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...stians are of another temper, though that is not a gn: if they can but tenderly and feelingly comey can but pray heartily, and beg blessings greedihand of God, then they think they are in a good I indeed I do not deny but there is something of that frame-But how few are there who have upon their spirits? "How many mercies have I om the Lord, and how seldom have I praised him "Shall so great a blessing as the virtue of the blood pass upon the soul, and shall not a man praise the rtily for it? We find the apostle, in the next verse text, blessing the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Fr begetting us again to a lively hope, through the resurChrist from the dead, ver. 3. And whosoever are for the virtue of Christ's resurrection, it is impossible y must also be thankful for the virtue of his death: for Pa death, and the virtue of it, are implied in his resurrecWhat needed Christ's resurrection, unless he had been and therefore the purchase of our blessings come by Teath of Christ, and the application of them by his resur

n. So saith the apostle, Rom. iv. 25. He was delivered ur offences, and raised again for our justification. This is first exhortation; Give hearty praise for this blood of nkling; bind it as a duty upon our consciences, and setut it; and I can assure you that you will find great advan

by it. Many Christians have tried it, and I can appeal the experience of several here, who know what this means, hen they have been in a vein of complaining, that hardness heart, and dulness and deadness, have prevailed strangely; But when the poor creatures have been by the hand of God in. lined and turned to think of the great bounty of God towards them, and have begun to be exercised in the work of praise, they have presently found their bonds to be loosed, and that the Spirit of life hath enter

communion with God th

2dly, You that hav upon you through fa Whensoever this th

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they have found sweet

f sprinkling passing and in it before God. r mind, "The eye and this great God

solute necessity to the salvation of the elect, that the blood of the Son of God should be shed for them; so it is of as great necessity to the salvation of every particular believer, that the virtue of this blood should be upon them.

There are two heads of exhortation that I would now farther speak to.

First, To believers that are sprinkled by this blood of Jesus; who not only were elected to it, but on whom purpose of election hath taken place. Every believer in Jesus Christ hath it, though every believer does not know he is a believer; and therefore he cannot know all the privileges that belong to believers. But every poor sinner that ventures his eternal salvation on this blood shed, the sprinkled virtue of it is upon him, according to the manifold promises given by our Lord, that whosoever believeth on him hath everlasting life, John vi. 47. There are two or three things that I would say to such. To them, 1st, that though they dare not say boldly that they are believers, yet they can call God to witness, that all their hopes towards God for time and eternity, for the remission of their sins now, and the admission of their persons to eternal life hereafter, they are all bottomed and placed on the blood of Jesus Christ: such are believers, whether they think so or not.

1st, It is required of them who are believers, and sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ, that they should give praise and thanks for it. Spiritual mercies are great mercies, and they should be greatly praised for. This is the greatest of all mercies, to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. Christians should bewail their ignorance of their spiritual state on this account; not only because they want that peace which the knowledge of their state would bring them, but also because the Lord calls for that praise, which the knowledge of our state would incline us to give him. Peter, in this epistle, and the apostle Paul, in almost every one of his epistles, begins with thanksgiving on the account of the grace of God bestowed on him, and on the rest of believers to whom he writes. I shall never reckon that Christian in a very spiritual frame, who hath not a deep sense of the debt of mercy, and a strong inclination to pay that debt in praise. I know that ge

nerally Christians are of another temper, though that is not a very good sign: if they can but tenderly and feelingly complain; if they can but pray heartily, and beg blessings greedily from the hand of God, then they think they are in a good frame; and indeed I do not deny but there is something of goodness in that frame-But how few are there who have this sense upon their spirits? How many mercies have I received from the Lord, and how seldom have I praised him for them?" Shall so great a blessing as the virtue of the blood of Christ pass upon the soul, and shall not a man praise the Lord heartily for it? We find the apostle, in the next verse to my text, blessing the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for begetting us again to a lively hope, through the resurrection of Christ from the dead, ver. 3. And whosoever are thankful for the virtue of Christ's resurrection, it is impossible but they must also be thankful for the virtue of his death: for Christ's death, and the virtue of it, are implied in his resurrec tion. What needed Christ's resurrection, unless he had been dead? and therefore the purchase of our blessings come by the death of Christ, and the application of them by his resurrection. So saith the apostle, Rom. iv. 25. He was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification. This is the first exhortation; Give hearty praise for this blood of sprinkling; bind it as a duty upon our consciences, and set about it; and I can assure you that you will find great advantage by it. Many Christians have tried it, and I can appeal to the experience of several here, who know what this means, when they have been in a vein of complaining, that hardness of heart, and dulness and deadness, have prevailed strangely; but when the poor creatures have been by the hand of God inclined and turned to think of the great bounty of God towards them, and have begun to be exercised in the work of praise, they have presently found their bonds to be loosed, and that the Spirit of life hath entered, and they have found sweet communion with God therein.

2dly, You that have had the blood of sprinkling passing upon you through faith in Christ Jesus, stand in it before God. Whensoever this thought enters into your mind, "The eye of the all-seeing God is now upon me, and this great God

"judges all things, and determines concerning my present "state; what case then should I desire to stand in before "him?" Only in this blood of srpinkling; as if the poor believer should say, "Let God never cast his eye upon me, but "that he may always see the sprinkled blood of Christ upon "me!" There are two things I would say concerning it. This sprinkling of the blood of Jesus is our only guard against justice and ruin; and it is our only ornament to commend us to the acceptance of God. 1. It is our only guard against the justice and law of God. You have heard of the typical blood of the paschal lamb, that was sprinkled upon the posts of the Israelites doors; what a vain thing had it been for an Israelite to stand in his arms at his door, to guard his house against the avenging angel? alas! the destroying angel went to Pharaoh's house, and despised his guards, and executed the judgments of God according to his commission. The only guard that the poor Israelites had, was to sprinkle the blood of the paschal lamb on the posts of their doors; and if the destroying angel was not kept back by that, they had nothing else to trust to. So, whenever you think of standing before a holy and just God, it is this sprinkling of the blood of Jesus that must be your only guard for most assuredly the sword of justice will pierce and draw the blood of that soul which hath not this blood sprinkled upon it. 2. This is our only ornament in the sight of God. There are two things that we should still desire in all our thoughts of God: the one is, to be safe from his displeasure; and the other is, to be amiable and pleasing in his sight. A natural man cares for no mere from God than what will save him from being ruined by him; but a spiritual man desires not only to be saved from destruction. by the Almighty, but he also desires to be in terms of peace with God; that God may look graciously on him, and that he may stand with acceptance in his sight: now nothing else can procure this, nor obtain it, but this sprinkling of the blood of Christ. We are accepted, saith the apostle, in that beloved, Eph. i. 6, 7. But how came ye to be accepted in the beloved? what did it cost that beloved to make you accepted? In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. Rich grace, and dear blood,

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