1.  Lean too much to their own understanding, gifts or graces; and think thereby to ride out storms, and to wide through all difficulties, while as, if he who is the Life do not breathe upon us, all that will fail us in the day of trial.  Our understanding and parts or gifts may dry up, and our graces may wither and decay, and go backward.

2.  Rest too much on duties; when they should in them go to him who is the Life.  For only in him is life to be had; and him should they seek to in the ordinances, that they might have life from him in those outward duties; and this appeareth in their way of going about duties, without that dependence on him, and single eyeing of him, which is called for.  As also by their freting and repining, when duties do not their business, as if life lay all in duties; and concluding all will be right, because they get duties somewhat tolerably performed; and, on the contrary, desponding, when duties fall heavy on them, and they find themselves indisposed for duty.  All which clearly evinceth, that they lay too much weight on duties; while as it would be otherwise with them, if they were purely depending on Christ, and looking for all from him.

3.  Despond too soon, because they get not help and relief instantly; or because they are not preserved from every degree of fainting.

4.  Neglect to make use of him, and to come to him with all their wants, failings and necessities, as they ought; or come not with that freedom and boldness which the gospel grounds allow.

VI.  This preacheth out the woful misery of such as are strangers to Christ.  For being strangers to the Life, they have no life, they are dead, and death is engraven on all they do; even though,

1.  They should be very diligent in external duties, yea, and outstrip many true believers; as the Pharisees had their fasts twice a-week, Luke xviii.

2.  They should be eminently gifted, able to instruct others, and to speak of the mysteries of the gospel, to purpose and to edification.  For such gifts of knowledge and utterance may be, where the lively operations of the grace of Christ are not, and consequently where Christ is not, as the Life.

3.  They should seem eminent in all their outward carriage, and seem to carry most christianly in all their walk, and appear most devout in the matter of worship.

4.  And they should have something more than ordinary; even taste of the heavenly gift, and be made partakers of extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost; yea, and taste the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, Heb. vi. 4, 5.

VII.  This discovereth the noble advantage of such as have accepted of Christ for their life.  Their condition is happy, sure, desirable, and thriving; for Christ is theirs, and life is theirs; because Christ, who is the Life, is theirs.

Obj. 1.  But some wicked persons may say, We see not that happy and advantageous condition of such as go for believers; for we observe them to be as little lively ofttimes as others, and as unfit for duties; yea, and sometimes as much subject to sin and corruption as others.