophet, and will ye weary my God alfo? Alfo, the Lord himself shall give you a fign, without asking, behold, a virgin fhall conceive and bear a fon. Hence the kind exhortation to such a poor straitened, narrow foul, I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt; open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. Pfal. lxxxi. 10.

A foul thus ftraitened is barred against all good counsel, advice, and comfort. He thinks that every person who labours to enlarge him only wants to heal his wounds flightly, and to cry, Peace, peace, where there is no peace; and fo to fet him down fhort of the

promised