fear and trembling; for God worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleafure. If therefore we cease to work whilft we have time and opportunity, God will withdraw his grace from us; even that which we have, fhall be taken from us. We cannot work. without God: therefore fhould we work with fear and trembling, left, if we neglect the appointed time, we should be left deftitute of help, without hope or remedy.

Laftly, We may collect what are the figns and marks of grace in the regenerate; even this, that we keep the will of God. I before observed, that to be drawn of God, and to be willing to do his will, are one and the fame thing: if fo, then all who do the will of God, are drawn of God; and all who are effectually drawn of God, do his will. From whence it follows, that all who live virtuously and holily have the Spirit of God, and all who do wickedly are of their father the devil. From whence it follows, that it is a vain and ill grounded confidence that some men have in their spiritual attainments, whilft they work the works of darkness: for he only that doth the works of the Spirit hath the Spirit of God; and hereby do we know that we love him, if we keep his commandments.

DISCOURSE XVIII.

PHILIPPIANS ii. 12, 13.

Work out your own falvation with fear and trembling. For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

THERE have not, perhaps, been any more unhappy difputes in the Chriftian church than thofe relating to the natural powers of man to work out his own falvation, and those relating to the nature and measure of the grace and affiftance promised in the Gospel of Chrift. On one fide it is infifted, that virtue and vice owe their being to the freedom and choice of the agent, and lofe their name when they are the effect of force and constraint; and, confequently, that to fuppofe men to be made righteous by any influence from any other being than themselves, is contrary to reason. And hence it is that fome of the advocates for mere human reafon, as fufficient to all the purposes of falvation, despise the promises, made in the Gospel, of grace and fpiritual affiftance; and others of them fo explain them, as to leave them no meaning at all. On the other fide, fome zealous afferters of the doc

trine of grace, in order to magnify this free gift of God, allow nothing to reafon or the natural powers of men; but think it the highest presumption, and the greatest affront offered to the grace of God, to fuppofe that men can do any thing for themselves. It is, in their own way of expreffion, to make the power of God attendant on the weakness of man, and to make the grace of God the fervant and handmaid of human reafon. And thus it is agreed on both fides, by those who carry their respective opinions to the greatest length, that either the power of man to work righteousness muft exclude the grace of God, or the grace of God muft exclude all the effects and endeavours of human reason.

But as inconfiftent as they may think these things to be, St. Paul, who was better inftructed in the principles of the Gospel of Chrift than the ancient or the modern teachers of thefe doctrines can pretend to be, has thought fit to join them together, and has called upon all Chriftians to work out their own falvation, for this very reason, because God works in them both to will and to do. If St. Paul be in the right, God's working with us by his grace is fo far from being a reafon againft working for ourfelves, that it is the greateft inducement to it, and lays us under the highest obligation to give all diligence to make our calling and election fure.

Let us then confider St. Paul's doctrine, and fee what are the natural confequences for a Christian to draw from it.

The words of the text evidently confift of two parts; an exhortation, and an argument by which that exhortation is enforced. The exhortation you

have in these words, Work out your own falvation with fear and trembling: the argument to enforce it follows in the next words, For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. An argument which may at first fight feem rather to lead to confidence and affurance, than to fear and trembling: for if God be for us, who can be against us? or what is there to fear, or to tremble at, when we are thus fupported and maintained in our fpiritual warfare? And the argument is indeed applicable both ways, with refpect to different kinds of fear. The difciples of the Gospel have many enemies to encounter with, many temptations to ftruggle with; they are expofed fometimes to death, often to afflictions and perfecutions, and almost always to the hatred and contempt of the world. Now with respect to these adverfaries, the argument in the text may furnish us with great confidence and affurance, and we may with the Apostle say, Who shall harm you, if you be followers of that which is good? for, notwithstanding all the trials you are expofed to, God is able to keep you from falling, and to prefent you faultless before the prefence of his glory with exceeding joy. But as there is a fear which refpects our enemies, and is a fear of being conquered and brought into fubjection by them; so likewise is there a fear which refpects our friends, and is a fear of lofing their favour and affistance; and the more a man is dependent upon his friends, the greater is, and ought to be, his fear of lofing their protection: and this fear naturally inspires us with diligence and care to obferve and fulfil the commands of our great patrons, to ftudy their humour

and inclination, and to conform ourselves to them. And of this fear the Apoftle fpeaks in the text, Work out your falvation with fear and trembling; for it is a work that you are by no means fufficient for of yourselves; and therefore have a care how you forfeit the favour of him upon whom you entirely depend: Of yourfelves ye can do nothing; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do. That St. Paul intends this fort and kind of fear, may be seen by his own way of reafoning. In the beginning of this chapter, he preffes humility upon the Philippians, he warns them against ftrife and vainglory, and, after fome arguments, drawn from the example of Chrift and the great reward he obtained, to recommend humility to them, as if humility and fear, in the prefent cafe, were the fame thing, he thus concludes; Wherefore, my beloved, work out your falvation with fear and trembling. If we believe that God works in us both to will and to do, it will make us humble, because we can do nothing without him; for in fuch a cafe what have we to be proud of? Weakness and a state of dependence are inconfiftent with confidence and prefumption: it will make us likewise fear and tremble, fear to displease, and tremble to disobey, him from whom cometh our falvation.

That this fear is the fear of offending God, and lofing his favour, is farther evident from the next verfe, Do all things without murmurings and difputings. Now what fear is it that makes men obey cheerfully, without repining, without feeking for excuses to free themselves? Not the fear of punishment; for whọ grumble more than flaves? who repine more at