o the least of his
mercies. When we have done all, this should be our soul's language,--We are
unprofitable servants, our righteousness extends not to thee. What gain is
it to the Almighty that thou art righteous? Yet for the most part, we make
our walking as a hire for the reward. The covenant of works,--doing for
life, is some way naturally imprinted in our hearts, and we cannot do, but
we would live in doing; we cannot walk unto all well-pleasing, but we
would also walk unto pacifying of God. Self-righteousness is men's great
idol, which, when all other baser and grosser idols are down, they do
still seek to establish. But, Christians, observe this evil in yourselves
and suffer this mystery of godliness to be wrought in you,--the abasing of
yourselves, the denial of yourselves. I would have you, in respect of
diligence and earnestness, doing, walking, and running, as if ye were to
be saved by it only. But again, you must deny all that, and no more
consider it, or lean upon it, than if ye ought to do nothing, or did
nothing. But your ends should be more divine and high, as your nature
is,--to glorify God in your mortal bodies, since ye are his, and bought
with a price. O how ought ye not to be your own! The great purpose of your
obedience should be, a declaration of your sense of his love, and of your
obligation to him. Ye ought to walk in his way, because ye are escaped
condemnation, and saved by him, and not that ye may be saved only. It is
the glory of our heavenly Father, and the honour of the Redeemer, for
Christians to walk, even as he walked, and follow his footsteps. It
commends the grace of Jesus Christ exceedingly. Therefore this cannot but
be the choice and delight of a believing soul,--to walk unto all
well-pleasing, to have the glory of him as their great design to aim at:
who for our salvation laid aside his glory, and embraced shame and
reproach. We use to walk in obedience to God, that we may pacify God for
our disobedience. But let a Christian abhor such a thought. Christ's blood
must pacify, but the walking of his child pleaseth him in his well-beloved
Son. When he is once pacified for sin, when he once accepts your persons,
your performances are his delight. Now this should be the great scope of a
soul, that all its powers should be fixed on,--to please him, and live to
him.

Now these three being established, we must conceive that the chief agent
and party in this walking must be spiritual; therefor