Its pris'ner he remains, and without bail,
'Till every mite be paid; and if he fail,
(As fure he muft, fince, by our finful breach,
Perfection far furmounts all mortal reach,)
Then curs'd for ever muft his foul remain:
And all the folk of God muft fay, AMEN.*
Why, feeking that the law fhould help afford,
In honouring the law, he flights its Lord,
Who gave his law fulfilling righteousness
To be the naked finner's perfect dress,
In which he might with fpotlefs beauty fhine
Before the face of majefty divine:
Yet, lo! the finner works with mighty pains
A garment of his own to hide his ftains;
Ungrateful, overlooks the gift of God,
The robe wrought by his hand, dy'd in his blood.
In vain the Son of God this web did weave,
Could our vile rags fufficient fhelter give.
In vain he ev'ry thread of it did draw,
Could finners be o'er mantled by the law.
Can men's falvation on their works be built,
Whose fairest actions nothing are but guilt?
Or can the law fupprefs th' avenging flame,
When now its only office is to damn!
Did life come by the law in part or whole?
Blefs'd Jefus dy'd in vain to fave a foul.
Those then who life by legal means expect,
To them is Chrift become of no effect;†
Because their legal mixtures do in fact
Wifdom's grand project plainly counteract.
How clofe proud carnal reafonings combine,
To fruftrate fov'reign grace's great defign?
Man's heart by nature weds the law alone,
Nor will another paramour enthrone.
True, many feem by courfe of life profane,
No favour for the law to entertain:
But break the bands, and caft the cords away, That would their raging lufts and paffions stay. Yet ev❜n this reigning madnefs may declare,
How ftrictly wedded to the law they are;
For now (however rich they feem'd before)
Hopeless to pay law debt, they give it o'er, [more.
Like defp'rate debtors mad, still run themselves in
Despair of fuccefs fhews their ftrong defires,
Till legal hopes are parch'd with luftful fires.
Let's give, fay they, our lawlefs will free fcope,
And live at random, for there is no hope.↑
The law, that can't them help, they ftab with hate,
Yet fcorn to beg, or court another mate.
Here lufts moft oppofite their hearts divide,
Their beaftly paffion and their bankrupt pride.
In paffion they their native mate deface,
In pride difdain to be oblig'd to grace.
Hence plainly as a rule 'gainst law they live,
Yet clofely to it as a cov❜nant cleave.
Thus legal pride lies hid beneath the patch,
And ftrong averfion to the gospel match.
The manner of a finner's divorce from the law in a work of humiliation, and of his marriage to the Lord Jefus Chrift; or the way how a finner comes to be a believer.
SECT. I. Of a Law Work, and the workings of legal pride under it.
So proud's the bride, fo backwardly difpos'd;
How then fhall e'er the happy match be clos'd?
Kind grace the tumults of her heart muft quell,
And draw her heav'n-ward by the gates of hell,
The Bridegroom's Father makes, by 's holy Spirit,
His ftern command with her ftiff confcience meet;
To dash her pride, and fhew her utmost need,
Purfues for double debt with awful dread.
He makes her former husband's frightly ghoft
Appear and damn her, as a bankrupt loft;
With curfes, threats, and Sinai thunder claps,
Her lofty tow'r of legal boafting faps.
These humbling ftorms, in high or low degrees,.
Heav'n's Majelty will measure as he please;
But ftill he makes the fiery law at least
Pronounce its awful fentence in her breast,,
Till through the law* convict of being loft.
She hopeless to the law gives up the ghoft:
Which now in rigour comes full debt to crave
And in clofe prifon caft; but not to fave.
For now 'tis weak, and can't (through our default)
Its greatest votaries to life exalt :
But well it can command with fire and flame,
And to the loweft pit of ruin damn.
Thus doth it, by commiffion from above,
Deal with the bride, when Heav'n would court her love.
Lo! now the ftartles at the Sinai trump,
Which throws her foul into a difinal dump,
Confcious another husband fhe must have,
Elfe die for ever in deftruction's grave.
While in conviction's jail fhe's thus inclos'd,
Glad news are heard, the royal Mate's propos'd..
And now the fcornful bride's inverted tir
Is racking fear, he fcorns to match with her..
She dreads his fury, and defpairs that he
Will ever wed fo vile a wretch as the..
And here the legal humour stirs again
To her prodigious lofs, and grievous pain:
For when the Prince prefents himself to be
Her husband, then fhe deems: Ah! is not he
Too fair a match for fuch a filthy bride?
Unconscious that the thought bewrays her pride,
Ev'n pride of merit, pride of righteoufnefs,
Expecting Heav'n fhould love her for her drefs;.
Unmindful how the fall her face did ftain,
And made her but a black unlovely fwain;
Her whole primeval beauty quite defac'd,.
And to the rank of fiends her form debas'd;
Without disfigur'd, and defil'd within,
Incapable of any thing but fin.
Heav'n courts not any for their comely face,
But for the glorious praife of fov'reign grace
Elfe ne'er had courted one of Adam's race,
Which all as children of corruption be
Heirs rightful of immortal mifery.
Yet here the bride employs her foolish wit,
For this bright match her ugly form to fit;
To daub her features o'er with legal paint,
That with a grace she may herself prefent.
Hopeful the Prince with credit might her wed,
If once fome comely qualities fhe had.
In humble pride, her haughty spirit flags;
She cannot think of coming all in rags.
Were fhe a humble, faithful penitent,
She dreams he'd then contract with full content.
Bafe varlet! think fhe'd be a match for him,
Did fhe but deck herself in handsome trim.
Ah! foolish thoughts! in legal deeps that plod,
Ah! forry notions of a fov'reign God!
Will God expofe his great, his glorious Son,
For our vile baggage to be fold and won?
Should finful modelty the match decline,
Until its garb be brisk and superfine;
Alas! when should we fee the marriage day?
The happy bargain muft flee up for ay.
Prefumptuous fouls in furly modefty,
Half faviours themselves would fondly be,
Then, hopeful th' other half their due will fall,
Difdain to be in Jefus' debt for all.
Vainly the firft would wash themselves, and then
Addrefs the fountain to be wash'd more clean
First heal themselves, and then expect the balm :
Ah many flightly cure their fudden qualm.
They heal their confcience with a tear of pray'r;
And feek no other Christ, but perish there.
O finner! fearch the house, and fee the thief
That spoils thy Saviour's crown, thy foul's relief,
The hid, but heinous fin of unbelief.
Who can poffefs a quality that's good,
Till firft he come to Jefus' cleanfing blood?
The pow'r that draws the bride, will also fhew
Unto her by the way her hellish hue,
As void of ev'ry virtue to commend,
And full of ev'ry vice that will offend,
'Till fov'reign grace the fullen bride fhall catch,
She'll never fit herself for fuch a match.
Moft qualify'd they are in heav'n to dwell,
Who fee themselves most qualify'd for hell;
And, ere the bride can drink falvation's cup,
Kind Heav'n must reach to hell and lift her up:
For no decorum e'er about her found,
Is fhe belov'd; but on a nobler ground.
Jehovah's love is like his nature free,
Nor muft his creature challenge his decree;
But low at fov'reign grace's footstool creep,
Whofe ways are fearchlefs, and his judgments deep.
Yet Grace's fuit meets with refiftance rude
From haughty fouls; for lake of innate good
To recommend them. Thus the backward bride
Affronts her fuitor with her modest pride.
Black hatred for his offer'd love repays,
Pride under mask of modefty displays:
In part would fave herself; hence faucy foul!
Rejects the matchlefs Mate would fave in whole.
SECT. II. Conviction of Sin and Wrath, carried on more deeply and effectually on the Heart.
So proudly forward is the bride, and now
Stern Heav'n begins to ftare with cloudier brow
Law curfes come with more condemning pow'r
To fcorch her confcience with a fiery fhow'r.
And more refulgent flashes darted in;
For by the law the knowledge is of fin.*
Black Sinai thund'ring louder than before,
Does awful in her lofty bofom roar.
Heav'n's furious ftorms now rife from ev'ry airth,t
In ways more terrible to shake the earth,‡
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