They are everlastingly united together, and every one that is a partaker of either is a partaker of both. 2dly, Do not confound them. I am persuaded that one of the main causes of the disorder that is in the spirits and the conversation of the most part of Christians, lies in their confounding these two great blessings. They do not give them their proper place; they are not rightly exercised about them in their due sphere; therefore I shall offer a word or two of advice for preventing this confounding of them. When you are seeking justification, let there be no mind of sanctification, I mean as to any merit; but when you are seeking sanctification, have a good mind to justification. To make this matter plain to you; when you are seeking justification, you should have no thought of sanctification; the reason is, because justification is an act of pure grace, that we must betake ourselves to God for, as poor condemned sinners. If men will perplex us with qualifications, pray let it run this way, What is it that qualifies a sinner for justification? it is this only, that he must be a condemned sinner; God's law must condemn him, and the man must come into God's court with this sentence in his hand, "Lord, justify a poor "sinner for Christ's sake; the law hath condemned me, and "sentenced me to hell, and thither I must go except gospel "grace relieves me in Christ Jesus." When I say that in seeking justification you should have no mind of sanctification, my meaning is only this, that when you come to plead at God's bar for justification, do not dream of bringing your sanctification with you for it is altogether improper and impertinent at this court. Let men varnish their doctrines which way they will, and cover them what pretences they please, they do but murder souls, who pretend to advise them to bring something with them to God for the grace of justification. Bring thy sins with thee, and bring the curse of the law upon thy conscience, and lay these before the Lord, saying, "Lord, "here is an undone sinner, have mercy upon me, for Christ's "sake" there should be nothing else heard there but that. But when you come for sanctification, you have good reason to mind justification, for it flows from it. When you would try your justification, in God's name try it by your sanctification, that is allowed you; the reason is, it is but a trying the

tree by its fruit. If the question be, Am I a pardoned, forgiven, accepted sinner in the sight of God, through the righteousness of Christ? if that be the question, try it by your sanctification; for all who are justified by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, are also sanctified by the Spirit of God. Now sanctification being the work of God in us, is far more easily discernible than justification, which is an act of God about us. Justification is the sentence of a judge, but sanctification as you have heard, is a gracious work of God on the heart and soul of a poor sinner, and that may be more easily known : therefore try your justification by your sanctification. In short, they who bring sanctification as a title to their justification, they err the breadth of God's whole heavens: and they who pretend to the blessing of justification, and cannot justify it by the practice of sanctification, do but deceive themselves. If any man, saith the apostle, abideth in him, he ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked, 1 John ii. 6. I would only add, it is the Spirit of God alone that can make the word of God, and the truths of it, powerful upon us; it is he alone that can let us into them, and make us know spiritually and savingly the great blessings of justification and sanctification; our acceptance with God through the righteousness of another, and our being adorned by the Spirit of God with a holiness of his own implanting in us. We must not make our holiness our righteousness, nor our righteousness our holiness; our righteousness belongs to another, and only the benefit of it accrues to us; our holiness is the work of the Spirit in us, and Christ is the root of both. He is the person we are justified by or through, and his Spirit is the root of all holiness in us; and both give us the possession of eternal life: justifi cation, by the sentence of the judge, is the ground, and sanctification is that which makes us meet for it in his time and way.

So much for this first general, of sanctification itself, its agreement with, and its difference from justification.

II. The next thing in the words, that I am now to speak to, is, the sanctification of the Spirit; what is to be understood when sanctification is thus expressed: The sanctification of the

Spirit. There are three things contained in it that I would speak to. 1st, Sanctification of the Spirit respects the author of it, that is the fairest, fullest, and plainest meaning of the word; sanctifying a sinner is the work of the Spirit of God. 2dly, Sanctification of the Spirit relates to the means of it; it is wrought by the Holy Ghost, by means of the gospel, which is often called the Spirit in the word. 3dly, It may be taken as relating to the seat of it; it is called sanctification of the Spirit, in that is seated and lodged in the inmost part of the man, called the spirit of the mind, Eph. iv. 23. Be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind.

1st, Sanctification is here called sanctification of the Spirit, to denote the author of it, the Holy Spirit of God. I told you before, that there were three blessed persons in the Godhead, and one God; and each of them has a distinct part in the work of man's salvation, here expressed in the text. Election is ascribed to the Father, redemption to the Son, and sanctification to the Holy Ghost. The same is also expressed by the apostle Paul, God hath from the beginning chosen you unto salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and the belief of the truth, 2 Thess. ii. 13. A little concerning this, the operation of the Holy Ghost in the work of sanctification.

1st, Since a divine person hath the work in hand, it must be managed by sovereign grace; God works nothing from hire, or motive from the creature, more than he did the work of creation; no more doth he any thing since. When he raised all things from nothing, nothing moved God to make all things, but only his own will and pleasure: all divine operations must necessarily have their rise from sovereign will and grace and this is ascribed to the Holy Ghost. All these things worketh that one and the self same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will, 1 Cor. xii. 11. There is the sovereignty of the will and the grace of the Holy Ghost in this great work of sanctification.

2dly, As all divine acts are acts of sovereignty, flowing from his own will and pleasure, so they are always acts of an Almighty power. When we say, that it is the sanctification of the Spirit, and that the Holy Ghost works it, it is plain he works it with an Almighty and irresistible power; nothing

but an Almighty power can sanctify a dead sinner; the same power that wrought in raising a dead Saviour, is needful for the raising a dead sinner, Eph. i. 19, 20. and hence it is that the power of the Holy Ghost is so much spoken of in the word.

3dly, This work of sanctification, ascribed to the Holy Ghost, shews that it is always done in infinite wisdom. All divine acts are wrought in wisdom; there is a depth in them all. There is wisdom as to the persons, and wisdom as to the way. There is wisdom as to the persons; all the elect of God, all the redeemed, and none but they, are sanctified. As the Redeemer knew who were given to him, and therefore he laid down his life for them; so the Holy Ghost knows who the Son redeems, and he sanctifies them to his praise. It is always done in great and unsearchable wisdom. No man knows this way of the Spirit; Every one that is born of the Spirit is born that way, John iii. 8.; he cannot tell how the work is wrought, and yet it is wrought, because an Almighty arm is at the working of it.

4thly, This work having so great a worker, doubtless hath a great effect. If I may so say, election has not so great an immediate effect; for there are a great many elected, who are a long while before they are called; the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, and the virtue of his redemption, doth not reach its effect so quickly, because there are a great many whom Christ died for that are a long while before they come to him, and receive the power of his grace. But the operation of the Holy Ghost in sanctifying us, hath a sensible and an immediate effect. There is always something in it that may be presently, sensibly, and undeniably known. I do not say it is always so; but there is nothing spoken of in the word, as a more sensible thing than is the work of the Holy Ghost. It is expressed to us by all those words by which the greatest changes that ever were wrought are expressed. It is expressed by creation, 2 Cor. iv. 6. God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts. Was there ever so great a change in this world as creation? When nothing became all things, that was the greatest change imaginable; a change from nothing into being; this is the greatest change that can

possibly enter into the mind of a man. It is expressed by the change from death to life, at the resurrection. And is not that a great change; when the body that hath lain in the rottenness of the grave for so many ages, shall be raised up a glorious temple to the Holy Ghost? It is also expressed by opening the eyes of the blind. You read in the gospel, John ix. of one who was born blind, whose eyes Christ opened: now let any of you enter into a serious consideration of the marvellous change that this man found; doubtless he had heard of the sun, and the moon, and the stars; and some dark notion he might have of them; but he could have no imagination at all of light and colours, he could form no proper idea of them: but now, when our Lord had opened his eyes, and he looked up to heaven and saw the glory of that creature the sun, which he never saw before; when he looked about him, and saw a world filled with fine things that he never saw before, doubtless he found a wonderful change; and it is a great wonder, if he came to himself in a long time after. So this change that is wrought by the Spirit in regeneration, is just like the opening of the eyes of a man born blind: he had heard tell of Jesus Christ, and the new world of grace, but he never saw it before, till the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ came, and then the eyes of his understanding were opened. May the Lord so enlighten and enliven us by his Spirit! Amen.

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace be multiplied. THROUGH sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience, is the clause I am now upon. I was speaking in my last discourse of this third work of the third person in the Godhead, in the